After the last naval battle in Fujian, the Fuzhou Navy, which represented the level of the navy in Fujian Province, was defeated by the Fo Lang fleet.
When the report of the battle reached the capital, Hongzhi Emperor Zhu Youtang was furious and immediately summoned his cabinet ministers and the six central ministries to discuss strategies to drive out the enemy and quell the rebellion.
Finally, it was agreed that Yu Wende, the governor of Fujian, would be dismissed and Liu Daxia, the right chief envoy who had been responsible for shipbuilding in Nanjing, would be promoted to governor of Fujian and governor of the entire province of Fujian.
Liu Daxia, whose courtesy name was Shiyong and whose nickname was Dongshan, was from Huarong, Huguang. In the third year of Tianshun, he ranked first in the provincial examination. In the eighth year of Tianshun, he was promoted to Jinshi and was awarded the title of Shujishi of the Hanlin Academy. He served as director of the Ministry of War, doctor, right chief envoy of Guangdong, left minister of household affairs, and censor of the right capital.
Before Liu Daxia arrived in Fujian and the strategy of war and defense had not yet been decided, officials in Fujian Province did not dare to attack rashly, closed the port for patrols, and tightened defense.
During this period of time, the Folangji fleet had been trying to land, hoping to get closer and force Ming officials to trade or directly carry out colonial rule.
However, the Fo Langji people ignored the determination of the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers to defend the territory. Although the Fo Lang Ji people were temporarily invincible in sea combat, when it came to landing on land, they were not at the same level as the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers. Several consecutive attempts failed miserably. end.
Seeing that the landing failed, the Folang fleet turned to use the powerful firepower of its warships to blockade the Fujian inland seaport. It is worth mentioning that Chen Fu and other rebels were After successively defeating nearby government troops, they became more and more powerful and surrounded Zhangzhou. At the same time, Fo Langji mobilized three warships to blockade Zhangzhou Port and assist Chen Fu and other rebels in their operations.
Zhangzhou Port and Quanzhou Port are both one of the most prosperous foreign trade ports in Fujian and even the south of the Yangtze River. During this period, they have been blocked by the Folang fleet. Before the arrival of the new governor Liu Daxia, Fujian officials were helpless. The daily losses are immeasurable.
Since the last disastrous defeat, Ji Bo, the commander-in-chief of Fujian Province, has been concentrating on studying the characteristics of the Folangji warships and the tactics of dealing with their naval battles. At the same time, he dispatched his confidant Shi Pu to strengthen the construction of land forts, so that the Folangji warships were also destroyed during this period. No further areas can be controlled.
On July 6, Yanggu, the commander-in-chief of Guangdong, led a navy of 18,000 men and 200 warships to arrive at the coast of Fuzhou Prefecture. On the second day, Zhejiang Commander-in-Chief Geng Fu led the Zhejiang Navy with more than 20,000 men and more than 300 warships docked in Fuzhou. On July 8, Liu Daxia arrived in Fujian and immediately summoned the generals to discuss countermeasures.
"Now that all the generals have arrived, I will stop talking and go straight to the point. Now that the navies of Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces have arrived at Fuzhou Port, we have the upper hand in numbers and warships. This is a rich war. , but we cannot take it lightly. His Majesty decreed that when annihilating the Folang fleet, two complete warships must also be captured so that they can be sent to the Arms Department for development. Let us know what ideas and strategies you have!"
"I think we should gather the army first and go directly to fight the Fo Lang warships to the death, and then march eastward to destroy the Fo Lang warships besieging Zhangzhou Port!"
The first person to break the silence was Geng Fu, the commander-in-chief of Zhejiang Province. As soon as Geng Fu opened his mouth, many people agreed. Most of these people are military generals from Zhejiang and Guangdong who have never fought against the Folangji fleet. In their opinion, if a total of 50,000 to 60,000 people can defeat more than a few thousand people, is that not just a pinch?
"Hmph, if only it were that simple. What else do we have to discuss? We can just go back and mobilize our troops to prepare for war. You are just a fool, so shut up and listen to other people's clever ideas."
Yanggu had already known Geng Fu before he entered the official career. Unlike Geng Fu who was brave and good at fighting, Yanggu was famous for his surprise in many battles. This kind of Confucian commander looked down upon Geng Fu the most, who always resorted to force to solve problems. But what Yanggu didn't expect was that Geng Fu would later be ranked as the commander-in-chief of the army and be on an equal footing with him! This was the most unacceptable thing for Yanggu, so after Geng Fu finished speaking, Yanggu immediately started to get angry.
After Yanggu finished training Geng Fu, he said to Liu Daxia, the new governor of Fujian:
"Futai, the Folang fleet has intensive firepower. If we just attack them hard, we can defeat them, but we will also suffer heavy casualties. It is better to lure the enemy first and lead them into the encirclement we have prepared in advance. When the time comes, we can unite and surround them, and make them think about their heads rather than their tails, and then we can achieve a great victory."
After listening to this, Geng Fu snorted a few times and shouted: "Okay, okay, you are awesome. For the sake of Futai, I will listen to you this time. I will hit wherever you ask me to!"
Liu Daxia sat in the middle. After listening to the two men's strategies, he nodded and reminded everyone:
"Yang Zhentai's method is good. When we deal with the Folangji fleet, we must surround and annihilate them, but we must also pay attention to proportion. Although we can defeat them, His Majesty has named a few more Folangji warships. We cannot They were all destroyed. Last time Ji Zhentai fought against Fo Lang Ship, please tell us about the characteristics of their warships and their combat habits, so that everyone can understand them. If you know yourself and the enemy, you will be victorious in any battle!"
Seeing that the generals of the two provinces had already spoken, and Futai called his name again, Ji Bo knew that it would be unreasonable if he remained silent any longer. Ji Bo thought for a while and said:???????????? ????:
"Your Majesty asked us to gather the strength of the navy of the three provinces to completely annihilate the Folangji fleet and capture their two warships. The capture of the warships is the first, followed by the complete annihilation of the Folangji fleet. If we have not made a plan in advance It’s a well-thought-out plan. If we attack rashly, with the navy of our three provinces, I’m afraid that the Franco fleet may not be able to confront us. If we scare them away, it will be more than worth the loss. Moreover, the Franco fleet invades us this time. The Ming Dynasty will never give up. After the Zhejiang and Guangdong naval forces retreat, they will definitely come back again, so we must make dumplings for them this time, work together, and lay down a dragnet to prevent them from escaping!"
Compared to Ji Bo's arrogance last time, this time he spoke more calmly.
As soon as Ji Bo finished speaking, all the generals nodded in praise.
Liu Daxia stroked his long beard, nodded slightly to show his agreement with Ji Bo, stood up and said:
"What Ji Zhentai said coincides with what I have said. We will use Yang Zhentai's strategy as the main one, and Ji Zhentai's strategy as the supplement. We will unite the navies of the three provinces. We will first send a partial division to the sea to lure the enemy deep into the sea, and then introduce us The encirclement, and finally the encirclement from ten sides, strive to achieve both goals of this naval battle!"
At this time, Geng Fu, who had been silent for a while, suddenly stood up and shouted: "I know a place suitable for setting up a fence."
"where is it?"
Geng Fu glanced at Yanggu who had just scolded him for being foolhardy, snorted coldly, curled his lips and said:
"Didn't Yang Zhentai say that I am brave and foolhardy? Then you might as well guess where this place is."
Yanggu served as the commander-in-chief in Zhejiang and was completely ignorant of the sea areas in Fujian, but Geng Fu was from Zhangzhou, Fujian. He often followed his father on fishing trips in the inland and outer seas of Fujian since he was a child, so he must have a clear understanding of the terrain in this area. For the sake of the overall situation, Yanggu stood up, bowed and apologized to Ji Bo:
"Master Geng Zhentai has a lot of people. I was the one who said something rude just now. I hope Geng Zhentai will take the overall situation into consideration and tell everyone about this place to help quell the rebellion. After the rebellion is successfully suppressed, I will treat Geng Zhentai to a drink and apologize!"
Geng Fu was a martial artist with a big heart. He actually didn't take what Yanggu said just to heart. The reason why he said that was because he wanted to kill his majesty. Seeing Yanggu apologize to him, Geng Fu smiled naively and said Yanggu helped him up.
"Yangzhentai's words are serious. I just said it casually. You don't need to take it seriously, but when it comes to drinking, you have to be honest about it!" As soon as Geng Fu finished his words, everyone in the hall laughed. , completely forgetting that they were still discussing strategies at this time.
"This sea is on the north side of Penghu Island. It is like a pocket with a narrow terrain. It is bounded by Zhangzhou Port in the north and Ryukyu Island in the south. As long as we introduce the Folangji fleet here and finally encircle the east and west sides, then it will be Daluo Jinxian is here, but he can’t save them!”
I saw Geng Fu pointing on the map, and everyone was amazed when they saw it.
Liu Daxia said with great joy: "This place is indeed a natural treasure, but which general is willing to lead a partial division as bait to lead the Fo Lang fleet into this "pocket"?"
"I am willing to go to Futai!"
Hearing the sound, everyone looked back and saw that the speaker was none other than Ji Bo's confidant and favorite general, Fujian Haiphong guerrilla Shi Pu.
When Liu Daxia first became the governor of Fujian, he didn't know the officials in Fujian yet. He saw that Shi Pu was still young. As the saying goes, a hero emerges from his youth. He was happy for a moment and asked:
"Who is this?"
"If we go back to Futai, this is the Fujian coastal defense guerrilla attack on Shipu."
"Well... I see that you are so courageous at such a young age. You are really formidable. Okay! You will be the one to lure the enemy in this battle. If you can The Fo Langji fleet has been encircled, and I will definitely report the truth to the Holy Emperor after the war and reward you heavily!"
…
Across the vast ocean, a fleet of seven warships was encircling and blocking all seaports along the coast of Fujian.
In the past few days, after the Folang fleet failed in many landing battles, they discovered that the Ming Dynasty was a big cake that could not be eaten in one sitting and had to be eaten up. So they adapted their tactics and decided to block the Fujian seaport first and not allow Fishermen came in and out to put pressure on them and finally forced trade.
After opening up trade, they would then send caravans and their residents to and from the Ming Dynasty to take root in the Ming Dynasty. Finally, they would rely on these residents and their "invincible battleships" on the sea to coordinate internally and externally to carry out colonial rule!
Over the years, the Folangji fleet has been trying to open up the Eastern trade market, but has never found a good foothold. These days, they have discovered the treasure islands in Penghu and Ryukyu.
Moreover, the Ming Dynasty did not have enough control over these treasure islands. If they could occupy these treasure islands and finally use them as their own bases, they would not only be able to control the trade markets in Malacca and the Spice Islands, but they could also be used as a springboard to invade the Ming Dynasty!
However, on July 6th and July 7th, the appearance of a large number of Ming army warships, officers and soldiers, as well as frequent sentry patrols, attracted the attention of this Franco fleet.
On the deck, Alvarez, the commander-in-chief of the Franco fleet, was listening to the information his men had obtained from the Han people.
"No matter how many people come to these lower races, what's the use? They just die in vain. They encountered a naval battle not long ago and have tested their naval strength. Although there are many people and ships, their combat effectiveness is low and their artillery is lagging behind. They were defeated by us. It’s a series of defeats!”
Alvarez said proudly while eating grapes.
After listening to the translation, the Han man next to him frowned and said:
"You must not underestimate the enemy. The naval forces dispatched by the Ming Dynasty this time are from Zhejiang Province, Fujian Province, and Guangdong Province. The naval forces of the three provinces combined are enough for you to drink a pot."
After listening to the translator, Franji immediately translated it to Alvarez, but the latter didn't take it to heart at all.
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