Stealing the Ming Dynasty [Complete] - 33

Chapter 56 Reconstruction:

On December 13th of the first year of Chongzhen's reign, Mao Wenlong wrote to Huang Taiji again, requesting peace talks. This letter arrived in Liaoyang in January of the second year of Chongzhen's reign.

"Another letter came from Dongjiang. This time they explained that when Ma Xiucai landed on Dongjiang Island, he was discovered by several enemies. These enemies then complained to Mao Wenlong, who, believing he had no intention of helping them take revenge, even whipped them. In a fit of anger, these people went to report to Huang Zhongse, an official of the Ming Ministry of Revenue. Huang Zhongse then arrested Ma Xiucai, um..."

Huang Taiji paused here, carefully reviewed the context, and continued reading to his brothers: "That's what it said earlier, and then Mao Wenlong snatched the man back from the Ming Ministry of Revenue, but the matter was exposed, so they had no choice but to hand Kuo Ke over to Huang Zhongse to take away."

"Tsk tsk!" Amin, who was listening in, couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. As soon as Huang Taiji finished speaking, he slowly analyzed the situation at the time: "Wenlong was really too careless. Huang Zhongse of the Ministry of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty arrived on the island on April 4th. Wenlong knew that this was a secret negotiation, but he still insisted on taking Kuo Ke from Tieshan to Dongjiang Island... Hmm, Wenlong's brain seems to be very stupid. Several of Ma Xiucai's enemies went to him to complain, and he just whipped them and drove them away. He didn't expect these people to go to Huang Zhongse to complain, nor did he inform Kuo Ke and the others."

“That’s right, that’s exactly what the letter said.”

Amin laughed a few times, then expressed even more admiration: “Wenlong knew that the matter of negotiating peace with us and betraying the Ming Dynasty couldn’t be revealed. Ma Xiucai, who was in charge of the translation, might leak the news, so he sent troops to snatch Ma Xiucai back from the Ming Ministry of Revenue and then immediately killed him to silence him. But Wenlong must have thought again that this would be too easy to arouse suspicion, so he arrested Kuoko, who knew the whole story, and handed him over to Huang Zhongse to prove his innocence to the Ming Dynasty. Wenlong was so stupid! How come I never saw that before?”

Huang Taiji nodded in agreement: "Not only that, Mao Wenlong said he bribed Ming officials with 40,000 taels of silver to save Kuoko's life. He seems not at all worried that the Embroidered Uniform Guard could get anything out of Kuoko, and he is even less worried that Huang Zhongse would betray him, nor does he explain why he waited until the Ministry of Revenue arrested people before going to snatch and send them away... Huang Zhongse and Mao Wenlong must have a very good relationship, as good as brothers, but Huang Zhongse would arrest his brother Mao's people without authorization, while Mao Wenlong just cursed his brother Huang Zhongse to the Ming court for being too unscrupulous. He only ordered 36,000 soldiers from Pi Island."

"Moreover, Wenlong has a keen eye for people. That Huang Zhongse really didn't betray him. The Ming court even rewarded Wenlong for kidnapping Kuoko." Amin chuckled a few more times, then asked Huang Taiji with a grin, "So what are we waiting for? Why don't we parade Wenlong's envoy through the streets and then have him torn to pieces?"

"Because Mao Wenlong has once again said he wants to join us in attacking the Ming Dynasty. In his letter, he claimed that the Dongjiang Army could easily take Shandong and Nanjing, and then they would join us in attacking Shanhaiguan from the north and south."

Amin scoffed, "Isn't that nonsense? If you ask me, we should send someone to post this letter on the Daming Gate in Beijing. That might be more useful!"

"Of course it's nonsense, but even if we hand this letter over to the Ming court, it won't make a difference. I reckon Mao Wenlong already reported this letter to the Ming Dynasty, so no one can accuse him of treason or collusion with the enemy because of it." Huang Taiji's guess was spot on. Mao Wenlong had indeed informed the Ming court of these letters long ago, explaining to the court that it was a tactic to lull the Later Jin into a false sense of security. Huang Shi had seen these reports from Mao Wenlong in his previous life in the Dongjiang Tangbao and Guoque.

When the Shuangdao Incident occurred, Yuan Chonghuan also felt it was impossible to accuse Mao Wenlong of collusion with the enemy, because no one who colludes with the enemy would report their communications with the enemy to the court in a timely manner; Yuan Chonghuan also seemed to think that accusing Mao Wenlong of treason was too shameless, because a sane traitor would certainly not report a rebellion plan to the court.

Therefore, Yuan Chonghuan charged Mao Wenlong with inappropriate wording in a letter to the Later Jin, and that honestly reporting such a letter would only disturb the emperor's peace: "Your report that taking Nanjing from Dengzhou is as easy as turning your hand, is treasonous and shows no respect for the emperor; you deserve to be executed." Yuan Chonghuan believed this charge was reasonable and would surely gain the approval of the Ming court. As the saying goes, "Justice prevails everywhere, while injustice makes it difficult to move an inch," so Yuan Chonghuan thought there was no need to send Mao Wenlong to the imperial prison for legal proceedings. After reading the charge, he immediately executed Mao Wenlong and reported it later.

Amin thought about it and felt that Huang Taiji's words made sense. Mao Wenlong was in a dangerous situation and would certainly not dare to conceal the truth, otherwise he would be impeached to death by the censors. So he asked, "Then what do you think we should do?"

"Mao Wenlong's nonsense is mostly just to trick us into kidnapping another envoy. This time, I will release his envoy and let him take a message back to tell Mao Wenlong that we agree to continue the peace talks. Mao Wenlong will be overjoyed and wait for our envoy. We will take advantage of his complacency and launch a surprise attack on the Dongjiang Army's Tieshan Camp. I heard that Mao Wenlong recently wants to launch a counterattack on Liaodong and has stockpiled a lot of grain there."

"Hmm. This plan is excellent. Let's do it this way." Daishan, who had been silent until now, finally expressed his opinion. It seemed that Huang Taiji had summoned everyone to discuss matters again today for this reason.

Mangultai, as always, remained silent. After Huang Taiji had settled the military matters, he raised his voice again and said, "There's one more thing, concerning Liaoxi. The Ming Dynasty's newly appointed Ji-Liao Supervisor, Yuan Chonghuan, has arrived in Ningyuan."

Mangultai rolled his eyes and said dismissively, "Isn't that the same coward? The former Liaodong Governor, I heard he got to power again by boasting."

"Yes, Yuan Chonghuan promised the new Ming emperor that he could 'pacify Liaodong in five years,' so he obtained command of three towns and one garrison in one fell swoop."

"Ha!" Mangultai burst into loud laughter, his face full of disdain. He raised his left fist in front of him, his little finger pointing straight at the roof: "Five years to pacify Liaodong! By what right? Just because of Yuan Chonghuan's 'Immovable Mountain' talk? If he dares to come, I'll crush him with my little finger!"

Amin shook his head repeatedly, sighing with sympathy: "Yuan Chonghuan, 'Immovable Mountain,' sigh, you guys are really too mean, I can't listen to it anymore. Isn't he just a big swindler? People without self-awareness will eventually reap what they sow, and you not only don't sympathize with him, you even insult him."

"Yuan Chonghuan seems to have some self-awareness. For the past few months since taking office, he's done nothing but focus on demanding things from the new Ming emperor, clearly trying to find an excuse to justify his grand promises. However, the new Ming emperor seems to have immense confidence in Yuan Chonghuan, granting him power and money as he desires. I heard that Yuan Chonghuan has already asked for over six million taels of silver. Not only has the new Ming emperor granted such absurd demands, but he has also agreed to allow the silver and grain to be unaudited and to have no supervisory officials, letting Yuan Chonghuan act unilaterally."

Amin suddenly realized, "Oh, I thought only..." "Yuan Chonghuan was a complete idiot, and it turns out the new Ming emperor is also a moron. They're truly a perfect match. Hmm, six million taels of silver a year without approval—wouldn't the Ming officials and generals be green with envy? Yuan Chonghuan not distributing the silver is just asking for trouble. Alas, it's just a pity for the Ming soldiers in Liaodong."

Daishan nodded, his expression serious, and said, "I heard the new Ming emperor is still a child. He doesn't understand that judging a person isn't about what they say, but what they do."

Huang Taiji saw that Mangultai had no intention of speaking. He continued, "Yuan Chonghuan fabricated a colossal lie regarding matters of state and military importance. Instead of honestly rectifying the situation, he resorted to even more lies to cover it up. The new Ming emperor, to satisfy his absurd demands, even levied massive additional agricultural taxes. Once this is exposed, he will face dire consequences. Therefore, Yuan Chonghuan has no way out, and our opportunity has arrived."

"What opportunity? Is it another attempt to win over the Mongols through peace talks?"

"Yes, that's the bare minimum, but perhaps we can do better, such as getting him to help us remove that toad, Mao Wenlong."

After Huang Taiji finished speaking, a silence fell over the council hall of the four princes. Mangultai tried to speak several times but swallowed his words. Amin still wore a cynical smile, but the smile at the corners of his mouth seemed somewhat stiff. Finally, Daishan spoke up: "It's difficult, isn't it? He couldn't possibly have pacified Liaodong in five years. You want him to deal with Mao Wenlong for us? How is that possible? It's like a person who's already at a disadvantage in a fight, how can he cut off his own arm?"

"Yuan Chonghuan is stubborn and self-willed, and he always does things ruthlessly. Now he knows he has no chance of pacifying Liaodong by force, so as long as we say that peace is possible, we're giving Yuan Chonghuan his only chance. I guess he'll cling to this lifeline and won't let go." Huang Taiji smiled slightly, his face showing a confident expression.

"After the battles of Ningyuan and Ningjin, I've come to understand Yuan Chonghuan very well. We just need to spread the word that we've long wanted to negotiate peace, but are worried about retaliation from Dongjiang Town after withdrawing from the border; or we can say that we have a deep-seated hatred for Mao Wenlong. Therefore, with Mao Wenlong around, we dare not negotiate peace with peace in our hearts, and Yuan Chonghuan might just eliminate Mao Wenlong for us."

Amin clapped his hands and laughed, "Haha. You're right, but I have an even better idea. You go and tell Yuan Chonghuan that we want to negotiate peace, but the Ming court refuses, so he'd better let us enter the pass once, directly to the gates of Beijing. That way, we can successfully negotiate peace, haha, isn't that better than dealing with Mao Wenlong?"

Huang Taiji seemed oblivious to the sarcasm in Amin's words, and said in a calm tone, "That's not impossible."

Amin's smile faded, he looked Huang Taiji up and down, gave a cold snort, and remained silent.

"So, do you agree to let me send someone to Ningyuan to test the waters? We need to see if Yuan Chonghuan is really eager to negotiate peace."

On the thirteenth day of the first month of the second year of Chongzhen's reign (which was also the same day in the original history), Huang Taiji sent a letter to Ningyuan, beginning the second round of peace negotiations with Yuan Chonghuan. Huang Taiji's conditions included: the Ming Dynasty would pay 300,000 taels of gold and 3 million taels of silver as a one-time peace payment, in addition to paying the Later Jin an annual tribute of 100,000 taels of gold and 1 million taels of silver. In exchange, the Later Jin would withdraw from the border wall and return Liaodong. Huang Taiji claimed that these peace terms were already very cheap and asked Yuan Chonghuan for his opinion.

This letter immediately received a warm response from Yuan Chonghuan. In addition to the envoy he sent, he also had Li Lama, who had always mediated between the various Mongol tribes, act as an intermediary to demonstrate his sincerity in negotiating peace. In his reply, Yuan Chonghuan raised only one objection: "Please reduce the annual tribute slightly."

...

February 10th, Dongjiang Island.

"Haha!" Mao Wenlong laughed heartily upon seeing Huang Taiji's reply, clapping his hands repeatedly on his knees.

Seeing Mao Wenlong's cheerful laughter, Kong Youde couldn't help but ask, "Father, are the Jurchens going to send another envoy?"

"No, do you really think the Jurchens are all fools?" Mao Wenlong's smile subsided slightly. This was a plan he had painstakingly devised, so he explained to Kong Youde with considerable pride, "The Jurchens must think I'm trying to deceive their envoy again, but this time I'm just trying to lull them into a false sense of security. Now that they've negotiated peace with me, their guard will surely be lowered. Let's launch a surprise attack on Yizhou."

On February 15th, Mao Wenlong led his troops to attack the Later Jin army stationed near Yizhou in Korea. This Later Jin force mainly belonged to the Right Wing of the Later Jin Mongols. The Later Jin army suffered a crushing defeat, with the Ming army beheading 450 people.

In the past, this single beheading of 450 heads was equivalent to the total number of heads taken by the Liaoxi Army in the battles of Ningyuan and Ningjin, and also the entire record of the Guan Ning Army, which the Ming Dynasty had nurtured for over 20 million taels of silver over the past eight years. In this timeline, although Huang Shi's presence improved the Liaoxi Army's reputation somewhat, the Dongjiang Army still achieved considerable success. After the 450 heads were sent to Denglai Town for inspection, the civil officials confirmed that "every single head was genuine."

However, Mao Wenlong, upon returning to Dongjiang Island and intending to celebrate, heard that the Later Jin army, under the cover of an envoy, had launched a surprise attack on the Dongjiang Army's Tieshan camp on February 14th. They killed over 200 Dongjiang soldiers, captured hundreds of Dongjiang Town residents, and burned down Mao Wenlong's Tieshan warehouse.

Upon hearing that the food supplies for thousands of people had been destroyed, Mao Wenlong, in his rage, forgot his own actions and immediately dispatched an envoy to Liaoyang to meet Huang Taiji. In the letter, Mao Wenlong vehemently denounced Huang Taiji: "Who knew you would resort to such treacherous schemes, making peace with me on one hand while stealing from my people on the other? Such contradictory behavior, where is your conscience? Where is justice?"

Upon receiving this letter on March 1st, Huang Taiji replied, reminding Mao Wenlong that he was doing the same thing. By the time he received the reply, Mao Wenlong's anger had subsided, and his tone in his reply was more lenient. However, Mao Wenlong still believed Huang Taiji's hands were not clean: "While I have made mistakes, you have also committed many transgressions... Repeatedly engaging in deception and fickleness, no wise man has ever acted so recklessly."

Finally, Mao Wenlong magnanimously stated that he would forgive and forget. If Huang Taiji wished, he still hoped to continue peace talks, but Huang Taiji refused, thus ending the second peace negotiations between Dongjiang Town and the Later Jin.

...

March 15th, Chongzhen 2nd year, Xiapu.

After five months of reorganization, the naval forces of Funing Town were finally re-established. In the first month of the lunar calendar, the Funing Town Arsenal manufactured its first 24-pounder cannon; by the end of the month, it completed its first 18-gun warship. After repeated modifications, this 18-gun warship was equipped with two 24-pounder cannons, eight 18-pounder cannons, and eight 12-pounder cannons. The warship was launched.

The warship weighed 550 tons. Each side had four 18-pounder cannons and four 12-pounder cannons, with the two 24-pounder cannons deployed on the centerline. Thus, the entire warship required ten gun crews to operate eight broadside gun positions and two center gun positions. Each gun crew still used a six-man system, with four porters attached. Through specific testing in Funing Town, it was found that adding more men to a gun crew after reaching six men would not increase speed, while the four porters ensured sufficient manpower to replace those in gun positions.

The ship had a total of 220 sailors. Apart from the 100 soldiers in the ten gun crews, the remaining soldiers mainly trained in sail handling and boarding combat. All soldiers were equipped with muskets and long swords, and each was also issued a breastplate.

Compared to the initial design, the number of gun emplacements on this warship was greatly reduced, from thirty to sixteen broadside cannons. This was mainly to increase the ship's speed, as well as to speed up shipbuilding and reduce production costs. A thirty-two-gunship would weigh over eight hundred tons, and Huang Shi felt it wasn't worthwhile to build such a large ship for a single-use warship.

The smaller warship was indeed much faster to build. By March, Funing Town had completed twelve single-use warships and produced a batch of small single-use gunboats for auxiliary purposes. In addition, Huang Shi purchased twenty small seagoing vessels from Zhejiang for landing operations.

The large timbers purchased in early 1627 had been drying for over two years. According to the shipwrights' calculations, the earliest few should be ready for shipbuilding by the end of the year. However, Huang Shi preferred to wait a little longer; he figured that since he had already waited two years, another year wouldn't hurt.

"This is a new type of weapon from our Funing Town Military Industry Department,"

Huang Shi said, then gestured for Bao Bowen to hand the items to Yu Zigao. The old general chuckled as he accepted the weapon, saying, "Guerrilla Commander Bao is truly capable; our Funing Town always seems to have new weapons."

Yu Zigao picked up the musket Bao Bowen had presented, examined it for a while, and asked curiously, "Where's the matchlock on this musket?"

"This is a flintlock rifle; it doesn't need a matchlock."

After a long period of modification, the Ordnance Department had finally completed the flintlock rifle. Because it didn't require a matchlock, this weapon had a higher firing rate on the battlefield, especially in naval battles. Furthermore, because flintlock rifles didn't use an open flame, they could have a faster and more efficient loading process. Yu Zigao loaded the ammunition, opened the trigger according to Huang Shi's instructions, and then fired a shot into an uninhabited area.

"It works very well, and it seems better than those matchlock muskets that require a stand," Yu Zigao concluded.

"General Yu is right, I think so too. The Military Industry Department has already produced fifty rifles, and we would like to ask General Yu to take them to the battlefield and see how they perform."

"Alright."

...

The Xiapu and Ningde areas were the naval training base of Funing Town, and also the region where the government troops were most powerful. There was no need to expect any supplies nearby. Naturally, there were no large numbers of pirates. With the reconstruction of the Funing Town navy, small groups of pirates were quickly driven out of the waters by the government troops.

On March 16th, the Funing Town navy once again mobilized its entire force. The warships remaining from the last naval battle had all been scrapped. This time, Funing Town deployed twelve newly built large ships, more than eighty small ships of various types, and twenty transport ships, with a total of more than 12,000 officers and soldiers. After the deployment, the government troops quickly entered the waters near Fuzhou Prefecture and carried out a series of sweeping operations against the pirate outposts around the Mazu Islands. After a brief rest at Meihua, they headed straight for Pinghaiwei in Xinghua Prefecture.

Upon arriving in Quanzhou on March 25th, Huang Shi disembarked and traveled overland to Quanzhou Prefecture, while Yu Zigao led the large fleet south to Yongningwei, preparing to attack Jinmen and Zhongzuo (Xiamen).

Since Zheng's army occupied Zhongzuo, maritime trade in Zhangzhou had been cut off, and the entire region from Haicheng to Tong'an had to enter a state of maritime prohibition, placing enormous economic pressure on the Funing army. Huang Shi and Zhu Yifeng were eager to recapture Zhongzuo, not only for military reasons but also to unload this heavy burden as soon as possible.

According to reconnaissance by the Funing garrison's intelligence division, the supplies and manpower of the pirates in Zhongzuo had recently shown a slow decline. Zheng Yiguan and Liu Xiangqi not only couldn't recruit new soldiers but also seemed to have lost both the interest and ability to do so. Recently, Zheng Yiguan and Liu Xiangqi had dismissed some new recruits, which the Funing garrison's staff believed was for the purpose of conserving resources.

Meanwhile, the number of desertions among the pirates' henchmen was increasing. Most of them had joined the pirates simply to survive, but since Huang Shi returned to Fujian, their good days were over, and the strength of the government troops in southern Fujian was growing daily. A year and two months had passed since Huang Shi ordered a maritime ban at the beginning of the first year of the Chongzhen reign, and the pirates were gradually drawn into a seemingly endless war of attrition and conventional warfare. After the ban, merchant ships in this area had disappeared, and the pirates could neither plunder merchant ships nor escape repeated defeats by government troops on land. Their supplies, resources, and intelligence were also becoming increasingly scarce, greatly impacting their morale. In

late February and early March of this year, Zheng Yiguan and Liu Xiangqi, representing a large number of pirates in Fujian, twice sent envoys to Quanzhou. On their first visit, they had already abandoned their arrogance following last year's naval victory. The pirates stated that they only wanted Zhongzuo as a base; otherwise, they refused reorganization, as they had to consider the lives of tens of thousands of their men.

After listening, Zhu Yifeng coldly replied that if they truly cared about the lives of tens of thousands of brothers, they should immediately surrender unconditionally and submit to the government's judgment. After saying this, Zhu Yifeng once again ordered his men to beat the pirate envoys out with sticks, and simultaneously published their requests, along with the court's rejection, in the official gazette. Although knowing it was humiliating, the pirates still sent another envoy as quickly as possible. This time, they expressed their willingness to compromise on maritime trade, as long as "the court could give them brothers a meal."

By early March, Zhu Yifeng already knew that the reconstruction of the navy was nearing completion, which meant he was finally about to emerge from his hardships. In high spirits, Governor Zhu not only refrained from beating the envoys but also rewarded them with a cup of tea. Then, Zhu Yifeng told the envoys in a gentle tone: Opposing the court meant certain death! Zhu Yifeng

declared that there was no such thing as "a meal," that the land of Fujian belonged to the emperor, and that the seas of Fujian belonged to the emperor; the government only accepted unconditional surrender. The pirate envoy had prepared himself for a beating before his arrival. Seeing that Governor Zhu seemed to be in a relatively good mood, he hurriedly explained that they were willing to return to the Emperor's rule and that Zhu Yifeng could make any demands he wanted, which they, the pirates, would carefully consider.

Unexpectedly, this enraged Zhu Yifeng: "Who's bargaining with you? Do you think the government office is your doorstep market?" He then ordered the yamen runners to beat the pirate envoy out with sticks. He then published the conversation in the official gazette.

Hearing that the government army was launching another large-scale attack on Zhongzuo, the pirates mustered their courage and came to meet them again. Zheng Yiguan and his men were aware of the government's predicament; they all knew that such a rapid establishment of a navy would be extremely costly, and that as long as the government troops couldn't regain control of the sea, Fujian would have no maritime trade revenue. Therefore, they hoped to make the government feel that suppressing them was not worthwhile, thus gaining leverage in negotiations.

On April 1st, in Quanzhou, the city was deserted as Yu Zigao entered. Over the next three days, the government troops engaged in three fierce battles with the pirates between Fuquan and Yongning. The first two battles ended in a draw, while the third saw a minor victory for the government forces.

During this training, Yu Zigao was much more cautious than before, and the captains, having learned from the previous experience, had matured considerably. For five months, Yu Zigao had been living and working alongside the officers and soldiers, determined to avenge their previous defeat. Besides Yu Zigao and the officers, the soldiers in the Fuzhou-Ningxia naval force were generally much more mature this time, with more former Penghu naval officers and soldiers returning to serve. Furthermore, Fujian was not lacking in sailors; the previous battles were mainly due to the inexperience of the new recruits and a lack of coordination among officers.

Now that the morale of the officers and soldiers had improved, the pirates immediately found themselves struggling. After all, the government forces had an overwhelming equipment advantage; their nearly one hundred warships were equipped with over six hundred cannons, so in the initial artillery battles of these three naval engagements, the pirates were on the defensive. In the first two naval battles, the government troops carefully retreated to avoid their onslaught, then repelled them with their numerous cannons. As a result, although the pirates appeared to be on par with their opponents, they actually suffered considerable losses.

When the third naval battle began, Yu Zigao felt the pirates had exhausted their tactics and stopped retreating. As a result, the fire-arresting fleet was utterly defeated by the increasingly adept government troops. Due to the overwhelming firepower of the government troops, the pirates' boarding maneuvers were unsuccessful, and their formation was easily broken. In the final skirmish, the government troops, almost every soldier armed with a musket, inflicted devastating casualties on the pirates.

Finally, due to the approaching night, both sides withdrew from the battlefield without a clear victor. However, the government troops only lost a few small ships, while sinking more than twenty pirate vessels of various sizes. Yu Zigao estimated the pirates' losses at around two thousand men. The artillery advantage of the officers and soldiers was overwhelming, especially in close-quarters combat. Each salvo left the pirate ships riddled with blood and gore.

The Fuzhou army suffered only a little over three hundred casualties, which was negligible for a force of over ten thousand. However, their gunpowder was nearly depleted, so they sailed back to Quanzhou for replenishment.

Huang Shi briefly inquired and learned that Yu Zigao had indeed fired with considerable force. However, there was no other way; being a newly trained navy, Yu Zigao was hesitant to engage in boarding action, fearing a collapse of his troops. Huang Shi felt his decision was correct; money spent wisely was not a waste: "High gunpowder consumption is nothing. We are officers and soldiers; we have plenty of gunpowder. Soldiers are more valuable. We simply have too few soldiers who have seen combat."

"Excellent, excellent! I will immediately order the allocation of gunpowder," Zhu Yifeng said, beaming after hearing about the battle.

"Lord Zhu, Commander-in-Chief, if the bandits dare to engage the government troops at Zhongzuo, I will surely annihilate them all! If they flee, I will pursue them to Tongshan and wipe them out in one fell swoop." Not only Yu Zigao, but Huang Shi and Zhu Yifeng were also very confident in capturing Xiamen. The three of them were overjoyed and prepared to have a feast, and of course, they did not forget to order pigs and chickens to be slaughtered to reward the officers and soldiers of the Fuzhou naval force.

After drinking, Zhu Yifeng went home in high spirits. After arriving home, he was so excited that he could not sleep for a while, so he went to the courtyard to admire the moon. After drinking two pots of tea, Zhu Yifeng staggered back to his study and dictated an article, preparing to publish it in the Quanzhou Gazette the next day.

After finishing his essay, Zhu Yifeng played two games of chess with his son before going back to his room to sleep with a smile on his face. This was the best sleep Zhu Yifeng had had in a year; even the sound of the wind outside couldn't disturb him. The next morning, Zhu Yifeng awoke with a start. He sat up abruptly, grabbed the clothes beside the bed, and sniffed them. Receiving the lingering smell of alcohol, Governor Zhu sighed comfortably, then fell heavily back onto his pillow and slept soundly again.

...

On the night of April 1st, the second year of the Chongzhen reign, pirates launched a night attack on Quanzhou Port. Almost all the officers and soldiers had gone ashore to drink. By the time Yu Zigao and Huang Shi struggled to reach the harbor, half of the Fuzhou naval force had been reduced to ashes.

Tens of thousands of naval soldiers, along with their commander and generals, were chilled to the bone by the wind. Yu Zigao stared blankly at the boiling sea, speechless.

A few days earlier, after repelling the pirates... Yu Zigao's old habit of arrogance and carelessness resurfaced. He had never truly respected pirates, and after a brief search confirming there were no pirates following them, the Fuzhou army didn't raise their alert level to the highest level. Finally, Huang Shi was the first to react. He forced a smile and said to Yu Zigao, "General Yu, unforeseen events can happen at any time; there's nothing we can do about it."

"This humble general deserves to die a thousand deaths, a thousand deaths!"

"No need for further words. The pirates coming at night is indeed remarkable. Retreat."

"General, our army still has half its warships; we can fight them!"

"No need for further words. As long as the soldiers are safe, as long as General Yu is safe. I will go discuss the issue of funds with Governor Zhu now. We must rebuild our navy." When Huang

Shi arrived at Zhu Yifeng's house, he heard a great commotion inside. Even the gatekeeper was nowhere to be seen, and several servants were running around shouting and yelling, weaving between the halls. Huang Shi had a bad feeling and grabbed one of the servants, asking what had happened.

The servant's answer startled him: Zhu Yifeng had hanged himself, and his fate was unknown. Huang Shi, disregarding etiquette and decorum, rushed inside. He asked several servants along the way and went straight to the back hall of Governor Zhu's residence.

The Zhu family knew the situation was serious, so they didn't blame Huang Shi for his abruptness. They simply had the women quickly step aside and led Huang Shi to Zhu Yifeng's bedside. His son stood behind Huang Shi and recounted the day's events in detail. It turned out that Zhu Yifeng had slept until the afternoon, and upon hearing of the coastal fire, he immediately... Realizing something was terribly wrong, he hurriedly sent a servant to the seaside to investigate.

When the servant returned in a panic, Zhu Yifeng's face turned ashen. He stood up and walked silently towards his study. On the way, his son called out to his father repeatedly, but Zhu Yifeng, lost in thought, paid no heed. After entering the study, he locked the door. Fearing something was wrong, Zhu Yifeng's son pressed his ear to the crack in the door, eavesdropping.

Sure enough, after a short while, a heavy thud was heard. Without hesitation, the young master sprang up and burst through the door. His father had indeed kicked over a stool and was hanging from the rafters, swaying back and forth.

After being rescued, Zhu Yifeng slowly regained consciousness, opened his eyes briefly, and then fainted again. Huang Shi sat beside Zhu Yifeng for a while. Finally, Governor Zhu woke up again. Upon opening his eyes and seeing Huang Shi, he couldn't help but weep, saying, "General Huang, this is truly a tragedy for both of us." "

Why do you say that, Lord Zhu? We can rebuild the navy if we lose it. Why give up? Besides, the two-year deadline hasn't passed yet. As long as we keep trying, the court will still give us a chance."

Zhu Yifeng cried out, "How can we rebuild the navy? We have no money left."

"Borrow!"

Huang Shi's answer was as brief as ever.

Zhu Yifeng, tears streaming down his face, sobbed, "General Huang, we've already borrowed 3.5 million taels, and haven't repaid a single penny. Where in Fujian can we borrow any more money? To be honest, being able to borrow 3.5 million taels is already far beyond my expectations."

"Lord Zhu, you're overthinking it. How could we possibly have no money?" Huang Shi smiled and said confidently, "Don't mention 3.5 million, we can borrow 35 million taels."

"Oh?" Zhu Yifeng looked up at Huang Shi, his face filled with disbelief and confusion. "

Lord Zhu," Huang Shi said, "the silver we borrowed didn't go down the drain! We used it to buy fishing boats and farmhouses from the people; we used it to feed the righteous people; we used it to buy wrought iron and timber from merchants; we used it to pay the soldiers' salaries, and the soldiers used that money to buy things from the people. The silver went around in circles and ended up back in the hands of the people of Fujian Province. How could we possibly not be able to borrow any more?"

"Oh… Commander Huang, wait a moment," Zhu Yifeng frowned, thinking for a while. Suddenly, he clapped his hands and said, "That's right! I was wrong before. Hmm, I also heard that many fishermen who migrated inland had no land to cultivate, so they saved the righteous people's silver given to them and used it to buy Jinghai Loans. Yes, if we don't have any silver, it means it all went back to them." "

That's right, Lord Zhu. As long as the people trust the government, as long as they support us, we can rebuild our military again and again, even if we fail a hundred times."

"Don't do it a hundred times! Don't do it! How much silver would that cost!" Zhu Yifeng thought for a while and gave another bitter laugh: "But we were defeated first. Then we were ambushed, and we were defeated again and again! Even if the people have silver, would they buy our bonds and invite bad luck?"

"Why are you talking about Legalism, Lord Zhu?"

"Oh?"

"Legalists believe that the common people are absolutely driven by self-interest and avoidance of harm, so they can be driven away by simple rewards and punishments. You are a follower of Confucianism, a disciple of the sages, don't you believe in the power of education?"

"Education? Hmm...hmm...I hope it's as Commander Huang said." "

Although Zhu Yifeng said this, he secretly wondered why Huang Shi was even more of a bookworm than himself.

The biggest difference between Confucianism and Legalism is that Confucianism believes that everyone has a sense of 'righteousness' within them, just like the righteous spirit of heaven and earth. Therefore, Confucius disapproved of the thorough utilitarianism of Legalism. Confucius believed that there was a way to make people willing to sacrifice for 'righteousness,' such as people voluntarily making sacrifices for the national interest, without necessarily forcing ordinary people to do so through harsh laws.

However, after thinking for a while, Zhu Yifeng believed that the education work in Fujian Province was not much better than in other provinces. It was probably unrealistic to expect the people to 'abandon profit for righteousness.'" After the naval forces of

Funing

Town suffered another heavy blow, the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission decided to issue a new batch of Jinghai Loan Bonds, the fourth such batch. Zhu Yifeng and Huang Shi reported this disaster to the court and also issued a public notice to the people of Fujian. In the official gazette, the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission frankly admitted the perilous situation faced by the Funing Army and therefore appealed to the righteous men and women of the province for their financial assistance in rebuilding the Funing Navy.

Shortly after the notice was issued, many merchants came to inquire when the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission would issue bonds again. These merchants alone intended to subscribe to hundreds of thousands of bonds. The fact that the bonds were worth two taels of silver greatly surprised Zhu Yifeng, as the merchants seemed even more enthusiastic this time than before.

It was unclear when or who started it, but suddenly shops began displaying signs saying "Accepting the Fourth Batch of Jinghai Bonds," and this trend quickly spread throughout Quanzhou. As the Fujian Provincial Administration's official gazette circulated, this phenomenon also appeared extensively throughout Fujian Province. Even small eateries on town streets announced that customers could pay with the soon-to-be-issued fourth batch of Jinghai Loan bonds or silver coins from Funing Town.

Moreover, the Funing Army in various regions also reported to Huangshi. A large number of the relocated righteous people expressed their willingness to accept the fourth batch of Jinghai bonds as payment for their services. Merchants who supplied goods to the Funing Army also notified Funing Town that half of the payment could be settled with bonds.

This continuous stream of good news made Zhu Yifeng almost unable to believe it was true, and he genuinely didn't understand why this was happening. The fourth batch of Jinghai loans was another one million taels. The night before the sale, people from other places arrived to buy them, even forming long queues outside the Provincial Administration Office at night.

Zhu Yifeng saw elderly people in the queue through the window, so he quickly ordered the yamen runners to set up tents to shelter the people from the wind. To prevent a riot, Zhu Yifeng personally went out to supervise the yamen runners' work.

After Zhu Yifeng stepped out of the gate… The crowd outside cheered in unison:

"Zhu Qingtian!"

"Zhu Qingtian!"

An old man in the queue bowed to Zhu Yifeng. Governor Zhu was completely bewildered, so he went over and helped the old man up: "Old man, go sleep in the tent."

"Thank you, Your Honor."

"This... I dare not accept such praise." Zhu Yifeng felt even more confused. As a provincial governor, he rarely adjudicated cases, and over the years he had never shortchanged the people on their taxes, never earning a reputation for incorruptibility. So he really didn't understand how the title of "Your Honor" had fallen upon him.

But with so many people calling him that at the gate, Zhu Yifeng decided to find out. So he personally helped the old man to a tent and inquired about the origin of his title.

Seeing Zhu Qingtian's humility, the people queuing to buy bonds became excited, chattering excitedly:

"In the past, when war raged, it was mostly the common people who suffered. When residents migrated, they were often oppressed by corrupt officials. But Lord Zhu has come, not only buying the people's land and houses at high prices, but also giving them money to ensure that everyone is free from hunger and cold. This is unprecedented!"

"The government's suppression of the pirates is to restore a bright and clear world to the people of Fujian Province. Although the government is short of money, it is considerate of the people, not increasing taxes by a single penny, lending money to suppress the bandits, and even making it clear that interest will be paid..."

"No matter what the situation is, no matter how urgently the government needs money, Lord Zhu Qingtian does not deceive the public in the official gazette, treating everyone with sincerity and honesty..." "

Since Lord Zhu Qingtian has such a heart for the people, we will definitely support the government with all our might!"

Zhu Yifeng finally managed to settle the enthusiastic people with his yamen runners. When he silently walked back to the yamen, Huang Shi had already arrived after hearing the news. Zhu Yifeng and Huang Shi greeted each other quietly. After a long silence, Zhu Yifeng suddenly blurted out, "I never knew there were so many righteous people in Fujian Province."

"It's all thanks to Lord Zhu's teachings." Huang Shi had already heard the stories from a yamen runner. He smiled at Zhu Yifeng, paused, and then said, "Lord Zhu is truly a great scholar of our time!"

Zhu Yifeng was stunned for a moment, then stared at Huang Shi for a while. "General Huang, you must have studied Confucianism, right?" asked thoughtfully.

Huang Shi replied honestly, "After the Battle of Guangning, I retreated to the mountains and sea with the former Prefect of Guangning, Lord Gao. On the way, Lord Gao gave me some pointers and even gave me a few books."

"I only know of Lord Gao's reputation, but it's a pity I never had the chance to meet him." Zhu Yifeng looked up at the moonlight and said thoughtfully, "General Huang, hmm, I wonder if you're interested in exchanging a few words with me now?"

"It would be my greatest honor to receive instruction from Lord Zhu."

...

April of the second year of Chongzhen.

With the successful issuance of another large loan for the Jinghai region, the Fuzhou Army regained its strength. Countless cannons and ship planks flowed out of the Military Industry Department. Yu Zigao had already led 10,000 naval officers and soldiers back to Xiapu. Along the way, the Fuzhou-Ningxia army was surrounded by the cheers of the Fujian people: "Fuzhou-Ningxia army, our sons and daughters of Fujian! Do a good job, don't let your elders down!"

Upon returning to the Ningde naval base, the officers and soldiers immediately began intensive training, ready to fight the pirates again at any moment.

Meanwhile, the Fujian pirates, after several days of revelry, were once again plunged into great panic. Before this battle, Zheng Yiguan, Liu Xiangqi, and others had confidently assured their troops that the officers and soldiers could not afford another defeat. But judging from the current situation, even if they defeated the Fuzhou-Ningxia army a hundred times, the Fuzhou-Ningxia army would rebuild for the hundred and first time.

In April, Zheng Yiguan once again requested amnesty. This time, Zheng Yiguan did not ask for official positions, only for a pardon and permission to retain all their ships, as well as preferential commercial taxes. Naturally, this was rejected again by the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission, but this time Zhu Yifeng did not resort to violence.

When the news reached Zhongzuo, it was already April 10th. A large number of pirate henchmen were outraged, vehemently denouncing their leaders Zheng Yiguan and Liu Xiangqi for "deceiving the masses."

After a vigorous suppression, the turmoil finally subsided, but undercurrents still lingered. Exhausted, Liu Xiangqi walked to the port of Xiamen, wanting to clear his head. Currently, Xiamen's connection with the mainland was almost completely severed, and the people of Fujian province had spontaneously organized to support the government's ban on maritime trade. Liu Xiangqi shouted angrily at the sea, "We clearly won! We've been winning all along! How come morale has plummeted to this level? How come all the people and merchants of Fujian don't have any faith in us?"

The memorial

pleading guilty for the massacre of Zhu Yifeng and Huang Shi, submitted again to Beijing, and the cabinet drafted another "severe reprimand." After reviewing it, the young emperor ordered a meeting of the cabinet ministers on duty and the Minister of War. Today, Li Biao and Qian Longxi were on duty in the Wenyuan Pavilion. Upon hearing the news, they rushed to the Emperor's court with Wang Qia, the Minister of War.

"I've said it before," Li Biao said, "that Yu Zigao is utterly incompetent. The Fujian provincial army has been eradicating the pirates from the land for almost a year, just short of storming their lair and capturing them in one fell swoop. But Yu Zigao has suffered heavy losses every time; he's truly incompetent!"

"Your Majesty is wise," Li Biao replied, "but Commander Huang has once again taken all the blame." He explained that the cabinet also had its difficulties. Huang Shi claimed he had taken Yu Zigao out drinking, so if anyone should be punished, it should be Huang Shi first. Since Huang Shi advocated the suppression strategy, the government troops had been invincible on land, quickly driving the pirates to the islands. In the last six months, the pirates had even lost the ability to harass the region, so Huang Shi's achievements were quite evident.

Moreover, recently the pirates had been repeatedly requesting amnesty, their tone becoming increasingly humble. Liu Xiangqi had even gone to Guangdong to request amnesty. However, the Fujian Provincial Administration Commissioner's attitude was unusually firm, so the Guangdong Provincial Administration Commissioner also rejected his request. All of this made the Emperor and the cabinet ministers feel that the situation was very favorable. Minister of War Wang Qia also chimed in, saying, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, Commander Huang has been overly hasty in handling the Fujian situation. If we had agreed to the amnesty, it would probably have been quelled long ago."

Now the pirates in Fujian only asked for a pardon and the retention of their ships; their previous arrogance had completely vanished. Li Biao felt that if he were the Governor of Fujian, he would have been perfectly willing to accept such conditions. However, Huang Shi and Zhu Yifeng both firmly opposed it. After all, they were high-ranking local officials, and the specific terms of the amnesty should ultimately be determined by them. The cabinet could not say much on this matter. Upon hearing the emperor's question, Li Biao cleared his throat and reported, "Your Majesty, the Fujian governor and Commander Huang both said that most of the pirate ships are civilian vessels looted from the sea. Granting them amnesty now might encourage others to engage in piracy. Their argument is very sound, so the cabinet cannot refute it. However, the pirates, knowing they cannot escape, are struggling desperately, which is why the pacification of the sea has been delayed."

"Yes, I know that Commander Huang always advocates eradicating evil completely, and I agree with that. Ultimately, it's Yu Zigao's incompetence that caused him to lose half of Fujian to the pirates in the first place. Now that Commander Huang has pacified the entire province, he's still unable to take over a few small islands." Chongzhen first grumbled, then impatiently waved his hand: "If you don't have any better ideas, then let Yu Zigao off the hook again. I have to give Commander Huang some face."

Since the policy of suppressing the pirates was adopted in Fujian, the only request from the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission was to withhold two years' worth of tax revenue. The regular tax plus the Liaodong tax totaled approximately 600,000 taels of silver, which Chongzhen didn't think was too much. Moreover, Huang Shi had pacified the southwest, so the court not only didn't need to invest money in the southwest, but could also collect taxes from there. However, what puzzled the emperor was that Fujian not only didn't receive any additional taxes, but even the Liaodong tax, which other provinces had increased, wasn't. In the past two years, Zhu Yifeng only collected the land tax that Zhang Juzheng had set for Fujian that year. The total was less than 100,000 taels of silver.

Therefore, the young emperor became quite interested in the large loan in Fujian. After reading the recent report from the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission, the emperor found the loan even more astonishing: "I've always heard that Fujian is a mountainous province with little land, yet the Fujian governor and Commander Huang can so easily borrow 4.5 million taels of silver, and it seems far from exhausted. How can Fujian be poor? It's practically the richest province in the world!"

Li Biao cautiously replied, "Your Majesty is right, but this loan is always competing with the people for profit..." Chongzhen said enthusiastically

, "It is indeed competing with the people for profit, but both Lord Zhu and Commander Huang have said that without eliminating the pirates, merchants cannot conduct maritime trade with peace of mind, and fishermen cannot go out to sea to fish with peace of mind. So, it's only a matter of borrowing first and repaying later. Besides, didn't the Fujian Censor say that the people of Fujian are eager to lend money to Commander Huang?"

The Fujian Censor had impeached Huang Shi, Zhu Yifeng, and Yu Zigao several times in a row. However, Yu Zigao was a bulwark against the wind; after these two major defeats, Yu Zigao had borne more than 80% of the censors' criticism. With him around, Huang Shi and Zhu Yifeng were largely unaffected by attacks, their only explanation being that Zhu Yifeng and Huang Shi misjudged people. Since Huang Shi was fiercely protecting Yu Zigao, the censors were powerless to do anything.

While the Fujian provincial censor relentlessly attacked the governor, he also repeatedly brought up the Jinghai Loan. The Fujian people's enthusiastic purchase of bonds served as another weapon for the censor, who believed that since the military funds were sufficient, the inability to resolve the problem was naturally due to Zhu Yifeng's incompetence.

However, despite their impeachments, the censors also acknowledged that the situation in Fujian was steadily improving. The pirates' morale was plummeting. Starting four months ago, the pirates' supplies from Fujian had decreased to less than half, with much of their supplies being transported from Guangdong by Liu Xiangqi. Although transporting supplies from Guangdong was expensive and infrequent, it at least kept the pirates afloat. Therefore, when the censors criticized the Fujian Provincial Administration Commissioner and the Funing Garrison, they usually also implicated the Zhaoqing Garrison and the Guangdong Provincial Administration Commissioner, saying that if they were as resolute as the Fujian political and military departments, the pirates would have been wiped out long ago.

Although Huang Shi was kind enough not to pin the blame on Guangdong, Zhu Yifeng's memorial of apology already subtly implied this, implying that he wanted to shift the responsibility for the inability to achieve a quick victory onto Guangdong. Zhu Yifeng had also been actively protecting Yu Zigao. Both he and Huang Shi possessed imperial authority, and their voices were clearly louder than the Fujian Provincial Inspector. Since these two didn't use Yu Zigao as a scapegoat, as long as the situation in Fujian continued to improve, the court was unlikely to force a punishment on Yu Zigao.

Li Biao quickly followed up on Chongzhen's words, knowing the emperor was quite satisfied with Zhu Yifeng and Huang Shi's work: "Your Majesty is right. Although the Fujian governor is somewhat arrogant, his border service is generally competent. It seems the pirates can be quelled within two years, and the Fujian governor's pacification of Fujian province this time cost the court a single penny, which is commendable."

"Of course, commendable, and a great one at that! If every provincial governor had even a tenth of the Fujian governor's talent, I wouldn't need to increase taxes. Hmm, if the Fujian governor can truly repay this loan, I think he'll not only be competent on the border, but also quite capable as a prime minister." Chongzhen pondered for a moment, then handed back the draft proposal from the cabinet: "The cabinet should take this proposal back and rewrite it. I believe this naval defeat is a minor setback and should not be severely punished." "

Yes, Your Majesty."

After leaving the main hall, Li Biao and Qian Longxi walked back to the Wenyuan Pavilion side by side. On the way, Li Biao said thoughtfully, "Huang Shi went from Fujian to Guizhou and then back from Guizhou to Fujian. There wasn't a single conflict between the military and civilians on the way. Huang Shi even praised countless officials in the four provinces along the way, saying that they had benefited from educating the local people. As a result, hundreds of officials received excellent performance evaluations, right?"

“Of course. In the past, whenever foreign troops passed through a region, they would disturb the people, and everyone along the way would complain endlessly. Every place the army passed through would leave behind disputes that would take months to resolve. In Huangshi, the army and the people lived in harmony, and the local officials naturally had the merit of educating them. Hmm, didn’t Huangshi also receive a commendation

for his effective military management?” Li Biao nodded and began to count on his fingers: “Huangshi’s time under the jurisdiction of Dongjiang Town is not worth mentioning. When he aided Juehua, the Jiliao Governor-General gained a great border merit, which was the greatest merit against the northern barbarians in a hundred years; then Huangshi was transferred to quell the She’an Rebellion, and Zhang Heming was promoted to Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince. Now His Majesty has bestowed upon him the title of Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall and kept him in Beijing for frequent consultation; Huangshi traveled a circle from south to west, and as a result, the local officials in all the provinces along the way received excellent evaluations…”

“Hmm,” Li Biao stopped, counting on his last finger, then looked up at Qian Longxi and said, “Zhu Yifeng has been his military supervisor for the longest time, over a year now. Not only is Zhu Yifeng praised for his border talent, but today His Majesty even commented that he has the talent of a prime minister!”

“What are you trying to say, Lord Li?”

Li Biao stared blankly at Qian Longxi. “What I want to know most right now is, is it Huang Shi who has the talent of a prime minister, or Zhu Yifeng?”

…

In the first month of the second year of Chongzhen's reign, after Huang Taiji sent a letter to Yuan Chonghuan, the negotiations between the two sides quickly intensified, with envoys constantly traveling between Ningyuan and Liaoyang. Through several famous Mongolian lamas as witnesses and intermediaries, the two sides engaged in fierce bargaining over the issue of tribute, and the deal quickly spread among the various Mongolian tribes.

A year ago, the Ming Dynasty's Minister of War, Yan Mingtai, had solemnly vowed never to negotiate peace, yet the Ming court had once again betrayed its allies and promises. Soon, the thirty-six Mongol tribes, including the Kharachin, Khalkha, and Doyan Mongols, who had betrayed the Later Jin by believing Yan Mingtai's promises, allied with Huang Taiji. By April of the second year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, in just four months, the once war-torn northwestern border of the Later Jin had achieved complete peace.

Moreover, with the defections of various Mongol tribes, the Later Jin regime seized vast territories south of the Gobi Desert without a fight and gained allies with over 40,000 male soldiers. Thus, the Later Jin regime made significant progress in the west. Its territory nearly doubled in size and began to border another Ming military town—Jizhen. Xifengkou and other areas were finally exposed to the threat of the Later Jin army.

On another front, after peace negotiations with the Later Jin began, Yuan Chonghuan quickly submitted a memorial to the court on the seventh day of the third month, requesting control over the provisions and supplies of Dongjiang Town. After receiving the emperor's approval, Yuan Chonghuan cut off the supply of military provisions and fodder to Dongjiang Town. Subsequently, Yuan Chonghuan, bypassing the Ministry of Rites (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) of the Ming Dynasty, again overstepped his authority and directly wrote to the King of Joseon, announcing that Joseon's tribute route would no longer pass through Dongjiang, and strictly prohibiting Joseon from providing Mao Wenlong with any more grain and supplies.

Caught off guard, Mao Wenlong simultaneously submitted a memorial accusing Yuan Chonghuan of embezzling grain and military funds from Dongjiang Town, and hurriedly sought help from Shandong and other places, hoping that Shandong merchants could sell him or provide him with some grain and cloth to help him in his emergency. More than a month after the start of peace negotiations with Huang Taiji, in March of the second year of Chongzhen's reign, Yuan Chonghuan issued an order to Tianjin, Dengzhou, and Laizhou, strictly prohibiting all ships from going to sea, and absolutely forbidding merchants from selling a single grain or bean to Dongjiang Town!

Faced with the court's strict order, the officers and soldiers of Laizhou and Dengzhou, as well as the various prefectures, were on high alert. All ships that violated the ban on going to sea would have all their cargo confiscated, and merchants who dared to transport grain and cloth to Dongjiang Town would be imprisoned. Faced with this perilous situation, Shandong merchants refused to provide any more supplies to Dongjiang Town, and even Liu Qingyang's corrupt council was powerless to stop it. At

the end of March, Dongjiang Town abandoned Haizhou and its surrounding areas.

In early April, the Left Wing of Dongjiang Town abandoned Gaizhou and its surrounding suburbs; the Right Wing abandoned Kuandian and other fortresses that had been held for eight years. All 100,000 soldiers and civilians were ordered to retreat to Shuozhou in Korea. Subsequently, the Left Wing also abandoned Lianyun Island.

In mid-April, Shuozhou behind Kuandian was also abandoned by Dongjiang Town. Mao Wenlong ordered all Dongjiang troops in Korea to retreat to Dongjiang Island.

At the same time, Mao Wenlong wrote to Emperor Chongzhen, impeaching Yuan Chonghuan for embezzling and withholding military rations from Dongjiang Town. He also accused Yuan Chonghuan of issuing a maritime ban to Shandong and Tianjin targeting Dongjiang Town: "...After reading it, I was filled with sorrow and frustration, and had no solution. Suddenly, I heard cries of grief rising from all sides, and the whole island was in an uproar. The generals rushed to my office, saying that the soldiers had been crying out in despair until today, hoping for the arrival of provisions and passenger ships. They hoped that one day, when Liaodong was recovered, they would return to their homeland. Who knew that Commander Yuan had strictly prohibited going to sea, forbidding anyone from going out to sea, so that passengers were afraid of the law and did not come. Moreover, the Shandong Provincial Governor and the officials of the three prefectures of Qing, Deng and Lai had not received any provisions, so the soldiers were in a panic, saying, 'If you cut my throat, I will die instantly.' In addition, they were starving and had no food, so they had no choice but to suffer!" At

the end of April, Dongjiang Town abandoned Fuzhou and Pingshan; at the beginning

of the intercalary fourth month, Mao Wenlong ordered the Dongjiang army to withdraw overseas as soon as possible, abandoning all land territories except Lushun and Tieshan...

On the 18th day of the intercalary fourth month, near Jinzhou,

Li Chengfeng left Jinzhou with a few servants. Although this was the southern gateway to Liaodong, the Dongjiang army was no longer able to hold it. This time, places like Nanguan will also be abandoned. The plan is that Dongjiang Town will only retain the Lushun bridgehead, thus eliminating the problem of transporting grain by road and minimizing unnecessary food consumption.

As long as Li Chengfeng has food, he won't let his servants go hungry. So, although these men are listless, they still receive five dou of rice per month, much better than the three dou of ordinary soldiers, not to mention the old, weak, and disabled.

Although Li Chengfeng left Jinzhou two years ago to be sent to the front lines, this is still the city where he lived for four years. Therefore, it is the city he is most attached to. During this major retreat of Dongjiang Town, Li Chengfeng covered the rear. He set fire to various castles, but no city before could compare to this one.

A raging fire rose from the Jinzhou city wall; this fortress that Li Chengfeng had vowed to defend to the death was set ablaze by his own hands. He gazed at the fortress gradually turning to ashes, his eyes blazing with bright flames: "General Zhang Pan, General Zhang Feimao, General Zhang Pan... the cities our soldiers fought and died to capture, Commander Huang personally handed them to me, and in the end, I burned them all down without a single battle."

"It's not your fault, sir. Let's go back to Lushun." Seeing that Li Chengfeng seemed to be in a bad mood, the servants quickly comforted their master. Then they pulled him along on his journey.

Along the way, Li Chengfeng continued to sigh: "How humiliating! I'd rather they had all been conquered by the Jurchens than burned them down myself. So many soldiers shed their blood to win this land, and it's all been given away to the Jurchens."

Upon reaching Nanguan, seeing that the residents and garrison had all left, Li Chengfeng set it on fire as well. Along the way, new graves were everywhere; refugees fleeing south hastily buried their loved ones before hurrying towards Lushun.

Occasionally, one or two corpses would be seen exposed in the wilderness, causing Li Chengfeng great distress. Every time he encountered such a situation, he and his servants would stop to bury the bodies, giving the deceased a final resting place: "These are civilians and brothers who have fought alongside our army for many years. How can we let them lie exposed in the wild, to be devoured by wild dogs?"

"Stop." Li Chengfeng called out to his men again. He jumped off his horse and ran to the roadside, examining a freshly dug grave. Li Chengfeng looked at it suspiciously: "This is clearly a new grave. Who dug it up again?"

After saying this, Li Chengfeng circled the grave a few more times, following a trail and two rows of footprints towards the woods by the roadside. The tracks on the ground clearly showed two people dragging something heavy. Li Chengfeng's heart sank; he had already guessed what had happened.

He hadn't gone far when Li Chengfeng sniffed the air hard. "It stinks," he muttered to himself, his steps becoming lighter as he crept forward.

The smell quickly grew stronger, mixed with the scent of burning charcoal. Li Chengfeng cautiously crept closer, hiding behind a tree, his palms unknowingly sweating coldly.

Ahead, in a small clearing in the woods, a fire burned, and two men sat around it, wolfing down something. Li Chengfeng glanced at them and let out a mournful howl. With that cry, he leaped from the woods, drawing his sword.

Both men were dressed in ordinary Dongjiang Town military uniforms, and a corpse lay beside them. They too were wearing the Zuo Xie military uniform. The two men, startled by the voices, looked up to see Li Chengfeng, his eyes bloodshot, already upon them. With a single swing of his sword, he felled one of them to the ground.

"You two beasts!" Li Chengfeng roared furiously, then plunged the sword into the other man's abdomen.

At this moment, Li Chengfeng's servants rushed to his side. They saw that the first man, his neck severed by Li Chengfeng's blade, lay dead on the ground, his cheeks sunken, his lifeless eyes still wide open. The other man, clutching the sword in his stomach, was not yet dead.

Only then did Li Chengfeng realize that the dying man before him was merely a young child, his beard not yet grown. Li Chengfeng and his servants fell silent. He looked back at the first dead man; it seemed the two men were father and son. Li Chengfeng weakly released his grip on the sword, and the child fell heavily backward to the ground, gasping for breath, spitting out clumps of bloody foam.

Li Chengfeng stepped forward. The child looked up into the murderer's eyes, his face filled with shame and unease. "Sir, I'm hungry, hungry..."

the child mumbled, trying to explain himself, his voice growing softer and softer until it disappeared with the blood flowing from his body. Li Chengfeng squatted down, burying his face in his hands. He repeatedly asked, distraught, "What have I done? What have I done?"

"Sir." After a long silence, a guard stepped forward, trying to help Li Chengfeng up.

Li Chengfeng shook off his personal guard's hand, leaped to his feet, and roared to the sky. Then he looked down at the father and son he had just killed: "The people of Liaodong braved hardships and traveled thousands of miles to join my Dongjiang Army, seeking nothing more than a meal and the preservation of their lives. And yet, not only have I failed to protect our people, but I have also personally extinguished their family line!"

"My lord, this is not your fault. Even Generals Mao Keyi and Mao Kexi were helpless, so what could you do?" "

Don't mention the two Generals Mao. My former superiors were General Zhang Pan and General Zhang Feimao." Li Chengfeng paused, then turned his gaze to the knife still stuck in the child's stomach: "I told Commander Huang that I would definitely defend the southern gateway of Liaodong and never fail Commander Huang's trust, even unto death!" On

the 18th day of the intercalary fourth month of the second year of Chongzhen's reign, Li Chengfeng committed suicide outside the South Gate.

...

Meanwhile, the Dongjiang Army in Korea was also retreating towards Tieshan. Bai Youcai and the three Sun brothers were all enlisted in the combat unit this year and sent to Kuandian. During this retreat, food was limited, so each person was only given two small cakes a day. The 100,000 soldiers and civilians of the Dongjiang Town Right Wing marched from the deep forests of Changbai Mountain to northern Korea, and then struggled to trek across the mountain ranges of northern Korea. They hoped to reach Tieshan as soon as possible.

"Just bear with it, there will be food when we reach Tieshan!"

Due to hunger and exhaustion, almost every day someone collapsed and died by the roadside. At first, everyone rushed to rescue them, but as time went on, people gradually became accustomed to it, and no one would give those unfortunate brothers lying dead by the roadside a second glance. Three days ago, the eldest Sun brother also fainted from hunger. At that time, the second and fourth Sun brothers and Bai Youcai all thought he was dead, so they began to dig his grave.

Unexpectedly, after they finished digging the grave, the eldest brother of the Sun family suddenly woke up. The three overjoyed brothers tried to help him up, but he just lay limply on the ground, silent no matter what anyone said, his dull eyes filled only with deep hunger. The pancakes had already been distributed when the eldest brother woke up; the person distributing them thought he was dead and hadn't left him his share.

Bai Youcai told the Sun brothers to take care of their eldest brother, while he ran to the officer in charge of food, pleading with them to reissue the two pancakes. After calling over several witnesses and understanding the situation, the officer also felt that food should be reissued in this case, so he gave him the two pancakes.

"Just bear with it, there will be food when we reach Tieshan."

After Bai Youcai brought back the two cold, unleavened pancakes, the eldest brother of the Sun family, who had been lying on the ground speechless, leaped up and devoured the two pancakes in a few bites. Bai Youcai kept saying, "Eat slowly, eat slowly," but a sense of foreboding crept into his heart.

Not long after finishing the pancakes, the eldest brother of the Sun family suddenly clutched his stomach and rolled on the ground, his face contorted in extreme pain. Terrified, the Sun brothers and Bai Youcai rushed to find a doctor. The army doctor arrived and, after only a glance, asked, "Did you eat dirt?"

The second brother of the Sun family was so anxious he was about to cry: "No, I didn't eat dirt! I ate pancakes!"

"Oh, I see," the doctor said with pity, looking at the still-struggling eldest brother of the Sun family, who was being held down by the three brothers. "He was so hungry, his appetite was gone, and the pancakes punctured his stomach."

The three brothers desperately held the eldest brother down, who was still struggling violently. Several times he nearly escaped from his brothers' clutches: "What should we do then?"

"Give him a quick death."

In the end, Bai Youcai hardened his heart and struck the eldest brother of the Sun family on the back of the head with a stick, and then they buried him in the grave they had dug...

On the 23rd day of the intercalary fourth month of the second year of Chongzhen's reign, three months had passed since Yuan Chonghuan and Huang Taiji began peace negotiations, and the economic blockade of Dongjiang Town continued. Officials from the Ministry of Revenue reported back from the island that Dongjiang Island, the headquarters of Dongjiang Town, was also suffering from an unprecedented famine. Everywhere there were people who were emaciated and pale, and even the rations of Mao Wenlong's personal guards had dropped to three dou per month.

Yuan Chonghuan once again emphasized to Korea that no more food should be provided to Mao Wenlong. Korean officials saw that Dongjiang Town was in complete retreat, and many Dongjiang soldiers were starving to death in the streets of Korea. By the end of the intercalary fourth month, Mao Wenlong could no longer hold on. He ordered the Dongjiang army to prepare to withdraw from Korea, since the first year of Tianqi's reign when Mao Wenlong led two hundred soldiers to counterattack Liaodong. This was the first time Dongjiang Town had officially ordered the abandonment of the Liaodong mainland.

Bai Youcai and Sun Ergou carried the fourth son of the Sun family on either side, and behind them, tens of thousands of Dongjiang soldiers and civilians could no longer stand. From Kuandian to Tieshan, the graves and bones of Dongjiang soldiers formed a road sign, guiding those who followed to continue their struggle toward their home base.

"Hold on, hold on, we're almost at Tieshan, there will be food there." Bai Youcai and Sun Ergou encouraged him repeatedly as they dragged the fourth son forward, "We've come this far, don't stop at the last step!"

It was the 24th day of the intercalary fourth month. The fourth son finally could no longer walk, and Bai Youcai and Sun Ergou took turns carrying him. Soon, the two of them were also panting heavily.

"Second brother, third brother, bury me here." The fourth son uttered indistinct words.

"Nonsense! We're almost at Tieshan, and we'll have food there."

In the afternoon, the group had marched to within a few miles of Tieshan. Sun Ergou and Bai Youcai were utterly exhausted, and Lao Si had already fainted.

"Second Brother," Bai Youcai gasped, lying on the ground, his strength completely gone. He could only carry someone a few steps before needing to stop and rest. "Tieshan is just ahead. I'm going to get the food. You stay here and watch Lao Si."

"Okay, hurry back."

"Understood."

Bai Youcai mustered his remaining strength and staggered towards Tieshan. Sun Ergou rested for a while, carrying his younger brother, then got up to find water. He filled a large gourd and carefully poured the water into a broken bowl. Then, Sun Ergou placed his brother's head on his lap and held the bowl of water close to his chest, trying to warm it up. Sun Ergou figured that if Bai Youcai brought back more pancakes later, he could soak them in this bowl of water to soften them before feeding them to his younger brother.

Sun Ergou took off his clothes and covered his brother with them, occasionally looking up and squinting towards the west. Suddenly, he heard a soft call: "Brother."

"Hmm, feeling better?" Sun Ergou lowered his head and gently stroked his brother's forehead.

"I'm feeling better." The fourth brother's voice sounded much louder, and his eyes brightened again. Lying on his brother's lap, he turned his neck and asked, puzzled, "Where's Third Brother? What's he doing? Are we almost at Tieshan?"

Sun Ergou smiled, a smile of triumph after hardship, radiating boundless joy and pride... Just as Sun Ergou was about to tell his younger brother that their suffering had come to an end, just as he was about to celebrate with his brother that they had finally escaped the death march, a weary, low voice called out from not far away: "Second Brother!"

Sun Ergou looked up at the sound, and Bai Youcai stood not far away, empty-handed, slowly shaking his head at him, his face terribly gloomy.

Sun Ergou's expression froze for a moment, then returned to normal. He smiled and said to his younger brother, "Soon, we'll be at Tieshan soon."

"Mm..." The fourth brother nodded, then closed his eyes and fell asleep again.

Bai Youcai slowly walked to the Sun brothers' side and said softly, "Let's continue carrying him. There's a boat to Dongjiang Island to take us there; there's food there."

Before Sun Ergou could reply, a heart-wrenching wail suddenly erupted beside them, drawing their attention. A middle-aged woman was desperately shaking a young girl, then violently tearing at her hair. A man who appeared to be her husband stood beside his wife and daughter, both shivering uncontrollably.

"The Imperial Court!" the woman cried, pounding the ground with her fists until her hands were bloodied and mangled. "Is the Imperial Court going to starve us to death?"

Her husband silently knelt down and held his wife in his arms, gently patting the wailing woman. When Bai Youcai turned around, he saw Sun Ergou checking his younger brother's breath, then his pulse. Finally, Sun Ergou gently covered his fourth brother's face with a piece of clothing; now he, like Bai Youcai, was alone.

Sun Ergou raised his head, staring intently into Bai Youcai's eyes, and asked seriously, "Why? Why does the court want to starve us to death?"

...

In the intercalary fourth month of the second year of Chongzhen's reign, Mao Wenlong repeatedly submitted memorials impeaching Yuan Chonghuan for embezzling Dongjiang military funds and cutting off the Dongjiang grain supply route. In his final letter of accusation, Mao Wenlong comprehensively refuted the civil officials' slander against him, starting with the issue of military funds: "He received over 1.28 million taels in cash, but paid 1.4113 million taels in cash. The amount is inconsistent with the actual amount! We have to rely on porridge and coarse grains to survive day and night. All rice, beans, cloth, and the like have to be loaned to merchants from all directions, and we have to repay them when the funds arrive, but there has been no news of the annual funds!"

Over the past eight years, he has taken 1.4 million taels of silver and one million shi of rice, which averages out to only pay and feed 7,000 soldiers per year. Mao Wenlong argued that with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Dongjiang Town receiving the pay and rations of 7,000 soldiers, they are not even able to eat their fill, so how could he possibly embezzle? He then questioned the Ministry of Revenue, asking why they were only willing to pay half the salary to the Dongjiang garrison after verifying the number of soldiers: "Each soldier receives one tael and four mace of silver and one bushel of rice per month. This is the fixed amount. Yet the Ministry of Revenue says that one army will receive half the salary. I believe that the same soldiers are treated differently in Guan Ning and Dongjiang. I wonder what your opinion is!"

In a lengthy memorial, Mao Wenlong once again unleashed his fury. He even turned his wrath upon the entire civil service, roaring at Emperor Chongzhen: "It is the civil officials who have ruined the country, not the ministers; these ministers only care about eliminating me, not eliminating slaves, using the country to satisfy their personal grudges, wielding weapons against their own comrades."

After reading the memorial, Chongzhen forwarded it to the Liaodong Military Command, demanding an explanation from Yuan Chonghuan.

At this time, Yuan Chonghuan had already been negotiating peace with Huang Taiji for four months and had written to the Minister of War, Wang Qia, seeking support: "The court has already made its decision regarding the peace negotiations in Guandong. If Wenlong can cooperate wholeheartedly, there will be no suspicion; otherwise, behead him, and Chonghuan will gladly draw his sword..."

Yuan Chonghuan feigned surprise at Mao Wenlong's accusations, claiming he was completely unaware of the difficulties faced by Dongjiang Town, and shamelessly declared in front of everyone that civil officials should cooperate with military officials. "Civil officials refuse to show compassion for military officers, and at the slightest disagreement, they seek favor with the emperor—what kind of decorum is this? Since they are short of funds, why not come and explain?"

After uttering these high-sounding words in front of the imperial envoy and the crowd, Yuan Chonghuan ordered ten ships of grain and provisions transported from Tianjin to be distributed to the messenger. He also wrote a personal letter to comfort Mao Wenlong and included silver, pork, mutton, wine, and noodles as

rewards on board. In addition, Yuan Chonghuan publicly petitioned for funds for Mao Wenlong. Because Yuan Chonghuan had embezzled the military pay and provisions for Dongjiang Town over the past two years, he requested the emperor to order the Ministry of Revenue to raise another 100,000 taels of silver for Dongjiang Town. After this condition was met, Yuan Chonghuan invited Mao Wenlong to Shuangdao Island to discuss the issue of military pay.

In the original history of Huangshi, after killing Mao Wenlong, Yuan Chonghuan boasted triumphantly that these words, this batch of grain, and all the subsequent arrangements were his schemes to deceive Mao Wenlong: "All of this was to fool him."

...

May 20th, the second year of Chongzhen's reign, Liaoyang.

When Mangultai entered, Huang Taiji and Amin were bent over, examining a map closely. Hearing footsteps, he looked up, then straightened up and chuckled, "Fifth Brother, aren't we going hunting today?"

"I noticed you haven't left your tent much these past few days, so I came to check on you." Mangultai strode over to Huang Taiji, tilting his head to glance at the map as well. "Looking at this again? What's this place called again? Jizhou, right?"

"Fifth Brother has a good memory. It's the Jizhou Garrison of the Ming Dynasty."

Mangultai lingered on the map for a moment, then sighed deeply, "Eighth Brother, you're so resourceful! Only a few months have passed since the first month of this year, and our Great Jin territory has tripled. Our armored soldiers have more than doubled. Things we couldn't get on the battlefield, we've obtained through peace negotiations!"

"Eastward expedition to Korea, westward control of Mongolia, never forgetting the well-digger when drinking water, Yuan Chonghuan, a friend of the Great Jin." Before Yuan Chonghuan became the governor of Liaodong, the Later Jin was compressed into the Liaozhong Plain by the Dongjiang garrison and various Mongol tribes. However, a few months after Yuan Chonghuan became the Jiliao Grand Commander, the Later Jin army had already defeated Korea and formed an alliance with the Southern Mongols, extending its influence to the vital Jizhou garrison of the Ming Dynasty. Amin said sarcastically, "Third Prince, don't give Yuan Chonghuan any more nicknames. Alas, there are such heroes in the world, truly admirable, wishing I could drink and chat with him."

"Are you sure you want to attack Jizhou?" Mangultai carefully examined the map. Huang Taiji and Amin drew several circles and dots on it, and highlighted several roads: "But although Mao Wenlong has left, he might come back after we leave."

“Of course, Wenlong is also an old friend of ours. We all know his little hobbies, don’t we?” Amin shook his head sadly, patting Huang Taiji’s shoulder beside him. “It’s a pity that the Fourth Prince has a good friend named Yuan Chonghuan; Wenlong has no chance now.”

Huang Taiji chuckled. “There were originally four difficulties in sending troops to Jizhou: First, the Southern Mongols are our enemies, not friends. Yuan Chonghuan has solved that for us, opening up a path for us; second, the Jizhou garrison commander Zhao Shuaijiao is a tough guy who will never surrender or flee. Yuan Chonghuan has already transferred him and his four thousand retainers to Shanhaiguan, and has also reduced the remaining forces in Jizhou by thirty percent, rendering the Xifengkou area practically non-existent.” Third, General Man Gui of Ningyuan is quite bold. If we penetrate deep into Jizhou, he might flank us and cut off our supply lines and return route. Now that Yuan Chonghuan has sent him to Datong, our flank is safe.”

Huang Taiji pointed to Dongjiang Island: “Mao Wenlong has been in Liaodong for thirty years, eleven of which were spent troubling our Great Jin. Three hundred of his clansmen died, and he gathered hundreds of thousands of refugees. He has the greatest military achievements and the heaviest burden… If such a person does not have a good end, then can any of the generals of the Ming Dynasty, including that Huang Shi, still be confident that they will have a good end?”

Chapter 58 Collusion

In September of the second year of Chongzhen’s reign, Mao Wenlong issued his last warning in history. He reported directly to Emperor Chongzhen that he had learned of the Later Jin’s action plan, and that Huang Taiji intended to break through the pass at Jizhou. Mao Wenlong also gave a specific time in his memorial, believing that this unprecedented invasion plan would take place around mid-October.

In his memorial, Mao Wenlong again attributed the Later Jin's inconceivable plan to Yuan Chonghuan's economic blockade and the subsequent collapse of Dongjiang Town.

In both this historical account and Huang Shi's original world, in the latter half of the first year of the Chongzhen reign, the Ming court was debating whether to relocate Dongjiang Town to Gaizhou and whether to support the Dongjiang army in a direct attack on Liaoyang. At this time, the Later Jin were holed up in the Liaozhong Plain, and probably no one would have imagined that they would one day launch a surprise attack on the interior.

However, only a few months after Yuan Chonghuan began peace negotiations, Dongjiang Town relinquished 99% of its land territory, almost completely losing its ability to contain the Jin. Without firing a single shot or sending a single arrow, the Later Jin reclaimed the land that countless martyrs of Dongjiang Town had won with their blood, nearly tripling their territory from east to west, and doubling their armored troops.

Of all the warnings Mao Wenlong issued to Liaoxi, his prediction for the Battle of Ningyuan differed from the actual Jin invasion by only one day, and for the Battle of Ningjin by only two days. This time, Mao Wenlong's warning of danger at Jizhou was five months earlier than the actual danger, making it the most accurate prediction of his life, but also his biggest error. Mao Wenlong predicted mid-October, while Huang Taiji's invasion occurred on November 2nd, a difference of more than ten days.

In his final warning, Mao Wenlong pleaded with Emperor Chongzhen to lift the economic blockade of Dongjiang Town, allowing the Liaodong soldiers to avoid hunger and cold. Mao Wenlong earnestly assured the emperor that as long as the Dongjiang army had food, they would certainly do their utmost to defend the country. As in the original history of Huangshi, the civil officials scoffed at Mao Wenlong's warning, claiming it was merely another of his old tricks to demand more pay.

Was it luck, or great misfortune? The Later Jin's war machine was speeding along the path predicted by Mao Wenlong. Five months later, Huang Taiji launched his first invasion of the Ming heartland within the timeframe and location predicted by Mao Wenlong. Although Mao Wenlong was no longer alive, the Ming court still had the opportunity to make countermeasures.

Was it luck or great misfortune? It was precisely the enemy that Mao Wenlong had fought with all his life that proved with his actions that Mao Wenlong, until his last breath, was still thinking about warning his homeland and serving his country. When the enemy that Mao Wenlong hated most proved his loyalty by ravaging his homeland, if Mao Wenlong, who had been constantly slandered, trampled, ridiculed, and insulted, knew this in the afterlife, would he weep or be furious?

...

On the fifth day of the fifth month, Dongjiang Island.

After receiving Yuan Chonghuan's letter, Mao Wenlong immediately prepared to leave the Dongjiang Town headquarters and go to Shuangdao to obtain food for his subordinates.

Mao Chenglu, Kong Youde, and others rushed to the camp upon hearing the news. Rumors have been flying high among the Mongol tribes lately. Since late April, people from various tribes have been saying that Huang Taiji's peace terms for Yuan Chonghuan included "peace can only be negotiated if Wenlong's head comes."

Seeing that Mao Wenlong was still going to Shuangdao, Kong Youde said anxiously, "Father, now the Mongol tribes are spreading rumors that Lord Yuan intends to harm you, in order to prove the court's determination to negotiate peace with the Jurchens."

Mao Wenlong looked unconvinced. He said nonchalantly, "Yongshi, you're overthinking it. For such a momentous matter as peace negotiations, how can Lord Yuan make the decision without the court's approval?"

"Uncle," Mao Chenglu, Mao Wenlong's last surviving nephew, said anxiously, "Commander Huang recently sent several secret letters, instructing you to have axemen on standby when you meet Yuan Chonghuan, just in case."

"Huang Shi is still as absurd as ever. He's always been hostile to Lord Yuan. This time, he's probably heard some rumors and is worried about me again." Mao Wenlong shook his head and laughed a few times. Huang Shi's willingness to speculate on Yuan Chonghuan's intentions with the most sinister thoughts made Mao Wenlong feel it was going too far. Therefore, after reading Huang Shi's letters with a few trusted confidants, he burned them all to avoid causing trouble for Huang Shi.

"I am the Imperial Envoy, Commander-in-Chief of Dongjiang, holding the seal of Vanguard General and granted the Imperial Sword and the title of Grand Protector of the Ming Dynasty," Mao Wenlong said, then arrogantly pursed his lips and addressed Kong Youde and Mao Chenglu, "I am an Imperial Envoy, Commander-in-Chief, General Who Pacifies Liaodong, Grand Protector, and possess the Imperial Sword. Without the Emperor's approval, who dares to touch a hair on my head?"

Kong Youde and Mao Chenglu exchanged glances, and finally Kong Youde murmured, "Commander Huang has written to us time and time again; we should be careful. Let Lord Yuan come to Dongjiang Island."

"No, that might give Lord Yuan another excuse to embezzle Dongjiang's military funds," Mao Wenlong sighed.

Although Huang Shi wanted to help Dongjiang Town, he didn't dare to openly allocate military rations from Funing Town to Dongjiang Town. Moreover, even if Huang Shi were willing to allocate the funds, Mao Wenlong wouldn't dare accept them. No emperor in the world would tolerate such private communication between the two military garrisons: "Look at our Dongjiang Garrison! People are starving to death every day. I must go to Shuangdao. I cannot give Lord Yuan any excuse to embezzle our Dongjiang military funds."

On May 25th of the second year of the Chongzhen reign, Yuan Chonghuan departed from Ningyuan, sailing to Shuangdao to discuss military funds with Mao Wenlong.

During the several days of talks, Yuan Chonghuan repeatedly demanded that Mao Wenlong relinquish military power, but Mao Wenlong refused to do so privately. Mao Wenlong believed that Dongjiang Garrison belonged to the imperial court, and he had no right to privately hand over military power to any individual.

On June 5th, Yuan Chonghuan launched a surprise attack, denouncing Mao Wenlong for twelve major crimes:

First, refusing to allow civil officials to manage the finances and provisions of Dongjiang Town;

second, never achieving any military merits in eight years;

third, lacking respect and rigor in his memorials;

fourth, never distributing soldiers' pay and rations in eight years;

fifth, requesting the Tianqi Emperor to open a horse market without the consent of civil officials, and never allowing civil officials to interfere in selling horses with the Mongols; sixth

, adopting a large number of adopted sons and grandsons, totaling over a thousand;

seventh, cheating merchants out of money and goods, and refusing to repay debts;

eighth, being lecherous by nature;

ninth, failing to feed the people of Liaodong, leading to the starvation of countless people;

tenth, secretly building a shrine for Wei Zhongxian on an unknown island without the knowledge of the world;

eleventh, boasting in battle reports to cover up defeats;

twelfth, never recovering an inch of land in eight years, wasting national grain while watching and nurturing the enemy.

After listing the twelve major crimes, Yuan Chonghuan kowtowed towards Beijing, indicating his obedience to the imperial decree to immediately behead Mao Wenlong. Upon hearing that it was the emperor's order, Mao Wenlong knelt facing Beijing, surrendering without resistance.

After Mao Wenlong's execution, the generals of Dongjiang wept bitterly over his body, and the soldiers on the island were in a state of turmoil. Yuan Chonghuan felt this might damage his image, so the next day he presided over a memorial ceremony for Mao Wenlong. During the ceremony, Yuan Chonghuan wept bitterly, collapsing to the ground, unable to stand for a long time. Yuan Chonghuan shifted all blame onto Emperor Chongzhen—the young man who trusted him implicitly. He claimed that his execution of Mao Wenlong the previous day was "acting on imperial orders," in accordance with "the law of the state," while his weeping today was merely "personal affection between colleagues."

It must be admitted that Yuan Chonghuan's acting skills were first-rate. From then on, it was widely believed in Dongjiang that Emperor Chongzhen had secretly ordered Yuan Chonghuan to commit the murder. In the original history of Huangshi, after Kong Youde became a traitor, he raised the banner of "The Southern Dynasty's emperor is incompetent and its ministers are treacherous, framing loyal officials. Commander Mao was both loyal and brave, yet he was still slaughtered." When Kong Youde and other major traitors attacked Lushun and other places under this banner, a large number of Dongjiang Army officers and soldiers surrendered without resistance and joined the traitor's army.

...

On June 12th of the second year of Chongzhen, seven days after Mao Wenlong's death. Liaoyang.

"Mao Wenlong is dead, it has been confirmed."

After Huang Taiji finished recounting the events of the Shuangdao Incident, a moment of silence fell over the council tent of the four princes. After a while, Amin spoke up: "Although Wenlong had troubled us for many years and used all sorts of cunning schemes, he was, after all, a hero. To die at the hands of such a villain is truly... truly..."

Amin stopped after saying "truly" twice, seemingly unable to find a suitable adjective. Mangultai paused for a moment before speaking softly, "Didn't you always talk about Yuan Chonghuan, the friend of the Great Jin? How come you're calling him a villain today?"

"I have many dogs, and I love them very much, like old friends, but they're still dogs." Amin's face showed a hint of sadness. However, a cynical smile still lingered on his slightly parted lips: "Wenlong is my enemy. Over the years, Wenlong has caused me countless troubles and killed countless women and children of our tribe. I only regret that I can't personally tear him to pieces, but that doesn't stop me from saying he's a hero."

Daishan murmured a sigh, "It's a pity Father Khan didn't live to see this day."

The atmosphere in the tent grew even heavier. Suddenly, Huang Taiji said loudly, "Let's go and pay our respects to the old Khan, and tell him that Mao Wenlong is dead, and that he died a shameful death. Father Khan will surely be pleased."

The other three nodded, and Huang Taiji suddenly let out a sigh of relief: "Alright, let's prepare for the western expedition."

...

On June 15th, ten days after Mao Wenlong's death, the Later Jin had finalized their plan for this expedition. Huang Taiji and Mangultai would lead the troops into the pass, while Amin and Daishan would remain to guard the area.

The direction of this attack was the rich capital region of the Ming Dynasty. Each banner hoped to get a share, so Huang Taiji readily accepted advice and ordered all the local banners to participate in the expedition to ensure that everyone could benefit.

"Each banner will send ten or fifteen armored soldiers to first go to the territory of the Kharachin Mongols, then break through the Ming border wall and advance straight in." Huang Taiji and Mangultai were discussing the expedition, with the former describing the total strength of the expedition to the latter.

During Nurhaci's reign, the Later Jin dynasty had over 200 Niru (military units), each theoretically consisting of 300 men aged 16 to 60. Based on the principle of drawing one armored soldier for every three men, the Later Jin had approximately 20,000 armored soldiers. After Huang Taiji ascended the throne, he reduced the theoretical number of men per Niru to 200, resulting in 300 Niru in total, with each Niru providing 80 armored soldiers.

During this period, excluding the Mongol and Han armies, the Later Jin regime had approximately 24,000 armored soldiers from the Manchu Eight Banners. In this attack on Beijing, Huang Taiji selected 10 to 15 armored soldiers from each Niru, forming an elite assault force of 4,000 men. The remaining armored soldiers continued to be dispersed throughout the Later Jin region for security and defense.

In addition to the 4,000-strong fighting force, Huang Taiji also mobilized about 10,000 unarmored bannermen and bondservants. As in the battles of Ningyuan and Ningjin, they were responsible for pushing handcarts to transport the looted supplies back to the Later Jin territory. Thus, the Later Jin's own elite troops numbered about 13,000 to 15,000.

"When we reach the Kharachin Mongols, we'll have some allied forces." To convince the Mongols that the Ming Dynasty was utterly cowardly and opportunistic, Yuan Chonghuan went so far as to kill a pro-war general to plead for peace. This was Huang Taiji's best weapon for persuading the Mongols to ally with him: "We'll probably meet with thirty-six Mongol tribes in succession, and they'll send five thousand armored soldiers and several thousand men to transport supplies."

Mangultai seemed somewhat dissatisfied; this meant the Later Jin army's total strength was only around twenty-five thousand men: "So few, only a little over ten thousand Mongols!"

"There's no way around it; this is the first time. They're still wary of the Ming Dynasty, considering it a formidable behemoth. But once these wolves have tasted blood, they won't give in. As long as we can guarantee that each Mongol tribe gets enough spoils, more will join us next time." Huang Taiji appeared confident.

Ligdan Khan had now completely lost faith in the Ming Dynasty and began to ignore its influence, attempting to coerce it into paying tribute, just as the Later Jin had done.

"If we win this battle, all thirty-six Mongol tribes will be bound to us."

The Mongol region also suffered from natural disasters, so the Mongols were equally eager to plunder. However, before the first breach, they still planned to leave themselves some escape routes. Apart from the Kharachin Mongols, who were determined to join the Later Jin, most Mongol tribes were still observing, or hiding their tribal banners and secretly sending some to join forces with the Later Jin.

But Huang Taiji believed that if they could successfully plunder the most prosperous region of the Ming Dynasty, the capital region, then other Mongol tribes, even including Ligdan Khan, would join or follow the example of the Later Jin. With enough wealth, Huang Taiji would be able to purchase urgently needed grain and other supplies from several Shanxi merchants. In such a large country as the Ming Dynasty, Huang Taiji believed he could always find some unscrupulous merchants.

"If we succeed this time, everything outside the Ming border will be enemy territory. The Ming border stretches for tens of thousands of miles. How can they possibly defend against it?" Huang Taiji sighed, looking at the map and surveying the colossal Ming Empire. The Later Jin regime had struggled for years, gaining and losing territory rapidly while its population dwindled. These princes appeared prosperous, but in reality, they lived on thin ice: "Finally, we're about to rise above our circumstances. From now on, we'll be free to roam."

"What about Huang Shi? Huang Shi will still come back." Although life was getting better every day, Mangultai couldn't suppress his fear. Knowing his eighth brother was excited, Mangultai couldn't help but pour cold water on his enthusiasm: "If the situation gets too bad, Huang Shi will be recalled."

"After this breach, even if Huang Shi returns, it won't matter," Huang Taiji chuckled. He casually pointed to the boundless Mongolian grasslands on the map: "He's just a commander-in-chief, with at most ten thousand soldiers under his command. Before, our territory was only a few thousand miles wide, confined to the Liaozhong Plain, a small cage, which allowed him to run rampant for a while. After this large-scale raid, southern Mongolia will be entirely under the control of our Great Jin. What great things can his ten thousand infantrymen accomplish? We can easily penetrate the heart of the Ming Dynasty from any direction. Can he really stop us with just ten thousand infantrymen?"

"Yes, Eighth Brother, you're right. Once we win over the various Mongolian tribes, we'll have the potential to rival the Ming Dynasty." Mangultai looked at the map, envisioning the future, his heart filled with immense joy. These hard times were finally coming to an end.

“However, this is the first time we’ve brought the Mongols with us, so it’s best to avoid any major battles and minimize casualties.” Huang Taiji worried that heavy losses would demoralize the Mongols. This entry into the Central Plains must serve as a model to solidify the allies’ loyalty and encourage other Mongols who were still observing to join the Later Jin: “Twenty to thirty thousand troops, ten thousand armored soldiers—not a huge number, but not a small one either. If used properly, they can achieve great things.”

Mangultai nodded in agreement and then asked, “How are the provisions in Kharachin coming along?”

In the past, the Later Jin had no ability to occupy the land west of the Liao River. After capturing Guangning, they could only transport supplies back to Liaoyang because their food supplies were running low, making it even more difficult to sustain a large army abroad. In the previous battles of Ningyuan and Ningjin, they relied on supplies from Youtun, while at Dalinghe and Xingshan, they relied on provisions from the Guan Ning Army. The Later Jin’s tactics were the same as Mao Wenlong’s: only bringing the initial portion of provisions. Then they moved the enemy's goods back to their own territory.

So, when Yan Mingtai took charge of Liaodong affairs, his first act was to move the goods from Jinzhou and other places back to Ningyuan. Yan Mingtai's theory was to ensure the Later Jin had "nothing left to plunder," and as a result, the Later Jin immediately lost the ability to plunder the Guan-Ning Army. During the period between the seventh year of the Tianqi reign and the first year of the Chongzhen reign, the Later Jin army was also very ineffective against the Dongjiang Army and the Mongols, because these two were poor, and the Later Jin couldn't get rich by plundering their territories.

In Huang Shi's original timeline, this was also the period when Dongjiang Town's territory was at its largest, as Mao Wenlong at least had the Ming Dynasty behind him. The Later Jin army also didn't react much to the Dongjiang Army's advance to Haizhou, because fighting to the death with the Dongjiang Army was pointless, just a waste of food and lives. It was under these circumstances that the court officials advocated moving Mao Wenlong to Gaizhou in the first year of the Chongzhen reign.

Now that Mao Wenlong is dead, Dongjiang Town has also abandoned Haizhou, Gaizhou, Fuzhou, and Jinzhou, retreating all the way back to Lushun. However, this did not mean that the Later Jin army did not need to consider the food problem. First, there was no surplus grain in Liaoyang; second, given the current economic capacity of the Later Jin regime, transporting grain two thousand li to the Kharachin Mongols was not a large-scale project it could undertake.

Requisitioning grain from Southern Mongolia was even more impossible, because in the second year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the Southern Mongolian grasslands suffered a severe drought, and even after the Mongol tribes ate lambs, many people still starved to death. Therefore, Huang Taiji had to find another way to procure military provisions, and his plan was to purchase the Ming army's stored grain from Yuan Chonghuan. This plan was highly feasible. Because Chongzhen, in order to ensure Yuan Chonghuan could achieve his

goal of "pacifying Liaodong in five years," had transported a large amount of grain plundered from the people to Ningyuan. Now Yuan Chonghuan held more than half of the Ming Empire's national grain reserves. The Kharachin Mongols were adjacent to Jizhou, and storing military provisions there would be readily available when the Later Jin army invaded the heartland of the Ming Dynasty—a truly convenient arrangement. Since the peace negotiations began, Huang Taiji had sent several hundred men to the Kharachin Mongols. These men, along with the Kharachin Mongols, went to Yuan Chonghuan to purchase military rations for the Ming army, which were then stored for use in the event of an invasion.

"The grain purchases have been progressing well so far, and no envoys have been sent to report on the situation recently. However, with Yuan Chonghuan in charge, there shouldn't be much to worry about," Huang Taiji said calmly.

...

June 25th, the second year of Chongzhen's reign. Xiapu.

Funing Town is now facing increasing economic pressure. Originally, a shi (a unit of dry measure) of high-quality rice in Jiangnan cost about three qian (a unit of weight) of silver, a shi of coarse rice cost about two qian, and a shi of miscellaneous grains could be bought for one qian. Therefore, Huang Shi's original plan was for each relocated fisherman, including their infants, to receive a monthly subsidy of one qian of silver, so that they could easily make a living by doing odd jobs in the interior.

However, after several large loans from Fujian, grain prices have continued to rise, and now the price has almost doubled. Besides, with the prolonged maritime ban, unemployment has become increasingly severe, forcing Huang Shi to escalate subsidies, which now exceed two qian per person per month. Therefore, Huang Shi had to consult with Zhu Yifeng, and the two borrowed another 500,000 taels of silver, bringing their total debt to 5 million taels.

Seeing that the repayment of the large loan to Pingman was progressing smoothly, Liu Qingyang was transferred by Huang Shi to Funing to take full charge of dealing with the Fujian merchants. Since the Funing army announced the rebuilding of its navy, the Fujian merchant group has become even more enthusiastic about Funing Town. According to Huang Shi, their motivations differ from those of the common people.

The simple, honest people simply believed that Zhu Yifeng was a benevolent official who stood up for the people, so they wanted to respond to the call of a good official who protected the people. But the Fujian merchants understood completely that as long as the government troops didn't eliminate Zheng Yifeng, they could never continue their maritime trade.

Everyone saw that despite the two naval defeats, the imperial court was still supporting the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission and the Funing Garrison. Everyone understood that for the court, appeasement was merely a way to save on military expenses and prevent the unrest from escalating. Therefore, as long as Huang Shi maintained firm control of the mainland and as long as Zhu Yifeng could solve his own military funding problems, the court's support for Fujian's political and military affairs would remain unchanged.

And as long as the court continued to support Zhu Yifeng and Huang Shi, they could repeatedly borrow funds to rebuild their navy. Huang Shi's claim of rebuilding it a hundred times was indeed an exaggeration, but rebuilding it dozens of times was certainly achievable. Moreover, at this rate, the entire livelihood and economy of Fujian Province would inevitably be tied to Zhu Yifeng and Huang Shi's war machine. These two had nothing left to lose and would certainly go down this path to the bitter end. So, if Huang Shi were truly dismissed, Fujian's economy would collapse instantly.

Once the Fujian merchants understood this, they completely abandoned any illusions. They absolutely could not allow Huang Shi to be dismissed; they had to fully support Huang Shi in defeating the pirates, and the sooner the better. Therefore, after the third reconstruction of the navy, many Fujian merchants came to purchase Jinghai bonds. When Huangshi officially began rebuilding the navy, even more Fujian merchants rushed to offer financial assistance to Funing Town, unanimously expressing their willingness to fully support the government army in eliminating the pirates as soon as possible and restoring peace and order to the people of Fujian Province.

Today, Liu Qingyang convened a large meeting, inviting all the merchants who came to contribute financial assistance to attend. He first led the merchants to visit the warships under construction, and then took them to visit the cannon factory, steel mill, ironworks, and numerous auxiliary factories, such as those producing nails, hammers, and saw blades.

Liu Qingyang's primary purpose in leading them to visit the Funing Town military industrial site was to strengthen the Fujian merchant group's confidence in Huangshi. He wanted them to realize the strength of Funing Town and the Funing army's unwavering fighting spirit. This goal was successfully achieved; the visiting Fujian merchants were full of praise for Funing Town's military equipment, and some even wanted to buy a few craftsmen to take with them.

This condition was, of course, impossible to meet. Huang Shi had tried his best to break the personal dependency relationship among the craftsmen, but the merchant's mention of this topic pleased Liu Qingyang, as it led to his primary goal for the day.

Fueled by millions of taels of silver, the Funing Town Military Industry Bureau had ballooned into a terrifying monster, now boasting over 20,000 craftsmen and heading towards 30,000. They took tens of thousands of taels of silver from Huang Shi's monthly wages, a burden he found unbearable. Therefore, Huang Shi was eager to find someone to help him shoulder this heavy load.

Liu Qingyang reiterated that Funing Town would not accept any form of donation, as the merchants helping Funing Town were "righteous merchants," and helping these "righteous merchants" profit was Funing Town's duty; therefore, Funing Town would never accept their money for nothing. Of course, Funing Town was indeed in dire need of help, so Liu Qingyang proposed something called the "Lend-Lease Act."

"Simply put, we want you merchants to rent the artisans from Funing Town, paying them monthly wages to produce the goods we need. Whether it's ship planks, sails, steel, glass, or telescopes, we need them all,"

Liu Qingyang patiently explained Funing Town's intentions. The merchants struggled to understand that Huang Shi wanted them to prioritize hiring Funing Town's artisans, establishing factories that met Funing Town's standards, and then producing the goods Funing Town needed. Funing Town would then pay them for their products. Huang Shi

didn't mind the merchants including the artisans' wages in the cost of goods. He wanted to act as a union to prevent feudal barriers from confining the artisans. These artisans were all registered as soldiers in Funing Town, allowing them to move freely within these enterprises.

Furthermore, Huang Shi planned to take this opportunity to collect personal income tax, requiring the rented artisans to contribute a portion of their wages to Funing Town's military expenses—a source of revenue for them as well. These merchants couldn't possibly produce goods solely for Funing Town. As long as they employed workers trained in Funing Town, Huang Shi would have opened up a new source of tax revenue.

The best part was that collecting this tax could easily circumvent the Ming Dynasty law. Theoretically, the military households in Funing Town were originally the property of Funing Town, and the income from Huang Shi renting them out naturally belonged to the town. According to the regulations Huang Shi designed, the workers' income tax would average around 40%, but everyone would have to praise, "General Huang is generous, giving 60% of the rental fee to the craftsmen."

"What Funing Town urgently needs most is ships, not only now, but also in the future, a large number of seagoing vessels," Liu Qingyang then explained Funing Town's needs. Shipbuilding would stimulate other industries, such as ship planks, sails, and nails. These would in turn stimulate timber, saw blades, and so on. In short, the work of the more than 20,000 craftsmen in Funing Town was all useful, and Liu Qingyang hoped that Fujian merchants could open various factories and rent out all these craftsmen.

The Fujian merchants whispered amongst themselves, finding the conditions, aside from being troublesome, to be quite acceptable. Funing Town also offered a very tempting condition: free technology transfer. When renting craftsmen, Funing Town would give away all the research results accumulated over many years to the merchants, and Funing Town even proposed a "patent" concept to guarantee the merchants' interests.

"From now on, all orders from Funing Town will only be placed with the owners of the rented military town's craftsmen, even if it's just a table or a bench. As long as there's an owner selling it, we will never buy from outside," Liu Qingyang promised. The merchants were already tempted. Historically, being a merchant-official has always been the most profitable, especially since Huang Shi's credit was excellent and his spending seemed substantial.

However, Liu Qingyang hadn't finished revealing his secrets. Huang Shi's order to him was to bind all the Fujian merchants to the Dark Council, so Liu Qingyang began promoting the council.

"Anyone who participates in this council must have 50% of the shares taken in by the council for free." Liu Qingyang's words immediately shocked the assembled merchants, who trembled at the thought of such a large sum of money being taken away for free. However, they all politely waited for Liu Qingyang to finish explaining the conditions.

"If the annual net profit exceeds one million taels of silver, the council will take 500,000 taels. If the annual profit is less than one million taels, then the council will not take 50% of the shares."

After Liu Qingyang finished speaking, everyone's expressions relaxed. A plump merchant even chuckled and said, "General Liu is joking. Don't even mention one million taels a year; even 500,000—no, as long as you can help me earn 300,000 taels a year—I'm willing to split the profits equally with General Liu."

"Oh. I misspoke earlier. The council's shareholding is segmented..." Liu Qingyang explained the meaning of the segmented system. The terms were: if profits exceeded one million, the council would take half of that; between 500,000 and one million, 40%; between 300,000 and 500,000, 30%; between 100,000 and 300,000, 20%; and below 100,000, the council would only take 10%.

Most of the merchants present only made a net profit of 10,000 taels of silver a year, so one million taels was an astronomical figure for them. They felt that giving Huang Shi a 10% stake wasn't too much. Of course, this depended on Huang Shi offering further benefits in exchange, so everyone began to ask questions.

"Please wait a moment. I'll explain that later. Let me first state the council's requirements," Liu Qingyang said, seeing that he had more to say. The merchants politely fell silent, listening attentively: "Merchants who join this council must abide by two obligations. First, they have priority in purchasing goods from the council; in principle, if a merchant within the council is selling a particular item, they cannot purchase it from outside. Second, internal competition is also restricted; they cannot maliciously lower prices to squeeze out their fellow council members."

These two clauses had many details, but these would be discussed later. Liu Qingyang then produced a list of Shandong merchants, giving the Fujian merchants a brief overview of the organization's current scale. Although these merchants had no concept of such an organization, they vaguely sensed something, and many felt a strange excitement, which puzzled them.

Huang Shi had been in this era for many years, and had almost forgotten his junior high school political textbooks. However, he vaguely remembered that so-called imperialism was a combination of financial oligarchs and state military power, and that financial oligarchs seemed to require a "monopoly group with extremely privileged status" to be established.

Now that the monopoly group had taken shape, Liu Qingyang's next task was to grant it "extreme privileges." Liu Qingyang first presented a detailed tax schedule: "Gentlemen, this is the Maritime Tax Standard personally drafted by Commander Huang. Please take a look."

Emperor Wanli's maritime tax standard was based on a measurement system: for ships 16 feet wide, five taels of silver were levied per foot, and for each additional foot wide, an additional five qian of silver was added. Under this standard, a 16-foot ship would cost eighty taels of silver, a 17-foot ship ninety-three taels and five qian, an 18-foot ship one hundred and eight taels of silver… the largest 26-foot ship would cost ten taels per foot, totaling two hundred and sixty taels of silver per ship.

However, Huang Shi did not intend to collect taxes according to this standard. He most admired Emperor Wanli's shamelessness in his pursuit of wealth, and therefore Huang Shi was determined to promote this aspect. As Liu Qingyang distributed the tax rates to the merchants, he loudly read aloud: "Sixteen-foot boats: 1,000 taels of silver in tax; seventeen-foot boats: 1,200 taels of silver in tax… sixteen-foot boats: 6,200 taels of silver in tax."

The merchants, whose main business was maritime trade, looked ashen-faced. Huang Shi and Liu Qingyang had already carefully calculated that even with such high taxes, maritime trade would still be profitable, though about half of the profits would be taken by Funing Town. In any case, Funing Town would decide the amount of tax revenue; they could eventually block the Taiwan Strait. Any boats and goods found to be evading taxes would be confiscated.

"General Liu, this Maritime Tax is far too high. It will incentivize many petty smugglers to take the risk. Once they succeed in evading taxes, legitimate merchants simply cannot compete."

Liu Qingyang knew these merchants were right. Such exorbitant taxation would inevitably drive many to smuggle, risking their lives. While these smuggling groups also faced immense danger, the profit margins for honest merchants were simply too low, compounded by the risks of maritime trade, such as shipwrecks. Approximately 60% to 70% of the profits would be taken by Fu Ning Town, making it impossible for them to compete with the smuggling groups.

Over time, legitimate merchants would gradually decrease, while smugglers would increase, ultimately allowing maritime trade profits to flow into the hands of smugglers, leaving Fu Ning Town unprofitable. Fu Ning Town needed maritime taxes to develop its navy. Smugglers would also use their profits to build private armed forces, eventually leading to violent tax resistance. If there were too few legitimate merchants and smuggling forces were too rampant, it would create a new, large-scale pirate force, one supported by countless merchants.

"The shares the council receives will all go towards military expenses, so everyone who joins the council is a righteous merchant. Commander Huang will never forget you righteous merchants." Liu Qingyang said, then produced a second tax bill. The merchants saw that the taxes on this bill were only about one-third of the first one. The smallest 16-foot boat cost 360 taels of silver, while a 26-foot boat cost 2,000 taels of silver.

Although the price was still high, it was much better than risking having their ships and cargo confiscated by Fu Ning Town. Several merchants engaged in maritime trade exchanged glances and nodded slightly. As long as the Fu Ning Town navy was strong enough, it was estimated that more than 90% of the merchants would choose to pay the taxes when passing through.

"May I ask, General Liu, why is there such a large difference between this tax bill and the previous one?"

"This tax bill is for the righteous merchants, that is, for the council members. Commander Huang believes that all merchants who purchase ships from righteous merchants are also righteous merchants. Therefore, our Funing Town has designed these two tax bills. Those who purchase ships from council members will be subject to the second tax bill, while those who use ships manufactured by merchants outside the council will be subject to the first tax bill."

This policy was also the result of Huang Shi's painstaking thinking. Liu Qingyang immediately applauded upon hearing it, while many of the merchants below were still not quite ready to grasp its meaning. Many were still frowning, pondering the meaning behind his words, when Liu Qingyang loudly explained, "Gentlemen, once we've eliminated the pirates and started collecting the sea tax, where do you think all the merchants of the Ming Dynasty will come to buy ships?"

After he finished speaking, some people finally showed expressions of sudden realization, which quickly multiplied into a variety of expressions including ecstasy, excitement, and astonishment. Liu Qingyang then smiled and said, "Gentlemen, at that time, not only will all the merchants of the Ming Dynasty come to buy ships, but even the foreign barbarians from all over the world will come to buy ships from you."

He first let everyone digest the implications of his words. The information was immense. Liu Qingyang further explained, "Commander Huang also said that since you merchants are willing to hire the craftsmen of Funing Town, then we have an obligation to help them find buyers. Think about it: when merchants from all over the Ming Dynasty and foreigners from all over the world come to buy ships from you, will those sail and nail makers still have to worry about selling their goods?"

A murmur of surprise rippled through the crowd. Many had only intended to do business in Funing Town, but if everything was as Liu Qingyang said, then once Huang Shi began collecting the Jinghai tax, their business would extend far beyond the Ming Dynasty. Huang Shi, of course, also hoped that these merchants' businesses would grow larger and larger. Besides the Jinghai tax, Huang Shi was also looking forward to collecting personal income tax from merchants and workers.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please pay attention," Liu Qingyang said, waving a finger to attract everyone's attention. The crowd leaned forward, holding their breath to listen to him. Liu Qingyang announced loudly, "Don't forget, once you join the council, you can only purchase goods from within the council. Furthermore, you cannot maliciously lower prices, so your sales channels and prices will be guaranteed."

The merchants nodded again, some of them already eagerly asking Liu Qingyang for the detailed rules of the Dark Council. The others couldn't contain themselves either, whispering among themselves to their friends. Liu Qingyang didn't want to disturb them and prepared to leave the bustling room, letting them discuss it amongst themselves

. Before leaving, he added, "Gentlemen, our council has established rules for annual profits exceeding one million taels of silver; these aren't just for fun." When Liu Qingyang returned with the rules, the merchants had already finished their discussion. Liu Qingyang first introduced Shi Ce to everyone: "This is General Shi Ce, the current naval commander of Funing Town, and also the deputy of General Yu Zigao. In the future, he will be responsible for commanding one-third of the naval forces in Funing Town. General Shi will be directly responsible for collecting the Jinghai tax and suppressing the pirates in northern Fujian."

The merchants immediately burst into flattery. Shi Ce first exchanged a few polite words with everyone in Fujian dialect, and then introduced himself generously: "Brother, I am originally from northern Fujian. My uncles and elders were all pirates from northern Fujian. Ten years ago, we were wiped out by General Yu's Penghu naval forces. Because I was young, I was exiled to Liaodong. I served under Commander Huang, and this time it can be considered a return to my hometown. Now I am under the command of the commander-in-chief, working with General Yu to suppress the pirates. When we talk about what happened ten years ago, we are all very emotional."

After hearing this tortuous story, the merchants... They all sighed at the friendship between Shi Ce and Yu Zigao, and then they asked about some details of the Dark Council's regulations. For example, many people were puzzled by the word "most favored," even though it frequently appeared in the Dark Council's regulations.

“The so-called ‘most favored’ means automatically enjoying all preferential conditions. For example, all council members are the most favored merchants in Funing Town, which means that if Funing Town offers any merchant a preferential condition, then all council members will automatically enjoy that preferential treatment.” Liu Qingyang glanced at Shi Ce and added, “There is also a most favored issue regarding the Jinghai Tax. Let General Shi explain this.”

Shi Ce stepped forward, puffed out his chest, and said, “Gentlemen, ships built by council members automatically obtain ‘most favored’ Jinghai Tax qualification, in addition to existing and future tax exemptions. This ‘most favored’ qualification also comes with a tax reduction ratio. The Jinghai Tax payable by ships built by the council should be one-third that of ships not built by the council. In other words, no matter how the tax for the most favored ships increases, the tax payable by other ships will always be three times that of the most favored ships; and no matter how the tax decreases, the tax payable by the most favored ships will always be the lowest!” After

Shi Ce finished speaking, he stepped back and stood properly. Liu Qingyang nodded in satisfaction and turned to ask the merchants, “Do you have any other questions?”

An old merchant stroked his long beard and coughed, slowly saying, "General Liu, I fear that within ten years, or at most twenty, shipyards in other places will go bankrupt. Those under the Ming Dynasty are doing alright. But if the foreigners also propose similar regulations, maritime merchants will face a dilemma: either pay more taxes here or more taxes in Manila, and buying a ship from either will mean smuggling."

Liu Qingyang smiled, then turned to Shi Ce and said, "General Shi, please speak."

Shi Ce, hands behind his back, took a large step forward with a resounding voice and declared, "Gentlemen, we of Funing Town believe that all merchants in the world are equal. Of course, the merchants within the council are righteous merchants, so they will be even more equal than other merchants!"

"In short, Funing Town opposes all forms of unequal competition. If any barbarians attempt to impose unequal competition or unreasonable fees on the merchants of the Ming Dynasty..." Shi Ce, with his hands behind his back and his back still straight, slowly turned his body and said in an unquestionable, calm tone:

"On behalf of Commander Huang and Funing Town, I assure you all: we will definitely launch a military campaign to ensure that the equal rights of the merchants of the Ming Dynasty are not violated!"

...

"Suppress the pirates and restore a bright and clear world to Fujian!"

The merchants of the Ming Dynasty, who were usually timid, civilized, and polite, shouted indignantly as they left Funing Town today.

Chapter 59: Looking Back.

July 20th, Chongzhen 2nd year, Xiapu.

He Dingyuan, who had just returned from Hokkaido, Japan, rushed to find Huang Shi.

When He Dingyuan rushed in, the room was filled with people sitting around the table. Huang Shi was discussing the plan to attack Xiamen with Li Yunrui, Jin Qiude, and Zhao Manxiong. Seeing He Dingyuan's flushed face, Huang Shi knew why he had come without asking, so he simply sighed softly and gestured for the guards at the door to close it tightly.

"General, you must submit a petition to plead for Marshal Mao's innocence!"

Li Yunrui, Jin Qiude, and Zhao Manxiong all kept their mouths shut and began to read the documents in their hands. Huang Shi slumped back in his chair, utterly exhausted. "Brother He, what can I do?"

"The Emperor has treacherous officials around him. Commander, you can't just watch Mao be wronged!"

"I don't want to either, but this is beyond my jurisdiction. I'm the General of Funing Town, not an imperial censor."

He Dingyuan stood frozen for a moment, muttering, "Mao fought his way through countless hardships, saving hundreds of thousands of lives. How could the Emperor be so heartless, not even giving him a way out..." Suddenly, He Dingyuan slammed his fists down on the table, roaring in grief and indignation, "Why is this happening?"

Jin Qiude and the others ignored him, still looking at what they were doing. Zhao Manxiong, who was writing at the time, immediately lost a character due to He Dingyuan's blow. Without even looking up, Zhao Manxiong casually picked up a new sheet of paper and continued writing.

Huang Shi, however, felt a pang of pity. He tried to speak calmly, saying, "Perhaps it wasn't the Emperor's intention. I think this was a fabrication by that corrupt official Yuan."

He Dingyuan scoffed at Huang Shi's words and quickly said, "General, I know you want to defend the Emperor, but as the ancients said, 'The mistakes of a gentleman are like eclipses of the sun and moon. Everyone sees them; when he corrects them, everyone admires him.' This time, the Emperor listened to the words of a petty person. Therefore, General, both publicly and privately, you should submit a memorial to defend Marshal Mao and ask the Emperor to exonerate him."

"How can he be exonerated? That corrupt official Yuan fabricated a bunch of charges and then framed Marshal Mao. There was no thorough investigation by the authorities. The court neither stripped Marshal Mao of his official position nor announced his crimes. There was no conviction at all. How can there be any talk of exoneration?"

After the Shuangdao Incident, Chongzhen simply republished the charges Yuan Chonghuan had leveled against Mao Wenlong in the court's official gazette, notifying everyone and that was it. Emperor Chongzhen's reply to Yuan Chonghuan offered words of comfort, instructing him to continue his "five-year campaign to pacify Liaodong."

However, strictly speaking, from the perspective of the Ming Dynasty's legal code, Chongzhen's words of comfort and political endorsement of Yuan Chonghuan did not mean the matter was over. On the contrary, until the Ministry of Justice reached a conclusion on the Mao Wenlong case, Yuan Chonghuan's killing of Mao Wenlong was merely suspended, or temporarily frozen, not closed.

Huang Shi spoke slowly and carefully. He Dingyuan listened silently, his lips pressed tightly together, his expression very serious. He Dingyuan had just returned and, upon hearing that Yuan Chonghuan had killed Mao Wenlong, had rushed to find Huang Shi, so he was unaware of many details. Huang Shi then recounted the entire process to him, as well as the court's subsequent handling of the matter.

“That’s it, Brother He. So I think this matter is very likely not an imperial edict, but rather a fabricated decree by the corrupt official Yuan to frame Marshal Mao. If it were a secret imperial edict, Yuan wouldn’t accept a vague statement like ‘Wenlong has evidence of collusion with the barbarians,’ but rather a formal confirmation from the Ministry of Justice, whether Mao Wenlong committed those twelve crimes or not, and whether Marshal Mao ‘colluded’ or ‘did not collude’ with the Jurchens.” After Huang Shi finished speaking, he spread his hands and said helplessly, “Therefore, it’s impossible for me to petition for Marshal Mao’s innocence, because there is no injustice to be pleaded for.”

“Marshal, I understand what you mean,” He Dingyuan said, his bright eyes fixed on Huang Shi. His tone was calm yet firm: "You believe that the corrupt official Yuan is fabricating evidence, but the Emperor intends to see if he can 'pacify Liaodong in five years' before deciding how to judge this case, is that right?"

"Yes."

He Dingyuan puffed out his chest and took a deep breath: "General, this means that there was no villain instigating the Emperor, and the Emperor knows that General Mao is innocent, but as long as the corrupt official Yuan can 'pacify Liaodong in five years,' the Emperor will help him frame General Mao, is that right?"

Huang Shi sighed slightly. He nodded slightly and said in a very hurried whisper: "Yes."

"A tyrannical and immoral ruler!" He Dingyuan shouted angrily, slamming his fist on the table again, a crisp sound of bones breaking could be heard. Huang Shi was startled and stood up. Li Yunrui, who was sitting not far from He Dingyuan, immediately jumped up, but He Dingyuan seemed oblivious, and then slammed his fist on the table again, almost shattering it. As Li Yunrui grabbed He Dingyuan by the waist and dragged him away from the table, He Dingyuan shouted again, "The emperor is incompetent, and the ministers are treacherous!"

...

Huang Shi ordered his trusted guards to drag He Dingyuan, whose hands were bleeding profusely, to Hu Qingbai. He had just broken a bone in his left little finger. After the furious He Dingyuan was dragged away, the atmosphere in the room fell silent again. Huang Shi sighed, slumped into his seat, placed his right hand on his forehead, and gently pinched the bridge of his nose.

The other three also returned to their seats; they had all lost interest in continuing to discuss the attack on Xiamen. After the news of Mao Wenlong's murder arrived, although everyone had verbally condemned Yuan Chonghuan and the cabinet as villains, they all harbored their own unspoken thoughts. Today, He Dingyuan's outburst had shattered those pretenses.

Although many now believe that Yuan Chonghuan received a secret imperial edict, the three men in the room all agreed with Huang Shi's analysis. They all believed that Yuan Chonghuan had acted on his own initiative, executing the order first and then getting Chongzhen's approval. Chongzhen also thought that the death of Mao Wenlong was no big deal; as long as Yuan Chonghuan could defeat the Later Jin, he could completely overlook the matter.

Seeing Huang Shi remain silent, Zhao Manxiong exchanged glances with Jin Qiude, then stared at Li Yunrui. The latter swallowed hard and said cautiously, "General, perhaps General He is right. The Emperor was indeed misled by a villain and issued a secret edict to the corrupt official Yuan, instructing him to harm Marshal Mao. Otherwise... otherwise... otherwise... Hmm, the Emperor is wise and shouldn't be an incompetent ruler."

Huang Shi lowered his head and sneered. He replied lazily, "Brother Li, and you two, speak your minds. Whatever you say today, I won't spread it."

Jin Qiude glanced at Zhao Manxiong, then cleared his throat and said, "When the late emperor was alive, although we military officers were always bullied by civil officials, it was because the civil officials were deceiving the emperor. Once the late emperor knew our grievances, the civil officials would be in trouble. So they didn't dare to bully us too much. But... but Your Majesty's trip shows that in the current emperor's heart, we military officers are nothing but a pack of dogs. Marshal Mao risked his life for the country, serving loyally overseas for over a decade, but it seems that in the emperor's heart, Marshal Mao was just an old dog. Killing him is fine, the emperor won't seek justice for him, much less avenge him."

"Regardless of what the emperor thinks of Marshal Mao, the key is that this kind of thing is too terrible," Zhao Manxiong said, glancing around at the faces of those around him. He said indignantly, "What if... I mean, what if, one day the Fujian governor harms us and then tells the emperor he can pacify the seas in two years? The emperor still won't seek justice for us, and if Governor Zhu really succeeds in pacifying the seas in two years, then we will have died in vain." Li Yunrui nodded repeatedly: "

Yes, Lord Zhao is right. For example, the Fujian Provincial Inspector is only a seventh-rank censor. He submits memorials every day to impeach the Commander-in-Chief and Governor Zhu. The Commander-in-Chief and Governor Zhu both have the Imperial Sword, which, according to the law, can execute officials below the fifth rank without reporting to the emperor. If the Fujian Provincial Inspector speaks ill of Fuzhou Town again, can we kill him too?" "

When Dongjiang Town heard that Emperor Tianqi would send an eunuch to supervise the army, all the officers and soldiers in the town were overjoyed because they believed the emperor was just. No matter how much the military officers suffered at the hands of the civil officials, they would never vent their anger on the emperor. They all believed that the emperor was at most being deceived, but as long as right and wrong were clearly presented to him, a fair resolution would be reached.

But this time, Chongzhen shattered the last glimmer of hope in the hearts of the military officers. Chongzhen made it clear to the world: as long as you do your job well, it doesn't matter if a few lives are wronged or tens of thousands of border officers and soldiers starve to death. Even if you openly violate the law, I will support you.

" Jin Qiude said calmly, "Even Marshal Mao did not have a good end. The emperor even regarded Marshal Mao as a pig or a dog. What are we then? How can our merits and hardships compare to Marshal Mao's?" "

Previously, the Shuangdao Incident was just a historical story to Huang Shi, but after it actually happened, Huang Shi suddenly realized that it was no longer something completely unrelated to him, but rather a matter of life and death. Moreover, this wasn't the first time such a thing had happened in history. For example, He Renlong, the clan chief of He Dingyuan, was another example.

He Renlong had a terrible temper and repeatedly insulted the civil officials supervising the army. When Hong Chengchou was in charge of the Gansu and Shaanxi campaigns, he always treated He Renlong with courtesy and tolerance. As the Qin army's general, whether fighting against the Mongols or the rebel army, whether it was the old rebel leader Gao Yingxiang or the new rebel leader Li Zicheng, he never..." Having suffered defeats, He Renlong always led his personal guards into battle, earning him the nickname "Crazy He" from the peasant army.

Because He Renlong had served on the frontier for many years, accumulating the most merit and fame, Sun Chuanting, during his second term as commander of the Qin army, had He Renlong killed to establish his authority. Emperor Chongzhen was indifferent to this, believing it was perfectly normal for a scholar to kill a military general, especially a renowned and meritorious veteran, to establish his authority and discipline the army. He wouldn't hold it against Sun Chuanting as long as he could quell Li Zicheng's rebellion.

After news of He Renlong's death spread, the rebel army celebrated wildly, with everyone from Li Zicheng down declaring, "With Crazy He dead, taking Guanzhong will be as easy as picking up a mustard seed." "Then a decisive battle was fought with the Qin army, resulting in a great defeat for Sun Chuanting, the capture of Tongguan and Xi'an,

and the capture of the Prince of Qin alive. Huang Shi could always keep his guards on guard against Yuan Chonghuan and Sun Chuanting, but he couldn't always keep his troops on guard against everyone, could he? In the past, if an official reached Huang Shi's position, his life was practically guaranteed; no one in the Ming Dynasty would dare to touch him, because killing Huang Shi was tantamount to suicide. But now Chongzhen had broken the rules of the Ming Empire, and Huang Shi was beginning to feel insecure.

In the future, if any civil official wanted to establish prestige, they might use Huang Shi as a tool: 'Look, I dare to kill Huang Shi, so you should all keep your eyes peeled and obey me.'

Thinking of this, Huang Shi couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had vaguely understood the unspoken meaning of his subordinates, but he had to admit that what they said made a lot of sense: 'I don't want to hold onto my military power, but I also don't want to die in vain. Let the werewolves infiltrate the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission. Whoever wants to deal with me, I need to know immediately.'" Jin

Qiude, Li Yunrui, and Zhao Manxiong exchanged glances. They replied in low voices, "Yes, Commander."

...

Since Funing Town leased out its craftsmen, Fujian's shipbuilding industry experienced significant growth. Huang Shi nominally held dynamic shares, but in reality, this was more like a commercial tax in later times. Huang Shi had no intention of interfering with the merchants' production and management decisions. As a result, after acquiring technology and craftsmen, these merchants unanimously began to increase investment and expand production. These Fujian merchants were eager to defeat the pirates and reopen maritime trade as soon as possible.

The goods produced by these merchants far exceeded Huang Shi's expectations, and the navy began rebuilding at an astonishing speed, but at the same time, it quickly depleted Huang Shi's funds. In mid-July, Huang Shi received another letter from Zhu Yifeng, saying that counterfeit Jinghai bonds had been discovered on the market. Although crudely made, some mountain people in remote areas had still been fooled.

This situation naturally affected the circulation of Jinghai bonds, as some people were unwilling to accept them as collateral. The bonds had become circulated, and moreover, as time went on, their real value seemed to exceed their paper value, which also affected the circulation of Jinghai bonds.

After careful consideration, Huang Shi had Liu Qingyang use the Dark Council to communicate with the merchants, and finally they reached a unified resolution with Funing Town. Funing Town would issue a new type of military scrip, called Funing Slips, which would be printed on paper. Huang Shi could use these to settle debts when he was short of silver.

The Dark Council not only allowed its circulation within the council, but Funing Town also accepted merchants using these military scrips to pay Jinghai taxes and income taxes. In effect, the Jinghai taxes and income taxes were used to guarantee the credit of these military scrips. Moreover, Huang Shi also guaranteed that even if these military scrips left the council, merchants outside could still use them to pay Jinghai taxes or purchase goods from Funing Town and council members.

At the same time, Huang Shi also replied to Zhu Yifeng, in order to... Fujian, the province of Fujian, should establish a number of stock exchanges so that people in urgent need of money can convert their securities into cash. The stock exchanges would be responsible for verifying the authenticity of securities. Of course, a transaction fee would be charged, approximately a 1% stamp duty—a fee that even Huang Shi himself felt somewhat embarrassed about.

Zhu Yifeng approved of this convenient measure, but he found Huang Shi's proposed fee somewhat incomprehensible. Huang Shi explained that it was to maintain the daily expenses of the exchanges. Zhu Yifeng then suggested that the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission cover this expense, thus eliminating the transaction fee, but Huang Shi disagreed. He argued that administrative expenses were the people's hard-earned money and should not be squandered.

Zhu Yifeng, now accustomed to being a just and upright official, found Huang Shi's words very reasonable and agreed to the suggestion. Because Huang Shi told Zhu Yifeng that the stock exchange would be open every day, Zhu Yifeng was worried that Huang Shi would be subsidizing it, and that a considerable amount of money would be invested daily. After all, Huangshi needed to support a group of appraisers and auctioneers. So when Huangshi asked Zhu Yifeng how the tax revenue should be distributed, Zhu Yifeng was surprised and said that Huangshi would handle it entirely.

However, Huangshi insisted on giving Zhu Yifeng a share of the profits, saying that Funing Town would take 90%, and the remaining 10% would go to Governor Zhu. Zhu Yifeng laughed for a long time. Let alone whether there was any profit; even if there were a few hundred or a thousand copper coins in gross profit a year, that 10% would only be a few dozen or a hundred copper coins, which he, as the governor of a province, didn't care about.

Zhu Yifeng felt that 1% sounded a bit small. People who were eager to sell bonds must be poor and wouldn't have much money. They might not even come every day, and the stamp duty collected each day might only be a few or a few dozen copper coins. This idea was exactly the opposite of Huangshi's. Huangshi thought that poor people were less likely to sell bonds at a loss, and besides, Zhu Yifeng would definitely regret not taking the shares.

If it were truly only a few dozen copper coins, Zhu Yifeng certainly wouldn't care. Governor Zhu's legal salary included rice, cloth, and various other miscellaneous items; if sold for silver, his annual salary would be equivalent to one or two hundred taels of silver. Huang Shi privately estimated that Zhu Yifeng's actual monthly income was around three or four hundred taels of silver.

However, no matter what Zhu Yifeng said, Huang Shi insisted on giving him a ten percent share, which Zhu Yifeng ultimately accepted with a wry smile. He had made up his mind that he absolutely wouldn't take Huang Shi's copper coins at the end of the year; as a provincial governor, he couldn't afford to lose face.

On the seventeenth day of the eighth month of the second year of Chongzhen's reign, off the coast of Zhongzuo.

Between the blue sea and sky, a fleet of warships, with their sails billowing, sailed towards Kinmen Island. This fleet consisted of thirty-eight warships. Eight of the ships were the same old 550-ton warships from before, while fifteen were new 420-ton warships from Funing Town, equipped with eighteen nine-pound cannons and six three-pound cannons. Each of these 24-gunships had 180 officers and sailors. These ships had a smaller draft, and the cannons were also lighter.

The remaining warships were either purchased or crudely built by Funing Town, but they were all equipped with a large number of cannons. In addition, these ships had a considerable number of sailors, whose main equipment was rifles and long swords. The Ming army was also prepared for hand-to-hand combat this time. Funing Town adopted the idea of saving as much as possible with these disposable ships, keeping only the necessary parts and discarding everything else.

Yu Zigao's flagship was a large 550-ton ship. Now, all the warships produced by Funing Town were uniformly Western-style soft sails and external keel hulls. According to Huang Shi's order, these ships were all decorated with a figurehead. It was a white dolphin leaping out of the water, and the officers and soldiers were very satisfied with the figurehead, believing it would bring good fortune to all the sailors.

Finally, at everyone's unanimous request, the Fuzhou naval force embroidered a white dolphin onto the Ming Dynasty's military flag, and this white dolphin flag would become the official naval flag of Fuzhou. According to the officers and soldiers, they felt particularly at ease whenever they saw the Mazu fish floating high on the mast.

"A large pirate fleet has been spotted ahead!"

After the lookout on the mast sounded the alarm, Yu Zigao immediately took out his binoculars and looked. In the direction indicated by the lookout tower, the mastheads gradually appeared, and soon, more and more masts rose from below the sea level, like a dense forest suddenly sprouting from the sea.

"Good!" Yu Zigao squinted as he observed the enemy's formation, issuing orders to the messenger beside him.

These days, the pirates' lives had become increasingly difficult. Liu Xiangqi had suggested returning to his hometown in Guangdong several times, but Zheng Yiguan firmly opposed it. He argued that firstly, Guangdong couldn't support so many pirates, and secondly, the government troops wouldn't let them go. Zheng Yiguan even quoted a passage from *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, saying that they were now in a situation similar to Cao Cao's Guandu campaign, where "the weakest are the strongest."

Although the pirates were no longer able to land, as long as they controlled Xiamen, Kinmen, and Tongshan, the Fujian waterways would never be clear. In Zheng Yiguan's words, this was like strangling the throat of Funing Town, making Huangshi's breathing difficult, leaving him with a lot of strength but unable to use it.

Liu Xiangqi thought about it and agreed that Zheng Yiguan's words made a lot of sense. Although Zheng Yiguan was from Fujian and had his own selfish motives, Liu Xiangqi had put aside past grievances to support him because Huangshi was too aggressive, seemingly determined to wipe out the Fujian pirates. The situation in Funing Town is already quite dire. If Huangshi were to start collecting maritime taxes and amass wealth, the government troops would undoubtedly become even more powerful, and Huangshi would surely send troops to Guangdong to cause trouble.

Although Zheng Yiguan couldn't say when this war would end, Liu Xiangqi, after careful consideration, was determined to support Zheng Yiguan with all his might. If even holding Huangshi by the throat couldn't make him agree to surrender, then letting go would obviously lead to certain death. Therefore, Liu Xiangqi had been transporting supplies from Guangdong to Xiamen at a loss for the past few months, gritting his teeth and holding on.

However, due to limited supplies, the pirates had effectively relinquished control of most of the Fujian coast. After the Funing naval force left Xiapu, the pirates didn't even consider a decisive battle outside their territory. Their supplies were insufficient to support another long-range operation, so their only hope was to defend their homeland in Xiamen and repel the government troops.

Liu Xiangqi and Zheng Yiguan have stopped talking about being granted amnesty after a victory. Their new slogan to encourage their soldiers is to hold out for two years. Rumors have already spread that Huang Shi's memorial to pacify the seas within two years. So, the two pirate leaders of Fujian and Guangdong are encouraging their followers, saying that if they can hold out for more than two years, the court will dismiss Huang Shi and Zhu Yifeng, and the subsequent governors and generals will also choose to be granted amnesty.

In fact, Liu Xiangqi knows that this idea is unreliable. Now they have been driven to the brink of extinction on the mainland. In the eyes of the court, Huang Shi and Zhu Yifeng have already basically succeeded. Even if they are to be dismissed, it will have to start with Yu Zigao, and that old man is still alive and kicking. Obviously, the dismissal of Huang Shi and Zhu Yifeng is even more distant.

But Liu Xiangqi is already in a dilemma. Not long ago, Zheng Yiguan and he sent a joint envoy to Quanzhou. This time they only asked to retain half of their ships, and both of them solemnly promised to be honest maritime merchants from now on. Liu Xiangqi and Zheng Yiguan even sent an envoy to tell the government that they would be willing to surrender a few more ships if they agreed to be granted amnesty.

The Fujian governor, Zhu Yifeng, was very polite to the envoys, even refraining from speaking ill of them. However, Zhu Yifeng firmly rejected Zheng Yiguan and Liu Xiangqi's request, stating that the ships of the two pirate leaders from Fujian and Guangdong were all looted from the people, and therefore the Fujian provincial administration would not allow them to retain their ships. However, if the two surrendered, their lives could be spared; at most, they would be conscripted or imprisoned for a few years.

Liu Xiangqi had struggled his entire life to reach this point, and the idea of becoming a beggar was out of the question. Therefore, he could only persevere, continuing to bitterly await the turning point that might never come. The pirates' supplies were nearly depleted, but Liu Xiangqi couldn't stop his men's extravagant spending. They had joined as pirates to feast, not to suffer, especially given the dire situation. Liu Xiangqi was desperate to maintain morale by throwing money around.

A few days ago, after hearing that the Fuzhou army had arrived in Quanzhou, Liu Xiangqi and Zheng Yiguan began repairing their ships in preparation for battle. Their plan was simply to force the government troops to retreat. Based on Liu Xiangqi's experience, the government warships would fall apart within months, so if the government couldn't capture Xiamen, their offensive would likely fail again.

Liu Xiangqi and Zheng Yiguan devised a close-quarters combat plan, as gunpowder and ammunition were expensive. The Fujian waterway had been closed to the sea for over a year, leaving both Fujian and Guangdong provinces emaciated. They had captured some cannons from the government forces, but they couldn't afford to waste ammunition, so they hadn't trained for them. They hoped to catch them off guard during close-quarters attacks, though they preferred to resolve the battle through hand-to-hand combat.

Seeing the officers' and soldiers' large warships sailing in imposingly, Liu Xiangqi felt a chill run down his spine. The officers' and soldiers' equipment was getting better and better each time, and their ships were getting bigger and bigger. Naval battles were the most costly. He estimated that he and Zheng Yiguan could only engage in two or three more normal naval battles before they would have to resort to boarding maneuvers.

Yu Zigao's navy was still sailing in a straight line towards the pirates' formation. His opponent was a long, horizontal line. The pirates' vanguard consisted of large ships with cannons mounted on their bows, followed by swarms of fire ships, and then troop transport ships carrying large numbers of pirates. From the air, this formation looked like a long spear thrusting straight at the left edge of a thick shield.

Before this expedition, the naval regulations for Funing Town had been drafted. Following Huang Shi's orders, the staff had consulted Yu Zigao in detail about various navigational precautions and lessons learned in defending against enemy attacks. These materials have all been compiled into a book, and from now on, regardless of whether Yu Zigao forgets the order, the naval staff officers will automatically carry out the relevant safety regulations.

The pirates were already quite close. Yu Zigao raised his binoculars again, and the messenger beside him shouted loudly. The helmsman at the back quickly turned to starboard, the warship slightly to one side, and began to turn around in front of the approaching pirates. At the same time, the flag bearers on the masts quickly signaled, and the ships following Yu Zigao's flagship also turned around, the government and navy drawing an arc on the sea. The

government and army warships, filled with sailors, had retreated to the rear of the formation, and the twenty-three disposable gunboats quickly turned ninety degrees, facing the charging pirates with their broadsides. The flagship led the way past the pirate formation, and the square shields on the broadsides of each gunboat were pushed open one after another and then supported by brackets.

"One,"

"Two,"

"Three."

The sailors on the lower deck of a twenty-fourth gunboat shouted in unison, pushing the dark cast-iron gun carriages forward, letting the cold nine-pound cannon muzzles protrude from the square windows, pointing at the boundless sea.

The gunner pressed his face against the left side of the window, straining to look to his right. Soon, the pirate fleet came into view. Without turning his head, he waved, and the loader immediately pulled out a thin iron rod and plunged it into the breech of the cannon, puncturing a large hole in the powder bag inside. Then, the loader took out a cloth bag and poured the priming powder into the breech.

The gun compartments inside these Western-style warships had no partitions. A naval officer strode back and forth behind each cannon, his boots clattering loudly on the wooden floor.

"Target, one point, a two-zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) ship flying a white and blue flag," a messenger on the upper deck leaned down and loudly relayed the captain's order.

"Hey, target confirmed!" the officer shouted.

"Enemy ship confirmed!"

"Enemy ship confirmed!"

the gunners responded loudly one after another. The captain selected several clear features for the target, and each gunner carefully adjusted their gun, aiming the muzzle at the enemy ship.

The captain of the ship stood on the bridge, watching the enemy ships charging towards him while waiting for the leading warship to begin firing.

With Yu Zigao's order, bursts of fire erupted from the flagship's broadside, causing the entire ship to tilt to starboard. Immediately after the flagship finished firing, the second warship following closely behind began its salvo. Then came the third… The booming cannon fire, like muffled thunder, echoed continuously across the sea.

Seeing the leading warship open fire, the captain of the twenty-four-gun ship shouted, "Fire!"

"Fire!"

The order was relayed from the upper deck, through the middle deck, and down to the lower decks. The officers on the lower decks waited quietly until they heard the first cannon shot from the upper deck before shouting, "Fire!"

"Fire!" The gunner closest to the bow immediately responded.

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

…

The order was passed down like a relay baton, from the first cannon to the last. The twenty-four-gun warship had twelve gun ports on its port side. The cannons sprayed fire at the enemy in an orderly fashion. Although the fire was dispersed, the entire ship still veered to starboard with the fierce salvo from the port side. The captain on the bridge leaned back as well; the enemy ship in his field of vision had already been hit by several shots, but its bow cannons remained silent.

Although the six gunners, including the gunner, were pulling hard on the ropes binding the cannons, the nine-pounder still pulled them back several steps after firing, making a heavy rolling sound on the lower deck. When the ship regained its balance, white waves appeared outside the gun ports, splashing the gunner closest to the port with water.

At this moment, although the nine-pounder was about to ram the port port, it was held back by the gunners. Like a reluctant beast, the cannon made a low scraping sound on the deck before stopping. It was immediately pulled back a little further by the gunners, and the loader inserted a duster into the still smoking muzzle and immediately began to clear the slag from the barrel.

Each cannon had four porters, divided into two groups, carrying ammunition from the powder magazine to the gun crew. After cleaning the breech, the gunners took the powder packs from the porters, stuffed them directly into the breech, and pushed them all the way in. One man would load the cannonball after loading the powder pack, while another would pull out a shovel, reach into the vent, puncture the powder pack, and pour in the priming.

Once everything was complete, the gunner would pat the barrel and shout to the artillery officer on the lower deck, "Ready!"

"Ready!"

"Ready!"

After six shouts, the officer would tap a copper pipe beside him and shout back to the upper deck, "Ready!"

The order to fire was quickly given again. The entire warship fired a salvo once more, bringing the pirate fleet even closer.

"Free fire!"

In the cramped space of the lower deck. Six cannons fired repeatedly, wisps of white smoke billowing near the gun ports. The gun crews were quickly drenched in sweat, and the twenty-odd porters sprinted back and forth, all drenched in perspiration.

The pirate ships opposite also opened fire. Occasionally, those in the lower decks could hear a dull thud, the sound of enemy cannon fire hitting their ships. However, there was no sound of wood breaking, indicating that the enemy fire hadn't penetrated the ship's hull armor.

The captain held his binoculars, one in front of the other. The first target ship seemed to have already moved far away, left far behind at the stern. The entire Ming fleet was spewing flames, while the pirate formation was filled with water jets from cannon fire.

The pirate ships drew closer. The captain, with the wheelhouse beside him, glanced slightly at the helmsman. The helmsman remained calmly focused ahead, his arm firmly gripping the rudder, maintaining the intended course. The captain turned back with satisfaction to observe the enemy's movements.

On the lower deck, seeing the fire ships closing in outside the window, the cannons switched to chain shot. Chain shot after chain shot hurtled towards the enemy masts, whistling as they tore large pieces of sail from them, or simply spun around, shattering the enemy's stiff sails. Occasionally, enemy masts were struck by the chain shot. They would first tilt, then helplessly break and capsize, plunging into the sea with their ropes still attached, creating large white splashes.

After the chain shot, came the grapeshot. If a gunner didn't recognize this sequence, he certainly wasn't a gunner trained in Funing Town. The muzzle of the nine-pounder was lowered continuously until the gunner could clearly see the beard on the face of the pirate holding a torch, before it unleashed a torrent of bullets.

The signal had come: "Hard to starboard!"

As the warships began circling the sea, the sailors on the upper decks grabbed their flintlock rifles and rushed to the gun emplacements. They lined up shoulder to shoulder and began firing in rotation at the pirates attempting to board.

Once the ships were halfway turned, the gunners in the lower decks had secured the port cannons to their positions and closed and secured the windows.

"Starboard! Quick! Quick!"

With the officer's urgent command, the gunners, having completed their tasks, immediately turned and ran to the other side of the ship. Several gunners busied themselves releasing the starboard cannons from their positions, while the gunner gently lifted the cannon shutters. The turquoise sea, the vast sky, and the pirate fleet between them, once again appeared before the guns of the Fu Ning fleet.

...

When the tide turned for the second time, many Guangdong pirates turned back from the battlefield and fled out to sea. Liu Xiangqi cursed and yelled, but he was helpless in the face of this situation. Even his old brothers advised him to abandon Zheng Yiguan and run away.

Soon, Ming ships arrived to assist in the battle, and now it was the Ming army's turn to board the pirates. Standing on the gun hull, they unleashed a barrage of gunfire, and the cannons on the sides of the warships never stopped firing, sometimes even capsizing the pirates' boarding boats with the spray.

Soon, the Fujian pirates also began to collapse, and some ships even ceased resistance and surrendered. After nearly two years of fighting, the Fuzhou army had earned a good reputation among the pirates. The Fuzhou soldiers had never killed prisoners of war, and even captured leaders were not dragged to the execution grounds; they were all reportedly kept safe in the Fuzhou town prison. As for ordinary pirate soldiers, they were treated even better. It is said that Funing Town would give them some severance pay before releasing them so they could go home.

After Liu Xiangqi and Zheng Yiguan fled back to Xiamen Island, they immediately encountered an armed rebellion. Several minor leaders wanted to capture the two Fujian-Guangdong pirate heroes for a reward. However, a small force remained loyal to them. These two, who had once commanded tens of thousands of followers in the East China Sea, were now left with only a few hundred loyalists. They seized three ships and fled Xiamen in a panic.

With Zheng and Liu gone, the resistance on Xiamen Island collapsed. When the first batch of Tianyi Battalion troops landed on Xiamen Island, they were greeted by hordes of pirates demanding surrender.

...

Since the stock exchange opened, the Jinghai bonds had been sluggish because Huangshi had printed another five million taels of Funing notes, consuming a large amount of Fujian merchants' funds. However, after news of the Ming army's great naval victory reached Quanzhou on August 23, the Jinghai bonds on the Quanzhou Stock Exchange began to rise that day. The next day, news came that government troops had recaptured Jinhua and Xiamen, and the price immediately hit the daily limit.

A few days later, after news of the government troops' recapture of Tongshan and other places arrived, Huang Shi simultaneously announced that the stock exchange would accept Fuzhou-Ningxia bonds for trading, resulting in even the Pingman large loan hitting its daily limit. Seeing this opportunity, Huang Shi encouraged a large number of Fujian factory owners and Shandong merchants to list their stocks to raise funds for building more factories.

Huang Shi's stock exchange was built opposite the Fujian Provincial Administration Office. From that day on, a group of Fujian Provincial Administration officials, dressed in their official robes, could often be seen hurrying between the governor's office and the stock exchange. The recent bull market allowed Zhu Qingtian to earn a thousand taels of silver in just a few days, and the old man immediately entered the market after receiving the money at the end of the month. From then on, Zhu Qingtian was restless and unable to concentrate on his official duties in the office every day. Even while eating, the old man would stand by the window with his rice bowl, glancing towards the stock exchange as he ate.

...

After news of the great victory reached them, Huang Shi and Zhu Yifeng reported the victory to the court while simultaneously making every effort to find out the whereabouts of Zheng Yiguan and Liu Xiangqi. By early September, Huang Shi finally obtained a confession. The two notorious bandits had already fled to Guangdong, and their followers had scattered, making them essentially no longer a threat.

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