June 17, the 28th year of Chongzhen, at the beginning of the You hour.
Outside Fort Zeelandia, Zheng Chenggong accepted the surrender of Cornelius, the governor-general of the East India Company of the Netherlands.
After the ceremony, Connolly walked up to Zheng Chenggong with weak legs and said, "General Zheng, I fought with your father several years ago. At that time, his warships were small, with few cannons, and he was good at boarding battles! Now you use big ships to load cannons and fight against my warships!"
"After several years, why did Zheng's army change its tactics?"
"Also... using so many artillery pieces at once, has the cost of casting the artillery pieces decreased?"
He Bin stood by and translated.
After He Bin finished translating, Zheng Chenggong smiled and replied: "A few years ago, you fought against the Zheng family army, and today you are fighting against the Ming army. As for the reason for changing tactics and using a large number of artillery, it is also very simple. To use a sentence from the official newspaper of the 17th year of Chongzhen, the answer is: times have changed!"
After listening to He Bin's translation, Connollys was stunned for a long time before slowly asking: "Times have changed? When did they change?"
This time it was Zheng Chenggong's turn to be stunned.
There is no answer to this question in the official gazette.
He thought for a while and then said slowly: "Times are always changing, but you and I are in the midst of it, and those who are involved are confused!"
Cornelis' eyes widened, and he murmured to himself: "Times are changing... Times are changing..."
After a while, Connolly suddenly seemed like a different person. He smiled again and said, "General Zheng, you are right. Times are always changing! Thank you for accepting our surrender, and thank you for letting us survive."
He Bin threatened: "Don't be happy too soon, Lord Zheng hasn't agreed to spare your lives yet."
"No," Zheng Chenggong waved his hand. "Before I sent out the troops, I had discussed with His Royal Highness Prince Ding that as long as they surrendered to the Lan people, I would spare their lives. But the prerequisite is to hand over the city, artillery and other military supplies, and also leave the goods and silver behind."
“You can only carry food, fresh water and various tools necessary for life, and leave in your own boat.”
After hearing these conditions, Cornelis nodded in agreement without hesitation.
He had no choice.
As long as I can survive, I can agree to any conditions.
After signing the surrender, the Ming army entered Fort Zeelandia to receive supplies.
Cornelius boarded the warship with food, fresh water and the wounded.
Before the ship set sail, Cornelius stood on the side of the ship and shouted to Zheng Chenggong: "General Zheng, although I have been defeated and surrendered, there is more than just me in the East India Company. Others will come here to attack you."
"In addition, England, France, and Portugal are also expanding their territory. You must always be prepared to meet their challenges."
Zheng Chenggong thought for a moment and asked, "Which of these enemies do you think is the most difficult to deal with?"
Cornelius was silent for a while, then he said, "England! To be honest, four years ago England promulgated the Navigation Act and began to restrict our trade. Three years ago, their navy intercepted our merchant ships in the Strait of Dover, and the two sides officially went to war."
"If we don't suppress England in time, it will become a powerful enemy in the future!"
Zheng Chenggong smiled and clasped his hands together: "Thank you for telling me! No matter which enemy comes, as long as I, Zheng Chenggong, am here, they won't be able to gain any advantage."
“Hahaha,” Cornelius laughed. “Well, I admire your courage! I hope you can set sail one day and join me in conquering the ocean.”
Zheng Chenggong didn't take it seriously. He joked, "Okay, where can I find you?"
Cornelius pointed to the ocean in the south: "I'll wait for you in Batavia (Jakarta, Indonesia)!"
The signal gunfire ended.
The Horan people left the port on warships and headed for the ocean.
What everyone, including Zheng Chenggong, didn't know was.
In the race for ocean hegemony, a long-lost old face is about to appear.
......
On the coast.
Wu Sangui was looking at the sea anxiously.
After Li Chengdong surrendered, he was pursued by the Ming army.
Fortunately, he asked Shang Kexi to prepare a ship in advance. As long as he left Dongfan by ship, he could temporarily avoid pursuit.
He no longer cared where to escape to.
As long as I can survive.
After waiting for a while, there was still no sign of Shang Kexi.
Wu Sangui became a little anxious.
He had a vague bad feeling.
But he didn't dare to think about it too much.
Because the more I think about it, the more scared I become.
After waiting for a while, several black spots appeared on the sea in the distance.
Wu Sangui finally let go of his worry: "He's finally here. Shang Kexi is indeed a good brother. He didn't betray me!"
Before he could smile happily, a soldier hurried over and shouted, "Oh no! Something terrible has happened!"
Wu Sangui stood up suddenly and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you so scared?"
"Li Chengdong and the Ming army are chasing us!"
Wu Sangui's face was full of disbelief: "Impossible! We have been running non-stop for a whole day and night. The Ming army was afraid of being ambushed and dared not march rashly at night. Even if they run faster, they can't catch up with us."
The soldier cried, "It's true that the Ming army's infantry can't catch up with us, but they are cavalry!"
"Ah?" Wu Sangui exclaimed, took two steps back and sat on the ground.
He didn't bring many war horses to Dongfan.
Some were killed and eaten due to food shortage, and the rest were all used for farming and could not be ridden.
So he ran away on two legs.
Now the Ming cavalry are chasing us.
Once surrounded by them, there is only one way out: death.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
