Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 578

Facing the problem that Zheng Zhibao raised again, Zheng Zhilong's face suddenly showed hesitation. He subconsciously stretched out his right hand and stroked the teacup on the table. His mind was in a mess, and he didn't know how to respond for a while.

With the successive disintegration and destruction of Liu Zei and Hou Jin, Zheng Zhilong, while sincerely admiring Zhu Youjian, was also in awe of the powerful combat power shown by the officers and soldiers.

Since he was conferred the title of Jinghaibo and expanded his mansion in Anhai Town on a large scale, Zheng Zhilong gradually put his mind on the officialdom.

As a lot of money was poured out, all the officials and gentry who had been ignoring Zheng Zhilong, who was born as a pirate, slowly put down their airs and began to communicate with the Zheng family.

Whenever there are weddings and funerals in the homes of influential officials and gentry in the coastal provinces of Fujian, Zheng Zhilong either comes to congratulate in person, or sends Zheng Zhibao or other cronies to the door with generous gifts. In front of these generous gifts, all prejudices are changed. Became a true or false smile.

With Zheng Zhilong's unremitting efforts, from the chief officials of the yamen at all levels to the subordinate officials with real power, as long as the Zheng family is mentioned, they will give a thumbs up. There is nothing difficult to pass, and Zheng Boye's name has gradually been widely recognized and accepted by the government, which also makes Zheng Zhilong, who is extremely gregarious and loves face, very proud of himself in private.

Influenced by Zheng Zhilong, most of the big and small leaders of the Zheng Group have gradually begun to shift their focus to the land. Individuals have also bought houses in Quanzhou Prefecture, Fuzhou Prefecture and other places. People communicate.

And because these people invested a large amount of money on land, it also promoted the prosperity of Fujian's coastal commodity economy on the other hand, and the commercial taxes of Quanzhou and Fuzhou also increased significantly, which made the relevant officials happy. It has blossomed, and in the past two years, the assessments of the Ministry of Officials and the Government have also been continuously rated as top-notch.

It can already be said that in the past two years, Zheng Zhilong and the other main leaders have given up the original way of life of drifting on the sea, and unknowingly integrated into the traditional way of life of Ming Dynasty, and they are very interested in this new way of life. There is a stronger sense of identity.

This is what Zheng Zhilong is struggling with now.

He knew in his heart that the emperor sent the imperial envoy south this time to try to make himself obey Kaihai's decision, and this decision was to take back the interests that originally belonged to the Zheng Group to the court, and if he did not obey and cooperate, then It means breaking the skin with the imperial court. Judging from the emperor's strong actions in the past few years, what awaits him will be a devastating force blow.

This kind of destruction is not to destroy the Zheng family's sea power, but to uproot all their operations on land in the past few years, forcing them to return to the days of plundering and wandering around at sea.

The Zheng family has 10,000+ men, but Zheng Zhilong knows that at sea, the officers and soldiers have nothing to do with them, but on land, the emperor only needs to send 10,000 elite officers and troops. If these [-]+ people don’t run away, they will soon be killed Was hanged clean.

Zheng Zhilong had long thought of and implemented the strategy of the cunning rabbit and three caves. He had already started to implement the matter of immigrating to Taiwan and using Taiwan as a base several years ago, but since he personally went to the island for field surveys, his thoughts disappeared in an instant.

Taiwan, with complex terrain, dense vegetation, and smog and mosquitoes, is really not a good place to live, and it cannot be compared with the mainland.Besides, this is the hometown where he was born and raised, and no one is willing to leave their hometown unless it is absolutely necessary.

"Third brother, what do you think will happen in the future if I resist the decree this time? If we have to give up the glory and wealth in front of us, are you willing? What will other people think?"

After a long silence, Zheng Zhilong stared at the right hand playing with the teacup and asked slowly.

"Brother, to tell the truth, our Zheng family has established a foothold in Fujian in recent years, and the younger brother, the general soldier of Fujian, is also very prestigious. Those civil servants and subordinates are also extremely enthusiastic when they see me. With the appearance of nostrils upturned, the relatives and children of the family are also looked at everywhere, I am also very happy in my heart, if I say give up, I really don't want to give up!"

After thinking for a while, Zheng Zhibao replied with a sense of regret, and the expression on his face became a little confused, as if he was about to be forced to give up this huge family business now.

Zheng Zhibao has mansions in both Fuzhou and Quanzhou.Since he became the general soldier in Fujian, Zheng Zhibao has taken in five concubines in one go for more than two years, and these concubines have successively given birth to seven sons and daughters for him, so that his mansion had to be expanded again and again, while hiring other concubines. More servants attend these relatives.

Of course he understood the meaning of what elder brother said just now, and he was ready to turn against the court to prevent being harmed by the court.

However, just like what he said just now, if he really wants to let go of everything in front of him and flee to sea with his relatives, it is really hard to give up in his heart.

"Third brother, with so many brothers under our command, most of them have been in the same situation as you and me in the past few years. With the savings over the years, they have lived a good life comparable to high officials such as governors and prefects. Our roots, It has already been tied down, if one day I really want to go back to the past, I guess many people will be unwilling!"

After finishing speaking, Zheng Zhilong sighed softly, and his heart became even more messy. Zheng Zhibao also looked helpless, and the flower hall became silent again.

"Brother, do I think we are thinking too much? This matter may not be as bad as what you and I just said.

Over the past few years, the Holy Majesty has indeed been wise and powerful, but it seems that he has no malice towards my Zheng family.

Big brother, think about it, although the nobles of the Ming Dynasty have no power, they were granted the title based on their military exploits at first, and you, Boss Jinghai, have not had an inch of military merit, just because you have been feeding the court for several years, the emperor So he was rewarded with a title, which was the first in the Ming Dynasty in 200 years.

A reckless person like me can also get a real-time commander-in-chief, and his subordinates are also full of 3000 soldiers. Although these bastards don't know how to perform land battles, they still wear Ming Dynasty official uniforms , can still receive one tael of military pay every month, which means that the imperial court also treats the Fujian General Soldier as a serious officer and soldier.

Besides, the fourth child, who has been in the capital for more than a year, has changed from a military position to a civilian position, and has become a serious court official. He has also been appointed by the Holy One to travel to Taixi. Isn't this obviously valued by the emperor?
The imperial envoy sent by the Holy Majesty this time is also an old acquaintance of ours. From this point of view, the Holy Majesty did not intend to force me to wait too much, and it should be based on discussion! "

After a long silence, Zheng Zhibao suddenly sat up straight and looked at Zheng Zhilong, and spoke out what he was thinking just now, his eyes were full of hope and anticipation, hoping that his answer would be affirmed by Zheng Zhilong.

"Well, everything is a matter of two talks now, maybe there will be some rumors from Zou Butang during the banquet at night, and then we will think about it carefully!
Third child, it's still early, you go and explain to Zheng Qi and the others, everyone's house should be cleaned up first, if there is any discrepancy, send the family members away first and then talk about it! "

(End of this chapter)