1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 847 The Weak Party

"If I had known this, I should have gone out and charged before the enemy's formation was formed just now!" Ma Ling sighed bitterly.

Of course, he only sighed verbally. If he really wanted to open the city gates to fight, few people in the city would dare to take the risk.The Haihan army outside the city was all equipped with muskets, and their weapons were far superior to those of the Ming army in Shipu. It must be the Ming army who fought head-on and suffered.There were only a few hundred people under Ma Ling, and he didn't dare to make a fuss at all. He could only watch helplessly as the Haihan Army outside the city set up artillery positions without haste.

What Ma Ling is worried about now is not how to defeat the enemy army outside the city, but how to stop the outbreak of this battle as soon as possible.Seeing the posture of the enemy army outside the city, he had already lost his previous composure.

"Let Zhang Qian come to see me quickly." The only way Ma Ling can think of now is to quickly find someone out of the city to negotiate with the Haihan Army.And among his cronies, it seems that there is only one person who can be used.

Zhang Qian is an old scholar who can't test his fame. He is in his 40s and has no illusions about becoming an official.Zhang Qian's wife and Ma Ling's wife are cousins, and relying on this relationship, they became Ma Ling's confidants, and occasionally acted as the master's staff, helping Ma Ling give advice.Ma Ling doesn't trust the few hundreds of households under him who are greedy for life and fear of death. If they want to force them to go out of the city to negotiate, maybe the first thing they do after going out is to sell themselves, so this matter has to be done with a reliable person Just do it.

Zhang Qian soon came to Ma Ling. He seemed to have guessed the purpose of Ma Ling's summoning him at this time, and asked for his life: "The situation is critical now, why don't you let me go out of the city to have a talk with that Haihan man."

Ma Ling pretended to persuade: "It is very dangerous to go out of the city at this time, brother Zhang should think about how to resist the enemy's attack on the city."

Zhang Qiandao: "If we can negotiate a settlement, the lives of hundreds of soldiers in the city may be saved, but once a war starts, the swords and guns will have no eyes, and the casualties will be difficult to control. If I don't go, when the city is broken, I will still be damned. Why don't you give it a try. Since the Haihan people have sent a letter to the city to send someone for an interview, they must have left room for it, and it's better to give it a try than to sit and wait for death."

Ma Ling originally had the idea of ​​letting Zhang Qian leave the city for peace talks. Since Zhang Qian took the initiative, he saved the trouble of persuading him.Regardless of whether Zhang Qian's courage is true or not, Ma Ling is grateful at this time, after all, it is impossible for him to leave hundreds of people in the city and go out to negotiate with the enemy in person.

After the two agreed on some details, Ma Ling asked the soldiers to open the city gate and send Zhang Qian out of the city.However, in order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, Zhang Qian rejected the proposal to bring a few soldiers along, and went out alone.

"Zhang Qian is really a righteous man!" Ma Ling sighed, and decided to treat this brother-in-law better in the future, and try to get him a formal establishment in the army.Of course, the premise is to survive the current difficulties.

Of course, Zhang Qian was not as brave as he showed. After the Haihan fleet entered Shipu Port, he had a premonition that something would happen to Shipu.After the opponent concentrated the fleet on the shore and sent people ashore to vote, Zhang Qian was even more sure that the defenders at Shipu Station had little chance of winning.Although he is a clerk, and he is not an expert in military affairs, at least he can see that the Haihan Fleet is not a fake, and it is not beyond the reach of Chang Guowei's navy.Ma Ling ordered the city to be closed, hoping to wear down the enemy's patience, but Zhang Qian thought that the enemy probably would not let Shipu Suo just stand under their noses.Sure enough, soon the Haihan army sent infantry to land, and even the cannons were unloaded ashore.

When Ma Ling sent someone to pass him on, Zhang Qian knew that he had to take the blame himself, because Ma Ling's subordinates were all warriors, and they couldn't negotiate at all.Even if he didn't want to go, Ma Ling would still force him to go. Instead of making everyone look bad, it's better to take the initiative to apply.In this way, at least he can gain a good reputation. If the negotiation fails and he is arrested and killed by the Haihan people, it is better than dying silently in the chaos.

Now that Zhang Qian has figured out the worst outcome, he is not so scared after leaving the city. He also knows that if he behaves timidly, it will not only lose Daming's face, but more importantly, he will be seen by his opponent. With a guilty conscience, there is no way to negotiate the terms of this peace.Although Zhang Qian believes that the most ideal result is that the other party is willing to negotiate a peace, he must at least have a little room for bargaining for the Ming army.

"Now I want to negotiate, I really don't cry without seeing the coffin!" Gao Qiaonan put down the binoculars in his hand and said with some disdain.

As soon as the gate of Shipu Suo City was opened, Gao Qiaonan had already received the report. He thought that the Ming army in the city would dare to go out to fight, but when he saw the city, a man was released, obviously intending to negotiate terms. It was negotiated.This did not exceed Haihan's expectations, but the Ming army was so cowardly that Gao Qiaonan was also a little disappointed.

Xu Yuzhuo, who had just landed ashore, was a little relieved. If he could avoid tearing himself apart with the Zhejiang Ming army, it would be better to avoid it as much as possible.After all, the people under him have also been paid for several years. If they want to attack the Zhejiang Ming army, they will feel awkward because of their status.Of course, he will definitely not come forward to negotiate such a matter, and leave it to the Haihan people to handle it.

Qian Tiandun and Shi Diwen discussed briefly, and decided to let Shi Diwen come forward to deal with the envoy of the Ming army. At this moment, the fleet has cleared the east area of ​​Shipu Port, and there is still Xu Yuzhuo to assist the command. There was no need for him to stare at it himself.However, the army's position outside the Shipu Institute has not yet been deployed. If the negotiation breaks down and needs to be acted on later, Qian Tiandun may be needed to direct it on the spot.

Zhang Qian went all the way outside Haihan's camp in fear, when several scouts who had been outside came to question his identity with muskets in hand.According to Zhang Qian's report, he explained the purpose of coming, and after Haihan soldiers went forward to search him, they led him into Haihan's camp.

Zhang Qian saw that the Haihan soldiers were all dressed in gray cloth uniforms, and almost none of them wore armor, not even helmets, but if you say they are poor, basically everyone has a firecracker in their hands, which is far better than the three soldiers in the Ming army. Fifty percent of the musketeers' equipment.Moreover, there are so many cannons in the Haihan army, I am afraid that the number has surpassed the entire Chang Guowei's Ming garrison.

When Zhang Qian arrived at the Chinese army, he saw that the Haihan army that had just landed was gathering here. Hundreds of Haihan soldiers silently and neatly followed the command of the officer and quickly formed a queue, ready to go to the front line.Even if Zhang Qian didn't understand military affairs, he could still feel the killing spirit on these soldiers, which was definitely not something that the Ming army who had been out of battle in Shipu for a long time could possess.

"The villain, Zhang Qian, the secretary of the Shipu Guards, has met all the heroes!" After Zhang Qian was led into the tent of the headquarters, he hurriedly introduced himself.

"We are not green forest heroes. I am Shi Diwen, the supreme commander of the Haihan East China Sea Fleet. What you see outside is our East China Sea Fleet." Shi Diwen introduced himself unhurriedly.

Zhang Qian thought to himself that this fleet is the "East Sea Fleet", so there must also be a "South Sea Fleet". A fleet of this size, the entire Ningbo Prefecture... No, maybe the entire Zhejiang navy cannot gather the same combat power. fleet.The strength of the Haihan people at sea is indeed as strong as the rumors. Although I have never seen the situation of the Haihan people fighting at sea, but I think the Fujian navy has so much respect for Haihan, it should not be bad.

"It's a villain's slip of the tongue." Zhang Qian apologized while thinking about how to call this officer of the Haihan people. It must be against the rules to call him a master or a military officer. It seems that the green forest atmosphere is too heavy to be called the master. In the end, he could only force himself With a smile on his face, he called out: "Master Shi Da, this place is the boundary of Daming. It seems a little...unfriendly for your fleet to be blocked in Shipu Port like this."

Shi Diwen thought to himself that this is not only unfriendly, it is already a situation where war may start at any time.However, since the envoy of the Ming army had arrived, the deployment outside would take some time, so he didn't mind spending some time listening to what the envoy had to say.

Zhang Qian thought about it and continued: "I heard that Haihan has always been on good terms with me, Daming, and has done many righteous deeds to assist the government in suppressing bandits in Fuguang and Guangxi provinces. Why did they do such illegal things when they came to Zhejiang? Gu Nian of Ma Qianhu of the Shipu Guard The expensive fleet has just arrived and doesn't understand the rules on the ground, so they retreated quickly, so I don't care about your abrupt actions."

Although it is said that he came to discuss peace, Daming's face cannot be lost casually, and he should be reserved first.Zhang Qian reckoned that maybe the Hai Han people were afraid of the majesty of the Ming Dynasty, so they really retreated, which is also a good thing.Of course, this was just a good wish, and it was shattered immediately.

"It's true that we have a good relationship with Daming, and we are willing to help the local government solve the troubles caused by the land and water bandits, but this also requires the local government to cooperate with us." Shi Diwen replied: "I heard that pirates have been rampant in the waters near Ningbo Mansion for many years. The government has always been unable to solve the banditry problem, and our Haihan army couldn't bear the suffering of the people in Zhejiang, so we sent our troops to the north to completely solve this problem for the Zhejiang government!"

Zhang Qian scolded in his heart that the people in Zhejiang would care about your business, and who asked you to travel thousands of miles to take care of this business, but he apologized with a smile on his face: "Everyone in Haihan really admires the kindness of the villains. It's just to use soldiers in Zhejiang. , You must first obtain the permission of the imperial court, the permission of the adults at all levels in Zhejiang, and report the time, place and action plan before entering the defense area of ​​each guard. Otherwise, it will cause misunderstandings and conflicts, and it will not end well."

"According to your rules, I'm afraid we won't be able to enter Zhejiang in ten or eight years?" Shi Diwen said with a smile: "I think it's better to follow our way. You go back and ask the Ming army in the city to lay down their weapons." , go out of the city and accept our control. We save some ammunition, you save your life, and everyone doesn’t have to hurt their peace.”

Zhang Qian could hardly control the expression on his face when he heard it. Although he knew that the actions of these Haihan people had no good intentions, hearing the commander of the other party say it so bluntly, as a citizen of Ming Dynasty, he still felt that his face was pale. hot.Zhang Qian retorted: "This is the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and we need to follow the rules of the Ming Dynasty!"

Shi Diwen said: "Oh? Did the pirates in the East China Sea abide by the king's laws of Ming Dynasty? Did you soldiers in Shipu do their duty to protect the waters of Daming? The rules must be enforced by someone, and they are only written on paper. Come on, who can you scare? Thousands of Haihan soldiers outside this tent can maintain my Haihan's rules, what do you use to maintain your rules?"

"Having said that, what is the difference between your actions and those pirates in the East China Sea?" Of course Zhang Qian would not agree with Shi Diwen's statement, and continued to argue: "What you are doing at this time can already be regarded as Invasion, the villain wants to advise shopkeeper Shi Da not to openly become an enemy of me, Da Ming!"

Shi Diwen said: "Being an enemy of Daming? This is just your idea. If I order to destroy the Shipu Institute now, what do you think will happen?"

Shi Diwen looked at Zhang Qian's eyeballs, and said calmly: "After receiving the news, the governor of Zhejiang may be in a mess for a day or two, and dispatch Ming troops from other places to intercept us. Eat a few games in a row After the defeat, the big shots will find that we can't chew on our hard bones. If they don't want to be reprimanded by the court, they can only suppress this matter and not report it to the higher authorities. As for the unlucky ghosts in the Shipu Institute, they will probably give them random names. For example, if you encounter a shipwreck while patrolling at sea, or you die while killing pirates, in short, I will give you a reasonable reason to disappear. At that time, the commander of Chang Guowei or higher-level officials will come to negotiate with us, and the tone will be better than yours. It’s much more polite now. In the end, they’ll come to some quid pro quo with us, meeting our demands in exchange for stability in the coastal areas. Victims like you, no one will talk about it after the incident.”

"No...it won't..." Although Zhang Qian refused to believe Shi Diwen's argument, he felt that it seemed reasonable. Those big figures above who were only interested in profit would really put the lives of people like Shi Pusuo at risk. Is success more important than their official career?
"Even if you people can earn some money for the grown-ups, can it compare to the benefits we can bring?" Seeing that Zhang Qian's position was in chaos, Shi Diwen continued to hit the railway while it was hot: "Even if you all die here , no one will care about it in the future, there will not even be an exact cause of death, and the court will not recognize your sacrifice, because it will be a great shame for Ming Dynasty."

Shi Diwen raised his finger to Zhang Qian and said, "It is meaningless for you and the Ming army in Shipu to continue fighting. Think about your family members. If you are all dead, who will support them? In this situation, I suggest that you survive first and then think about other things. I will give you an hour to think it over. After you return to the city, persuade thousands of households in the city. Remember, there is only one hour, when the time is up If you still refuse to cooperate with us, then I'm sorry!"

(End of this chapter)