Chapter six hundred and eighty fourth triumphant return to Beijing
It turned out that as soon as Hu Hao and Zheng Zhilong crossed the river yesterday, they harassed the Dutch fleet parked at Zhenjiang Pier.
On the shore, the sharpshooters of the Thunderbolt Brigade aimed at the Dutch on the deck of the fleet and shot at them. Although they did not kill a few people, they were too scared to stand on the deck.
Just when the Dutch retaliated with naval guns, a mine floating in the water damaged the bow battleship again. The Dutch had no choice but to turn their energy to the water surface, trying to block or detonate the mines in advance.
The stalemate continued until dark. As a result, the people of Zhenjiang knew the situation of the war and organized themselves spontaneously. Holding torches and various equipment, they gathered towards the dock.
The Dutch were already exhausted by the people led by Hu Hao and Zheng Zhilong. When they saw so many fire dragons heading towards the dock, they thought it was the Ming army that was coming. They were so frightened that they no longer cared about the damaged ships. They hurriedly evacuated their people to the intact ships.
On the undamaged battleship, they tore off the sails and escaped overnight.
As for the damaged warships, they were accepted by Hu Hao. The guns and ammunition on the warships, etc., including the countless belongings piled in the bilges that they looted, naturally fell into Hu Hao's hands.
After Zhong Jinwei heard this, he led the new army across the Yangtze River and went directly to Zhenjiang Pier. As soon as the new soldiers arrived, they took over from the Perak Brigade and put the area around the pier under martial law.
After visiting the battleships left by the Dutch, Zhong Jinwei truly felt the gap in maritime power between the East and the West.
In the afternoon of the same day, Nanjing arrived with an army, including Liang Tingdong, the Minister of War of Nanjing whom Zhong Jinwei knew.
Zhong Jinwei just had a few polite words with them, and then asked people from Nanjing's Six Ministries, Jin Yiwei, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate to jointly guard the wealth plundered by the Dutch.
He clearly told them that after reporting the money to the Emperor Ming, it should be used for road construction in Nanjing and for refugee relief. If anyone dares to reach out, the end will be tragic.
Then he issued an order to leave the Dutch in the warships at Zhenjiang Pier, select the warships with the least damage, repair them and sail to the Qingjiang Shipyard in Beizhili.
The rest of the warships, including those that had sunk in the Yangtze River, were all salvaged and sent to the Longjiang Shipyard in Nanjing.
These two shipyards were the main manufacturers of large-scale ocean-going ships that completed Zheng He's voyage to the West. They were directly managed by the Department of Water Resources of the Ministry of Industry and were directly affiliated with the royal family. The task of replicating Dutch warships was undoubtedly assigned to these two shipyards.
of.
When Zhong Jinwei finished everything in a hurry and was about to take the prisoners back to Beijing in triumph, the Portuguese soldiers arrived in a hurry.
They obviously heard that the Chinese army had defeated the Dutch and pirate forces, so they rushed over at a faster pace.
Naturally, Zhong Jinwei would not give them a good look. He just asked his men to take them to visit the Dutch prisoners of war. Then he asked them to return to Macau and told them that based on their performance in this war, the imperial court would re-examine Macau.
leasing situation.
After handling this matter, Zhong Jinwei no longer cared about the frightened Portuguese soldiers and escorted the prisoners back to Beijing in triumph.
Of course, Zhong Jinwei also commanded Gondesa through artillery and revealed to his fellow tribesmen that he still wanted to stay in Macau, so he quickly sent people to the capital to admit his mistake and accept the new conditions offered by the imperial court.
When the new army passed by Yangzhou again, both sides of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal were lined with people from Yangzhou City, whether they were rich or not, status or status, official or not, all of them came.
Seeing the fleet approaching from a distance, the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait began to get excited and talked about the power of the new army.
Naturally, Zhong Jinwei would not miss this opportunity to improve morale and let all the new army officers and soldiers go on the deck to receive the praise they deserved.
Of course, all the prisoners, including Dutch devils and pirates, were put on the deck to accept the reviling of the people of Yangzhou.
Zhong Jinwei himself did not go out in the cabin, but fell asleep amidst the thunderous noise.
Because the fighting lasted for several days, although it seemed to be going well on the surface, in fact Zhong Jinwei was worried a lot and did not get a good rest at all.
Moreover, after returning to the capital, he will be busy with many things. He also needs to set off for Liaodong immediately to deliver supplies to Zu Dashou and He Kegang. All these require Zhong Jinwei to be mentally alert.
The common people who originally saw the new army marching south now told their companions that when they saw the new army, they knew that the annihilation of the Hongyi was just around the corner, and they completely forgot about the worries they had.
In the days after the New Army passed through Yangzhou, the common people's talk did not leave the war and the deeds of the New Army. Some smart businessmen even immediately compiled a narrative and drama about the Zhenjiang War.
Wait, the subsequent "Ming Pao" also saw a huge increase in sales because of its special reports on the New Army.
Of course, it is also indispensable to explore the deeds of Zhongxing Hou. Regarding the rise of Zhongxing Hou like a dazzling star in the past two years, and the incredible deeds he has achieved, the rumor that Zhongxing Hou is a god from heaven descended to earth to assist Ziweixing is also in the south.
It started to spread.
When the New Army returned to the capital in triumph, a grand prisoner presentation ceremony was naturally held. In the eyes of the people of the Capital, the New Army became synonymous with the ever-victorious army.
The common people in the capital looked down upon the newcomers who had just arrived in the capital and looked down upon the elites of the new army. Their expressions of contempt, like frogs in the well, made the outsiders feel ashamed and deeply satisfied.
The sense of superiority of the people in the capital.
Then, the imperial court's handling of the war came quickly.
Dutch prisoners of war were all executed, while the pirates were all executed.
The notice of disposal also specifically stated that any traitor who aided Zhou and helped foreigners attack the Ming Dynasty would not be treated lightly and would be punished. The imperial court would pursue those pirates who escaped to the end.
The Netherlands launched a war against the Ming Dynasty, burned, killed, and looted in the south of the Yangtze River, killing countless people in the Ming Dynasty. Such heinous crimes must be severely punished. The imperial court decided to prepare for war to seek justice from the Netherlands. At the same time, it also declared that those who dare to commit crimes against the Ming Dynasty will be punished no matter how far away they are.
punish.
In the near future, after the imperial court builds a new navy, it will attack the Dutch in Da Yuan and Batavia.
This notice was not only sent to the capital, but was also sent to the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty through Di Bao and Ming Pao. In an instant, the whole world knew about it.
Both the government and the people in various places, especially the people in the Jiangnan area, particularly supported this. At the same time, a sense of pride as a Ming Dynasty person, a sense of identification with the Ming Dynasty and the imperial court also spread in the Jiangnan area.
However, Zhong Jinwei and the senior officials of the imperial court did not rest because of the victory. They were all discussing nervously in the Wenhua Hall.
Because Dongchang received a major piece of news from a prisoner of war, the leaders of all parties were shocked and had to discuss the impact of this news.