Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 218 Is there still hope for the Ming Dynasty?

"Do we think we've changed history?"

At nine o'clock in the evening on July 7, dozens of Dongjiang Town Navy warships were densely parked in the harbor on the west side of Nanchangshan Island to avoid the sudden storm at sea.

Among these large and small sand ships, there are five huge three-masted sailing ships standing out.

Three days ago, the fleet crossed the Liao Sea and suddenly attacked Dengzhou, and then launched an attack on the water city of Dengzhou on the seaside.

Relying on the fierce firepower suppression of the five gunboats under the command of Xinhua, the Dongjiang Town Navy was able to directly approach the water city, took out all the firearms in their possession, and fired more than 120 "Divine Fire Flying Crows", immediately setting fire to more than 100 rebel ships anchored in the water city.

Despite the dual attacks of artillery and the "Divine Fire Crow", the rebels tried their best to maneuver their ships in an attempt to avoid being burned by the flames.

However, the narrow "small sea" in the water city could not provide too many ships with space to maneuver and dodge. Except for more than 30 small boats that managed to escape to the blind spot of the fire and had a chance of survival, most of the ships were ignited and swallowed by the flames.

The fire burned for a whole day, and when night fell, the flames were still not extinguished, like a huge bonfire in the night sky, making the nearby sea surface also turn red.

However, just as the Dongjiang Town Navy Fleet was cheering and celebrating the heavy defeat of the rebel navy, they had never expected that the rebels would take advantage of the night to organize their few remaining ships and launch a night attack.

The enemy used their own tactics to retaliate, also launching a fire attack. Under the cover of darkness, they secretly approached the Dongjiang Navy anchored at sea, and then suddenly launched an attack, setting fire to the fire attack ships and breaking into the fleet.

That night, after a melee, the Dongjiang Navy lost more than 20 warships, and more than 600 officers, soldiers, and soldiers were killed, injured, or missing, which inevitably cast some shadow on the unprecedented victory achieved just the day before.

The victory report sent last night had probably not yet reached the shore, but our side had suffered this "small setback", which made General Huang Long feel a little inexplicably embarrassed.

That night, the rebels launched a fire attack. The five large ships belonging to Xinhua did not stay with the Dongjiang Town Navy, but chose another anchorage, perfectly avoiding the rebels' surprise attack.

During the melee, due to the unclear situation and blurred vision, the fleet did not provide assistance to the "friendly forces", thus avoiding unnecessary losses.

At dawn the next day, the Dongjiang Town Navy was preparing to continue attacking the water city to regain the ground lost last night.

However, a strong wind began to blow at sea, causing huge waves, forcing the Dongjiang fleet to withdraw its troops and stop fighting, looking for a place to anchor to take shelter.

About two hours later, the wind became stronger, the waves became taller, and heavy rain came.

The fleet sailed into the harbor on the west side of Changshan Island with difficulty, then lowered the sails and dropped anchor, waiting for the strong wind to pass.

The gale raged for a day and a night. More than ten frail small boats were overturned by the huge waves, and the masts of several large ships were blown down. The cabins were flooded, and a large amount of supplies and equipment were damaged.

After experiencing this storm, it was obvious that the Dongjiang Navy could no longer fight the rebels. They could only wait for the wind and waves to subside and return to Lushun for rest and recuperation.

However, General Huang Long did not show too much frustration about this, but was extremely pleased instead.

Over the past few months, he led his troops to recapture the Liaohai Islands and the important city of Lushun that were captured by the rebels, beheaded 700 people, captured more than 500 people, and seized more than 40 large and small ships, basically restoring the original ruling order of Dongjiang.

Even if the imperial court held him accountable for failing to govern his subordinates strictly and causing rebellion, he could still use the above-mentioned military achievements to atone for his crimes and reduce the severity of his punishment.

And now, he led the Dongjiang navy to the south to attack Dengzhou, severely defeated the rebel navy, burned almost all the rebel ships, and cut off the rebels' escape route overseas.

Once this achievement is reported to Emperor Chongzhen, it will greatly add points to myself.

Perhaps, not only can it offset the crime of the Dongjiang Town rebels wreaking havoc in the jurisdiction, but it can also lead to promotion and heavy rewards from the court.

After temporarily retreating from Lushun, the next task was to build fortifications and repair cities, defend against the Jiannu in the north, stop the rebels in the south, and slowly restore the vitality of Dongjiang Town.

If he could get strong support from the imperial court, he would reorganize Dongjiang Town. Not only would he eliminate the old Dongjiang forces such as Shen Shikui, but he would also unify all powers and hold them in his own hands to rebuild his authority as the commander-in-chief.

It is said that the several gunboats of the Xinzhou foreign merchants played an indispensable role in defeating the rebel navy in Dengzhou, which made Huang Long very satisfied.

The bad feelings that had arisen from their close cooperation with Shen Shikui also disappeared after this great victory.

As for their claim that they were willing to lend their all because they cared about their homeland and the Ming Dynasty, Huang Long didn't believe a single word of it.

The Xinzhou people's move was mostly to gain an identity recognized by the Ming Dynasty court and a stable base from which they could continuously attract immigrants and engage in colonial trade.

That's right, they wanted to emulate the Falcon Army and seize a northern "oyster mirror" in the Liaohai Sea.

Huang Long felt that it was "neither good nor bad" about this.

As long as the people of Xinzhou are loyal to the Ming Dynasty, obey the court's jurisdiction, and abide by the laws of the Ming Dynasty and social morality, there will not be much gain or loss in allocating them a small island for self-government and defense.

More importantly, if the Ku Niang Island was "granted" to them in the name of the imperial court, these Xinzhou people could be placed under the jurisdiction of Dongjiang Town, thus legitimately severing their cooperative relationship with Shen Shikui.

You just want to immigrate. There are hundreds of thousands of Liaodong refugees without food on the islands under the jurisdiction of my Dongjiang Town. We can accommodate as many as you want.

Even if the number of immigrants that can be transported in Dongjiang Town is insufficient to meet the demand, there are still even more refugees who want to find food and clothing in Denglai and Shandong across the sea.

Especially since last year, the rebels such as Li Jiuchen and Kong Youde have ravaged the entire Shandong Province. Dozens of prefectures and counties in the area have been severely damaged by the rebels, and the number of people left homeless is probably incalculable.

If they want to engage in trade, that will not be a problem at all.

As long as you Xinzhou people are willing, our Dongjiang Town can open the Lushun Port and provide you with furs, ginseng, pearls, and even ironware, saltpeter and other materials.

Whatever Shen Shikui can give you, I, Huang Long, as the general of Dongjiang Town, can also give you.

As long as you, the people of Xinzhou, switch sides and submit to me, everything will be negotiable. Denglai Governor Sun Yuanhua was able to employ the Portuguese from Haojing to train a "new army" and equip firearms units, thereby earning the attention and admiration of the imperial court. Naturally, then, my Dongjiang Town can also recruit some Xinzhou people and, relying on their powerful gunboats, control the Liao Sea, isolate the Jiannu, and subsequently support Liaodong.

With this idea in mind, Huang Long and several trusted generals ignored the strong wind at sea and took a small boat to approach the "Breaking Waves" with difficulty. They went up to the deck cabin and drank and chatted with several leading Xinzhou people in order to win them over.

He mentioned at the meeting that in the document reporting the victory to the court, the fact that the Xinzhou gunboats assisted the Dongjiang Town Navy in defeating the rebels had already been listed, and he praised them highly and asked the court for credit for them.

Afterwards, he kept testing the other party with words, asking them whether they wanted to obtain the recognition of the court and whether they were willing to "be loyal" to the Ming Dynasty like those Portuguese with oyster mirrors.

You should know that the imperial court has always shown leniency to the Portuguese who served in the Ming Dynasty's official army, not only giving them generous salaries but also granting them official positions.

During the first month of the year, when the rebels captured Dengzhou, more than ten Portuguese fought to the last moment and died heroically in the city.

In response to this, the imperial court also praised it utmost and provided relief and pensions. The Portuguese commander Gongsha who died was posthumously awarded the rank of lieutenant general, the deputy commander Xiang Molue was posthumously awarded the rank of guerrilla, the gunner Fulang Yalanda was awarded the rank of garrison commander, and the companions Fang Sigu, Ehonglue, Gongsa, Lu'anni, Ami'er, Sazhu, Anduo, Wu Ruowang, and Bodulu were each awarded the rank of general street commander. The court also awarded dozens of taels of silver to their wives to honor them.

This time, you Xinzhou people dispatched five gunboats and followed my Dongjiang Town to attack Dengzhou, annihilating the rebel navy in one fell swoop. Your contribution is even greater than that of the Portuguese.

What's more, you are of Chinese Miao and Han blood, and you have a natural sense of closeness to my Ming Dynasty.

After the victory report is delivered to the capital, it will probably not be long before all the rewards are bestowed.

After we have rested in Lushun for a while, we can continue to work with my Dongjiang Navy warships to blockade and besiege the water city of Dengzhou to prevent the rebels from escaping to the sea.

In this way, a great task will be accomplished in one fell swoop, and all the benefits that you people of Xinzhou want will be fulfilled.

Several Xinzhou leaders expressed great interest in gaining recognition from the imperial court and establishing a formal "tributary" relationship.

During the banquet, they also expressed their willingness to help the Ming court continue to snipe the Denglai rebels.

But they regretfully informed Huang Long that they were currently at war with a European power, Spain, on the New World continent, and all main battleships had to return as soon as possible after loading a large number of immigrants and supplies to defend their homes and protect their people.

However, considering the subsequent cooperation between the two sides, Xinzhou will consider leaving a large ship to help Dongjiang Town block the rebels' escape route overseas.

However, when discussing the issue of New South Wales residents "taking sides", they seemed very embarrassed and did not give a clear position.

It is estimated that they do not want to be too involved in the internal affairs of Dongjiang Town, which would bring them economic and military pressure.

Although Huang Long was very dissatisfied with their fence-sitting and trying not to offend either side, he did not feel too threatening given the great help they provided.

There is still a long way to go. As long as I can wipe out all the old Dongjiang forces of Shen Shikui, I believe they will not have many other choices but to cooperate with me.

After the banquet, several leaders of Xinzhou enthusiastically sent Huang Long and other Dongjiang Town personnel off the "Polang". Watching their boat gradually disappear into the night, they all had a fantasy in their minds.

If the rebels such as Li Jiuchen, Kong Youde, and Geng Zhongming were blocked in Dengzhou City, preventing them from escaping to the land by boat, would they not defect to the Jiannu and subsequently introduce a large number of firearms into the Later Jin?

"In fact, everything we do profoundly changes history," Chen Rui sighed. "By burning the rebels' ships in Dengzhou Water City, we will surely prevent them from escaping unscathed if they face a future encirclement by the Ming army."

"If we can find a way to kill Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and other traitors who surrendered to the Han people, then the strength of the Later Jin Dynasty will not increase significantly. More importantly, if we can protect Huanglong and Dongjiang Town and prevent them from falling and dissipating as they did in history, whether the Jiannu can successfully enter the pass in the future is still unknown."

"It's hard to say!" Wei Yingbin said, "History sometimes has a strong inertia and may not always go as smoothly as we hope. Take Dongjiang Town, for example. Huang Long and Shen Shikui are enemies, each wanting to kill the other. It can be said that Dongjiang Town is already in a state of division."

"And a divided Dongjiang Town can't possibly hold the Jiannu hostage. Tell me, if the Jiannu attacked either side, would they support each other and help each other? I think they'd all choose to stand aside and watch the other side being annihilated by the Jiannu."

"Actually, it's not just Dongjiang Town that's like this. The entire Liaodong military town is pretty much like this. Decades ago, during the Battle of Sarhu, and later at the Battle of Songjin, those Liaodong military leaders were all selfish, each looking out for their own interests on the battlefield, with no regard for the lives of their allies."

"Well, how should I put it? When friendly forces are in trouble, they remain as still as a mountain; when the enemy attacks, they retreat as swiftly as the wind. The Ming Dynasty's fall couldn't be avoided by killing one or two key figures, nor could it be saved by salvaging one or two important battles. The Ming Dynasty's failure can be said to be a systemic collapse, a failure of its entire operating system."

"Yes, the Ming Dynasty's fall wasn't solely due to the inability to contain the growing might of the Jiannu in Liaodong. It was also due to the repeated uprisings of refugees in the north and the financial ruin of the nation," Yu Zhiliang continued. "It could be said that the Ming Dynasty's demise was already on the verge of collapse after Chongzhen came to power. It was simply beyond our control to save it."

"Disasters continue to plague the country, the government's budget is insufficient to cover its expenses, and the military suffers repeated defeats. The country has been unable to secure a peaceful and stable development opportunity, nor has it been able to undertake systematic reforms. As a result, this shabby and dilapidated carriage can only continue to stagger forward until it encounters an insurmountable pit and completely falls apart."

"Continuous famines plagued the country, and the gentry was unable to collect taxes. This left Chongzhen with no money to provide relief to the people or appease the locals, which in turn led to riots by refugees. The Ming court, in its quest to quell the rebellion, could only increase its exploitation of the lower classes to raise military funds. This, however, would only lead to even greater uprisings on a wider scale, leading to even more localized riots."

"Look, this is a vicious cycle with no solution. The rope around the Ming Dynasty is tightening, leaving it with no chance to breathe, and ultimately, the entire country is slowly suffocating. I remember that refugee groups like Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were defeated several times by the Ming army, but it often didn't take long for them to quickly return, growing even more powerful than before, and finally marching into the capital."

"Is there no possibility of saving the Ming Dynasty?" Chen Rui was very unwilling to accept this.

"It's not impossible for the Ming Dynasty to save itself and continue to hold on." Wei Yingbin thought for a moment and said with a smile, "First, if Emperor Chongzhen can have the courage to implement effective political and economic reforms, rectify the corrupt bureaucracy, and reduce taxes for the lower classes, perhaps he can ease internal conflicts and strengthen national cohesion."

"If the Ming Dynasty, unable to completely defeat the Jiannu, could lower its stance and reach some form of truce and reconciliation with them, even if it were only temporary, it would be able to concentrate its forces on dealing with the internal refugee uprising and stabilizing the domestic ruling order."

"After the internal affairs are sorted out, the Ming Dynasty may be able to turn around and formulate a suitable military strategy, concentrate superior forces, advance steadily, and use its strong national strength to slowly wear down the Jiannu."

"Well, it can be said that although the Ming Dynasty was facing a huge crisis during this period, as long as Emperor Chongzhen was more patient, acted more decisively, and was a little smarter, it was possible to save the situation."

"Of course, this is just a theoretical deduction and shouldn't be taken seriously. Saving a dynasty with so many problems in its final days requires tremendous wisdom and courage in practice."

"At least, I think if I were in Chongzhen's position, I would definitely not be able to do it."

When everyone heard this, they all fell silent.

(End of this chapter)