Chapter 251 To expand the territory of the Ming Dynasty
Chapter 251 To open up territory and expand territory for the Ming Dynasty
The next day, dozens of members of Zheng Zhihu's family were handed over to the police of Dongchang. They were then loaded into a prison van and escorted by a thousand garrison troops to Nanjing. Zheng Zhihu's family property, mansion, fields and tea mountains were also seized.
Three days later, Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhibao also set off for Nanjing with their wives and concubines.
Officials from all over Fujian were very satisfied with this result. Although the Zheng family was not confiscated and exterminated, the three brothers of the Zheng family were all finished.
It is enough to prove to the world that even a small official of the eighth or ninth grade is still an official. Even if you are powerful in the local area and dare to kill someone, the court will pursue it to the end.
The three brothers of the Zheng family still have official status, and the navy of the Zheng family dominates the southeastern sea. They all ended up like this. Ordinary local wealthy families should consider the consequences of killing officials!
The death of the three brothers of the Zheng family really shocked the big landlords all over Fujian. In addition, Zhang Yan's imperial edict also made the officials everywhere restrain themselves a lot and did not dare to be unscrupulous anymore. Therefore, the big landlords all over the place also stopped.
No longer resisting the New Deal.
After all, in general, everyone was very satisfied with the result. The Queen Mother basically neither favored officials nor condoned local forces, but played against each other.
Because punishing only one party will only arouse more conflicts.
If Zhang Yan only punishes the Zheng family, officials in various places will definitely become more arrogant and exploit the local areas more unscrupulously.
And if the Zheng family is not punished, or takes over lightly, then all the officials will be disheartened and even alienated from the court.
So for this kind of thing, regardless of who is right or what the truth is, it is most appropriate to fight each other fifty times.
Zhang Yanzhen only wanted to investigate the matter clearly and handle it impartially. If it were any emperor, he would not investigate seriously at all. Even if he wanted to investigate, he would only investigate after the fact.
As the three brothers of the Zheng family were all sent to Nanjing, the turmoil this time was completely subsided, and the implementation of the New Deal in Fujian continued to unfold more rapidly than before.
Zheng Sen, on the other hand, began to integrate the Zheng family navy, began to enforce military discipline, and vigorously promoted motivated young people, replacing his senior uncles.
Zhang Yan only appointed Zheng Sen as the Fujian Navy Admiral, responsible for presiding over the recovery of Dongfan Island.
Although the official position is small, both the Zheng family and other forces in Fujian know that Zheng Sen is a popular figure in front of the Queen Mother, so integrating the Zheng family navy will get twice the result with half the effort.
This is the best embodiment of the supremacy of imperial power in ancient times. Although Zhang Yan is the Queen Mother, she represents imperial power in the entire south. Her support means the support of imperial power.
Even the governor of Fujian would not openly hinder Zheng Sen and undermine him.
Compared to Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Sen was much smarter. After consolidating his strength, he immediately wrote to Zhang Yanshu and asked the court to allocate two million taels of silver to repair ships, cast cannons, recruit sailors, and dispatch some
Here comes the officer.
Obviously, he was expressing his loyalty to the imperial court and telling the emperor that the Fujian Navy belonged to the imperial court and not to the Zheng family.
Otherwise, with the financial resources of the Zheng family, there would be no need to ask the court for money.
And Zheng Sen does not have the ambition to support his troops with self-respect, which is not to say that he has no ambitions, but he knows that in this situation, supporting his troops with self-respect and other ideas will definitely not end well in the end.
Therefore, it is better to be loyal to the imperial court honestly and open up new territory for the imperial court. In this way, you can become a prince for eternity, leave a name for the ages, and you can also die a good death.
Yes, Zheng Sen did not hesitate to sell his father and two uncles and bear the reputation of being unfilial. He did not just want to regain Dongfan Island, but also planned to flex his muscles and conquer the entire Nanyang.
Because taking back Dongfan Island, the most you can do is make him a count or General Pingnan or something like that. After all, Dongfan Island originally belonged to the Ming Dynasty.
But Luzon Island and Java Island are different. If they can be conquered, it will definitely be regarded as an expansion of territory, and it will be comparable to famous ancient generals such as Huo Qubing.
Of course, the reason why Zheng Sen is so bold in thinking and doing is mainly due to the ambition of the emperor. If he were to change to another emperor, he would never completely hand over the Zheng family's navy to the imperial court.
"Major General, the brothers sent to inquire about the news have returned. The situation on Dongfan Island seems to be a little bad. Not only have a large number of Dutch warships arrived in the past month, but also a lot of Spanish warships. The two countries have joined forces.
Get up, there will be at least more than 200 large and small warships."
"What?"
After Zheng Sen consolidated his forces, he immediately dispatched a large number of sentry ships to inquire about the situation of the Dutch on Dongfan Island. Now that he heard that so many warships had arrived from the two countries, his expression suddenly changed.
After calming down, Zheng Sen analyzed: "Weren't the Spaniards expelled from Dongfan Island by the Dutch? Are they still not giving up and want to continue fighting for Dongfan Island with the Dutch?"
If this is the case, you can wait and reap the benefits after the two countries start fighting.
Thinking of this, Zheng Sen's eyes also lit up. It has to be said that Zheng Sen's understanding of the situation in Nanyang and the Three Kingdoms is indeed not comparable to that of other military generals and civilian officials in the Ming Dynasty. He also has a very strong awareness of sea power.
The general responsible for inquiring about the information shook his head.
"Major General, according to the brother who inquired about the situation, although the fleets of the two countries did not stop in one place, they showed no signs of starting a fight. On the contrary, they showed signs of preparing to join forces."
"This is a bit troublesome. If the two countries really unite, with our current strength, if we want to defeat the fleets of the two countries head-on at sea, we will probably lose more and win less. If we want to regain Dongfan Island, we can only make a sneak attack. In this way
It will be a huge risk!"
Zheng Sen frowned. The Dutch fleet left on Dongfan Island alone was difficult for the Zheng family to deal with. Adding the Spanish fleet to the mix, they had no chance of winning.
What's more, the two countries combined have more than 200 warships, and basically most of the warships in Southeast Asia have been transferred to Dongfan Island.
"Major General, why don't you ask the imperial court for help?"
"There's no rush yet."
Zheng Sen waved his hand. He really didn't want to ask the imperial court for help unless he had to. Firstly, he knew the strength of the imperial navy very well, and secondly, asking for help from the imperial court would seem too incompetent.
"It's strange. Haven't the Spaniards and the Dutch always regarded each other as incompatible? Why not only did they unite this time, but they also transferred a large number of warships to Dongfan Island? Do they want to fight the Portuguese?"
"It is possible that both the Dutch and the Spanish have been coveting the luxury land occupied by the Portuguese. If so, we can unite with the Portuguese."
"No, I am a great Ming Dynasty. If I have to unite with a small Western Yi country to take back the territory, how can I be embarrassed?"
Zheng Sen waved his hand and refused without thinking.
He didn't want it to be written in the history books that he, Zheng Sen, joined forces with the Portuguese to defeat the Westerners and regain Dongfan Island.
"Major General, what should we do?" The general responsible for inquiring about the information was obviously not as lenient as Zheng Sen thought.
"As the saying goes, only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win a hundred battles without danger. If anything goes wrong in the fleets of the two countries, there must be monsters. It is better to first find out the goals of the two countries clearly."
Zheng Sen thought about it and said, he still had some doubts that the two countries really went to great lengths to unite to attack the powerful Portuguese.
What's more, the Zheng family's navy has been somewhat depleted in recent years, so preparations must be made for a while, and the court's officers and military expenditures have not yet arrived, so there is no rush at this time.