On the second day of the second month of February, the folk is commonly known as "the dragon raises its head", also known as the spring ploughing festival, the agricultural festival, the green dragon festival, the spring dragon festival, etc., which is a traditional folk festival of the Ming Dynasty.

"Dragon" refers to the Oriental Canglong Seven Constellations in the 28 Nakshatras, and at the beginning of each mid-spring month, the "Dragon Horn Star" rises from the eastern horizon, so it is called "the dragon raises its head". As the cloud in the "Book of Laws": "Mao Zhi is the words of Mao, and the words of all things are Mao".

"The dragon raises its head" indicates that the yang energy comes out of the ground, the spring thunder is moving, the rain is increasing, the temperature is rising, and everything is full of vitality, and spring ploughing begins. Since ancient times, the people have also regarded the season when the dragon raises its head as a day to pray for blessings and auspicious transfers.

In the Yuan period, the "second day of the second month of February" was called the day when "the dragon raised its head". The second lunar month has entered the mid-spring season, and the "second day of February" is between the "rain", "sting" and "spring equinox" of the 24 solar terms. Since ancient times, people have celebrated the dragon on the day of "the dragon raises its head" in mid-spring, and prayed for the dragon to eliminate disasters and blessings, the wind and rain are smooth, and the grains are abundant.

For example, in Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and other regions, there are both similar dragon raising festival customs, and there are new "February 2" customs based on the customs of the sacrifice shrine, and the south generally worships the land god.

On this day, Liu Yan led all the officers and men of the 12th Army of the National Defense Army to Shouning County, Jianning Prefecture, Fujian, and after a short rest here, he led the army south into the hinterland of Fujian, and soon arrived at the city of Fuzhou.

Since the Ming Dynasty, Fuzhou has been the capital of Fujian. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Fuzhou's shipbuilding industry was developed and navigation technology was advanced, and now after Zheng Zhilong led his troops to control Fujian, the shipbuilding industry in Fuzhou City has developed and expanded.

At this time, the 12th Army of the National Defense Army was on standby in the north of the city, and Liu Yan, accompanied by the chief officer Wei Han and the deputy chief soldier Bao Qiang, rode his horse to look at the port not far to the east, where dozens of large and small warships were moored, which were indeed much taller than the Fu ships equipped by the imperial court sailors.

Liu Yan frowned slightly, and then saw the general of the left battalion, Baibeiguan, rushing to the horse: "Elder Qiqi Pavilion, Zheng Zhilong led the generals of the various departments to greet him." ”

Then Bai Beiguan said in a deep voice: "Zheng Zhilong also brought soldiers and horses to come, and he didn't report at night that there were white-skinned baboons and Kunlun slaves in the army, as well as a large number of heavy armored infantry, it seems that Zheng Zhilong came to demonstrate to us." ”

Liu Yan laughed out loud and said: "I have long heard that Zheng Zhilong has a black fire team, a white armor soldier, and the famous Iron Man Army in the southeast, presumably these soldiers and horses, let's go and see it!" ”

Wei Han said cautiously: "Pavilion Elder, the last general will let the soldiers of the army form a formation to move forward, just in case." ”

"I don't need to!"

Liu Yan said: "Zheng Zhilong is not a fool, at most he just wants to show off his military strength, but fortunately, he wants more benefits when he is reorganized, he will not and dare not mess around." ”

The generals thought so.

Soon, Liu Yan, Wei Han, Bao Qiang led the 12th Army of the National Defense Army more than 40,000 soldiers to the south, directly to the north gate of Fuzhou City, at this time Zheng Zhilong has led a group of generals, as well as a large number of soldiers and horses outside the north gate to wait, but also prepared a large number of drummers, after seeing Liu Yan's army, they began to blow up, the drum music is noisy in the sky, very lively.

Liu Yan saw a middle-aged man wearing an official uniform from the first rank leading the crowd forward, Zheng Chenggong followed behind the middle-aged man, obviously this person was Zheng Zhilong.

Zheng Zhilong was shocked when he saw Liu Yan, who was only in his early thirties, and he couldn't imagine that Liu Yan, the world-famous Ming Shoufu and Lu Guogong, would be so young, he was really a genius in heaven, and he would have such outstanding achievements at such an age!

"Zheng Zhilong, the governor of Fujian, led his troops to meet Liu Ge Lao!"

Then Zheng Zhilong bowed, and the subordinates behind him also bowed. After that, the soldiers and horses under the command of Zheng Zhilong also saluted.

Liu Yan laughed and turned over and dismounted, then strode up to Zheng Zhilong, helped Zheng Zhilong up with both hands, and said, "Zheng Du doesn't have to be polite. It's better to be famous than to meet, Zheng Du is really mighty and extraordinary, and seeing you today is enough to comfort your life! ”

Zheng Zhilong's heart warmed, and he said: "The lower officials feel guilty in their hearts, and they are ashamed that they failed to lead their troops to listen to the order as soon as possible!" ”

"Haha, everyone is an official in the same dynasty, why be ashamed?"

Liu Yan immediately took Zheng Zhilong's hand, faced Zheng Zhilong's subordinates, and asked with a smile: "You are all talents, how about Governor Zheng introduce this father?" ”

Seeing that Liu Yan was so kind, Zheng Zhilong's defense in his heart dissipated most of it, and said: "This is the dog Zheng Chenggong, speaking of which, I have to thank the elder of the pavilion for giving him a name!" ”

Zheng Chenggong even hugged his fists and saluted, and his excitement was beyond words.

Liu Yan patted Zheng Chenggong on the shoulder and said: "My father attaches great importance to Ling Gongzi, and I hope that in the future, I can live up to the word success, serve the country, and ask for my life for the people!" ”

Zheng Chenggong said loudly: "The encouragement of the elder of the pavilion, the success is in mind!" ”

Liu Yan nodded in approval, and then asked, "What position do you have in the army?" ”

Zheng Chenggong immediately pointed to the thousands of ironclad troops behind him and said, "Elder Qiyu Pavilion, the last general will lead the army of five thousand ironmen. ”

Liu Yan looked at the 5,000-strong army, and saw that all the officers and soldiers in the army were wearing heavy armor, holding long-handled horse swords, and pinning double inserts around their waists, all of them were elite soldiers from near and far, and couldn't help but admire: "They are all good soldiers!" ”

Although Liu Yan praised it so much, Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Chenggong and others all looked at the tens of thousands of officers and soldiers of the Twelfth Army of the National Defense Army in front, tens of thousands of soldiers were all wearing armor, fine flintlocks, all kinds of black artillery, and fierce night and cavalry, all of which made Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Chenggong and others feel a cold wind in their hearts, and they couldn't help but be glad that they did not choose to be enemies of the imperial court.

Then, Zheng Zhilong introduced the second brother Zheng Zhihu and the fifth brother Zheng Zhibao to Liu Yan, the two of whom were the chief officers and deputy commanders of the middle battalion, of which Zheng Zhihu commanded the 3,000 black musket team, and Zheng Zhibao commanded 2,500 white slave heavy armor soldiers.

Liu Yan also encouraged the two of them one by one, and then looked at the three thousand black musket team and the two thousand five hundred white slave heavy armor soldiers with great interest.

I saw that those black people were all tall and big, although they were not as exaggerated and strong as the black strong men in later film and television works, but they were all elite soldiers, and at this time, the queue was strict and well-equipped, worthy of elite soldiers and horses.

It is said that in history, the black musketeers under Zheng Zhilong could fire five to six volleys a minute, and they could make the fire array shoot the enemy continuously, but I don't know if this is the case.

As for the 2,500 white slave heavy armor, it is a bit messy, although everyone is equipped with iron armor, but the style of iron armor is not uniform, there are Chinese-style fish scale armor, chain mail, cover armor, as well as Western-style plate armor, chain mail. The weapons used by those white slave soldiers are also varied, from Western-style heavy swords and long-handled heavy axes, to Chinese-style spears, maces, and ordinary war knives, everyone uses their own weapons, and there is no unified system.

For such a heavy armor soldier, Liu Yan had a hundred ways to annihilate it, especially after being equipped with a large number of firearms.

Then, Zheng Zhilong introduced Zheng Hongkui, the third brother and the fourth brother Zheng Zhipeng, who were in charge of logistics and the military Chinese case, as well as Gan Hui and Chen Hui, the staff officers of the middle battalion, Zheng Xing, the chief officer of the former battalion, Zheng Ming, the chief officer of the rear battalion, Yang Geng, the chief officer of the left battalion, and Zheng Cai, the chief officer of the right battalion.

Liu Yan and everyone laughed and talked for a while.

"There are more than 30,000 sailors and more than 3,000 warships in the Xiaguan army, which are divided into three naval divisions, numbered as the left, middle and right battalions of the naval division, with Shi Daxuan as the chief officer of the left battalion of the naval division, Shi Lang as the chief officer of the middle battalion of the naval division, and Hong Xu as the chief officer of the right battalion of the naval division."

When Liu Yan heard Shi Lang's name, his face changed slightly, and he looked at a general in his twenties in the crowd: "This person is the traitor Shi Lang in history?" ”

For Shi Lang, Liu Yan also lamented his naval combat talent, but he was still a little resentful of his defection to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, even if it was because of a grudge with the generals of the Zheng army, it was not a reason for treason to surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

It's just that now, presumably Shi Lang has no chance to defect to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Liu Yan's heart was immediately relieved, and he said secretly: "This Shi Lang can watch its after-effects in the future and see if it can be used." ”

After Zheng Zhilong introduced a group of subordinates, Liu Yan also introduced Wei Han, the chief officer of the 12th Army of the National Defense Army, Bao Qiang, the deputy chief soldier, and Bai Beiguan, the general of the left battalion, and Cheng Zhiyu, the general of the right battalion.

Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Chenggong and others also saluted and greeted several people.

"Pavilion Elder, at present, Master Jiang of the Southern Inspection Group has led his troops to Zhangzhou Mansion, Quanzhou Mansion and other places, and is conducting a survey of the situation of the guards over there, I'm afraid I can't come to see Pavilion Elder."

Regarding the whereabouts and situation of the Southern Inspection Group, Liu Yan has always maintained an understanding through the Ministry of Military Intelligence, and what Zheng Zhilong said is not bad at all, Liu Yan also smiled and did not care.

"Hehe, then ask the elder to lead the army into the city,"

Zheng Zhilong said with a smile: "Xiaguan has already set up a reception banquet in the Governor's Mansion in the city, but the taste of Fuzhou people is sweet and sour, and I don't know if it suits the taste of the old man." ”

Liu Yan also came to Fuzhou in his previous life, and knew that there were dozens of kinds of snacks here, such as fish balls, mixed noodles, meat swallows, shrimp crisps, oyster cakes, light cakes, Dingbian paste, spring rolls, fried noodles, and Fuzhou noodles.

Fuzhou cuisine is the representative of Fujian cuisine, which is known as "the fragrance of Fuzhou cuisine floats all over the world, and the food culture has been passed down through the ages". The selection of materials is exquisite, and the knife work is strict and cautious; Pay attention to the heat and pay attention to the soup; Like to use condiments, the taste is changeable, showing two bright characteristics: one is the knife work dexterous and clever, interesting in taste, known as shredded like hair, thin as paper, the more famous dishes such as fried snail slices. The second is that there are many soup dishes and various changes, known as "one soup and ten changes".

Famous soups such as the historic Buddha jumping over the wall, have the reputation of "the altar is full of meat incense floating in the neighborhood, and the Buddha hears and abandons Zen to jump over the wall". Among them, the Buddha jumping over the wall in Juchun Garden is the most famous. ”

At this time, Liu Yan led the army all the way south, and he was also hungry, so he said with a smile: "Okay, then let's go into the city." ”

Zheng Zhilong immediately said: "There is another thing, the lower official has gathered all his subordinates in various places around Fuzhou City, and after asking the elder to lead the army into the city, he ordered the officers and soldiers of the National Defense Army to take over the defense of Fuzhou City, and the subordinate officers and soldiers obeyed the dispatch of the elder of the pavilion!" ”