The Red Mansions

Chapter 1149 Jia Heng: It’s not easy to torture in the first place…

kinmen island

On the sea, a large number of [-]-material warships whipped their sails, rode the wind and waves, and arrived at Kinmen Island. In addition to the Jiangnan Navy led by Jia Heng, there were also Denglai Navy and Bao who rushed to Quanzhou Prefecture to join Jia Heng. Linghou Shi Nai.

This island was originally still in the hands of the pirates, but the Guangdong Navy occupied the island as soon as possible and took it into its pocket. It has now become the forward position for the government troops to invade Penghu.

Shui Rong led Wei Che, Jia Ling and other navy generals to welcome Jia Heng and Baolinghou Shi Nai to the barracks stationed at Kinmen.

Along the way, Jia Heng listened to Shui Rong's introduction to the situation of ships on Kinmen Island and asked, "How is the enemy situation on Penghu Island?"

Shui Rong said: "Liu Xiang's navy is carrying earth and rocks on Penghu Island and building forts. He wants to use the island to resist the heavenly troops. He has already sent people to investigate it."

Jia Heng asked again: "Compared with Liu Xiang's navy, are our Hongyi artillery boats more or less?"

Shui Rong said: "Judging from the ships we fought against before, Liu Xiang's Hongyi cannon ships are only a few dozen, not much more than our Jiangnan Navy."

In fact, the number of Hongyi cannons on both sides is quite different.

Jia Heng frowned and asked again: "In terms of the advantages of fire guns, are the two sides evenly matched?"

Shui Rong nodded and said: "Liu Xiang is not as skilled in using the Hongyi cannon as our Jiangnan Navy. If we face him head-on, our Jiangnan Navy has a better chance of winning."

Because Shui Rong had previously led the Jiangnan navy to fight against Liu Xiang's navy, he knew a little about the strength of Liu's pirates.

Jia Heng mused: "Hauge's North Korean navy contains elite Eight Banners troops, and they should not be underestimated either."

While everyone was talking, they entered the military tent and saw a sea area distribution map hanging on the screen, which was exactly the distribution map of the military strength of both sides.

Jia Heng sat down behind the commander's case and glanced at the generals in the military tent. The people present were not only the generals of the Jiangnan Navy, but also the generals of the Guangdong Navy and Denglai Navy.

Jia Heng picked up a ruler, pointed at the map, and introduced: "According to relevant ship reconnaissance, Penghu Island is mainly composed of 12 to [-] naval troops under Liu Xiang's command, and it is also the main force of all the naval forces under Liu Xiang's control of the entire Nanyang waterway. The Hongyi are hiding in the Relanzhe City and Anping Castle in Anping. In the northeast, the Jurchen and Korean navy are patrolling to prevent our navy from attacking. Near Penghu Island are the three Yang brothers. The three forces interact with each other. In order to respond to each other's horns, the total strength of the troops is about [-]."

All the navy commanders present listened, with concentration on their faces.

Shuirong thought for a while and said: "Duke Wei, many of Hauge's troops are from the North Korean Navy. Can you send Li Daoshun, the general manager of the North Korean Navy's Jeolla Province, to persuade them to surrender?"

Jia Heng said: "That's what I have in mind. Your Majesty is very thoughtful and can act according to this plan."

The water dissolved in the water was praised, and I couldn't help but feel happy.

Jia Heng thought for a while and said: "The Jurchens and Korean navy will not be satisfied with taking chestnuts from the fire for the red barbarians. Their purpose is to disrupt our coastal areas of Fujian and Zhejiang. Next, Fuzhou and the coastal navy should carefully inspect the sea area to prevent The pirates came ashore to harass our southeastern coast."

Hauge did not send troops to the south voluntarily, but more often used the red barbarians to disrupt the southeastern coast of the Han Dynasty.

All the navy generals present listened quietly to the two men's conversation, with thoughtful expressions on their faces.

Jia Heng said: "First deal with Liu Xiang on Penghu Island. Only by taking down Liu Xiang can our imperial navy attack the island from two directions. Otherwise, Sanyang and Jurchen from behind will not be our opponents."

In fact, he wanted to lead a surprise force to attack the Dutch Red Barbarians in Anping, but if the secret was not kept secret, it would lead to harm. Such a decisive plan should not be described in front of a group of generals.

Shui Rong said: "Penghu Island is small and has few soldiers, making it difficult to defend. The enemy will definitely lead a fleet to fight to the death with the main force of our navy at sea."

Wang Shuirong of Beijing has been out leading troops during this period, and he has undoubtedly grown a lot compared to the past.

Wei Che reminded: "Jie Shuai, we must also beware of Jurchen attacks from the flanks, otherwise we will wait for both sides of the fleet to be besieged. One careless move will result in a huge defeat."

Compared with Liu Xiang's pirates, although the army's military strength is slightly superior, it does not mean that it will be a 100% crushing victory.

Jia Heng said: "What King Shuijun and General Wei said is right."

Then, Jia Heng looked at Wei Che and said loudly: "Our army will use the Jiangnan Navy to attack from the front, and the other two sides will contain the Navy led by Hauge to prevent it from containing the army from the flanks, General Wei."

Wei Che stood up and clasped his fists and said, "The end will be here."

Jia Heng said: "General Wei, you are the vanguard and lead the Jiangnan Navy to attack the Penghu Islands and start a water battle with Liu Xiang's troops."

"Yes." Wei Che heard the words and accepted the order.

Jia Heng turned to look at Bowling Marquis Shi Nai aside, and said loudly: "Marquis Shi, you lead the Denglai navy to contain Hauge and his Korean navy, beware of them going south, and support Liu Xiang on Penghu Island."

Baoling Hou Shi Nai cupped his hands and said: "Don't worry, Duke Wei, the Denglai navy will stop the Jurchens and Korean navy to the death!"

This Shihou naval commander followed Jia Heng from Fuzhou to Quanzhou and then to Kinmen. He had tens of thousands of troops under his command.

After Jia Heng finished speaking, he glanced at the generals below and said loudly: "The next step is to wait for the opportunity to defeat the invaders in one fell swoop!"

And he will lead a force of troops to Anping where the Red Barbarians are entrenched, capture Anping by surprise, and take away the Dutch Red Barbarians' lair.

Of course, before that, we have to wait for the movements of the three Yang brothers to see if there can be more internal responses.

After everyone had finished discussing the matter, Jia Heng left the military tent and returned to his residence. He looked at Chen Xiao and asked, "Is there any news from the three Yang brothers?"

Chen Xiao looked at the young man, picked up the teapot, poured a cup of tea for Jia Heng, and asked softly: "There is no news yet, when will the troops be sent out?"

Jia Heng said: "Since there is no news, then we will wait."

Now that the various forces on the island are united to fight against him, they can first determine the time to send troops, and then look at the direction of the wind.

Chen Xiao's cold jade face showed a look of thought, and she said softly: "What if the Yang brothers sit on the wall and watch?"

Jia Heng said softly: "Then the war will still go on, but I asked you to spread the news among Liu Xiangjun, right?"

"The order has passed." Chen Xiao said.

Jia Heng said: "Now we are waiting for their merger. Liu Xiang has always wanted to annex the Yang brothers' people. This time he got the news from the transportation official. He will definitely not be able to sit still."

Chen Xiao said: "Then you have to pay attention to the news these days."

Jia Heng turned to ask: "How is the Jinyi Mansion investigating the situation of Fujian Governor Yan Ming and Quanzhou Magistrate Yu Fengxian?"

Chen Xiao said warmly: "The clan members of these two families have indeed been involved in sea trade smuggling recently. Yu Sheng, the son of Yu Fengxian, is acquainted with Zhong Bin, Liu Xiang and others, but I don't know how much information he has sold to the pirates, because I All military operations are kept secret, and there is no leakage from these people."

Jia Heng's face paused slightly, and he whispered: "Let Jinyi Mansion send someone to conduct a thorough interrogation to see if they can find some clues."

While the two were talking, the guard of the Jinyi Mansion outside reported: "Captain, Baolinghou wants to see the Governor."

Jia Heng turned to Chen Xiao and said, "I'm going to see Baolinghou."

At this moment, in the flower hall used to entertain guests, Baoling Hou Shi Nai was sitting upright, drinking tea and waiting. When he saw Jia Heng, he quickly put down the tea cup, went to greet him, and said, "Zi Yu."

Jia Heng nodded and asked, "Uncle Shi, are you here?"

Shi Nai said: "Hauge and the Korean navy under his command are brave and powerful. Once the ships from both sides approach, the elite Jurchen Eight Banners will attack and kill. My Denglai navy is afraid that it will not be able to resist it, so I specially borrow troops from Ziyu." To resist its elite Eight Banners."

Jia Heng asked: "Which elite soldier can I borrow?"

Shi Nai smiled and said: "The fusiliers brought by Ziyu this time are placed on the ship. Once the elite Jurchens jump on the ship, they can attack the bandits with firecrackers. At that time, the Denglai navy can effectively contain them." Haug’s department.”

Jia Heng said: "How did Shi Shibo know that the fusiliers were so powerful that they could stop the elite Jurchen soldiers?"

He does have a fusilier team under his command, which belongs to the Central Guards. This time he went south and brought 600 people, which is five to six hundred guns. If we add a batch of fusiliers collected from Jinling, One hundred, probably eight hundred guns.

Shi Nai said: "I have also heard that the flintlock gun is much more powerful than the matchlock gun. With its power, Hauge and others will find it difficult to resist."

Jia Heng thought for a while and said softly: "There are not many of these fire gun teams. We can allocate half to Shibo later, but I will keep some of them for great use."

These guns were needed during the raid on Anping, Tainan.

When Shi Nai heard this, he was very happy and said: "Don't worry, Ziyu, we will definitely prevent the Jurchens from jumping on the ship to attack and stop them."

After Shi Nai left, Jia Heng turned back to the study, met Chen Xiao's gaze, and said, "We will keep some flintlock guns and thunderbolts for the landing."

Chen Xiao pursed her pink lips and said worriedly: "It's still a bit too risky. The Hongyi people are very strict in building the city in Anping. In addition, their guns are sharp. It will not be easy to win. If there is no support, the entire army will be wiped out. risk."

This is again similar to the original raid on Ahami.

Jia Heng shook his head and said: "A raid on Anping requires a general with both wisdom and courage. Among the three major naval forces, no one else is suitable except me."

"I knew you would say that," Chen Xiao sighed softly and said, "Then let me go with you this time." Jia Heng heard the words and stared at the beauty. Maybe it was the sea breeze these days. Her cheeks were a little cracked, but her eyebrows and eyes were as handsome as ever. Under her curved eyebrows, her clear eyes were bright and clear. She couldn't help but reach out and pull those slender eyes, and said, "Xiaoxiao."

Being stared at by those affectionate eyes, Chen Xiao snorted softly, raised his cold lips and said, "Why are you staring at me?"

Jia Heng said softly: "Fuck, no, your mouth is dry."

Chen Xiao: "???"

"Hmm~"

Before he finished speaking, his vision dimmed, and it was clear that the young man was approaching again, with a familiar aura of tenderness and intimacy, as if carrying a sense of cherishment and affection.

After a while, Chen Xiaoyu's face turned crimson, and her clear eyes had long since lost their coldness and aloofness. She stroked the drool on Xue Li with a look of disgust, straightened her clothes, and said with a trace of annoyance between her beautiful brows, "You... are tired of it." Not boring."

This was all in broad daylight, making it difficult for people to get up and down.

Jia Heng smiled, gently caressed the girl's face, looked into those bright eyes, and whispered: "I will never get tired of it in my life."

When Chen Xiao heard this, her delicate body trembled slightly. Although her heart was filled with sweetness, she still snorted coldly and said angrily: "It's better to leave these sweet words to the demon concubine of the Zhen family."

Jia Heng hugged the beauty gently, his eyes flashed, and he suddenly sighed in his heart.

If this is Zhen Qing, it is obvious that she cannot live and die with him. Maybe Xueer can?

Questions like these are about human nature and are not easy to torture in the first place.

……

……

On the other side, Penghu Island
It was the winter moon season, and a cold freezing rain fell from the sky. A damp and bone-chilling cold wind blew against people's faces. The pirates patrolling on the ship on guard tightened their necks, and when they opened their mouths, pale white heat appeared.

"Liu Xiang invited us over?" Yang Kuo's face was as gloomy as iron. He couldn't help snorting and looked coldly at the leader who came to deliver the message.

The leader said with a smile on his face: "Master Liu said that a new batch of cotton-padded clothes from Anping has arrived, and they will be given priority to Master Yang."

Yang Kuo said disdainfully: "Is he so kind?"

After saying that, he waved his hand and said softly: "Go down and rest first, it's very cold."

After dispatching the leader, Yang Kuo looked at Yang Lu and Yang Ce and said with a smile: "Brother, second brother, has Liu Xiang changed his temper?"

In the past few days, many of my brothers have been frozen. After entering the winter months, the temperature has dropped a lot, mainly because of the cold and dampness.

Yang Ce frowned and said: "This time is a bit unusual. There were a lot of quarrels over this little military supplies before."

Yang Lu thought for a while and said: "Perhaps because of the previous battle, Liu Xiang knew that he could not stop the officers and soldiers, so he wanted us to help him at the critical moment instead of sitting idly by. Besides, it has been getting colder and colder recently."

Yang Ce's eyes flashed, and all kinds of speculations surged in his heart. Then his eyes became firmer and he said coldly: "Brother, I'm afraid there is something more hidden in this matter."

Yang Lu's eyes were burning and he asked: "What does the second brother mean?"

Yang Ce said: "I always feel that Liu Xiang may already know about our correspondence with the Han court."

"This..." Yang Lu's expression changed suddenly, and he lowered his voice and said: "How is this possible? Every time, close people pass the news."

Yang Ce's eyes flashed with wisdom, and he said: "Many of our people have friendships with Liu Xiang's leaders. I'm sure some of them have not kept their mouth shut and secretly spread the news about relatives sent by the imperial court recently. Now, Liu Xiangzhengchou has no excuse to annex us, this is the excuse."

The three Yang brothers had fought with Liu Xiang for several years and knew Liu Xiang's character very well.

Hearing this, Yang Kuo showed sadness on his face and said, "Second brother, what should I do?"

Yang Lu thought for a while and said, "He didn't grasp the evidence. As long as our brothers don't admit that this is the case, it will be fine."

"You must not have the intention to harm others, and you must have the intention to guard against others." Yang Ce's tiger eyes flashed coldly under his thick eyebrows, and he whispered: "I see Liu Xiang wants to do something dirty to us."

Yang Lum looked inquiringly and said, "What's the solution for the second brother?"

Before Yang Ce could speak, Yang Kuo said coldly: "Brother, in my opinion, it is better to strike first!"

Yang Ce rarely praised him this time and said: "The third brother is right. It is better to strike first. He invited us to Penghu, but we refused to go, so we immediately informed Duke Wei and agreed to send troops to attack Liu Xiang."

Yang Lu shook his head and said: "No, this is all speculation at the moment. It has not reached this point yet. It is still just a guess. If it is wrong, it will be a joke on the lives of the brothers under my command. Duke Wei of the Han Dynasty has not agreed yet." Our conditions.”

Yang Lu felt that it was too hasty to fall out with Liu Xiang based on just some guesses.

In addition, the envoys sent earlier requested the Han court to recognize that the three Yang brothers served as military commanders in Jilong Mountain and controlled the entire Jilong Mountain, obeying orders but not propaganda.

Jia Heng has not yet made clear his attitude towards this.

Yang Ce said: "Brother, why don't you send someone over? Just say that we need to be prepared for the Han Dynasty navy to besiege Penghu, so send someone to receive the cotton clothes. If he wants to lure us to Penghu, it means he has bad intentions. If he agrees to us Please explain that we are just guessing.”

Yang Lu thought about it and felt it made sense, and said, "Then let's follow my second brother's wishes first."

Yang Ce added: "But we should contact the Duke of Wei. We still need to contact him and prepare an extra escape route."

Yang Lu nodded and said, "That's natural."

The three brothers had decided on their plan and began to send people to act separately.

On the other side, Hauge and the North Korean navy did not know that Liu Xiang and the three Yang brothers were already suspicious of each other.

Hauge and the North Korean Navy led more than 200 ships and sailed northeast along the strait, looking at the distant coast, seemingly looking in the direction of Fuzhou City.

Hauge looked full of emotion and said: "If this island is in hand and the land of Fujian and Zhejiang is left to my Jurchen son, the Han Dynasty will have no choice but to be beaten passively."

Abata said: "This island is extraordinary."

Hauge said: "The day before yesterday, the Governor of Hongyi told me that once the war is over, the plains near Jilong Mountain will be ceded to us as a residential area, and we can jointly govern Damuan Island. Then it will be time to show off our grand plans. .”

As Liu Xiang grew bigger and bigger, Putmans, the Dutch governor in Taiwan, finally came up with a strategy to unite the captives to control the invaders, because at least the Jurchens did not have a direct conflict of interest with the Netherlands.

Not so with Liu Xiang. Liu Xiang wanted to dominate Jilongshan Island, expel the Dutch, and monopolize the entire maritime trade in Southeast Asia.

However, the cooperation between the two parties only remains at the level of exchange of intentions.

"Your Majesty, a letter from the Regent." Just when Hauge was full of pride and thinking about the world, a burly Niu Luerzhen wearing blue foam-studded cotton armor came quickly from a distance.

When Hauge heard this, his face looked a little ugly, and he greeted: "Bring it here."

After Hauge had been away from Liaodong for so long, Dorgon's letter finally arrived, mainly instructing Hauge to transport the Hongyi cannon and related craftsmen to Shengjing as soon as possible.

Hauge finished reading with concentration, sneered, and then handed the full letter to Abate.

After reading it, Abate also sneered and said, "Old Fourteen can't wait any longer."

Hauge said: "Don't worry about him for now. After defeating the Han navy, we will take the head of Jia Heng's son and the Hongyi cannon back to Liaodong. That will be the time to settle the accounts."

He doesn't want the situation of two regents. There is only one king in the Qing Dynasty, and that is Hauge!
Abata nodded and said with a smile: "At that time, if we look at the old banner leaders in Shengjing City, what else can we say?"

His dignified biological son, Nurhachi, was now reduced to a small banner leader. When the new emperor ascended the throne, he only granted the title of Rao Yubeile.

And Hauge has promised him that after he succeeds in succeeding to the throne, he will definitely let him take charge of the flag and be promoted to prince.

Hauge looked at the Han man who was shaved into a money rat tail and said with a sideways glance: "Send a ship to the coast to see how the Han people's defense is. If it doesn't work, grab him!"

He will not fight step by step. If Fuzhou's defense is weak, he will capture Fuzhou's capital city in one fell swoop, attack instead of defend, and let Duke Wei's backyard catch fire.

"I accept my order," Wu Shojin, the commander of the Han army, responded.

But this temptation was destined to be a fantasy. Before leaving Fuzhou, Jia Heng left part of the navy to cooperate with the coastal defense troops and always be alert to the invasion of the Jurchen and North Korean navy.

Waiting until evening, Wu Shoujin returned without success and went to see Hauge again.

(End of this chapter)