1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 2 Liu Xiangluo

On the third day of April in the eighth year of Chongzhen (1635), off the coast of Zhangzhou, Fujian, at Shen time (15:17 p.m. to [-]:[-] p.m.), the sky was high and the clouds were light, and a few seabirds soared on the sparkling blue ocean in the distance.

However, the smoke dissipated, revealing that a small-scale naval battle had just ended. There were broken ship boards, damaged sails, and even a few corpses floating in the water.

A large fleet of about 20 large and small ships meanders, including more than 2 huge Fuchuan, Bird Ships and Haicang Ships, and some ships are dragging 3-[-] single boats behind them. Sailboats, and the rest are junks with two or three sails.Obviously, the fleet experienced a naval battle not long ago, and the masts and sails of some ships were damaged, and some ships even had several horrible holes on the side of the ship.

"Xiang Lao, captured... Zheng Yiguan's subordinates..., what should we do?" In the middle of the fleet, there was a warship with a length of more than [-] meters, a displacement of [-] tons, and a two-deck warship.In the captain's room on the upper deck, a stout man with a red beard asked respectfully.

"All sunk in the sea!" The gloomy, sallow complexion, short stature, about [-]-year-old man gritted his teeth, "They are all Zheng Yiguan's dog legs, all of them should be damned!"

Xiang Lao, Liu Xiang, a famous pirate on the southeast coast, is a native of Lamma Island in Hong Kong, Guangdong Province. He was one of the members of the "Eighteen Zhi" armed maritime group organized by Zheng Zhilong. Zheng Zhilong broke up in 1629 (the second year of Ming Chongzhen).

After Zheng Zhilong accepted the Ming Dynasty's appeasement, he defeated the One Piece kings who were stronger than him one by one, such as Yang Lu, Li Kuiqi, Zhong Bin and others. After that, Zheng Zhilong left the coast for some reason.

The pirates who used to make a living by plundering suddenly became leaderless, and Liu Xiang, who had been active at sea all the year round, became the only pirate who survived and had the ability to lead.Liu Xiang quickly absorbed the remnants and defeated bandits along the coast to harass the coast.

In the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632), Liu Xiang had become a pirate with more than 150 ships and more than [-] men, invading from Wenzhou, Zhejiang to Leizhou, Guangdong, and even shook Nanjing, the capital of Southern Zhili in the Ming Dynasty.

However, perhaps the most important intrusion was the one when Liu Xiang invaded Zheng Zhilong's hometown, Shijing Town.At that time, many members of the Zheng family were killed by Liu Xiang, and Zheng Zhilong also went to Liu Xiang's hometown to dig Liu Xiang's ancestral grave for revenge.As a result, the two sides forged a blood feud that could not be shared.

When Kang Yongzu heard this, the corners of his eyes twitched, and he sank all the captives into the sea. That was a bit immoral, but when he saw Liu Xiang who was a little angry, he didn't dare to say anything, but looked at the other person next to him in a subtle way. The man indicated.

"Xiang lao, we... where shall we go next?" The man next to him understood and intervened to ask.

"Where are you going?" Liu Xiang withdrew her gaze from the sea, and glanced at the confidantes standing in front of her, "Go to Zhangzhou, go to Xiamen!"

"Xiang! You can't do it..."

"Xiang, don't be impulsive..."

"Xiang..., stay away for a while!"

"..."

The next few people stopped them anxiously.

"Hahaha..." Liu Xiang couldn't help laughing angrily when she saw the terrified faces of her subordinates, "Wait, are you scared!?"

"Xiang, we, we are really afraid of that Zheng Yiguan!... We are now... not as good as others, so we will take refuge for a while. Waiting to recharge our energy and accumulate strength, we will definitely defeat Zheng Yiguan in one blow! "Zhang Yijie took a step forward and said in a deep voice.

"Xiang Lao, Brother Zhang is right!" Xia Zhimu echoed, "Our brothers have been with Xiang Lao for seven or eight years, and we have never been persuaded! ... Zhangxia is Zheng Yiguan's lair. It must be tight, we don’t have to go to the turtle’s shell hard!...Xiang Lao took us, as before, give him a chill, and slowly weaken their strength. When we have a lot of ships, more people , and find him a showdown!"

"..."

He, Liu Xiang, doesn't know how to recharge his energy and accumulate strength, but he is really not reconciled.Two years ago, in Liuluowan, with the support of the Dutch red-haired ghost, they still fled in a big defeat. They lost more than 50 ships and more than 2000 brothers. Even the Dutch red-haired ghost's Galen ship sank two ships Three ships were captured.This Zheng Yiguan, Zheng Zhilong is getting stronger and stronger, when will he be able to kill him, shred his flesh, eat his blood, and take revenge?
Liu Xiang shook her head. She was really weak at the moment. In an encounter at noon, although Zheng Zhilong's patrol boats were sunk, nearly 200 people were killed and more than a dozen people were captured, but three of them were also sunk. ship, seventy or eighty casualties.But the difference is that Zheng Zhilong has an official status in the imperial court and his back is on the mainland, so the speed of replenishment is far beyond his ability.

"Let's go to a market town and take some people and property away!...Then go to Batavia of the Red-haired Ghost (Netherlands) and buy more guns..., it is best to buy a few ships of the Red-haired Ghost Lun ship." Liu Xiang suppressed the unwillingness and depression in her heart, and said fiercely.

"Xiang Lao, I really need to buy some guns, especially the Hongyi cannon. It is very powerful to put it on the boat. Two years ago, Zheng Yiguan not only had a lot of boats, but also a big boat, and the guns were sharp. , We have really suffered... But, this Galen ship, is the red-haired ghost willing to sell it to us?" Zhang Yijie asked.

"Why don't you buy it?" Liu Xiang sneered, "Do you think the Dutch red-haired ghost would like Zheng Yiguan to continue to grow? The red-haired ghost is willing to pay the road money every time to go to and from Guangdong and Fujian?" As he spoke, he glanced Gathering a few subordinates, he continued, "Why did the red-haired ghosts come here? They are only seeking money and profit! They have always wanted to meddle in and monopolize the sea trade in Nanzhili, Fujian, and Guangdong. Hmph, they have been blocked by Zheng Yiguan. Just wait and see, the red-haired ghost will face Zheng Yiguan again sooner or later, maybe it will be our chance!"

After hearing this, everyone nodded their heads.Liu Xiang used to cooperate with Frangji before, and later got entangled with the Dutch red-haired ghost, and did a lot of things for them that Hongyi was inconvenient to show up.

"Where's Cao Xiong?" Liu Xiang looked at the crowd and asked suddenly.

"Old Cao is behind the fleet. One of his nephews encountered Zheng Yiguan's fleet at noon. When he jumped to join the ship, he seemed to have fallen into the sea and was hit by a wooden barrel... and was finally caught. I don't know what happened. That's it. I guess this will..." After Xia Zhimu finished speaking, he shook his head.

"Oh..." Liu Xiang's expression darkened for a moment, and then he cheered up again, "Ajie, look at how many brothers were injured, and then each of them will be given 20 taels of silver.... For those who are dead and have family members on board, send 50 taels of silver."

Zhang Yijie nodded in agreement, and at the same time subconsciously glanced at Kang Yongzu, whose arm was painted, a few traces of blood were faintly oozing from the hastily bandaged wound.

"Tomorrow, when we arrive on land, if the village is destroyed, Lao Kang will go in first!" Liu Xiang said with a smile.As a pirate, breaking the village on land and being the first to enter means that you can choose the loot first.

"Thank you, Xiang!" Kang Yongzu smiled and cupped his hands at Liu Xiang.

"Okay! You go back to your respective boats to restrain your subordinates. Let's walk along the coast first to see where there is a suitable place to land, so that the brothers can relax!" Liu Xiang waved his hand and said.

Everyone bid farewell one after another, and returned to their tribes in their respective boats.

"Xiang, let's walk along the coast, it's not safe. Fujian and Guangdong are all within the sphere of influence of Zheng Yiguan. Are we..." Just as Liu Xiang turned his gaze to the blue waves in the distance, behind him was a burly man. , said the man with a fierce face in a muffled voice.

"Hu San, we encountered Zheng Yiguan's patrol fleet in Zhangzhou at noon today. Tell me, as the deputy commander of Zhangxia, he has to come out to find me?" Liu Xiang said without turning his head.

"What if Zheng Yiguan came to block us directly in the outer sea of ​​Chaoshan?" The man called "Three Tigers" was Li Husan, who followed Liu Xiang when he was engaged in the promising career of piracy, and he was considered a loyal.

"He is an official, has the duty of guarding the defense, and there are accusations from scholars from all over the world, how dare Zheng Yiguan not come out to find me?" Liu Xiang turned to look at Li Husan, "Don't worry, we have arrived in Zhangpu, Find a remote place, go in and out quickly, so that no one will block you!"

Li Husan was silent when he heard the words.

At the rear of the fleet, a group of people were surrounding a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy on a bird boat about 20 meters long.

"Fourth, where are you hurt? Talk!...I'm so anxious!" A big man about 27 or [-] years old rubbed his hands and looked anxiously as he sat on the bed.

"Xiaotian, Xiaotian..." Another thick, bearded man also shouted, "Brother, look at this, didn't the fourth child get caught in the sea and become stupid?"

"Ah!" Another thin boy, about eighteen or nineteen years old, exclaimed, "No way. When the fourth child fell into the water, I looked like he was hit by a wooden barrel, but I quickly put He caught it!... Has he become a fool?"

"..."

"Why don't you, Qi Da, slap Lao Si! Let's see if you can regain your soul?" A man with a dark complexion and a bitter face sat on the wooden chair fixed on the boat opposite, and said solemnly.

Sitting on the wooden chair was one of the pirate leaders Liu Xiang called Cao Xiong, and the four young men inside were his nephews.

He was born in Dengzhou Navy, Shandong Province, and was coerced into it when Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming rebelled in Shandong in the fourth year of Chongzhen (1631).

Afterwards, the imperial court sent a large army to encircle and suppress them. Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming were defeated, and they led their troops across the sea by boat to Lushun (now part of Liaoning).The guard of the Ming Dynasty dispatched Huanglong to intercept him and forced him to retreat to Xiaoping Island (70 miles east of Lushun today).The rebel army was trapped in the waters near the island for half a month. Due to casualties, being captured and returning to the Ming army, thousands of people were lost.

Kong Youde sent Zhang Wenhuan to Gaizhou (today's Gai County) to ask for the gold.Under the support of the Jin army and the Korean army, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming led more than 1.2 troops to land in Zhenjiang (near Dandong today).Emperor Taiji of the Later Jin Dynasty sent Belzier Harang to welcome Kong Youde to Shengjing (now Shenyang), appointed him as the Marshal of the capital, and Geng Zhongming as the commander-in-chief.

Cao Xiong didn't want to invest money, so he led a dozen boats to the southeast, and first committed himself to a small island in the outer sea, making a living by plundering passing merchant ships.Chongzhen was recruited by Liu Xiang in 7 years and took refuge in Liu Xiang.

(End of this chapter)