*******
Qin Mu, who was in Taiping Prefecture, received a carrier pigeon from Quzhou, saying that Zheng Zhilong was leading the navy northward. Combined with the previously robbed letter from him to Hong Chengchou, Zheng Zhilong's purpose was obvious.
This news was like a heavy bomb, which shocked Qin Mu. The main forces of the Qin army were now distributed in Jiangyin, Jinling, and Ma'anshan. The food and grass, as well as the advance and retreat of the three armies, were all completed through the Yangtze River waterway.
Zheng Zhilong's fleet roamed the sea, with more than 3,000 ships of various sizes and rich combat experience. Even the Western devils were inferior to him. Qin Mu was not sure that Di Zhongxing's navy could stop them.
Once the Yangtze River waterway is controlled by Zheng Zhilong, the three groups of Qin army will be cut into three parts and fight on their own, which will be a huge disaster for the Qin army.
Even if Hong Chengchou cannot achieve a decisive victory for the time being, it will not be a problem for him to hold out until Duoduo's army moves south again. By that time, there is a 90% chance that the Qin army will be completely defeated.
Another point is that after Zheng Zhilong sided with the Qing Dynasty, Ganzhou had to strengthen its defense. Qin Mu did not have time to consult with his ministers, and immediately sent an order to Ganzhou to immediately transfer 2,000 troops to Ruijin to defend the pass from Fujian to Jiangxi.
Afterwards, Qin Mu summoned his ministers to discuss countermeasures. Everyone had a clear understanding that if they gave it a try, Di Zhongxing would not be a match for the Zheng family navy, so now they could only rely on coastal defense and take a defensive stance.
Finally, we discussed several strategies:
First, he promised great benefits to recruit the pirate Gu Sanmazi. Gu Sanmazi had two to three hundred large and small warships, and he also obtained a batch of artillery in Jiangyin, which gave him a certain combat capability.
Second, deploy coastal artillery in Jingjiang, deploy more than 20 newly captured red-coated cannons, as well as the Qin army's original red-coated cannons and thousand-jin Portuguese cannons, a total of 100 artillery pieces on Jingjiang Island, and build solid fortifications.
Third, a large number of mines were deployed. Based on the mines of the Ming Dynasty, Qin Mu asked the Equipment Department to vigorously study mines and achieved considerable breakthroughs. Now the mines of the Qin army are more concealed and more difficult to detect from the water surface. A large number of mines were deployed to block the waterways and coordinate with the shore artillery to cooperate with the navy to block the Zheng family fleet.
This is the only way for now. We are not as strong as them, and we have no experience in actual combat, so we can only take a defensive stance. In fact, it is good enough that we can hold on.
The only thing to be thankful for was that Ye Bushu sent the message back in advance, otherwise Zheng Zhilong would have directly rushed into the Yangtze River without any preparation, and the consequences would have been truly catastrophic.
***
In Jiangyin City, it was not the first time that Su Jin invited Gu Sanmazi to drink, and this time, he even asked Hui Deng to temporarily command the city defense battle of Jiangyin, and he ran to Gu Sanmazi's boat with wine.
Gu Sanmazi's real name is Gu Rong, and he calls himself the King of Loyalty. He is about 40 years old, with a rough face. It is not an exaggeration to call him Haiguan. He used to rob along the coast. It is said that he once had a confrontation with Yan Yingyuan.
In the 14th year of Chongzhen, Yan Yingyuan had just been transferred to Jiangyin as the prefect of Jiangyin. Gu Sanmazi led his people to attack Jiangyin with hundreds of ships. The magistrate and the county magistrate fled in fear. Only Yan Yingyuan rode his horse in the market and shouted to the frightened people of Jiangyin: "Good men, follow me to kill the bandits and protect our homes!" Thousands of people responded at once.
Yan Yingyuan then led his people to the riverside to resist the enemy, and fired three arrows in a row, and all the people fell down. Gu Sanmazi and his group of pirates were terrified, and under the protection of the young and strong people in the city, they could not get ashore, so they had to retreat.
However, the pirate Gu Sanmaizi still had some sense of patriotism. When the Qing army marched south and Jiangyin was besieged, he put aside his past grudges and took the initiative to lead his men to support Jiangyin.
Su Jin and Yuan Zongde were able to cross the river smoothly thanks to his help. The two sides have been cooperating very closely these days, and Su Jin still owes him money.
"General Su, are you here to seek amnesty?" As soon as they met, Gu Sanmaizi picked his toes and laughed.
Su Jin was guessed at, but he didn't care. He threw a jar of wine over and laughed, "How did Master Gu know that I'm not here to return the money?"
"If it were me, I would surrender. I could kill two birds with one stone. I wouldn't have to pay back the money, and I could also save the people and the boat."
"I do want to, but Mr. Gu is so smart and capable, it seems difficult to make such a plan. Come, let's drink first, and then I will tell Mr. Gu something after we finish drinking."
"General Su said this because he really doesn't want us to drink in peace. Don't hide what's going on. Talk while drinking." Gu Sanmaizi asked his men to bring out a few Japanese women in kimonos, all of them with makeup on. Gu Sanmaizi was very generous and pushed two of them to Su Jin at once.
It was the first time that Su Jin saw a Japanese woman, but he only glanced at her and said calmly, "I heard that the route to Japan is controlled by Zheng Zhilong. Can Master Gu also go to Japan?"
When talking about this matter, Gu Sanmazi did not hide his displeasure and immediately revealed an unhappy expression. He took a gulp of wine and said, "Don't mention this matter. It's annoying. Come on, drink!"
Su Jinhe drank a big sip with him, and then said, "I came here today for this matter. According to the intelligence we have obtained, Zheng Zhilong has surrendered to the Tartars. Not only has he supported Hong Chengchou's family in his own house, but now he is bringing the Zheng family's fleet to attack us. If Master Gu is unwilling to submit to our king, he'd better flee quickly to avoid being caught in the crossfire."
"Zheng Zhilong is going north?" Gu Sanmazi was shocked. He pushed the Japanese woman aside and asked with his huge eyes, "General Su, don't tease me. Are you serious about this?"
"Our navy has already urgently moved eastwards and will deploy more than a hundred artillery pieces on Jingjiang Island to block the entire area. The war in Jiangnan is urgent now. If Zheng Zhilong was not coming, why would our army go to such great lengths?"
Gu Sanmazi stood up and cursed: "Zheng Yiguan, that son of a bitch, actually surrendered to the Tartars. I can never coexist with him..."
Gu Sanmaizi is very righteous, but in fact, he and the Zheng family have been irreconcilable for a long time. The pirates are bound to fight for territory and shipping routes, just like the gangs on the street fighting for territory in every street.
In order to ensure their own interests, the Zheng family would not be soft on other pirates. At the beginning, Zheng Zhilong, at the request of the Ming court, led his army to attack Liu Xiang, a pirate who was his former sworn brother, and won a great victory at Humen. This seemed to be a contribution to the country, but in fact, Zheng Zhilong was simply trying to seize control of the South China Sea route.
Gu Sanmazi was active in the area north of the Yangtze River estuary and also wanted to get involved in Japan's shipping routes. However, he was beaten up by the Zheng family in several conflicts and dared not show up.
If the Zheng family fleet now goes north to control the Yangtze River estuary area, where will Gu Sanmaizi have a place to stand
"Master Gu has another choice, which is to surrender to the Tartars with Zheng Zhilong." Su Jin said calmly, "However, the Zheng family's fleet is very powerful. If Master Gu surrenders to the Zheng family, he will probably be devoured without leaving a bone.
My king is different. He is vigorously preparing to build a navy. In the dock of Dongting Lake, he is building more than ten large ships at a time. But with ships, he still needs people.
Now is the time for me to recruit people. If the Gu family surrenders to me, I will definitely use them and give them high positions and generous salaries. When I drive out the Tartars and unify the country in the future, the Gu family will surely be a noble for generations. Isn't that a hundred times better than following Zheng Zhilong?"
Gu Sanmaizi's expression changed, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he kept urging Su Jin to drink, and he and Su Jin drank heavily.
Su Jin knew that he had to stop when it was enough. The more enthusiastic you appear in this kind of thing, the more others will take advantage of you. The truth is obvious, so it would be better to let Gu Sanmaizi think about it first.
After Su Jin returned to the city, Gu Sanmazi immediately gathered his trusted subordinates to discuss the matter, but he had few talented people under him, and after discussing it over and over again, they could not come up with any good suggestions;
Once Zheng Zhilong controlled the Yangtze River estuary, they could only retreat northward, but the north was now occupied by the Tartars, and it would be difficult to find a foothold;
In areas like Shandong, the people were so poor that they were almost starving to death. They could not steal anything even if they went ashore to rob. Besides, since Zheng Zhilong had surrendered to the Tartars, would the Tartars allow them to plunder along the coast? They would definitely ask Zheng Zhilong to go north to clear them out.
After much thought, everyone felt that it would be more reliable to surrender to the Qin State. Just as Su Jin said, the Qin State's navy was still very weak and it was a time when people were needed. If everyone surrendered to the Qin State, they would definitely be valued.
Now the Qin State is winning victory after victory, and Qin Mu has also obtained the imperial seal. It is said that whoever obtains that thing will be able to rule the world. In the future, when the Qin State unifies the world, wouldn't it be better for everyone to become high-ranking officials than to be pirates
A day later, it was discovered that the Qin navy had indeed marched to Jingjiang in a mighty manner, dug fortifications on the island and arranged artillery arrays. Gu Sanmaizi no longer doubted what Su Jin said, so he sent people ashore to contact Su Jin and discuss surrender.
**************************
ps: Brothers, if you have tickets, please vote, if you have money, please give rewards, and I am here to ask for your support.
.(To be continued..)
...