Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 182 Breaking into Dongshan Bay

On Dongshan Island and Heming Mountain, a huge stone more than ten feet high is swaying in the sea breeze. This is the wind-moving stone, known as the most amazing stone in the world.

Not far from this boulder, a ring of stone walls stands majestically. The city wall is surrounded by the sea on three sides in the north, east and south. Only the west side leads to the hinterland of Dongshan Island. This is Tongshan City, where the deputy commander-in-chief of Fujian South Road is stationed.

In the deputy general's palace, Zheng Zhilong was receiving guests in the flower hall. His subordinate was Du Ning, a secret friend of Wang Mengxiong, the Penghu garrison in charge of guerrilla affairs.

This king guerrilla was a fierce man. He was originally the commander of the Maotong guerrillas. He played a great role in the many conflicts between the Fujian navy and the red-haired barbarians during the Tianqi period. He also captured the barbarian chief Gao Wenlu alive.

After the Dutch retreated from Penghu to Dajuan, the Ming court began to set up Penghu guerrillas. Thousands of troops were stationed here. The first guerrilla was Wang Mengxiong.

Since arriving in Penghu, Wang Youyi no longer thought about how to drive away the red-haired barbarians. Instead, he quickly organized a smuggling gang and started doing business with his former enemy.

This gang is headed by Wang Mengxiong, and its key members include his secretary Chen Jinbi, secret friend Du Ning, sentry officer Wang Shihou, thief Liu Qin, thief Zheng Xiu, etc.

In addition, Penghu Guerrilla's general manager Ye Dajing, his younger brother Ye Dawei, adopted brother Haizai and others participated in the company. This Ye Dajing also played a great role in expelling the Hongmao barbarians. Now he is the second-in-command of the Penghu garrison. The Penghu tour that the court had painstakingly established has turned into a den of thieves in less than a year.

The smuggling gang headed by Wang and Ye borrowed money from the Dutch to buy raw silk, satin, gunpowder, weapons, wine, fruits and other items from Fujian, and then sold them to officials.

Since Zheng Zhilong began to rise, Wang Mengxiong has developed a new way to get rich. This guerrilla general directly became a brother of the largest pirate leader on the southeast coast. Not only did he build military ammunition for him, but he also friendly provided intelligence to the Fujian authorities.

This time Wang Mengxiong's confidant Du Ning came to Tongshan City mainly to inform Lin Hai of his army's invasion of Zheng Zhilong. When Yu Zigao issued a military order to Lin Hai, he also gave a military order to Wang Mengxiong, ordering him to fully cooperate with the Tongshan War.

"Are you saying that the leader of the expedition south this time is Qianhu Linhai from Zhoushan, Zhejiang?" Zheng Zhilong's face became solemn after hearing Du Ning's words.

Just a few days ago, the agent he sent to Xiamen brought back news that a large fleet of more than thirty ships had sailed into Yuandang Port. All the ships in this fleet were flying strange blue flags. Drawing a sword and a book.

There is a large Western plywood ship with 2,000 materials in the fleet. In addition, there are 21 old lock ships and more than ten other ships.

Zheng Zhilong was confused when he heard the news. His first reaction was that the court invited the Portuguese from Hao Jing, but the blue flag was something he had never heard of, and it felt a bit different.

This morning, he received another message from the patrol ship, saying that the strange fleet had left Yuandang Port and was heading south. If the destination is Dongshan Island, it will arrive this afternoon.

Out of fear of the Portuguese, Zheng Zhilong ordered to temporarily stop sending ships out to plunder. All warships were huddled in Ximen Macao, and only a few patrol ships were sent outside Dongshan Bay.

Li Kuiqi, Zhong Bin, Liu Xiang and others were very dissatisfied with this and believed that Zheng Zhilong was too cautious. But now Zheng Zhilong's strength and prestige are no longer what they used to be, so these few people just shut up after their protests were ineffective.

At the same time, Zheng Zhilong also asked most of the sailors to stay on the ship in Ximen Macao, and sent Zhong Bin, Liu Xiang and his clan brother Zheng Zhiwan to the fleet. Currently, he is the main one in Tongshan City. ’s headquarters and the most powerful Li Kuiqi’s department.

"Yes, that's the name." Du Ning nodded, "Why, does Master Zheng recognize this person?"

Zheng Zhilong nodded silently, with a rather ugly look on his face. Since the last battle in Xiamen, he has been paying close attention to Lin Hai. He even sent people to Zhoushan and Xiamen to inquire about news, but he did not get any valuable information.

Since that battle, he was very wary of the land combat capabilities of Lin Hai's army, but he was confident that his maritime power had an absolute advantage. He never expected that Lin Hai actually had such a large fleet now, and what the hell... It's a Western-style fleet.

"Master Du, thank you for your help. The news you brought is very important to me. But I have some urgent military matters to deal with now, so I won't accompany you." Zheng Zhilong said goodbye to Du Ning immediately.

He was extremely cautious by nature. After hearing that the enemy general was Lin Hai, he immediately decided to adjust the defense of Dongshan Island.

"Master Zheng, please excuse me." Du Ning stood up and handed over to Zheng Zhilong. The latter and his boss were sworn brothers, and he was also a major customer of the Penghu smuggling gang, so he would never be disrespectful to Zheng Zhilong.

"Come here, go and invite Mr. Wen's daughter to accompany Master Du on your behalf." Zheng Zhilong was thoughtful and did not forget to treat guests even as the war was about to begin.

The literary commander he was talking about was Wen Zuoming, the commander of Tongshan Water Village. He was a drunkard and a womanizer just like Fang Xianke, the military commander of Tongshan Water Village. When Zheng Zhilong attacked Tongshan, the general manager ran away immediately, without even having time to take care of his family.

In addition to his wife, who is now an old lady, Mr. Wen's concubines are all well-born, and there is even a daughter who is about to be married who is naturally beautiful. Now they have all become Zheng Zhilong's prisoners.

However, Zheng Zhilong was not very interested in women, so he conveniently gave Miss Wen, who was still in perfect condition, to a bad old man like Du Ning to ravage her.

Du Ning, a poor old man but a hungry ghost, replied honestly and unceremoniously: "Du thanked the master for the reward."

A look of contempt flashed in Zheng Zhilong's eyes, but his face was full of smiles: "It is Miss Wen's blessing for a beautiful woman to match a talented man to win the favor of Master Du."

He came out of the flower hall and immediately ordered the people around him: "Quick, go and call my eldest brother and the five elders over."

After a cup of tea, Zheng Zhilong's beloved general Zeng Wulao and his clan brother Zheng Zhipeng both arrived.

Zheng Zhilong got straight to the point: "Five elders, brother. I have received news that the old lock fleet in Xiamen belongs to Lin Hai and may arrive at Tongshan at any time. We must adjust our defenses immediately."

"So what if it belongs to Lin Hai? We have 20,000 people now, and he only has more than 30 boats. We are afraid that he is a bird." Zeng Wulao heard this and shouted loudly. Zheng Zhilong mentioned the name Lin Hai to him many times. It made his ears calluses.

"This Lu Zhan named Lin is so good at fighting. Last time more than two hundred people captured Uncle Chen and Uncle Yang alive. Now that he has such a large fleet, he really shouldn't be underestimated." Zheng Zhilong said in front of his confidants He never holds back his words, so he is not afraid of building up other people's ambitions and destroying his own prestige. "How should we respond to the big boss?" Zheng Zhipeng replied after hearing this. Since the formation killed Chen Qiwei, he has developed the habit of obeying orders from his clan brothers.

"First of all, the navy should not rush into battle. It is necessary to prepare more fire ships. It is best to have Lin come to Ximen Macao to fight us. If not, they can fight in Dongshan Bay." Zheng Zhilong knew his opponent. Although she is not a Portuguese queen, she is actually not afraid of naval battles. But out of caution, he still wanted to choose the battlefield that was most beneficial to his own side.

"Isn't this too passive? What if the other party just bets at the gate of Dongshan Bay not to come in?" Zheng Zhipeng asked doubtfully after hearing this.

"Then let's fight them. It's difficult for them to resupply in the open sea, and the anchorage is not as secure as in the bay. Let's see who can outlast the other." Zheng Zhilong made up his mind to be the turtle with his head down.

Anyway, there are nearly 10,000 households on Dongshan Island, and together with the supplies they plundered previously, it is enough for them to stay here for a long time. There is no problem in not sending out ships to plunder in the short term.

"The key is to fight on land. We must not let them land, otherwise they may be trapped in the city and unable to get out." Zheng Zhilong continued.

"Isn't the boss looking too highly at Lin?" Zeng Wulao was very dissatisfied when he heard this. He had served as a soldier in the garrison system when he was young. After the Battle of Xiamen, Zheng Zhilong specially selected two thousand soldiers. The troops of the headquarters asked Zeng Wulao to be responsible for training land warfare skills.

But so far, he still has no dedicated marine personnel under his command. Everyone gets on the ship as a naval force and disembarks as a land soldier.

"I said, don't underestimate the enemy." Zheng Zhilong replied in a deep voice, a cold light flashed through his slightly narrowed eyes, quite calm and confident.

Zeng Wulao did not dare to sing the opposite anymore, and only listened to Zheng Zhilong continue: "Brother, you and Wulao each take a thousand brothers from the headquarters and leave the city immediately. Wulao takes a thousand people to garrison in Gongqian Village, brother, you take another thousand When people live in the army barracks in Wuliting, once they find an enemy fleet approaching Dongshan Island from the outer sea, they will immediately rush to the enemy's landing site and prevent the enemy from landing at all costs."

"Hit him halfway across the river, what a clever plan for the master!" Zeng Wulao knew that the boss was a little unhappy just now, and he quickly started to flatter him. He had quite a bit of military experience, and he immediately understood the intention of Zheng Zhilong's deployment. Since ancient times, the enemy's troops It is always the best fighter plane when crossing the river.

Dongshan Island is large in area and has many places to land. Zheng Zhilong had already arranged sentries everywhere. But there was also a problem with the previous deployment. Tongshan City was in the remote northeast corner. If the landing site chosen by the enemy was too far away, it would be too late to react and miss the opportunity.

So Zheng Zhilong sent Zeng Wulao to Gongqian Village, the farthest place on the butterfly's tail, and then asked Zheng Zhipeng to station himself on the butterfly's body, so that he could rush to the landing site as soon as possible after detecting the enemy's situation.

However, Zeng Wulao still discovered a flaw in this arrangement. He quickly advised Zheng Zhilong: "Master, Bachimen will also have to send troops there. It is only one mile away from Zhao'an County. If the enemy troops land from Chenpingdu , then we still won’t have time to rush to the battlefield.”

"I will ask Zhiwan to send a boat to watch Chen Pingdu. If people named Lin dare to land on the island from here, we can send them to the sea to feed the fish." Of course Zheng Zhilong has not forgotten the narrow waterway, but he has many boats. Yes, he is not afraid of anyone in a gang fight.

"Yes, I got the order!" Zheng Zhipeng and Zeng Wulao accepted the order one after another and went to act accordingly.

Zheng Zhilong hurriedly sent people to Ximen Macao to convey orders to Zheng Zhiwan. After that, he was still a little worried, so he sent a few cronies to take people out of the city to collect food urgently, intending to reserve more food in the city.

After arranging all this, Zheng Zhilong burst into laughter, wondering if he was too cautious. For some reason, Lin Hai always made him feel like he was carrying a light on his back.

At noon, the chef who had been arrested in Zhangzhou prepared a sumptuous lunch for him as usual. Zheng Zhilong sent someone to invite Master Du over, but the reply he heard was that Master Du was closing the door tightly, and something was coming from inside. The old man's lewd smile and Miss Wen's cry made me not knock on the door.

Zheng Zhilong cursed secretly in his heart and began to enjoy the delicious food alone. However, the table full of delicacies always tasted the same to him, and a lingering sense of uneasiness lingered in his heart.

As long as you meet Lin Hai, nothing good will happen. This law has taken effect three times, and it seems to have become a law in the dark.

"Go and call Mrs. Wen to come to my room." Zheng Zhilong was halfway through eating when he suddenly put down his chopsticks and ordered to the servants waiting on the side.

"Master, are you talking about Mrs. Wen? Or are you talking about Mr. Wen's concubines?" The servant suspected that he had heard wrongly and asked cautiously from the side.

"I should make it very clear, it's Mrs. Wen." Zheng Zhilong replied angrily.

He never brings women with him when he goes on an expedition, but for some reason today, he suddenly wants to find a noble woman to ravage under him, as if he can regain his masculinity in this way.

After a cup of tea, the crying Mrs. Wen was tied with a rope and led into Zheng Zhilong's room. As soon as she entered the door, she cursed at Zheng Zhilong: "Evil thief, you will not die a good death, you give me my daughter!"

Mrs. Wen's daughter was Miss Wen who was in Mrs. Du's room. Zheng Zhilong was already impatient with waiting. Seeing that this woman who had become a prisoner dared to curse at him, a violent anger suddenly welled up in his chest.

"Bitch!" Zheng Zhilong went up and slapped Mrs. Wen, dragging the middle-aged woman who was nearly forty years old to the bed in front of the younger brother. The younger brother quickly left and closed the door.

Just as he was about to take off his pants, there was another knock on the door. Zheng Zhilong shouted angrily: "What's the matter?"

"Master, Lin Hai's fleet has entered Dongshan Bay." The voice of a close subordinate came from outside the door.

"The man surnamed Lin is here?" Zheng Zhilong's manliness suddenly waned again, but soon a wave of ecstasy surged through his heart, "What did you say? The enemy has entered Dongshan Bay?"

"Yes, Mr. Master, they rushed in directly. Our sentinel ship in the outer sea should have been killed. This was seen by the brothers who were on guard at the top of the city." The trusted subordinate replied outside the door, and Tongshan City was Guard at the western end of the entrance to Dongshan Bay.

"Are you sure it's Lin Hai's ship? Are there those blue flags on the ship?" Zheng Zhilong couldn't believe that the enemy was so reckless and crashed into Dongshan Bay. Could it be that he had always overestimated Lin Hai?

　The smuggling activities of Wang Mengxiong and Ye Dajing, as well as Wang Mengxiong and Zheng Zhilong's sworn brotherhood and the forging of weapons for them, can be found in the paper "Research on the Origin of the Cutting of Penghu Guerrilla Forces in the Late Ming Dynasty".

　　

　

(End of this chapter)