nanming man

Chapter 1098
In the fall of last year, Wei Jun took advantage of the absence of Zheng Jun's main force and defeated Xiamen. Knowing that Zheng Chenggong had fallen into the trap, he could only retreat to Taiwan and Penghu.

After Wei Jun occupied Xiamen, sentry ships went out to monitor Taiwan and Penghu Zheng Jun. As soon as Zheng Jun passed Penghu, sentry ships would notify coastal states and counties to deploy defenses, and Wei Jun's navy would also prepare for the battle. It is difficult to attack the coast again.

In addition, in the past two years, Zheng Jun has plundered the coastal areas, abducted the population, and caused many people's wives and children to leave their homes. Considered pirates.

The attitude of the coastal gentry has also changed. Many gentry loyal to the Ming Dynasty have been secretly providing intelligence to the Ming army and smuggling supplies, hoping that the Ming Dynasty can regain lost ground.

However, the Ming Dynasty plundered a large number of people and went overseas to attack irrelevant Taiwan and Luzon. Yu Nanming cut off contact.

Under such circumstances, Zheng Chenggong lost his internal response and gradually lost the initiative.

Zheng Jun's navy, like nomads on the prairie, has the advantage of flexibility and surprise. Once the direction and route of attack are detected, they will only hit their heads and return without success.

When Zheng Jun shrank to Taiwan, Wei's national power advantage finally slowly emerged.

In four years, Great Wei hired craftsmen from Xiyi, recruited coastal craftsmen, trained more than [-] apprentices, and built ships in Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and other places. Fuzhou Shipyard alone had [-] craftsmen, and Jiangnan Shipbuilding in Shanghai County, Jiangsu The factory also has nearly [-] people.

Along with the number of craftsmen, the number of warships launched by the Wei army increased. In four years, the Wei army has built more than 70 large ships, including three flagships, which are 50 meters long, [-] meters high, and weigh [-]. tons, with ninety guns.

The remaining ships are also five to sixty meters long, weigh about a thousand tons, are equipped with more than fifty cannons, and have a crew of about three hundred.

In addition to the [-] main warships, the Wei army also built nearly a thousand warships, large and small, to guard the Wei sea area.

At this time, regardless of the number of warships or the quality of the warships, the Wei army had already surpassed Zheng Chenggong's warships.

The largest warship of the Ming army was only about [-] tons, one size smaller than the small flagship of the Wei army, and the artillery was not as many as that of the Wei army.

Under such circumstances, Gao Yihuan felt that the time was ripe to solve the southeast issue.

In the summer of the sixth year of Wuding, Gao Yihuan arrived in Guangzhou and began to mobilize warships to attack Qiongzhou Island. He first dealt with Zhu Cihong, who had a weak navy, and then Zheng Chenggong.

In Guangzhou Bay, a large number of seagoing ships gather, and the masts in the harbor stand like a forest.

Outside Guangzhou Bay, a warship of the Ming army saw warships flying the flag of the Wei army entering Humen from time to time. After several days of investigation, Yang Fan returned to Qiongzhou.

The Nanming court on Qiongzhou Island panicked when they heard the news that Wei Jun's navy had gathered in Guangzhou.

After discussing with many ministers, Zhu Cihong felt that the Wei army might want to attack Qiongzhou, so he sent ministers to ask Zheng Chenggong for help.

Taiwan, the mansion of Guo Xingye.

Zheng Chenggong, Wang Yan and others sat in the hall, and there was a huge sand table in the middle of the hall.

Wang Yan frowned and said, "The Wei thieves have gathered thousands of warships. If they are determined to attack Qiongdao, it will be difficult for Qiongdao to hold on."

Unlike Zheng Sen, he has a strong navy and a weak land division, while Qiongzhou is just the opposite. They have a strong land division and a relatively weak navy.

This is why Gao Yihuan decided to attack Qiongzhou first.

In contrast, Taiwan is too far away from the mainland, while Qiongzhou is much closer. When winter comes, with the help of the north wind, the ships can directly charge to Qiongzhou from the Leizhou Peninsula with full sails. Gao Yihuan has great confidence in sending the army to Qiongzhou.

Zheng Chenggong said with a gloomy face: "If Wei thief is allowed to go to the island, Qiongzhou will be lost. Now there is only one way."

Wang Yan asked: "What method?"

Zheng Chenggong said: "Assemble the navy and fight the Wei thief navy. If we win, we will let us roam the southeast coast!"

Wang Yan asked with a sullen face, "What if you lose?"

Zheng Chenggong said in a deep voice: "If you lose, you will have to abandon Qiongdao and retreat to Luzon!"

Wang Yan pondered for a while, "Then let's fight!"

Zheng Chenggong nodded slightly, "Then fight it out in the South China Sea!"

After deciding to engage in a decisive battle, Zheng Chenggong immediately ordered to recall all warships and smuggling merchant ships along the coast.

All of a sudden, ships gathered at Dayuan Bay.

When the warships of the Ming army rushed back from various places, seeing the gathering of warships, the sailors on board were a little excited, and their blood was surging.

They knew that they would have a decisive battle with the Wei army, and the time had come to decide who was the overlord of the sea.

The ship returning to Taiwan saw warships and merchant ships passing by, and the sailors on the ship couldn't help but bluffed, "Another ship, are they all going to fight Wei thieves?"

When these ships entered Dayuan Bay, they were immediately refitted according to the requirements, equipped with artillery, recruited sailors and gunners, conducted training, and prepared for a decisive battle.

After Zheng Chenggong retired overseas, he lost Fujian and most of the Zheng family's business, and his income began to make ends meet.

The navy is a gold swallowing beast. In order to reduce the pressure, Zheng Sen distributed most of the Zheng family's ships to his subordinates, allowing them to smuggle and rob at sea. The robbed goods were transported to Taiwan for transit, and he received a commission.

In this way, he has money and food to support the navy, and hides troops in the caravan.

When the time came to early October, Zheng Jun's navy gathered for three months, installed artillery, and conducted training. Nearly a thousand sea-going ships finally anchored from the harbor and headed for Guangzhou mightily.

In the city of Guangzhou, in the temporary palace, Gao Yihuan was discussing with the generals about crossing the sea to attack Qiongzhou.

"Your Majesty, the navy is ready, and the infantry and horse troops in charge of landing on Qiongdao have also gathered in Leizhou Mansion." Liang Yizhang smiled and said: "Now we only need to wait for the wind direction to change, and we can use the monsoon to land on the island."

Gao Yihuan nodded slightly, "In this case, the naval warship will go to Leizhou in the near future, and after a few drills, it will be able to attack."

At this time, Li Laiheng suddenly entered the main hall, saluted and said: "Your Majesty, hurry up and report to Eight Hundred Li in Fujian!"

Gao Yihuan took the military newspaper, opened it to look at it, and frowned slightly.

"Your Majesty, what's the matter?" Liang Yizhang worried, "Could it be that Zheng Sen attacked the coast of Fujian again in order to contain us?"

Gao Yihuan shook his head, "No! Zheng Sen is coming to Guangdong, and I'm looking for a decisive battle."

"Zheng Sen is coming?" Liang Yizhang asked in surprise.

After Gao Yihuan pondered for a while, he stood up and paced back and forth. My family has a great career and is not afraid of losing. Even if I lose, I can come again.

Gao Yihuan stopped suddenly, "Hmph, he came at just the right time, and I just happened to fight southeast."

(End of this chapter)