Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 104 Attitude
Lin Cha in the hall had a strange look on his face, but Zhu Lang didn't care what Lin Cha was thinking. He thought to himself, "As expected!"

How could he not know Shi Lang? Among the Zheng family, apart from Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Chenggong, the most famous one was Shi Lang. The Zheng family was eventually destroyed by this man.

The story between this man and Zheng Chenggong is quite legendary, but now is not the time to think about it. Zhu Lang retracted his thoughts and waved his hand downwards, signaling Lin Cha to continue.

Seeing His Royal Highness the Regent's signal, Lin Cha continued to speak.

"Among the non-family members, Shi Fu is the most powerful land commander, and among the navy commanders, Huang Ting, the Earl of Yong'an, is the leader. It is said that he manages an independent navy warship, but I don't know the exact number."

"It's just that the Zheng family has always valued the navy. Most of the warships of the Fujian Navy are in the hands of Zheng Cai and others. It is said that the Zheng family's direct navy has as many as 400 to 500 warships. It is difficult for others to shake the Zheng family's position in the navy."

"In addition to these two people, there are also some generals in Zheng's army. These people are all former generals who followed Zheng Zhilong in his early years, but they probably only have two to three thousand men under their command, so it is difficult for them to become a force to be reckoned with."

Lin Cha finished speaking all the information he knew in one breath, and then stood silently below.

The Regent above also had a thoughtful look in his eyes and did not say anything else. It was obvious that he was also digesting the situation in Zheng's army.
After about a quarter of an hour, His Royal Highness the Regent spoke again.

"What is the attitude of the various parties within the Zheng family towards surrendering to the Qing Dynasty?"

"I was just about to report to Your Highness that after the late emperor met with disaster in August, there was a lot of discussion in Fujian and rumors were rife in the army. Zheng Zhilong has never made a clear statement."

"But I heard that there was a secret discussion within the Zheng family. Zheng Zhilong once expressed his intention to surrender to the Qing Dynasty in front of the Zheng family members, but I heard that Zheng Hongkui strongly opposed it. Even the young master Zheng Chenggong strongly opposed it. In the end, Zheng Zhilong had to let it go."

"This secret meeting was originally extremely secretive, but for some reason the contents were known to everyone in the army. I guess it was leaked deliberately by someone who attended the meeting."

"But I cannot tell whether this is Zheng Zhilong testing him or Zheng Hongkui and others want to persuade Zheng Zhilong to return with the public opinion."

Zhu Lang's eyes lit up when he heard what Lin Cha said. It was not surprising that Zheng Chenggong opposed him. If Zheng Chenggong did not oppose him, there would be no Zheng family in Taiwan. What really made Zhu Lang happy was that even Zheng Hongkui, a close relative of Zheng Zhilong, was unwilling to surrender to the Qing Dynasty.
He did not expect Zheng Hongkui to be a loyal minister who was devoted to his country. In fact, he was not such a person. With his current position, if he was really determined to fight against the Qing Dynasty, then he should be the one who would be famous in the future, not Zheng Chenggong.
What really excited him about this matter was that the divisions within the Zheng family were even greater than he thought.

Even Zheng Hongkui, the most loyal of the loyalists, did not agree to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, not to mention the attitudes of those generals from outside the Zheng family.

The greater the internal disagreements of the Zheng family, the more time it would take Zheng Zhilong to settle the opinions within the Zheng family, and this gave Zhu Lang an opportunity to take advantage of it.

If Zhu Lang was only 70% to 80% sure that Zheng Zhilong had not surrendered to the Qing Dynasty before, then now Zhu Lang was convinced that Zheng Zhilong had definitely not surrendered to the Qing Dynasty yet.

Not only did they fail to reach an agreement on the terms, but they also failed to resolve the internal conflicts quickly.
Thinking of this, Zhu Lang suddenly stood up from his seat, walked to the table, and walked slowly.
"Take His Chains Off"

He glanced at Lin Cha below and said something to Li Chengzhi beside him. Li Chengzhi hesitated for a moment, but finally followed the instructions and took out the key to unlock the chain on Lin Cha.
After Li Chengzhi untied the chain, he stepped aside, but his eyes were staring at Lin Cha in front of him with increasing vigilance.

When Lin Cha saw the chains being removed, his expression relaxed. He was about to bow and thank the emperor, but the regent above him spoke again.

"Let's continue. Zheng Hongkui and Zheng Chenggong of the Zheng family are both unwilling to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. What is the attitude of the generals from other families, such as Shi Fu and Huang Ting?"

Lin Cha glanced at His Highness the Regent above him, and a hint of understanding flashed in his eyes. How could he not know what His Highness the Regent meant? His Highness the Regent was probably trying to win over Shi Fu and the other two.

But he thought about the situation of these two people, shook his head in his heart, and said

"I'm afraid I'll disappoint your highness. Zheng's non-Zheng generals have kept silent about the surrender to the Qing Dynasty, especially Shi Fu and Huang Ting. These two are Zheng Zhilong's confidants. They have been with Zheng Zhilong since he was doing business at sea."

"These two people have always just followed orders and never said much. That is why they were able to gain Zheng Zhilong's trust and control the army without being a member of a certain clan."

"They have never expressed their stance on whether to surrender to the Qing Dynasty or not. At least I have never heard of their attitude towards surrendering to the Qing Dynasty." Zhu Lang heard this, but there was no disappointment on his face. He just wanted to find out the attitude of these outsiders in the Zheng family.
If they are dissatisfied with the surrender to the Qing Dynasty, it will be much easier to win them over. If they are indifferent to the matter, it will only take more effort.

He was planning to win over these non-Zheng generals!
Although Lin Cha said that Shi Fu and other foreign generals were quite submissive to Zheng Zhilong, he did not believe that these people were really devoted to Zheng Zhilong.
Even the Ming Emperor Chongzhen was constantly betrayed. How could Zheng Zhilong make his generals loyal to him? Since Zheng Zhilong could betray the Ming and join the Qing, why couldn't his generals betray Zheng and join the Ming?
Do you really think Zheng Zhilong is a saint?

Do you really think that he can make all the generals under his command fight to the death just by giving an order? How can such a thing be possible in this world?
Zhu Lang had a calm expression on his face, but he still felt a little unwilling in his heart. Could it be that the Zheng family had an army of 100,000 or 200,000 soldiers, but they didn't even have a general who was loyal to the court? The Ming Dynasty was such a failure in Fujian Province.

Zhu Lang couldn't help but ask again

"Among these foreign generals in Zheng's army, is there really no one who is unwilling to surrender to the Qing?"

Lin Cha looked at His Royal Highness the Regent above him, his face hesitant to speak.
All their food and drink are provided by the Zheng family. In this situation, how can you expect the soldiers to be loyal to the court?

On the surface, everyone is a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, but when they receive their monthly salary, they go to the Zheng family to collect it. You can't let your brothers serve the court on an empty stomach.

Lin Cha thought for a while, and then finally spoke

"There are some people in the army who are very dissatisfied with the surrender to the Qing Dynasty. I heard that Generals Zhou Hezhi and Xin Yigen were very dissatisfied with the surrender to the Qing Dynasty. However, although these two are generals, they are said to have few soldiers under their command, so I am afraid it will be difficult for them to create momentum."

Zhu Lang finally put his mind at rest after hearing this. Although Lin Cha said it politely, Zhu Lang understood what he meant.

Now among the Zheng family, the Zheng family members are still okay, at least there are still some who dare to express their opposition to Zheng Zhilong, but the people from other families are all silent and basically dare not speak out on major issues.
This is also what the title implies. If these outsiders dare to speak out on these major events, I am afraid that no matter what differences Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Hongkui have, they will unite at the first time to eliminate these outsiders who dare to challenge Zheng's authority.

Lin Cha thought for a long time before coming up with two generals, but these two generals still have little military power. In the current situation in Fujian Province, if you don't have military power, let alone a general, what's the use of being a duke or marquis? You can't control the situation at all.

Zhu Lang exhaled lightly, temporarily putting aside the Zheng family's affairs, and glanced at Lin Cha who was standing quietly in the hall below.
Lin Cha is an old general of the Zheng family. He is quite familiar with the internal situation of the Zheng family. He should be able to help his plan in Fujian Province.

Zhu Lang thought of this and spoke softly.

"The court has already investigated the rebellion of the Tang prince. It was done by the guards around the Tang prince who colluded with the rebels. It has nothing to do with the Tang prince. The Tang prince has now been appointed as the Grand Clan Leader by me."

"General Lin has escorted the King of Tang for thousands of miles and protected so many members of the royal family. He has made great contributions and the imperial court will reward him later."

"General Lin knows the situation in Fujian Province very well. The court will send someone to ask more about the specific situation in Fujian Province later. General Lin must do his best to cooperate."

When Lin Cha heard the words "General Lin" from His Royal Highness the Regent, his heart trembled, and his expression suddenly relaxed. He knew that his life was saved.

He didn't have time to think about it, so he bowed deeply to His Royal Highness the Regent above him and said:

"I will definitely cooperate with the court and help it sort out the situation in Fujian Province."

"Okay, General Lin, please go down."

Zhu Lang waved his hand, and Lin Cha bowed again, and then was taken away by Li Chengzhi.

The two figures quickly disappeared outside the door, and the room became silent again.

Zhu Lang paced slowly in front of the table, thinking about the situation of the Zheng family, his eyes flickered. As time passed, a plan quickly took shape in Zhu Lang's mind.
(End of this chapter)