East Factory Governor

Chapter 728 Are You Qin Shuhuai?
Historically, the battle between Zheng Zhilong and Liu Xiang took place in December of the fifth year of Chongzhen, that is to say, there is still more than a year from now.The Golden Gate naval battle with the Dutch took place in the sixth year of Chongzhen, two years from now.

However, Qin Shuhuai is worried that the history of this time and space may not follow the original path.For example, if Zheng Zhilong was transferred to Zhejiang to take up the post of Assistant Minister of the General Administration of Customs, would Liu Xiang and the Dutch do it in advance?
So, after letting Zheng Zhilong arrange the handover, he had a long talk with Zheng Zhilong behind closed doors.

Zheng Zhilong naturally knew the current situation well, and explained Liu Xiang's and the Dutch's movements in detail.

Generally speaking, since Liu Xiang broke with Zheng Zhilong, he has continued to be his great pirate. In the past two years, his power has continued to expand, and his demand for control over sea areas and routes has also increased, so he has been waiting for opportunities to get rid of Zheng Zhilong.

As for the Dutch, it was mainly because of Ming's maritime embargo policy that it was unable to conduct normal trade with the most important economies in the Far East, so a big war was urgently needed to force Ming to surrender and open the coastal ports.

But now, the imperial court has opened the sea ban along the coast of Zhejiang, which can alleviate the anxiety of the Dutch to a certain extent.However, the Dutch still wanted to get rid of Zheng Zhilong's navy, on the one hand because Zheng Zhilong had a deep grudge against them, and on the other hand because they also wanted to dominate the Far East, or at least the oceans of southern Fujian and Southeast Asia.

Based on the above, Zheng Zhilong judged that if he left, Liu Xiang and the Dutch would probably jointly attack the ports of Penghu, Xiamen and even Anhai, forcing his navy to come and fight them.

From the comparison of the strength of warships, although Zheng Zhilong has more than 800 warships, most of them are fast boats equipped with only two to three artillery pieces, or fire boats, large warships, such as sixteen, twenty There are 36 heavy warships with 30 guns.

In contrast, the Dutch own more than 50 large warships in the Far East, and Liu Xiang also owns more than 20 large warships. The rest of the fast ships and small and medium-sized ships are about the same.

In other words, Zheng Zhilong suffers from insufficient large warships, and the number is only half of the opponent's.

That's why he has been very low-key in recent years, unwilling to conflict with Liu Xiang and the Dutch.Even now, he is deliberately trying to please the Dutch, such as agreeing to give the Dutch more smuggling convenience (because Minnan was controlled by Zheng Zhilong before, so the court has not yet lifted the sea ban), and even giving up the Manila port to the Dutch, etc., just to Ease conflicts and buy time.

But everyone knows that a sea battle in the future is inevitable.

After synthesizing the information, Qin Shuhuai came to his own judgment.

His judgment is slightly different from Zheng Zhilong's.

Because he traveled from a later age, he knew very well that what the Dutch want at this stage is freedom of trade, which actually coincides with his thinking, and this requirement can satisfy the Dutch.As long as Zheng Zhilong's warship is obtained, the imperial court can fully open the sea ban in southern Fujian, which is believed to be enough to appease the Dutch for the time being.

Historically, under the strict sea ban imposed by the imperial court, the war between Zheng Zhilong and the Dutch broke out only two years later. Now that the sea ban has been fully lifted and the basic needs are greatly satisfied, the Dutch have no reason to go to war in advance.

Of course, the Dutch East India Company is not as simple as normal free trade in the Far East. Their appetite is as big as occupying the Far East for colonization, as long as controlling the Far East to collect protection fees, and as small as smuggling goods to obtain the highest profit. Everything touched Qin Shuhuai's bottom line - since the Far East is going to give birth to a powerful Ming Dynasty, the hands of Westerners should not be so long.Among other things, at least the entire Far East has to be decided by Ming Dynasty, otherwise it is still a feather "surrender to the barbarians and come to court from all directions"?
Therefore, the Dutch can be appeased and temporarily delayed, but a big battle with the Dutch is inevitable and needs to be prepared in advance.

As for Liu Xiang, a big pirate, it is naturally better to get rid of it as soon as possible.

This way the problem is simple.

If the Dutch can be held back, no matter how courageous Liu Xiang is, he will never take the initiative to fight Zheng Zhilong's navy.Therefore, to get rid of Liu Xiang, one must take the initiative to attack.

Liu Xiang's base camp is in Taiwan, that is to say, in order to get rid of Liu Xiang, in addition to naval battles, landing operations are also required.

In order to land and fight, it is necessary to destroy the coastal defenses of Liu Xiang's several ports in Taiwan.

To destroy coastal defenses, large-caliber artillery is needed.

What is Ming's strongest artillery right now?
Red Cannon!

An upgraded version of the Franc cannon!

The idea came out like this.

First, upgrade the artillery of Zheng Zhilong's warship, and equip it with all red cannons.The red cannon not only has a longer range (the effective range is about 1 km), but also has a larger caliber. Using it to launch solid shells is enough to penetrate warships, and using it to launch shotguns and chain bullets is also more powerful.

Second, Zheng Zhilong's warship is controlled by a reliable person who must be extremely loyal to the court and well versed in how to take power.

The red cannon can now be mass-produced. It is nothing more than a problem of money, and the problem of money is not a problem now.Even, the red cannon can continue to be improved to make it more powerful.There are also people who can improve the cannon in red. It is said that the old guy Xu Guangqi is still alive.

So who is the candidate to control these [-] warships, as well as two large docks and more than a dozen important ports?

Obviously, Hua Shen only understands intelligence and is not suitable.Needless to say, Li Jingting was not suitable.

After much deliberation, Qin Shuhuai thought of a candidate.

Li Daliang.

This guy may not be able to command and fight, but in terms of tactics and control, he is probably second only to Cao Huachun—you must know that he, Chen Changting and others have created a force that cannot be underestimated in just three years. The Jianghe gang has attracted a large number of people, who would believe him if he didn't know how to maneuver?
As for his loyalty to the imperial court, there is no need to doubt it.

As long as he can control the warship in the hands of the imperial court, as for matters at sea, it is not a problem at all to have old pirates like Zheng Cai and Chen Hui help him.

In other words, the next action can be summed up in one sentence: take control of the warship, and then explode the red cannon. If there is time to explode another wave of large warships, wait for a decisive battle with Liu Xiang and the Dutch in half a year or a year.

In the evening, Qin Shuhuai had a long talk with Chen Hui, Zheng Cai, Li Kuiqi, Zhong Bin and other Zheng Zhilong's subordinates, and verbally promoted their official positions until the imperial edict was issued.

Most of these people are from southern Fujian. Being Zheng Zhilong's subordinates is also being a subordinate, and serving the court is also selling, and now they have truly surrendered to the court. In the future, they will no longer have to worry about being encircled and suppressed by the court. Naturally everyone is happy.

Qin Shuhuai believes that as long as their brains are not broken, they will not rebel. If they don't rebel, they will be rich and prosperous. If they rebel, they will not only be chased and killed by the court, but also Liu Xiang and the Dutch. ?
All done.

Early the next morning, according to the plan, Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Zhibao, and Zheng Zhihu took the whole family, gold and silver, and set off for the capital Miansheng under the "escort" of Qin Shuhuai and the two thousand martial arts allied forces.

When he came out of Zheng's residence, a boy about eight or nine years old suddenly walked up to Qin Shuhuai and looked at him carefully.

Qin Shuhuai stopped and smiled at him.

The child asked, "Are you Qin Shuhuai?"

Zheng Zhilong immediately reprimanded, "Sen'er, don't be presumptuous, this is the Duke of the current dynasty!"

But the child didn't care, and asked again, "Are you Qin Shuhuai?"

Qin Shuhuai smiled slightly, knelt down and said to him, "Your name is Zheng Sen?"

The child nods.

Qin Shuhuai thought, Hello Zheng Chenggong.

The child asked again, "Are you really fighting four against one thousand in Luowenyu?"

Qin Shuhuai nodded.

The child immediately said, "When I grow up, I want to be a hero like you."

Qin Shuhuai smiled and patted his head, "Great! You will."

As he spoke, he touched his bosom, but there was only a bank note and nothing else.

Thinking of the jade pendant given by Chongzhen hanging on his waist, he took it off and handed it to Zheng Sen.

"Here, this is what I gave you. When you see it, you will remember what you said today. But, do you know how to become a great hero?"

Zheng Sen took the jade pendant unceremoniously, and said, "I know. A great hero should be a hero for the country and the people. That's what you said, right?"

Qin Shuhuai said seriously, "That's right, good job!"

Historically, after Zheng Chenggong learned that his father Zheng Zhilong had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, he resolutely went to the Confucian Temple and burned his clothes to show his renunciation with Zheng Zhilong, and took some soldiers to Taiwan to continue the great cause of fighting against the Qing Dynasty.

Qin Shuhuai was not surprised that he could say these words.

On the contrary, Zheng Zhilong's complexion suddenly changed, because he saw that this jade pendant belonged to Da Nei.

He hurriedly said to Zheng Sen, "Sen'er, don't be rude. Quickly return this jade pendant to the Duke, is this something you can ask for?"

Qin Shuhuai got up, smiled lightly at Zheng Zhilong, "Master Zheng, I like your young master very much, this jade pendant should be my gift to him. Don't refuse."

Ordinary people don't dare to pass on the imperial gifts to others, but Qin Shuhuai has nothing to dare here.

Zheng Zhilong saw that Qin Shuhuai was so resolute, so he quickly saluted and said, "Thank you, Lord Guo, for your reward!"

He was extremely excited.

In his opinion, this is the performance of Qin Shuhuai win over him.

Explain that I am still useful to him, and of great use!
As for Qin Shuhuai, he is destined to become a great treasure and rule the world!

This means that it is enough for him to savor it for many days!
(End of this chapter)