Chapter 198 Pirates under the Ming Dynasty
"Master Marquis, the flag signal of the scout ship ahead, there is a messenger coming..."
Huang Chunyao was a little tanned, but he was very excited after boarding Chen Cao's treasure ship. He first gave Chen Cao a big gift, and then said excitedly: "The student has lived up to the trust of the Marquis and has successfully persuaded Zheng Zhilong. He We are now on the way north, and it will take at least one day for the Marquis to meet his fleet."
Chen Cao laughed twice, then patted Huang Chunyao on the shoulder: "You are a scholar, you can not only 'take lives', but also 'take people'..."
Huang Chunyao smiled awkwardly, and then said seriously: "As soon as the students went to Jilong Port, they were warmly received by Zheng Zhilong. From the conversation, it can be heard that Zheng Zhilong still has a sense of awe for the imperial court. As long as he can promise the imperial court, With his official position, he must be able to be used by the court."
Chen Cao then laughed twice, and then handed a yellow envelope to Huang Chunyao. The scholar immediately smiled when he saw it, and then raised his hand to Chen Cao: "Congratulations to the Marquis, congratulations to the Marquis, and make him a Songjiang Guerrilla General, no matter how high or low. Due to his identity, under the control of the Marquis at that time, there will be no more giant thieves along the southeast coast."
With the help of the Hakka family and Wei Zhongxian's reluctance, plus the fact that Chen Cao's identity can be directly submitted to the Yingtai memorial, how can a mere guerrilla general not be able to seal him?
Chen Cao also led the ship to set off after receiving this order. In fact, it was twelve days later than Huang Chunyao. However, during these twelve days, Huang Chunyao went to the chicken coop and also went to the city of Relanja occupied by the Dutch to negotiate. , the main job is to negotiate the protection money they give Zheng Zhilong.
So that Chen Cao, who was halfway through, met Huang Chunyao who was rushing over.
"Do you think Zheng Zhilong would be so scared that he would pee when he saw this giant ship..."
Huang Chunyao was stunned, and then said awkwardly: "Zheng Zhilong must have seen the world."
What does this sentence mean?
Chen Cao waved his hand: "Since you have seen the world, let him fire a few cannons and pass on the order. Once Zheng Zhilong's fleet enters the range of the Shenwu Cannon, he will fire immediately and sink a few of his ships first."
Huang Chunyao was shocked. When he was about to retort, Chen Cao patted him on the shoulder again: "An Xin, this kind of person needs to be shown the power of our Ming Navy."
.
Zheng Zhilong, also called Zheng Yiguan, was only twenty-two years old at this time, one year younger than Chen Cao.
"When I was fifteen, I went to take the scholar exam, but I couldn't win..."
On the Anping boat, Zheng Zhilong was recounting the past to his third brother Zheng Zhibao. His third brother, who was seven years older than him, was accompanying his younger brother on his way north to meet Chen Cao.
Zheng Zhihu refused at first. He believed that their affairs on the southeastern coast and Nanyang had just begun to improve. If they surrendered to the imperial court, the fatal sea ban would be a difficulty.
"No matter what we do, it's still the same sentence. If Chen Cao can't give us good conditions, we will go back the way we came. How can the imperial navy be our opponent now that the imperial navy is so rotten? Brother doesn't trust us, so he let us go. I brought 300 boats with me. If Chen Cao dares to do anything wrong, I will strike first."
"Third brother," Zheng Zhilong was a little unable to control his bad-tempered brother: "Now that the imperial court is interested, we should follow suit. If we get an official status, won't it be more convenient at sea in the future? How about that? You can also save more than half of your money by going out. The Folangji people in Haojing are not good people. Their ships are expensive..."
The last sneak attack was a difficult one. After the tragic victory, Zheng Zhilong learned the hard way after taking over the family business of his eldest brother Yan Siqi. He made a deal with the Portuguese in Haojing and prepared to build three three-masted warships with soft sails. As the main battleship to fight against the Dutch in the future.
"As long as the Nanyang sea route can be completely opened, money is not a problem, and the Dutch are not good at it. They have suffered a heavy loss this time, and they will definitely take revenge. But I heard people over at the old port say that they are doing something with the Maurya Dynasty now. Although I don’t understand, what is certain is that they have not been able to have large-scale conflicts with us in recent years.”
Zheng Zhilong’s analysis is very reasonable. Today, the Dutch are fighting against the rebellious Mauryan Dynasty in India. Indian gold is their favorite. These things can be exchanged for many Ming goods, and then sold back to Europe, and they can make a lot of money. Pen.
"Report... Ming warships were spotted ahead. They were very big..."
Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhibao stood on the deck of the flat boat, and the treasure ship was right in front of them.
"At least three miles away." Zheng Zhilong put away the telescope, then turned around and ordered: "Flag signal, all ships are anchored and waiting on the spot. The ships are sailing and speeding up. Come with me to meet Marquis Dingwu."
Zheng Zhibao was watching with a telescope when he saw a puff of white smoke coming out of the treasure ship: "That's not right, Official..."
As soon as he finished speaking, a black dot flew towards the right side of their ship and flew straight into a two-masted hard-sailed warship.
'boom...'
The huge explosion blasted a large hole in the warship, and the planks and one side of the mast were blown to pieces.
"what happened..."
The propagation speed of sound was naturally not as fast as expected. By the time Zheng Zhilong and his group reacted, there were dozens of loud noises coming from the treasure ship, followed by a deafening explosion.
"Sign up quickly..."
"Good guy..."
Chen Cao put away the telescope, and then shouted: "Okay, cease fire, let the navy officers and soldiers stand ready...Tell Zheng Zhilong to let his ship approach, anchor, and prepare to meet this great pirate..."
..
Huang Chunyao was embarrassed standing behind Chen Cao. When he met Zheng Zhibao's murderous eyes, he really wanted to find a place to get in through the gap in the deck.
Then the construction of this treasure ship was strictly in accordance with the requirements of Zheng He's eunuchs. The joints of the wooden planks were sealed with solidified pine oil. Not only were there no gaps, but also water would not leak into the cabin.
Chen Cao turned his head and glanced at Huang Chunyao, and then at Zheng Zhilong, who was sitting upright. The atmosphere on the deck was a little tense for a while.
"Ahem..."
Xin Zhao coughed, and Zheng Zhilong came to his senses. He stood up and saluted Chen Cao: "Zheng Zhilong, a grassroots man from Fujian, pays homage to Marquis Dingwu."
Zheng Zhilong still has very little beard. After all, he is only a twenty-two-year-old young man. However, Zheng Zhibao standing behind him is tall and thick. No wonder he can also be named a Zhenjiang Ginseng General.
"Zheng Yiguan is so polite..." Chen Cao directly called Zheng Zhilong by his nickname in order to shorten the distance between the two parties. Zheng Zhilong was a little flattered by this.
"I'm really sorry for bothering Marquis Dingwu to come here in person." Zheng Zhilong bowed again.
Chen Cao personally poured a cup of tea for Zheng Zhilong, and then said: "Zheng Yiguan, please sit down. I am almost the same age as you, so we have a common topic. Not only that, regardless of age level, I am very good at making money." On the other hand, he has the same purpose as you, Zheng Yiguan."
"What?" Zheng Zhilong was shocked. Chen Cao's words were very clear. His goal was to dominate Nanyang, but he said he had the same goal as me, so he...
"The common people are frightened and please ask Marquis Dingwu for advice..."
Chen Cao laughed, and then looked at the expressionless Leopard General Zheng Zhibao behind him: "It seems that Mr. Leopard has some grudges against me. Why don't you just say it directly? I won't argue with you."
Zheng Zhilong quickly stood up and saluted: "Please forgive Dingwuhou Haihan. The common people came with hundreds of boats and offended Dingwuhou's official command. Please forgive Dingwuhou."
Chen Cao waved for him to sit down, then took the official document from Zhao Xin and said seriously: "Zheng Zhilong, what I am holding in my hand is the Songjiang guerrilla general officer title conferred to you by His Majesty. If you have thought about it, If a pirate turns into an official, then you will accept the official document. If you are not willing, I will not force you to do so."
Chen Cao always had a smile on his face when he spoke, with a harmless expression. Hearing this, Zheng Zhilong also smiled. Just when he was about to speak, he heard Chen Cao speak again.
"It just so happened that I was heading south with the main force of the Jiang Navy. I heard that pirates were rampant in Dongfan Island recently. They extorted and robbed passing merchant ships along the way. Even the property under my name was extorted several times. Why not take advantage of this to invade Jiji? Long Port, wipe out all the pirates in Dongfan Land."
What does this mean?
The naked threat...
Zheng Zhibao suppressed the anger in his heart and kept winking at Zheng Zhilong, but Zheng Zhilong ignored it at all. Apparently he felt that he, the third brother, did not feel serious about the incident where dozens of other people fired dozens of rounds and sunk five of his warships with flower bombs. Moreover, when they boarded the ship just now, the sailors carrying strange muskets were all prepared as if they were on their way to the Hongmen Banquet.
"Zheng Yiguan, I am the Jiang Navy. The current treasure ship is made one to one according to the treasure ship of eunuch Zheng He. It has been improved on this basis. The cannon in the middle is the Hongyi Cannon from this lord's artillery factory. Improved on the basis of the cannon, one cannon can hit five miles and fire various types of shells;
Not counting these, there are twenty-five warships with eight hundred to three thousand materials behind the treasure ship. Although the number is not large, I believe that judging from the power of the artillery on the warships, I believe that the eradication of pirates should be Smooth sailing. "
The words were full of threats. Even a fool could tell that Chen Cao's words were completely reflecting Zheng Zhilong. Although Zheng Zhilong was young, he had rich experience. Seeing this situation, he did not dare to slack off at all. He immediately got up and knelt respectfully before Chen Cao. In front of him, he leaned down and said: "Zheng Zhilong, a common man, is willing to listen to the imperial court's orders."
Chen Cao glanced at Zheng Zhilong who was kneeling in front of him, and then said: "By imperial edict, Zheng Zhilong of Fujian Province is granted the title of guerrilla general of Songjiang Prefecture in Zhejiang Province, and all his fleets are ordered to go north and join Caojiang Navy. He will be temporarily commanded by Caojiang Navy. this..."
"The last general Zheng Zhilong has received the order, long live my emperor..."
On the official level of the Ming Dynasty, civilian officials and military positions were generally called formal officials, while military generals were called generals. After being on guard, they could only be called "general so-and-so". Now Zheng Zhilong can be regarded as a serious general of the Ming Dynasty.
