The Red Mansions

Shenjing Castle, Palace Garden
It was already afternoon, and the early winter sunlight shone softly on the Danbi in front of the main hall, reflecting bright and shining light.

In the study room, behind a lacquered wooden table, the middle-aged emperor with a majestic face sat down behind him.

Several ministers from the Military Aircraft Department and the cabinet stood respectfully at their heads, quietly waiting for Emperor Chongping to ask questions.

Emperor Chongping put down the memorial and said, "Is it possible that all the ministers have also seen the memorial from Shandong Admiral Shi Nai?"

In the 16th year of Chongping, one thing happened one after another. As winter approached, the Korean navy and pirates invaded the south again, hardly giving the big men any chance to breathe.

In fact, this is also a problem faced by the vast Chinese Empire, with many enemies coming from multiple directions.

Han Huang looked solemn, held an ivory jade wat, and said with cupped hands: "Your Majesty, the Jurchens will lead a navy of 6 to [-] people to invade this time. If they invade the south of the Yangtze River, the entire southeastern coast will be affected, and the people will be uneasy."

In the past few days, with the memorial delivered by Shandong Admiral Baolinghou Shi Nai, the civil and military officials in Shenjing City have learned about the war that just happened on the coastal waters of Shandong today.

Emperor Chongping asked again: "The bandits are moving south, and Jia Ziyu is in Jinling, so the war is not serious. Has the military aircraft from Jinling delivered the news?"

Ziyu is in Jinling at the moment, and Jiangnan will be as safe as a rock. But if the imperial court fights this war again, the national treasury will not be able to support it.

Military Minister Shi Jie looked solemn, raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Duke Wei has not yet delivered any memorials or military reports."

Emperor Chongping pondered for a moment and said: "The navy from the south of the Yangtze River went south to destroy the sea pirates and the red barbarians, and the pirate atmosphere on the islands along the southeast coast was calmed. Now that the Jurchen and Korean navy are heading south, if they collude with the red barbarians, the situation of the sea bandits will be even worse." For the sake of complexity, I sent the text to Duke Wei to warn him about the collusion between the red barbarians in Jilong Mountain and the Japanese bandits."

Shi Jie said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, our Southern Navy is not only the Jiangnan Navy, but also the navies of Hangzhou, Ningbo, Fuzhou and other places. If the Kou and Yi collude, the Guangdong Navy will also lead troops to support and attack the chicken together." Cage Mountain Big Island.”

Emperor Chongping nodded and said: "Before Duke Wei went south, he also mentioned joining forces to attack Jilong Mountain. It seems that he has been advancing intensively in the south of the Yangtze River."

Shi Jie pondered for a moment and said: "According to what Duke Wei once wrote in the "Pinglu Policy", if our great Han Dynasty uses the navy to counter Liaodong, it will also need to use Jinmen and Denglai as ports and send troops to North Korea and other places. Now the navy The division still does not have the strength to sail far to counterattack.”

Emperor Chongping said: "The preparations for the establishment of the navy are still short. The previous battles were mainly based on infantry and cavalry. Shi Qing will draw up a plan later."

After saying that, he looked at Qi Kun, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and asked: "Qi Qing, there are frequent wars on the front line. Is the money and food of the Ministry of Revenue sufficient?"

Qi Kun cupped his hands and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, since the spring of this year, wars have been frequent and the national funds have been consumed hugely. Although it is constantly supplemented by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the cost of related pensions, military pay and even ordnance supplies is incalculable. I think this should be eliminated as soon as possible. After the war, rest with the court.”

Emperor Chongping said: "This water war is caused by the Jurchen invasion. I, a big man, have no choice but to stay outside the country's borders. Moreover, the customs is related to the national treasury and cannot be ignored."

When Qi Kun heard this, he had no choice but to bow his hands and say yes.

While the ministers in the palace were talking, suddenly, an eunuch from outside hurriedly came to Dai Quan and whispered a few words.

After a while, Dai Quan came back from outside, took a brocade box, and said: "Your Majesty, the guards of Jinyi Mansion came to report that Duke Wei led the Jiangnan navy to fight the Jurchen bandits at sea, and won the first battle. The female main force is fleeing south, and seems to be colluding with the red barbarians."

At this moment, everyone in the study room in the palace looked at each other after hearing the words, and their hearts moved slightly.

The war in Jiangnan has come to an end now?

Emperor Chongping said: "Reply to Jia Ziyu and mobilize the navy from all over the country to jointly kill the barbarians at sea and prevent them from gathering together to harass our southeastern coast."

Dai Quan responded in a low voice.

Emperor Chongping glanced at all the cabinet ministers in the palace and said in a deep voice: "The New Year is coming soon. All the government offices are doing their own business. No more troubles will occur in the Shenjing City."

"Yes." The cabinet ministers and military aircraft below all said yes.

……

……

On the vast blue sea, a large number of warships with a height of more than ten feet were sailing on the sea. They were the main fleet of the Jiangnan Navy. At this moment, under the leadership of Jia Heng, the Duke of Wei of the Han Dynasty, they were chasing the people who had fled Jilong Mountain. Hauge et al.

At this moment, above the sea, the north wind was howling, the waves were rolling, and they were constantly beating on the sides of the ship's hull.

Flag ship, in the cabin——

Jia Heng was looking at the map, put down the brush in his hand, and said loudly: "The Jurchens and the Korean navy are determined to go south to join the Hongyi at Jilong Mountain. They will use the Hongyi's cannons and sharp guns to fight against the Han for a long time."

This is the most difficult thing. Once this situation occurs, it will be a big war.

Chen Xiao asked: "Is there any news from Hangzhou and Ningbo?"

Jia Heng said: "Shui Rong should have encountered Hauge's navy over there. If the two sides fight, Hauge wants to leave and most likely won't be able to stay, but it will be enough if he can keep some troops."

This naval battle is likely to last throughout the winter, and it will be difficult to win a complete victory in a hurry.

Chen Xiaoqing's eyes flashed, and his tone was a little solemn, and he said: "If the Jurchens get the Hongyi cannon, our army's advantage against the enemy at sea will be lost."

Jia Heng nodded and said thoughtfully: "But don't worry, Hongyi may not have many Hongyi cannons. Besides, Hongyi cannons are only a naval battle. If we land on the island to fight, the outcome is still uncertain."

Chen Xiao nodded.

Jia Heng said coldly: "When Pinglu Ce led troops from North Korea to threaten Liaodong, I didn't expect that I, the Han, had not yet used them, but the Jurchens were one step ahead."

Not only that, the Manchus and the Qing Dynasty were even lucky enough to think of marching troops from the north of Taiwan to contain the Han Dynasty forces in the south. Fortunately, Jia Heng was not a native of his own world and knew the importance of Taiwan Island.

A look of thought appeared on Chen Xiao Rushuang's jade face, and she said in a clear voice: "If there are no accidents, this battle will determine the ownership of the sea."

Jia Heng said: "This battle has confirmed the ownership of sea power. From now on, the Jurchens will no longer dare to go south to attack by navy. Only our Han navy can attack North Korea and Liaodong at any time."

"Commander, the army has arrived in Zhoushan." At this time, a captain in Jinyi entered the hall and said to the young man.

Jia Heng said to Chen Xiao standing aside: "We've arrived in Zhoushan, let's go take a look first."

At this moment, the waters of Zhoushan had just experienced an interception battle yesterday. The boat navy of Hangzhou Guard and Ningbo Guard had an encounter with Hauge and other troops who fled south.

The ships of Hangzhou Guard and Ningbo Guard had high sails, tearing apart turbulent waves on the vast sea, and approached in the distance.

Wang Shuirong of Beijing stood on the bow of the ship, looking at the warships in the distance with some emotion in his mind.

"Your Majesty, Duke Wei has arrived." Chu Daoquan, the commander of the Ningbo Guards on the side, interrupted Wang Shuirong of Beijing's thoughts.

Beijing Wang Shuirong smiled and said: "Follow me to welcome you."

While everyone was talking, a fighting ship was lowered from the building ship and came to the flag ship where Jia Heng was standing.

"Lord Shui, how is the situation?" Jia Heng asked when he saw King Beijing.

Shui Rong said: "Ashamed, after Haug and the North Korean Navy lost 2000 or [-] men, they still let Haug's men run away."

Jia Heng said: "In the decisive battle at sea, the enemy navy is determined to escape, and there is nothing we can do."

The main North Korean navy has a large number of people, and its strength is not something that the Hangzhou and Ningbo navies can handle alone.

Shui Rong looked solemn, sighed, and said, "It's just a pity that tens of thousands of naval troops are heading south. Once they land on Jilong Mountain, the Yi and the invaders will be connected, and things will be even more difficult."

Jia Heng said: "Denglai Navy has dispatched 3 people to go south and will arrive in the near future. We will go to Zhangquan and Quanzhou first, join forces with the naval forces from all provinces, and fight to the death with the Jurchens and Hongyi."

As things stand now, these monsters can only be completely eliminated during the attack on the island.

Jia Heng said: "Let's talk on the boat first."

Shui Rong nodded and followed Jia Heng into the cabin of the flag ship.

Shui Rong looked at the young man in the python suit eagerly and asked, "Duke Wei, winter will come soon. Will our army launch a war to solve Jilong Mountain before the year?
If that island can be recovered and officials can be re-established to govern it, it will definitely be written down in history in the future.

Jia Heng said: "We still have to wait a little longer. The Guangdong Navy and several naval divisions have gathered in Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, Fuzhou and other places to wait until the troops are sufficient. At the same time, there are also grains, fodder and baggage that need to be raised."

He also wanted to find some Portuguese support from the Land of Hao Jing, but the number of Hongyi cannons was still too small.

After he took away the Hongyi cannon and related craftsmen, it was impossible for Hao Jing to completely disarm the armed forces. He must secretly re-transport the relevant cannons from his own country, otherwise the entire maritime trade would not be able to develop.

If we cooperate with Portugal, expel the Dutch, and even obtain part of the navigation technology transfer, then we will have technological reserves to search for Australia and expand territory for the Han Dynasty.

Shui Rong nodded and said, "Zi Yu is an old man who plans to build a country."

At this time, General Jinyi Mansion prepared some wine and food and placed them on several tables, and the two of them ate the food.

Shuirong raised the wine cup, greeted Jia Heng and said, "Zi Yu, brother Yu, here's a toast to you. Brother Yu can be where he is today thanks to Zi Yu's recommendation that day."

Jia Heng said: "You are so polite, Lord Shui. Lord Shui does not want to rest on the merits of his ancestors. He is willing to go to the front line of the navy and make contributions in person. I am just commending talents to the saints. It is the prince who is the most outstanding person in the world. Only then can we be where we are today." It's time to show off your grand ambitions." The joy on Shui Rong's handsome and fair face could not be concealed. He clearly felt very grateful for Jia Heng's recognition. He looked at the young man with shining eyes and said, "Xiao Wang has other things to thank Zi Yu for. , the little king went to sea to hunt down pirates, and the princess and Xin'er were in Jinling, thanks to Ziyu for taking care of them."

Although eventually it was taken care of in bed.

Jia Heng's expression did not change, he raised the wine cup and said, "Prince Shui, you and I are in the best interests of the whole family. What Prince Shui said is a bit out of line."

Shui Rong whispered: "What Zi Yu said is that it is good to know Jia."

Jia Heng didn't hear anything strange. He held a wine cup in his hand and touched Shuirong. He said: "Your Majesty, this time several major naval forces are divided into north and south. When encountering an enemy attack, it is extremely difficult to integrate. If you want to send troops to Liaodong, we will go straight to the enemy." It is very inconvenient to destroy the bandit's nest with the current navy order system."

Shui Rong said: "What Zi Yu said is true, but the navy has never had a unified management system. The previous Jiangnan Navy was only under the jurisdiction of the Six Guards of Jiangnan."

Jia Heng said: "From now on, all countries will compete on the sea. For our great Han Dynasty to open up territory and protect commerce, we cannot do without the navy."

Shui Rong nodded, with a look of leisurely fascination on his face, and said: "When Liaodong is leveled and all the barbarians surrender, we should send heavenly soldiers to the island to wipe out the barbarians."

Jia Heng looked at Shui Rong and thought to himself that Shui Rong might be able to become the Chinese version of the Three Treasures eunuch in the future. Anyway, he has gotten rid of the vulgar taste of sexual desire between men and women.

The two exchanged cups and cups, and they seemed to have a tacit understanding because they were from the same profession.

"Captain, Baolinghou has sent a messenger." At this time, Jinyi's personal guard Li Shu came quickly and reported.

Jia Heng said: "Send the messenger over."

Not long after, the captain of Jinyi Mansion led a messenger over. It was a young man with an upright figure and an elegant face. He was Shi Hui, a descendant of the Shi family. When he saw Jia Heng, he quickly saluted and said, "Shi Hui has seen you before." Duke Wei."

Jia Heng asked: "Where is Mr. Shi Er now?"

Baoling Hou Shi Nai actually ranked second.

Shi Hui replied: "The second master has arrived at Chongmingsha. This is a letter to the Duke."

As he spoke, he took out a letter from his arms and handed it over respectfully with both hands.

On the side, Li Shu, a member of the Jinyi Mansion's personal guard Baihu, stepped forward, took the letter, turned around and handed it to Jia Heng.

Jia Heng looked at the review, met the gaze of Beijing Wang Shuirong, and explained: "This time the Denglai Navy came with [-] troops. They are all carefully selected elites, and they can all go south to annihilate them."

Denglai Navy dispatched 5 troops, plus 6 Jiangnan Navy ([-] stayed in Jinling), [-] Guangdong Navy, and [-] Hangzhou, Fuzhou, and Ningbo Navy. The navy can be mobilized The strength of the army is [-] to [-], which can be said to be a patchwork, gathering nearly [-]% of the naval force of the Han Dynasty.

Shui Rong looked happy and said: "In this way, the navy's strength should not be so stretched. The combined forces of the two sides will probably be more than [-] troops."

Chen Xiao glanced at the cuckold king from the side and said with an expressionless face: "The Dutch Red Barbarians, pirates, and Korean navy combined have 10,000+ naval forces."

Jia Heng nodded and said: "Both sides are evenly matched, but we have our backs to the mainland. The next step is to lead the troops south and prepare for war in Fuzhou. However, at this moment, the Hongyi and the pirates are mostly on guard and want to completely regain Jilong Mountain. It’s a big island and requires careful planning.”

Now that the Jurchens and the Red Barbarians are united, it is the time when the two sides are cooperating most closely. It turns out that his idea is to use thunder to take down the Dutch Red Barbarians and the Taiwan and Peng Islands that were stolen by pirates.

Now I'm afraid something will happen again.

Shui Rong asked: "Can we enter the army before the year?"

Jia Heng said: "It's hard to tell now. If the war doesn't go well, it won't be too late to fight the enemy again in the spring next year. At that time, our big men will be more fully prepared. On the other hand, the barbarians and the captives have soldiers from many sides. There are ten soldiers in total." More than [-], but with so many troops and horses, if we do not rely on external supplies for military supplies and supplies, chaos will inevitably occur over time."

Today, in the Han Dynasty, there is no war in the northwest and northern borders. Only on the southern coast are there pirates and red barbarians like the Dutch East India Company.

At the moment, the big island does not have such a large population and cannot form a self-sufficient internal economy. It still relies on sea trade for blood transfusion.

Chen Xiaoqing said: "The Jinyi Mansion Guards in Fuzhou said that the pirates in Jilongshan took up the banner of serving the Ming Dynasty and revolting against the Ming Dynasty, saying they wanted to rebel against the Han Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty."

Jia Heng frowned and said coldly: "The pirates have raised the flag of the Ming Dynasty? It has been almost 100 years since the Ming Dynasty fell."

I really thought that I was the surnamed master of the country. Zheng Zhilong obviously failed to defeat Liu Xiang, which caused the history of this world's parallel time and space to deviate.

Shui Rong thought for a while and said: "During the Taizong period, there were still elders from the former Ming Dynasty in Haihai who said they would support King Xiao Ming as king and rebel against the court. But after these years, the former Ming Dynasty has long been wiped out. Maybe there are still some elders from the former Ming Dynasty, but there are still some elders from the former Ming Dynasty. Many are missing."

Jia Heng said: "Those who are dissatisfied with the imperial court will inevitably use the name of their homeland to confuse people's hearts."

Shui Rong said: "How does Ziyu deal with their inciting words?"

Jia Heng said: "Don't be suspicious for the time being. Let's go to Fuzhou first and see what's going on. Compared with the fuzzy affairs like the Ming Dynasty's old man's correspondence, are the local wealthy businessmen and common people in Fujian and Zhejiang different from Liu Xiang and Liu Xiang from Jilongshan? Brother Yang Ce has some old men under his command, so if they were to act as internal agents and report the news, it would be detrimental to the actions of our army."

In fact, he also thought of a strategy to regain Taiwan, which was to divide and instigate, and then issue an order.

The pirates themselves and the pirates and the red barbarians are not monolithic. They may work together in the beginning to fight against powerful enemies, but as time goes by, it is very easy for multiple forces without military supplies and supplies to have internal strife.

Shui Rong nodded and looked at the young man who seemed to be thinking about ways to defeat the enemy. His eyes flickered and he said nothing else.

Fujian is only separated by a strait from the big island where Jilong Mountain is located, so it is more convenient to send troops. At this time, there were no other forces to intervene.

After Jia Heng and Shui Rong finished their lunch, the Jiangnan Navy joined forces with the Hangzhou and Ningbo Navy. Instead of waiting for the troops of the Denglai Navy, they continued to advance along the coastline towards Fuzhou.

At this time, the Han Dynasty navy was still sailing in offshore waters, and there were dangers of wind and waves in deeper seas.

After Jia Heng left Jinling, the entire New Deal in Jiangnan was not greatly affected. The governor's office of Liangjiang sent several groups of capable officials to the counties under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province to clear the acres of land in the counties under the jurisdiction of Suzhou and Songjiang Prefecture, and re- Calculate grain taxes.

After Li Shouzhong returned to Anqing Prefecture, the Anhui Governor's Yamen began to convene officials from Taiping Prefecture, Chizhou Prefecture, Ningguo Prefecture, Huizhou Prefecture and other counties in Anhui to continue to implement the four new policies of Chongping.

Jilong Mountain, Anping, Governor's Mansion

Nearly half a month has passed since the last meeting of pirate forces in the waters around Jilong Mountain.

Throughout Jilongshan Island, residents and soldiers were busy building fortifications and ships, and they were in full swing to fight against the Han Dynasty.

Putmans, the Dutch Governor in Taiwan, was in the hall at the moment, discussing matters with the pirates. During these days, a large number of ships of the Guangdong Navy were present in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, and from time to time they sent ships to the big island to explore, so that they could Putmans and the pirates on the island were filled with panic.

"There are more and more Han ships, and we may attack the island at some time. Do you have any strategies to defeat the enemy?" Putmans asked.

Zhong Bin below said: "Don't worry, Governor, we now have more than [-] soldiers and horses. Unless the Han people come with all the Qing troops, they will never be able to land on the island."

Yang Ce frowned, obviously not so optimistic, and said: "The people on the island get most of their food from outside. If the officers and soldiers surround us, they won't attack."

"That's just a fight! I'm afraid they won't succeed!" Yang Kuo, Yang Ce's younger brother, said loudly.

Liu Xiang smiled and said, "Sandi Yang is so courageous."

Yang Kuo glanced at Liu Xiang coldly and didn't take the compliment to heart, but was secretly vigilant.

Because Liu Xiang has always wanted to annex all the pirate forces, not only the three Yang brothers were dissatisfied with this, but even the Dutch were secretly wary of it.

The former Jinsha Gang leader Yan Qing, Nujiao Gang leader Shangguan Rui and others present were watching this scene and did not participate. As the pirates who once followed Duduo to cause chaos in Jiangnan, they have now lost their hiding places along the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. , can only rely on others.

Fortunately, in the past few days, the Shitingzhu of the Manchu and Han military flags has made wishes for the two forces through the incense and passion of Duduo's subordinates.

Liu Xiang said: "Now the Han army's swords are placed on our necks. If we extend our heads and strike with our heads, it's just a fight. Now we need people, boats, and weapons. It's not certain who will win." !”

"Master Liu Da said well." All the pirate leaders present responded in unison.

Shi Tingzhu said: "My Lord Governor, we, the Qing Dynasty, will send the navy south to help. When the time comes, we will have a large number of people, and with the elites of our Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, the Han people will never dare to attack the island rashly."

Putmans nodded and said loudly: "Whether Jilongshan Island can maintain its independent status at sea is entirely in your hands."

The Dutch East Indian Red Barbarians did not have many manpower on the island. Previously, they only relied on firearms, equipment and shipbuilding skills. This is why the Dutch governor was unwilling to share firearms with the Han people present.

While everyone was discussing, a boy entered the hall and said loudly: "Master, Prince Su of the Qing Dynasty has led a fleet of tens of thousands and rushed over."

As soon as these words came out, most of the pirate leaders present looked happy, but Liu Xiang frowned, with a hint of worry in his eyes.

Shi Tingzhu said with a smile: "Masters, as long as our elite Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty are here, the Han people will never dare to send troops ashore to attack!"

This island will soon be able to contain the power of the Han court, allowing the Qing Dynasty to recuperate and restore its national strength.

On the other side, Hauge, accompanied by a group of Zhenglan Banners, arrived at the big island, looked at the lush forests around him, and sighed to Abatai on the side: "What a treasure island, if I, the Qing Dynasty, are here This garrison is surrounded by enemies in the belly of the Han Dynasty, and is attacked from the north and south, so it can only run exhausted."

In fact, there is still a faint hope in my heart. If I lose to the murder of the Dorgon brothers in Liaodong, I can still establish myself as king on this island!