Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1012 Selfishness
"Dad, what did the boss tell you about this?" Shi Xian hesitated and couldn't help asking.

"What else can I say? Just say it like that." Shi Daxuan sighed, but Shi Xian was not willing to let his father get away with it like this. Under his continued questioning, Shi Daxuan could only tell his son everything Zheng Zhilong had said to him today.

After listening to Shi Daxuan's retelling, Shi Xian's face suddenly turned dark: "Dad! The boss is using you as a raft!"

"This matter is big and small. After all, the boss has the final say in Fujian. Besides, this kind of thing is very common in the army. Although this matter has some risks, it is nothing more than a little troublesome..."

"Dad!" Shi Xian was immediately anxious, "You always say that you are the boss's man, but how did the boss treat you? In fact, you are also an elder of the Eighteen Zhi. Among the Eighteen Zhi, let's not talk about Yang Liu, Yang Qi, Zhong Bin, Liu Xiang, Li Kuiqi, He Bin, and Guo Huaiyi. Later, they turned against the boss and died or left. Yang Tiansheng and Chen Zhongji died at the hands of Li Kuiqi, Tiger Lord was killed in the battle with Liu Xiang, Leopard Lord, Wan Lord, and Phoenix Lord are all brothers of the boss, and the remaining people are only you, Hong Xu, and Gan Hui."

"Now Hong Xu and Gan Hui are General Dingguo and General Zhenguo respectively. Their ranks are higher than yours. But in terms of qualifications, you were ahead of them back then, but now you are behind. With your contributions and abilities, you should be General Zhenguo, if not General Dingguo. But what about now? A mere Anyuanxiao? What the hell is that? If Dadang really cared about you, would he have watched you suffer like this? Now he..."

"Enough!" Hearing Shi Xian's increasingly outrageous words, Shi Daxuan stopped him sternly, "How dare you say such nonsense? If this gets to the ears of the big boss, even I, your father, can't protect you!"

"Dad!" Seeing his father's look, Shi Xian said anxiously, "Let's not talk about whether you dare to say it for now, but the fact is here. Dad, you have eaten more salt than your son has eaten rice. You have to think about this matter carefully. How has the boss treated you all these years? When we were fighting for the world together, he treated you like a brother, and holding your hand was closer than holding his own brother. But now? He couldn't even help you get a mere general of the country, and you worked hard for half a lifetime and only got a Anyuan school?"

"That's fine, but now I'm throwing this mess to you. How can I use you? It's clearly letting you take the blame! What you said just now is indeed correct. There are many generals in my Ming Dynasty who make trouble in the military register, but this was not the case now. Since Emperor Yongming entered the capital, the rules of the court have changed every day, especially what the court has done in the past year. Don't you understand it, Dad?"

"Before, due to external and internal troubles, the court relied heavily on military generals. In order to suppress the bandits and quell the rebellion, it turned a blind eye to many things in the army. Now that the internal troubles have been eliminated, only the Jiannu have not been eliminated. With the military strength of our Ming Dynasty, it is only a matter of time before we can resolve the war in Liaodong. The reason why the court has temporarily stabilized Liaodong is that, on the one hand, the internal situation is unstable shortly after the new monarch ascended the throne, and on the other hand, the court is freeing up its hands to reorganize the various armies. The court's post report clearly states that Wu Xiang, Zuo Liangyu, General Cao, He Renlong and others have all been recalled to the capital to serve. The court made a big fuss about military positions and ranks some time ago, and the mystery is obvious."

"If my son's guess is correct, the boss handed this matter to me today because he really wanted to deal with the new Governor Hong, right? But think about it carefully, who is this Governor Hong? Why did His Majesty send him to Fujian? The boss handed this matter to me, what if something goes wrong? When Governor Hong and the court come to question me, will you bear the blame?"

"This..." Shi Daxuan was speechless. In fact, he was also muttering in his heart and really didn't want to get involved in this trouble.

Just like what Shi Xian said, Shi Daxuan had a long career and made great contributions, but the treatment he received was far from satisfactory, otherwise he would not have so many complaints. Moreover, the court now is indeed different from the past, especially not long ago, the court suddenly issued a document to establish the post of governor in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, and transferred the governor of Huguang, Hong Chengchou, to serve as the newly established governor of Fujian and Zhejiang.

Although Shi Daxuan had never met Hong Chengchou, let alone dealt with him, he had heard of him. You should know that Gao Yingxiang, the king of the rebels, was killed by Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting. In the subsequent suppression of various bandits in the Central Plains, Hong Chengchou made great contributions. Otherwise, he would not have been appointed by the emperor as the governor of Huguang.

No matter from which point of view, Hong Chengchou is a favorite of the emperor, not to mention that he was transferred to the post of Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang this time, which has far-reaching significance. There is another thing that others don't know, but Shi Daxuan knows, that is, the red-haired barbarians entrenched in Xiaoliuqiu. The court had long ago ordered Zheng Zhilong to send troops to deal with the red-haired barbarians in Xiaoliuqiu, but Zheng Zhilong has always been loud and weak, pretending to be good with the court, and never giving his all. Until now, the red-haired barbarians still occupy land in Xiaoliuqiu and even build cities and station troops.

In fact, with Zheng Zhilong's military strength, it would be effortless to drive out these red-haired barbarians. How many red-haired barbarians were there in Xiaoliuqiu? Zheng Zhilong had a huge army of 150,000! Among these 150,000 arrogant soldiers, nearly half were naval forces. To put it bluntly, one person's urine could drown the red-haired barbarians on the island, not to mention sending troops to attack.

Zheng Zhilong's reasoning for doing this is to keep the enemy for his own benefit. How did these red-haired barbarians get to Xiaoliuqiu? Wasn't it because of Zheng Zhilong's deliberate indulgence? Otherwise, with the power of the Zheng Group at sea, how could hundreds or thousands of red-haired barbarians swagger onto Xiaoliuqiu and do these things under Zheng Zhilong's nose? It's impossible!
Moreover, Zheng Zhilong now let Shi Daxuan be in charge of the military register, which clearly showed that he wanted to conceal his strength under the eyes of the court. There were many cases among the generals of the Ming Dynasty who ate empty salaries and supported family servants, and there were many people on the military register but few in reality. However, Zheng Zhilong did the opposite. He had an army of 150,000 but only compiled a military register of 50,000. In other words, he directly concealed 100,000 people from the court. These people were all Zheng Zhilong's private army, who only listened to Zheng Zhilong's command, were not on the court's military register at all, and did not receive the court's military salary.

Speaking of military pay, Zheng Zhilong is different from others. Unlike other poor generals, Zheng Zhilong is very rich. He was already rich when he was a pirate. Now as a senior general of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Zhilong's wealth is only more than before, not less.

It is no exaggeration to say that he is rich enough to rival a country. With the income from the monopoly of the South China Sea, Zheng Zhilong can afford to support his army. And that's not all. Apart from the expenses of supporting the army, Zheng Zhilong can also earn millions of dollars every year. Among them, Chen Bao, who is stationed in Nan'ao, does this job for Zheng Zhilong. Every day, countless gold and silver flows into Zheng Zhilong's pocket. Otherwise, how could Chen Bao become a general with his qualifications? "Don't spread this matter. If I know that you are talking too much, I will not forgive you!" Although Shi Daxuan felt a little weak in his heart, he was still very tough on the surface. He glared at Shi Xian and warned him.

Shi Xian knew that he could not convince his father, and with the friendship between Shi Daxuan and Zheng Zhilong for many years, Shi Daxuan still favored Zheng Zhilong emotionally. Their generation was different from the younger generation like Shi Xian. They fought side by side in the sea with their heads on the line. Moreover, as the boss of the Zheng Group, Zheng Zhilong had a stable position in the hearts of Shi Daxuan and other old brothers, and he also had a very high prestige. Otherwise, with Shi Daxuan's bad temper, he would have made a fuss long ago when he only got Anyuan School. How could he swallow his anger?

Seeing that he could not convince Shi Daxuan, Shi Xian felt helpless. Compared with his father, although Shi Xian was neither good at literature nor martial arts, he was still a well-educated person and could see some things more clearly. In Shi Xian's opinion, Zheng Zhilong's decision to let his father do this was too risky. If something went wrong, Shi Daxuan would be the one who would suffer.

But Shi Daxuan still had illusions about Zheng Zhilong, which made Shi Xian helpless. Shi Xian had been dissatisfied with Zheng Zhilong's behavior towards his father long before, thinking that Zheng Zhilong was partial and selfish. Shi Daxuan had worked hard with Zheng Zhilong for so many years, but what he got was far less than what he paid.

After staying at home for a day, Shi Xian quietly went out the next morning. He did not disturb Shi Daxuan when he went out. It was not because his father did not allow him to go out for drinks, but because he was worried about the trouble if his father stopped him from going out.

Shi Xian secretly left through the side door and went straight to an alley in the west of the city. The alleys in Fujian are a local feature, with twists and turns leading to all directions. Shi Xian avoided people and went into the alley. After walking for a long time, he finally came to an inconspicuous house.

Looking around and seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Shi Xian walked forward and knocked on the door. After a few breaths, the tightly closed door opened from the inside. An ordinary-looking middle-aged man saw that it was Shi Xian and quickly stepped aside to let him in. After Shi Xian entered the door, the man looked around and then closed the door.

"Why did you come here without even saying hello?" The middle-aged man asked after closing the door.

"It's urgent." Shi Xian replied.

The middle-aged man frowned slightly, said to Shi Xian, "Follow me," and then walked inside. Shi Xian followed behind him. The two of them walked through the front yard, along the corridor to the backyard, and then came to a wing room.

"grown ups!"

"What's the matter?"

"Second Master Shi is here."

"Let him in."

"Yes..." The middle-aged man then let Shi Xian in. After Shi Xian entered the wing room, he closed the door from the outside. Then, he did not guard the door, but walked to the door of the backyard about ten steps away from the wing room, took out a broom from the corner, and began to sweep the floor carefully.

(End of this chapter)