Nationality: China.

Ethnic group: Han nationality

Place of birth: Guangdong

Date of birth: 1775

Date of death: 1844

Zheng Yisao-Zheng Yisao (1775- 1844), a famous pirate in Qing Dynasty, was originally named Shi, whose real name was Guangdong New School. The ex-husband surnamed Zheng, whose common name is Zheng Yi, was born in Xin 'an (now Baoan, Shenzhen). Mr. and Mrs. Zheng have two sons.

As far as "widowhood" is concerned, the major leagues have fallen into a big trap-the Red Flag Gang is facing a serious infighting or the crisis of being merged by other gangs.

Historical background

In the late Ming Dynasty, famous thieves such as Zheng, Shi, Ma and others ran amok in the Pearl River Estuary. * * * * Contemporary writer Yang Wanxiang once mentioned a lean family that played an important role in the Vietnam Civil War in the late18th century. Zheng Qi, the partner who helped Mo achieve great things, is Zheng Yi's cousin. It can be seen that Zheng Yisao's family and her husband's family are both pirate families. In her body, the heroic blood that blends with the Pearl River naturally flows.

Speaking of Kangxi * * *, some defeated soldiers of Zheng Chenggong went to the Pearl River Estuary as thieves, and the thieves in the Pearl River Estuary developed from four surnames in the late Ming Dynasty to six gangs of red, yellow, blue, white, black and purple in the early Qing Dynasty. Zheng Yi is the leader of the Red Flag Gang.

noble aim

Zheng Yi is ambitious. For many years, he has been committed to unifying all thieves in the Pearl River Estuary into a pirate alliance with him as the leader. Zheng Yisao is his wife and has been involved from beginning to end. All the pirates call her "Sister Long". Unfortunately, God deceived people. The pirate alliance finally signed 1807. In a strong typhoon, Zheng Yi fell into the sea and died at the age of 42.

Power shocked the British army.

experience

After Zheng Yi's death, Zheng Yisao became the leader of the Red Flag Gang. Zheng Yisao, who gained legal leadership, immediately established her authority by strengthening the organizational discipline of the fleet. To this end, she promulgated very strict laws, stipulating that anyone who dares to monopolize power at will or disobey the orders of superiors will be beheaded; Anyone who steals property from the public or villagers is also punished as a capital crime; No one is allowed to hide stolen goods without inspection. Other offenders will also be severely punished. Those who are absent from work or absent without leave will be punished by cutting off their ears and then showing them to the public in front of their brothers; Such as women, will be put to death; Such as adultery, male beheading, female legs tied by heavy objects and sinking into the sea floor.

A wealthy British businessman named Glasgow was kidnapped by the Red Flag Gang as a hostage, so he heard and witnessed the daily life of a thief. After he returned to London with 7654 Spanish silver dollars, he wrote a unique memoir and made the anecdote of Zheng Yisao public.

According to Glaspur, it is "almost unbelievable" that the piracy regulations formulated by Zheng Yisao are strictly enforced, which violates the requirement to pay in hell. He concluded that such strict constraints will create a brave and tenacious defense force, even if it is at a disadvantage, it will fight to the end.

That's true. Under the management of Zheng Yisao, the Red Flag Gang has five or six hundred large and small ships with 30,000 to 40,000 people. Their main base is Lantau Island, Hong Kong, and there are camps and shipyards on Hong Kong Island. Activities range from the Pearl River Estuary to Qiongzhou Strait. Zheng yisao learned from the advanced science and technology in the west very early. The weapons used by the Red Flag Gang are foreign goods obtained by any means. Once, after exchanging fire with a British warship, she carefully observed the warhead left by her opponent and found that it was the British who fired the newly developed 24-pound shell. A few months later, her fleet was equipped with this new type of cannon.

The Red Flag Gang led by Zheng Yisao was not as well equipped as the Qing navy, so it not only defeated the government forces repeatedly, but even achieved a brilliant record of hitting the Portuguese-Australian fleet (including American mercenaries) and besieged Macao with almost no food. Facing the rampage of British ships in China waters, Zheng Yisao also hit a British ship in Guangzhou inland river in 1809, captured a British ship and killed dozens of British soldiers, which shocked the British army.

In fact, during the period when Zheng Yisao led the Red Flag Gang, there was one person who could not help but mention that he was the famous Zhang Baozai. Zhang Baozai was born in Qijiazi, Jiangmen City. 1786. At the age of fifteen, Zheng Yi, who jumped into the inland river as a thief, was taken away and won Zheng Yi's love. Nominally, he was the adopted son of Mr. and Mrs. Zheng, but his strength and ability made him quickly become the core leader of the Red Flag Gang. After Zheng Yi's death, Gong devoted all his intelligence and wisdom to help "Long Sao" effectively clean up the leaderless chaos and push the thief career in the Pearl River Estuary to the peak.

The allied forces were helpless against the Red Flag gang.

The Red Flag Gang is becoming stronger and stronger. In order to destroy Haikou, Qing * * * teamed up with British invaders to try to destroy the Red Flag Gang with the help of foreign forces. Glasgow records1in the autumn of 809, the Qing Dynasty, Portugal and Britain formed a joint fleet to raid Lantau Island and destroy the Red Flag Gang. Zheng Yisao, who got the information, personally sat on Lantau Island, pestering the main enemy forces. Using the method of "encircling Wei to save Zhao", he sent the main force to surprise Guangzhou and killed the company commander Humen. The joint fleet had to retreat, and on the way back, it was surrounded by the main force of the Red Flag gang, which had already been ambushed. After nine days and nights of fierce fighting, forty people were killed in the Red Flag Gang alone. The joint fleet abandoned its helmet and armor, and only a few warships fled back to Guangzhou in a mess.

These big moves of the Red Flag Gang made the Manchu court extremely angry and sent troops to conquer them continuously. Under the command of Zheng Yisao and Zhang Baozai, the Red Flag Gang and other gangs defeated the loyalist who came to encirclement and suppression. In the sea of Zhejiang, he killed Xu, the prefect of Zhejiang navy; In Dayuwan, Hong Kong, more than 20 warships and 300 guns of the Qing navy were destroyed, and Sun Quanmou, the prefect of the Guangdong navy, was captured alive. He also invaded Guangzhou and killed Lin Guoliang, the company commander of Humen, forcing the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi to change people frequently.

The biggest "Zhang suppression" campaign was that the Portuguese people in Macao, who had been repeatedly plundered, together with the Qing navy, formed a Sino-Portuguese joint force to encircle the Red Flag Gang, and once blocked the main fleet of the Red Flag Gang on Lantau Island, which lasted for eight days. However, with the help of God, Zhang Baozai calculated the wind direction and tide. Together with Zheng Yisao, he assembled 300 ships, 1500 guns and 20,000 soldiers. Suddenly, guns were flying all over the sky, and no one dared to take the lead. So he walked away, and the government and foreign allies could only sigh at the ocean.

Accept Qing * * *

Later, the Red Flag Gang clashed because Zheng Yisao refused to remarry with Guo Po, the boss of the Black Flag Gang. Later, the Qing Dynasty * * * adopted the "Huairou policy", and the Black Flag gang surrendered as the second largest gang in the Six Flags Alliance, which greatly weakened the strength of Zheng Yisao and Zhang Baozai. As a last resort, the Red Flag Gang also began to consider accepting harness.

Although the conditions for wooing the Qing dynasty are very wide, one thing is inevitable, that is, pirates must kneel when wooing. Red flag pirates have always looked down on the Qing army, and it is unacceptable to kneel in front of the defeated soldiers. The two sides are deadlocked.

At the crucial moment, Zheng Yisao's heroism was shown ―― she decided to go to Guangzhou to negotiate directly with Bailing, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, without any weapons. 1April, 809 17, Sister Zheng went to Guangzhou to meet the governor with a delegation of women and children 17, regardless of everyone's opposition. During the negotiation, Zheng Yisao insisted on keeping a sailing fleet, but the purpose was not to fight, but to "sell salt". She was indifferent to all other proposals of Bai Ling until Bai Ling finally gave in to her demands.

Of course, as a shrewd negotiator, she also made appropriate concessions: she agreed to the scheme put forward by the scheming governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Bailing: the emperor gave marriage, allowing Zhang Baozai and Zheng Yisao to get married legally, and Zheng Yisao and Zhang Baozai bowed down to give thanks. At the same time, it is believed that they bowed and accepted the harness.

After wooing, Zhang Baozai was awarded the title of "three products", and later promoted to "two products", and was transferred to Fujian Min 'an, Penghu and other places as lieutenant general, while Zheng Yisao was awarded an imperial envoy. Pirates can evolve into rebels, but that doesn't mean they are rebels. Yu 'an's success also avoided more civilian casualties.

Thirty years later, when the Opium War broke out, Zheng Yisao still actively resisted Japan and made suggestions for Lin Zexu's resistance to Britain. Her deeds were also put on the screen by Hong Kong filmmakers in the 1980s.