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Text Chapter 486 Temptation

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    The East Coast Port of Quanzhou, Fujian is one of the largest ports in Quanzhou and even Fujian. The deep water and long and narrow terrain make it a natural haven and the home base of the Zheng family's fleet.  The weather in Quanzhou in September is still extremely hot, but the ships coming and going on the pier are still very busy. Ships of all sizes are constantly leaving or docking. On the pier, there are constantly sweaty coolies and bare-chested coolies and their feet are busy. They will  Boxes of goods are unloaded from the ship and loaded onto trucks for transportation, or truckloads of goods are loaded onto the ship.  The shouts of shipowners or businessmen, and the shouts of coolie porters constitute a unique scenery on the pier.  Zheng Sen, wearing a light blue Confucian shirt, sat quietly in a restaurant not far from the pier. He had been looking at the pier outside for a long time without moving. It was obvious that he was waiting for someone or something.  Arrival of ships.  He reached out to pick up the tea cup in front of him and wanted to drink water, but found that the tea in the tea cup had been washed away and was tasteless. Zheng Sen irritably placed the tea cup heavily on the table and snorted in displeasure.  When a young man in green clothes and a small hat saw this, he hurried forward and was about to change him a cup of tea, but Zheng Sen reached out to stop him and said, "No, let's go!" After saying that, Zheng Sen stood up and walked out.  .  The boy in Tsing Yi quickly followed up and persuaded in a low voice: "Sir, there has been news from outside that Chief Zheng Yang has fallen in Daguan. It's not an option for you to wait here every day. Let's find another way."  "Huh think of another way, what else can I come up with?" Zheng Sen snorted coldly: "Now that the senior officials have fallen into Yue Yang's hands, what can we do no matter how powerful we are? Originally, I planned to miss my father.  Mao Sui recommended himself to the senior officials to meet the Zhongyong Marquis, but was scolded by his father. It was too difficult for him to rescue Brother Zheng Yang. " The young boy in Tsing Yi bowed his head and said nothing.  But he was smiling bitterly in his heart: "This has been obvious for a long time. Leader Zheng Yang is not favored by the boss at all. Even if you beg him ten times, it will still be useless." As soon as the two people walked out of the teahouse, they saw  A horse galloped from a distance and soon came to the teahouse.  The knight on horseback looked at the crowd anxiously for a while.  When he saw the look of surprise on Zheng Sen's back, he quickly jumped off his horse, knelt down on one knee in front of Zheng Sen and said loudly: "My eldest son, my eldest son, please return home quickly to discuss important matters.  "After saying that, he stood up, led the horse, walked to Zheng Sen and handed him the reins.  "We have to discuss important matters, what else can happen now?" Zheng Sen muttered before agreeing: "Okay, then I'll go back first." After that.  Zheng Sen jumped on the horse and galloped away.  When Zheng Sen hurried back to the Zheng Mansion, he found that there were horses tied up outside the mansion, and many soldiers and guards were standing outside the door chatting with each other.  "Something big has happened." Zheng Sen's heart immediately tightened. It was definitely not a small matter for his father to mobilize troops and gather people like this. He galloped to the door of the house.  After handing the reins to the oncoming porter's boy, he immediately ran towards the meeting hall.  When Zheng Sen ran to the meeting hall, he found that the meeting hall was already full of people. Many leaders who were usually too busy to see people were all here. Many people were whispering to each other.  Zheng Sen, who was standing at the door, took a deep breath, then strode in and saluted Zheng Zhilong: "My child has met his father!" Zheng Zhilong's original solemn expression softened slightly after seeing Zheng Sen's arrival, and he nodded and said  : "Sen'er, you're here, sit down!" "I thanked my father!" Although Zheng Sen was a little dissatisfied with his father's actions this year, he did not dare to mess with the rules of etiquette. He bowed to Zheng Zhilong respectfully.  After bowing, he sat down in the seat next to Zheng Zhilong.  Zheng Zhilong raised his head and slowly looked around at everyone before saying: "Brothers, let me digress before today's discussion. I want to ask, how have I, Mr. Zheng, treated you all these years?" Sitting there  The leaders in the meeting hall looked at each other for a while, and one leader stood up and said loudly: "The head of the family. What are you talking about? You have said nothing to your brothers over the years. Who is not the head of the family?"  Thumbs up and praise your righteousness! If it weren't for you and us who didn't know where to hide and play hide-and-seek with the officers and soldiers, how could we be walking in the Ming Dynasty as openly as we are now, and almost everyone has a  Guan Shen, it¡¯s not an exaggeration to say that you are more generous to us! Brothers, don¡¯t you? ¡°Who dares to say that the boss is unjust, I, Hao Laosi, will not agree!¡±  Our good life today is all due to the great master. Who dares to say that the great master is unjust?" Everyone started shouting at each other's words, and for a while the atmosphere in the conference hall was filled with excitement.?Uh, lively.  ?Looking at the excited expressions of everyone.  Zheng Zhilong's face showed a trace of imperceptible satisfaction, but then his face began to become serious.  He waved his hands and said to everyone: "Okay, everyone, please be quiet." Seeing that Zheng Zhilong had something to say, everyone fell silent.  After inheriting the position from the family, I was afraid that I would not live up to the high expectations of the old master. I was always walking on thin ice, fearing that something would go wrong. Fortunately, the old master was blessed by the spirit of heaven. Not only did our business grow bigger and bigger, but the court also sent someone to recruit An.  Those of us who have been wandering all year round have been able to go ashore to settle down our family business and live a peaceful life. But now it seems that we will no longer be able to live a peaceful life" At this point, everyone's faces showed surprise.  They all looked at Zheng Zhilong.  Zheng Zhilong's expression became extremely serious at this time, and then he continued word by word: "Because I have received the news, the imperial court has issued a decree to remove me from my official position and military power, and I will be asked to go to Beijing to report on my duties soon.  " "Boom" Zheng Zhilong's words were like detonating a bomb of ten thousand enemies in the crowd, and the conference hall boiled like a pot of boiling water.  "Whatthe imperial court asked the head of the family to go to Beijing to report on his duties. What bastard gave this order?" "No, if the head of the family enters Beijing, it will be like a sheep entering the tiger's mouth. He must not enter Beijing!" "You can't go, head of the family.  The imperial court is trying to harm you!" Everyone was in chaos, and everyone was in a state of excitement, urging Zheng Zhilong not to enter the capital.  Although Zheng Zhilong was very pleased in his heart, the solemn look on his face became more intense. He said with a bitter face: "Brothers, I don't know that the imperial court has bad intentions in this move, but we have been recruited after all.  An's people now have official status, so why not go if the court calls? "At this time, Zheng Zhibao stood up and said loudly: "Brother, the official status we have is not rewarded by the court, but relies on our fists.  Come down. If the imperial court was not afraid of our power, how could they take a second look at us? Now that the imperial court has wiped out the Manchu Tatars outside the Pass, Li Zicheng in the Central Plains has also been wiped out, and only Zhang Xianzhong is still struggling in Sichuan.  It seems that the grasshoppers in the autumn will not be able to jump for a few days, so they are thinking of throwing us into the pot. Do those rotten scholars in the court think that we are the same as Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng?  We are the Zheng family fleet that has been traveling in Southeast Asia for more than ten years. Who are we afraid of? If we are offended, we will go back to our old business. I want to see what the court can do to us. " "Yes Zheng?  The second boss is right. At worst, we can go back to our old business and see what the court can do to us. " "The court is a fool. This time we will rob all the merchant ships in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.  I want to see what the imperial court can do to me." The meeting hall was full of noise, and there were voices everywhere that were at odds with the imperial court.  Although there were some people who had different opinions, they all sat silently and did not dare to speak out when they saw how angry the crowd was.  After a while, Zheng Zhilong looked sad after seeing that everyone had vented their emotions: "I appreciate the kindness you brothers have towards me, Mr. Zheng. To be honest, I, Mr. Zheng, have been traveling around Nanyang for more than ten years.  I haven't played anything, I haven't eaten anything, I haven't enjoyed any blessings. Logically speaking, I should have no regrets in this life. As long as I can keep my brothers and my family safe, what if I go to Beijing? But I am worried.  Ah, I'm worried that if I enter the capital, the imperial court will take advantage of my absence to attack my brothers. If anything happens to my brothers, what will happen to the old master and the underground after my death?  ¡± Hear this.  Many leaders began to feel sad, and some impatient ones simply stood up and shouted: "The boss. The court is unjust, let's just rebel against him!" "Yes rebel against him, this fucking court is so useless.  Let¡¯s march into the capital, and the big boss will be the emperor. Wouldn¡¯t it be great if we could also become the general?¡± At this moment, the emotions of many people in the conference hall have been aroused, and everyone in the conference hall was shouting for a while.  The voice of rebellion.  Zheng Sen sat on his father's side and looked coldly at the people in front of him. Although the atmosphere in the meeting room seemed to be extremely heated, he was extremely calm in his heart. At this time, he seemed to be watching a funny show.  farce.  The leader was complaining, and then a group of subordinates below agreed and shouted that they would go to the capital to overthrow the emperor's throne and take over the world themselves, and they were all extremely excited as if they were about to achieve their goal.  But according to Zheng Sen¡¯s careful observation, except for a few really short-sighted 250 people, most of them are justJust joining in the fun and following what others say.  We are all not fools, and we naturally understand that the words "rebel and conquer the world" are easy to say but very difficult to implement. Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty's foreign troubles have been eliminated, and all the thieves and bandits with some temperament in the Guan Dynasty, except Zhang Xianzhong, are still struggling in Sichuan.  The rest were all destroyed by the officers and soldiers. Although the Zheng family has been able to dominate the sea in recent years, once they want to rebel, the leaders who used to be majestic at sea will immediately become soft-footed shrimps.  Naval battles and land battles are two completely different things. If the Zheng family's more than 10,000 troops really come to land to fight against the imperial army, it is estimated that they will be eaten up in less than ten days and a half.  Not even a scum is left.  What's more, there are many powerful civil servants and generals in the imperial court. None of Lu Xiangsheng, Sun Chuanting, and Hong Chengchou are vegetarians, let alone the Xuan army, which can even destroy the arrogant Manchu Tatars. If you want to start from these people  With the world in your hands, it¡¯s better to go home and wash your hands and sleep as soon as possible.  While Zheng Sen looked on with cold eyes, Zheng Zhilong raised his hands again to signal everyone to quiet down.  At this time, he looked very excited, with a joyful smile on his face, "Brothers, please be quiet, thank you for your respect. Mr. Zheng is very grateful. It's just that I appreciate the kindness of all brothers. My family knows  Regarding my own family affairs, although I, Zheng Zhilong, have been able to be ruthless in Nanyang for more than ten years, I am not the material to conquer the world and become the emperor. We must not talk about such treason in the future. " Hearing this, many people who were originally yelling fiercely.  The leaders also fell silent.  It's enough to express loyalty occasionally, but whoever takes it seriously will lose.  Zheng Zhilong added: "Although we don't want to do those treasonous things, we can't let the imperial court withdraw our mission so easily. You must know that if we lose the official robes, we may not be able to live this peaceful life again."  Life will not be easy. Those officials who are usually close friends with us will probably be the first to come out and cause trouble for us, so we have to find a way to protect ourselves. " "Master, do you have any ideas?  Just say it. Don't make the brothers feel upset." "That's right, if the boss has something to do, just say it. Is it possible that any of the brothers would dare to go against your wishes?" Everyone started to make a noise.  A trace of amusement flashed across Zheng Zhilong's face. He suddenly stood up and shouted loudly: "Brothers, everyone should know that we had a battle at sea with the Weihaiwei Navy under the command of Marquis Zhongyong a few days ago. It's a pity that we lost.  , Not only did Li Laosan die in the battle, but even the second master almost never came back. We lost more than a hundred ships and hundreds of artillery pieces in this battle. Everyone should know what this means, right? " Everyone heard this.  His expression became serious. Ships are easy to find these days, but artillery is hard to find. There are at least five or six hundred artillery pieces on more than a hundred ships. The sudden loss is enough to severely damage the vitality of the Zheng family group.  Zheng Zhilong continued: "In order to make up for this loss, a few days ago I sent brother Zheng Yang to go to Dajuan to buy artillery from the Dutch, but I never thought that Yueyang would lead troops to attack Dajuan. Brother Zheng Yang was also fighting here.  He died in the battle, let¡¯s talk about what we should do?¡± ¡°What else can we do, damn it!¡± ¡°Kill the Weihaiwei Navy!¡± Hear this.  Everyone was excited again, and this time it was not just a show-off, but these people had deeply felt the threat of Weihaiwei Navy.  There is no room for two tigers in one mountain. Similarly, the emergence of two overlords cannot be tolerated in Nanyang. In the past, Liu Xiang competed with the Zheng family. Ever since Liu Xiang defeated and committed suicide, Nanyang has long been ruled by the Zheng family group.  Now how can the people of the Zheng Family Group tolerate a Weihai Guardsman suddenly appearing?  It's about their jobs and territory, so they will naturally try their best to suppress this new force that has emerged.  Someone asked aloud: "The boss. I heard that although the Weihai Guards Navy does not have many warships, it is extremely strong and has sharp artillery. On the other hand, our artillery is too few. If we fight against them, I am afraid we will have to fight against them."  I wonder what the boss can do? " "WellBrother Yanmou, that's a good question." Zheng Zhilong glanced at the leader who spoke with approval, a look of pride on his face.  "Actually, even Brother Yanmou would say it without asking me. Just a few days ago, I had contact with the Portuguese in Macau, and I had obtained more than a hundred twenty-four-pound artillery from them."  "What? More than a hundred artillery pieces, and they are still 24-pound artillery pieces!" Hearing this, everyone was jumped. It is not easy to cast artillery these days. It is often thankful to be able to cast one or two out of ten artillery pieces.  Well, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is worth as much as gold. Now those Portuguese people are willing to sell it to them for so much. Have these people taken the wrong medicine?  Seeing everyone¡¯s surprised looks, ZhengZhilong sneered secretly in his heart.  These people didn't know it, but they knew it. Originally, the Western colonists refused to sell cannons to him no matter what. Even if they did, they would only sell some small cannons of 12 pounds or even 6 pounds. They were afraid that the Zheng family would become too big.  .  But now that the Spanish and Dutch were defeated one after another by the Weihaiwei Navy under Yue Yang, the Portuguese in Macau naturally felt a deep sense of crisis. In order to contain the Weihaiwei Navy, the Portuguese did not hesitate to use the artillery they had accumulated over the years.  They were all packaged and sold to the Zheng family. The purpose was to make the Zheng family and Yueyang fight to the death so that they could securely sit on Diaoyutai in Macau.  Regarding the Portuguese¡¯s thoughts, Zheng Zhilong naturally had a clear mind, but it was just that both sides got what they needed, and there was no reason for him not to do something that was beneficial to everyone.  He ignored everyone's surprised expressions, but said to them: "Now that we have artillery, it is time to settle accounts with the Weihaiwei Navy. As long as we can severely damage or even eliminate the Weihaiwei Navy, I will  Let's see who else in the court dares to remove me, Zheng, from my post!" Hearing this, Zheng Sen was shocked. He knew that this time his father was planning to fight to the death with Yue Yang. If Weihaiwei could be defeated,  If the navy is defeated, no one else needs to say anything. The officials and gentry along the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang will be the first to come out to oppose this matter, because if the Weihaiwei navy is defeated and the court removes Zheng Zhilong from his post, he will be deprived of his official position.  The Zheng family fleet will definitely carry out crazy plundering in the coastal areas of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and even the Ming Dynasty. By then, I am afraid that the Ming Dynasty will really return to the situation of the early Ming Dynasty where it was not allowed to go to the sea. If this really happens, those who go to sea every year will  The officials and gentry with huge interests at sea will go crazy.  (To be continued)
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