March 15th, the fourth year of the Republic, Naha Port.
The gongs and drums are loud and the sky is ringing, and the drizzle is falling. In the midst of the storm, three thousand carefully selected colonial cannon fodder soldiers were quietly boarding the ship. Officials and people of the Ryukyu Kingdom waved goodbye to these "non-staff kings" who were about to embark on the road of no return from a distance, and shouted hoarsely.
The waves were not small, and there were bursts of southwesterly winds blowing on the sea, causing the ten large Western-style soft-sail boats in the port to rise and fall. These ten Western-style soft sailing ships were the entire lineup of what later historians praised as "the first expedition to the New World that opened the era of great navigation in East Asia."
Unlike the history that has been beautified and whitewashed by later generations, the real main force of the "First New World Expedition" was actually a group of desperate losers in the East Asian continent. They were either coerced, beguiled, or because they were too stupid, so they confusedly embarked on this path of no return - yes, this is a path of no return! At least for most people, all they got was a one-way ticket to the New World.
Of course, some people can return. After all, Zheng Jing, the driving force and financial backer behind this "First New World Expedition", did not finance and ship out this great expedition across the ocean just to let these three thousand people die in a foreign land.
He had two purposes for doing this. One was to expand to the Luzon Islands - to sack Acapulco, and then occupy the Banderas Valley, which was far away from Mexico City, and pretend to open up a colony. This posture will definitely attract the main force of the New Spaniards to besiege, so that the Spaniards will be unable to send additional reinforcements to the Philippines, and may even retreat directly from the Philippine Viceroyalty. In this way, the Zheng family's Nanyang Trading Company can avoid cruel and lengthy sieges in tropical island areas, and easily seize Manila Castle and a large number of ready-made manors, towns, and ports on Luzon Island. The results of more than a hundred years of development by the Spaniards can completely fall into the hands of the Zheng family.
The price that needs to be paid is only Geng Jingzhong and his 3,000 cannon fodder soldiers, which is really insignificant!
Zheng Jing’s second goal is to open up a Pacific route!
He is "smart". Although he wants to seize the Spanish Luzon Island, he does not want to interrupt trade with Spain. And he didn’t want to trouble the Spaniards to come all the way to the East. He just wanted to monopolize the Pacific route. In the future, he would send people to the Pacific to continuously transport silk, porcelain, tea, sugar, and Japanese lacquerware from the Ming Dynasty to the New World. Earn several times the net profit casually. This is not too dark, right?
As for opening up new territories and establishing colonial cities on the west coast of the New World, Zheng Jing, who was hailed as the "Chinese Colonial Pioneer", "Great Navigator" and "Seventeenth Century Sea Overlord" by later generations, had never thought about it at all.
Because the business of colonization and land reclamation involves large investments, high risks, and the return cycle is too long. If you are not careful, you will lose money! How could Zheng Jing invest his own money in this?
Of course, it is quite good to seize the land that has been developed by others, especially where the Hokkien and Chaozhou people have gathered in large numbers. As the leader of the Hokkien and Chaozhou people, he can easily establish a territory to rule there.
Precisely because Zheng Jing also opened a new Pacific route, some of this wave of people who went out could still return home alive. Feng Xifan, who is now watching the cannon fodder boarding the ship with Zheng Jing on the dock, is the master who can return home alive.
Two "colonial pioneers" and "great navigators" who were almost "skilled" were exchanging opinions in a low voice.
"Xifan, when you arrive at that Banderas Valley, ask Geng Jingzhong to kill all the Spanish sailors who are no longer needed!" Zheng Jing waved his feather fan and made a murderous gesture, "Kill that Gang Sares released him and asked him to report to the Vice-King of New Spain."
"Understood!" Feng Xifan nodded and smiled evilly, "This way King Geng and his men will have no choice but to fight the Spaniards in Banderas Valley to the end!"
Zheng Jing added: "If you want them to fight to the end, it is not enough to have a letter of surrender. You must make Geng Jingzhong and his men believe that I, Zheng Jing, will definitely ship the reinforcements and their families to Banderas." Gu. As long as they hold on firmly, they are not afraid that they will not be able to conquer their own country!
Haha, the longer they stay in Banderas Valley and the better they fight, the more chips we have! "
"Don't worry, Your Majesty," Feng Xifan said, "Geng Jingzhong will definitely be able to defend him for a long time. The three thousand people who followed him were carefully selected. Everyone has family members on Dajuan Island, so they will never betray. And all of them are They are all strong and strong, and have been on the battlefield. The flintlocks, breastplates, helmets, swords, and spears we prepared for them are all the best. Therefore, the advantage lies with Geng, and we can definitely hold on to it!"
Zheng Jing nodded, "Then I will be relieved!"
"Your Majesty General, I have already asked you clearly. The land of Acapulco is a place with pleasant scenery, rich products, and is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is surrounded by mountains inside, protected by the ocean outside, and the entrance to the bay is narrow. , the interior is open. The Spaniards have been operating there for more than a hundred years, with forts, fortresses, markets, docks, shipyards, warehouses, everything you need. It is surrounded by coastal flatlands. If the food production general can take it as the foundation, he will be able to rely on it to create a new business. Make a career as a king!"
In the luxurious cabin at the stern of an English-style Galen sailing ship named "King Louis" owned by Zheng Jing and made in Quanzhou. Geng Jingzhong's confidant on Ryukyu Island, Tiaosho Kiyohisa, was talking good things about Acapulco Port - he couldn't help his new master if he didn't encourage him! To the Satsuma Domain, he was a traitor to the feudal clan! You will definitely have to commit seppuku when you go back!
So he and the other Satsuma warriors in Ryukyu's Ban Kenjo can only follow Geng Jingzhong all the way!
Geng Jingzhong was going to the New World to crusade against the Spanish barbarians, and they had no choice but to follow him. Not only did they have to follow, but they also had to help their lord achieve success.
Geng Jingzhong sent Qingjiu, Huashan Jiuchin and their Japanese soldiers to play the role of Jinyiwei experts in this ship hijacking operation. After some pleasant interrogation, they had basically figured out the customs and defenses of Acapulco Port.
According to Gonzalez and Juan Lopez, Acapulco is definitely a good place!
"Lord," Hisakashi Kayama took over what Kiyoshi said, "This Acapulco is a full seven or eight hundred miles away from Mexico City, where the Vice-King of New Spain is based! If we can seize Acapulco in one fell swoop, Pulco, I'm afraid it will take a month for the Spanish counterattack force to arrive. By then, all we need to do is clear the field and hold on to the cage city to force the Spanish back!"
"How about Banderas Valley?" Geng Jingzhong asked.
This place was Zheng Jing's base carefully selected for him.
But of course Zheng Jing is good! He has no intention of completely breaking up with the Spaniards, so he also wants to leave Acapulco to Spain so that everyone can still do business in the future!
Otherwise, how could Zheng Jing cross the Pacific to do business with the Spanish if all the trading ports in Spain were gone? He couldn't fight all the way to the Atlantic just to do business with the Spanish, could he?
“The scenery and seaport there are no less than those of Acapulco,” Kaguyama Hisakashi said, “but it is further away from Mexico City, so it is not a major port developed by the Spanish. Now it is far inferior to Acapulco. Yes. Therefore, I suggest that Your Majesty the General occupy Acapulco as your base and explore the land of New Spain!"
Geng Jingzhong nodded, "Now that I know the strategy for raiding Acapulco, I'll leave it to you. You must discuss it with Father Gao and Father Li, but don't tell them that this general plans to occupy Acapulco!"
"Hai!"
The two little Japanese agreed very simply, and Geng Jingzhong also knew that they were more serious about their work and tight-lipped, so they would not let Feng Xifan know that the plan had changed! But the plan provided by Zheng Jing and Feng Xifan always feels wrong!
Nanjing, Little Palace.
The cleansing whip was sounded three times, and the smoke was lingering.
The small palace next to the dilapidated Forbidden City in the Imperial City of Nanjing was really lively and festive during this period. One moment, victory was presented, another moment, meritorious officials were rewarded, and the next moment, the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Northern Qing Dynasty came to claim their vassal status!
But what makes "Ming Xian Emperor" Zhu Cijiong most happy is his salary increase! From the original daily salary of one hundred taels, it suddenly rose to a daily salary of three hundred taels - an annual income of one hundred thousand!
To be honest, "Emperor Ming Xian" has never lived such a wealthy life in his life!
Of course, the reason why he was able to get such a salary increase was because of his struggle! He was the first emperor in history to go on strike for a wage increase! This can also prove from the side that the current Ming Dynasty has really entered the primary stage of capitalism.
Some people are going on strike. Isn’t that capitalism?
During this time, Zheng Jing, a true capitalist, returned to Fujian, saying that he was going to implement Fujian's new republican policy. Li Fuchen returned to Guangdong, also to torment the Republic. Wu Guogui had just assumed the post of governor of Hunan in Hunan. Li Laishun also kept filial piety for Li Zicheng in Hubei. Therefore, there were only four people in Nanjing to deal with the emperor's strike: Li Zhongshan, Liu Jinzhong, Lu Sanhao, and Chen Yonghua.
And Liu Jinzhong, the Northern King, refused to be a villain and kept doting on Zhu Cijiong. So Li Zhongshan had to agree to give Zhu Cijiong a salary increase. It's no use even if you don't agree. This Zhu Cijiong has learned bad things now and went on strike when he brought professing envoys from the Qing Dynasty and Zhou Dynasty to kowtow to him.
What should Li Zhongshan do?
You can't say you'll come back later. The emperor here is on strike.
However, after the salary increase, Zhu Cijiong is still working hard. Today, in order to accept the Qing Dynasty and Zhou Dynasty as ministers outside the main hall of the Little Palace, he is even willing to go to the morning court to listen to the government!
Although Zhu Cijiong's father, Emperor Chongzhen, was particularly diligent and went to court almost every day after he became emperor, he could be called a model worker. But the emperor Zhu Cijiong was very lazy. With a high salary of one hundred taels a day, he had never been to the morning court. He slept until three o'clock in the morning every day, and then met with the ministers casually and approved the memorial. As the emperor, he still had the right to "approve" the memorial, but he could only "accurate" it, not "no", and he could not "leave it in". There is still some power
As for his "accurate performance", he has performed it well so far, which is better than Chongzhen.
Such a somewhat lazy "Mingjun" is actually working hard today. It was still dark, and there were strings of carriages, mule carriages, and sedan chairs outside the Little Palace. They were dotted with white lanterns. The neatly dressed officials from the General's Office, the Minister's Office, and the Political Assembly had all gathered, waiting to go up. On duty for the morning meeting.
Chang Ning, Mingzhu, Fang Ying, Wang Shirong and others who came to Nanjing to kowtow to Emperor Zhu of the Ming Dynasty also put on their most formal court uniforms and waited outside the gate of the Little Palace for the summoning officer affiliated with the Jin Yiwei to declare their presence.
With a loud shout of "The Emperor has arrived," the political kings, ministers, and political officials standing in the courtyard of the Little Palace all shouted long live and bowed - they just bowed, not kowtowed.
After everyone paid homage to Emperor Zhu, they stood there one by one (there were many people and the yard was small, so we had to stand), looking up carelessly. I saw Emperor Zhu dressed in court clothes, sitting on the throne, looking at everyone with a smile. Seeing that all the ministers were already in place, he smiled and said: "Yesterday, the King of England, King of the North, Chen Zuocheng, and Lu Youcheng came together to say that today there are envoys from the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Northern Qing Dynasty coming to pay tribute, so they called for an early court meeting. You are still the same after all your hard work, so take a good rest and have enough energy to get things done for the country."
He has to make it clear that this "morning shift" is only for one day. Just because your salary has been doubled, you can't do it every day until the devil cries. This won't work!
Seeing that none of the ministers below had any objections, Zhu Cijiong continued: "Have the envoys from the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Northern Qing Dynasty come? If they come, let them pay their respects!"
"Reporting to the Emperor," Li Zhongshan announced to the squad, "Envoys from the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Northern Qing Dynasty have arrived. Please inform the Emperor first of all, Prince Gong of the Northern Qing Dynasty, Chang Ning, and the great scholar Mingzhu."
"Explain it!" Zhu Cijiong nodded.
Then the announcer shouted loudly again, and then Chang Ning and Mingzhu were seen walking into the somewhat cramped courtyard under the guidance of two royal guards, and then went straight to the imperial gate where Zhu Cijiong was.
"Kneel down!" the caller shouted again.
Chang Ning and Mingzhu immediately shook off their sleeves and put down their robes. They both knelt down in front of Zhu Cijiong, then bowed three times and kowtowed nine times, shouting long live the mountain.
After the two of them finished kowtowing, Zhu Cijiong asked: "Chang Ning, what's your last name? I didn't hear clearly just now."
"Reporting to the Great Emperor, the foreign minister's surname is Aisin Gioro."
"Is this a Manchu surname?" Zhu Cijiong asked knowingly.
"The Emperor's Holy Might."
"Then do you have a Han surname?" Zhu Cijiong asked next.
"Reporting to the emperor, I don't have a Han surname." Chang Ning answered truthfully, and then suddenly raised his voice, "Your Majesty, I have always admired Chinese culture and would like to ask the emperor to give me a Han surname."
Still quite interesting!
In fact, Zhu Cijiong originally wanted to give Chang Ning a Chinese surname - this was not his idea, but Li Zhongshan, Lu Sanhao, and Chen Yonghua were the ones causing trouble.
"Okay," Zhu Cijiong said with a smile, "Then I'll give you the surname Zhu. From now on, you can call me Zhu Changning! But the character Chang has to be changed to long, short, long. Are you willing?"
Zhu Changluo of the Mingguang Sect was of the generation named "Chang". If Chang Ning did not change his "Chang" and his surname was Zhu, this generation would be wrong!
So Zhu Cijiong changed the character "长" to him, and from now on he will be Zhu Changning.
Although the name was changed, Prince Gong was still very happy.
My surname is Zhu!
Now the backstage was as hard as a steel plate, and he was no longer afraid of Wu Xuanye getting rid of him.
Once Zhu Changning is stable, Shunzhi and Fuquan will be able to survive.
When he thought of this, Zhu Changning immediately burst into tears and kowtowed heavily: "My lord, Zhu Changning, thanks Heaven for his grace!"
Seeing his expression of gratitude, Li Zhongshan, Lu Sanhao, and Chen Yonghua all showed satisfied smiles - Wu Xuanye and Zhu Changning, do these two look like brothers? Will the Qing Dynasty be able to maintain internal stability in the future? I look forward to it just thinking about it!
At this time, Zhu Cijiong continued to ask according to the instructions of Li Zhongshan, Lu Sanhao, and Chen Yonghua: "Zhu Changning, I heard that your brother Wu Xuanye is going to launch a Mongolian Western Expedition? Is this possible?"
"It is true." Zhu Changning said, "My brother Wu Xuanye is now in the official system of the north and south, and he regards himself as the Great Khan of Mongolia in the north. In recent years, the Mongolian tribes have been bullied by the Western Rakshasa barbarians, and the land has become more and more crowded. There are fewer and fewer khanates, and they are withering away day by day. Some major countries such as the Golden Horde, Kazan Khanate, and Siberian Khanate have perished. At the same time, the Chagatai Khanate, one of the four major khanates, is also declining day by day, and it is difficult to revive. Among the Mughals in the West, The earth has always been in turmoil.
Therefore, Wu Xuanye, the minister's brother, intended to join forces with Wu Shifan, the son-in-law of Chagatai Khan and the leader of the Western Zhou Dynasty, to launch the Western Expedition in an effort to restore the territories of the Golden Horde and Chagatai Khanate. "
"So, you and Wu Xuanye are both Mongolians now?" Zhu Cijiong asked again.
This question was not taught by Li Zhongshan and others, but Zhu Cijiong was curious about it himself.
"Your Majesty," Zhu Changning said, "I and my brother Chen both joined Huaxia and became Huaxia, and those who entered Yidi became Yidi. Nowadays, the Northern Qing Dynasty has a north-south official system, with Huaxia in the south and Yidi in the north. I have a fiefdom in Huaxia and also in Yidi. Fiefdom. Therefore, I am both Chinese and Yi Di."
This wishful thinking is really sound!
Kangxi distinguished the northern officials from the southern officials, which meant that the Qing Dynasty was divided into two. Part Yi and Di, part Han. If the Han part cannot hold on, he still has the Yi and Di parts who can continue to fight against the Ming Dynasty.
And Kangxi now wants to launch a war to restore the Golden Horde, which is to expand the Yi and Di parts of the Qing Dynasty, in order to face the future crisis and loss of the Han Dynasty, and the country will suffer too much damage.
"Then who will be the Khan of the Golden Horde?" Zhu Cijiong asked again.
"Reporting to the emperor," Zhu Changning said, "Brother Chen has reached an agreement with Galdan, the leader of the Oirat Mongol tribes, and we will send troops to the Mughal land together. Once the matter is completed, I will become the Khan of the Golden Horde for him."
Kangxi was pretty good at deceiving! Li Zhongshan thought: I wonder if Galdan will become bigger because of this and eventually destroy the Qing Dynasty? That Galdan was Kangxi’s old enemy!
(End of chapter)
