Dongfan, Fort Zeelandia.
Cornelis, the Dutch governor in Dongfan, was worried about the shortage of goods.
Goods on the island were already scarce, and after trade was cut off, goods became even more scarce and prices soared.
The cost of living has increased.
You have to know that the East India Company was a profit-driven organization.
Now the Ming Dynasty prohibits merchants from trading with them.
Without the circulation of goods, it is impossible to make profits through price differences.
This was something the East India Company could not tolerate.
In order to restore trade, he had no choice but to send He Bin to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty.
According to the plan, He Bin returned five days ago.
But there was no sign of He Bin.
Could it be...
Did He Bin take the opportunity to escape? Or... betray him?
Just when Cornelis was puzzled, a soldier walked in from outside the door: "Mr. Governor, there is an emergency in the city."
Cornelius stood up and asked, "What's the emergency?"
The soldier replied: "Many merchants from the Ming Dynasty are moving their valuables out of their homes, saying they are transferring them to ships and preparing to move back to the Ming Dynasty for refuge."
"Refuge? Refuge from what?"
"They said the Ming court banned trade in order to prepare for the attack on Dongfan."
Cornelius didn't want to believe this statement at first, after all, they had been in Dongfan for more than 20 years.
The Ming court never took any action against them.
But think about it.
The Ming court had been caught in internal turmoil and had no time to take care of itself.
Now the Ming army has quelled the Liaodong rebellion and the "Qinwang" rebellion.
Now I can free up my hands to deal with them.
Coupled with the behavior of the merchants, Cornelius had to be cautious.
To prevent a surprise attack, Cornelius ordered preparations for war.
The first step is to increase patrol ship early warning.
Secondly, those people who could speak the Central Plains dialect were confined in the city to prevent them from collaborating with the enemy.
Finally, all the unripe grain in the fields was burned to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Ming army.
After doing all this, he was still a little worried, so he sent someone to contact Wu Sangui.
He planned to ask him to support him when he was attacked by the Ming army.
When Wu Sangui received the news, he was seizing food from local people.
They are unable to be self-sufficient and can only rely on robbing.
There are not only a large number of Ming people who migrated from Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Guangxi to Dongfan, but also many indigenous people.
The country with the largest population is called Dadufan.
It is called a country, but in fact it is a tribe with a relatively primitive lifestyle.
The leader of this tribe is called Ganzixia Alami, and he governs more than 40 villages.
They fought fiercely with Wu Sangui with homemade weapons and armor.
A few months ago, Wu Sangui could easily defeat the enemy.
After all, he had just arrived in Dongfan.
Together with Shang Kexi, Li Chengdong had nearly two thousand soldiers under his command.
As a result, many soldiers were unable to adapt to the climate and soon fell ill and died.
The surviving soldiers were not much better.
Dongfan is too desolate.
As time went on, the soldiers' loyalty quickly faded.
No matter how they paint the pie, it will be of no avail.
People kept running away.
Some worked for the Helan people, some farmed for local landlords, and some joined the fleet as crew members.
And now...
They had only a few hundred soldiers under their command.
"How is Shang Kexi doing? Hasn't he finished moving the food?" Wu Sangui shouted behind him, "Tell him to hurry up, we have run out of arrows. Although we have armor, there are too many savages, we can't kill them all!"
Soon, news came that Shang Kexi had taken away all the food in the village.
Wu Sangui waved his hand and said, "Retreat!"
Hundreds of people fled in panic and left the sphere of influence of the Big Dumb Kingdom.
On the way back, Wu Sangui stopped.
Shang Kexi and Li Chengdong also stopped when they saw this and asked at the same time, "What's wrong?"
Wu Sangui sighed, looked up at the sky and said slowly: "The Ming army is coming."
Li Chengdong's knees weakened and he almost fell to the ground: "You...what did you say? The Ming army is coming?"
Shang Kexi also felt a little dizzy. He covered his head and asked, "Brother Wu, are you kidding?"
Wu Sangui retracted his gaze: "How can such a thing be a joke!"
Shang Kexi still didn't believe it, so he asked, "Where did the news come from?"
Wu Sangui replied: "The Red Haired Barbarians told me that the Ming army is about to attack the Eastern Barbarians and may need our support then."
Shang Kexi and Li Chengdong both widened their eyes at the same time: "Support? We can't even protect ourselves, how can we support them?"
Wu Sangui waved his hand and shook his head: "No, I think the more difficult it is for them to protect themselves, the more we should support them."
"Why?"
Wu Sangui explained: "This is a relationship of lips and teeth. If the Helan people fail and flee, we will become the target of the Ming army. So we must help the Helan people win this battle no matter what!"
Shang Kexi and Li Chengdong didn't say anything.
Wu Sangui knew that they were afraid of the Ming army and afraid of death.
But fear has no effect.
To boost morale and win over people's hearts.
Wu Sangui began to paint a rosy picture for them.
After returning to his base, Wu Sangui made two preparations.
He asked Li Chengdong to ask the Helan people for food and other supplies, so that they could jointly fight against the Ming army.
Let Shang Kexi prepare the warships and escape by ship immediately if the army is defeated.
......
June 15th.
There was a strong wind on the sea and heavy rain fell from the sky.
Zheng Chenggong stood in the cabin with his hands behind his back and a serious expression.
The storm lasted from June 7th to June 15th.
There was no sign of stopping for eight whole days.
Tomorrow is the day of high tide. If you miss it, it will be postponed for half a month.
After some thought, Zheng Chenggong said: "Everyone, if we miss tomorrow, we will have to wait another half a month. As the saying goes, speed is of the essence in war. If we delay for half a month, it will definitely arouse the vigilance of the Lan people and make preparations in advance."
Deputy General Hong Xu asked, "What does your Excellency mean?"
"Set out to sea immediately, braving the wind and waves to the east."
The generals present bowed their heads.
The wind and waves outside are too strong. If you go out to sea rashly, you might be buried in the wind and waves.
They are not afraid of death, but dying in the wind and waves would be too depressing.
Hong Xu cautiously reminded: "Sir, the wind and waves outside are indeed quite strong..."
Without waiting for him to finish his words, Zheng Chenggong walked out.
He stood in the wind and rain and looked into the distance: "The ice is solid and can be crossed. God has His will. If God has given me the power to pacify the Eastern Barbarians, the wind and waves will naturally be calm after I start my journey tonight. Otherwise, how can the officers and soldiers bear to be trapped on the broken island?"
When he walked back into the cabin, his clothes were already soaked.
Zheng Chenggong didn't care about this at all. He said to his generals, "Go out to sea immediately to recapture Dongfan. Anyone who disobeys my order will be executed!"
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