Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 173 General trend
Zheng Zhilong thought of Zheng Hongkui's past deeds, and a cold light flashed in his eyes. His third son was not an easy person to deal with. Now was the critical time to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, and he could not let him do whatever he wanted.

When Zheng Zhilong thought of this, he became alert and prepared to call someone over to ask about the recent movements of Zheng Hongkui and the various parties in the army.

"Yin Daqi"

Zheng Zhilong shouted to the outside of the door. Yin Daqi was the leader of Zheng Zhilong's personal guards.

Zheng Zhilong was promoted to Duke of Ping during the Longwu reign, and naturally the people around him also rose in status. Even Yin Daqi, a personal guard, became the commander of the third-rank Yongning Guard under Zheng Zhilong's recommendation.
Although he was the commander of Yongning Guard, Yin Daqi actually stayed beside Zheng Zhilong as a personal guard, not only to protect Zheng Zhilong's safety, but also to monitor the situation of Zheng's family for Zheng Zhilong.
As soon as Zheng Zhilong finished speaking, the door opened and Yin Daqi walked into the room.
Zheng Zhilong looked at Yin Daqi in the hall and was about to ask about the situation of the generals in the army when he suddenly heard a loud noise outside the door.
Zheng Zhilong frowned slightly, and Yin Daqi's face darkened as well. He prepared to go and check, but before he could move, the door was opened again, and a young man in Confucian clothing and blue shirt broke into the room.

The young man looked to be in his early twenties, and he looked about 60% similar to Zheng Zhilong at the top. Yin Daqi looked at the young man who broke in, and was stunned for a moment. He subconsciously looked at Zheng Zhilong above him.
"Dad, was that person in the mansion just now a messenger from the Tartars?"

The young man rushed into the room, but he didn't care. He just stared at Zheng Zhilong above him and spoke loudly with a serious expression on his face.
Zheng Zhilong's face darkened when he heard what the young man said. He was about to speak, but when he saw Yin Daqi below, he stopped talking and waved at Yin Daqi.

Seeing this, Yin Daqi bowed slightly and left the room.

As the intelligence chief of Zheng Zhilong, he naturally knew what the master and the young master were like at the moment. After receiving the instructions, he was unwilling to stay in the room and naturally left in a hurry. Yes, the young man was Zheng Chenggong, the eldest son of the Zheng family.
Yin Daqi left the room and the door was closed. Zheng Chenggong ignored all this and just stared at Zheng Zhilong in front of him. He said in a deep voice:

"Dad, is the person who just entered the mansion a Tartar messenger?"

Zheng Zhilong looked at his eldest son, who had a serious expression on his face, but he did not comment. He said calmly:

"So what if it is, so what if it isn't"

"Also, who told you that someone just entered the mansion?"

Zheng Zhilong's expression became stern when he said this, staring at Zheng Chenggong in front of him.
After all, Zheng Zhilong had not surrendered to the Qing Dynasty at this time, so Guo Bichang and his party were extremely low-key. Guo Bichang had just left, so how did his son know that Guo Bichang was coming?

A cold light flashed in Zheng Zhilong's eyes. Someone in the palace must have tipped off Zheng Chenggong.
"I have my own eyes, can't I see?"

Zheng Chenggong paused for a moment when he heard this, but soon reacted and passed the matter over in one sentence. Then he spoke again.

"Dad, you are the Duke of Ming Dynasty. You must not be deceived by the Qing invaders."

Zheng Chenggong looked earnest, but Zheng Zhilong had a calm expression. Seeing the silent Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Chenggong was completely certain that the man who had just entered the palace must be the Qing envoy.

And his father might have been persuaded by the Qing invaders and was ready to surrender to the Qing.

Zheng Chenggong's heart sank when he thought of this, and he said

"Dad is now in power, and the people of Fujian Province all rely on him. You must not be deceived by the Qing invaders and change your mind easily."

"My son has also thought about the current situation privately. Fujian and Guangdong are mostly hilly and mountainous, unlike the north where the Tartars can run wild. As long as we take advantage of the high ground and set up ambushes to defend, even if the Qing army has a million soldiers, it will be difficult to break through our southern pass."

"As long as we can hold off the Qing invaders, we can conquer Fujian and Guangdong, win over the people's hearts and consolidate our foundation. Then we can open up the sea routes and promote trade with other countries to meet the military expenses."

"Then, with the help of Fujian and Guangdong, and the money from foreign countries, we can assist the wise ruler, select generals and train soldiers, and restore our Ming Dynasty. Then, Dad can also make great achievements and be respected by the world. Why should we surrender to the Tartars?"

Zheng Chenggong's voice was earnest, but Zheng Zhilong's face was calm, without a trace of emotion. After Zheng Chenggong finished speaking, he spoke calmly.

"It's useless for a child to talk, he doesn't know the weather and the situation!"

Zheng Chenggong felt a chill in his heart when he heard what Zheng Zhilong said, but Zheng Zhilong looked indifferent and continued to speak.

"If we talk about geographical advantages and natural barriers, is the Jianghuai line dangerous enough? Is the city of Nanjing strong enough? In the past, the four towns in northern Jiangbei had hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Despite this ancient natural barrier, they were still defeated by the Qing army and their country was destroyed."

"How can you boast that you can defeat the enemy with only a small corner of Fujian Province? The fate of life and death during a battle cannot be decided by empty talk. If you fail to draw a tiger, you will end up drawing a dog instead."

Zheng Zhilong's voice was cold, but Zheng Chenggong was furious when he heard it. He clenched his palms and barely suppressed his anger, and then he spoke in a deep voice

"The son thought that his father only saw the general idea and did not see the details"

"The Jianghuai and Fujian provinces are both natural fortifications, but the weather and geographical conditions are also different. Although the Jianghuai is dangerous, as long as the Qing invaders can cross the river, there are still large plains for them to roam."

"But Fujian Province is full of mountains. Although the Qing cavalry is strong, they cannot advance far. Instead, they are hindered by the terrain and are tied up."

"In fact, even with the natural defenses of Jianghuai, the Qing invaders would have found it difficult to break through. However, our dynasty was really lacking in people, and the civil officials were in power. Once the ice cracked and collapsed, it first caused the tragedy of Coal Hill and then the loss of Jiangnan. Our dynasty was in disarray, and the Qing invaders took advantage of the opportunity to break through the door and directly enter, occupying half of our Central Plains."

"The Yangtze River was lost. Upon closer inspection, it was because your ruler was not a ruler who could suppress the rebellion, and your ministers were mostly mediocre. This caused the heroes of the world to suffer in grief. It is difficult to overcome natural barriers. Father was wise and decisive. If you could take advantage of the geographical advantages of Fujian Province and control its strategic points, then the geographical advantages would still be there and the people's hearts could be won."

Zheng Zhilong heard what Zheng Chenggong said, but he shook his head slightly, his face looked indifferent, and said

"Only those who know the current situation are heroes. The Qing court now values ​​me and wants me to join it. If I surrender, the Qing court will definitely treat me with respect."

"If we fight them now, once we lose, they will wag their tails and beg for mercy, and if they fail to surrender, it will be too late to regret it."

"You are just a jerk, don't talk too much"

Seeing that Zheng Zhilong was still unmoved by his persuasion, Zheng Chenggong felt a sense of despair in his heart, and he knelt down and cried.

"Even if my father wants to surrender to the Qing, I must never go to see him in person. A tiger cannot leave the mountain, and a fish cannot leave the abyss. If a tiger leaves the mountain, it will lose its power, and if a fish leaves the abyss, it will be trapped and killed immediately."

"The Qing invaders have always been cunning, so we must be on guard against them. Father, you must not be deceived by them and go to Fuzhou. Please think twice before you act."

When Zheng Zhilong heard what Zheng Chenggong said, he suddenly became furious. He stood up and shouted:

"If someone treats me with sincerity, I will respond with sincerity. What is there to doubt?"

"Also, who told you that I was going to Fuzhou?"

Zheng Zhilong looked angry. The secret conversation between him and Guo Bichang was very short, so it was definitely not leaked this time.
But he and the Qing court had more than one discussion. The Qing court had said many times before that if Zheng Zhilong wanted to surrender, he must go to Fuzhou in person to meet Bolo and announce to the people of Fujian Province that Zheng had surrendered to the Qing.

The fact that he was going to Fuzhou must have been leaked during the previous negotiations with the Qing envoys. However, the matter of surrendering to the Qing was of great importance. Even in the previous negotiations, he was very cautious. How could an ordinary person know the content of the negotiations between the two sides?
But at this time, Zheng Chenggong said that he was going to Fuzhou. Someone must have secretly informed him!

Zheng Zhilong's mind turned, and he immediately locked on a few candidates, but at this moment he couldn't help but snorted coldly

The people he thought of were all his closest relatives. If they were not, how could they have found out these secrets in the Zheng Mansion? It was because he had usually neglected to guard against these people that they were able to find out these things. But he did not expect that among these closest relatives, in order to prevent him from surrendering to the Qing Dynasty, some people actually instigated his son to rebel against him.
What on earth are these people thinking?

Zheng Zhilong has risen to prominence, so how could he treat them unfairly? Zheng Zhilong might treat outsiders badly, but he has never treated his own family members unfairly!

Zheng Chenggong heard Zheng Zhilong's questioning, but he kept silent. He just lowered his head and knelt on the ground, begging Zheng Zhilong not to go to Fuzhou.
Zheng Zhilong was furious when he saw that his son was still obstructing the surrender to the Qing Dynasty. He shouted coldly:
"Okay, I have my own opinion on this matter, so you don't need to say anything more."

"Since you already know, I will not hide it from you. The Qing court has promised me the position of Governor of Fujian and Guangdong. In a few days, I will set off for Fuzhou to meet with the Qing court's Bo Luo Beile and formally submit to the Qing court."

"The Qing court is so generous, so our Zheng family should also show sincerity. You are the eldest son of our Zheng family. When the time comes, you will go to Fuzhou with your father to meet Beile Boluo."

Zheng Chenggong was stunned when he heard this, and then a look of disbelief suddenly appeared on his face. He looked up at Zheng Zhilong in front of him and said

"You want me to go to Fuzhou and meet that Tartar?"

Zheng Zhilong ignored Zheng Chenggong below and spoke in a cold voice

"That's right, you come with me, this is the only way to show the sincerity of my Zheng family!"

When Zheng Chenggong saw Zheng Zhilong's calm expression, his face suddenly turned red. He stood up from the ground and looked at his father, who was already a few inches shorter than him, and said angrily:
"Fathers have always taught their sons to be loyal, and I have never heard of them teaching their sons to be disloyal. Now my father does not listen to me. If anything happens to me, I will just wear mourning clothes."

"As for Fuzhou, I will never go there. If my father insists that I go, then you can take my son's head with you," Zheng Chenggong said with a look of resentment.

"That's enough, what do you know?"

"It is not your turn to teach me how to act, Zheng Zhilong."

Zheng Zhilong looked at Zheng Chenggong, who had a cold expression on his face, and finally became furious. He shouted

"Your father, I was a fugitive pirate when I was young. Over the past ten years, I have built my family from scratch. Now, my Zheng family is the most powerful in Fujian Province, with many nobles in the family. When have I, Zheng Zhilong, ever made a mistake in major matters?"

"You little brat, you only went to school for a few days and listened to some words of encouragement from others, yet you came here to make big claims about the general trend of the world. What do you know about the general trend of the world?"

"Since the Qing Dynasty entered the Pass, it has destroyed several Ming dynasties in less than two years and occupied most of the world. In the past two years, looking at the north and south, all the Ming Dynasty generals were either killed or surrendered, and there was not a single victory. It is obvious that the Ming Dynasty has run out of luck. This is the general trend of the world."

"The Qing court's cavalry is sharp and capable of traveling north and south, but it is not good at naval warfare. My Zheng family is good at naval warfare. In order to maintain peace on the sea, the Qing court can only win over my Zheng family. The Qing court and my Zheng family, one on land and one on sea, complement each other!"

"The Qing court has promised our Zheng family the two provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. As long as we own the money, grain and products of the two provinces, and rely on the profits of our Zheng family's maritime trade, our Zheng family can dominate the south. This is the foundation of our Zheng family that has been passed down for hundreds of generations. What do you, a child, understand about the general situation?"

Zheng Zhilong stared at Zheng Chenggong in front of him, and Zheng Chenggong sneered when he heard this and said

"Father has been deceived by the Tartars and has lost his mind. Flowers in the water are like the moon in the mirror. No matter how nice the Qing invaders say, father must get them first."

"The Qing invaders have always been greedy by nature. Those Tartars will never give up the several prefectures in northern Fujian that they have already seized. What father is thinking is nothing but deceiving himself."

"Now the Qing invaders are naturally saying all the nice things to win over my father. If my father is really deceived by the Tartars, he will be captured by the Qing invaders once he goes to Fuzhou. His reputation will be ruined and he will be laughed at by the world."

Seeing the sneer on Zheng Chenggong's face and the Tartars he called one by one, Zheng Zhilong finally became furious and roared:

"roll"

"Get out of here, you rebellious son!"

Zheng Zhilong was furious and roared loudly, while Zheng Chenggong had a cold expression on his face and actually pushed the door open and left.

After Zheng Chenggong left, there was a sudden sound of cups and plates breaking in the study.

After about a quarter of an hour, the room finally calmed down. Zheng Zhilong sat on his seat with a gloomy face. Suddenly he shouted to the outside of the room:

"Yin Daqi"

As soon as Zheng Zhilong finished speaking, Yin Daqi walked into the room, but he ignored the broken cups on the ground and just stood in the room with his head down.

"Who has Oki been with recently?"

Zheng Chenggong's original name was Zheng Sen, and Damu was his courtesy name.

"Before the eldest young master came to see the old master, he had been to the third master's courtyard once."

Yin Daqi spoke in a low voice. The Third Master that Yin Daqi was talking about was Zheng Hongkui, Zheng Zhilong's younger brother.

Sure enough, Zheng Zhilong was furious when he heard what Yin Daqi said, and he shouted:
"I knew it must be the third brother, who keeps shouting about serving the court. Does he think I don't know what he's thinking? So many ministers and chancellors in the world have shaved their heads, but he, a military scholar, is too precious to be allowed to shave his head."

"This third brother has only been an official in the Ming Dynasty for a few days, but he has forgotten his last name. His Zhu family lost the world on their own, so what does it have to do with my Zheng family? Why should my Zheng family die for his Zhu family? This third brother is really outrageous."

Zheng Zhilong cursed repeatedly, but Yin Daqi seemed not to hear him at all. He just stood in the room with his head down.

Zheng Zhilong kept roaring, and after venting his anger for a while, he sat down on his seat with a gloomy face, a cold light flashing in his eyes.
He had already determined that Zheng Chenggong must have been sent by Zheng Hongkui, who had been restless before.
He also knew his third brother very well. He didn't know how loyal he was to the Ming Dynasty, but he knew that his third brother attached great importance to his military background and was very opposed to shaving his head to surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

I thought that after the Qing army invaded Guangdong Province, the third brother would realize the situation in the world, but I didn't expect that the third brother would still be so stubborn. Seeing that persuading me would not work, he even encouraged Zheng Chenggong to persuade me.

When Zheng Zhilong thought of this, he immediately became alert. He thought that the third brother would not give up until it was too late.

Judging from his current behavior, he even dared to instigate Zheng Chenggong in order to avoid surrendering to the Qing Dynasty. I am afraid he would also contact other members of the Zheng family in private to oppose his surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

There was a cold light in Zheng Zhilong's eyes. He couldn't let the third brother continue to make trouble!
Zheng Zhilong looked down at Yin Daqi and spoke in a cold voice

"Pass on my order. Order the leaders of all military units to come to the palace tomorrow. I have important matters to discuss with the generals."

Yin Daqi heard this and immediately responded. After bowing to Zheng Zhilong, he hurriedly left the room.

Zheng Zhilong sat on the main seat with a cold expression on his face. Zheng Hongkui was able to do something behind his back, but it was just because he had not expressed his opinion before.

As long as he officially expressed his position, who among the Zheng family would dare to go against his decision?
Most of the dialogue between Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Chenggong in this chapter is based on real events in history.
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(End of this chapter)