The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 660: Battle of Quanzhou
"I can help Your Majesty ascend to heaven soon, but I'm afraid this technique of resurrection will not be of any use."

"Oh?"

"It's midsummer now, and Huainan is filled with heat and the sun is scorching. After a person dies, the body will rot in half a day at the earliest, or two days at the latest... Forgive my limited knowledge, I'm afraid I can't revive General Lin."

"Forget it. What's the point of saying death? Your body will be buried like a mountain. I am just saying this."

Despite saying this, Liu Zhaosun still looked disappointed.

He had never held much hope for Master Zhang's abilities.

The so-called Taoist magic is ultimately just an illusion, used to comfort people's hearts.

"Your Majesty, the soldiers who died in Guazhou must be buried there as soon as possible. The seasons have been off these days, and if we delay, both their bodies and souls will be destroyed."

"I understand."

Wisps of green smoke rose from the incense table.

Luo Wenjian escaped, but the consequences were endless. If they had known this would happen, they should have sent a large army to directly annihilate Guazhou.

"We originally wanted to reduce civilian casualties, but we didn't expect that more people would die in the end."

Zhang Yixing saw that the emperor looked exhausted, so he advised:

"If it weren't for the Water Palace Dragon Boat Incident, his achievements wouldn't be greater than Yu's. Pi Rixiu's poem 'Reminiscence of the Bian River' fully describes Emperor Yang's achievements in building the Grand Canal. Now that Huaiyang has been pacified and the canal transport system has been abolished, Emperor Yang of Sui will be remembered as a tyrant through the ages, but Your Majesty will be remembered in history."

Liu Zhaosun laughed bitterly and said, "Remembering my name in history? Master Zhang, are you kidding?"

"How could a poor monk deceive Your Majesty?"

The retired emperor thought to himself, if he could become an immortal by killing Tokugawa Iemitsu, isn’t this a lie?

But at this time, he had no intention of blaming Zhang Yihang.

Lin Yu died in battle, the imperial guards were almost completely killed or wounded, and a group of old ministers were lost. If a few more died, he would be left alone.

"Whether it was a merit or a fault, let future generations judge. But the price paid for it was too heavy."

Zhang Yixing stroked his beard and smiled, "Although I am an outsider, I have heard in the past few days that Your Majesty has taken control of the Huaiyang salt industry and made a profit of tens of millions. This will greatly enrich the national treasury and benefit countless people. Infinite Heavenly Venerable, all the gods and demons in the heavens, well done!"

Thinking of the tens of millions of silver and millions of acres of fertile farmland confiscated by the Chamber of Commerce in Yangzhou, Huai'an and other places, my heavy heart felt a little relieved.

"Fujian hasn't been pacified yet, and now there's this Emperor Longwu. Guangdong and Guangxi are pretending to obey, but secretly disobeying, and there are also several provinces in the southwest... Thinking of this, I feel terrified. I don't know how many more people will die."

Seeing the retired emperor's sad face, Zhang and his entourage were about to step forward to comfort him when they heard Francisco's rough nasal voice outside the palace.

"Your Majesty, the maids from the Cining Palace are here to welcome you. The Empress Dowager and Concubine Liu invite Your Majesty to enjoy the flowers."

The emperor asked Master Zhang to pray for Fujian.

"Your Majesty, what's going on in Quanzhou?"

Liu Zhaosun prayed to the God of True Martial Arts, then turned back to Master Zhang and said:
"The remnants of Zheng Sen, bewitched by Emperor Longwu, are wreaking havoc in Quanzhou and threatening Fuzhou. The Sixth and Seventh Corps are working together to encircle and suppress them. Hopefully, fewer lives will be lost."

After leaving the Daqing Palace, he led the high priest to the Cining Palace.

Francisco asked about the art of resurrection. Seeing the Portuguese's expectant expression, Liu Zhaosun shook his head and said:

"How can the dead be resurrected? It's all fake."

The big-nosed European grumbled, looking slightly disappointed:

"Oh, I thought Taoist Zhang was like a witch in the Middle Ages, knowing magical spells that could make the dead rise from their graves."

"That's not resurrection, that's Dawn of the Dead."

Liu Zhaosun suddenly stopped and said solemnly:
"Life is short and short, and it will eventually end. People will die, and I will die too."

"Life is short and varied, and it all comes to an end."

Francisco pondered it carefully, but he didn't know that this was a famous quote from Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface" in the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

Liu Zhaosun walked alone in the deserted Forbidden City, without a single guard or eunuch by his side.

The people around him were either fighting bloody battles on the battlefields of the empire or had already died.

Perhaps I can live to be three hundred years old, or even five hundred years old, but at the end of the day, I will die.

Cining Palace.

Without waiting for the palace maid to report, the emperor pushed the door open and walked straight to the back garden.

Jin Yuji Liu Rushi is admiring flowers in the garden.

He came to Jin Yuji and whispered:

"Lin Yu died in battle in Guazhou. It happened a few days ago. Pu Gang ordered the news to be suppressed. I just learned about it."

The watering can in the Empress Dowager Cisi's hand fell to the ground.

~~~~
Quanzhou, a city that is not very famous in history.

Compared with long-standing cities such as Chang'an, Nanjing, and Luoyang, it seems to be relatively unknown. However, this unremarkable city rose rapidly during the Song and Yuan dynasties and became an important global port city at that time.

The Longqing Prefecture Chronicle records: "Quan is located in the south of Fujian Province. The mountains are winding and uncut, and the harbor is winding but not turbulent."

In the first year of Qiandao in the Southern Song Dynasty, the Song court abolished the Maritime Customs Offices in Liangzhe because "Fujian and Guangnan both have maritime trade, with a vast amount of goods, and it is appropriate to appoint officials to supervise them. Only the redundant ones in Liangzhe can be abolished." The government left Quanzhou and Guangzhou to supervise the maritime trade, and the status of the two ports was thus equal.

Quanzhou is located at the mouth of Jinjiang River, connecting the inland and the ocean, and has many deep-water ports including Houzhu Port.

In the fourth year of Jiatai in the Southern Song Dynasty, the wealthy Pu family in Guangdong and Guangxi became increasingly poor, so Pu Kaizong moved his family to Quanzhou to continue the spice trade.

In the tenth year of Chunyou, the Song court appointed Pu Shougeng, the son of Pu Kaizong, as the Quanzhou Maritime Customs. During this period, a large number of Arabs came to Quanzhou, greatly promoting the economic development of Quanzhou.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, various factions fought against each other in Quanzhou.

"The people of Quanzhou were first devastated by the Hui invaders, and then by their friends," and commerce was severely damaged.

Coupled with the suppression of the maritime ban policy in the early Ming Dynasty and the influence of the Japanese invasion, this city that relied on overseas trade gradually declined.

In addition to man-made disasters, siltation is also a reason for the decline of Quanzhou Port.

During the heyday of Quanzhou Port, ocean-going cargo ships could sail all the way to the foot of Jiuri Mountain and the mouth of Luoyang River. However, by the end of the Ming Dynasty, the mouth of Luoyang River had almost become a mudflat.

In the third year of Taichu, the Zheng pirate group suffered a crushing defeat in the Liaonan naval battle. Zheng Sen retreated to Japan and took refuge with the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu.

Zheng Sen's escape caused the Zheng family's power to fall apart, and directly led to the complete collapse of the Ming Dynasty's rule in Fujian.

In the third year of Guangde, after the new policies in Zhejiang and Jiangsu were completed, the Seventh Corps (Cavalry Regiment) was ordered to move south from Zhejiang and enter Fujian, encountering almost no resistance along the way.

According to historical records, those who surrendered without a fight included "191 officers of all ranks and 23,000 cavalry and infantry."

June of the third year of Guangde.

The vanguard of the Seventh Corps crossed the Xianxia Mountains and defeated the remaining Ming army in Tingzhou, beheading more than a thousand people. Emperor Longwu Zhu Youjian and Prince of Lu Zhu Yihai led the remnants to flee wildly, and later fled to Quanzhou, where they fought like trapped beasts.

In early July, the Sixth Fleet bombarded Quanzhou City.

At this time, Zeng Guozuo, the general of Fujian in the Ming Dynasty stationed in Quanzhou, had 4,000 troops and was responsible for defending the counties and fortresses around Quanzhou.

The defending army consisted of "1,700 Zhejiang soldiers and 1,500 local soldiers", totaling 3,200 people.

As well as 77 Satsuma warriors and 450 sailors and merchants from various Portuguese countries.

The army was well-equipped with artillery and ships, and there were also 3,000 remnants of Zuo Liangyu's army around them.

On July 15, the third year of Guangde, Wang Zengbin, commander of the Seventh Corps, ordered the First and Second Battalions to join forces with part of the Sixth Fleet that landed at the mouth of Luojiang River, totaling 8,000 troops, to jointly besiege Quanzhou.

Historical records show: "At one time, the mountains and the sea rose up at the same time, and people from all directions rose up. The rebels in the villages became their wings and built strongholds. The treacherous people in the city became their confidants and intended to cooperate with them from within." The Ming rebels fought desperately, and the strongholds outside the city were soon conquered by the Qi army.

On the fifth day of August, the main force of the Seventh Corps arrived outside Quanzhou City.

Seeing the critical situation, Zeng Guozuo personally led hundreds of cavalrymen, opened the gate and attacked the Qi army camp.

Wang Zengbin ordered the first battalion commander Zhang Jin and the second battalion commander Yang Xiancai to fight, while Wu Aheng sent Meng Jinbao and others to attack the Ming army from both sides by water.

Zhao Guozuo was defeated and retreated back into the city.

After this battle, more than half of the Ming army in Quanzhou were killed or wounded, and more than 70 Japanese pirates were all wiped out. The more than ten surviving Portuguese escaped by rope at night and surrendered to the Qi army.

The Qi army was invincible, and the remnants of Zheng Sen in the surrounding areas were panic-stricken and fled to Jinjiang. Quanzhou thus became an isolated city.

On the eighth day of August, the main forces of the Sixth Corps and the Seventh Corps successfully joined forces at Chongfu Temple in the east of Quanzhou City.

Wu Aheng and Wang Zengbin had not seen each other for many years. The two commanders sat down in the meditation room of the temple. Without taking time to reminisce about the past, they immediately discussed the next annihilation campaign against the Ming army.

To be on the safe side, Wang Zengbin suggested setting up camp first:
"The enemy is few in number, and we are many. The pirates have no reinforcements, but we have sufficient food and supplies. We can lay siege for a long time and wait for them to fall apart and collapse without any attack."

Wu Aheng was not interested in sieges. Naval operations strived for quick victories, and blitzkrieg was the Sixth Fleet's consistent style.

"The Sixth Fleet has just finished bombarding Zhangzhou. Several of their ships are severely damaged and need to rest and recuperate. We can't afford to tow the ships and the people. While that Zeng guy is already losing his nerve, we will launch an all-out attack and will surely capture this city."

"indeed."

Wang Zengbin appeared pleasant on the surface, but was actually hesitant inside.

The Sixth Corps is a cavalry regiment, and its main arm is cavalry.

Wang Zengbing did not want to let the cavalry take on the offensive. He planned a long-term siege, waiting for other brother troops to finish their work, and then dispatch reinforcements to use the infantry to attack the city with all his strength.

Wu Aheng was unable to persuade Wang Zengbin and had to agree to the siege, but he said he would only provide long-range artillery support and would not send sailors to the city.

"Naval artillery bombardment is enough."

In this way, the two corps commanders unanimously decided to lay a long-term siege on Quanzhou City.

On August 18, Guo Xian, son of Quanzhou gentry Guo Bichang, led his family to set fire to the city, while riding his horse and shouting:
"The Tartars only killed Zeng Guozuo and spared us. We are the innocent people and will not perish together with Zhu Youjian!"

Zeng Guozuo, a native of Xinyang, Henan, was originally a captain of the Xinyang Garrison. He surrendered to the Great Qi in the early years of the Wuding reign, but rebelled against the Qi army again in the first year of the Taichu reign, joining the Southern Ming. He later fled to Fujian with the remnants of Zheng Sen's army and garrisoned Quanzhou. After Emperor Longwu entered Quanzhou, he conferred upon Zeng Guozuo the titles of General Suppressing Bandits and Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince.

(End of this chapter)