Chapter 235: Zheng Jun takes refuge, the Qing court retreats
The huge fleet on the sea became clearer and clearer in the field of vision of the telescope. Chen Ba, the Zhongyong Marquis, looked stern, put down the telescope, and issued a series of orders. The Quanzhou garrison loaded its ammunition and guns, and was ready for battle.
If the Zheng family is really crazy and sends out a large army to attack, Quanzhou cannot be defended with dozens of offshore patrol ships and more than 2,000 army troops. Chen Ba knows in his heart that the defenses along the southeast coast are relatively empty, and the main force of the navy is to use Zhoushan
, based in Chongming, it was harassing and containing the Qing troops in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The main force of the army was stationed at the junction of Fujian and Zhejiang, not only to contain the Qing troops in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but also to mobilize Shuo's army to attack Jiangxi at the right time.
Chen Ba ordered the patrol boat to dispatch. Although the number was very different, the momentum could not be lost. This is the place of the imperial court, and your Zheng family cannot take it without a fight just by intimidation.
The patrol boat sailed out with the flag of the Ming Dynasty, and unexpectedly "blocked" the Zheng family's fleet of ships outside the port. Chen Ba held up the telescope and suddenly had a premonition in his heart, could it be——
It seemed that after some negotiation, the patrol boat led a ship into the port and docked on the pier. The group of people got off the ship and headed straight for this side.
Still far away, Chen Ba had already seen the person coming clearly through the telescope, and couldn't help but feel a little relieved. The premonition in his heart was very likely. His expression relaxed a little, and he stepped forward to meet him.
The visitors were all children of the Zheng family. Although they were all dressed in clothes, they looked frightened or depressed and had no intention of fighting. Walking in front were Zheng Tai's younger brother Zheng Mingjun and his son Zheng Zanxu. Zheng Zanxu's face was filled with sadness. When he saw Chen Ba
He couldn't help but shed tears and shouted: "Zheng Jing harmed my father..."
As expected, Zheng Jing began to purge the unified power, and he did it faster. After pacifying Taiwan, he immediately rushed back to Xiamen and announced that he would hand over all the powers of Jin and Xiamen to Zheng Tai. When Zheng Tai was ordered to go to Xiamen to handle the handover
, Zheng Jing was suddenly in trouble. Zheng Tai was arrested and charged with conspiring to support Zheng Xi and betray him. Zheng Tai died that night, and Zheng Jing announced that he had committed suicide out of fear of crime.
After hearing the bad news, Zheng Tai's younger brother Zheng Mingjun, his son Zheng Zanxu, and more than 400 civil and military officials, more than 7,300 land and sea soldiers, and their families sailed from Kinmen in more than 180 ships that night.
Arrive at Quanzhou port and seek refuge with the imperial court.
"We have become a lost dog!" Zheng Mingjun sighed with a sad face, "Now that I have come to surrender, I hope that the Marquis will speak kindly in front of His Highness and forgive us for delaying the surrender."
"Master Zheng's words are serious." Chen Ba's heart dropped. He quickly sent people to arrange for the soldiers and family members who came with the ship, and then led everyone into Quanzhou City. As he walked, he said: "How can His Highness be as ambitious as Zheng Jing?
The officers and soldiers of the Zheng family who surrendered have also long been established. Officials will report favorably, and they will not hesitate to give generous rewards from high officials; soldiers who are willing to join the army will immediately receive their pay in the camp, and those who are willing to return home will be given travel expenses and rewarded with money to return to their place of origin and be resettled by the government."
"Your Highness's reputation for benevolence is known all over the world, and we also know a thing or two about various regulations." Zheng Mingjun had no energy, and his words seemed perfunctory, "It's just that I and other Zheng clan members have other plans, right?"
"I haven't heard of other arrangements." Chen Ba said euphemistically: "But like a certain family, it is probably unavoidable to punish them first and then use them or to idle them for some time."
"The imperial navy is very strong. In addition to the ships and soldiers we have brought, does His Highness Min still have to accommodate Zheng Jing?" Zheng Zuanxu said angrily.
"The great cause of resisting the Qing Dynasty is more important than anything else. It is not His Highness's wish to use weapons internally." Chen Ba said firmly to dispel the unrealistic hopes of these hate-filled guys, "According to your status.
No one dares to specialize in it. You should go to Guangzhou to see His Highness. If you have any reasons, you can present them in person and His Highness will make the decision."
"I will go to see His Highness Min first." Zheng Mingjun stopped Zheng Zuanxu with his eyes. He agreed happily, "If we take the sea route, Zheng Jing may send troops to intercept us. I will rest for a day and then go to Guangzhou by land tomorrow."
Until now, Zheng Mingjun is still calm and sees things clearly. He has lost his foothold and came to seek refuge, so he naturally has to listen to other people's arrangements. Even if he wants to fight, the officers, soldiers and military relatives he can bring have become frightened.
Quanzhou finally calmed down from the shock and wanted to take them to another place - well, other than seeking refuge with the imperial court, the only option was to go north to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. Can these officers and soldiers leave their hometown in Fujian again? Can they shave their heads and change their clothes? Then the group will
It’s not surprising that they make noises and swing their swords at each other.
People's hearts are broken, but these officers, soldiers and their families still regard them as leaders because their choices conform to the people's hearts. But don't mistake them for die-hard loyalists who can follow them wherever they go.
Going to Guangzhou to pay a visit is what we should do. We respect the imperial court and His Highness Min's expression. But behind this reasonableness, will the ships, officers and soldiers be returned to them intact? Chen Ba also said it just now,
There are long-established rules for the placement of Zheng's soldiers. Those who are willing to serve as soldiers will be paid, and those who are willing to serve the people will be rewarded and placed. To put it bluntly, they will be dispersed and will not be used as an organizational unit. As for officials, they will be listed in a favorable manner, and they will not hesitate to be rewarded by high officials, but
Whether you will have real power again depends on your future performance.
Chen Ba and Quanzhou officials were very attentive and enthusiastic when arranging accommodation and organizing banquets. His Highness Min had already issued an order to treat the officers and soldiers of the Zheng family well, and now they were considered heavyweights.
"Perform well in the future!" Zheng Mingjun said helplessly when seeing no one else: "His Royal Highness Min is not someone who can be bullied. Don't have any more delusions. Even if you are not reused, returning to your hometown and becoming a rich man is better than dying at the hands of Zheng Jing.
It's better than being a ghost in a foreign land."
"His Royal Highness Min is not even afraid of the Tartars, how could he be afraid of Zheng Jing?" Zheng Zuanxu was unwilling to accept it and said: "The two families have joined forces -"
"What other two families are there?" Zheng Mingjun scolded unhappily: "If you say this in front of His Highness Min, wouldn't it make His Highness jealous and think that our coming to seek refuge is just a temporary measure, and we will definitely do it again in the future.
Don’t speak lightly.”
"Young Master, your uncle's words are really good." Chen Xiu, the imperial censor, advised tactfully: "Even Zheng Jing was a minister of the Ming Dynasty. When the imperial edict came, he burned incense and set up a case to greet him respectfully.
. Even if he has ambitions, he would not dare to openly sit on an equal footing with the imperial court and tell lies between the two families."
Zheng Zuanxu suddenly realized that he had indeed made a big mistake by speaking carelessly.
"My nephew realizes his mistake." Zheng Zuanxu saluted Zheng Mingjun and said, "It's a habit. If you don't change it for a while, you will never do it again in the future."
Zheng Mingjun hurriedly stretched out his hand to help him and said sincerely: "His Royal Highness Min is the British Lord. You are still young. If you want to make contributions, based on the importance your Highness attaches to the navy, you still have a good chance. If you don't want to fight in battle, just use your father to fight.
The Japanese country facilitates trade. If one is rich, it is also a way to preserve it."
"My nephew is still used to cutting waves and galloping on the sea." Zheng Zanxu told the truth and said: "I will leave the business matters to my uncle. My father has hundreds of thousands of silver deposits in the Japanese country. I believe His Highness Min will not accept our private ship.
, so you can start your business.”
"It's fine." Zheng Mingjun nodded and said: "One is an official and the other is a businessman. It's quite comprehensive. My uncle is old and is no longer suitable for the rough seas, so he can do his best to establish roots for the family on the shore!"
While the Zheng family officials were about to wash up and change clothes, Zhongyong Hou Chen Ba also summoned his subordinates and issued orders to make arrangements.
"Immediately send a clipper to deliver a message to the Navy Lord Deng, asking him to bring a navy to Quanzhou to select the Zheng family's warships and officers and men."
"I urgently report to Your Highness Min, but I can't tell you what Your Highness expected. The Zheng family has been in civil strife again. Well, Jianpinghou (Zheng Tai) has been killed by Zheng Jing. His younger brother, his son led ships, officers and soldiers, and family members to come to Quanzhou to seek refuge
.My subordinates have arranged for Zheng Mingjun, Zheng Zuanxu and others to go to Guangzhou for an audience, and they will arrive in the near future."
"Besides -" Chen Ba hesitated for a moment, waved his hand and said, "I'd better write the letter myself!"
As an old general of the Zheng family who first surrendered to Zhu Yongxing, Chen Ba never had the opportunity to earn military honors to prove his worth. Zhu Yongxing arranged to guard Quanzhou. He also understood what Zhu Yongxing meant. Now that the Zheng family is in civil strife, this large number of soldiers will surrender.
, it seems that he has completed his mission and can go out to fight.
"His Royal Highness Min is truly a man of heaven, he will hit the target." The subordinates accepted the order and left. The loyal and brave Marquis Chen Ba could not help but sigh generously.
Before coming to Quanzhou, Zhu Yongxing specifically told him some things, including that the Zheng family might be in civil strife again. It is very likely that some heavyweights would be killed in the civil strife. His relatives or old troops might lead a large number of warships and officers and soldiers.
Go to him and ask him to entertain you well and not to be left in the cold.
Chen Ba was not sure who the heavyweight figure was at the time, but now he knew it completely. He said that he was stupid, and he should have thought of it as Jianping Hou Zheng Tai. Zheng Chenggong died of illness, and Zheng Jing was the heir apparent. Naturally, his son succeeded his father.
Within the Zheng family, the only person who could compete with them was the elder Zheng Tai. Only Zheng Tai had such great influence. His relatives or old subordinates could mobilize a large number of warships and officers and soldiers.
After this civil strife, Zheng Jing no longer worried about His Highness. Chen Ba was well aware of the strength of the Zheng family and knew that the warships and officers and soldiers brought by Zheng Mingjun and Zheng Zuanxu accounted for three or one-fourth of it, although not half.
In addition to the imperial navy, Zheng Jing should be the one who is afraid, right?
…………
When the messenger sent by Chen Ba was galloping on the road, Zhu Yongxing had already received information about the civil strife in the Zheng family. Zheng Tai was killed, and his brother and son led the Kinmen officers and soldiers and their families to escape by boat. Although Zheng Mingjun, Zheng Zanxu and others were not known yet.
It is not known exactly where the person fled, but there is a 90% chance that he defected to the imperial court.
"It's really decisive and resolute in killing!" Zhu Yongxing mocked, "Did Zheng Jing overestimate his own authority and underestimate Zheng Tai's influence?"
"This -" Ye Hu was also quite contemptuous. He considered his words and said, "I guess he has an impatient and cunning temper, or he is too suspicious and can't wait any longer."
Zhu Yongxing shook his head. Even if he wanted to unify power, he couldn't be so hasty, could he? It would make the generals feel cold and their strength greatly reduced. Didn't he expect such a consequence? It was so unpredictable!
"Your Highness -" Ye Hu presented another piece of information with a strange expression, "Wu Zhirong was killed, but it was not the Intelligence Bureau who did it. This was a dereliction of duty by his subordinates."
"Just die, no matter who did it." Zhu Yongxing didn't take it seriously at first, reading the information casually, but his eyes widened, he raised his head in disbelief, looked at Ye Hu and said: "How could the Qing court do this?
in this way?"
"I guess it was the trick of the old traitor Hong Chengchou." Ye Hu guessed and said, "He used this trick when he was in Huguang to win over the hearts of the gentry in Huguang."
Wu Zhirong, the magistrate of Gui'an County, wanted to make great achievements, so he reported the "History of the Ming Dynasty" published by Zhuang to the government. He first went to Hangzhou General, because Cheng Weifan, the secret agent of Hangzhou General, was implicated. Governor Zhu Changzuo, school inspector Hu Shangheng, and Gui'an and Wucheng academic officials
, so they were jointly suppressed. Zhuang bribed everyone heavily, deleted the relevant problematic words from the original book, and republished it. Wu Zhirong failed in this plan, so he bought another first edition and reported it to the capital. The intelligence bureau failed to pursue him, and the matter was finally revealed to the Qing Dynasty.
Court, then the case occurred.
But what shocked Zhu Yongxing was that the Qing court's handling was completely different from history. The informer Wu Zhirong was dismissed from office and exiled, the banker was fined a huge sum of money, and the rest involved in "History of the Ming Dynasty" will not be pursued.
Hong Chengchou, whom Ye Hu suspected, had done something similar when he was in the Changsha shogunate. At that time, when Pan Zhengxian, the former Nanming Changsha governor, made the first report, more than 20 people led by Tao Runai were arrested. People from all over Hunan were implicated in the case.
There are more than 100 people (or more than 300 people).
While many Qing officials in Hunan insisted that "Jinggen must be severely punished", Hong Chengchou went against the policy of the original local official, and also changed the Qing court's normal handling of major cases similar to the restoration of the Ming Dynasty in the past.
An unexpected treatment. All the Hunan gentry who were exposed due to the anti-Qing activities were acquitted, but the informer Pan Zhengxian was beheaded.
"Buying people's hearts is dictated by the situation." Zhu Yongxing listened to Ye Hu's story and sneered with a double entendre. This comment was not only about Hong Chengchou, but also about the current Qing court's handling of the "History of the Ming Dynasty" case.
When Hong Chengchou first formed the Changsha shogunate, he took a strategic defensive against the Ming army in the southwest, while the Huguang gentry tended to lean towards the Ming court. Hong Chengchou's special handling of Tao Runai's case was not due to his personal kindness or whim, but was determined by the situation at the time.
Only by narrowing the attack area can we strive to win support from all parties.
Through this opportunity, Hong Chengchou quickly changed the subtle situation that was very unfavorable to the Qing army, stabilized the situation, and gained the initiative to win the hearts of the people. This is the secret of the special handling of this case. The Qing court had no objection to this at the time.
It also reflects the strength and stamina of the Qing court's strategic contraction.
The current situation is very similar to that of that time. Jiangsu and Zhejiang are under attack by the Ming army, and the people's hearts are shaken, which is extremely unfavorable to the Qing government. If the prison is built at this time, it will be worse and arouse the people's resistance.
.
"This time I have underestimated the Qing court." Zhu Yongxing smiled and said: "The Qing court is not all incompetent, and it is also sensitive to changes in the situation."
"This kind of treatment is also a manifestation of the Qing court's guilty conscience and cowardice. It wants to stabilize the hearts of the soldiers and the people so as to fight against our army. It can be seen that the Qing army is already struggling in Jiangsu and Zhejiang and dare not show off its power anymore." Ye Hu also made the same judgment about the situation in Jiangnan.
Expresses optimism.
"I wonder how those scholars and scholars who were granted amnesty would react?" Zhu Yongxing thought thoughtfully, and after a while he smiled with relief and said: "In the current situation, they are no longer relevant to the overall situation, but the reorganization of the Zheng family soldiers who came to surrender is a top priority.
After this chaos, Zheng Jing's strength has been greatly damaged and he no longer dares to move lightly. However, our navy is more powerful and can carry out a more aggressive and violent offensive..."
There was a knock on the door, and after receiving Zhu Yongxing's permission, the secretary of the confidential room hurriedly walked in and handed over the urgent report with joy.
Zhu Yongxing read the urgent report at a glance and smiled happily. "Jiangxi is a great victory. Wei Junzhong has done a great job. He issued an order to reward him. Well, he has just been promoted to major general. It is not appropriate to increase his military rank for the time being. Let's reward him with something else!"
…………..
On the sixth day of October in the 16th year of Yongli reign (the first year of Kangxi), the Qing army's Counselor Military Guard dispatched from Quzhou, Zhejiang, led by Sang Wei, and Vice-Capital Commander Xi Bu led 15,000 reinforcements to the Hengfeng area, and met with Zhengshuo who was stationed here.
The first unit of the army launched a fierce battle.
While pretending to advance towards Qamdo (now Jingdezhen), a part of the Zhengshuo Army quickly moved south to assist in the battle. The First Division of the Shuo Shuo Army, which was secretly stationed in Pucheng, Fujian Province, suddenly dispatched and invaded Jiangxi with great speed, taking Guangfeng lightly.
Ke Guangxin (today's Shangrao) cut off the retreat of the Qing army led by Sang Li and Xi Bu.
On October 11, the Ming army launched a general offensive. Two divisions attacked from a pincer attack, and the sound of killing was loud. The Qing army trapped in Shangrao and Hengfeng was defeated and almost completely wiped out. The deputy capital commander, Xibu, was lost in the formation.
Sang Wei, the military counselor and commander of the army, could only escape with a few horses.
Taking advantage of the victory, the Ming army advanced, conquered Yushan and Changshan, and entered Zhejiang to attack Quzhou. The Qing army in Zhejiang urgently mobilized troops to reinforce Quzhou, but after conquering Changshan County, the Ming army suddenly went south, conquered Jiangshan County, and attacked Xianxia Pass.
On October 17, Wei Junzhong commanded the First Division to attack Xianxia Pass from behind under the cover of artillery fire. The defenders of Xianxia Pass, whose retreat was cut off, were in a state of confusion and could only resist for two hours under the fierce attack of the Ming army.
Under the leadership of the chief military officer Zu Hongxun, they abandoned their weapons and surrendered.
At this point, the key points of Fujian and Zhejiang were to attack Xianxia Pass, and Fenshui Pass was occupied by the Ming army, which was suitable for both offense and defense. The dangerous pass was within grasp, and only two divisions were left to defend the Shuo army in Fujian Province. Wei Junzhong's first division was completely liberated, and he regrouped.
Entering Jiangxi and attacking Raozhou, the Qing army's Poyang camp in Raozhou mutinied. The first division easily captured Raozhou and was able to sail directly from Poyang Lake to the Yangtze River or cross the lake to attack Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province.
After receiving the help of the First Division and annihilating the Qing army coming for reinforcements from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the Zhengshuo Army no longer had any worries. They marched south from Fuzhou to Ji'an and targeted Ganzhou, one of the main locations of the Qing army in Jiangxi.
A series of attacks turned around and the Qing army was exhausted. The Qing army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang lost more than 10,000 troops. Xianxia Pass and Fenshui Pass were all in the hands of the Ming army. The defense task suddenly became arduous, and no more troops could be mobilized to assist Jiangxi.
At this time, the main force of the Qing army in Jiangxi was roughly divided into two major groups. One was stationed in Ganzhou to defend against the entry of the Guangdong Ming army; the other was gathered in Nanchang to guard the capital. The force in the hinterland of Jiangxi was extremely empty, and the Zhengshuo army was able to advance quickly.
As long as we join forces with the friendly forces in Shaoguan to defeat the Qing army in Ganzhou, another Ming army will be free to join the battle. The situation in Jiangxi will also be one-sided.