"My lord, Guangzhou is not easy to fight!"
The person who raised different opinions was Yang Qilong, the newly appointed right-wing military advisor. He said to Zhu Heji: "I have just come out of Guangzhou and know some truths and facts. It is gratifying that although the subordinates are young and strong, they are also on guard against Wu Sangui and Zu. Zeqing and others stole Guangzhou. Therefore, they invited two thieves, Shang Keai and Shang Kele, who had been retiring at home for a long time, to take charge of the old army women and children under the vassal, as well as the civilian Zhuang and Tuan Ding of Guangzhou Prefecture, to strictly guard the city.
At the same time, he also issued an edict, in the name of preventing our army from making up for sneak attacks, prohibiting soldiers and horses from other towns from entering the capital city of Guangzhou...unless there is an edict written by Shang Kexi! "
"Is this happening?" Heavenly King Zhu became a little anxious when he heard about it. He originally expected Zhu Heji to pretend to be the Heavenly Soldiers of the Eight Banners again, but he didn't expect that now they have disowned their relatives, and even if the Heavenly Soldiers are gone, they will not be allowed to enter the city. The city of Guangzhou is tall and large, and there are many cannons mounted on the city walls, especially the Sifang Fort next to the city. There are many Hongyi cannons... I'm afraid a force attack will not work!
Thinking of this, he turned his attention to Military Advisor Zhuge who was shaking his goose feather fan, as if he was asking for some tips.
But now Zhuge Military Advisor only has a bag of tips in his pocket, but no clever plan. But how could the mighty Zhuge Military Advisor not have a clever plan? This doesn’t make sense!
Fortunately, Zhuge Sanhe has been running around for a long time, so he still knows how to change the subject and delay time.
So he asked Yang Qilong: "Commander Yang, I wonder how well the cities around Guangzhou City are defended? For example, Xiangshan, Shunde, Xinhui, Xin'an, Xinning, Dongguan, Foshan, etc., are they defended by soldiers?"
Yang Qilong thought for a while and replied: "Xiangshan is an important place under the vassal power of Prince Pingnan. There are many vassal villages outside the city, and there is a market for trading with the Portuguese in Macao inside the city. Naturally, there are troops deployed. There are green battalions in Shunde and Dongguan. In one town, although most of the troops have followed Shang Kexi on the Eastern Expedition, it will not be without troops to defend. As for Xinhui, Xin'an, Xinning, Foshan and other places, they should be guarded by Minzhuang and Tuanding.
In addition, a group of elite troops was stationed at Humenkou, guarding the waterway gate of Guangzhou, led by Shang Kexi's confidant Zeng Zhaoqi. This group of troops had never moved. Moreover, a fort was built at Humenkou, equipped with Hongyi cannons, which was easy to defend but difficult to attack! "
It seems to be a bit troublesome!
Military Advisor Zhuge frowned more and more.
Now the more popular places in Guangzhou are Guangzhou Fucheng, Xiangshan County, Foshan Town, Shunde, and Dongguan.
Don't even think about Guangzhou Fucheng... On the one hand, it is guarded by the old and weak women and children of Prince Pingnan's vassal, and on the other hand, there are heavy troops at Humen Gate! Without breaking through Humen, the army of Zhu San and his son would not be able to reach Guangzhou via the Lingding Yangtze River!
Foshan is very close to Guangzhou City, and there are two important places for defense in Xiangshan and Shunde to the south. Without capturing one of the three places of Guangzhou, Xiangshan and Shunde, Foshan would be impossible to reach.
The remaining counties are Xinning, Xin'an and Xinhui. Among them, Xinning is the county where Wen'an City is located. It is located on the edge of the South China Sea and is not very important.
Xinhui... Li Dingguo's army was not defeated back then. If we fight again this time, what if those Xinhui people are still loyal to the Qing Dynasty?
As for Xin'an, it is in the area of Shenzhen and Hong Kong, but there are no people there at the moment - all the coastal areas have been moved away, leaving Xin'an County alone standing there. There are not many people in it, and it is not very big after being conquered. I mean, it’s better to go to Macau across from Lingding Ocean to grab one!
Yes, Macau!
Thinking of Macau, Zhuge's eyes lit up!
Now the most valuable stronghold along the Guangdong coast is undoubtedly Macau, where the Portuguese are entrenched. Due to the Qing Dynasty's national policy of maritime ban, there are only two serious trading ports left on the coast of Guangdong today, Macao and Dahao. Not only large-scale ships traveling to the South and West have to dock at these two places, but also domestic trade vessels operating along the coast of China. , and can only do business in Macau and Dahao.
Compared with Dahao, Pingnan Wang Shangke was happy to support the "free trade" between Macao and Xiangshan, and the business naturally prospered more than ten times. Therefore, during the years of the Qing Dynasty's maritime ban, Macau not only did not decline, but became more prosperous.
However, it is not easy to capture this increasingly prosperous Macau, because the Portuguese built a very strong bastion in Macau - a bastion built on a low hill called "St. Paul's Fort" , is the residence of the Portuguese soldiers in Macau and the foundation of the Portuguese rule in Macau!
About fifty years ago, the Dutch East India Company, which had just laid a foundation on the island of Java, set its sights on Macau, a Western trading stronghold on the land of the Ming Dynasty, and assembled 13 armed merchant ships and a thousand Three hundred men went to attack.
As a result, they were defeated miserably in Macau by less than 300 Portuguese troops who relied on the fort for defense. After losing about 300 people, they fled in despair - this was probably the only thing that the early Dutch colonists with strong military virtue encountered in the East. One of several disastrous defeats.
Five years after the Battle of Macau, the Dutch came back and fought again, but they were still repelled by the Portuguese relying on the St. Paul Fort.
Since then, the Macau Castle, which has defeated the Dutch twice, has gained a reputation. Until now, no one dares to take a chance on it... However, this record seems to be broken by Zhuge Military Advisor.
"Your Majesty," Zhuge Military Advisor waved his goose-feather fan, and an unpredictable expression appeared on his fat face that looked like Pang Tong's. "I suggest that we jointly borrow thousands of troops from Da Lao Hui, and while the gratifying army has gathered in Jieyang, Guangfu took advantage of the opportunity to launch a western expedition, first sneaking a sneak attack on Macao, and then moving to Xin'an and approaching Humenkou. The trade between Macao and Xiangshan is Shang Kexi's money bag, and Humenkou guards Shang Kexi's life... ...We have taken out Shang Kexi’s money bag and grabbed Shang Kexi’s life, so we are not afraid that Shang Kexi will not retreat from Jieyang City!”
King Zhu of Heaven knew that it was not reliable as soon as he heard Zhuge's bad idea.
Because he had been to Macau several times when he was working with the last Tang Dynasty king in Wen'an City, and he knew that there were strong cities and forts to rely on, which were easy to defend but difficult to attack. It's very difficult to "steal" one.
But before Heavenly King Zhu could speak, Zhu Heji had already clapped his hands and started shouting, "Wonderful, wonderful... The military strategist's clever plan can indeed bring peace to the world! This gratifying destiny is not in Guangfu, but in Macao." And Xiangshan!
As long as we can seize Macau and Xiangshan, Shang Kexi will not only lose huge financial resources, but we will also gain tens of thousands of coolies who gather at the Xiangshan Gate to earn a living! With these coolies joining the team, what's so difficult about Guangzhou Prefecture? "
What? Seize?
This time, not only King Zhu Tian was stunned, but also Military Advisor Zhuge himself. Zhuge's military advisor meant "stealing", or at most "grabbing". He would grab a handful and leave without seizing the fort city in Macau.
That city is much stronger than Rechelan City in Taiwan. Even if Guo Xingye comes to fight, there is no way he can succeed without a one or two year siege. Even if Zhu Heji could surround the fort city, it would not be possible for him for a year or two, even for a month or two!
However, Zhu Heji patted his chest and said in a very firm tone, "That big fort in Macau is all on me! I will take 1,200 people there, and then borrow 3,000 soldiers from my father-in-law, and I will be able to conquer Macau." Beat it down.
We, the original Confucian scholars, must uphold justice for Heaven and never let Westerners continue to occupy our Ming Dynasty’s land! "
Zhuge Military Advisor saw that Zhu Heji seemed to be very confident, so he also waved his goose feather fan and said: "Your Majesty, when we attack Macau, I will rely on you and the Crown Prince. I can break the city with my free plan."
King Zhu of Heaven became anxious when he saw that Zhuge's military advisor was about to leave. "Military advisor, you are leaving. Who will advise Jieyang City? If Shang Kexi attacks, how will the Gu family retreat from the enemy?"
Zhuge Military Advisor smiled and said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will leave you with some clever tips to help Your Majesty defeat the enemy!"
This Zhuge military counselor really has a clever plan!
Yang Qilong saw that his colleague was so capable, so he decided to show off, and he patted his chest and said to King Zhu: "Your Majesty, although I don't have any clever tips, I have a sharp tongue, and I will definitely be able to convince Liu Jinzhong and Zhao Desheng. , Miao Zhixiu, Zhang Guoxun, Wang Guodong and other Qing camp generals stood still, leaving Shang Kexi to fight alone!"
