Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 208 Why neither fight nor retreat?

After unloading the goods in Tianjin, Zheng Cai was not harassed. He returned with over 100,000 taels of silver and goods from the north, including furs, medicinal herbs, coal, iron sand, and cotton cloth. He first traveled along the mainland coastline back to Fujian, unloaded some of the goods, and handed them over to the chambers of commerce he controlled or cooperated with. Then he crossed the strait to the east and headed to his old stronghold in Dongfan.

The atmosphere in Dongfan was extremely strange at this moment. Zheng Zhilong attempted to divert attention from the conflict by using the threat of foreign enemies as a pretext, but these people were not children and naturally would not let him off easily. Although it was said to be a moral dispute, it was essentially a struggle for interests; these people would not act until they saw a clear benefit.

However, what they received was a half-hearted approach from the court, punishing both sides equally. This appeasement naturally dissatisfied Zheng Zhilong and his group. They were not exactly law-abiding citizens and had little respect for the court. They didn't consider the devastating consequences of the court bowing to them; they simply felt that if the court didn't comply with their wishes, it meant they were utterly wicked.

Zheng Zhilong was reluctant to give up the profits from doing business with the imperial court. The imperial court would allocate two to three million taels of silver annually to trade with them, purchasing grain and old ships that they no longer wanted. Large-scale transactions were profitable and worry-free.

When they were trading with Japan, they had to consider the impact of imported goods on short-term market prices. The Japanese shogunate and the daimyo were not to be trifled with either. Zheng Zhilong's armed forces could not act with impunity in Japan. Doing business in Japan meant they had to be subservient to them.

Although Japan has not yet closed itself off from the world, it is consciously restricting the outflow of silver and limiting the scale of transactions between daimyo and Zheng Zhilong. Essentially, it does not want local daimyo to be deeply bound by external interests.

As the leader of the alliance, Zheng Zhilong keenly sensed the changes in the external environment. In the foreseeable future, whether it was the Western Seas, the Japanese Seas, or even the Southeast Asian Seas, all would be affected. This led to his defection to the imperial court and his attempt to whitewash his image. The imperial court believed that it had granted amnesty to the notorious pirate Zheng Zhilong, but in reality, it was a two-way street of mutual surrender.

However, after a period of relative calm, Zheng Zhilong's greedy nature resurfaced. Although he had already taken a considerable amount from the imperial court, he still craved more. He was the epitome of the saying "having gained one thing, one desires another." He didn't want to be the lord of Dongfan Island; he wanted to be the King of Fujian. To achieve this, he needed to take the most crucial step in destroying the Fujian navy.

If they were the only remaining maritime force in the southeast, facing the aggressive advances of the "red-haired barbarians," the court would only have Zheng Zhilong as its sole reliable ally. At that point, he wouldn't just be a bandit; he could even become a pillar of the sea like Shen Yourong. He would gain both benefits and fame, enjoying boundless glory and a life well-lived.

Unfortunately, despite his excellent planning, he didn't go all out when attacking the Fujian navy, even resorting to cover-ups and falsely accusing them of being Japanese pirates. His plan was sound; if he had won this high-stakes gamble, the court would have had to reluctantly acknowledge his position. However, his poor execution led to this embarrassing situation.

Although he didn't want to fall out with the imperial court, as the leader of the gang, his reputation was more important. From Zheng Zhilong's perspective, the court was unjust, and they felt extremely wronged. Encouraged by others, he impulsively detained the imperial envoy who was delivering the imperial decree. However, his anger only lasted for a moment. After calming down, he began to feel apprehensive again.

They claimed to have only a few hundred ships and twenty or thirty thousand followers—followers, not a full-scale military force. The imperial court lacked the ability to capture them at sea, but they also lacked the power to cause trouble in the Ming Dynasty.

People on land were awestruck to see ships thousands of tons long, with people standing beside them looking like ants; those at sea were equally astonished to see thousands of cavalry sweeping past. The place they had seen the most cavalry was Japan, where those horse-riding monkeys were nothing compared to the tall horses and burly men of the Ming Dynasty. When Zhou Yuji and his men arrived in the south and found no battles to fight, they carried out the emperor's decree to spread his teachings and establish a large-scale armed parade along the southeastern coast. They appeared and disappeared mysteriously, never engaging with local officials, and aside from issuing imperial edicts and forcibly requisitioning supplies, they had almost no interaction with the local government.

Officials in Fujian and Zhejiang were in a state of panic, completely clueless as to why the imperial court had mobilized such a large force. These three thousand cavalrymen were like a sword hanging over their heads. They prayed the sword would never fall, yet simultaneously hoped it would quickly strike someone else's head, sparing them from this torment.

As for the tax inspectors, the emperor already dealt with them last year. At that time, they were just feeling the pinch and cooperated to a limited extent under pressure, paying a little money to get rid of the court. Now they're not saying anything at all. What's going on here?

Unable to find a place to vent their unease, they could only try their best to clean up their mess while impeaching the cavalry for disturbing the peace and sending letters to their protectors, hoping that these high-ranking officials, who had received so many tributes from them, could help settle the matter.

In short: Oh my god, Your Majesty, you'd better put away your supernatural powers!

This cavalry force not only intimidated officials in the southeast, but also Zheng Zhilong's gang of pirates. Zhou Yuji and his men always seemed to coincidentally appear within Zheng Zhilong's territory, only to be discovered by Zheng Zhilong's men.

Why is he neither fighting nor retreating? Zheng Zhilong's fickleness and hesitation have also affected the entire Zheng pirate group. Just the day before, he ordered preparations for war, but today he has begun to summon his leaders, saying that he wants to talk again.

Zheng Lao Er slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "What's there to talk about? Brother, you've already offended the imperial envoy. How can you expect things to turn out well now? If you can't make a decision, I'll go to the water dungeon and kill that imperial envoy, so you won't have any lingering thoughts!"

"You dare?!" Zheng Zhilong roared. Zheng Zhihu, burned by his gaze, dared not meet his eyes and lowered his head slightly.

Yang Liu and Yang Qi exchanged a glance, their disappointment barely concealed. They had initially joined Zheng Zhilong because they believed him to be a heroic figure, having built a vast empire at a young age, and a worthy leader to follow.

But in just a few short years, Zheng Zhilong seemed to have completely changed. He became selfish, stingy, and stubborn, and even his courage had almost completely vanished. Before, he would say, "Brothers, follow me!" Now, all he would say is, "Men, charge!"
They had already discussed it and decided that this time they wouldn't openly oppose Zheng Zhilong, but would leave quietly. They had already scouted out a small island to the east, which was lush with vegetation and surrounded by numerous reefs. They had gone to great lengths to find a suitable route; anyone else who tried to force their way through would only crash into the reefs and perish at sea.

(End of this chapter)