Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

Jin Shenghuan was first defeated at the gates of Qianshan City, and then at Ehu Town. He then led his remaining troops to flee overnight. The news caused a great uproar and the entire southeast was in an uproar.

First was Zheng Zhibao of Fenshuiguan. When Jin Shenghuan suffered a crushing defeat at Ehu Town, Zheng Zhibao learned of the news that very night. He was so shocked that he remained silent for a long time and did not sleep all night. He immediately dispatched a fast horse to Fuzhou to report the news.

The next day, Zheng Zhibao received news that Jin Shenghuan had fled Qianshan City overnight. Although he had expected it, it still shocked Zheng Zhibao greatly.

Zheng Zhibao was both shocked by the strength of the Restoration Army and afraid that they would attack Fenshui Pass.

Although Fenshui Pass has 20,000 troops from the Zheng family, and the city walls are high and the grain is plentiful, can Fenshui Pass really hold out if the Xingfu Army attacks?

Zheng Zhibao lost confidence in holding Fenshui Pass, and was filled with fear and tension. He sent three batches of fast horses to Fuzhou in one day to ask for help, and the letters implied that Fenshui Pass would be difficult to defend.

Three days later, Zheng Zhilong received a series of battle reports from Fenshui. The reports detailed the battle between the Jin army and the Xingfu army at Ehu Town. The Jin army suffered a crushing defeat, and 25,000 troops were annihilated!

While the Xingfu Army was not paying attention, Zheng's scouts captured several Jin soldiers who had fled the battle and took them back for questioning. That's why Zheng's army had such a detailed understanding of the Jin army's defeat.

After reading the battle report, Zheng Zhilong's face turned deathly pale, and his hand holding the report trembled slightly.

Zheng Zhilong originally thought that the greatest threat to him was the Lu Prince regime in Zhejiang and the Qing army marching south.

But now he realizes that the greatest threat to him is the Restoration Army, which is right next door.

In his letter, Zheng Zhibao clearly stated that the Restoration Army possessed powerful firearms, including dozens of powerful cannons and countless muskets.

The Restoration Army defeated the Jin army thanks to its incredibly powerful firearms and cannons.

If the Restoration Army were to use those artillery pieces to attack Fenshui Pass...

Zheng Zhilong thought of the new type of artillery used by the Restoration Army. Zheng's army dragged two new cannons back from the silt in the river. One of the new cannons was transported back to Fuzhou for research. Zheng Zhilong organized many cannon makers and artillerymen to conduct research and found that the new cannon's range, rate of fire, accuracy, and flexibility were far superior to the existing cannons.

If dozens of new cannons were to attack Fenshui Pass...

Zheng Zhilong became increasingly frightened. If the Fenshui Pass were breached, the Xingfu Army would be able to enter Fujian from Jiangxi without any troops to stop them. The Longwu regime in Fujian would be easily destroyed, and the Zheng family's wealth and glory would be ruined in an instant!

Zheng Zhilong summoned his military advisors and strategists, and after discussing for a long time, in addition to continuing to reinforce Fenshui Pass, he came up with another idea: to offer amnesty!

They are all Han Chinese, and there is no grudge that cannot be resolved. Rather, Fuzhou has the greater good, and as long as the conditions are attractive enough, there is nothing that cannot be resolved by surrendering them.

Zheng Zhilong and his staff planned to first offer amnesty, then obtain the technology to forge guns and cannons from the Restoration Army, and then use the Zheng family's wealth to mass-produce firearms and cannons, and finally turn against the Restoration Army!

To recruit the Anxing Restoration Army, the cooperation of Emperor Longwu was required.

Although Zheng Zhilong controlled all the power in the Longwu court, Emperor Longwu was unwilling to be a puppet. After entering Fujian, he gathered a group of civil officials who were loyal to the Ming Dynasty. Although he had no troops or money, there were quite a few powerful figures outside Fujian who nominally submitted to Emperor Longwu.

Most importantly, despite the Manchu Qing dynasty's relentless advance, many people still acknowledged the Ming dynasty as a legitimate dynasty.

An advisor suggested to Zheng Zhilong, "Your Excellency can spread the word about the battle in Xinzhou Prefecture. When His Majesty learns of this, he will be alarmed and will summon Your Excellency to discuss the matter. At that time, Your Excellency can then present this plan."

Zheng Zhilong nodded, finding it reasonable, and did as instructed.

Thus, the Restoration Army defeated the Jin army and prepared to attack Fujian. Rumors of the Restoration Army's extreme brutality spread in Fuzhou City. The rumors were a mixture of truth and falsehood, making it difficult to distinguish between them.

Some officials and gentry in Fuzhou had heard about the new policies of the Restoration Army. It was said that the Restoration Army was implementing new policies in Xinzhou Prefecture and was prone to confiscating property and exterminating families. Now, they heard that the Restoration Army was going to attack Fujian, which caused great panic among the officials and gentry in Fujian.

Upon hearing rumors, Emperor Longwu Zhu Yujian urgently summoned Zheng Zhilong and Huang Daozhou, a senior official of the Longwu court, to discuss the restoration of the army's intention to attack Fujian.

The result of the discussion was that Zheng Zhilong would send more troops to strengthen the defense line at Fenshui Pass, and Huang Daozhou would go to Xinzhou City to personally recruit the Anxing Restoration Army.

......

Huang Daozhou, a native of Tongshan, Fujian, was a calligrapher, painter, and writer in the late Ming Dynasty. He served as the Minister of Rites in the Hongguang court and as a Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall and Minister of Personnel and War in the Longwu court.

Historically, Huang Daozhou was extremely disappointed with the Zheng family in Fujian. He left Fujian alone, recruited several thousand soldiers in Xinzhou Prefecture, and then divided his troops into three routes, heading west and north respectively, to fight against the Qing army!

Historically known as: The Carrying Pole Army Resists the Qing Dynasty!

In the end, all three groups of men, who were only filled with courage but had no fighting ability, were completely wiped out. Huang Daozhou himself was captured by the Qing army in Huizhou and died for his country three months later.

However, the arrival of the Xingfu Army and their occupation of Xinzhou Prefecture caused Huang Daozhou's plan to recruit soldiers in the east to fail.

Huang Daozhou, who watched helplessly as Jiangnan fell into the hands of the Qing army and was powerless against the internal strife within the Ming court, fell seriously ill from anger. During his illness, the Restoration Army first defeated the Zheng army and then the Jin army.

When Huang Daozhou recovered from his illness, he encountered the situation where the Qing army had not arrived, but the Restoration Army had arrived first.

Huang Daozhou was surprised by the sudden rise of the Restoration Army and did not easily believe the many rumors about the Restoration Army.

When Zheng Zhilong suggested recruiting the Xingfu Army, Huang Daozhou, who was extremely disappointed with the Longwu court, realized that this might be an opportunity. If he could win over the Xingfu Army and have the support of such a powerful army, the benefits would be obvious.

This also presents an opportunity for the Longwu court to break free from Zheng Zhilong's control.

Therefore, Huang Daozhou volunteered to go to Xinzhou City to persuade the Xingfu Army to surrender!

When Zheng Zhilong suggested offering a marquisate to recruit the Anxing Restoration Army, Huang Daozhou scoffed: If the Anxing Restoration Army was really as strong as Zheng Zhilong claimed, then offering a marquisate to lure them would be too short-sighted. At this point, Zheng Zhilong still didn't want anyone else to surpass him in status; he was truly a fool who couldn't possibly plan anything!

So after Zheng Zhilong left, Huang Daozhou returned and secretly plotted with Emperor Longwu for a long time.

In the end, Huang Daozhou and Longwu decided that if the Restoration Army was really as powerful as rumored, they would not hesitate to offer him a princely title to win him over, and would allow Huang Daozhou to stay in the Restoration Army as a military supervisor!

......

Li Chengming was unaware of the turmoil his victory over the Jin army would cause, but he did consider taking the opportunity to attack Fenshui Pass.

Li Chengming and He Mingqiu rode their horses to the outside of Fenshui Pass and gazed at it from afar for a long time.

He Mingqiu asked, "Captain, are we going to attack Fenshui Pass?"

Li Chengming shook his head and said, "Let's wait a while longer. We'll take over Fenshui Pass once the new policies are fully implemented in Xinzhou Prefecture."

The ten cannons and two hundred and forty muskets I brought are for you and Zhou Lei. If you need to attack Fenshui Pass later, Ehu Town and Qianshan City can send troops.

The reason Li Chengming gave up on capturing Fenshui Pass immediately was that he had not yet formulated a plan to attack Fujian. Fujian was too large; it would be easy to conquer, but difficult to govern.

In particular, the governance model of the Xingfu Army, which simultaneously implemented new policies and established agricultural administration teams to extend power to the countryside, was a very difficult path to take.

It is necessary to cultivate a large number of mature and experienced teams, rely on the Restoration Army, and form agricultural administration teams as military support in order to continuously promote the new policies.

Li Chengming believed that once the issues in Xinzhou Prefecture were resolved and the experience of the new policies was mature, then he would expand his influence to Fujian.