Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 212 The Navy sets off for the expedition
As Zhu Tianqi spoke, he looked at the other four people: "Does anyone else have any different ideas?"

Qian Longxi and Sun Yuanhua both stood up and expressed no objection, while Lai Zongdao and Zhou Daodeng shook their heads.

Zhu Tianqi then nodded and said: "Very good, in this way, we can avenge the Japanese Rebellion of Imchen and relieve the hatred in the hearts of our soldiers and people of the Ming Dynasty!

After Toyotomi Hideyoshi of the Japanese country died of illness, the Japanese country withdrew its troops, and then did not even say anything to the Ming Dynasty. Although the Tokugawa Ieyasu who later came to power in the Japanese country knew some rules and wanted to fight with the Ming Dynasty. He tried to repair himself, but he really didn't show enough sincerity.

Firstly, they did not express their willingness to bear the losses caused by the Imjin Japanese Rebellion to the Ming Dynasty and North Korea. Secondly, they always submitted letters of credence and tribute gifts to the Ming Dynasty through North Korea or Ryukyu. How could the Ming Dynasty allow him to do this? mess?
Therefore, now that he dares to invade the vassal state of our Ming Dynasty again, our Ming Dynasty naturally cannot let him off lightly. This time it is considered a new and old debt to be settled together! "

When everyone heard this, they all knew that the emperor had made up his mind to go to war with the Japanese country, and they suddenly felt worried.

Only Cai Jin, who was kneeling aside, was overjoyed. He originally thought that asking for help from the Ming Dynasty was hopeless, but he didn't expect that the Ming Dynasty had already been holding back his bad breath towards the Japanese country. This time he really came to the rescue!
"Cai Jin!" Zhu Tianqi suddenly called out.

Cai Jin, who was secretly rejoicing, was startled and quickly kowtowed: "The foreign minister is here!"

Zhu Tianqi immediately said: "You have heard what I and all my dear friends just said. I will send a large army to help Ryukyu expel the Japanese pirates soon. You can go back and inform the King of Ryukyu of this!"

Cai Jin immediately made another great gift to Zhu Tianqi, and said with tears of gratitude: "Foreign ministers, on behalf of the monarchs, ministers and people of the Ryukyu Kingdom, thank the Emperor of Ming Dynasty for his kindness. I, Ryukyu, are willing to be the vassal vassal of the Ming Dynasty from generation to generation!"

Later, Zhu Tianqi explained to Xu Guangqi, and asked Xu Guangqi to write a letter of credence in reply to the King of Ryukyu, which stated the various conditions and obligations that he should accept as a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, and also let the King of Ryukyu know about it. , now it is not as simple as before to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.

At the same time, he also rewarded Ryukyu with some things as a return gift, and sent someone to send Cai Jin away.

Subsequently, Zhu Tianqi immediately drafted an imperial edict and asked Qian Longxi to send it to the Chief Envoy of Fujian Province, ordering Fujian Coastal Defense Chief Zheng Zhilong to lead his army to cooperate with Coastal Defense Governor Li Banghua to go to Jeju Island to encircle and suppress the rebel Mao Wenlong.

As soon as this order came out, Qian Longxi was also shocked. Didn't he say that he would help the Ryukyu Kingdom expel Japanese pirates?Why did you turn around and fight Mao Wenlong again?
After looking at the map, Qian Yongxi understood that Mao Wenlong was entrenched on Jeju Island. If the Ming Navy wanted to go to Ryukyu, it had to pass by the side of Jeju Island. With Mao Wenlong there, would it be safe?
So the emperor planned to get rid of Mao Wenlong first.

The imperial edict was sent to the Chief Envoy of Fujian. When Fujian Governor Xiong Wencan conveyed the edict to Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Zhilong was immediately overjoyed. After waiting for two or three months, he finally received the news that the imperial court was sending troops.

Since the last time Zheng Zhilong sent a fleet to destroy Mao Wenlong's small fleet that came out to rob, Mao Wenlong no longer sent out small fleets to rob, but directly acted with large forces.

Because Mao Wenlong quickly found out about Zheng Zhilong, he naturally also found out why Zheng Zhilong, the chief of the coastal defense force in Fujian, had such wide control and wanted to control the sea areas of Jeju Island and the Japanese country. It turned out to be because of the Nagasaki of the Japanese country. Zheng Zhilong's industry.

It was impossible for Mao Wenlong to lead his fleet to the Fujian Chief Envoy to find a place, so in order to retaliate against Zheng Zhilong, Mao Wenlong directly led his troops to carry out a large-scale robbery of Nagasaki.

But Nagasaki was under the direct jurisdiction of the Japanese shogunate. It was impossible for the shogunate to sit idly by when Nagasaki was robbed. However, even the shogunate and the troops stationed in Nagasaki were unable to stop the invasion of tens of thousands of people.

As the largest foreign trade port city of Japan, Nagasaki is naturally extremely rich. Mao Wenlong's invasion of Nagasaki and his plunder can be said to have been a fruitful harvest. However, in contrast, both Zheng Zhilong personally and the Japanese shogunate suffered a great loss. Loss.

This incident attracted great attention from the Japanese shogunate, which made the shogunate realize that unless Mao Wenlong was eliminated, Japan's foreign trade and coastal cities would never be peaceful.

Nagasaki and the surrounding coastal areas had been repeatedly invaded and plundered by Mo Wenlong's tribe before, but these were small fights by small groups. Although it caused a headache for the shogunate, it was not intolerable.

In addition, through Zheng Zhilong, the shogunate also learned the true identity of this sudden pirate group and the strength level of Mao Wenlong.

Generally speaking, if you want to defeat Mao Wenlong, you will have to mobilize most of the country's military forces to launch a full-scale war. To conduct such a large-scale military operation, it will have great impact on the actual situation of the current shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu and the shogunate. For Tokugawa Hidetada, the controller of the Imperial Palace, it was a difficult choice to make.

After experiencing the long Warring States Period, Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded North Korea twice. Nowadays, the number of Japanese people who can serve as fighting force has become less and less. They do not want to mobilize their troops unless they have to.

However, it turned out that it was no longer possible to fight without fighting. Mao Wenlong's looting behavior had become more and more excessive. The losses in Nagasaki this time were too heavy, and the shogunate had to make up its mind to send troops to attack Mao Wenlong.

At the same time, Zheng Zhilong also suspended a series of trade activities in Nagasaki. Compared with the economic losses he would suffer, Zheng Zhilong was more worried that Mao Wenlong would invade Japan and occupy his own territory, so he decisively chose to resolve the conflict. Transferred to the shogunate, they exaggerated Mao Wenlong's threat to the Japanese country in the hope that the shogunate would send troops to destroy it.

Because the imperial court could not hear a reply for a long time, Zheng Zhilong believed that there was little hope that the imperial court would send a navy to destroy Mao Wenlong. Xiong Wencan's memorial also failed to arrive, so he had no choice but to pin his hopes on the Japanese shogunate.

But now, the imperial court actually agreed to send the navy to Jeju Island to suppress the bandits. Zheng Zhilong couldn't care less about the Japanese people. He naturally accepted the imperial court's order happily and led the fleet to join the imperial navy and go together. Jeju Island went to encircle and suppress Mao Wenlong.

After all, in Zheng Zhilong's eyes, the Ming Dynasty's army was much stronger than the Japanese. Even if the Japanese shogunate was willing to send troops to attack Mao Wenlong, they might not be able to win.Half a month later, the court's navy and Zheng Zhilong's fleet joined forces in the sea to the east of Songjiang Prefecture. To Zheng Zhilong's great surprise, there were eight of the imperial navy's fleet, the kind that only Thais and Westerners possess. Big ship.

However, upon closer inspection, it seemed that it was different from the Thai warships. The imperial warship was actually equipped with two paddle wheels like large waterwheels on both sides, and there was a large chimney on the deck. Smoke, those who didn't know thought the ship was on fire?
After Zheng Zhilong met Li Banghua, he couldn't help but ask about these large ships. Li Banghua did not hide it and said bluntly: "These ships are from the Ming Dynasty's number one shipbuilder in Denglai Prefecture under the order of the emperor." It was built in the factory. Although they were originally imitations of the Galen and Karak ships of the Taishi people, the emperor later asked us to modify them, and that’s what you see now!”

Zheng Zhilong nodded slowly. He was really surprised. He thought that the imperial court bought these ships from the Taixi people, but he didn't expect that they were built by the imperial court's own shipyard. When did the Ming Dynasty's shipbuilding technology become so powerful?

Seeing his surprised look, Li Banghua raised his hand and pointed to one of the warships, and continued to explain to him: "These warships are called steam paddle steamers now. Have you seen that big chimney? That's not a kitchen down there, but It’s a steam engine!”

"Steam engine?" Zheng Zhilong looked at Li Banghua with a confused look.

Li Banghua smiled slightly, thinking of the scene when he had just seen the steam engine. He was equally surprised and puzzled, "This steam engine boils the water inside by burning coal, turning the water into steam, and then Things that use steam to do work instead of people, like this steam engine on the ship, it can drive the two large paddle wheels outside to rotate!"

Zheng Zhilong seemed to have heard a fantasy, and even wondered if Li Banghua was making fun of him. In short, the word "disbelief" was written all over his face.

But after all, Li Banghua was the Governor of Coastal Defense and his boss. Even if Zheng Zhilong didn't believe it, he didn't dare to say it openly. He just laughed dryly and said, "I'm really ignorant. This is the first time I've heard that the heat from boiling water can help people work." , let alone pushing such a large paddle wheel to rotate."

But Li Banghua was not surprised. After all, no one could believe such an "outrageous and absurd" thing until he saw the operation of the steam engine, the rotation of the paddle wheels, and the running of the ship with his own eyes. He was the same at that time.

Therefore, Li Banghua did not explain much, but invited Zheng Zhilong to board the ship and experience it for himself.

Then Zheng Zhilong watched helplessly as the soldiers kept adding coal to the boiler. The pressure of the steam engine increased and the piston began to move. The hull of the ship shook slightly, which made Zheng Zhilong realize that the ship was indeed moving.

But he still didn't believe that the reason why the ship moved was because of the steam engine, so he quickly ran to the deck and saw that all the sails of the entire ship were furled, and the large paddle wheels on both sides had begun to rotate. It also began to sail forward, and the speed became faster and faster.

Zheng Zhilong was dumbfounded. He had been dominating the sea for so many years and had never seen such a ship or such a strange thing. He felt that he had simply seen a ghost, or else he was daydreaming.

Li Banghua walked up behind Zheng Zhilong with a smile and said: "General Zheng, you don't have to be too surprised. In fact, my reaction was exactly the same as yours when I saw this thing for the first time. This kind of magical thing is really unbelievable. It's unbelievable.

However, the emperor is the real dragon emperor, so it is reasonable for him to invent such a magical weapon. You said that this boat does not need oars or sails. You just throw coals into the stove and boil water in the pot, and it can run. It is really strange. How strange! "

Zheng Zhilong had heard Li Banghua mention the emperor more than once today. The ship was also built by the emperor. Now this "steam engine" was also installed by the emperor. Is it possible that the emperor is really the real dragon emperor, or a god descended to earth?
Zheng Zhilong has never seen the emperor, so he can only make up his own mind. In the past, the emperor may have looked majestic in his eyes, but after all, he was only a young man in his twenties. However, now he has witnessed these big ships and this magical ship with his own eyes. After the steam engine, the image of the emperor in Zheng Zhilong's mind has become more mysterious.

Afterwards, Li Banghua showed Zheng Zhilong a tour of the entire warship. The new red cannons on both sides and the rotatable steel cannon on the front deck are all big killers. They are equipped with a wide variety of naval divisions of the Ming Dynasty and are powerful. The huge cannonball is enough to smash an enemy warship into pieces with one blow.

After this visit, Zheng Zhilong felt that the current steam paddle steamer of the imperial court could be said to be the most powerful warship he had ever seen in his life. It was more powerful than the Thai and Western warships he had seen. It couldn't help but have no firepower. Not inferior to the European and American warships, the important thing is that the Ming Dynasty warships are equipped with steam engines and can sail unimpeded on the sea regardless of wind direction and ocean currents. Who can compare with you?
The imperial court actually sent eight such giant warships at once, as well as thousands of other large and small ships. This is such a powerful fleet, why bother calling yourself over?Could it be that Mao Wenlong is that difficult to deal with?
Although Zheng Zhilong felt doubtful in his heart, he did not dare to ask rashly. After all, he, the local commander-in-chief, could not question the court's decision.

However, something even more strange happened. It has been several days since Zheng Zhilong joined forces with the Imperial Navy, but Li Banghua, the Governor of Coastal Defense of the Imperial Navy, never mentioned the matter of marching to Jeju Island. , discussing naval warfare tactics and strategy.

As a subordinate, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but urge him.

By the time he waited until the eighth day, Zheng Zhilong had already planned to ask Li Banghua about marching to Jeju Island to exterminate Mao Wenlong. However, before he could ask Li Banghua, he was suddenly shocked by the sound of several cannons coming from the east. woke up with a start.

When Zheng Zhilong heard the sound of cannons, he hurriedly dressed up and ordered his soldiers to prepare for battle. Then a messenger came to invite Zheng Zhilong to Li Banghua's handsome ship to discuss matters.

As soon as Zheng Zhilong came in, Li Banghua said: "Now the traitor Mao Wenlong dares to fire and provoke our army. This is intolerable. Today, our army will go to Jeju Island to wipe out the traitor Mao Wenlong in one fell swoop!"

All the generals in the room joined in and applauded, and Zheng Zhilong naturally followed the order with clasped fists.

Afterwards, Li Banghua began to arrange the attack, because Mao Wenlong had many ships, in order to prevent Mao Wenlong from escaping, he had to surround the entire Jeju Island and block off the waters around Jeju Island.

Then, Li Banghua asked Zheng Zhilong to serve as the vanguard to launch a frontal attack from the northwest of Jeju Island, and send another fleet from the southern waters of Jeju Island to the east side of Jeju Island to block Mao Wenlong's eastward escape route. Li Banghua personally He led the main force of the Ming army to march from the southwest side of Jeju Island and completed the siege of Jeju Island.

(End of this chapter)