After the second Shandong War, the situation in Shandong has once again entered a relatively stable stage. It is estimated that the Qing army will not launch a new attack in a short period of time. After this actual combat training, Zhou Shaohuan also initially
As he matured, he could take on heavier responsibilities. So after dealing with these matters, Shang Yi was ready to return to Hangzhou.
The men and horses brought by Shang Yi also returned with Shang Yi, taking only one hundred Manchu prisoners among the prisoners captured in this battle. In addition, Shang Yi also took away ten pieces of Niu Lu's armor and twenty pieces of armor.
The armor of the white-armored soldiers and a hundred flags were presented as trophies to the Nanjing court. Although Shang Yi was not sure how long the court could survive. At the same time, more than 6,000 people left with Shang Yi's fleet.
people who are willing to immigrate to Taiwan.
All the remaining prisoners of war stayed in Shandong to serve as coolies, and other spoils of war were also kept. At the same time, Shang Yi also left a thousand horses and two cavalry companies to help the merchant army in Shandong establish a cavalry force as soon as possible.
It was already the end of December, and Shang Yi's New Year was probably going to end in a naval battle, so he had to rush back to Hangzhou to celebrate the Lantern Festival. And the 17th year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, 1164, was finally coming to an end.
, in a few days, the Ming Dynasty will become history forever. Next year's calendar will be the second year of Shunzhi or the first year of Hongguang, but neither one has a substantial relationship with the Ming Dynasty. Troubled times are finally coming.
.
The fleet sailed at sea for five or six days, and everything went smoothly. In winter, the wind and waves in the sea were very small, and the ship sailed very well. Shang Yi spent most of the day writing in the cabin.
Or else just talk to Alexandra about the current situation.
Unknowingly, it has been a year since Alexandra came to China. She has a basic understanding of the situation in China, and after the war in Shandong, she also has a good understanding of the combat effectiveness and composition of the Qing army.
She has gained a certain understanding. Since she is a foreigner, she views the situation in China more objectively and does not have any barbarian concepts.
In Alexandra's view, China's current situation is actually very similar to that of ancient Europe. They both have advanced culture and splendid civilization, but they also face the threat of barbarians. The Manchu Qing Dynasty is equivalent to China.
The Germans were to the Western Roman Empire what Attila the Hun was to the Eastern Roman Empire. Because in the age of cold weapons, advanced civilization and culture were always no match for barbaric power.
Shang Yi definitely agreed with her words. As for the combat effectiveness of the Qing army, Alexandra believed that it was probably at the level of Europe at the end of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century, with mainly cold weapons supplemented by some firearms. But in
Tactics are still those of the cold weapon era, so firearms cannot fully play their role. Compared with the merchant army, this is obviously a backward army. Although there is no denying the Qing army's personal martial arts and overall combat level and fighting will
They are all very high, reaching a very high level in the cold weapon era.
In terms of the military level of the Merchant Army alone, it is actually not inferior to the Qing Army. What's more, the Merchant Army also has a powerful navy. Therefore, Alexandra also believes that if necessary, they can use the sea route to attack the Dagu area.
Landing, go directly to Beijing, or land on the Liaodong Peninsula, and go straight to Shengjing, where the Qing Dynasty suppressed people. This is
Shang Yi also received strong praise from Shang Yi. The attack on Beijing and Shengjing by sea was actually in Shang Yi's plan, otherwise he would not have to defend Shandong so hard. It's just that in the Shang army, there is no one
After seeing this, a Spaniard who had only been in China for a year explained it clearly.
However, Manqing is now a national organization after all, and considering that it has newly occupied a large area of land in northern China, it may not be easy for the merchant army to fight against him for a long time. Therefore, Alexandra concluded that as long as Nanjing
If the imperial court gives Shang Yi the necessary support, the merchant army will definitely be able to defeat the Qing army, or at least maintain the current situation of dividing the north and the south.
After listening to her analysis, Shang Yi also smiled bitterly. It seemed that foreigners still didn't understand China's politics, so he had to say: "Yani, we can't count on the Nanjing court. We can only rely on ourselves for everything."
Alexandra couldn't help but be very surprised and said: "Why can't you count on it? Without the support of our merchant army, your Nanjing court may not be able to support it for even one year. Therefore, their best choice is to fully support us.
They resisted the Qing army. This is a very simple reason. Is it so difficult for them not to understand?"
Shang Yi had no choice but to smile bitterly again and said: "Sometimes the simpler things are, the harder it is to understand, because..." Shang Yi pointed to his temple, "Because people tend to think in complicated directions.
question."
Alexandra shrugged her shoulders and said: "My dear, sometimes you actually look like a philosopher. But back to reality, to be honest, if we don't get the support of the Nanjing court, I'm afraid
It’s hard to beat the Manchus.”
Shang Yi smiled and said: "No, I don't think so. I think we can definitely defeat the Manchus."
Alexandra said: "Why? Without our help, Nanjing can't resist the Manchu and Qing Dynasties. After the Manchu and Qing Dynasties occupy Nanjing, the territory will be even larger, and you only have the territory of one province now, why do you
It is said that you can defeat the Qing Dynasty. Unless you can take the lead and take these places for yourself before they are captured by the Qing Dynasty."
Shang Yi shook his head and said: "No, it is impossible for me to seize these places first. In the early stages of the war, Manqing may occupy many places." He opened the map, pointed and said: "The two Huaihe Rivers will definitely be lost.
, and Huguang will also fall, and even Nanjing will be occupied by the Qing Dynasty. I will probably only be able to save parts of Zhejiang and Shandong."
Alexandra was very puzzled and said: "After calculating this, at least most of the entire China has been occupied by the Manchus? How can you defeat the Manchus?"
Shang Yi said: "When the Manchu Qing occupies most of China, I can defeat him, because his power has been dispersed. Let's assume that the Manchu Qing has 100,000 people, so if they occupy the two Huaihe Rivers, they can wipe out 10,000 people.
, and then leave 10,000 people to garrison, occupy Huguang and then
Ten thousand can be wiped out, but ten thousand must be left to garrison. If Nanjing is captured, five thousand can be wiped out, but five thousand must be left to garrison. After the Manchus occupy most of China, their military strength will be depleted.
Most likely, by that time, we will be able to defeat them."
But Alexandra was confused and said: "I really don't understand what you are talking about. Are you saying that you are losing space and destroying the enemy at the same time?"
Shang Yi smiled and said: "You don't understand now, but you will understand in a few years. Just like this time in Qingzhou, we gave up Qingzhou, but wiped out more than 20,000 enemy troops. It was the Manchus who gave up attacking Laizhou.
Fight, otherwise I will give up Laizhou, but then I will
I can destroy 20,000 of their troops. If they continue to attack Dengzhou, I can continue to destroy their troops. Remember that places must be defended by people. If all the enemy's soldiers are eliminated, the place occupied by the enemy will be destroyed.
Nature belongs to us."
Alexandra was still confused and seemed to think it was the same thing. But after thinking about it carefully, she still didn't understand anything, so she had to say: "I still don't understand. Your problems in China are too complicated."
Although the level of warfare in Europe during this era far exceeded that of China, and many new tactics suitable for firearms appeared, in terms of strategy, it was still far behind China. Strictly speaking, it was not until the early 19th century that
The German Carl von Clausewitz’s [On War
] appeared, there were no good military theoretical works in Europe. This can not but be said to be a very strange phenomenon. You must know that Europe has always spent its time in war, while China has been in war as early as BC.
A large number of military theoretical works such as "Sun Jie's Art of War" appeared.
Therefore, Alexandra's understanding of Shang Yi's guerrilla warfare theory is not as good as that of Zhou Shaohuan, Tong Dayong and others. However, one advantage of foreigners is that they don't get into trouble and don't think about things that they don't understand.
At this moment, someone outside the door suddenly shouted: "Report."
Shang Yi was startled for a moment and said, "Come in."
After the door opened, a soldier came in and said: "Report to the military gate, there seems to be something going on at sea. It seems that our merchant ship was attacked by pirates."
Shang Yi was also stunned. Now he had opened various sea trade routes and began to officially carry out sea trade. Unexpectedly, he encountered pirates robbing his merchant ship, so he hurriedly got out of the cabin with Alexandra.
, came to the deck to watch the competition.
I saw that on the sea surface three hundred meters away, there were indeed two merchant ships flying the merchant flags, approaching like Shang Yi's ship Sea Rose. And on the sea surface in the distance, there were three sailing ships, slowly approaching.
Drive far away.
After a while, the merchant ship approached. Several people took a small boat and came to the Sea Rose. The soldiers here pulled them over. One of them knelt on the deck and said, "Sister-in-law, it's us. I'm Lin Wei."
.”
Shang Yi took a look and recognized him. His name was Lin Wei. He had the same identity as Lin Chen. He was an adopted son of Lin Zhiyang. He worked for the Lin family and ran overseas trade. Shang Yi had met him several times. Because
Now Shang Yi is married to Lin Fengwu, and he has always been a very peaceful person. Therefore, Lin Zhiyang's clerks and shopkeepers all call Shang Yi "eldest uncle" to show their affection.
Shang Yi asked: "Lin Wei, what's going on? Have you encountered pirates?"
Lin Wei nodded. It turned out that after Shang Yi obtained Japan's navigation rights, Lin Zhiyang was the first to respond. He immediately organized two merchant ships to open up Japan's trade routes. Lin Wei, who was experienced overseas, escorted the ship to set sail. Unexpectedly, he encountered an enemy on the way.
When the pirates attacked, after the pirates robbed the ship, they actually told Lin Wei to ask Shang Yi to find them at sea if he had the guts. Finally, Lin Wei pointed to the three ships going away and said: "It's them
.”
Shang Yi nodded. It seemed that the pirates were still coming for him, so he couldn't ignore both public and private affairs. So he turned around and asked Alessandra: "Yani, do you think you can chase them?"