"What? The navy defeated the Ming navy?" Huang Taiji was shocked when he heard this. He quickly took the memorial handed over by the chamberlain and quickly read it.
Others in the Chongzheng Hall were very excited. They didn't expect that Shang Kexi was really capable and could defeat the navy of the Ming Dynasty!
Huang Taiji quickly finished reading the memorial, and his face became obviously relaxed. He asked his chamberlain to show it to Dai Shan and others, and also said to them: "Shang Qing just repaired and reorganized the previous warships, and the invading Ming army The navy fought a battle, and in the end our Qing Dynasty Navy still had about thirty warships, while the Ming Navy only had about ten warships..."
Hearing this, Yue Tuo couldn't help but be very excited and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, in this case, you can send an order to King Zhishun and ask him to cut off the Ming army's retreat by sea. Then, as soon as the Qing army arrives, I can catch the turtle in the jar with my hands." Yes! Haha..."
The other Princes of the Qing Dynasty, Baylor, also laughed. Their previous worries were relieved by this unexpected news.
However, Huang Taiji was not as optimistic as them, but shook his head and said: "Shang Qing mentioned in the memorial that although there are still about thirty naval warships left, many of them are damaged, and the sailor losses are also large. , the imperial court needs to allocate money, food and manpower. In addition, please once again request me to issue an order to the imperial court to divert water to help in the battle!"
Hearing this, Chongzhengdian, who was still laughing just now, suddenly lost the cheerful atmosphere again.
What's the meaning? Is this asking the court for money, food, and people? I wonder if these are the things the imperial court is lacking now?
The Qing Dynasty only has a small amount of wealth now. It has allocated some money last time. If it is transferred to the navy, there will be less money in other areas. Prince Baylor in the palace must not be willing to do so.
However, Shang Kexi also said in his memorial that his navy had repelled the Ming navy, and it was time for him to cut off the Ming army's retreat at sea. How could he not do so?
After all the people in the hall finished reading the gratifying memorial, they began to discuss it again.
"Father, since the Qing Dynasty Navy has more troops than the Ming Dynasty Navy, then let him attack. As long as it can cut off the Ming army's retreat at sea, that's enough!" Hauge was the first to speak.
Before Huang Taiji spoke, Yue Tuo frowned and shook his head: "No, King Zhishun said in the memorial. Although it is estimated that those are the only warships from the Ming Dynasty, I don't know if there will be any warships coming later. If you dare to If we go into battle with a broken warship, we're afraid there will be problems! We don't know what's going on with the Ming Dynasty, so we really need to think carefully about this."
Ji Erhalang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly interrupted and said: "Your Majesty, why don't you agree to King Chishun's request and let the North Korean navy come to help in the battle. In this way, even if you don't take away the things he wants, you can cut them off." The Ming army’s retreat at sea should be no problem!”
When Fan Wencheng, who had always been relatively humble, heard this, he rarely objected: "Your Majesty, I think this is inappropriate. I just sent an imperial edict to North Korea yesterday, asking North Korea to pay tribute to a large amount of grain and grass supplies this time. If we add more and require the North Korean navy to send troops, North Korea must also be responsible for the related consumption of grain, grass, ordnance, etc., and the servant is afraid... afraid of being pushed into a hurry..."
Before he finished speaking, he heard Duduo sneer: "What if you're in a hurry? Do you dare to rebel?"
Hearing Duduo speak, Fan Wencheng closed his mouth and said nothing.
Daishan thought more carefully and felt that what Fan Wencheng said was reasonable. He could not force North Korea to go too far. Once it exceeded the tolerance of North Korea's monarchs and ministers, it would probably cause unnecessary trouble.
In the Chongzheng Hall, there was a discussion about the second eight-hundred-mile expedited memorial.
In the end, Huang Taiji made a decision and allocated some supplies. With the intention of not mobilizing the North Korean navy, he urged Shang Kexi to lead the navy to fight when the imperial army arrived and cut off the Ming army's retreat at sea. As for the How much we will lose will be discussed later. The implication is that it's just that, and I don't pay special attention to it.
However, before this edict had time to be sent out, the gratifying third letter of eight hundred miles arrived again.
At this time, many people in Shengjing City were puzzled.
An eight-hundred-mile rush at a time shouldn't be anything special in this era.
In a short period of time, two 800-mile express trips were unusual.
However, before they had time to say anything, the third eight-hundred-mile rush came.
As a result, wherever there were people in Shengjing City, in the streets and alleys, and in the palace courtyards, there were discussions.
"Have you heard that in just three days, there were three urgent rushes of 800 miles, and you don't know what happened, but it was so urgent?"
"Could it be that the Ming army is coming?"
"Fart, why are the Ming troops coming here? Are you looking for death? If you really want the Ming troops to come, why do you need to hurry up for 800 miles?"
"What could it be that requires eight hundred miles to be expedited? Could it be... could it be that someone else has defected?"
"This is impossible. How many years have passed and the Qing Dynasty is getting stronger and stronger. How could anyone still defect?"
"That's true, but what exactly needs eight hundred miles to expedite?"
"..."
Although these people in Shengjing discussed it for a long time and even thought about Liu Xingzuo's defection back to the Ming Dynasty, they still couldn't think of anything that could make Shengjing take three 800-mile rushes.
Only some senior Manchu and Qing Dynasty officials, some relatively knowledgeable people, can make a rough guess about this matter.
For example, Kong Youde, the obedient king of the Qing Dynasty, although he did not participate in the proceedings of the Chongzheng Palace, when he heard that Shang Kexi in Jinzhou sent three urgent memorials for 800 miles, and then Shengjing began to mobilize. When the soldiers were dispatching generals, he guessed that the Ming army should appear in Jinzhou.
Reaching this conclusion made Kong Youde a little unbelievable.
He was an old general in Dongjiang Town and had also been to Dengzhou. The Wuqiao rebellion caused the Ming Dynasty to have little resistance. It was not until later that troops were transferred back from the Guanning front line that he finally fled across the sea by boat to Liaodong. Therefore, he knew exactly what else the Denglai Ming Army had.
Regarding Shang Kexi, Kong Youde was a colleague back then, but now that he has changed his master, he is still a colleague. No matter what, he must understand. If the Ming army comes across the sea and has a small fight, I believe Shang Kexi can handle it by himself. There is no need to rush three times at 800 miles!
So, he made three consecutive 800-mile expedited attacks, was he unable to withstand the Ming army's attack? Thinking of this, Kong Youde still couldn't believe it.
While he was thinking hard about this matter, Geng Zhongming, king of Huaishun, came to visit. Needless to say, he was just like Kong Youde, and he was puzzled by what happened over there in Shang Kexi. Because they pushed it back and forth and came to the conclusion that the Ming army coming across the sea was too strong and Shang Kexi could not cope with it, so they sent three urgent orders of 800 miles. However, knowing the details of the Ming army made the two of them look at each other.
It's hard for them both to believe that how could the Ming army become so powerful in such a short period of time?
After a long time, the two people were relatively speechless. Among them, Kong Youde murmured to himself: "Could it be that things are going to change?"
The friendship between the two of them was a life-long friendship. As for Shang Kexi, the relationship with them is actually not good. Because Shang Kexi was a close general of Huang Long, the commander-in-chief of the Dongjiang River. When the two of them crossed the sea, they were intercepted and killed by Huang Long in Lushun. Shang Kexi should also be among them.
Later, after Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming surrendered to the Manchus, they led troops to attack Lushun and killed Huanglong. By the way, Shang Kexi's family members were also killed in that battle.
Huang Long died, and the person who succeeded him happened to be Shang Kexi's rival. Shang Kexi felt that it was about to end, so he led his men to plunder the Ming army on the islands along Liaodong, completely destroyed Dongjiang Town, and surrendered to the Manchus.
Therefore, don't think that the three of them were named Sanshun Kings by the Manchus. In fact, their relationship was not good. Because of this, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming could talk about anything.
"Isn't this impossible?" Geng Zhongming said in disbelief after hearing this.
Kong Youde frowned tightly. Although he knew that the courtyard was empty and no one was there, he still took a look around, and then whispered to Geng Zhongming: "Don't forget, Dorgon was defeated in Tianjin, and the white flag on the mountain forehead was really good." Turg was captured, and then the Tumut tribe was implicated. Do you think these things are all accidental?"
"But...isn't the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty still the same emperor?" Geng Zhongming still felt a little incredible, "As far as the virtues of officials, except for Governor Sun who was better at that time, the others... Tsk tsk, I don't believe it anyway. . There must be another reason for the 800-mile expedited trip three times!"
Hearing what he said, Kong Youde sighed slightly and said: "We still harmed Sun Zhongcheng! Come on, come on, don't say anything, don't worry about him, let's drink!"
The Governor Sun in their mouth was Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Denglai. He was ordered to train the new army and recruited Portuguese as instructors. Kong Youde and other Liao people were valued by Sun Yuanhua, and he even made Kong Youde a cavalry general. If this goes up one level, it would be deputy commander-in-chief.
Sun Yuanhua was captured by Kong Youde and released because of the Wuqiao mutiny, but he was eventually executed by the court. Xu Guangqi wanted to save him, but he couldn't. It is not wrong to say that Kong Youde and others harmed Sun Yuanhua.
Geng Zhongming listened and acquiesced, so he didn't say anything more and drank together, leaving all those old things behind.
In the original history, when it comes to die-hard loyalty to the Manchus, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming were not as good as Shang Kexi. However, Kong Youde's reputation in later generations will ultimately be greater.
While they were drinking, the atmosphere in Chongzheng Hall became much better. Because Shang Kexi’s third eight-hundred-mile expedited memorial was to report to the consort Wu Zhong. Along with the memorial came the alliance between Wu Zhong and Le Qingtian, a large salt merchant in Jiangnan.
When I saw Huang Taiji holding this covenant, he was so happy that he couldn't open his mouth from ear to ear!
The big salt merchant in Jiangnan is a wealthy owner, which also shows that he has enough strength to do business with the Qing Dynasty. As long as the Qing Dynasty can afford the money, food supplies, etc., nothing will be a problem! The most ideal Shanxi merchant replacement merchant is now available!
The things that Huang Taiji was most worried about, the things that troubled the Qing Dynasty the most, could almost be solved, so it would not be a waste of a daughter!
When he was happy, he praised repeatedly: "Yes, yes, Wu Qing has lived up to my expectations! Very good, very good, come and give the Prince Consort a reward!"
Without saying anything, Huang Taiji stamped his jade seal on the covenant without hesitation.
Seeing that he was so happy, Fan Wencheng joined in and reminded him: "Your Majesty, King Zhishun said in the memorial that the Ming Dynasty's water transportation will be changed to sea transportation. This is a good opportunity!"
Huang Taiji finally calmed down after hearing what he said.
Shang Kexi once again proposed in the memorial that the Qing Dynasty should strengthen its navy. In this way, it would not only eliminate the hidden danger of the Ming army's invasion across the sea, but also cross the sea to rob the Ming Dynasty of shipping grain. Firstly, it can cut off the food supply in the northern part of the country, and secondly, it can supplement the needs of the Qing Dynasty. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone. Not to mention, they might be able to land anywhere in the Ming Dynasty in the future, making the Ming Dynasty's defense very defenseless.
Taking a step back, if the Qing Dynasty did not have a strong enough navy to fight against the Qing Dynasty, not only would it not be able to repel the Ming Dynasty navy, but even the trade with the Ming Dynasty in the south of the Yangtze River would be severely disrupted.
Huang Taiji felt itchy in his heart when he heard this, wishing that he would have a powerful naval force in his hands immediately to snatch the grain from his Ming Dynasty!
However, he was considered a shrewd one among the Manchu emperors. Therefore, he did not immediately slam the table and draw a conclusion. Instead, he waited for the confidant of the great salt merchant Le Qing’s birthday mentioned in Shang Kexi’s memorial to come with the ship to witness the joy of the covenant. Balance, he will come to a conclusion only after meeting and talking.
While Huang Taiji was waiting, the eunuch he sent arrived at Wu Zhong's mansion to convey the imperial decree and reward him.
When the housekeeper heard this, he ran back to the backyard and hurriedly found Princess Gu Lunduanjing. However, she saw no one and was stopped by the maid at the door, who went in to inform her.
After waiting for a long time, Princess Gu Lunduanjing came out of the room. She seemed a little unhappy, but her face seemed a little red, and she hurried to the front yard with the housekeeper to receive the order.
After they left, another person slipped out of the house and ran away like a thief.
If Wu Zhong were here, he would have recognized that this guy was the steward who chased him to Fan Mansion and wanted to beat him.
Besides, Le Tianping and his entourage definitely didn’t rush eight hundred miles to get to Shengjing, but they also traveled day and night. Huang Taiji didn't have to wait long before they met.
Le Tianping was genuine. He came to Shengjing with Le Tianping and the entourage Wu Zhong brought to Jiangnan. Huang Taiji also quietly summoned them. After checking the two, it was impossible to find the problem.
Needless to say, Huang Taiji was relieved. Regardless of the feelings of the North Korean monarchs and ministers, a decree was sent, which was eight hundred miles away. The North Korean Navy immediately rushed to Jinzhou as quickly as possible within a deadline.
In addition, he also allocated a lot of money, food and population to Jinzhou's promising navy. Of course, as the supplies were met, he also sent a supervisory army there. This supervisor was none other than Turge, who had been captured by the Ming army.
