Chapter 314 Let’s have some fun with a few deaths
Chen Cao's original attention was on Nanjing and the north. The war in the north and south of the Yangtze River was the most critical factor. However, the sudden appearance of Zhu Yujian, a strong man, really caught him off guard.
"Since Cheng Zu Jingnan reduced the vassal, it has been difficult for the vassal king to do anything locally, not to mention the Ning Fan Rebellion in the Zhengde Dynasty. The vassal king's bodyguards have been reduced again and again. Except for the King of Shu in Sichuan, now according to the As a rule, the prince's palace guards three hundred-household units, and the county prince's palace has one hundred-household unit."
"However, I heard that this grandson of King Tang was very courageous. After hearing about King Fu's rebellion, he raised the banner to recruit troops. At Luyang Pass, King Qin's army from the north has gathered more than 40,000 people, with a huge momentum."
Huang Chunyao then added: "If the southeastern land is uneven, the rear will be very worried, especially the Duke of Guizhou in Yunnan..."
When he mentioned this, Chen Cao remembered that Mu Qilin was very aware of current affairs during the First World War in Nanjing and helped open the Chaoyang Gate, but now he is not the person in charge of Mu Mansion.
"Mu Qiyuan died of illness last year, and his son Mu Tianbo succeeded in seizing the title of Duke of Guizhou. Mu Qilin must have held a grudge against this matter. Mu Tianbo was young, and the affairs of the Mu Mansion were basically in the hands of his mother, Chen. Qi Yuan’s image in Yunnan has always been bad, but I heard he died suddenly.”
Chen Cao thought thoughtfully, a ten-year-old child became the Duke of Guizhou, and also had the title of General Conquering the South. Moreover, it can be seen from the historical data of later generations that Mu Tianbo is not a good guy. If he can't fight for it, It is also possible to replace him with Mu Qilin.
"What's going on over there in Zhejiang?"
"General Qi's reputation is still there. At present, in Dading, Hangzhou, all the surrounding prefectures are arranging people from our Songjiang vassal to serve. Only Quzhou, Chuzhou and Wenzhou have not surrendered. The vassal kings in Fujian and Jiangxi have basically chosen Stay neutral and watch the fun."
Chen Cao thought about it. The fight for the world was their own business. After all, Zhu Laosi had done it once and succeeded. Now Fu Fan has also taken over the city of Nanjing and established the Chongde court.
"Your Majesty, some people below are thinking of writing a letter asking Your Majesty to move to Hangzhou..."
Although this was a tentative question, Chen Cao still frowned. After a long silence, he interrupted the idea of moving to Hangzhou.
"Although Hangzhou is good, I remember that the Southern Song Dynasty court died in Hangzhou," Chen Cao said seriously: "At this time, it is not the best choice to settle in the southeast corner. Look at the history books and see which court can make a fortune in the southeast. To unify the whole country? That was because Taizu of the dynasty expelled the Tartars. In the current world, that time has not yet reached that time;
However, since the southeast is uneven, there is really no way to go north to unify the world. "
Huang Chunyao asked again: "Does the prince want to send troops to the southeast?"
Chen Cao knocked on the round table, thoughtfully, and then said: "Jingping Southeast is a good choice. Once you control the land of wealth in the southeast, whether it is the northern court or the southern court, they will have to ask for help from me;
In this case, then give the order to mobilize ten divisions to sweep the southeast. "
"Your Majesty, which province should I start with?"
Chen Cao stood up and came to the map behind the round table: "First conquer the entire territory of Zhejiang, and then go south to Fujian. I heard that Zheng Zhilong has been extremely active recently, so he has stopped listening to the imperial court in the north."
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"Have you heard? The county prince is going to fight again..."
"Hey, let's fight. Our Songjiang clan has strong troops and horses now. Who can we fight?"
"Brother Emotional is just looking at the excitement. If we fight, people will die..."
"Didn't the county prince say that? When the cannon went off, everyone in Songjiang became rich. Now when the war started, prices rose, and the value of the goods leaving Songjiang was very high."
"Zheng Zhilong is a pirate, that guy is not a good guy. Look, look at the front page of the Ming Dynasty Daily..."
In the wine shop, a group of people gathered around. Only one person said: "Assemble ten divisions to go south and southeast to clear the world. Zheng Zhilong is going to be in trouble..."
"Read the reviews..."
At the end of the newspaper, there was a comment on the dispatch of troops to the southeast: "The southeast has been dark for hundreds of years, and a few people may die, so there must be some excitement..."
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Zheng Zhilong was awarded the title of Chief Military Officer of Fujian last year, and his status rose sharply. Especially after Nanjing was captured, he was troubled by a series of imperial edicts from Jiangxi. In addition, he learned that Chen Cao personally led his troops south. The news also came after the three prefectures of Chuzhou, Wenzhou, and Quzhou in Zhejiang were pacified.
Xiong Wencan, the imperial envoy to Fujian, also learned the news later. After discussions with many senior officials in Fujian, he urgently mobilized 30,000 soldiers and horses to station in Xianxia Pass to resist the Songjiang Army moving south.
At that time, there were only two official roads into Fujian, one was Xianxia Pass in the west, and the other was Fenshui Pass in the east. The best place for the army to move was only Xianxia Pass, and the official road to Fenshui Pass was not as good as Xianxia Pass, so people in Fujian also put all their focus on Xianxia Pass.
"Scouts from the front reported hundreds of thousands of rebels, all with firearms."
Zheng Zhilong frowned. He was curious as to why Chen Cao, who had the three most elite fleets in the Ming Dynasty, didn't send a ship by sea.
However, there are still benefits from coming from land. Only by guarding Xianxia Pass and Fenshui Pass can Fujian be preserved.
Xiong Wencan moved the imperial envoy's office to Jianning Mansion, where the Fujian Xingdu Division was stationed. Zheng Zhilong now also transferred all the general military offices to Jianning Mansion together with Xiong Wencan.
"It is related to the safety of Fujian and must be taken seriously."
Xiong Wencan stroked his beard and then said: "General Zheng, in my opinion, why don't I guard Xianxia Pass and General Zheng guard Fenshui Pass?"
Although Xiong Wencan was a civilian official, he had served in Liaodong and the Ministry of War before going to Fujian as governor. He was quite familiar with the art of war. After his experience in Fujian, he even wiped out many bandits in Fuzhou.
Zheng Zhilong pondered for a long time. According to the usual practice, all military affairs in Fujian are now under the command of Zheng Zhilong, the commander-in-chief. However, the Ming Dynasty used culture to control military affairs, and the safety of Fujian must be decided by Xiong Wencan, the governor of Fujian.
Zheng Zhilong clasped his fists: "Since Master Xiong suggested it, I will do it."
Xiong Wencan didn't like Zheng Zhilong, a pirate recruiter, from the bottom of his heart. How could a vulgar warrior catch the eyes of a second-ranked Jinshi? For his own safety, Fujian's 100,000-strong army left a full 70,000 in Xianxia Pass. Zheng Zhilong dispatched 30,000 troops.
However, Zheng Zhilong still had nearly 20,000 navy troops. For the sake of safety, Zheng Zhilong, who was going to Fenshui Pass, dispatched all 20,000 navy troops staying in his hometown in Fuzhou to Pumensuo Bay. From there, it only took a few minutes to go ashore to reinforce Fenshui Pass. to a day's time.
The closest to Fenshui Pass is Tongshan Fort Military Town, where Zheng Zhilong's 30,000-strong army is currently stationed here, and the former General Manager Qian of Fenshui Pass has also handed over the defense to Zheng Zhilong.
"Zhibao, you lead 10,000 troops to Fenshui Pass."
The two passes in Fujian are extremely dangerous. The two most dangerous passes in the southeast are both in Fujian. The most dangerous is Xianxia Pass, followed by Fenshui Pass. Zheng Zhibao settled in Fenshui Pass and had 10,000 troops. It was difficult for others to do so. .
In the military camp, Zheng Zhilong was sitting on the Grand Master's chair, with his hands on the handles on both sides, as if thinking about something.
"My uncle rebelled against Chen Cao back then."
Zheng Caili interjected. Seeing that Zheng Zhilong didn't respond, he added: "Now that Chen Cao has personally led Songjiang soldiers and horses, under the banner of the Chongde court, how should we, as ministers, judge the affairs of the Tian family?" ?”
Zheng Zhilong turned his head slightly and glanced at Zheng Cai, then continued to be in a daze.
Seeing that Zheng Zhilong stopped talking, Zheng Cai also closed his mouth knowingly. It took a long time for Zheng Zhilong to speak: "I am the Fujian General Soldier appointed by Emperor Chongzhen. This cannot be changed."
Three days later, an imperial edict from the capital was forwarded from Xiong Wencan. In addition to asking Fujian officials to stick to Fujian, Zheng Zhilong was promoted to Jue Nan Anbo...
This is coaxing...
Zheng Zhilong thanked the eunuch who delivered the order, and then sat in the military camp with a dejected look. In this world, having soldiers and food is the way to go. It seems that even the northern court is afraid of him.
Chen Cao, representing the Chongde court, would not attack without thinking when he brought troops. After learning that Chongzhen had conferred the title of uncle to Zheng Zhilong, Chen Cao, who was not stingy, immediately sent a letter to Zheng Zhilong on behalf of Emperor Chongde. , the title of Marquis of Nan'an, of course, has the advantage of allowing Zheng Zhilong to abandon Fenshui Pass.
After Zheng Zhilong read the letter, he folded it and handed it to Zheng Cai next to him: "Send someone to the governor's camp and give it to Lord Xiong."
"A plan to divorce, uncle..."
How could Zheng Zhilong not know about this alienation plot? Although he was a pirate, Zheng Zhilong also came from a family of officials and was educated. At that time, Emperor Chengzu promised his son to be crowned prince, but who would take such empty talk seriously? Moreover, at this critical moment when the two sides were about to start a war, if he believed the other party's words, he would be the big fool.
"How is the Songjiang Army's military intelligence investigation going?"
Zheng Cai clasped his fists: "Just inside Pingyang County, the Songjiang army discovered by the spies is at least 30,000, and we don't know who is leading the army yet."
Zheng Zhilong let out a sigh of relief: "How is our business with the Dutch?"
"The fleet is on its way back, at least two days away."
Zheng Zhilong looked at the sky: "The dark clouds are coming. I wonder if Mazu can bless us with smooth sailing this year."
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"The promises made at that time were nothing more than farts. Those in power turned away and did not recognize them anymore. The most recent one was when Zhu Laosi conferred the title of Han King Zhu Gaoxu."
Everyone laughed, Chen Cao looked at Tang Yannian and said, "How about I pat you on the back sincerely?"
"Farewell, Your Majesty, I am not qualified to be your son..."
"Hahaha..."
The tent burst into laughter, and then the laughter gradually became smaller. Chen Cao covered his stomach and said: "There are 20,000 Zheng Zhilong's navy in Pumensuo Bay. The Jinyi Guards have discovered that Zheng Zhilong has a batch of firearms transactions with the Dutch. Our army Fenshui Pass needs to be captured before he can obtain advanced firearms, otherwise more and more people will die before the pass."
