By besieging the city of San Salvador, Zheng Zhilong harvested more than 300 Spanish red barbarians, which meant that he had to have Philippine Governor Coquilla redeem them at a price of one thousand silver coins per person.
Otherwise, Zheng Zhilong could send these captives to the capital and offer them to the Crown Prince. Although the price of each prisoner was only two hundred taels, the Crown Prince was not stingy with the reward and allowed Zheng Zhilong to return satisfied.
As a result, after waiting for a month, he did not receive the silver coins from Coquilla, but instead received an ultimatum!
Coquilla demanded that Zheng Zhilong unconditionally release all captured personnel and pay compensation of five million silver dollars, which was considered responsible for the losses caused.
At the same time, the letter also threatened that if Zheng Zhilong refused, he would send an invincible fleet to completely wipe out Zheng Zhilong's fleet!
Regarding the story of the "Invincible Fleet", Zheng Zhilong had already heard it from the Crown Prince, because before starting a war, one must know oneself and the enemy, and being idle in the capital was idle, so it was definitely a good idea to learn more knowledge.
Spain did have an invincible fleet, but they were almost wiped out during the expedition to England.
This empire has long been in decline, and it is so deep in debt that it cannot afford to build a second armada.
An empire that was not even as good as the Ming Dynasty, and its governor wanted to threaten him, which undoubtedly made Zheng Zhilong extremely unhappy!
After learning through prisoners that there were less than 3,000 defenders in Manila and less than 20,000 troops in the entire Philippines, Zheng Zhilong's thoughts became vivid.
Among the 20,000 defenders, there are less than 3,000 Spanish red barbarians with high combat effectiveness, and the rest are local indigenous people.
Its profile is highly consistent with what the Crown Prince had previously stated, indicating that the prisoners did not lie and that the Luzon region was empty of troops.
If that's the case, why can't I take advantage of it?
During the campaign against Dongfan, the prince named himself Bo Zhenhaibo.
By defeating Luzon, the prince can promote himself to the title of Marquis of Zhenhai.
If he could capture the Sunda Islands occupied by the Dutch Red Barbarians, wouldn't he become the Duke of Zhenhai? ? ?
Oops...
wonderful!
Wonderful!
The more Zheng Zhilong thought about it, the more beautiful he became in his heart. If he could avoid the real and attack the weak, make use of his own strengths while avoiding his shortcomings, becoming a prince might not be far away!
Shameless Coquilla!
Dare you kill me, Da Ming Zimin!
Sin cannot be forgiven!
In this way, our expedition to Luzon can be regarded as a famous one!
After regaining the northern part of Dongfan Island this year, Zheng Zhilong plans to stop his troops for half a year and start sending troops to Luzon next summer.
It's just an idea for the time being. How to proceed will need to be discussed carefully with the Crown Prince in Beijing before it can be decided.
With repeated victories, Zheng Zhilong's ambitions gradually expanded.
But this is not inconsistent with the prince's strategy, but rather complements each other.
The prince wants to get Luzon in order to obtain a more stable grain-producing land.
Luzon plus Dongfan can harvest more than two crops per year, which is equal to the combined grain production of the three corners of the country.
After capturing Luzon, the Ming Dynasty will no longer suffer from natural disasters and droughts, and the disasters can be greatly alleviated.
Zheng Zhilong, on the other hand, needed the Luzon market and Nanyang routes to sell the capital's specialties to this region.
Let Coquilla live for another half a year. After the army is repaired, they can go south to Manila!
Zheng Zhilong moved so quickly mainly because in the past two years, he first attacked Relanze and then surrounded San Salvador. He did not lose many troops in both battles.
The main reason was that the opponent had too few troops, and Zheng Jun relied on the advantage of anti-ship missiles to win successive naval battles, always achieving a complete victory.
In comparison, anti-ship missiles are extremely fast and much easier to use than arson ships that must be piloted by humans. They can defeat the red barbarians and make them unable to defend themselves.
Even if they know that they have a large number of "harpoons", they are unable to parry them. When shooting at them from a long distance, the opponent's hit rate is so low that the Zheng brothers are not afraid at all.
In close combat, ten cannonballs are no match for a "whaling harpoon". This thing catches fire when hit, and it's a 100% hit, without exception!
You can use the whale harpoon to fight against Dongfan, and you can also use these magical weapons to fight against Luzon!
After the Spanish Red Barbarians' fleet is eliminated, let's see where the Spanish Red Barbarians on the shore go!
The prince said that blood debts must be repaid with blood!
If you refuse, one red barbarian can be sold for one thousand silver coins, and one thousand red barbarians can be sold for one million silver coins.
If the king of Spain wants to get his officers and soldiers, he has to exchange a boatload of silver coins!
otherwise……
If you don't kill these Hongyi, you will suffer a big loss.
Still the old way, send them all to the capital, and get two hundred taels of silver for each one!
I heard that the local aborigines also helped the tyrants and killed Ming people indiscriminately.
Zheng Zhilong also planned to capture 100,000 natives and give them to the prince.
Wouldn’t it be nice for the prince to dig into this delicious and lazy native food?
After receiving such tribute, it must be a matter of course for him to become a marquis!
It would take too long to expect his son to be a proud ancestor, and Zheng Zhilong really didn't have the patience.
While I am still young and strong, I might as well take over this job and make it happen.
After a hundred years, his son can inherit the title.
It doesn't matter if it's the Marquis of Zhenhai or the Duke of Zhenhai, it would be even better if it's the latter.
One month after Zheng Zhilong's victory, the rebellion that spread throughout most of Jiangnan was finally completely suppressed.
This rebellion was mainly centered in Changzhou (Suzhou), Qiantang (Hangzhou), Huating (Songjiang), and Wujin (Changzhou), and radiated to surrounding areas.
Jiangdu (Yangzhou) was guarded by the powerful general Ma Jin of the Yongwei camp, and Shi Kefa, the censor of Zuoqiandu in Shanyang (Huai'an), was in charge. Due to proper response, these two important places did not participate in the rebellion.
These two people don't have many ways to deal with wealthy gentry and profiteers, but they can't stand the guidance of an expert behind them...
The method is easy, just "invite" the eldest son and the second son of a big family in the city to "live" in the yamen. It would be even better if they are the only children in the family.
There is no need to embarrass them, and they are entertained with good food and drinks every day. These hostages can read books, read newspapers, and play mahjong inside, and they can stay with their wives, concubines, and maids, but they cannot go out.
Now the big players are completely honest. If they are not honest, there will only be one result, and that is - absolute success!
A young son in the family who was not invited encouraged his father to join the rebellion, but his father also banned him.
The other person is pinching his seven inches, and as long as he doesn't let go, he can only be submissive and obedient, and don't dare to have any distracting thoughts.
A group of second-generation people who hang out with Shi Kefa have no other skills, but they are good at giving away money.
Nothing else, just because I am not very capable, I have failed many times in Nanting and cannot stand out.
I heard that the Censor was deeply trusted by the Crown Prince, so I made some inquiries first. When I could go out, I planned to try my luck in Beiting...
Shi Kefa couldn't stand the frequent harassment from these young people, so he gave last year's palace examination questions as gifts.
As a result, a group of second-generation people were dumbfounded. After some research, some with a bright mind actually felt that they had a lot to do, so they began to study it with concentration.
These hostages were studying in the yamen how to become officials in the Beiting. This was something Shi Kefa never expected.
Even so, it took the Yongwei Battalion and the 30,000 people sent by Hong Chengchou for more than half a year to completely put down the rebellion.
Unlike the Anshi Rebellion, this was not because the rebels had strong soldiers and horses, but because in order to prevent the war from inflicting damage on the people and affecting taxation, Emperor Chongzhen asked the ministries to strictly prohibit massacres in the city and only allow operations on some large households in the city.
As a result, as soon as the suppressing army left, the fish that had slipped through the city began to make trouble again, so that it started again, and it started over and over again, which took a lot of time.
Although repeated repressions cost a lot of money and food, they also invisibly helped Nanting to identify rebels.
If the rebels make a fuss once, then die down after being suppressed, and stay dormant for a long time, it will be difficult for the court to detect these evil deeds.
It's not like leeks, where once you cut one crop, another crop will grow again, and the cycle can go back and forth.
After all, the number of wealthy gentry and merchants in various places is limited, and if one family dies, one family will be lost.
After repeated harvesting by various ministries, by the time most of the big households and the followers were captured and killed, there would be no more trouble in the land of rebellion.
The Ming Dynasty is orthodox and the emperor is the king. This is something that most people agree with.
Participating in the rebellion can earn some money and make some sweet profits at first, but when faced with the wolf-like officers and soldiers, it becomes clear that everyone in the rebel army has their own thoughts.
A group of rabble-rousers, all good and bad, each with their own evil intentions, and with no military training at all, thought that with a few good words, they could confuse millions of people and enable them to rise up.
There is no clear strategy, no relevant experience, no effective organization, blindly aiming too high, and under the strong pressure of the government and army, the result is a complete defeat.
The number of officers and soldiers involved in suppressing the rebellion was less than 40,000, and each unit was at most 3,000. The general scale was only 1,000 people. Even so, one could fight ten and win a complete victory.
There is a complete difference between those who have killed people and those who have not.
One side is well-trained, the other side is improvised.
As long as there is a battle, the winner can be determined.
In order to avoid future troubles, Chongzhen issued another order after banning the massacre of the city.
Any bandits who dare to fight in the field can be sent to Nandu after being captured, and then transferred to the Shandong mines.
Chongzhen was also afraid that these people would return to their old jobs after being released, so he hatched a plan - out of sight, out of mind!
It's best to dig in the mine until you die, and don't even think about returning to Jiangnan in your lifetime!
This is called the death penalty, but the living penalty cannot be escaped!
As a wise king, Chongzhen also wanted to have a good reputation for not committing mass killings...
As for how the "filial son" dealt with these prisoners, Chongzhen didn't want to care at all, and he had no time to care about it at the moment.
It is enough to know from the "filial son's" letter that Japanese troops were hired to counterattack Liaodong during the spring and summer, and killed and injured tens of thousands of Dongpi.
It has to be said that this traitor is really the natural enemy of Emperor Taiji, and his tactics are also very targeted.
Ten thousand Donglu soldiers were wasted in one year, which may not seem like much, but in ten years it is a hundred thousand!
If these tactics had been used since the Tianqi years and persisted until now, I'm afraid there wouldn't even be a few Donglu left.
After careful calculation, before I reach the age of fifty, the traitor should be able to torture all Donglu's soldiers and horses.
If you can regain your homeland of Liaodong in your lifetime, you will be considered worthy of meeting your ancestors a hundred years from now.
The great cause that neither his father nor the emperor's brother could accomplish was accomplished by himself during his reign. It is a matter of immeasurable merit.
Even though it was the traitor who actually did it, he was still the emperor, so the matter must be counted in his name...
The rebellion that spread across half of the southern Zhili region and Zhejiang did not spread to Fujian, Huguang, or even further afield.
The main reason is that Huguang is still a battlefield. It is too late for wealthy households and ordinary people to save their lives. How can they still think about following the rebellion?
Fujian is Zheng Zhilong's private territory. Zheng Zhilong also hopes to further increase his official position and become a nobility. Zheng Chenggong is also the disciple of the prince, so rebellion is not allowed at all.
Huguang and Fujian did not participate in the rebellion, which means that Guangdong, Guizhou, and Yunnan further away will not be able to participate in this event...
Jiangxi is close to Zhejiang, and in terms of location, it is still upstream of South Zhili.
However, the local government and wealthy households were always on guard against the intrusion of bandits, and he did not want to get involved at all.
If he really wanted to join the rebellion in the Jiangnan area, would he still have to spend so much effort guarding against bandits?
Jiangxi is not as rich as Jiangnan, and if the big families take the lead in the rebellion, doesn't it mean they are robbing themselves?
If the common people become rogues and the command is improper, it will be as terrifying as annihilation for the wealthy gentry who take the lead!
In Shandong, north of Nanzhili, the local government finally put Liu Min in place.
Except for some wealthy gentry who felt that it was difficult to move to their hometown, most of the others ran away to the seaside.
At the request of Yan Jizu, the governor of Shandong, the officials in various parts of the country were better at guarding against bandits than against fire, let alone condoning rebellion.
The newly built cities along the coast are guarded by officers and soldiers, and there are warships plying on the sea. If there are a large number of rogue bandits, it will be extremely difficult to capture a city.
Now only the Yellow River line in Henan can still allow the people to survive, and the rest of the country is in chaos.
Li Zicheng, Li Dingguo, and the fifth battalion of Gezuo who had gone down the mountain before. These three groups took away all the young men they could.
The rest either go to Shandong along the Yellow River to find food, or they can only nest in the mountains near Huguang.
There are thousands of miles of bare wilderness on the plains. Under the severe drought, not to mention people, even wild dogs will starve to death.
The local bandits in Henan are so hungry that they don't have to wait for the Jiangnan rebellion to get involved with them. They will take the initiative to go to Jiangnan to rob families and homes...
Things further north were relatively better. After entering Beizhili, the control of the local governments suddenly increased, and the bandits would be strangled by the government troops without any chance to strike.
The Jifu area is even more stable. Tens of thousands of Donggong Guards are training in the surrounding area in brigades. Not to mention rogues, even bandits would not be able to survive.
Southern Shaanxi lies on the Weihe Plain, where rebellions rarely occur. The last time something happened was in the late Tang Dynasty, when Huang Chao led his troops to capture Chang'an.
Due to the large-scale development of Yanchang Oilfield and Yulin Coal Mine, the situation in northern Shaanxi has greatly improved than before.
In the past, people had to become bandits because of poverty and in order not to starve to death.
After oil fields and mining areas take the lead in creating a large number of jobs, most people will not risk their lives.
As long as you have the strength and are willing to endure hardships, a young man can earn three taels of silver per month. If you work every day, you can earn more than five taels. By virtue of your status as an oil worker or miner, you can also enjoy the privilege of buying affordable milled rice.
After Shen Xun, a fellow from Zuo Maodi, solved the case of missing salt tax money from Lianghuai and Huaihe Rivers, he was sent to Shaanxi by a certain prince in order to supervise the two big fats of oil fields and coal mines!
As the patrol censor, Shen Xun had great power. Although he could not kill immediately upon arrest, there was absolutely no problem in arresting people, including officials from the fourth-grade prefecture and below.
The main thing is to do the same thing, see which moth is committing crimes against the wind, and after verifying the situation and discussing with Zuo Maodi, you can kill it first and then report it, without asking a certain prince for instructions!
Yanchang Oilfield, Yulin Coal Mine, plus Yangshan Gold Mine, Jinlongshan Gold Mine, Xiaoqinling Gold Mine, together support millions of disaster victims.
Shaanxi has benefited from the advantages of large-scale mining, and the current situation is even better than Shanxi. Except for Chai Shihua in Gansu who is still stubborn, he has also colluded with the Tumut tribe in Qinghai and plans to fight to the end.
For these reasons, the rebellion in the Jiangnan region did not affect the entire Ming Dynasty, but the summer harvest and autumn harvest were greatly affected.
Without confiscating the small grain depots of the wealthy gentry, Chongzhen would not be able to block the 500-stone hole designated to aid Beiting.
In the end, it was impossible to raise the money, so we had to use 200,000 captives designated as miners as collateral to reduce the food quota to 3 million dan, which could not be any less.
Three million shi was enough for the people of the capital and the defenders to consume. Only by collecting local taxes and grains from Jifu could the military rations needed for the large-scale Northern Expedition be stored.
Because the copying was ineffective, the five million taels of silver were not missing. Before the canal was frozen, they were transported to the capital by Yongwei.
Excluding this part, the Nanting household department still received a balance of tens of millions of taels of silver, setting a historical record since the beginning of the dynasty.
This does not include the confiscation of salt, silk, tea, and many valuable items and land deeds.
If the wealthy gentry and profiteers had not rebelled, Chongzhen would still not have received so much money. This was a blessing in disguise...
