Chapter 156 Secret Meeting

The Ming Dynasty and Zhengzhou made a series of deployments earlier and with greater intensity than in the original history. Unsurprisingly, they caught the Dutch by surprise. In the original history, they simply succumbed to Zheng Chenggong's trade sanctions in just one year. Nowadays, under multiple attacks, there is almost no possibility of confrontation.

After all, this is the sea area where Ming and Zheng have an absolute advantage, and the Dutch are afraid of it after all. In the original history, the Dutch governor of Batavia and the Dutch governor of Taiwan thought that Zheng Chenggong had repeatedly failed in the war against the Qing Dynasty. It is only through threats and intimidation that we dare not actually implement trade sanctions that kill a thousand enemies and damage ourselves by eight hundred, so we take the risk of openly disobeying the "trade ban" imposed by the country's surname.

But they ultimately paid a huge price for this stupid decision. Guo Xingye's determination to defend Ming and Zheng's maritime authority and strong commercial strength were beyond their estimation. This is why Western missionaries call Guo Xingye " "Lord and Ruler of the Sea".

The final result of the "Zheng-Dutch Trade War" is obvious: the Dutch's entire trading system in the East has suffered a heavy blow. Not only can they no longer obtain gold from the Ming Dynasty, but their originally best-selling products have also been squeezed out in large quantities. Taiwan has even fallen into a situation of daily necessities. Scarcity, the point where products are unsalable and overstocked.

Not only did the Ming Dynasty and Zheng Dynasty fail to maintain their war against the Qing Dynasty because the trade ban cut off their financial resources, as the Dutch inferred, but they also prepared for a massive Northern Expedition during this period. If it hadn't been for the strong winds at sea in the Yangshan Sea area. , the fleet suffered huge losses. We are well prepared this time, and the final success or failure of the 200,000-strong Northern Expedition is still unknown.

As a result, one year after the Ming-Zheng trade ban was promulgated, the Dutch governor of Taiwan had to send He Bin, an old subordinate of the Zheng family, to the Zhongzuo Institute to "beg for peace" and express his willingness: "Five thousand taels of silver will be delivered annually, and ten arrows will be sent." "Ten thousand sticks, thousand loads of sulfur", I just hope that Ming and Zheng can contact the trade blockade.

This is where Zheng Chenggong's confidence lies now. The Dutch really dare to fall out with him directly, and he doesn't mind letting them know that the reason why this sea area in the east is calm is because it has the surname Zheng.

Zheng Hongkui, who was in charge of Ming and Zheng's maritime trade, was undoubtedly the most supportive force within the Ming and Zheng systems. The more Ming and Zheng invested in attacking the Dutch, the more budget and power he would have. Supervisor Zheng Tai " After "Commercial Affairs Department", the days of lying down to make money and reaching out for money have already made him itchy.

Of course, in addition to these internal dissensions, Zheng Hongkui was once a powerful man and his mind was not that small. When he realized that there was another sea in the world, the desire to conquer in his heart was rekindled. Defeating the Dutch, expelling the Spanish, and completely controlling Nanyang is the first step.

This is Zheng Chenggong’s plan, and it is also the achievement that Zheng Hongkui currently dreams of establishing. With Fujian and even the entire Ming and Zheng Dynasties as his backing, Zheng Hongkui is undoubtedly more confident.

After the three people secretly discussed the basic strategy for dealing with the Dutch, Zheng Hongkui immediately left the Yanping Palace. He still needed to implement the details with his men and come up with a complete and feasible plan, and then ask the Yanping Palace to send officials to cooperate with the negotiations.

Both parties should work together to maximize their interests.

After all, "Zheng's Sea Trading" is an independent commercial trading company. After its interests are damaged, the Yanping Palace represents the Ming Dynasty to help them handle foreign affairs and maintain navigation regulations. This layer of window paper is difficult to pierce.

Not long after Zheng Hongkui left, Huang Shan, Gan Hui, Wang Xiuqi, and Zhou Quanbin also came to Zheng Chenggong's study. Feng Chengshi was still in the study at this time, but Cai Fu withdrew after welcoming them in.

It was already mid-April of the eighth year of Yongli. Not only did the Dutch send letters to Zheng Chenggong, but brothers Li Dingguo and Sun Kewang also sent letters to Zheng Chenggong. Huangshan, Gan Hui, Wang Xiuqi, and Zhou Quanbin, the four Ming Dynasty Zhengs,

The highest-level officials, second only to Zheng Chenggong in terms of military organization, gathered here for a meeting, naturally for this matter.

Of course, compared to the "Zheng's Sea Trade" layer of window paper that was difficult to penetrate in the maritime trade war, Li Dingguo and Sun Kewang, as well as Emperor Yongli who was far away in Anlong, Guizhou, were more sensitive within the Ming and Zheng Dynasties.
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Zheng Chenggong wanted to pull the banner of the Ming Dynasty to unify the internal affairs and unite the people's hearts, but he did not want to be involved in the disputes between the Sun and Li brothers, let alone take over the hot potato of Yongli. He worked hard to unify, with him as the core

The bureaucracy is not yet stable enough, and cracks may appear again over time. In particular, those officials who have been frustrated in the rectification are likely to take the opportunity to make noise.

In this era, the influence of the orthodox emperor cannot be ignored. And it is precisely because of this that there was today's "Secret Meeting of Six" related to the next military actions and diplomatic strategies of Ming and Zheng.
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"Li Dingguo plans to raid Guangzhou at the end of the month. He wants us to send troops from Huizhou to capture Conghua, Shunde and other places, contain or even destroy Shang Geng's Qing navy, and then besiege the south and east walls of Guangzhou City.

He said he would send Gao Wengui to take down Qingyuan."

The first thing Zheng Chenggong talked about was the letter from Li Dingguo, who was closest to him and had the greatest stakes. If Li Dingguo could capture Guangzhou, then Zhou Quanbin's three battalions of troops would be freed from Huizhou and devoted to the battlefield in northern Fujian. This would

This is what Zheng Chenggong and Zhou Quanbin both want to see.

"Although most of the main force of the Qing army in Huguang has withdrawn north to recuperate, they have sent thousands of additional Eight Banners soldiers to Guangzhou City. Although they are all Mongolian Tatars drawn from the north, their combat skills and military formations are not as good as those of Manchuria.

The Tatars are definitely no worse than Gaodi's green camp soldiers. Moreover, the troops of Shang Geng and the Second Fan have been greatly supplemented in the past half year. It may be difficult for Li Dingguo alone to capture the city of Guangzhou."
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Zhou Quanbin has been maintaining high-intensity reconnaissance in the direction of Guangzhou on the Huizhou front. The Military Intelligence Department had just ended the "Guangzhou War" last year and the northern Guangdong region was still in chaos. It had already taken the opportunity to send spies to penetrate into Shaozhou and southern Guangdong.

Naturally, the large-scale mobilization of the Qing army in Xiong Er Mansion could not be hidden from Zheng Chenggong's eyes, and it had already been known to the relevant generals through deductions at the General Staff Headquarters.

"Lord, the general has been training in Huizhou for a long time, and the Nanyang Navy has also been training for a long time. It is just a good opportunity to go to Guangzhou for some actual combat. With Li Dingguo here, Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao probably don't dare to leave the city.

We can use this to embolden the recruits and boost their morale."

"This is indeed a good opportunity to train troops." Zheng Chenggong nodded, but then he threw out another letter and sneered: "But someone doesn't want us to fight the Tatars with Li Dingguo, and they even drew a big picture for us.

You want us to send troops to the Northern Expedition."

Zhou Quanbin immediately picked up the letter paper on the table and quickly read it. Feng Chengshi and Gan Hui on the side had already read it. Gan Hui shook his head and said:

"Sun Kewang wants to take advantage of the fact that the main force of Tunqi has been withdrawn and Hong Chengchou's 'five battalions and four towns' defense system has not yet been consolidated, to replicate Li Dingguo's record of going to Yunnan two years ago and regaining thousands of miles of land. Li Dingguo devoted all his efforts to fight

Guangzhou, if we contain the Qing army from another place, it will be much easier for him. It is not impossible to capture the strategic places of Changsha, Yueyang, Jingzhou, and Wuchang in one fell swoop, and to capture the entire Huguang."

Li Dingguo's great victory in Yunnan two years ago, including Feng Shuangli's actions a year earlier, as well as the Battle of Guilin, the Battle of Hengyang, Liu Wenxiu's counterattack in Sichuan, and the Battle of Baoning, were all deduced countless times by the General Staff Headquarters.

Gan Hui was already familiar with the war examples to the point where he could recite the key points in his dreams, so he immediately thought of Sun Kewang's strategic intention.

And Huangshan had just read the letter written by Li Dingguo to Zheng Chenggong and handed it to Wang Xiuqi. He then took another letter from Zhou Quanbin, which was written by Sun Kewang to Zheng Chenggong. The Ming Dynasty and Zheng Chenggong, who were rising rapidly in the southeast, had become

It became a powerful force that all parties had to pay attention to, which made Huangshan, who almost sacrificed his life for the cause of Ming and Zheng, and climbed to the high position today, couldn't help but feel a little proud.

"The current situation is indeed similar to that of the past, and even more favorable than before. Sun Kewang only needs to annihilate the main force of Hong Chengchou's Green Camp Army before the main force of the Qing army goes south, and capture Changde, Changsha, Yueyang, Jingzhou, and Wuchang temporarily.

If you don’t come down, there will be opportunities in the future.”

"Moreover, if this opportunity is missed, when the main force of the Eight Banners from Beijing moves south again by the end of this year, Sun Kewang may be trapped and die in the mountains of Yunnan and Guizhou." Zhou Quanbin also added immediately.

"Do you all think that Sun Kewang will definitely send troops this year?" Zheng Chenggong smiled and asked suddenly.

"..." The other five people in the room were stunned for a moment when they heard such a question, as if they couldn't believe their ears.

After all, if Sun Kewang didn't fight, he would be seeking death. Once he lost this opportunity, it would be difficult for him to break through the Qing government's southwest defense line. They didn't think that Sun Kewang would not think of problems that they could think of.

"If Sun Kewang doesn't plan to send troops, why bother to write a special letter to invite the feudal lord to send troops to the Northern Expedition and join forces on the Yangtze River?" Gan Hui was quite puzzled, "Moreover, this was done by Mr. Qian and had been settled for a long time. Zhang Mingzhen got it

The intelligence also confirmed this."

Originally, Zheng Chenggong wanted to bring Qian Qianyi and Gu Yanwu to Zhangzhou, but the other party had been closely monitored by the Qing army, and the Military Intelligence Department was not sure that the operation would be successful. Moreover, Zheng Chenggong's teacher was too involved in the southeast.

, once it is discovered that he has come to Zhangzhou, many people may be imprisoned and suffered, and he is not willing to leave.

However, Zhang Mingzhen's current military operations in the Chongming-Zhoushan-Taihu area are very impressive, and the Ming and Zheng Dynasties have successively won in the southeast. Many of the green camp troops and generals stationed in the Jiangnan area have been shaken, which gave Qian Qianyi

More opportunities to connect and gain intelligence.

"The relationship between Sun and Li has been deteriorating since the Battle of Guilin. After the farce at the beginning of this year, it has reached the point of almost falling out. Now Sun Kewang has written a secret letter, which should be to win over the feudal lord. If he breaks the promise,

Wouldn't putting the feudal lord in a disadvantageous position prompt us to form an alliance with Li Dingguo?" Feng Chengshi also did not agree with Zheng Chenggong's conjecture.

Not only that, Huang Shan, Zhou Quanbin, and Wang Xiuqi also raised their own doubts. The changes in Zheng Chenggong's style and mind have been truly felt by these confidants in the past two years, and have affected their reactions during discussions. In everyone's mind

When raising questions, there are no longer so many worries other than whether the matter is right or wrong.

Of course, language consideration is still necessary. Speaking to a big leader is still the biggest leader. Speaking rashly is also a mistake in itself.

"This vassal is not saying that Sun Kewang is deliberately playing tricks on this vassal, but after the failure of the battle at the fork in the road, Sun Kewang attacked Li Dingguo from behind, and the result was a failure. It can be said to be embarrassing. Now that His Majesty is ready to make another move in Anlong, Sun Kewang's men are uneasy.

, I’m afraid he wouldn’t dare to leave Yunnan and Guizhou and lead his troops to fight in person.”

What makes Zheng Chenggong even more powerful than the Military Intelligence Department, which invests more than 200,000 taels of silver every year, is that he has a very good understanding of the current situation of these core figures who can affect the course of history. This is not something that the intelligence system of this era can do.

"If it were anyone else, besides Liu Wenxiu, who else would have the ability to ask Sun Kewang to hand over tens of thousands of his main army and fight the Qing army's Eight Banners main force? But is Liu Wenxiu really willing to sacrifice his life for him? Two years ago,

He directly took away the military power of this good brother, beat him and demoted him back to Kunming to live there."

"What the feudal lord means is that Xiying will once again miss the opportunity to seize Huguang due to brotherly discord, and it will also be the last chance?" Feng Chengshi reacted the fastest, and Huangshan, who had already spoken, had to swallow it back.

Instead he said:

"Then Sun Kewang, the King of Qin, must have failed too much. All the love between the three Xiying brothers for so many years has been exhausted by him in just two years."

"If it weren't for the prestige he had accumulated over the years and kept doing this again and again, I'm afraid even his subordinates might not obey him now. The lord has been telling us that everything must be done according to the name and be justified.

, Isn’t that why people can’t find faults?” Gan Hui also said from the sidelines. He admired Li Dingguo very much and naturally had no good impression of Sun Kewang.

"Of course, this is only a possibility. It's not impossible if Sun Kewang can really persuade Liu Wenxiu to work for him." Zheng Chenggong smiled, changed the topic, and then said:

"But we don't need to take this risk. When Li Dingguo sends troops to Guangzhou, we must support him and train new recruits. This will also stabilize our rear. But don't worry about other things, and there is no need to attack the city.

Work hard, we are just there to fill up the numbers. This vassal is not here, Quan Bin, don't compete with Li Dingguo for the credit of the siege, and don't be regarded as a spearman, just keep aloof from him.

Don’t pay any attention to what Sun Kewang said. He still has nothing to do with us. As for sending troops to the Northern Expedition and joining forces on the Yangtze River, this vassal has no intention of getting involved. But since Sun Kewang has made a request, we have to make some noise in Fujian, and Admiral Wang just sent troops.

Take Zhangbei, Tingzhou, Yanping, and Shaowu. If he really takes Wuchang, we will go to Jiangxi."

"In this way, the initiative is still in our hands. Anyway, sending troops to Guangzhou to assist in the war and attacking the mainland are all our established plans." Of course Huangshan knew Zheng Chenggong's thoughts, and he also felt that Ming Zheng would stick to his original plan and capture the mainland first.

Ba Min is the foundation, but on the surface, they do a good job and maintain a good relationship with both parties. They just don't get involved in the entanglements between the three brothers to avoid being cheated by them.

"Moreover, Zhang Mingzhen can continue to make some noise in Chongming. At worst, he will go deep into the Yangtze River again and fire a few cannons into Nanjing City. Sun Kewang can't say anything to us. No matter which of the two brothers has made progress, we can all go up and cooperate.

, so as not to lose the opportunity, they will not reject such a powerful ally like us."

"The situation in the world is like this. Although the three brothers have hundreds of thousands of troops, it is useless if they do not unite as one. Your Majesty is far away in Anlong, and we can't do anything even if we want to. Besides, Sun Kewang is also considered a hero for a while, so he should not be crazy.

To that extent." Feng Chengshi said immediately.

Several people in the room were more or less aware of Sun Kewang's wild ambitions, and they also understood Zheng Chenggong's attitude towards Yongli. The safety of Emperor Yongli was originally their first consideration as courtiers. But just like Li Dingguo, they did not need Yongli.

When he is there, he is safe, and he will naturally go to rescue him when needed.

"This is the intention of this vassal. The rear army will use troops against Huizhou, and the right army will use troops against Zhangbei, Tingjun, and Yanping. This vassal will send the Huwei battalion to help. When the time comes, Li Dingguo and Sun Kewang will be able to explain to both sides. If

If these brothers work together, we can really prepare for the Northern Expedition directly. It is not impossible to join forces with the Yangtze River by then.

As for His Majesty, Sun Kewang will not act rashly until he has established new achievements and gained the prestige needed to proclaim himself emperor. Your Majesty must be in peace now. In short, as long as we continue to win and restrain Sun Kewang, His Majesty's safety will be fine.

”

Zheng Chenggong spoke again, clarifying the military operations in the next two directions, foreign strategies, and attitude towards Emperor Yongli. Of course, this was the way of expression at the six-person meeting. When it came time to formally issue it to all military departments,
Chapter completed!