Chapter 375 Liu Xiang’s Envoy

Of course, Zheng Zhilong's history of changing families did not end here. After spending several years defeating the Dutch and integrating internal forces, Zheng Zhilong completely controlled the Taiwan Strait and established a colonial area belonging to the Zheng family on Taiwan Island.

In 1644, the small court of Nanming, which was about to be destroyed by a wild boar skin, canonized Zheng Zhilong as Nan'an Bo, responsible for the anti-Qing affairs in Fujian Province. The next year, he was also named Nan'an Marquis, taking control of all the military power of Nanming. However, these

Even the rewards could not save Zheng Zhilong's integrity, which was already in arrears. In 1646, he began to take the initiative to negotiate surrender with the victorious Qing Dynasty. It was at this time that his son Zheng Chenggong, who later became a national hero, finally fell out with him.

, led his troops to sea to fight against the Qing Dynasty, which can be regarded as saving the reputation of the Zheng family.

Zheng Zhilong, who surrendered to the Qing army, eventually suffered retaliation for his many unjust acts. In 1655, he was impeached for treason and was stripped of his rank and imprisoned. A few years later, he was sentenced to exile in Ningguta. When Shunzhi died in 1661, Zheng Zhilong and his relatives

He was beheaded by the auxiliary minister Suk Saha in public, and this was the end of his rich life.

From the beginning to the end, Zheng Zhilong was never loyal to any boss or any force. Everything he did was for his own benefit, and he repeated surrenders and betrayals almost throughout his life. For such a character, the Executive Committee

I would never trust him to cooperate with me. No one can guarantee that this guy who can fall out faster than he can flip through a book will suddenly cause trouble if something is not right with him.

However, due to the relatively large gap in strength between the two sides, Haihan has been avoiding a head-on conflict with the "Eighteen Zhi". The main energy of the "Eighteen Zhi" is focused on dealing with Xu Xinsu. Previously,

There was no action against Haihan. This time the "Eighteen Zhi" sent an envoy to express their attitude to the Guangdong Office. It can be said that the relationship between the two parties has entered a new stage, and the confrontation has finally moved from underground to overt.

"Eighteen Zhi" is an opponent rather than a potential partner. This has already been agreed upon in the executive committee, so no one will consider changing their attitude towards "Eighteen Zhi". Now a decision needs to be made.

How to deal with conflicts that may arise.

"The Military Commission has made a response plan half a year ago, and it is revised every quarter based on our actual situation. Lao Yan, please tell everyone." After Tao Donglai clarified the direction of the discussion, he took the lead

The power was handed over to Yan Chujie.

"First of all, I want to make it clear that the cost of our action plans for various emergencies that may arise from the 'Eighteen Zhi' is outside the military budget, and the military confrontation with the 'Eighteen Zhi' will probably

There will not be as much gain as fighting South Vietnam, I hope you can understand this." Yan Chujie looked around at the crowd and said: "If there is a jam in military spending, it may affect the actual effect of the operation."

The military budget issue has always been a pain point for the military. According to the current budget rules, the implementation costs of various emergency plans formulated by the military are not included in the budget. Therefore, Yan Chujie must make ugly remarks in front of him to avoid taking action because of military expenditures.

Then discuss the issue with the relevant departments.

"This is not a problem. We can adopt an emergency budget plan for security projects in accordance with the current rules. There should be no objection from anyone here." Finance Minister Schneider immediately responded to this question. Of course, in fact, Schneider had discussed it with Tao Donglai before the meeting.

, Yan Chujie met and reached a tacit understanding on some key issues, so as to avoid further differences of opinion and delay in this kind of meeting that needs to make decisions as soon as possible.

"Then let me talk about the response plan we have formulated." Yan Chujie stood up and made a gesture, and militiamen immediately came up and hung a large map of the southeastern sea area on the wall in front of the conference room.

"Everyone, please look at this part of the area marked with a red pen." Yan Chujie raised his hand and pointed at the map. On this map, from the east of the Pearl River Estuary to Ningde at the northern end of Fujian, including the west coast of Taiwan, there are

It was surrounded by a conspicuous red circle.

"The area marked by the red line is currently the main scope of activity of the 'Eighteen Zhi'. It seems to be a large territory, right? But don't be too nervous. This is just their scope of activities, not the scope that can be actually controlled." Yan Chujie said.

He said, while drawing a slightly smaller circle within the red circle with his hand: "We previously thought that the forces of the 'Eighteen Zhi' had controlled Dapeng Bay east of the Pearl River Estuary, but after this period of observation

It seems that the scope of their control is constantly shrinking. The bandit leader Liu Xiang has withdrawn a large section from Dapeng Bay to the north and is currently based on Nan'ao Island outside Chaozhou. According to the analysis of the staff department, it is believed that during the 18th

The reason why Chi'an took the initiative to reduce the area of ​​control should be related to the unfavorable war situation in Fujian. They must concentrate their forces on the coastal waters of Fujian to maintain control of the Taiwan Strait waterway."

Yan Chujie continued: "Speaking of which, I must mention the current war situation in Fujian. Everyone knows that we have provided a lot of arms to the Xu Xinsu Group this year, and these arms have indeed helped the local Ming army defeat the '10s"

Ba Zhi's many attacks. However, Xu Xinsu's advantage can only stay on land for now. If they want to go to sea to fight, the entire Fujian navy tied together may not be able to defeat the 'Ba Zhi' with a large number of people on board. Therefore.

When it comes to uniting with Xu Xinsu to attack the Eighteen Zhi, he can hold back the Eighteen Zhi's forces to a certain extent, but it is unrealistic to expect them to go to sea and cooperate with us."

"As for our own naval strength, let me report it to all the executive committee members." Yan Chujie raised his finger and pointed at Wang Tom who was observing the meeting: "Tom, please tell everyone."

Wang Tom stood up and said: "Currently, there are two 'exploration-class' warships under the militia navy. Among them, the outfitting of the second ship has been completed and is in the trial acceptance stage. The eight 'exploration-class' warships have all been commissioned.

The above are the main combat ships, and there are also a total of 12 various supply ships, troop carriers, and reconnaissance ships. The sailors have a strength of 850, but there is still a shortage of gunner positions. The navy's manpower is now mainly stationed in Victory Port and

There is no problem with the security of ammunition and supplies at the two strongholds in Wanshan Port."

"Have the manpower at Kurotsuchi Port been included?" Ning Qi asked, interrupting.

"The combat force establishment of the Heitu Port Military District is organized separately. The water force there is now under the name of the Heitu Port Special Operations Battalion and is not included in the militia navy's establishment for the time being." Wang Tom explained to him.

Said: "Furthermore, the shipbuilding level of Black Earth Port is still relatively limited. Currently, there is no condition to build warships like the 'Exploration Class'. They can only use some small offshore ships to undertake daily patrols, troop transport and other combat tasks."

It is possible, but if it is a sea battle, the effect will be very worrying. Of course, if it is really necessary, we can also mobilize personnel there to participate in the operation."

After Tom Wang finished his introduction, Yan Chujie took over: "Our navy is enough to deal with South Vietnam, but compared with the maritime giant 'Eighteen Zhi', its strength is still too weak. Compared with pirates

, our warship artillery has a certain firepower advantage, but we cannot afford the loss of ships or soldiers, and it is too risky for us to face the enemy directly at sea. Therefore, the plan we have prepared is to build defense centered on the port stronghold.

net."

Yan Chujie pointed to the map and said: "We can clearly see from the map that the straight line between the actual control range of the 'Eighteen Zhi' and Sanya is more than 500 nautical miles. If we want to conduct military operations in the waters around Victory Port, it will take at least

It would take seven or eight days, and just the supplies needed on the journey would be quite troublesome. Moreover, this was a completely unfamiliar sea area for them, and it was almost impossible to formulate a battle plan in advance. Judging from the stalemate battle situation in Fujian,

It is unlikely that Zheng Zhilong will send a large fleet to attack our base camp at this juncture. However, Wanshan Port at the Pearl River Estuary may become their first target. After all, it is much closer to their control area.

.”

"You mean, if the 'Eighteen Zhi' wants to rebel against us, the most likely target to be attacked is Wanshan Port at the Pearl River Estuary?" Ren Liang asked.

Yan Chujie nodded and replied: "Yes, if the 'Eighteen Zhi' wants to deal with us, the most likely place to attack is Wanshan Port, which seems to be easier to attack, and there are merchant ships coming in and out of the area every day, so it is also difficult for the outside world to attack.

Is there any secret? As long as the people in Shibazhi are not deaf or blind, they should easily know that it is an important transshipment port for our trade with the mainland. It is also located in an excellent location and can monitor the waterways in and out of Guangzhou. Then

The old pirates will not fail to understand the meaning."

"So what is the action plan of the Military Commission?" Ren Liang asked next.

"The Military Commission believes that it is necessary to transfer combat ships to the Pearl River Estuary as soon as possible, and the scale of the militia stationed on the island also needs to be further increased. In addition, the relevant intelligence departments also need to be activated to collect as much as possible about the recent movements of the 'Eighteen Zhi'

information so that the military can make a correct judgment." Yan Chujie looked at the executive committee members present and said: "Everyone, the opponent this time is not South Vietnam, which had little power to fight back before, but one that can directly engage in military confrontation with the Ming Dynasty.

As for the armed forces, I hope everyone will pay enough attention to this and provide cooperation and support to the military."

At the end of the meeting, Yan Chujie actually did not introduce the deployment of troops and combat plans in detail to the executive committee members, because these things were too professional. If he had to explain them one by one to the executive committee members, this meeting would probably take two or three days.

Oh my god. The purpose of holding an emergency meeting was to unify everyone's ideological understanding, not a tactical discussion. Therefore, after passing the emergency budget, Tao Donglai announced that the meeting was over and all units began to prepare for war.

November 1, 1628, the sixth day of the tenth month of the first year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, Guangzhou City.

Liu Xin paced back and forth anxiously in the guest room, looking up at the sky outside the window from time to time - it was pouring rain outside, like the Milky Way hanging upside down, washing away the entire city of Guangzhou.

This sudden heavy rain has been falling for two days in a row, which is a clue to the drought situation near Guangzhou. However, this rain has come too late. It has already passed the season when grain fields need irrigation, and farmers who have gone bankrupt due to the lack of summer grain harvest have

, now this rain will not bring about any change in their lives. On the contrary, the strong wind and heavy rain have destroyed the thatched shacks of many poor families, causing more people to flee their homes.

But Liu Xin didn't care what consequences the rain would bring to the people. He only knew that the important task he shouldered had been delayed for two full days. Because of the heavy rain, all manned vehicles in Guangzhou were temporarily suspended.

The business was closed, so that Liu Xin could not go out of the city to visit the Haihan people's office in Guangdong Province - unless he was willing to roll up his trousers, wade through the almost full-feet-deep puddle outside the inn, and then step on the

Walking on muddy roads to visit.

Of course this is not possible. Even if Liu Xin doesn't care much about his own image, he still has to take into account the reputation of his boss - he came to negotiate with the Haihan people on behalf of Liu Xiang, one of the leaders of the "Eighteen Zhi".

The men who eat are all rough, but when you get ashore, you should not be too sloppy when it comes to your appearance, lest you be treated like a weakling who can't stand up to the stage.

Liu Xin attended a private school for a few days before joining the gang, and he could read and write. He was considered a literate person among the pirate gang, so he always acted as a staff member around Liu Xiang, making suggestions for Liu Xiang. A year ago, Haihan Cargo just

When it first appeared on the Guangdong market, he had already noticed it and suggested that Liu Xiang purchase such goods through underground channels and sell them to Fujian. However, because the shipment volume of Haihan goods at that time was very small and he was an exclusive agent, the market price

It was very in short supply, and Liu Xiang did not get much benefit from this smuggling business. As for the fact that Haihan arms were sold to Fujian through certain channels, Liu Xiang did not discover it, but did it out of his own considerations.

, unwilling to put these things on the table.

"Eighteen Zhi" is the most powerful pirate group on the southeast coast, but this pirate group is not dominated by Zheng Zhilong alone, but has more than a dozen leaders including Yang Tiansheng, Shi Daxuan, Zhong Bin, Li Guozhu, Liu Xiang, and Li Kuiqi

, everyone has his own subordinates and territory. There is no unanimous opinion within the "Eighteen Zhi" about attacking the Ming army in Fujian. For example, Liu Xiang, whose main territory is on the coast of Guangdong, wants nothing more than Zheng Zhilong.

The obsession with defeating the Fujian Navy is a little less common.

If Zheng Zhilong captured the Zhongzuo Institute and defeated Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, he would get most of the benefits, and there would not be much actual benefit to Liu Xiang. However, if the weapons produced by the Haihan people flow to Xu Xinsu's side, they can actually benefit to a certain extent.

To a certain extent, Liu Xiang, who could not stand Zheng Zhilong's strength, always turned a blind eye to this. Of course, he also had the idea of ​​​​purchasing Haihan weapons, but he simply didn't

It was useless to sell the second one, no matter how high the price was. It was not until the establishment of "Qiong Lianfa" in the first half of this year that the Haihan people began to relax restrictions on arms exports, and the company's shareholders also had the power to purchase weapons and equipment for their own militia. Liu Xiangcai

I tried every means to buy a batch of Haihan matchlock guns at a high price.

Zheng Zhilong can become the leader of the "Eighteen Zhi", so he is not a fool. He will also discover the things that Liu Xiang can discover. Ever since he found out that the weapons of Xu Xinsu's troops came from the Haihan people, he has already given instructions to Liu Xiang

Ordered him to intercept merchant ships trafficking weapons as much as possible in Guangdong waters. However, this order had no effect, because "Furuifeng" had also been prepared for this day and changed the method of weapons transportation from sea transportation to land transportation.

.

At this time, the Haihan Militia had already spread its reputation for strong combat effectiveness due to the Lijiazhuang battle. In addition, the Haihan Militia quietly took away the pirates who supplied Liu Xiang on Dangan Island, fully demonstrating their muscles.

, Liu Xiang was unwilling to take the risk of provoking these guys who were armed to the teeth, so the armed conflict that worried the executive committee did not break out.

Due to the unfavorable battle of the "Eighteen Zhi" on the coast of Fujian, with many casualties, Zheng Zhilong had to order that all leaders must contribute their own efforts to participate, so Liu Xiang, who was deprived of some of his manpower and ships, had to give up part of his original

His sphere of influence narrowed the area of ​​control to the coastal areas of northern Guangdong. At this time, his mentality began to change - before, those who were fighting life and death on the battlefield in Fujian were Zheng Zhilong's people, but now his brothers have also stepped into the battlefield.

If we lose that battlefield, we can no longer allow Haihan arms to flow into Fujian.

After discussing with the think tank around him, Liu Xiang thought it would be better not to quarrel rashly. After all, the Haihan people are not soft persimmons. It is easy to fight but difficult to end. So Liu Xiang entrusted Liu Xin as the envoy.

Go to Guangzhou to have direct contact with the Haihan people. Liu Xiang's request is also very simple, that is, let the Haihan side immediately stop selling arms to Fujian.

Although Liu Xin had collected a lot of information about Haihan before this, and was almost half familiar with Haihan, there were some things that he couldn't understand without personal experience. For example, the Haihan people practiced Tai Chi in circles.

It was difficult for Liu Xin to adapt. Liu Xin had several talks with the Guangdong Office in Guangdong, and both parties were dry-mouthed. However, in the end, no substantive conclusions were drawn. Especially the Haihan leader named Ma,

Every negotiation was eloquent and eloquent, with a large number of words that Liu Xin had no idea of, which often left him unable to argue and unable to start.

Of course, Liu Xin had the idea of ​​"showing some color to the Haihan people", but when he first visited the General Office and saw a lot of armed militiamen stationed in the General Office, he gave up this unpleasant idea.

Practical thoughts. Although his master also has a musketeer, it is hidden like a treasure and will not be displayed outside at all, let alone face to face with the famous Haihan Militia.

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Chapter completed!