I founded a heavy industry group in the late Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 150 Preparing to Ambush the Donglin Party Fleet

Chapter 150 Preparing to Ambush the Donglin Party Fleet

Inside Chen Ying's temporary camp tent in Lushun Port.

The candlelight flickered, casting the map on the wall in and out of focus. Chen Ying sat behind his desk, a secret report that had just arrived from the capital spread out in front of him. Zhou Bin, Wang Tiezhu, Chen Daniu, Qin Siming, and other soldiers of the Daning New Army stood by him, holding their breath, their teacups long since cold.

Chen Ying looked at his generals and said, "The information has been confirmed. There are a total of four or five hundred and twenty-two large and small seagoing vessels, carrying provisions, weapons, and other supplies. Can you guess who these are for?"

Zhou Bin sneered, "It must be the Jurchens!"

Wang Tiezhu said, "Back in Shuangchengwei, Nurhaci was utterly defeated by the Grand Marshal. We pursued them for over 1,300 li, and the Jurchens were routed. We captured over 38,000 sets of armor, more than 20,000 of which were intact, and over 30,000 warhorses. The Jurchens were severely weakened. Without outside support, they won't be able to recover their strength for three to five years—those bastards from the Donglin Party are definitely giving the Jurchens a lifeline!"

Wang Tiezhu only knew half of the story. He didn't know that the Tianqi Emperor and Chen Yingzheng were setting up a trap. The Tianqi Emperor was willing to act as bait to lure the Jurchens to attack. The news about the Jurchens was only part of the reason. The real purpose was to obtain evidence from the Jurchens and openly deal with the Donglin Party.

The Donglin Party was considered a representative of the people in the Ming Dynasty. Since they did nothing of substance and were corrupt, it was difficult to directly associate them with the government. If one were to force a connection in that direction, it would only make all officials in the country feel insecure. The only way was to find evidence of their treason and collusion with the enemy and deal with them through legal procedures and justice.

Even without detailed intelligence, Chen Ying could deduce that the Donglin Party definitely wanted to contact the Jurchens to capture the king and replicate the Tumu Crisis. However, the problem was that, unlike the Tumu Crisis, Nurhaci was not Esen, and Chen Ying was not Wang Zhen. The Donglin Party could not win over the generals of the Shahe New Army and the Daning New Army because Chen Ying's troops were either confined to Shahe or Daning. Even if they wanted to make contact, they would not have the opportunity to do so.

More importantly, Nurhaci was badly defeated by Chen Ying. He knew very well that Chen Ying was not an ordinary Ming general. Even if Chen Ying only had five thousand men on the surface, Nurhaci would not dare to send troops. Nurhaci must have made an exorbitant demand that the Donglin Party could not realistically achieve.

For example, if a couple has been dating for several years, and the woman, knowing full well that the man can only offer a dowry of a few hundred thousand yuan, still demands an exorbitant dowry, it's actually a polite way of asking to break up because she's dissatisfied with him. When faced with an exorbitant dowry, the man shouldn't insist; it's simply a matter of adult dignity.

Unfortunately, Nurhaci couldn't figure out the true financial situation of the Donglin Party, because the Donglin Party couldn't afford the exorbitant dowry. However, the Donglin Party was incredibly wealthy and could send out 452 medium and large-sized ships at will. Many people believe that by the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Navy had ceased to exist and the Ming Dynasty's maritime transport capabilities were very poor. Of course, this is only a one-sided view, and this conclusion is neither fair nor objective.

The strength of the imperial navy is far less than the four or five thousand warships at its peak. Now, the Fujian, Guangzhou, Dengzhou, Funing, Tianjin and Yangtze River Nanjing navies together have more than 1,300 warships, less than one-third of the number at its peak, and the tonnage is less than one-fifth of the number at its peak. However, the number of civilian ships has increased more than tenfold compared to the peak period.

Chen Yingdao said, "This massive fleet has ships that are at least 1,000 liters in size, and many of the larger vessels are large ocean-going ships with a capacity of 4,000 to 5,000 liters. Even if we take a conservative estimate and each ship carries only 2,500 shi of grain, that would still amount to over a million shi of grain. Once that grain reaches the Jurchens, it would be enough for them to be fully revived on the spot!"

Chen Ying now understands the Jurchen model. If they had enough food, they wouldn't lack manpower, let alone the current twelve banners, even if they had twenty banners. Many people think that the Jurchen population is small, which is not objective. The Jurchen population is indeed small, only two or three hundred thousand people. But the problem is that the Haixi Jurchen, Donghai Jurchen, Solon tribe, and various Mongol tribes have a considerable number of people. Added together, they still have one or two million people.

Zhou Bin understood Chen Ying's intention. He smiled wryly and said, "Sir, although we have a navy, eight thousand strong, which sounds like a lot, the only truly capable fighting force is the Zhenhai, a 4,400-ton warship. The rest are small boats of two hundred, three hundred, or even four hundred tons. They're fine for fighting pirates, but in a real battle, I'm afraid we can't defeat their escort fleet!"

"So we're just going to stand by and watch?"

Chen Ying turned around and looked at the generals, saying, "Who would just stand by and watch the fat meat that's already in their mouth? You may want to watch, but I, the commander, am not—"

"But the problem is that we—"

"Our navy isn't strong enough, so we'll ask the Dengzhou navy for help. The Dengzhou navy has recently been helping us transport supplies and relocate people. They have at least seventy or eighty ships in the port, which is more than enough to deal with a mere seventy or eighty pirate escort fleet!"

"Someone, bring Zhang Guoxun, the adjutant of the Dengzhou navy, over here!"

Not long after, Zhang Guoxun, who was resting at Lushun Port, arrived at Chen Ying's tent with several other generals.

"Greetings, Marshal Chen!"

When Zhang Guoxun first met Chen Boying two years ago, they were officials of equal rank. Chen Boying was the commander of Shahe Guard, and Zhang Guoxun was a naval adjutant, both of them being third-rank military officers. But in just over a year, Chen Boying had been promoted to the commander of Daming, while Zhang Guoxun remained a naval adjutant, still relying on Chen Boying for his livelihood.

"No need for formalities!"

At this moment, only Chen Ying was in the tent. He pointed to the seat opposite him and, without any airs of being the Commander-in-Chief or the Deputy Commander of the Left Army, personally poured Zhang Guoxun a cup of tea.

"Commander Chen, it's so late, what brings you here—"

"Guoxun, I have something to discuss with you."

Chen Ying cut to the chase: "Want to make a fortune?"

Zhang Guoxun lowered his voice and asked, "Marshal Chen, what windfall?"

"What are you trying to do?"

"Only a fool wouldn't want to!"

Chen Ying explained his plan to Zhang Guoxun, whose pupils contracted sharply upon hearing it, and he exclaimed, "More than five hundred ships? Who would be so audacious?"

"Who are they? The Donglin Party. They're using the guise of merchants to send grain and weapons to Liaodong. Tell me, who are they for?"

Zhang Guoxun's expression changed. He had served in the navy for over a decade; what hadn't he seen? But colluding with the Jurchens and sending them grain and weapons was a heinous crime punishable by the confiscation of property and the extermination of the entire clan.

"Commander Chen, what are you planning to do?"

"Looting." Chen Ying made no attempt to hide it. "Leave all the grain, silver, and weapons. As for the ships, seize what you can, and burn what you can't."

Zhang Guoxun was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "But we are the imperial navy—"

"I can paint your seventy or eighty ships in Lushun into pirate ships in a single day. We won't act in the name of the imperial navy, but as pirates—"

"Your Dengzhou naval forces, consisting of the left, front, and right battalions, totaling over seventy ships, are stronger than my eight thousand naval troops."

"Are you going to fight this battle or not?"

Zhang Guoxun gritted his teeth: "Fight!"

"Alright." Chen Ying nodded. "But we can't fight head-on. The Donglin Party's fleet consists of merchant ships, without cannons or archers, only a small number of escorts. As long as we use the right tactics, we will surely win. Your ships should set up an ambush near the Miaodao Islands. The area is dotted with islands and reefs, and the waterways are narrow, making it difficult for large ships to turn around. It's the perfect place for an ambush."

Zhang Guoxun frowned: "But the merchant fleet has more than 500 ships, while we only have more than 70—"

"Not all ships will participate in the war," Chen Ying said. "Half of your three naval battalions will serve as the main force, and the other half as reserves."

My Zhenhai warship, along with several large warships, will provide fire support. Additionally, select a dozen or so fast ships, load them with oil and gunpowder, and use them as fire ships. When the wind picks up, light them and charge in, disrupting their fleet.

,

Zhang Guoxun's eyes lit up: "Fire attack?"

"That's right," Chen Ying said. "What merchant fleets fear isn't cannons, but fire. Once it's ablaze, those ships will be thrown into disarray. Then, the main naval force can rush in, seize people, loot grain, and take ships, defeating them one by one."