Chapter 995 Military Assistance
Although Haihan's real purpose was to seek benefits for himself, and he also played a lot of tricks in the process of military aid to the Ming Dynasty, Luo Shengdong had to admit that if Haihan did not help Fuzhou and Guangzhou, the Ming Dynasty would It is indeed difficult for the government itself to cope with the troubles caused by natural disasters and bandits and pirate gangs. These two places have not become as chaotic as the hinterland of the Central Plains. They are even more prosperous than during the Tianqi years. The stabilizing role of Haihan in the middle cannot be ignored.
Of course, the benefits that Haihan gained from the Ming Dynasty through military aid are also obvious. On the one hand, he obtained very direct benefits such as manpower, resources, and markets that he urgently needed. On the other hand, he won over the local officials of the Ming Dynasty to cooperate with him, and through these officials The channel gained more opportunities to exert influence on Ming Dynasty. For example, the promotion and publicity of Haihan's unique systems such as culture, finance, and commerce are gradually changing the perception of Haihan among the people in Fujian and Guangdong. Now this model has extended north to the coast of Zhejiang. With Haihan's style of doing things, they will probably not be satisfied with the status quo and will continue to expand their maritime control area northward.
However, the nature of the military aid Ning Qi is talking about is obviously different from the previous exchange terms. Haihan hopes to use military aid in exchange for heavier benefits from the Ming Dynasty, such as Haihan being recognized by the imperial court. state power and the corresponding normalization of diplomatic relations.
Luo Shengdong hesitated and said: "I'm afraid it's not that easy to negotiate terms with the court. In the early years, the Portuguese and the Dutch tried similar methods. The Portuguese not only sold cannons to the Ming Dynasty, but also sent artillery regiments to the capital to help The Ming army did a lot of things in the war, but the only thing they got in exchange was the long-term lease of Macau. ”
Luo Shengdong implied that this method had been tried by the Portuguese before, and the treatment that could be obtained from the Ming court through military aid might not be up to Haihan's expectations.
Ning Qi naturally knew what Luo Shengdong said. In order to legalize their presence in Macau, the Portuguese, in addition to paying taxes and land rent to Ming Dynasty every year, have also been providing Ming Dynasty with advanced artillery and related artillery training. In 1621, the Ming Dynasty sent Zhang Tao and Sun Xueshi as imperial envoys to Macau with a letter from the Ministry of War to purchase artillery and hire gunners. The Portuguese worked very hard to recruit hundreds of artillery troops from India, Manila, Japan and other places, and sold 26 British cannons to the Ming Dynasty, and returned northward with the imperial envoys. Some of these artillery pieces stayed in the capital, while the other part was transferred to Shanhaiguan for deployment by Dong Hanru, Minister of War, and later transported to Ningyuan City outside the pass. The artillery used in the Ningyuan victory in 1626 was purchased from the Portuguese before.
In 1628, Emperor Chongzhen ordered Li Fengjie and Wang Zunde, members of the two majorities, to entrust Portuguese businessmen to purchase artillery and recruit troops. In February of the following year, the Portuguese in Macau donated ten cannons and several muskets, which were escorted north to Beijing by special personnel. Emperor Chongzhen deployed artillery at strategic locations in the capital and gave him the name "Shenwei General". At the same time, Xu Guangqi was appointed as the general coordinator, and the Portuguese were asked to assist in casting cannons and training artillery in the capital. However, due to objective technical obstacles, the actual results achieved by these measures are not ideal.
So in 1630, Emperor Chongzhen once again ordered the Portuguese to purchase artillery and recruit troops from Macau. This time the Portuguese responded very positively, not only providing the Ming court with an artillery team of more than 300 people, but also 40 artillery pieces. But at this time, there were differences of opinion within the Ming court. Some opposition parties believed that the Portuguese should not be too involved in the military, especially the defense of important areas in the capital, and should not be left to foreigners. Emperor Chongzhen later accepted this idea. With this opinion, they would no longer accept the large-scale military aid provided by the Portuguese.
During this period, the Ming army was equipped with the most and most advanced firearms, and the garrison in Dengzhou, Shandong Province was probably one of them. Xu Guangqi and Sun Yuanhua concentrated the artillery, gunners and gunsmiths provided by the Portuguese in Dengzhou, trying to build a powerful firearms force here. Sun Yuanhua's troops had more than 20 Franco machine guns, 320 Western muskets, and thousands of bird muskets. They also had a group of gunners who had mastered Western artillery technology.
But it is a pity that during the Dengzhou Rebellion, this elite division was almost destroyed. Twelve Portuguese mercenaries, including the artillery commander Gongsha, were killed in the battle, and fifteen others were seriously injured. Captured. The surviving Portuguese left Dengzhou after the war and returned south to Macau. Later, Kong Youde and others who defected to the Northeast to join the Hou Jin brought local gunsmiths and weapons and equipment, all of which were basically from this firearms unit built with a lot of money from Daminghua.
Considering that the Portuguese resident population in Macau is only one or two thousand, being able to provide this level of military assistance to the Ming Dynasty can be considered a dedicated effort. Compared with their efforts, the benefits they received from Ming Dynasty were actually relatively limited, and were far worse than Haihan's current treatment. But Haihan is obviously not satisfied with the status quo and hopes to obtain more benefits with the help of military aid. This is somewhat unrealistic in Luo Shengdong's opinion.
Ning Qi said: "At this moment, during the Tianqi years, the internal and external pressure that Ming Dynasty had to face was far less than it is now. The Portuguese could not negotiate terms if they wanted to. But today, Ming Dynasty is caught in internal and external troubles. If we, Haihan, decide If we continue to watch with cold eyes, the Ming Dynasty will not be saved within ten years!”
"Ten years? This... shouldn't be enough, right?" Luo Shengdong didn't believe the number Ning Qi said.
Although the Ming Dynasty has indeed been in decline in recent years, how can such an empire that has ruled the world for more than two hundred years be done with it? After seeing the history of Haihan's family, Luo Shengdong did not believe that the peasant army in the Central Plains could bring down the Ming Dynasty. In his opinion, these people were just rogue bandits after all, with no political goals and no local roots, relying only on locust-style burning. It is impossible to accomplish great things by killing and looting.
To put it bluntly, the Northeastern wild boar skins outside the pass are a group of barbarians who are not yet completely civilized. When Luo Shengdong heard the Haihan people mention Hou Jin in the past, most of them sounded extremely disdainful, and naturally he did not think they were very powerful. Although the Ming Dynasty has been in a situation of losing more than winning against the Jin army since 1626, this will not hinder Luo Shengdong's blind confidence in the military power of the Ming Dynasty - even if he can't defeat Haihan, then he can't defeat the Guanwai There should be no problem with the tribal armed forces, right?
However, Luo Shengdong did not know that in the original history, Hou Jin outside the Pass would change the country's name to Qing two years later and follow the example of the Ming Dynasty in establishing political institutions. Ten years later, in 1644, Li Zicheng led a peasant army to invade the capital and ended the rule of Emperor Chongzhen. Then the Qing army, with the cooperation of Wu Sangui, entered the country in large numbers. Although the Ming Dynasty did not fall immediately, it had become a weak side. Since then, he has been in ruins. It is not an exaggeration to say that he has lost the world since then. The ten-year life span that Ning Qi assigned to Ming Dynasty was not just random talk, but was based on very objective historical facts.
Ning Qi said: "General Luo, you have been dealing with us for seven years. You should have seen examples of us predicting the development of the situation. Have you ever failed to deliver?"
"That's...not true." Luo Shengdong really admired Haihan's accuracy in predicting the situation, so much so that many people in the officialdom now regard Haihan's views on the direction of the situation as a golden rule. But the nature of predicting the national destiny is much more serious. Although Luo Shengdong no longer regards his identity as an official of the Ming Dynasty, his attitude towards it is still very cautious.
Ning Qi continued: "If the problems that Ming Dynasty is facing now do not get our help, the situation will only become more and more difficult in the future, but we must try to make the Ming Dynasty court understand this situation and realize the necessity of doing transactions with us, so that To achieve this goal, it is not enough for us, Haihan, to have some people who can speak for us in the court.”
Luo Shengdong responded subconsciously: "Master Xiong..." "Yes, we think Master Xiong is quite suitable for this job." Ning Qi nodded and said: "Master Xiong has served as the governor of Fuzhou and Guangdong. , which shows that he has won the trust of the court, and I believe that the opinions he provided to the court should have a certain weight. We originally planned to take the opportunity of this celebration to invite Mr. Xiong to come to Sanya for an interview, but Mr. Xiong should be. I had some concerns, so I couldn’t make the trip in the end.”
Luo Shengdong thought to himself that Xiong Wencan was not just a little worried, he was extremely worried, okay? When Haihan founded the country, he came to the Sanya platform as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. What was the nature of this behavior? If the court finds out, he will probably be charged with treason and surrender to the enemy. Even if Xiong Wencan did not express objections to Haihan's founding of the country, he would certainly not express his position easily at this juncture.
Ning Qi continued: "But this matter is not urgent now. After the celebration is over, we are going to contact Mr. Xiong again to see if we can arrange a meeting. At that time, we may have to trouble General Luo to go north to Zhaoqing to contact us. .”
Luo Shengdong responded quickly: "This is Luo's responsibility. You should try your best to complete it." He was not saying this politely. If he does things for Haihan now, he is doing things for himself. The interests of the two are consistent. If Luo Shengdong would definitely be happy to see a way to get the court to recognize Haihan's existence.
Ning Qi was very satisfied with Luo Shengdong's attitude. He nodded and said, "Let's talk about business here. You should stay in Sanya and don't travel far. I will inform you of the next arrangements when I am ready. ”
Luo Shengdong responded, but did not move his buttocks. Seeing this, Ning Qi guessed that he had something to say, so he took the initiative to ask: "Are there any difficulties in life and work that you need our help to solve recently? ”
Luo Shengdong responded quickly: "I do have a small matter, I hope the chief can give me some advice."
Ning Qi said: "Come and listen."
"When I went to Guangzhou the next time, I stopped by and met with the heads of the Guangdong Office. I heard that Haihan intended to build a new city near Lijiazhuang. On the way back to Sanya, I kept thinking about whether there is anything in it that can work for Haihan. "Luo Shengdong considered it and said, "I'm just stupid, and after thinking about it, I still think I should ask the chief for advice."
After Ning Qi listened, he roughly guessed what Luo Shengdong had planned. Haihan plans to build a new city in Panyu. This plan has indeed been put on the agenda, and the conditions for land acquisition have also been negotiated with Li Jifeng, a large local landowner in Panyu.
The main purpose of Haihan's plan is to gradually control the trade power in the Pearl River Basin and transfer the trade center in this area from Guangzhou City to Haihan's control area. Although Panyu County is still nominally under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty, in fact, even Guangzhou City, which is forty miles away from Panyu, can no longer interfere in local affairs, basically acquiescing to the existence of Panyu, a land outside the law.
But building a city is not a city in the traditional sense. It is definitely not cost-effective for Haihan to carry out a large project like building a city so close to Guangzhou. It would be better to replace the cost of city construction with military expenditure. Directly capture Guangzhou and end the problem. Rather than building a city, it is actually more similar to building a comprehensive trade center, expanding all the original functional facilities such as docks, warehousing, and trading here, and making the functions of the original immigrant camp public. In the final analysis, it is just to expand the existing business scale. However, when Luo Shengdong went to the Guangdong Office, he may have heard some different opinions from the people there, so he thought that Haihan planned to build a city there.
In any case, this is definitely a big project. Since Luo Shengdong has heard the news, it is reasonable for him to want to intervene early to gain some benefits. Ning Qi asked: "Then do you want to invest in some business locally, or do you plan to buy property and land?"
Luo Shengdong responded: "This is where I'm not sure. Logically speaking, using money to buy property and land is the right way to go. But this time I went to the Guangdong Office and heard Director Ma talk to me about working capital. After hearing this, I think it makes sense to make money with money, but I have been dealing with salt for the past few years and don’t know much about other industries, so I don’t know how to operate it.”
Ning Qi thought to himself that you are not satisfied with your private salt business. You are very ambitious and want to invest in other businesses. This was probably because I went to Guangzhou and saw the richness of the Li Jifeng family and became a little jealous, so I suddenly had such an idea. Maliko is also a master with great deception ability. If Luo Shengdong bumps into his hands, it is inevitable that he will be deceived and become lame. However, Ning Qi's supervisor's work area is not business and trade. He only has a partial understanding of the trading conditions in Guangdong and cannot give any solid suggestions.
"How about this? Mr. Shi will come to my place later to discuss a document and ask him to give you some professional advice?" Ning Qi felt that since Luo Shengdong had already asked to come here, he still had to find a way to give it to you. All he needs is an answer. He will have to be sent to run errands later, and the horse must be fed enough grass before it can run.
(End of chapter)