Chapter 250

The Java Sea, an unknown island, is the temporary residence of Zheng Zhilong.

At this time, Zheng Zhilong was simply crying without tears, the Battle of Batavia, the elite he had worked hard to accumulate was almost swept away by the Ning Navy, when he went south, he led more than 1,600 large and small warships for dozens of miles.

However, after the First World War, there were only about thirty warships left that had the order to escape with him. What made him vomit blood even more was that God seemed to have the intention to help Cheng Shijie, and when he fled south, a strong wind blew, and there were constantly warships blown towards the island reef by the sea breeze and smashed to pieces!

Originally, with the ability of Zheng's sailors to control the boat, there would be no such accidents, but the problem was that in the battle with Batavia of the Ning Navy, their losses were too heavy, not to mention the casualties of many sailors of the warship, and the mast, sails, rudders, anchors and other equipment were also damaged to varying degrees, making them scramble in the face of strong winds, and finally they could only watch in despair as the warship that lost control crashed into the cliff like a mad bull......

Everything was like a repetition of the doom of the Spanish fleet in the Anglo-Spanish naval battle, the difference was that the Spanish Armada did not lose much in the naval battle, only a dozen battleships were sunk, but when they withdrew to Spain, they encountered a storm, and many warships were overturned by the storm, or sank on the rocks, so that the losses of the Spaniards skyrocketed.

Zheng Zhilong is worse than the Spaniards, the main force is gone in the naval battle, and now he has encountered storms one after another, which is equivalent to cutting and slashing the wound where he is still bleeding, and the depression can be imagined.

What frightened him even more was that Cheng Shijie did not mean to accept it when he saw it, and after the big victory, he was just the main battleship of the Ning Navy repairing the battleship in Batavia, but the Zheng fleet that surrendered to him, after replenishing ammunition and personnel, immediately launched a pursuit.

The main fleet of the Ning Navy did not move in Batavia, not because the Ning Navy suffered heavy losses, but because the main fleet of the Ning Navy needed to threaten the Dutch in Batavia.

At this time, Zheng's fleet was divided into four sub-fleets by Cheng Shijie, which were led by Hong Xu, Song Fuguo, Shi Daxuan and Zheng Cai, of course, the strongest of these four people was Shi Daxuan, followed by Hong Xu, Zheng Cai and Song Fuguo were the weakest.

Although the main force to pursue Zheng Zhilong is actually the Zheng fleet, however, once a son of heaven and a courtier, these Zheng fleets will not be polite to Zheng Zhilong, and they are still waiting to take Zheng Zhilong's head to ask for credit.

There are too many islands that have survived the East Indies, and Zheng Zhilong used the islands to jump out of the pursuit of the pursuing fleet, and now he is located in the waters of the South China Sea.

After a long period of pursuit, it was impossible to say that Hong Xu and the others were not tired, and finally the leaders of the four fleets met.

Hong Xu said straight to the point: "Guogong herald, have you received it?" ”

"Roger!"

Shi Daxuan smiled bitterly: "Let's assemble at Subic Port and wait for reorganization!" What does this mean? ”

"If you want me to say, we don't have to think too much!"

Song Fuguo took a bag of wine, poured a big sip, and there were red wine stains in his mouth, he wiped his mouth and said: "Back then, the Guogong reorganized the Denglai Water Division, and most of the generals of the Denglai Water Division were retained, except for those who drank the blood of the soldiers, and later, he annexed the Dongjiang Army and the Water Division, and almost all the generals were retained, we ......"

Zheng Cai smiled bitterly: "I heard that some people were beheaded by Hai Guogong because they drank the blood of soldiers, if you want to drink the blood of soldiers, one of us counts as one, and no one can escape!" ”

Shi Daxuan looked at Zheng Cai and said, "What do you mean?"

"Guogong naturally doesn't care about us small fish and shrimp, the most important thing is that we have to take credit!"

"But we have been catching up for so long, but there is no trace of Zheng Zhilong!"

"We can go to Fujian and arrest Zheng Zhilong's son and wife!"

If this sentence is said by others, I am afraid it will not be surprising, but it is Zheng Cai who said this, you must know that the relationship between Zheng Cai and Zheng Zhilong is very close to outsiders.

Of course, this is only a superficial phenomenon, Zheng Zhilong actually doesn't like his fourth brother Zheng Zhifeng, that is, Zheng Hongkui, but Zheng Cai has a good relationship with Zheng Hongkui.

Shi Daxuan and a few others had no opinion, and the four of them hit it off and decided to go to Fujian.

More than 160 warships sailed towards the north, and the movement was naturally not small, and Zheng Zhilong soon received the news, Zheng Zhibao looked at Zheng Zhilong and said, "Big brother, what should we do now?" ”

"If you want to sell me, you don't have any doors!"

"Big brother, let's go back to Fujian, our Zheng family has been running Fujian for so many years, and we have a deep foundation, as long as our warships appear in the port of Xiamen, the people of Fujian will inevitably respond in droves......"

"Think beautifully!"

Zheng Zhilong was not as confident as Zheng Zhibao, he looked at Zheng Zhibao and said, "If I surrender to Cheng Shijie, will he kill me?" ”

"How is it possible, as long as Cheng Shijie is not stupid, he will definitely not move the eldest brother, but the eldest brother, if you surrender to Cheng Shijie, it will be all over, power and wealth, don't think about it!"

"So far, I think of Xiang Yu and refuse to cross Jiangdong!"

Zheng Zhilong said with a wry smile on his face: "I finally understand now that Xiang Yu obviously escaped from the siege of Xiaxia, and obviously had the opportunity to return to Jiangdong, but he didn't go back!" ”

"Why?"

"Because the state of Chu is no longer Xiang Yu's state of Chu!"

Zheng Zhilong said lightly: "The world says that Fujian is our Zheng family's Fujian, but in fact? How much land did our Zheng family occupy in Fujian and how many people did we offend? Usually they are afraid of the strength of our Zheng clan, even if they have suffering, they don't dare to complain, but now that we are defeated, even if we go back to Fujian, we will not be able to make a comeback! ”

Historically, when he was embattled, Xiang Yu realized that he had betrayed his relatives and left, Xiang Yu has been very naïve politically to divide the princes of the Eighteen Roads, and want to be the son of Zhou Tianzi, but the problem is that the common people are afraid of the hundreds of years of melee in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and they desperately need a peaceful environment to dominate the world.

Until the continuous flight of the Chu army, Xiang Yu came to Wujiang with dozens of remnants of the defeated generals, Jiangdong is his hometown, but at this time, Xiang Yu woke up, even if Liu Bang let himself cross the river, the state of Chu is no longer his own state of Chu. This is the sense of crisis that Xiang Yu felt from the bottom of his heart, and it is also Xiang Yu's biggest secret when he discovered Liu Bang. In Xiang Yu's opinion, it is better to apologize for the crime with death than this.

Xiang Yu first killed his beloved concubine, and then directly drew his sword and killed himself.

Zheng Zhilong is not Xiang Yu, the overlord of Chu, he does not have the courage to commit suicide, he decided to surrender in exchange for a chance to survive, even as a prisoner, it is better than death.

How did Cheng Shijie treat him? If he wins the hearts of the people, he will only have a dead end, and now Zheng Zhilong is also a traitor, but he can have a chance to live.

This is like in the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the unpopular Wang Shichong had no threat to the Tang Dynasty, he could live and be treated well, but Dou Jiande could only kill a desperate future because he was in the land of 39 states in Hebei.

In December of the seventh year of Chongzhen, on the 19th, Cheng Shijie rode on the battleship Beizhili, the battleship sailing with full sails stirred up white waves on the sea, and Cheng Shijie's python flag and the battle flag of the Ning Navy were hunting and fluttering in the sea breeze.

After leaving Batavia, Cheng Shijie is also like an arrow, after all, he has left Liaodong for a long time, different from land on the sea, he can go back at any time on land, but the problem is not at sea, the ship must be stopped, otherwise it will fall into the sea if it appears again.

In the South China Sea, when the warships of the Ning Navy appeared in sight, the thirty warships under the command of Zheng Zhilong were also lined up.

Now at this time, the main battleship of the Ning Navy has rushed over in a wild goose formation, and the more tacit cooperation and the resolute style make Zheng Zhilong have to sigh that he was unjustly defeated.

Zheng Zhilong shouted: "Everyone must not act rashly, without my order, the cannon is not allowed to be loaded!" ”

After discovering Zheng Zhilong, the Ning Navy fleet immediately let the Beizhili battleship move back, and the other battleships quickly moved forward with full sails, and there were still five or six kilometers away, but Zheng Zhilong's thirty battleships were hung with white flags.

"Great Marshal, Zheng Zhilong's remnant fleet has hoisted a white flag!"

Li Zhixiang said with some unease: "Will there be fraud?" ”

"If they're tired of living, just give me a trick."

Cheng Shijie didn't care.

Soon, all of Zheng Zhilong's thirty warships dropped anchor and lowered their sails, and all the Zheng soldiers were also relieved, and finally they didn't have to fight, with the terrifying range and accuracy of the guns of the battleships of the Ning Navy, they had already been beaten out of the shadow in their hearts. If they were to fight with the battleships of the Ning Navy, it would be almost like letting them stretch their necks and be slaughtered.

Looking at the relieved soldiers beside him, Zheng Zhilong also knew that now he was like Xiang Yu in the siege of Xia, the army's heart was scattered, and he was still a fart.

Surrender is also a matter of sticking out the head and shrinking the head. However, Zheng Zhilong was a bachelor, and he had to admit his mistakes and stand up when he was beaten, so he got on the boat and sailed to the battleship Beizhili.

At this time, Cheng Shijie was sitting on the deck, Zheng Zhilong boarded the battleship and came to Cheng Shijie's position of more than ten steps, of course, the Ning Navy soldiers had already searched Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhibao, and there was no blade on their bodies.

Zheng Zhilong knelt down and said seriously: "The old man is ignorant, arrogant, and self-conscious, he has offended the Guogong, please send the Guogong down!" ”

The current Zheng Zhilong is no longer the raptor who worked hard in the stormy waves when he was young, and dared to fight with Xiyi, Daming Sailor and pirates on three sides.

Zheng Zhilong was not willing to admit defeat, but the problem was that the battleships of the Ning Navy were fast and the guns had a long range, so he tried everything he could, but there was no way to take the battleships of the Ning Navy.

The reason why the Dutch East India Company did not dare to start a war with the Ning Navy was because the Ning Navy had a strong production capacity, even if it was to gather all the warships of the Dutch East India Company and fight with the Ning Navy, the problem was that their chances of winning were not high, and they also had great problems at home.

Of course, Zheng Zhilong also saw the warships of the Ning Navy, originally they only had more than 60 warships, and in less than a year, the warships of the Ning Navy had expanded by nearly half, and the more the warships were built, the more accurate the naval guns were.

If he continues to fight, he has no chance of winning, in despair, he is a little disheartened, Zheng Zhilong doesn't want to toss anymore, he just wants to keep this comfortable and comfortable life and find a way out for his son.

If a person has lost the fighting spirit of becoming stronger and stronger, and only plans for his son's future, it can only prove that he is old.

It's just that his invincible prestige is still there for more than ten years, and no force dares to challenge him, and the Zheng Group has maintained an upward trend under his leadership.

In fact, if Zheng Zhilong had not surrendered to the Manchus in history, the Zheng fleet under his command, relying on more than 200,000 army troops and 3,000 or 4,000 warships, might not have been able to blockade the Yellow River, but there would have been no problem at all in blockading the Yangtze River.

It's a pity that Zheng Zhilong has no fighting spirit and is cowardly before fighting.

However, in this time and space, Zheng Zhilong unfortunately met Cheng Shijie, and met the Ning Haijun Group that swept from the north with a cold wind.

Facing an opponent who has an overwhelming advantage in both mentality and equipment technology, what can Zheng Zhilong, who has lost his sharpness, do except admit defeat?

Zheng Zhilong looked at Zheng Zhibao still standing, and hurriedly said, "Idiot, don't kneel down yet!" ”

Zheng Zhibao still wanted to speak, but when Zheng Zhilong stared at him like this, he trembled all over his body and quickly knelt down.

Everyone turned their eyes to Cheng Shijie and waited for him to fall.

is very calm, without the slightest pride in defeating a strong enemy, this kind of calm makes Zheng Zhilong more uncomfortable than complacency, maybe in Cheng Shijie's eyes, he can't be regarded as a strong enemy at all, this is too shocking.

Indeed, as Zheng Zhilong imagined in his heart, Cheng Shijie did not regard Zheng Zhilong as a strong enemy, because he was not qualified, even if the Dutch sea horseman who is now in the middle of the sky, and the Royal Navy of Great Britain that has not yet had time to rise, are Cheng Shijie's real enemies.

However, Cheng Shijie didn't embarrass Zheng Zhilong much, and said lightly: "Admiral Zheng, get up, you and I are both officials of the imperial court, which is really indecent." ”

Zheng Zhilong didn't dare to get up, and his forehead touched the deck all the way: "The sin will be obsessed, listen to rumors and rob merchant ships, slaughter maritime merchants, the sin is heavy, please surrender the crime!" ”

Cheng Shijie said: "The dead can't survive, don't mention the past again, go back and admit your mistake to the victim's family, and each person will pay 1,000 taels of silver, and this matter will be revealed." ”

Zheng Zhilong secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "The prince of the country is magnanimous, and the sin will be unforgettable!" I don't know how Guogong plans to send us? ”

"You can't stay in Fujian, go to Liaodong to retire and enjoy the blessings."

Cheng Shijie looked at Zheng Zhilong and said: "You yourself resign from the imperial court, resign from all official positions, and move your family to Liaodong, the generals of your Zheng fleet, all your sons and nephews will follow Ben Shuai to experience, as for how much success they can have in the future, it depends on their own ability." ”

At this time, with Zheng Zhilong's kneeling, the war between the Ning Navy Group and the Zheng Group officially ended, and in this earth-shattering war, the Zheng Group, which had dominated the East China Sea and the South China Sea for more than ten years, was defeated in front of the Ning Navy Group, and simply handed over the position of maritime hegemon.

Since then, the Zheng Group has officially become history, and the Ning Navy has finally opened the road to the South Seas, and a broader world is presented in front of them, and they will use the foundation laid by Zheng Zhilong as a springboard to blow the horn of marching to the ocean, stirring the western Pacific Ocean with its endless energy, and setting off stormy waves.

They did not know that this force that had come out of the thick and vast land of the Central Plains was about to smash the maritime hegemony that they had worked so hard to build up over hundreds of years, and completely bury the self-confidence and ambition that Europe had accumulated little by little through the Renaissance.

However, the most important thing at the moment is to integrate the forces of the Zheng clan, and with the surrender of Zheng Zhilong, all the army units of the Zheng clan will be carried by warships or armed merchant ships, along with their families, to move to Luzon and be reorganized in Luzon.

Cheng Shijie's original plan to return was once again shelved.

For the reorganization of all the armies of the Zheng Group, starting with the Army, in Cheng Shijie's eyes, most of the Army units of the Zheng Group are unqualified.

Whether we are qualified or not, we still need to see whether we can withstand the military test of the Ning Navy.

When the Zheng troops arrived in Luzon, the soldiers and generals of the Zheng army did not feel the decadent feeling of defeat at all, but were elated.

"Well, have you heard? Ning Navy soldiers also have military pay! ”

"Cut, who doesn't know, the most ordinary soldier in the Ning Navy is one or two or five dollars a month!"

"Their cavalry, scouts, and hoplites are two taels of silver per month, and the artillery is two taels of silver, and the officers are even higher!"

"They also divide the house!"

"They are issued four sets of military uniforms and four pairs of boots every year......"

"You can't take the military uniforms sent down home, the military uniforms of the Ning Navy can only be worn by soldiers, and if the people wear them, they will be punished!"

"I heard that the families of the army during the New Year's holidays should also get some condolences such as rice noodles, wine and meat!"

"What is a condolence item, do you know? If you are killed in battle, the families of the fallen soldiers can receive a pension of forty taels of silver and one hundred acres of land; These 100 acres of land can be heirlooms, exempt from tax for five years, and taxed for ten and a half years! ”

"No wonder those Ning Haijun are not afraid of death, with this good thing, I am not afraid of death!"

……

The soldiers of the Zheng group, in fact, are treated almost the same as ordinary soldiers of the Ming army, basically half-dead, Zheng Zhilong has a lot of silver in his hands, but he is reluctant to spend it on the soldiers, and most of his silver income is saved or spent by himself.

The cost of feeding soldiers is higher than that of the Ming Dynasty government, but the treatment is only a little better than that of ordinary soldiers, and only when they are really desperate, they will be rewarded heavily.

For example, when Zheng Zhilong ordered the fireboat to attack, this kind of death squad sometimes gave 100 taels of silver, and sometimes gave 200 taels of silver.

When they are not fighting in peacetime, the soldiers of the Zheng group are also half-dead, starving, and not eating well.

On the first day of coming to Luzon, these army soldiers of the Zheng group felt the pride of the Ning Navy, and more than 600 stoves were built in a row on the port square established by the Spaniards.

Fortunately, the Ning Navy took the lead in selecting the Zheng Group's gang leader, and after about 6,000 Zheng Group cooks were dismissed, the old, weak, sick and disabled, more than 4,000 people were left to change into the military uniforms of the Ning Navy and officially became Ning Navy soldiers.

Together with the cooks of the Ning Navy, they began to cook.

More than 600 stoves, full firepower, and the scene of six or seven thousand cooking soldiers cooking together opened the eyes of the soldiers of the Zheng group, and it was the first time that they had assembled on a large scale.

Thanks to the abundance of products in Luzon, the food level of these Zheng group soldiers is even better than that of the regular army of the Ning Navy in Liaodong, there is no way, there is no shortage of fruits in Luzon, what fruits such as pineapples, bananas, apples, kiwifruit, etc., it is not easy to see in Liaodong.

Soon the soldiers of the Zheng Group Army received the notice to eat, they took the lunch box and began to line up to make rice, whether it was steamed bread or rice, all of them were enough.

However, most of the army soldiers of the Zheng group are southerners and like to eat rice, and most of them do not like to eat steamed buns, steamed buns, and noodles, which is more convenient.

The discipline of the soldiers of the Zheng group was not very good, and they were huddled together, and the Ning Navy soldiers, who were so angry that they were in charge of managing order, picked up the whip and gave them a sharp whip, and it was not easy for them to be honest.

The soldiers of the Zheng group who received the meal didn't care about the heat, and found a place to squat and snort and eat, grinning and smiling, and said that they had eaten well in this life.

After eating, there is fresh milk, you can drink milk tea, or pure milk, and when you have eaten and drunk enough, these soldiers will start to stand in a military posture in a team of 100 people.

On the school ground, the black battle flag of the Ning Navy was hunting and flying in the wind, and tens of thousands of soldiers of the Zheng Group were standing in formation, holding their heads high and not squinting.

The instructors of the Ning Navy in the team walked back and forth among the soldiers with their whips, and said to the soldiers: "Do you want to become real Ning Navy soldiers? ”

"Yes!"

"The idea is very good, but Ning Haijun doesn't collect waste!"

The instructors continued, "You'd better be aggressive! ”

Time passed minute by minute, no one spoke, no one moved, tens of thousands of people were like thousands of wooden stakes.

Anyone who has stood in a military posture knows how uncomfortable this is, and Ning Haijun's unique black military uniform has a first-class heat-absorbing effect, under the scorching sun, sweating one by one, coupled with the mosquito bites in Luzon, the itchy taste penetrates the bone marrow, so that those soldiers of the Zheng Group only want to slap them into meatloaf.

But no one dared to move, because just opposite them, more than a few thousand veterans of the Ning Navy stood under the scorching sun and were fully armed, and they were exposed to the sun with them.

These veterans stood on the grass, where there were more mosquitoes, and their stomachs were swollen when they were biting in the face, but no one moved, like a group of unconscious wooden people!

Li Zhixiang looked at these barely supported soldiers and said, "Marshal, the quality of these soldiers is too poor!" ”

"If you don't meet the requirements, you will disrupt them, and let them form a tuntian soldier in Luzon!"

"If too many people are eliminated at one time, I'm afraid it will ...... They will be dissatisfied! ”

"Ben Shuai didn't open a good hall, how can he have so much money to raise soldiers?"

"It's better to cut the ...... treatment"

"Don't even think about it!"

Cheng Shijie said: "First from the old, weak, sick and disabled to eliminate, and then from the discipline of elimination, and then military training, every three months assessment, among these stinky fish and rotten shrimp, I don't know how many can pass!" ”

"What about the Navy?"

"Same pattern!"

Cheng Shijie said lightly: "Our Ning Navy would rather be lacking than excessive, but we must put the navy in Liaodong for assessment, first train on land, and if we can't hold on, we will throw it to the Tuntian Army to Tuntian!" ”

Just started the first training in the military posture, which made the soldiers of the Zheng Group complain, however, no matter how hard and tired they were, few people were willing to take the initiative to quit.

Because of being a soldier in the Ninghai Navy, the benefits are simply great.

Just when Cheng Shijie was reorganizing the Zheng group in Luzon, the news of Zheng Zhilong's surrender to Cheng Shijie also spread.

(End of chapter)