Outside the Zhengjun Water Village on Gulangyu Island in Xiamen, a lucky ship appeared in the Zheng family's field of vision after sailing from Qiongzhou for a few days.

Wang Yan, a cabinet scholar, stood at the bow of the ship, looking at the sparkling sea, flocks of seagulls hovering on the sea, between the sea and the sky, several Ming army sentry boats, hundreds of fishing boats in the sea riding the wind and waves, the sea breeze was light, and the sea scenery was magnificent, but Wang Yan was not in the mood to appreciate it.

Now that Nan Ming has just experienced a great defeat and is in exile overseas, the situation is difficult, which makes every courtier loyal to Daming feel depressed.

Now he is a scholar, but he has no joy at all.

After losing the battle, Wang Yan was promoted and became a cabinet scholar, and this time he came over, he also promoted Zheng Sen, and invited Zheng Sen to launch an attack on the coast to obtain the resources that Nanming urgently needed.

"Xianggong, that's Xiamen Island!" The official accompanying Wang Yan pointed to an island in the distance that was not connected to the mainland.

Wang Yan nodded, there are many islands off the coast of Fujian, and there are many good harbors, they came all the way and saw many islands isolated on the sea.

At that time, the Ming Dynasty banned the sea, and the coastal pirates were rampant, and these islands became the nests and dens of the pirates, but now some islands have become the safe haven of the Ming army.

Wang Yan came from Qiongzhou, passed through Nanao Island and Dongmen Island along the way, and now saw Xiamen, each of which has the size of a county, and then remembered that Zheng Sen had just recovered Taiwan, that is, Yizhou in ancient times, which is said to be an island larger than Qiongzhou, and couldn't help but restore a trace of confidence in his heart, "If the imperial court manages it well, there may still be a chance." ”

Xiamen Island is located at the mouth of the Jiulong River and Xixi, the sediment brought by the river slowly accumulated, forming a large island, with lakes, forests, arable land, and county seats, enough to live more than 100,000 people, but since the Zheng family recovered Taiwan, Zheng Sen began to transfer the population to Taiwan, and there were only more than 10,000 troops left on Xiamen Island.

Great Wei is not as good as the Manchu Qing, there is no ethnic hatred between the Wei army and the Zheng army, Gao Yihuan constantly sent people to lobby Zhao'an, and the Zheng army was easily appeased by the Wei army.

Zheng Sen also had no choice, so he sent the dependents of the army to Taiwan, which was called resettlement, but in fact he was taken hostage.

In doing so, first, to develop the island of Taiwan, and second, if the army's dependents are in Taiwan, the army will not dare to betray easily, which is conducive to stabilizing the army's morale and strengthening the army's belief in resisting Wei.

At this time, the ship was sailing on the sea, and a team of Zhengjia sentinel ships came up, and after asking for their identity, they notified the island with a flag while leading the big ship into the harbor.

On Xiamen Island, there is a big lake, the mouth of the lake is connected with the sea, when the storm is encountered, the sea is turbulent, but the lake is calm, it is a natural harbor, and the warships of the Zheng family are gathered in the lake.

At this time, the ship sailed in, Wang Yan stood on the ship's building, and saw that there were thousands of large and small warships moored on both sides, which made Wang Yan sigh at Zheng Sen's strength.

The boat stopped at the dock, Zheng Sen had already led a team of generals to greet him, he Wang Yan got off the boat and immediately stepped forward and bowed his hand, "Wang Xianggong!" ”

After the Guangzhou court was swept away by the Wei army, the Southern Ming court suffered again, a devastating blow, and now the Southern Ming court in exile in Qiongzhou has incomplete official positions and a rather chaotic system.

"The surname of the country!" Wang Yan returned the salute and did not dare to hold it up, "I came this time to be ordered by His Majesty to make the surname of the country the Duke of the country and discuss major matters!" ”

Zheng Chenggong leaned to the side, "Xianggong, let's talk inside." ”

The group entered Zheng Chenggong's marshal mansion, Zheng Chenggong first set up the incense bank, took the will of the reward, and then sat down with Wang Yan as the guest and asked: "I don't know if the prince is coming, what do you want to discuss with me?" ”

Wang Yan said in a deep voice: "Now that the imperial court has retreated to Qiongzhou, there is a shortage of materials, and Sun Kewang has cut off contact with the imperial court, making it difficult for the imperial court to continue its food. His Majesty wanted to take advantage of Gao Yihuan's departure from Guangzhou, and together with the national surname, launch a counteroffensive to seize the grain and population along the coast. ”

After Nanming lost Huguang, he relied on Nanyang for food, but Sun Kewang was angry with Zhu Cihong, and after returning to Shenglong City, he cut off contact with Nanming and stopped transporting grain to Nanming.

Although Zhu Cihong had made preparations for a long time, it was still a little unbearable for hundreds of thousands of people to pour into Qiongzhou Island at once.

Zheng Chenggong frowned, stood up, and walked back and forth in the lobby for a few steps.

Wang Yan looked up at him, waiting for his reply, and only after half a sound did Zheng Chenggong speak: "Xianggong, I thought it was not appropriate to launch a counterattack at this time. ”

Wang Yan raised his brows, his face sank, "Why?" ”

Zheng Chenggong said in a deep voice: "Xianggong, I can't hide it, a few days ago, I entered Fuzhou and prepared to attack the Wei thief shipyard, but I was repelled by the Wei thief battery. Later, I re-attacked Quanzhou, and halfway through the siege, the Wei thief reinforcements came over. The Wei army was well defended along the coast, and our army was demoralized, fearing the Wei army, and the counterattack might be difficult to succeed. ”

After Zheng Chenggong received the news of Gao Yihuan's arrival in Fujian, he prepared to destroy the Wei army's shipbuilding Guang, but the Wei army had already prepared and had already built a fort.

Zheng Chenggong waved his hand, ordered his subordinates to take a map and hang it, and then continued: "Xianggong, according to the detailed report, after Gao Yihuan left Guangzhou, he went to Fujian, and inspected the Chuanguang and the newly formed Nanyang Naval Division, which shows that Gao Yihuan attaches great importance to coastal defense. Now although he is gone, but the main force of the Wei army, but left in Guangdong and Fujian, I tried to fail before, and now I have launched a new counteroffensive, I am afraid that it will also have no effect, but let the Wei thieves blockade the coast. This makes it harder for us to get supplies. ”

The Zheng family had great influence in Fujian, the Wei army did not forbid the sea, as long as there was silver, Zheng Chenggong could easily get supplies, and after he failed in his attempt, he did not want to take risks again, and there were Dutch and Spaniards behind him.

In case the Zheng army attacked the Wei army, but the Xiyi attacked Taiwan and Xiamen, then the Zheng army would be finished.

Wang Yan frowned and said: "So the high thief is building ships on a large scale, if the Wei thief sailor is trained, it will be extremely unfavorable to us, and we should take advantage of the Wei thief's sailor to attack the coast." ”

Zheng Chenggong said: "Xianggong's words are good, but considering the current actual situation, we are not only facing Wei thieves, but also the Dutch and Spaniards. Gao Yihuan is now colluding with the two to deal with us, and it is difficult for us to help the high thief, and it is not easy for the Wei thief to build a warship. Therefore, I thought that sooner or later the Wei thief sailor would be trained, and we should defeat the two Yi and control the South Seas during this period of time, so that we can have the capital to fight against the Wei thief for a long time. ”

Wang Yan was silent for a while and asked, "What about the grain?" ”

Zheng Chenggong heard the words and said: "I can think of a way to do this, Wei thieves can't help the sea, with my connections in Fujian, it is not difficult to ask someone to get some food." In addition, once Taiwan Island is developed, there will be thousands of acres of grain fields, and as long as we get through this year, we will not have to worry about running out of food next year. ”

The Zheng family has accumulated a large amount of silver money in maritime trade for decades, and Zheng Chenggong has a lot of silver in his hands, and he can use the Zheng family's trade network to obtain food and resources.

Wang Yan was silent, if Zheng Chenggong did not agree, Nanming's counteroffensive plan would inevitably be aborted, and he said in a deep voice: "What should I do with the specific preparations of the national surname?" ”

Zheng Sen said: "I think that to deal with the Wei thieves, we can only attack with a small group of men and horses now, and it is not appropriate to launch a large-scale battle, because we cannot afford to fail, and once the battle fails, there will be no return." Now we should use our main forces against the Dutch and Spain, and only by driving them out of the South Seas can we launch a counteroffensive against the Wei thieves without any worries. ”

Wang Yan nodded, "I understand the meaning of the national surname, that is, it is easy first and then difficult, just like the Northern Song Dynasty's strategy of first south and then north." ”

(End of chapter)