Chapter 664: Slapping the Celestial Man in the Face
The content of the eight-hundred-mile dispatch that was first reported to the capital was that the combined fleet of Hongyi and pirates appeared from Wusongkou, burning, killing and looting along the way, and headed for the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
The few inland river warships on the Yangtze River were no match for the combined fleet. They were like a mantis acting as a chariot and had no effect at all.
As for the garrison troops along the river, the pirate and red barbarian coalition forces that landed on the river also collapsed at the first touch.
The area south of the Yangtze River was panicked and fled from the areas along the river. The fighting power of these Western pirates was even greater than that of the Japanese pirates back then.
Emperor Chongzhen was so frightened that he quickly convened six cabinet ministries for discussion. However, the discussions continued until the early morning of the next day, and they discussed all night long, but no effective countermeasures were found.
Due to the ban on the sea for many years, the Ming Dynasty did not have a decent navy at all. Since Qi Jiguang's northward transfer, the military preparations in Jiangnan have been relaxed again, and there is no strong army that can handle it.
At this time, many people even began to miss the Ming Dynasty fleet during the Chengzu period. At that time, the Ming Navy was overwhelming. On the sea, all the Ming Navy were in charge. All the way to the extreme west, the Ming Navy had the final say.
.It would be like today, when the Western barbarians invaded the Yangtze River, but could not find any navy that could resist.
The eyes of the monarchs and ministers in the Wenhua Hall were all red. Although they were exhausted, no one dared to propose adjourning the meeting.
"Your Majesty, recruit Marquis Zhongxing back!" Yang He, Minister of War, was under great pressure. He had no choice but to suggest to Emperor Chongzhen.
Emperor Chongzhen had actually thought about this a long time ago, but at this time, Marquis Zhongxing went to Liaodong and was fighting against Jianlu, and water far away could not quench his thirst nearby.
Besides, the new army led by Marquis Zhongxing was only an army, and he was powerless to fear the Xiyi fleet rampaging on the Yangtze River.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen extinguished this idea. Now that he saw that the Minister of War brought it up again, and even attracted the support of several ministers in the palace, he couldn't help but reconsider it.
"Your Majesty, the Western Yi's firearms are so sharp that the guard troops on both sides of the strait are invincible. If there are new troops from Zhongxing Hou, the Western Yi can at least not come to the shore to torture the people. This is currently no other solution. Please think twice, Your Majesty.
"Yang He continued to suggest.
Wen Tiren had different opinions. He reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, Marquis Zhongxing may have started a war at this time. Although Marquis Zhongxing's new army is powerful, the main force of Jianlu is not weak. Can Marquis Zhongxing be able to
It is still unknown whether we can win the war. With the rebellion in the south of the Yangtze River and the western barbarians, I think we cannot place our hope on the Marquis of Zhongxing."
Emperor Chongzhen heard what the two ministers said were reasonable, but he couldn't make a decision for a while. The other ministers in the Wenhua Palace were also divided into two groups, each supporting two views and arguing endlessly.
By evening, some of the older civil servants could no longer hold on. When Emperor Chongzhen saw these people sitting on the reward stools with their heads buried under the stools, he had no choice but to adopt a helpless method.
The provinces along the Yangtze River were ordered to send troops to reinforce both sides of the Yangtze River, and the Western barbarians and pirates must not be allowed to go ashore. They could only hope that the Western barbarians would retreat on their own after seeing that they could not go ashore.
However, the imperial edict has not yet left the capital, and the eight hundred-mile express has arrived again.
The combined fleet of the Western Yi and the pirates attacked Nanjing. Although they failed to defeat it, they poisoned the villages around Nanjing. Several armies around Nanjing were defeated by the Western Yi and the pirates, and they could not stop the Western Yi at all.
and the landing of pirates.
The next day, the 800-mile express was delivered to Emperor Chongzhen again. The Western Yi and the pirates captured Zhenjiang and blocked the southern end of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. This time, the request was passed to Emperor Chongzhen.
When Emperor Chongzhen saw this, he was so angry that he went crazy on the spot. When did the Ming Dynasty let people threaten him like this! If I agree to Xiyi's request, can I still go to see my ancestors in the future?
This urgent message with the request of the Western Barbarians was passed to every courtier in the palace. Without exception, all the courtiers were filled with righteous indignation. Even if they fought until only women and children were left, they could not agree to the barbarian's unreasonable demands.
Even those individual civil servants who were afraid of the Xiyi's fighting power and wanted to negotiate peace in their hearts did not dare to show this idea on their faces, because the conditions of the Xiyi were too humiliating and humiliating for the Ming Dynasty.
Naxi Yi’s requirements include the following four:
1. Cut off a large island under Xin'an County to the Dutch Empire. Although Hong Kong in later generations is still a desert island with no one inhabited, this is a territorial dispute. The Ming Dynasty has never had such a precedent. This responsibility for losing the land,
No one could bear it, including Emperor Chongzhen.
Second, the Dutch Empire required the opening of Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai as treaty ports and allowed the Dutch to set up consulates in the treaty ports.
The emergency report specifically explained that this consulate is equivalent to a state within a state, and the Ming Dynasty no longer has jurisdiction over the location of the consulate. How could the Ming literati accept such a request!
Third, the Ming Dynasty paid a compensation of 21 million taels of silver to the Dutch Empire to compensate for the damage the Ming Dynasty had done to the Dutch Empire. If it cannot afford so much money at the moment, the Dutch Empire can collect commercial taxes on imported and exported goods until the compensation is paid off.
until.
The treasury income of the Ming Dynasty is only more than two million taels of silver a year, and this is a request for so much compensation. I really don’t know how Xiyi proposed this amount of compensation. Do they really think that the Ming Dynasty is their place of withdrawal?
Fourth, allow the Dutch Empire to be the exclusive agent for the import and export goods of the Ming Dynasty. Goods entering and leaving the Ming Dynasty without the hands of Dutch Empire merchants will be regarded as smuggling, and those caught will be severely punished.
"Your Majesty, the Western Yi are so arrogant and regard the Ming Dynasty as nothing. Even if the Ming Dynasty has no army, I will go to the battlefield and swear not to compromise with the Western Yi." Wen Tiren first expressed his stance.
"Yes, whoever dares to compromise will be drowned in my saliva."
"And I also risked my life to fight against the traitors."
"..."
Emperor Chongzhen's eyes were red. Ever since he came to the throne, even if Jianlu attacked the city, he had never felt such a sense of humiliation.
I saw him slamming the imperial table, interrupting the minister's statement, and shouted angrily: "I need a countermeasure!"
There was silence in the Wenhua Hall for a while, and finally Wen Tiren spoke: "Your Majesty, you can't control too much now. Please ask the Marquis of Zhongxing to come back quickly. In addition, order the troops from all over the country to gather in Zhenjiang and take back Zhenjiang. There is one more thing that can be done by Macau.
The Pu Yi also sent troops to attack the Hong Yi."
Emperor Chongzhen really couldn't control that much anymore, so he immediately carried out the instructions one by one, and the imperial edict was immediately sent to the southeast, northwest and northwest of the Ming Dynasty.
This kind of slap in the face by the Dutch deeply irritated the officials and people of the Ming Dynasty. The sense of superiority of being a sovereign was directly pushed to the ground and stepped on again and again.
From then on, there was a general consensus among the people in the Ming Dynasty that they could trade with other countries, but the Dutch were not allowed to do so. The pirates who were helping the rebels this time were all treated with the same treatment as the traitors who served the rebels.