Ming politicians

When Zheng Hongkui led the warship to set off, his nephew Zheng Chenggong insisted on going out with him, but this request was rejected by Zheng Zhilong. He is already a scholar, but the offspring of the Zheng family must be both civil and military. In fact, Zheng Chenggong has already shown a certain degree of military accomplishment. According to Zheng Hongkui's understanding, Zheng Chenggong's future future must surpass that of his eldest brother Zheng Zhilong.

Zheng Hongkui knew what Zheng Zhilong was thinking, and if he excelled in learning, he would become an official. Although Zheng Zhilong himself didn't care much about secular etiquette, considering the future of the Zheng family, he still asked Zheng Chenggong to study and enter the imperial court as an official through the imperial examination. Zheng Zhilong knew very well the status of military attache in the court. If it wasn't for the richness of Zheng's family, he would not have such a status in Quanzhou.

Zheng Hongkui has always obeyed his elder brother's decision. After some preparations, he set off with [-] warships. This time he was determined to win. When he set off, Zheng Zhilong deliberately brought out the fine wine that had been treasured for many years. The two brothers were happy It was a celebration for Zheng Hongkui in advance. Both of them had full confidence in winning the Weihaiwei Wharf. Although the Jiangning Camp was majestic on land, the hegemony at sea was still owned by the Zheng family.

When Zheng Hongkui set off, he reminded Zheng Zhilong that he must pay attention to safety. Since the Jiangning battalion was so brave, they might send cavalry or infantry to attack Quanzhou after being hit. Think about it again after the Spring Festival.

Start from Quanzhou.Arriving at Weihaiwei, the sea route is long, and Zheng Hongkui has a natural sense of pride when sailing on the sea. The Zheng family navy has dominated the sea for so many years.This is all the result of the hard work of the eldest brother Zheng Zhilong. The Zheng family owns more than [-] large and small warships, patrol ships and merchant ships, monopolizing the maritime trade. At this time, a Weihaiwei Wharf suddenly appeared, and it A place where maritime trade was permitted by the imperial court.Isn't this robbing the Zheng family's business? The Zheng family started maritime trade, that is, in Quanzhou, Fujian, and went to Guangdong and Zhejiang coasts to trade. They were all sneaky and got in touch with local merchants.Secretly traded, never dared to make it public, why the court couldn't see such a situation. [

Like Zheng Zhilong's idea, Zheng Hongkui was also unconvinced. After the Zheng family's navy returned to the imperial court, there was no credit but hard work.The imperial court is short of money and can't allocate the navy's military salary. The Zheng family doesn't mind this, but you should always allow the Zheng family's merchant ships to trade in various places along the coast of Daming. Take a step back and say that the imperial court prohibits shipping, and the Zheng family There is a tacit understanding between the sea trade in secret, the court does not pursue it, and the Zheng family is also happy to conduct transactions to earn money.Everyone is in peace, but now the situation has changed. The imperial court allows maritime trade transactions in Weihaiwei, which means that Weihaiwei is the only legal trading terminal recognized by the imperial court.

Such a decree appeared.The situation has changed a lot. The Zheng family's secret maritime trade has become illegal. Although the Zheng family doesn't care about it, it feels uncomfortable to think of Weihaiwei Wharf. If any adult in the court suddenly brings it up What impeachment memorial, the emperor may order to reprimand.

The sea ban was a good thing for the Ming court, and it could increase income. Today, with the increasingly developed maritime trade, the court stubbornly insisted on banning the sea. This is completely wrong. Both Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Hongkui thought so in the early days, but as With the increase of the Zheng family's wealth, they began to support this decision. This is all due to interests. The imperial court banned shipping. The navy owned by the Zheng family can openly investigate and deal with passing merchant ships on the sea. Don't you want to trade? Sorry, the imperial court Shipping is prohibited. If you are not convinced, I will convince you. If you want to continue the transaction, you can say, bring the money and pay the money. I will turn a blind eye and allow you to trade. Anyway, you are making money for my Zheng family. .

Moreover, Zheng Zhilong also owns a large number of merchant ships, and these merchant ships are also conducting offshore and distant sea trade, earning a lot of money, these are real benefits.

Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Hongkui have always believed that sooner or later the court will open the sea ban, and the chosen location should be in the Quanzhou area. The matter of opening the sea ban should be handed over to the Zheng family, or directly to the Fujian governor's office. It was given to the Zheng family, but unfortunately the actual situation is not like this.

You can do it in the first day of junior high school, and I can do it in the fifteenth day. The Zheng family will not suffer. Under such circumstances, there is only one way left, and that is to destroy the Weihaiwei Wharf. As for Zheng Zhilong's request, it is best After destroying the wharf, he landed in Wendeng County to harass him. Zheng Hongkui didn't dare to have such an idea. The Jiangning camp is famous. Whether it's bragging or not, at least hundreds of thousands of rogues were wiped out. If the Zheng family's navy met The Jiangning battalion soldiers, who knows what the result will be, the Zheng family can dominate the sea, but they dare not have such confidence on land.

Zheng Hongkui has long been used to sailing on the sea, and even thinks that he was born to be with the sea. The boring life at sea is nothing to him at all. The sea in winter is mostly peaceful.

Although I think the Zheng family is the overlord of the sea, both Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Hongkui are very awed by the sea. It is a kind of experience of manpower manipulation. Looking at the calm sea in front of you, there may be turbulent waves in an instant. Large warships Just like a child's toy, if you are randomly bumped by the waves, if you don't pay attention, the ship may be destroyed.

Worshiping the God of the Sea is something that the Zheng Family Navy must do before setting off. The procedure of worshiping each time is very strict, and the slightest profanity is not allowed, otherwise it will be considered unlucky. Sergeants who violate the procedures may even It will be thrown directly into the sea to calm the anger of the sea god.

It has been more than 20 days of sea voyage, and it is not far from the destination Weihaiwei.

The sailing was very smooth, which made Zheng Hongkui even more confident. Both he and Zheng Zhilong believed that Sea God knew about every sea battle, and if Sea God lost his temper, he would definitely express it. So this time The voyage will not be so smooth, and he has never encountered a wave, which is a situation he has never encountered, although the voyages are all carried out in the near sea, and do not go deep into the open sea.

The fleet is about to arrive at the former three islands.

Zheng Hongkui has sailed in this generation before, and he knows very well that entering the first three islands means entering the area under the jurisdiction of Shandong, and the opposite land is Qingzhou, and then Laizhou and Dengzhou in the past.

No matter how confident he is, Zheng Hongkui is still cautious in the face of the upcoming battle. This time, because of Zheng Zhilong's arrogance, the Zheng family's sailors don't have much information, and they don't know much about the situation at Weihaiwei Wharf. As for the situation of the Jiangningying Navy, I have never inquired about it. This is a relatively serious mistake, but the situation is already like this, so there is no need to consider other issues. Besides, once the warship goes to sea, it will not be a big deal. It is possible to know other information, and all the command in front of the battle must rely on the wisdom of the commander.

After entering the former three islands, it will take about a week for the warship to reach Weihaiwei Wharf.

Zheng Zhilong has a general plan on how to launch the attack. The ten large warships mainly serve as a deterrent, and the real participation in the attack depends on other ships. Generally speaking, the draft of the dock is not very deep. It is difficult to get to the pier, especially when the tide is low. If it is not done well, it will be stranded. At this time, the warship will become a living target and encounter blows on land. However, Zheng Hongkui has his own understanding. Weihaiwei Wharf is the only place where the imperial court allows maritime trade, so the wharf must be built very large, and large warships can also enter directly. Otherwise, those large merchant ships need to use small boats to trade goods. For transit, such a pier is too ridiculous. It is said that no one will build such a useful pier.

Zheng Hongkui didn't have a deep impression of Weihaiwei, because it is located in a sensitive area. Dengzhou and Laizhou used to be the artillery base and logistics supply base of the imperial court. Later, after Kong Youde rebelled, it suffered great damage. Later, the Houjin Tartars occupied Lushun, not far from the capital city of Dengzhou, and this place became even more taboo.

Both Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Hongkui knew about Dorgon attacking Dengzhou and Laizhou on warships, but they did not receive the imperial edict, so they did not dispatch naval forces to attack Houjin's warships, Weihaiwei, and Dengzhou Fucheng. , Penglai City, and Laizhou Prefecture City, strictly speaking, all belong to the category of Bohai Bay. Fujian is far away from here, and it will take a long time for warships to reach here. Besides, the Zheng Family Navy focuses on the southern waters .

It will take some time to reach Weihaiwei, but it is already the 28th of the twelfth lunar month after entering the waters of the former three islands, and the Spring Festival is coming soon. Zheng Hongkui issued an order to slow down the speed of the fleet after entering the waters of the first three islands. Take a break, and if possible, celebrate the Spring Festival. [

Both Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Hongkui had sufficient confidence in choosing this time to launch an attack. Governments at all levels in Ming Dynasty pay special attention to the Spring Festival, and officials rarely have time to rest and take a bath. Everyone wants to take a good rest during the Spring Festival. Zheng Jiashui chose this time Su Tiancheng and the Jiangning battalion probably didn't have any defenses against the attack. Even if they were prepared, the soldiers of the Jiangning battalion on land couldn't do anything to the warships on the sea. (to be continued...)