Late Ming Dynasty: Conquering the world starting from riding and cutting

After the Dutch drove Zheng Zhilong's Yilan garrison into the sea, they knew that this former maritime overlord was definitely not a character who would not fight back after suffering a loss.

Moreover, since Keelung's navy defeated Spain and dominated the sea, it has become increasingly difficult for the Dutch to do business. No matter in terms of military strength, morale, or financial resources, it is not as good as before. It is still difficult to deal with Zheng Zhilong's troops.

Therefore, in the past half month, Joseph has come to eliminate the settler forces in Yilan that may be unfavorable to him, confiscated and registered all the swords and guns in the hands of the settlers, and stipulated that any iron weapons except eating knives should be handed over.

Although there was a lot of resistance, after a few stubborn guys were hanged on the heads of Yilan City, the whole of Yilan suddenly fell silent.

But Joseph still did not dare to be careless and let his subordinates continue to collect the goods from door to door. Once they were found to be hiding, the whole family would be killed, making Yilan, which was already full of contradictions, even more like a firecracker sitting on the crater. It could happen anytime and anywhere. explode.

He clearly understood that Yilan's current strength was less than 1,500 men, a dozen broken ships, and dozens of cannons of various calibers. If he planned to defend Yilan in front of Zheng Zhilong's troops, these measures were far from enough.

Joseph commanded his troops while recruiting civilians to use glutinous rice, syrup, and Sanhe soil to strengthen the fortresses and fortifications of the Dutch advance base of Jelanje City and Yilan, which were more than three feet tall. At the same time, he continued to further strengthen the fortifications of Chican City.

In addition, all Dutch troops on Taiwan were mobilized, allowing them to put down their tasks and gather in one place to strengthen war preparations in the three places. At the war meeting, Joseph declared passionately the justice of the capture of Yilan, and encouraged all the warriors on the island to share life and death with the king's land.

After the meeting, he issued an official document requiring the castles and forts in the advance areas to strengthen reconnaissance and armed forces. The Chinese were not allowed to sell food or purchase local products in the cities of Pulominjia and Relanjia. All Chinese gentry were placed under house arrest in Relanjia. Lan Zhe in the city to avoid collaborating with the enemy. The unharvested rice in the fields was burned and no one was allowed to leave the city to harvest.

"In Yilan City, hundreds of our fellow villagers from Xiamen and Quanzhou have been killed by Dutch devils in the paddy fields outside the city in order to protect their harvests!"

"Wait!" Zheng Zhilong waved his hand to stop his second brother's report, "How did you learn about this news? Can we still have contact with the island now?"

Zheng Zhifeng gave him an affirmative answer.

"Brother, there is still some news, but it can only be traffic news. It is unlikely that a large group of people will go immediately. Our ships cannot enter those ports. The gunfire of the Dutch devils has blocked several port channels, and our people are very careful when entering and exiting. That’s it.”

Zheng Zhilong was pacing excitedly in the flower hall. The military information brought by Zheng Zhifeng came too timely for him.

"Also, according to what our people learned from the Dutch devils, Joseph has been worried that his troops cannot make ends meet, and has mobilized all the troops on the island as if to fight to the death. In addition, in order to supplement the lack of firearms, he plans to send people and ships to Lingnan to purchase them. The French muskets and gunpowder were used as a defense."

"If the Francois don't sell it, or plan to collect money, the Dutch plan to capture Haojing in the name of buying guns and gunpowder."

"Haha! Their appetite is really big! If I didn't know their strength, I would have thought that Holland was the coachman on the sea, and he could fight wherever he wanted?!"

After hearing this, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help laughing wildly.

"Second brother, do you know what the banner of Hao Jing's Folangji people is now?"

"Isn't it the flag of the Franco Kingdom?!" Zheng Zhifeng didn't know why Zheng Zhilong asked this question.

"You have been at sea these days and you don't know. This Francois is now the puppet of Qin Hao in Keelung. If these Dutch people go to kill Hao Jing, will Qin Hao be able to swallow this? I'm afraid it's the Netherlands. Before anyone’s muskets were lit, Keelung’s cannon over there fired!”

"I see!"

At this time, Zheng Zhihu came in excitedly from outside and said that the Dutch were willing to negotiate peace and were willing to pay a protection fee of 200,000 yuan.

The arrival of the two hundred thousand silver dollars made Zheng Zhilong hesitate.

What should be done about the Dutch? Should we fight Yilan?

By fighting, you can get a stable rear base, resettle the settlers, harvest food, and set up a trading station in Yilan. If he doesn't fight, he can collect an annual offering of 200,000 silver dollars from the Dutch. This money will be enough for him to buy food and various firearms and weapons in Keelung.

However, how can the Dutch swallow this bad breath?

"Zhihu, what do you think we should do with the Dutch, peace or war?"

"Brother, let me tell you, these Dutch guys are just a bunch of white-eyed wolves who care about food but not fighting. Now we have the initiative. With the knife in hand, he will obediently hand over the protection fee. In the future, if he is not careful even a little bit, , he will bite you!

Besides, Yilan was given to us by the general. If we just send it over like this, I'm afraid..." After learning about Yilan, Zheng Zhihu was also indignant and worried about the reaction in Keelung.

Zheng Zhilong always felt uncomfortable with his third brother who was partial to Keelung. Could it be that the mines in Keelung could change a person's habits so much? His third brother stayed there for only a month, but his personality was completely changed. If it weren't for the close blood relationship, He all thought that Zheng Zhihu had been replaced by someone.

"But at the moment, our army's strength really can't keep up. A few days ago, Mr. Xiong of Fujian asked us to go to Lingnan to suppress bandits and deal with those bandits. There won't be too many troops left in Fujian. At most, we are looking after our homeland. If we want to recover, It is impossible to gain territory in Yilan or teach the Dutch a lesson.”

"So, Zhihu, take advantage of the money sent by the Dutch. In the past two days, you ask the guy who sent the money to accompany you to Yilan to ask that Joseph to withdraw from our territory!"

"That's it?!" Zheng Zhihu was greatly disappointed.

"How is it possible? First stabilize them. I will rectify the troops and tie up the ships here. When everything is ready, I will send the Dutch devils back to their hometown."

"Okay! I'll do it right away."

Zheng Zhihu was so happy that he was about to go down, but was stopped by his second brother Zheng Zhifeng.

"Brother, are we going to fight the Dutch? If we fight at sea, our navy is not afraid of the Dutch. But if we want to fight on land in Yilan City, our brothers have never fought a siege war!"

"What's more, we still have to fight with those who surrendered to the Dutch. They make the mountains and forests their home. I don't know when some freshmen with broken hair and tattoos will jump out of the woods and streams. After cutting down a few brothers, It roared and disappeared again." Zheng Zhifeng was also very worried about this war.

"This would cost us too much and it's not cost-effective."

"Then what do you think we should do?" Zheng Zhilong looked unhappy, neither this nor that.

"That's right, second brother, what do you think we should do?" Zheng Zhihu also said in a round tone.

Zheng Zhifeng looked at her eldest brother and third brother, and expressed her opinion helplessly: "The most beneficial thing for us right now is to attack a few unimportant small towns in the north of Yilan. I mean, as for Yilan..."

"You mean to give up Yilan and give it to Keelung?" Zheng Zhilong looked at his second brother in disbelief, as if he wanted to see something in his eyes.

But in the end, it didn't happen. He let the two of them go out and stayed alone in the study for a long time to think.

I casually opened a book of Song Dynasty history on the table, and a sentence caught my eye, "How can someone else be sleeping soundly beside the bed?"

"Ah!" Zheng Zhilong exclaimed, "I understand, I understand."

The exclamation caused the whole house to tremble, and his wife Tian and her maids and servants hurriedly entered the house to check the situation.

"Husband, what's wrong with you?"

"I understand!" Zheng Zhilong pushed Tian away like crazy and shouted loudly, "Go and invite Zhifeng and Zhihu!"

............

The same military information passed through the vast waves of the South China Sea and was sent to Qin Hao, who was building a naval anchorage in the northern port of Qiongzhou Prefecture.

Qin Hao couldn't help but have an elusive smile on his face as he looked at the information that was collected and compiled by Ye Tianlei, the director of the Military Intelligence Department, as quickly as possible.

"The Dutch actually want to go to Haojing to replenish gunpowder? This is good news! It means they have run out of gunpowder!"

Ye Tianlei still looked disgusted with people and ghosts: "Then, will my subordinates inform the Lingnan authorities that they are not allowed to sell weapons and gunpowder to the Dutch?"

"You don't have to take this too seriously!"

"What do you mean, lord?" Ye Tianlei's eyes flashed like will-o'-the-wisps.

After a while, he understood what Qin Hao meant. All materials except firearms could be sold. Keelung was engaged in business and could not give up trading because of the war.

Soon, another piece of military intelligence arrived. The letters from Situ Jianru and Lan Shaoru were similar to the secret report from the Qin and Han Company's Military Intelligence Department.

Recently, in the business circles of the northern and southern capitals, some unknown people, led by Shanxi merchants, have contacted Qin and Han companies, trying to purchase military supplies from Qin and Han companies.

Qin Hao only had this thought in his mind.

"Both the northern and southern capitals?" Qin Hao's voice was slightly trembling and trembling, but if you weren't familiar with it and listened carefully, you wouldn't be able to tell.

"What are they going to buy?"

"Cloth, grain, gauze, cotton, and some alcohol and other medicines. In addition, armor, swords and guns are popular items. A pair of steel armor from the Keelung Military Factory can actually be sold for two hundred taels of silver, and there is still room for growth. "

"And they want a large quantity, often thousands of armors and swords, rice worth tens of thousands of dan, and the price is basically non-repayable. They are all delivered in cash. The rich owner. The two principals are not sure. Therefore, I am writing to ask my lord to make a decision."

"Write a letter to Situ Jianru and Lan Shaoru, telling them that at present, for this group of Jin merchants, it is necessary to deal with them in vain, except for making sure that they are purchased and delivered by the army and can be sold for a sum.

All other requests from Jin merchants were declined. They were really unable to refuse. They all sold some equipment that had been eliminated from the army and dealt with it secretly, without asking, once every two months. If there are too many, I will be grateful! "

Qin Hao had already vaguely guessed who the trading partner was in the two capitals!

Ye Qi and Lan Shaoru don't know, but Qin Hao, as a chosen one from the 21st century, knows it all too well!

In fact, these two groups of people are still too famous, and they are both the protagonists who caused chaos in the world.

Those who appeared in Jinling can definitely be the Shaanxi peasant army led by Li Zicheng, who traveled across various places in the southern Zhili area and rushed to Chongzhou.

The peasant army may lack strategic vision, but they know very well what weapons are useful!

The number of people who died directly or indirectly in their hands can be measured in tens of millions of units. They can't do it well with sharp weapons, and they can kill people easily.

The customers who appeared in Yanjing were more strategic and their status was at a higher level.

Not only do they need to buy all Keelung products, they also need to buy wrought iron and other raw materials to make them themselves!

In this way, everything they need can be made: iron armor, swords, cotton armor, and even firecrackers and artillery.

Qin Hao couldn't imagine what kind of situation would develop there once his agricultural products and primary industrial products were brought to Liaodong by generous customers through the trade routes of Shanxi merchants.

That's right, those customers in Yanjing were the slaves of the Hou Jin Kingdom in Liaodong!

From now on, Keelung's biggest rival in the Central Plains, Qin Hao's enemy - Huang Taiji.

Think of those elite troops of the Liaodong Jiannu who had their stomachs filled with dishes cooked with Keelung rice, vegetable oil, and refined salt. They were covered in cotton armor made of Keelung cloth and covered with Keelung wrought iron. Made of iron armor or chain armor, he wielded steel knives and sharp arrow clusters in his hands, using these to massacre innocent people in the Central Plains. That horrific scene was something Qin Hao didn't want to see right now!

It must never happen. This is Qin Hao's lowest requirement for himself.

Of course, Qin Hao firstly hates this group of people from the Jin clan, and secondly admires them. Their perseverance and patience, as well as their ability to summarize and analyze business intelligence in detail, are both admirable.

The perseverance and hard-working spirit of Shanxi merchants are admirable for being able to reach places like Moscow with the help of horse teams and camel teams without railways or roads. .

Unfortunately, if the ability is not used in the right way, the greater the ability, the greater the harm it will cause!

"There is not enough time now, so we should stand still!" Qin Hao held the two secret documents from Jinling and Yanjing and muttered to himself, "In a few days, we can have a showdown with these shameless businessmen!"

"Master, Master?!" Ye Tianlei called Qin Hao out of his thoughts with his unique low and suppressed voice.

"Oh?! What's the matter?"

For a moment, Qin Hao couldn't remember what the spy leader in front of him was doing to come to him.

"Is this how Jinling and Yanjing handle it?" Ye Tianlei is good at discerning appearance. He found that Qin Hao was a little distracted today, so he knocked on the corner again to confirm, lest he misunderstood the master's meaning and sent the wrong message. The order will bring disaster to oneself.

"Just follow what I said before. You can sell some daily necessities, but gunpowder and firearms will not be sold. Even if they break up, they will never get a particle of gunpowder from me." Qin Hao stood at the fort of Beibu Port. On the top, facing the moist sea breeze blowing from the South China Sea, looking at the betel nut trees that are as straight as masts or the swaying coconut trees in the mountains and plains to the north, I can't help but feel proud.