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

Chapter 1085 Analysis
During these three years, Zheng Hongkui and Wang Fuzhi went on a diplomatic mission to Europe together. Although one was a civil official and the other a military official, they got along very well. Moreover, Zheng Hongkui was not a pure military man. He was an educated man and even passed the military examination in the third year of Chongzhen. If it were not for the great changes in the capital later and Emperor Chongzhen was replaced by Zhu Shenzhui, Zheng Hongkui might have been a military scholar.

Although the military exam was not as good as the civil exam, how could someone who passed the military exam not be good at writing? Moreover, Zheng Hongkui had previously attempted to take the exam for the scholar degree. Although he did not pass, he was already at the level of a scholar in terms of talent and learning. It was just bad luck.

During the three years of communication, Zheng Hongkui and Wang Fuzhi had already become friends, and there was no difference between the two in terms of civil and military skills. Zheng Hongkui admired Wang Fuzhi's talent and assisted Wang Fuzhi as a deputy envoy to complete his mission. Wang Fuzhi was the same to Zheng Hongkui. On the way, they encountered risks at sea. If Zheng Hongkui had not been calm and commanded properly at that time, how could they have returned safely later?
"Brother Rijian, are you worried that you will be held accountable by the court after returning to the capital?" Wang Fuzhi's words revealed Zheng Hongkui's worries.

Zheng Hongkui did not answer, but his expression proved it.

"You, you are really worrying too much." Wang Fuzhi smiled at him and said, "During the past few years when you and I were on diplomatic missions, I don't know what happened in the Ming Dynasty and how the court dealt with Zheng Zhilong. But if Brother Rijian is worried that Zheng Zhilong's affairs will implicate him, I don't think you need to worry."

"Why is this? The imperial court has already dealt with the Fujian navy, and the brothers Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhibao have been resettled in Beijing. In addition, the northern and southern navies have been established, and the Zheng family's strength has basically collapsed. I am a member of the Zheng family, a cousin of Zheng Zhilong, and I previously controlled the Shandong navy. If this is the case, how can it have nothing to do with me?"

"You, you are too concerned!" Wang Fuzhi pointed and said, "Don't you and I know what kind of person the current emperor is? Your Majesty is the wisest ruler of our Ming Dynasty. It is because of your Majesty that our Ming Dynasty has been able to suppress rebellions, stabilize the local areas, resist powerful enemies and revive over the years."

"Three years ago, His Majesty ordered the two of us to go to Europe. What was his intention? Do you really think it was just to deal with Zheng Zhilong? That's right! Although I have never seen Zheng Zhilong, let alone dealt with him, I have some understanding of him. Back then, Zheng Zhilong traveled all over the world with great momentum. It was not an exaggeration to call him the Overlord of the Sea. Later, the court recruited Zheng Zhilong, and Zheng Zhilong abandoned the dark and joined the light and surrendered to the court. The court did not treat him unfairly. He was first appointed as a guerrilla general, and then as the admiral of the Fujian Navy, holding the position of general, and was also conferred the title of earl. The emperor's grace is not an exaggeration at all."

"But how did Zheng Zhilong repay the court? After he joined the court, he was called an official of the Ming Dynasty, but he was not very loyal to the court. He occupied Fujian and was like a separatist regime. He did a lot of things in the South China Sea. Let's not talk about other things. Just in the South China Sea, I remember that Zheng Zhilong sent ships to block the sea area and charged fees for ships passing by. The income was more than one million per year. But he never handed it over to the court. He kept it all and used it to raise his own troops and spend money on pleasure. This alone is simply audacious and presumptuous. How can he be called a minister?"

Hearing this, Zheng Hongkui was shocked. He never expected that Wang Fuzhi even knew about this. As a member of the Zheng family, Zheng Hongkui was of course aware of the bad things Zheng Zhilong had done, but for the sake of being a member of the Zheng family, Zheng Hongkui never reported Zheng Zhilong and just pretended not to know.

After all, Zheng Zhilong has been doing this for a long time. It can be said that he was doing it when he was a pirate. After being recruited by the court, Zheng Zhilong never stopped. How could he give up such a huge source of wealth easily?

Wang Fuzhi smiled faintly, without explaining, and continued: "The Fujian Navy from top to bottom was all Zheng Zhilong's people. The entire navy can be said to be an iron plate, with no one to penetrate. I have heard that the former Fujian Governor Xiong Wencan wrote to the court, saying that there were Dutch people occupying Xiaoliuqiu, occupying the land to build a city, and enslaving the people of our Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty was furious about this, and the court even issued an order to Zheng Zhilong, ordering him to send troops to attack Xiaoliuqiu and expel the Dutch from the island. However, Zheng Zhilong has not taken any action since the order was issued, and has repeatedly refused to go. Let's not talk about what he was thinking for now. Just for this reason, how can the court tolerate him?"

Zheng Hongkui was silent. He knew about this matter and felt that Zheng Zhilong's behavior was inappropriate. However, Zheng Zhilong was arrogant and he was already the admiral of the Shandong Navy at that time. He had left Fujian long ago, so he didn't care. Now that Wang Fuzhi said this, thinking back carefully, Zheng Zhilong did have a way to die.

Wang Fuzhi also talked about several of Zheng Zhilong's arrogant behaviors, and after analysis, he told Zheng Hongkui that the reason why the court attacked Zheng Zhilong was because Zheng Zhilong asked for it. It can be said that the Ming Dynasty did not treat Zheng Zhilong badly. Zheng Zhilong was a pirate from the grassroots, but after being recruited, he was not only given a high position and generous salary, but also a title. From this point of view alone, the court treated Zheng Zhilong with all its kindness.

Mencius once said: If you treat me as a national hero, I should repay you as a national hero! But what did Zheng Zhilong do? After receiving the favor from the court, he not only did not think about how to repay the court, but instead pretended to obey the court and even did these things in secret. Which emperor could tolerate such a minister?
If the Ming Dynasty was like before, the whole country was in chaos, and Emperor Chongzhen was incompetent, he might have pretended not to see and tolerated Zheng Zhilong's actions in order to avoid unrest in the southeast. But the problem is that the current emperor is Zhu Shenzhu, who is not Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian. How did he get to the throne? He was a fierce man who secretly accumulated power as a member of the royal family, suddenly raised an army to launch the Jingnan Rebellion, entered the capital, and became the emperor.

Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai and other bandits who had caused chaos in the Ming Dynasty were defeated one by one by Zhu Shenzhui, and were either captured or killed. In Liaodong, the Jiannu, who had made the Ming Dynasty miserable since Nurhaci started his army, were also contained by Zhu Shenzhui, and even suffered a series of defeats. Zheng Zhilong wanted to continue to fool such a fierce man? Treat the emperor as a fool? Isn't this a way to die? The emperor would definitely solve Zheng Zhilong's problem and deal with the entire Zheng Group at the same time.

But Zheng Hongkui and Zheng Zhilong were different. Although Zheng Hongkui was Zheng Zhilong's cousin, the two had parted ways long ago. Many years ago, Zheng Hongkui left Fujian and went to Shandong to serve. During his tenure in Shandong, Zheng Hongkui dared to fight and made many meritorious deeds. Later, he was promoted step by step because of his military exploits. This is why the court later let him take charge of the Shandong Navy and became the admiral of the navy as a reward.

Moreover, Zheng Hongkui was not valued by Zheng Zhilong at that time. He helped Zheng Zhilong build such a great foundation but was only a centurion. He left Zheng Zhilong because he felt that he had no chance to make a breakthrough. Moreover, after leaving Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Hongkui did not flirt with Zheng Zhilong. He was always loyal to the court and made outstanding contributions. Why did the court punish such a general?

Is it because Zheng Hongkui is Zheng Zhilong's cousin? Don't forget that the current admiral of the Nanyang Navy is Zheng Zhiwan. Zheng Zhiwan and Zheng Hongkui both have the surname Zheng? Aren't they both Zheng Zhilong's cousins?

Since the court could tolerate Zheng Zhiwan, how could it not tolerate Zheng Hongkui? As for Zheng Hongkui's idea that the emperor deliberately sent him to Europe and transferred him away from the Shandong Navy, on the surface it seemed to be a precaution and distrust of Zheng Hongkui, but Wang Fuzhi felt that perhaps the truth was not so, and it was possible that the emperor's love for Zheng Hongkui was not impossible.

After all, once the imperial court took action against Zheng Zhilong, what would Zheng Hongkui, as the admiral of Shandong Navy, do after learning the news? Whether it was to kill relatives for the sake of justice or to plead with the emperor out of family affection, it was not a good thing for Zheng Hongkui, because once involved in this matter, Zheng Hongkui would be in an awkward situation no matter what choice he made. Instead of doing this, it would be better for him to leave the Ming Dynasty and go to Europe in advance to avoid this vortex in advance. When he returned from Europe, the overall situation would have been decided, and Zheng Hongkui would not have to worry about it anymore.

"Brother Rijian, you know what kind of person His Majesty is without me telling you. If His Majesty wanted to take action against you, why would he go through so much trouble and spend so much time on it? In my opinion, this must be because he loves you very much! Brother Rijian has not only made great contributions to the country, but also has the emperor's heart. Zheng Zhilong is Zheng Zhilong, and Brother Rijian is Brother Rijian. How can they be confused?"

Hearing this, Zheng Hongkui's eyes suddenly lit up. Yes! What kind of person is Zhu Shenzhui? Could such an emperor be an ordinary person? Besides, if Zhu Shenzhui really wanted to attack him, why would he go through so much trouble? He could have summoned him to the capital and directly used the Jinyiwei to arrest him, and he would have been powerless to resist.

But Zhu Shenzhu deliberately sent him to Europe and promoted his own title. According to what Wang Fuzhi said, it is very likely that this was a way of protecting himself and he did not want to be involved in this storm.

Thinking of this, Zheng Hongkui, who was just depressed, instantly became energetic. As long as the emperor was still favored and had no intention of dealing with him, what was there for Zheng Hongkui to worry about? As for the Shandong Navy, although Zheng Hongkui made great efforts when the navy was first established, and brought a group of old brothers from Fujian as the team, the Shandong Navy was different from the Fujian Navy after all. The subsequent Shandong Navy was not Zheng Hongkui's private army, but a real court army. Now the Shandong Navy has been reorganized into the Beiyang Navy. Even if he is no longer appointed as the admiral after his return, the emperor will never treat him unfairly just because of his previous official position and meritorious service as well as the merit of the mission.

Finally figuring it out, Zheng Hongkui couldn't help but smile, and the stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.

Seeing him like this, Wang Fuzhi also laughed. What he said just now was not entirely to comfort Zheng Hongkui. It was indeed based on his own analysis and speculation. Moreover, he did not think that the emperor would really take action against Zheng Hongkui. If the emperor really had this intention, then the emperor would definitely have explained to him before his mission. Traveling tens of thousands of miles to Europe, for such a long time and such a long journey, wouldn't it be the easiest thing to quietly deal with Zheng Hongkui intentionally or unintentionally?
Even if Zheng Hongkui died, he could report back to the Ming Dynasty that he had caught a cold on the way and no one would find fault with him. But the emperor never gave such instructions. Instead, he told the two to cooperate well and do a good job on this mission before departure. This shows that the emperor really had no intention of taking action against Zheng Hongkui.

(End of this chapter)