Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 139 Zheng Zhilong, a man of justice

"Seriously? This old guy won't lie to us, right?" Zheng Zhipeng was immediately happy when he heard that there was an insider in Xiamen City.

"I don't think so. You must know that the person who hates Xu Laosan most in the world is not me, Zheng, but the shopkeeper Huang Da from Zhangzhou." Zheng Zhilong's tone was calm, and there was still a vague expression on his face. A faint smile.

"That's right, that's right... Shopkeeper Huang's foundation in Fujian's officialdom is very important. It would be very easy for him to instigate the defenders in Xiamen City."

Zheng Zhipeng saw that Zheng Zhilong didn't look very happy on his face, so he asked again: "What else did Shopkeeper Huang say in his letter?"

"It's nothing. He just reminded me that Xu Laosan already knew the time of our march and that we were going to attack Xiamen City." Zheng Zhilong's tone was still indifferent, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

"Is there a mole?" Zheng Zhipeng asked in surprise.

"Don't you think so?" Zheng Zhilong looked at his clan brother in amusement, "What we took over was the old captain's old department, and Xu Laosan was the person whom the old captain trusted most during his lifetime, not to mention that there was Li Yiguan here. "

"So, you already knew there was a mole, but did you find out who it was?"

"No, I didn't check. The mole also has its uses. I don't need to know who the mole is, I just need to know who the mole isn't."

Zheng Zhilong said, "Go and inform Uncle Chen, Uncle Yang, Wulao and Zhiwan to come to my study early tomorrow morning to discuss the march."

The Chen Bo and Yang Bo that Zheng Zhilong mentioned were Chen Zhongji and Yang Tiansheng. They were both Li Dan's old brothers, but later they participated in Zheng Zhilong's conspiracy to seize power.

Zeng Wulao was Yan Siqi's powerful general, and now he is Zheng Zhilong's confidant.

As for Zhi Wan, he was Zheng Zhipeng's younger brother. Since Zheng Zhihu's death, these two brothers were the only clan members Zheng Zhilong could use.In addition to Zheng Zhihu, he also has three younger brothers, among whom the third brother Zhilin died young, the fourth brother Zhifeng and the fifth brother Zhibao are still underage.

When later generations talk about the backbone of Zheng Zhilong's rebellion at the beginning, there is often the theory of the so-called sworn brothers, the Eighteen Zhizhi. In fact, this is all nonsense, just like Yan Siqi's desire to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate. They are both from an article in the Qing Dynasty. novel.

Zheng Zhipeng heard that these people mentioned by his clan brother were the most reliable confidants, and he immediately understood why he said that moles also played the role of moles.

As early as a month ago, Zheng Zhilong convened a meeting in Yingang with the gang's elders, confidants, and powerful factions such as Li Kuiqi, Zhong Bin, and Liu Xiang. At the meeting, he proposed the goal of attacking Xiamen City and killing Xu Xinsu. .

The reason is, of course, that Xu Xinsu refused to carry out Li Dan's last orders and slandered him for murdering the old captain. As the new leader, he, Zheng, must lead the brothers to clean up the family.

As a result, Li Kuiqi, Zhong Bin, and Liu Xiang all said that I should go first and we should stay in Dongfan. So Zheng Zhilong immediately picked an auspicious day and announced that he would personally lead his headquarters to attack Xiamen City on March 28.

Now it seems that this is just a smoke screen to confuse Xu Xinsu.

"Okay, I will inform them later." Zheng Zhipeng said and asked, "First officer, do you want to attack the Zhongzuo Institute in advance?"

"Hit the Zhongzuo Suo? Why should I hit the Zhongzuo Suo? The Zhongzuo Suo is an important place for coastal defense. The city of Xiamen is high and deep, and there are many troops stationed in it. It's just wishful thinking for our seamen to try to take it down. .”

Seeing that the clan brother was puzzled, Zheng Zhilong continued to explain: "When the old captain was still there, Li Kuiqi and the others clamored to go to Fujian to plunder every day. If I didn't talk about attacking Xiamen City, how could I get the opportunity to march alone? "

"I see..." Zheng Zhipeng suddenly realized, "Do you want to build your prestige through this battle?"

"This is just one of them. More importantly, I'm afraid that Li Kuiqi and the others will not obey the restraints and they will go too far." Zheng Zhilong took a deep look at his clan brothers and said, "Don't forget, our final The goal is to recruit people.”

Zheng Zhipeng nodded, and then said: "But now that there is an internal agent in Xiamen City, why don't we make the mistake right and simply march into Zhongzuo Suo and kill that Xu Laosan."

Zheng Zhilong said: "Let's talk about it then. In fact, it's good that Xu Laosan is alive. If he dies, that old thief Huang Mingzuo might turn his back on him."

Zheng Zhipeng was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses. He couldn't help but admire how thoughtful his clan brother was. "The dragon is wise and the tiger is brave" was really not just a rumor. It was a pity that Zheng Zhihu had died in Haojing.

Three days later, on March 21, Zheng Zhilong selected [-] strong men from his own troops, drove [-] large ships and left Jingang to the west. After passing Penghu, he suddenly turned southwest and went straight to Zhenhaiwei Liuao Qianhu Station. And go.

Liu'ao's banner troops had long been bribed by Zheng Zhilong. That night, they opened the city gate and let in Zheng Zhilong's troops. Zheng Zhilong personally led his troops into the Qianhu Yamen Office and captured Qianhu, the chief official of Liu'ao. They were all captured by Zheng Zhilong's generals.

Early the next morning, Zheng Zhilong erected the banner of "Practice for Heaven" on the school grounds of Liu'ao Institute, took Qianhu, the palm print, to the school grounds and beheaded him in public, and ordered the remaining military attachés of Liu'ao Institute to repay their lives with water.

The so-called reporting of water is a slang term among sea pirates in this era, which roughly means it is equivalent to paying protection fees in future generations.

The military attachés from Liuaosuo usually invaded and oppressed military households in Qianhusuo. When those military households saw someone coming to do justice for heaven, they immediately rushed to tell each other, and the entire Qianhusuo was immersed in a sea of ​​joy. middle.

Zheng Zhilong then left Chen Zhongji and Yang Tiansheng in charge of recruiting troops among the military households in Liu'ao.He assigned 800 people to these two gang elders. On the one hand, they were responsible for recruiting troops, on the other hand, they were also responsible for guarding the ship, and at the same time, they were also responsible for reconnaissance of the enemy at sea.

From Liu'ao Station to the south, there is the Tongshan Station where the deputy general of the Fujian South Road Army is stationed, and to the north there is the Yongning Guard Zhongzuo Station where the Quannan guerrillas are stationed. Both of these places may send troops to suppress it. The possibility of taking the sea route is biggest.

After leaving 800 people at Liu'ao, a coastal defense stronghold in Zhangpu County, Zheng Zhilong personally led the remaining 200 people to kill the cities, towns and villages along the coast of Zhangpu County.

Before setting off for the expedition, Zheng Zhilong summoned the military leaders at the Liu'ao campus and reiterated military discipline: no women were allowed to be raped and humiliated, and private houses were not allowed to be burned.

At the same time, Zheng Zhilong also made a list of gentry who were not allowed to intrude, saying that these were virtuous families with good deeds. If there was any infringement, not only would God not tolerate it, but he, Zheng, would also kill him without mercy.

Just like Lin Hai did in Tamsui, Zheng Zhilong also beheaded his subordinates who violated military discipline at Liu'ao, and then placed them with the silver reward to stimulate their senses.

In just five days, all the towns and villages along the coast of Zhangpu County were plundered by Zheng Zhilong. However, his men were much more restrained than ordinary pirates. They mainly targeted small landowners and wealthy businessmen, and targeted rural eunuchs. The gentry sent troops to protect them in advance.

On this day, Zheng Zhilong came to the door of the Qiu Family Courtyard in Duxun Town, Zhangpu County, and wrote a famous post signed "Zheng Zhilong, the Attendant" and had it handed in.After a while, Qiu Maowei, the owner of the courtyard and the military commander of the Wanli Dynasty, came out of the door.

"Are you the leader of the thieves?" Qiu Maowei, who was over fifty at the time, stared at Zheng Zhilong coldly.

"Junior Zheng Zhilong, pay homage to Mr. Qiu." Zheng Zhilong bowed to Qiu Maowei.

"You are a pirate, but you dare to call me a disciple. You really don't know what you mean." Qiu Maowei raised his nostrils to the sky, "Tell me what? What do you want from me?"

Zheng Zhilong said: "I have no choice but to live on the sea. This time I raise the army to kill those who are rich and unkind, as well as those evil officials who abuse the people of Qianhu in Liuaosuo. They dare not intrude on good people... "

"Stop talking nonsense and let it go!" Qiu Maowei still had a condescending tone.

Zheng Zhilong's face did not change and he said: "This junior has long wanted to submit to the imperial court and serve the emperor. I hope that the old gentleman will succeed."

"Have you finished farting?" Qiu Maowei pointed at Zheng Zhilong's nose and yelled, "A pirate is still trying to recruit people, why not soak him in urine and see if he is the material?"

When Zheng Zhilong heard this, he couldn't help it anymore. His delicate face turned red from suppressing it. Qiu Maowei said proudly: "Kill if you want. I'm just going to die today. If you don't kill me today, I will." Organize and train the local soldiers, and one day we will capture your dog’s head!”

Zheng Zhilong was about to suffer from internal injuries at this time, and he was trying not to get angry. At this time, Zheng Zhipeng beside him pulled out his knife with a clang, pointed at Qiu Maowei and said: "You are really tired of living..."

This time, Zheng Zhilong was awakened. He stretched out his hand to hold his clan brother, and still greeted Qiu Maowei and said, "Mr. Zheng is from a family that has accumulated good deeds. Zheng's trip is to do justice for heaven, and he will not intrude." From your house. Since the old gentleman is unwilling to help, I, the junior, will just say goodbye."

Qiu Maowei sneered and turned around to enter the house.

"Let's go to the next house." Zheng Zhilong said to Zheng Zhipeng with a livid face.

"First officer, this blind old man is really rude. If I don't kill him, it's really hard to understand the hatred in my heart." Zheng Zhipeng reluctantly followed behind his clan brother, cursing.

"To achieve great things, you need to be calm. If you are impatient, you will mess up your plans." Zheng Zhilong turned back to his clan brother and said, "I don't believe that the officials listed on the list are all such hard-core people. Why should we hang ourselves on this tree?" ."

Zheng Zhipeng was still puzzled and said: "Since this old guy named Qiu is unwilling to help us recruit him, then why should we keep him? Why not kill him with a knife and let the brothers go in and grab all they can. His beautiful woman in gold and silk must be A lot of."

"No!" Zheng Zhilong shook his head categorically, "Just remember, you can kill wealthy businessmen, you can kill military generals, and you can even kill those humble civil servants, but you must not kill these country officials and gentry!"

Zheng Zhipeng was stunned when he heard this: "But if that's the case, I'm afraid these birdmen know that we don't dare to do anything to them. Then who will help us with the recruitment matter?"

"Don't worry, there will always be something. If not, we will continue to plunder along the coast and recruit troops at the same time, until all along the coast of Fujian, the fields are abandoned and all industries are withered..."

Zheng Zhilong saw that his clan brother was still puzzled, so he went on to explain: "These gentry have many properties, shops and other properties in the countryside. As long as we continue to intrude, some of these rural eunuchs will naturally become restless. And as long as the officers and soldiers of the imperial court are there, After my men are defeated for a few battles, they will soon understand that there is only one way left..."

Zheng Zhipeng's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Recruit!"

"That's right." Zheng Zhilong patted his clan brother's shoulder, his eyes bright.

~~~
On March 27, the news that the pirate Zheng Zhilong captured Liu'ao, killed thousands of households, and looted the coast of Zhangpu County spread throughout Zhangzhou Prefecture. Countless letters of greetings from the coastal gentry were sent to all levels of government offices like snowflakes. Fly to Zhengyinguan's house.

Fujian Haiphong Road personally came to Zhongzuosuo City and ordered Quannan guerrilla Chen Qiwei to lead his troops to suppress it.

Zhangpu County was originally the trust area of ​​the Deputy General of the Fujian South Road and was not under the control of the Quannan guerrillas. However, Longxi County in Zhangzhou, where the Haiphong Road was located, was closer to the Zhongzuo Station where the Quannan guerrillas were located, so it broke the general rule.

Chen Qiwei did not refuse and immediately agreed, boasting that he would kill Zheng Zhilong in Haikou within ten days.

This person has been a general in Fujian for many years. In May of the third year of Tianqi, he was transferred from the Fujian Middle Road Guerrilla to the Quannan Guerrilla. In addition to the troops of the main battalion, he also commanded the Wuyu Water Village and the Wutong Rangers. Among them, the Chutong Rangers were also stationed in Xiamen City.

Counting the Wutong guerrillas and the more than 2000 troops of Yang Lu and Yang Ce, who currently have no battalion number, there are about [-] troops under Chen Qiwei's command in Xiamen City. This does not include Minzhuang, nor does Including the Zhongzuo Banner Army that was not transferred to the garrison system.

Chen Qiwei left the Waotong Rangers and General Fang Xianke to take charge of defending the city, and led his troops and horses from Yang Lu and Yang Ce's troops to Zhangpu to suppress Zheng Zhilong.

Lin Hai, Wu Guoyi, and Zhou Yifa stood at the top of Xiamen City to watch Chen Qiwei lead his troops on the expedition. They saw this man riding on a tall horse, wearing a majestic Zhajia. The elders bowed their hands in greeting.

He was surrounded by dozens of servants in front and behind him, all of whom were riding horses and wearing armor. They all seemed to be swift and brave men.

Except for the 800 men of Yang Lu and Yang Ce, most of the rest of the army were good-looking, but they were obviously trained. During the march, every move was marked by a golden drum flag.

Yang Lu and Yang Ce's group looked tougher, but they were not trained in flags and drums, and were arranged by Chen Qiwei to follow them, which did not affect the march of the entire team.

"Guoyi, do you think Chen Guoyi can win this battle?" Lin Hai asked Wu Guoyi and Yifa.

"You should be able to win against ordinary pirates, but it's hard to say against Zheng thieves." Zhou Yifa heard Lin Hai say many times that Zheng Zhilong should not be underestimated, so he did not dare to speak too highly, but in his heart he was leaning toward the imperial court. Officers and soldiers can win.

"It's hard to say." Wu Guoyi shook his head, "My subordinates think that we are going to lose [-]% of the time."

"Oh? Why is this?" Lin Hai asked Wu Guoyi.

"Arrogant soldiers will be defeated." Wu Guoyi spat out four words from his mouth, and then said, "Besides, there are actually very few people under Chen Guoyi who can really fight. If they can win, then the subordinates can only say that you are really honest." You think too highly of Zheng Zhilong."

(End of this chapter)