Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 172 Fujian and Guangdong
Anping City, Fujian Province, on October 29, when Liu Xiangke and others were escorting the King of Tang back from Guangzhou to Zhaoqing, the Qing court's messenger also rushed into Anping City
In the back hall of Zheng's mansion, Zheng Zhilong sits on the left, wearing a purple robe with narrow sleeves

On the right is a middle-aged scholar in a round-collared robe. He is wearing a Dongpo hat, but his stubble can still be seen from the corner of the hat brim. This man is Guo Bichang, the special envoy of the Qing court.
Guo Bichang was the Minister of War during the Longwu period. After the fall of Fuzhou, Guo Bichang surrendered to the Qing court.

This man and Zheng Zhilong were from the same hometown, both from Quanzhou. They had been friends for a long time during the Longwu Dynasty.
At this time, the Qing court used Guo Bichang's hometown status with Zheng Zhilong to persuade him to surrender.

In the hall, the two drank tea and sat down on their seats. Seeing that Zheng Zhilong was unwilling to speak, Guo Bichang rolled his eyes and said softly:

"Gushan Ezhen Fuktala, the commander who was originally in Nan'an, has already withdrawn his troops. I wonder if Lord Zheng knows about this."

In October, Zheng Zhilong withdrew his troops from Fuzhou, and the Qing army immediately occupied the entire Fuzhou Prefecture. However, after the Qing army occupied Fuzhou, they did not stop, but continued to send troops to occupy Xinghua Prefecture, and then marched into Quanzhou.

Nan'an was only a hundred miles away from Anping City where Zheng Zhilong was at the time, but the Qing army commander Fuktala marched directly to capture Nan'an and marched straight to Anping, obviously threatening Zheng Zhilong and others in the city.

Zheng Zhilong was very angry about this incident and parted ways with the Qing envoys on bad terms. The peace talks between the Qing and Zheng sides came to a standstill.
Zheng Zhilong nodded slightly when he heard this and said

"Zheng has received a report from below that the Nan'an County troops have indeed retreated."

Hearing this, Guo Bichang smiled and said

"This march to Nan'an was entirely Fuketala's own decision. Duke Zheng also knows that these generals always like to compete for merit. Seeing that there is no defense ahead, they want to seize the city and gain merit. They have no idea of ​​the intention of Beile and Duke Zheng's arrangement."

"The last time I returned to Fuzhou and reported to Beile Boluo, Beile was very angry and recalled Fuketala overnight, scolded him severely, and then directly ordered Fuketala to withdraw his troops."

Zheng Zhilong looked at Guo Bichang opposite him, his eyes flickering. Although Guo Bichang said it was a misunderstanding, Zheng Zhilong could conclude that Bolo was definitely aware of this matter, and it might be that Bolo personally instructed it.

The Qing army entered Quanzhou Nan'an and threatened Anping, with the purpose of forcing Zheng Zhilong to surrender quickly.

In fact, both parties knew the truth about this matter, but at this time the Qing army retreated and made concessions, and Zheng Zhilong was not prepared to pursue the matter any further.

Guo Bichang briefly explained what happened last time, covered it up, and then his expression straightened up and he said

"It has been ten days since I last came here. Has Lord Zheng made a decision on surrendering to the Qing Dynasty?"

Zheng Zhilong looked at Guo Bichang opposite him, but his face remained expressionless. He smiled bitterly and said

"Zheng has no less than 200,000 soldiers under his command. The generals in the army have different opinions. Zheng also needs to discuss with the generals in the army. It is not something I can decide alone. After all, surrendering to the Qing is a serious matter. Brother Maofeng, why are you forcing me?"

Guo Bichang saw Zheng Zhilong shirking his responsibilities, but his expression remained unchanged, and he did not urge him. He turned his eyes and continued speaking.

"The last time I returned to Fujing, I met with Beile Bolo in person and told him all the details of the discussion. He also responded to Duke Zheng's concerns about welcoming the Emperor Tang to the Ming court."

"Duke Zheng was worried that he had established the King of Tang, which would lead to punishment from the court, but he did not know that the reason why the Beile valued the general was that the general could establish a vassal state of Tang."

Guo Bichang looked at Zheng Zhilong, who looked slightly surprised, and a smile flashed across his face. He continued
"Beile once said that when a minister serves his master, he must do his best if he can do something. When the Ming court was in danger, the general resolutely stepped forward to support the establishment of the Tang vassal state and took advantage of the opportunity to make achievements. This is the act of a hero and a loyal minister."

"If the general does not assist the emperor in times of crisis, how can the court dare to employ the general!"

"As for what Duke Zheng said about Fujian and Guangdong, Beile also has a reply."

"Although Lord Zheng wants to govern Guangdong Province for the Qing Dynasty, Guangdong Province is an important place in the south after all, and the prince is also hesitant."

"I persuaded him in many ways, saying that the general had served in Fujian and Guangdong and had great prestige in the two provinces. If the general was sent to govern the two provinces, the people of the two provinces would be happy to submit to him, and the court could quickly settle the two provinces. The prince finally gave in."

"Boluo Beile has now agreed to Zheng Gong's request. He is only waiting for Zheng Gong to surrender, and then he will give him the seal of the Governor of Fujian and Guangdong."

When Zheng Zhilong heard this, his eyes finally lit up and he immediately said

"Is what Brother Maofeng said true? The Qing court is really willing to give me Guangdong Province as well."

Before the Qing army entered Fujian, Zheng Zhilong had discussed several issues with the Qing army. After returning to Anping, the two sides exchanged messengers and discussed several more issues.
The reason why the two sides could not reach an agreement was that Zheng Zhilong had always insisted on demanding the Guangdong Province, but the Qing court was unwilling to give in.

But now, after listening to what Guo Bichang said, the Qing court finally agreed to his request. Zheng Zhilong started his career with maritime trade. Although Fujian Province is located on the coast, the mountains in Fujian Province are rugged and the products are not abundant.

This is not the case with Guangdong Province. Guangdong Province is not only located along the coast, but also has two plain granaries, Chaozhou and Huizhou. Guangzhou is a place where business and travel converge, and industry and trade are developed. Most of the goods needed for maritime trade can be directly produced and obtained in Guangdong Province.
If he could take over Guangdong Province, his maritime trade business would immediately reach a higher level. Once he controlled the coasts of Fujian and Guangdong provinces, then the Portuguese, the Dutch, and all the Western barbarians would no longer be able to obtain any goods from the coast. He, Zheng Zhilong, would dominate the entire Nanyang trade route!

In fact, during the Longwu reign, Zheng Zhilong wanted to extend his influence into Guangdong Province. However, he was opposed by the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi Ding Kuichu and the gentry of Guangdong Province, and hindered by the Longwu Emperor and a group of civil officials. Zheng Zhilong was unable to extend his influence into Guangdong Province throughout the Longwu reign.

Later, Emperor Longwu became increasingly suspicious of him, and finally treated him as a minister who supported him as nothing, intending to withdraw from Fujian Province.

Zheng Zhilong was finally completely disappointed with Emperor Longwu, so he began to secretly contact the Qing court, withdraw all troops from the border of Fujian Province, and directly let the Qing army enter Fujian. As a result, Emperor Longwu was killed in Tingzhou.
Zheng Zhilong had been struggling for so long, supporting the Qing Dynasty and surrendering to the Qing Dynasty. After spending so much effort, he finally got the Guangdong Province. How could he not be excited?

Seeing Zheng Zhilong's delight, Guo Bichang also smiled and said:

"These words were spoken by Beile Bolo himself. Lord Zheng, rest assured. Beile has already cast the seal of the Governor of Fujian and Guangdong in Fuzhou, and is waiting for you to surrender."

Zheng Zhilong looked at Guo Bichang, who was smiling, but his face became suspicious. He then said
"Can this Boro Beile keep his word?"

Although according to what Guo Bichang said, Bolo was going to appoint him as the Governor of Fujian and Guangdong and recruit him to surrender, but could this Beile really do such a big thing? This is the land of two provinces.
Guo Bichang saw Zheng Zhilong's suspicious expression, but his face remained unchanged. He shook his head and smiled.

"You are worrying too much, Lord Zheng. Do you know what this Bolo Beile's surname is?"

Guo Bichang smiled and said without waiting for Zheng Zhilong to reply:

"Bolo Beile's surname is Aisin-Gioro, and he is the grandson of Nurhaci, the founder of the Qing Dynasty. In terms of seniority, he is the cousin of the current emperor. This time he was ordered to attack Guangdong, and was also awarded the title of General of the Southern Expedition, and the governor of the military affairs of the southern provinces."

"Mr. Zheng, you should know that Hong Chengchou is a Grand Secretary of the Secretariat of the Qing Dynasty. Now he is the Governor-General of Nanzhili appointed by the court, and the Governor-General of the military affairs of the southern provinces. His status is high enough, right?"

"But Hong Chengchou still has to obey the orders of Bolo Beile. As for the affairs in the south at this time, as long as Beile agrees, the court agrees, and there will be no mistakes."

Zheng Zhilong relaxed after hearing what Guo Bichang said. He picked up the teacup and took a sip. Then he sat back down with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
Seeing that Zheng Zhilong was still unwilling to express his opinion at this time, Guo Bichang's face became serious and he said

"The court previously ordered Fuketala to withdraw his troops, which showed its sincerity. Now it is willing to entrust the two provinces of Fujian and Guangdong to Duke Zheng. The court has never given such a generous reward since entering the pass." "Duke Zheng and I are from the same village. I am also dissatisfied with him. This is the bottom line of the court."

"The princes of the Qing court are from outside the Great Wall and have always been impatient. If Duke Zheng continues to delay, I'm afraid the princes will doubt his sincerity."

"Moreover, the two provinces of Fujian and Guangdong were handed over to Duke Zheng. There were also many debates in Fuzhou. It was finally passed because of Beile's decision. The two sides have been negotiating this matter for more than two months. If it is delayed any further, I am afraid there will be changes."

After Guo Bichang finished speaking, he picked up the teacup, took a sip, put it down, and stopped talking.
Zheng Zhilong looked at Guo Bichang, who was calm across from him. His expression changed several times before he finally spoke in a deep voice.

"The prince treated me with sincerity, how could Zheng be ungrateful? Please ask Brother Maofeng to tell the prince that Zheng Zhilong is willing to serve the Qing court and help the court pacify the two provinces."

"That's it. Opportunities are rare and will never come again. It will be good for Duke Zheng if this matter is settled as soon as possible."

Seeing that Zheng Zhilong finally gave in, Guo Bichang's face flashed with joy. He spoke again and continued
"When will Duke Zheng go to Fuzhou to meet Beile?"

Zheng Zhilong's face froze when he heard this.

"Brother Maofeng, is it really necessary to go to Fuzhou?"

Guo Bichang's heart sank immediately when he heard this. Before he left, Beile had clearly explained that Zheng Zhilong must go to Fuzhou in person to surrender. This couldn't go wrong.

Guo Bichang looked at Zheng Zhilong who was hesitant. He knew what Zheng Zhilong was thinking. He turned his eyes and said:

"The reason why Beile wants to see Duke Zheng is to discuss the personnel of the two provinces with him in person. The two provinces are no joke. Beile can't just hand over the two provinces to Duke Zheng and then lead his troops to retreat. If so, even Beile will be punished by the court."

"Besides, the imperial court has set a precedent for Duke Zheng by handing over the two provinces to him. If Duke Zheng does not go to meet the prince in person, how can he show his sincerity?"

Seeing that Zheng Zhilong still refused to respond, Guo Bichang continued
"I also know what Duke Zheng is worried about. After all, the two sides were enemies before. It is normal for Duke Zheng to have doubts when he is suddenly asked to meet with the enemy."

"But what does Lord Zheng have to worry about? Not to mention that Lord Zheng had previously helped the Qing Dynasty enter Fujian and take over most of the province. He has long been a member of the Qing Dynasty."

"Duke Zheng now has hundreds of thousands of soldiers from Fujian Province in his hands. The imperial court will not harm Duke Zheng just for the sake of Fujian Province's stability. Duke Zheng is really worrying too much."

Zheng Zhilong nodded secretly when he heard the words of the man who commanded hundreds of thousands of troops. At this point, he finally stopped hesitating and spoke after a little thought.

"It is now October 28th. Please ask Brother Maofeng to inform the prince that within half a month, Zhilong will go to Fuzhou to thank the prince in person."

Guo Bichang was relieved when he saw that Zheng Zhilong finally agreed. Then his face became excited. He said that surrendering Zheng Zhilong was a great achievement.

With this achievement, Guo Bichang will be able to regain his position in the court and continue his official career in the Qing court!
Guo Bichang could no longer bear it and stood up.

"In that case, I will rush back to Fuzhou and tell the prince about this immediately. If the prince knows that Duke Zheng has come to surrender, he will probably be overjoyed."

Zheng Zhilong looked at Guo Bichang who was about to leave, and his face was slightly surprised. He quickly said
"Brother Maofeng has come from afar, how can you leave in such a hurry? Brother Maofeng, why don't you stay in your house for a night, so that I can show my hospitality and it won't be too late to leave tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Guo Bichang waved his hand and said
"No need. Lord Zheng doesn't know that this matter is now personally handled by the Beile, who attaches great importance to it. Now that there is a result, I will report it to the Beile immediately."

"Besides, if this matter can be settled soon, Fujian Province can avoid war, which will also be a blessing for the millions of people in Fujian Province."

"I will serve as a minister in the same palace with Lord Zheng in the future. We have a long time to go together, so I will not stay any longer today."

After Guo Bichang finished speaking, he walked out with a happy face. He wanted to rush back to Fujian Province as soon as possible and achieve the great achievement of persuading Zheng Zhilong to surrender!

But just as Guo Bichang reached the door, he seemed to remember something, turned around, looked at Zheng Zhilong who stood up and walked him to the door, and said

"I have a close relationship with Lord Zheng, and I should remind him of one thing."

"The Qing court attaches great importance to shaving one's hair. Lord Zheng is going to Fuzhou to pay a visit. If possible, it would be best to shave your hair, so as to show Lord Zheng's sincerity."

Zheng Zhilong was stunned when he heard this, but he quickly reacted and said

"This is easy. Zheng will shave his head before going to Fuzhou. Now that Zhilong has entered the new dynasty, he should follow the rules of the new dynasty!"

Guo Bichang was relieved to see Zheng Zhilong's calm expression. He did not hesitate any longer, but bowed and walked out of the courtyard.
Guo Bichang left Zheng's mansion and quickly led his men out of Anping City and headed towards Fuzhou.
Zheng Zhilong sent Guo Bichang away and returned to his study, thinking about what happened today.
He negotiated with the Qing court for several times, and the Qing court finally relented and was willing to give Guangdong Province to him.
Once Guangdong Province is taken over, the Zheng family's power will rise to a higher level. By then, half of the South and the entire Southeast Asia will belong to him, Zheng Zhilong!

Zheng Zhilong was excited when he thought of this, and then he began to plan to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. Although he had sent someone to spread the news to the army before, he himself had not made a public statement.

Now that we have decided to surrender, it is time to formally notify the people below.

Zheng Zhilong's face darkened when he thought of this. He had previously secretly passed on the news of surrendering to the Qing Dynasty to the army, but the result of the test was not very good.

Most of the generals kept silent, but a small number of junior officers reacted violently.

This was also within his expectations. After all, they were all generals under the Ming court. Suddenly surrendering to the Qing court would definitely make them feel a little bit resistant.
In fact, most of the generals kept silent, which in itself was a statement, but Zheng Zhilong was not too worried.
With him around, no one in the Zheng family can turn the tables!
He single-handedly developed the Zheng family from a pirate gang to the Zheng family that now dominates the entire province, and his generals also changed from pirates to generals and dukes who were respected by everyone.

Now, those who hold military power in the Zheng family are either his relatives, Zheng Zhilong, or his subordinates who have followed him for many years. As long as he, Zheng Zhilong, makes a decision, who in the Zheng family can and dares to oppose it!

What irritated him the most was actually his third brother Zheng Hongkui.

Since Zheng Hongkui knew about the rumors he had spread among the army, he had repeatedly voiced his opposition, saying that the Qing invaders could not be trusted and that the Zheng family had received great favors from the Ming Dynasty and must not surrender to the Qing, which made him extremely angry.

The third son was a military scholar from the Ming Dynasty. The reason why he was chosen to take this path was to give the Zheng family a person of decent family background who could have a say in the court.
But unexpectedly, the third brother succeeded in the military examination, but was brainwashed by the group of literati and actually believed the nonsense that he had received the emperor's grace and was loyal to the emperor and served the court.

Why do you suffer the emperor's grace?

Everything that Zheng family has now was obtained by exchanging silver and soldiers with the Ming Dynasty, but they don't owe the Ming court a penny!
If it weren't for him, the King of Tang would have been driven to somewhere to escape if he hadn't been there.
The Zheng family supported the Tang King and made him the emperor. So what if they took his titles? How can they be regarded as receiving favors from the Zhu family court?

When Zheng Zhilong thought of this, he was suddenly shocked. His third brother had been quite restless during the Longwu Dynasty. He often used the Longwu Emperor to fight with him. In the end, he was suppressed by him. Only then did he behave himself for half a year.
At this time, his third brother was making a fuss about surrendering to the Qing Dynasty. He might have other thoughts in his mind. When Zheng Zhilong thought of this, a cold light flashed in his eyes.

When Zheng Zhilong thought of this, he became alert and prepared to find someone to find out the current situation in the army.
Although he did not think that Zheng Hongkui could challenge his decision, since he was preparing to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, he also needed to make some preparations in advance to avoid causing unnecessary turmoil in the Zheng family.
Most of the situations in this chapter about Guo Bichang trying to persuade Zheng Zhilong to surrender are true events in history.


(End of this chapter)