During the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, the weather gradually became colder. The northwest wind that had been blowing for several days finally stopped. However, the fog on the sea was very heavy. This kind of wet and cold was more uncomfortable than the dry cold. The base camp of Mingshui Division, located in Dagukou, has more than 100 people.
A warship is parked on the seaside, and there is a company camp on the harbor. Tens of thousands of troops have gathered here, but they are temporarily unable to go to war due to various reasons.
Seeing that winter is coming, if the battle cannot be won quickly within one or two months, the plan of the Northern Expedition to Shuntian Prefecture will have to be scrapped. After all, the weather in the cold winter is not conducive to military operations. Moreover, most of these troops are from the south.
In order not to retreat in despair, Yu Min, the commander of the Ming Dynasty Navy, and his staff were all worried about the severe cold.
As for the Liao army, because they did not receive the military rations promised by the court, they urged several times to no avail. The main army has retreated to the Liaoyang line, and may counterattack Guanjin at any time. The battle situation along Shanhaiguan is very tense, and it is impossible to mobilize troops westward.
Conquer Shuntian Mansion.
The war situation in North Korea is even more corrupt. According to the emergency report from the King of Korea, the invading "Tatar army" has launched a three-guang policy in North Korea. They kill everyone for food and loot towns and villages and burn them. Not long ago,
Hanyang, the capital of North Korea, was bombarded by artillery, and most of North Korea fell. If the Ming Dynasty did not come to rescue, it would be turned into a government-in-exile.
The war situation in the Northeast was corrupt, and those who caused all the negative consequences were the "pirates" that the Ming Dynasty paid the least attention to. Many outposts sent by Yu Min had returned, saying that they could not find the location of the food transport army. And the Penglai Island area
There was suddenly no news from the troops, and the sentry sent out did not return, which made Yu Min feel that something was wrong.
On the 10th day of August, Yu Min, who was like an ant on a hot pot, finally received a battle report from the front line. In one word: the entire army was annihilated. The person who brought this news was a small Qianhu. Of course, this Xiaoqianhu did not come from the battlefield.
Those who escaped were deliberately sent back by the Peking Army to deliver messages.
What letter? Of course it was an ultimatum: Surrender immediately, or annihilate them all if they don’t surrender!
After reading this extremely arrogant letter to persuade Yu Min to surrender, he immediately understood what blood pressure was soaring. The little pirate dared to scream in front of the Ming Dynasty Navy. It was really outrageous! In Yu Min's rage, a beautiful teacup on the table was
He became a victim, and the accompanying staff and soldiers were so frightened that their faces turned pale.
However, getting angry can't solve the problem. After scolding Wang Ning, Chen Hui and other incompetent people, Yu Min got tired of scolding and slumped on the Taishi chair blowing his beard and staring. Because he knew that if this news was true, then
The navy's losses would be great, and he would not be able to escape the responsibility for the defeat.
Once the news of the defeat spreads, the eager officials in the court will definitely rush forward and frantically impeach him. This time, not only will his title be unsafe, but his head may also be unsafe, because he not only destroyed the army, but also killed the king.
The prince-in-law also joined in.
The prince's consort is the husband of the eldest princess, Princess Huaiqing. Once Princess Huaiqing becomes a widow, she will definitely hold a grudge. He is just a young prince with no power and power, and now he has become a defeated general. The eldest son is fair.
She was an imperial concubine, with a noble status. If she really wanted to kill him, it would be no different than killing an ant.
When thinking of this level, Yu Min did not ask about the military situation, but only asked Xiao Qianhu who came back to report: "Where is the king's consort? Did he die in the battle?"
If he is not dead, there is still hope. As long as he finds a way to get him back, and there is an explanation from Princess Huaiqing, things will be easy to handle. With the princess helping to intercede, it will be okay no matter how big the battle is. If the prince-in-law dies,
If it is lost, it will be of no use no matter how big a victory he fights.
"The prince-in-law is still alive, but was caught by pirates."
After hearing what Qianhu said, Yu Min's heart, which had been as gray as ashes, regained a little vitality, and he hurriedly asked: "Where are the pirates? How many warships are there?"
"After being captured, I was sent back. A few days have passed and I don't know where the pirates are now. I only know that a few days ago, the pirate army appeared in Penglai Island. The pirates only have a few dozen warships.
, four of them carry a lot of artillery, and they are the sharpest." Xiao Qianhu said truthfully, in his opinion, the "Pirate Army" must be mysterious and mysterious if it can sneak attack them.
"With only a few dozen ships, can we defeat a hundred ships of our army?" Yu Min was a little disbelieving, and asked: "How much damage was done to the enemy ships after the war?"
"I don't know much about this little one, but the pirate army captured dozens of warships that were still intact and repaired them before they could go into battle."
"What?!" Yu Min was even more dumbfounded because he heard that the pirate army was getting stronger as it fought and robbed. A few dozen warships could defeat a hundred warships. Now there are more than 100 warships.
There are hundreds of warships, so can the more than one hundred warships I still have at my disposal be able to defeat them?
When thinking about this, Yu Min's face became even more ugly, and he also realized that it was almost impossible to snatch the king's consort back from the pirate army. And now he didn't even know the whereabouts of the pirate army.
Where to rob people?
"What should I do if I can't rob someone? What should I do?" Yu Min looked like his dead father, and he felt regretful in his heart: "It's over, the Yu family is really over this time! I should have known it earlier.
If this is the case, the young ancestor named Wang should not be allowed to lead the army on the expedition."
In fact, just ten days ago, Yu Min had no intention of letting Wang Ning lead the army to sea. However, Wang Ning was eager to do his best and rushed to go on the expedition. Although Yu Min was unwilling in every possible way, she had to act based on his face. Now it's a big deal.
, the city gate caught fire and affected the fish in the pond.
"Master Marquis, the pirate army is strong, what should we do?" A staff member couldn't help but asked in a low voice when he saw the general was dumbfounded.
"What should I do? What else can I do?!" Yu Min glanced at his cronies weakly. He really had no choice.
"Although the rebel army is powerful, after several days of fighting, the sergeants are exhausted and they must not have much fighting power. If we raise our troops to counterattack, we will definitely be able to annihilate them in one battle." A staff member with a mustache said.
"Destroy them in one battle?" Yu Min shook his head and smiled bitterly, not even bothering to scold that staff member for being naive. He still doesn't know where the main warships are, so how can he talk about annihilating them in one battle?!
"Mr. Zhang is right. The pirate army has been out at sea for a long time, and the water and food supplies must be insufficient. If our entire army attacks, we will definitely be able to annihilate the enemy." Another aide said matter-of-factly.
"Insufficient supplies?" Another staff member frowned and said: "My food transport army is missing and must have been robbed by the pirate army. And if the pirate army can set up an ambush on the Penglai Islands, our rear army camp must be
Occupied by them, so much water and food must have been seized by them, there is no way there will be a shortage of water and food."
"Even so, our army has many warships, and we will definitely gain the upper hand in a desperate fight. Otherwise, do we have to wait for the bandit army to attack here?" Another aide said.
"Our army doesn't even know where the traitor army is. If we rush to sea, I'm afraid we will just make the same mistake as the king's consort." Another aide said tit for tat.
"Stop arguing!" Seeing his staff quarreling over whether to go to war, Yu Min shouted angrily, quelling them all, and then said: "The king's consort has a noble status, how to rescue him is the best way to save him.
The most important thing is now.”
"Master Marquis, it is precisely because you want to save your consort that you have to rush to send troops," said an aide.
"The enemy is in the dark and we are in the light. It will be difficult to win if we send troops. If we send troops hastily, we may not only fail to save the prince-in-law, but we will also be harmed." The staff who opposed the war said again.
"Mr. Gao, what do you think we should do?"
"You may not be victorious in a war, and you may not be defeated if you don't fight. The only solution now is peace talks."
"Peace talks? What a joke! How could I, the mighty Ming Navy Master, negotiate peace with pirates?!"
"If we don't want to negotiate, can you find a way to bring the prince-in-law back?"
"Fight, defeat the pirate army and you will be able to rescue the prince-in-law."
"Okay, stop arguing!" Yu Min looked at the noisy staff who were blushing and thick-necked, and suddenly felt that one was bigger than the other. In fact, he was also more inclined to peace talks. After all, if there was a fight, even if he won, he would not win.
We can definitely get the people back. If we can negotiate peace and pay a certain price to get the people back, that would be safe.
But now we don’t even know where the pirate army is, so how can we talk to anyone if we can’t find anyone?
The aide who was in charge of the peace talks seemed to have noticed his employer's concerns, and whispered: "The Penglai Islands are located at the mouth of the sea, and the terrain is critical. The pirate army should not give up."
"Oh." After being reminded by the staff, Yu Min's numb heart started to beat suddenly again, and she said to the staff: "Mr. Gao will stay, and the others will leave for now."
After the aides walked away, Yu Min asked: "Mr. Gao, are you sure about the peace talks?"
"The pirate army is just asking for money. As long as they are willing to provide money, they will not hold the prince-in-law hostage. As long as they rescue the prince-son-in-law, we don't have to be wary when we start the war." The staff member surnamed Gao said.
"Well, I will give you five ships and five hundred people to go to peace talks. As long as you rescue the Prince Consort, I will definitely give you a heavy reward."
+++000+++
After annihilating the Wang Ning Division of the Ming Army, the Peking Army Navy Department no longer fought guerrillas everywhere, but started building bases on the Penglai Islands. A new maritime base was built on a small island named Huwei Island, and the construction
The workers also used local materials, and the thousands of captives became slave labor under the whip of the foreman.
These foremen were not members of the navy, but were selected from prisoners of war. The reason why they could use prisoners to control prisoners was because the navy had a monopoly on the food supply. If the prisoners could not complete the specified project progress, they would have nothing to eat.
While establishing a strong maritime base, Wan Lei and Madam Liu began to divide the spoils. Because Madam Liu said that her side had no more gunpowder and could no longer continue fighting, the wartime alliance ended.
As for the proceeds of stolen goods, it was divided into 50 and 50. The captured grain was about 240,000 dan, 120,000 dan on each side; more than 80 relatively intact warships, 40 on each side; about 6,000 captives, 3,000 on each side;
Wan Lei didn't bother to care about other miscellaneous items including gold and silver.
After dividing the spoils, Mrs. Liu took her fleet south. As for what she will do in the future, it has nothing to do with Wan Lei. At this time, Wan Lei is busy building the Huwei base and planning maritime trade matters. Now he has forty
There are many lucky ships. Although these lucky ships cannot be used as warships, they are still very good as cargo ships. They can be useful after repairing them.
Since it is almost winter and the Bohai Bay is likely to freeze, it is also very important to establish a sea ice-free port in Penglai. Moreover, the Penglai Islands are a relay station for Shuntian Prefecture to go to sea. Setting up military bases here can protect merchant ships and
Tariffs were levied on passing merchant ships as military expenditures for the Peking Army.
"Alas, I can't go home for this year's Mid-Autumn Festival." Liu Wenxiu looked at the half-moon rising in the east and sighed. He originally wanted to lead his troops into the Bohai Sea to sweep across the Mingshui Army, but Wan Lei suddenly
Instructions were given to let the navy stay put and protect the base construction here, so he had no choice but to stay.
"Do you miss your son?" Wan Lei certainly knows the family information of all the generals in the army. As the commander of the navy, Liu Wenxiu has only one wife like Wan Lei, but his son is almost ten years old, which is a naughty age.
It made him worry a lot and got angry. It's better now that he's in school, and the school is taking care of him.
"Hehe..." Liu Wenxiu scratched his head out of habit and said with a smile: "Sir, you are not young anymore. It's time for you to have a son."
"I'm busy, and my wife is also busy, so I don't have that time." Wan Lei shrugged. His son is really dispensable to him. Besides, he will not engage in hereditary inheritance in the future. So what if he has a son? If he doesn't have the ability, he can't do it.
Enter the decision-making level.
"Haha, after this battle is over, sir, you will be able to relax for a while. You should spend time with your wife, otherwise..." Liu Wenxiu said with a sly smile.
"Well, it's time to spend time with her." Wan Lei let out a long sigh. In order to build a sea-going navy and go to sea to fight, he didn't go home for several months.
"Sir, our navy still has too few warships and too few crew members, right?"
"Now that we have sufficient supplies, it is time for the navy to expand, otherwise these four warships will not be able to protect our maritime interests. Alas, it is a pity that our Shuntian Mansion is located in the north, and we can only conduct maritime trade with North Korea and Japan.
, we cannot yet open up Western trade routes.”
"The Ming Dynasty did occupy the East and Southeast Asia, but the emperor was very stupid. The court was closed to the outside world and had no pioneering spirit. He was a prodigal who was just waiting to die."
"It's good to be stupid, but it's better to be prodigal. If he's not a prodigal, how can we have a chance to rise?" Wan Lei smiled slightly. He had met Emperor Jianwen. He said that Emperor Jianwen was fatuous. That doesn't seem like it. The main reason is this person.
Too weak, lack of independent opinions, lack of overall perspective, and lack of understanding of people, such a person sitting on the throne of the emperor will only be miserable in the end.
"Hey, sir, you are right. The emperor is fatuous and the ministers are fatuous, which is more beneficial to us. Now the old generals of the Ming Dynasty are almost dying of old age, and without training new generals, the army has begun to become corrupt again. If our Peking Army has
A hundred thousand troops, advancing by land and water, are enough to destroy the enemy."
"This matter should not be too urgent. The foundation of the Ming Dynasty is still there, and the people still recognize the orthodoxy of the imperial court. There must be great resistance to us raising troops now. You can't eat hot tofu if you are impatient. Wait and do a good job of united front work first."
"Hey, there is a gentleman who is planning the overall situation. Our Peking Army will definitely be able to unify the country in the future. What can't we wait for?"
"It is not difficult to unify the mountains and rivers, but the difficulty is to win the complete mountains and rivers."