Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 285: To cut the grass, we need to get rid of the root.

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Liu Ye said in a deep voice, "To cut the weeds, you must wipe them out at the root! Our resources are less than the Zheng family's. If we fail, it will be an abyss. But as long as the Zheng family isn't completely wiped out, they can afford to lose a war. The Zheng family has been operating in Fujian for many years and is deeply rooted. If we only destroy a few ships in their Zhongzuo Garrison, as long as the Zheng brothers are still alive, they can still make a comeback with the wealth they've accumulated over the years. Back then, Zheng Zhilong was beaten down to only a few ships and a few hundred men by his enemies, but didn't he still rise again?"

Of course, there was something else he didn't say, lest he be seen as a charlatan: Zheng Zhilong had a promising son, probably around ten years old now. If left unattended, with the support of the Zheng clan and the momentum of Shi Qiang's rise, he would surely become a force to be reckoned with in the future. The Qiongzhou camp's future goal wasn't just the small territory of Fujian and Guangdong; it was to dominate the entire country. When they marched north to the mainland to deal with the Ming Dynasty and the Later Jin, they wouldn't have time to deal with this future emperor. The Qing Dynasty had been humiliated by Zheng Chenggong in its early years; they couldn't afford to follow in the footsteps of the Tartars.

However, everyone present was intelligent and understood immediately. Even without considering Zheng Chenggong as a variable, the Zheng family's strong foundation was far superior to that of the newly emerging Qiongzhou Camp. The Zheng family's fleet had to be defeated, and the Zheng family members had to be eliminated as well.

Yan Guang asked, "If Anping is captured, what will happen to the Zheng clan?"

A fierce glint flashed in Liu Ye's eyes: "Naturally, they should all be executed, leaving no one alive."

These words sounded cruel, but everyone felt they were perfectly reasonable. The Qiongzhou Camp had a history of wiping out entire families. When they first rose to power, they hadn't even formed a guard; a few dozen salt laborers with spears wiped out Master Tang's entire household. In the face of such a war, any mercy shown to the enemy was cruelty to oneself.

Xu Yifan suggested, "Since we are going to attack Anping, we need detailed intelligence on the city's defenses, the number of people in the Zheng family, and the possible escape routes, so as to avoid a chaotic battle where the Zheng family escapes and all our efforts are in vain."

Liu Ye nodded: "Of course, we don't fight unprepared battles. It just so happens that Wang Qinian and Liang Dong have both infiltrated the Zheng family. Wang Qinian will provide the intelligence on Anping, and Liang Dong will handle the intelligence on the Zheng family's fleet at Zhongzuo."

Xu Yifan continued, “The army’s troop deployment must be properly arranged. If the Zheng family’s main forces are all in Zhongzuosuo City, then our main attack direction should also be in Zhongzuosuo. I suggest that Anping be handed over to the guards and special forces. To be on the safe side, we should also draw one company from each of the First and Second Battalions, and put all the remaining forces in Zhongzuosuo.”

Yan Guang asked, "How many people are in the guard team and special forces now?"

Xu Yifan replied, "When it was first established, there were less than a hundred people. Now, after expansion, the guard team has a full strength of one hundred people, and the special operations team has two hundred people."

Yan Guang thought for a moment: "With the two companies that have been transferred, five hundred men should be enough to attack an undefended town..."

He walked to the hand-drawn map hanging on the wall, pointed to the vicinity of Kinmen, and said, "The intelligence provided by Wang Qinian and Liang Dong is only in detail; the overall attack route won't change much. We should still anchor at Nan'ao Island in advance and wait for the most opportune moment. As long as the Zheng family's main force is nearby, we will launch an attack. Whether it's a chaotic battle in the port or a decisive battle on the waters off Kinmen, we must annihilate the Zheng family's main fleet in one fell swoop. Even if some ships escape, as long as Anping has slaughtered all the Zheng clan members, without the Zheng family leading the way, they are just a disorganized mess and nothing to fear."

Liu Ye clapped and cheered: "Well said, Mr. Yan has a good overall perspective, that's exactly the way of thinking."

Yan Guang modestly replied, "Thank you for your kind words, General." Then he continued, "In terms of specific details, the navy has naturally deployed its entire force. As for the land forces? They've mobilized all their troops, but have they brought cannons?"

Xu Yifan replied, "We definitely need to bring lightweight mountain guns. As for field artillery, that depends on how many land troops Zheng Zhilong has and whether he has any artillery that could pose a threat to us..."

Li Fei said, "Based on my understanding of the Zheng family, apart from the short heavy cannons we sold them, they don't have any decent artillery, whether on ships or land. However, they do have quite a few muskets. The Zheng family has a black musketeer team of about a thousand men, which should not be underestimated."

Xu Yifan nodded: "Since we don't have artillery, we won't bring field guns. After all, transporting them when landing will be inconvenient and will affect our marching speed. Although I have no experience attacking from water to land, since the ancients had the tactic of attacking while the enemy is crossing the river, it means that the faster we land, the better. Therefore, the lighter the firearms we carry, the better."

Yan Guang concluded, "Alright, we won't bring the heavy artillery, just the light artillery. There's another problem: after we land, how far will the fighting go? There's the Tong'an County government office near Zhongzuo Fortress, it's very close. Should we try to take them all at once or let them go? Anping Town isn't just home to the Zheng family, there are also local people. If things get chaotic, it will be hard to tell whether we should only attack the Zheng family and not harm the people, or should we rather kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person escape?"

“As long as the Tongan County government doesn’t resist, we won’t touch it. After all, attacking a guerrilla who has been granted amnesty is a different matter from openly attacking the county government. As for Anping Town…” Liu Ye hesitated for a moment, “If the Zheng family members take advantage of the chaos to infiltrate among the people, or even if the people help them escape… it’s better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free!”

Yan Guang nodded: "With the general's words, we know what to do. When do we make our move?"

Liu Ye estimated: "Zheng Zhiwan will return empty-handed and it will take him about ten days to reach Fujian. Zheng Zhilong will definitely react after he learns the news. Whether he wants to warn or reprimand me, or even come directly to question Gao Xingshi, he will mobilize his fleet and gather his men. It will take about ten to half a month. So, it is estimated that the Zheng family's fleet will gather near Zhongzuosuo in about a month. We will take this opportunity to wipe out the main force of the Zheng family in one fell swoop."

At this point, Liu Ye thought with regret, "If only the heavy artillery Liang Xiaoming mentioned could be used in this battle. I wonder how Liang Xiaoming's cannon-casting is progressing?"

Inside the cannon-casting workshop of the arsenal on the banks of the Wenlan River, next to a sturdy cannon barrel with a built-in spiral tube, Liang Xiaoming sneezed and said to the supervisor Wang Yichui next to him with a smile, "Looks like someone's been talking about me."

Wang Yichui chimed in, "At this hour, it shouldn't be the lady thinking of Master Liang, but rather the general complaining about why the cannon hasn't been made yet..." He never expected that his words would come true, and he would be right.

Liang Xiaoming laughed, "I didn't want to see his resentful look, so I simply hid here. Actually, our experiment is almost done; we have a successfully cooled cannon barrel mold. The key is to find the most accurate data so that future cannon casting won't rely on luck..."