Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 189: His Majesty seems to be smiling, life and death are unpredictable!

ps: Some of the content in the previous chapter was reviewed for a long time and revised several times. I can only do this to this extent. Please forgive me.

……

The Ming Dynasty was in full swing, and as had happened in history, a major event occurred in the south of the Ming Dynasty.

British ships entered the Humen waters of Guangdong in the Ming Dynasty and stopped at Yanniangxie Bay (now Weiyuan Island).

The leading captain was named John Weddell. He wore a leather bicorne hat, a high-collared tight-fitting uniform, tight breeches, and shiny black high leather boots, looking extremely arrogant.

The sailors under him were also equipped with sabers and muskets, wearing white gloves, and stood very straight.

Strictly speaking, this was not a true official British army, but just the Curtin Society formed by British businessman William Curtin and a group of other businessmen. It was not even the British East India Company.

There were only more than 100 people and 6 warships.

But even so, they still looked down at the ancient empire in front of them with infinite hope and desire in their hearts.

The four large ships commanded by John Weddell were: Dragon, Sun, Catherine, Planter, and two small boats: Anne and Discovery.

Peter Mundi on the planter shouted to Wilder: "Sir, ahead is Humen, our destination this time."

Peter Mundy is a businessman and traveler, and this time he came here specifically to explore the possibility of establishing trade with China.

But unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty's national policy of banning sea trade made it a bit difficult for them, but they still didn't want to give up.

They traveled across the ocean just to obtain trade tickets with the Ming Dynasty.

As far as they knew, Portugal had long leased Macau from the Ming Dynasty and had a large amount of foreign trade with the Ming Dynasty. Seeing such huge wealth, the British naturally did not want to give up.

Not only Portugal and Britain, but also the Netherlands, were eyeing the Ming Dynasty.

Take the UK as an example. Although there are silk fabrics locally, the upper class is still proud to own a piece of silk fabric from the Ming Dynasty. As long as it is shipped back from the Ming Dynasty, its value will increase by dozens or even hundreds of times.

In addition, the profits from tea and porcelain are also extremely considerable.

At this time, Macau was already occupied by Portugal. After much deliberation, they set their sights on Humen.

British ships entered Humen from August 8th and were shouted away by Ming officials and soldiers. This lasted for four days. On August 12th, General Chen Qian ordered the Ming army at the Yanniangxie Fort to bombard Weddell's fleet.

However, the Ming naval guns were more powerful than the land guns. In less than an hour, the Ming army only hit a small sampan and killed and injured several British sailors, while the Ming side suffered heavy casualties and was defeated by the British fleet's counterattack.

Afterwards, Weddell sent sailors to rush into the fort, remove the Ming Dynasty’s military flag, and raise the British flag and the king’s flag.

In addition, they robbed the Ming Dynasty of 44 cannons and burned dozens of villages along the Pearl River.

The Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Zhang Jingxin, originally wanted to cover it up, but the Governor of Guangxi, Zheng Maohua, and the Deputy Envoy of Guangdong Sea Route, Zheng Jinguang, jointly submitted a memorial to report the matter to the court.

At the same time, the Ming Dynasty's Jinyiwei reported the matter to the emperor.

Zhu Changgan was furious after hearing this, "Idiot, the other side only had more than a hundred people, and they were beaten like this?"

History books record that the Ming Dynasty defeated Britain and the British paid 2800 taels of silver as compensation.

That's all nonsense.

This is indeed the case. If the Ming Dynasty had won the war, why would the British ships linger in Humen from August to November and only pay 8 taels of silver in compensation?

The reason was that the Ming army performed too poorly. During the entire conflict, the Ming Dynasty was suppressed and beaten.

In the unfinished manuscript of Zhang Jingxin, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi:

"The red barbarians set sail and tried to enter the province, but the soldiers at the gun tower fired their guns to block their way, killing several of them. The barbarians then moored back to Nanwan."

"On August 12, the barbarian ships hoisted their sails and went straight into the gun tower. The soldiers set up a blockade to defend against them. From Chen to Wei, the barbarian ships dared not go straight in and returned to their original places."

"First, we failed in the gun tower, and then we made a mistake in lighting the fire. I am afraid that if the Wenwen plan is shaken, the disaster will become more serious, and the gates will be barren, and the people will be horrified..."

What he meant was that the first battle failed, and the second fire attack failed again, and the gun platform (artillery position) was lost.

Immediately afterwards, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi and the General of Guangzhou sent translator Paul Noredi (Chinese name Li Yerong) to negotiate and request the British to return the cannons and supplies looted in Yanniangxie.

But the British demanded that the Ming Dynasty grant the Portuguese the same trading rights.

At this time, Zheng Maohua, the governor of Guangxi who was in charge of the military affairs of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Zheng Jinguang, the deputy envoy of the sea route, put pressure on Chen Qian, the general of Guangzhou, and asked Chen Qian to drive away the "red-haired barbarians".

But at this time Paul was already helping the British and bribing Chen Qian heavily.

Chen Qian, the general of Guangzhou, acquiesced to the British trade activities in Guangzhou, that is, they could obtain trading rights by paying taxes.

As a result, the British ships stayed in the Ming Dynasty's waters and showed no intention of returning.

……

When the news reached the capital, there was an uproar in the court.

Zhu Changgan angrily asked the Jinyiwei: "What is the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Zhang Jingxin, doing?"

"Your Majesty, are they negotiating with the British?"

"Negotiation? What are we talking about now? Fight back fiercely." Zhu Changgan angrily scolded: "If you want to trade with the Ming Dynasty, we can talk, but attacking the Ming Dynasty's coastal defense like this is a declaration of war."

After his anger, Zhu Changgan realized the urgency of building the Ming Dynasty's navy.

He suddenly felt somewhat fortunate that this was 1637 and Britain and the Ming Dynasty had only had brief contact.

One hundred people were able to reach the land and seize the Ming Dynasty’s artillery positions. What if it was the East India Company’s 20,000 people?

Otherwise, it would not just be the Opium War that comes ahead.

There is also a possibility that Britain would establish a colony similar to India in Ming Dynasty.

This is not an exaggeration. In 1600, the British established the India Company, gradually built strongholds along the coast of India, and eventually occupied India completely.

Fortunately, in three years, that is, in 1640, a revolution would break out in Britain, making it impossible to launch further plans against the Ming Dynasty, but Zhu Changgan still felt a sense of urgency.

"Where is Zheng Hongkui now?"

Wang Chengen quickly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Zheng has already rushed to Tianjin to take up his post."

Although the navy was built this time, the place for navy training was chosen to be Tianjin. On the one hand, it was close to the capital and had five major camps, so it was very safe.

On the other hand, it is adjacent to Tongzhou, which provides convenient food and logistics.
"How many people have you recruited? How many ships do you have now?"

Yang Sichang stepped forward and replied: "We have recruited 3,000 people, but only 12 ships."

"Not enough, far from enough!" Zhu Changgan thought for a moment, "I will give you another 50 taels. Before the end of the year, I want to see the navy take shape."

"This... everything else is easy, but this ship..." Yang Sichang looked embarrassed.

Although Zheng Zhilong promised to provide ships, such a long time had passed and they were still not in place. Naturally, all the civil and military officials in the court knew that there was a problem.

"Don't worry, we will have the ships..." Zhu Changgan's eyes flashed coldly, and he issued an order: "For this battle, let Zheng Zhilong go to attack the 'Red Haired Barbarians'. I want to see if he dares to disobey my order."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The Jinyiwei received the order, saluted and left.

All the civil and military officials in the court had solemn faces and different expressions.

After the emperor left, they began to whisper to each other.

"Can Zheng Zhilong go?"

"Who says it's not true? His Majesty asked him to send a hundred warships, but he couldn't do it. Now he wants them to personally participate in the war. How is this possible?"

An imperial censor from Zhejiang could not help but sigh, "Hey, have you heard about the tragic incidents in Huguang, Jiangsu and Zhejiang?"

"Of course I heard about it, but..." An official whose ancestral home was in Huguang said halfway, then swallowed the second half and looked at the Jinyiwei and eunuchs outside.

"Your Majesty is no longer the same person as before. We should be more cautious." "But we have no choice but to do it!"

Liu Zongzhou also stood up and responded at this moment.

Huang Daozhou and others followed closely, saying, "This is a matter of life and death for us, we can no longer stand idly by."

As the trend spread throughout Jiangnan, the civil servants in the court all gathered together and began to plan for their own interests.

The Kun, Qi, Zhejiang, Chu, Xuan, and Donglin parties, which had been fighting each other before... all put aside their grudges and became united as one.

……

After the morning court session, Zhu Changgan came to the Armory.

"Your Majesty, you are here."

Wang Hui and the others hurriedly saluted the emperor, and Zhu Changgan asked them to stand up. "How is the Manila galleon that I asked you to improve?"

"Your Majesty, we will be able to launch the ship in a few days." As the acting chief of the Arms Department, Wang Hui was finally promoted to the official position, and his talents were finally revealed.

Zhu Changgan followed Wang Hui forward until they reached the river valley, when a shadow suddenly blocked everyone's sight.

Wang Chengen looked up and opened his mouth wide, "This... is so big?"

Manila Galleon.

During this period, the Spanish hired Chinese craftsmen to build the Manila Galleon.

Because it was loaded with a lot of porcelain and silk from the Ming Dynasty, it was also called the Chinese Sailing Ship.

As the most advanced ship in the world at that time, it was between thirty and thirty-five meters in length, could be fully loaded with hundreds of tons of cargo, and sail at a maximum speed of eleven knots.

In addition, there are dozens of powerful cannons on both sides of the hull. The internal structure of the entire ship is very complex and consists of multiple layers.

When the bottom layer of the cabin is filled with a lot of ballast, it can ensure that the ship can move forward steadily in wind and waves.

The upper floor is the warehouse, where a wide variety of goods are piled up and can be used to transport large quantities of supplies.

Above the cargo hold is the crew rest area, which has many small compartments, each of which can accommodate two crew members to rest.

The upper level is even more impressive, with rows of cannons.

In order to be able to respond to emergencies at any time, the sailors placed the dining table and beds directly next to them. They could adjust the position of the artillery by pulling the rope, and adjust the angle of the artillery by pushing and pulling the wooden wedges. The small windows outside could also be closed freely.

There is a huge capstan on the top layer. When the ship is ready to go out to sea, several sailors are needed to push and stir together to reel in the giant anchor.

Since 1565, for the next two hundred years, the Manila Galleon was undoubtedly the giant on the sea.

Before Zhu Changgan and Chongzhen exchanged bodies, the Ming Dynasty had three half-finished ships stored in Tianjin.

After taking over, Zhu Changgan asked the Armory to make improvements based on the Manila galleon, reducing its cargo-carrying nature and increasing its deck and combat capabilities.

The 60 guns installed on it were increased to 120, and the crew's partitions were modified and upgraded.

Now this battleship has finally revealed its majestic and imposing side.

"Oh my God..." Ma Shiwei and Wang Chengen, who came with the emperor, stared at the scene in front of them and swallowed their saliva continuously.

No wonder Your Majesty is not worried about Zheng Zhilong, it turns out he has this magical weapon.

When the warship entered the water, Zheng Zhilong's warships were just a few small sampans in front of them. Not to mention the artillery, they would be crushed and sunk into the water just by rushing past.

Zhu Changgan looked at the sailboat in front of him and his brows relaxed a little.

Yes, this is exactly what he relies on.

The launching of these three ships is just the beginning, and more warships will be launched in the future.

Zhu Changgan was not only eyeing the Denglai Navy, but the entire maritime territory of the Ming Dynasty.

The future world pattern.

Spain, the Netherlands, Britain... They could use the silver shipped from the Americas to trade for China's Ming Dynasty silk and porcelain, India's high-quality cotton cloth, as well as gems, pearls and other items, and then ship these goods to Mexico, Peru, Panama and Chile in America.

A single voyage can bring in ten or even dozens of times more profit.

Why did the Ming Dynasty miss it?

As for Zheng Zhilong, when he saw the powerful ships and cannons, he knew what to do without even thinking...

……

The gathering of civil officials was soon delivered to the hands of Emperor Zhu Changgan by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He held the secret decree in his hand and kept knocking on the imperial desk.

"You finally can't help it?"

Zhu Changgan narrowed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

The reason why Zhu Changgan placed 80,000 troops in the capital was actually because he was waiting for this day.

During the reign of Chongzhen, the invasions from southern Mongolia and the Later Jin became more frequent, and the construction of border cities became more frequent.

The country had no money but was facing threats, so the court was constantly forced to invest large amounts of financial funds into these major projects.

But this also meant that there was less and less money to support the troops, which led to the field army becoming increasingly weak.

The reason why they couldn't win the battle in the field was not because the Ming Dynasty had no elites, and the Qi family army was not considered elite? Wasn't it because the military pay could not be paid and they were killed by Wang Bao?

Hou Shilu went to the capital to defend the king, but was forced to mutiny?

The Ming Dynasty’s treasury’s expenditures were not small at all. Where did all the money go?
Naturally, it fell into the hands of civil officials and military generals.

Military salaries were in arrears, officers and soldiers were passive, and even many armies later became the biggest enemies of the Ming Dynasty. For example, Liu Guoneng and Zhang Xianzhong were soldiers in various border towns and could not survive, so they were forced to rebel.

Apart from being corrupt, there are not many truly capable civil servants among them.

They are like gluttons who are never full and will not stop eating as long as they have money.

Li Zicheng killed Lieutenant General Wang Guo and the local county magistrate, and began his career as a bandit.

Some make people sigh with regret, such as Qi's army.

This deformed administrative model, which values ​​things more than people, reached its peak during the Chongzhen period.

It also reached the point where Zhu Changgan had to deal with it.

The demise of the Ming Dynasty was due to the solidification of classes and systems!

"Summon Cao Huachun into the palace!" Zhu Changgan raised the corners of his mouth, with a half-smile on his face, and lay back.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"If your Majesty smiles, life or death will be unpredictable!" Wang Chengen said in his heart when he saw the emperor's face turn pale.

He understood that the emperor was determined to kill again. Although he could not feel his emperor's pulse now, he could feel his emperor's next move from some details.

Just like how His Majesty’s mouth corners turned up and his body leaned back just now.

In the past, when this happened, it meant that someone was going to die.

However, the best thing about Wang Chengen is that he never tries to find out who the emperor is targeting.

……

With Cao Huachun's entry into the palace,

The bloody wave that killed countless people in the Ming Dynasty followed closely...

(End of this chapter)