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The sun is setting in the west, and its afterglow is cast on the endless sea. Thousands of golden points of light are jumping around, and flocks of seagulls are flying and crying in the sky.
On the sea, a huge fleet consisting of nearly two hundred large and small warships was sailing northward, with the bows plowing through white waves and splashing water.
The soldiers on the ship included Han Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Austronesian peoples, African blacks, European whites, etc. They were black, white, yellow, brown, tall, short, fat, and thin.
Seeing these, you have no doubt that this is the fleet of the Zheng family in Fujian. Nowadays, the Zheng family army in Fujian must have the most complex personnel composition in the world.
On a five-masted ship, a large flag with the Chinese character "Zheng" fluttered in the wind. Zheng Zhilong stood on the deck with his hands behind his back, looking at the seagulls flying in the sky. He was hesitant about going north this time. He firmly believed that he would win the naval battle, but he was not sure whether this victory would be a blessing or a curse for the Zheng family.
He saw clearly that the Qin Dynasty was poised to unify the world.
But on the other hand, he felt that Qin Mu was even less trustworthy than the Qing Dynasty. He didn't know where this feeling came from. Perhaps it was because Qin Mu's various actions showed his passion for the ocean, which made him suspicious.
He always felt that once he submitted to Qin Mu, Qin Mu would settle accounts with him in the future just like Zhu Yuanzhang did.
Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, no one has ever heard of anyone building a large Jingguan, but such a thing happened again in Qin Mu's hands, which is enough to show that Qin Mu is a very ruthless person.
If they win this trip north, they can completely wipe out Qin Mu's navy. In the next few years, it will be difficult for Qin's navy to threaten Zheng's navy. Most of Taiwan is still a barren land. If they can operate it for a few more years, the situation will be very different.
But on the other hand, even if Qin Mu's navy was completely wiped out, it would not have a fatal impact on his unification of the country. By then, the Zheng family would have completely torn their relationship with the Qin State, and there would be no room for maneuver. When Qin Mu unified the country, would he let the Zheng family live safely in Taiwan
Zheng Zhilong was very conflicted. He even thought about giving up the military operation. The setting sun shone on half of his face, making it bright on one side and dark on the other, just like his conflicting mood.
The patrol boat on the periphery captured another fishing boat. Zheng Zhilong raised the telescope and could clearly see that some of Zheng's soldiers jumped onto the fishing boat and shouted. Several fishermen seemed to be disobedient, so the Zheng soldiers immediately shot them with arrows and seized the fishing boat.
This was an order issued by Zheng Zhilong long ago, that all fishing boats and merchant ships encountered along the way should be seized and taken away. Now that they disobeyed the order, they would be killed and the ships seized immediately to avoid exposing the whereabouts of Zheng Cai behind them.
He sighed for no reason, asked the kitchen to prepare some wine and food, and then asked the messenger to signal with flags to call his brothers Zheng Xing, Zheng Ming, Yang Geng, Chen Hui and others to come to the flagship to drink and discuss matters.
In the past, he had 18 vanguards under him, forming the group "18 Zhi", and his previous name was Yi Guan. It was after forming the group "18 Zhi" that he changed his name to "Zhi Long".
Today, most of the once powerful "Eighteen Zhi" are dead. It's really like the waves have washed away all heroes!
The remaining old brothers were all his right-hand men. Zheng Xing, Zheng Ming, Yang Geng, and Chen Hui had been doing business and robbing on the sea for many years. The first three were all rough and unruly, while Chen Hui was more introverted, or gloomy.
After the five of them sat down and drank a few cups, Chen Hui first noticed that Zheng Zhilong looked different, so he asked, "Duke. What happened?"
"It's okay." Zheng Zhilong didn't want to express his concerns.
While chewing on a greasy chicken leg, Yang Geng said, "Duke, why do you think so much? What difference does it make whether Qin Mu set a trap or not? We have been on the sea for half our lives and have seen all kinds of storms. In front of our strength, any trap is a joke."
"That's right, Duke. If Qin Mu is not setting a trap, then he is just delivering food to us. If he is setting a trap, then he is just delivering food to us. There is no difference. Let's deal with his merchant group first. If his navy dares to show up, we will take them down all at once."
Zheng Zhilong drank several cups in a row, wiped the wine stains on his beard and said, "I'm afraid it's not as simple as you think."
Chen Hui, who was always gloomy, said: "We must not underestimate the enemy. It is said that there are many artillery batteries on the islands on both sides of Shuangyu Harbor. If we can't lure Qin Mu's navy out, it will be difficult for us to attack. Even if we can attack, we will definitely suffer heavy losses."
"Seventh Brother, you always have a lot of ideas, what do you think we should do?"
Chen Hui was the seventh child, and his old brothers used to call him Old Seven. He pondered and said, "Let's assume that Qin Mu set a trap. If that's true, the Qin Navy can only do two things. The first is to ambush us and catch us off guard. The second is to let us pass first and then attack us from both sides. I think the latter possibility is more likely."
"A pincer attack from both sides? Hahahaha... If that's the case, then there's nothing to be afraid of. Who knows who will be the one to attack whom?"
"Hahaha... .."
Zheng Xing, Zheng Ming and Yang Geng acted as if they had heard the funniest joke. Over the years, the Zheng family army had been rampant in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, and could be described as invincible. Zheng Xing and his men, who had seen many storms, did not really take Qin Mu's two so-called navies seriously.
What's more, there are 40,000 troops led by Zheng Cai and hundreds of warships behind them. If the Qin navy really intends to attack from both sides, Zheng Cai's follow-up troops will turn around and form a pincer attack on the Qin East China Sea Fleet. This is the so-called mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Zheng Zhilong said in a deep voice: "If this caravan and delegation is really a trap set by Qin Mu, then he will definitely monitor our movements closely. When we get to Zhoushan, there are many islands and the sea conditions are complicated. We will definitely not be able to escape the surveillance of the Qin army. If the Qin army finds out that we still have a large army behind us, they will definitely retreat to the port and use the shore artillery to hold on and consume us."
Chen Hui nodded repeatedly, "What the Duke said is right, so we'd better let the following troops move away a little, and we can lure Gu Sanmazi away from his nest first."
"What if Gu Sanmazi chooses to ambush us halfway?"
"We can pretend to be defeated and retreat when caught off guard, and lure Gu Sanmazi to chase us. As long as we can lead him away from his lair, we can swallow him up with the two troops in front of us."
"That's right. We'll see how the situation is. If the naval battle goes well, we can charge into Ningbo City. We might even have a chance to capture Qin Mu alive."
Zheng Zhilong grinned. He just wanted to listen to what Zheng Ming said. He would not take it seriously. If everything went well, it would not be impossible to attack Ningbo.
But it was probably a fantasy to capture Qin Mu alive. With the navy completely wiped out, would Qin Mu still wait in Ningbo for you to capture him alive? Anyway, Zheng Zhilong had no hope of capturing Qin Mu alive.
Several people were drinking and eating meat while talking. In the end, strength is more important than anything else. Zheng's army has absolute strength, and they predicted in advance that the Qin army might have a conspiracy. Once the so-called conspiracy is discovered, what is there to be afraid of
At the end of the conversation, even the upset Zheng Zhilong felt relieved. He thought clearly that once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. The tens of thousands of troops have already reached the halfway point, and he must give everyone an explanation;
How could it be justified to order a U-turn without any reason? Not to mention the tens of thousands of soldiers, Zheng Xing, Zheng Ming, and Yang Geng would definitely not agree to it.
By the time they finished drinking, it was already dark and the fleet had slowed down.
However, there was a moon in the sky and visibility on the sea was good. Zheng's army was already very familiar with this waterway, so traveling slowly at night was not a problem.
Zheng Xing and several others took a small boat back to their respective ships, leaving Zheng Zhilong alone. He took another jar of wine and asked Xian Laosan to move a chair to the deck, so that he could drink alone in the cool sea breeze.
Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back! Zheng Zhilong lay on his back in a chair, looking at the bright moonlight, thinking about what to do after defeating the Qin Navy... ..
"Xian Lao San, come here and have a few drinks with me."
"Thank you, Duke. Thank you, Duke." Xian Lao San was flattered and ran over happily.
Zheng Zhilong, who was a little drunk, asked casually: "Do you think we will win this time when we go north?"
"Of course. With the Duke personally on the scene, what can the Qin army's navy do on this sea?"
Zheng Zhilong laughed a few times, then looked at the sky in the north direction, thinking... ... ... .
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.(To be continued..)
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