Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 214: Shattered at the Touch, Zheng Family Surrenders
When the Zheng family of Fujian shows their power, the sea will be surging.

More than 3,000 ships of all sizes are docked at the Quanzhou wharf, like a cloud covering the sun.

Zheng Zhilong had five brothers, the second oldest, Zheng Zhihu, died early. The third oldest, Zheng Zhifeng, also known as Zheng Hongkui, passed the military examination in the 13th year of Chongzhen and is now serving as the deputy general of Dengzhou, Shandong.

The fourth brother, Zheng Zhibao, and the fifth brother, Zheng Zhipeng, had previously donated money to become students of the Imperial Academy and bought the position of deputy commander-in-chief of the navy. They were actually in charge of the military in Zheng Zhilong's army.

In addition, there were adopted sons Zheng Cai and Zheng Lian, the commander of the central army Shi Fu, the commander of the front army Huang Ting, as well as Guo Yi, Luo Dang, Yang Geng and others.

Among them, Shi Lang, who later conquered Taiwan for the Qing Dynasty, is currently serving as a young general under the command of his cousin Shi Fu.

At Zheng Zhilong's command, Zheng's troops stationed in various places in Quanzhou gathered and went to the dock to board ships. In just a few days, thousands of sails were hoisted at the dock, and Quanzhou's inner bay was crowded with people.

It took four or five days just to assemble the troops.

And this is only part of the troops stationed in Quanzhou, a total of 100,000.

The fact that he has teams in Fuzhou and Taiwan shows how powerful Zheng Zhilong is.

of course.

This power is mainly reflected on the water surface.

In later generations, our navy would still be dragons when it reached land, but in ancient times, the navy would often turn into insects when it reached land.

Therefore, although Zheng Zhilong claimed to have an army of 100,000, he did not dare to fight Mao Xiang on land. Instead, he chose to go to the sea, raising thousands of sails and flags, and marching in a mighty and majestic manner.

At this moment, the sea breeze is howling in the inner bay of Quanzhou. The color of the offshore sea is far from azure blue, but is rolling with muddy yellow water, and the coastline appears gray and black.

Even though it was almost April, the bright sunlight made the sea surface sparkle, but it was also deep and dark, with no bottom in sight.

Above the ship, Zheng Zhilong stood on the deck and looked out at the city of Quanzhou.

He had been rooted in Fujian for a long time and had good relations with local officials, often sending them silver, so he had his accomplices in the government.

He received information yesterday that Mao Xiang, who claimed to be the first commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, had arrived in Fuzhou the day before yesterday. According to his pace, he should have arrived in Quanzhou today.

Zheng Zhilong believed that the other party must have deceived Zhang Kentang, and the number of enemies was definitely not the several hundred people as Zhang Kentang said, so he had to act cautiously and take it seriously.

At present, he is followed by several generals, as for his eldest son Zheng Sen.

Zheng Sen did not board the ship.

He had always considered himself a scholar, and had even passed the examination for the title of scholar and was preparing to take the examination for the title of juren, so he was unwilling to get involved in these military affairs.

In fact, what many people don’t know is that Zheng Chenggong was the one who gave up his pen and took up arms.

If the Ming Dynasty had not fallen, Zheng Chenggong would probably have entered the officialdom through the imperial examination and risen and fallen in officialdom, instead of becoming the national hero he later became.

"father."

Just at this time, Zheng Cai came back in a small boat.

He climbed up the ladder on the side of the ship, trotted over to Zheng Zhilong and said, "Dad, they are here."

"how many people?"

"The spies saw that there were only about 2,000 people, and most of them were civilians transporting supplies. There seemed to be only 200 to 300 soldiers in the front."

"Ah."

Zheng Zhilong sneered, "I thought they were deliberately setting up a false formation and would send a large army. I didn't expect that there were only two or three hundred people. They don't take me seriously."

Zheng Cai scratched his head and said, "I think they seem to have transported some strange artillery. Could it be that the artillery is powerful? And the people in front are not wearing armor, but only swords. They are also dressed strangely, and they are carrying a strange black long-handled object on their backs."

"What are you afraid of?"

Zheng Zhilong touched his chin, hesitating whether to order his troops to go ashore and annihilate the invading enemy.

He felt that the bandits from Nanjing must be deceiving him.

Zhang Kentang had been in Fujian for several years. He was an upright person, so Zheng Zhilong admired him quite a bit.

But this did not prevent Zhang Kentang from being deceived.

Zheng Zhilong believed that Zhang Kentang had been tricked by the other party, making Zhang Kentang and others think that they were the real Ming Taizu. They also deceived Zhang Kentang by saying that they were going to send hundreds of heavenly soldiers and generals to capture him, Zheng Zhilong.

In fact, the other party must have prepared a large army, making Zheng Zhilong think that the other party really had only a few hundred people and thus let down his guard and prepare several thousand men at Zheng's house.

As a result, when the enemy army arrived, we were caught off guard and might really suffer serious consequences.

But just when he thought the other party was cheating, they actually sent hundreds of people over. It was really unexpected.

Does the other party think that they can easily defeat me with just a few hundred people?

This is too fantastic.

"General, I think that since the other party dares to come, they must have some support. Why don't we wait and see first?"

Shi Fu, Zheng Zhilong's trusted general, saw his intention to go ashore and tried to dissuade him.

"Well."

Zheng Zhilong nodded and said, "Let's wait and see."

And now outside Quanzhou City.

Fujian Deputy Envoy Sun Chaorang, Quanzhou Prefect Xia Yujin and other local officials welcomed him outside the city.

Zheng Zhilong lived in Quanzhou for a long time. During the Tianqi period, he invaded Quanzhou as a pirate. He was repelled and pacified by Wang You, the prefect of Quanzhou at that time.

Since then, Zheng Zhilong became the imperial court's coastal defense general and had a good relationship with the local Quanzhou government.

Sun Chaorang was also promoted from the prefect of Quanzhou. Before this, he and Xia Yujin followed Zhang Kentang to persuade the other party, but Zheng Zhilong was obviously humiliated and did not give him this face.

Now many officials naturally came to the outside of the city to welcome Mao Xiang.

"I am Sun Chaorang (Xia Yujin), your humble servant. I pay my respects to the Commander-in-Chief."

Mao Xiang rode on his horse and slowly arrived in front of the city. Many officials bowed and saluted him.

All the traitorous officials in Fujian have been captured by Zhang Kentang, and the chaos has been quelled, even with the help of Zheng Zhilong.

The remaining officials were all loyal ministers who later joined Zhu Yuanzhang's army after being persuaded by Zhang Kentang and others.

Mao Xiang nodded while riding on horseback and said, "Where is Zheng Zhilong? Your Majesty sent an imperial decree to summon him, but he was so arrogant that he actually asked this commander to come and invite him in person."

"This"

Sun Chaorang hesitated for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "Your Excellency, Zheng Zhilong was named the Disloyal Lord, and he felt insulted, so he summoned his troops and went to sea."

"Humph."

Mao Xiang snorted coldly and said, "He betrayed his country and surrendered to the Jian Nu, and he still feels humiliated? It's only because of Zheng Sen's face that Your Majesty can give him the title of Earl, otherwise he will be sentenced to death. Send a message to let him come to see me, otherwise there is no need to see him."

"grown ups."

A young scholar in his 20s stepped out from the crowd and said, “My father is a stubborn person, I’m afraid he won’t come easily.”

"Oh?"

Mao Xiang looked over, sized him up and down and asked, "Who are you?"

"Student Zheng Sen."

Zheng Chenggong said.

"So it's the Marquis of Zhenhai."

Mao Xiang's attitude softened immediately. He dismounted, walked over with a smile and said, "You are the Marquis appointed by His Majesty. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu also likes you very much. He said that you are a hero in the fight against the Qing Dynasty. The Emperor Taizu traveled for a long time, and later generations highly praised you. You are also a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty. The Emperor Taizu said that when you enter Nanjing this time, he will meet you in person to encourage you."

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your kindness. I am ashamed to accept it."

Zheng Chenggong said this neither humbly nor arrogantly.

He was actually skeptical.

But Zhang Kentang said that all officials from all over the south had submitted to the Taizu in Nanjing.

Even Sun Chuanting, a commander-in-chief who held military power in various provinces and was trusted by Emperor Chongzhen, had been to the Hongwu Dynasty, so he couldn't help but believe it.

So he declined with an excuse, saying that he did not want to participate in the military, and hid on the shore to study, but in fact he came to meet the other party.

Zheng Zhilong did not want to put his beloved eldest son in danger, so he agreed to his request. However, he did not expect that he would secretly run over to see Mao Xiang.

Seeing that Mao Xiang's attitude towards him was indeed different, Zheng Chenggong was thinking in his heart, could it really be that Taizu had really come down to earth?

"I know you all have concerns. I know many of you have never met the Emperor Taizu. You are worried that the one in Nanjing is the fake Emperor Taizu."

Mao Xiang saw that his attitude was not close, so he looked around and saw that many officials also had doubts on their faces, so he smiled and said: "The fact that you survived actually proves that you did not serve the Jiannu later, and did not betray the country and become traitors. It is normal to have concerns in your heart. However, you are different from Zhang Xuntai and others. You are just local officials. Later, you did not accomplish earth-shaking things like Zheng Sen, so you are not qualified to meet His Majesty Taizu."

Sun Chaorang and others laughed awkwardly. There was nothing they could do. In the eyes of the common people, they might be the prefect or deputy envoy of a place, and could be considered high-ranking officials.

But in front of the emperor, he was indeed just a local official, not even a provincial governor.

"Well, although I can't give you the right to meet the old man Taizu, I can let you see how powerful we are and know how we annihilated Zhang Xianzhong and defeated Li Zicheng."

Mao Xiang continued, "Zheng Zhilong is resisting stubbornly and refusing to obey your majesty's order. I will lead my men to defeat him. You just watch from the shore."

Zhang Chaorang said, "Your Excellency has come a long way and worked hard. Would you like to go into the city and rest for a while?"

"It's okay. It will only take a moment."

Mao Xiang waved his hand.

Zheng Sen couldn't help but said, "Sir, my father has more than 100,000 people under his command.

"enough."

Mao Xiang got back on his horse and said, "Come here and tell me where Zheng Zhilong is. I won't kill him, I'll just scare him."

Everyone looked at each other, and Zhang Chaorang said, "Then please follow us, sir." Then the group, led by many Quanzhou officials, headed towards the southeast of Quanzhou city.

It wasn't long before they reached the coast.

On the distant coastline, countless ships are densely packed with ships hanging on the sea, as crowded as a castle on the sea.

At a glance, there are at least nearly a thousand ships. The inner bay of Quanzhou is wide and they are far apart, but looking from the shore, it feels as shocking as the mountains and the sea.

"Yo."

Mao Xiang said happily: "He thinks highly of me and has gathered a lot of people."

Zhang Chaorang advised: "Sir, why don't you go into the city and discuss it carefully?"

"fine."

Mao Xiang said to the drone operator: "Take off the drone."

"Yes."

The drone operator then began to take off.

The sea breeze is very strong, which is a huge threat to ordinary drones.

Fortunately, Zhu Yunfeng only bought the most expensive and best drones, which were domestically produced DJI drones, which highlight their best risk resistance.

Thanks to the drone operator's skillful operation, the small plane took off quickly in the shocked eyes of everyone and overlooked the entire sea.

"Which ship is your father on?"

Mao Xiang turned and asked Zheng Sen.

Zheng Sen was dumbfounded and said hesitantly, "In the largest ship in the middle."

"Then use this ship as the center and don't bomb within a five-mile radius."

Mao Xiang looked at Zheng Sen again and said, "Many people may die, but this is the result of your father's disobedience. You will not be merciful."

"As long as you don't hurt my father, you can do as you please, sir."

Zheng Sen shook his head.

He has been concentrating on studying and has not interfered with or been interested in the Zheng family's military affairs. Later, he even killed his cousin Zheng Lian and placed Zheng Cai under house arrest. Therefore, he did not have deep feelings for the army.

"Well, as long as the Marquis of Zhenhai has no objection."

Mao Xiang nodded, waved his hand and said, "Follow orders."

"Yes."

Many guards then ordered the civilian laborers to drag the rapid-fire guns and shells over and arrange them neatly on the shore to form an artillery position.

"Let's fire."

After the artillery array was set up, the angle adjusted, and the shells loaded, Mao Xiang gave the order directly.

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang!"

Dozens of shells drew a parabola in the air and fell into the sea of ​​ships in the distance.

In an instant, water splashed everywhere and many ships were destroyed.

However, in just a few seconds, a new round of shells was fired, so fast that people could not keep up.

Many officials on the shore did not react in time. They only heard the sound of "bang bang bang" around them, and then many ships in the distance exploded.

Some shells fell into the water, huge explosions resounded through the sky, and huge waves erupted, with splashes of water several feet high.

Zheng Zhilong didn't react either.

While on the boat, he only saw a lot of people suddenly coming to the shore, and then in less than half a minute, the boats on both wings around him suffered heavy damage, and the ships were destroyed and the people died in an instant.

A large number of ships were torn into pieces, and many sailors and soldiers fell into the water. The calls, shouts, and cries for help were blown into Zheng Zhilong's ears by the sea breeze, making him dazed at that moment and not knowing what he was doing.

However, the bombardment lasted only less than a minute. In just this minute, Zheng Zhilong lost hundreds of ships on both wings. It is roughly estimated that there were at least thousands of casualties, and many people fell into the water.

Everyone on the shore waited for a long time before coming to their senses. Mao Xiang turned to Zheng Sen and said, "You can send someone to inform your father to surrender. I have only fired less than one-tenth of my shells. If I really use up all of them, all of your father's 100,000 troops will be killed."

Zheng Sen is now dumbfounded.

You have to know that his father was seven or eight miles away from the shore at sea, and the red cannon could not reach him at all.

As a result, the other party's cannons fired from such a long distance and accurately hit only his father's two wings, without hurting his father. In just three breaths of time, his father's troops suffered heavy losses.

What would happen if they really had to open fire with all their might?

Zheng Sen's attitude changed instantly, and he said hurriedly: "Sir, I will go there in person and persuade my father to submit to His Majesty Taizu."

"Ah."

Mao Xiang nodded and said, "His Majesty the Great Ancestor appreciates you, but I hope your father will not challenge the Great Ancestor's bottom line again and again. The Great Ancestor's patience is limited, do you understand?"

“Students understand.”

Zheng Sen hurriedly shouted, "Quick, prepare a small boat, I'll go right away."

The officials suddenly woke up and quickly found him a small boat and sent several experienced fishermen to take Zheng Sen to the distant fleet.

Zheng Zhilong had just come to his senses, after all, Mao Xiang had only fought for a minute.

But just this one minute caused enormous damage.

This is the power of the rapid-fire cannon, which can fire about 15 rounds per minute.

Just these thirty Hongwu Shenwei Dajiangjun rapid-fire cannons would have formed a fully-strength artillery regiment in World War II, capable of firing nearly 500 shells per minute.

During World War II, because the troops were dispersed, they could only form a suppressive force and could not kill too many people.

But if it were placed on such a densely packed battlefield in ancient times, it would be a true dimensionality reduction attack.

However, Mao Xiang brought 5,000 artillery shells, several thousand mortar shells and 50,000 AK bullets. It was not a foolish dream for 300 people to deal with an army of 100,000.

"Marshal, hundreds of our ships have been damaged."

"Marshal, many soldiers have fallen into the water. Quickly give the order to rescue the brothers."

"What should we do, Marshal? Our cannons can't reach the shore at all."

"Handsome."

Bad news came one after another, and the fleets kept sending flag signals to each other, trying to get orders from the main ship.

There were even many ships that broke away from the team and tried to escape.

While Zheng Zhilong was thinking about his response strategy, someone shouted, "Someone is coming on the shore."

"It seems to be the eldest son."

"It's the eldest son."

"Let the eldest son in quickly."

Everyone shouted.

Zheng Zhilong shouted, "Give them orders to stay where they are. Those close to the two wings should immediately rescue the brothers who fell into the water, and chase those who escaped."

"Yes."

The flag bearer then began to signal with flags.

Most of the ships that were originally heaving and restless gradually calmed down.

The fleet proceeded in an orderly manner according to Zheng Zhilong's orders.

Zheng Zhilong had been active on the sea for more than 20 years. Although he was beaten badly, he still had basic maritime skills and quickly stabilized the situation.

After about a quarter of an hour, the boat finally arrived and Zheng Sen was pulled onto the boat by the Zheng family soldiers.

"Father."

After Zheng Sen boarded the ship, he immediately ran to Zheng Zhilong and shouted anxiously: "Quick, give the order to surrender. It's His Majesty Taizu, it's really His Majesty Taizu who has come."

Zheng Zhilong was a little confused, and then he subconsciously said: "My son, how come you were also deceived by them?"

“I wasn’t deceived.”

Zheng Sen smiled bitterly and said, "There are only 300 of them. They have flying magic weapons and cannons that can shoot several miles away. They have only fired one tenth of their shells. Commander Mao said that if father continues to resist, he will have to order his father to be annihilated. Father, please listen to my advice. 300 of them can defeat more than 100,000 of us. This is not a match for us. Unless father abandons his family business and flees overseas, there will be no place for us on the shore. Surrender now, at least we will not anger His Majesty Taizu."

"."

Zheng Zhilong looked around in confusion.

The generals around him all lowered their heads.

Mao Xiang's rapid-fire cannon gave them a great shock, and they didn't want to fight with the enemy anymore.

"Ugh."

Zheng Zhilong sighed and said, "Surrender."

That moment.

Zheng Zhilong suddenly realized that perhaps what Zhang Kentang and others said was true.

Later in history, I might have really surrendered to the Jiannu!

(End of this chapter)