Zhu Yongxing didn't understand why the Zheng Group acted so conservatively, but he knew that it wouldn't be long before the Zheng Group's internal strife and split would break out. And the trigger was Zheng Jing's misconduct. First, he was angry.
His father, Zheng Chenggong, died, and then he launched a great purge because of his guilty conscience, which caused the soldiers to become disengaged and flee one after another.
The mentality is too dark! Zhu Yongxing thought about it repeatedly, and finally said nothing and waited for the Zheng Group to split. The biggest beneficiary of the Zheng Group's split would no longer be the Qing court, and Zhu Yongxing was confident that he would attract the majority of the people.
Most of the refugees.
While the imperial court is still there, Zheng Jing cannot declare his succession to the throne on his own as he did in history. This is a restraint method that Zhu Yongxing can rely on and use. If circumstances permit, Zhu Yongxing can even unite with Taiwanese Zheng Shi to get rid of Zheng Jing's traitorous son in one fell swoop.
.Or we can use mediation to absorb the power of the Zheng family in Taiwan.
"Your Highness, I have sorted out the information provided by Marquis Zhongyong and others." Yi Cheng and Zhu Yongxing analyzed the effect of the smoke screen released against Chen Yonghua and Feng Xifan, and then took out a document and handed it over.
Collecting and exploring Zheng Jun's internal intelligence is not the focus of this document, but the Zheng Group is a political group with maritime merchants as its core, with a complex personnel structure, and various characters have different attitudes towards the imperial court and the Qing court.
It would be beneficial to learn more about it. As the strategic focus of the Southwest Ming Army continues to move eastward, it places high hopes on the navy in particular. It is even more indispensable to master the wind, flood, tide and other information in the southeastern sea area.
"...There are five to six thousand people who originally lived in Penghu, and there were 20,000 or 30,000 people who originally lived in Taiwan. Of the 30,000 land and sea officers and soldiers and their families brought by King Yanping himself, less than half were able to train, and there were more than 300 ships; Jin
The total number of soldiers and civilians in Xiamen and other places is about 100,000, and the number of troops is about 30,000. The size of the ships is about 500..."
Although it was not the main point, Zhu Yongxing couldn't help but frown after seeing Zheng Jun's strength.
"The Zheng family's military generals are nothing more than this. They were exaggerated before." Yicheng guessed Zhu Yongxing's thoughts and added from the side.
Zhu Yongxing smiled faintly and continued to read the information. He was not surprised by the military power of the Zheng Group. Instead, he saw that the strength of Jin and Xia was much greater than that of Taiwan. In this way, after Zheng Chenggong's death, if Zheng Jing got Jin, Xia Zhong
Taiwan's Zheng Shi obviously cannot resist the general's support. If he joins forces with Zheng Shi, he may have the upper hand, but the South China Sea Fleet will inevitably suffer losses. Is this kind of internal strife necessary during a national war?
"... Zheng's army is stationed separately in the north and south, more than a thousand miles apart. The distance is far, making it difficult to cooperate and coordinate with each other; Zheng Jing's ability is low and he is not good at fighting, and the towns and generals under his command are not in harmony with each other; Zheng's army is poorly organized and the soldiers are
Failure to practice will lead to uneven results; there are five or six out of ten people in Zheng's army who have no family members. The lonely soldiers will naturally miss their homeland, so their military morale will inevitably be unstable..."
The loyal and brave Marquis Chen Ba was quite resentful. He listed Zheng Jun's weaknesses one by one, which was well-founded. Zhu Yongxing smiled again. He could only understand at this time, but it was not the time to fight with Zheng Jun.
Ah! However, this nostalgia for homeland can be used by the Ming army. Most of the Zheng family soldiers will come from coastal areas such as Chao, Hui, Zhang, and Quan. The areas occupied by the Ming army in the Eastern Expedition are obviously attractive.
"...the Qing army in Fujian Province has more than 200 large and small warships and more than 100 small fast sentries, and 70 of them have been selected. Shi Lang, the commander-in-chief of the puppet Tong'an, is an old general of the Zheng Department and is used to naval battles. He has soldiers under his command.
About four thousand. Huang Wu, the fake Duke of Haicheng, is not very capable. There are about three thousand people who are accustomed to the sea and have strong training..."
Zhu Yongxing stopped. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and after a long while he said in a deep voice: "This Shi Lang is a big trouble and should be eliminated early. In the future, there will be more landing operations, and twelve-oared clippers will be used in shallow sea operations."
More should be built.”
"Your Highness is wise." Yi Cheng said with a smile: "Xu Long, Wu Liuqi, and Su Li are also people who are accustomed to naval battles, and they were all defeated by our army. Shi Lang's soldiers are not many, so they are definitely no match for our army."
"Don't be careless!" Zhu Yongxing picked up his pen and made notes and comments on the materials, preparing to hand them over to the navy for discussion. He then said, "Send someone to summon Ye Hu. Leave any matters to him."
If Shi Lang can be removed by counterintuitive means, it will certainly be a good thing with small benefits but big gains. Zhu Yongxing is not sure, but he thinks he can give it a try. The four ministers assisted the government, especially when Obai was in power, and tried their best to reverse the sinicization trend of the Shunzhi Dynasty.
, and continued the foolish practice of favoring the Manchus over the Han. Although Shi Lang was temporarily promoted, he had several ups and downs in history, and even stayed idle in the capital for more than ten years.
Previously, he caused chaos by imitating Wu Sangui's handwriting, but now Zhu Yongxing feels that he can repeat the same trick. As a minority, the Qing rulers' psychological complex towards the Han people was difficult to eliminate. And this is precisely what is not complicated.
Suspicion is the basis for a successful strategy. As long as you are suspicious, you will not be reused. This is almost enough.
"Your Highness has a noble status and a body of millions of gold. His daily life should not be too simple, and there are too few personal guards around him." Yi Cheng saw Zhu Yongxing put down his pen and looked at the empty space. He hurriedly said insinuatingly: "Now there are three provinces.
, and has an overseas foundation, it is no different than when starting a business, and you still have to pay attention to appropriate pomp and circumstance."
Zhu Yongxing was stunned for a moment, and after thinking about it carefully, he understood Yicheng's original intention. The move was not yet confirmed, so he did not bring his family with him, but only a few maids around him. It was precisely because of Azhu that Long Er was not with him.
, Yicheng wanted to take this opportunity to recruit a few Han girls to pave the way for the future. In the final analysis, it was Azhu and Longer's alien status that made Yi Cheng and others feel like an obstacle. Other personal guards and pomp, but
It's a cover-up, not the point.
"Let's talk about it later!" Zhu Yongxing smiled slightly and said: "The situation has indeed improved a lot, but we should not be complacent. It is not appropriate to engage in ostentation when we first arrive in a place and the major tasks have not been completed."
"It's just that-" Yi Cheng wanted to speak again, but Zhu Yongxing stopped him with his hand and changed the subject.
……………
The entire anti-Qing situation has indeed greatly improved. The rise of the Ming Army in the southwest has put a lot of pressure on the Qing court. The four ministers took over the government, and after some cleaning up and changes, they began to focus on the military. The large-scale use of troops meant that
With abundant money and food, the Qing government ignored the reality that the world was in ruins and the people's livelihood was difficult, and the policy of enclosing land was abolished by official decree. After Shunzhi's death, the reshuffle of various forces took place again.
As long as you withstand it, as long as you persist, the Qing government will transfer the financial pressure to the people. Under the harsh rule, more and more people will rise up to resist. The Qing government's brutal oppression of the people also aggravated the rule to a certain extent.
Zhu Yongxing despised local pressure.
Raising taxes on the fields and taking food from the mouths of poor farmers is stupid and inefficient; the gains are not much and cannot be sustained. The coastal relocation not only abandons a large amount of land that cannot be taxed, but also adds to foreign trade.
The losses in salt classes, fishing classes, commercial taxes, etc. Zhu Yongxing didn’t know whether the Qing government was short of money or throwing money away. It seemed that this was the most appropriate evaluation after losing watermelons and picking up sesame seeds.
The Ming government led by Zhu Yongxing adopted a completely different policy. Taxes on farmers were reduced again and again, and they were not used as the focus of fiscal revenue. However, the entire share of commercial taxes, mining taxes, salt, tea, etc.
It is increasing year by year. Starting from Yunnan Province. Without collusion between officials and businessmen, there will be no obstacles to tax collection. As for the interests of the scholar-bureaucrat class, Yunnan Province is almost a blank sheet of paper, so naturally it does not need to be considered too much.
In addition, with several external plunders and the prosperity of maritime trade, the composition of finance has naturally changed. The pattern of agricultural taxation for thousands of years is changing. Of course, with the increase of the land base
, the total amount still increased.
In fact, fundamentally speaking, there are two ways to make money, one is based on the long-term, and the other is eager for quick success. But the Qing court obviously does not know that the Southwest Ming Army is no longer an opponent that can be completely defeated in one or two wars and one or two years.
Chen Yonghua and Feng Xifan released true or false smokescreens without making an absolute commitment. Zhu Yongxing focused his attention on the Ming Army's Eastern Expedition. After all, if Guangzhou is to be the seat of the government, a relatively stable environment is not necessary.
Or missing.
It seems that there is no need to worry too much about the barrier in the north. The green camp in Jiangxi is very weak and the defense province is weak. How can it have the strength to invade Guangdong? To the east, reinforcements from the Qing army in Fujian Province have already arrived in Meizhou, and a battle is inevitable.
Although the battle is unavoidable, with the current situation of the two armies, the Ming army is very sure of victory. Because the Qing army in Fujian Province has Jin and Xia’s Zheng army to contain it, as well as the distance of the station, only more than 10,000 people came, compared with Meizhou
After the Qing army gathered together, there were only 16,000 to 7,000 people. Speaking of the Qing army in Fujian Province, also because of the existence of vassal kings, the armies had the disadvantage of not being under each other's control. The Geng Ni vassal soldiers mainly guarded the vassal government in Fuzhou, and the governor of Fujian
Stationed in Zhangzhou, in addition to the direct supervision of the troops, it can also command certain troops and horses. There are also navy and green battalions. If you want to act in a unified manner, it is not the final decision of one person, but consultation.
The Qing army that reinforced Guangdong was a mixed force, with thousands of vassal soldiers, several supervisors, and green battalions. After receiving the news that Guangzhou had been captured, this force believed that the plan of an internal and external pincer attack could no longer be realized.
Having conquered the important city in a short period of time, the troops should be very strong. Therefore, they stopped in Meizhou and asked the Fujian Province for additional troops while strengthening the city defense, preparing to guard the gateway to Fujian and block the Ming army's continued advance.
It is a quite normal idea and tactic to rely on the city to defend, but for the Ming army, with artillery and tunnel blasting, it is no longer a problem to attack the city. The Qing army is nestled in the city, which is a good opportunity to gather and annihilate them.
The battle of Meizhou has not yet started, but the intelligence from the front has been sent urgently. This is gratifying and reassuring for Zhu Yongxing. Once Meizhou and Chaozhou are connected, the relocation can be carried out, and the family members can also move from Kunming.
As for the Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners heading south, the Ming army's plan was to rest and replenish training after seizing Meizhou, while hoarding ammunition and supplies. Then, they would first use defense to weaken the enemy's spirit under Meizhou City, kill their effective forces, and finally wait for an opportunity to counterattack.
Of course, if the Navy can end its rest and replenishment in advance, it will implement diversionary operations, send the Shuijiang Navy into the Yangtze River to join the Thirteenth Fleet, and implement a landing feint attack along the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. As for the effect, it is difficult to predict, so the focus is still on
Place it against the Eight Banners Army of Manchuria and Mongolia.
About a month is what Zhu Yongxing and the staff estimated. It may be earlier or later. If things go well, the Ming army will be ready within this period of time and will have a lot of personnel and equipment.
Big enhancement.
There seemed to be no problem in capturing Meizhou, so Zhu Yongxing relaxed and summoned the British. Although the Ming government first contacted the French, the British were more active, manufacturing guns, selling ship artillery, and even sending troops to help the war.
The relationship is naturally getting closer and closer. At least on the surface, that's what it looks like.
There is no free lunch in the world. Zhu Yongxing knew that the British were fighting for their own interests and joined forces with the Ming army in Asia to compete fiercely with the Netherlands, Spain, and even the Portuguese in Macau. However, the British were more cunning and knew how to first
A means of giving and taking later.
The relationship between Britain and the Netherlands is now very bad. Although Britain has also established its own East India Company to compete with the Dutch East India Company, as a latecomer, Britain's power cannot yet compete with the Netherlands. The power of the Ming Dynasty has already spread in Indochina.
Having established a solid foundation, neither Annan nor Guangnan could compete with the Ming army. Siam also leaned towards the Ming army after occupying the city. Until now, the Ming army is still the dominant side in the Indochina region (Indochina).
.
Regardless of the outcome of the Ming and Qing wars in the future, the British were determined to seize the current opportunity to do business with the Ming army and crack down on other competing forces. The Ming army's capture of Guangzhou was an opportunity. Due to the Manchu maritime ban, Macau had already lost
The role of a cargo transfer station. Relying on the good relationship with the Ming Dynasty, British merchants no longer had to be exploited and restricted by the Portuguese. Even the Portuguese had to show their goodwill to the Ming Dynasty in order to obtain the cut off supply of goods and maintain Macau's economy.
"Ha Tien and Mekong provinces do plan to plant sugar cane on a large scale next year, estimated to be around 10,000 acres." Zhu Yongxing was a little surprised by the British's well-informedness, but he did not show it on his face, but followed the topic.
, "Is it too early to talk about the exclusive trading rights of sugar at this time?"
Waiting for the price to sell, Zhu Yongxing had this in mind at first. With multiple competitors, he should be able to obtain greater benefits. Therefore, he was somewhat unprepared for the British's sudden request, so he thought about delaying it. Cane sugar, Europe
People's demand is very strong, and it is also the main commodity for export to make money in the future. With the continuous reduction of food pressure, the continuous expansion of Ha Tien and Mekong provinces. The planting area of sugar cane will also continue to expand. Zhu Yongxing does not want to easily
This would give the British more and more exclusive trading rights.
"Your Highness, giving exclusive trading rights to our businessmen will not reduce your country's income. On the contrary, our businessmen are willing to provide sugar pressing machines and set up sugar factories in your country. They will also offer the most reasonable price, which will be beneficial to your country."
It's very beneficial." British businessman Harry's attitude was quite respectful, but there was a sly light in his eyes. "The cooperation between your two countries has always been sincere and fruitful. Our country also responds to your country's needs.
I believe His Highness the Prince will not refuse this small request to help you with all your strength."
Zhu Yongxing smiled faintly. This is the cunningness of the British. They will help you first without mentioning conditions. After the matter is completed, you will be embarrassed to refuse some conditions that do not seem excessive. But this exclusive trade right still cannot
Give them all away so easily.
"Of course the cooperation is pleasant and sincere, there is no doubt about it." Zhu Yongxing came up with a way and said: "But the exclusive trading right does not sound good, and it is too rigid and lacks room for change. It is better to just leave it alone next year.
Plant how many acres of sugar cane, and 50% of the output will be sold to your merchants; then this 50% of the output will be used as a baseline number, which will remain unchanged. And if the output of planting is increased in the future, 50% will also go to your merchants."
Harry thought for a while and said with a smile: "It is better to buy out all the production next year by Chinese businessmen, and 70% of the increase in the future will go to our businessmen."
Zhu Yongxing shook his head and said: "Next year it can only be 50%. The remaining 50% will not be sold to outsiders, but will be made into candy cubes and distributed to the army. As for the increase in the future, at most it will only be given to the nobles.
60% of the country's supply, and the rest is also to supply the army. The war is far from over, and ensuring military supplies is a top priority, but I am not reluctant to sell it to your country."
"So that's it." Harry didn't know whether he understood the knowledge of food calories or not. Seeing Zhu Yongxing's firm attitude, he stopped there and gave up.
After talking about other business matters, the British revealed to Zhu Yongxing some of the latest information about other countries in Asia. For example, the attitude of the Spanish towards the Ming army was deteriorating. After Zheng Chenggong recovered Taiwan, the Spanish in Manila
They began to be nervous, worried that the Ming army would further advance into the Philippines. However, Zhu Yongxing and Zheng Chenggong's warnings to the Spanish not only had no effect, but instead prompted the Spaniards to massacre the Chinese for the third time.
"I have made it clear that blood for blood, tooth for tooth, the Spaniards will pay a heavy price for their actions." Zhu Yongxing's face was gloomy. He knew the news, but it was a pity that he could not take action to retaliate now.
The British's intention of provocation is obvious, but without their provocation, Zhu Yongxing would have taken action sooner or later, and would never let the history of suffering of overseas Chinese repeat itself.
"The Dutch seem to be in contact with the Tatar government. In order to be able to trade, they will do anything." Captain Lei Chui seemed to remind Zhu Yongxing kindly, "Your Highness, please be careful, be careful of the Dutch and the Tatar government."
The Tatars join forces. If His Highness needs our country's help in the war, our country will be duty-bound."
"Thank you for your concern and good intentions." Zhu Yongxing smiled and nodded, then said seriously: "If the Netherlands commits such hostile acts, they will have no place to stand in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, and they will be attacked by our Ming Dynasty.