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

Chapter 1047 Suspicion
After killing Chen Bao, Zheng Zhilong finally got rid of his anger. But just when he was happy about it, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Xiong Wencan, got wind of this from somewhere and wrote a letter to the court to impeach Zheng Zhilong on the grounds that Zheng Zhilong had killed an official appointed by the court without authorization.

Not only that, the matter soon spread to Fujian. People in Fujian were shocked when they learned of Chen Bao's death. Even the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, Hong Chengchou, sent people to inquire about the matter and questioned Zheng Zhilong why he wanted to kill Chen Bao. If Zheng Zhilong had only arrested Chen Bao in the name of a superior and then dealt with him according to normal procedures, there would be no problem with either national law or military law. However, Zheng Zhilong directly sent people to kill Chen Bao, which was completely different in nature. After all, Chen Bao was an official appointed by the court, a general who defended the country. Zheng Zhilong actually killed an official of such level directly, and he chased him in such a way. It was really appalling.

Hong Chengchou was the governor-general of Fujian and Zhejiang, in control of the military and political affairs of Fujian and Zhejiang. He could not explain to the court why his subordinates had committed such a serious crime. In addition, due to Xiong Wencan's impeachment, Hong Chengchou could not remain indifferent. He directly put pressure on Zheng Zhilong to explain the situation and hand over the murderer.

In addition, the death of Chen Bao also triggered a series of follow-ups, especially Nan'ao, where Chen Bao was before. Nan'ao originally belonged to Guangdong. When Chen Bao was alive, Nan'ao was controlled by Chen Bao, in other words, it was controlled by Zheng Zhilong. Now that Chen Bao is dead, Nan'ao has no commander. Xiong Wencan directly sent people to take over Nan'ao in the name of the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and took Nan'ao back before Zheng Zhilong. This move made Zheng Zhilong furious. You must know that the importance of Nan'ao is very important to Zheng Zhilong's group. Because of Nan'ao, Zheng Zhilong's tentacles can be directly extended to the South China Sea on the grounds of Nan'ao, control the important sea routes in the South China Sea, and make money for it.

Once Nan'ao fell into Xiong Wencan's hands, it would not be so easy for Zheng Zhilong to continue to control the South China Sea as before. Although Zheng Zhilong's fleet was still there and his strength was not lost, without the bridgehead of Nan'ao, Zheng Zhilong's control over the South China Sea would be greatly weakened. In addition, Xiong Wencan used Nan'ao as a base to block Zheng Zhilong's route to the South China Sea, making it impossible for Zheng Zhilong to control the South China Sea as easily as before.

That’s not all. Chen Bao’s death also caused instability within Zheng Zhilong’s ranks. Everyone knew that Chen Bao was one of the old men who followed Zheng Zhilong. Although Chen Bao’s character was not very good, he was loyal to Zheng Zhilong. Over the years, he had helped Zheng Zhilong control the important roads in the South China Sea in Nan’ao and made a lot of money. Zheng Zhilong actually killed such a person without authorization. What did other people think?
Zheng Zhilong killed Chen Bao just because of a rumor, and also killed Chen Bao's family members. This was too cruel.

Although they all came from pirate backgrounds and started out by doing no-cost business on the sea with their heads on the line, the problem is that all of them have long been recruited by the imperial court and have changed from bandits to officials. Chen Bao's official position is not low and his military rank is also high, but he still cannot save his life with his status and position, let alone others?

For this reason, many people began to panic, fearing that Zheng Zhilong would attack them next. There were even rumors that Zheng Zhilong killed Chen Bao not because Chen Bao wanted to rebel against Zheng Zhilong, but because Zheng Zhilong had his eyes on Chen Bao's money, and the facts proved this point. After Chen Bao's death, all his huge wealth was swallowed up by the Zheng brothers.

All kinds of rumors were flying around for a while. Zheng Zhilong had never expected such a situation to happen. His mood, which had just improved because of Chen Bao's death, suddenly became bad. The pressure from all sides made Zheng Zhilong a little at a loss. He could only find ways to solve the problems in the officialdom on the one hand, and on the other hand, he had to free up his hands to deal with the problems within the Zheng Group in order to appease people's hearts.

But even so, Zheng Zhilong was a little anxious. He never expected that just Chen Bao would trigger such a chain reaction, which he had not predicted before. In addition, even the three Zheng brothers had a conflict because of this incident. When Zheng Zhibao brought people back, Zheng Zhiwan directly criticized Zheng Zhibao for being too reckless in front of him. There was obviously a better way to deal with Chen Bao, so why did he make such a big fuss about this matter?
"Is this my fault?" Zheng Zhibao said unconvincedly, "I haven't even arrived in Nan'ao yet, and Chen Bao ran away. All the arrangements before him have gone to waste. And this guy is determined to join Xiong Wencan. What will happen if he goes to Xiong Wencan's side? Don't forget how much Chen Bao has done for us brothers over the years, especially in Nanhai, where he is in charge. He has a lot of secrets in his hands. If all these are revealed, will you and I be safe?"

"But even so, we can't do it in a big way!" Zheng Zhiwan complained, "Since you led people to intercept Chen Bao, why did you kill him on the spot? Why not just bring him back? As long as he is in your hands, when can you not kill him? What means can't you use to kill him? Now that Chen Bao is dead, rumors are flying everywhere. The two governors' offices of Guangdong and Guangxi and Fujian and Zhejiang also want you to give an explanation. Once the court blames you for this matter, how will you ask you to explain it?"

Zheng Zhiwan was extremely dissatisfied with the result of Zheng Zhibao's action against Chen Bao. In his opinion, there was obviously a better solution, but Zheng Zhibao chose to take the most drastic and worst means.

According to the plan they had discussed before, Zheng Zhibao would go there on the pretext of inspecting Nan'ao, and then take control of Nan'ao while Chen Bao was not prepared, and then let Chen Bao fall into the trap and go to see Zheng Zhibao. As soon as Chen Bao appeared, Zheng Zhibao could use the troops in his hands to directly control Chen Bao and arrest him. By then, even if Chen Bao had wings, he would not be able to escape. Wouldn't it be extremely easy to deal with him in the end?

Catching Chen Bao was the first step, and the second step was to find out how much money Chen Bao had secretly made through the "business" in the South China Sea over the years, and make him spit out all the money. Once the money was in hand, Chen Bao would be useless, and then he could be killed in any way he wanted.

Because Chen Bao was an old member of Zheng Zhilong's group, in order to reduce the impact of Chen Bao's death, the best way is to put Chen Bao under house arrest first, and then find a reason to remove him from his position. Without the official skin on his body, Chen Bao is a fish to be slaughtered. By that time, whether it is poisoning or other means, Chen Bao can die silently. Moreover, such a death has no sequelae, and it can give an explanation to others. Isn't it good?
However, Zheng Zhibao used such a method. He not only led people to openly kill Chen Bao, but also beheaded him on the spot instead of capturing him alive. Chen Bao's death could not be buried at all. The pressure from all sides made Zheng Zhilong very worried. Even many people in Zheng's group were dissatisfied with this incident, which caused panic among the people.

"I've already said that I didn't intend to do this, but Chen Bao ran away before I even got to Nan'ao. Could I just watch him go to Xiong Wencan? Besides, after I caught Chen Bao, he was desperate and wanted to fight to the death. In this situation, I had no choice but to be ruthless. If I show mercy and let him escape, won't I be responsible?" Zheng Zhibao said dissatisfiedly. "Since you're talking about this, I'm surprised." Zheng Zhiwan sneered and asked back, "The plan was discussed by us brothers at the beginning, and you led people to do it. Everything was fine before you went there, but Chen Bao knew about it right after you went to Nan'ao, and he left Nan'ao directly. How did he know that you were going to attack him?"

Zheng Zhibao glared at him, anger flashing across his face: "What do you mean? Do you think I was the one who tipped off Chen Bao? If that was the case, why would I lead people to kill Chen Bao? And kill him myself?"

"Haha, I didn't say that. I just think this matter is strange. Where did Chen Bao get the news? Why did he run away? If he didn't know the intention in advance, he would never run away like this. By the way, I heard that after Chen Bao died, all the family property he brought with him fell into your hands? I wonder how much gold and silver you got? Why don't you report this to Big Brother?"

"You...you! You are such a good man, Zheng Laosi! You want to throw dirty water on me? Dream on! I have done the right thing and I believe I have nothing to be ashamed of. How can I know where Chen Bao got the news from? As for the family property that Chen Bao brought, it did fall into my hands. Although the gold and silver I got were not small, they were not as much as I expected. I haven't had time to report this to my eldest brother yet, and you asked me this question first. What's your intention?"

"What do you mean? I don't mean anything, I just think this matter is strange." Zheng Zhiwan smiled and cast a meaningful look at Zheng Zhibao.

"Enough!" Just as the two brothers were arguing with each other, their words were getting more and more outrageous and were about to start a quarrel, Zheng Zhilong slammed the table and stopped them.

He narrowed his eyes and glanced towards them. His sharp gaze made Zheng Zhiwan and Zheng Zhibao subconsciously avoid him.

Zheng Zhilong's good mood in the past few days was swept away. The aftermath of Chen Bao's death made him a little anxious and at the same time he was secretly angry that Zheng Zhibao was unreliable. They had clearly discussed the matter well, but he used the most drastic means to deal with Chen Bao, which put Zheng Zhilong into an embarrassing situation.

Zheng Zhilong also had some doubts about what Zheng Zhiwan said. In particular, how did Chen Bao know in advance that he was going to attack him? Obviously, everything was arranged well before doing this, but Chen Bao knew the purpose of the other party's coming before Zheng Zhibao arrived in Nan'ao, and directly abandoned Nan'ao and ran away. This could not help but make Zheng Zhilong suspicious.

Of course, although Zheng Zhilong had doubts, he would not doubt Zheng Zhibao. After all, Zheng Zhibao was his brother, and even if the bones were broken, the tendons were still connected. Others might betray him, but it was absolutely impossible for Zheng Zhibao to do so. Of course, the same was true for Zheng Zhiwan. If he could not even trust them, Zheng Zhilong did not know who he could trust.

What's more, the plan to deal with Chen Bao was originally discussed by the three of them. If any one of them had private dealings with Chen Bao, Chen Bao would not have learned the news and fled when Zheng Zhibao was about to arrive in South Australia, and he would not have been intercepted and killed by Zheng Zhibao later.

After much thought, Zheng Zhilong could only think of one possibility, that is, the reason why Chen Bao knew about this must be that someone leaked the news, and this person who leaked the news was definitely not Zheng Zhiwan and Zheng Zhibao who knew the plan in advance. The most likely person was someone who was traveling with Zheng Zhibao, among whom Hong Xu and Gan Hui were the most likely suspects.

(End of this chapter)