1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 383
On the eighth day of October in the 13th year of Chongzhen (November 1640, 11), Daming Quanzhou Prefecture.

"Recently, Zheng Zhilong's water and land divisions have been frequently mobilized, what are they going to do?" Quanzhou prefect Liu Tingke asked with concern.

"Back to Futai, Zheng Zhilong has been raising all kinds of materials for the past two months, preparing the army, and assembling the navy. I am afraid that he really wants to attack Luzon and Xiyi." Wang Baicheng, the aide in the government, said with his hands clasped.

"The last time we attacked Taiwan, the place was only three to five days away from the coast of our Ming Dynasty, and it was the place where the Ming people settled and colonized. It is reasonable to attack it with a large army and expand the land for the Ming Dynasty. But Luzon is far away from us. The great Ming Dynasty is thousands of miles away, a land of barbarians, Zheng Zhilong and his troops went on an expedition and crossed the sea to attack the Western Barbarians, why?" Liu Tingke sighed: "I am afraid that he is not trying to expand the land for the imperial court, but to crack the soil and seal the border. Things!"

"Futai, I heard that the Xiyi of Lu Song slaughtered nearly ten thousand Ming people for no reason and plundered countless floating wealth a few months ago. This behavior is no different from leading beasts to cannibalize people. One of Zheng Zhilong's excuses for sending troops is to fight for thousands of Ming people. Revenge and punish Xiyi." Staff Wang Baicheng said: "Thinking that my people in the Celestial Dynasty, who are thousands of miles away from my Ming Dynasty, have suffered such bad luck. Zheng Zhilong's actions have a sense of slandering the people and punishing crimes."

"Heh, crimes against the people?" Liu Tingke sneered, "Zheng Zhilong used to be a first-rank pirate, how could he know about the crimes against the people? Besides, he is only a military officer in Fujian of my Ming Dynasty. Condemnation against the people? The Ming people who were slaughtered and died went to the country to leave their homes and traveled to Luzon, that is, they have clearly betrayed our Ming Dynasty, and they are people who are aliens and belong to the Western Barbarians. How could the court provoke border troubles for this? Mere provocation to the Gentiles!"

"Master Futai, those ten thousand Ming people are all my Chinese compatriots, the descendants of the Han people!" Wang Baicheng didn't quite agree with Liu Tingke's words in his heart, and he discerned a little: "The western barbarians slaughtered for no reason, and all of us feel the sorrow of the death of rabbits and foxes!"

"At this difficult time for my Ming Dynasty, we still need to be less involved in the matter of converting people overseas." Liu Tingke shook his head and said: "With so much money and food, soldiers, why not transfer them to Henan and Hubei to fight the rebellion, or, He, Zheng Zhilong, has some guts, and he might go to Liaodong to fight the Jiannu. Even if he can conquer the Lusong Xiyi and avenge the tens of thousands of Ming people, what good will it do to the Ming Dynasty, and how can it help the court?"
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"The western barbarians slaughtered our Ming people, and the dead numbered tens of thousands. This is a shame to our Ming Dynasty! Therefore, our Daming Navy Master should be the court's conquest of these barbarians and avenge the dead Ming people." Zheng Zhilong said, looking at the The dozen or so core civil and military personnel of the Zheng family who were seated continued proudly: "In addition, if we can capture Luzon in one fell swoop in this battle, our Zheng family navy will completely lock up the entire Daming sea area and protect our Daming thousands of miles away. At the same time, It can also control the sea trade in the entire Ming Dynasty, Japan, North Korea and other places, obtain countless gold and silver artifacts for our Ming Dynasty, and enrich many merchants and small people along the coast."

"Trade winds are approaching in December, and the two sea divisions will lead the army. They must be fully prepared. Going to Luzon this time is not like attacking Taiwan last year. Whether it is sea conditions, distance, or even landing operations, it is completely different from the past in the coastal waters of the Ming Dynasty. But you don't need to worry too much. This time, Cao Xiong, who lives in Hanzhou in the south, will join us in sending troops, sending three to five large ships and about two hundred firearms to attack Luzon."

"Hanzhou has been fighting with Nanyang barbarians and Western countries for many years. He has rich experience in battle and is especially good at firearms. With their help, our land battle will be more secure."

"Captain, we are preparing our army here and hoarding a large amount of naval warfare supplies. The Xiyi must have known that we are pre-attacking Luzon." Quanzhou Deputy Commander Yang Geng said: "The other side will definitely prepare for war at this time. If we If the army rashly lands in Manila, I am afraid that they will be prepared to attack. If we cannot land in Luzon in a short period of time, many of our troops and supplies are floating in the sea, and the risk is very high. If we are not careful, the entire army will be wiped out danger!"

"Yes, Commander." General Cheng Xueen also agreed, "We all know that the Xiyi ships are strong and powerful. If they stick to Manila with their coastal defense forts, we will encounter big trouble when we land, or be blocked by Xiyi. maritime."

"The city of Manila is well-defended, and there are many forts on the docks. I know all of this." Zheng Zhilong looked at everyone solemnly, "But this time our army will recruit more than 170 ships of various sizes, more than [-] landing troops, and eight artillery pieces. It can be called a lion." The trend of fighting rabbits. And Xiyi in the entire Luzon, I am afraid that even the family members, old and weak, do not have five thousand. If this is the case, our army still cannot overcome them, so what is the use of raising all the troops?"

When everyone in the hall heard this, their hearts trembled.It seems that Zheng Dadu's attack on Lu Song is bound to hit him with one blow, and if he attacks and defeats him, the general who leads the troops may be under too much pressure.

"This time to attack Luzon, the first task is to go straight to Huanglong and gather and annihilate the western barbarians in the city of Manila. In this way, our water and land divisions will end this battle in the shortest possible time and complete the victory of capturing the entire territory of Luzon." Zheng Zhilong said : "But if the defense of Xiyi is tight, our army was in a hurry and failed to capture Manila. Our army should be transferred to another place, led by the ships of the Hanzhou Navy, to land at an alternate port, and then sweep Xiyi all the way, land Attack to Manila and complete the important task of destroying the western barbarians."

"Dare to ask the governor, where is the alternative landing port in Luzon?" a Quanzhou lieutenant asked carefully.

"There is no need to tell you to wait at this time." Zheng Zhilong shook his head and said: "After our army is ready and the attack on Manila fails, someone will naturally tell you where to wait before finding the landing site."

"Captain, I heard that there are more than ten thousand Ming people in Luzon rebelling against the Western Yi. If we invade Luzon, how will we get along with them?" Chen Hui asked suddenly.

"Incorporate most of them, and the rest of the old and the weak will be used as logistics." Zheng Zhilong thought about it and said disapprovingly.

"What if those Ming people from Luzon don't want to be recruited by us?" Chen Hui said worriedly: "To gather thousands of people to revolt and persist until now, I'm afraid those leaders are not easy. "

"Punish the leader and recruit them forcibly!" Zheng Zhilong said: "Some people have a little ambition, but they must have matching strength to live in this world."

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Sulu, Hele Island (Jolo Island), and Lecheng.

Abdul Razak, the East King of the Sulu Sultan Kingdom, had his eyes closed for a long time, as if he had fallen asleep while sitting there.

Dong Fengshan sat at the bottom, a little impatient to wait, twisting his body, looking around at the palace of the Sulu Kingdom and the several ministers sitting there.He took a flying fish boat from Xinsheng Island (now Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam) to Sulu King City on Hele Island yesterday, and delivered a letter in the name of Cao Xiong to Sulu East King Abdul Razak.

Today, he came to the palace to meet the Eastern King again, in order to obtain a definite reply from the Sulu Kingdom.Dong Fengshan also knew a little about the contents of the letter, mainly contacting the Spaniards of the Sulu Kingdom who sent troops to attack Luzon between December and January.

"In addition to inviting me to the Sulu Kingdom, did you Hanzhou also invite other forces to attack Luzon?" After a while, the East King Abdul Razak opened his eyes slightly, revealing slightly cloudy eyes.

"In order to ensure that we can completely defeat the Spaniards in Luzon, we also invited Zheng Zhilong, the governor of Fujian Province of Ming Dynasty, and the main attack force is also dominated by him, and our Hanzhou is supplemented." Dong Fengshan said.

"You Hanzhou don't have any thoughts about Lu Song...?" East King Abdul Razak asked softly.

"What do our Hanzhou think about Luzon?" Dong Fengshan was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Our Hanzhou is still at war with the Dutch, and our Hanzhou also has a huge territory that needs to be developed. For the time being Not interested in Luzon."

Eastern King Abdul Razak smiled and continued to ask, "What is the current population of your Hanzhou?"

"When our Hanzhou made a rough count in June this year, there were more than [-] people." Dong Fengshan said proudly: "This does not include the immigrants stranded on a few small islands outside of us. If you wait for twelve At the end of the immigration season from January to February, our Hanzhou Dingkou should reach around [-]."

"In just five years, your Hanzhou has grown from a small force with less than a thousand people to a population of tens of thousands, and you can face the threat of war from the Dutch and the Spaniards head-on." East King Abdul Razak sighed slightly In one breath, he said: "In the future, your Hanzhou will definitely prosper!"

"Dong Wang's praise!" Dong Fengshan said modestly, but felt inexplicably proud and excited in his heart.

"Since the Westerners are weak, I, Sulu, will naturally go to attack Luzon according to your agreement with Hanzhou." Eastern King Abdullah Razak said: "At that time, your Hanzhou will provide some weapons to my Sulu. ?”

"This..." Dong Fengshan was a little hesitant. He didn't have the authorization of the military government to provide military equipment and Sulu. Two Commanders."

"Based on what I know about your Grand Commander, your Hanzhou will probably provide me with a considerable amount of ordnance." Eastern King Abdul Razak smiled slightly, "Your Grand Commander has always been very generous, and Commander Qi must be the same. "

Dong Fengshan nodded and said that he would report to Qi Dajiang immediately after returning.

"After today's work is over, everyone should leave. I am a little tired." Eastern King Abdul Razak waved his hand tiredly and said.

After hearing the words, more than a dozen Sulu ministers in the main hall got up quickly, saluted the Eastern King, and then exited the hall gate one after another.

"Envoy of Hanzhou, stay here, I have a few words to tell you." Eastern King Abdul Razak softly called Dong Fengshan who was about to retreat.

"Your commander, Cao Xiong, has already confirmed his death, and wants to hand over Hanzhou to Qitian?" After all the ministers of Sulu had withdrawn from the hall, Eastern King Abdullah Razak looked at Dong Fengshan with burning eyes.

"Yes, everyone in Hanzhou knows that Qi Tian should be the future master of our Hanzhou."

"Hanzhou, there are successors!" Eastern King Abdul Razak looked up at the roof of the empty hall, "Missing me, Sulu..."

As he spoke, he shook his head involuntarily.Two years ago, the Sultan broke away from his control and went to the Sulu dependent territory in Borneo. He even called on the people of Sulu not to target the Spanish colonists, but instead denounced the Eastern King, saying that he was trying to kill the king and subvert the kingdom.So far, Sulu has implicitly caused a de facto internal division.The Sultan occupied the southeastern territory of Borneo and dozens of neighboring island tribes and tribes. The East King belonged to Le Island and surrounding islands in the former Sulu King City.

The split of the Sulu Kingdom not only greatly damaged the strength of the kingdom, but also aroused the covetousness of the Majindanao Sultan Kingdom on Mindanao Island.The two Sultan kingdoms that had been allies against the Spaniards, because of the ownership of the nearby islands and tribal people, sometimes had armed frictions, which further exacerbated the decline of the strength of the Sulu kingdom.

"Recently, if you return to the territory of Hanzhou, you might as well bring a messenger of mine back to your Hanzhou mainland to meet your family's commander in chief." Eastern King Abdul Razak said solemnly to Dong Fengshan.

"I will return to Hanxing Island near Daming in a few days. As for returning to Hanzhou mainland, I should return with our Hanzhou immigration fleet around January next year." Dong Fengshan said; "The messenger will inevitably travel around with us. If not, His Royal Highness Dongwang will hand over the letter to me directly. I will definitely hand over the letter to the commander in chief."

"In addition to the letter and your commander, my messenger has some important things to tell your commander of Hanzhou." Eastern King Abdul Razak said, with an unpredictable smile on his face.

(End of this chapter)