The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 591 Zheng Chenggong's First Northern Expedition

In the first year of Guangde in the Great Qi Dynasty, and the twelfth year of Hongguang in the Great Ming Dynasty, on February 15th, at noon, at Shuangyu Port in Zhoushan.

The sea breeze was strong and the flags covered the sky.

Forty-nine heads of Qi soldiers were hung high on the mast, swaying in the sea breeze.

The sun shone on the sea, making the waves sparkle, and the faces of the Qi soldiers showed different expressions before their death.

Beneath the forty-nine human heads is a white curtain.

Inside the curtain sat a row of Ming officials wearing animal-like robes. These county magistrates from eastern Zhejiang were surrounding a young warrior like stars surrounding the moon.

The 22-year-old Zheng Chenggong, the Lord of the Country, sat behind a Fuzhou lacquered square table in the center of the curtain.

He was wearing a white robe and a white pointed hat with a small gold piece on the brim and a white feather hanging from it.

On both sides of Koxinga stood a warrior dressed in Japanese costume, both wearing veils, one with a cold look and the other with a slightly gentle look.

The warriors, holding Japanese swords decorated with shark skin, looked around like two fighting roosters without stopping.

Behind the Japanese warriors stood ten black men with dark skin, thick lips and short hair.

In addition to their strange appearance, these blacks are also very strong. They run very fast, can charge and fight, and are equipped with sophisticated muskets and long swords, making them quite powerful.

There were 300 such Wufanzi. Like the two cockfighting Japanese warriors, they were mainly responsible for guarding Koxinga.

Koxinga was of medium build, with a beard that reached his chest, a loud voice, and he liked to gesticulate while speaking. In addition, he had fair skin, which made him undoubtedly an outlier in the Ming Dynasty (compared to the gentle and refined Confucian scholars).

People who have seen him claim that the most distinctive feature of Koxinga is his eyes. Koxinga's eyes are rarely still and are always observing the world.

"Everyone, today is the anniversary of my father's death!"

Zheng Chenggong said this, then knelt down facing northeast and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Father! I am an unfilial child and cannot offer my respects at your grave! But don't worry, I will be here soon! After we conquer Liaodong and clean up the graves and plough the courtyard, I will use the heads of Liu Zhaosun's entire family to comfort your spirit in heaven!"

Koxinga cried in front of the tablet on the table. After a long time, his emotions calmed down a little. He looked at everyone with red eyes.

"This king and Liu Zhaosun have a paternal vengeance! This paternal vengeance is irreconcilable!"

A thunderous roar rang out from within the tent, startling the civil servants who had come to serve him.

Koxinga wore a huge bone ring on his right thumb, which he usually used to draw the bow. At this moment, the bone ring was shaking violently in the air, and along with its owner, it was accusing Bao Qi of his numerous crimes.

"Since the first year of Wuding in the pseudo-Qi Dynasty, a total of forty-nine members of the Zheng family have been killed and slaughtered by Liu Zhaosun! My father and his brothers all died in Liaodong! Today, I will kill forty-nine prisoners of the Qi army to pay tribute to the spirits of my clansmen in heaven! The thief Liu was warmongering and extravagant, and he has long been hated by heaven and man! I will lead a million troops to the north to wipe out the tyrannical Qi and uphold justice, with poetry as my testimony!" Koxinga waved his hand fiercely, and the handsome warrior held up a scroll.

Zheng Chenggong slowly opened the scroll in front of a group of civil officials and read aloud:
The army went to Zhoushan to fight against the enemy
Dressed in mourning, she swore to destroy the enemy at the sea.
An army of 100,000 soldiers passed through Gusu.

Try to see Deng Lai throwing a whip to cross the river,
I don’t believe that the surname of Liaodong is not Zhu!
On February 26, Zheng Chenggong, the commander-in-chief of Fujian, Prince of Yanping, and general of the Ming Dynasty, led more than 3,700 large and small ships and warships, with a total force of 170,000 troops, north from Zhoushan, crossed the Yangtze River and Huai River, and arrived in Shandong, launching a northern expedition against the Great Qi.

At the same time, Yang Tinglin, the governor of the Beijing camp, led 20,000 soldiers from the Chihe Camp and the Zhenwu Camp, marched north from Xuzhou to recover the lost territories in Jianghuai.

The Fourth Corps of the Qi Army stationed in the Jianghuai area had not yet recovered from the shadow of the recent defection, and was once again in a desperate situation with reinforcements cut off, morale low, and the army pressing in.

Under the command of Qin Jianxun, the remaining 8,000 Qi troops of the Fourth Corps retreated to the four cities of Huai'an, Pixian, Suqian and Siyang, holding their ground and waiting for reinforcements.

The wealthy and powerful families in the Huaiyang area took the opportunity to rebel and lead the way for the Ming army. In the prefectures and counties where the rule of the Great Qi was weak, the rebels directly opened the gates to welcome the enemy.

Farmers' associations and chambers of commerce were purged everywhere, and the wealthy and powerful families who had been suppressed made a comeback and became the masters of this land.

On March 17, Pi County fell. More than half of the Fourth Corps suffered casualties, leaving only more than 3,000 people. They were forced to retreat to Henan and planned to join forces with Pu Gang who was fighting in Huguang.

At this point, six prefectures and one county south of Shandong and north of the Yangtze River were all occupied by the Ming army.

On the fifth day of March, Zheng's army arrived at Yizhou Prefecture of the Great Qi and captured Aoshanwei. On the 26th, they attacked Tianheng Island, annihilated all the Qi navy on the island, and killed more than 300 people.

The Shandong Qi army, which was stabbed in the back by the White Lotus Sect and bandits, was almost completely killed in the attack by Zheng Chenggong's army.

On the second day of April, Zheng Chenggong's fleet arrived in Dengzhou. The fleet bombarded the Beijing camp soldiers who entered Yizhou Prefecture, Shandong from land. The prefects and county magistrates stationed in Shandong by the Great Qi either died or surrendered.

By the end of April, half of Shandong had fallen, and the Ming army launched a fierce attack on the three cities of Jinan, Linqing and Jining.

The entire Qi court was shocked when it learned that the Zheng army had swept across Shandong.

Once the three cities are lost, Shandong will be in danger, and Lushun, Jinzhou and other places in southern Liaoning will face the battlefield, and the foundation of Da Qi will be shaken!

Zhao Lujiao, the commander of the Eighth Corps stationed in Jinan, was a stubborn person when it came to fighting.

In light of the lessons learned from the fall of the Jianghuai cities, he ordered the fortifications to be fortified and the countryside to be cleared, and sent people to patrol the city to strictly prevent spies and internal collusion.

The residents of Jinan did not dare to go out, fearing that they would be regarded as spies of the Zheng army and executed.

The doors and windows of every household in the city were closed, and there was dead silence. Even the chickens and dogs dared not bark.

The price of food on the black market in the city skyrocketed, and people did not dare to go out at will, so many people starved to death at home.

(End of this chapter)