In Xiamen, after several months of travel, Mu Zhongliang finally arrived at the residence of Zheng Chenggong, the king of Yanping County in the Ming Dynasty.
In the past few months, Mu Zhongliang has experienced all kinds of twists and turns, and his life has been worse than death. After receiving the task from Zhu Cixuan, he was stubborn and did not ask his father how to get to Xiamen in order to keep it secret.
After finding a guide, he ran to Sichuan, planning to find a boat in Chongqing to go all the way east. When he arrived in Chongqing after all the hard work, he revealed his identity and told his request. Du Zixiang's soldiers looked at him as if he were a fool.
One sentence made him freeze on the spot.
"Young Master, the boat from Chongqing can only go as far as Fengjie... If you go further down from Fengjie, you have to change to a boat from the Zhongzhen Camp. Even if the Zhongzhen Camp is willing to take you, it will end when you reach Xingshan. There is Tatar water over there in Hubei.
Where is the teacher..."
Mu Zhongliang, who was stunned, returned to Guiyang under Du Zixiang's guidance. At this time, Zhu Cixuan was acting all the way to Chongqing. Mu Zhongliang saw Yuying from a distance on the road. After thinking about it, he didn't dare to go there.
Afraid of being laughed at by Zhu Cixuan, Mu Zhongliang traveled in a hurry from Guiyang to Kunming, and from Kunming to the border of Annan, Yunnan. Then he bought a small broken boat in Annan and drove along the coastline for nearly two months while avoiding Tatar navy inspections.
Only then was it discovered by the Zheng family navy near Xiamen waters.
Seeing Zheng Chenggong, Mu Zhongliang saluted and immediately presented Zhu Cixuan's letter. Zheng Chenggong took the letter and did not open it in a hurry. Instead, he looked at Mu Zhongliang up and down, and said with a smile: "I've had a hard time coming here.
Don't you? Don't go back to Kunming. Why don't you just serve under me? I think you look a bit like an old sea dog." This is true. After floating on the sea for so long, Mu Zhongliang, where is Mu Zhongliang?
He still had half of the appearance of a young man with an imposing figure, but was blown away by the sea wind and became black, thin and shriveled, like a sailor making a living at sea.
Mu Zhongliang smiled bitterly and thanked him. He was a descendant of Duke Mu, and it would be unreasonable to surrender to the Prince of Yanping County. Of course, Zheng Chenggong knew this very well, but he was just joking.
Zheng Chenggong frowned after reading the letter and said nothing. He was indeed a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, and he also paid homage to Yongli, but deep down in his heart he always sympathized with the Tang king, and had an absolute impression of Yongli, who had met Shaowu in battle.
Not so good. If the king of Tang had not died of heirs, he would definitely support the descendants of the queen of Tang. Zhu Cixuan promised him in the letter that the Zheng family would follow Mu Ying's example and rule Taiwan forever. He was moved, but he didn't take it too seriously.
After all, Zhu Cixuan is only a prince, not an emperor. Whether and when his promise can be fulfilled is unknown.
Zheng Chenggong ignored the letter and instead asked about Zhu Cixuan's situation in detail. After a long time, he asked someone to take Mu Zhongliang down to rest. After Mu Zhongliang left, Zheng Chenggong ordered someone to summon a few confidants and closed his eyes to meditate.
"In the name of practicing martial arts, I intervened in the imperial camp to persuade the two kings to make peace with His Majesty. I can also see the value of Taiwan to my Zheng family. This young prince is not old, but he is very capable and visionary..."
After a while, his subordinate Wenwu arrived. When Zheng Chenggong explained the contents of Zhu Cixuan's letter, there was a lot of discussion.
"Taiwan forever? Taiwan is isolated overseas, with a large number of native people, and there are still red-haired barbarians who have built a city to defend it. Does the young prince want to assign me to the Zheng family in the name of guarding?" The speaker was Zheng Jing, the prince of Yanping County. He
He is not very old, but he is very indifferent to Zhu Cixuan, who is still in his prime. A young kid dares to participate in national affairs at will.
Zheng Chenggong said displeased: "You are the prince, how dare you speak so openly? If these words get out, the world will only say that you are a playboy and rude, and that I, Zheng Chenggong, am incompetent in teaching my son."
Zheng Jing was helpless and lowered his head to admit his mistake. Next to him, Gan Hui came to the rescue and said: "Your Majesty, please calm down. What the Crown Prince said makes sense. Although Taiwan is vast, there are not many Han people. The red-haired barbarians and natives are in conflict. At this time, our army is in the east."
Crossing Taiwan will inevitably lead to conflicts with them. If the Tatars take the opportunity to invade, we will be attacked from both sides and we may be overwhelmed."
"That's right, Your Majesty." Chen Yonghua, also known as Chen Jinnan, Wei Xiaobao's master in The Deer and the Cauldron, also said, "At the moment, we should still focus on resisting the Qing Dynasty. The red-haired barbarians are not susceptible to scabies, and the Tatars are a serious problem. At this time, we will divide our troops in Taiwan.
, it is in vain to increase the number of enemies, and a wise man will not do it."
Everyone agreed, but Zheng Xi frowned and remained silent. Zheng Chenggong smiled and said: "You are right, fifth brother, what do you think?"
Zheng Xi thought for a while and then slowly said: "Brother, I was wondering, how did the prince know that you wanted to take Taiwan?"
Zheng Chenggong smiled and said, "Brother Wei, when did you say you wanted to acquire Taiwan?"
Zheng Xi also laughed: "Brother, why do you pretend to be confused while pretending to understand? If brother doesn't care about Taiwan, how can he call us here? Besides, in brother's heart, Taiwan is not a treasure land?"
Everyone is dumbfounded. What do you mean? Mr. Guo really intends to acquire Taiwan. How come we don’t know?
Zheng Chenggong laughed loudly, his admiration was beyond words. He looked around, taking in everyone's expressions, and saw a hint of chill in Zheng Jing's eyes when he looked at Zheng Xi. He felt a slight chill in his heart and said seriously: "Fifth brother, please tell me.
,Why is Taiwan a treasure land?”
Zheng Xi smiled and said: "Brother Mingjian, my Zheng family originated from the sea. We can raise tens of thousands of soldiers. We can fight the Tatars with gold and a small amount of land. We rely on our control of sea trade. Although Taiwan is a land inhabited by barbarians, it can be reached to the north.
If we control the routes to North Korea and Japan, and connect Luzon, Java, and Taiwan to the south, our Zheng family will no longer need to share trade profits with the red-haired barbarians, and our annual income can at least double... Everyone, because I
I am in charge of the Zheng family’s external trade, so I can understand my eldest brother’s plan. You are all focused on fighting, and it is inevitable that you are blinding yourself.”
Everyone gasped, Taiwan is so important?! If Taiwan is captured, wouldn't the number of soldiers that can be raised be doubled? Gan Hui and other generals who originally had no interest in Taiwan suddenly became excited.
"Eldest brother, what I don't understand is, how could His Highness the Crown Prince know what eldest brother is thinking? At that time, Sun Kewang, the current King of Jin, the King of Shu, and others have never revealed their intention to get involved in sea trade. It can be seen that no one in the court is watching.
To the interests of sea trade. Then how did His Highness the Crown Prince think of using Taiwan to win over his eldest brother? Who is standing behind him? Is this person an enemy or a friend of our Zheng family?" Zheng Xi was puzzled.
Answer, said in a deep voice.
"This..." Everyone was at a loss for words. They were in Xiamen, and they didn't think Taiwan was a treasure land. The prince was far away in Kunming, but he could see Taiwan's role in the Zheng family at a glance. This was horrifying to think about.
"Maybe the little prince just said it casually? Taiwan is very close to my Jinxia, the little prince..." Seeing his father's stern look, Zheng Jing swallowed and changed his words, "Maybe your highness turned over it.
Map, I felt that Taiwan is now a terra incognita, and it was my father’s duty to conquer it anyway, so I casually agreed to it.”
Zheng Xi shook his head: "No, there must be an expert behind His Highness's back. This means he's got the pulse of my eldest brother."
Seeing that Zheng Jing was still puzzled, Chen Yonghua said: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty has been greatly favored by Emperor Longwu and was given a national surname. No matter what Your Majesty thinks, in the eyes of the current emperor, Your Majesty has been stamped with the mark of Emperor Longwu. I have been
He competed with Shaowu for the throne, and although he is trying to win over the prince in many ways, he is finally separated by one layer." Zheng Jing blinked, not understanding why Chen Yonghua brought up old scores. Chen Yonghua sighed secretly in his heart, and continued: "Your Highness wrote a letter
To the prince, how could I not know this? If your highness randomly promised some benefits in the letter that the prince does not like at all, what would the prince think? Would he think that the prince is still thinking about the old events of the Tang Gui dispute and deliberately embarrassing the prince?
Woolen cloth?"
Zheng Jing suddenly realized that Zheng Chenggong looked at his son and felt slightly disappointed. He turned around and thought about it, his son was still young after all, not yet twenty, and then he said with relief: "You, you should learn more from the military advisor and your fifth uncle."
Learn... Lao Wu, you don’t have to think about who is behind His Highness anymore. Brother Wei has just thought about it. I am determined to win Taiwan. Now that the imperial court has an order, it is even more famous. Kinmen, Xiamen is too small.
, how many people can we feed? It is too close to the Tatars. Now every time I go on an expedition, I have to deploy a large number of troops to stay behind. I am afraid that the Tatars will take advantage of the opportunity."
"But Taiwan is different. Taiwan is big enough and has no problem feeding millions of people. The Tatar Navy is weak and Taiwan is isolated overseas. There is no need to worry about defense issues. Taiwan is in a dangerous position. The fifth brother has just said that if you control Taiwan, you will control it.
In order to secure the trade routes between Japan and Korea, it would be no problem to recruit tens of thousands more soldiers. Moreover, if Taiwan is in my hands, what can I do about Luzon?"
Everyone listened with fascination, and Zheng Xi even clapped his hands and said: "Brother, you are so courageous. If we win Luzon, our Zheng family's annual income can be doubled!"
Zheng Chenggong smiled and said: "Well, Luzon is still too far away. We can plan it slowly in the future, but let's discuss the current matters first. Everyone, His Majesty's conditions have been made. He wants us to march to the southeast this year to attract the attention of the Tatars and share the burden.
How do you feel about the pressure from King Jin and King Shu?"
Gan Hui pumped his fist and shouted: "I didn't say it before. Beating the Tatars is just and natural. Even if the emperor doesn't speak, don't we still have to beat them?"
Chen Yonghua also agreed: "General Gan's words are reasonable. Your Majesty is determined to fight against the Qing Dynasty, and all the heroes in the world will follow suit. We have gathered under your command to drive out the Tartars and restore China, not for the sake of one family and one surname. No matter whether Your Majesty or not
If there is a decree, as long as the opportunity is favorable, we should immediately send troops to the Northern Expedition."
Feng Xifan frowned at this time and said: "We can fight, but we have to worry about how to fight. How big should we fight? Should we focus on harassment, or should we focus on attacking a fortified city with heavy troops? Also, since Taiwan is of great benefit in raising troops, should we win it as soon as possible?
If we are going to send troops to Taiwan this year, then we still need to think about marching into the southeast."
Zheng Xi also said: "Brother, Taiwan is an ungrateful land, and it is not the old land of the Ming Dynasty. Why does the emperor need to confer it? Even if the emperor does not grant the decree, we can still fight. It is still an expansion of territory. The emperor uses Taiwan as a favor.
We can pretend not to know..."
Chen Yonghua objected: "Is the whole world the land of the king? Taiwan has long been settled by Chinese people, so why is it not the land of the Ming Dynasty? Without the emperor's will, how can the prince follow the example of the Mu family and control Taiwan forever?"
Both sides insisted on their own opinions and had a heated argument. Zheng Chenggong listened for a while and suddenly said quietly: "His Royal Highness said in the letter that since the Ming Dynasty moved south, when the situation against the Qing Dynasty improved several times, they all fell short due to civil strife. And the civil strife
The root cause is that there is no central authority to which everyone hopes."
Everyone was silent and looked at Zheng Chenggong. Zheng Chenggong continued: "When Emperor Lie died for his country, I was still studying in Nanjing. At that time, Emperor Jian (Emperor Hongguang of the Southern Ming Dynasty) first took over the throne, but the capital fell and the majesty of the Ming Dynasty plummeted.
The military and towns in various places, including my father's, began to do their own thing. Everyone in the world said that Emperor Jian was dissolute and immoral, but I knew that his diligence and simplicity were not inferior to that of Emperor Lie. However, his authority had been lost, and it was difficult to command the four directions and return.
The sky is weak. Since then, neither the late emperor nor the present emperor has been able to revive the authority of the central government. It is because of the rebellion of my father and grandson Ke Wang!"
Everyone was silent. Zheng Chenggong spoke frankly about his father Zheng Zhilong's rebellion against the Ming Dynasty and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. They heard it in harsh words.
"Looking at the Tatars, the above three banners control the Manchu Eight Banners, the Manchu Eight Banners control the Mongolian and Han Eight Banners, and the three ethnic groups and the Eight Banners control the Han army. They are strict from top to bottom and enforce orders and prohibitions. In comparison, how can the Ming Dynasty be undefeated?"
"I have thought carefully about the tragic events since Jiashen, and I have to admit that what Your Highness said makes sense. The authority of the central government is not established, the government orders in the temples are not clear, and the local governments are doing their own thing. There are always millions of troops who are all in disarray. This has disappointed the scholars and chilled the hearts of the soldiers.
, the people looked askance... If Ming Dynasty wants to revive, it must reestablish the majesty of the central government!"
Zheng Jing was not convinced and muttered: "Father, the emperor of the Zhu family also lost this central authority. What do you mean by saying this to your father? Do you want to take back power? Is your father willing to be controlled by others?"
Zheng Chenggong looked at his son calmly and said solemnly: "You are the prince, and if you continue to say that you have no king and no father, don't blame me for killing your relatives for the sake of your father!"
Zheng Jing shivered and broke into a cold sweat. Zheng Chenggong ignored him and continued: "I live in Jin, a small land, and have been able to deal with the Tatars for many years. It is not the Zheng family's strong financial resources and excellent military armor.
What? Because I am a minister of the Ming Dynasty, and I have the surname of the late emperor. The strong men from all over the sea come to join us. What they value is not the wealth of my Zheng family, but my determination to resist the Qing Dynasty and revive the Ming Dynasty." He
Then he looked at Zheng Jing and hummed, "Jing'er, I am the king's son-in-law. He is a loyal minister and filial son of the Ming Dynasty. He is not my Zhu Chenggong."
Zheng Jing bowed his head to accept the instruction, and Zheng Chenggong continued: "I have received great favor from the late emperor. If the late emperor has descendants, I will naturally support him with all my strength. However, the late emperor has already extinct. Does this mean that I, Zhu Chenggong, will extirpate himself from the Ming Dynasty? I, Zhu Chenggong, have always
First came the ministers of the Ming Dynasty, and then came the national surnames who had received great favor from the late emperors. The legacy of the late emperors of the Ming Dynasty still exists, and the people of the world are eagerly looking forward to it, and they want to revive the Ming Dynasty, not to establish a new dynasty."
"The people's heart is the heart of heaven. If the people's heart does not change, the Ming Dynasty is still the destiny of heaven. Today, it is still the common ruler of all people. It is still the gathering of hundreds of millions of people's hearts. It is still the king and father of our ministers and the object of allegiance to me, Zhu Chenggong.
There are always things going wrong in this world, but this is where the authority of the central government lies. There is an order from the emperor, and I should obey it." Zheng Chenggong said word by word.
"The Ming Dynasty cannot withstand another civil strife. I, Zhu Chenggong, am not Sun Kewang! If you fail to obey the decrees or fail to follow the orders of the central government, this is not only disrespectful to your majesty, but also disregards the majesty of the Ming Dynasty. Then this book
Who else can follow the crumbling Ming Dynasty? How can I bear the surname of this country?"
Zheng Chenggong suddenly stood up and shouted: "From today on, I, the Zheng family, will make decisions based on the temple and obey your Majesty's orders!"
"The entire army is preparing for war, the target is Nanjing!" This chapter has been completed!