Breaking the Ocean's Calm

  In June, the scorching sun shone down on Haiyang City, which had been besieged for nearly eighty days. The Manchu and Mongolian soldiers mostly hid in the houses of the city's residents or under the shade of trees. However, while it was possible to avoid the sun, the hunger in their bellies could not be alleviated by simply sleeping with a covered head.

  "Cough, cough! Who the hell is burning fire? The smoke is so thick!" Wang Jiulang, who had been lying on the ground and didn't want to move, was suffocated by the smoke and could only curse as he got up. His legs were weak and he hadn't eaten or drunk anything for two days and two nights. With great effort, he leaned against the wall and walked out of the house, only to see several comrades in arms surrounding an iron pot. "Food!" Wang Jiulang was like a man who had been injected with stimulants, rushing over while trying to push through the crowd and shouting loudly. "Give me a mouthful of food!"

  "What's the hurry!" The people in the inner circle turned around and scolded Wang Jiu, who had just spoken up. At this point, who still cared about others? "Except for officials, who hasn't gone hungry for several days now? And yet you're still pushing, the food has just been served, don't push!"

  Wang Jiuzhong's face was flushed as he greeted his companions around him. After finally squeezing into the inner circle, he saw that the water in the pot was boiling and several white pieces of meat were rolling up and down with the waves. Wang Jiuzhong took a deep breath and swallowed several mouthfuls of saliva before exclaiming in surprise.

  "My goodness, what is this thing, it smells so good! Hey brothers, wait a minute and give me a bite!"

  "Divide it for you?" The Qing soldier, who was stirring the pot with a willow branch, slightly raised his head and looked at him with disdain. "Do you know what's being cooked?" Wang had been lying down for many days and couldn't possibly know, so he shook his head. That Qing soldier pointed to the skin and bones that had been stripped off beside him. "See? It's rat meat. Do you dare to eat it?"

  Wang Jiu was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing: "Damn it, at this time, even human flesh would be swallowed, and you're talking about rat meat."

  "It's the same principle." The Qing army, who were stirring up trouble, also nodded in agreement with their dark faces. "The officials still have food and drink, we can't just wait for death." The siege of Haicheng had been going on for a long time, and the grain inside the city had been searched out a long time ago. The horses that they didn't want to slaughter at first were now even having their bones crushed to make soup. The Qing army had no choice but to show off their skills, catching birds and mice, if there was something edible, it would be eaten, otherwise, who knows when you would become someone else's food. "So even if we starve to death tomorrow, today we still have to fill our bellies."

  As they spoke, the Qing soldier on the other side used a ladle to scoop up some soup from the pot and tasted it. He then picked up a piece of rat meat with chopsticks made of willow branches and started chewing. The people surrounding him stared at him greedily. Wang couldn't bear his hunger any longer and cautiously asked, "Is it cooked? Can we eat now?"

  "Alright!" The Qing soldier holding the spoon nodded, and the people on the side immediately got up. The Qing soldier who was burning fire suddenly pulled out his knife, and everyone subconsciously withdrew their hands that were ready to grab food. The scene fell silent, and the Qing soldier holding the spoon took advantage of the situation to speak. "What's the hurry? First come first served. If any damned fool dares to make trouble, you'll be eating human flesh tonight!"

  Under threat, the starving Qing troops finally became disciplined, but there was not much mouse meat to go around. Those in front got their share, while those at the back could only have a sip of the savory broth. Even so, more and more Qing troops gathered, drawn by the aroma, and soon the big pot of soup was divided up, with no one able to get a second helping.

  Wang Jiu had good luck and finally got a piece of meat. As he was still licking the bowl, the Qing soldier who was in charge of the cooking utensils stood up and waved his ladle: "If you don't want to go hungry tonight, go to the west city and bring back the saddle that Meng Baqi threw away."

  Wang Jiuben didn't want to go, but the Qing soldier who was burning fire stared at him, so he could only slowly get up and follow the team. When they walked halfway, he saw that others were not paying attention, so he quietly asked the Qing soldier: "Brother Wang Jiuben, Shao Wu Ying's battalion commander, this big brother looks a bit unfamiliar, I don't know what to call him?"

  The other party completely ignored him, and Wang Jiu didn't think it was boring either. Instead, he asked again: "Why did we go to Xicheng to pick up the saddle?"

  As a result, no one answered, and Wang Jiuren reluctantly followed the team to Xicheng. Under the circumstances of no one guarding, more than a dozen Qing soldiers picked up two saddles each and returned to the courtyard where they had just been. They hid the saddles in the woodshed.

  "Brothers! This little saddle is not enough," the Qing army holding the ladle was not satisfied with everyone's harvest, and further demanded. "We have to run a few more rounds, I remember clearly, we killed nearly 8,000 horses before and after, and there should be at least 2,000 to 3,000 saddles, my request is not much, everyone has to bring back 500 big ones!"

  "I'm not going!" Wang Jiu shouted loudly. "I've only had a sip of soup, I won't be able to run, you go yourself, Grandpa is not serving anymore!"

  "Does everyone still want to drink soup and eat meat?" The Qing soldier holding the spoon saw that a considerable number of people were being stirred up by Wang, and had no choice but to come forward to explain. "You don't think about it either, where in this city can you catch so many mice for you?" The Qing soldiers heard even more disheartened, however, the turning point was also here. "Under the saddle is wood, split open can be used as firewood, on top is cowhide, if really can't hold on, can still be used to simmer soup." Although the voice was very low, after finishing speaking, this person still looked around left and right, and then warned everyone. "This is a matter of life and death, if someone else gets ahead of us, we will only have one dead end."

  ??”

  However, a small number of Qing troops lingering on could not change the predicament within Haicheng. On June 10, after eighty-three days of siege, Liu Guoxuan, who had defeated Yang Jie's relief force, finally launched an all-out assault. The powerless Qing troops were unable to withstand Zheng Jun's fierce offensive, and on that day, Haicheng fell.

  "Sir!" Seeing Duan Yingju hanging a white strip on the beam, a group of imperial guards immediately went up to stop him. "You can't take your own life!"

  "The Emperor granted me the military power of Fujian, and I originally wanted to defeat Zheng's rebellion to repay the Emperor's kindness. However, one incompetent general has dragged down three armies, and now that we are trapped in Haicheng, you have all been implicated. Now that the city is broken and the army is destroyed, what face do I have left to live on?" Duan Yingjie had long been prepared for this situation, and he would rather die himself than let his wife and children in Fuzhou City die. "You all hurry and leave," Duan Yingjie ordered his personal soldiers. "The Zheng army may not necessarily kill all the surrendered soldiers in the city. If you can survive at that time," Duan Yingjie bowed to his soldiers, "please go back to Fuzhou and pass on a message for my family, I will have died with honor."

  "Sir!" The loyal troops looked on tearfully as Duan Yingjie calmly put his neck into the noose, and after a brief struggle of kicking feet and losing control of his bowels, he was dead. But among them, there were not many who truly felt sorrowful, on the contrary, some people were still hoping that Duan Yingjie's judgment would be correct, so they could escape from this desperate situation.

  ??

  In comparison, the death of Mu Beixi, a Mongolian eight-banner battalion leader stationed in Fuzhou, was much more heroic. After drinking his last bowl of strong liquor, he smashed all the remaining dozen or so jars of wine and then set fire to the house filled with the fragrance of wine.

  ??

  Another Qing general, Huang Lan, resisted until the end and was shot to death by a volley of gunfire after killing more than ten Zheng soldiers.

  Of course, there were also those who surrendered without a fight. Meng An, Wei He, Tian Xiangwu and other Green Camp officers raised white flags at the first opportunity when Zheng's army broke into the city, thus preserving their lives.

  ??

  "Wang Shang, Liu Guoxuan sent a fast boat with a letter of apology, saying that he took the initiative to collect Duan Yingju's remains and handed them over to his relatives to return to Fuzhou, so please forgive him for his usurpation. " Feng Xifan reported. "In addition, the letter also asked Wang Shang to instruct on how to deal with the surrendered generals Meng An and others."

  "Liu Guoxuan, this sly guy, has done it, but can't the good reputation go to him and the bad reputation be borne by me alone?" The victory at Haicheng made Ming Zheng's momentum surge again. Originally, Zhu Jin was excited about this, so how could he possibly deal with the meritorious officials? So, after just a few words of joking, Zhu Jin threw away the so-called request for punishment. "As for Meng An and others, Feng Qing, what are your plans?"

  "It would be better to treat them generously and shake the morale of the Qing army." Feng Xifan came up with this idea, seeing Zhu Jin's reaction, he added. "Of course, Meng An and others should not stay on the mainland, isn't Shisun going to Taiwan? Let's move them there for supervision, as for the surrendered troops, my intention is the same."

  Because the military strength of Dongning was not enough to control the mainland, or it would be trapped in the surveillance of Pingpu Fan, Zhu Jin expressed a slight doubt about Feng Xifan's suggestion: "The surrendered army of Haicheng has more than 8,000 people. If they are all sent to Dongning, will there be any trouble?"

  "It's just over 8,000 starving captives." Feng Xifan, although intentionally trying to annoy Chen Yonghua, was not a person without measure. "The Regent Zeng had planned to repair the official road between Anping and Yifu, but due to lack of manpower, it had to be temporarily suspended. With these over 8,000 captives, I think the descendants will surely be delighted."

  "Qin she? He has many things to do." Although this was said, Zhu Jin did not delve deeper into the topic. Feng Xifan naturally understood that in fact, Zhu Jin had already tacitly agreed, but before he could retreat, Zhu Jin brought it up again. "Feng Qing, what do you think I should reward Liu Guoxuan with for his great achievement?"

  Feng Xifan's expression changed, this was a great opportunity to establish his own position in the Ming Zheng regime, but he was after all an old and cunning man, and soon detected something from Zhu Jin's expression. He had to suppress his desire to offer advice, and only bowed deeply to Zhu Jin: "The reward comes from His Majesty, how dare I, a humble minister, overstep my bounds."

  "You are indeed cautious." Zhu Jin said with a hint of a smile, throwing out this sentence that made Feng Xifan break out in cold sweat. However, Zhu Jin was just making a general remark and didn't pursue the matter further, instead changing the subject. "As for restoring Hai Cheng or defeating the enemy at the border, all the generals have their own merits, with Jin Liu Guoxian as the Marquis of Wu Ping and General of the Northern Expedition, Wu Shu as the Earl of Ding Xi and General of the Northern Pacification, He You was promoted from Right Tiger Guard to Left Wuwei General, Lin Sheng was promoted from Front Tiger Guard to Right Wuwei General, both were appointed as Left Commander-in-Chief; the garrison troops were all promoted with varying degrees. Additionally, Cai Yi (also known as Zhu Yin) was made the General of Vanquishing Barbarians

  ??”