Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 182 Dilemma
In the back hall of the Zheng Mansion, Zheng Hongkui sits on the left, below him is Zheng Zhibao, and to his right is Zheng Chenggong

Zheng Hongkui frowned and sat on a chair, thinking about something. The hall was silent.

After a while, Zheng Chenggong finally spoke first, breaking the silence in the hall.

"Why doesn't my third uncle let me take up a position in the court?"

Zheng Hongkui looked at Zheng Chenggong who was silent opposite him, but he spoke in a deep voice

"Da Mu, it's not that Third Uncle is trying to stop you from getting an official position, but that Gui Jianguo and his group really have bad intentions!"

"You have only achieved the title of a student now, why did Gui Jianguo and his entourage suddenly appoint you as a governor? They did this because you are the eldest son of my Zheng family."

"The Gui Regent and his entourage must have found out that your father is not in the city now, so they want to appoint you as the governor of Fujian Province. Their purpose is to use your status as the eldest son of the Zheng family to win over the generals in my Zheng army."

"Once you accept the position of Gui Regent, my Zheng army will immediately fall apart."

Zheng Hongkui also looked gloomy when he said this, and continued in a deep voice

"According to what Zhang Tongchang said, the Gui Regent is now in Zhaoqing, thousands of miles away from Fujian Province. Their purpose of entering Fujian this time is to recruit my Zheng family and then use my Zheng family soldiers to work for them and defend Fujian Province."

"The Gui Regent and his group have bad intentions. Damu, you must not accept their official position at this time!"

Zheng Chenggong heard this and looked at Zheng Hongkui who looked earnest. A hint of disappointment finally flashed across his eyes. He was silent for a moment and suddenly spoke softly.

"I know that the imperial court wants to use my Zheng family's army to resist the Qing invaders, but so what? As Ming officials, isn't this what we should do?"

"If my Zheng family is unable to defend Fujian Province for the imperial court, how can my Zheng family be rewarded with the title of king and the title of duke?"

Zheng Chenggong's voice gradually turned cold as he spoke, staring at Zheng Hongkui and saying

"Could it be that when Third Uncle explained the righteousness to me and asked me to persuade my father not to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, what he said was all lies?"

"Or maybe Third Uncle, the great military scholar of the Ming Dynasty, Duke Dingguo, has changed his mind and is ready to surrender to the Qing Dynasty and become a Tartar like my father did."

Zheng Hongkui looked at Zheng Chenggong, who had a cold expression on his face, but his expression suddenly froze.

Of course, he was unwilling to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, and he sincerely wanted to support the Ming Dynasty.

But what he wanted was to support the Ming court, just like during the Longwu period, with the Zheng family supporting another Zhu Ming imperial family, and the Zheng family still controlling the emperor and ruling the country from the center.
Instead of being far away from the center like now, with only a few empty titles, the Zheng family is risking their lives to fight against the Qing invaders.

But he couldn't say this out loud. Some things can be thought about in private, but once they are spoken out loud, they will be criticized by everyone.

Zheng Hongkui looked at Zheng Chenggong, whose expression was getting colder and colder, and his heart sank. He knew his nephew's temperament well.
At this time, Zheng Chenggong was inspired by the greater good. If he continued to force his way, in a rage, his nephew might really accept the position of Regent Gui directly. This was absolutely unacceptable!

When Zheng Hongkui thought of this, his expression suddenly straightened up and he spoke in a deep voice.

"What Damu said makes sense. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, no one of a different surname has ever been crowned king. The court has now conferred the title of king on our Zheng family. This is a great reward. Our Zheng family should fight to the death to repay the court's kindness."

Zheng Hongkui spoke loudly, but when he got to this point, the subject suddenly changed.

"But now your father has made a mistake. Now your father is in the enemy camp in Fuzhou. If you accept the position of governor of the court and bring my Zheng family back to the court, once the Qing invaders in Fuzhou know the news, I am afraid they will be immediately furious and your father will be in danger in an instant."

"I also want to serve the court, but it is difficult to fulfill both justice and family loyalty at this time. What do you want Third Uncle to choose?"

"Do you really want to watch your father die at the hands of thieves?"

Zheng Hongkui's eyes were slightly red, and he spoke in a hateful voice

Zheng Chenggong stared at Zheng Hongkui for a while, remained silent for a long time, and finally could not say anything.

After this period of contact, he has discovered that his uncle is different from what he thought, so he will not trust him anymore.
But even so, he couldn't deny what Zheng Hongkui said at this time.
Although he had previously resented Zheng Zhilong, he could not ignore it when Zheng Zhilong's safety was really endangered.

His intention to surrender to the Ming Dynasty was naturally unshaken, but the current situation put him in a dilemma.
Zheng Chenggong sat on the chair, frowning and silent for a long time.

Seeing the two people in silence in the hall, Zheng Zhibao couldn't help but speak softly.

"Da Mu, your third uncle is right. The court is certainly righteous, but your father is also our closest relative. You should understand the difficulties of us uncles."

Zheng Hongkui's eyes flickered when he heard what Zheng Zhibao said, and he also spoke quickly.

"Damu, for our Zheng family, the best response now is to drag it out."

"As long as your father returns safely, your uncle will persuade him to give up the idea of ​​surrendering to the Qing Dynasty and serve the court."

Zheng Chenggong looked at Zheng Hongkui, who looked earnest, but his eyes were unmoved. He was silent for a moment, but spoke in a cold voice.

"Before my father surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Third Uncle was unable to persuade him. Now that he has returned with the Tartar Governor's Seal of Fujian and Guangdong, Third Uncle is able to persuade him. Does Third Uncle think I am a three-year-old child?"

Zheng Hongkui looked at Zheng Chenggong, who had an indifferent expression, and his expression changed. But before he could say anything, Zheng Chenggong continued to speak.

"But this matter is just as Uncle San said, it is difficult to have both justice and family."

"I am unable to make a decision on this matter at the moment. I need time to think about it. I will not accept the position of governor for the time being."

Zheng Hongkui's expression relaxed when he heard this, but Zheng Chenggong ignored the expressions of his two uncles and continued to speak.

"But there is one thing I want to make clear to Uncle San. Whether you surrender to the Qing or wait and see, you have your own intricate calculations, but I, Zheng Chenggong, will never surrender to the Qing!"

After Zheng Chenggong finished speaking, he stood up and walked out of the hall.
When Zheng Hongkui saw Zheng Chenggong leaving in a huff, his expression darkened at first, but then he gave a bitter smile. He knew that in his nephew's mind, he might have become a cunning person full of scheming.
"Damu is really too unreasonable. Does he think that everything the Zheng family has now fell from the sky?"

"How many people in our Zheng family have sacrificed? The eldest and third brothers have worked hard for decades to achieve the current situation. If it weren't for us, he thinks the Ming Dynasty would let him be the governor!"

When Zheng Zhibao saw Zheng Chenggong leaving in anger, he was furious and was about to stand up and pull Zheng Chenggong back to the hall, but Zheng Hongkui stopped him.

"Forget it, Da Mu is young after all, and it's hard to explain this matter."

Zheng Hongkui sighed softly, and then sat on the chair with a complicated look.
Zheng Hongkui sat for a while, then his expression calmed down, and he sat on the chair again, frowning and thinking.
After a while, Zheng Hongkui looked at Zheng Zhibao below and spoke softly.

"Have you found out where Gui Jianguo and his group are staying?"

"I found out. I asked Chen Hui to send someone to follow them. They are now in a house in the south of the city," Zheng Zhibao responded immediately.

"How many people?"

"I don't know the exact number, but probably only 20 to 30 people, no more than 50."

After listening to what Zheng Zhibao said, Zheng Hongkui fell silent again. After thinking for a moment, a hint of coldness suddenly flashed in his eyes, and he spoke in a deep voice.

"Fourth brother, immediately send people to surround the residence of Gui Jianguo and his entourage. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my order."

Zheng Zhibao was shocked when he heard this, and he hesitated. He said

"This is a bit inappropriate. After all, Zhang Tongchang and his entourage are imperial envoys, and it seems that Regent Gui is quite generous to our Zheng family. If we surround them, I'm afraid it will not end well."

"I can't care so much. First there was Zheng Cailu, and now there is Gui. If we let them act freely in the city, I'm afraid that Shi Fu and his people will sooner or later become disloyal."

"The most important thing for our Zheng family now is to stabilize the army in the city. As long as our Zheng family army is still there, no one will dare to touch our Zheng family. Before my eldest brother comes back, we must not let them win over those foreign generals in the army."

Zheng Zhibao realized the seriousness of the matter after hearing this and said

"What about Zheng Cai?"

Zheng Hongkui's face darkened when he heard this. Gui Jianguo's side was easy to deal with. Zhang Tongchang's group only had a few dozen people. As long as they sent troops to surround the mansion, they could directly cut off their activities.

But Zheng Hongkui had no way to deal with Zheng Cai. Zheng Cai was different from Zhang Tongchang. This man was originally a general of the Zheng family and also had a large army under his command.
They have soldiers, but Zheng Cai also has soldiers. They can't restrict Zheng Cai's activities at all.
Zheng Cai came to the Zheng Mansion today with his personal soldiers. Since Zheng Cai has already decided to rebel, there is no way he would leave them a chance to behead him.
Zheng Hongkui frowned and thought for a while, but still couldn't think of a way to deal with Zheng Cai, so he stopped thinking about it and spoke directly

"Let's surround Gui Jianguo and his entourage first. The most important thing right now is to stabilize Shi Fu's people and prevent them from having the opportunity to flee elsewhere."

"As for Zheng Cai, I will go talk to him in person to see what he wants to do."

"What we need to do now is to buy time. As long as we wait for the eldest brother to come back, the morale of the army will naturally settle down."

Zheng Hongkui spoke in a deep voice. Zheng Zhibao thought for a moment and nodded heavily. Then he hurried out the door and began to mobilize the troops.

Zheng Cai looked at the lieutenant general Zheng Sheng below and asked

"Have you found out where Gui Jianguo and his group are staying?"

"Yes, when Gui Jianguo and his party left Zheng's mansion, I sent people to follow them all the way. Gui Jianguo and his party lived in a three-story house in the south of the city."

Zheng Cai did not show any sign of relaxation, and asked in a cold voice:

"Is there any news from Zheng Lian? When can they return to Zhongzuo?"

"It's just the news from the past two days. According to the messenger, General Zheng Lian has persuaded the Regent Lu to do the right thing."

"Now the imperial carriage of Lu Jianguo has passed the Haimen Guard of Zhejiang Province. According to the time calculation, he should have entered Fujian by now, but it may take another seven or eight days to return to Zhongzuo."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Cai subconsciously wanted to send someone to urge them, but he soon realized that Zheng Lian and the others were all on the boat at the moment, so even if he sent someone, it would probably be difficult to contact them, so he became more and more annoyed.

Zheng Cai stood up from the chair and paced around the room. After a while, he suddenly couldn't help but yelled

"Where on earth did this damn Gui Jianguo jump out of? Why did he show up at this time instead of earlier or later?"

Due to the struggle between Tang and Lu, the officials of Fujian Province have always been wary of Lu's regent. However, after the fall of Longwu, Lu's regent has become the orthodox court that everyone expects. As long as he can welcome Lu's regent, he can still recruit Zheng's generals with the righteousness of the court.

But at this moment, Gui Jianguo suddenly appeared, and the situation changed drastically.

According to Zhang Tongchang, the Gui Regent was actually appointed by Lü Daqi, who was previously a minister of the Longwu Cabinet.
In other words, Gui Jianguo obviously inherited the Longwu lineage, and the Zheng family members were all Longwu officials.
At this time, Gui Jianguo's party appeared, which not only gave the generals in the army who were unwilling to surrender to the Qing Dynasty another choice, but also greatly affected his actions to win over all parties.

Tang and Lu had been at odds before. Under the same conditions, most of the generals would probably vote for Gui, who inherited the Longwu orthodoxy.

When Zheng Cai thought of this, a hint of sternness flashed in his eyes, and he spoke coldly to Zheng Sheng below.

"I have never heard of the so-called Gui Regent before. It must be a fake dynasty without a doubt!"

"Immediately send people to surround the residence of Gui Jianguo and his entourage in the name of Lu Jianguo. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my order."

A hint of sternness flashed across Zheng Cai's face. Regardless of whether the Gui Regent was appointed by Lu Daqi, this Gui Regent must be a fake.

There can only be one legitimate ruler in the Fujian Province now, and that is Regent Lu!

According to Zheng Sheng's report, it will take another seven or eight days for Lu Jianguo to arrive at Zhongzuo. As long as Gui Jianguo and his entourage are locked up and these people are not allowed to win over the generals during this period, the situation will be settled once Lu Jianguo arrives.
One side is just an envoy of Gui Regent, while the other side is the Regent himself. Can a mere envoy win over Lu Regent?
Upon hearing this, Zheng Sheng also bowed and accepted the order, then hurriedly left the hall and began to gather people.

In Anping City, two groups of people set out at the same time, heading towards the south of the city.
(End of this chapter)