nucmednet Chapter 214 News
Chapter 214 News
??
On the evening of April 15th, as the Qiongzhou Money Exchange was opening its doors, the Yangming arrived at a natural harbor thirty miles southeast of Fort Zeelandia on Taiwan Island, quietly awaiting the arrival of its contact.
About an hour later, it was already dark when a small boat swayed into the harbor. Liang Dong stood at the bow and shouted to the "Yangming" ship, "It's one of our own, just Mr. Wang and me."
After confirming their identities, the "Yangming" lowered a rope ladder and allowed Wang Qinian and Liang Dong to board the ship.
The contact was handled by Liu Heizi. As the only literate man among the pirates, he was intelligent and quick-witted, hence the important task. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he cut to the chase: "Is there any valuable information?"
Wang Qinian replied: "Please tell the general that Liu Xiang has officially joined forces with the Red Hairs of Dongfan Island. However, the Red Hairs did not appear directly, but only sent Liu Xiang to take the lead. Before the New Year, Liu Xiang launched a full-scale attack on the fleet of the fourth son of the Zheng family near Kinmen, plundering a lot of silver and goods. News came from Liu Xiang's spies in the Zheng family that Zheng Zhilong has decided to deal with Liu Xiang with all his might, but will not touch the Red Hairs."
Liu Heizi was quick-witted and immediately guessed Zheng Zhilong's intention. "Zheng Zhilong doesn't want to make too many powerful enemies. He wants to deal with Liu Xiang first and then deal with Hongmao, defeating them one by one?"
"Exactly. If Hongmao is also afraid of fighting Zheng Zhilong head-on and wants to hide in the back and reap the benefits, then Liu Xiang will definitely not be able to defeat the Zheng family. After Liu Xiang is destroyed, no matter who wins, Zheng Zhilong or Hongmao, they will be the only ones who will be in power, which is not a good thing for the general."
Liu Heizi's eyes darted around: "So the only way to benefit us is to let them fight each other, until their brains are turned to mush, and all three sides are severely weakened."
Wang Qinian nodded and said, "That's right. So please take this message back to Lingao as soon as possible so that the general can make a decision."
A few days later, in Lingao, at Nanyuan.
After listening to Liu Heizi's report, Liu Ye nodded: "Wang Qinian's information is very timely, and his analysis makes sense. You've worked hard too."
Liu Heizi replied respectfully, "This is all within my duty."
In the original historical accounts, the Dutch did not remain aloof as Wang Qinian had feared. Instead, they joined forces with Liu Xiang to launch an offensive against the Fujian coast. They attacked not only Chinese merchant fleets but also Nan'ao, Kinmen, Lieyu, Gulangyu, and other places, attempting to force the Ming Dynasty to open its ports and grant the Dutch East India Company a monopoly on trade through plunder and raids. Later, Zheng Zhilong represented the court in the battle, leading to the famous Battle of Liaoluo Bay.
Although he knew the general course of history, what worried Liu Ye was: would his time travel and the rise of the Qiongzhou Camp cause a butterfly effect on history? Would the Dutch declare war on the Ming Dynasty as they did in the original history? Would the Battle of Liaoluo Bay happen in this timeline? Would history be changed because of him?
It was precisely because of this concern that Liu Ye arranged for Wang Qinian to infiltrate Liu Xiang's camp, to understand the specific timelines and details, and thus grasp the trajectory of this naval war. If the Dutch hadn't started the war, and history had completely changed, then who would have been Liu Ye's biggest rival in the struggle for future dominance of the southeastern coast?
All the military leaders of Qiongzhou Camp were in the council hall. Liu Ye asked them, "You've all heard the news. What are your thoughts?"
Although Li Fei held a lower rank, he was also present at the meeting due to his unique experience. He spoke first: "I'd like to say a few words to get the ball rolling. Please correct me if I'm wrong."
Liu Ye nodded in approval: "You often travel on Japanese routes, so you know a lot about these things. Tell me about it."
"I think Wang Qinian is right. We can't stand aside and wait for things to turn out this way. Although we are officially allied with the Zheng family, we all have our own agendas. Otherwise, Zheng Zhilong wouldn't have kept it from us if he wanted to fight Liu Xiang—he didn't want us to get involved in Fujian's affairs. If Zheng Zhilong and Hong Mao reach a tacit agreement and don't fight each other, once Liu Xiang dies, there will be no one to interfere. As Wang Qinian said, no matter who wins or loses between Zheng Zhilong and Hong Mao, they will form a situation where one party is dominant."
Yan Guang said, "That's exactly right. Zheng Zhilong doesn't want us to get involved and doesn't want to be an open enemy of Hong Mao. So we're going to make things difficult for him. We'll not only get involved in Fujian, but we'll also make Zheng Zhilong fight Hong Mao and Liu Xiang at the same time."
Liu Ye organized his thoughts and said, "What you all say makes sense. Our initial plan was to join forces with Zheng Zhilong to eliminate Liu Xiang and the Dutch first, but that doesn't mean we should just sit idly by and watch him preserve his strength to defeat them one by one. We need to do something to ensure that Zheng Zhilong, Liu Xiang, and the Dutch fight at the same time, thus weakening the Zheng family's strength. That would be most beneficial for us."
Gao Jie stepped forward and said, "General, these cunning Dutchmen may not declare war openly. We need to create a misunderstanding so that Zheng Yiguan and the Dutchmen have no choice but to go to war."
Liu Ye asked with great interest, "Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?"
Gao Jie smiled slyly: "Hang the Dutch flag, impersonate their warships, and attack Zheng Yiguan's fleet or port."
Liu Ye laughed heartily and pointed at Gao Jie: "He's really shameless, but I like it."
Yan Guang asked, "This plan is brilliant. However, to strike a snake, you must hit its vital spot. Where is Zheng Zhilong's vital spot?"
Li Fei said, "All the maritime merchants know that the Zheng family has two most important places: their hometown of Anping and their main base of Zhongzuosuo. If you want to provoke Zheng Zhilong, you have to attack one of these two places."
Liu Ye thought for a moment: "Anping is just the Zheng family's private residence, while Zhongzuosuo is the trading port where a large amount of silver and goods are gathered. Moreover, attacking Anping's old residence requires landing, and the land combat will expose our true colors. Our impersonation of the Dutch will be exposed. Only by using warships to launch a surprise attack on Zhongzuosuo port and raising the Dutch flag can we achieve the goal of provoking war between the two sides. Let's make Zhongzuosuo our target."
With talents like Gao Jie and Li Fei in the company, Liang Xiaoming now focuses mainly on technology and rarely speaks on these issues. This time, however, Liang Xiaoming spoke up, saying, "Whether it's land or sea warfare, our weapons are already far ahead of all potential adversaries. Now that we're fighting far from home, shouldn't we also catch up in intelligence gathering, combat simulations, logistical support, and coordination to match the generational advantage of our weaponry?"
Liu Ye asked thoughtfully, "Do you mean..."
“It’s time to establish our staff.” Liang Xiaoming revealed his military enthusiast nature and said with great interest, “A qualified modern army needs a professional and efficient staff. From the allocation of logistics and supplies to the formulation of battle plans, everything should be done by a group of staff officers, not by one or two military commanders. Although you are an excellent leader, you are not a war genius. War should be left to professionals.”
"Hehe, you're right. I'm still a businessman at heart, and it would be a bit much for me to personally lead the troops into battle," Liu Ye said with a smile. "Then let's take this opportunity to set up a temporary staff team to plan the operation of this long-range raid on Zhongzuo, and prepare for the establishment of a formal staff organization in the future."
Yan Guang vaguely understood the meaning of the "staff officer" the two gentlemen were talking about, and cautiously asked, "General, how are these so-called staff officers selected? Are they selected based on military rank or seniority?"
Liu Ye and Liang Xiaoming shook their heads simultaneously. Liang Xiaoming firmly replied, "Prussian Field Marshal Moltke said, 'When selecting staff officers, one should not look at their rank,' but at their ability and character. Seniority and rank should not be the threshold for selecting staff officers."
Yan Guang didn't know what Prussia was or who Moltke was, but he understood that the so-called "staff officer" position was not based on seniority but on merit.
Liu Ye pondered for a moment before speaking: "Mingzi's suggestion was quite sudden. It might be too late to slowly select suitable candidates for this operation. I'll just temporarily appoint a few people to fill in, and we can refine the list later."