Chapter 318 Fuzhou
"The Zheng family's hometown is all in Fuzhou..."
Cao Shixiu's words reminded Chen Cao, and then Chen Cao looked at Xu Fuyuan, who was covered in mud: "Do you think Zheng will be trapped in Fuzhou and wait to die?"
Xu Fuyuan frowned for a long time, and then said: "He is the newly ennobled Nan'anbo in the Northern Dynasty, and he is also the chief military officer of Fujian. He is second only to the governor Xiong Wencan in Fujian. The students think that Zheng Zhilong is very likely to stick to Fuzhou Fucheng. Is there Zheng Zhilong there?" It is a shipping port, and Fuzhou is the administrative seat of Fujian, and the city walls are tall and cannot be compared to his hometown of Quanzhou."
Chen Cao felt that what they said was reasonable, but now most of his naval forces were marching in the north and west. Now only the river navy had to guard against Zhao Tianlin, so attacking by sea was pure fantasy.
Chen Cao couldn't directly tell Zheng Zhilong's whereabouts at this moment, but his most urgent goal now was to head west to Xianxia Pass and help Song Che defeat Xiong Wencan first.
So Chen Cao asked the Eighth Division to stay at Fenshui Pass to guard against Zheng Zhilong turning around and returning to the carbine, while he led the First and Second Divisions to rush to Xianxia Pass a few days later.
When the army marched to Tongpan Mountain in the southeast of Zhenghe County, Jianning Prefecture, they encountered Song Che's messenger.
"What? Xiong Wencan surrendered?"
After Chen Cao confirmed it again, he looked up to the sky and laughed. That guy had more than 70,000 people and relied on the world to defend Xianxia Pass. Even Song Che had never been able to open Xianxia Pass for a month. Now that he was drowsy, he took the initiative to hand over the pillow. Come here and make Chen Cao feel comfortable.
Soon after, a Jinyi Guards Captain also arrived among Chen Cao's army and reported the whole story of Xiong Wencan's incident to Chen Cao in detail.
"Xiong Wencan set up his camp in Pucheng. After he learned that Fenshui Pass had been breached by our army three days ago, he said in front of all the civil and military personnel in the camp that he would never surrender unless someone kidnapped him. ;
At this time, Commander Song attacked Xianxia Pass and sent people to persuade Xiong Wencan to surrender. Under a lot of pressure, Ma Ningsheng, a guerrilla under Xiong Wencan, suddenly attacked during the meeting. He detained all the civil and military personnel in the camp, tied up Xiong Wencan, and then sacrificed him. At Xianxia Pass, Commander Song was able to successfully enter Jianning Mansion. "
After Xu Fuyuan listened to the words of the Jinyi Guardsman, he said: "The student heard a joke when he was traveling before, saying that a woman whose husband died often molested men in the same village and committed adultery to make a living. Adultery is a serious crime against etiquette and law. Once seated, the man will have nothing to do, but the adulterous woman will be immersed in a pig cage and die. So every time the woman commits adultery with a man, she will force him not to do it, but she always accepts it physically, just because Once something happens in the future, the woman's unwanted words can be used as evidence in court, and it can also prove that she was coerced."
Chen Cao looked at Xu Fuyuan with a devilish smile: "You look so polite, but you can't believe that your words can be so vicious. He, Xiong Wencan, is also the governor of a province, and you actually compare him to an adulterous bitch?"
"Ha ha ha ha..."
There was a roar of laughter in the tent, and Tang Yannian's laughter was even more exaggerated. The big beard on his face gave people the impression that this man was a copycat bandit leader.
"The students were just making an analogy..."
Chen Cao laughed and scolded him angrily, and then pointed at him: "Xiong Wencan was also a Jinshi during the Wanli period after all. You are both literati. Please don't say such things again in the future. You may not be able to serve as officials in the same court in the future. "
Xu Fuyuan bowed: "Students, please remember this."
"That's fine. Xiong Wencan doesn't want to get involved in the Zhu family's affairs. After the surrender, the Fujian Jingping issue has been mostly successful. Now in the whole of Fujian, Zheng Zhilong only has 30,000 to 40,000 troops, so there is nothing to fear;"
As he spoke, Chen Cao handed the sealed official document to the former Imperial Guard Captain: "Take the official document to Commander Song and tell him that he will divide his troops and go to various prefectures in Fujian. I will wait for him to meet him outside Fuzhou City and ask him to Xiong Wencan must bring it."
On September 27th of the third year of Chongzhen (the same day of the first year of Chongde), Chen Cao led the first two divisions of the Dingwu Army to arrive twenty miles outside Fuzhou City, Fuzhou Prefecture. Song Che, who arrived later, brought Jingping, Jianning and Shaowu with him. Other Dingwu Army divisions from , Yanping, Tingzhou, Zhangzhou and other prefectures arrived one after another, forming a siege to Quanzhou, Xinghua, and Fuzhou prefectures where Zheng Zhilong was entrenched.
Inside Chen Cao's Chinese army tent, Xiong Wencan was sitting in the tent with an embarrassed look on his face, listening to the scene where Chen Cao was discussing matters with civil and military officials. He, a high-ranking Northern Dynasty official who was forced to surrender after being kidnapped, was indeed a little embarrassed at the moment.
It wasn't until Chen Cao finished deploying his plan to attack Fuzhou City that he looked at Xiong Wencan, who had been sitting aside for a long time, with a smile on his face: "Master Xiong, I'm glad to meet you."
"I have seen Liang...Prince Songjiang..."
Perhaps Xiong Wencan realized his situation and changed his name to Chen Cao, who was granted the title of Prince of Nanjing by the Nanjing court.
"A war between the two sides is an internal matter of the Zhu family."
Xiong Wencan nodded in agreement, and Chen Cao continued: "When Chengzu was in trouble, most of the Jianwen courtiers seemed to have this idea..."
Xiong Wencan was a little embarrassed by Chen Cao's remarks, so from time to time he would do some little tricks of stroking his beard and arranging his bun to deal with his embarrassment.
Chen Cao saw this and said: "Now that my army has arrived in Fujian, not to mention the actions of the emperor of the Northern Dynasty, based on the current situation, how much chance does Mr. Xiong think the Northern Dynasty has to win and can be used as a bet?"
Seeing that Xiong Wencan didn't speak for a long time, Chen Cao wasn't angry at all: "Zheng Zhilong was just a pirate who was surrendered to Songjiang by me under the pressure of my king. In the end, he chose to defect to the Northern Dynasty for some small interests. However, now My king’s army is approaching, and Fujian has no more soldiers to fight. My king’s army is not a bandit. Wherever it passes, it does not harm the people. The people of the local counties in Fujian even trade with my king’s army. You ask those Are you disgusted with me, Songjiang Army?"
Xiong Wencan really saw it all the way. Even when his army marched north to Xianxia Pass, they were like bandits and forcibly conquered the people's villages in the counties and counties they passed through. Like bandits, the people complained, but Chen Cao's Songjiang Army not only had no Qiu They even took the initiative to help poor people build houses and cut firewood. These troops are simply teachers of benevolence and righteousness.
When passing through Jian'an County, the local people even spontaneously organized to welcome the Songjiang Army. What does this mean?
"Now Zheng Zhilong's soldiers are like bandits and are taking over the Fuzhou area. The people are already complaining. At this moment, my Songjiang army is coming to Fuzhou like their savior."
Xiong Wencan cupped his hands and said, "I'm scared, I really don't know what to say."
"Master Xiong has been in Fujian for a long time and is familiar with local people's sentiments. I have decided to let Master Xiong be the governor of Fujian and continue to govern the place after pacifying Zheng Zhilong's forces. What do you think, Master Xiong?"
Xiong Wencan was so excited that he really didn't expect that he could continue to be the governor of Fujian after surrendering. This inner excitement made his butt unconsciously move on the stool.
Chen Cao, who was very observant, didn't notice it, so he smiled and said: "I always keep my word. Besides, the strength of our Songjiang clan is basically the highest in the Ming Dynasty. What do you think, Lord Xiong?"
Perhaps due to his reserve as a scholar, Chen Cao waited for Xiong Wencan to think about it for more than ten minutes with a smile on his face before he stood up and clasped his fists: "I am ashamed of myself, I will definitely live up to the grace of the king..."
"Hahaha..." Chen Cao also stood up and grabbed Xiong Wencan's arm: "Master Xiong, since you have become one of your own, can you tell me the current situation in Fuzhou, or how to deal with Zheng Zhilong."
Chen Cao firmly believed that Xiong Wencan must know something. Sure enough, Xiong Wencan bowed again and replied with a serious face: "The prince does not know something. The Zheng family was born in Nan'an County, Quanzhou Prefecture. After Zheng Zhilong became the chief military officer of Fujian, the Zheng family in Quanzhou The private property of the Quanzhou Shipping Department of the Prefecture used the resources of the imperial court openly and openly. The Zheng family has three shipyards in Quanzhou, and all the family members of the Zheng family are in Quanzhou."
Xiong Wencan knew about the bad blood between Zheng Zhilong and Chen Cao, so he raised his eyes at Chen Cao who was silent, and then asked cautiously: "If the prince wants to completely eradicate Zheng Zhilong, he will send the navy south to block the sea route for Zheng Zhilong to escape. , if the prince wants to make an emergency landing on Zheng Zhilong again, he will have to make a fuss about the Zheng family."
Chen Cao's eyes lit up, and he suddenly felt that this old guy Xiong Wencan was really a match for Huang Chunyao. He was indeed the most ruthless scholar, and he was right: "Our army is going south, and Zheng Zhilong is trapped in Fuzhou. He will not advance in advance." Transfer the Zheng family members in Quanzhou?"
Xiong Wencan shook his head: "Quanzhou has crisscrossed streams, waterways, and mountainous areas, so war horses cannot take advantage of it. Moreover, the Zheng family has been running Quanzhou for several years, and there are seaports and estuaries. As long as there are no threats from the sea, they will not do it unless they have to. Evacuate Quanzhou, even if the army comes to attack and cannot reach it, as long as the waterway at the entrance of Lanxi River is sealed, they can evacuate from Quanzhou Port calmly."
Chen Cao nodded thoughtfully. Fortunately, he had the foresight to let Song Che bring Xiong Wencan. Otherwise, Xu Fuyuan's half-hearted head would not have been able to think of this level. However, Chen Cao reacted immediately, If Xiong Wencan hadn't been an official in Fujian for a long time, he wouldn't have been able to know Zheng Zhilong so comprehensively.
"Did Master Xiong be ordered to monitor Zheng Zhilong?"
Xiong Wencan chuckled, but Chen Cao guessed it right: "The prince is aware that Zheng Zhilong and others' path to officialdom is really... Hehe, the Northern Dynasty is still on guard."
"Then what Master Xiong said must be the Northern Dynasty's emergency response to Zheng Zhilong's rebellion?"
Xiong Wencan nodded: "Exactly..."
"How many spies of Lord Xiong are there in Quanzhou?"
Xiong Wencan didn't hide it at all: "There are more than thirty people in Nan'an and Quanzhou..."
Chen Cao nodded thoughtfully, and then said: "Come here, please invite Commander Song to discuss matters..."
