Chapter 228
Chongming in May is fine when there is wind, but it is very muggy when there is no wind.
Cheng Shijie was a person who knew how to enjoy life. He had a pond opened in the southwest corner of the Princess Mansion, which was connected to the river outside to form an independent swimming pool.
But this swimming pool is a bit big, about two to three hundred acres.
Cheng Shijie was not unaware that Zhu Weiti had doubts about him and had deep resentment.
Of course, his principle is not to explain, not to avoid, and not to take responsibility.
After swimming in the swimming pool for a long time, Cheng Shijie wiped the water off his body with a towel when he returned to the terrace on the shore. He looked at Zhu Weiti sitting next to him, frowning a little.
Cheng Shijie smiled and said: "Princess, what's wrong with you? You're so sad and worried?"
Zhu Weiti shook her head and said: "No..."
"Are you tired of staying in Chongming? Why don't you go back first?"
Zhu Weiti said: "Husband, do you think I am a jealous woman?"
"no!"
"Then you're still... hiding it?"
Zhu Weiti said: "I said once that I would help you get Yang Yunniang and Gu Ziyi into the house, but you...how..."
Cheng Shijie sighed, what was supposed to come finally came: "Princess, does she know who lives near our princess mansion?"
"this……"
Zhu Weiti was slightly startled: "There is no one nearby!"
Zhu Weiti's Princess Mansion was actually the original old Chongming County. After the county seat was abandoned in the 39th year of Wanli, the county seat was moved fifteen kilometers northwest.
Most of the entire county was destroyed by floods. Only Shen's courtyard was mostly preserved due to its good construction quality. There are no other houses around it now.
Zhu Weiti thought of the stables in the yard. The more than fifty horses had not moved. If Cheng Shijie rode out, he would definitely hear the movement.
"I have a lot to do lately!"
Cheng Shijie didn't lie, he was actually very busy now.
Putin once said: "Although Russia's land is very broad, not an inch is redundant."
This sentence is actually very applicable to Ning Haijun. Others in the Ming Dynasty may not have that much desire for land, but the problem is that the people at the bottom of the Ming Dynasty are very eager for land.
As for Liaodong, the Liaodong Governor-General's default area for Jiannu is to use the Taizi River as the boundary. The area north of the Taizi River is controlled by Jiannu, while the area south of the Taizi River is controlled by Liaodong.
But in fact, as immigrants from Liaodong flocked to Liaoyang and central Liaocheng, during the spring plowing in the seventh year of Chongzhen, many people quietly went to the area north of the Taizi River on sheepskin rafts or small wooden boats. They burned the weeds. The land began to be cleared and crops such as wheat and potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes began to be planted.
This move was actually a test, firstly to test the Liaodong Management Committee, and secondly to test the reaction of Jiannu.
However, the Liaodong Management Committee did not make it clear about this, but directly applied for land deeds for these immigrants who reclaimed wasteland. This time, the immigrants became more and more bold.
According to incomplete statistics, sixteen new towns have been established in the area north of the Taizi River, and about 2.6 million acres of land have been reclaimed.
In order to protect their fields, these people spontaneously organized patrols. After planting crops, they spontaneously began to use soil and transplant bushes to build a simple defense line.
The people of Liaodong were so conscious that Ning Haijun also moved the patrol scope further north. The current Jiannu were unable to cope with the oppression of Ning Haijun and could only shrink further.
Therefore, in May of the seventh year of Chongzhen, Ning Haijun actually controlled the area south of the Hun River.
The Hun River, also known as the Xiao Liao River, is only 25 kilometers away from Shenyang City, which means that Ning Haijun can launch an attack on Shenyang at any time. In this case, Jiannu still chose to be patient.
Even more critical is Shuangchengwei. Originally, Shuangchengwei belonged to an enclave in Liaodong, but in fact, with the shrinkage of Jiannu, Shuangchengwei has been expanding outwards, first connecting with the Tumen River and Yalu River. Later, Liaodong expanded eastward and occupied Anton. At this time, the enclaves of the Shuangcheng Guards also became one.
This kind of expansion in Liaodong adopts a subtle and silent approach, which is obviously more covert and thorough, leaving people speechless. The key is that there are no future troubles and the cost is very low.
Cheng Shijie didn't pay too much attention to Liaodong. The main reason was that Ning Haijun had absolute strength in Liaodong. If Jiannu wanted to fight, Ning Haijun could accompany him at any time.
The most important thing is that Cheng Shijie needs to immigrate in the direction of Da Yuan.
Of course, due to the inconvenience of the news, Cheng Shijie still didn't know at this time that his adopted sons Cheng Shi and Li Zhixiang had captured Luzon. Of course, this was only in name. In fact, they only occupied Manila City and the Pasig River. The actual control of the areas on both sides of the Taiwan Strait is only about 5% of the entire Luzon, about 5,000 to 6,000 square kilometers.
"Liaodong is our basic base. While we are expanding in Liaodong, it will not affect our strategic layout in Nanyang. We must increase our power projection to Luzon and Dajuan, and penetrate into Dajuan and Luzon!"
Cheng Shijie actually didn't know that his strategic planning was already far behind.
But the problem is that Zheng Zhilong is blocking Hangzhou Bay, and Cheng Shijie really has no way to deliver personnel and supplies to Da Yuan and Luzon.
However, as the original transit base, Chongming Island has experienced unprecedented prosperity due to the arrival of immigrants. Now there are 30,000 to 40,000 refugees gathered on Chongming Island. Shen Boyun is responsible for resettling these refugees and is extremely busy every day.
But at least I have some clues, thanks to the rich work experience accumulated in Liaodong and a solid foundation.
Using these refugees, we first built the Ring Island Avenue, Chongming City's carriage roads, north-south long streets, and back streets. Later maintenance, excavation of drainage ditches, planting of road trees, and shops, houses, warehouses, and grass markets along the streets were completed. When buildings are built one after another, a lot of labor is required.
In order to accommodate the labor force, Ning Haijun plans to immediately expand the island protection embankment, east pier and southeast pier. The spinning and weaving factories that were previously used to resettle the families of displaced persons are also in preparation.
Although the territory of Chongming Island is limited and the number of people it can accommodate is limited, it will be much easier to follow the plan once things are figured out. Continuing to expand spinning and weaving workshops and build other workshops and workshops can itself accommodate a large amount of labor.
These refugees are actually on Chongming Island temporarily. If Zheng Zhilong's fleet leaves Hangzhou Bay, these refugees will be transported to Dayuan, where immigration and border work will be carried out.
The resettlement work of these refugees is also very cumbersome. It is necessary to sort out those who have expertise and skills among the refugees, and the manpower must be used rationally.
Generally speaking, resettling refugees requires a large amount of arable land. Jiangnan has been prosperous for hundreds of years. After full development, it will naturally not be able to accommodate more immigrants.
The influx of refugees not only caused a large number of public security problems, but also caused a serious surplus of local labor force, which caused a sharp drop in labor prices, so that ordinary local tenants and laborers were hostile to immigrants.
Liaodong’s method of resettling refugees is to use work-for-relief. Work-for-relief can effectively solve the problem of short-term refugees and stranded refugees. In addition, large-scale household handicrafts, workshop handicrafts, and even larger-scale handicraft factories can outperform pure arable land farming. Accommodate more remaining labor.
Shen Boyun and the Shen clan followed these two ideas in Liaodong to resettle the refugees. After the initial chaos, many things became clear. With so many people in Chongming, everything seemed in order.
Even Shen Boyun himself couldn't imagine it going so smoothly at first. Although it was very hard, he was also very excited.
From childhood to adulthood, Shen Boyun has seen many people in his life, but he has never seen anyone whose skills in managing the world are as good as Cheng Shijie's. He often thinks in his heart, is Cheng Shijie really satisfied with surviving in the chaotic current situation?
Those who are capable should know the way of dormancy. The current situation is chaotic, but it has not become irredeemable. It is said that the times create heroes. If the times do not provide for them, it is difficult for heroes to emerge.
Although Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng and Zheng Zhilong are so famous, most of the earliest grasshoppers jumping around since ancient times are destined to make wedding dresses for others.
When the time comes, Shen Boyun believes that Cheng Shijie will also act accordingly. As the saying goes, you can know the whole leopard by looking at one spot. From Cheng Shijie's acting style, we can see that Cheng Shijie is by no means limited to the hypocritical one of "loyalty, justice, benevolence and filial piety". Set people.
Shen Boyun made up his mind to follow Cheng Shijie, no matter how difficult the road was, he would continue.
Cheng Shijie is not afraid of Zheng Zhilong's attack on Chongming Island, nor is he afraid of his attack on Wusongkou and Changxing Island. In these three places, Ning Haijun has deployed forts. Frankly speaking, as long as these forts are not destroyed, even if the Zheng family forces all the warships under pressure, It’s no use coming up!
Of course, the lack of troops was Cheng Shijie's biggest headache. Cheng Shijie did not select young men from the immigrants to join Ning Haijun. The main reason was that the composition of the immigrants was complex and the immigrants' physiques were too weak to adapt to Ning Haijun's high-intensity training.
The biggest problem for immigrants is actually the climate. Today's Dadan has not yet been developed. Just like Liaodong in the past, there are wetlands everywhere because there is a lot of water. Wetlands can easily breed mosquitoes, and mosquitoes are the biggest natural enemies of immigrants.
Don't underestimate small mosquitoes. Large mosquitoes are very domineering. No matter how strong a man is, he will get fever, shake, and have a high chance of death after being bitten.
Cheng Shijie was preparing immigration officials. He was not as simple and crude as Zheng Zhilong, who just threw people over and ignored them. Instead, he had to prepare a large amount of medicinal materials.
Cheng Shijie gave an order to the doctors invited by Shen Boyun, asking them to develop some prescriptions to treat trauma, colds and fevers. In fact, Cheng Shijie can bring special medicines from later generations, but the problem is that the amount he can carry is very limited. How to solve the problem The best way is to reserve it for tomorrow.
…
Since the last attack on Wusongkou failed, Zheng Zhilong actually still wanted to attack, but there were different voices within the Zheng Group. Unlike Cheng Shijie's Ning Haijun Group, Cheng Shijie of Ning Haijun Group is the only chairman and he has absolute autonomy.
However, the Zheng Group does not belong to Zheng Zhilong himself. This huge Zheng Group fleet was made up of the help of Li Dan, Yan Siqi and others. Although Li Dan died, he still had a son named Li Guoji. Although Yan Siqi did not have a son, he had a Yan family.
You must know that Yan Siqi practiced martial arts at the age of five. He practiced Sanjiu in the winter and Sanfu in the summer. He learned good kung fu during the coming of cold and summer, and the coming of winter and spring. In ancient times, there were poor scholars and rich martial arts, and the influence of the Yan family was actually not weak. .
In the past, the shareholders of the Zheng Group followed Zheng Zhilong in robbing pirates and merchants and making a fortune together, so everyone naturally obeyed him. However, seeing that Ning Haijun was so difficult to bite, the shareholders of the Zheng Group were not happy. The losses were so big, even if it was true. Despite huge losses, they defeated Ning Haijun, but they also suffered heavy losses.
More importantly, Zheng Zhilong always likes to use side branches first and then the main body when using his troops. This is somewhat similar to the behavior of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. The first to go to the battlefield in the Jiannu war were their Han army, or the Mongolian servant army, Sauron and Xibo. People, when the opponent was beaten half to death by these servants, the elite of the Eight Banners of Jiannu swarmed in and took advantage.
This is naturally no problem for enemies with a small force, but it is not possible when facing Ning Haijun. A few small bones suffered heavy losses and almost lost all their capital, so they are naturally not happy.
Zheng Zhilong was very angry, and of course, he had reason to be angry. This fleet is indeed not the private property of the Zheng family. At most, it is a partnership. Zheng is the chairman, and Shi Daxuan, Yang Liu, Zheng Cai, etc. are considered small and large shareholders. However, this fleet has been under the leadership of the Zheng family for so many years. Success after victory has created a prosperous situation. The assets and strength of the shareholders have generally increased several times. Isn't it fair to them?
Isn't it natural for them to repay each other with death for their cruelty?
Why is it that now that the fleet has only suffered a small setback, they are clamoring to quit and withdraw, without giving him any face?
He can't figure it out!
The ever-victorious general was suddenly defeated by an opponent he had always looked down upon. He was already annoyed enough, but his subordinates were clamoring to quit and to withdraw. Zheng Zhilong was in an extremely bad mood.
Zheng Zhilong decided not to fight but to stabilize shareholders.
In this way, the Zheng family's fleet sealed Hangzhou Bay. If Jiangnan maritime merchants wanted to make money, they had to pay a protection fee to Ning Haijun, and after leaving Wusongkou, they paid a protection fee to the Zheng family.
At the moment, both sides are accumulating strength and want to seize the opportunity to deal a cruel trick to the other party.
Shi Daxuan, a counselor, also gave his opinion on Ning Haijun: "Although Ning Haijun has built an impregnable fort at Wusongkou, it does not mean that they are foolproof!"
"How to do it?"
Shi Daxuan said: "The problem with the Ning Navy is that their numbers are too small. If our fleet bypasses the Wusongkou Fortress, lands elsewhere, and then attacks the back of the Ning Navy, and then uses a powerful fleet to contain the artillery force of the Ning Navy, I'm afraid that no matter how powerful Ning Haijun's army is, it will inevitably be in a hurry."
When Shi Daxuan said this, he listed several locations suitable for landing operations without thinking.
There is no doubt that Ning Haijun's army is beyond the reach of these places. If they really have to divide their troops to defend them one by one, I am afraid there will not be many people to guard Wusongkou Fortress. Setting up defenses everywhere is equivalent to leaving them undefended everywhere. But if you don't divide your troops to defend, it will be easy for others to land on your back and attack from behind.
Zheng Zhilong's confidence greatly increased.
But the problem is that his ace marine force, the Little Day Warriors, with more than 8,000 troops, were killed by Ning Haijun, and basically nothing was left.
Zheng Zhilong needed to purchase a large number of artillery, and Huang Cheng was responsible for this. The Marine Corps also needed to replenish its marine manpower, and his nephew Zheng Cai was responsible for this.
Zheng Cai is responsible for contacting the down-and-out little warriors. Zheng Zhilong likes these docile and fierce little warriors very much. He doesn't pay much and it's easy to feed them. More importantly, they fight bravely and are not afraid of death.
This all takes time.
On this day, while Zheng Zhilong was waiting for the opportunity, a shocking news made him want to jump.
"What are you saying about Ning Haijun's gangsters fighting with the Spaniards in Luzon?"
"It's absolutely true. Those dozens of black-skinned warships launched a bombardment against Manila, leaving the Spaniards in a state of panic. It won't be long before they take over Luzon!"
Zheng Zhilong nodded: "That's true!"
Although Spain occupied Luzon, it was actually a nominal occupation. They only occupied Manila and built the Manila Port by the way. There are not many Spaniards in Luzon, only four to five thousand, and among these people, A considerable number of them were Colonial Bureau officials and their families.
The real army is only one regiment. The number of the ten Spanish army regiments is actually not fixed. They are generally ten combat companies, with each company having between 250 and 300 people.
With the combat power of the Ning Navy, once the Ning Navy attacks the port, the Spaniards are really no match. With the strength of the Spaniards in Luzon, if Zheng Zhilong is willing, more than 6,000 men of Taro Kumamoto under his command can easily capture Luzon. .
However, Luzon is a bit useless for Zheng Zhilong, but it is not as affordable as three to five million taels of silver per year.
There is another problem. Spain is the suzerainty of the Netherlands and the Portuguese. Once the Luzon colonial authorities unite the Dutch and Portuguese, they will form a powerful force.
"Great, our chance has come!"
Zheng Zhilong clapped his hands and said, "God bless Zheng!"
Shi Daxuan smiled and said: "What the Admiral means is..."
"When we go south, the Spanish and Dutch are definitely willing to help us. I can save a lot of money and buy the artillery we need!"
On May 19th, the seventh year of Chongzhen, Xu Shumin and Catherine, Miss Xu Si from Shanghai, arrived at Chongming Island.
Catherine walked up to Cheng Shijie and turned around very naturally: "Why, Your Excellency, you don't recognize me?"
Cheng Shijie really didn't have much impression of Catherine: "You are..."
"I am Catherine, second in line of succession to the Contarini family, Lieutenant Commander of the Venetian Navy!"
Catherine smiled and said, "I used to be a captain in the Navy, and now I've been promoted."
"Didn't you return to Europe??"
"Can't I come back? No?"
Xu Shumin did not talk to Cheng Shijie directly. When Cheng Shijie was unmarried, she could still contact Cheng Shijie because Cheng Shijie was also unmarried. But the problem is that Cheng Shijie is now the consort.
She needs to avoid it.
Xu Shumin and Zhu Weiti chatted one after another.
Cheng Shijie smiled and said, "Okay, when did you come back?"
Catherine smiled and said: "I came back early. I came back in February to deal with trade issues in Shanghai!"
Cheng Shijie originally thought that Katherine would not come back within three or two years, but he didn't expect that she would come again in just a year. Hey, this foreign girl is really hard-working! No wonder the Venetians are so rich and hard-working, it’s impossible not to get rich!
Catherine said: "First of all, I would like to congratulate Your Excellency the Duke!"
"Congratulations to me?"
Cheng Shijie was slightly startled: "What do you congratulate me for?"
"Congratulations on a great victory!"
Cheng Shijie thought Catherine was talking about the Battle of Wusongkou, so he smiled lightly and said: "Not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning."
"Oh, God, if Philip III hears what His Excellency the Duke says, he will definitely cry and faint in the toilet!"
Hearing this, Cheng Shijie became even more confused: "What do you mean?"
"Don't you know yet?"
Catherine's eyes widened: "It seems like you really don't know!"
"What?"
"Your general went to war with the Spanish colonial authorities in Luzon in Luzon. In just a few days, the Spanish Luzon fleet was completely wiped out. Five of the warships were sunk and more than 20 warships surrendered. There are also the Governor of Luzon and senior officials of the colonial authorities, a total of more than 4,000 people have become your prisoners, and this matter has spread throughout the Western countries!"
Cheng Shijie was stunned for a long time, feeling very angry. Why didn't anyone report such a big thing to him?
Cheng Shijie even suspected that he had lost control of Ning Haijun.
In fact, Li Zhixiang and Cheng Shi did send two Seawolf-class warships to form a communications formation and went to Chongming to report to Cheng Shijie.
Because these two warships were worried about the Zheng fleet in Hangzhou Bay, they did not pass through the Taiwan Strait. Instead, they bypassed the eastern part of Da Yuan and passed through the Ryukyu waters. However, they were very unlucky and encountered Zheng Zhilong who was sent to Xiaori Kingdom to recruit samurai. Zheng Cai.
Zheng Cai's command at that time had a total of more than 80 warships and transport ships. After a fierce battle, the two Seawolf-class battleships were damaged by Zheng Cai's command. The Fuzhou and Gaizhou, which lost power, were killed by Zheng Cai's subordinates. Surrounded by Japanese soldiers, after more than half an hour of fierce fighting, most of the two warships, a total of 267, were killed. In order to prevent the three-inch cannon from falling into the hands of the Zheng family, the Haizhou and Gaizhou detonated the cannons on the warships one after another. Explosives sank in Ryukyu waters.
All the messengers were killed, so it was naturally impossible for Cheng Shijie to receive the news.
Cheng Shijie was shocked to learn that Ning Haijun had occupied Luzon. He couldn't understand that Spain, an empire on which the sun never sets in this era, was so weak that it was easily captured.
"By the way, I'll tell you another piece of information for free!"
"What information!"
"Zheng Zhilong's fleet retreated. They started to turn around and head south three days ago!"
When Cheng Shijie learned that Zheng Zhilong had turned around and headed south, his first reaction was that Zheng Zhilong was preparing to deal with the main fleet of the Ning Navy under Li Zhixiang.
Ning Haijun's navy is weak. If Zheng Zhilong presses forward, Li Zhixiang may not be able to deal with Zheng Zhilong.
There was no way, Cheng Shijie could not just sit back and watch Ning Haijun's main battle fleet be annihilated by Zheng Zhilong. Now Zheng Zhilong was targeting the naval battleships for a decisive battle, even if it was to sell iron.
Cheng Shijie hurriedly asked Meng En: "How many new warships have we built now?"
"In addition to the fifty-six main warships led by Li Zhixiang, there are also sixteen Sea Shark-class warships from the Fifth Squadron led by Li Fang. Now the shipyard has just produced a batch of warships, totaling twelve Sea Shark-class ships. Four giant shark-class ships will form the sixth squadron and will be ready for sea trials in half a month!"
"Cancel the sea trial of the Sixth Squadron, notify the Sixth Squadron immediately, come to Chongming Island, and order the Fifth Squadron to prepare for battle!"
Even if the ducks are rushed to the shelves, this battle can only be fought in advance.
Luzon cannot be lost.
Just when Catherine wanted to negotiate the deal with Cheng Shijie, Cheng Shijie said: "You can go to Liaodong and find the Liaodong Management Committee. There are dedicated business personnel who will receive you."
Catherine: "You must be having a headache now because it's difficult to break through Zheng Zhilong's blockade, right? Come and beg me..."
"You think beautifully!"
Cheng Shijie said resolutely: "I am fighting with Zheng Zhilong, and none of you should interfere!"
"You're not mistaken, I want to help you."
"I don't need your help!"
(End of chapter)
