Anping City, Jinjiang County, Quanzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province.
In a splendid mansion, Zheng Zhilong sat on the Huanghuali Grand Master's chair.
There were two rows of people sitting in front of him, and they were clearly differentiated.
A person with a kind face and a rich appearance.
This is the power of the Zheng family, the people responsible for managing affairs, such as dealing with the government, selling stolen goods, and collecting tolls from merchants.
There is a big man with a murderous look on his face and a huge back.
This is the Zheng family's power, the people responsible for going to sea. They are the core of the power. They compete with other pirates for territory and force merchants to collect tolls.
The Zheng family is a pirate and maritime merchant force. Without strong strength, they will not develop and grow.
Zheng Zhilong looked at them, he was silent for a moment, and then he said: "The situation in Ming Dynasty is not very good now, everyone knows it.
Hongkui, please introduce to everyone the current situation in Ming Dynasty. "
His fourth brother is extremely smart and is the great steward of their power.
His fourth brother's original name was Zheng Zhifeng. In order to take the martial arts examination, he changed his name to Zheng Hongkui.
Zheng Hongkui immediately stood up and said: "Everyone often goes to sea and may not be aware of the recent changes in the Ming Dynasty.
I usually deal with Ming officials a lot.
We are doing business with many gentry again, and I can now clearly understand the situation in Ming Dynasty.
King Su He of Qin rose in Hanzhong and swept through the southwest region. He also captured Guangdong and Guangxi some time ago. "
As soon as Zheng Hongkui said this, Zheng Zhihu's angry voice immediately sounded.
"Fourth brother, I get angry when you mention this.
After the Qin army occupied Guangdong and Guangxi, it directly blocked the sea areas surrounding Guangdong and Guangxi.
Now our fleet does not dare to take the Guangdong and Guangxi routes. We need to bypass Taiwan Island and take the Bashi Channel, and then go to Manila and other places for trade.
Many merchants in the south of the Yangtze River find reasons not to pay us tolls because we cannot control this waterway. "
Zheng Zhihu was extremely angry, and killing people's money was like killing his parents.
Going to the sea to grab money desperately is not as comfortable as sitting and collecting tolls.
They have a large group of people to support and no revenue from tolls.
With only the money earned from normal maritime trade, the shipowners and their subordinates lived in poverty, and even the courtesans in brothels could not afford to live in poverty.
Many of the ships' cannons are old and they are reluctant to replace them with new ones.
Zheng Zhilong's eyes widened and he said loudly: "Second brother, let fourth child finish speaking. Don't interrupt if you have nothing to do. I'll ask you something later.
Why can't you change this problem? "
Zheng Zhihu heard the scolding of his eldest brother Zheng Zhilong.
He immediately lowered his head and signaled his fourth brother Zheng Hongkui to continue speaking.
Zheng Hongkui continued: "The Qin army's pace is very steady. Basically every time they take the initiative to attack, they will capture one or two provinces of the Ming Dynasty.
This time the Qin army took the initiative to attack, and the scale was very large.
Some gentry from Henan fled to southern Zhili by boat. I heard the news that the Qin army had captured Henan.
They are preparing to attack Beizhili. Once Beizhili is captured, the Ming Dynasty will be declared dead.
Looking at the current Qin army's offensive, Ming Dynasty may not be able to stop it.
News came from Shandong that Crown Prince Zhu Cixiang had gone south.
The crown prince's move south was enough to show the urgency of the situation. Even Emperor Chongzhen was not optimistic that the Ming Dynasty could win. "
When Zheng Zhilong heard this, he excitedly clapped his hands on the handle of the chair.
"It's like this. When I was not yet stable, I also put Damu and the others in the Japanese country.
Now that the young emperor Chongzhen has sent all his young sons out, he must have sensed the danger.
Even the little emperor Chongzhen felt in danger, it was really dangerous.
We need to make plans early. "
After Zheng Zhilong finished speaking, seeing Zheng Hongkui's helpless look, he coughed twice and said:
"Hongkui, keep talking, I just couldn't hold it back."
Zheng Hongkui smiled awkwardly and continued to introduce the situation of the Qin army to the Zheng family.
Let these people have a detailed understanding of the Qin army.
The Zheng family's power is an interest group composed of ship owners who are united by their own interests.
The Zheng family is just the most powerful force.
If all the other ship owners object, it will be extremely difficult for the Zheng family to achieve something.
But this situation will basically never happen. The ship owners who can stay in the force are all people who have a very close relationship with them.
People like Xiang Liuxiang who have different intentions with them have long been expelled.
The Eighteen Zhi pirates' power now became the Zheng family's power.
But if you want these people to be willing to support the Zheng family's strategy, you must also convince them.
Zheng Hongkui said in detail:
"The Qin army was extremely powerful in combat. From Hanzhong, it only took them six or seven years to almost occupy the entire Ming Dynasty.
The Qin army fought extremely hard. When they fought against the Ming army, the Qin army won more than 90% of the time.
The Qin army is extremely powerful in combat, and the Qin army is very good at firearms. The Qin army's firearms are more advanced than those of the Xiyi people. "
Zheng Hongkui used three Qin troops in a row to be extremely powerful, constantly emphasizing the strong strength of the Qin army.
He saw that everyone's eyes had changed and they recognized his statement.
Zheng Hongkui continued: "I have just said that the Qin army in the north has almost captured Beizhili.
Emperor Chongzhen didn't even think that he could withstand the Qin army's offensive.
Some people think that even if the Qin army captures the north, it has nothing to do with us.
The Ming Dynasty is likely to become the Nanming Dynasty, and there is a chance of a confrontation between the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
Maybe some people are thinking that if such an opportunity arises, we, as a strong army, are likely to grow stronger, and promotions and titles will come soon.
I want to say that this kind of opportunity is basically impossible.
You may not understand that the Qin army did not only open up the northern battlefield.
The Qin army in Sichuan and Guangdong and Guangxi directions also began to move.
The Qin army in the direction of Sichuan is overwhelming. I got the news that Huguang is about to be captured by the Qin army.
We carefully studied the news from Guangzhou. The Qin army in Guangdong and Guangxi has begun to prepare for war.
The huge warships of the Qin Army Navy have already left the port.
Who do you think the Qin army’s target will be? "
Many people present did not understand Qin Jun.
After hearing Zheng Hongkui's story, they realized how powerful the Qin army was.
It only took six or seven years to swallow up the Ming Dynasty.
Zheng Zhihu said excitedly: "The Qin army in Guangdong and Guangxi has begun to prepare for war, and their goal is very clear.
It’s either Jiangxi or Fujian, and it’s very likely that we won’t let go of either place.
It seems that the Qin army is going to sweep the world. Sooner or later, they will attack us.
The soldiers will block it, the water will cover it, and the Qin navy will attack us, relying on our more than a hundred warships.
Even if there are too many ants to kill an elephant, they can also defeat the Qin army.
Our army is not strong, if the Ming army in Fujian cannot stop the Qin army's attack.
The best we can do is continue wandering on the sea as before. "
As soon as Zheng Zhihu said these words, the expressions of many ship owners present changed drastically.
It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality.
These people have experienced the heat of their wives and children.
No longer living a life of licking blood, many people no longer want to be pirates and just want to live a stable life.
Without a stable base on shore, living at sea is extremely risky.
Maybe if you encounter a typhoon when you go to sea, you will never come back.
Even if there is no natural disaster, they have offended many people before.
Unable to maintain their strong strength, the enemy's revenge will make them irrecoverable.
Zheng Zhilong saw the change in the expressions of these people, and he directly ordered: "Come here, bring Zheng Cai over."
As soon as Zheng Zhilong said these words, noisy sounds immediately sounded in the room.
"Zheng Cai went to the south to pursue Liu Xiang, but there has been no news for a long time."
"There are rumors that Zheng Cai is dead. Is he still alive?"
"I thought Brother Zheng Cai was dead. According to our tradition, his family had already held a funeral for him.
This time Wang Qi took advantage of the situation and snatched away the concubine Zheng Cai bought.
Now that Zheng Cai is not dead, there will be something good to watch this time. "
Zheng Zhilong saw the discussion below, and he said directly: "I sent Zheng Cai south to look for traces of our old rival Liu Xiang.
Unexpectedly, the Qin army wiped out all pirates within its sphere of influence.
Zheng Cai was recognized as a pirate by the Qin army because of their actions at that time.
He was defeated and captured by the Qin army. Our old rival Liu Xiang also had his fleet defeated by the Qin army. "
Zheng Cai was quickly taken to the room.
He told everyone about the scene when their fleet fought with the Qin army.
The people present took a breath from time to time when they heard Zheng Cai's introduction.
After they listened, the scene immediately became noisy, and everyone was talking.
"The Qin army actually has such a big ship, a ship that is 70 meters long, with more than a hundred cannons installed on it.
I had only heard of this kind of warship from the Spaniards before.
They had boasted about the Spanish Armada and said that Spain had these warships called battleships.
There is no such warship here at all.
Unexpectedly, the Qin army could actually build such a ship. "
"How is this possible? How can the rate of fire of the artillery on the Qin Navy's navy reach five or six rounds per minute? This rate of fire is too fast.
The Qin army's artillery shells would also explode. At first, it was just a small hole in the ship. After the explosion, the keel could be broken.
Some ships can be directly blown into two pieces.
How to deal with this kind of shells? When we hit their warships, we need to hit dozens of cannonballs to sink their warships.
The Qin army's warships hit us, and with just one shot, we will enter the sea to feed the fish.
The Qin army's artillery fires very fast. In this case, we have no chance of winning. "
Everyone was talking, but mostly despair.
They all believed that what Zheng Cai said was completely true.
They all live on the ship all year round, and some details of the battle cannot be described by those who have not experienced it.
They think carefully about these details and can reconcile them with their usual experience.
Zheng Cai had never experienced these combat experiences, so he definitely couldn't make them up.
Zheng Zhilong saw everyone chatting non-stop.
He coughed twice and saw the room became quiet.
Zheng Zhilong said: "You already understand the current situation very clearly.
Where should we go now? "
He was also very confused in his heart. This rotten ship of the Ming Dynasty was about to capsize.
They wanted to jump ship, but they were worried about the Qin army settling the score.
He asked Zheng Cai in detail that the Qin army did not send him back to persuade him to surrender, and did not explain to Zheng Cai the preferential treatment they would receive if they surrendered to the Qin army.
Zheng Zhihu said in his loud voice: "Brother, we all listen to you, what did you say? That's what it is!"
After Zheng Zhihu finished speaking, ship owners who were not from the Zheng family also expressed their support for Zheng Zhilong's choice.
Zheng Zhilong had not made up his mind at all.
He had to weigh the ultimate interests and not bring the Zheng family into a situation of no return.
Nanjing City has not made a price now, and Qin Jun has not made a price to them either.
Taking the initiative to surrender now would appear to be too cheap for them.
Zheng Zhilong's idea was to fight the Qin army first.
The Qin army was unable to defeat them in a short period of time, so Zheng Zhilong showed his strength.
He would then ask Qin Jun for a price, and they would be able to get a good price based on their strength.
Just as Zheng Zhilong was about to speak, he saw Shi Daxuan opening the door with sweat profusely.
Shi Daxuan was one of his confidants and was assigned to guard Kinmen Island.
"Master, it's not good, Qin Jun, Qin Jun is coming.
Three huge warships, leading more than a dozen warships that are slightly smaller but larger than our warships.
When they arrived outside Kinmen Island, the largest warship of the Qin army opened fire directly.
The ship was eight or nine miles away from the fort on Kinmen Island.
It fired three shots in a short period of time, one of which hit the fort.
The large coastal defense battery we built was directly destroyed by one shot.
A huge roar sounded, and the cannons were thrown directly into the sky.
It looked like dough being squeezed by giant hands and smashed directly to the ground.
The Qin army's warships directly blocked the Kinmen Port. The warships in the harbor tried to break through, but they failed.
We used a large number of fireships to attack, but the Qin army's warships had a large flying firecracker. After detonating, they set off a huge fire and ignited the fireships in advance.
The Qin army only attacked the forts on Kinmen Island and the warships trying to escape from the port.
No cannons were fired on the warships in the harbor.
Looking for an opportunity, I took a small sampan from other places and came to Anping City to report the news. "
When Zheng Zhihu heard what Shi Daxuan said, he asked Shi Daxuan to describe the strength of the Qin army's warships in detail, not to miss every detail.
After hearing Shi Daxuan's detailed explanation, he had a clearer understanding of the combat effectiveness of the Qin army and navy.
Zheng Zhilong clearly realized that even if all their warships were used up, they might not be able to cause much harm to the Qin Navy.
"Brother, the Qin army is trying to recruit us to surrender.
If we ignore it, the Qin army will definitely attack in a big way.
This is completely looking down on us. The Qin army is not afraid that we will gather our forces to fight to the death. Will they fail in the end? "
Zheng Zhilong listened to Zheng Zhihu's statement, and he also thought, what should the Zheng family do now?
With the combat effectiveness shown by the Qin Navy now, these warships may not be able to persist for long.
If the Qin army was defeated at the beginning of the war and the Zheng family showed extremely weak strength, it would be better to surrender from the beginning.
Zheng Hongkui saw Zheng Zhilong hesitant.
He said: "Brother, Qin Jun's behavior is that he wants to negotiate with us.
I will personally go to negotiate with the Qin army. If we can negotiate good terms and our strength is inferior to others, then we will surrender to the Qin army.
If the Qin army is very harsh and doesn't give us a way out as the Ming Dynasty advertises, then we will fight to the death. "
When Zheng Zhilong saw Zheng Hongkui volunteering, he also agreed and let Zheng Hongkui fully represent them to negotiate with the Qin army.
When Zheng Zhilong does this, he will be willing to surrender, and then it depends on the Qin army's reply.
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