Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 545 The Zheng Family's Choice
"Fengtian Chengyun Emperor, I said: Nan'an Bo Zheng Zhilong..."

In Yangzhou City, Zheng Zhilong stood on his knees in the mansion, welcoming the imperial edict.

Originally, his hometown was in Fujian, but unfortunately the court was worried about him, so he could only settle down in Yangzhou, and take care of the pirate business by the way.

Naturally, it doesn't matter, he originally wanted to go to the mainland and abandon the sea, but now that his wish is fulfilled, he is even more extravagant.

Therefore, following the house in Nan'an County, he spent more than [-] taels of platinum to buy and rebuild it, and planned to operate it as his old nest.

Unexpectedly, within a short while, the imperial court issued an imperial edict.

"Brother, are we going to fight the Dutch?"

Zheng Zhihu who was at the side said excitedly: "We have long been displeased with this red-haired ghost, so we just hit him."

"Confused—" Zheng Hongkui curled his lips and said, "The imperial court is eyeing Xiaoliuqiu, and they are going to take it down!"

"It's not just those Dutch people, even our senior officials are hard to escape."

"What?" The brothers immediately became astonished, their faces full of anger.

Dayuan is a family business run by the Zheng family for decades, where tens of thousands of people live. It is not only a supply place at sea, but also another old nest for them.

If the emperor took it, wouldn't it be a waste of work?

"Brother, what do you think—"

Zheng Hongkui on the side didn't care about the angry brothers, and immediately turned his head, looked at the pensive Zheng Zhilong and asked.

The Zheng family came from a humble background, and now they are able to start a family, all relying on the efforts of Zheng Zhilong, not only their elder brother, but also the head of their family.

Moreover, Zheng Zhilong is the biggest one who puts the hard work of the staff.

"The imperial court wants it, so it can only give it."

Zheng Zhilong rubbed his temples, sat down on his own, and said helplessly.

Only then did everyone notice that his temples had turned gray, and he looked like an old man in his forties.

Even if you are pampered, it is difficult to make up for the suffering you suffered in the past.

"Brother, this is our foundation!"

Zheng Zhihu on the side couldn't help but said.

"It's just a deserted island. There's nothing there. If it wasn't for a stop, we would have thrown it away."

Zheng Zhilong shook his head and said sternly: "Furthermore, we are now officials ordered by the imperial court, don't we dare to disobey the emperor's order?"

"Second, third, fourth, you have bought a lot of land on land. Could it be that you just throw it away for a mere deserted island?"

"And then catch up with me, the earl?"

Now, several people were silent, not daring to say more.

These family properties are nothing, the most important thing is the title, which is the foundation of the Zheng family's life. It is only now that they become a wealthy family. It would be a pity if they were easily discarded.

"Hong Kui, what do you think?"

Zheng Zhilong looked at the bravest younger brother and couldn't help asking.

"Brother, I think the imperial court sent us to fight the Dutch, I'm afraid it has some other meanings."

Although Zheng Hongkui is a rough man, he has been in the officialdom for many years, and he still understands some sacred meanings.

I saw him spread out and said: "The strength of the Donghai Navy is increasing day by day. Now there are thirty big ships and hundreds of small boats. They are equipped with artillery, which is almost the same as those of the Dutch."

"If you add the army, the Dutch are by no means their opponents, and they definitely dare not be called Ming's opponents."

"What do you mean?" Zheng Zhilong narrowed his eyes, revealing a gleam of light.

"For the sake of trade with Ming Dynasty, the Dutch will never fight to the death, so this battle will become a game."

Zheng Hongkui said loudly: "I'm afraid the emperor's meaning is very clear, he just wants to use the land of the big official in exchange for the title of the eldest brother."

"As long as the land under the hands of the Dutch is squatted down, and the land of the senior officials is offered, wouldn't it be easy to gather two or three counties?"

"Hahaha!" Zheng Zhilong beamed with joy, and said: "With military exploits and soil offerings, how can the earl on me not be promoted by one or two?"

"Yeah, big brother will become Lord Marquis by then."

Hearing this, everyone suddenly became happy.

Zheng Hongkui continued with a smile: "Moreover, the imperial court only set up yamen separately, and our land property is still there, but we can't control the people, and the loss is minimal."

"At that time, we can also get a few viscounts and barons."

As soon as these words came out, everyone listened straight away, forgetting about that kind of expectation.

Zheng Zhilong stroked his beard and smiled from the bottom of his heart.

Although there is only one level of difference between an earl and a marquis, it is vastly different nowadays.

Without him, whoever asked the emperor to come up with a trick to reduce hereditary status, only marquis and duke would be reduced to baron and viscount, and the rest of the titles would only be passed on for a few generations.

For the Zheng family, once they become marquises, they are nobles who live with the country. What is the land of a few counties?Even a few provinces are worth it.

"Okay, let the sons prepare, this time let His Majesty know how powerful our Zheng family is—"

After discussing for a while, the Zheng family unified their thinking and decided to use the sea boats under their hands to gain wealth.

Just when they were packing up and preparing to go south, a letter from Zheng Sen suddenly came.

Zheng Zhilong only disclosed this kind of private information to his most capable brother, Zheng Hongkui.

"Is this true?" Zheng Hongkui couldn't believe it.

"Is this still false?" Zheng Zhilong said in a deep voice, "Although it's just an inquiry, it can be seen from the lines that it was revealed by the emperor himself."

No wonder the two of them were so astonished, the content of the letter was really unexpected.

Zheng Sen said bluntly that after the emperor decided to take down the officials, he would set up the Taiwan government and build a new South China Sea Navy in Guangzhou.

In addition, they coveted Annan and other places deeply.

He even thought with great joy that if he wanted to revive the Ming Dynasty, he must kill the chickens to scare the monkeys and seize wealth.

And this chicken is the Dutchman who is now in the limelight.

"Your Majesty has great ambitions!"

"This is also an advantage for our Zheng family. When it comes to the sea, who can compare to us?"

In the first lunar month, the north has become a country of snow, while the sea in the south is still rough.

Xiamen, where the Zheng family stationed troops.

Since joining the imperial court, the Zheng family had a banner and became more powerful. Otherwise, Zheng Hongkui would not have invited King Tang to go south in an attempt to take the credit for supporting him.

But it is precisely because of this that there are almost no pirates on the coast of Fujian.

Zheng Zhilong, although he started at sea, is very traditional in thinking, and he is extremely protective of his hometown.

With the unification of Ming Dynasty, the maritime trade has become more and more prosperous, but the prestige of the Zheng family has not declined.

This time the Spaniards went north and returned victoriously, not only brought a lot of wealth, but also made the South China sea urchin tremble:

Ming decided to wipe out the pirates.

As soon as the news came out, merchants from all over the world rejoiced, but the pirates cursed loudly.

For the Dutch, the news was mixed.

(End of this chapter)