Not long ago, Yizhou City and Port returned to the hands of the Li Family Chamber of Commerce Fleet of the Ming Empire and were captured by a group of Li Family Musketeers numbering about 800 people. At the same time, there was also a group of troops stationed. There are more than 3,000 Ming soldiers, who are the auxiliary soldiers of the Li family musketeers.
That's right, the current soldiers of the Ming Empire are the sailors of the Li Family Chamber of Commerce and the most elite 15,000 musketeers. The rest are all just wallflowers and auxiliary soldiers, not of much use!
When Li was the Admiral of the Navy of the Ming Dynasty and the Admiral of the East China Sea, on June 17, the 17th year of Chongzhen, he led an army of 20,000 to conquer Kyoto and capture Shanhaiguan. He killed more than 40,000 invaders and built slaves, and surrendered tens of thousands. He won a great victory in the capital and was about to join the invaders. After the enemy was completely driven out of the pass, the Ming Empire soon came back again and regained Shandong, Shanxi, and the areas north of Gyeonggi and Shanhaiguan.
Especially after the intruder Li Zicheng was once again defeated at the hands of the Li family and the Ming army in Pingyang and Huaiqing, the imperial power of the Ming Empire was rare, like seeing the sun through the clouds and keeping the clouds clear to see the moon. reconsolidated.
The fifteenth day of August in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen was the Mid-Autumn Festival.
On this day, the Admiral of the Navy of the Ming Dynasty and the Admiral of the East China Sea, Li Li, who was known as the "Huo Guang" of the Ming Empire and was worshiped as the general, the commander of the Beijing Guard and the governor of the Fifth Army Commandery, welcomed the eldest princess of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Ainao, in the early morning of the 15th. Master the Forbidden City and return to the Imperial Palace.
At night, with the bright moon in the sky, the city's brilliance shines brightly, and people can see their shadows, just like daytime.
At that time, the ministers gathered in the Hall of Supreme Harmony to discuss matters, and the sailors of the Li family guarded the hall outside. Under the moonlight, magpies mistakenly thought it was daytime, so they played and chirped among the eaves of the palace.
At that time, when the ministers saw it, one of them immediately came forward, kowtowed and shouted: "The phoenix gathers in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and the red bird appears in the court hall. Is this a sign of auspiciousness and the resurgence of the Ming Dynasty?" '
After hearing this, the eldest princess, who was sitting beside the dragon chair and being greeted by the ministers, was shocked, but she did not dare to move or answer easily.
However, Li, the Admiral of the Navy of the Ming Dynasty and the Admiral of the East China Sea, believed this, so on the spot, with the approval and support of the ministers who had returned to the Ming Dynasty, they appointed the eldest princess Zhu Yuyao, who was only fifteen years old and barely in her prime, as the Empress of the Ming Dynasty. , changed Yuan Tianshou, and changed the capital into the capital of the gods.
"!!"
"Absurd! Absolutely ridiculous!!"
"Why is the Empress of the Ming Dynasty still saying 'Feng gathers in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and the red bird meets the court'? Does that kid from the Li family think that I and the elders have not read history books?"
"That's unreasonable!"
"This is simply unreasonable!!"
"There is still a bright moon in the sky, and the gods have given it to them. They didn't even bother to think about the reign name. They directly copied the reign name of Wu Zetian and Wu Zetian. It's just too much! It's too much!"
In the city of Yangzhou, Shi Kefa, the Governor of Yangzhou, the Grand Scholar of Jianji Palace, and the Minister of War, saw in his hand the newspaper from the north and the new emperor's message of amnesty to the world. He was so angry that he took away his precious The Jasper Brush was thrown to the floor hard, and was allowed to fall to pieces.
"..."
"..."
On the side, his subordinate officials did not dare to take a breath. They just looked at each other in confusion. No one dared to come forward to persuade him at this time.
After all, there was nothing that could be done about it. The Li family refused to recognize their Nanming court, refused to listen to the propaganda, and then bravely went north and captured the capital, defeated the slaves and thieves, and then successfully welcomed the emperor. The eldest princess returned to the old capital on the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival, and her magnificent martial arts skills were indeed very convincing to the world.
As for the queen and so on...
Anyway, there is a precedent of Wu Zetian and Wu Zetian there. Therefore, it seems that it cannot be too difficult for them, officials who do not have much interest entanglements, and even the people in the south of the Ming Dynasty to accept it?
"Where do they want to put my new emperor in this way?"
"It's so deceiving!"
“It’s a heinous crime!!”
With that said, Supervisor Shi picked up another fine Duan Inkstone and planned to smash it again to vent his anger.
However, when he saw the jasper brush fragments on the ground, the corner of his mouth suddenly twitched. He hesitated again and again, and finally had to gently put his beloved inkstone back on the table.
He knew that it was useless to lose his temper here, because the Li family and the soldiers of the Li family did not listen to them at all, and the other party was very powerful, and the arrogant Jiannu and Mongols were beaten away by them. Li Zicheng, the intruder who brought trouble to the world, also suffered miserable defeats one after another. It is said that he has now fled to Xi'an. With such fierce fighting power, coupled with the strong ships and cannons, even if the Southern Ming court is dissatisfied, what can they do? How about that?
After all, the opponent fought back to the north, captured the Gyeonggi region, Shandong, Shanxi, and Shanhaiguan, and then grandly established the late emperor's daughter as the empress in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. It seemed that it would always be more expensive than them establishing King Fu as the emperor in the south. More justified?
However, as the saying goes, there are no two days in the sky and no two masters in the country. With two emperors and two courts in the south and one in the north, that kind of thing can never last forever. On this point, the conflict between them in the south and the north is destined to be irreconcilable. , there may be a big chaos in the future!
And this was the reason why Supervisor Shi lost his temper.
"explain!"
"You all tell me!"
"Now, what should I do?"
After losing his temper and thinking about it, Inspector Shi had no choice but to temporarily suppress his chaotic thoughts, and turned to ask his subordinate officials angrily for advice.
"..."
"..."
The subordinate officials looked at each other, and after a long time, an official in casual clothes who looked more like a businessman came out and said:
"Supervisor!"
"There is nothing we can do right now. We can't defeat them, so we can only settle for the status quo."
"but……"
"Report from the front..."
"After the Li family captured Yizhou and other places, in the north of Yangzhou, Commander Zhang and Zhizhi of the Xuzhou front line led several thousand households and thousands of people to surrender to the north..."
"People in the north are currently unstable, and many generals leading the army are ready to take action. It is not an option to continue like this."
Although this is indeed not good news and will only make Inspector Shi's mood worse, at this time when people's hearts are fluctuating, the subordinate officer can't care too much.
After all, these people are also very 'feeling' at this time, and they are preparing to continue to wait and see, and then quickly place their bets again and find another future!
"ah!"
"What did you say?"
"When was that?"
"Report to the Superintendent!"
"Judging from the speed of messengers delivering letters, it was about three days ago."
"!!"
"Three days ago, doesn't that mean that a big hole has been torn open in the northern defense line?"
"This this……"
Yangzhou Governor Shi Kefa was stunned and staggered directly to sit on the chair behind his desk. He could not recover for a long time.
I never expected that not long after the Queen in the north ascended the throne in a hurry, a general in the south would already take the initiative to lead his troops to surrender. If this continues, what's the point?
"What should I do?"
"well……"
Although he, the governor of Yangzhou, has never really been able to control the soldiers outside Yangzhou City, and the name of the governor is in name only, but as long as those generals still recognize the Ming Dynasty and are the ministers of the Ming Dynasty, everything will be possible room for change.
But now it's better. As soon as the Queen from the north ascended the throne, the rats on both sides of the aisle abandoned them without any hesitation?
Shi Kefa could imagine that with people's hearts fluctuating, there must be even worse things waiting for them next!
Especially now that their Nanming court is newly built, the government decrees are blocked, and the generals from all over the country have too many troops to control themselves. Once such a terrible cascading effect occurs, what awaits them, the 'heroes' of the Southern Ming Dynasty, will only be miserable. A bleak end.
Therefore, he must think of a way...
"..."
"..."
Seeing the panic-stricken Inspector Shi, who sat down slumped and whose expression kept changing, the subordinate officer sighed inwardly and said nothing, but quietly retreated into the queue.
He heard that the imperial court and the queen in the north were recruiting refugees to reclaim the land and resume farming. They also gave away land and seeds for free, and guaranteed no taxation for three years. At the same time, they also lifted the sea ban and encouraged trade. Officials like them I was moved when I heard it.
They know that the Li family is very rich and has many large ships for maritime trade. The gold and silver shipped back from Japan and Nanyang can even equal the tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty in the past several years. They have never raised funds after regaining the Northland. In this way, even the soldiers' pay is doubled on time. Not to mention Commander Zhang, who is often deducted from his pay, if it were people like them, they would have the sense to choose a good tree to live in. Bar?
It can be seen that once the Li family in the north is free to defeat the intruder who is like a lost dog at this time, and regain a large area of land in the northwest to quell the civil strife, then the Nanming side can naturally make a decision!
After all, people in the south of the Yangtze River are currently unstable, and the Nanming court has just been founded, and no one is convinced by anyone. And they are people with big families and big businesses, so they will never hang themselves on a tree.
Of course, you can't talk nonsense about things like hanging!
Because it is said that Emperor Chongzhen died by hanging from a tree with a crooked neck. It is indeed heroic to say that the emperor defends the country and the king dies in the country, but that kind of thing is taboo, no matter whether it is in the Southern Ming Dynasty or the Northern Ming Dynasty. Things cannot be said easily.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Gradually, the study room of Yangzhou Governor Shi Kefa fell silent.
Including Supervisor Shi, several people here were silently thinking about their own affairs and making their own little calculations in their hearts.
As for whether they were thinking about the same thing, only God knows.
…
When the Ming Empire in the far east was causing violent turmoil due to certain things, on the other side of the earth, at the gateway of the European Mediterranean, the extremely furious Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish Armada and Admiral of the Kingdom of Spain, Pedro de... Baroudis finally led his invincible fleet back to the port of Seville, and of course he saw the ruins. The harbor was full of sunken ships, gunpowder smoke, fire, and the shocking things that stood on the surface of the harbor. densely packed masts.
In the distance, most of Seville's coastal defense fortress had been destroyed by bombardment. Only a few walls and pillars were left standing between the broken eaves and broken walls. It looked so desolate.
The ferocious breaches from the port to the fort, the broken cannons and broken masonry all over the place are silently describing what has happened here.
There were ships floating on the water on the pier, burning with sparks and emitting black smoke, but no one paid attention to them, just letting them float there and continue to burn, because compared to those at the shipyard, The billowing black smoke and the fire in the stockyard that burned for two days were nothing more than minor problems here at the port.
"..."
Although he didn't see too many corpses, Baroudis, who was leading the soldiers to land safely with an ugly face and looking at the tragic image of Seville Port in front of him, couldn't help but hold on to his waist. The hilt of the sword given to him by the king, symbolizing power.
"explain!"
"Where are those Orientals, where are they?!"
At this time, Baroudis saw an officer who was running over with a small group of soldiers to greet him. Then he was so angry that he quickly stepped forward. Without waiting for the other person to speak, he grabbed the other person's collar and scolded him angrily. asked.
"Report, report to the admiral!"
"That devilish fleet, they withdrew voluntarily after bombarding Seville, destroying the docks, forts, and fortresses, and then burning those merchant ships, military ports, and shipyards."
"It is said that……"
"It is said that they are heading into the Strait of Gibraltar now."
The officer did not dare to resist, nor did he dare to conceal anything. He answered the questions quickly and honestly.
"!!"
"There are more than thirty large and small warships here in Seville. Where have they gone? Are they all trash?"
"Just let them bombard the port and then leave in a big way?"
Although Baroudis, who received the information from Las Palmas and urgently turned back at sea, had thought that Seville would be attacked by those cunning Easterners, he simply could not believe it. He was beaten so badly?
"them……"
"Report!"
"Sir, where are all our warships now..."
The officer did not break away from Baroudis' hand, but pointed tremblingly towards the military dock.
There, there were only dozens or hundreds of masts sunk in the sea with a section exposed, facing each other, and one or two floating, smoking, burnt wooden shipwrecks with only the underwater part left. In this way, he was silently mocking the commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armada and Admiral of the Spanish Navy, Baroudis, who had just returned.
"!!"
"Impossible! This is impossible!!"
Baroudis pushed the officer away, roaring somewhat hysterically.
"Admiral!"
"Those Easterners from the Ming Empire are very cunning. They sneaked over at dawn with their backs to the sun. By the time we saw them clearly, it was already too late!"
"The fleet suffered a devastating blow before it even had time to leave the port, and then..."
"It all sank!"
"Then they started shelling merchant ships..."
"You don't know, their artillery fire is very fierce and the range is very long. Our fort can't fire back at all, and the artillery shells can't reach them at all."
"The fortress was later destroyed by them."
"The fires in the docks and military ports burned for a day and a night. The fleet, merchant ships and warehouses were all destroyed!"
"It's all over!!"
Fortunately, the Li family fleet only destroyed merchant warships, docks and shipyards. It did not land, nor did it bombard the residential areas in the city. But even now, their Spanish Armada and Seville Hong Kong has also suffered heavy losses and may not be able to recover for several years.
Of course, the most important thing is: the bad impact caused by the shelling of Seville Port!
So much so, that before Barudis came back, His Majesty the King had already sent an urgent order in advance after receiving the news: ordering the Armada to capture or eliminate those hateful Easterners at all costs?
"explain!"
"Approximately how much was the loss?"
Barudis looked at the deserted docks around him with a livid face, and then asked through gritted teeth after a while.
"After preliminary estimation..."
"At least more than a hundred large and small merchant ships were destroyed, countless warehouse goods, fortresses and forts were almost completely destroyed, and the shipyards and stockyards were basically destroyed. As for the warships..."
"More than thirty warships, large and small, were completely wiped out!!"
With his head lowered, the Spanish officer did not dare to hide anything and roughly told some of the data he knew.
Five ships were lined up in a row, and then hundreds of long-range cannons on one side were bombarding their port. That sight, just thinking about it now, can still make this officer feel... Genuinely fearful.
"roll!"
"waste!"
"It's all rubbish!!"
"etc!"
"You just said...those Easterners, they entered the Mediterranean?"
After scolding a few words, suddenly, the furious Baroudis barely suppressed his anger, turned around suddenly, stared at the officer who lowered his head and asked this question.
"Yes!"
"There are commercial ships that have entered the Strait of Gibraltar, and we haven't heard of them coming out again."
"!!"
"Order!"
"Let the fleet block the Strait of Gibraltar!"
"Send an order to the admirals of Madeira and other fleets near the Mediterranean, and order them to return to Seville immediately!"
"besides!"
"Recruit all the country's armed merchant ships!"
"Those Ming people, they are dead this time!!"
Pedro de Barrudis, Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish Armada and Admiral of the Royal Spanish Navy, said with gritted teeth after being fooled on the way to Madeira.
"yes!"
An officer following Barudis became alert and prepared to run to deliver the order.
"etc!"
"Activate the intelligence network in the Mediterranean, the intelligence network in all ports!"
"I must know the specific whereabouts of those Easterners and their Li family fleet as soon as possible!"
In Baroudis' view, since the other party entered the Mediterranean Sea seeking death, the next thing would be much easier to handle.
"besides!"
"Have someone bring fifty warships to commandeer the Portuguese port of Ceuta!"
"Let them hold the other side of the strait!"
After all, the Mediterranean Sea only has one entrance and exit, the Strait of Gibraltar. Therefore, even in a state of rage, Baroudis still issued the order he believed to be the most accurate in a very rational manner.
As long as he mobilizes a huge fleet to defend Seville and Ceuta and completely control the entrance to the Mediterranean, I believe that even if he cannot find an enemy, the initiative will always be on his side.
Because those Easterners will always come out one day and be defeated by their invincible fleet!
"yes!"
"Yes!!"
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