GBP Chapter 301 Retreat to Zhongzuosuo City
Chapter 301 Retreat to Zhongzuosuo City
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Zheng Zhilong repeatedly attacked Yuegang, burning down streets and seizing ships, with the aim of forcing maritime merchants to shift their trade to this island. Although not very large, it has benefited from the flourishing foreign trade and has a thriving economy. A large commercial district has formed outside Zhongzuosuo City.
The Zheng family's wharf and warehouses stretched along the pier, piled high with goods. At this time, many merchant ships were still anchored at the wharf, some belonging to the Zheng family, and others belonging to merchants who had come to trade. Upon hearing of the bandit attack, from merchants to sailors, everyone was distraught. Some, seeing their ships and cargo in danger, beat their chests in despair and wailed loudly, filling the wharf with a deafening sound.
At this time, the city of Zhongzuosuo was in complete chaos. Well-off families were helping the elderly and children, carrying large and small bags, to leave the city and prepare to hide in the mountains, while the poor people outside the city were pouring into the city, hoping to escape the calamity of war under the protection of the city walls.
In no time, the city gates of the city were packed with people. Those leaving and entering the city pushed and shoved each other with all their might. The elderly, women, and children were pushed down, trampled, or even trampled to death. The Zheng family soldiers guarding the city gates were at a loss and could only shout loudly, but to no avail.
The main hall of the former garrison headquarters in the center of the city is now Zheng Zhilong's meeting room. Returning to familiar surroundings, Zheng Zhilong regained some sense of security, and his complexion improved somewhat. Although the actions of his brothers and clansmen had been quite rude, Zheng Zhilong knew that if he didn't escape immediately, he would be torn to pieces. In a way, they had saved his life.
The atmosphere in the hall was somber and oppressive. Even after Li Kuiqi had taken away most of Zheng Zhilong's men, leaving Zheng Zhilong with only three hundred soldiers, the members of the Zheng family still believed that their eldest brother could turn the tide and regroup. But now they had lost that confidence. The disastrous defeat in the naval battle had made everyone realize just how terrifying their opponent was.
"Don't all look like you've lost your parents," Zheng Zhilong said, breaking the silence in the council hall. "Qiongzhou Camp is just out on the sea, only a gust of wind away from Suocheng. Let's talk about what to do!"
“Zhongzuo Fortress is the key to Quanzhou. If it falls, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou will be in grave danger, and we will be unable to explain ourselves to the governor.” Zheng Zhiwan coughed and said this when he saw that the remaining members of the Zheng clan had lost the courage to fight.
“Now that the navy has been completely wiped out, Third Master is dead in battle, and Brother Lian is missing, without ships, how can we fight the Qiongzhou camp again? We can barely protect ourselves, so why should we care about some bird governor!” Zheng Cai raised an objection. “In my opinion, we should send someone to negotiate with the Qiongzhou camp before they land and persuade them to withdraw their troops. After all, we are all government troops. Attacking a thousand-household garrison city is tantamount to rebellion. I doubt they would dare to act rashly.”
"Withdraw your troops?" Zheng Zhibao sneered. "The Qiongzhou Camp has put up such a large force and confiscated all our assets. Do you think they can be scared back by a few words from you? If they were afraid of being labeled as rebels, would they have been able to march all the way to Guangzhou in the first place?"
Zheng Cai was embarrassed: "Why not offer them benefits..."
Zheng Zhilong shook his head: "I don't need to say it, everyone knows that if it were just for a few pennies, why would the Qiongzhou Camp go to such lengths to kill us?" He stood up and looked at everyone, saying, "They want to replace the Zheng family and become the hegemon from Japan to Southeast Asia. They'll have so much money they could never spend it all in their next life. They would never let us go for such a small gain!"
This sentiment was echoed by everyone: "We cannot back down. Although the navy has been defeated, the silver, grain, and goods on Zhongzuosuo Island are still there. As long as we hold out until the Qiongzhou camp retreats, we can still make a comeback!"
Although this statement was mostly self-comforting, the current situation is far more dangerous than when facing Li Kuiqi, but things haven't reached the point of no return, and no one is willing to give up hope.
Zheng Zhilong finally smiled and said, "You're all right. This is our brothers' stronghold, even more important than Anping. As long as we hold it, we have hope of turning the tide. No matter how powerful the Qiongzhou Camp's ships are, they can't sail all the way to the shore."
Zheng Zhiwan pressed his advantage, encouraging everyone: "We still have 10,000 men and a dozen or so cannons in Zhongzuo Fortress. If you're willing to offer a generous reward, the brothers will definitely fight to the death. The Qiongzhou camp has come from afar; how many men can they bring? Once they land, ten of us will fight them one by one, and we'll wear them down even if it costs us our lives!"
The claim of 10,000 troops on the island was an exaggeration. In reality, aside from the guards stationed at various strongholds, there were only about 4,000 usable land troops. However, each general had his own personal guards and retainers, totaling around 1,000 men. In particular, Zheng Zhilong himself recruited a black and Japanese guard—including several Portuguese officers. All of them were professional soldiers, well-equipped, and highly trained, making them elite by the standards of the time.
In the rush of the escape, I didn't notice how many ships the Qiongzhou garrison had, but according to the current dynasty's garrison commander's organization, there were at most a thousand men, not even counting his receiving a salary without working. Ten against one is a boast, but four or five against one shouldn't be a problem.
Everyone witnessed firsthand the might of the Qiongzhou naval forces today—a force even more terrifying than the Red-haired barbarians. However, they have little real understanding of the strength of the Qiongzhou land forces. He Rubin's crushing defeat in Qiongzhou Prefecture has only been circulated in vague rumors, lacking concrete evidence. The Zheng family, clinging to their ingrained thinking, believed their army was merely slightly stronger than the government troops—in those days, defeating government forces wasn't uncommon; the Zheng family had repeatedly defeated government troops, and sometimes government forces even needed the Zheng family's assistance when launching land-based campaigns.
Zhongzuo Fortress is their home turf. Besides the city of Qianhu Fortress, the Zheng family has built several camps here, stockpiling large quantities of gunpowder and grain, enough to sustain them for more than ten years. Even if they suffer a defeat on land, as long as they retreat to the fortresses, the Qiongzhou camp, isolated and deep in the territory, will not dare to linger here. As long as they hold the fortresses, it won't be long before they have to retreat.
Zheng Zhilong made up his mind that since the naval battle had been a disastrous defeat, the land battle could not be lost either, and he decided to defend Zhongzuosuo City to the death.
Everyone knew that the Qiongzhou garrison had strong ships and powerful cannons, so they decided not to engage the enemy on the coast to avoid being wounded by enemy fire, but rather to fight in a more in-depth area. Since the Qiongzhou garrison had landed, they would inevitably regard Zhongzuo Fortress as a key target, and they could wait in ambush outside the city to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out. Therefore, they sent men to gather the land troops from all over, including the black musketeer corps and the Japanese guards, to gather in the fortress and prepare for a decisive battle.