The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Chapter 287 Nationalist Enlightenment Period

Shen Yourong said angrily: "The Japanese pirates plundered the people of Fujian Province. Don't you know that if you work as a tiger, you are not afraid of God's retribution?"

In the distance, Chen Haizhu laughed loudly and answered naturally: "Now that I am an immigrant, I am not from Fujian. What does the life of other Fujian people have to do with me?"

Shen Yourong was furious. At this time, his soldiers had already loaded a round of medicine. Shen Yourong drew his sword and pointed it in the direction of Master Chen Hai and the Japanese pirates: "Fire the gun!"

The musketeers in the camp fired in a row, and the people on the high platform who were hit immediately ran away with their heads in their arms. However, the amount of gunpowder brought to the shore by the officers and soldiers was not much. It was difficult to load in the dark night. After a few rounds, the subsequent gunfire became more and more loud. The sparser.

Shen Yourong's eyes burned, knowing that the longer he was surrounded, the more dangerous he would become, so he ordered: "Form up and charge up!"

Although the immigrants have received certain military training, they are no match for the official army. Even if they were initially encouraged to assemble, they were quickly dispersed by the official army. The official army chased and killed them all the way, and eventually came to the immigration point to provoke the Japanese pirates. All of Chen Haizhu's men were killed. Chen Haizhu was also shot to death while escaping. Bodies were scattered all over the forest.

By daybreak, only more than 70 immigrants survived in the village where there were originally more than 300 immigrants, and the official army also lost more than 80 people.

The most fatal thing for the Ming army was the damage to the ships.

Last night's sneak attack initially targeted the Ming army ships in the port. Only three of the fourteen ships that originally crossed the sea left the port in time and were preserved intact; seven of the other eleven ships had their masts and other important parts burned, or were damaged. A large hole was made, which is impossible to repair under the conditions of this place; four other ships had their masts and sails damaged. If they were in Fujian, they could still find a way to tow them into the dock for repairs, but there was no way for these ships to survive on Damuan Island. In order to prevent ships from being used by Japanese pirates in the strait, they could only be scuttled.

With only three sea ships left, Shen Yourong could no longer attack the Japanese pirates' port, because the Japanese pirates could easily escape in small boats.

Xu Xueju said nothing, took a charcoal and pressed it on the smoke pot, and puffed away the smoke.

In the past two years, with the increase in the number of immigrants, malaria has become more prevalent. In the absence of medical care and medicine, many new immigrants on the island of Taiwan have habitually planted tobacco beside their fields, thinking that smoking can prevent malaria. , in fact the effect is not obvious, it is more used to dispel the sadness and emptiness of leaving home to open up wasteland.

At this time, if foreign trade was carried out according to the government's quota of ship imports, most of the factories and people in Fujian doing export business would starve to death. Smuggling was the norm, and it could even make Fujian people rich, which was probably a good thing.

Before Wang Wenlong could answer, Xu Xueju said distressedly: "It was me who was reckless at the beginning. Although I got Jianyang's advice, I didn't strictly order Shen Shihong to implement it, which led to this disaster."

Wang Wenlong said: "The Japanese pirates on Dayuan Island must be surrendered, and they must be paid quickly."

The most embarrassing ones are the Trinity Church and the Sea Lords who dominate the immigration.

Xu Xueju was heartbroken. He lost more than two hundred soldiers and a dozen ships in the first battle. It didn't sound like a terrible figure, but he knew that the cost before and after this sea-crossing expedition was extremely huge.

There are more and more common people smoking, and people in the upper class are gradually catching up with this habit. Xu Xueju was just curious to try it out at first, but gradually he became addicted to cigarettes. In the past two days, he was feeling depressed, and he smoked more and more cigarettes.

The tobacco of this era probably had some processing problems and was difficult to light. Therefore, the method of smoking at this time was different from that of later generations. When smoking, you had to use paper media or charcoal to burn it.

Xu Xueju was sitting in front of the study, holding a smoking pot and burning it.

Newspapers in Fujian reported on this incident one after another, and Fujian officials also took action to impeach Xu Xueju for improper command and Shen Yourong for taking credit for taking bribes.

Xu Xueju and Shen Yourong had been preparing for a whole year in order to defeat the Japanese pirates in the 30th year of Wanli. The early battles were fought extremely beautifully, but the last step of the sea-crossing expedition was a huge defeat. The resources consumed were far from a dozen ships. The number of ships can be described, and it is very difficult to organize such a battle.

The matter could not be concealed at all. When the defeat was spread, Fujian was in an uproar. Especially after immigrating to Dayuan, he actually defected to the Japanese pirates and became traitors to attack the Ming army. This was simply unimaginable in Fujian, where the people generally hated the Japanese pirates.

But since the news spread, the major forces supporting the immigration to Da Yuan Island instantly changed from the savior in the hearts of the Fujian people to the prepared traitors. Their reputation was damaged, and they were also guarded by the government. Everyone in the Trinity Church and others cried out in their hearts that they were unlucky.

In the twelfth lunar month of the 30th year of Wanli, Shen Yourong returned with his remaining troops. In this battle, eighteen ships and more than 200 soldiers were lost, and they returned without success.

Smuggling is not a problem for big forces.

After a long time, he asked Wang Wenlong: "What does Jianyang think should be done about this matter?"

As for smuggling and tax evasion - in the Ming Dynasty, there were many people who paid taxes but did not pay taxes. They could give enough money and face, but the government basically turned a blind eye.

Many powerful immigrants relied on the geographical advantages of Taiwan Island to engage in smuggling trade, but not everyone opposed the Fujian government. Some small smuggler forces, such as the rebellious Chen Haizhu, did rely on the Japanese pirates to survive, and even tried to stop them. The Ming army drove away the Japanese pirates and took desperate measures, but the large immigration force would not resist the arrival of the Ming army.

"Do you need to be faster?" Xu Xueju asked back, confused before Wang Wenlong said not to underestimate the enemy and rush forward, but now he urged him so.

Wang Wenlong analyzed: "There was an accidental factor in this incident. If it hadn't happened that the immigrants in the settlement had already defected to the Japanese pirates, General Shen would have returned with a great victory. The damage to the officers and soldiers this time was simply due to the damage to the ship. It's just that the port cannot be attacked.

Either prepare gunboats, or organize other large ships, and use French cannons. Most of the time, the Japanese pirates in the port can be defeated, so there is no need to worry too much.

Judging from the recent situation at sea, the Dutch must have ambitions of expansion. If we cannot remove the senior officials and let the Dutch see the opportunity, they will definitely reach out and get involved, and then the enemy will be stronger. "The Dutch want to come?" "Xu Xueju was surprised, "How can it be so fast? "

Wang Wenlong nodded solemnly.

Xu Xueju thought for a long time and made up his mind: "I will try my best not to fight this fight. I will go find Shen Shihong right now!"

Shen Yourong's failure in destroying the Japanese pirates this time has brought many negative effects to Xu Xueju. He needs to be bold if he can make up his mind to go to sea again.

Wang Wenlong only found it ironic that Fujian criticized Shen Yourong at this time.

Because he knew that in the original history, Shen Yourong destroyed the Japanese pirate village in Anping Port, burned and sank six enemy ships, rescued more than 300 men and women who were kidnapped by the Japanese pirates, and completely drove the Japanese forces out of Taiwan. However, the reward Shen Yourong received was only silver. A few dozen taels, but no one in the court thought it was a big deal.

But in the current timeline, Shen Yourong lost this battle and was instantly considered a huge shame by everyone in the court.

What surprised Wang Wenlong even more was the battle report he saw brought back by Shen Yourong.

Wang Wenlong had guessed that some immigrants on Taiyuan Island would collude with Japanese pirates for their own benefit, but he did not expect that it would go to such an extent.

According to Shen Yourong's battle report, on the night when the camp was stolen, four ships actually left the port in time. However, one of them ran aground on the rocks because of unclear water channels in the dark night. A small sampan from the immigration point caught up with the ship. , the immigrants did not dare to join the gang to fight, so they first set fire to the boat, and then killed all the officers and soldiers who jumped into the water, leaving no one alive. The methods used were extremely cruel.

Even Shen Yourong and others boarded the ship at dawn and found that the immigrants had cut off the heads of the officers and soldiers and put them together. This was naturally to ask for rewards from the Japanese pirates.

Shen Yourong and Xu Xueju did not publicize these situations. If they were told, it would definitely shock the people of Fujian and make the impact of this matter even greater.

Xu Xueju went to Shen Yourong to discuss sending troops again, while Wang Wenlong returned to Guanyi with many worries.

This incident had a great psychological shock on Wang Wenlong, not because this incident was inconsistent with history, but because of the Ming Dynasty people's thoughts reflected in this incident.

In Fujian, the common people share the same hatred towards the Japanese pirates. This is the recognition accumulated through years of blood debt. When they hear that someone has become a traitor, even the villagers in the countryside despise them.

But at the same time, the people who immigrated to the high officials felt that they could easily betray the Ming Dynasty because of their interests.

Wang Wenlong knew that this was the collision between the original nationalist ideas and self-interest.

Since the Age of Discovery, as exchanges between various regions of the world have become more and more frequent, civilizations have not become more integrated, but more and more people have discovered that they are different from others. In the fierce struggle, various nations and civilizations have begun to Hug together to keep warm.

The place that first entered the Age of Discovery was also the place where nation-states first appeared.

Now is the time when the world's first nationalists are rising.

Wang Wenlong suddenly realized that for the Ming Dynasty at this time, whether it was facing the Age of Discovery or the entry of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, if a group of people could arouse a sense of Chinese national identity as early as possible, the things that could be changed would be endless.

Wang Wenlong returned to the library and spread out the manuscript paper.

Li Guoxian came in with a newspaper. She originally didn't want to disturb Wang Wenlong's writing, but after taking a look at the title Wang Wenlong wrote on the paper, she asked in surprise: "My husband is writing a book again?"

Wang Wenlong nodded, crossed out the later title "Imaginary Communities" on the manuscript paper, and changed it to a name that people in the Ming Dynasty could better understand - "Nation and State".

……

In Fuqing, Li Jin placed a thick piece of information in front of Pan Xiu.

Pan Xiu asked curiously: "Is this an instruction from the new guy in the company?"

Li Jin said: "This is the map and the relevant information behind the names you found last time."

"So many?" Pan Xiu looked surprised.

Li Jin nodded seriously: "These materials are very complicated. Wang Wenlong's words were far from being copied casually. The title on this paper is not a place name. It is called The Odyssey. It is a work by a European during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. .The names he copied were all the names of European scholars at that time..."

(End of this chapter)