Since Yongle moved the capital, the Bohai Sea has become the gateway to the capital, and Dengzhou guards the Bohai Sea channel, so it is known as the sea gate of the capital. Although it was trapped by the strict sea ban policy, the port economy of Dengzhou Port has been lackluster for a long time.
But from beginning to end, the status of Dengzhou Port as a military fortress has never changed.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Denglai even had a special governor.
Overseas, on the flagship of the Shandong, Shen Tingyang, the Minister of Household Affairs, talked about Dengzhou like a treasure. He took the Shen family's naval fleet from the mouth of the Yangtze River to Dengzhou Port more than once.
"Dengzhou is separated from the sea on three sides by Jingdong Hanping, south by Xuyang, and east by Liaozuo. The waterways intersect, making it a strategically important country."
"If it points to Lushun in the north, it will choke the left side of Liao Dynasty. If it points to Chengshan in the south, it will control the gateway to the Yangtze River and Huaihe River. This is a dangerous situation that cannot be taken lightly."
"Ascending a county is the lifeline of Qi."
Therefore, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, Denglai established a governor, and now the Tatars also specially appointed Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming to move Denglai to Denglai, because they were afraid that the Ming navy would bypass and land in Denglai, attack Shandong, and even directly threaten Beijing.
When Zhu Yihai heard this, he was just disdainful. No matter how dangerous the location is, it would be a waste if it could not be used.
During the Tang Dynasty, Dengzhou Port was the largest port in the north. At that time, it was an important port connecting the Bohai Sea, Silla, and Japan, and its status far surpassed other places in the north.
Its status is unshakable and its economy is also very developed.
But in the Ming Dynasty, an important seaport like Dengzhou had no economic development at all.
Although its military performance has been improved, it has become the largest military port in the north and is known as the Water City. The city perimeter is about 2,000 meters, and the city area is nearly 300,000 square meters, which is equivalent to the size of 40 standard football fields. The average height of the city wall is seven meters wide. Eight meters.
In the late Ming Dynasty, Dengzhou Military Port reached its peak. It is said that at its peak, only 49 warships were anchored in the harbor, and more than 320 warships were reported to sea.
After the defeat in the Battle of Saarhu, Mao Wenlong retreated to North Korea and Pidao on the sea, and all military supplies relied on Dengzhou for transportation. In the years of Chongzhen, it was because the land route to Liaodong was impassable and Dengzhou was connected to North Korea and Pidao by sea. Maritime trade prospered for several years.
At one time, the six counties of Suijia were prosperous in Denglai, but then Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming rebelled and occupied Denglai. This rebellion lasted for half a year. In the end, Kong Youde defected to Houjin. Although the court recovered the Denglai Peninsula, it only gained A completely dilapidated ruin.
Before Kong Youde's rebellion, there were 6,000 soldiers in Dengzhou City, 1,000 reinforcements, 3,000 war horses, 100,000 in pay, more than 20 Hongyi cannons, more than 300 Western cannons, and countless other firearms.
After Kong Youde's Rebellion, Dengzhou was corrupted, Pi Island was destroyed, and North Korea surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. As a result, the once prosperous trade between China and North Korea was completely cut off, and the previously lively trade of smuggling Houjin almost stopped.
Dengzhou Port is becoming deserted and quieter day by day, and now, it has completely become a dead port.
Since Zhu Yihai's Northern Expedition last year, which went deep into Shandong, although they were only in the western Shandong area and did not enter eastern Shandong, the Tatars were very afraid that the Ming navy would land from Denglai, so they not only transferred the two kings of Kong and Geng to move there, but also A strict sea ban was issued.
Not only were people strictly prohibited from going to the sea to sell goods, but they were even prohibited from going to the sea to fish. Governor Ding Wensheng reported to the Qing court that all people within twenty miles of the coast should be moved inland to prevent them from having access to the ocean.
Doing this is just adding insult to injury and turning Dengzhou Port into a dead port.
The maritime merchants in Huang County, Dengzhou, who were active in the late Ming Dynasty, were almost destroyed at this time. All their ships were confiscated, and almost all their property and fields were looted.
Chen Qianfu, chief of the imperial camp's general staff, told the emperor good news. Although Kong Youde was stationed in Dengzhou, after the arrival of the Tatars, people in various parts of Shandong, including the Denglai Peninsula, continued to rebel. There were several major uprisings this year. Although they were
Suppression also caused considerable losses to the Tatars.
Zhu Yihai knew, however, that during the Tianqi and Chongzhen years, there were actually more peasant uprisings in Shandong.
"Recently, there has been an uprising in Gaotang. Ding Wensheng, the Tatar governor of Shandong, asked Kong Youde to send troops to suppress it. He sent the general Sun Long to lead three thousand infantry and cavalry. Recently, he also sent troops to search the countryside. Now there is only one Kong Youde in Hong Kong.
There are only 500 people in the standard camp."
This news made Zhu Yihai very happy.
"Is Kong Youde in the harbor?"
"exist!"
"Find a way to capture this person, life or death, don't let him escape."
Zhu Yihai had no intention of showing mercy to such a big traitor. Although his rebellion back then was somewhat helpless, no matter what, he eventually betrayed the Ming Dynasty and defected to Hou Jin. He even worked for Hou Jin for more than ten years, and his hands were already stained with compatriots.
Blood, what should he do with it?
"Does Your Majesty think Kim Sang-hyun is trustworthy?" Chen Qianfu asked.
"Believable."
"What if one of his North Korean crew members is a prisoner? Will he issue a warning?"
"It's up to people to plan things, and it's up to God to make things happen. We just do what we should do."
Outside Dengzhou Port, the North Korean fleet slowly approached.
On the boat, Kim Sang-hyun's face was full of excitement. Beside him, several North Korean officials were trembling, "Sir, if we do this, if things are leaked, we will be punished by the Qing Dynasty."
Kim Sang-hyun's eyes were firm.
This North Korean Wen Tianxiang, this nickname is not given for nothing. He is from the most distinguished Korean Yangban family. His mother is the daughter of Zuo Yizheng. His eldest brother and he are both Zuo Yizheng. There are many such families in North Korea.
But there are many people who only think about the interests of their own families.
Just like the original chaos, when the Qing army came to the city, many ministers blindly sued for peace.
But he made a letter with a broken hand and demanded a fight to the death. Even after Ganghwa Island was conquered, the crown prince and others were captured, and even his eldest brother died for the country, he still insisted on fighting and even asked to be allowed to lead a death squad to attack the Qing camp.
It can be said that Kim Sang-heon is a person who is thoroughly Confucian in his heart. Although he is a Korean, his heart is Han.
North Korea is just Little China, and Ming Dynasty is the real China. In order to defend China and defend benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom and trust, he is willing to sacrifice everything. He didn't have a chance before, but now he has a chance.
The despair at the foot of Nanhan Mountain and the three years of confinement in Shenyang City have never changed him.
He tightened his grip on the handle of the knife at his waist.
If you don’t succeed, you will succeed!
Dengzhou Port was once the largest military port in the Ming Dynasty, but after the Qing army entered the customs, the Ming navy gathered in Denglai followed Huang Fei and others southward. During the short period of the Chuang army's occupation of Shandong, there was no plan to restore the navy. Instead,
A lot of damage was done.
At this time, there were only some forced merchant and fishing boats in the port, plus some new ships that were still being built.
There is no dedicated navy either.
The five hundred servants of Kong Youde who stayed at the port were good at riding, shooting, and firearms, but they had little experience in boating and water warfare. They were very happy to see the North Korean fleet appear.
It’s been too long to wait for the North Korean grain ship.
Saving food every day and eating every meal, people are so hungry that they have no energy left.
"These Korean sticks are finally here."
There are also many Korean soldiers in the Qing army. Because North Korea produces wild ginseng, it is also an important specialty in trade with the Han people. Liaodong often calls ginseng sticks, sticks, etc., so Koreans are often replaced by Korean sticks, and sometimes they are also called directly.
Big stick, stick.
Gu Sui
Some people even shouted to boil water quickly, and as soon as the boat docked, they would quickly get rice to cook. They wanted to have a full meal today.
Flags were waved on the shore to direct people to enter the harbor, and some soldiers from the standard battalion rowed boats to pick them up.
A small boat approached the North Korean fleet, and they boarded Kim Sang-hyun's boat on a rope ladder, bringing with them a translator who could speak Korean.
Kong Youde had been in Dongjiang Town for ten years, and many of his soldiers knew Korean.
Kim Sang-hyun took out the order issued by the King of Joseon, etc., which he had prepared long ago, and also took out his identity certificate, etc.
They were a little surprised when they heard that the old man was actually the Prime Minister Zuo of North Korea, but when they saw that the ship had brought a lot of grain and noodles, and even a lot of dried fish and meat, they expressed their gratitude with great satisfaction, and then urged them
I quickly entered the port without even checking the cabin.
Ever since the King of North Korea was forced to kneel down and surrender to Huang Taiji that year, the stickmen have been very obedient and honest over the years. North Korea sent troops and food to the Qing Dynasty, not once or twice.
When Kong Youde heard that the King of Korea had sent Zuo Yizheng to personally lead the grain ship, he was a little surprised. Looking at the plate of dried salted fish and cold wild onions in front of him, Kong Youde had no appetite anymore.
"Let's go and meet this Zuo Yizheng."
Just as I put down my chopsticks and was about to stand up, suddenly a shrill whistle sounded without warning, and then there was the sound of artillery fire.
Kong Youde was very familiar with firearms. When he was in Denglai, he was the first to be taught Western-style firearms by the Portuguese in Macao. Later, he went to Houjin and became the most professional firearms unit in Houjin.
He immediately sensed that something was wrong.
That artillery was not fired in Dengzhou Port. He lost almost all the artillery in Xuzhou last year, and later transferred some more from Haizhou, but they were not the heavy artillery mentioned in the sound.
This kind of cannon is definitely a red cannon.
At least it's a heavy artillery weighing about 5,000 kilograms.
"What's going on?" Kong Youde was extremely surprised.
More cannons rang out like thunder, shaking the sky.
Kong Youde hurriedly ran out. As soon as he reached the door, a general rushed over in panic and said, "Your Majesty, it's not good, the Korean stick is reversed. As soon as their fleet entered the port, they suddenly fired cannons on the shore, and then many people came out of the cabin.
Soldiers, jump off the boat and start hacking!"
"You're talking about Goryeo Bangzi? How dare they?"
"This is Dengzhou Port!"
Kong Youde was furious.
As soon as he arrived on the street, he met another general coming over, "Your Majesty, it's not good, it's the Nanming Navy Fleet, the Dragon Flag of the Emperor of the Southern Dynasty."
"The dragon flag is flying outside the harbor, and a huge fleet has arrived,"
Kong Youde was caught off guard. They never expected that the Korean stick that they had been thinking about sent them not food, but artillery shells.
What's more, I didn't expect that the Emperor of Heaven would actually hook up with these Koreans. The Koreans' food cabin was filled with imperial armor, and the food had long been unloaded.
They even hid a few small gunboats in the Korean fleet.
The Ming army's raid was more successful than expected. Kong Youde's troops were unprepared and captured the dock directly, and then chased and hacked their way into the city.
Dengzhou City is very tall. Although there are not many cannons now, it is generally easy to defend and difficult to attack. But now, the Ming army chased the Qing army and hacked into the city.
When Kong Youde realized it, it was already too late.
He was blocked in the former governor's yamen, which is now his commander's mansion. At this time, less than 200 remnant soldiers were left to retreat to the yamen.
Kong Youde climbed to a high place and looked out, seeing countless Ming army ships in the port outside the city, overwhelming the sky, and more Ming troops wearing armor rushing into the city like wolves and tigers.
It's over.
The government office has been surrounded by people, and orders can be heard from all sides to kill the traitor Kong Youde and never let him go.
With less than 200 defeated soldiers around him and a small government courtyard, facing tens of thousands of Ming troops outside, he knew there was no way he could escape.
"Your Majesty?"
"How about surrendering?" a general asked carefully. Kong Youde smiled bitterly. He knew very well what would happen to him when he fell into the hands of the Ming army.
And he was not willing to surrender to the Ming emperor at all.
"I fought for the Ming Dynasty for more than ten years and shed blood and sacrificed my life. What did I get in exchange? They killed Marshal Mao for no reason. Later I went to Dengzhou and rescued Liaodong by land and water for the imperial court, but they refused to even supply food.
, it rained and snowed, the soldiers were hungry and cold, and they ate a chicken from the landlord's house, but they refused to let him go.
Kong Youde gritted his teeth and sighed, "I, Kong Youde, have never owed anything to the Ming Dynasty, but the Ming Dynasty has failed me. I led my brothers across the sea to join the Qing Dynasty. They treated me like a king and treated me well over the years. Not long ago, I
Grant Hunan to me,
How can I, Kong Youde, be ungrateful to such a generous person? How can I betray the Qing Dynasty and surrender to the Ming Dynasty again?"
"I will not betray the imperial court. If you want to surrender, then go ahead!"
A fire breaks out in the government office, and the fire gets bigger and bigger.
The Ming army was a little unprepared and had not launched the final attack. As a result, Kong Youde and others inside actually set themselves on fire.
When the fire was extinguished, only charred corpses were found.
Zhu Yihai was still at sea, watching the surprise battle in Dengzhou from a distance.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the city of Dengzhou was destroyed, and Kong Ni retreated to the government office. Fearing the power of heaven, he set fire to himself. He was burned beyond recognition. However, it has been confirmed that Kong Ni is dead."
Zhu Yihai was a little surprised when he heard this result.
"Did you confirm it carefully?"
"It has been confirmed that Dengzhou has been completely captured, and the five hundred Kong thieves' pacesetters have either died or surrendered. About two hundred people have surrendered or been captured, and the rest have been annihilated."
"Those prisoners should be carefully scrutinized. Don't let Kong Youde escape from his shell. Also, the people in the city should also screen them."
"Moreover, hurry up and transport some food into the city, give out porridge first, and let everyone help clean up the port and city, and use work instead of relief."
"Then we will send out troops to raid Kong Youde's troops who are gathering grain and young men in the countryside of Dengzhou. Taking advantage of this momentum, we will wipe them out in one fell swoop."
Although there were still some doubts about Kong Youde's death, Zhu Yihai quickly made arrangements for the aftermath.
Kong Youde sent 3,000 troops to Gaotang, and another 1,500 troops to the countryside. Only 500 servants were left in Dengzhou Port. This was simply a help from God, and with the help of Kim Sang-heon of North Korea, what would have been a tough battle became even more difficult.
The fierce battle of siege was won so easily.
Capturing this big port so easily was a very rare start for Zhu Yihai.