Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"What does Huang Qing think of the Zheng family's strength? Can the court wipe them out in one fell swoop with its current power?" Upon meeting Huang Wu, Suletan did not hold back and spoke his mind directly.

Huang Wu thought for a moment and said, "During Zheng Chenggong's reign, the Zheng army had nearly 200,000 elite troops, dominating both land and sea, making them difficult to defeat. However, after the Battle of Nanjing, their strength greatly declined. After Chenggong's death, Zheng Jing and Zheng Xi vied for power. Zheng Jing killed Huang Zhao and Xiao Gongchen, placed Zheng Xi under house arrest, and then killed Zheng Tai, leading to the defection of Zheng Mingjun, Zheng Zuanxu, and many other generals. The territories of Jinhua and Xiamen were lost, further weakening the Zheng family's power. At its weakest, they had only 30,000 to 40,000 troops remaining. However, in recent years, Zheng Jing has worked diligently..." Zhi, in Taiwan, allocated various towns for land reclamation, integrating soldiers with farmers, establishing six ministries, building temples, establishing schools, and treating Ming dynasty imperial family members well; he entrusted all political affairs to Chen Yonghua, who was skilled in governance, supervising the military settlements, planting grains, growing sugarcane, producing sugar, repairing dikes, drying salt, and promoting trade, achieving considerable success and increasing national revenue; he also ordered the towns to practice military formations during the off-season and to build ships. "I estimate that Zheng's army must now number seventy to eighty thousand to dare to invade Zhangzhou and Quanzhou," Huang Wu, true to his reputation as a Taiwan expert, had analyzed Zheng's strength quite thoroughly.

"Seventy or eighty thousand men?" The Great Khan looked disdainful upon hearing this. Seventy or eighty thousand soldiers might be formidable for a small power, but for the Great Kingdom, with its vast territory and over a million armored soldiers, it was truly insignificant.

"Although Zheng's army is not large, his warships are numerous, and his navy is the strongest in the world. Taiwan is also isolated overseas, and it is not easy to pacify it," Huang Wu slowly poured cold water on the Great Khan. Seeing the Great Khan's solemn expression, he slowly said, "Even so, our Great Khan is a vast country with abundant resources, and there are many skilled naval warriors. If we gather the strength of the whole country to cross the sea, I believe that we may not be unable to destroy Zheng."

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear," Sultan said with a sigh of relief.

"Your Majesty, after the Zheng family seized Taiwan from the foreign barbarians, the barbarians have always wanted revenge. In the past, when the Qing army attacked Kinmen and Xiamen, they borrowed troops from the barbarians to help them fight. Why doesn't Your Majesty follow their example?" Huang Wu offered another suggestion.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the Great Khan's face darkened immediately, and he resolutely shouted: "Those who are not of our race are bound to have different hearts. The Red Barbarians are inherently greedy; if we ask them for help in this war, they will surely make unreasonable demands. David is from the Celestial Empire; how can we agree to such demands? Moreover, Zheng is my subject. To ask a foreign country for help when dealing with a mere subject is nothing short of laughable. This matter is no longer to be discussed!"

After summoning Huang Wu, Sultan gained a better understanding of Zheng Jing's strength and became even more determined to cross the sea to attack Zheng. On the surface, he ordered his officials to prepare provisions and supplies for the return to Beijing, and ordered Liu Maoxia, the governor of Fujian, to negotiate with Zheng, presenting a posture of peaceful resolution to the Taiwan issue. Secretly, however, he ordered Alatancang, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, to select elite troops from Wu Zhou's surrendered army and secretly transfer them to Guangdong and Fujian. He also ordered Su He, the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian, and Mandulatu, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, to select skilled naval warriors from Geng and Shang's surrendered army and train them diligently.

Ship after ship was borrowed from the civilians and incorporated into the navy. New naval formations sprang up like mushrooms after rain, and the training of the troops stationed in Fujian and Guangdong provinces became exceptionally rigorous. Then, on May 6th, the Great Khan, true to his word, personally led an army of 300,000 back to Beijing.

"Liu Qing, you might as well appear weak in your negotiations with Zheng Jing," the Great Khan instructed Liu Maoxia, the governor of Fujian, before his departure.

"I understand, but showing weakness will only arouse Zheng Jing's suspicion. It would be better to deploy more cavalry and infantry and fewer warships, and use empty threats to intimidate him. This will make Zheng Jing believe that although our land forces are formidable, our navy is weak and cannot defeat him," Liu Maoxia said with a smile.

"Yes, what Liu Qing said makes sense! The terms of the negotiation can be strict at first and then relaxed, making concessions to the Zheng family step by step to reassure them," the Great Khan nodded slightly after hearing this, and then added a sentence.

"Your Majesty is wise! With each concession, Zheng Jing grows more arrogant. Once he completely lowers his guard, his demise will be imminent!" Liu Maoxia understood perfectly and praised sincerely. "Hehe, my Great Khan's army is strong and well-equipped. How can the Zheng family, who only occupies a small corner of the land, compare? It would be good if we could successfully deceive Zheng Jing. If we cannot, then we will fight a real battle. No matter the cost, we must reclaim Taiwan. I have always pursued perfection and cannot allow any part of the Nine Provinces to be missing! Hahaha~" The Great Khan finished speaking and laughed heartily.

Inside the study of the Prince Yanping's mansion in Dongning City, Zheng Jing, with his sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and his vigorous spirit, was handling official business. In present-day Taiwan, Dongdu had been renamed Dongning, and the newly developed granaries of Tianxing and Wannian had been upgraded from counties to prefectures. Merchants from all over the world could be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys, creating a scene where "Taiwan is flourishing, its fields and markets rivaling those of the mainland." Then, taking advantage of the battle between the Wei army and the Geng clan, he launched an attack on Fujian, successfully occupying Kinmen and Tong'an in Quanzhou Prefecture, and Tongshan, Zhangpu, and Zhenhai in Zhangzhou Prefecture, a time when he was riding high on his success.

However, not long ago, King Chuosiji of the Kingdom of Wei and the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Mandulatu, both sent him letters demanding that he return the occupied territories of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou and withdraw his troops back to Taiwan. Why would he spit out meat he had already swallowed? Zheng Jing then submitted a memorial to the Great Khan, explaining the importance of Taiwan and, citing a food shortage there, requesting to retain 100,000 troops and borrow parts of Fujian to support them. In reality, Taiwan was not short of food; the newly developed Tianxing and Wannian granaries were sufficient to supply the army, and even if there was a shortfall, it could be purchased through maritime trade. The purpose of the memorial was merely a test; with the Wei army having just defeated the three feudatories of Wu, Geng, and Shang, he was eager to know the Wei court's attitude towards the Zheng family.

Emperor Qianyuan's reply arrived quickly, shrewd and cunning. On the surface, he praised him as a pillar protecting the southeastern coast, but only granted him 30,000 troops. He already had nearly 80,000 soldiers; were the extras to be reduced? He also rejected his request to borrow parts of Fujian to support his troops, saying that the court would pay the Taiwanese army from now on, and there was no need to borrow land to support them. This was a move to undermine the Zheng family's foundation! And that wasn't all; he also wanted to establish a province and appoint officials in Taiwan, and demanded that Zheng hand over the former Ming imperial family members. Every single thing he did was to shake the Zheng family's foundation in Taiwan!

Upon seeing this reply, Zheng Jing felt extremely uneasy. After discussing the matter with his confidants, including Chen Yonghua, Hong Lei, Yang Ying, Ye Heng, Chen Shengwu, Ke Ping, Xie Xian, Liu Guoxuan, and Feng Xifan, he felt that the more critical the moment, the less weak their attitude should be. Therefore, he sent Yang Ying to meet with the emperor to express Dongning's stance: except for the establishment of a province and the appointment of officials in Taiwan, which could be discussed, all other matters were rejected.

Yang Ying has been gone for a long time; there should be news by now! He was dealing with political affairs when he suddenly became restless.

"My lord, Minister Yang has returned and is requesting an audience outside the palace," reported the guard Feng Xifan, as if heaven had heard his heart's desire.

"Quickly, call him inside!" Zheng Jing put down his brush.

Yang Ying, the Minister of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty, stepped into his study, his face beaming with joy.

"Did Emperor Wei agree to our demands?" Zheng Jing asked, seeing his beaming expression.

"Emperor Wei has already returned to the capital! I did not see him, and feeling that this matter was of great importance, I hurried back to report to the vassal lord," Yang Ying replied after calming himself. (End of Chapter)