1635 Han style rises again

"On the [-]th day of the [-]th month of the fifth year of Jingzhi (the year of Li Xuanzong in the later Li Dynasty) (this is the lunar month), our mission, escorted by the Ming Dynasty army, arrived in Nanning after trekking for more than ten days.

This was originally the land of Liyi in Bozhou in ancient times. Since Ming Dynasty, it belonged to Yongle.The barbarians in this area do not change the barbarian customs, the men are ugly, the women oil their hair, and hang up their skirts if they have skirts, and show their feet in the front, which is shameful to see.However, the barbarians here take it as commonplace, and there is no way to change it.These barbarians blindly follow local customs and don't learn Confucian etiquette, which is very degrading, it is a pity.Fearing that the Ming Dynasty would still confront the northern Tartars, they did not educate them. "

"Jingzhi five years, on December 23, the mission arrived in Guilin. In this place, the natives diverted water and lifted the pestle, and no one pounded it by themselves. The fields are solid, and there are shrubs in the wild. In the south of Guilin, women's clothing is similar to that of Langshan in our country. In the same way, without binding feet, I often trade in shops, which is quite interesting."

"Jingzhi sixth year, January [-]th. The mission stationed in Hengzhou (now Hengyang City, Hunan Province), and the boat was moored at dusk. The cold smoke was white on the top of the mountain, the tower was flickering, the light was divided into Lupu, and the city gate was covered by uneven clouds. , is a scenery that has never been seen in our country.

From here to Beijing, there are still more than [-] miles. The escort officer, fearing that we will not make it, advised us to wait for the boat to sail overnight.However, seeing the shade of the trees on both sides of the strait, the lights flickering, the fog on the river, and the hazy night air, it is very interesting to watch. "

"Jingzhi sixth year, January [-]th. Change from waterway to landway, change sedan chairs to board cars, load all the loads, and put them back on the car. One car, with four horses or mules, runs forward and pulls, and the sound of the hub is like Thunder, flying dust clogged the road, walking was quite tiring, it was difficult to move forward, and the experience was very bad. Every day, everyone was unkempt, looking like a refugee, this is something that I have never experienced in the country."

"Jingzhi sixth year, January [-]th. The mission arrived at Ji'an Mansion in Jiangxi. It was sunny in winter, the rivers and mountains were beautiful, the pavilions were flowing, the geese were frightened, the fishing boats sang late, and the sky was so close, it was interesting. Greatness, the splendor of mountains and rivers is far behind our country."

"Jingzhi sixth year, February [-]nd. When I entered the territory of Taiping Mansion in South Zhili, I saw fields criss-crossing, roads and tourists increasing, and villages, towns and cities becoming denser. When I was staying at a posthouse in the city, I suddenly heard that officials from Shangguo talked about The envoys of the State of Qi, who live in the southern mainland, also arrived in Nanjing ten months ago, and were welcomed by everyone. We, the members of the embassy, ​​felt uneasy, and we were somewhat hesitant about whether the purpose of this trip could be achieved."

Ruan Xie, the envoy of the Li Dynasty, put down his pen, got up and walked to the window, looking at the dark night outside, he couldn't help but heaved a long sigh.This time, they were ordered by the king of Xiding (the title of Zheng Zuo of Annan Zhengzhu) to lead a large mission of more than 130 people to Nanjing to congratulate the prince Zhu Hejun of the Ming Dynasty on his wedding.

Of course, this is the nominal reason for the mission to come to the Hajj, but in fact, their purpose of coming to Daming is still to expect the substantial support of Daming, hoping that Daming can join forces with Annan Zheng to wipe out Mo who is entrenched in Gaoping. and the Hao family who occupy Liangshan.

Especially the Hao family, this armed force that used to flee from Daming to the northern area of ​​Annan, since it captured the Liangshan area, it has almost cut off the land passage between the Zheng family of Annan and Daming.Moreover, Liangshan is only 260 miles away from the Rising Dragon Mansion in Tokyo. When an army strikes, it only takes a few days to kill them, posing a great threat to the Zheng family.

What is even more disturbing is that the Hao family unexpectedly raided Jinpu in Guangning Prefecture five years ago (1662).

After the king of Xiding heard the news, he quickly dispatched more than [-] troops to rescue.I thought that the other party's raid on the coastal town of Jinpu was just for the purpose of looting. After the army arrived, they would definitely withdraw immediately and return to Liangshan.

But who knew that the Hao family had ambushed more than [-] elite soldiers in Jinpu, and when Zheng's army was unprepared, they suddenly mobilized and wiped out almost all of the [-] troops who came to rescue.

According to the report of sporadic officers and soldiers who fled back, this Hao’s army possessed a large number of firearms. When they fought with our Annan army, the guns were endless, and the sound shook for miles. .

After receiving the defeat report, Zheng Zuo, the king of Xiding, immediately flew into a rage and beheaded all the generals and officers who had fled back.Then prepare to mobilize the army again to attack Jinpu, vowing to wipe out this extremely daring Hao's troops by the sea.

However, Zheng Tingyong, Minister of the Ministry of War, offered advice to King Xiding, saying that since the Hao family sent thousands of troops to raid Jinpu, the Liangshan they occupied must be empty.In this way, the imperial court should assemble a large army and rush to Liangshan to destroy the Hao family's lair and destroy their foundation in one fell swoop.In this way, not only cut off the threat from the north, but also cut off Hao's retreat.

After the capture of Liangshan, the imperial army will retreat to attack Jinpu under the prestige of a great victory. They will definitely drive this army into the sea and completely destroy the Hao family.

Zheng Zuo immediately adopted Zheng Ting's strategy, assembled more than [-] troops, and went straight to Liangshan.

However, after the army crossed the Beijiang River and entered the valley road in the mountains, it was blocked by a small group of Hao's troops at Youlong. It took five or six days before they cleared the way and continued on their way.When they reached Zhileng, they encountered Hao's resistance again.Relying on the steep terrain and several artillery pieces, the opponent firmly blocked our Li Dynasty army in the narrow valley.

The army continued to attack for more than ten days, with more than [-] casualties, but they didn't make an inch of progress.In the past, these steep mountain passes became my Annan's natural line of defense to prevent the northern powers from attacking the hinterland.Unexpectedly, now that the Hao family occupies this critical area of ​​the throat, it actually forces our army of the Li Dynasty to fail to go north. Instead, we are always worried that the enemy will invade the essence of our Honghe area.

After half a month, the leader of the army had to ask for help from the rear, hoping to send more troops, and at the same time asked to bring heavy siege artillery to support.

Zheng Zuo was very annoyed by this. Didn't he say that the Hao family assembled a large number of troops in Jinpu, making Liangshan necessarily empty?Why can the other party stop the imperial army for nearly a month, and even force the imperial court to send more reinforcements and go there with artillery.The line from Beijiang to Liangshan is steep and steep, and the roads are difficult. Not to mention that it is extremely difficult to carry artillery, it is also difficult to travel with food and grass.Otherwise, my Zheng family has [-] troops, why it has been difficult to completely cut off the Hao family who has been entrenched in Liangshan for so many years.

Now that he was riding a tiger, Zheng Zuo hesitated for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and sent more than [-] troops with several artillery pieces to support the front line of Liangshan.

But who knows, the reinforced army still couldn't get through the road to Liangshan, and instead lost more than a thousand soldiers again. Several cannons that were transported to the front line after a lot of trouble, one of them was completely blown up during the exchange of fire with the opponent. , the rest of the doors were damaged, and they were unusable.

After Zheng Zuo got the report, he weighed it repeatedly, then withdrew all the troops, turned around and attacked Jinpu again, hoping to recover this coastal town first, and annihilate or drive back the Hao's troops who occupied this place.

However, it was never expected that after two or three months of toss and delay, the Hao army who captured Jinpu actually relied on enlisting a large number of local people to build a solid fortress here, and took advantage of the opportunity to attack the nearby cloud. Tun Island, looting several villages, towns and farms on the island.

Unsurprisingly, Zheng's army was defeated again under Jinpu City. Facing the fortified city defended by Hao's, they besieged for more than ten days and failed, losing nearly a thousand troops, and their morale was devastated.

In desperation, Zheng Jun had no choice but to withdraw his troops and temporarily stationed in Hengpu (now Halong City, Vietnam), intending to impose a long-term blockade on Campu, trying to make it unable to obtain supplies and disperse.

But it never occurred to Hao's army to take advantage of Jinpu's geographical advantage near the sea and use ships to purchase daily necessities from Qinzhou and Qiongzhou in Daming, which made Zheng Jun's blockade lose its due effect.Moreover, the Hao family also started business with the Qi people in the south, and there were constant merchant ships coming and going here, which made Zheng Jun even more timid when he blocked Jinpu.

It was only at this point that the Zheng family came to realize that, together, the Hao family had hooked up with the state of Qi, so they dared to brazenly capture Jinpu, a coastal stronghold, in order to obtain all kinds of military supplies they urgently needed.

When it comes to Qi State, Zheng's stomach is full of bitterness.Not only did they get involved in the process of the North-South Unification War, but they also buried nails everywhere for the Ruan and Zheng families.

In the south, they supported the weak Champa and the declining Cambodia to counter the continuous expansion of the Nguyen family to the south.

In the north, they not only broke through Zheng's Shenglong Mansion in Tokyo at the critical moment of the North-South dispute more than ten years ago, but also blocked and restricted Zheng's foreign trade.Now, the State of Qi is secretly supporting the Hao family who occupy the Lang Son area, restricting their way out.

Such behavior clearly does not allow them to secure the unification of the North and the South, and continues to suppress and weaken them.In this way, Qi State can control the situation in the entire Indochina Peninsula.

Under such circumstances, Annan can only fight against Qi and resolve these separatist forces entrenched in Annan's territory only by obtaining strong external support.Therefore, Zheng Zuo took advantage of the wedding of the prince of Ming Dynasty to send this mission to Nanjing, hoping to obtain the support of the suzerain country.

"Things are only difficult, and the Daoist leader stands in the way!" Thinking of King Xiding's great trust, and considering the special relationship between Qi and Daming, Annanzheng made Ruan Xi feel anxious.

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February 1668, 2, Nanjing, Qin Wangfu.

Sun Zhenghao took off his fur, took a cup of warm tea from the maid, took a sip, and then covered the warm teacup with both hands, making his cold hands feel warm.

"Where's Madam?" Sun Zhenghao asked after taking another sip of hot tea.

"The madam is in the study with the young master." The maid next to her lowered her head and replied.

"Heh..." Sun Zhenghao couldn't help laughing when he heard this, "Madam, are you planning to let the infant feel the culture of books from an early age?"

"..." The maid bowed her head in silence.

Sun Zhenghao put down his teacup, got up and walked towards the study.

When Sun Zhenghao came to the study, he saw a lazy and beautiful woman sitting on the bed, flipping through a stack of thick newspapers, and glanced at the baby lying next to her from time to time.

"It's so cold, why are the windows still open?" Sun Zhenghao entered the room, and said in a dissatisfied tone: "Be careful that the cold wind will freeze the child, which servant on duty is this, so careless?"

"I opened the window." The woman looked up at Sun Zhenghao, and then looked down at the newspaper in her hand, "There is charcoal burning in the house. If the doors and windows are closed in the house, you will be poisoned by gas."

Sun Zhenghao stopped closing the window immediately, smiled wryly, turned around and walked to the woman.

"Since you want to read the newspapers sent by you from Qi, why don't you give the child to the nanny?"

"This is my child, why should I give it to someone else?" The woman looked sideways at the baby who was still sleeping soundly, with deep love on her face, "The baby at this time needs a mother. If you always leave it to outsiders, you will inevitably become unfamiliar with us in the future....Are you going out for a drink?"

"Oh, I made an appointment with some scholars and talked about something."

"You Ming scholars, you like to play tricks, and don't think about doing practical things for the country and the people. As Mr. Ting Lin (Gu Yanwu) said, most of the scholars in the world are parasitic and useless people."

"Ziyi, what you said offended all the scholars in my Daming." Sun Zhenghao shook his head.

"So what?" Qi Ziyi said indifferently, then sat up straight and twisted his sore neck a few times, "Scholars in the Ming Dynasty are very talkative and despise practical matters. The development and strength of the Ming Dynasty will be beneficial to the improvement of the local people's livelihood? You must know that what promotes the development and progress of a country and society is precisely the industry that they despise and despise. I think , any blacksmith in your Ming Dynasty is probably more useful than those Confucian scholars."

"..." Sun Zhengzheng was speechless when he heard this, "You Qi people, why do you always speak and do things so bluntly and without concealment. Do you know that because of the immigration problem of your Qi country, the court has long been concerned about it. The public opinion is raging. Some people once said that they will completely cut off any contact with your country of Qi and seal off the coast."

"Don't you think that it is our Qi State's continuous immigration from Daming that makes you Daming officials and gentry restrain the exploitation of the low-level people, so as to indirectly improve their living conditions?"

"...But you Qi State are constantly drawing blood from our Daming!"

"So, our Qi State mission arrived in Nanjing for more than half a month, and your father deliberately left them in the post, just to prepare to attack our Qi State in terms of immigration matters?"

"...Your Qi State mission has come all the way south, and has stopped in Qiongzhou, Chaozhou, Yizhou (a few years ago, Taiwan was renamed Yizhou) and Zhoushan. This move made the father very dissatisfied with your Qi State It has been two years since I married this Princess of Qi, but Sun Zhenghao is still a little uncomfortable with her jumping thinking and changing the subject at any time.

"Oh." Qi Ziyi nodded thoughtfully, "Your father suspects that our country of Qi has colluded with these local forces and plotted against you Ming?"

"Thinking about our Ming Dynasty, that's not enough." Sun Zhenghao thought for a while, and said: "Father thinks that your Qi country came into contact with these former separatist forces, and most of them want to manipulate us so that they can continue to influence or control Daming. "

"I think you're trying to save a gentleman with the heart of a villain." Qi Ziyi shook his head and said disapprovingly, "If you want to control and influence Daming, there is something more effective than secretly supporting the Qing captives in the north." A method?... With my royal father's heart, I am happy to see your Great Ming unite the north."

"why?"

"Because, even if you Ming expelled the Qing captives in the north, you still have to face many enemies. Moreover, the strength of these enemies is not weaker than the Qing captives."

"..." Seeing this well-informed Princess of Qi, Sun Zhenghao couldn't help being stunned, "Aside from clearing the captives, what enemy do we have to face?"