Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

On July 45th in the [-]th year of the Yongli calendar, the raging typhoon had already set off huge waves in the southeast coastal area from time to time, but at this time the Bohai Bay was calm and calm.Since the Qing court did not set up naval battalions in Zhili, Shandong, and Fengtian, there were no Qing army navy clippers patrolling the sea. Therefore, the Zheng army's Northern Fleet that broke into this peaceful sea area after the transition from the Miaodao line Appeared unscathed in the sea off Tianjin.

This is a huge assembly, two teams [Shanzi class] eight gunboats from the Fubo Fleet, one team [Haizi class] four gunboats from the Zhoushan Squadron, and twenty [-] gunboats from the entire Northern Fleet. The double-masted gunboat and six thousand-material notification boats lined up in two mighty rows, forming the most luxurious lineup after the Fujian Sea Battle.

However, it is too luxurious to use such a huge force to deal with the Dagu Shipyard, which does not even have a fort, so the flagship of the Northern Fleet [Haihe] raised a string of signal flags, and then came from the Fubo Fleet and the Zhoushan branch. The twelve gunboats of the fleet rushed to the Changlu Salt Fields on both sides of the Dagukou with the sentries of the Hailongxiang Division accompanying the ship.

At the end of the day, Hangu Saltworks and Tanggu Saltworks, which were closest to Dagukou, were the first to call the police to Dagu, Tianjin, and Beijing. Later, the Nanbao Saltworks also called the police to Zunhua and Beijing.

Regarding the alarm from saltworks in various places, Tianjin Town and the Eight Banners stationed in the garrison quickly realized that Zheng Jun’s purpose was to attack the west. However, in order to facilitate the sea, the Dagu Shipyard was built by the sea. The total number of guards was more than five thousand, but there was nothing they could do about Zheng Jun's gunboat approaching like a city wall on the sea.

In the early afternoon of Shenshi, Zheng Jun approached the shore with eight gunboats in a row. Under the warning of the notification ship, they fired dense shells at a position that was almost stranded. Because the purpose of the shelling was mainly to destroy the shipyard, Zheng Jun The hot shells were widely used, and the scorching shells quickly ignited the piles of wooden boards, and the raging fire quickly spread throughout the shipyard.

Watching Zheng Jun unleash a large amount of artillery fire on the shipyard, the garrisoned Qing troops rushed to the shore to demonstrate in frustration. This blind move quickly attracted the bombardment of Zheng Jun's security forces. Hundreds of Qing troops lost their lives because of this. They had no choice but to retreat far away from Zheng Jun's shelling range, watching the shipyard turn into a sea of ​​flames with helpless eyes.

After the first gunboat fired ten rounds of salvo, it sailed away in order to lower the temperature of the gun barrel. At this time, another group of eight ships came up and cycled like this. They fought for more than an hour, and almost all the ships brought by the Northern Fleet were destroyed. It was only after all the solid ammunition had been fired that I heard it. At this time, the Dagu Shipyard had completely turned into a burning place.

Since the Qing Army’s Tianjin Town and other departments are still stationed in the distance, the Northern Fleet of the Zheng Army did not put the sea troops brought along with the ship on the record to search for the surviving Thai and Western missionaries and shipyard craftsmen. Instead, they only sent two notification ships. Drive into the Haihe River and observe it up close, then walk away.Seeing Zheng Jun's gunboat driving away, all the Qing troops who hid far away rushed to put out the fire, but at this time there was nothing to rescue

The success of the bombardment of Dagu was not enough to satisfy Chu Jin, so he gathered the gunboats of the Fubo Fleet and the Zhoushan Squadron and headed northward, looting the Daqinghe Salt Field, Jinzhou Salt Field, and Niuzhuang Salt Field, and went ashore to seize the Niuzhuang Salt Field. In Zhuangcheng, 120 and six Qing troops under the garrison and leader were killed, and more than [-] people of Manchu and Han (Han army banner) people were looted.Before the Qing army could react, Zheng Jun attacked Shuangtaizi and Liaoyang, and took away three or four hundred Manchu and Han people and slaves one after another. International shipment away.Subsequently, Zheng Jun went all the way south along the inner side of the Liaodong Peninsula, bombarded Jinzhou and Lushun, and returned to Seogwipo contentedly after causing chaos in Fengtian

The loss of Dagu Shipyard and Changlu Salt Field immediately shocked the Qing court, but the appearance of Zheng Jun in Jinzhou, Niuzhuang, Jinzhou, and Lushun made the Qing court even more mournful. , Once there is no sea barrier, there are loopholes everywhere along the coast.However, after understanding the role of sea power, the current unfavorable situation of the Qing court could not be changed. The shipyard that cost a lot of money was destroyed, and the missionaries from Western and Western countries who were ordered to build ships were not killed or burned to death, and they were unwilling to help with shipbuilding. manage?

Kangxi deserves to be the "sage king" of different time and space. Leaving aside other things, his will is quite firm. On the one hand, he ordered the rebuilding of the destroyed shipyard, and on the other hand, he announced the establishment of forts at the mouths of major rivers across the country. To prevent the Zheng army from raiding, at the same time, he also deployed a large number of troops from Heilongjiang and Jilin to defend Fengtian and other Longxing places, but he never wanted to make room for the secret agents of the Zheng army who were active in Jilin, and he set up forts and cast cannons The order made the Qing court's finances even worse. For this reason, the Qing court's household department had to collect an additional 600 million taels of (marine) defense payment every year, although Kangxi realized that the increasing taxes and taxes would inevitably shake the foundation of the Qing court's rule. , but he had no choice but to drink poison to quench his thirst.

On the second day of September in the 45th year of the Yongli calendar, not long after the windy season in the South China Sea, the Zheng army of the six divisions sent troops to Qiongzhou again. In order to regain this piece of land permanently, Ming Zheng set up the Chief Secretary of Guangdong for this purpose, with Zheng Bin, the right participant in the political affairs hall, as the minister of the Ministry of War and the supervisor of southern Guangdong military affairs, and Lv Xuefang, the former secretary of the party, as the left counselor of the Guangdong Chief Secretary, and the southern Guangdong military affairs officer. As the governor, Mao Hongyan, the capital commander of Youyong Guards, was appointed as the capital and deputy general of Guangdong, and Chen Mengwei, the former officer of the Inspection Department, was the prefect of Qiongzhou.

Due to the different purpose of sending troops this time, Zheng Jun directly landed in Qiongshan, and then captured the capital of Qiongzhou, which was understrength. Afterwards, Zheng Jun formed the Qiongzhou Squadron with part of the Fubo Fleet, and Chen Baoshun and Yan Daoji served as the commander and supervisor respectively. The military officer is responsible for completely cutting off the connection between Qiongzhou and the land in southern Guangdong, and then controlling the southwestern and coastal areas of southern Guangdong.

"My lords, half of Qiongzhou's one prefecture, three prefectures and ten counties are now in the hands of our army, and the rest is just around the corner." The Zheng army plundered too hard, so the population of Qiongzhou has not recovered to half of its original size so far. Because the population is not large, the annual expenditure is not enough to support the army, so the Qing army's garrison in Qiongzhou is also very limited, so it faces 3 people. With Zheng Jun's attack, Qiongzhou's complete change of hands is also a blink of an eye. "This time is different from the past. The lord wants us to take root in Qiongzhou, especially the Shilu Iron Mine mentioned by the lord is of great significance to our domain, so." Zheng Bin looked at Chen Baoshun. "Is there any problem with the navy?"

"The Qiongzhou Squadron only has eight [-]-stone gunboats and three thousand-material reporting ships. It is impossible to take care of the entire Qionghai." Chen Baoshun was not exaggerated, and responded frankly. The squadrons were coordinated, but the cruise of eleven small and medium-sized warships in the huge sea area did make things difficult for him. "That's why the lower officials think that with the permission of the Commander-in-Chief, the Qiongzhou Squadron should use offense instead of defense, so as to ensure the safety of Qionghai and the Qiongzhou-Dongning route."

"I was ordered to supervise the division in southern Guangdong, and I only care about the results, regardless of the regulations." Zheng Bin's words were like giving Chen Baoshun a permission order. "If there is any way, you just have to use it." Chen Baoshun nodded heavily, so Zheng Bin looked at Mao Hongyan who was on the side. "Vice Chief Mao, when will the Lu division take down Changhua?"

"The ministries on the western front will definitely take Changhua within ten days." Mao Hongyan promised. "However, it is impossible for Mr. Zheng and the Lu Division to leave the strength of the six divisions in Qiongzhou for nothing, so once Qiongzhou's affairs are settled, four of the divisions will be withdrawn to Dongning. At that time, there will only be two Lu Divisions and one regiment of Hailongxiang Division. There are more than [-] people, not only to deter Li Miao internally, to prepare for the removal of captives externally, but also to ensure the operation and safety of the Shilu mining area, the force may not be enough.”

Zheng Bin knew that Zheng Kezang tabooed his subordinates to expand the army privately, so he just squinted his eyes when he heard Mao Hongyan's words, and asked in an erratic tone, "What good idea does Vice President Mao have?"

However, to Zheng Bin's surprise, Mao Hongyan said: "If there are any heroes in southern Guangdong that can be contacted by the governor, it is better to give more names, but they will make trouble with the Qing captives. As long as the Qing captives are trapped internally with the rebels, and externally trapped with the local With the Fan Navy, Qiongzhou will have no worries about its defense.”

"Also," Mao Hongyan looked at Chen Mengwei next to him. "Chen Zhifu can advise the Lord to organize and train the local flood troops. In this way, the garrison should help out to cooperate with the navy and the Guangdong rebel army's attack, or it may take the lead in recovering Guangdong Province."

The so-called restoration of Guangdong province first refers to the private competition among the three chief secretaries under Zheng Zheng in the Ming Dynasty. Of course, the strength of each chief secretary is not enough to restore their respective provinces, but as long as performance is achieved, perhaps Zheng Kezang will increase investment , so that the position of a certain supervisor, a certain governor, and a certain capital is no longer just a title.

"Please rest assured, Vice President Mao, as long as it is conducive to the restoration of the great cause," Chen Mengwei's performance was not outstanding among the officials and local officials of the Zheng regime in the Ming Dynasty. Light, but the more this is the case, the more careful he is as a foreign relative. "This official should speak to the Lord."

In fact, Chen Mengwei should still have some concerns, but Lu Xuefang is not. As the former head of the staff department, he has enough channels to fulfill Mao Hongyan's commission: "Master Chen said well, as long as it is beneficial to the clan, the official will naturally No effort was spared."

Zheng Bin, who heard the subtle difference in terms between Chen Mengwei and Lu Xuefang, nodded calmly, but his meeting today is far from over: "Master Chen should know what the lord means. It will be stable within this year." Counties in Qiongzhou and inland Limiao, at the beginning of next year, when the laborers are in place, Shilu Iron Mine and Changhua Port will be the first to ensure the supply of iron ore to Dongning by the end of the year. I don’t know how Mr. Chen will come here. Do?"

"First of all, I thought that the personnel of the counties and prefectures in Qiongzhou should be determined. I don't care about the other counties and counties, but in Changhua, Deputy Commander Mao, I would like you to recommend a military officer."

It is not uncommon in the Ming and Zheng regimes to transfer from a military position to a civilian position, so Mao Hongyan thought for a while and reported a name