Chapter 250
An unknown island in the Java Sea, this is the temporary residence of Zheng Zhilong.
At this time, Zheng Zhilong was on the verge of tears. In the Battle of Batavia, the elite troops he had saved up so hard were almost wiped out by the Ning Navy. When he went south, he led more than 1,600 large and small warships. It stretches for dozens of miles.
However, after the First World War, there were only about thirty warships left that had the chance to escape with him. What made him vomit blood even more was that God seemed to want to help Cheng Shijie. When he was escaping south, a strong wind blew, and warships were constantly blown to the giant reefs of the island by the sea wind, and were smashed to pieces!
Originally, with the ability of Zheng's sailors, such an accident would not have happened. The problem was that in the battle with Ning Navy's Batavia, their losses were too heavy. Many sailors on the warships suffered heavy casualties. , masts, sails, rudders, anchors and other equipment were also damaged to varying degrees, leaving them in a hurry when facing strong winds. In the end, they could only watch in despair as the out-of-control warships looked like crazed bulls. Hit the cliff...
Everything is like a repeat of the Spanish fleet's misfortune in the Anglo-Spanish Battle. The difference is that the Spanish Armada's losses in the naval battle were not huge. It only sunk a dozen warships. It was only when it withdrew to Spain. Encountering a storm, many warships were overturned by the rough waves or hit the rocks and sank, causing the Spanish losses to skyrocket.
Zheng Zhilong was even worse than the Spaniards. He lost his main force in the naval battle, and now he encountered storms one after another. It was like cutting him with knife after knife on the wound that was still bleeding. You can imagine his depression.
What frightened him even more was that Cheng Shijie had no intention of giving up at the slightest sign of success. After the great victory, he only repaired the main warships of the navy in Batavia, but the Zheng fleet that surrendered to him was replenished with ammunition and personnel. , and then launched a pursuit.
The main fleet of the Ning Navy did not move in Batavia, not because the Ning Navy suffered heavy losses, but because the main fleet of the Ning Navy needed to threaten the Dutch in Batavia.
At this time, the Zheng fleet was divided into four squadrons by Cheng Shijie, led by Hong Xu, Song Fuguo, Shi Daxuan, and Zheng Cai. Of course, the strongest of these four was Shi Daxuan, followed by Hong Xu, Zheng Cai, and Song Fuguo. The strength is the weakest.
Although the main force chasing Zheng Zhilong was actually the Zheng fleet. However, as the emperor and his courtiers, these Zheng fleets were not polite to Zheng Zhilong. They were still waiting to take credit for Zheng Zhilong's head.
There were also too many islands in East India that survived. Zheng Zhilong used the islands to escape the pursuit of the pursuit fleet. Now he is in the South China Sea.
After a long pursuit, it was impossible to say that Hong Xu and others were not exhausted. Finally, the leaders of the four fleets met.
Hong Xu said straight to the point: "Did you receive the order from the Duke?"
"received!"
Shi Daxuan smiled bitterly and said: "Let us gather at Subic Port and wait for reorganization! What does Mr. Haiguo mean?"
"Let me tell you, we don't really need to think too much!"
Song Fuguo took a bag of wine and drank a big gulp. There were still red wine stains in his mouth. He wiped his mouth and said: "When the Duke reorganized the Denglai Navy, most of the generals of the Denglai Navy were retained. Except for those who drank the blood of soldiers, later, he annexed the Dongjiang Army Navy, and almost all the generals were retained. We..."
Zheng Cai smiled bitterly: "I heard that some people were beheaded by Duke Hai for drinking soldiers' blood. When it comes to drinking soldiers' blood, none of us can escape!"
Shi Daxuan looked at Zheng Cai and said, "What do you mean?
"Of course the prince doesn't care about us little fishes and shrimps. The most important thing is that we have to take credit!"
"But we have been chasing him for so long, but there is no trace of Zheng Zhilong!"
"We can go to Fujian and arrest Zheng Zhilong's son and his wife!"
If this sentence was said by other people, I'm afraid it wouldn't surprise anyone, but it was Zheng Cai who said this sentence. You must know that the relationship between Zheng Cai and Zheng Zhilong is very close to outsiders.
Of course, this is just a superficial phenomenon. Zheng Zhilong actually doesn't like his fourth brother Zheng Zhifeng, also known as Zheng Hongkui. On the contrary, Zheng Cai and Zheng Hongkui have a good relationship.
Shi Daxuan and the others had no objections. The four of them hit it off and decided to go to Fujian.
More than 160 warships were sailing toward the north, making a lot of noise. Zheng Zhilong soon received the news. Zheng Zhibao looked at Zheng Zhilong and said, "Brother, what should we do now?"
"If you want to sell me, there's no way!"
"Brother, let's return to Fujian. Our Zheng family has been running Fujian for so many years and has a deep foundation. As long as our warships appear in Xiamen port, the people of Fujian will definitely respond..."
"What a beautiful thought!"
Zheng Zhilong was not as confident as Zheng Zhibao. He looked at Zheng Zhibao and said, "If I surrender to Cheng Shijie, will he kill me?"
"How is that possible? As long as Cheng Shijie is not stupid, he will definitely not touch big brother. But big brother, if you surrender to Cheng Shijie, it will be all over. Don't even think about power and wealth!"
"I still miss Xiang Yu and refuse to cross Jiangdong!"
Zheng Zhilong said with a wry smile: "I finally understand now that Xiang Yu escaped from the siege of Gaixia and clearly had the opportunity to return to Jiangdong, but he didn't!"
"Why?"
"Because Chu is no longer Xiang Yu's Chu!"
Zheng Zhilong said calmly: "The world says that Fujian belongs to our Zheng family, but in fact? How much land does our Zheng family occupy in Fujian, and how many people have we offended? Usually they are afraid of our Zheng family's strength, and will not dare to do so even if they are suffering. Sue, now that we have lost, even if we return to Fujian, we will not be able to make a comeback!"
Historically, when he was besieged on all sides, Xiang Yu realized that he had betrayed his relatives and left. Xiang Yu had always been very naive politically and divided the eighteen princes into vassals, hoping to become the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty. But the problem was that the common people were frightened by the hundreds of years of melee in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. They desperately need a peaceful environment to unify the world.
Until the Chu army continued to flee, Xiang Yu brought dozens of defeated soldiers to the Wujiang River. Jiangdong was his hometown. However, at this time, Xiang Yu realized that even if Liu Bang let him cross the river, Chu State was no longer his own. The country of Chu. This was the inner sense of crisis that Xiang Yu felt belatedly, and it was also the biggest secret that Xiang Yu discovered about Liu Bang. In Xiang Yu's opinion, it would be better to die as an apology than to do this.
Xiang Yu first killed his beloved concubine, and then directly drew his sword and killed himself.
Zheng Zhilong is not Xiang Yu, the overlord of Chu. He does not have the courage to commit suicide. He decides to surrender in exchange for a chance to survive. Even as a prisoner, it is better than death.
How does Cheng Shijie treat him? If he wins the hearts of the people, he will only die. Now Zheng Zhilong is also betrayed by everyone, but he can have a chance to survive.
This is just like in the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the unpopular Wang Shichong posed no threat to the Tang Dynasty. He could live and be treated well, but Dou Jiande could only kill one to avoid future troubles because of the support of people in the thirty-nine states of Hebei.
On the 19th day of the twelfth month of the seventh month of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, Cheng Shijie was aboard the battleship Beizhili. The battleship was sailing at full sail, stirring up white waves on the sea. Cheng Shijie's Python Festival flag and Ning Haijun's battle flag were on the sea. Hunting and fluttering in the sea breeze.
After leaving Batavia, Cheng Shijie was eager to return. After all, he had been away from Liaodong for a long time. Being at sea was different from land. On land, he could go back at any time. However, the problem was not possible at sea. He had to stop the ship, otherwise he would go back again. If it appears, it will fall into the sea.
In the South China Sea, when Ning Haijun's warships appeared in sight, the thirty warships under Zheng Zhilong's command were also arranged in a straight line.
Now at this moment, Ning Haijun's main warships were already rushing over in a flying geese formation. The increasingly tacit cooperation and the vigorous and resolute style made Zheng Zhilong lament that he was not unjustly defeated.
Zheng Zhilong shouted: "No one can act rashly, and no cannon can be loaded without my order!"
After discovering Zheng Zhilong, the Ning Navy Fleet immediately ordered the battleship Beizhili to move back, and the other battleships quickly moved forward with full sail. There were still five or six kilometers away, but Zheng Zhilong's thirty battleships hoisted white flags.
"Commander, Zheng Zhilong's remaining fleet has hoisted the white flag!"
Li Zhixiang said with some worry: "Is it possible there is fraud?"
"If they get tired of living, just trick me."
Cheng Shijie didn't care.
Soon, all thirty of Zheng Zhilong's warships anchored and lowered their sails. All Zheng's soldiers also breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, there was no need to fight. The terrifying range and accuracy of the guns of the Ning Navy warships had already shaken their hearts. If they were asked to fight the Ning Navy warship, it would be almost like asking them to stretch their necks to be slaughtered.
Looking at the relieved soldiers beside him, Zheng Zhilong also knew that now he was just like Xiang Yu in the siege of Gaixia. His military morale had been lost and he was still in trouble.
Surrender is a matter of extending one's head and cutting back one's head. However, Zheng Zhilong was a bachelor, and he knew that he had to admit his mistakes and stand upright when he was beaten. He boarded the ship and sailed to the battleship Beizhili.
At this time, Cheng Shijie was sitting on the deck. Zheng Zhilong boarded the battleship and came to a position ten steps away from Cheng Shijie. Of course, Ning Navy soldiers had already searched Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhibao to ensure that they had no weapons on them.
Zheng Zhilong knelt down and said seriously: "I am ignorant, arrogant, and do not know my own abilities. I have offended the Duke of the country. Please forgive me!"
Now Zheng Zhilong is no longer the fierce dragon who fought hard in the stormy seas when he was young and dared to fight against the Xiyi, the Ming Navy and the pirates on three sides. More than ten years of comfortable life has sapped his fighting spirit, and wine and beautiful women have buried his lofty ambitions. .
Zheng Zhilong was not willing to admit defeat, but the problem was that Ning Haijun's warships were fast and their guns had a long range. He tried every means, but there was nothing he could do against Ning Haijun's warships.
The reason why the Dutch East India Company did not dare to go to war with the Ning Navy was because the Ning Navy had strong production capabilities. Even if they assembled all the warships of the Dutch East India Company to fight against the Ning Navy, the problem was that their chances of winning were not high. , and there are also huge problems in the country.
Of course, Zheng Zhilong also saw Ning Haijun's warships. Originally they only had more than sixty warships. In less than a year, Ning Haijun's warships expanded by nearly half. Moreover, the warships were built more and more powerful, and the guns became more powerful. The more accurate the hit.
If the fight continued, he had no chance of winning. In despair, he was a little disheartened. Zheng Zhilong didn't want to bother anymore, he just wanted to keep this comfortable and comfortable life and find a way out for his son.
If a person has lost the fighting spirit to get stronger in the face of force and only plans for his son's future, it can only prove that he is old.
It's just that his invincible power for more than ten years is still there, no force dares to challenge him, and the Zheng Group has maintained its upward trend under his leadership.
In fact, if Zheng Zhilong had not surrendered to the Manchus in history, the Zheng fleet under his command, relying on more than 200,000 army troops and 3,000 to 4,000 warships, might not have been able to blockade the Yellow River, but there was no problem in blocking the Yangtze River. .
Unfortunately, Zheng Zhilong lost his fighting spirit and became timid before fighting.
However, in this time and space, Zheng Zhilong unfortunately met Cheng Shijie and the Ning Haijun Group, which was sweeping in from the north with a cold wind. In a head-to-head contest, his single-minded mentality suddenly became fatal. The injury was destroyed by Cheng Shijie with overwhelming force.
Faced with an opponent who had an overwhelming advantage in both mentality and equipment and technology, what else could Zheng Zhilong, who had lost his spirit, do but admit defeat?
Zheng Zhilong saw that Zheng Zhibao was still standing and said hurriedly: "Idiot, you still don't kneel down!"
Zheng Zhibao still wanted to speak, but when Zheng Zhilong glared at him, he trembled all over and quickly knelt down.
Everyone turned their attention to Cheng Shijie, waiting for his resignation.
He was very calm, without any pride in defeating a strong enemy. This kind of calmness made Zheng Zhilong more uncomfortable than being complacent. Maybe in Cheng Shijie's eyes, he couldn't be considered a strong enemy at all. This was too shocking.
Indeed, as Zheng Zhilong imagined in his mind, Cheng Shijie did not regard Zheng Zhilong as a strong enemy because he was not qualified. Even if the Dutch sea grooms who are now like Zhongzhongtian and the British Royal Navy who have not had time to rise are Cheng Shijie's real enemy.
However, Cheng Shijie did not embarrass Zheng Zhilong and said calmly: "Admiral Zheng, please get up. You and I are both imperial officials. This is really indecent."
Zheng Zhilong didn't dare to get up, his forehead was touching the deck: "The sinner is obsessed with ghosts. He listened to rumors and robbed merchant ships and massacred merchants. He is guilty of serious sins. Please punish me!"
Cheng Shijie said: "The dead cannot survive. Don't mention the past anymore. Go back and admit your mistake to the victim's family. Each person will pay a thousand or several hundred taels of silver. This matter will be settled."
Zheng Zhilong secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "The Duke is magnanimous and his crimes will not be forgotten! I wonder how the Duke plans to punish us?"
"You can't stay in Fujian anymore. Go to Liaodong to retire and enjoy peace and happiness."
Cheng Shijie looked at Zheng Zhilong and said: "Resign yourself to the imperial court, resign from all official positions, and move your family to Liaodong. The generals of your Zheng family fleet, and all your sons and nephews will train with me. As for how much success you can achieve in the future, just It depends on their own capabilities.”
At this time, Zheng Zhilong's kneeling meant that the war between the Ning Haijun Group and the Zheng Group officially ended. In this earth-shattering battle, the Zheng Group, which had dominated the East China Sea and the South China Sea for more than ten years, was in front of the Ning Haijun Group. After a complete defeat, he simply handed over his position as the maritime overlord.
From then on, the Zheng Group officially became history, and Ning Haijun finally opened the road to Nanyang. A broader world appeared in front of them. They will use the foundation laid by Zheng Zhilong as a springboard to blow the clarion call to the ocean. Endless energy stirs up the Western Pacific and creates turbulent waves.
Soon the old maritime powers in Europe will face the powerful impact of this emerging force. They don't know that this force that came out of the thick and vast land of the Central Plains is about to take away their hard work for hundreds of years. The maritime hegemony that had been painstakingly established was shattered, and the confidence and ambition that Europe had accumulated bit by bit through the Renaissance were completely buried.
However, the most important thing right now is to integrate the Zheng family's forces. With Zheng Zhilong's surrender, all Zheng family's army troops will be carried by warships or armed merchant ships, together with their families, and move to Luzon. Luzon accepts reorganization.
Cheng Shijie's original plan to return was once again shelved.
The reorganization of all the armies of the Zheng Group started with the army. In Cheng Shijie's eyes, most of the army units of the Zheng Group were unqualified.
Whether he is qualified or not depends on whether he can withstand Ning Haijun's military test.
Group after group of Zheng's troops arrived in Luzon. The soldiers and generals of these Zheng's army troops did not feel the decadence of defeat at all, but were in high spirits.
"Hey, have you heard? Ning navy soldiers also have military pay!"
"Tch, who doesn't seem to know that the most ordinary soldier in Ning Haijun earns one, two or five taels of silver a month!"
"Their cavalry, scouts and heavy infantry are paid two taels of silver per month, the artillery is two taels and five cents of silver per month, and the officers are even higher!"
"They even divided the house!"
"They issue four sets of military uniforms and four pairs of boots every year..."
"You can't take the military uniforms you were issued home with you. Only military personnel can wear Ning Haijun's military uniforms. If civilians wear them, they will be punished!"
"I heard that during the holidays, family members in the army can also get some consolation items such as rice, noodles, wine and meat!"
"Condolence items are nothing, do you know? If you Ning Haijun soldiers are killed in action, the families of the fallen soldiers can receive a pension of forty taels of silver and a hundred acres of land; these one hundred acres of land can be passed down to the family for five years. Tax-free, tax-free for ten years and a half!”
"No wonder those Ning Haijun are not afraid of death. With such a good thing, I am not afraid of death either!"
…
The soldiers of Zheng's group were actually treated the same as ordinary soldiers of the Ming army. They were basically half-dead. Zheng Zhilong had a lot of money in his hands, but he was reluctant to spend it on the soldiers. Most of his silver income was saved or spent by himself.
The cost of feeding soldiers was higher than that of the Ming Dynasty government, but the treatment was only slightly better than that of ordinary soldiers, and heavy rewards were only given when they really worked hard.
For example, when Zheng Zhilong ordered the fire ships to attack, the death squads would sometimes be given one hundred taels of silver, and sometimes they would be given two hundred taels of silver.
When they are not fighting, the soldiers of the Zheng Group are half-dead, starving to death, and unable to eat well.
On the first day they arrived in Luzon, these army soldiers of the Zheng Group felt the arrogance of Ning Haijun. In the port square originally built by the Spanish, more than 600 stoves were built in a row. With a large number of The arrival of army soldiers from the Zheng Group put great pressure on Ning Haijun's cooking soldiers.
Fortunately, Ning Haijun's first choice was the gang leader army of the Zheng Group. After about 6,000 Zheng Group's cooking soldiers were laid off for the old, weak, sick and disabled, more than 4,000 people were left and put on Ning Haijun's military uniforms. Officially became a Ning navy soldier.
Together with Ning Haijun's cooking soldiers, they started cooking.
The scene of more than 600 stoves with full firepower and six to seven thousand cooking soldiers cooking together was an eye-opener for the soldiers of the Zheng Group. This was their first large-scale gathering.
Thanks to the rich products in Luzon, the food quality of these Zheng Group soldiers is even better than that of the regular army of the Ning Navy in Liaodong. There is no way, there is no shortage of fruits in Luzon, such as pineapples, bananas, apples, kiwis and the like. Fruits are not easy to find in Liaodong.
Soon the army soldiers of the Zheng Group were notified of the meal. They took their lunch boxes and started queuing up to get meals. Whether it was steamed buns or rice, they all had enough.
However, most of the army soldiers of the Zheng Group are southerners who like to eat rice. Most of them don't like buns, steamed buns, and noodles, so this makes it easier.
The discipline of the soldiers of the Zheng Group was not very good. They huddled together and the soldier Ning Haijun, who was responsible for maintaining order, was so angry that he picked up his pointer and whipped them hard, finally getting them to be honest.
The soldiers of the Zheng Group who received the food didn't even care about how hot it was. They squatted down in a place and started eating. They were so hot that they grinned and said that this was the best meal in their lives. .
After the meal, there is fresh milk. You can drink milk tea or pure milk. After eating and drinking, these soldiers will form a team of one hundred people and start to stand in a military posture.
On the school grounds, Ning Haijun's black battle flag was flying in the wind, and tens of thousands of soldiers of the Zheng Group stood in a majestic formation, heads held high and chests held high, without squinting.
The Ning Navy instructors in the team walked back and forth among the soldiers with pointers, and said to the soldiers: "Do you want to become a real Ning Navy soldier?"
"think!"
"The idea is very good, but Ning Haijun doesn't accept waste!"
The instructors continued: "You'd better be more confident!"
Time passed like this minute by minute, no one spoke, no one moved, tens of thousands of people were like ten thousand wooden piles.
Anyone who has stood in a military posture knows how uncomfortable it is, and Ning Haijun's unique black military uniform has a first-class heat absorption effect. Under the scorching sun, everyone is sweating, and coupled with the mosquito bites in Luzon, the itching The taste penetrated to the bone marrow, making the soldiers of the Zheng Group just want to slap them into meat patties.
But no one dared to move, because right opposite them, more than a thousand veterans of the Ning Navy, wearing helmets and armor, were standing under the scorching sun with them.
These veterans stood on the grass, where there were more mosquitoes, biting their faces until their stomachs were bloated, but no one moved, like a group of unconscious wooden men!
Li Zhixiang looked at these soldiers who were barely holding on and said, "Commander, the quality of these soldiers is so poor!"
"Those who are unqualified will be disrupted and organized into field soldiers to field in Luzon!"
"If too many people are eliminated at once, I'm afraid... they will be dissatisfied!"
"I am not a good man, so how can I have so much money to raise an army?"
"It's better to reduce the benefits..."
"Don't even think about it!"
Cheng Shijie said: "First we will eliminate the old, weak, sick and disabled, then we will eliminate them in terms of discipline, and then there will be military training, which will be assessed every three months. I don't know how many of these rotten fish and shrimps can pass the test!"
"What about the Navy?"
"Same pattern!"
Cheng Shijie said calmly: "We, the Ning Navy, would rather be in short supply than in excess, but we need to put the navy in Liaodong for assessment. We will train on land first, and those who can't persist will be thrown into the field army to work in the field!"
As soon as they started their first military training, the soldiers of the Zheng Group were complaining. However, no matter how hard and tiring it was, few of them were willing to quit voluntarily.
Because serving as a soldier in the Ning Haijun Army, the benefits and benefits are simply great.
Just as Cheng Shijie was reorganizing the Zheng Group in Luzon, news of Zheng Zhilong's surrender to Cheng Shijie also spread.
(End of chapter)
