Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 190 Zheng Zhilong’s Thoughts
Zhu Youjian was very cautious about recruiting Zheng Zhilong, but Zheng Zhilong was actually even more uneasy. He was worried that Yu Zigao would be reused after coming to Beijing and he would never have the chance to be supported.

As a smart man, Zheng Zhilong is very young - only twenty-four years old this year. However, his behavior can be called sophisticated and not at all like a young man.

Whether he wants to accept the recruitment policy or collect water from wealthy households along the coast of Fujian, it all shows his foresight. Even the emperor Zhu Youjian was quite afraid of him.

Compared with him, Yu Zigao, a veteran, could no longer keep up with the times and was fooled by him.

If Zhu Youjian hadn't transferred Yu Zigao to the capital, the two might have decided the winner by now. Yu Zigaohui was forced to leave by Zheng Zhilong and was forced to lose his official position.

But Yu Zigao was suddenly transferred away by the emperor, and Zheng Zhilong's strategy was immediately useless. It even got worse and worse because of it, and I didn’t know what to do next:
Originally, he wanted to attack the Zhongzuo Institute, force Yu Zigao away, and let Yu Zigao take responsibility, but was dismissed by the court.

But Yu Zigao has now been summoned to Beijing by the emperor. He is now conquering the Zhongzuo, and it is not Yu Zigao's responsibility.

It is impossible to use this incident to force Yu Zigao to resign.

It is impossible for the new emperor in the capital to retaliate and punish the newly praised general for this matter.

Maybe they would also give Yu Zigao ships and soldiers so that he could return to Fujian to save face.

Knowing the laws of the Ming Dynasty very well, Zheng Zhilong's original plan was to disperse the Fujian forces, then attack the Zhongzuo Suo and force Yu Zigao away. Let the officials of the imperial court impeach him, force Yu Zigao to be dismissed from office, and use the power of the imperial court to deal with this formidable enemy.

But now that Yu Zigao was summoned to the capital by an edict from the emperor, this plan suddenly became embarrassing:

Yu Zigao is not in Fujian, so even if the Zhongzuo Institute is lost, it is not his responsibility. Maybe he would return to Fujian with the emperor's support and continue to command operations.

As for Xiamen City on Zhongzuo Suohe Island, it is very important when land goods are shipped, allowing Zheng Zhilong to obtain maritime trade benefits.

But if Zheng Zhilong led pirates to seize it and be besieged by the Ming army, it would just be an island that does not produce food.

What is the use of occupying such an island? You can only passively get beaten up there, and there is no benefit at all.

As a smart man, Zheng Zhilong wanted Fujian's maritime trade interests rather than conquering cities and territories. What's more, although there are more than 30,000 pirates under his command, there are not many elites. After a few battles with the Ming army on land, it will be exhausted and it will be impossible to hold on for long.

The pirates have lost a lot, and he, the pirate leader, may be replaced.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian in the capital was worried that he would lead pirates to disrupt the sea, but he was even more afraid of attracting the attention of the court and determined to destroy himself.

It can be said that Zhu Youjian and Zheng Zhilong are at odds with each other. They both intend to recruit someone, but they are worried that the other party will not accept it.

In comparison, Zheng Zhilong's capital is smaller and he can't stand the trouble. Zhu Youjian owned the Ming Dynasty, but he just didn't want to open a front in Fujian.

After a long sigh, Zheng Zhilong was deeply worried about his future. He didn't even have the intention to carry out the plan he had made before.

But at this time, someone else came to cause trouble. Zheng Zhihu barged in with all his might and shouted:

"Brother, brothers, are you ready? When will you go to the Zhongzuo Institute?"

"Burn all the ships of the officers and soldiers. We have the final say on the sea in Fujian."

Zheng Zhilong looked at his brave and courageous younger brother and knew that he was a good fighter and there should be no problem in attacking the Zhongzuo Institute.

But again, what if we conquer the center and left? Neither Yu Zigao could be allowed to resign, nor could he obtain land goods. For him, it was simply about winning.

What could a victory do? The Ming family has great achievements and can withstand countless failures. Juehua Island was defeated in one battle, and more than 2,000 ships were burned. Although many of them were small boats, the total number of ships was twice his.

The Ming court was simply too powerful and had a great ability to withstand risks. As long as Zheng Zhilong loses once, he may be doomed.

So Zheng Zhilong no longer wants to fight this battle, and he doesn't want a meaningless victory.

Waving his hand, Zheng Zhilong said to Zheng Zhihu:
"Second brother, let all the brothers go back!"

"Forget about attacking the Zhongzuo Station. Don't cause trouble at this time."

Zheng Zhihu had been preparing for this battle for a long time. Seeing his eldest brother blithely giving it up, of course he was very reluctant and said loudly:
"Brother, are you scared?"

"The Yu family is Yu Long, and we are also dragon brothers and tiger brothers." "Others are in awe of the reputation of the Yu family, but I, Zheng Zhihu, am not afraid!"

Zheng Zhilong shook his head and said:

"It's not a question of whether you're afraid or not!"

"The Yu family was at its peak. Not only was it given a title by the emperor, but it was also posthumously given to Zhen Haibo."

"For us to lose face at this time is to create a deadly feud with the Yu family."

"After Yu Zigao returns to Fujian, he must capture us."

Zheng Zhihu was not afraid and patted his chest and said:

"Let's keep fighting. I'm not afraid of that old guy. He's the only one who's afraid of us."

"I'm afraid that if he runs too fast, we won't be able to catch him."

Zheng Zhilong didn't agree with his brother's idea at all. He explained seriously to his brother:
"So what if we defeat Yu Zigao?"

"The emperor just praised the Yu family and gave them posthumous titles."

"You defeated Yu Zigao. Maybe the emperor will send more troops to Yu Zigao for the sake of face."

"Or remove him from his post and send someone more capable."

"To disgrace the Yu family now is to disgrace the emperor. If we try to recruit people, it will be difficult in the future."

This was based on the overall situation of recruitment and security, and decided not to attack the Zhongzuo Institute. Although Zheng Zhihu was unwilling, he had to carry out his brother's order.

He knew that recruitment was a big plan and had been decided long ago. Anyone who opposed this would be his brother's enemy.

Seeing that he was a little reluctant, Zheng Zhilong thought of another reason and comforted him:
"Yu Dayou was kind to the Fujian people when he defeated the Japanese."

"For his sake, we won't bring shame on the Yu family this year."

"When Yu Zigao comes back next year, we will play against him again."

Decided to wait until next year before trying to drive away Yu Zigao.

In any case, he must be recruited by the Ming Dynasty, otherwise he will be a rootless duckweed on the sea and unable to provide the goods needed by Thai and Western merchants.

Only by accepting the recruitment could he rely on the Ming Dynasty's supplies and monopolize maritime interests.

If Yu Zigao wants to fight with him, then let him go.

At this time, Zheng Zhilong had no idea that Yu Zigao had been left by the emperor in the north as a naval admiral, and even offered to recruit him to the emperor.

The two of them will never get along in the future and will become colleagues.

He, the pirate leader, will transform into Lord Ming under the emperor's will and get rid of his current pirate identity.

　"Chongzhen Changbian" June of the first year of Chongzhen:
　　At the beginning, the pirate Zheng Zhilong first followed the pirate Yan Shuquan. Shuquan died, and then he had his followers. At the end of Tianqi, taking advantage of the famine in Fujian, he attracted many people to attack Haitou Village in Haifeng Mountain, Guangdong. After gaining it, he abandoned it, then entered Fujian and surrounded Zhongzuo. However, neither killing nor burning seems to indicate repentance. Deng Liangzhi, the deputy envoy of Xingquan Road, sent his fellow countrymen Li Rui, Chen Ning and Chen Yao to care for him, and ordered Zhilong's mother-in-law Huang Menglong to analyze the pros and cons. Zhilong was then treated by Zhongzuo on the 18th day of the first lunar month. The crowd gradually dispersed.

　　(In the first year of Chongzhen, the Ming Dynasty fought in five places:
　　After Jin Jianlu in Liaodong, the She'an Rebellion in Southwest China, the Fujian pirate Zheng Zhilong, the grassland Lin Dan Khan invaded Xuanda after moving westward, and the Shaanxi refugee uprising.

　　At the same time, Jiubian owes 968.55 million in wages.

　　This was the situation when Chongzhen ascended to power, and the endgame left by the eunuchs)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)