Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 179 Mission
Zheng Zhilong set out from Anping on the tenth day of the eleventh month and arrived in Fuzhou on the fifteenth day. Bolo was overjoyed to see Zheng Zhilong coming and personally hosted a banquet for him.

Zheng Zhilong and the people in Fuzhou were drunk at the banquet, and both the host and the guests were in a good mood. However, Bolo took advantage of Zheng Zhilong's drunkenness that night and sent someone to forge Zheng Zhilong's order and directly sent people into Zheng Zhilong's camp to disarm all the 500 soldiers brought by Zheng Zhilong.

When Zheng Zhilong sobered up the next day, he immediately realized that something was wrong, but by then he had been separated from his soldiers. No matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to follow orders in Fuzhou City.

A dragon without power is like an earthworm. Even if Zheng Zhilong is a giant whale on the sea, once he leaves the sea warship, he is like a fish without water and can only be slaughtered by others.

Zheng Zhilong forced himself to smile in Fuzhou for several days, trying every way to get out of here. However, the Fujian gentry such as Guo Bichang, who had made promises to him in the past, now avoided him or talked about other things.

When Bolo finally cleared out the soldiers led by Zheng Zhilong and completed the handover of Fujian Province, his true colors were finally revealed.
Bolo directly sent people to take over Zheng Zhilong's residence, openly arranged for people to monitor Zheng Zhilong, and informed Zheng Zhilong that he would take him back to Beijing to meet the emperor.
Zheng Zhilong still did not give up at this time. He asked someone to inform Bolo that it was his wish to go to Beijing to see the emperor. However, Zheng's men and his eldest son now controlled various armies and were waiting for his news along the coast. If he suddenly went to Beijing at this time, he might not be able to communicate with Zheng's generals, and chaos would break out on the sea in Fujian Province.

Zheng Zhilong wanted to use the safety of Zheng's generals and the sea border to force Bolo to release him, or at least not take him out of Fujian Province. As long as he was in Fujian Province, relying on the support of Zheng's generals, Zheng Zhilong still had a chance to regain his freedom.

But Bolo's idea was exactly the opposite of Zheng Zhilong's. Bolo believed that Zheng Zhilong was the leader of the Zheng family, and all the generals in the Zheng family were Zheng Zhilong's relatives. As long as Zheng Zhilong was taken away, the generals of the Zheng family would not dare to act rashly for Zheng Zhilong's safety.

At that time, the Qing government only needs to use its military force to force the Zheng generals to surrender without a leader.

The Qing court could then dismember and swallow up the entire Zheng family and obtain the navy that the Qing court needed most.
Therefore, after learning about Zheng Zhilong's report, Bolo directly said to Zheng Zhilong, "This has nothing to do with you, and it is not my concern," and then he ignored Zheng Zhilong.
After imprisoning Zheng Zhilong, Bolo believed that Fujian Province had been completely pacified, so he directly ordered Zheng Zhilong to write dozens of letters to persuade Zheng's generals to surrender.

Bolo handed these letters to Zhang Cunren, the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian, and ordered him to take the letters to persuade Zheng's generals to surrender. Then he took Zheng Zhilong, as well as Zhu Jizuo, Huang Mingjun and other Longwu cabinet officials who were captured during the trip to Fujian, and led his troops back to the court.

The Qing court believed that Zheng Zhilong was the leader of the Zheng family. If Zheng Zhilong was captured, the Zheng family would become a mess and be annexed by the Qing army.
However, the Qing court had no idea about the internal situation of Zheng's army. The origins of the various units in Zheng's army were extremely complicated. Many of them were pirates and merchants who invested in Zheng Zhilong after he became famous.
These people were self-contained and very independent, so there were many gangs and mountains in Zheng Zhilong's army.
It can be said that the reason why the Zheng family is now the Zheng family is all due to the prestige of Zheng Zhilong. Once Zheng Zhilong was arrested, the Zheng family was leaderless, but what followed was not the chaos that the Qing court had expected, but the rise of dragons and snakes.
Zheng Zhilong went to Fuzhou to fall into the trap and was forced to go north by Bolo. In fact, on the day Zheng Zhilong left Anping City, undercurrents had already surged in the city.
South of Anping City, on November 14, Deng Mingwu, dressed in a round-collared robe and accompanied by two servants, dressed like a traveling merchant, hurriedly walked through the street and came to the door of a secluded house.
Deng Mingwu pulled the copper ring on the door and knocked on the gate rhythmically. Soon, a vigilant voice came from inside the door.

"Who"

"Today I went out and bought nine stones of cinnabar for five ounces. I came here to report to my boss."

Deng Mingwu spoke softly, and soon the gate was opened. Deng Mingwu walked directly into the courtyard. When Deng Mingwu walked into the door, the dark gate was immediately closed tightly.
As soon as Deng Mingwu entered the courtyard, Yang Sheng, the captain in charge of the courtyard's defense, came forward and said,

"Mr. Tongzhi, please go to the backyard quickly. Minister Zhang is clamoring to go out again, and the brothers can't stop him," Yang Sheng said with a wry smile.

Deng Mingwu saw Yang Sheng sweating profusely, but he didn't say anything. He just nodded and walked towards the backyard.
"Where is Deng Mingwu? Ask Deng Mingwu to come over. What does he want to do? I am the chief envoy of the delegation. What qualifications does he have to restrict my actions?"

Before Deng Mingwu entered the backyard, he could already hear the angry shouts coming from the back hall.

Deng Mingwu's expression did not change when he heard this, and he walked directly into the backyard. He had heard this kind of words countless times in the past few days, and he had already gotten used to it.
In the back hall, Zhang Tongchang and Liu Xiangke stood in the hall with ugly expressions on their faces, and several Jinyiwei soldiers stood by the door, blocking the two of them.
Zhang Tongchang had an angry look on his face. When he saw Deng Mingwu walking into the courtyard, he immediately shouted:
"Deng Mingwu, you have imprisoned me in this courtyard for five or six days. What do you want to do?"

"If you delay the important affairs of the court, you will be killed!"

Zhang Tongchang looked angry, but Deng Mingwu remained unmoved. He just said respectfully:
"His Highness has ordered me to be responsible for the escort of the delegation along the way. Lord Zhang is a pillar of the court. Before he left, His Highness repeatedly told me to ensure Lord Zhang's safety."

"The situation in Anping City is complicated now. How dare I let Lord Zhang take risks before I understand the situation clearly?"

"You are saying the same thing again. Your Highness only asked you to be responsible for safety along the way. Now that we have arrived in Anping, you should follow me as the chief envoy of the delegation."

"Deng Mingwu, you have delayed me for several days. I must leave the house today," Zhang Tongchang said viciously.

"I obey your order."

Deng Mingwu spoke directly after hearing this, and bowed to Zhang Tongchang, then waved his hand. The Jinyiwei at the door immediately breathed a sigh of relief and quickly retreated from the door.

Zhang Tongchang originally thought that Deng Mingwu would just give him a perfunctory response as usual, but he did not expect that Deng Mingwu would agree so readily this time. He was stunned for a moment.
Zhang Tongchang exchanged glances with Liu Xiangke beside him, and then looked at Deng Mingwu with a look of doubt, but before he could say anything, Deng Mingwu took the initiative to speak.

"I have already found out the situation in the city. Zheng Zhilong left the city four days ago and went to Fuzhou to surrender to the Qing Dynasty."

"What did you say"

Zhang Tongchang was shocked when he heard this. They arrived in Anping on November 9th, which meant that they had a chance to persuade Zheng Zhilong before he set off, but now everything was ruined because of Deng Mingwu.
After arriving in Anping City, Deng Mingwu locked everyone in his mansion on the pretext of protecting the delegation's safety.
Except for Deng Mingwu's men, no one else was allowed to enter or leave, and they spent several days in the courtyard, missing the last chance to persuade Zheng Zhilong.

"Deng Mingwu, you imprisoned me, causing Zheng Zhilong to surrender to the Qing Dynasty and delaying the court's important affairs. You... you deserve to die," Zhang Tongchang said angrily.
Zhang Tongchang looked angry, and the two of them kept silent. Deng Mingwu also lowered his head and remained silent, and the hall fell into a stalemate for a while.

In the lobby, Zhang Tongchang glared at Deng Mingwu, and at this moment, he heard a quarrel at the door, and a man in a brocade robe holding a melon walked out of the room.

Wu Jisi glanced at Zhang Tongchang, who was standing by the door with an angry look on his face. He ate the honeydew melon in his hand in two or three bites, and then he said,

"Minister Zhang, please calm down. After all, Anping City is Zheng Zhilong's territory. Deng Tongzhi did this for our safety."

"Besides, according to what Deng Tongzhi said, Zheng Zhilong set out for Fuzhou to surrender to the Qing Dynasty one day after we arrived. I believe he had already reached an agreement with the Qing court before that."

"If Minister Zhang had barged in like this that day, he might have been captured by Zheng Zhilong and sent to the Qing court as a great merit. Deng Tongzhi saved our lives by doing this."

Zhang Tongchang heard this and shouted angrily
"Everyone knows that Zheng Zhilong wants to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. We are entering Fujian this time to exchange our lives for a possible chance. If you were afraid of death, why did you enter Fujian in the first place?"

"Now that we have failed to stop Zheng Zhilong, the situation in Fujian Province is about to deteriorate. How do you want me to explain this to His Highness?"

Wu Jisi's expression froze when he heard this. Zhang Tongchang became more and more angry when he saw Wu Jisi's careless look.

"And you"

"You are the commander of the Royal Guards, and he is the deputy governor. You are in the same group. You have joined forces to imprison me, and now you dare to make excuses for him."

When Wu Jisi heard what Zhang Tongchang said, his eyes turned and he immediately cried out for justice.

"What are you talking about, Minister Zhang? I have been confined to the room with Minister Zhang and Imperial Censor Liu for the past few days, but I have never left the backyard."

"I, the commander, am not unaware of this, it's just a title. Minister Zhang really wronged a good man." Zhang Tongchang looked at Wu Jisi, who looked like a rogue, and felt helpless. The core of the delegation consisted of five people, including Liu Xiangke, the Chief Censor, Deng Mingwu, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Lin Cha, and Wu Jisi.
Liu Xiangke was an imperial censor during the Longwu Dynasty, and a capable general under Lu Daqi and Li Yongmao. He was very familiar with the civil officials in Fujian Province. Liu Xiangke came here to gain the trust of the civil officials in Fujian Province.
Lin Cha was an old general of Zheng Zhilong and was very familiar with Zheng's situation. Naturally, he also entered Fujian with him.

Deng Mingwu was no exception. Although Deng Mingwu was imprisoned as soon as he entered Anping, he was very capable along the way. They were able to arrive in Anping smoothly, thanks to the protection of Deng Mingwu and other Jinyiwei.

But he still hasn't figured out why His Royal Highness the Regent wanted to include Wu Jisi in the delegation.
This person was useless along the way except for eating, drinking and having fun. He also ate and drank a lot during the days of being imprisoned, looking heartless.
Wu Jisi ignored Zhang Tongchang who was furious. He glanced at Deng Mingwu who was calm and had his head down. His eyes flickered.

Although His Majesty the Regent had not told him about Deng Mingwu, He did give him some advice before he left, asking him to follow Deng Mingwu's arrangements along the way. Wu Jisi understood that His Majesty the Regent must have other instructions for Deng Mingwu.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Wu Jisi hurriedly tried to smooth things over and said

"Zheng Zhilong's surrender to the Qing Dynasty is a foregone conclusion. Even if Minister Zhang is angry again, it will be useless. We should focus on the important matters at the moment."

Wu Jisi finished speaking and looked directly at Deng Mingwu without waiting for Zhang Tongchang to reply.

"Tongzhi Deng, how is Zheng's situation now?"

Deng Mingwu nodded to Wu Jisi, then his face became serious and he spoke

"In the past few days, I have ordered Lin Cha to hide his identity as a former general of the Zheng family and gather information in Anping City. Now Lin Cha has secretly approached Dinghai General Zhou Hezhi."

"According to Lin Cha's report, before Zheng Zhilong left Anping City, he informed the generals of the Zheng army that he would go to Fuzhou to negotiate with the Qing court, citing the threat of the Qing army."

"In fact, Zheng Zhilong was notifying the troops that he was about to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, and the generals knew this very well."

"What is the attitude of Zheng's army?"

Zhang Tongchang didn't care about what happened before and asked

Zheng Zhilong's surrender to the Qing Dynasty was irreversible. Fortunately, His Highness was wise and had already made arrangements for this situation. When Zhang Tongchang thought of this, he was also very happy. His Highness was truly wise.

The key now is to follow His Highness's arrangement and win over Zheng's generals. As for Deng Mingwu's crime, Zhang Tongchang will have his own impeachment letter later.

Deng Mingwu heard this, but shook his head slightly and continued in a deep voice

"Zheng Zhilong has accumulated a lot of prestige among the Zheng family. Except for a few middle-level officers such as Zhou Hezhi and Xin Yigen, who are determined and have clearly stated that they are unwilling to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, Zheng's direct descendants such as Shi Fu and Huang Ting are all silent. I'm afraid they are also waiting to see the situation."

Deng Mingwu glanced at Zhang Tongchang, Liu Xiangke and others who looked serious, and continued to speak.

"I went out today, and Lin Cha brought me another piece of news. The former Yongsheng Earl Zheng Cai suddenly notified all the officers and soldiers in the army, summoning them to go to the Zheng Mansion tomorrow, saying that there was something important to discuss."

"Zhou Hezhi also received a notice, but Zheng Cai did not specify what it was about. However, I guess it is related to the surrender to the Qing Dynasty."

"Zheng Zhilong is not here, shouldn't Zheng Hongkui be the one in charge? Why is it Zheng Cai who is gathering everyone? Who has the final say in the Zheng family now?" Zhang Tongchang frowned slightly.

"I don't know. Logically, Zheng Hongkui should be in charge, but the internal affairs of the Zheng family are too complicated. Lin Cha couldn't figure out what was going on for a while." Deng Mingwu shook his head slightly.

"Where is Zheng Chenggong, the son of Zheng Zhilong? Can you find out where he is? He is in Anping City," Zhang Tongchang asked again.

"I have sent Lin Cha to investigate, but Zhou Hezhi is not a direct descendant of the Zheng family, so there is no trace of Zheng Chenggong for the time being."

Zhang Tongchang frowned upon hearing this. According to His Highness' plan, if Zheng Zhilong had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty by then, they would secretly win over Zheng Chenggong, who was determined to resist the Qing Dynasty.
After winning over Zheng Chenggong, they used Zheng Chenggong's identity to unite the generals of the Zheng army who were loyal to the court. But now they can't even be sure whether Zheng Chenggong is in Anping.

Zhang Tongchang frowned and thought for a while, and finally said

"Since the Zheng generals will gather tomorrow, we will also go to the Zheng Mansion tomorrow!"

Wu Jisi was hesitant when he heard this.
"Zheng Zhilong has already surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. Is it too risky to go to Zheng's mansion at this time?"

"It might be safer to wait for Lin to find out where Zheng Chenggong is and then contact him privately."

Zhang Tongchang glanced at Wu Jisi, but his expression remained unmoved. He said

"I don't care about that. Tomorrow's gathering of Zheng's generals is a great opportunity. We can take this opportunity to announce the location of the court to all the generals."

"Zheng Zhilong has left Anping, and the Zheng generals are now leaderless. We must take advantage of this opportunity to recruit Zheng's generals who are loyal to the court. If Zheng Chenggong is gone, we will appoint Zheng Hongkui. If Zheng Hongkui is gone, we will appoint Zhou Hezhi. In short, we must not let all of Zheng's troops turn to the Qing court."

"I am the official envoy on this mission. This matter has been settled. You can't wait to say more."

Zhang Tongchang waved his hand and made the decision directly, but when he glanced across the hall, he suddenly saw Deng Mingwu who was listening quietly at the side, and his expression froze for a moment.

Zhang Tongchang stared at Deng Mingwu and spoke in a cold voice

"Mr. Deng, if you still want to stop me this time, then you don't need to ask me what you want to do. Just go and do your job."

Deng Mingwu heard this and finally showed a trace of helplessness on his face. He said respectfully:
"The situation was unclear before. In order to ensure the safety of all the gentlemen, I have offended you. I hope you will forgive me, Master Zhang."

"Now that the situation has been ascertained, Lord Zhang will be in charge of future actions. From now on, if Lord Zhang gives any order, I will never dare to disobey."

Zhang Tongchang had already made the decision, and Deng Mingwu also said that he would obey orders. These two were the leaders of the delegation. At this time, they had the same opinion, so Liu Xiangke and Wu Jisi had no choice but to obey orders.
After everyone in the hall had discussed and decided, they dispersed and prepared for the various matters of going to Zheng Mansion tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)