With 100,000 elite soldiers at the start, what should you call me?

……

Quanzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province.

In May, Zheng Gongcheng captured Tong'an, but not long before, Qing army commander Zhao Guozuo led troops to support him. The two sides fought fiercely in Tong'an, and Zheng's army suffered heavy casualties and ultimately failed to defend the city.

Zheng Gongcheng's army was defeated and retreated to the city of Quanzhou.

However, Zhao Guozuo persisted and dispatched guerrilla commander Zhe Guangqiu and deputy general Lian Biao to pursue and besiege Quanzhou Prefecture.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Cai dispatched troops to provide support, but just as Zheng Chenggong and Zheng Cai were about to launch a pincer attack on the Qing army,

The Qing army suddenly withdrew and returned to Tong'an City.

Zheng Chenggong wanted to press his advantage and continue attacking Tong'an City.

But Zheng Cai refused, and the two got into an argument.

Zheng Cai's reluctance to move forward was simple: his informant within the Lu Regent's government had sent him a message.

Things don't seem to be going well over there; I want to take this opportunity to get rid of him.

"Brother Yu, why sound the retreat? The Qing army is fleeing; we have pursued them relentlessly and will surely retake Tong'an City!"

"If Tong'an City falls into the hands of the Qing army again, it will surely suffer a massacre. If we delay even a moment, we are condoning the Qing army's slaughter of the people!"

Zheng Sen, also known as Guo Xing Chenggong, was a passionate young man in his early twenties.

The Qing army would carry out a brutal massacre of any town that resisted recapture or surrendered only to rebel again after it was recaptured.

Zheng Chenggong's friends and the many righteous men he recruited are in Tongan City, and the Qing army will certainly not let them go.

Zheng Chenggong knew better than anyone the cruelty and brutality of the Qing army. Back then, his father had just surrendered to the Qing, and the Qing army broke their promise and directly attacked Ping'an Town, burning, killing, and looting. His mother, Lady Weng, was also humiliated and died.

Zheng Chenggong hated the Manchus to the core. Now that the Qing army was weak and his own troops were strong and well-equipped, but they had different thoughts and chose to let the Qing army go, how could Zheng Chenggong not be anxious?

But Zheng Cai ignored this.

"If the Qing army wanted to massacre the city, they would have done so long ago. Even if they attack Tong'an now, it will just be an empty city."

"Why don't we call it a day and hold Quanzhou? I have other matters to attend to."

Zheng Cai's attitude seemed somewhat indifferent.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Chenggong's anger intensified: "Zheng Cai! You are my father's nephew, and I call you elder brother as a sign of respect."

"If you don't come with me to attack Tong'an City today, our friendship is over!"

What angered him was that Zheng Cai had completely ignored such a crucial opportunity, much like the selfish and self-serving local warlords of the Ming Dynasty who only wanted to be local emperors.

What's even more infuriating is that Zheng Cai holds the military power of his Zheng family. His father, Zheng Zhilong, surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and only took a small number of troops with him.

However, Zheng Zhilong's departure caused an invisible split within the Zheng family. Some of his old subordinates followed Zheng Zhilong to surrender to the Qing, while those who were unwilling to surrender joined Zheng Cai.

At that time, Zheng Chenggong was still young and lacked seniority and experience. He had no prestige among his family's elders and generals, and few people joined him. Family affairs were also controlled by his two brothers, Zheng Cai and Zheng Lian.

Logically, everything in the Zheng family should be under his control. But he is no longer the naive young man he once was; he wants to reclaim everything that belongs to him.

If he had the military power of the Zheng family, why would he need to recruit soldiers everywhere and work so hard? He could have wiped out the Qing army in Fujian in one fell swoop long ago.

At this moment, he wanted to reclaim the power that belonged to him.

Zheng Cai turned around, her eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of cold light in them.

"Hmph, you weren't even born when I was working on ships with Father. I've swallowed more seawater than you've ever eaten salt in your entire life."

"The situation is dire now, and you still have the nerve to whine and sever ties with me? Are you still an ignorant child?"

Zheng Chenggong was so angry that his face turned red when he was called an ignorant child. He wanted to retort, but Zheng Cai scolded him, "Enough! My matter is not a trivial matter. It concerns the survival of my Zheng family."

"Just focus on protecting Quanzhou Prefecture."

"Yesterday I received news that the Qing army under Prince Gongshun, Kong Youde, suffered a major defeat not long ago, and Li Tian killed two governors-general of Zhejiang and Fujian within two months. Zhao Guozuo must have also received news of Kong Youde's defeat, which is why he withdrew."

"Quanzhou Prefecture will not be attacked by the Qing army in the near future. You should take this opportunity to gather your remaining forces, instead of arguing with me here!"

After Zheng Cai finished speaking, he turned and left. He was nearly twenty years older than Zheng Chenggong. He had achieved great success and was highly respected. He had already done his best to tell Zheng Chenggong so much.

Zheng Chenggong gripped the hilt of his sword, trembling with rage, but he ultimately held back, his eyes fixed on Zheng Cai's retreating figure.

"You alone are thinking of the Zheng family; you are a meritorious official of the Zheng family and a meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty."

"Fine, if you're heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless too."

"Everything belonging to the Zheng family should have belonged to me!"

"Only I can revive the Ming Dynasty, not you, Zheng Cai, who only knows how to study power struggles, form cliques and suppress dissent, and has lost your spirit."

Zheng Chenggong's heart was always with the already destroyed Longwu Dynasty.

Why does everyone call him Guoxing Chenggong (meaning "successful person with the surname Guo")?

This is because the imperial surname was personally bestowed upon him by Emperor Longwu.

That's why Zheng Chenggong so desperately wanted to revive the Ming Dynasty.

He should always be thinking about counterattacking the Qing army, instead of being like Zheng Cai, who was opportunistic, trying to control Prince Lu, playing power games in the court, and becoming a local tyrant.

Zheng Chenggong held Zheng Cai in utter contempt and never truly regarded him as his elder brother.

"We must have military power, and that power is in Zheng Cai's hands. How can we get our hands on it...?"

As Zheng Chenggong pondered, his gaze turned toward Jiahe Thousand Household Office, which was in the direction of Xiamen City.

That was the Zheng family's old stronghold, and also the place managed by Zheng Cai's younger brother, Zheng Lian.

Once Zheng Lian is killed, the family elders can be pressured to force Zheng Cai to relinquish military power.

The more Zheng Chenggong thought about it, the more he wanted to do it.

He currently has too few soldiers at his disposal, making him hesitant and timid in his actions, unable to fully utilize his abilities.

A thought of seizing power arose in Zheng Chenggong's mind.

Meanwhile, in Fuzhou Prefecture, the Lu Regent's Court...

In a pavilion, Zhang Huangyan sat at a stone table, his face showing anxiety.

"How is the matter progressing, Minister Qin? Has Li Tian agreed to send troops?"

Qin Yan, with a calm smile on his face, slowly took a sip of tea; "There's news."

Seeing his appearance, Zhang Huangyan guessed what was going on, but still wanted to get definite information from him.

"Brother Qin, please don't keep me in suspense any longer, this is driving me crazy."

Qin Yan smiled and said, "Li Tian agreed to send troops, but he made a few demands."

"What are your requirements?"

"They want to lease one of our coastal ports and buy ships from us."

"Is that all?" Upon hearing these requests, Zhang Huangyan felt that they were all acceptable and that the demands were not high.

"That's all," Qin Yan said.

"That's great! As long as Li Tian is willing to send troops, the Regent can break free from the Zheng family's control," Zhang Huangyan said happily.

The court officials had long been dissatisfied with Zheng Cai and wished they could take advantage of his fight against the Qing army to send troops to betray him.

But doing so would only cause the court to lose the support of the people.

Qin Yan frowned and said, "But Brother Xuanzhe, the court has driven away Zheng Cai, this hungry wolf, but has attracted Li Tian, ​​this fierce tiger. This plan will probably plunge the Regent into dire straits again."

Zhang Huangyan shook his head; "We can't worry about that much. Although Li Tian is a fierce tiger, he can defeat the Qing army. As long as we can use Li Tian to recover Xiaoling, the revival of the Ming Dynasty will be a piece of cake. Compared to this, nothing else matters."

Li Tian's victories in killing two governors-general of Zhejiang and Fujian and defeating Kong Youde were undoubtedly inspiring for those who aspired to revitalize the Ming Dynasty.

The Lu Regent's court also wanted to use Li Tian's reputation to enhance its own power and influence.