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

Chapter 1050 Hong Chengchou's Methods
After the incident in Fujian happened, Hong Chengchou and the Embroidered Uniform Guards quickly reported it to the capital. A few days later, Zhu Shenzhu received a report from Fujian with all the details of the incident attached.

After reading the reports from Hong Chengchou and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zhu Shenzui finally felt relieved and a smile appeared on his face.

Hong Chengchou did a good job in Fujian, especially in getting rid of Zheng Zhilong, which made Zhu Shenzhui very satisfied.

First, he used the incident of Chen Bao to stir up Zheng Zhilong's dissatisfaction with Chen Bao, and then instigated Zheng Zhilong to attack Chen Bao. While doing so, he secretly revealed the news to Chen Bao at the right time and in the right way, and then forced Chen Bao to respond.

The original plan was to have Chen Bao rebel against Zheng Zhilong and provoke a rebellion within the Zheng family, but Chen Bao didn't dare to do so and actually fled from Nan'ao. However, this did not harm the overall situation. Chen Bao was accompanied by people sent by the Jinyiwei. When Chen Bao fled from Nan'ao, they lured Chen Bao to Guangzhou to seek refuge with Xiong Wencan and threatened Zheng Zhilong to let him go with some evidence in their hands.

At this time, the whereabouts of Chen Bao was also properly passed on to Zheng Zhibao through the Jinyiwei. The reason why Zheng Zhibao was able to intercept Chen Bao halfway was not luck. It was clearly Hong Chengchou's arrangement. His purpose was to let Zheng Zhibao, who was reckless and simple-minded, take ruthless action against Chen Bao.

This is exactly what happened later. Chen Bao was desperate and eventually died at the hands of Zheng Zhibao. Chen Bao's death could not be covered up because the case happened in Guangdong and Chen Bao was an official appointed by the court with a high military rank. Such a high-ranking official was killed in the Ming Dynasty, and even his family members were killed. How could Xiong Wencan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, turn a blind eye? Moreover, Xiong Wencan and Zheng Zhilong's relationship was not good. When he learned that Chen Bao's death was related to Zheng Zhilong's brothers, he not only questioned the matter, but also directly impeached them.

When the news reached Fujian, Hong Chengchou took advantage of the situation and put a lot of pressure on Zheng Zhilong, which completely muddied the waters. After that, he misled Zheng Zhilong into thinking that the reason Chen Bao got the news in advance was because Hong Xu and Gan Hui betrayed him. Coupled with the pressure from all sides and the instability of the Zheng Group caused by Chen Bao's death, Zheng Zhilong finally decided to get rid of Hong Xu and Gan Hui and use them as scapegoats to bear the responsibility for Chen Bao's death.

But Zheng Zhilong never expected that his every move was under the eyes of Hong Chengchou and the Jinyiwei, and even his every reaction was calculated by Hong Chengchou. This was not because Hong Chengchou had a sharp eye or was good at calculating, but the key reason was that Zheng Zhiwan was a traitor.

Zheng Zhilong did not know that Zheng Zhiguan had secretly defected to Hong Chengchou and became a thorn in Hong Chengchou's side.

As early as when the incident of Chen Bao emerged, Zheng Zhiguan had been secretly fueling the flames and giving Zheng Zhilong a lot of "ideas". When Zheng Zhilong decided to take action against Chen Bao, Zheng Zhiguan secretly arranged it under the instruction of Hong Chengchou, which led to the subsequent development. After Chen Bao's death, Zheng Zhilong was under pressure from all sides. Zheng Zhiguan took advantage of the gap between the quarrels with Zheng Zhibao to mislead the other party with words, and also implicitly pulled Hong Xu and Gan Hui into it, which eventually made Zheng Zhilong want to kill the two.

It can be said that although Hong Chengchou's plan was good, it would not have been so easy to accomplish without the key figure Zheng Zhiwan. Zheng Zhiwan played a huge role in it. It was because of him that everything developed as Hong Chengchou arranged. Not only did he provoke internal struggles within the Zheng Group, but he also caused several backbone figures with military power within the Zheng Group to become alienated from Zheng Zhilong, which eventually led to the final step of the church.

The reason why Zheng Zhiguan betrayed Zheng Zhilong, surrendered to the court, and was willing to be used by Hong Chengchou was very simple. First, although Zheng Zhiguan was a member of the Zheng family, he was different from Zheng Zhibao. In the Zheng family group, Zheng Zhilong had only two brothers, Zheng Zhihu and Zheng Zhibao, and the three were collectively known as "Dragon, Tiger and Leopard".

Although Zheng Zhiguan and Zheng Hongkui were also brothers of Zheng Zhilong, they were not actually biological brothers, but clan brothers, that is, cousins.

This is often unknown to outsiders, but it is no secret in the Zheng Group. In addition to the two of them, there are also Zheng Cai and Zheng Lian, who are Zheng Zhilong's brothers, but Zheng Zhilong is not only the boss of the Zheng Group, but also the patriarch of the Zheng family, and everyone obeys Zheng Zhilong.

As for the second, it is Zheng Zhilong's attitude towards Zheng Zhiwan. Zheng Zhiwan has always been a member of the Eighteen Zhis as Zheng Zhilong's cousin. He was a member of the Eighteen Zhis in his early years and was considered an old man in the Zheng Group. Moreover, because Zheng Zhilong was recruited by the court, Zheng Zhiwan has always stood on Zheng Zhilong's side. When the Eighteen Zhis Group split and Zheng Zhilong turned against his old brothers in the Eighteen Zhis and went to war, Zheng Zhiwan charged for Zheng Zhilong and made many contributions. But the problem is that after Zheng Zhilong solved the Eighteen Zhis problem and became a general of the Ming Dynasty from a bandit, Zheng Zhiwan did not get the status he deserved. Although he was Zheng Zhilong's confidant and cousin on the surface, his military rank was not as good as Chen Ba, Hong Xu, Gan Hui, Chen Bao and others, and even Shi Daxuan was not as good as him. Although Zheng Zhiwan has always held some military power, he has no corresponding military rank. He is almost like a white paper fan beside Zheng Zhilong.

However, Zheng Zhibao, who was equal to him, was different. Relying on the fact that he was Zheng Zhilong's younger brother, he not only became a General of Cavalry, but also the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Fujian Navy. Such a huge gap in status made Zheng Zhiwan extremely dissatisfied, but he was powerless.

This was not only the case with Zheng Zhilong, but also with Zheng Hongkui. The reason why Zheng Hongkui was tempted to go north and was eventually recruited by the court to Shandong, and later became the admiral of the Shandong Navy, was that Zheng Hongkui knew that if he continued to follow Zheng Zhilong, he would never have a chance to succeed. Since there was another way to go, why should he continue to stay in Fujian and follow Zheng Zhilong? It was precisely because of this choice that Zheng Hongkui's career was prosperous after leaving the Zheng Group, and he was eventually reused by the court.

It was impossible for Zheng Zhiwan not to feel jealous of Zheng Hongkui's experience. However, his luck was not as good as Zheng Hongkui's, and no one helped to recommend him like Zheng Hongkui did. Therefore, he could only work under Zheng Zhilong all these years. The longer the time, the more dissatisfied he became, and the more resentful he became towards Zheng Zhilong.

Because of this, when Hong Chengchou sent someone to contact Zheng Zhiwan privately and tentatively proposed to recruit him, Zheng Zhiwan was quickly tempted. After several contacts, coupled with some promises given by Hong Chengchou to Zheng Zhiwan, in addition to the guarantee from the Jinyiwei, Zheng Zhiwan finally made a decision to betray Zheng Zhilong and join the court, helping the court and Hong Chengchou to get rid of Zheng Zhilong, so as to get promoted.

Although Zheng Zhilong was the boss of the Zheng Group and the patriarch of the Zheng family, Zheng Zhiwan did not feel any psychological pressure in betraying Zheng Zhilong. You have to know that both Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhiwan were born as pirates. How could they have so much morality when they became pirates? Today they were brothers and toasted each other, but tomorrow they could turn against each other and become enemies. Such things are everywhere.

How did Zheng Zhilong treat the brothers of Shibazhi back then? Are those who died under Zheng Zhilong not his brothers? And the reason why Zheng Zhilong did this was not driven by interests? Now Zheng Zhiwan followed suit, and neither of the brothers should say anything.

Moreover, as an official appointed by the imperial court, Zheng Zhilong's actions were not tolerated by the imperial court. With such a large army and self-reliance, the imperial court would sooner or later take action against Zheng Zhilong. Zheng Zhiwan saw this clearly. Instead of continuing to follow Zheng Zhilong, he might as well take this opportunity to defeat Zheng Zhilong. When the time came, he would get rid of Zheng Zhilong and replace him. At least he could guarantee the prosperity and wealth of himself and other members of the Zheng family.

With Zheng Zhiguan as an insider and the role he played in it, Hong Chengchou set a trap for Zheng Zhilong. From the incident with Chen Bao to the final closing of the trap, everything was controlled by Hong Chengchou.

It is actually not difficult to deal with Zheng Zhilong alone. As the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, Hong Chengchou could easily find a suitable time and invite Zheng Zhilong to visit the Governor's Office with a suitable reason, and then use the smashing of a cup as a signal to take Zheng Zhilong down directly.

But this cannot solve the problem of the entire Zheng Group. As the boss of the Zheng Group, Zheng Zhilong has a high prestige in the Zheng Group. Moreover, Zheng Zhilong is an official appointed by the court. In terms of military rank, there are very few people who can compare with him in the Ming Dynasty. In addition, there are many confidants of Zheng Zhilong in the Zheng Group. These people more or less control the military power. Moreover, Zheng Zhilong's subordinates are basically pirates. For them, loyalty to the court is not much. Once Zheng Zhilong is captured, these people will directly rebel against the court, and it will be impossible to deal with them. Even if heavy troops are mobilized to solve the problems on the shore, what if these people go out to sea directly? At sea, without the suppression of a powerful navy, these old pirates will not be like a dragon returning to the sea with endless troubles? At that time, the entire South China Sea, including the southeast coast, will never be at peace again, which is completely contrary to the original intention of the court.

Therefore, how to deal with Zheng Zhilong is a key issue. It is necessary to deal with Zheng Zhilong, while keeping the military force of the Zheng Group under the control of the court to avoid rebellion. This is what Hong Chengchou wants to do.

There are several key people under Zheng Zhilong, including Zheng Zhibao, Zheng Zhiguan, Zheng Lian, and Zheng Cai. Among them, Zheng Zhibao, as Zheng Zhilong's brother, is the second most important person in the Zheng Group after Zheng Zhilong. Apart from them, there are Chen Ba, Hong Xu, Gan Hui, Chen Bao, Shi Daxuan and others. Zheng Zhilong attacked Chen Bao, and his death led to dissatisfaction with Zheng Zhilong within the Zheng Group. After all, everyone knows that Chen Bao is loyal to Zheng Zhilong, and he has been working for Zheng Zhilong all these years. Although Chen Bao is a little greedy and cruel, he should not be killed even so! Zheng Zhilong can even attack Chen Bao, let alone others? Thinking of this, everyone can't help but feel insecure and uneasy.

After that, Zheng Zhilong looked for an opportunity to get rid of Hong Xu and Gan Hui. This incident further alienated Zheng Zhilong from the Zheng Group. As the only remaining eighteen old brothers, Zheng Zhilong had made a promise to them. Now he went back on his word and treated them cruelly in this way. Isn't it chilling? When the news of the failure spread, what did Chen Ba, Shi Daxuan and others think? Could it be that at this point, would they continue to work for Zheng Zhilong and be loyal to him?
(End of this chapter)