Chapter 707: War in Penghu
He Bin and Guo Huaiyi planned for several months, connected everywhere, and took many risks before finally leading their troops to escape. But they never expected that less than half a day after their fleet arrived at Taiyuan Port, they would be captured by the person they were trying to seek refuge with. The Dutch, whom they once regarded as life-saving straw, actually offered them as sacrifices to Xu Xinsu without hesitation. Although they don’t know what kind of agreement was reached between the Dutch and Xu Xinsu, the two pirate leaders knew that their step was irreversible. For the Dutch, their value was not that they could become thugs or servants, but that they could become thugs or servants. It was regarded as a condition for exchange of interests with the Fujian government.
It wasn't until the two men were tied up and put aside by Wu Hua that Xu Shan bowed deeply to Hans and said, "Master Hans understands justice, and the common people admire him very much! However, these pirates are very dangerous and need to be dealt with early. ”
Hans responded: "Mr. Xu, what suggestions do you have?"
"I'm just a merchant, how dare I point my fingers at the adults' decisions." Xu Shan lowered his body even further.
Hans pondered for a moment and then said: "The crimes committed by these pirates were all within the territory of the Ming Dynasty, so it is only reasonable that they should be tried by the Ming Dynasty officials. I think it is better to send them to Zhangzhou and hand them over to the officials. ”
"Your Excellency is wise." Xu Shan flattered him in a timely manner.
"However, many of these two men's subordinates are ordinary people who have been coerced into joining the gang. I think these people should be given a chance to start over." Hans added.
Hans's purpose was very clear. He knew that the Fujian government and the Haihan people would never let go of Shiba Zhi, but they were only targeting the big leaders in the gang. As for the following minions, the other party doesn't care so much about their life and death. The people brought by these two guys are excellent labor force for Damuan Port. You must know that Hans has tried various methods in recent years, but only a few thousand immigrants can be introduced from Daming every year.
Of course Xu Shan also understood the implication of Hans's words, and immediately responded: "As far as the people know, the Fujian government's attitude towards Shiba Zhi is to only take the culprits and not to coerce them. Master Hans can handle it on his own." His entourage ”
Since Hans was so proactive in cooperating on this matter, Xu Shan would certainly not find fault with these details again without the sense of humor. Being able to capture He Bin and Guo Huaiyi back to Fujian is already a great achievement. As for whether the Fujian government's attitude towards the Dutch will loosen due to this incident, that is beyond the scope of Xu Shan's intervention. After all, he is just a member of the Xu family, not a member of the Xu family at all. People in the officialdom have little say in such matters. His significance in Taiyuan Port is more to represent the interests of Xu Xinsu Group rather than the Fujian government.
Two days later, the news that He Bin and Guo Huaiyi were arrested by the Dutch in Dayuan Port spread back to Fujian and Penghu almost simultaneously, and the impact of this incident on the two sides was completely different. The Fujian side is naturally cheering and cheering. Even before the war begins, the opponent's camp has already begun to fall apart. This shows that there are huge differences within Shibazhi about the future direction of the situation, and their fighting will must be very strong. Worrying.
After hearing the news, Zheng Zhilong once again broke the inkstone in the study room - this was the second time in the past month that he had thrown something in front of his subordinates to vent his anger. This was an extremely rare situation in the past.
"Extremely stupid!" Zheng Zhilong could only use these words to evaluate the fate of He Bin and Guo Huaiyi: "The red-haired people cut off contact with us and expelled our people from Dazhuang Port. It was clear that they wanted to build relations with the Fujian government. Well, the Dutch are lucky that they didn’t join forces with Xu Xinsu to send troops, but these two idiots dared to do it themselves!”
"Brother, now the people on the island are in panic. I think we should announce our departure immediately. If we delay it any longer, I'm afraid the enemies across the sea won't give us time to escape." Zheng Zhibao suggested to him with an uneasy look on his face.
Zheng Zhilong nodded and said: "Without further delay, since there is no room for reversal on this matter, we must gather the troops as soon as possible and prepare to set off. You go and notify each camp, and we will break camp and leave Penghu in two days!"
At the same time, the latest changes in the situation are also being discussed on Kinmen Island. At present, the participating troops of the coalition have been assembled, and 70% of the required materials and equipment are in place. The rest are basically the supplies that Haihan needs. It will take some time to transport these things from Sanya. As of now, The situation cannot wait. The current issue for both sides of the coalition has changed from how to fight this war to when to start taking action.
"We will send troops in two days!" Yan Chujie finally announced the outcome of the discussion categorically.
The fact that both sides sent troops at the same time can be said to be an unconscious coincidence, but in fact it can be regarded as an inevitable event created by the current situation. Shiba Zhi was busy trying to evacuate Penghu before the enemy came knocking on their doorstep, while the coalition forces were afraid that Shiba Zhi would slip away too quickly and allow them to retreat unscathed.
In the early morning of May 1, 1632, Kinmen Island, Fujian Province.
Although the Haihan side requested to keep a low profile as much as possible, Xu Xinsu still ordered a brief expedition ceremony, not only killing pigs and sheep for sacrifice, but also specially picked up ten pirates from the Zhangzhou prison who were supposed to be executed after the autumn. The prisoner was taken to the dock and his head was chopped off as a sacrifice to the flag.
After completing a series of bloody expedition ceremonies, the Haihan Militia troops began to board the ship and set off. The Ming army led by Xu Xinsu set out from the center left, and the ship's speed was slower than that of the Haihan fleet, so it set off two hours earlier than the Haihan fleet. At this time, it happened to arrive in the waters of Kinmen Island.
The two fleets completed a sea rendezvous near Kinmen Island, but due to the large number of ships, the formation took a little longer. It was not until about 8 o'clock in the morning that the combined fleet completed the basic formation and began to sail towards the east.
At the same time, there was chaos in Magong Port, Penghu. Although Shibazhi has a large number of sea-going ships, it is still difficult to transport tens of thousands of people at one time. As the vanguard, more than a thousand pirates had set out two days ago, and what was leaving Penghu today was a main fleet of more than 1,200 large and small ships that needed to carry more than 20,000 people and necessary supplies.
Although Shibazhi has been organizing supplies and preparing to escape last month, it is still impossible to complete such a large-scale operation in a short period of time given the organizational capabilities of Shibazhi. Task. All kinds of materials piled up in the port, and the flow of people and materials queuing up to board the ship were mixed together. It was difficult for the personnel responsible for command and dispatch at the dock to coordinate, which resulted in the speed of people boarding the ship and cargo loading being greatly affected. It was a mess. Huddled together.
Zheng Zhilong was worried and called his cronies over: "Zhiwan, Zhifeng, each of you will lead a team of soldiers and horses to the pier to maintain order. Those who are jostling and unruly will be dragged out and beaten directly." Kill them! Tell these idiots that if it takes another day or two, no one will be able to get out of Magong Port!" After Zheng Zhiwan and Zheng Zhifeng took people to the dock and arrested a few restless guys, they publicly dealt with them. The order has indeed improved to a certain extent. However, due to the lack of overall planning and efficient dispatch and command, the speed of evacuation still fell short of Zheng Zhilong's expectations.
At noon, bad news came from the sea that made Zheng Zhilong's heart sink completely - the fleets of the Ming army and the Haihan people had set off from Zhangzhou, and their current course was heading towards Penghu. Judging from its huge size, it is obviously not an ordinary fleet out for cruising.
Shibazhi's communication method is a relatively primitive fireworks communication, so the content of the message that can be sent back in time is extremely limited. However, the three consecutive warning signals sent back can already show how bad the current situation is. Calculated according to time, the enemy fleet will probably arrive at Penghu before nightfall. This is simply bad news for Shibazhi, who has not even completed half of the evacuation work.
"Have the sailboat loaded with people and cargo set off immediately and wait to the north of Baisha Island!" Zheng Zhilong made a decisive decision and immediately issued a new order.
Although the Magong Harbor is very large, Zheng Zhilong did not dare to take the risk of letting the ships stay here to form a fleet. Otherwise, once the enemy arrived, the chaotic fleet would probably block the channel in and out of the port, which would cause big trouble. Baisha Island is north of the main island of Penghu, about six nautical miles away from Magong Port. By letting the prepared ships go to the north of Baisha Island to wait for orders, you can avoid being hit by the enemy and causing a mess at the door.
Of course, this method alone is definitely not enough. Zheng Zhilong must try to slow down his opponent's attack and buy more time for his own evacuation.
"Send Liu Xiang and Li Kuiqi to each bring a hundred warships to intercept the Ming navy!" Zheng Zhilong ordered.
However, the order was not carried out smoothly this time. Neither Liu Xiang nor Li Kuiqi were efficient. After receiving the order, instead of immediately leading their troops to the expedition, they went to Zheng Zhilong and asked him why he had arranged for them to go into battle.
"Master, you also know the situation here. The brothers under my command are not willing to fight with the Haihan people at all. Now we have to force the brothers to go to the battlefield, and everyone is not happy!" Liu Xiang complained bitterly first.
"Master, if you want to do it, just stay and have fun with the Haihan people. Why do you send me and Liu Xiang to act as shields?" Li Kuiqi expressed his views more directly. , believed that Zheng Zhilong’s arrangement was extremely unfair.
Zheng Zhilong said with a livid face: "Now the enemy's fleet is only two or three hundred miles away from Magong Port. They will arrive in a moment. Not only you and me can't escape, but everyone here can't escape! You lead your troops to drag it up." In a few hours, we have the opportunity to evacuate thousands more people. What’s wrong with that?”
Liu Xiang retorted: "My subordinates were defeated by Haihan before, so I don't have much confidence in fighting him. It's better to send the best of the master's men to take action!"
Zheng Zhilong did not argue with him from this perspective, but just stared at his face and said word by word: "If you obey the order, I will let your Liu family's children, old and weak women and children board the ship and leave the port first. When we arrive at the new territory in the future, ten There is still a place for your Liu family in Bazhi!”
Liu Xiang's face turned a little blue after hearing this. Zheng Zhilong's words sounded like a promise to Liu Xiang, but upon closer inspection, they turned out to be a naked threat. If Liu Xiang directly refused Zheng Zhilong's command, the consequence would probably be that his Liu family members would not even be able to leave Magong Port. The people who are arranging to board the ship at the port are all Zheng Zhilong's people. If he deliberately wants to wear small shoes for Liu Xiang's family and subordinates, then he may indeed be stuck here and unable to leave.
Of course, Liu Xiang could also rebel violently, but the result would most likely be suppressed by the other leaders of the Eighteen Zhizhi, because no one wanted to be robbed of the opportunity to leave here in a way that disrupted order. If Liu Xiang chooses to resist, the consequences may be more serious than refusing Zheng Zhilong's order.
"Master, why are you forcing me like this!" Liu Xiang gritted his teeth with hatred. After the Battle of the Pearl River Estuary, he led his troops back to Fujian and never set foot in the Guangdong waters again. The reason was that he wanted to avoid the Haihan people, a group of evil stars. But I didn't expect that after a few years, the Haihan people would actually reach out to Fujian step by step, and they also planned to attack their hometown of Penghu. For Liu Xiang, even if it was inevitable, he still hoped to evacuate further overseas instead of risking his life and property to fight the Haihan people.
"The safety of tens of thousands of people on this island depends on me. I'm not forcing you, it's Shiba Zhi who needs you to do this!" Zheng Zhilong said righteously.
Seeing Liu Xiang lowering his head and saying nothing, Zheng Zhilong asked again: "Master Li, what do you say?"
Li Kuiqi shook his head and said: "Master, you don't need to use these big principles to pressure me. Liu Xiang has scruples, but I don't. You can let me fight for my life, just come up with suitable conditions first!"
"If you have any conditions, just say it!" Zheng Zhilong suppressed his anger and tried his best to stay calm.
Normally, he would make decisions with his words, and these leaders would rarely expressly oppose him. But now that the situation was critical, one or two of them began to become restless. If he wasn't worried about internal chaos and allowing the enemy to take advantage of it, Zheng Zhilong would really want to have a fit on the spot - at least grab an inkstone or something and throw it down.
"Brother, I don't have any big demands. Since the boss has spoken out for this reason, then brother will accept the order and go to fight. But after this battle, brother's position in this Shibazhi will change!" Li Kuiqi explained his terms of exchange concisely and concisely.
Zheng Zhilong hesitated for a moment, then nodded and responded: "Yes. After this battle, you and brothers Liu Xiang will sit in the second and third positions of Shibazhi!"
(End of chapter)