As for which branch of Dongjiang will rebel, the Foreign Intelligence Agency believes that there are many suitable people, and the most suitable one is Shang Kexi among the "Three Shun Kings". [No pop-up novel website]
Although Shang Kexi, Kong Youde and Geng Jingzhong are also known as the Three Shun Kings, they have little connection except that they came from Dongjiang together. Shang Kexi inherited his father's legacy. His father was once a guerrilla under Mao Wenlong. After his death in battle, Shang Kexi inherited the army and was promoted to deputy general. Stationed in Guanglu Island. According to the distribution of lines, he is considered a member of the Huanglong camp. In history, when Kong Youde and others fled the Liaohai Sea, Huanglong sniped at the rebels. Shang Kexi also did a lot of damage.
When the Manchu Qing invaded Lushun, hundreds of Shang Kexi's family members were killed. According to common sense, he and the Manchus had a blood feud, but he took the initiative to cross the sea and surrender to the Qing Dynasty the second year after Kong Youde surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. Although historical records say that the main factor that caused his surrender to the Qing Dynasty was the attempt by Shen Shikui, who succeeded Dongjiang Commander-in-Chief, to trap him. But the Foreign Intelligence Service believed that his surrender was an outburst of long-standing dissatisfaction. After he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, many Dongjiang generals surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. Judging from this, Dongjiang's dissatisfaction with the imperial court had reached the point where it was about to explode. From this point of view, the main generals of Dongjiang do not need much help, as long as they follow the trend.
The Foreign Intelligence Service decided to start with Shen Shikui's happy discord.
For several veterans on the Haitian, who surrendered to the Manchus was the job of the Foreign Intelligence Service, and they had another important task to perform.
The Haitian was gradually approaching the mouth of the Yalu River. According to the map, they were already in the Dadonggou area of the mouth of the Yalu River, which is about fifty kilometers away from Zhenjiang Fort.
Although Mao Shisan claimed to be a military household in Zhenjiang Fort, in fact, the real Zhenjiang Fort was never under the jurisdiction of Dongjiang Town. Zhenjiang Fort was only recaptured briefly after Mao Wenlong became famous in the First World War, and was captured by Hou Jin less than ten days later. Since then, Dongjiang has been entrenched in North Korea. They crossed the river many times to attack, but they never regained Zhenjiang Fort.
On the Yalu River in 1633 after Ding Mao's rebellion and Mao Wenlong's execution, the garrison and households in Dongjiang Town actually ceased to exist. Zhenjiang Fort military households like Mao Shisan were all stationed near the mouth of the Yalu River. on the island.
"Put down the navigation boat and prepare the entire ship for first-level combat readiness!"
Following this command, the Haitian lowered a small boat. Then, under the guidance of a small boat, we slowly entered the Yalu River at a speed of three knots. The navigation capacity of the lower reaches of the Yalu River was acceptable. In 1910, a 1,000-ton ship could sail directly to the Sinuiju coast. The Haitian, which has a full load and a displacement of only a few hundred tons, will have no problem sailing to the Zhenjiangbao River as long as it is careful.
The river is wide. However, the siltation is serious and there are many large and small islands scattered on the river. Most of these islands were once the camps and fields of the Dongjiang Army. When Nurhaci was there, Hou Jin launched many mopping up operations. Expelled the garrison troops. Burning crops. These islands are now completely uninhabited. Only abandoned fields and dilapidated houses remain.
Both sides of the Yalu River are also full of dilapidated scenes. In the past, there used to be quite dense human settlements and large areas of cultivated fields.
Due to Dongjiang's harassment tactics, Hou Jin moved all the residents along the coast of Zhenjiang Fort into the interior. Therefore, except for a few Hou Jin's settlements, the area has become deserted. This place has simply become a military garrison area. As for Yiju, North Korea on the other side, it was also plundered by the Manchus during Ding Mao's chaos and became a lifeless place.
The Haitian entered the Yalu River estuary and was quickly discovered by various Houjintun forts on the shore. Black smoke began to rise from the beacon. Xue Ziliang could see people and horses moving around Tunpu through the telescope.
Zhenjiang Fort soon appeared in sight. Zhenjiang City has a very long history. It is the former site of Laiyuan City in the Liao Dynasty, the administrative seat of Posu Prefecture in the Jin Dynasty, and Posu Prefecture in the Yuan Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, it was called Jiulian City because of the "nine camps around it". In the 24th year of Wanli (1596), in order to strengthen the border defense in Liaodong, the Ming court built a new city at the "former site of Jiulian". In October of the same year, Changdian Preparatory Force was changed to guerrilla duty and moved to this city. It was adjacent to Kuandian General's Camp The purpose of building this city is to guard the eastern fortress and protect the safety of the river and sea, so the name suggests that it is named after "Zhenjiang".
It is adjacent to Zhendong Mountain to the north, Hengdao River to the west, Aijiang River to the south, Yalu River to the west, and Uiju, North Korea on the other side. The strategic position is very important - it is not only the transportation hub between Ming Dynasty and North Korea, but also strategically blocks the four guards (Jin, Fu, Hai, Gai) in the south and North Korea in the east. It is an important strategic support point for the defense of Liaodong.
Looking through the telescope, the entire Zhenjiang Fort is quite impressive in size. The city is square in shape and has a circumference of 1,040 meters. Yiying's defense facilities are complete and the defense is strict. After the Hou Jin Dynasty expelled the Dongjiang Army and reoccupied this place, they left 300 Manchu soldiers and 1,000 Mongolian soldiers in Zhenjiang, and sent 4 Manchu and Mongolian officials to garrison here. It can be called a heavy defense. As soon as the Haitian Ship appeared, the four doors here were already closed tightly and they were ready.
That night, the Haitian docked at a desert island in the river opposite Zhenjiang Fort. According to the map, the island should be Daji Island in North Korea. For safety reasons, the navy went ashore to search. The island was uninhabited, but there were traces of reclamation on the island. The Dongjiang Army probably once settled here.
The island is full of bones, especially on the river beach facing Yiju, North Korea. The river beach is almost covered with bones. In August 1624, Hou Jin raided the Ming army that was harvesting grain on the island. The soldiers of the Ming army panicked and fled. More than 500 soldiers were killed. The rest of the Ming army struggled to cross the river, and most of them fell into the water and drowned. . The skeletons all over the ground were left behind by the Dongjiang soldiers and civilians at that time.
"It's so miserable." Huang Hua said while standing on the deserted river beach. He seemed to be deep in thought.
"Finally we have to deal with wild boar skins." Wang Rui patted Huang Hua's shoulder and said meaningfully, "As long as you know what kind of goods they are - the rest is up to you."
Huang Hua took a deep breath: "It's okay. I'm a businessman."
Considering that the garrison and defense officials of Zhenjiang Fort must take action the next day - whether it is to start a fight or send an envoy, the ultimate purpose of the Haitian's arrival is to send Huang Hua to land and establish contact with Hou Jin. Therefore, Huang Hua must be prepared to land the next day.
Gifts and trade samples prepared for Huang Taiji and others were piled in the cabin. The most eye-catching one was a gorgeously decorated Western-style two-handed epee.
"It's a really good sword, but I don't know if Huang Taiji can appreciate it. It's a secret investment." Wang Ruixiang couldn't help but pull out the sword. "I hope this transaction will be worth it..."
The sword itself is not extraordinary, it is just cold forged from tool steel and machine. However, it is extremely luxurious in shape and decoration. Not only the hilt, guard, and scabbard are inlaid with gold and silver, but the sword itself is also decorated with gold and silver. It is also inlaid with various decorations - all of which are made by the master craftsmen of Zimingzhai.
Originally, some elders wanted to get some radioactive element luminous substance for this "King's Sword" so that Huang Taiji would die sooner. However, considering that radioactive elements are not easy to process, it is not cost-effective to build a special supporting production line for such a sword. If something goes wrong, hang up first.
"How do you get this Huang Taiji?" Huang Hua couldn't help but ask. He was a little worried about whether his gift was in line with the customer's appetite.
Wang Ruixiang said nonchalantly: "He doesn't need to take it himself, just let his entourage carry it."
"I don't think he likes it..."
"Haha, this sword is just a stepping stone. Just send the samples you brought. He will definitely treat you as a distinguished guest, and maybe even give you a hug as a greeting." Wang Ruixiang said.
The trade goods prepared for the Manchus took a lot of thought. The Manchu Qing Dynasty was in a very difficult economic situation, with domestic production levels at a low level and long-term material shortages. Everything is so expensive, except for ginseng and furs, there are almost no bulk trade products. And these things are of little significance to the Senate - they can only be used as re-export trade goods.
Although the Manchu Qing Dynasty had the ability to supply the horses, various metals and people that the Senate most urgently needed, they were strategic materials after all - the Manchu Qing Dynasty itself also needed these.
That is to say, there is a lack of material and sufficient means of payment - so Huang Taiji has always taken import and export trade very seriously, and the import of goods that have nothing to do with people's livelihood and national use is basically prohibited. Tobacco is just one example that traders used to think about.
As for the luxury goods and luxury goods supplied to the upper class of the Eight Banners, the demand can be roughly met by plundering and small imports. It is obviously difficult for the Senate to sell them in large quantities.
As far as the Manchu and Qing Dynasties were concerned, the commodities they most needed to import were grain, followed by iron products and cloth. The Senate itself has a great demand for these commodities, and some of them have to be imported in large quantities.
After many discussions among the Planning Institute, the Ministry of Commerce and the Foreign Intelligence Service, the final export commodities were mainly cloth, paper, and salt, and based on the characteristics of Houjin, tea, liquor, finished medicines and other commodities were added.
In addition, after discussion, the elders believed that in view of the extreme conservatism of the Qing Dynasty's foreign trade, in order for the Qing Dynasty to relent and be willing to sell their kidneys - to export supplies that they themselves urgently need, they must get something genuine. to impress its top brass.
Therefore, in the product catalog that was about to be displayed to Huang Taiji, the last column of "Weapons" listed products that they could not refuse. Some products appeared in the export product catalog for the first time.
After repeated consideration, the weapons exported to the Manchu and Qing Dynasties included armor made by Lingao in addition to bows and arrows produced on Jeju Island.
Because the Eight Banners had a small number of people and strong combat effectiveness, the Manchu soldiers were the most heavily protected. The Eight Banners soldiers all wore heavy armor, and some even wore double armor. Compared with the inferior armor equipment of the Ming Dynasty soldiers, it was much better made. In battles, there were many examples of people being hit by more than a dozen arrows without any damage. They even had considerable protection against the Ming army's inferior light firearms. (To be continued...)
