GBP Chapter 413 Internal and external difficulties
Chapter 413 Internal and external difficulties
After careful planning, the East India Company's fleet and the samurai of the Satsuma Domain left Lingao at the same time, heading to Fujian and Zhejiang.
When the Dutch fleet reappeared in Kinmen, Fujian Governor Shen Youlong was filled with despair. Whether they were real or fake Dutchmen, the fleet had come to their doorstep, and they had to fight back. However, with Zheng Zhilong dead, what navy could Fujian possibly field?
Shen Youlong complained to his staff, "Why is this 'red-haired' thing never going to stop? The one who fought Zheng Zhilong was a real red-haired, the one who attacked Zhongzuosuo was a fake red-haired, so who is this time? What is their true intention?"
The staff naturally did not know Liu Ye's true intentions. If we analyze the matter objectively, the last attack on Zhongzuo could be seen as a power struggle between Liu Ye and Zheng Zhilong. However, this attack by the "red-haired" men seemed to have nothing to do with Qiongzhou and there was no motive for them to take action.
“Your Excellency, in my opinion, this time it should be the real red-haired one.”
"Oh, why are you so sure?"
"The Red Hairs have always wanted to do business with the Ming Dynasty, but the imperial court's maritime ban has not been lifted, so they have never been able to get what they want. The reason they brazenly attacked the Fujian coast last year was to force the imperial court to agree to their demands, but they were driven away by Zheng Zhilong. Now that they have heard that Zheng Zhilong is dead and no one can pose a threat to them, they are making a comeback. If I'm not mistaken, the Red Hairs' challenge will be sent soon, with the same old rhetoric."
Shen Youlong paced anxiously, saying, "When Zou Weilian was in power, we could rely on Zheng Zhilong and didn't have to take the Hongmao (Hongmao) seriously. Now that the Zheng family is gone, who can I rely on?"
The aide sighed: "Besides urging all localities to be on high alert and prevent the Dutch from landing, there is no other choice. The few remaining dilapidated ships of the Fujian Navy are only going to their deaths if they go out to sea. Hopefully, after the Dutch have circled around a few times and have no chance to land, they will leave on their own."
“That’s the only way.” Shen Youlong stopped. “Men, order all the prefectures along the coast to guard the area strictly and not let anyone go out to sea. If anyone lets the red-haired barbarians land, I will report to the court and have them stripped of their official hats.”
However, Shen Youlong's passive defense strategy did not work. The Red Hairs completely changed their previous approach. Instead of running around like headless flies, they went straight to the vicinity of Kinmen and blockaded the port of Zhongzuo, prohibiting both entry and exit, and preventing even a single plank from going out to sea.
The blockade of the port did not cause any real pain for officials like Shen Youlong. They even felt that as long as the status quo was maintained, the siege would naturally end once the Japanese ran out of supplies. However, for the merchants and people of Fujian, this was tantamount to having their throats strangled.
As the saying goes, "Those who live by the mountains eat from the mountains, and those who live by the sea eat from the sea." During the Chongzhen era, Fujian Province experienced rapid population growth while land area remained stagnant. Coupled with the province's predominantly mountainous terrain and limited flat land, arable land was scarce, leading to a severe conflict between population and land resources. Since the Song Dynasty, local people had relied on maritime trade as their livelihood. Merchants, sailors, shipbuilders, repairmen, transporters, and various other services—the sea supported at least a million coastal residents. In Fujian, there's a saying: "The sea is the land of the Fujian people."
The ports of Quanzhou and Zhongzuosuo in Fujian Province have always been the most important departure points for trade and overseas expansion. "Chaozhou and Zhangzhou rely on foreign ships for profit." Even though the "Red Hairs" (referring to the Japanese) had fought several battles with Zheng Zhilong, and even breached the city of Zhongzuosuo, it had little impact on the local people. However, the blockade of the ports and the inability to trade meant the end of their livelihoods. For the displaced coastal residents, there were only two paths: starve to death or break through the blockade.
However, the Dutch ships were strong and powerful, and ordinary merchants could not shake them. So they could only place their hopes on the government. On the tenth day of the Dutch blockade of the port, the governor's office was surrounded by disgruntled merchants, sailors, and dockworkers, all demanding an audience with the governor and requesting that the government send troops to expel the Dutch.
Upon hearing that there was a huge crowd outside the yamen, Shen Youlong was too frightened to go out and instead hid inside to discuss countermeasures with his advisors.
"Look at this situation, the people are in agitated, and it could easily lead to a popular uprising. What should we do?" Shen Youlong was filled with anxiety.
The advisor suggested, "The only solution now is to adopt a two-pronged approach: attacking from afar and befriending those nearby."
Shen Youlong asked curiously, "I've only heard of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones. What does 'befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones' mean?"
"With the current Fujian navy alone, we cannot do anything to the British. We can only ask the court for help and send capable generals to Fujian to drive out the British. This is called a distant attack. At the same time, we should send people to negotiate with the British. It would be better if we could offer them benefits so that they would withdraw on their own. Even if that doesn't work, it is at least a delaying tactic to lull the British into a false sense of security. This is called a close alliance."
Shen Youlong sighed, "But how can distant water quench immediate thirst? By the time the court sends reinforcements, whether they can defeat the British is another matter. I'm afraid the uprising will have already broken out before the reinforcements even arrive. Besides, after Zheng Zhilong's death, what navy does the Ming Dynasty have left that can defeat the British?"
The aide whispered a reminder: "Governor, have you forgotten about the Qiongzhou Camp? Under the guise of the Red Hair, they uprooted the Zheng family in a single day. The Zheng family's tens of thousands of ships were no match for them. How could a few Red Hair warships be a match for the Qiongzhou Camp?"
Shen Youlong's eyes lit up, but he quickly became discouraged: "Unfortunately, the Qiongzhou Camp is under the control of Guangdong, and I have no authority to move it."
"That's why we need to ask the imperial court for help; only the imperial court can mobilize the Qiongzhou camp."
"Yes, yes, yes, hurry up and draft the memorial. I'll dictate it, and you write it down."
That same day, a memorial delivered by express courier was sent out of the governor's office overnight, heading towards the capital.
Meanwhile, Shimazu Mitsuhisa stood at the bow of the ship, greedily gazing at the twinkling lights on the shore ahead. This was the most prosperous place in the Ming Dynasty; once ashore, countless gold and silver treasures would come rolling in.
With a clang, he drew his katana and shouted hoarsely, "Gentlemen, Jiangnan is right before us! Strive on, and use your swords to acquire your wealth!"
The long-impoverished ronin raised their samurai swords and howled like wolves. As soon as the ship docked, before the gangplank could be set up, they jumped off the ship and waded ashore.
On the ship, a Qiongzhou garrison officer disguised as a Japanese samurai instructed his subordinates behind him: "Follow them. The orders from above are that the Japanese can rob government treasuries and wealthy households, but they cannot kill indiscriminately or plunder civilians. If they do not heed the warnings, kill them on the spot!"
"Yes!" A group of soldiers jumped into the water and followed behind the samurai.
At this time, Huang Taiji was still personally leading a large army to plunder in Xuanfu and Datong. After escaping the encirclement, Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong and others in Henan gathered refugees and made a comeback. The court and the public were already in a state of chaos, but they were unexpectedly hit with another blow: Fujian was blocked by the Japanese and sent an urgent message; bad news came from Zhejiang that the long-absent Japanese pirates had reappeared in Taizhou, burning, killing and looting.