The Zhoushan Islands are located on the south side of the Yangtze River Estuary, off the coast of Hangzhou Bay.
The entire archipelago is 182 kilometers long from east to west and 169 kilometers wide from north to south. It is the largest archipelago in China.
It is also the current base camp of the Jiangnan Anti-Qing Rebel Army!
However, due to the Qing government's move of borders and sea bans, the lives of the rebels are now very difficult.
The amount of cultivated farmland on the archipelago is limited, and the food grown cannot feed many people at all.
Many of the rebels relied on fishing to fill their stomachs!
Zhao Hai stood on the bow of the ship and looked at the mainland not far away, his eyes full of longing.
That's his hometown!
However, although he misses his hometown, he will never surrender!
The reason is very simple. He is from Jinhua. He was originally just an ordinary fisherman, making a living by fishing.
But after the Qing Dynasty entered Jiangnan, they massacred the city and killed people along the way.
The whole Jiangnan was killed and blood flowed like rivers!
Jinhua was not spared, and the tragic Jinhua Massacre broke out, killing hundreds of thousands of people.
All his family members died tragically at the hands of the Qing army, but he was the only one who survived by chance because he went out fishing.
He has a deep hatred against the Qing court!
He joined the Anti-Qing Rebel Army just to avenge his family.
Zhao Hai felt that if he surrendered,
I'm afraid I won't have the face to see my parents, wife, children, and brothers after I die!
What Zhao Hai didn't expect was that he had been fighting the Qing army for more than ten years, but now he was back to his old job!
He takes his subordinates to fish on the sea every day.
Zhao Hai withdrew his gaze and watched a soldier pulling the fishing net with brute force, scolding him with a dark face.
"Be careful, damn, don't break the fishing net. There's no place to mend it!"
They were trapped in a corner of Zhoushan and lacked everything.
Naturally, this fishing net is also a rare thing!
As the most important production tool in the entire rebel army, if it is damaged, I don’t know how many people will go hungry as a result.
Seeing that his men were too clumsy, Zhao Hai took action himself and dragged the fishing net.
As the fishing net was pulled up little by little, Zhao Hai couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth as he looked at the few small fish in the net.
"Made, the fish are getting harder and harder to catch lately!"
Zhao Hai sighed helplessly, and the soldiers beside him asked.
"Didn't you say that the Ministry went to Luzon to ask for help from the imperial court?"
"If Luzon can send us some support, we should be able to live better."
"I just don't know when the department will come back with support!"
Zhao Hai curled his lips and said.
"Who knows, in the eyes of the big shots in the court, we rebels may not even be considered!"
"Whether the ministry can ask for support is another matter!"
The soldier on the side scratched his head and said.
"No way!"
"I heard that His Royal Highness the Supervisor of Luzon is quite wise and mighty. He led his troops to achieve a rare victory in Guangdong and killed many Eight Banners soldiers."
"They shouldn't leave us alone, after all, we are also the Ming Dynasty's army!"
Zhao Hai shrugged and said his mantra again.
"Who knows!"
Sighing, Zhao Hai continued to observe his surroundings, using his rich experience to determine where there were fish in the entire water area.
They are now near the mouth of the Yangtze River, where the river and sea water meet!
There is a very clear dividing line between the green river water and the blue sea water!
The sun is huge in space, and thick clouds leave large shadows on the sea.
On the smooth, mirror-like sea, a few fish would jump out of the water from time to time.
The fish scales reflect the sun's rays, making them golden and sparkling. They look so beautiful!
With a pop, the fish entered the water!
The tail fluttered on the surface of the water, causing a lot of waves, which quickly expanded to all directions.
Then it gradually becomes finer, and finally disappears into nothingness!
An osprey flew across the water, creating a long ripple on the surface.
Its wings vibrated, and it plunged into the water, then emerged from the sea with a fish in its beak.
Just when Zhao Hai was fascinated by the beautiful scenery, several soldiers beside him suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
"Look, look!"
"Boss, look over there!"
"There are many big ships, all flying the flag of our Ming Dynasty!"
"..."
Zhao Hai looked in the direction pointed by his men and saw a large fleet at a glance.
At the head of the fleet were two Western barbarian sailing warships, but they were flying the twelve-pointed sun and moon flag of the Ming Dynasty.
Behind these two leading warships were more than a dozen large and tall fortune ships.
The fleet formed a straight line from front to back and sailed towards the Zhoushan Islands.
Zhao Hai and others showed surprise on their faces, and Zhao Hai spoke.
"Haha, it's the flag of the Ming Dynasty. It's coming. The support from the imperial court is coming!"
"Return to flight, return to flight, everyone, return to flight quickly, let's go back and watch the fun!"
Following Zhao Hai's order, this small fishing boat began to return.
After they returned to the port, the huge fleet of ships had docked, and the steps connecting the ship's side to the pier had been set up.
A scrawny Ming army soldier swarmed to the dock to watch!
Watching bags of food, military uniforms, a large number of various living supplies, ordnance, armor and stomach, etc. being continuously carried off the ship.
After receiving accurate information, all these materials and weapons were provided to them by the Luzon court for free.
The rebels who persisted in resisting the Qing Dynasty in the Zhoushan Islands couldn't help but burst into cheers!
"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"
"Long live His Royal Highness the Governor!"
"..."
Bags of grain were opened, and the rebels set up a pot directly near the dock, poured the rice into the pot, and then added water and firewood...
Gudong! Gudong!
The water soon boiled, and the aroma of rice porridge filled the air.
After they all finished eating, the relevant officials of the Liberation Army stepped forward and began to repay the food and wages owed by the court to the rebels on the Zhoushan Islands.
The main purpose is to win over the morale of the military and prepare for the Liberation Army to take over and reorganize the rebel army on the Zhoushan Islands!
…
On the other side, after a long voyage, the British and Dutch fleets finally sailed to the mouth of Dagu.
They were preparing to land at Dagukou, and the Qing government sent troops to greet them.
Shi Lang, who was transferred back to the capital from Fujian, stood at the pier at Dagukou, looking in the direction of the sea.
As the British and Dutch ships gradually docked, a smile broke out on his face.
After Brown, Vanderlaan and others landed, Shi Lang took a few steps and took the initiative to greet them.
Brown, Vanderlaan and others also responded enthusiastically.
Then, a group of people entered Tianjin City hand in hand, then took a canoe and headed for the capital along the Tonghui River.
The Qing court sent officials from the Lifanyuan to greet him outside the capital!
Tang Ruowang and his Belgian disciple Nan Huairen stood in the crowd and appeared outside the capital along with the officials of the Lifan Yuan.
Brown, Vanderlaan and others were invited to the capital with great enthusiasm!
After receiving the wind and washing away the dust, he was taken directly to the south study room.
Brown and others met many senior officials of the Qing court in the South Study Room.
Kang Mazi did not show up today, but he sent the two ministers Suo Ni and Ao Bai, as well as the old traitor Hong Chengchou, to meet with Brown, Vanderlan and others.
It can be seen that the Qing court attached great importance to the reconstruction of the navy and how sincere it was!