But it was obvious that Zheng Zhilong's worries were unnecessary.
I heard Lu Xiangsheng turn around and go back, and said with satisfaction: "These soldiers the emperor gave me are indeed good soldiers! After these two months of training, I feel that they are good enough to fight against Jianlu! "
"This is all the result of the Emperor's insight and the Governor's training." After hearing this, Zheng Zhilong immediately responded with a smile.
It's easy to say that he wears a high hat, which has almost become his instinct. As a businessman, he certainly understands that praising others for their efforts and benefits is actually the most cost-effective thing.
However, he didn't see that Lu Xiangsheng frowned slightly after hearing this, obviously not liking what he had on him. However, he did not say this, but said seriously: "The reconstruction of Dongjiang Town has been on my mind. Now, these soldiers are available. Next, it depends on General Zheng!"
To be honest, although Lu Xiangsheng is both civil and military, he really doesn't know much about water warfare, especially naval warfare. Therefore, he can only rely on Zheng Zhilong.
"Don't worry, Lord Governor. I heard that the various warships on Jianlu's side are less than a hundred in total. They are definitely no match for the general." Zheng Zhilong was obviously very confident about this, but then he changed the subject. He said, "I just don't know where Jianlu's warship is parked? If it collides with our troop transport, although there will definitely be escort warships by then, it may eventually cause losses."
Speaking of this matter, Zheng Zhilong also took a step forward, stood beside Lu Xiangsheng, looked at Lu Xiangsheng's side face and reported: "If you know where Jianlu's warship is parked, I can lead the warship first." In the past, we directly sank the Jianlu warships. In this way, the coast of Liaodong will be our Ming Dynasty's territory, and there will be nothing that the general is worried about."
Hearing this, Lu Xiangsheng nodded. This matter was made very clear. He considered this matter in his mind, and after scanning the soldiers who were training in front of him, he asked in a deep voice: "Where are the Jianlu warships listening?" , I really don’t know about this. If you find out in advance where the Jianlu warships dock, how long will it take?”
He didn't want the soldiers in front of him to sink into the sea before they could play their role in the Liaodong battlefield. Therefore, Zheng Zhilong said that it would be best if this risk could be avoided.
Upon hearing Lu Xiangsheng's question, Zheng Zhilong immediately replied: "After the coast in Liaodong thaws, we will send large ships to bring supplies and use speedboats to search the coast. It will take about a month at the earliest, and it may take two or three months at a slower pace. . In order to save time, when the result is estimated to be almost there, the general will lead the navy to cross the sea first, wait for the exact news, and launch the attack directly. In half a month, it should be enough!"
Hearing this, Lu Xiangsheng immediately shook his head and said: "No, this has been going on for too long! Your Majesty has said before that we must contain Jianlu, and we must not let Jianlu invade the pass through Mongolia again."
Zheng Zhilong was also there when the emperor gave his explanation, and knew why the emperor was so anxious.
Recalling that time, and recalling what he saw of Jinan City, Zheng Zhilong said: "Then forget about the Jianlu warships. I will escort them, and send more fast ships to explore far away, so as to minimize the possibility of running into the Jianlu navy!"
That being said, he also knew that he was not as familiar with the situation in Liaodong as he was on the southeastern coast of Ming Dynasty. Therefore, he could not guarantee that there would be no Tatar navy on any island. By then, there will still be a lot of risks of naval battles affecting troop transport ships. No matter what, we can only try to avoid it.
In addition, he actually has a worry in his heart, that is, Daming knows very little about the news in Liaodong. It is hard to say whether the Tatar naval warships are still the ones that the rebel general Kong Youde and others brought there. What if Jianlu attaches great importance to the sea and builds more warships? Also, if North Korea is now surrendered to Jianlu, will the North Korean navy obey the command of Jianlu Navy and be with the Jianlu Navy? He wasn't sure about this either.
In order to prepare for the most unfavorable situation that may arise next year, Zheng Zhilong expressed all his worries.
Lu Xiangsheng did not expect these situations. Therefore, after listening to what Zheng Zhilong said, he suddenly frowned. Looking across the sea, he wanted to know the news and find out the details of Jianlu. It was too difficult, and he had no choice.
For the time being, Lu Xiangsheng has no good solution. I had no choice but to keep this in mind, and then said to Zheng Zhilong: "Three more troop transport ships have been built in the shipyard. You can check them out for me."
"General, I will obey your orders!" Zheng Zhilong was overjoyed upon hearing this. He finally no longer had to drink the northwest wind. The weather in the north is so cold!
He received the military order and left quickly. But Lu Xiangsheng was still standing on the platform, motionless in the cold wind, looking at the soldiers who were training.
However, he was thinking about what Zheng Zhilong said just now. After a long time, he suddenly felt something in his heart. Doesn’t the Emperor have spies from the Imperial Guard at his disposal? Judging from the previous situation, it seems to be quite powerful. How about writing a memorial to see if the emperor has a way to find out the details of Jianlu's side before the official cross-sea attack next year?
After thinking for a while, Lu Xiangsheng looked at the soldiers in front of him and made a decision in his heart: he would rather let the emperor know that he had no good solution, but also go and ask. What if the emperor could really find out the details of Jianlu Navy? Wouldn't it solve a huge risk, and maybe save the lives of many soldiers!
Therefore, Lu Xiangsheng wrote a secret memorandum to Emperor Chongzhen and immediately sent someone to the capital.
Almost at the same time, just five days ago, Wu Zhong, who had been running around selecting people, finally returned to Shengjing.
When Huang Taiji heard this, he immediately summoned Wu Zhong to ask about the situation.
"Father, there will definitely be no problem with the candidates chosen by my sons and ministers." Wu Zhong changed his title and seemed to speak it very freely, as if he had been used to calling his father, emperor, sons and ministers since he was a child. Fan Wencheng, who was listening next to him, said I felt very uncomfortable.
He believed that he served the Qing Dynasty more wholeheartedly than anyone else, but he was not treated as such. Moreover, he was bullied by the Manchu people from time to time, and even his wife could not protect him. If his wife was also the emperor's daughter, such a situation would not be possible!
Thinking of this, he became even more dissatisfied with Wu Zhong. It's just that there is no way. What Wu Zhong wants to do is not something he, Fan Wencheng, can do, and that thing is crucial to the future of the Qing Dynasty. This means that Wu Zhong is crucial to the future of the Qing Dynasty. At this time, Wu Zhong cannot be offended under any circumstances.
Therefore, he had no choice but to hide his dissatisfaction in his heart and listen to Huang Taiji and Wu Zhong talking respectfully.
After Huang Taiji talked carefully with Wu Zhong for a while, he asked the question he was most concerned about again: "Last time, you said that most of the richest businessmen in the Ming Dynasty were concentrated in the Jiangnan area. This section During the time, Fan Qing and I have repeatedly considered that if we try to develop Shanxi merchants, we will be successful in a plane crash. Therefore, the best and fastest way is for you to go south to the south of the Yangtze River to find courageous businessmen for me. .”
Having said this, he paused, glanced at Fan Wencheng, and then looked at Wu Zhong and said: "Businessmen love profits, and I am absolutely willing to pay a big price. As long as the merchants from Jiangnan dare to come, they will definitely make a profit." It's full! With this as a premise, I believe it will be much easier for you to do things after you go to Jiangnan!"
Wu Zhong saw Huang Taiji's actions just now, and immediately understood in his heart that Fan Wencheng should have mentioned this statement to Huang Taiji, but it did make sense. Businessmen pursue profit. If the profit is large enough, even though some Shanxi merchants will have their homes confiscated first, they will never be frightened. There will definitely be some people who take risks.
Therefore, he nodded and replied to Huang Taiji: "Father is right, but Jiangnan is far southeast of the Ming Dynasty, and is far away from Liaodong, making it extremely inconvenient to travel."
Seeing that Huang Taiji seemed to frown slightly after hearing this, he quickly added: "Erchen has no excuse. I believe that with his status after returning to the Ming Dynasty, it will be easy for him to go south to work. It’s just that the Qing Dynasty needs a lot of materials, and the scale must be very large, so I think that I can only approach those maritime merchants for this matter! Besides, it’s empty talk. Although the merchants are good at profit, the scale is too big. If you don't do this, it will be difficult to convince them of the sincerity of the Qing Dynasty. After all, in the minds of people in the south of the Yangtze River, the Qing Dynasty is a barbarian."
"Haha, so I'm worried about this problem!" Huang Taiji smiled after hearing this, pointed at Fan Wencheng and said, "Fan Qing has thought of this a long time ago. We also have ships now, and if necessary, we can also transport Liaodong's specialties. , you can even transport a ship of gold, silver and jewelry directly to Jiangnan. How about it?"
Hearing this, Wu Zhong was stunned for a moment, and then remembered that the rebel general Kong Youde and others had surrendered to the Manchu Qing Dynasty with warships, artillery, etc. Dongjiang Town was located on Pi Island, and it was also attacked by Kong Youde and others with Jianlu. destroy. It can be seen that Jianlu may have many warships.
Thinking of this, he looked overjoyed and immediately asked Huang Taiji: "Father, how many warships or sea-going ships do we have in the Qing Dynasty? If there are many, it is also possible to organize a fleet to go south for business. If you have children, Most people don’t dare to investigate this Jin Yiwei’s cover!”
If Wu Zhong rescues the prince and returns to the Ming Dynasty, and the commander of the Jinyi Guard is his old superior, then he can definitely be promoted. I don’t know if it’s possible for thousands of households, but it can definitely be done for hundreds of households. It seems that it is indeed possible to be protected by hundreds of Jin Yiwei.
With this in mind, Fan Wencheng quickly intervened and reported: "Your Majesty, I think the prince-in-law is right. We, the Qing Dynasty, can also organize fleets to go south and trade with Jiangnan. In this way, we can get more at the same price." Food and supplies, why not?”
Huang Taiji is naturally not the kind of person who is stupid and has a lot of money. When trading with Shanxi merchants, he is willing to pay big prices because the trade in Qing Dynasty is monopolized by Shanxi merchants. He has no room for bargaining and can only use high profits to attract Shanxi merchants. business.
However, when he heard what Fan Wencheng said, he knew that the same money could buy more food and supplies, so it would be a shame if he didn't move.
Therefore, Huang Taiji was immediately overjoyed and nodded quickly: "I still have a lot of warships. There is no problem in organizing a fleet to go south!"
Having said this, he turned to look at Wu Zhong, and his tone became more intimate: "What do you think the people in Jiangnan will like from Liaodong? I can make people prepare. If it's the first time, How about trying a boatload of gold and silver jewelry and another boatload of Liaodong specialties?"
When he said this, he actually thought that if he handed so much wealth to Wu Zhong, he would definitely be corrupted by him. But as long as he could bring back food and supplies, he would tolerate it. At most, he could go back and beat Wu Zhong.
Wu Zhong couldn't help but want to swallow his saliva when he heard that Huang Taiji had gained so much wealth as soon as he made a move. However, he knew that Huang Taiji was wise and did not dare to show it. He quickly told everything he knew, and even suggested at the end: "Father, there are many good things in North Korea, and the fleet has gone to Jiangnan. , or you can use the excuse that it is the North Korean fleet, so that it will not arouse suspicion."
Upon hearing this, Huang Taiji was overjoyed and immediately praised Wu Zhong, then turned to look at Fan Wencheng and said: "Fan Qing, you heard it too, so you drafted a copy and sent it to North Korea, asking them to prepare a ship. The tribute must be collected before the sea ice melts next year.”
Nowadays, North Korea is already a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty. If you want something, it is just a matter of will. The imperial court is so cowardly that it must not dare to refuse. Huang Taiji was very sure about this.
"My slave obeys the order, let's go and draw up the order!" Fan Wencheng immediately replied. This is one of his duties, and he is very skillful.
After hearing this, Huang Taiji turned to look at Wu Zhong and said with a smile: "Then how about a ship of gold and silver jewelry, a ship of Liaodong specialties, and a ship of North Korean specialties? Can you transport more food and supplies for me? ?”
"Father, don't worry, I will definitely satisfy you." Wu Zhong was overjoyed and reported quickly.
Huang Taiji nodded and said to him: "I originally thought that those ships were useless, but I didn't expect that they could still come in handy at the critical moment. God helps the Qing Dynasty!"
If the original historical development was followed, the Manchus had Shanxi merchants to provide blood, and they were not familiar with the sea, so they did not develop naval forces at all; however, in this dimension, the destruction of Shanxi merchants made Huang Taiji set his sights on Jiangnan, therefore, this navy was taken seriously by Huang Taiji again.
After saying this, Huang Taiji said to Wu Zhong: "Xian son-in-law, I have to work hard for you during this period. Take a trip to Jinzhou. My ships are parked there. You go and choose people and people." Ship, we must make sure there are no mistakes on this trip to the south of the Yangtze River!"
"My son, I obey the order!" Wu Zhong heard the order and immediately accepted the order. In fact, after Huang Taiji made an explanation, he had no room to refuse.
Before leaving, Huang Taiji suddenly remembered something, and told Wu Zhong with a smile: "You will travel to the Ming Dynasty next year, and you don't know when the young couple will be reunited. This time when you go to Jinzhou, take the princess with you. It’s best to give the princess a child before leaving.”
