Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 10 Zheng Zhilong’s Uncle
Of course Lin Hai knew Zheng Yiguan. The so-called Zheng Yiguan was the famous Zheng Zhilong. Because he was the eldest in the family, he was called Zheng Yiguan according to the custom of Fujian people in this era.Speaking of this person's experience, it can be regarded as a legend in the late Ming Dynasty.

At the age of 21, this man became the largest pirate leader in the Ming Dynasty's thousands of miles of sea territory. At the age of 24, he was recruited to work as a guerrilla in Fujian's coastal defense. After that, he got along well in the political and business circles. He not only monopolized the southeastern sea trade of the Ming Dynasty, but also became the general of Fujian. Bing, throughout the 17 years of the Chongzhen Dynasty, could be called the tumbler in Fujian politics.

It is a pity that this man did not make good use of the huge wealth in his hands. The large amount of money was neither used to develop overseas nor to strengthen the army to resist bullying. Instead, he blindly used it to communicate with officials, buy land and build houses. Achieve a magnificent transformation from pirate to landlord bureaucrat.

In the end, facing the barbaric iron hoof of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Zheng Zhilong ignored the strong advice of his eldest son Zheng Chenggong and insisted on kneeling down and surrendering.So that when Mr. Guo Xingye started his army later, he almost started from scratch, and his final fate was just to be dragged like a dog to the food market in Beijing and killed with a knife.

Reading history to this point often makes people sigh with regret... Lin Hai shook his head and said: "I don't recognize him. I did business with Hongmao when I was in Taixi, and I heard people talking about him."

"Zheng Yiguan? He has become so famous now?" He Xiang was a little surprised, "You have to say that he is younger than Brother Lin! He was only seventeen when he came to Haojing three years ago, and last year he took care of his uncle. The goods went to Japan, and there has been no news since."

Lin Hai replied casually: "I heard that Zheng Yiguan recognized a foster father in the Japanese country, and he was one of the many wealthy merchants on the sea. Now he is sent by this wealthy merchant to work under Hong Mao, and he can be regarded as a wealthy businessman on the sea in Fujian. Extravagance covers people.”

Hexiang sighed after hearing this: "This means that the sea water is immeasurable. Zheng Yiguan's red mouth and white teeth look like a girl. I never thought that he would be so blessed."

"I also heard that he is a boy and girl." Lin Hai smiled unkindly. Zheng Zhilong's adoptive father was named Li Dan. He was considered the most powerful Chinese maritime merchant in this era. Legend has it that Zheng Zhilong relied on his female body to lie on this man's crotch. Only then was he able to inherit his legacy and rise as quickly as a meteor.

However, Lin Hai felt that things were not that simple. He could not climb to Zheng Zhilong's position just by selling his butt.Don't you see, after the death of Emperor Ai of Han Dynasty, Dong Xian just ended up committing suicide.After Li Dan's death, Zheng Zhilong became the new maritime overlord in just a few months, and his subsequent career far surpassed that of Li Dan.

You must know that the organization of Li Dan's gang is not strict. Big and small leaders all have ships and people to form their own factions. It is just a loose maritime merchant alliance.It's just that Li Dan has been on the sea for 30 years, and his strength, prestige, and connections are unrivaled among the Chinese maritime merchants. This is why he made these rebellious maritime heroes under his command obey orders.

According to historical records, Li Dan would die less than a year later. At that time, Zheng Zhilong had only debuted for more than two years, and his identity was just a translator, responsible for daily liaison between Li Dan's gang and the Dutch.Normally, even if the gang stays together after Li Dan's death, he will never be able to take the position of leader.

How did Zheng Zhilong subdue the various maritime heroes entrenched in central and southern Taiwan and take over the armed forces of Li Dan's gang almost overnight?All this has been lost in history books, leaving only some novelists' words mixed with mythology.

Lin Hai guessed that the real story must be very exciting. The painstaking planning that took advantage of the situation, Bo Yun's treacherous plots, and the gangs and lakes methods... all disappeared in the smoke of history.But now, all this has not come yet. Maybe he will have the opportunity to reveal the mystery himself?

"Sister Hexiang, where does Shopkeeper Huang live? Take us to see it." Zhu Niang was still worried about renting a house.

He Xiang then brought the two of them to Huang Cheng's house, but the uncle of the future Pirate King was not at home. The one who came out to receive the three of them was Aunt Zheng Zhilong.This lady from the Huang family is in her forties. She seems to have lived a good life and is well-maintained. She holds a string of Buddhist beads in her hand all year round. She is indeed very kind as He Xiang said.

The rent in Macau is very expensive. For two rooms on the first floor without windows, the rent for half a year is sixty taels. This is based on the preferential price given by Hexiang Mianzi.In the Mainland, a pancake seller could afford a two-story building with a yard and a street.

Zhu Niang was a little hesitant. She only had more than ten taels of silver plundered from Gou Si Li, and half of it would be used up now.But Lin Hai was very determined and insisted on renting this house.

In the afternoon of that day, Hexiang sent a few black slaves to help with the move. All the belongings on the boat were moved into the newly rented house. Lin Hai and Zhu Niang's family finally settled in Macau.We had dinner at Hexiang's house. Her son Martin was one year younger than Qizai, but he was much stronger and a head taller.On the way back, Zhu Niang muttered: "It's not the end of the world to just sit there and have nothing. I'm thinking of finding a job as soon as possible. Qizai is growing up, so he needs to eat better."

"Sister, I can see that." Qizai nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

Lin Hai smiled and cursed: "Are you greedy?"

Qizai said seriously: "I want to grow all my hair as soon as possible."

Lin Hai was a little speechless. He didn't know what the kid was thinking about all day long. He said seriously: "Qizai, at your age, the most important thing is to study. From now on, you have to learn thirty new words every day. If One less and your butt will suffer."

Qizai was immediately discouraged when he heard this, and Lin Hai said to Zhu Niang: "You are the same, concentrate on learning literacy, I am responsible for supporting the family, and I will teach you how to settle accounts in a while."

Qizai gloated: "Master wants to spank my aunt too?"

Zhu Niang hit Qi Zai on the head with a Li Bang. Lin Hai laughed and said, "That's natural. She doesn't have to learn how to do it. She just hits him the same way."

Qizai rubbed his head aggrievedly: "I'm not talking nonsense. Master really wants to spank my aunt."

Zhu Niang's face turned red and she pinched Lin Hai angrily.

But Lin Hai suppressed his smile and said seriously: "Ms. Pearl, you must not take it easy to read. In a few days, when I sell the beads, I will open a mom-and-pop shop with you, and I will be the shopkeeper. You will be the second shopkeeper, and Qizai will be the accountant."

That night, Huang Cheng returned home, accompanied by Cheng Accountant of Huang Hexing Foreign Company, who was also a tenant of the Huang family and lived next door to Lin Hai.Lin Hai chatted with these two people for a while and wanted to see if he could find something to do at Matheson, but he failed to do so.

All Huang Cheng's men were from Zhangzhou who were sent from the Fujian headquarters. No outsiders were accepted, and the two accountants were replaced every year.After all, the headquarters and Macau are thousands of miles apart, and they can only travel by monsoon once a year. These precautions are all necessary.

The next day, Zhu Niang took Qizai out of the bed early in the morning. She was very cruel. This child could write dozens of words in more than two months. It was a big letdown for Lin Hai's hard work.

"Qizai, you listen carefully. From now on, I will memorize the old characters with my aunt during the day, and learn the new characters with the master at night. If you can't write the old characters, I will beat you twenty times. If you can't write the new characters, If you're not familiar with it, I'll slap you thirty times more."

Lin Hai looked at Qizai with a bitter look on his face, and a happy smile appeared on his face.He put on the jade-colored robe of Gou Si Li and put on a square turban on his head. He cheered up and went out looking for a job like a dog.

(End of this chapter)