"The Tatars...were they not defeated?" Van Diemen asked.
"It's just a small setback," Bruce said thoughtfully. "In the past few months, there have been two battles involving tens of thousands of people between the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars. One took place in Shandong Province. It ended with the victory of the Tatars. After this battle, the Ming Dynasty lost several wealthy cities and turned into a full-scale defensive on the Shandong battlefield.
Another battle was personally commanded by the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty. It took place in Fengyang Mansion northwest of Nanjing, which was also the second capital of the Ming Dynasty. In this battle, the Ming army achieved a decisive victory, killing a Tatar prince and perhaps thousands more... Considering the number of Tatars, this was a battle A major victory.
However, after the victory, the crown prince did not take advantage of the victory to advance, but stopped in Fengyang Mansion. "
"Why is this?" Van Diemen asked.
"Because the Tatar regent led his army south to Henan Province, north of Fengyang Mansion." Bruce said, "And north of the Huaihe River is a large plain. Fighting there requires strong cavalry. The Ming army is in a disadvantageous position in this regard." Obvious disadvantage."
"What's their advantage?" Van Diemen asked again.
"Infantry and artillery," Bruce said, "infantry and artillery adopting Western tactics and equipment!"
"Oh." Van Diemen nodded, "Bruce, how many years do you think it will take for the Ming Dynasty to drive the Tatars out of their land?"
Bruce Van Diemen replied: "If we are willing to provide enough muskets, artillery and mercenaries to the Ming Dynasty, we should be able to start the Northern Expedition with the goal of recovering Beijing within three years, and win in another two years."
"Are you sure?" Fan Diwen looked at his brother, "You just said they didn't have horses."
Bruce smiled and said: "But you don't need many horses to attack Beijing...Beijing is not very far from Haikou, and there are navigable rivers that lead from the Tianjin port to the areas near Beijing. The Ming army can attack Tianjin Landing, and then advancing along the river while building bastions. In two years, we will be able to push the front to the vicinity of Beijing.
Of course, the premise is that they can defeat the Tatars in field encounters, and they also need to have powerful artillery to capture the castles controlled by the Tatars.
In addition, they also need to build enough forts along the Huaihe River and Shandong, and deploy enough European-style troops. To ensure that during the Northern Expedition, their own home base would not be invaded by the Tatars. "
This Bruce still has some military skills! It didn't take long to arrive in China before the only Northern Expedition route that could ensure victory was discovered.
It's only three hundred miles from Dagu Port in Tianjin to Beijing. There are also Wei River and canals to transport troops and food. Building a bastion every ten miles only means 30 bastions... As long as These thirty bastions guarded the Wei River and the canal. No matter how fierce the Qing cavalry was, there was nothing they could do. The only way to stop the Ming army's advance was fortress against fortress.
This is a matter of artillery, engineers and mathematics - the firing angle of the bastion and the firing angle of the curved artillery are all mathematical problems. There is no need for military advisers to do this, Zhu Cixiang can figure it out by himself!
Therefore, taking the sea route north to Tianmen, then advancing from the fortress, and slowly pushing into Beijing is undoubtedly the best way to win the Northern Expedition.
"What if we are unwilling to help the Ming Dynasty?" Van Diemen asked.
"Don't want to..." Bruce was stunned, "Anthony, you don't want to make money for the shareholders of Amsterdam?"
"Of course you have to make money!" Van Diemen thought, "But I value long-term interests more... If the Ming Dynasty defeated the Tatars and became the ruler of the East Asian continent, then Turn your main energy to the sea. Can we Dutch continue to dominate the eastern seas?
Moreover, once the Ming Dynasty defeated the Tatars, could we continue to get arms orders? "
"Are we going to refuse to provide arms to the Ming Dynasty?" Bruce asked.
"How is that possible?" Van Diemen smiled, "Am I the kind of sinner who is so depraved that I can refuse money?"
"Of course not," said Bruce. "All Amsterdam knows that you are a noble businessman who loves money more than life."
Van Diemen nodded: "Yes, of course I will not refuse the crown prince's money." He paused, "But while doing business with the Ming Dynasty, I am also willing to make friends with the Tatars!"
"Making friends with the Tatars?" Bruce was a little puzzled. "We are selling weapons capable of killing Tatars to the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, and at the same time we want to make friends with the Tatars?"
"Yes!" said Van Diemen, "the Tatars will like us! Because we can also provide them with weapons and military advisors...and we only charge concessional remuneration that they can afford." "
He looked at Bruce. "When our mission in Nanking is over, you will go to Korea... as an envoy for the East India Company to pay tribute to the Tatars."
"What tribute?" Bruce asked.
Van Diemen smiled: "Pay tribute to light artillery that can be used by the cavalry! I think this is what the Tatars need most!"
Bruce thought for a moment and then asked: "Then...what should we say to the Crown Prince?"
Van Diemen shrugged and said with a wry smile: "What else can I say? Of course I agree in principle with the Crown Prince's request for Formosa... You have also seen the situation in Shanghai, which has a very good port. , the climate is relatively comfortable, there are no nasty poisonous insects and tropical diseases, and the products are very abundant. Europeans will live and operate happily in this city, just like their hometowns in Europe, and do not have to worry about being tortured by the harsh climate. Killed by terrible tropical diseases.
I can guarantee that within five years this will become the most prosperous trading port east of Malacca. Not even Batavia can compare with it, let alone Formosa. Our East India Company will make very huge profits in Shanghai, and Formosa will become a bottomless pit of money loss due to the development of Shanghai.
Even if I were willing to hang on there, the directors in Amsterdam would make the decision to give up! "
Bruce frowned, "But will our relationship with the Tatars affect the East India Company's operations in the Ming Dynasty?"
"Maybe..." Van Diemen smiled, "Then don't say you are Dutch!"
"Then I am..."
"Just be an Englishman! We Dutch support the Ming Dynasty. Only despicable Englishmen will support the Tatars!" Van Diemen said, "Just go to Korea in the name of the special envoy of the East India Company of the Republic of England and bring you Twelve three-pound regimental cannon and twenty military advisers... I'll send them to you from Formosa!"
...
"Governor Dimen, I am also very willing to make friends with the United Provinces of the Netherlands! Since you are willing to transfer the four strongholds on Taiwan Island to General Zheng, then I am willing to rent a road in the Shanghai Commercial Port at a low price. The street is leased to the East India Company for fifty years, and you only need to pay a rent of one thousand taels of silver per year. In the future, your income from this street will definitely be ten times and a hundred times that from Taiwan. of!"
In the Wenhua Palace of the Forbidden City in Nanjing, Zhu Cixiang, who saw Van Diemen again, had no idea that the insidious Dutch colonists had already laid a big trap for him. So after he learned that the Dutch were willing to transfer four strongholds on the island of Taiwan and completely withdraw from Taiwan, he began to attract investment - land for one street (not the existing Eighth Street, but an additional street) ) The annual rent of only one thousand taels of silver is indeed a bargain price.
However, in order to attract a large businessman like the Dutch East India Company, this profit concession is still necessary!
In addition to the Dutch East India Company and Portuguese merchants in Hao'ao, Zhu Cihong also planned to attract merchants from Spain, England, France, Sweden and other countries to operate in Shanghai. If possible, he would also like to invite the embassies of these countries to Shanghai - of course, correspondingly, the Ming Empire will also open embassies in Western countries.
The arrival of the Dutch, the sea coachman, will be the beginning of it all!
