Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 205 I just have a toothache, you brat, are you hoping I die again?!

Liu Zeqing was not drunk; in fact, he was in the second half of the drinking session, drinking with his benefactor, Yuan Keli.

The old man's health was not as robust as he boasted. The hardships of drifting at sea and the immense pressure of commanding a major battle were taking a toll on a man nearing seventy.

The victory report that the emperor saw might only be a few hundred words long, but behind those few hundred words lay a complex and intricate task that could not be described in hundreds of thousands of words.

The old man's teeth were a bit loose, and he was missing several molars. Now he could only carefully grind the mooncakes off little by little, enduring the toothache to savor their subtle sweetness. He sipped a glass of wine for half an hour without finishing it.

The old man's leisurely manner was incredibly agonizing to Liu Zeqing. After all, he was a military general and didn't have such a good temper, and besides, Yuan Jinglue was clearly a decisive and efficient person when it came to doing things!
He found it painful to watch, so he simply stopped looking, but the scene remained etched in his mind, unforgettable even without seeing it, accompanied by a faint sadness.

"I will die eventually, and the Dengzhou-Laizhou navy will depend on you from now on." Liu Zeqing recalled what Yuan Keli had said to him before. He hadn't taken it seriously at the time, but now, reflecting on it, it made him even more saddened.

"I just have a toothache, what are you thinking now?!" Yuan Keli was speechless at Liu Zeqing's melancholy expression. Was this guy hoping for his death again?!
"How many followers did Zheng Cai bring?!" Yuan Keli asked solemnly.

"Huh?!" Liu Zeqing snapped out of his reverie and met Yuan Keli's stern gaze. He couldn't help but shudder. This was the Liaodong Military Commissioner he knew! Just now, seeing the old man's appearance, he thought he was about to die!

"There are twenty warships and over a thousand men, including a hundred grain transport ships belonging to the Zheng family, and the rest belonging to various maritime merchants from Fujian and Zhejiang. If we touch them, the imperial court might face considerable trouble," Liu Zeqing said, frowning.

"Twenty?! Forget it, let them go!" Yuan Keli waved his hand listlessly.

If he could wipe out half of Zheng Zhilong's regiment, he would have acted without hesitation; since it was just a minor general with a few dozen ships, there was no need to turn against Zheng Zhilong. Unexpectedly, this fleet, which looked so large, was just a facade.

Of course, the Dengzhou-Laizhou navy itself was also quite weak. They told the emperor they had two thousand ships, but that included small sampans; in reality, they only had a little over a hundred large ships they could field for naval battles, and half of those were old ships bought from Zheng Zhilong, refurbished and modified. The ships Zheng Zhilong sold them were certainly not the best.

"I think Zheng Cai is a talented person, and we can try to win him over by dividing and conquering him," Liu Zeqing said.

"So you got him drunk?! Are you going to find a few women to throw in his bed, then claim that these women are pregnant with his children, and then detain the mother and child to blackmail him?!" Yuan Keli said with a smile.

"No, no..." Liu Zeqing said, embarrassed. "Sir, that's too mean!"

"Otherwise, how do you think I managed to turn my old servant son-in-law against his will?! This is nothing compared to what I've got. I have many more tricks up my sleeve!" Yuan Keli stroked his beard and said with a hint of pride.

"What if he doesn't care about his wife and daughters? You know, pirates have no sense of shame," Liu Zeqing retorted.

"Then kill him, claim they are his wife and children, and then install the widow and her children in power."

Liu Zeqing shuddered. He sensed that if he continued to ask, the old man had even more underhanded tricks up his sleeve, but he dared not ask any more. "Just build a good relationship with him and get to know each other. There's no need to try and bring him here. He's more useful to us with Zheng Zhilong," Yuan Keli instructed.

In the past, he might have enjoyed trying to win over enemy generals; but now, he no longer likes to resort to such petty tricks.

Although he taught the emperor some things, he also learned from the emperor that it is better to crush the emperor with a mighty army than to engage in various conspiracies!
Liu Aita's death taught him that while trickery may bring temporary victory, it will ultimately lead to defeat, because a victory gained through trickery cannot be maintained through the same trickery.

Ten days later, Zheng Cai led his fleet to continue sailing towards Tianjin. Yuan Keli, citing concerns about the presence of the Jurchen navy in the nearby waters, deployed his main naval force to escort Zheng Cai's fleet.

As luck would have it, at that moment, Zheng Zhilong's fast ship caught up with his fleet and gave him a new order: to seize all the grain in order to put pressure on the imperial court.

In reality, hundreds of thousands of shi of grain posed no threat to the Ming Dynasty. Zheng Zhilong's order was merely a compromise, intended to show the other ship owners his stance.

These people weren't entirely there to defend Zheng Laosi. They were all just superficial friends. Before the alliance, they all had their own power and independent fleets. They hadn't started from scratch together, so how could they have such deep feelings?
They don't necessarily want to oppose the imperial court; it's just that Zheng Zhilong has almost completely taken advantage of the benefits of cooperation. Don't they need to live?

Since Zheng Zhilong is unwilling to concede any benefits, the imperial court will have to provide even more incentives to satisfy everyone. Putting aside other matters, since the court appointed Zheng Zhilong as a general, they should at least give a few of his deputies some positions!
Zheng Cai was stunned when he saw the order. He was surrounded by government troops and the navy. How was he supposed to carry out this order?!

Moreover, the government troops were clearly there to warn him. The Zheng family had many ships but few men, while the government navy had many men but few ships. But now the largest cannon of the Dengzhou-Laizhou navy was almost twice the size of theirs, a 4,500-jin (approximately 2,250 kg) Hongyi cannon! When the cannonball grazed the deck of his flagship, he felt like he was about to die. Then Liu Zeqing ran over to him apologetically and said, "I accidentally missed!"
Zheng Cai stared at Liu Zeqing in disbelief, feeling as if she had been utterly deceived: "You said we were best buddies a few days ago, and now you want to kill me?!"

What he didn't know was that there were only three of these massive cannons in the entire Dengzhou-Laizhou navy, and no more. He assumed that the government navy had already equipped itself with such giant cannons on a large scale.

Seeing that the number of men on both sides' decks was almost three times that of the other side, Zheng Cai felt like crying: "Our cannons aren't as big as theirs, and we obviously can't win this boarding action!" After arriving at Tianjin Port, the Dengzhou-Laizhou navy gave Zheng Cai a demonstration of what a beach landing was like.

The large ships of the Dengzhou and Laizhou naval forces did not dock, but the smaller boats rushed towards the shore like a school of fish. Although there was no great commotion at the moment, Zheng Cai knew that if a real battle broke out, there would be a barrage of gunfire and cannon fire, with bullets and shells blotting out the sky, and the people on the shore would not be able to react in time.

After landing, the infantry, artillery, and even cavalry formed a force of several thousand men in less than an hour, with banners fluttering and armor gleaming.

"Brother Zheng Cai, do you think your elder brother can defend Dongfan if our Dengzhou-Laizhou navy tries to take it from you? I heard that your Zheng family also has several hundred cavalrymen. How do they compare to our army?! Since you've accepted the amnesty, you should work hard. How could you do something as beastly as attacking friendly forces?!"
"Go back and persuade Zheng Zhilong to think things through. Our Great Ming Dynasty isn't incapable of sealing off the coast and reimposing the maritime ban. Where will you go then? Will you go live with the Japanese?!" Liu Zeqing said slowly and deliberately.

"I understand, and I will certainly try my best to persuade my commander," Zheng Cai said with a forced smile.

The Dengzhou-Laizhou navy withdrew from the shore, and the massive fleet sailed away, leaving Zheng Cai and his men looking at each other in bewilderment.

Yuan Keli's large-scale mobilization wasn't solely for intimidating Zheng Cai. After leaving Tianjin, they continued north, their targets Juehua Island and southern Liaoning. They were to deliver food and military supplies to Juehua Island and transport troops to southern Liaoning.

Now that the autumn harvest has just ended, it is the peak season for the Jurchens to raid southward. Although they are severely weakened and may not come, we must still be on guard. As the art of war says: "Preparedness prevents trouble."
(End of this chapter)