Chapter 695 The Dilemma of Shibazhi

At the same time, Magong Port in Penghu, about 80 nautical miles away from Kinmen Island.

The three bird boats slowly docked. The foreman on the shore shouted to his men to quickly tie up the cables thrown from the boats and build a springboard to prepare for unloading. There were already more than a dozen mules and horses parked on the dock, and it seemed that they were too.

Come and wait for loading.

The boss of the boat didn't wait for the gangplank to be set up, and then he walked down to the shore in three steps and two steps at a time. He knelt down on one leg and said to a young man on the shore: "I delayed my trip. Please forgive me, Mr. Bao!"

"We promised to come back in seven days, but it turned out that we were gone for more than half a month. If you come back a few days later, I'm afraid there will be trouble on the island!" The young man who was called Mr. Bao did not have a good voice, and looked unhappy.

expression.

The boss of the ship didn't dare to get up and lowered his head and replied: "Master Bao doesn't know something. Now the whole of Fujian has been sealed off from the sea. The rice shops in various places are being watched by Yamen. Any transaction exceeding a thousand kilograms must be reported to the Yamen."

"My subordinates were worried that their identity would be revealed, so they could only slowly search the coastal states and counties to find places where grain could be bought and sold without registration."

"Oh? That's it...have you bought the food?" After hearing the explanation, the young man's expression improved slightly.

"My subordinates went all the way north from Xinghua Prefecture, Fuzhou, and Funing Prefecture, and finally arrived at Yueqing, Wenzhou, where they finally bought food through connections." The boss of the ship also lost no time in thanking him for his contribution, and explained the reason for his late return:

"It took so much time because of all the stops and stops along the way."

"You can only buy rice when you go to Wenzhou..." The young man couldn't help but frowned when he heard this. In the past, when going to the mainland to purchase food, you only had to go to Funing Prefecture at most, but now you have to go to Zhejiang to buy it.

"Not only that, the Fujian Navy is also checking ships in and out of the waters near Funing Prefecture. It is said that ships coming from the direction of Zhejiang are particularly rigorously checked. My subordinates think this is because the government wants to cut off our sea channel for supplies from Zhejiang." The ship boss continued.

reported.

"It doesn't matter, just take a longer detour on the sea. The sea is so big, how can the government seal it off!" the young man replied pretending to be relaxed.

With the limited strength of the Fujian Navy, it is of course impossible to block the entire Taiwan Strait waterway. As long as you are willing, it is easy to avoid government inspections by not approaching the shore. However, the cost and risk of transportation will naturally increase accordingly. And those

The shipping companies that were originally willing to shoulder the transportation task will also shrink back due to the government's actions. In the future, if they need to purchase materials, they will probably have to send ships to transport them back. This will definitely further increase the burden on their own transportation capacity.

But no matter how troublesome this kind of bulk purchase is, it cannot be stopped. The local agricultural development in Penghu is not high, and the land area is limited, so food production cannot be self-sufficient. There are a total of more than 20,000 people on the Penghu Islands, and at least half of them

People need to buy food from outside to sustain themselves, and the amount required this year is really not a small amount. Operations like this, which send fleets to the mainland to purchase large quantities of food, happen almost once or twice a month, but in the recent period,

As time passes, it seems that it is becoming more and more difficult to purchase supplies from the mainland.

After the Zhangzhou assassination, the Fujian government gradually tightened the supply of people's livelihood materials in coastal areas. It began to monitor the bulk trading of grain, pig iron, salt, medicinal materials, cloth and other commodities, and set a limit on private transactions. For those backgrounds

The trading houses, which are relatively complex and cannot be trusted by the authorities, even send out special personnel to guard them to prevent them from selling supplies to Shibazhi privately. Although these methods cannot completely ban Shibazhi from purchasing supplies from the mainland, they have indeed created

There were a lot of troubles, and the failure of the fleet to go out to buy grain this time was just one of them.

Regarding this current situation, Zheng Zhilong, the leader of Shibazhi, naturally saw it with his eyes and was anxious in his heart. The fleet that went to the mainland to buy grain had not returned after the agreed date, but the amount of grain storage on the island was visible to the naked eye day by day.

The speed slowed down, and it would be a lie to say that Zheng Zhilong was not panicked. The young man who came to the fleet at the dock was Zheng Zhilong's fifth brother, Zheng Zhibao.

Although Zheng Zhibao's name sounds very powerful, he is different from his brothers who are pirate leaders in the family. He is a scholar. He went to the county school in Nan'an County, Quanzhou in his early years. Although he has no fame, he is just an ordinary student.

Although he is famous, among the Shibazhi group, he can be regarded as a cultural person. In the original history, Zheng Zhibao was in the Hongguang period of the late Ming Dynasty, that is, after Zhu Yousong, a descendant of King Fu, was proclaimed emperor in Nanjing.

He was once named the Crown Prince and Grand Master, and also had the title of Uncle Cheng Ji, so he became famous in troubled times. However, Zheng Zhibao was not a man of stable moral integrity. Later, he followed Zheng Zhilong and was demoted to the Qing court, and then he became famous again.

I haven't had a good life either.

However, in this time and space where the Haihan people have intervened, it is probably difficult for the Zheng brothers to have another chance to interact with the Tatars in the north. Because judging from the current development situation, it is unlikely that they can survive until the Tatars move south in large numbers.

It's time.

Zheng Zhibao did not wait for all the grain to be unloaded and put into the warehouse, and hurried back to the camp to report to Zheng Zhilong. Of course, more importantly, he had to inform Zheng Zhilong of the news that the ship boss had brought back from outside as soon as possible. Shibazhi had already

We can no longer sit back and watch the situation worsen like this.

"Xu Xinsu wants to cut off our food and grass, it's not that easy!" After listening to the description, Zheng Zhilong put down the brush in his hand, raised his head and said to Zheng Zhibao: "I have ordered people to go to Ningbo, Jiaxing, Shaoxing, Hangzhou and other places to ask local rice merchants

Purchasing grain. Xu Xinsu is a local emperor in Fujian, does he still have control over Zhejiang?"

"Brother is still foresighted!" Zheng Zhibao flattered him first, and then expressed his worries: "It's just that the voyage from Penghu to Zhejiang is far away, and the travel time is two to three times longer than that of places along the coast of Fujian. Buying bulk goods

The risks and freight charges are also much higher. If this continues for a long time, it will also be a big drag."

"Now that Xu Xinsu is powerful, and there are Haihan people working as a provocateur, and the red-haired people can't withstand the critical moment, my brother is also worried about this situation." Zheng Zhilong did not hide his worries too much in front of his brothers: "

A few years ago, I would not have been afraid of the Fujian government's methods. At worst, I would have just gone ashore to rob them. But now there are fewer and fewer villages willing to rely on us. If we continue to plunder places in the Ming Dynasty, we will have to buy supplies from the Ming Dynasty in the future.

It’s even more inconvenient.”

"How about... negotiating peace with Haihan?" Zheng Zhibao put forward an extremely sensitive suggestion. This method was also mentioned earlier, but after Zheng Zhihu died in the battle on Nanri Island, no one mentioned it anymore. That is

Only a member of his family like Zheng Zhibao dared to mention this matter again in front of him.

"Negotiating peace?" Zheng Zhilong glanced at his brother, stood up slowly and walked to the window. After a long time, he sighed: "Brother, it's not that I haven't thought about negotiating peace. It's just that the Haihan people didn't want to negotiate for some unknown reason.

I am willing to accept the peace negotiation."

"Brother, have you... already tried it?" Zheng Zhibao reacted immediately.

"That's right." Zheng Zhilong nodded and said, "Brother, I have asked people to convey my willingness to negotiate peace to the Haihan people more than once, but I have not been able to get their consent."

"Did the Haihan people put forward any harsh conditions?" Zheng Zhibao heard his brother mention this for the first time and couldn't help asking curiously.

"All the leaders of the Eighteen Zhizhi need to go to Zhangzhou and surrender themselves." Zheng Zhilong responded with a gloomy face: "In this way, they can guarantee that they will leave us a life. As for other conditions, we will not discuss them."

"These self-righteous thieves!" Zheng Zhibao immediately became furious when he heard this, and he cursed in a hurry without caring about his identity: "Do they really think that I, a man with ten thousand sons in Shiba Zhi, can't be captured without a fight?"

"What the Haihan people want is not our submission, but the complete disappearance of Shiba Zhi." Zheng Zhilong said slowly: "It's me, it's you. Their goal is to arrest us, such as Shiba Zhi,

Shibazhi is leaderless, and it will be much easier for them to deal with it then."

"If they have such a plan, then there is really no need to negotiate anymore." After hearing these words, Zheng Zhibao had already given up on this solution.

"There is indeed no room for negotiation with the Haihan people. These people are too ambitious..." Zheng Zhilong shook his head slowly.

"Then how about we surrender to the Fujian government? I mean the governor." Zheng Zhibao thought for a while and came up with another idea.

"It might have been okay two years ago, but now... it's too late." Zheng Zhilong said with regret: "Master Xiong did express his intention to recruit us before, but in the past two years, Xu Xinsu has gradually gained momentum and gained an advantage in the battle.

The Fujian government is no longer under pressure, so naturally they don't want to bother recruiting us anymore. Think about it, if we recruit people, the Fujian government will have to feed an extra 10,000 to 20,000 mouths, so it would be better to let Xu Xinsu kill us all to save trouble and money."

Zheng Zhilong's tone was calm, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him, but Zheng Zhibao could feel the almost irrepressible anger beneath his brother's calm appearance. Since the Shibazhi uprising,

It is really the most difficult period right now. We are being pressured by foreign enemies to shrink our sphere of influence step by step. Now even the most basic supplies of food and grass have become a problem. If we cannot come up with an effective solution, then the destruction of Shibazhi

It is indeed not far away.

"Brother, can we just sit back and wait for death?" Zheng Zhibao also knew that his current strength could no longer launch a large-scale attack on Zhangquan and other places, but he did not want to be suppressed in Penghu and wait.

The opponent wraps the noose around his neck in circles.

"We are not completely without a way out." Zheng Zhilong responded: "To be closer, we can retreat to Dajuan Island, but if we retreat from Penghu, this place will immediately be occupied by the Ming Dynasty and Haihan people.

, and it’s less than a day’s flight from the nearest point to Taiyuan Island, so they will chase us sooner or later.”

"My younger brother also thinks that it is not appropriate to evacuate to Taiyuan Island. There are red-haired people in the south, Folangji people in the north, and natives in the mountainous area to the east who are difficult to tame. If we add the Haihan militia stationed in Penghu to the west, it will be really difficult.

It’s hard to gain a foothold.” Zheng Zhibao agreed with his brother’s point of view on this matter.

"It's impossible to move east and west, so if you want to evacuate, you can only consider the north and south directions." Zheng Zhilong walked to a chart on the wall and stopped, raising his hand to point to the map: "Go south,

The optional place is Luzon, but that is also the territory of the Francois. I am afraid that we will not be allowed to settle there. Going north to Ryukyu, there is a chance of survival. The Ryukyu country’s military strength is not strong. If we grab

There is nothing they can do to us on the next two big islands. But the bigger problem is that there is not much cultivated land and population there, so it is also a problem to feed so many people."

Zheng Zhibao stared at the sea map for a long time and then said quietly: "The world is so big that there is almost no place for it."

Zheng Zhilong advised: "Fifth brother, don't be discouraged. When I went to study business with my uncle Hao Jing'ao ten years ago, my family property was only a few pieces of clothing. When I established Shibazhi six years ago, my subordinates could only

Thousands of people, never thought that in a few years we would be able to run rampant in Fuguang and beat the army so hard that even the officers and soldiers could not lift their heads? Even if we moved away from Penghu to other places, would we be able to have the same difficulties as when we started out? As long as we avoid the current strong force

If the enemy changes places, we may not be able to make a comeback. Maybe in a few years, we can make a comeback! By then, let alone Fujian, you and I will lead our troops south together and attack the home base of the Haihan people!"

After hearing these words, Zheng Zhibao felt a little relieved, bowed his hands and said: "Brother taught me that I shouldn't be so negative. If we can change places to develop, Shibazhi may really be able to find a new lease of life."

Zheng Zhilong said it beautifully, but he himself knew that it was not that easy to do it. With so many people wanting to move overseas, it does not mean that they can leave immediately. The preparations that need to be done in the early stage are very complicated, and all

The amount of materials that need to be relocated is also an astonishing amount. Even if there are many sea ships under Shiba Zhi's name, it may not be able to be transported in one or two trips. And if the news leaks during this period, it will be driven away by the Fujian navy and the Haihan fleet.

If you come to your door, it will be really troublesome.

Taking a step back, even if they really like the place and plan to move, how many people in Shibazhi are still willing to move overseas and continue working together with him? As far as Zheng Zhilong knows, the big boss of Shibazhi

The various opinions among them have never been unified. Some want to fight to the death with their opponents, some want to surrender and seek peace, and some even express the idea of ​​going directly to Da Yuan Island to join the red-haired people or the Folangji people. Once ten

If the big tree Bazhi is going to fall, it's really hard to say how many of these people will follow him.

Zheng Zhilong's plan for now is to try every possible means to appease his subordinates. Only a blood-related family member like Zheng Zhibao dares to reveal his true plan.
Chapter completed!