Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

The scorching sun scorched everything, and the sparse sweet potato seedlings reminded people that the two-year drought was not over.

Looking at the cracked earth everywhere, Zheng Kezang, who went on a tour of Dongning again for the sake of peace of mind, reached out and grabbed a handful of dried soil from the ground. Luo County Yin Chen Ke asked: "Chen Qing, how is Zhu Luo's drought preparation this year?"

"If you come back to Shisun, the deep wells dug before can still produce water, but some streams have been cut off." Chen Ke replied honestly. "The banks of Dadu Creek and Zhuoshui Creek can still be irrigated with water trucks, but farmers who are not along these big streams can only spend one or two hours a day queuing up to fetch one or two buckets of water from deep wells."

"It's hard for the people." Zheng Kezang sighed, and sprinkled the dust that had just been loosened on the side of the road. "The feudal lord has already made a decision that this year's summer tax will be exempted." Chen Ke was overjoyed, and Zheng Kezang continued. "In addition, we must make it clear to the common people that it will rain after all, and we ask them to stay a little longer."

"I will definitely pass on the wishes of my descendants." Chen Ke hurriedly flattered Zheng Kezang. "Thinking about it, once the common people learn about the tax reduction and exemption this summer, they will definitely sing praises to the grandson Kuanren."

"People's hearts." Zheng Kezang shook his head. The reason why he was exempted from taxes was naturally because he couldn't collect money, and on the other hand, it was to stabilize people's hearts. However, he was not optimistic about how effective it would be. "By the way, Chen Qing, even though there is no rain for a long time, we still need to be prepared for flood control." Looking at the puzzled Chen Ke, Zheng Kezang explained. "If there is no rain for a long time, one rain will cause a disaster." Chen Keruo realized something, and Zheng Kezang further instructed. "We must not let the people suffer from the drought just now, and then suffer from the flood again"

Although Zheng Kezang's tax-free policy and his calm tour made Dongning's chaotic situation somewhat stable, at the end of March, Penghu pacifier Yang Bingmo reported the appearance of crocodiles in Penghu, and Tamshui pacifier Li Cang reported in mid-April. The various natural phenomena of volcanic eruptions in Danshui were widely spread by people with ulterior motives as omens of a dynasty change, causing the people in Taiwan who had not yet stabilized to be in turmoil again, so that Chen Xianqiao gave birth to a son just to let Dongning go up and down Joy, what's more, these absurd rumors even affected the decision of the British Guilian.

"Your Majesty, in view of the current extremely threatening military situation, in order to ensure the safety of our merchants, the British East India Company has decided to evacuate its business personnel in the Grand Prix." Russell Fu, the charge d'affaires of the British Chamber of Commerce, was respectful, but the news he conveyed was that the British Dude is going to slip. "Your Majesty, please believe that we are still willing to maintain normal business relations with Your Majesty and the Dongning Kingdom government. I believe that after the fighting stops, we will resume our office in Dayuan as soon as possible."

"I have to say that you are leaving at this time, and this kind of behavior that is close to betrayal is regrettable and indignant." Zheng Kezang's words stunned the interpreter, but his responsibility allowed him to translate completely. "No amount of rhetoric can change the relationship between the two parties. Because of this incident, the relationship between the two parties has been destroyed. Mr. Chargé d'affaires, let me ask you another question. Will the goods ordered by the Fan last year be delivered on time?"

"In view of the current situation, we cannot guarantee that these materials will still be delivered to Dali"

What else did the charge d'affaires want to explain, but Zheng Kezang interrupted him all of a sudden: "Very well, this violates the commercial credit that you have always advocated. In this case, come and seize all the British, Guilian and Li ships in Hong Kong and take over Yingguili business houses and warehouses, expel all Yingguili personnel, give them a boat, no, send them a lucky boat to Macau."

"No, Your Majesty, you can't do this." Chargé d'Affaires Yingguili roared, but the two swordfish guards stood in front of him, so the barbaric Englishman could only vent his dissatisfaction with words. "You are * and you will pay for it."

"The price? This sentence should be said by Yu." Zheng Kezang sneered. "This is the punishment you deserve for breaking the commercial contract, and it is also the necessary collateral to ensure that you can continue to perform the contract." Speaking of this, Zheng Kezang ordered. "Drive him out, and within twelve hours, send all the British Guilians away from Dongning."

The guards pushed Yingguili's charge d'affaires out. At this time, Fu Weilin, who accompanied the Yingguili people, showed a worried look: "Grandson, the Yingguili people have also left, and this clan is completely helpless. I think that since the current situation has become so corrupt, it is better to send people to Fuzhou to discuss peace, so as to delay the progress of the Qing captives.

"Isolated and helpless?" Zheng Kezang shook his head. "The barbarians in Europe have always only paid attention to strength. As long as the vassal wins and as long as the vassal shows the strength to ensure Dongning, then don't say that the British, Guilian, and Lebanese will rush to restore the old relationship. Yi will come to the door one by one like sharks smelling blood, so you don't have to worry."

When Fu Weilin saw that Zheng Kezang did not lead to the Zheng-Qing Peace Talks, he was very anxious, so he said again: "It doesn't matter if the barbarians are ungrateful for profit, but there is a drought in this domain and there are strong enemies outside, it is really impossible to fight. I thought it would be better to relax first.”

"Master Fu's all-in-one thought is probably going to be a waste of water from the bamboo basket." Zheng Kezang summoned the guards and whispered a few words, and soon a copy of the memorial was handed over to Fu Weilin. Fu Weilin didn't understand why he took it, I looked down at "Sea against the Sun", and heard what Zheng Kezang said. "Fu Qing can open it and have a look. This is the memorial that Shi Lang presented to Kangxi the Tatar Chief. The meaning in it is already clear. There is no way this battle will be eased."

Fu Weilin turned pale with shock, and hurriedly opened it to watch: "Ji Jinchen selected [-] rare soldiers from the land and water officers and soldiers. They have practiced for a few days, and they can be called proficient. Discussions do not go into each other, or there may be leaks to harm success."

"This, this," Fu Weilin felt like a deflated ball after reading it. The reason why he was depressed was because Shi Lang had already written it very clearly. Naturally, there is no possibility of getting out before the war. "Shisun, this, is this true?"

"It's from the Ryukyu Merchant House," Zheng Kezang confirmed. "It took a lot of money, so there should be no fakes."

The muscles on Fu Weilin's face twitched. He received a message from Zheng Kezang's words, that is, the Ryukyu Camp has a secret post in the mainland. For a while, his heart became active again, and he asked involuntarily: "Grandson, what are you waiting for?" Secret, where did the Ryukyu camp come from, don’t be fooled by others.”

"Tricked?" Zheng Kezang's heart suddenly moved. He felt that Fu Weilin's reaction was strange, and he immediately paid attention to this suspicion. "It doesn't matter whether it's true or not, anyway, this battle is inevitable, and I just use this thing to silence those half-hearted guys." Zheng Kezang's words made Fu Weilin's heart beat wildly. At this moment, Zheng Kezang Ke Zang ordered. "Fu Qing, the boy scouts are going to attack Beishanwei Island. I'm afraid they will lose their sense of propriety. Go over and supervise them, and let them build a wall outside the commercial port to prevent the Qing army from using the commercial port to land."

As soon as Fu Weilin left, Zheng Kezang immediately summoned Yu Ping: "Rumors are spreading in the market today, and many of them come from the mansions of important ministers of the feudal clan. You should send someone to investigate immediately, and you must find the source. In addition, Fu Weilin's whereabouts Suspicious, keep an eye on him, and arrest him as soon as you find out the facts.”

Zheng Kezang firmly did not want to have peace talks with the Qing court again, but Liu Guoxuan sent envoys to disrupt Shi Lang's marching plan.On May [-]th of this year, Huang Xuefu, the commander-in-chief of the Navy’s former township, arrived in Fuzhou by sea and delivered Liu Guoxuan’s private letter to Yao Qisheng, proposing, “Please follow Ryukyu, Koryo and other foreign practices, pay tribute as ministers, and go ashore without shaving your hair.”Yao Qisheng, who was depressed because of Shi Lang's acquisition of the exclusive power, immediately reported to Beijing on a galloping horse as if he had found a treasure.

Jiang Liangqi of the Qing Dynasty had a very detailed record of this period of history in the "Donghua Lujuan Ba ​​Kangxi 22nd Year Guihai (1683)" written in the future: "May Jiazi (23rd). First, the Governor of Fujian Yao Qisheng played [The pirate Liu Guoxuan sent a false official, Huang Xuefu, to follow foreign practices such as Ryukyu and Koryo, proclaim vassals and pay tribute, and go ashore without shaving your hair; please decide whether it should be done as requested]. Ryukyu and Kolibi. If you repent and shave your hair and return to sincerity, the governor, governor, etc. will select capable officials to recruit. It is also unpredictable that the bandits will plan to delay the army when they hear about the invasion of the army. The joint investigation is sure, and if there is an opportunity to take advantage of it , can order the admiral to march in accordance with the previous order]. As a result, Yao Qisheng played [Send Fuzhou Deputy General Huang Chaoyong to Liu Guoxuan and others, still as in the foreword]. Shang Naiqu Shi Lang quickly marched."

So all the camouflage was torn off, and a big battle was about to begin.

However, when the war was about to break out, a heavy rain poured down. From May 28th to the sixth day of June, "the valleys collapsed" all over Dongning.Facing the situation that misfortunes never come singly, Zheng Kezang ordered the troops stationed in various places to help the disaster relief quickly, and at the same time gritted his teeth and allocated 30 shi of stored grain for disaster relief. At the same time, he rushed to transport grain from Ryukyu, Japan, Guangnan, Champa, and Siam. In order to raise the funds needed to purchase grain, Zheng Kezang was also forced to write to Nagasaki, informing Tagawa Jirozaemon to accept the extremely harsh conditions of the Japanese side, and to provide [-] tons of raw silk as interest every year for ten years to Kansai, Japan. The luxury business group borrowed silver, copper and grain worth [-] guan.

Zheng Kezang's efforts have not yet paid off. Shi Lang has already moved from Xinghua Pinghaiwei to Tongshan and is ready for the final attack. They also changed course and sent [-] reinforcements to Tongshan. So far, the Qing army has been fully prepared, and it is only waiting to set sail eastward on another day.