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

Chapter 947 Long Bet
Zhu Shenzhui understood Zheng Zhilong's thoughts and realized that Zheng Zhilong was not reliable at all.

If Zheng Zhilong was asked to destroy the Dutch in Xiaoliuqiu, he could have guessed the final result. It was nothing more than destroying the Dutch without destroying them. The war was getting longer and longer, just like Li Chengliang in Liaodong. He nurtured the enemy for decades, and his official position became higher and higher, and his power became more and more important, but he could never destroy the enemy. Moreover, after Li Chengliang's death, Nurhaci immediately rebelled, which led to the disastrous consequences in Liaodong later.

In comparison, Zheng Zhilong's son Zheng Sen (Zheng Chenggong) was much better than his father. At least in history, it was Zheng Sen who expelled the Dutch and recovered Taiwan.

Because of this achievement, Zheng Sen was also called a "national hero" in later generations. But many things should be viewed dialectically. If the Southern Ming had not lost its way out at that time, Zheng Sen knew that he might not be able to gain a foothold in the mainland. Once Fujian was completely occupied by the Qing army, the Southern Ming, including himself, would have no way to survive. In this situation, Zheng Sen had to find a way to retreat, and this retreat was Xiaoliuqiu occupied by the Dutch.

Zheng Sen's recovery of Xiaoliuqiu certainly had a profound impact on China, making Xiaoliuqiu return to China's arms again. But he also had the intention of crossing the sea to protect himself, and this idea was even more practical, which led to the subsequent military action.

Moreover, judging from the completely opposite attitudes and actions of Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Sen at that time, Zhu Shenzhu suspected that they had already discussed it privately. The father and son each joined one side, and no matter who won or lost in the end, whoever won the world would be able to preserve the prosperity and wealth of the Zheng family.

This practice has existed since ancient times. For example, during the Three Kingdoms period, the Zhuge family did this. The three brothers Zhuge Liang served different lords. Zhuge Liang served in Shu Han, where Liu Bei valued him as prime minister. His elder brother Zhuge Jin served in the Eastern Wu, and eventually became the general, the left governor, and the governor of Yuzhou. His power was not much less than that of Zhuge Liang.

As for his younger brother Zhuge Dan, he served under Cao Cao and was promoted to the positions of General Zhendong, Governor of Yangzhou, and Marquis of Shanyangting.

The three brothers of the Zhuge family each served their own master, which was nothing more than spreading the family risk. No matter which side won, the Zhuge family could be preserved and continued. There are too many similar situations in all dynasties. Who of the aristocratic families is not like this? Although Zheng Zhilong and his son were born as pirates, they also understood this truth. When the building was about to collapse, they had to find a way out for the family. The best way was for the father and son to pretend to turn against each other and join each other.

In this way, Zheng Zhilong defected to the Qing Dynasty, Zheng Sen led his troops to attack Xiaoliuqiu, and took the small Southern Ming court far away overseas, which was foolproof.

Otherwise, with Zheng Zhilong's control over the army, no matter how capable Zheng Sen was, it would be impossible for him to pull away most of Zheng Zhilong's elite troops and make them his subordinates. This would have been impossible without Zheng Zhilong's arrangement and instructions.

As for the fact that Zheng Zhilong later surrendered to the Qing Dynasty but ended up being beheaded, it was not because Zheng Zhilong took the wrong path, but because the Qing Dynasty at that time went back on its word. Although Dorgon and others were capable ministers, they did not have the outstanding political vision and magnanimity of Huang Taiji. Because of Zheng Sen, they directly took action against Zheng Zhilong. They had just conferred the title of Duke of Haicheng on Zheng Zhilong, and then they found a reason to take him down.

No one could have predicted such a result. It was precisely because of Zheng Zhilong's death that Zheng Sen became full of hatred towards the Qing Dynasty and strengthened his determination to fight the Qing Dynasty to the end. This allowed the small Southern Ming court to continue in Little Ryukyu for decades.

Zheng Sen is still very young. According to his family background, Zheng Sen is about the same age as the crown prince Zhu Minlan, and is still a teenager. After Zheng Zhilong was recruited, he brought Zheng Sen back from Japan and raised him in Fujian. Although Zheng Zhilong was born a pirate, he paid great attention to his son's education. Zheng Sen passed the examination for a scholar last year, which is considered a rare talent of literature in a military family.

Originally, Zheng Sen would go to Nanjing to continue his studies after passing the imperial examination. He would not only study at the Nanjing Imperial College, but also take Qian Qianyi as his teacher. However, due to a major case in Jiangnan, Zheng Sen's trip to the north was delayed. It is not known whether he went to Nanjing or not. As for taking Qian Qianyi as his teacher, it is even more impossible. Qian Qianyi has already been an official in Beijing, and he is also the Minister of Rites. How could he accept this student in Nanjing?

"Let the cabinet give an order to Zheng Zhilong to expel the Dutch from Xiaoliuqiu and protect the people of the Ming Dynasty on the island."

Although Zheng Zhilong is unreliable, he is the only navy that can be used in Fujian at present, and this matter cannot be bypassed by Zheng Zhilong. If the court does not use Zheng Zhilong, it will be bad. Regardless of Zheng Zhilong's attitude, or whether he really keeps the enemy for his own benefit, this order must be issued.

Wen Tiren replied that the cabinet would follow the order and send an order to Fujian, asking Zheng Zhilong to solve the Dutch problem as soon as possible. Since the matter was decided for the time being, Zhu Shenzhui did not say much and asked Wen Tiren to do it as soon as possible. Just when Wen Tiren was about to leave, Zhu Shenzhui suddenly mentioned that he heard that Liu Yuliang had been ill these days and was getting worse. He was afraid that he would not be able to serve as a cabinet minister. Is this true?

Wen Tiren's heart suddenly moved. Liu Yuliang ranked last in the cabinet, but he had the most qualifications and was the oldest.

And what the emperor said was not wrong. Liu Yuliang's health was indeed not good. He had been sick frequently since the end of last autumn. He was no longer able to handle government affairs and had privately planned to retire.

However, Liu Yuliang has not officially submitted a letter of resignation. After all, it is not easy for him to be a cabinet minister at his age, and it would be good if he could stay in the position for a few more days. But now that the emperor has said this, it means that the emperor has the idea of ​​replacing Liu Yuliang. As the chief minister of the cabinet, Wen Tiren knows this very well. "Your Majesty, Liu has been busy with state affairs for many years and his health is indeed not good, but..."

"Since he is in poor health and old, you should rest early. I don't want to have a bad reputation as a harsh minister when I employ people. If he dies in office, who knows how people will comment on me. Mr. Wen is the chief minister, and he should share my worries. Moreover, Huang Taiji is dead, and there have been major changes in the Jiannu. Now is the opportunity for my Ming Dynasty. What if Liu Yuliang is not energetic enough and delays state affairs? How can we allow this? You should talk to Liu Yuliang privately and tell him that you are persuading him to retire and return home for the sake of state affairs. I will certainly be more kind to him and will not treat my minister unfairly."

Wen Tiren said yes, and when Zhu Shencui said nothing more, he left.

After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Wen Tiren frowned, thinking back to what Zhu Shenzhui had just said. It seemed that Liu Yuliang's position as cabinet minister had come to the end, and he had no choice but to resign. If he submitted a memorial to retire obediently, the emperor would still give him some dignity. If he still refused to leave, he was afraid that his fate would not be so good.

Zhu Shenzhui was not an ordinary emperor, Wen Tihen knew it very well. Moreover, whether Liu Yuliang was in the cabinet was not a big deal for Wen Tihen. Zhang Zhifa, the second assistant in the cabinet, was Wen Tihen's man and always followed Wen Tihen's lead. As for the other cabinet elders, Fan Fucui had good administrative ability and was relatively upright. As for Kong Zhenyun, he was a descendant of Confucius and a representative of literati, but he had nothing to do with the Donglin Party.

Liu Yuliang is the least capable and a fence-sitter. He does not play a big role in the cabinet, so even if Liu Yuliang leaves the cabinet, it will not have much impact on Wen Tiren. But the key is that once Liu Yuliang is no longer in the cabinet, according to the current number of cabinet ministers, one more person will be added. Who will this person be?
"Qian Qianyi? Yang Sichang? Xu Xiancheng? Or Zhang Xijun? Chen Qiuyu?" Wen Tiren couldn't help but ponder, all of these people are possible.

The one with the lowest probability should be Xu Xiancheng. After all, Xu Xiancheng is a relative by marriage, and it is very difficult for a relative by marriage to enter the cabinet. The emperor will not ignore this point. Zhang Xijun made contributions in this Jiangnan case, and his official position is not low, so he is qualified to enter the cabinet. As for Chen Qiuyu, it goes without saying that he was the governor of five provinces, and his official position was the top in the Ming Dynasty. After pacifying the internal troubles, Chen Qiuyu was transferred to Beijing. Although he failed to enter the cabinet, he served as the Minister of War. This position is also extremely important among the six ministries, and it is only one step away from entering the cabinet.

Qian Qianyi and Yang Sichang were even more qualified. The latter had been a cabinet minister. If Yang Sichang had not been kicked out of the cabinet because of his own reasons, Yang Sichang might have become the cabinet chief minister. At that time, Qian Qianyi was very popular to join the cabinet. Almost everyone believed that Qian Qianyi could join the cabinet, but Wen Tihen and Yang Sichang teamed up to set him up. In the end, not only did he not join the cabinet, but he was driven to Nanjing.

Both of them were qualified and more likely than others. In addition, they had always been at odds with Wen Tiren and even had a personal grudge against him. If they were allowed to join the cabinet, it would not be a good thing for Wen Tiren.

Thinking of this, Wen Tiren gritted his teeth and felt that even if Xu Xiancheng was allowed to join the cabinet, it would be better than letting Qian Qianyi and Yang Sichang join the cabinet. Now the emperor has not decided on a candidate to replace Liu Yuliang, but he knows the emperor well and probably has a backup candidate in mind. In any case, these two guys must be excluded. Once they are allowed to join the cabinet, his life as the prime minister will be very difficult in the future.

Just when Wen Tihen was thinking about adding new members to the cabinet, Crown Prince Zhu Minlan couldn't help but ask Zhu Shenzhu the same question, asking who would replace Liu Yuliang after he left the cabinet.

In response to this, Zhu Shenzui smiled and asked Zhu Minlan who he thought was suitable. Zhu Minlan thought about it and proposed several candidates. These candidates were almost the same as Wen Tihen's idea. In his opinion, there were only a handful of people in the court who could enter the cabinet, and after all the calculations, only these people were qualified enough.

"Hahaha, if I don't use them, who else do you think I can use?" Zhu Shenzhui continued to ask with a smile.

Zhu Minlan was a little confused by this. After thinking carefully, he said in surprise: "Dad, you don't want Master Sun to join the cabinet, do you? Master Sun is so old, you won't let him even if you want to!"

"Sun Chengzong is qualified enough and has no problem with his ability, moreover he has already been a cabinet minister, no one in the world can find fault with him joining the cabinet. If he were ten years younger, I would definitely let him join the cabinet, but now it is not possible." Zhu Shenzhui shook his head and sighed. This was what he really thought. Sun Chengzong was indeed a suitable candidate, but unfortunately he was too old. He couldn't bear to let him join the cabinet at this age. He would also feel uneasy if he died of exhaustion in office!

Moreover, Sun Chengzong met Zhu Shenzhu privately a few days ago and proposed the idea of ​​returning to his hometown to retire. Sun Chengzong is almost eighty years old. In the past year or so, he has worked hard as the head teacher of the teaching hall and helped the emperor educate and train the crown prince and the princes.

Moreover, Sun Chengzong also helped the emperor solve the internal problems of military leaders in the army. It was because of his intervention that Wu Xiang and others were able to give up their military power so easily and go to Beijing to take up positions. This contribution was great enough to satisfy the emperor.

You can't use people until they die, especially an old minister like Sun Chengzong. So when Sun Chengzong proposed to retire and return home, Zhu Shenzhu agreed to his request despite his reluctance. However, he also made a request, that is, after the military academy officially opened, the crown prince and the princes would enter the academy to study, and Sun Chengzong would leave the capital and return home to recuperate. Sun Chengzong agreed to this, and it didn't take long.

(End of this chapter)