Just after the first lunar month, King Yin Feng of Jinghai of China and his family finished their vacation and left Yazhou to return to Taiwan.
At the Taiwan Port dock, Yin Feng received news just coming from the Yangtze River front: Jiujiang, Hukou, and Huangzhou were successively attacked by the Chinese fleet. When this news was sent, the fleet forward was less than 100 miles away from Wuchang.
During this period, the Beiyang Fleet, which had no mission for the time being, dispatched almost all its cruisers to the Yangtze River Task Force. The large fortune ships and sand ships that went to Shandong to pick up refugees were anchored in Taiwan Port and Jilong Port, and after unloading countless immigrants , immediately loaded up the ammunition and baggage and resumed sailing, directly arriving at the mouth of the Yangtze River.
The Chinese military in Quanzhou, Zhoushan and other places organized fishermen from Fujian and Zhejiang to form a logistics fleet to transport supplies to the Yangtze River Fleet. They were escorted by Chinese military warships throughout the entire process, and had the advantages of strong maneuverability and strong carrying capacity of sea and water transportation. , which was brought into full play by the Chinese army, which relied on maritime trade.
In this era, no matter which country in the world, sea transportation is the fastest and most convenient mode of transportation with large carrying capacity.
In the Yuan Dynasty, grain transportation mainly relied on sea transportation. From the Yangtze River Estuary to Tianjin, it only took ten days at the fastest with favorable winds, while canal transportation took several months and was also affected by the water conditions of the Yellow River. In the early Ming Dynasty, there was still some sea transportation capacity, mainly for grain transportation. However, due to the implementation of the maritime ban, the lack of good sailors and the degradation of ship technology, more than a hundred ships were sunk in the Ming Dynasty's Caoliang within a few years. In the end, the transportation of grain from the south to the north had to rely entirely on canals...
On the Yangtze River, which is thousands of miles away, the number of various logistics support ships of the Chinese Army has reached more than 2,000, and there are more than 100 warships of various kinds. So that from Huangzhou to Zhenjiang, the Yangtze River, which is thousands of miles away, is full of ships carrying the flag of the Chinese Army.
The flat-bottomed sand boats suitable for transportation along the Yellow Sea and the Yangtze River estuary have a smaller carrying capacity than the Fu boats, but are more stable. The Chinese army modified several sand boats as artillery boats, carrying infantry field artillery and cruising on the river. Ming troops appeared on both sides of the river. , immediately opened fire on the ship - the infantry's 6-pound field guns had all used flint to set fire, and the rate of fire was faster than that of naval guns. The number of Chinese troops left behind in Wuhu, Anqing, Jiujiang, Hukou and other places was often less than a thousand. Generally, Most of them were independent battalion-level troops, but among the hundreds of thousands of Ming troops spread across both sides of the Yangtze River, not one of them dared to challenge the Chinese army's firepower.
In the prefectures and counties along the Yangtze River that the Chinese army did not attack, the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty hid in the city, lying on the crenels and peeping at the Chinese army ships coming and going on the river.
Some bolder people in various places along the river also set up stalls on the shore to do business with the Chinese army: they all listened to the words, the maritime pirate army has excellent military discipline, and it is a group of troops organized by maritime merchants, and they like to do business the most.
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Chen Daoheng, the Minister of War in Nanjing, had just become the imperial governor of the Yangtze River (this was a position temporarily given to him by Sun Chengzong, the Nanjing governor, as a ratification of his power to control the Yangtze River Navy, although at this time, Chen Daoheng only had a few fishing boats under his command). He was old. When he was older, although he lived a frugal and self-disciplined life, he could not adapt to marching in the wild in the winter. Therefore, he did not continue walking after arriving in Huangzhou, while the defeated Ming army soldiers in the brigade continued to run through Huangzhou City towards Wuchang. In fact, at this time, There are not many Ming troops following him. There are only more than 10,000 officers and soldiers from Guangxi and Guangxi led by Zhu Shishou, the governor of Guangxi, and more than 10,000 white-armed troops from his headquarters led by Qin Bangping, the commander of Shilidu. The rest are scattered troops from various Ming armies and have been lost. The establishment lost its command and became completely stragglers. Many people just blindly followed the "Ming" banner and didn't know where they were going.
Anqing General Qi Zhongyue still followed Chen Daoheng's sedan, but there were only about 500 brothers left beside him.
"Huangzhou is the gateway to Wuhan East Road, and I am stationed here to fight the pirates to the death." After resting for a day, Chen Daoheng convened everyone in the Huangzhou Yamen Hall to make the above announcement: "My soldiers (the title of the Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty) have been Reported to the imperial court, please mobilize the elite troops from Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces to go south to defend the enemy. An urgent report to the governor of Henan has been sent out, and the Henan army will be able to go south within a few days."
Everyone in the hall, including Zhou Qiyuan and others, looked at each other in shock.
The pirate army announced that its westward march was aimed at Wuchang. What did Mr. Chen mean when he announced that he would station troops in Huangzhou to resist?
Zhou Qiyuan was about to ask something when suddenly his eyes lit up and he kept silent. He tugged on the lapel of Guangxi Governor Zhu Shishou. Zhu Shishou was about to say something just now when he was pulled by Zhou Qiyuan. After all, he was an official for many years and he immediately kept silent. Word.
After Chen Daoheng expressed his determination, he did not announce any specific measures. He just asked everyone to do their best to prepare for the defense of the city, and then returned to the backyard with the support of his servants.
Zhu Shishou was from Chajiang, Anfu County, Jiangxi Province. Although he did not have much contact with Zhou Qiyuan, they were Jinshi in the same year and members of the Donglin Party, so they were naturally easier to talk to. The two of them walked together from Anqing to Huangzhou, so they could be considered as sharing a common life. When he was in trouble, Zhu Shishou didn't mince words in the hotel where Zhou Qiyuan temporarily stayed, and asked Zhou Qiyuan directly: "Brother Zhongxian, why did you tell me to be silent just now?"
Zhou Qiyuan smiled and said: "Master Chen suddenly said that he wanted to defend the city here, don't you think it's strange?"
Zhu Shishou thought for a while and said: "Indeed, it is a bit unreasonable. Along the way, the pirate army's slogans and lubu appeared everywhere. The boss has also seen it: the pirate army claimed that this battle was to prompt the imperial court to impose a sea ban. We must attack Wuchang and divide the Ming Dynasty into two parts."
week See, there is no problem for the pirates to take Wuchang directly and occupy or besiege Wuchang."
Zhu Shishou nodded simply: "Before the battle of Anqing, I still had a glimmer of hope: that the government and army would have a chance to win. After this battle, I witnessed the sea pirates' artillery fire, rockets flying across the sky, and the flames following the sound of flutes. Soaring to the sky,..." When he said this, Zhu Shishou's face showed a look of horror. He thought that the scene that night in Anqing left a deep impression on him. He sighed and continued: "I was short-term when I took office in Guangxi, but I also heard that When the pirate army swept through Qiongzhou Prefecture, the officers and soldiers were wiped out in ashes..."
Zhou Qiyuan sighed, and then asked: "The pirate army has such combat power, why do they always ask the court to impose a sea ban, instead of raising troops to directly attack the important areas of the capital, but launch attacks on the Yangtze River? Don't they have the strength? ,"
"The Ming Dynasty has a vast territory with many people, many soldiers and generals, and it is the orthodox place that inherits the destiny. It cannot be overthrown overnight, right?" Zhu Shishou was a little confused about what Zhou Qiyuan wanted to say, so he first raised the banner of political correctness.
Zhou Qiyuan gave a wry smile, shook his head, and poured a cup of tea for Zhu Shishou: "Brother Zhu's words are certainly true, but do you know who Yin Feng, the leader of the East China Sea pirates, is? He is a businessman who has returned from overseas. It is said that his ancestors are under Zheng He. In the eyes of these overseas merchants, the orthodoxy of the Celestial Dynasty, which went to sea in the West, was worth a few cents. However, just because he was a merchant who valued the benefits of trade and neglected honor and integrity, he did not necessarily take a fancy to this great cause of competing in the Central Plains. "
"What you mean is that the pirates did not intend to fight for the world. Therefore, they launched the Western Expedition just to force the imperial court to impose a sea ban and negotiate peace with them. This may be true, but what does this have to do with the boss's words today? "Zhu Shishou now remembered the reason why he followed Zhou Qiyuan here.
Zhou Qiyuan took out a document from his bag and handed it to Zhu Shishou: "Brother Zhu, please read this. This is the so-called five-year plan that the pirates have spread everywhere..." He turned to a certain side of the document and pointed it to Zhu Shishou: "Please see, the puppet king Yin Feng said here: If the Ming Dynasty does not take the initiative to send troops to provoke, the Chinese army... that is, the pirate army will never take action against the Ming Dynasty. As long as the imperial court imposes a sea ban, the pirates will still be willing to pay a tax to the imperial court every year."
Zhu Shishou did see some tricks: "...Within five years, except for Nanyang and other places, we will only respond to challenges but not challenge them. There are also five-year agricultural expansion plans, five-year mineral development plans, and colonization and immigration plans... Haha, this The pirates are really... well-organized. Although they are childish and unruly, they are not Wang Zhi. They act in a disorderly manner like Zeng Yiben. By the way, the document of the five-year plan seems to be the same as Mr. Chen's. seen……"
He raised his head, looked at Zhou Qiyuan's half-smiling face, and said seriously: "You mean: Mr. Chen intends to make peace with the pirates, so he plans to stay in Huangzhou..."
Zhou Qiyuan raised his right index finger and shook it: "I don't know whether the boss intends to appease me, but one thing is certain: he will not stay in Huangzhou City for a long time."
Zhu Shishou put down the five-year plan that Yin Feng had printed tens of thousands of copies with a movable type printing machine, and looked into Zhou Qiyuan's eyes. Zhou Qiyuan smiled: "I also read the Tang Bao Xiongtai a few days ago, Jiujiang, Hukou and other places The reason for the fall was that the defenders opened fire on the river first. Tongling, Yizhen, Luzhou, Chizhou, and Madang are all important areas for river defense. However, the pirates were all passing by and did not attack. The boss was also an understanding person. I thought He stayed in Huangzhou because he just wanted to confirm whether the pirate army really wanted to make peace with the imperial court."
Zhu Shishou shook his head: "Maybe I am right, but I still don't understand how the East China Sea pirates have become such a serious problem in the past ten years..."
Chen Daoheng's insistence on staying in Huangzhou was indeed an attempt to test the sea pirates' willingness to negotiate for peace. Another reason was also for his own reputation. On the night of Anqing's fall, he was also frightened by the Chinese army's artillery fire and fled out of the city in panic. He regretted it all the way and felt that he should have the integrity to defend Anqing. After arriving in Huangzhou, he planned to test the Chinese army's willingness to negotiate peace, but he also hoped to get lucky and planned to stay in Huangzhou and not leave.
The Chinese naval fleet is like a leisurely stroll, criss-crossing the Yangtze River. Any city that encounters resistance and provocation must be captured. However, where there is no artillery or arrow fired on the river, the Chinese warships treat it as nothing. , just passing by.
At this time, Chen Zhongji had already stayed in Anqing City to coordinate logistics matters, and the Chinese Army's Yangtze River Task Force, commanded by Mai Dahai, was approaching the boundary of Huangzhou.
The two sides of the Yangtze River in this area are the hinterland of the Jianghan Plain, with countless hills and rivers, and even more large areas of farmland. The first month is about to pass, and although the heavy snow has melted, the weather is still cold and damp.
Most of the Taiwan Fleet sailors, who are mostly from the south, have never experienced the winter in mainland China. The proportion of injuries and illnesses is increasing day by day these days. Therefore, the ships of the Beiyang Fleet are now the main force. Those sailors who have experienced the severe cold weather in Liaodong Being assigned to duty on various battleships,