East Factory Governor

Chapter 725 Zheng Zhilong in Dilemma
Zheng Cai is not stupid, she knows what Qin Shuhuai meant by quietly coming to her house and saying this.

But this matter was too earth-shattering for him, and he was not mentally prepared at all, so he did not dare to confirm Qin Shuhuai's meaning.

Then he asked cautiously, "Master Guo, what do you mean?"

Qin Shuhuai chuckled, "It's nothing interesting, I'm just asking casually. If General Zheng can't answer, just pretend I didn't ask."

Seeing Qin Shuhuai getting up to leave, Zheng Cai suddenly felt a strong sense of loss.

It seems that once the Grand Duke steps out of this door, he will lose an opportunity that he will never be able to touch again in this life.

So he hurriedly said, "Master, the general can answer, you can answer!"

Qin Shuhuai nodded, "Then let's talk, I'm listening."

Zheng Cai pondered for a while, and said, "My lord, General Zheng currently has about [-] warships. Before that, about half of them belonged to the last general, but since Zheng Zhibao, the fifth younger brother of General Zheng, came to prominence, the last general He can only command more than a hundred ships. It is estimated that in a few days, only these more than one hundred ships will be handed over to Zheng Zhibao. To put it bluntly, General Zheng only believes in his own brothers. We outsiders, hey..."

Zheng Caixing was still a little bit alcoholic, so he vomited bitterness with Qin Shuhuai.

Hua Shen immediately said, "Zheng Cai, the Duke already knew what you said, do you still need to say it? Quickly answer what the Duke said, and don't go around in circles."

Zheng Cai hurriedly said, "Okay! Okay! The Duke of the State asked how many warships the general can command. Don't brag about it. As long as the Duke of the State has a word, the general will be able to command half of the warships."

Qin Shuhuai shook his head and said, "That's not enough."

Zheng Cai was anxious, and said again, "There is more! There is also Chen Huina, he is now the deputy general under Zheng Zhihu, and he directly controls more than 100 warships. He and I are good brothers who worship, as long as the Duke allows him to If you have a future, you will definitely serve the Duke. Both of us brothers admire the Duke very much!"

Qin Shuhuai thought for a while and said, "Then there are two or three hundred ships left?"

Zheng Cai said in embarrassment, "The remaining two or three hundred warships are all in the hands of Zheng Zhihu. Zheng Zhihu is very good at fighting and has high prestige in the army, so no one can take the ships in his hand. "

Qin Shuhuai rubbed his chin, and said thoughtfully, "Is that so?"

After thinking for a while, he asked again, "Are all Zheng Zhihu's warships at sea now?"

Zheng Caidao, "Most of them are at sea, but every three months they will return to Hong Kong, Anping and other ports for repairs."

After finishing speaking, he quietly raised his head to look at Qin Shuhuai, only to see that he was still frowning slightly.

So he gritted his teeth, and said in a low voice, "Grandpa, the order at sea relies on people and the unity of orders. People must be trusted by the soldiers, and orders must be the unique golden letter Hailing on Zheng Zhihu's body. People, we Now that we have it, let Chen Hui go. So as long as the Duke can get Zheng Zhihu's golden order, he can bring back all his warships. As soon as they come back, the Duke can organize them. "

Qin Shuhuai's eyes lit up slightly, then he patted Zheng Cai's shoulder with a smile, and said, "General Zheng is really a smart man, I like smart people. Right now the imperial court is employing people, so brave and resourceful like General Zheng A talented general, the future is boundless!"

Zheng Cai was both surprised and delighted, and said quickly, "Thank you for the cultivation of the Duke! In the end, I will definitely do my best and do my best for the Duke."

For Zheng Cai, there is nothing better than becoming a high-ranking official and honoring his ancestors.

Of course, it's not just him, there are many people who want to quit being pirates and become high officials, and even become kings and ministers. Isn't Zheng Zhilong the same?
……

the same moment.

Zheng Zhilong's study room was brightly lit.

There were only three people inside, Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Zhibao, and Zheng Zhihu.

The expressions of the three of them were very dignified.

At the banquet, whether they forcefully smiled or didn't see the situation clearly for a while, in short, they looked really happy and smiled from ear to ear.

But now, they felt something strange.

Zheng Zhilong knew very well that he had 1 soldiers, of which [-] were floating at sea, and more than [-] were stationed in Anhai Town.These soldiers are said to be soldiers of the imperial court, but in fact they only obey his orders, and they are veritable "private soldiers".

In the past, the imperial court was weak, and it was not enough to fight against the Tartars, demon sects, and bandits. Naturally, he had no time to deal with him, a "guerrilla general" who had at least publicly surrendered and was indeed serving the imperial court.

But now it's different!

The imperial court suddenly had a great talent like the Duke of the Kingdom, who actually brought the empire back from the brink of collapse. Not only that, but now the Ming Dynasty faintly has the appearance of a peaceful country and a peaceful world, and the world is initially settled!
As the saying goes, is it the king's land under the whole world, can the court allow him to raise so many private soldiers now?

Thinking of this, Zheng Zhilong felt chills behind his back.

So after the banquet was over, he immediately found these two younger brothers whom he trusted the most to discuss the big plan.

"Second brother, fifth brother, don't be bored, just speak out what's on your mind, we don't have time to linger." Zheng Zhilong said in a hurry.

Zheng Zhihu said, "Brother, the key now lies in the imperial court, or what is the attitude of the Duke of the country towards us? If the imperial court really wants to reuse us, then we will serve the imperial court well, not to mention sitting in charge in the future and enshrining our wives and sons. It's always no problem to keep the family business we worked so hard to get."

Zheng Zhibao continued, "Second brother is right. Didn't Qin Shuhuai want to break the sea ban? Isn't that when we need our warships? Besides, if the imperial court wants to move us, why give second brother you as Nan'an Bo? "

Zheng Zhilong said in a condensed voice, "You guys are thinking too simple. A mere Nan'anbo is just a vain name. The court doesn't need to spend a single coin. It's the best way to paralyze us. But don't forget, the reason why we are now We can live a rich life because we have [-] warships and [-] soldiers! If the imperial court wants to take it back, what should we do?"

Zheng Zhihu said, "That's exactly what I'm worried about! If the imperial court draws a big cake for us, then takes away our ships and soldiers, and then turns around to fight back, then we will be fish on the chopping board and let the imperial court slaughter us." !"

Zheng Zhibao thought for a while and said, "In this case, why not take our boat and people away! Let's go back to Dongfan. No matter how capable he is, Qin Shuhuai, he can come across the sea to find us? As long as he's not here, let's go We are not afraid of anything, who is our opponent in the sea in southern Fujian?"

Zheng Zhilong sighed, "Easier said than done. Do you think Dongfan is still our territory? There are Dutchmen, Liu Xiang, and the remnants of Xu Xinsu. We only have one Hong Kong there. If we go there, everything will have to start again." Come again."

Zheng Zhihu said, "That's right. The Dutch of the East India Company have long wanted to fight us. It is said that Liu Xiang has also colluded with them. Without the support of the ports along the coast of southern Fujian, it would be difficult for us to win."

Historically, Zheng Zhilong defeated Liu Xiang and the Dutch, on the one hand, because his warships and troops were stronger than they are now when the war started, and on the other hand, he had strong supplies and coastal defense support in Humen, Jinmen and other places.

And once he leaves now, he is like a duckweed without roots. The Dutchman and Liu Xiang will definitely seize the opportunity to attack him in advance. Not only will it be difficult for him to find a place to supply, but if the battle is unfavorable, he will even return to Hong Kong to defend. There is no room for this kind of naval battle, how can it be won?

Another reason why Zheng Zhilong is unwilling to leave is that he is reluctant to part with his hometown and his prosperity and wealth in the prosperous Daming.If he was a person who was willing to abandon wealth and honor, then in history he would not have surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, but would have gone to Taiwan with his hands just like his son.

Zheng Zhilong was hesitant, only feeling worried about advancing and retreating.

Zheng Zhibao couldn't help but said, "This doesn't work, that doesn't work. Could it be that we wait for him, Qin Shuhuai, to collect our boats and soldiers? This is our lifeblood. If we are taken away, we will really become fish." Let the court slaughter! Don’t forget, we have beaten the court’s docks and killed court officials all these years. After surrendering, we still occupy the land and become king. Everyone sees us as a thorn in our side, if we don't have soldiers or ships, can we have a good life?"

Zheng Zhilong pondered for a while, and said, "The boat cannot be handed over. If Chongzhen continues to let us guard the southern Fujian ocean, then we will help him guard it sincerely. But it is not so easy for him to snatch our boat! Second brother, Fifth brother, you go to sea early tomorrow morning, as long as you hold the boat in your hands, the imperial court will not dare to do anything to us!"

(End of this chapter)