Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 108 Secret Purpose
In the Governor's Office study, Zhu Lang looked calm as he looked down at Deng Mingwu.
"Mingwu handled the Tang King's matter very well. This time the court moved the capital to Guangzhou. Chengzhi will stay in the central government to assist, and Mingwu will be in charge of Fujian Province."

"Yes, I will do my best to protect Doctor Zhang's safety and help him persuade Zheng Zhilong to surrender."

Deng Mingwu's face was serious, and he replied in a deep voice
"When did I ever ask you to persuade Zheng Zhilong to surrender?"

Zhu Lang glanced at Deng Mingwu below, his face expressionless.
Deng Mingwu looked at His Royal Highness the Regent above him, with a look of astonishment on his face, not knowing how to respond.
If this trip was not to go to Fujian Province to persuade Zheng Zhilong to surrender, then what were they talking about in the room just now?

Zhu Lang seemed to have noticed the astonishment on Deng Mingwu's face and spoke softly

"Zhang Tongchang is a loyal minister. Judging from his character, he should be upright and honest. This is why I use him as the chief envoy. Such a person will not use his personal interests. But he is too upright, so there are some things I cannot tell him clearly."

"I kept you here because I wanted to make things clear with you."

Zhu Lang glanced at Deng Mingwu below, his face calm.
"Everyone in the court knows what Zheng Zhilong did during the Longwu reign. He is arrogant and domineering, and cannot be used by the court. If Zheng Zhilong were still alive, the army in Fujian Province would always be the Zheng family's private army."

"The court wants the troops of Fujian Province, not Zheng Zhilong"

Zhu Lang's face flashed with indifference, and he continued to speak

"This time you will escort Zhang Tongchang to Fujian. I will explain everything clearly. You will be responsible for all matters along the way. Before entering Fujian, you must conceal your identities along the way and must not reveal your whereabouts in advance."

"If you find that Zheng Zhilong has surrendered to the Qing Dynasty after entering Fujian, then do as I said before and find a way to find Zheng Zhilong's son Zheng Chenggong, appoint him as governor, and use him as a banner to recruit those generals in the Zheng family who are unwilling to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, and use these people to hold the Qing army in Fujian Province."

"If you find that Zheng Zhilong has not surrendered to the Qing Dynasty after entering Fujian, you must find a way to control Zhang Tongchang and never let him show up in advance."

"Only after you confirm that Zheng Zhilong has surrendered to the Qing army can you let Zhang Tongchang show up and contact Zheng Chenggong. Do you understand?"

Zhu Lang looked at Deng Mingwu below, with a stern look in his eyes.

Zhu Lang had never thought of recruiting Zheng Zhilong from the beginning. Emperor Longwu rewarded Zheng Zhilong continuously, and half of the court was almost all private retainers recommended by Zheng Zhilong. However, what he got in return was Zheng Zhilong's increasingly domineering behavior.

Even though the Longwu Emperor showed such a great favor, he still couldn't make Zheng Zhilong return to his loyalty. Zhu Lang also didn't think that if he replaced him with the so-called orthodox Emperor Shenzong, he would be able to make Zheng Zhilong obey his orders.

Zheng Zhilong started out as a pirate and roamed the oceans for decades. You could say he was short-sighted, but he was actually a real hero.

Zheng Zhilong was a warlord in Fujian Province. He had his own soldiers, money and food. He could maintain the internal operation of the Zheng family by himself.

In this situation, let alone trying to persuade Zheng Zhilong to surrender, even if Zheng Zhilong took the initiative to surrender, Zhu Lang would still hesitate whether to accept Zheng Zhilong. At least he would never let Zheng Zhilong enter the court easily.
Zheng Zhilong has hundreds of thousands of soldiers and does not need to rely on the court for money and food. Once this man enters the court, will it be the court of the Zhu family or the court of the Zheng family?

Only if Zheng Zhilong surrenders to the Qing Dynasty will the Zheng family be torn apart, and the imperial court will have the opportunity to incorporate Zheng's army.
He knew that after Zheng Zhilong surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, he was taken to the capital. It was because Zheng Zhilong was taken away that Zheng Chenggong had the opportunity to take charge of the Zheng family. If Zheng Zhilong was still alive, Zheng Chenggong would have no say in the Zheng army.
The Zheng family is now united as a group, all thanks to Zheng Zhilong's own prestige.
But as long as Zheng Zhilong is gone, the huge Zheng family will immediately fall apart.

The Zheng family seems to be self-contained, but in fact, there are many factions within it. It would be strange if there were no factions in a huge group of more than 100,000 people.
Apart from other things, once Zheng Zhilong was taken away, Shi Fu and other foreign generals would definitely have their own ideas.

Shi Fu and other foreign generals were loyal to Zheng Zhilong, not the Zheng family.

They were loyal to Zheng Zhilong because they had been with him since they were humble.

They fought with Zheng Zhilong all the way, and Zheng Zhilong became stronger. Because of Zheng Zhilong, they also gained wealth and status that they had never dared to think of before.

But it must be clearly seen that their loyalty to the Zheng Group was entirely due to Zheng Zhilong's personal ability and prestige.

Once Zheng Zhilong is gone, why should they still be loyal to the Zheng family?

The Zheng family is not the emperor. Without Zheng Zhilong, why should they continue to be loyal to the rest of the Zheng family who were once on equal footing with them?
Not to mention the generals of other surnames in the Zheng family, once Zheng Zhilong was gone, even the Zheng family would be torn apart.
After Zheng Zhilong surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, those who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty naturally followed him, but who should be the leader of those who did not want to surrender to the Qing Dynasty? Zheng Chenggong was the legitimate son, and nominally he should inherit the throne of the Zheng family, but Zheng Chenggong was too young, only in his twenties at this time, and had no prestige to overwhelm the people of the Zheng family.
Although Zheng Hongkui is Zheng Zhilong's younger brother, he had a dispute with Zheng Zhilong before, and now he has always played the role of a butler's deputy, and he also has the problem of lack of prestige.
Zhu Lang remembered that in his previous life, after Zheng Zhilong surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, the Zheng family immediately split apart.

Zheng Chenggong respected Emperor Yongli from afar, while Zheng Cai directly welcomed Lu Jianguo into Fujian Province and respected Lu Jianguo as the legitimate emperor.
The two Zhengs fought each other privately. In the end, Zheng Chenggong took advantage of Zheng Cai's fleet to launch a surprise attack on Xiamen, which was controlled by Zheng Cai. Zheng Cai's fleet lost its port for land supplies. Only then did he incorporate Zheng Cai's fleet and his strength increased greatly.
Are there any kings, princes, generals or ministers of different species? Zheng Zhilong's power was fully demonstrated in the Longwu Dynasty. Anyone with some strength in the Zheng family would want to be the head of the Zheng family.

As long as Zheng Zhilong is not around, war will break out within the Zheng family.
A hint of sternness flashed in Zhu Lang's eyes. The Zheng family without Zheng Zhilong is the good Zheng family.
Although Deng Mingwu didn't know that His Royal Highness the Regent had thought of so many things in a blink of an eye, he soon understood what His Royal Highness the Regent meant.

Before he came here, he had naturally read the intelligence collected by the court on Fujian Province. Zheng Zhilong basically did things on his own during the Longwu Dynasty. All military and political affairs were handled by the Zheng family. He basically ignored the court's orders.
Your Highness wants to take advantage of Zheng Zhilong's surrender to the Qing Dynasty to split the Zheng family directly.
Your Highness would rather have a small part of the Zheng family that obeys orders than a complete Zheng family that obeys orders but not announcements!
"I understand. This time I will definitely help Doctor Zhang persuade Zheng Chenggong to surrender."

Deng Mingwu's face straightened and he answered

Zhu Lang nodded slightly when he heard Deng Mingwu's reply, but Deng Mingwu hesitated for a moment and then spoke again.
"If Zheng Chenggong also surrenders to the Qing, what should I do?"

Zhu Lang was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect Deng Mingwu to ask such a question, but he quickly reacted and said

"Zheng Chenggong will not surrender to the Qing Dynasty"

Zhu Lang's tone was firm. In his previous life, Zheng Chenggong had fought for more than ten years. If he had not been so determined to resist the Qing Dynasty, he would have had plenty of opportunities to surrender during these ten years. Moreover, the price offered by the Qing court was not low.

Regardless of whether Zheng Chenggong's later actions were motivated by selfish motives, he never surrendered to the Qing Dynasty throughout his life.

This is one of the reasons why Zhu Lang made the plan to split the Zheng family. Only with Zheng Chenggong, the heir of the Zheng family who was determined to resist the Qing Dynasty, could the divided Zheng family generals be temporarily united.

But Zhu Lang couldn't tell Deng Mingwu about this. Zhu Lang looked at Deng Mingwu who was hesitant to speak, thought for a moment, and then spoke again.

"The reason for this trip is that the court knows that Zheng Hongkui, Zheng Chenggong and others of the Zheng family have different opinions on surrendering to the Qing Dynasty. If you find that Zheng Chenggong and others have also surrendered to the Qing Dynasty after entering Fujian, it means that the Zheng family has reached a consensus on surrendering to the Qing Dynasty."

"If that's the case, you don't have to waste your energy any more. Just send someone back to report so that the court can make preparations early," Zhu Lang said softly.

Deng Mingwu thought about it and felt that it made sense. The reason why the court formed this plan was because it knew that there were disagreements within the Zheng family.
If the Zheng family had already reached a consensus and decided to surrender to the Qing Dynasty when they arrived, why would they bother?

Zhu Lang then explained to Deng Mingwu some matters that needed to be paid attention to during this visit to Fujian, and then Deng Mingwu bowed and left to make preparations.

Qu Shisi will leave this afternoon, and the envoys to Fujian will also leave tomorrow morning. There is no time to delay.
Deng Mingwu left, and the study suddenly became quiet.

Zhu Lang sat at his desk, looking at the blue sky outside the window, but his mind was still thinking about the Zheng family.

Although he had always told the court that he wanted to march north and restore the country, he knew better than anyone that with the little power he had, it was already extremely difficult to hold on to the current territory of the Ming Dynasty.

If you really want to march north, you can't even think about it without ten years of rest and education.

He is now plotting against the Zheng family, not only because of the army under the Zheng family. If he can successfully incorporate most of the forces of the Zheng family this time, he will be truly qualified to restore the Ming Dynasty.

The day after Zhu Lang summoned Zhang Tongchang, the envoys to Fujian set off in a hurry. A few days after the envoys set off, Zhu Lang saw that most of the court had been cleared up, and he lost his patience and led his people to leave Zhaoqing first, starting his own journey to move the capital.
I have been searching for a long time but have not been able to find any biographical information about Shi Fu. It is so strange. Shi Fu was a great general in the Longwu Dynasty, but he does not even have an independent biography. The biography of Shi Lang only briefly mentions his whereabouts before he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.

Except for Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Chenggong, and Zheng Hongkui, the rest of the Zheng family, such as Shi Fu and Huang Ting, did not even have a separate biography.

If any students know where to find the information of Shi Fu and other Zheng family generals, please leave a message to let me know

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(End of this chapter)