Ming Empire

Chapter 288

"That's right. I think the first thing to solve now is the matter of Fujian Zheng Zhilong. Once his matter is settled, then there is nothing to worry about in the place that I, Daming, control now!" Cao Yue didn't deny it, and directly approved of Sun Chuanting. Said, "Old man Sun, I believe you also know that the biggest threat to the south is Zheng Zhilong's huge military power."

"This is true. I am also very worried about the power of the Zheng family. This time I wanted to talk to you about how to deal with the power of the Zheng family. Since you mentioned it first, the old man will listen to your opinion!" Sun Chuanting Hehe laughed twice, stroked the white beard under his forehead, and motioned Cao Yue to say first how to deal with Zheng's power.

Zheng Zhilong is the father of Zheng Chenggong, a very famous national hero in history. Now that Zheng Chenggong has not yet become popular, Zheng Zhilong has the most famous reputation in Fujian and Taiwan, and he controls everything.

Zheng Zhilong was born in Fujian, traveled around Southeast Asia as an adult, and later went to Kyushu, Japan, married a Japanese woman, and followed the Japanese overseas Chinese pirate and businessman Li Dan, and gradually became Li Dan's right-hand man and won his trust.After Li Dan recommended Zheng Zhilong, he went to Penghu to serve as a translator and correspondent for the Dutch.Later, Zheng Zhilong joined Yan Siqi, the leader of the Japanese pirates.

During the reign of Tianqi, Yan Siqi died, and his power was acquired by Zheng Zhilong. Zheng Zhilong integrated the forces of various pirates, known as Shibazhi, and became the most powerful military and commercial team in the coastal area of ​​Fujian at that time.Later, Li Dan's property and soldiers in Taiwan were transferred to Zheng Zhilong's control.

During the reign of Tianqi, Zheng Zhilong used Hong Kong, Taiwan as his base, and plundered several places in Fujian and Guangdong, exhausting the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. "General", he left Taiwan, the base of maritime trade he had operated for many years, and settled in the Fujian Sea.At this time, Zheng Zhilong had more than [-] men and more than [-] ships.

In the same year, southern Fujian was hit by a severe drought, and there were many hungry people.With the support of Xiong Wencan, Zheng Zhilong recruited tens of thousands of disaster victims in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou. "One person will be given three taels of silver, and three people will be given a cow." They were transported by sea boat to Taiwan for reclamation and settlement.In the history of Taiwan, Zheng Zhilong became the No.1 of large-scale immigration.

In the third year of Chongzhen, Zheng Zhilong, at the request of the Ming court, continued to lead the army to crusade against Liu Xiang, the only remaining force of the pirates who had sworn brothers in the past. He won a complete victory in Humen, and his power further expanded. The order is also violated.

In the 13th year of Chongzhen, the Ming court promoted Zheng Zhilong to be the commander-in-chief of Fujian, and he was appointed as the governor and Tongzhi.At this time, Zheng Zhilong had nearly 20 troops and a fleet of more than [-] large and small ships, becoming the sole power in East China, South China, and the South China Sea.

After Zhu Cijiong ascended the throne, Zheng Zhilong was canonized as Nan'anbo, the general town of Fujian, responsible for the military affairs of the whole province of Fujian.

Zheng Zhilong's strength is actually far stronger than that of the four Jiangbei towns, and similar to Zuo Liangyu's.Furthermore, the places Zheng Zhilong controls are Fujian and Taiwan. To control these two places, the navy must be very powerful. , Penghu settled down.

Sun Chuanting knew that it was impossible for Cao Yue to tolerate the existence of such a huge influence of the Zheng family, which was outside the control of the imperial court. After the situation in the north calmed down a little, he would definitely think of resolving the Fujian and Taiwan affairs.He also knew that it would be very troublesome to deal with Zheng's forces. If he was not careful, Zheng Zhilong might be forced to rebel, and the people in the south would experience another bloody war.

What Cao Yue's south needs most is stability. After all, money, food, and taxes all depend on the income from the south. If there is chaos in the south, it will destroy the foundation of Ming Dynasty.Sun Chuanting considered how to solve the issue of Fujian Zheng's forces, but he didn't think of a perfect solution. Cao Yue mentioned today that he didn't intend to express his thoughts, but wanted to hear Cao Yue's opinion.

"There is only one option for him, and that is to hand over the entire army to the imperial court for reorganization by the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, and Zheng Zhilong himself will also come to Nanjing to serve," Cao Yue said without any hesitation, " Zheng Zhilong must obey the imperial edict, there is no room for bargaining, otherwise Zuo Liangyu's end will be his end. If he is unwilling to obey the imperial edict, hand over the army, and come to Nanjing to retire, then the Ming Dynasty Guards will immediately die. You can march into Fujian to crusade, but I want to see how he resists the conquest of the Ming Guards, and whether his naval fleet can compete with the naval warships of our new Ming army."

Cao Yue's words made Sun Chuanting very shocked. This little guy really has courage.If he had heard Cao Yue say such things in the past, Sun Chuanting would have ridiculed him, blaming Cao Yue for being overconfident and talking big. Dare to think so.

This young man has outstanding strategies, clever means, and is surprisingly courageous. There is nothing he dares to do, and there is nothing he cannot accomplish.Listening to him say this today, it means that this little guy must have considered this matter in detail, otherwise he would not have said so decisively how to deal with it.But Sun Chuanting remained calm, and asked in a light tone: "Do you think Zheng Zhilong will come to Nanjing obediently?"

"If he is smart enough, if he wants to keep the Zheng family safe, he can only obediently obey the imperial edict, hand over the army, and come to Nanjing to serve, otherwise everything he has now will be wiped out!" Cao Yue He also had a calm tone, and his eyes were quite contemptuous, "Can Zheng's army compare to Jiannu in combat power? Jiannu has no power to fight back against my new Ming army, let alone the Fujian Navy!"

After hearing this, Sun Chuanting did not answer right away, but frowned and pondered for a while, then nodded slightly: "Okay then, the old man listens to you, and I will give Zheng Zhilong the hard work, and the governor's office will reorganize the Fujian Navy. Let Zheng Zhilong come to Nanjing to take up the post. Let Zuo Liangyu take up the position originally assigned to him. I believe he can understand the intention of the imperial court's arrangement!"

"He will understand!" Cao Yue smiled, "I will draft an edict tomorrow and send it to Fuzhou, and order Zheng Zhilong to come to Nanjing within two months. Also, I heard that Zheng Zhilong has a son named Zheng Sen, It's quite a strategy, let him come to Nanjing with Zheng Zhilong, I want to cultivate this person well."

Zheng Sen is Zheng Chenggong, and Zheng Sen is his real name.

"You are going to kill them all!" Sun Chuanting couldn't help being stunned.

"Don't worry, I don't have that intention, I just want to cultivate this son well so that he can give full play to what he has learned!" Cao Yue smiled sinisterly, and then said: "Okay, old man Sun, that's all for this matter It's settled, let's discuss other things later!"

(End of this chapter)