Ningbo Mansion, Zhenhai, Dajing Dongxing March 18, 3rd year.

This emerging maritime trading city on the banks of the Dahu River is gray in the spring sun. There are few people on the city streets, and even the most lively commercial market on the bank of the Dahun River is now deserted, and all the shops are all deeply locked. Above the city, there was only a cyan Gengzi banner fluttering weakly.

After the Battle of Chashan, Geng Jingzhong's 50,000 field main forces that he had managed to piece together collapsed. Geng Jingzhong sat on a mule cart and fled in panic under the protection of a group of Geng Wangzhuang's personal soldiers, but fortunately, there were not many cavalry in the Ming army at that time, only one battalion, and there was no time to chase and kill tens of thousands of frantically fleeing routs. And the official road from Chashan to the south is not wide, and there is a large section of mountain road, and tens of thousands of horses and horses will inevitably be congested together, which makes it cheaper for Geng Jingzhong, who "rushed", and thousands of people who fled with him. It only took them half a day to reach Hangzhou. Then he rested a little, gathered some remnants, took the gold and silver in the Hangzhou treasury, and extorted a batch of silk and chariots and horses from the Hangzhou Chamber of Commerce, and continued to flee. After running for another two and a half days, he finally escaped to Zhenhai County, where the Ningbo Prefecture and the Dajing Oriental Trade Minister Yamen were stationed. At this time, there were less than 5,000 people left who were still loyal to Geng Jingzhong, half of whom were from Geng Wangzhuang in Fuzhou, and the rest were either confused and followed, or they were Manchurian soldiers who originally belonged to Yue Le. These 5,000 people, plus the 2,000 pirates under the Li Dao people who came to act as a naval army, there are less than 7,000 left.

Geng Jingzhong had previously led 50,000 field elites who were defeated by Li Zhongshan and Chen Yonghua with more than 10,000 people, and now he can't keep Ningbo with 7,000 people.

Since Ningbo can't be saved, there is nothing to talk about. These 7,000 people immediately began to do unscrupulous acts in Zhenhai County and Zhenhai Commercial City, forcibly occupying people's houses, extorting money, and capturing women. Geng Jingzhong, the king of the dead country, did not restrain his subordinates, but ordered them to rob, and took the initiative to participate in the robbery, and robbed all the merchant ships of various countries anchored in the Dahun River!

Although this capture and plunder greatly disappointed the people, it can help Geng Jingzhong, who has reached the end of his rope, to gather the military spirit a little - of course, it is not a good kind of person who is still following him, either he has done a lot of evil and has no place to go, or he still fantasizes about being able to follow Geng Jingzhong and finally have a good time.

This time, Geng Jingzhong took them to Zhenhai to plunder, which was regarded as a bad thing together, and also offended the Fujian maritime merchants and Zhejiang gentry. The former is "Zheng Jing" in the background, and most of the latter have spent money to donate to Chinese people and scholars, and they are all small shareholders of Daming. Moreover, half of the backbone members of the reformist faction are from Zhejiang! If you offend these two groups, don't think about surrendering to the Ming Dynasty, just follow Geng Jingzhong all the way to the dark.

And after Geng Jingzhong commanded his subordinates to plague Zhenhai County and Zhenhai Shang Town, "retribution" will come immediately! One after another, some of the Geng family's sworn friends who escaped from the Chashan battlefield and some Geng family generals who ran out of Jiande County went to Ningbo, and brought two bad news to Geng Jingzhong and others.

One is that Jiande has fallen, and most of the families of the hundred officials and civil and military officials of the Dajing Dynasty have become prisoners of the Ming army!

Second, Shang Shuying, who did not have time to leave before the siege of the Ming army, was executed by Ling Chi after being handed over to Li Zhongshan by Geng Juzhong and Ma Hu.

"What? Is it really too late? ”

"Why? Li Yat-sen and Shuying don't have such a big feud, right? Although many people from the Shang family were killed by the Li family, the Li family was never killed by the Shang family. And Shuying is the former princess of the North after all. Ling Chi is too miserable, right? ”

"Is the news reliable?"

Geng Jingzhong and his henchmen Yu Renying, Li Daoren, Seleng (Yue Le's son), and Xu Wenhuan were all frightened when they heard that Jiande had surrendered, but when they heard that Shang Shuying had been chopped, they were all frightened.

Of course Shang Shuying is guilty, she is a thief! also led troops to attack the Mochou Lake Palace, the crime was not small, and it was not unjust to kill her. But the problem is that Geng Jingzhong, Yu Renying, Li Daoren, Sai Stunned, and Xu Wenhuan are only bigger than Shang Shuying's sins!

Shang Shuying is so miserable, can they be okay?

"It's not wrong, this is what Shi Mahu of the Seven Star Pavilion University said," said an elderly man of the Geng family, "Shang Gege was escorted to Li Yat-sen's camp by him, and the old man was also present at the time, and when she tied her with a rope, she also talked and laughed with the third master (Geng Juzhong), saying that as long as she arrived at Li Zhongshan, she would be beaten at most, and she would not be killed, and let the third master not worry." Unexpectedly, Ma Hu came back and reported that Gege had been left in Li Yat-sen's military camp. It's cut! ”

Several other family members of Geng Wangzhuang's retainers who came with this old man also gave him a certificate.

"Shang Gege is chopped, old and miserable. We all heard screams in Jiande City! ”

"I've been calling for most of the day."

"It's true!"

Finished!

Geng Jingzhong's heart was cold, so he had to wave his hand to let these people retreat and rest first, and after they left, he looked left and right.

"Your Majesty. Let's go to sea! Yu Renying said, "A thousand or hundreds of miles southeast of the sea is Shang's Ryukyu, we still have dozens of sea ships in our hands now, and we can bring all the brothers on this side of Zhenhai with us!" ”

Li Daoren added: "Your Majesty, as far as the ministers know, this country of the Ryukyu Shang clan was originally a domain of the Ming Dynasty, but it was occupied by the Satsuma Domain of Japan a few decades ago, and the current Ryukyu Kingdom is a feudal domain and two lords, which is both a vassal of the Ming Dynasty and a foreign vassal of Japan. However, the people of the Ryukyus are all interested in the Celestial Empire, and they do not want to be the foreign vassals of their own country at that time. If we claim to be the Great Warriors, then the people of the Ryukyus will definitely support us and oppose the Satsuma Domain. ”

"How many soldiers does this demon have?" Geng Jingzhong asked.

"Probably 10,000 people, right?" Li Daoren said, "But most of the soldiers of the Lao Sa family are on the island of Kyushu in Japan, and there are few people in the Ryukyus, at most 500, right?" ”

"Five hundred isn't much, but are they powerful?" Geng Jingzhong has had enough of underestimating the enemy, and now he has become less courageous, "I heard that these Japanese are quite capable of fighting." ”

"No matter how much you can fight, you can't compare to us!" Yu Renying said, "How many years have we been fighting here? The last time they fought a war in Japan was 60 years ago! ”

"Sixty years" Geng Jingzhong sighed, "I didn't expect that the Japanese people have enjoyed sixty years of peace and prosperity!" ”

Xu Wenhuan, the leader of Geng Jingzhong's personal army, squinted his eyes and reminded: "Your Majesty, Japan has been closed off from the country for the past 60 years, and most of the methods of fighting a war are similar to those of 60 years ago. I don't know that the Japanese soldiers have never seen a flintlock pistol! ”

Yu Renying nodded and said: "Mr. Xu is right, although we have always lost battles in the past few years, our horizons have still opened up a lot!" A few years ago, we couldn't even use an arquebus, and now we know how to use this flintlock pistol! ”

Geng Jingzhong nodded helplessly, and said in his heart: I have been learning to fight with Li Datou in the past few years! It's just that this tuition fee is really a bit expensive!

Amma, who had just died, was stunned and cried with a sad face: "But we don't have many flintlock pistols in our hands!" ”

Li Daoren interjected and said, "Little prince, we still have some flintlock pistols in our hands. From this year onwards, Foshan, Zhangzhou, and Quanzhou will no longer make arquebuses, all flintlock guns! Moreover, the foreign guns sold by foreign devils are also flintlock pistols. Therefore, since the beginning of this year, the muskets that Xia Guan bought for the imperial court are all flintlock pistols, and there are 300 brand-new flintlock pistols in the treasury of the Yamen, the minister of trade and commerce in Zhenhai! ”

Li Zhongshan is really a good teacher, not only improving himself, but also leading everyone to progress together! Even the military industry in Guangdong, Fujian and other places has been upgraded, and now the warlords want to go there to buy arquebuses!

"Three hundred" Geng Jingzhong asked, "There are still some in our army, right?" ”

"Yes!" Xu Wenhuan said, "Although most people ran empty-handed, two or three hundred flintlock pistols were still available." ”

Geng Jingzhong thought for a while and said, "Then first gather five hundred flintlock musketeers, all equipped with bayonets, and form a team according to the method of the Chashan Ming Army."

"Okay!" Xu Wenhuan stood up and gave Geng Jingzhong a bow, "The emperor can rest assured, the ministers hurry up and strive to train the flintlock pistols within half a month." ”

Geng Jingzhong waved his hand: "Wen Huan, don't call me emperor again. My Great Yasukuni is dead, and I am the king of a dead country! ”

As he spoke, his eyes dripped down.

A few henchmen in front of Geng Jingzhong, you look at me, I look at you, and no one persuaded him to continue to be the emperor. His emperor deserves to be a loss too much! If he didn't covet the emperor's false name, he would still be the king of the Ming Dynasty!

"Then the lord," asked Seleng, "what are you not the emperor to be?" What will we call you in the future? ”

Geng Jingzhong was stunned by this question.

Why shouldn't he be the emperor?

"My lord," suggested the Ryūkyus, "the hearts of the Ryukyus are bright. Otherwise, you should be the king of the east of the Ming Dynasty and the general of Zhengdong! ”

"I should be the king of the Ming Dynasty?" Geng Jingzhong smiled bitterly, "How can I be?" Am I going to go up to the table and ask for a confession? I can be on the table, but can Li Zhongshan exempt me from my sins and make me the king of the east again? ”

Yu Renying smiled: "Lord, why are you asking Li Yat-sen for a seal?" He is not the emperor. ”

"Then I ask the Emperor of the Republic for a title?" Geng Jingzhong shook his head, "He can't block me either!" ”

"You can be self-proclaimed!" Yu Renying said seriously.

"Self-styled?" Geng Jingzhong was stunned.

Yu Renying nodded: "Yes!" Isn't it a republic now? ”

"A republic can proclaim itself king?" Geng Jingzhong asked.

"Of course you can!" Yu Renying said seriously, "Didn't this "Yuan Jun" and "Yuan Chen" say it? This emperor and his courtiers should be mentors and friends, they govern the world together, and the reason why this emperor wants to appoint courtiers is because the world is too big, and an emperor can't manage it, and he needs the help of his courtiers. Is this Ryukyu part of the world? Ryukyu's land coast, is it a royal minister? ”

"Of course!" Geng Jingzhong already understood what Yu Renying meant, and his mouse eyes were a little bright.

Yu Renying then explained: "Ryukyu has always been a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, and the king of Ryukyu has always been a minister of the Ming Dynasty, but now the Ryukyu Kingdom does not pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, but pays tribute to Japan, and has changed from a minister of the Son of Heaven to a courtier of Japan, and is no longer a royal minister!"

And why didn't the emperor of the Ming Republic send troops to expel the old Sa family of Japan and turn the Ryukyu Kingdom back into the royal ministers of the Ming Dynasty? This shows that tomorrow is too busy. And his ministers are not available.

And the lord, you are now sending troops to the Ryukyus, expelling the Japanese Sajia family, and turning the Ryukyus into the land of the king's ministers again. It's a great favor to the Son of Heaven! Of course, you are the king's minister, the king's minister who leads the land of the Ryukyus. Therefore, it is justified that you should restore the throne of the king of the east, and do the things of the king's ministers in the name of the king of the east, send troops to the Ryukyus, and restore the king's land! ”

Geng Jingzhong nodded and muttered, "It makes sense, I'm here to help the Son of Heaven!" But it still seems a little wrong for me to be the king, right? ”

"No, no, not self-styled!" Yu Renying said, "It is the great emperor who made you the king of the east and the general of the east, and ordered you to send troops to the Ryukyus to restore the king's land!" ”

"The son of tomorrow is coming to seal?" Geng Jingzhong asked, "Did I help the Son of Heaven of the Republic to make me the king of the east and the general of Zhendong?" ”

Yu Renying stood up and bowed to Geng Jingzhong to the end, "The king, the minister implores the king to accept the decree of the Son of Heaven of the Republic!" Be the king of the Ming Dynasty again! ”

Li Daoren, Seleng, and Xu Wenhuan saw Yu Renying's persuasion, and they also persuaded together: "The king, the ministers and others implore the king to be edicted to restore the king of the east!" ”

Geng Jingzhong also nodded cheekily and said: "Well, since the Republic of Heaven has issued an edict, then Gu will reluctantly continue to be the king of the east!" ”

Whether this Geng Jingzhong's self-proclaimed king of the East is in line with another theory that does not conform to the way of "Yuan Jun" and "Yuan Chen", but Geng Jingzhong's Great Yasukuni must be at the end of his life.

With the demise of the Great Yasukuni, the people's morale in the Republic of Nanjing rose all of a sudden. Originally, some people were worried that their "investment" would be lost because of the defeat of the republican Ming, but in early April of the third year of the republic, as the general Li Yat-sen escorted the Yasukuni officials, clans and their families captured in Jiande back to Nanjing in triumph, and held a grand triumphant ceremony on the inner street of Yifengmen, no one had any doubts about the future of the republican Ming.

Subsequently, a group of newspapers and publications advocating the republic led by the "Guoshi Review" began to report at length how the republican model army of the Ming Dynasty in the Battle of Chashan defeated Geng Jingzhong with one enemy and five hangings. In addition, the news that the prefectures and counties below Zhejiang Province were recovered one by one kept coming, and it didn't take long for the good news that Geng Jingzhong had escaped into the island and the entire territory of Ningbo Prefecture had also been recovered.

In the streets and alleys of Nanjing, the people of Nanjing began to talk about when the Ming Dynasty would be able to defeat Wu Sangui, recover Jiangxi and Huguang, and when would they be able to sweep away the Great Zhou and Qing Dynasty, and then unify the sea!

Although the current Ming Dynasty only has five complete provinces, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, plus Guangxi, Henan, Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi, people who are full of confidence in the republic already feel that the country they are in is a vibrant and competitive country, and the previous lifeless Ming Dynasty, as well as the Qing Dynasty that makes people always in fear, is not the same thing at all.

And how can such a vibrant emerging country be resisted by the likes of Wu Sangui and Kangxi?

In the future, the one who will dominate the world must be the Republic of Ming!

When the time comes, why don't you hurry up and increase your position?

The people in the market are like this, and the interest of the civil ministers and military generals of the Republic of the Ming Dynasty is of course higher, and the motivation is also more sufficient. They are all shareholders, and they are all working for themselves! Can you not be positive? If you miss this wave of "big market", then you can't regret it for a lifetime?

Therefore, Li Zhongshan, who returned to Nanjing City, had to meet with a large group of civil and military generals who asked for war every day. Everyone doesn't take Wu Sangui very seriously, let alone Kangxi?

However, Li Zhongshan himself is quite cautious, after returning to Nanjing, almost every day he has to go to the Wangjiang Terrace on the Lion Mountain in Yifeng Gate to watch the training of the Yangtze River Naval Division - now the Ming Army is not worried, it is nothing more than to expand the model army, one town is not enough, expand to two towns and three towns, how is it enough.

But the Yangtze River Sailor of the Ming Dynasty is a weakness!

Li Yat-sen mainly developed the army in recent years, and the navy was basically outsourced to the Zheng family, the king of wings, and even the Guangdong naval division was run by Zhu Tiangui, the general of the Zheng family, and a Chaozhou people (Qiu Hui and his party) who were once attached to the Zheng family.

And there seems to be a big problem with the sailors run by the Zheng family, they are navy, not inland river sailors! Therefore, the warships that appear on the water surface of the Yangtze River under the Lion Rock are particularly large! Many of these ships don't have oars, and it's not completely impossible for them to move if the wind is not in the right direction or there is no text, but it's a bit ridiculous no matter how you look at it!

"Brother Shikai, I'm not mistaken, right? The big boats are being dragged away by the small boats? It was Wu Xiaogang who spoke, and now she and Yang Xiaohuan, who had just given birth to "Xiuzhong", and Shang Shuying, who was still a guest here with Li Yat-sen, accompanied Li Zhongshan to stare at Lion Rock and watch the training of sailors together.

Hearing Wu Xiaogang's question, Li Zhongshan turned his head and looked at Shang Shuying with a smile, "Shuying Gege, can you see clearly?" Do you know what to say when you see Wu Sangui? ”

It's not the first day that Shang Shuying has followed Li Yat-sen to climb Lion Rock, and every time she can see the training program of small boats towing big boats - this is obviously not a fake, Li Zhongshan really plans to drive these dozens of big boats into Poyang Lake

Thinking of this, Shang Shuying asked half-jokingly: "General, do you want the slave family to tell the Emperor of the Great Zhou as it is?" Is this a leak of military information? Will it be a sin in the future? ”

Li Zhongshan smiled: "Shuying Gege, are you afraid of sin? Let's go and talk to Wu Sangui as it is. On land, Wu Sangui has no chance, but on the Yangtze River, on Poyang Lake, his sailor can still break his wrist with my Ming sailor, but he has to be careful to become Chen Youliang's second! ”

(End of chapter)