Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 583 Batavia

In Meng Jun's imagination, in the future, there are only two ways for foreign enemies to invade and threaten the Qian Dynasty. One is from land and the other is from sea. Of course, there are only these two ways.

On land, Meng Jun had gradually moved his troops to Guanzhong and stockpiled food and fodder. When the time was right, he would attack Dzungar to the west and recover the Western Regions.

Dzungar had just unified western Moxi and was fighting a fierce battle with Yarkand. In fact, now was the right time for the Qian Dynasty to send troops to western Moxi. However, Guanzhong was still somewhat poor at that time, so Meng Jun decided to send troops to western Moxi in two or three years.

As for the Liaodong area, Zhao Yongping waged a small-scale war with the Russians. That place was vast and sparsely populated, and it was extremely cold in winter. The two countries were destined to only engage in small-scale fighting.

Last time, the Russians requested a peace treaty, hoping to use the current border under the actual control of both sides, but Meng Jun believed that his wish had not yet been achieved. Moreover, the losses on the border at this stage did not cause much damage to the national strength of the Qian Dynasty, so he rejected the peace treaty.

On the sea, controlling Malacca would block the enemy's way to threaten the interior from the sea. At worst, it could be regarded as the first line of defense of the Qian Dynasty, so that as soon as the war broke out, there would not be a direct threat to the capital by bombarding Dagukou like in the late Qing Dynasty.

Meng Jun chose to use the Zheng family because they were pirates and their combat effectiveness at sea must be higher than that of the imperial navy. Moreover, if the imperial navy encountered strong winds and waves and its ship sank, the expeditionary army would suffer heavy losses, which would be a fatal blow to the confidence of the Qian Dynasty.

After all, just like the Mongols, they swept across Asia and Europe on land, but were blown badly by a storm during their expedition to Japan, which gave the Japanese a kamikaze buff. If Meng Jun is unlucky and the fleet is also blown away by the storm, he will really be in tears.

So, since Zheng Chenggong was there and his navy was idle anyway, it would be better to let Zheng Chenggong send troops to fight the barbarians in Batavia. The imperial court would provide some money and food, and that would not be a problem.

………………

Fujian, Fuzhou, Nan'an Prince's Palace.

In fact, Zheng Chenggong lived in his hometown of Nan'an for a longer time. He felt that the environment there was better and more comfortable. However, his father came back and Zheng Zhilong lived in the old house, and Zheng Chenggong did not want to face Zheng Zhilong every day, so Zheng Chenggong moved to Fuzhou.

After leaving Qingluan Guard, Chen Yonghua rushed to Fujian without stopping. As soon as he returned to Fuzhou, Chen Yonghua did not even have time to wash up, and hurried to the Prince's Mansion.

Chen Yonghua entered the mansion and saw Zheng Chenggong in the hall. After Chen Yonghua bowed his head and saluted, Zheng Chenggong raised his hand to signal him to stand up and asked, "Fufu, did you gain anything from this trip to Beijing?"

Chen Yonghua said solemnly, "Prince, after entering the capital, I started to investigate secretly. However, since I entered the capital, everything I said and did every day was controlled by the Qingluan Guards..."

Zheng Chenggong frowned when he heard this. Before Chen Yonghua finished speaking, Zheng Chenggong interrupted him and said, "The Qingluan Guard is like the Jinyi Guard of the former Ming Dynasty. It is very intimidating. If I also secretly set up such an investigation agency, can Fu Fu be sure?"

Chen Yonghua was stunned for a moment. His own prince's idea was as unexpected as always. However, Chen Yonghua still thought about it seriously for a moment, then nodded and said, "If you don't count the loss of money and food, it should be possible."

Zheng Chenggong then smiled, clapped his hands, and said, "Okay, let Fufu arrange the preparations for this matter. Oh, Fufu, go on."

Chen Yonghua was not as confident as Zheng Chenggong, so he advised: "Prince, if you secretly set up such a secret organization, will it arouse suspicion in the court?"

Zheng Chenggong waved his hand and said, "No, it doesn't matter even if they know. After all, we are overseas and we still need to investigate whether the foreigners have any unusual movements. Let's not talk about this. Continue to talk about the capital."

In just a short while, Chen Yonghua had one more part-time job, but Chen Yonghua's focus was not here at the moment. He organized his words and continued, "After entering the capital, I have found out that the Western Barbarians did contact the court to control the prince, but this matter should have been rejected by the emperor, and the barbarians gained nothing."

Zheng Chenggong hummed, and said with a somewhat melancholy tone: "Your Majesty, you are indeed a heroic ruler. If it is up to me, forget it. Since the court rejects the Western barbarians, then there is no need to pay attention to those barbarians. Arrange people to continue propaganda and immigrate to Luzon."

At this time, Chen Yonghua continued, "Prince, the commander of the Blue Luan Guard, Meng Bian, secretly contacted his subordinates and said that the court was interested and hoped that the prince would send troops to conquer Batavia."

Zheng Chenggong was a little surprised. He did not expect that in all the dynasties, no dynasty had ever been interested in using military force against the South China Sea countries. However, Zheng Chenggong himself had no interest in attacking Batavia.

Therefore, Zheng Chenggong waved his hand and said without interest: "How can I have the heart to send troops to Batavia? Crossing the sea to fight is not an easy task. I will reply to the court and say that Batavia is far away across the ocean and it is really difficult to send troops. Let's talk about it in a few years."

Chen Yonghua hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Meng Bian said that if the prince is determined to send troops, the court will also send out naval forces to assist, and will also promote the old duke to the court, and promise Batavia as the prince's hereditary capital."

Zheng Chenggong frowned slightly, his eyes were focused on thought, and he did not answer immediately. Seeing this, Chen Yonghua said, "Prince, Batavia is far away from the Central Plains. If things go wrong in the future, being far away from the Central Plains can be a way out for the Prince. Moreover, the old Duke has repeatedly summoned old generals during this period. Although it is called a banquet, I do not mean to alienate the relationship between the Prince and his son. I just hope that the Prince will not take it lightly!"

Zheng Zhilong came back. At the beginning, Zheng Chenggong was very happy. But as time went on, conflicts inevitably arose. Moreover, there were many old generals in the Zheng family who were promoted during Zheng Zhilong's period. If Zheng Zhilong had any intentions, the Zheng family might really be in danger of splitting.

Zheng Chenggong pondered for a long time, then slowly spoke: "Then what does the court want? The barbarians have not offended the emperor, so why would the emperor want to conquer these barbarians for no reason?"

Chen Yonghua replied: "What the court wants is Malacca. It is located at a strategic point and is of great significance to the court's maritime strategy. The emperor is a brave man and wants to expand the territory. However, this move, in my opinion, will not harm the prince."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Chenggong stood up and paced around. After a moment, he stopped and said, "It is not easy to conquer Batavia. Once the war starts, it will cost a lot and the outcome is unknown!"

Chen Yonghua immediately bowed and did not continue to persuade him, but waited for Zheng Chenggong's decision.

Zheng Chenggong's eyes were like torches, and he said slowly: "Let me think about this matter again and again, Fufu, you go back and rest first!"

"Yes, the king of the county."