Zheng Zhilong walked out of St. Paul's Church. The resident priest, Franciscan Bishop Rod of Malacca, respectfully escorted him to the door: "God bless you. Dear General."
Zheng Zhilong looked up at the majestic church bell tower. He put his hand on his chest and bowed slightly: "Thank you, Father. I will let the troops withdraw from the church. The cannons in front of the church will also be moved away. God bless Malacca. This church has endured such a long siege. There was almost no damage at all. What a blessing from God.”
According to Portuguese historical records in the 16th century, this church was not built by a Portuguese ruler, but by a prestigious Portuguese captain, Duarte Coelho, after his ship miraculously survived a storm in the South China Sea. It was built between 1520 and 1521 to express his gratitude. At that time, it was not only a religious holy place for the Portuguese, but also a symbol of tranquility.
In 1548, the chapel was donated to the Franciscan Order by Albuquerque, the Archbishop of Malacca. In 1556, the Portuguese expanded the church and added a second floor. In 1590, a tower was added. Therefore, in the tower The clock tower is the highest point in the entire city of Malacca.
Before Zheng Zhilong came to the Chinese Military Academy in Taiwan, he was sent to Macau by his uncle to study business. He was baptized as a Catholic there. It is difficult to say how pure his faith was. He rarely went to church to pray. However, he was very fond of the Catholic church and the priesthood. The staff has always been very respectful.
This "Chapel of Our Lady on the Mountain" is a religious holy place for the Portuguese. Zheng Zhilong was an official here and took special care of this church.
That night, white flags were raised in the Peking University camp that was littered with corpses from Chinese artillery and rockets. Tens of thousands of Peking University soldiers, led by the Queen, surrendered to 2,000 Chinese Army Pioneer Corps. These Pioneer Corps militiamen looted Peking University overnight. At the Queen's Palace in 2001, Zheng Zhilong announced to several militia leaders that during the war on the Malay Peninsula, they would be lifted from military discipline. Some of these militia leaders were Chinese pirates who had traveled across the South China Sea and Southeast Asia. Some of them were veterans of the Chinese Army.
In fact, during this day, the Chinese army only continued to bombard the Pattani military camp with firearms. They did not send anyone to directly attack. However, the firepower of the Chinese army was too fierce. The Pattani people finally chose to surrender.
Zheng Zhilong issued an order that night. The regular Chinese army will march north to Johor tomorrow: not a single Malay village or town is allowed to be left along the way. If they encounter resistance, they will be killed. At the same time, all captured Malays, regardless of their status, must be imprisoned at the mouth of the Malacca River. to the prison camp.
"Most of the Portuguese and Japanese mercenaries have been sent to the prisoner camps to serve as guards. Most of the merchants who came to trade have gone to Luzon. Now they are sending people to ask for the return of their goods. A large amount of food brought from Hainan and Borneo is being Distribute..." Deputy Guard Major Zhang Wei is reporting to Zheng Zhilong. At this moment, they are at the old camp in the center of the castle. Zheng Zhilong summoned his confidants to assign tasks.
It was already late at night. Malacca, which had been filled with smoke for several days, had become quiet. However, many people in the Malacca Castle were still busy. Zheng Zhilong and his group were the busiest.
"There are not enough manpower, right? I know that. But there is nothing we can do right now. We are marching south to Aceh in Sumatra and north to Pattani. We also need to arrange for tens of thousands of women, children, old and young to return home. We also need to provide compensation to the families of the fallen soldiers. At the same time, we have to maintain arms. The factory is starting to operate. Manpower is needed everywhere. In this way, you can choose some of the Malay captives, such as the people from Pattani. They are more obedient. Recruit them to do hard work and send Japanese guards to supervise. They will definitely be able to handle this matter. ." Zheng Zhilong was very proud of the idea he had come up with. He laughed and said: "This time the Japanese people contributed a lot to the battle to defend the city. I will ask the ship owner for some more Japanese coolies later."
In terms of age, Zhang Wei is five years older than Zheng Zhilong. He also joined the Chinese Army three years earlier than Zheng Zhilong. However, Zhang Wei is very self-aware, has an easy-going personality, and has no ambition. Therefore, he has always let Zheng Zhilong do what he wants in front of him. Do whatever you want, with a little admonishment at most.
Zhang Wei nodded in agreement, but asked with some doubts: "That matter of killing without mercy. Why must we do this?"
Zheng Zhilong nodded vigorously: "Of course. Our Chinese Army suffered a big loss this time. So many manors, villages, and plantations were destroyed. This year's taxes will definitely be in vain. In these destroyed places, our military brothers also have a lot of land. The harvest of Juntun Farm this year will probably be much smaller. These have to be recovered from the natives. This time we must deal with these natives in the Malay Peninsula once and for all. Drive them all away. The land left behind will belong to us. .”
"Just do it." Some officers from the Nanyang Guard Regiment and the Nanyang Fleet shouted.
Zheng Zhilong waved his hand: "Okay. Now I will start to assign the marching sequence to the north."
Suddenly, the door to the reception room was opened. Captain Zheng Zhilong walked in quickly. He stood at attention and saluted. Zheng Zhilong's face darkened: "Didn't I say that no one is allowed to disturb the meeting?"
The guard captain looked serious and answered softly, just enough for everyone in the living room to hear: "A communication ship flying a red flag has arrived at the port. It came from Taiwan Port."
Everyone in the hall looked at each other in confusion. Zheng Zhilong stood up and asked, "Who is coming?"
"Two captains and military judges from the Supervisory Military Department, Captain Mai Jia from the Military Intelligence Department, and several others dressed as civilian officials. They have the handwriting of King Jinghai, which they want to hand over to you personally."
Zheng Zhilong put on his helmet and said to the guard captain: "Take me to see them. Where are they now?"
"In the detention room of the Ministry of Supervision and Military Affairs."
Zheng Zhilong nodded approvingly: "You did a good job. Don't let too many people know about this."
…
The detention room of the Military Supervision Department is a temporary holding place for those who have committed military disciplines but have not committed crimes. It is next to the warehouse in the center of the fortress. When Zheng Zhilong arrived, under the dim light, several military judges of the Supervision Military Department immediately He stood up and stood at attention. However, the civil servants in long robes had already fallen asleep leaning in their seats.
Zheng Zhilong read Yin Feng's autograph. He took a deep breath. He looked up at the two military judges. Then he looked behind them at the simple-dressed and unremarkable-looking Captain Mai Jia of the Military Intelligence Department. This was Mai Dahai. The nephew of the family, one of the descendants of the Yazhou Dan people who were first brought overseas by Yin Feng. Zheng Zhilong had heard of these people, including the adopted son of Yin Feng, who was known as the shipowner's orphan. They were all right. Yin Feng's most loyal direct descendant.
Zheng Zhilong asked with some confusion: "I heard that the envoy Han Zhen and the shopkeeper Han did their best during the siege. They did a lot of things...Are they really all spies of the Ming Dynasty court?" "
At this time, the new Nanyang director of the Military Intelligence Department, Mai Jia, a dark-skinned little man, stepped forward and saluted casually. He said rudely: "Lieutenant Colonel Zheng, the evidence for this matter is conclusive. Do you doubt the prince's decision?"
Zheng Zhilong is a popular figure that Yin Feng values. His acquaintances from the Zhonghua Army and Zhonghua Company are generally very polite to him. He is very dissatisfied with the attitude of the Mai family. But at this time, he had to suppress his dissatisfaction: "No. How dare I question the decision of the ship owner King? It's just that this matter involves shopkeeper Han Da. The Han family has great power in Malacca's business community and surrounding plantations. The pioneering group they formed is also outside the city. They rashly If we arrest them both, I'm afraid there will be trouble."
Zheng Zhilong's uncle, Huang Qiang, is one of the board members. Zheng Zhilong was vaguely worried that this matter would implicate his uncle. So he hesitated and asked again: "Do the big guys on the company's board of directors know about this?"
Mai Jia's face darkened and he said firmly: "Lieutenant Colonel Zheng, you have no right to interfere with the company's board of directors. Just tell me directly. How do you plan to implement the prince's order? I came here with a few brothers from the special battalion. .I can help you if necessary."
Zheng Zhilong was furious. He almost went crazy on the spot. Finally he saw the autograph written by Yin Feng in his hand. His face turned red. He took a breath and calmed down and said: "There is no need for Captain Mai's people to help. Malacca was under my jurisdiction at the time. I have I can handle things here well."
"Hehe. This place is the place of King Jinghai of China..."
Zheng Zhilong immediately said: "Do the shipowner's business well. The most important thing is to consider everything and be careful in everything. The shipowner has entrusted me with the local security and all military affairs. I must obey his orders."
Mai Jia chuckled: "I'll wait and see. I'll see how you carry out the captain's orders."
Early the next morning, at the expedition ceremony of the Chinese army and Chinese militiamen for the Northern Expedition to Pattani, Zheng Zhilong kept a gloomy face. When he paid homage to Guan Erye and Mazu, Zheng Zhilong did not go to offer incense. He only paid homage to Father Rhodes in the army. When a Catholic prays, he kneels on one leg and makes the sign of the cross on his chest.
Then, Lieutenant Colonel Zheng Zhilong, the commander-in-chief of the Nanyang March and the garrison of the Malacca Fortress, got on his horse and looked seriously at his troops as they set off.
After the logistics support staff dragging the baggage vehicles finally left, Zheng Zhilong turned around on his horse and said to Zhang Wei, who had been frowning behind him: "Thank you for your hard work, Brother Zhang. After I leave, I will leave it to you." It’s done. I’ll leave most of the personal guards to you. These people are the most trustworthy.”
Zhang Wei sighed: "Don't worry. I will do what you want. Hey, such a troublesome thing is more troublesome than guarding the castle for five months..."
Zheng Zhilong laughed, raised his hands on his horse, and rode away with his whip. He left a message to Zhang Wei from a distance: "Thank you so much, Brother Zhang. I will bring you some Siamese beauties..."
At noon that day, the city of Malacca declared martial law again. The town government office and the Chinese Commercial Store located next to the Hekou Market were taken over by Chinese soldiers with loaded bayonets. The people who did not know the details thought that the Malays were coming back. After asking around, I found out: "The Chinese Army is arresting spies."
"What kind of spy would be hiding in the garrison? Is it a Malay spy?"
"...I heard that he is a spy of the Ming Dynasty."
"Who. Who is he?"
Various rumors and legends are spreading among the Chinese who have just gained a peaceful life. But no one is very interested in it. The Chinese in Malacca need to rebuild their homeland. There are too many things to do. As long as King Jinghai of China continues to rule here .Restart trade with overseas countries. The Chinese people in Malacca do not have many demands.
Commissioner Han of the Malacca Governorate was the distant nephew of Han Ping, the director of the Chinese Company. Han, the shopkeeper of the business store, was a domestic servant of the Han family. They were arrested at almost the same time. At the same time, five places near Malacca were related to the Han family. The relevant industries were taken over by Chinese Army soldiers. Immediately, personnel from the Financial Department of the Taiwan Headquarters of the China United Company were stationed. A comprehensive inventory and inspection began. The Malacca Fortress Garrison, the Malacca Garrison, the Nanyang Chinese Commercial Building and other military, political, and commercial departments. At the same time, Start investigating and purging people related to the Han family.