Anping City, Quanzhou Prefecture, Fujian, Zheng family.

Since September of the first year of Chongzhen, Zheng Zhilong led his troops to appease Xiong Wencan, the governor of Fujian, and left Dongfan (Taiwan), the maritime base he had operated for many years, and sat on the coast of Fujian.

At that time, Zheng Zhilong had 30,000 troops and 1,000 ships, and was responsible for guarding the coast against pirates and Dutch attacks.

Over the past ten years, after several naval battles, Zheng Zhilong was promoted from the Five Tigers guerrilla general to the general army of Fujian, and his power has been greatly developed, with a fleet of more than 3,000 large and small boats, becoming the overlord of the southeast sea.

The Cheng family's maritime trade caravans covered a wide range of places in the East and South Seas, including Da Ni, Hun Ni, Champa, Luzon, Yonggang, Beigang, Dayuan, Hirado, Nagasaki, Bombai, Banten, Old Port, Batavia, Malacca, Cambodia, and Siam.

It is estimated that the Zheng family had as many as 200,000 troops at sea and on land, including Han Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Austronesian languages, black Africans, and other ethnic groups.

Zheng Zhilong, who is becoming more and more powerful, built a fort on the wall of Anping in his hometown of Quanzhou, took Anping City as the base camp of the Zheng family, and built a luxurious mansion, which took more than three years to complete, covering an area of 138 acres, the scale of the mansion is grand, the pavilions and pavilions are vertical and horizontal, extremely luxurious and extravagant.

Hearing about the prestige of the Zheng family all the way, the prince's envoy Mao Xiang stood outside Anping City, looking at the big banner with the word "Zheng" hanging high at the head of the city, and couldn't help but sigh and said: "No wonder Bafu takes the Zheng family as the Great Wall, and Zheng Zhilong is simply the emperor of the soil here!" ”

After revealing his identity, Mao Xiang entered the city under the supervision of the Zheng family defenders in Anping City and went to Zheng Mansion to visit Zheng Zhilong.

As soon as he entered the Zheng family's luxurious mansion, Mao Xiang was stunned, only to see that the guards in the courtyard were all tall black charcoal!

"What the hell is this?" Mao Xiang was extremely surprised and asked the Zheng family pawn beside him.

The pawn laughed and said: "They are Wufan soldiers, and they are the guards of the Great Marshal's Mansion. ”

"Negroes?" The son of Jinling, who was rich in five cars, was stunned all of a sudden.

When he was studying in his early years, he heard that there were black people in Chang'an City in the Tang Dynasty, and Mao Xiang was still curious about what black people looked like, but he didn't expect to see it with his own eyes, it was like this, it was really a big wonder in the world!

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, with the entry of Western colonizers into Asia, many black Africans also came to China, some of them were black slaves who were trafficked, and some of them were brainwashed by the colonizers and came to the East to explore out of religious enthusiasm.

These blacks from Africa, who served in the Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch armies, became an important part of the colonial armies, and even became the main force of the colonizers' armies in Asia (in the Portuguese-Dutch war for Macao).

The blacks are loyal and brave and good at fighting, and they are very strong in combat, and they are not reluctant to charge for their employers, and Zheng Zhilong also saw this, and specially lured a group of blacks from Macao to sell their lives for themselves.

In Zheng Zhilong's army, there were also troops composed of whites and Japanese, compared with them, the black troops were less paid and more loyal and reliable.

After a few peeks, Mao Xiang began to enter the courtyard of the Santongmen Double Fire Lane and came to the front hall of the Zheng Mansion.

In the Catholic Church in the front hall, more than a dozen main figures of the Zheng family gathered together.

Mao Xiang wore a red robe and jade belt, held the decree in his hand, stood in the hall, and said loudly: "Zheng Zhilong, the chief soldier of Fujian, receives the decree of the crown prince of the country!" ”

More than a dozen people in the Zheng family glanced at each other left and right, and saw Zheng Zhilong bowing down to accept the order, so he slowly bowed down.

Seeing that Zheng Zhilong was still cooperative, Mao Xiang exhaled lightly and said: "With the blessing of God, Zheng Zhilong, the chief soldier of Fujian, has made great achievements for the country for many years...... The Fujian Navy Division was reorganized into the Ming Royal Navy Flat Fleet, Zheng Zhilong served as the chief soldier of the fleet, Feng Dongfanbo, hereditary replacement, Zheng family town Dongfan! ”

"Minister Zheng Zhilong is grateful!"

Zheng Zhilong bowed a few times, then got up, carefully took the yellow satin, looked at it carefully, and asked casually: "Does this crown prince's decree work?" ”

Mao Xiang said with a smile: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is ordered to supervise the country in Nanjing, and Jiangnan can be dedicated to all matters, and the official canonization decree can reach this hall before the year." ”

Zheng Zhilong came up from Zheng Hongkui and laughed: "Haha, big brother, you are a uncle!" ”

"Congratulations, big brother!"

"Congratulations, eldest brother, the court finally thinks of my Zheng family!"

Zheng Zhibao and others bowed their hands again and again.

"I didn't expect that I, Zheng Zhilong, would be able to be knighted!" Zheng Zhilong was in a good mood, looked at Mao Xiang, and said with a smile: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is so gracious, Zheng is panicked, I don't know what difficulties His Highness has encountered?" ”

Mao Xiang stepped forward and said: "Uncle Dongfan is right, His Highness has indeed encountered difficulties, and I want to ask Dongfan for help." ”

"Oh? Tell me about it! ”

Zheng Zhilong saw Mao Xiang looking left and right, so he smiled and said: "But it doesn't hurt to say it, it's all my own people here." ”

Mao Xiang said with a smile: "Your Royal Highness's meaning is very simple, in the future, all the customs duties of the city will be collected by the imperial court, and Shanghai, Ningbo, Wenzhou, and Taizhou have been building commercial ports. ”

The entire Catholic Church immediately fell silent, Zheng Zhilong glanced at Mao Xiang, turned around and leaned sideways on the tiger skin chair, raised his eyelids casually, and said lightly: "The crown prince wants my Zheng family to give up the southeast sea, is that what you mean?" ”

Mao Xiang put away his smile, nodded, and said, "It is precisely this intention that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince hopes that the Zheng family can develop in Dongfan." ”

Zheng Zhibao shouted: "Dongfan is my Zheng family's island, do you need a reward from the imperial court?" ”

Mao Xiang said with a smile: "This general, what you said is not right, as early as hundreds of years ago, Meng Yuan set up an inspection department in Penghu, Dongfan, and my dynasty has always set up an inspection department in Penghu, how did it become your Zheng family?" What do you Zheng family want to do? Is the Ripper King? ”

Zheng Zhibao is a rough person, although he has a name in Guozijian, but he is just a diploma that he spends money to buy, how can he compare with Mao Xiang, one of the four sons of Jinling.

The atmosphere was a little awkward for a while, Zheng Zhilong suddenly laughed, and said: "You misunderstood, my Zheng family is just helping the imperial court pacify the sea frontier and develop the east, why, does the crown prince regard Ben Shuai as a flood beast?" Ben Shuai was sincere to the court, but he never imagined it, in exchange for this suspicion and jealousy. ”

"Dong Fanbo misunderstood!" Mao Xiang took Zheng Zhilong's hand and said with a worried face: "If the wolf smoke is everywhere today, my Ming Dynasty is full of holes, the people have been displaced by military disasters, and they have no food and clothing, it is really sad for those who hear it and cry when they see it!" ”

As he spoke, he lowered his head and took advantage of the opportunity to wipe the non-existent tears on Zheng Zhilong's brocade robe, and continued: "The imperial court has a heart to calm the thief but suffers from a lack of money and food, this is the time to switch and raise salaries, you are all heroes who have been stationed in the sea all the year round, and you naturally know the importance of this tariff, and you must all understand and agree with the strategy of the imperial court." ”