Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 252 The Suspicious Zheng Zhilong
Xiamen City, a quadrangle with eight courtyards in front and back, was originally the Deputy General's Office of Fujian South Road. In the second year of the Tianqi reign, the Deputy General of Fujian was stationed in Tongshan and then became the Quannan Guerrilla Office.

A year and a half ago, this position had been vacant since the death of Quannan guerrilla Chen Qiwei. After the new Fujian governor Zhu Yifeng took office, he transferred Yu Zigao to Xiamen for garrison, and this place became a temporary general's headquarters until Yu Zigao fled.

Today, this mansion is occupied by Zheng Zhilong. He hopes that one day he can enter here as a military general of the imperial court, rather than occupying the magpie's nest as a big bandit from the Minhai Sea.

Not long ago, this dream seemed within reach. After meeting Li Kuiqi, Huang Mingzuo sent someone to tell Zheng Zhilong that Fujian Governor Zhu Yifeng was interested in recruiting the emperor, and asked him to fulfill his promise to release the young master of the Huang family.

However, just over ten days later, everything seemed out of reach. The defected Li Kuiqi took away the son of the Huang family and all the ships. Zheng Zhilong, the great pirate of the Minhai Sea, was trapped on Jiahe Island by a group of fishermen. It was simply a joke to tell others about it.

After the incident last night, Zheng Zhilong did not sleep all night. In the morning, he forced himself to stay awake to comfort his leaders. He only managed to sleep for a while after lunch, but was soon awakened by a nightmare.

It was the dead of winter, and when Zheng Zhilong woke up he found himself covered in cold sweat, his undershirt soaked.

He was upset and called the maid to boil water for him to take a bath, but he was too flustered to wait for the water to heat up. Finally, he wiped his body and ordered, "Come here, call Zhipeng, the head of the family, to come to me."

After an incense stick of time, Zheng Zhipeng finally arrived. He had not slept all night either. Not long after he fell asleep, Zheng Zhilong called him again, "Boss, you're up so early?"

Zheng Zhilong nodded silently, and then asked: "How is Brother Wan's injury?"

"Thank you for your concern, Master. He is fine. He just had some minor injuries." Zheng Zhipeng said, "Li Kuiqi is really abominable. And that old thief Huang, this must be the mastermind behind this."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be him..." Zheng Zhilong was silent for a while, and then spoke softly like a dream, "It could also be Lin Hai."

His voice was too soft for Zheng Zhipeng to hear clearly: "Boss, what did you say?"

"Brother, that damn Lin Hai is here again." Zheng Zhilong looked at his cousin nervously. His voice was still very soft, as if he would scare himself if he spoke too loudly.

This time Zheng Zhipeng heard it clearly, and asked in shock: "Boss, where did you get this information?"

"I don't need any information. I have a hunch... that damn Lin Hai was sent by God to suppress me, Zheng. Whenever I encounter a major setback, it must be that guy's fault."

"Boss, you...why don't you just have a good sleep first? I see your eyes are full of bloodshot."

"Brother, you have to believe me, it must be that guy. Wei Zhongxian is dead, you have heard about this, Lin Hai must have been secretly recruited..."

Zheng Zhilong sighed again and said, "This man really has unpredictable powers, and can even predict the future. Otherwise, why would he destroy the ancestral temple?"

"Brother, what you said is a bit too mysterious..." "Not at all, I have thought about it carefully this morning. If Li Kuiqi wanted the ransom from Huang Lao Thief, why did he take action at this time? Wouldn't it be easier to do it in Wanggang? He must have been instigated by Lin Hai just like Liu Xiang. Huang Lao Thief is the same. On the surface, he is working for us to recruit him, but in reality, he is lobbying for Lin Hai."

"So Lin Hai asked Li Kuiqi to rescue the young master of the Huang family?" Zheng Zhipeng still found it unbelievable, but he had to admit that what his cousin said made some sense.

"That's right. The so-called Haitanyou who came to Tongan to reinforce two days ago must be Lin Hai." Zheng Zhilong said, "I should have thought of it earlier. Why did Master Zhu Du transfer the Haitanyou to Tongan? It's enough to have local soldiers to defend the county town. If we want to attack Xiamen, what can the Haitanyou do?"

"That makes sense, that makes sense..." Zheng Zhipeng nodded and muttered to himself, "Boss, what should we do now?"

"I don't know either..." Zheng Zhilong shook his head helplessly. "To be honest, I am very confused, but I can't show it in front of my brothers. I can only ask you to come and discuss it with me."

Zheng Zhipeng didn't have any ideas. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Boss, why don't you invite the two leaders, Wang and Ye, to discuss this?"

"Brother, what you said makes sense. Go and call those two." Zheng Zhilong nodded slowly. He didn't dare to show his weakness in front of his men because he was scared by Liu Xiang and Li Kuiqi and worried that someone else would rebel. But Wang Mengxiong and Ye Dajing were reliable. They had a shallow foundation in the gang and there was no way they would defect to the court.

"Yes, boss." Zheng Zhipeng said goodbye to his cousin and brought Wang and Ye in after a while.

After hearing Zheng Zhilong's judgment, Ye Dajing said disdainfully: "Master, our army still has 10,000 people, why worry?"

"What Da Jing said makes sense." Wang Mengxiong nodded and said, "If that Lin guy is really here, then this is the trump card of that old dog Zhu Yifeng. We just need to defeat Lin Hai, and that old dog will have no choice but to recruit us."

"That being said, that Lin has the power to seize the fortune of heaven and earth, and the unpredictable skills of ghosts and gods..."

"Boss, I don't believe this. If Lin really has this ability, why did he choose to land at Gongqian Bay where there were soldiers stationed during the Battle of Dongshan? Why didn't he know when the boss withdrew his troops from Tongshan City?" Wang Mengxiong said, "As for his kidnapping of the Suzhou and Hangzhou textile manufacturers, I guess he was so angry after being blackmailed that he happened to run into the downfall of Eunuch Wei."

These words finally gave Zheng Zhilong some comfort. He continued, "But our army doesn't even have a boat now. How can we fight?"

"The west side of Jiahe Island is only two miles away from Haicheng County, where rowing boats dominate. We only need to build more sampans and we can break out from the sea. Besides, I think that guy will definitely go to the island to fight. We can fight him on land on the island, and it won't be too late to go to Haicheng after we win."

"In that case, is there any possibility of saving the situation?" Zheng Zhilong finally cheered up, like a drowning man grabbing a life-saving straw. He had no other way out.

"Of course, our Marines are no pushovers." Wang Mengxiong added, "But that guy named Lin should not be underestimated. Xiamen has sufficient food and grass. We should first defend the city and slowly wear him down. When his soldiers are tired, we can go out of the city and attack him. In order to consume his strength, we'd better dig another trench outside the moat..."

(End of this chapter)