The 20th year of Chongzhen is a year that does not exist in history.
But this year is crucial to the world situation.
Because this year Zhang Xianzhong of Sichuan was successfully assassinated by the Qing court. In December of the same year, the largest warlord leader in the north, Zuo Liangyu, who was crowned king by Zhu Yuanzhang, died suddenly in the army.
If we look at the original historical records, this great warlord leader in the late Ming Dynasty has lived for more than two years.
But in this time and space, his sudden death still caught Zhu Yuanzhang off guard, who was making various plans and preparations for the Northern Expedition in an orderly manner.
To be honest, Zhang Xianzhong died well, allowing Zhu Yuanzhang enough time to march through Sichuan without spending a single soldier.
But Zuo Liangyu's death was completely bad news for Zhu Yuanzhang.
Without him at the front, the Manchu Qing's iron hooves would have reached the Yangtze River coast.
In the current land of Jiangnan, the gentry has just been cleansed, and it is time to recuperate. If you can give him two years, no, it doesn’t even need two years, only one year. With the wealth of Jiangnan and the sea trade controlled by the state,
, the Ming Dynasty would be able to establish itself in an absolutely invincible position.
Unfortunately, things in the world are like this, and they are always full of accidents.
The most difficult thing is how to reverse this situation that is not good for you and turn bad things into good things.
And this is what Zhu Yuanzhang is good at.
When he was fighting in all directions at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang experienced many unfavorable situations and was even forced into a desperate situation.
After all, he is not Liu Xiu, the son of the plane, he is just Zhu Chongba who started with a bowl and a mud-legged background.
But Lao Zhu's greatest talent is that he can always find a way to break through the most unfavorable situations, and then be reborn, even stronger than before.
This is the most important reason why he can stand out among the heroes in the late Yuan Dynasty.
So when he received the news, Zhu Yuanzhang did not panic at all.
In fact, he had already prepared backup plans to face such emergencies.
He directly transferred Xu Da back and asked him to lead 30,000 elite troops to go north immediately to take over as many hundreds of thousands of leaderless soldiers as possible after Zuo Liangyu's death.
Even if they cannot be controlled by themselves, they will never be allowed to surrender to the Manchus.
This matter was not too difficult for Xu Da, because Zuo Liangyu is still the King of Hanjiang under the Ming Dynasty. After his death, what he left behind is still the Ming Dynasty army. It is reasonable for the Ming Dynasty to send generals to stabilize the army.
Another point is that in the past two years, the imperial court has been providing him with food and grass support behind his back. Although it is not much, coupled with Zhu Yuanzhang's some tricks, the food and grass are like a carrot hanging on a donkey's head, which is enough to attract him.
Fight hard against the Qing army.
If not, how could this warlord leader have fought to the death with the Manchus for so long with his habits?
Relying only on a dry prince with no visible benefits, he would not waste his military power in vain.
Zhu Yuanzhang also took advantage of the opportunity of supplying grain and grass, and consciously sent Jin Yiwei to operate and bribe the generals in the left army.
Nowadays, nearly half of the grain transport officers and more than ten generals in Zuo Liangyu's army are considered members of the imperial court.
Although the grain transport officer is inconspicuous in the entire army, he can play a decisive role at critical moments.
Coupled with the well-fed generals, Xu Da used 30,000 elite troops to suppress the hundreds of thousands of mobs, which was not a big problem.
Then Zhu Yuanzhang transferred Tang He from the early Ming Dynasty and asked him to take over Xu Da's position to suppress the disabled gentry within the Ming Dynasty and prevent them from resurrecting.
After completing these preparations, Zhu Yuanzhang personally took Li Wenzhong and Mu Ying quietly south to Fujian.
He wanted to meet Zheng Zhilong in person.
Zheng Zhilong has been very proud of himself in the past six months. Facts have proved that his big gamble six months ago was right.
The Hongwu Emperor in Nanjing who knew neither the truth nor the lies did not disappoint him. When the civil unrest on the southeast coast first broke out, he swept across the southeast with thunderous force. Coupled with his secret help, he showed off his power on the southeast coast.
The centuries-old maritime merchant gentry group was directly uprooted.
This was successful, and the imperial court took back the foreign trade rights it wanted along the southeast coast.
And he also took advantage of this chaos to annex several groups of pirates. These groups of pirates were all thugs raised by officials and gentry. They used to rely on their strong backing, but they had suffered several hidden losses. This time
Zheng Zhilong finally let out a sigh of relief.
After this battle, the number of large and small sea-going ships under his command jumped to more than 3,000, making them a giant in the entire South China Sea, and even in the East and Southeast Asia.
Half a month ago, his fleet had another battle with the fleet of the Dutch East India Company. The foreigners were beaten by him until they cried for their fathers and mothers. They were so happy.
At the same time, the imperial edict naming him the Duke of Jinghai had also been issued, along with the imperial robes and the Duke's seal.
Moreover, the father-in-law sent by the imperial court told him that his Duke's Mansion in Nanjing had been built, and he could move in directly when he came over.
This made Zheng Zhilong feel a little dizzy.
He felt that this should be the pinnacle moment of his life
To be granted the title of Marquis and Prime Minister, to honor his ancestors, and finally to return to his hometown with great honor is the goal that he has been striving for all his life!
I didn't expect this to be accomplished so easily.
On the sea, he has reached the limit of what he can do, and there is no other pursuit, so next he is going to Nanjing to be the prince of his country and enjoy wealth and wealth in peace.
During this period of time, he has been involved in the transfer of command of various ship gangs.
He planned to first hand over the command of part of his fleet to his son Zheng Sen.
Although this boy is young, he has already shown his outstanding ability in leading combat operations. Zheng Zhilong feels more at ease when the fleet is entrusted to him.
However, before Zheng Zhilong could leave, the imperial guards found him first and told him that someone wanted to see him.
"What?"
"Emperor Hongwu came to Fujian in person? And he has already reached the Minhai Sea?" Upon hearing the news, Zheng Zhilong was instantly stunned.
After knowing that Minhai was his home base, he did not expect that Zhu Yuanzhang would have such courage to come to Minhai.
After all, although he received the title of Lord Jinghai, in the final analysis he was still a separatist power with tens of thousands of troops and thousands of ships. If he really had any evil intentions, the Hongwu Emperor would be unable to fly.
"Father, it seems that although this Hongwu Emperor doesn't know the authenticity, he is indeed very courageous. I think we might as well invite him on board to have a look!" Zheng Sen said with a smile behind him.
"You are the only one who talks too much!" Zheng Zhilong glared at his son and was about to say that he would return to Minhai to meet him soon.
The Jin Yiwei said calmly: "Mr. Jinghai, your Majesty really wants to see your fleet with your own eyes. Just make preparations. Your Majesty will arrive tomorrow at the latest."
"this……!"
Zheng Zhilong and his son looked at each other.
This Emperor Hongwu is no longer bold, he is going to bully them!
Playing cards so unconventionally made both of them a little frightened.