Dragon Sea Empire

On the coast of the Bohai Sea in the chilly spring, more than a dozen temporary trestles have been built on the long beach and muddy pools with wood, branches, even door panels, and roof beams. Tens of thousands of people are queuing up to board the boat, most of them are farmers. of ordinary people.

After the government army regained the land of Jingqu, they forcibly increased the food, wages and taxes on the local people, and frequently robbed and murdered them in the name of "bandits". Some of the relatives and friends of the landlords and gentry who were killed by the Chinese army also came forward to report these scholars who had done things for the Chinese army. After the governments at all levels returned to their jurisdictions, the first thing they did was to levy Pay", the subordinate officials who hid in the countryside during the war came back again. They intensified and increased various taxes layer by layer, trying to make up for the losses during the Chinese army's occupation.

In the first few months of the 46th year of Wanli, the Jingqu area was in chaos. Compared with the situation during the Chinese occupation period, the people desperately found that the orthodox court officials and officers and soldiers in their minds were more vicious than those so-called pirates. , So, while the Chinese Army was still in Tianjin Wei, a large number of people fled their homes and came to join the Chinese Army.

Fortunately, Chen Zhongji paid more attention to ensuring the safety of the troops when they retreated, and sent cavalry troops to patrol along Tianjinwei and Dagukou day and night. The scouts went far ahead to Wuqing, Baoding and other places. Fighting against them, avoiding them from a distance, so the official army did not form a blockade on the front line, and a large number of people successfully escaped from the area controlled by the Daming government and defected to the area controlled by the Chinese Army. Now, the Chinese Army only controls Tianjin Wei to Dagu The narrow strip along the canal is convenient for the Chinese army to take advantage of the water and use the river to withdraw troops quickly. However, their troops stretched more than a hundred miles long, and there is no depth on both sides. It is a bit risky for Chen Zhongji to do so. The bet is that the officers and soldiers dare not take the initiative to attack, and it is true.

The arrival of a large number of refugees posed a problem for the Chinese army. With Yin Feng's character, he would not give up any defectors. Chen Zhongji received Yin Feng's written order brought by the flying clipper ship Haihun, and the requirements were very clear.

Chen Zhongji had no choice but to order the Ryukyu Squadron of the First Fleet to send gunboats and auxiliary ships to the Bohai Sea to transport people. He also requisitioned more than ten merchant ships returned from Japan by the Zhonghua Company. The cargo of the merchant ships was unloaded and stacked in Naha Port. In the warehouse, they rushed to Bohai Bay to carry the refugees. As a result, the retreat speed of the Chinese army on the northern line was greatly slowed down, and refugees were still being transported out of Jingqu until April.

Xu Guangqi came to Dagukou Beach in March.

After he returned to his post, he made three proposals in one breath: begging the imperial court to amnesty the world, requesting the court to train the new army, and petitioning to stop the sea salary.

He asked Emperor Wanli and the cabinet to pardon the world, pardon the sins of those scribes and poor people who followed the thieves, let the past be forgotten, and Yi will stabilize the hearts of the people in the world. At the same time, he also asked the court to allow him to train new troops and use Western priests to introduce new types of firearms to revive the Ming army. During the peace talks with the Chinese company, sea rates can no longer be collected, especially in newly recovered areas, which need to stabilize people's hearts, recuperate, and never levy various rates indiscriminately.

These three excerpts shocked the government and the public, and there were different opinions. Fang Congzhe, the chief assistant of the cabinet, was in a dilemma: stopping the collection of salaries and sea salaries in the newly recovered areas would make it even more difficult for the Ming court, which was seriously short of money, to survive. The atrocities of discipline and all kinds of exorbitant taxes have pushed so many people and scholars to the side of the Chinese army. Almost all the tenants and servants in the manors of , Guanzhuang, and Xungui's family have fled.

The amnesty order was issued quickly, and some arrested scribes and small landlords were released. Governor Wenqiu of Jiliao organized a batch of food and salaries to be transported to Tongzhou to slow down the looting behavior of those officers and soldiers.

However, almost no one in the court agreed with Xu Guangqi's opinion on stopping the collection of sea rates. The reason is simple. Without sea rates, the Ming court would be completely "bankrupt" financially.

Xu Guangqi's suggestion on using Western-style firearms to train the new army was regarded by most people as a shocking statement, and few people agreed with it. However, the military defeat made most officials feel that using Western-style firearms to train the new army might be possible. It is a way to save the crisis. You might as well give it a try. However, training soldiers to buy firearms is a fat job related to money. Everyone is jealous. This Xu Guangqi was promoted to the cabinet by rocket, and he cannot be allowed to occupy this fat job. Got the lead.

As a result, Xu Guangqi was given the title of a bachelor, promoted to the post of Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, served as a negotiating envoy, and went south to Nanjing to negotiate with Yin Feng, the leader of the Chinese company.

At this time, the imperial government is still trying to save face: they were forced to negotiate peace with a gun to their foreheads, but they still wanted to make a name for appeasement. Xu Guangqi originally planned to go down the canal, but at this time Xu Hongru in Shandong The rebel armed forces of the White Lotus Sect cut off the water transportation route, and the Shandong official army and the White Lotus Sect disciples were fighting fiercely. Therefore, Xu Guangqi, who was eager to reach a peace, led his people to the direction of Tianjin Wei.

This action of his frightened Zhao Xingbang, the deputy envoy of recruiting and military affairs, he jumped out of his carriage, rushed to the front of Xu Guangqi's carriage and cried, "Scholar Xu, no, you can't go by sea. The territory of pirates, "

Xu Guangqi ordered the car to stop, slowly got out of the car and cupped his hands to Zhao Xingbang: "Master Zhao, why did you say that? Since the Taiwan pirates have withdrawn their troops and returned to the island, they really want to achieve a move of appeasement, and they will not do anything to me and other imperial envoys." , don’t worry, haven’t I spent several months safely under their guns?”

A group of more than 20 angels who recruited pirates from the Ming Dynasty suddenly appeared in front of a fortress north of Tianjin Wei.

This news made Chen Zhongji puzzled for a while, so he had to send people to welcome this group of "angels" into the Chinese Army camp in the west of Tianjin Acropolis. The purpose of coming to Tianjin Wei is to borrow the warships of the Chinese Army, go south to Jinling City, and negotiate peace with Yin Feng.

Chen Zhongji nodded when he heard about it: "Hehe, there are still such talents in the Ming Dynasty who borrowed boats from the enemy to go out to sea... It's amazing, people with such courage and insight are definitely not mediocre people," he turned to the intelligence chief Zeng Qing: "Fly pigeons to Jinling and tell the owner of the ship that the imperial negotiating envoy will arrive in Jinling in half a month. I will lend the Haihun to this angel and let them see what kind of ship can fly on the sea."

……

When Xu Guangqi came to the Bohai Sea, he was stunned by the sight of the sea.

Tens of thousands of people carried soft parcels, dragged their children with them, and helped the old and the young. Under the command and guidance of soldiers in blue cloth uniforms (Sailors and Musketeers) of the Chinese Army, they passed the temporary trestle bridge slowly and orderly, and went down one after another. Get on a small boat, fishing boat or even a raft, and then sail to the huge sailboat on the sea a mile away under the command of the sailor.

Apart from him and Zhao Xingbang, the deputy envoy, Xu Guangqi and his entourage also had their servants and the missionary guards sent by Jin Yiwei. The large group of refugees suddenly found a person wearing an imperial official uniform on the beach, and they couldn't help but commotion.

Xu Guangqi looked at those pairs of vigilant, hostile, fearful or silent eyes, with mixed feelings in his heart. They were led by Cao Tai, squeezed through the crowd, and were about to pass the trestle. Seeing the crowd in front of them, several Jinyi guards could not help pushing and shoving. He got up, kicked and beat those refugees, and cursed: "... a group of refugees, why don't you hurry up and let me wait for the imperial court to order the officials to pass by?"

Before Xu Guangqi could stop them, the sailor musketeers who maintained order on the beach hula-la surrounded more than a dozen people, and the flintlock muskets with bayonets mounted brightly forced them over, and two sailors stepped forward and knocked them down A guard in Jinyi, and the rest of the guard in Jinyi were all held back by bayonets and couldn't move. Cao Tai walked over coldly, snatched the waist knife from one of the guards in Jinyi, and kicked him onto the muddy beach. He turned his head He said coldly to Xu Guangqi: "Master Xu, you'd better control your subordinates. This place is not yet the territory of the Ming court, but a place under the jurisdiction of our Chinese army,"

Xu Guangqi's face was livid, and Zhao Xingbang was trembling with fright.

……

The slender hull of the Haihun, the mast covered with soft canvas, and the weird bow structure are all beyond the scope of Xu Guangqi's knowledge. He was surprised to find that the three masts on the sailboat are all equipped with a winch system to raise the sail. Only a few people are needed to lower the sails, and the speed is very fast. The steering wheel system at the stern uses a complex set of gears to drive the rudder, and only one person is required to steer the rudder.

After the Haihun sailed out to sea, it went south with the help of the northeast wind. The sailors, helmsman and captain of the clipper ship were all sailors selected from the navy and merchant fleet. They were experienced, bold and careful. When sailing at sea, it often tends to lean so badly in one direction that only the best sailors and the daring dare to work on a clipper.

The envoy of the peace talks of the Ming court vomited in a mess, leaning weakly on the bed, completely losing the majesty of an angel of the court. Xu Guangqi had never been out at sea, and he was completely defeated by the sea. He vomited profusely. Vomiting, the hull shook, and he almost fell into the sea.

Xu Guangqi saw that Cao Tai and the sailors accompanying him were walking on the crooked deck with a calm demeanor, and began to admire their abilities sincerely.

Along the way, the boats traveling between the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea were basically Chinese company ships flying the Chinese flag on a blue background, some were three-masted gunboats, and some were transport ships converted from sand ships. The important places in Quzhou and the Shandong Peninsula transported batches of immigrants to the colonial area of ​​the Chinese company, and some of them transported goods purchased from various places in Northeast China and North China. Xu Guangqi saw that some merchant ships carried Northeast ginseng, mink fur and various medicinal materials. Like a mountain, the cabin can't fit, it has been piled up on the deck,