Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 322 It's Hard to Guard Against a Thief Within Your Own Family: North and South Seas (Part 1)

When the Jurchen cavalry invaded from the north of Xuanfu, General Liu Shigan seemed to be largely to blame.

He didn't need the current emperor to send anyone to question him. The Jurchen cavalry had just retreated when he followed the retreating soldiers of the Beijing garrison onto a horse-drawn railcar and headed back to the capital.

At this time, the Zhenyuan warships at the Haihe Shipyard were completed one after another, and the fleet from Southeast Asia had just returned.

Around dawn that day, Zhu Jue, along with Wang Chengen, Fang Zhenghua, Liu Ruoyu, and others, boarded a fast naval vessel and headed straight for the Haihe Shipyard.

Wang Zheng, Lu Xiangshan, Zhu Youzhen, and others had been waiting in the dock for quite some time.

This shipyard is also the shipyard for building medium-sized Zhenyuan warships, and five huge medium-sized Zhenyuan warships have already been built in the waterway next to the shipyard.

That ship, over twenty feet long and four or five feet high, was like a giant beast lying on the water. When the fleet of small Zhiyuan merchant ships came up to them, it was like a group of chicks coming to their mother hen.

As soon as Zhu Jue stepped off the boat, everyone rushed forward to greet him with clasped hands and bows.

He looked at the colossal warship that resembled a city gate and couldn't help but exclaim, "Now we finally have some warships. Taking over the South Seas shouldn't be a problem."

This is more than just a few warships; if thousands of Zhenyuan warships set sail together, they would be invincible. They have never seen such a massive fleet before.

Everyone nodded with deep emotion. It hadn't been easy. The Ming Dynasty's navy had been neglected for over two hundred years, and now it finally had some capital to dominate the seas.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then asked, "Youzhen, have you investigated the strength of the Dutch in Southeast Asia?"

I started investigating this a long time ago.

Zhu Youzhen explained in detail: "Your Majesty, it seems that the Dutch influence in Southeast Asia is all under the control of a trading company called the East India Company."

After a thorough investigation, it was found that the East India Company had approximately two hundred armed merchant ships and warships, and a naval force of over ten thousand men.

However, most of their armed merchant ships and warships were traveling all over the world carrying goods, and very few were actually stationed in Southeast Asia.

The biggest problem in our efforts to drive them out of Southeast Asia is the outpost they built there. It seems to be called Batavia, and it has fewer than 10,000 people, most of whom are Ming Dynasty merchants and their families. The Dutch seem to have fewer than 2,000 people in total.

However, they built many forts and gun emplacements near the port and docks south of their stronghold.

I even disguised myself as a merchant to investigate. There were two double-layered fortresses near the port of Batavia, one on each side of the river mouth, and the gun emplacements were arranged in four rows, all facing the port.

Their fortresses and battery were also equipped with a considerable number of cannons. I haven't counted them all yet, but there were no fewer than a hundred in total, and they were all cannons weighing over 500 jin (250 kg), with several weighing over 1000 jin (500 kg).

Batavia?
I had heard of this before.

The fortresses and strongholds built by the Dutch were also famously easy to defend and difficult to attack.

However, that was when their firepower was inferior to the enemy's.

Their firepower is now far superior to that of the Dutch; at least in the Far East, the Dutch cannot match their firepower.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, and then decisively said: "You should prepare for a strong attack. I will take all of these more than a thousand Zhenyuan warships with you, as well as the more than a thousand medium-sized Weiyuan warships."

In this way, we have more than two thousand warships and as many as seventy or eighty thousand cannons. Even a single salvo from the sides can fire thirty or forty thousand shells.

You don't need to think about tactics anymore, just set up your formation and attack head-on. First, use warships to clear the way, rush up and keep firing volleys from the sides at their fortresses and gun emplacements. Once their cannons are all silenced, then send small merchant ships with musketeers to seize the dock and land.

In short, don't be afraid of sacrifice. Even if they have two hundred cannons, they can only fire two hundred shells in one round. Our warships can rush up and fire a salvo that will not only hit their cannon operators, but also their cannons and ammunition.

I reckon they'll only have three rounds of firing at most, and if they manage to fire five or six hundred shells, that'll be pretty good. Even if all those shells hit our warships, they wouldn't sink many, and the casualties wouldn't be too great.

Uh, should we just go for the hard part, a full-scale assault?

Zhu Youzhen was taken aback for a moment, then carefully reminded him, "Your Majesty, they also have armed merchant ships and warships. Although most of their armed merchant ships and warships are at sea, there should still be a dozen or even several dozen anchored there."

Even if the Dutch East India Company's ships were all there, so what?

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly and said, "Don't worry, the Dutch ships are notoriously poorly made. Their hull plates are so thin that they can't withstand our pointed cannonballs at all. If we fire tens of thousands of cannonballs, let alone a dozen or a few dozen ships, even a hundred ships will be smashed to pieces."

Their ships are just another matter of firing a broadside salvo at us. You just need to charge in and attack. In short, we must drive the Dutch out of Southeast Asia this year. Next year we still have to deal with the Jurchens, so we'll probably have to recall most of our naval personnel and ships.” Oh, so time is a bit tight.

Then we can't consider battle losses.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youzhen nodded repeatedly and said, "This subordinate understands."

As they were discussing, Fang Zhenghua suddenly strode over, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Liu Shigan, the General of Xuanfu Garrison, requests an audience."

What's this guy doing here?
Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue paused for a moment before loudly proclaiming, "Summon them."

Soon, Liu Shigan rushed over, prostrated himself on the ground, and said in shame, "Your Majesty, this humble general is guilty. This humble general failed to defend the Dongyang River Valley, resulting in heavy casualties among the soldiers and civilians of Xuanfu Town. This humble general deserves to die ten thousand times."

Upon seeing this, Liu Ruoyu immediately prostrated herself on the ground, saying with shame, "Your Majesty, this servant deserves to die. It is all my fault that Shi Gan failed to defend Xuanfu Town. I should not have recommended Shi Gan to Your Majesty in the first place."

What are you doing?

Zhu Jue raised his hand, somewhat amused and exasperated, and said, "You all get up first. The loss of Xuanfu Town is not Shi Gan's fault. I never said I would blame Shi Gan."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruoyu and Liu Shigan, brothers, immediately kowtowed to express their gratitude before getting up from the ground.

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly, then asked, "Shi Gan, have you calculated the exact number of casualties among the soldiers and civilians in Xuanfu Town?"

Liu Shigan gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, the Jurchens are simply inhuman. They kill any man they see and rob any woman they see. They have only been in the town for one day, and the number of soldiers and civilians killed or wounded in Xuanfu Town is at least 30,000. At least 10,000 women have been robbed by the Jurchens."

And who knows how much grain, goods, gold, and silver treasures the Jurchens plundered? They were even more ruthless than bandits and robbers!

The Jurchens were truly brutal.

Those guys are inhuman.

Zhu Jue nodded slowly and said, "Yes, I will settle this score with the Jurchens. Don't overthink it. The Jurchens just want to cause chaos on the border. You mustn't fall into their trap."

My mind is truly in turmoil because of the Jurchens.

Liu Shigan took a deep breath before bowing and saying, "Your Majesty is wise, this humble general understands."

This debt will be settled with the Jurchens sooner or later.

The question is, how do we calculate it?

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then decisively said, "Jian Dou, you send an order to Liaodong, instructing Ying Yuan to quickly lead 100,000 troops back to the capital by boat, and then rush to Xuanfu Town to help Shi Gan guard it."

Uh, didn't you say you wanted to launch a counterattack on the grasslands beyond the Great Wall?

With another 100,000 troops being dispatched to Xuanfu Town for defense, the number of troops that the Beijing garrison can mobilize has decreased by more than 20%.

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiang-sheng was taken aback for a moment before bowing repeatedly and saying, "Your humble servant obeys the decree."

Zhu Jue then instructed, "Also, you must order the Jing garrison cavalry and 100,000 chariot troops to rush back by land as quickly as possible. They must be back in the capital before Liaodong freezes over."

Huang Degong still needs to lead more than 100,000 troops back to the capital?
Lu Xiang-sheng, looking completely bewildered, bowed and said, "Your humble servant obeys the decree."

It seems you didn't understand what I meant.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue shook his head slightly, then explained carefully: "Jiandou, we not only want to take over the grasslands beyond the Great Wall, but we also need cattle, sheep, horses, and even herdsmen."

If we concentrate our forces and push from one direction, they'll definitely run away with their cattle, sheep, and horses. The only way to catch them is to surround them from several directions. Do you understand?

Oh, so they're deploying their troops in a semi-circle to encircle us!

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiang-sheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

(End of this chapter)