The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 474 Destiny
"Ugh——"

The somber sound of bugles echoed over the Grand Canal.

A thick morning fog enveloped the canal like a veil, significantly limiting everyone's visibility.

Countless masts could be vaguely seen piercing through the mist, like a lurking herd of beasts revealing themselves.

The damp, cold mist flowed and swirled between the masts, blurring the outline of the warship into a hazy silhouette like an ink painting.

Water vapor condensed on the red-coated cannons on the deck, turning into fine water droplets that slowly slid down.

Occasionally, a morning breeze blows, and the mist flows like the tide.

On the canal, sailors whispered commands, the splashing of oars into the water and the creaking of ropes against masts echoing in the mist.

As the morning light grew stronger, the fog began to slowly dissipate.

The view of the canal finally became clear.

The massive silhouette of the three-masted Fujian ship emerged completely from the fog, resembling a moving city wall.

Around it, countless warships appeared one after another.

The centipede boat's slender hull cuts through the water, with dozens of oars on both sides moving in unison.

The nimble sentry ships and eagle ships moved swiftly through the fleet, gradually spreading out forward.

They were the vanguard of the army, tasked with warning the fleet.

It's located on the west bank of the canal.

Rows of musketeers marched along the riverbank in unison.

They carried muskets on their backs and marched forward in silence, their bayonets rhythmically rising and falling with each step.

The triangular bayonets gleamed coldly in the morning light, appearing from afar like a moving steel jungle.

Every now and then a troop of light cavalry would sweep past the marching column like a whirlwind, speeding away into the distance along with the ranks.

Not long after, they disappeared from everyone's sight again.

The massive military force startled the crows roosting on both banks. These black-feathered birds had just flown over the army formation when they were terrified by the chilling, murderous aura and scattered in all directions.

On the canal, among all the boats, a three-masted Fujian ship stood out like a crane among chickens, towering majestically in the front center, its massive hull nearly ten feet taller than the other warships.

Chen Wang stood at the bow of the ship, where the towering bridge of the three-masted Fujian ship allowed him to overlook the entire army.

There were nearly five hundred naval warships on the canal.

Among them were five large Fujian ships, fifteen No. 1 Fujian ships, thirty-six No. 2 Fujian ships, twenty centipede ships, and fifty-one silk-draped ships, totaling one hundred and twenty-seven main warships.

The rest were small boats like the Eagle Boat and the Cangshan Boat, used for auxiliary functions.

The navy alone has more than 15,000 troops.

"At the current speed, we will arrive in Jining in five days."

Sun Shenwu stood beside Chen Wang, reporting to him on the current progress of their northward march.

With the dust settled on the Battle of Yangzhou, the situation in the south quickly stabilized as Chen Gong led 70,000 troops from Pingnan Town southward.

Li Jiyu led his troops out of the city and surrendered, handing over the city of Nanjing.

The Nanjing People's Army's navy naturally surrendered along with Li Jiyu.

Without the obstruction of the Wanmin Army's navy, Sun Shenwu led his navy eastward along the Yangtze River, then northward to the Beijing-Hangzhou Expressway, eventually reaching Xuzhou.

Chen Wang frowned slightly. No matter how many times he smelled the slightly fishy smell of the river breeze, he felt somewhat uncomfortable.

However, Chen Wang's mind was not affected by this; his thoughts remained clear, even though he had only slept for four hours the night before.

"Jiannu, what's that noise on the water over there?"

Upon hearing Chen Wang's question, Sun Shenwu lowered his head slightly and answered.

"Li Qingshan has led his ships to a place more than 20 miles south of Jining, and has basically confirmed that the Jurchens are still hiding in the city."

"The navy of the northern country is mostly small ships, with very few large ships. We have checked all the places in the surrounding area where troops could be hidden, but we did not find any fire ships lying in wait."

Sun Shenwu paused for a moment, somewhat hesitant.

"Li Qingshan is a former subordinate of Li Yan and a general. This time, Li Qingshan has been appointed as the deputy commander of the navy, allowing him to lead a division on his own."

"When the war is in our favor, there is indeed no need to worry, but..."

Chen Wang naturally understood the implication in Sun Shenwu's words.

“Don’t trust those you employ, and ignore those you doubt.”

Chen Wang raised his hand, stopping Sun Shenwu from saying anything more.

Li Qingshan and Wang Jun were both members of the Shandong rebel army.

Under Sun Chuanting's suppression, the two had no choice but to move their troops south and join forces with the Wanmin Army.

Later, Li Qingshan and Wang Jun's works were adapted by Li Yan.

Although Li Qingshan, like Wang Jun, was appointed as a general.

However, due to the closeness of their relationship, the Wanmin Army's navy was actually controlled by Wang Jun, who was merely his deputy.

When the inspectors from the supervisory office reported back, Li Qingshan had no intention of joining forces, but he had difficulty in controlling the various leaders under him. Although he was unwilling to join forces as deputy, it had no effect whatsoever.

Therefore, Chen Wang did not hesitate and secretly sent an envoy to negotiate with Li Qingshan.

Li Qingshan did reply, expressing his loyalty.

Chen Wang's deep understanding of the Wanmin Army's naval strength stemmed from the large amount of intelligence he obtained from Li Qingshan.

When the situation was at a stalemate, Li Qingshan was somewhat distant.

However, as the tide of battle turned and the Wanmin Army showed signs of weakness, Li Qingshan's resolve became completely firm.

At the end of the Battle of Yangzhou, Chen Gong led the Pingnan garrison to arrive and completely crushed the main force of the Wanmin Army's land division.

Without hesitation, Li Qingshan chose to turn against his own side.

Wang Jun was ambushed and killed by Li Qingshan, leaving the Wanmin Army's navy without command.

Then Li Qingshan led his troops to pursue and wipe out Wang Jun's remaining forces.

All the officers and soldiers of the Wanmin Army's navy who tried to resist were killed by Li Qingshan, and the rest were recruited by him.

This is why the Jingnan Navy's strength has expanded so much.

Sun Shenwu's concern lay in Li Qingshan's fickle nature.

If the war goes against them, Li Qingshan might consider siding with the Qing army.

"Now you have two-thirds of the ships in the Zhenxia Navy. Li Qingshan is just the naval commander of Shandong. Even if he wanted to rebel, he would find it difficult to succeed."

"and……"

Chen Wang remained calm, gazing at the forest of banners on the river.

"We will absolutely not lose."

The tide surged forward relentlessly, and Li Qingshan was indeed an unscrupulous opportunist, no different from Zheng Zhilong.

However, as long as the tide is in his favor, Li Qingshan has no chance of resisting.

Just like Zheng Zhilong, who is so dedicated and hardworking.

During the Battle of Yangzhou, Zheng's fleet was on the river, watching as more than 300,000 soldiers of the Wanmin Army were wiped out overnight.

To demonstrate military strength, Chen Wang even had Zheng Zhibao come ashore to accompany the army.

The fierce battle of Yangzhou left Zheng Zhibao, a notorious pirate who had roamed the seas with impunity, pale-faced, speechless, and filled with fear.

Although naval battles are brutal, most engagements are only fights between a hundred men.

However, in land warfare, large-scale battles involving more than 100,000 people, where armies clashed and were caught in a dilemma, human life was as worthless as grass, and the word "tragic" could not be used to describe the battle.

There's nothing inherently wrong with speculators. As power grows and expands, no one can guarantee that there won't be speculators among their ranks.

If used properly, even a speculator can turn it into a sharp weapon.

Chen Wang did not believe that he lacked the ability to control a small figure like Li Qingshan.

"How's the situation in Haizhou?"

Chen Wang did not continue discussing the inland waterway navy with Sun Shenwu, but instead turned to Dai Zhenglin, who was standing to the side, for a question.

The Qing army had no inland river navy at all; the development of an inland river navy had been completely halted by Chen Wang.

The five hundred warships that followed Chen Wang north this time included all of Chen Wang's remaining naval forces.

The remaining surplus sailors were all transferred by Chen Wang to Haizhou for retraining.

"At Haizhou Shipyard, the first batch of warships has been launched. In accordance with the General's previous instructions, they were built in the style of Western galleons. They are all of the third-class sailing warship standard proposed by the General, all of them are large ships of 700 tons, and all are soft-sail warships."

"There are twenty instructors, thirteen of whom are Dutch and the other seven are Portuguese."

"The East China Sea Fleet is tentatively scheduled to have 3,107 personnel."

After flipping through the documents in his hand, Dai Zhenglin replied.

"The lower gun deck should have ten cannons weighing eighteen catties each and eight cannons weighing fifteen catties each."

"The upper gun deck has sixteen nine-pound cannons and ten six-pound cannons."

"The forecourt and stern are equipped with close-in weapon systems, using six 1000-pound breech-loading cannons."

"A total of fifty cannons."

Dai Zhenglin closed the document and added.

"In accordance with the General's previous order, a cannon-casting workshop was established in Xuzhou, with 57 foreign artisans and 1,045 military artisans registered there."

Hanzhongwei was still too far away, and its size was also limited due to its geographical location.

Therefore, Chen Wang is now gradually shifting the military industry eastward.

With the reconstruction of the Southern Zhili Arsenal, large sums of money were poured in, and numerous military buildings sprang up. The craftsmen of the Hanzhongwei Arsenal were also relocated to the Southern Zhili Arsenal.

The Southern Zhili Arsenal will soon completely take over the responsibilities of the Hanzhong Guard Arsenal, becoming the arsenal of the Jingnan Army and the entire southern China...

No.

strictly speaking.

The newly established Southern Zhili Arsenal will become the largest military factory in East Asia, and even the world.

"With Mr. Bo Jue overseeing the cannon factory, it is now on the right track. According to Mr. Bo Jue's estimate, it can produce at least 80 heavy cannons weighing over 18 jin each per year, and 200 smaller cannons as well."

"This is the estimated annual output for the first year. The annual output will increase in subsequent years as the number of craftsmen and their skill level improve."

Chen Wang frowned slightly; this output was indeed a huge increase compared to before.

However, the navy is currently short of more than 100 heavy artillery pieces weighing over 18 pounds, and more than 300 medium and small artillery pieces.

This doesn't even include supplies for the army; all of this is still far from enough.

Time, time, time is what we lack most.

In today's China, Chen Wang simply doesn't have much time to prepare.

"Send a message to Zheng Zhilong."

Chen Wang remained silent for a long time before finally making a decision.

"I want him to lead troops to Haojing."

"Those Portuguese living in Macau have forgotten the pain of the past and have become increasingly arrogant. They even dared to build forts on their own, and the taxes they pay each year have become increasingly scarce."

Dai Zhenglin was slightly taken aback. As the Chief of the General Staff, he naturally knew about the situation in Macau.

The Portuguese in Haojing did indeed build forts there, but the Ming court was aware of this, even though it was not officially permitted, because local officials allowed it.

"Haojing is the Haojing of Xiangshan."

"Fragrant Hills is Fragrant Hills of China."

"No outsider is qualified to build a fortress on Chinese territory."

Chen Wang glanced back to the east and said calmly.

"Let Zheng Zhilong take back Haojing."

Chen Wang's eyes were calm and still, as if he were telling a very ordinary story.

“Those barbarians, if they still wish to reside in Chinese land, must abide by Chinese laws… must obey… my commands.”

"I don't care about anything in Macau."

“Tell Zheng Zhilong that I only want the artillery factory in Macau. No matter what means he uses, whether it's negotiation, threats, or war, even if he burns the entire Macau to the ground, I will not pursue the matter.”

The cannon factory in Macau is the most well-equipped cannon factory in East Asia today, and it also has a large number of skilled craftsmen.

Once you acquire the cannon factory in Macau, you can obtain a large number of cannons in a short period of time by investing enough silver.

Dai Zhenglin frowned slightly, looking somewhat hesitant.

"The barbarians in the South China Sea should not be underestimated. Although they are few in number, their ships are strong and their cannons are powerful. Although the Zheng family has been rampant in the outer seas, they have not started a war with them."

"Zheng Zhilong was greedy, and although he had a strong and well-equipped army, he was unwilling to go to war with the barbarians. The reasons for this still need to be pondered."

"Now that the Northern Expedition is imminent, shouldn't we try to avoid causing trouble?"

"Moreover, I believe it is still uncertain whether Zheng Zhilong is willing to obey the General's orders."

Chen Wang shook his head.

"Since I dared to issue this order, it means I have already weighed all the pros and cons."

Chen Wang gazed into the distance, his tone resolute.

"The foreigners now occupying the islands of Macau are the Portuguese, one of the Western barbarians."

"Their country is currently at war with another major power, and the threat to their homeland has already left them with no time to spare."

"Macau will not receive any assistance."

Chen Wang withdrew his gaze and focused it on a young military officer on the side of the ship not far away.

The young military officer was named Zheng Sen.

Many people may be unfamiliar with the name Zheng Sen.

However, Zheng Sen also had another name, a name that is well-known to many people in later generations—Zheng Chenggong.

"Zheng Zhilong will definitely agree."

He knew it in his heart.

"He knew perfectly well that he was a businessman, and always has been a businessman."

"He knew clearly that he did not have the strength to conquer the world, and he also knew clearly how to make choices that would maximize his own interests."

"If he wants to make a profit, if he wants to last, if he wants to survive, he has to rely on me."

"Zheng Zhilong will certainly obey my orders."

Chen Wang's tone was firm, without the slightest hesitation.

“The Mandate of Heaven has always been a vague and ethereal concept.”

"But now..."

“Fate is undoubtedly on my side.”

"at this point……"

"Without a doubt."