Chapter 3, Twenty-seven moments in the four years of Chongzhen (3)
The third moment: Confused Long Aotian
November of the fourth year of Chongzhen, Taiwan Strait, Penghu Island
On the top floor of the Penghu Governor's Palace, the private bathroom attached to the Governor's bedroom
"...Crash——"
"...The evening breeze blows in Penghu Bay, white waves follow the beach, there are no coconut trees to drunken the setting sun, just a sea of blue..."
Accompanied by the sound of the toilet flushing, Zhang Wei, the newly joined "bandit leader" and "expatriate veteran", the governor of Penghu, walked out of the bathroom with an unkempt appearance while humming a song, wearing his belt and a pair of slippers. Next, he took out a wooden toothbrush from the bamboo tube hanging on the wall, dipped it in "high-end" tooth powder mixed with shell powder, refined salt, gypsum, spices, herbal powder and other ingredients, and then took it He walked to the balcony with a porcelain cup filled with water, overlooking the Penghu scenery in the early morning, while brushing his teeth with a mouth full of foam.
——Blue sky, white clouds, blue sea, golden beach... Under the morning light, the scenery of the Penghu Islands is as beautiful and moving as ever...
In general, the Penghu Islands are composed of three main islands and a few scattered small islands. Among them, Penghu Island is the largest, followed by Xiyu and Baisha Township. The three islands together cover an area of more than 100 square kilometers, accounting for 89% of the entire archipelago. The island has either exposed basalt landforms or broken coral reefs. The actual area covered by vegetation and soil only adds up to 20 to 30%. The land that can be cultivated by humans is naturally even less. But if you rely on the sea to eat the sea, changes will occur. As for the diet structure, if sea fish is the staple food, then life will be quite manageable.
Therefore, as early as the Song Dynasty, Penghu Island already had a dock for Quanzhou fishermen to rest and repair their boats. Although it was once abandoned in the early Ming Dynasty, it gradually flourished again during the Zhengde and Jiajing years. By the Wanli period, there were several Thousand Islanders live here. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the "maritime giants" Li Dan brothers were operating here. Penghu was already quite prosperous. Not only was it rich in seafood, but it also guarded the main channel of the Taiwan Strait and was a good port leading to Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Li Dan was originally on the main island of Penghu. After more than ten years of operation, it has become like a small town.
After that, Zheng Zhilong successively defeated various heroes on the sea, seized Penghu as his foundation, and then gathered the heroes on the sea to raid the coast of Fujian. At the same time, Penghu was used as a hub to develop trade with Japan and Southeast Asia, thereby making huge profits and making the island extremely prosperous for a while. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long, as Zheng Zhilong was recruited and became a guerrilla general, and returned to Quanzhou in great glory. The Zheng family, a series of maritime tycoons who originally occupied Penghu, also landed in southern Fujian, bought real estate, built mansions and manors, and never returned, and the Penghu Islands became desolate again.
Of course, among the maritime heroes who originally followed Zheng Zhilong and gathered in Penghu, in addition to the vast majority who moved to the prosperous places in southern Fujian, there was also a young man named Zhang Wei, who was Zheng Zhilong's sworn brother-- Instead of following Zheng Zhilong to Quanzhou to enjoy wealth, he returned Before Zheng Zhilong could be favored, he went to Taiwan, a place where birds didn't poop, to cultivate wasteland and dig food from the soil... When all the maritime lords were enjoying themselves in Quanzhou and were satisfied in the center of singing, dancing and feasting, Occasionally I feel sorry for Zhang Wei, an idiot who went to Taiwan.
Closer to home, in any case, for the Zheng Zhilong Group that has moved to Quanzhou Zhongzuo Institute, after taking control of the southern Fujian land, Penghu has almost become a dispensable place, and the defense force is naturally very sparse and slack. Therefore, when Taiwan's Zhang Wei suddenly raised the flag of rebellion and joined forces with the "Australian" fleet on Hainan Island to fight back to Penghu from Taiwan, he captured the place bloodlessly with almost no effort.
——At that time, Zheng Zhilong had been defeated in southern Fujian and his entire army was wiped out. The general of Penghu only had a few hundred old and weak soldiers under his command who were not fully armed. He didn't even have a warship. He was not a direct descendant of the Zheng family, but was an old acquaintance of Zhang Wei. How could he still be willing to fight to the death?
Then, Zhang Wei became the governor of Penghu. At the same time, he reluctantly accepted the reorganization of the Senate and gave up his direct troops and foundations in Taiwan. This was not only the general trend, but also Zhang Wei's own half-recommendation... because he was really I can’t think of anything else to choose from?
In fact, as a Long Aotian-style time traveler who always felt very good about himself, Zhang Wei had some unusual ambitions at the beginning of time travel. When he was still working for Zheng Zhilong, he He deliberately wanted to recruit celebrities in history and form his own team.
It's a pity that he came too early. Among the future "Three Heroes of Taiwan", Liu Guoxuan and Feng Xifan were not born yet. As for General Shi Lang, who would later conquer Taiwan and destroy the Zheng family, he was only a few years old - I don’t know if it was because the arrival of Zhang Wei and Huang Shi changed the history of the late Ming Dynasty. After Zhang Wei took refuge with Zheng Zhilong, Soon, Shi Lang's father Shi Daxuan died in a maritime conflict, making Shi Lang an orphan at a young age in this time and space. All the athletes who had gathered under his father's banner had also dispersed, leaving only a few loyal family members and a small boat... The pirate gangs in the late Ming Dynasty were mostly like this. If they were prosperous, they would eat from the same pot. I don’t know how many people there are. If something goes slightly wrong, everyone will immediately disperse. There is absolutely no loyalty or cohesion at all. Zhang Wei took the opportunity to take advantage of his good popularity among the tycoons in Penghu, and tried to win over him. Finally, he took the young lady Shi Lang under his command, barely satisfying his celebrity collecting habit...
Next, Zhang Wei "asked for trouble" amidst the sneers of the Penghu tycoons. He ignored the maritime trade that made a fortune every day, but took Shi Lang to Taiwan to reclaim wasteland and cultivate land, and by the way took over the former Nian Siqi and Li Dan, two senior immigrants in the piracy industry, had migrated some refugees from Fujian to Taiwan to reclaim wasteland and wanted to open a branch base. Later, because the Zheng family was determined to return to Fujian, no one took care of the rudimentary sub-base that had just been built here in Taiwan, and eventually fell into the hands of the Dutch), and then they complacently managed this piece of their own territory. ——With the foresight of the traveler and some subtle good luck, Zhang Wei soon opened up large areas of rice fields and sugar cane fields in Taiwan, and built small towns and cottages. Everything seemed to be prospering.
However, just one year later, the situation changed drastically - after Zheng Zhilong swept southern Fujian with great enthusiasm, he suffered a huge defeat in Xiapu in northern Fujian and was beaten badly by the famous general Huang Shi who had just been transferred from Liaodong. He had no choice but to flee back to Penghu Island in despair, licking his wounds and preparing to assemble his army to fight again. Even Zhang Wei was extorted of a lot of food and supplies, and even had to ask the Zheng family to recruit children in Taiwan... Regarding the above requirements, the Zheng family has not completely separated from the Zheng family group at this time, and has an unstable foothold in Taiwan and is weak. Zhang Wei couldn't refuse at all, so he had to knock out his teeth and swallow it. To make matters worse, the Dutch who colonized Taiwan also took the opportunity to add insult to injury and forced Zhang Wei to pay heavy taxes, which wiped out the previous prosperity.
Then, after collecting the records and legends of Huangshi, Zhang Wei immediately made a shocking judgment: This was definitely a time traveler.
——At the same time, Marshal Huang Shihuang across the Taiwan Strait also keenly noticed Zhang Wei and his group on Taiwan Island...
As a Long Aotian style traveler who always felt very good about himself, Zhang Wei immediately and naturally regarded Huangshi as his biggest opponent. But Huang Shi, the Fujian general, was obviously not easy to deal with. Not only did the opponent have an impressive record that frightened the Eight Banners, but he also had the most powerful battlefield command ability of this era. He also had a modern army that could defeat the Jurchen cavalry with a spear array head-on, and was known as invincible in the world. Become an infantryman! In comparison, Zhang Wei's gang of minions were simply a mob... Fortunately, Huangshi's troops could not cross the Taiwan Strait, leaving Zhang Wei still time to think about countermeasures.
Next, with a batch of modern small department stores suddenly appearing on the market, and a secret letter written in Chinese Pinyin from Huang Shi, Zhang Wei finally discovered to his extreme frustration that not only was he not the only one in the world, The protagonist of time travel is not even the only one - Marshal Huang Shi Huang, the legendary hero who shocked Liaodong and killed Nurhachi, is actually just a pathfinder for a huge time travel group that is about to arrive in Lingao County, Qiongzhou!
(At that time, Zhang Wei really thought that Huang Shi was playing Rambo, and sneaked into Liaoyang alone to kill Nurhaci, and was almost scared to death by this superman.)
After a while, the pre-sent spies came back from Lingao with news that an incredible large iron ship had really arrived... So, after Zhang Wei let out a long sigh, he had no choice but to put away Long Aotian's arrogance and die completely. The thoughts of fighting for world hegemony: There is no way. If he is an official of the Ming Dynasty, he may be able to use the power of the court to nip this time-traveling group in the bud - although this is difficult to do. But his identity at this time is just a small pirate leader, a real "foreigner" and "a criminal who does evil". In the eyes of the Ming Dynasty officials, he is probably more annoying than the Mongolian Tatars. Nowhere to borrow. The traverser group on the Lingao side is not only well-prepared and has strong overall strength, but also has the most powerful insider in the officialdom, Fujian Commander-in-Chief Huang Shi. It is conceivable that the Ming Dynasty government will choose Trust Huangshi, or choose to trust yourself?
(Zhang Wei, as an outsider at the time, was not very clear about the fact that Huangshi was attacked and ostracized by the Donglin Party because he had been attached to the Eunuch Party.)
Zheng Zhilong? Not to mention that at this time, Zhang Wei had gradually revealed his intention to leave the Zheng family and work alone, and it was impossible to continue to gain Zheng Zhilong's trust. Even if Zheng Zhilong is determined to eliminate the Lingao Chuangzong, and there are still a group of old opponents such as Liu Xiang, Li Qikui, Zhu Cailao, etc. who have not yet been eliminated, the Zheng family fleet cannot leave the Minhai and expedition to Qiongzhou, otherwise it will be tantamount to being exposed Show your weakness and let some old enemies stab you!
As for Zhang Wei's own strength in Taiwan, let alone mention it. There are only a total population of 5,000, more than 300 soldiers, and six ships - one of which belongs to Shi Lang, and two ships belong to Taiwan's early immigrant leaders He Bin and Guo Huaiyi, and they are all merchant ships, not war ships. Boat. The firearms only include two or three crude cannons that look terrible, and the soldiers have never had any decent large-scale combat experience. Due to the excessive taxation by the Dutch and Zheng Zhilong, Zhang Wei's finances are barely enough to maintain the status quo. For the time being, he cannot spend more money to recruit refugees in Fujian and Guangdong... It is conceivable that in the next time, if If he cannot get rid of the heavy shackles on his head, it will be difficult for him to significantly expand his strength.
Therefore, as a person with enough sense, Zhang Wei thought about it in Taiwan and finally decided to curb Long Aotian's arrogance. From then on, he stayed humble and took refuge in Lingao County, Hainan Island. The traveler group known as "Kun Thieves (Short-haired Thieves)"... At the same time, they use their foundation in Taiwan and their connections in the Fujian Sea as bargaining chips to try to get better treatment conditions.
In the end, after some bargaining, Zhang Wei finally got the title of elder for the sake of being a fellow traveler, and basically successfully integrated into the group - under Huang Shi's strong insistence before , wearing high altitude The Yue Zhe Senate has given several of his favorite generals such as He Dingyuan, Jin Qiude, Zhao Manxiong, and Zhang Zaidi the status of "alternate senators" (enjoying the treatment of senators, such as maids, etc.), but there are no senators. power). Since even the natives of this time and space can become elders, there is no reason to exclude Zhang Wei, who also comes from modern times.
In this way, Zhang Wei gave up the small private group he was running in Taiwan in frustration, forgot about the Wangtu hegemony he once fantasized about, and integrated into the large group of Lingao Travelers Senate. Although the loss was not small, there were also many gains, mainly that he could live a comfortable life more similar to that of modern people - for example, he finally used coconut oil soap again, smoked cigarettes, and lit up relatively bright Kerosene lamp......
Of course, even with the current strength of the Lingao Senate, it is far from being able to replicate everything in daily life in the 21st century. Many things can only be made into specious imitations, such as using tooth powder instead of toothpaste. , as well as candies with weird flavors. But for Zhang Wei, having these is already very pleasant. In particular, the white porcelain toilet in his bedroom bathroom moved him even more: anyone who had not experienced the harsh sanitary environment of the seventeenth century would probably have a hard time understanding his behavior. Touching.
Hey, forget it, even if you are a time traveler protagonist, not everyone can claim to be emperor! After all, the emperor only has one throne. I remember in those urban or official novels, if the protagonist could become the boss of a large company, a famous director, or a police officer, he would be considered a Long Aotian-style winner in life. After all, I am now a prince in Penghu, and I will be at least a first-level leader in future generations. This kind of life is considered a success no matter how you look at it, let alone continue to climb up in the future. Opportunity... Zhang Wei comforted himself in his heart.
After brushing his teeth carefully, washing his face, and straightening his appearance in the mirror, Zhang Weicai calmly walked down the stairs and went to the restaurant to have breakfast. The table covered with white tablecloth has been set with exquisite tableware and sumptuous food: preserved egg and lean meat porridge, bean paste rice dumplings, fragrant grilled salted fish, and small bottles of pepper to accompany the meal. The plates, rice bowls and spoons are all bone china fired from the porcelain kiln of the Lingao Senate. The "national emblem" of the Senate is uniformly burned on them: the geared wheat ears under the wings of a golden double-headed eagle and the "holy ship" pattern. .
Shi Lang, who lives with Zhang Wei in the Governor's Mansion, has been eating for a while, and his orderly - actually a close family member who has served the Shi family for several generations - is packing his armed belt and combat boots next to him. . I saw the kind-hearted middle-aged man sitting on a small bench, carefully oiling Shi Lang's boots, and using powder ground from broken tiles to polish the metal parts of the armed belt, trying to make them look shiny. Bright.
——Shi Lang is only ten years old this year. Although he has encountered many changes in his life, he is still a very innocent young boy in general. He likes all kinds of fresh and exquisite utensils: after receiving the gift specially given to him by the Lingao Senate, After getting the custom-made "General Edition" Boy Scout uniform, Shi Lang was fascinated by this elegant and mighty luxurious uniform. He wore this dazzling outfit every day and swaggered through the streets and docks of Penghu.
Zhang Wei greeted Shi Lang casually and was about to sit down to eat when he heard Shi Lang ask, "...Uncle Zhang, in two days you will sail with the fleet to Liaodong and follow that Marshal Huang." Does Dongjiang Town take in refugees? ”
"...Yes! What? Do you also want to go and see the scenery in the north?" Zhang Wei asked casually while drinking preserved egg and lean meat porridge.
"...I won't go! I heard that it's so cold in Liaodong right now that it can freeze people's noses off!" Shi Lang, the chubby young lady, quickly shook his head, "...I just don't think it's worth it! It's so cold in Fujian!" There are a lot of refugees, so why go all the way to Liaodong to get the population? The travel expenses are so expensive!”
——When Zhang Wei was engaged in land reclamation in Taiwan, he did not avoid Shi Lang when calculating various income and expenses. When he was free, he even taught him a little arithmetic. Under the influence of his ears and eyes, this little chubby man now understands some of this aspect. Simple truth.
"...I can't help it, those people are all old acquaintances of Marshal Huang! The more expensive the toll is, the more expensive it is. It's not us who pay for it anyway!"
Zhang Wei made a haha and dealt with it, while Shi Lang did not continue to struggle with this issue. He just quickly finished the last few bites of breakfast, hummed "Warship March" and slipped off the table, running to the cat next to the window sill. In front of the nest, I teased a little tabby cat I just got yesterday.
In fact, in Zhang Wei's heart, he was very dissatisfied with Huangshi's insistence on sending ships north to take in the soldiers and civilians of Dongjiang Town. The main problem is not that the shipping distance is too long and the cost is too high - in this era where population is the potential for war, hundreds of thousands of people can be obtained at one time, and the extra cost is nothing. Anyway, it is just the past. Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang sell more "Australian goods".
But the problem is that behind Dongjiang Town, there is Dengzhou Town in Shandong Province with ulterior motives. This northern armed group, which was also brought together by travelers, seems to have an unfriendly attitude toward southern forces like them. It is difficult to say whether Huangshi will be attacked from behind by the water camp of Dengzhou Town when he recruits refugees in Dongjiang Town. Although it is certainly not an opponent of the Senate fleet, it is still a trouble to some extent.
Moreover, although Huangshi once had a great reputation in Liaodong and the generals returned home, that was after all a few years ago. As the saying goes, when people go away, the tea is cool. If Huangshi raises his flag in Liaodong now, he may not have the extraordinary appeal of the past... Of course, since Marshal Huang Shihuang insists on going to Liaodong and has obtained the support of the Senate After passing the collective vote, Zhang Wei naturally had no choice but to sacrifice his life to accompany the gentleman. Besides, even if things don't go well, at least they won't be very dangerous - neither Dengzhou Town, the Hou Jin Army, nor the Koreans can defeat the steam battleship of the Lingao Senate.
With such thoughts in mind, Zhang Wei finished his breakfast hastily, wiped his mouth, and then habitually smoked "a cigarette after a meal" - the cigarettes produced by the Lingao Senate are divided into several brands, the highest grade. The one is called "Holy Ship Brand", and the mid-range one is " Bairentan", then "Gaoshanling", and the cheapest low-end cigarette is "Dazhan"... But whether it is a high-end cigarette or a low-end cigarette, Zhang Wei feels the same when he smokes it: rustling. The tobacco keeps falling down, and your fingers will be burned after a few puffs! To avoid burning your lips when the cigarette is about to burn out. He had to use a hollow bamboo, wood or cardboard tube, that is, a cigarette holder, to connect it to the cigarette to smoke. But no matter how uncomfortable these crudely made cigarettes were, they were at least slightly stronger than the dry tobacco bags of this era, so Zhang Wei could only make do with smoking.
However, Zhang Wei recently had a new choice: "Wen Dengxiang" from the mysterious Dengzhou Town in Shandong... Zhang Wei took out a cigarette from the cardboard cigarette case of "Wen Dengxiang" with a complicated expression and followed Compared with Lingao's cigarettes, Shandong's "Wendengxiang" already has a filter tip, and it is also claimed to be soaked with more than ten kinds of herbs, including sea dog whip, an aphrodisiac that aphrodisiacs! Therefore, Zhang Wei hesitated for a long time, and finally put away the box of "Wen Deng Xiang" without daring to smoke: After all, he didn't know the ingredients of "Wen Deng Xiang" as well as Lingao's cigarettes. God knows what was added to the filter. What should I do if the people in Shandong have very low moral standards and use opium to make buyers addicted?
However, just when Zhang Wei took out a "Holy Ship Cigarette" from another cardboard box and was about to light it, the messenger hurriedly rushed in, disturbing his elegance in puffing away the smoke, "... ...Report to the Governor, there is an urgent telegram from the central government!”
Zhang Wei frowned and took a look at the telegram. The expression on his face suddenly changed. After a long time, he explained to Shi Lang, who came over curiously, "...the plan to go to Liaodong was urgently canceled. Uncle Zhang doesn’t have to go to the ice and snow in the north this time!”
"...Oh? Is that so? It sounds good, but why is that?" Shi Lang asked curiously.
"...because some Australians are coming to Qiongzhou, and we all have to prepare to welcome them!" For some reason, Zhang Wei was obviously a little embarrassed when he said this.
"...Australians? Uncle Zhang, aren't you, Marshal Huang, and those uncles and aunts in Qiongzhou all Australians?" Shi Lang was even more puzzled.
——In order to explain their origins and identities to the Ming Dynasty natives in this time and space, the group of time-travelers in Lingao, Qiongzhou, all called themselves "Australians" to the outside world, and they also created a set of "The survivors of the Song Dynasty scattered across the sea after the country's collapse. There is a saying that Australia will build a nation again if it has a rough road ahead of it. Zhang Wei, who is also a time traveler, naturally had to pinch his nose and call himself an "Australian" after joining the Lingaozhong group: although at the time when he time traveled, there were probably only kangaroos, koalas and kangaroos in Australia. Aboriginal people with stone tools...But now in Australia, the situation is different...
Thinking back to the end of last year, when Lingao received the radio signal from Australia for the first time, the entire Senate was horrified, panicked and shocked... Zhang Wei couldn't help but want to grin: after all, this should be said. Li Gui meets Li Kui? Or is it true and false even when it is false?
——Although the group of time-travelers entrenched in Australia at the moment may not be able to confidently claim that they are "Australians"...
"...It's not us guys who have been sent outside a long time ago. It's the high-ranking officials from Australia who are coming! And they are coming in a big, big iron ship!" Zhang Wei thought for a while. , tried his best to use words that Shi Lang could understand, "...then let's go watch the fun together, okay?"
"...A big iron ship? Is it as big as that 'holy ship' in Lingao?" Shi Lang blinked and continued to ask.
"...It should be bigger than the iron ship in Lingao! Maybe they will bring a few kangaroos to open our eyes - it's the kind of standing competition that uncle told you before. A giant rat that is taller than a man and is very good at boxing and wrestling..." Zhang Wei was joking casually, while silently lamenting in his heart: The days since time travel are really like a heartbeat game, so lively and noisy that it makes people feel uncomfortable. No!
——If even Zhang Wei, a guy who spends his days leisurely under the sun on the beach, feels that these days are like a heartbeat game. So on the distant battlefield in western Liaoning, a certain person who was the darling of the times and the Lord of Destiny was about to suffer a heart attack from being stimulated by various heartbeat games.
"...What? The city of Ninggu Pagoda was burned down by a group of big iron birds raining down fire from the sky? What nonsense are you talking about?" It's the truth!" Looking at the furious Huang Taiji, a certain Jurchen general replied tremblingly.