After reading the old mother's letter, Zheng Zhilong asked Zheng An again and confirmed that the official army had indeed not moved, and after the old mother was safe at present, Zheng Zhilong fell into silence.

The old mother's letter made it very clear that the general trend of the imperial court unifying the world is irreversible and irresistible. The guns of the officers and soldiers are sharp and ferocious, and Zheng Jiajun is not an opponent at all. The British are alien people, and the ambition of the wolf son is even more unreliable.

If you can take advantage of the fact that the current situation is not completely erosive, and surrender before you completely offend the imperial court, you may be able to keep the Zheng family safe and prosperous, and at the worst you can avoid the fate of extermination.

But if you are obsessed and continue to confront the imperial court, it will definitely be difficult to escape the doom of raiding the family and destroying the clan.

If others dared to say this to him, Zheng Zhilong would definitely not be polite, and he might even be pushed out and cut on the spot.

But the old mother's handwritten letter was all the truth, and it was a cruel fact that had just been proven, which made him have to think about and decide.

Jianning City fell in less than a day, and if the official army attacked Fuzhou, how many days could they stop it?

Although he did have some ambitions to compete in the world before, he quickly sobered up in the face of cruel facts.

He now understands very well that he does not have the ability to compete in the world, nor does he have that strength.

The imperial court's re-domination of the world is indeed unstoppable.

As for the British, he never really believed in it from the bottom of his heart, and everyone was just a relationship of taking advantage of each other.

Moreover, his son Zheng Sen contacted David privately, and he was already aware of the unauthorized dispatch of the British army.

This incident made him very angry, but because his son Zheng Sen was involved, and David personally led the troops out, he kept it back, but in his heart he completely disliked and defended the British.

However, there has been no news of the victory of the British, not even any news, but the official army suddenly attacked Jianning City, which has already made him feel that the British are more than lucky.

Moreover, the official army was able to suddenly appear outside Jianning City, the offensive was so fierce, and there was still the strength to set up an ambush halfway, obviously the imperial court had quietly increased its troops, but his side knew nothing, which made Zheng Zhilong feel even more panicked.

The court's movements were so fast that he didn't have time to react.

Therefore, now the British can no longer count on it, and the remaining 20,000 British troops not only can no longer be relied on, but they must be more guarded against them, so as not to fish in troubled waters with these guys.

Zheng Zhilong quickly calculated and measured in his heart, pacing back and forth, Zheng An didn't dare to come out of the atmosphere on the side, for fear of accidentally annoying the master.

He is still waiting for a reply to the official army, the young general of the official army can say, if he can't wait for a reply, then Zheng Zhilong refuses to surrender, and the army will come to Fuzhou in the near future.

I don't know how long it took, Zheng An's eyes were dazzled by Zheng Zhilong, so he couldn't help but whisper cautiously: "Master, master, look ......"

Zheng Zhilong came to his senses and realized that he had been thinking about it for too long, and he almost forgot about it.

He calmed down and said slowly: "I'll write a reply, you go eat something first, and I'll send someone to send you back." ”

Zheng An was relieved and hurriedly retired.

Zheng Zhilong walked behind the bookcase with heavy steps, picked up the brush and dipped it in ink, but he couldn't put down the pen on the blank letterhead in front of him.

If he wants to surrender to the court and hand over everything he has worked hard for decades, he is really unwilling.

But if he doesn't surrender, or if he deliberately perfunctory, he will definitely anger the imperial court, and when the official army presses the border, I'm afraid that the first person who can't save it will be his old mother.

Zheng Zhilong was in a dilemma at this time, and the brush in his hand was like a thousand pounds, and he couldn't make a decision for a long time.

After thinking about it for a long time, the pen in his hand finally fell on the letterhead.

After writing the reply, Zheng Zhilong leaned heavily on the back of the chair and exhaled a long breath, as if all the strength in his body had been drained.

He had never faced such a difficult choice in his life.

originally thought that at his current status, he already had enough bargaining chips to talk to others on an equal footing, but today at this time, he realized that he was naïve and ridiculous.

On the side of the couch, you can't allow others to snore, you can either sweep the world and sit in the south, or completely abandon fame and fortune to become a farmer, there is no middle choice at all.

All those who make intermediate choices end up in the end of being crushed into mud and dust, becoming just a stepping stone for others to ascend to the top.

He doesn't want to be a stepping stone for others, but he is also more reluctant to be a powerless farmer.

He was unwilling to hand over all the money he had earned with his own hands, so he finally decided to fight for it and fight for a reward for the hard work of his people.

He can tolerate the shrinking of power, but he cannot stand the lack of power in his hands.

Therefore, he plans to negotiate to find out the real bottom line of the court.

After sealing the envelope with fire paint and stamping it with his own seal, Zheng Zhilong called Zheng An and solemnly instructed: "You go back and tell your grandmother, just say that I will not disappoint her old man, please let him relax." ”

Looking at Zheng An's back, Zheng Zhilong let out a long breath.

Now that the letter has been delivered, there are still some things to do to show his sincerity.

"Come, let all the stewards come to me to discuss things." Zheng Zhilong commanded the housekeeper in a deep voice.

After a while, all the big and small leaders under Zheng Zhilong who had the right to speak came over, except for Zheng Hongkui and a few people who were still on duty at sea.

Everyone's expressions were a little solemn and uneasy, after all, Jianning City had fled back to so many defeated soldiers, and they couldn't hide it if they wanted to.

The air pressure in the council chamber is a little low, and it hasn't been so uniform for many years, and judging from this battle, the things to be discussed today are not small.

While everyone was whispering, Zheng Zhilong walked in with a black face, sat on the main seat, and after his eyes swept over everyone's faces, the scene quieted down, and everyone looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

"Brothers, everyone should know about Jianning City. I won't hide it from you, my aunt fell into the hands of the official army, and the third child was also caught by the official army. ”

Zheng Zhilong got straight to the point and said without concealment.

Although everyone knew that something had happened in Jianning City, they were all taken aback when they heard Zheng Zhilong say this, and their faces showed a look of shock, and there was an uproar for a while.

Everyone knows that Zheng Zhilong is a dutiful son, and now that the old mother has fallen into the hands of the official army, what is this master going to do? This is the top concern of all.

"The officers and soldiers have sent people to persuade them to surrender, and I invite you to come here today just to ask your opinions." Zheng Zhilong's expression had calmed down at this time.

Those who are familiar with him know that Zheng Zhilong is very calm when he does big things.

Everyone looked at each other for a while, you look at me, I look at you, no one wants to say it first.