The Rise of Ming Dynasty 1646

Chapter 706 Windfall
Xu Wei lost the jib of the bow, and the deck was in chaos. Almost all the sailors of the first mast escaped, so that the speed of the ship immediately slowed down.

Zheng Du didn't have the courage to fight at this time, he hurriedly looked around, trying to find a gap to get out, when there was another artillery roar from the side and rear—the Shao Wu was catching up.

The pirate ship trembled, and a [-]-pound gun was fired on the poop and starboard respectively. Although important facilities such as the rudder and mast were not destroyed, it caused considerable casualties.

These pirates said they were bloodthirsty, but in fact they were just a mob. When they were suddenly attacked, they would only scream in fear and had no unified command at all.

Since there were Ming warships on both sides, the gunners of the Xu Wei were like chickens without their heads, firing one shot on the port side and one shot on the starboard side.But helplessly, neither the Zhangzhou nor the Shaowu can be dealt with by the cannons it is equipped with.

Shi Lang saw that the pirates who appeared suddenly were still "desperately resisting", frowned and ordered: "Let the Fuzhou and those light frigates also surround them, and destroy the enemy ships as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

A chain bomb flew over Zheng Du's head and accurately smashed the main mast of the Xuwei.

Zheng Du seemed to have lost his soul, staring blankly at the six Galen warships around him, two big and four small, and there was only one question in his mind that kept churning - which god did I offend?

Seeing this, his guard hurriedly grabbed his arm and shook it desperately, "Master, what should we do now?"

"What else can I do? Raise the white flag, beg for surrender..."

Another hour or so later, Shi Lang's adjutant came to report to him on the Shaowu, "General, the last escaped pirate ship has been captured by the Ji'an."

Shi Lang nodded, the result of this unexpected encounter was not surprising, the navy sank two enemy ships cleanly and captured three alive.

But what concerned him the most was that these pirates had a [-] ton Galen warship. Could it be Helan people?

He said to the adjutant: "Can the thief be captured?"

"Go back to the general, I caught it. It's still an 'old acquaintance'."

"Oh? Who?"

"Zheng Du. And Hong Xu."

"Interesting, bring it up for me."

"Yes!"

……

Nanjing.

Forbidden City, Wenhua Hall.

"92 taels?" Zhu Linmi looked at Shi Lang and said happily, "The profits from this trip are so huge!"

Shi Langyi said: "Your Majesty doesn't know something. This time, on the way back to the country, the general will encounter a pirate who doesn't want to open his eyes. He smashed it, captured three ships, and took out 18 taels of silver from his lair. If it wasn't for I bought a lot of copper mines from the Wa country, and I will definitely be able to bring back more than a million taels!"

Maritime trade is indeed a profitable industry!Zhu Linming secretly sighed in her heart, in just three months, the newly established ocean caravan has earned more than 70 taels, and this is not counting the profits after selling the goods brought back from Japan.

With this total of more than one million taels, at least there is no need to worry about the consumption of the Northern Expedition for the time being.

This is just trade with Japan, and the trade with North Korea, Southeast Asia and even European countries will be fully expanded in the future. Isn't the silver rushing into the Ming treasury like white water?

Immediately, he thought of another important matter, so he asked Shi Lang: "Your Majesty, what did Tokugawa Iemitsu say?"

The latter hurriedly said: "Return to Your Majesty, the Tokugawa family is arrogant and arrogant, and they don't pay attention to the general at all.

"Not only did he refuse to pay the 30 taels of indemnity, he also humiliated the general in a very rude way, with a lot of nonsense. If there was not a monk who kept rounding the field, I am afraid that he would drive the general out the first time he met Wa country."

The last time Zheng Chenggong led the navy to attack Tianjin, on the way in Ryukyu, he came across porcelain from the Shimadzu family in Japan, pretending to have killed many guards, and the ship was also damaged, in order to "extort" Iemitsu Tokugawa 30 taels of compensation.

Shi Lang went to Japan with the caravan this time, so he just went to negotiate with the shogunate.The more he talked, the more he became angry, and continued: "In addition, the goods shipped to Japan must be bought and sold under the control of the Tokugawa family, and the price was forced to be lowered by him, which caused the ocean caravan to lose a lot of profit. They sent people to threaten the caravan, although they didn't say it clearly, but the implication is that if Daming is dissatisfied with the transaction, they will buy Hongyi's goods instead."

Zhu Linmei smiled slightly when she heard the words, "Okay, it's okay to be arrogant! I'm afraid that he will bow his head, but it will be a little troublesome."

Shi Lang said again: "By the way, Your Majesty, although the Japanese king... ah, is a general, and he does not want to admit his mistakes and pay money, it is said that after receiving the 'complaint letter' from the Ryukyu official Cai Jin, Tokugawa Iemitsu also became furious. He was furious. Afterwards, he summoned the head of the Shimadzu family and severely accused him of invading Ryukyu without authorization and attacking important officials of the Ministry of Rites of the Ming Dynasty.

"The Tokugawa Clan wanted Shimadzu Mitsuhisa to commit suicide and apologize, but in the end, under the persuasion of the monk, he cut off a large piece of the Shimadzu Clan's fief and confiscated its gold mines, which is considered to be the end of the matter."

"Mitsuhisa Shimadzu isn't dead?" Zhu Linming seemed to be a little regretful, "But the Shimadzu family was already in extreme financial constraints. This time, the stone height was reduced and the gold mine was confiscated. This anger should be enough."

He asked Shi Lang again, "Is there any news from Dai Xiuyuan?"

"Returning to Your Majesty, Lord Dai sent someone to contact the general, and he only said that all the people who should be found have been connected, and everything is as His Majesty expected."

"Okay." Hearing this, Zhu Linmi took out a handbook that she had prepared earlier, and ordered, "Let the navy send a ship to Dai Xiuyuan as quickly as possible, there must be no mistakes!"

"The commander's decree!"

Shi Lang took the letter, and suddenly remembered something, cupped his hands and said: "By the way, Your Majesty, there is an important matter to report at the end."

"Say it."

"Your Majesty, do you still remember what the last general said about meeting pirates on his way?"

"Well, so what?"

"The last general captured the leader of the pirates alive, but it was Zheng Du and Hong Xu, two traitors. The last general ordered people to torture him severely, but that Hong Xu couldn't stand the torture, and he actually told a big thing."

Shi Lang glanced at the Son of Heaven, and continued: "He confessed that the Hongyi on Dongfan Island had colluded with Jianlu and made an appointment to attack our navy together.

"After Hongyi and I negotiated peace, Dorgon questioned Hongyi because of this matter, and the barbarians said that it was just a fraudulent peace with us, and they were secretly dispatching a large number of warships from a certain place on the sea, intending to sneak attack on Hongyi. I.

"According to the time he said at the time, most of the warships are now close to Dongfan. The barbarians may launch in half a month to a month."

Zhu Linmi narrowed his eyes slightly. Although he expected that the Helan people would not give up easily, he did not expect that the fleet would gather so quickly, ready to launch a sneak attack.

If there was no news brought back by Shi Lang this time, although the navy would not have been defeated, it is very possible to fall into a passive position.

"These Helan people!" He said coldly, "I haven't troubled them yet, but they want to make trouble. Well, I can take this opportunity to wipe out their fleet and take back Dongfan!"

Shi Lang said solemnly: "Your Majesty, Hong Xu also confessed that among the warships dispatched by Hong Yi, there was a ship named 'Duo He Lei', which was equipped with nearly fifty cannons. According to his description, It is estimated that this ship may be [-] to [-] tons, but it should not be underestimated."

"The people of Helan are going to do their best." Zhu Linmi was not surprised, but smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you know that our Shaoxing ship was also launched during your visit to Japan. Eight hundred tons, 54 guns, and a ship The shell is nine inches. Damu personally led hundreds of sailors to practice near Chongming for a long time, and now he should be able to control it freely.

"If the Helan people have the guts, just go ahead and attack, and I will teach him that he will never come back!"

(End of this chapter)