Chapter 645 The Dilemma of Shibazhi
After a simple defense handover ceremony on Nanri Island, Shi Diwen led his men who had been stationed here for nearly two months to leave Nanri Island, went south to Zhangzhou to meet Ning Qi and others, and then returned to the base camp in Sanya, Hainan.
The Ming army stationed on Nanri Island soon realized that the new Haihan soldiers were different from the previous group. If the daily training of the previous batch of Haihan militiamen was cruel to them, then the training content of the new batch of militiamen was simply hellish. The first compulsory training content every day is to run a lap around the hill where Nanri Village is located.
For people like the Annan militia, the five-thousand-meter cross-country running is indeed just one of the usual training items. But for the vast majority of the Ming army who lack daily physical training, there is no way to run this distance in one breath. Many people I could only finish this journey slowly, and then I missed all the remaining training subjects of the day. The huge difference in training intensity between the two sides resulted in the Ming army being unable to keep up with the training progress of the Haihan side. Just physical training is no longer synchronized, and more advanced subjects such as tactical coordination are even less possible to train together.
Qian Tiandun was helpless when he saw this situation. Of course, he understood that there were many deep-seated reasons behind this gap in training levels. Even if these Ming troops were forced to train, they would not be able to see the improvement effect immediately. In this regard, he could only suggest to the Ming army generals to provide better food security for the soldiers so that they could keep up with the training of the Shanghai Han Militia.
No matter how hard the Ming army trained, Qian Tiandun would never relax in the training of his subordinates. As a senior official, he is very clear about the development plan of the Executive Committee. His transfer from Annan to Fujian has already stated the intention of the Executive Committee. In the future, control of the Fujian coast will be Haihan's focus, and the elite division of the militia army led by Qian Tiandun will most likely have to take the lead.
Although the military attaches great importance to the role of Nanri Island at this stage, Qian Tiandun also knows that this is actually just an approach to accommodate the Fujian government and Xu Xinsu. After the Haihan militia stationed in Fujian, whether to occupy a place like Nanri Island will , in fact, it does not affect the overall situation. Qian Tiandun believed that the real decisive battle would not take place on this small island, but would more likely be at a port somewhere along the coast of Penghu or Taiwan Island.
Of course, before conditions were ripe to send troops to attack Penghu and even Taiwan, Qian Tiandun knew that he had to guard against Shibazhi and the Dutch to retake Nanri Island. Since Shibazhi has sent people to Tainan to find the Dutch to move reinforcements, Qian Tiandun believes that the possibility of the Dutch being involved in this matter is relatively high.
One reason is that there is an old feud between the Dutch and the Ming Dynasty that has not been avenged. If they can seize the opportunity to trick the Fujian government, the Dutch may really take the risk. The second is that the Dutch do not have much external help at the moment. Xu Xinsu has clearly stood on their opposite side. If they lose Shibazhi again, it will be difficult for the Dutch to obtain manpower and other resources from the Ming Dynasty. Publicly and privately, the Dutch cannot sit idly by and watch Baizhi lose and then fall apart.
Attacking strong cities such as Kinmen Suo and Zhongzuo Suo, Shibazhi has encountered difficulties several times, and the Dutch may not be willing to send their soldiers to fight on such battlefields. But it is definitely much easier to attack a small island like Nanri Island, which is small and has relatively weak defense. If Shibazhi offered the right conditions, it wouldn't be surprising for the Dutch to step in.
And just as Qian Tiandun expected, after Zheng Xinzhi offered conditions to Hans, the East India Company's chief resident, after discussion, the Dutch finally found it difficult to resist the temptation to drive away the Spanish and decided to assist the Eighteen Zhizhi. Retake Nanri Island.
"But our military assistance comes with preconditions." Hans poured cold water on the excited Zheng Xinzhi: "We will not send soldiers to the island to join the war."
Zheng Xinzhi was stunned for a moment, then said: "It would be okay if Lord Hans could sell a batch of artillery to us."
"The cannon can be sold, but the price must be increased by 30% from the previous price." Hans showed his fangs calmly: "The prices of other weapons will also increase based on this standard."
Zheng Xinzhi secretly felt sorry for his master's silver. This cannon cost several hundred taels more, and the ten cannons cost thousands more taels. In total, it was equivalent to taking the silver of the past ten cannons, and now he could only buy Six or seven doors. The price increase for FireWire is indeed vicious enough. Now Shibazhi is begging the Dutch to sell weapons, and there is no room for bargaining at all. To be honest, even if Hans increased the price by 50% or more in one go, Zheng Xinzhi would hold his nose and respond first, otherwise he would have no way of explaining it when he returned to Penghu empty-handed.
"In addition, all the expenses for the combat ships and combat personnel sent by us must be borne by you." Hans calmly put forward the next condition: "First, fifty thousand taels of silver must be paid in advance as the cost of the troops' departure. ”
Zheng Xinzhi frowned. Although this condition was extremely unfair, he still did not express any objection. As long as the Dutch are willing to send troops, it's fine. As for how much money they want, it's secondary - anyway, it won't be Zheng Xinzhi himself who will be responsible for paying.
Seeing that Zheng Xinzhi did not express any objection, Hans continued: "Third, after our fleet sets off from Taiyuan Port, you need to send the information on Tamsui and Jilong ports in the north as soon as possible, and ensure that we To cooperate when sending troops to attack the area, a written agreement must be signed and Mr. Zheng Zhilong’s signature and seal must be attached.”
The main reason why the Dutch are willing to send troops is that they believe that Shibazhi can help them deal with the Spanish. In order to prevent Shibazhi from playing tricks in the process, signing a written agreement is also a necessary coercion method. . If Shibazhi reneges on his promise, then this piece of paper will make it impossible for them to live on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
"This matter... I must go back and inform my lord first. It should be no big deal." Zheng Xinzhi did not dare to express his position on Zheng Zhilong's behalf. After all, Zheng Zhilong would have to personally sign the signature and the painting.
"We can discuss the details, but the general framework is like this." Hans said proudly: "If you think it is feasible, then come with the signed agreement and money next time."
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"Yes, yes, Lord Hans is busy with official duties, so I will take my leave first." Zheng Xinzhi saw that Hans had no intention of talking to him anymore, so he quickly stood up and said goodbye in a sensible manner.
After Zheng Xinzhi came out of the East India Company's office, he didn't even return to his residence. He went straight to the dock and immediately took a boat back to Penghu to bring back the contents of the negotiation and inform Zheng Zhilong. Zheng Zhilong had long been impatient in waiting in Penghu. If he hadn't known that he was not strong enough, he probably couldn't wait for Zheng Xinzhi to come back and organized his own troops to go to Nanri Island.
After Zheng Xinzhi finished explaining the three conditions offered by the Dutch, Zheng Zhilong's face was already very dark: "Is this the result of the more than half a month of negotiations in Damuan Port?"
Zheng Xinzhi explained tremblingly: "The red-haired leader Hans was not willing to participate in this matter before. Later, the villain offered the Folangji man in exchange, and he finally relented, but he still bit these three to death." The villain has never given up on this condition. He did not slack off at all during his stay in Taiyuan Port. He worked hard day and night and lobbied everywhere to achieve today's results."
Zheng Zhilong scolded: "You idiot, you still think you are smart! If you increase the price by 30% to buy artillery, do you know how much more money we have to pay? We also have to pay 50,000 taels of military expenses for departure first, and then pay the other half after the completion of the matter. They continue Even if you don’t even get to the shore, you still agree to their conditions? Have the red-haired men poured water into your mind? You have to pay hundreds of thousands of taels of silver here and there. You will pay for it?”
Zheng Xinzhi was scolded so badly that he didn't dare to speak back, but he was secretly aggrieved. Before departure, Zheng Zhilong gave him great negotiating authority. "All money transactions can be decided by oneself without asking for instructions." Unexpectedly, Zheng Zhilong's appearance changed after he came back. Zheng Xin knew that although he had been ripped off by the red-haired man, the matter had already been accomplished! Isn't this your original intention to pay for reinforcements?
Zheng Zhilong was so angry mainly because the internal environment deteriorated rapidly after losing Nanri Island. Due to the limited strength of Shibazhi, he did not dare to launch another attack on Nanri Island alone and could only wait for news from the Dutch.
During this period, opinions within Shibazhi began to diverge. Due to the loss of Nanri Island, Shibazhi's trade channels with the Ming Dynasty were also greatly affected. Therefore, several leaders who had a lot of business in the mainland believed that the war should cease. For peace talks, if possible, simply accept the recruitment offer from the Fujian government, imitate Xu Xinsu's example and come ashore with a clean slate. At least he can still work as a minor official like a general, and he won't have to worry about living at sea in the future.
The other group was unwilling to succumb to the Ming Dynasty. They believed that the current government suppression was too intense and that the leaders had no future in the coastal areas of Fujian. They suggested that the activities should be moved to the Northeast, such as Ryukyu and Japan. There was nothing there. The pirate forces can compete with Shibazhi - of course, because there are fewer merchant ships passing through the local waters, there will be much less oil and water.
In addition, there are also die-hards who believe that troops should be sent to attack Nanri Island immediately without giving Haihan and the Fujian Ming Army a chance to breathe. As for how to fight and whether they can beat the opponent, they don't care that much, or at all. I have never considered such a specific issue. After all, these people have never experienced the fear of being suppressed by Haihan artillery fire and unable to move.
With various opinions fragmented, it was difficult for Zheng Zhilong to prepare for war in a unified manner in Penghu. Although the pirate force under his command is the strongest among the Eighteen Zhi, without the cooperation of other leaders, it will still appear to be alone and lacking in strength when facing opponents of the level of Haihan and the Fujian Ming Army.
While Zheng Xinzhi went to negotiate with the Dutch, there was not much that Zheng Zhilong could do. The main thing was to win over and appease the leaders of various families and prevent them from falling apart under the pressure of the outside world. It took a lot of words and energy to finally settle the internal disputes among the various factions. Of course, he also made a lot of promises. For example, it was Zheng Zhilong who strongly advocated inviting the Dutch to send troops, so he had to bear half of the corresponding expenses, and the other half was shared by other leaders of Shibazhi. If the Dutch are willing to sell weapons such as artillery, then the weapons they buy back need to be equally divided among each family. Of course, if the Dutch take the opportunity to raise prices, the increased portion will also be subsidized by Zheng Zhilong out of his own pocket.
After much talk, the leaders of each family were finally willing to obey his command and began to select their elite men to prepare for the battle to recapture Nanri Island. And Zheng Zhilong hopes that Zheng Xinzhi can bring back a relatively satisfactory news from Dayuan Port-at least it will prevent his losses from being too great.
However, the news brought back by Zheng Xinzhi was really disappointing. Although the Dutch finally agreed to sell weapons and send troops, this was far from Zheng Zhilong's request. After paying so much money to the Dutch in vain, Zheng Zhilong felt for a moment that he might as well give the money to Xu Xinsu to buy peace.
Of course, this was just a momentary thought. Zheng Zhilong still refused to admit defeat after all. The great reputation of Shiba Zhi on the coast of Fujian is not just a boast. Zheng Zhilong still wants to use war to get back the status that Shiba Zhi deserves in the world. However, Zheng Xinzhi negotiated a few conditions that really made him He felt dissatisfied.
Zheng Zhihu had already disliked Zheng Xinzhi, so he took the opportunity to complain: "Brother, you, the staff member, have been away for more than half a month, and none of the negotiated terms are beneficial to us. I think maybe He was the one who caused some trouble and sold our brothers for his own personal gain!”
Zheng Xinzhi was so frightened that he quickly defended himself: "It's absolutely not the case! If you are a big boss, you can learn from the villain's loyalty. How could you do such a thing!"
"The price of the red-haired man's weapons will increase by 30%, and you actually agreed. I guess you will get some benefits after the deal is concluded!" Zheng Zhihu refused to let him go.
Zheng Xinzhi fell to his knees with a thump and defended himself: "If this happens, I am willing to be punished!"
Zheng Zhilong looked at Zheng Zhihu suspiciously, but saw that he only had an angry look on his face, but did not show any evidence. He knew that his brother was just talking loudly, without even the slightest bit of real evidence. Of course, Zheng Zhilong could not convict Zheng Xinzhi by fabricating a charge out of thin air, so he could only send him away with a few words.
As for Zheng Xinzhi digging this big hole... he has dug it, should he jump or not? If you choose not to jump, the Haihan people and the Fujian government are digging a bigger hole behind you, almost to the heel. If Zheng Zhilong doesn't jump, he will fall into this bigger and deeper hole.
(End of chapter)