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

Chapter 1049 Church Planning
Since he had decided to kill them, Zheng Zhilong would not show any mercy. Hong Xu and Gan Hui were doomed to die.

However, Zheng Zhilong still needs to plan carefully how to kill him and how to put the blame on these two people and make them bear the responsibility for Chen Bao's death.

In the end, Zheng Zhilong decided to find an opportunity to kill Hong Xu and Gan Hui. As long as they died in this way, and then it was publicly announced that they committed suicide out of fear of punishment, the matter could be successfully covered up.

As for how to choose the place and time, it is a bit of a story. Zheng Zhilong originally planned to attack the two men during his birthday party. But considering that there is still more than a month before his birthday, the time is too long. If there are some problems during such a long time, wouldn't it be a waste of time?

After much deliberation, Zheng Zhilong decided to start his attack at the church in the city, and the time was set for next Sunday.

The reason for choosing the church is that Zheng Zhilong was originally a Catholic, and his religious name was "Nicholas". Of course, Zheng Zhilong did not convert to Christianity because he really believed in God, but because of his identity. As the overlord of the sea, the Pirate King, Zheng Zhilong controlled the South China Sea trade route and had many contacts with Western countries. Whether it was smuggling or collecting bribes at sea, or colluding with both sides to rob merchant ships of other countries, Zheng Zhilong did all these things.

Since they wanted to cooperate, there had to be a basis for cooperation. In addition to the basis of interests, the only common point was faith. Zheng Zhilong became a Catholic and took the name of Nicholas. In terms of faith, he and the Western countries became "brothers" in the church. In this way, they had mutual trust and the relationship between the two sides was further improved.

As for true faith, it is just a tool for Zheng Zhilong. Compared with God, Zheng Zhilong believes in tangible benefits more, otherwise he would not have set his sights on the church. You know, in the eyes of Catholics, the church is sacred, bright and far away from sin, but Zheng Zhilong wants to use the church to do such dirty things. Isn't he afraid of God's blame?

Because Zheng Zhilong was a religious believer, several of his brothers also became religious believers. Of course, like Zheng Zhilong, their piety towards God was just nonsense and they were just putting on a superficial show.

But even if it was just a superficial show, weekly services still had to be held, so Zheng Zhilong thought about it and decided that the church was the best place to start. All he had to do was close the church door, surround the two men outside, and then control them, and force them to drink poison. After they died, he would publicly announce that the two had committed crimes and had a guilty conscience, and could not bear the inner judgment and torment in front of the majestic God, so they could only die to repent and seek God's forgiveness...

Time flew by and several days passed. On this day, Hong Chengchou was sitting in the study in the governor's office. He was not wearing his usual Taoist robe, but an official robe. His official hat was placed beside him. He sat steadily, and there was a cup of tea on his left hand. His eyes were slightly closed on his majestic face, and he was waiting quietly.

"Sir!" After an unknown amount of time, a voice sounded. Hong Chengchou opened his eyes and saw that it was his subordinates and confidants coming from outside.

"Say!"

"Lord Yan has already taken people to make arrangements, Lord Lu's Jinyiwei are also all in place. That man has just led people to the church, and everything is under control." The visitor reported.

"How many people went to the church today? Who were they?" Hong Chengchou asked calmly.

"Your Excellency, in addition to that man, there are also Zheng Zhibao and Zheng Zhiwan who are traveling with him. However, Zheng Zhiwan will not enter the church. He will only be guarding outside with others. Those who will enter the church with him will be Hong Xu and Gan Hui."

"Where are Chen Ba and Shi Daxuan?"

"Chen Ba didn't go today. It is said that Zheng Zhilong gave him a temporary errand and he couldn't leave. As for Shi Daxuan, he doesn't believe in religion, and he has been busy with the military compilation these days, so Zheng Zhilong didn't call him."

Hong Chengchou nodded and smiled. That's right, all three Zheng brothers went out, two entered the church, one assisted outside, and Hong Xu and Gan Hui followed Zheng Zhilong into the church. In this way, Zheng Zhilong could completely control the situation, and when the time came, he would directly launch the attack, and Hong Xu and Gan Hui would be trapped.

Hong Chengchou waved his hand and asked the visitor to leave. He looked confident, without any anxiety or tension on his face.

All of Zheng Zhilong's plans were predicted by Hong Chengchou. It can be said that Hong Chengchou knew everything Zheng Zhilong did. Today, Zheng Zhilong planned to launch an attack in the church to solve the problems of Hong Xu and Gan Hui. Hong Chengchou knew about his plan and sent people to keep a close eye on him.

Since Zheng Zhilong has already set up the stage, the show is about to begin. As the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, Hong Chengchou has been waiting for this opportunity. How could he miss it?

After calculating the time and feeling that it was about time, Hong Chengchou stood up, picked up the official hat beside him and put it on, then straightened his official uniform and walked out of the study.

Outside, his subordinates and standard-bearing soldiers were already waiting in neatly dressed clothes. Hong Chengchou glanced at everyone, called out a few names and gave orders.

Orders were issued one after another, and the men clasped their fists and left one after another. After they left, Hong Chengchou smiled faintly and asked the others to get ready and go to the church together. Since Zheng Zhilong had set up the stage today, how could he, the governor, miss this big show? Of course, he had to go and see it in person.

The Governor's Office was not far from the church, and they arrived near the church after a short walk. When they got close, Hong Chengchou stopped and did not move forward. At this time, a man hurried over from the church. Upon closer inspection, he found that the man was none other than Zheng Zhiwan, who was originally guarding outside the church and assisting Zheng Zhilong in the internal and external operations.

"I am honored to meet you, sir." Upon seeing Hong Chengchou, Zheng Zhiwan quickly stepped forward and paid his respects.

"Get up." Hong Chengchou raised his hand and asked with a smile, "Is everything arranged at the church? How is it going now?"

"Your Excellency, I have made all the arrangements. Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhibao have just gone in. Everything they do today is in line with your plan."

"Well done!" Hong Chengchou nodded with satisfaction, and looked at Zheng Zhiwan, smiling and saying, "As long as you do a good job today, don't worry about what I promised you. With my recommendation, the position of admiral of the Fujian Navy will definitely be yours."

As soon as these words were spoken, Zheng Zhiwan smiled instantly and said quickly that he was sorry for the trouble, and that he would never forget the support of the lord. He would do his best for the court and get this matter done.

Hong Chengchou didn't say much to Zheng Zhiwan. After asking a few simple questions, he waved and let him go back. After all, Zheng Zhilong was still in the church, and things could change at any time. Zheng Zhiwan was an important figure in this operation and must not be lost. Many things would depend on him.

Waiting patiently, time passed by. About half an hour later, there was a sudden movement in the direction of the church, and there was a noise and shouting. Although the movement was not small, it did not cause much impact because the surrounding area was controlled by the people sent by Hong Chengchou, and Zheng Zhiwan and his men were guarding the periphery of the church.

After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, the noise gradually died down. After a while, someone came to report that the brothers Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhibao had been controlled, and Hong Xu and Gan Hui had also been rescued from the church. Gan Hui was injured, but the injury was not serious and did not threaten his life. As for Hong Xu, he was unharmed. The two were extremely angry about this matter. They never thought that Zheng Zhilong, who was always so kind to them as brothers, would actually attack them in the church. If Zheng Zhiwan had not turned against them temporarily, and Hong Xu and Gan Hui had not reacted quickly, they would have died in the hands of the other side.

After waiting for a while, when Yan Yingyuan and Lu Hanzhou came to see Hong Chengchou in person and reported that everything was under control, Hong Chengchou finally felt relieved.

Then Hong Chengchou led his men towards the church. When they arrived at the church, he saw the brothers Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhibao who were captured in a miserable state. In addition, there were Hong Xu and Gan Hui who were staring at Zheng Zhilong with anger in their eyes, and Zheng Zhiwan who was standing aside.

"Oh, I'm late. What happened? General Zheng? What happened? Why do you look like this?" Hong Chengchou asked deliberately with a surprised look on his face.

"Governor! Zheng Zhilong wanted to kill me and others. If it weren't for my good luck, I would have been dead!" The injured Gan Hui shouted loudly, looking at Zheng Zhilong with a gaze as sharp as a knife, and his eyes were spewing anger.

"Ah! Why is this?" Hong Chengchou was shocked and asked quickly: "Is it a misunderstanding? How is this possible? General Hong and General Gan are both old subordinates of General Zheng, and they are also officials appointed by the court. How could General Zheng, a dignified general, attack the two generals? Did the two generals make a mistake?"

"Governor, I just experienced a life-and-death situation. How could this be a misunderstanding?" Hong Xu said coldly, pointing his finger at Zheng Zhilong. "This man lured the two of us here today and set up an ambush to take our lives. This is absolutely true! If you don't believe me, you can ask our guards and Zheng Zhiwan. If it weren't for Zheng's protection today, our lives would have been in danger. How can we stand here and talk to you?"

"This shouldn't be the case!" Hong Chengchou looked at Zheng Zhilong in surprise and said hypocritically, "General Zheng, can you explain this to me? I'm really confused."

Zheng Zhibao was tied up tightly, and he was struggling desperately, while Zheng Zhilong was also captured, but he was much calmer than Zheng Zhibao. Listening to Hong Chengchou's words and what he had just experienced, Zheng Zhilong, with his intelligence, had guessed a little bit in his mind. He looked at Hong Chengchou with a sarcastic smile, and at the same time, he was helpless and unwilling.

"Master Hong, Governor Hong, you play a great chess game! You are so smart, I admire you so much."

"Why did General Zheng say that? I really don't understand. By the way, why did you treat General Zheng like this? Why don't you quickly untie General Zheng? Send General Zheng back to the mansion. Afterwards, I will investigate the matter and give you generals justice. How about that?"

Hong Chengchou spoke in a friendly manner, but Zheng Zhilong just sneered as before. Moreover, although Hong Chengchou said that he would untie Zheng Zhilong, no one came forward to untie him. Instead, several ferocious Jinyiwei came up and directly grabbed Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhibao and left.

At this time, Zheng Zhibao could no longer bear it, and turned around and yelled at Zheng Zhiwan, asking him why he, as a brother of the Zheng family, had to betray his own people. How had they done him wrong? If it weren't for his betrayal, how could he and Zheng Zhilong end up like this? It was even more impossible for them to fail at the last moment.

"Hmph! I am an official appointed by the imperial court. I only know to be loyal to the imperial court and to our Great Ming Dynasty!" Zheng Zhiguan didn't even look at Zheng Zhilong and his brothers. He bowed his hands and solemnly saluted in the direction of the capital with a righteous attitude. This made Hong Chengchou secretly amused, but he nodded slightly and stroked his beard, indicating that he agreed very much.

(End of this chapter)