Lord of Ming Dynasty

Wei Wuji raised his head, "Sir, then we have defeated Zheng Cai and wiped out the pirates along the coast of our territory. From now on, our coast will be more peaceful. How will Zheng Cai and those captives deal with it?"

Zhang Qiang said: "Captives, we have a way to deal with prisoners. As for these big men, I am waiting for Zheng Chenggong. After all, these people are all subordinates of Zheng Chenggong's father. Although his father rebelled, Zheng Chenggong inherited his father. We can't kill Zheng Cai at will, we can only hand it over to Zheng Chenggong for disposal."

Hu Kui said angrily: "My lord, this can't work. He caused us heavy losses. Tens of thousands of people were slaughtered in the fifteen miles along the coast. Many people were frightened and left their homes and moved to the inland. This time he broke into the inland and slaughtered Many manors, even the country gentry complained, we fought with each other, and thousands of people died, how can we just let go of it?"

Zhou Porridge also said anxiously: "Yes, my lord, we can't let it go, we have to explain to the people on the territory."

Zhang Qiang shook his head, "Our main enemy is not Zheng Chenggong, but the Manchus and Tartars, and the Nanming officials around us are not our good allies either.

We are not relying on all sides now, but as a human being, we cannot live without friends, even friends of these interests. Besides, we have offended the Portuguese and the Dutch, so we need a maritime ally.

We didn’t have it before, but now we have it. Zheng Chenggong is a relatively decent person. We need him to share the pressure from the sea and find us a shield that can resist the enemies from the sea. "

Zhu Dayou saw a figure flickering at the door, and an officer of the Chasseurs nodded to him. Zhu Dayou quietly came to the door, talked to the officer, then returned to the office, and said to Zhang Qiang: "My lord, say Cao Cao, Cao Cao We are here, Zheng Chenggong and Zheng Tai are visiting."

"Oh," Zhang Qiang said with a smile, and said to the crowd, "Let's go, Mr. Wei, you still go back to your admiral's mansion and take care of your military. Mr. Zhou, you go back to Taizhou Fucheng and take care of the civil affairs. Let Du Ge and Xuanyuan Longfei is in charge of the military affairs of Taizhou Prefecture and Wenzhou Prefecture. We will rest for a while. We will see how the situation develops and decide what to do in the future."

The three retreated, and Zhang Qiang said to Zhu Dayou, "Let Zheng Chenggong come in."

1Chapter 17 Portuguese Questions [-]

When Zhu Dayou led Zheng Chenggong and Zheng Tai in, Zhang Qiang got up to greet them.

The two people bowed to Zhang Qiang as soon as they met, Zhang Qiang quickly avoided and helped them up from the side.

Just a joke, although Zhang Qiang is a descendant, he didn't foolishly think that he could be compared with these two old and cunning old pirates, and that he accepted their kneeling frankly.

Although the Zheng family has a grudge against Long Wu, they are also the heroes who supported Long Wu's ascension to the throne. At the same time, the Zheng family is also considered good to Long Wu. Long Wu is also a shrewd person and an emperor who attaches great importance to etiquette. In the Ming Dynasty, people still had a deep-rooted Confucian etiquette tradition. If Zhang Qiang, a governor, accepted the kneeling worship of Zheng Chenggong, who had been knighted as Zhongxiaobo, it would be against etiquette. It would be detrimental to Zhang Qiang's future development. He must not be sincere with himself.

Think about it, in order to abide by the etiquette, Zheng Chenggong would actually give death to his eldest son Zheng Jing who was messing with his nurse. It can be seen that etiquette, righteousness and shame, and Confucian etiquette are deeply rooted in Zheng Chenggong's heart. If you don't agree with him and become an enemy, you can also receive his secret revenge, or you don't cooperate.

And the growth of my own navy still needs talents and time. The navy will not grow up in a short while. I need time, and this time will continue.

Therefore, Zhang Qiang absolutely cannot accept this gift.

"Thank you, Governor." The two saw that Zhang Qiang was determined not to accept kneeling, so they could only sit down under Zhang Qiang's good words of persuasion, and the chasse guards served tea.

It was the same as Zhang Qiang knew about people from the Ming Dynasty meeting and doing business. The two sides exchanged pleasantries for a long time and went around for about half an hour before Zheng Chenggong explained his intentions.

"My lord, although Zheng Cai betrayed Daming, he is my father's brother after all. As the eldest son who inherits my father's property, I implore my lord to forgive Zheng Cai, hand him over to the subordinate officials, and save his life."

Zhang Qiang smiled and did not answer, but clapped his hands. Zhu Dayou took out an imperial decree from his arms. Zhang Qiang took it and handed it to Zheng Chenggong. Continue to serve, the emperor canonized the uncle as the king of Yanping County, and gave him the surname, "Zhu", and the surname of Yan Guo."

"Really?" Zheng Chenggong took the imperial decree, opened it with trembling hands, and read the imperial decree.

"Thank you, Lord Long En." This time the two knelt down, and Zhang Qiang accepted it calmly, because he accepted their kneeling as an imperial envoy. Of course, the imperial decree was given to them, and the status of imperial envoy had come to an end. The two stood up and sat down. , looked at each other, eyes full of excitement.

Zheng Tai clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Governor, if it weren't for the Governor, our Zheng family would still be accused of traitors. Now, we can hold our heads high and behave in an upright manner."

Zheng Chenggong also said to Zhang Qiang: "Thank you, Mr. Governor, for rehabilitating my Zheng family. In the future, I will be sent, and it is my duty."

Zhang Qiang smiled and waved his hands, "Say a few words, it's a small effort, and I can't bear the gratitude of the county king. Now we are officials in the same dynasty, and we will help each other in the future, and work together to restore the country, in order to repay the emperor's kindness." Zhang Qiangchao Bowing in the direction of Quanzhou Mansion, with a loyal look.

Now in the Longwu Dynasty, Zhang Qiang has personally recommended Jin Sheng, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and Zhu Dadian, Minister of the Ministry of War. of.

Longwu's current mind is to develop the people's livelihood, straighten out the operation of the entire imperial court, and at the same time increase the strength of the army and prepare to march into Jiangxi. As long as it helps to fight the Tartars and restore the Ming Dynasty, he will support it. Hongguang is not as good as him, Lu Although Wang also has intentions, he is powerless. King Lu's character is too soft and has no opinions, but Long Wu is the master of ZTE.

When the thanks were over, Zheng Chenggong still did not forget Zheng Cai, and asked again: "My lord governor, I wonder if Zheng Cai can be returned to me. After all, everyone has lived and died, and they are my father's old brothers."

"I don't know what Yanping County King thinks of the Portuguese?" Zhang Qiang changed the topic again.

Zheng Chenggong was very puzzled, why Zhang Qiang always refused to answer his words, and why he got involved with the Portuguese.

Although Zheng Chenggong was helpless, he also had to follow Zhang Qiang's thinking and follow Zhang Qiang's topic. Who made his current strength so weak that he couldn't compete with Zhang Qiang at all. , he had to refer to Zheng Cai, Zheng Cai's destruction was completely his own future fate.

At that time, Zheng Cai was stronger than she is now, but what about Zhang Qiang?

It’s not about interrupting the destruction of the entire army. Although Zheng Chenggong has integrated the strengths of Zheng Cai and Zheng Tai, he has also incorporated some medium-sized pirate groups, and some small pirates have also taken refuge with the wind. It can be said that the coasts of Zhejiang and Fujian, and even the coasts of Taiwan. Everyone has the right to speak, but Zhang Qiang's maritime strength cannot be ignored.

Zheng Chenggong's maritime strength is still mostly small ships, and there are also many medium-sized ships, but large ships, such as armed merchant ships owned by the Portuguese and Dutch, and even the number of warships are not as many as Zhang Qiang's navy, or even none at all. , His ship is still a large Fuchuan, which looks taller than the large warships of the Dutch and Portuguese here, but not as powerful as the other side.

No matter how rampant the pirates are, they need to finally land on land. No matter how powerful they are, their roots are on land, and on land, the most powerful force close to them is Zhang Qiang's Jinhua Rebel Army.

Every time you use less to win more, and thousands of enemies fight tens of thousands of enemies every time, this combat power cannot be achieved even if you give Zheng Chenggong more than ten years of training.

"The Portuguese, I think they are just a group of traders, so you can ignore them." Zheng Chenggong had to express his attitude. In his eyes, the Portuguese were indeed not the most powerful. His main enemy was the Dutch. Davia has a base that can support the Dutch in Daming. Although the Portuguese also have a base in Malacca, they don’t have many warships, and they have to be thousands of miles away to support them. Therefore, he thinks that the Portuguese are mainly businessmen rather than capable fighting enemies.

"But the Portuguese occupied my territory, confuse my Ming people with some teachings, and even sent people to help the Tatars attack my Jinhua Rebel Army. Are they considered enemies?" Zhang Qiang asked in a more serious tone.

Zheng Chenggong Nuo said after a long time: "My lord, the Portuguese are nothing to be afraid of. They are just businessmen who stay in our territory of Ming Dynasty. We need them to transport the goods of Daming for thousands of miles. We have to give them some help."

"Wrong, I'm not saying that they can't be businessmen, but they have surpassed the essence of businessmen, and have become pirates, robbers, and moths that can shake the foundation of my Ming Dynasty. Therefore, I think they should no longer stay in There, we will attack them together, wipe them out, take everyone as prisoners, and let them work for us, what do you think of this proposal?"

Zheng Chenggong's eyes were full of puzzlement, doubt, and fear, and he hurriedly said: "My lord, who will sell the goods for us?"

Zhang Qiang stood up, walked around with his hands behind his back, and said, "We welcome the legitimate behavior of merchants, but they are also garrisons, castles, and even participated in our war with the Tartars. hostile acts, in fact they are already enemies, so we have to eliminate them.

If they are still willing to be serious businessmen, we welcome them, but they can no longer own fleets, castles, or even turn our Ming territory into a chaotic place like theirs. We need to send officials and soldiers, Manage their behavior and cargo. "

Zheng Tai stood up, "Your Excellency, your opinion made the lower officials suddenly enlightened. The Portuguese have always been aggressive and bullied others, but the court has never acted. We are just following the trend. I don't know why. I just heard what you said today. It turned out that there was a scoundrel and a robber at our gate, and I am willing to use all the ships in my hand to join your lord's crusade army and restore the lost land for my Ming Dynasty."

Zhang Qiang looked at Zheng Chenggong.

Chapter 148 Portuguese Problem [-]

Zheng Chenggong is still hesitant, he still has business dealings with the Portuguese.

After he annexed Zheng Cai's power, his strength has grown by leaps and bounds, which also made the Portuguese see the crisis.

The Portuguese sent people to visit Zheng Chenggong with gifts, and at the same time sent people to pay tribute to the Longwu court, praying for reconciliation.

In the Longwu court, Zheng Hongkui is the most powerful person in this respect, and Zheng Hongkui does not want to see Zheng Chenggong grow stronger. Zheng Hongkui is on Zheng Zhilong's side. As Zheng Zhilong's old brother, he is quite entangled in his heart. On the one hand, he was worried about Zheng Chenggong's reappearance of the glory of his father, and at the same time, he was not as popular in the Longwu court as he had thought at the beginning.

Zheng Hongkui also wanted to rely on the Portuguese to develop and grow, mainly because of the Karak warships and artillery in the hands of the Portuguese, as well as the trade income that the Portuguese could bring them. He and Zheng Chenggong wanted to go together.

Because of the thoughts of the two, Zhang Qiang's question became a bit awkward.

"Your Excellency, the Portuguese don't want to be enemies with us. They just want to trade with us. There is no need to attack them. Although they took advantage of the weakness of the court and occupied several of our counties, it is enough to let them withdraw. There is no need to kill them all. After all, they can bring us a lot of silver income."

Zheng Chenggong was embarrassed and said.

"Pa" Zhang Qiang patted the table, "Seizing the land of other countries is no longer a simple trade act, it is an invasion of the sovereignty of other countries. The Manchus invaded Ming, and even if Ming is weak as it is now, it cannot Bow your head to these intruders easily.

They must be withdrawn from the territory of Ming Dynasty. Their merchants do not have the right to have an army in the territory of Ming Dynasty, and they do not have the right to build military facilities such as castles. Their merchants can only trade on the land of Ming Dynasty as merchants under the condition of abiding by the laws of Ming Dynasty. This is definitely not something that can be discussed, either go to war or withdraw from the territory of Ming Dynasty, this is my attitude. "

Zheng Chenggong stared at Zhang Qiang in a daze for a long time. He didn't know why Zhang Qiang reacted so strongly. He felt that the Portuguese had weapons, troops, and warships, and it was normal to trade with them. Who would go to other people's territory without warships and troops? This year is eaten by other people for nothing.

"My lord, think about it. After all, we want to trade with them. We can't offend them, and we can't push them to the Qing army," Zheng Chenggong said tactfully.