Chapter 966: Zheng Zhilong's Entanglement

（o966）

Today's first update is delivered!

When Zhang Zhun entered the Beijing Division, Zheng Zhilong was leading his fleet to the north in a hurry.

After receiving the distress message sent by Zheng Shouyuan, Zheng Zhilong's first reaction was that rotten wood could not be carved. This Zheng Chenggong, who suffered a big loss in the hands of the Huben Army Navy last time, caused the Zheng family's fleet, and the perception of him plummeted, and Zheng Zhilong's own pressure was also very great.

Although Zheng Zhilong is the head of the Zheng family's fleet, the outside world usually only mentions his name. However, those who know the inside story know that in the Zheng family fleet, others, such as Zheng Zhihu, Zheng Zhibao and others, also have a certain amount of power. They all have separate voting rights on some particularly important issues.

Although Zheng Chenggong is the default person of the Zheng family's fleet, most people have no objection to this, but if his performance is too bad, others will still gossip. After all, including Zheng Zhilong himself, he didn't want the future leader of the Zheng family's fleet to be too poor and not be welcomed.

Finally, Zheng Zhilong won the opportunity to give Zheng Chenggong the opportunity to make meritorious contributions, hoping that Zheng Chenggong could save his image through this action. Unexpectedly, he smashed the matter 1ng again. And, this time, the consequences seem even worse than last time. Last time, after all, I brought back some warships, and it can't be said that there were no results at all. And this time, listening to Zheng Shouyuan's tone, I am afraid that the whole army will be wiped out.

Seriously, if Zheng Chenggong was not his eldest son, Zheng Zhilong really wanted to leave it alone. Such an idiot son, even if he is rescued, will be a waste in the future. It is impossible for him to give him another chance to wash his image, and no one else will allow him to do so. No matter how thick the foundation of the Zheng family's fleet is, it can't withstand such a toss. If it weren't for the fact that a family affection was still there, Zheng Zhilong really wanted to pretend that he didn't know about it at all, and let Zheng Chenggong fend for himself.

In addition, Zheng Zhilong also couldn't understand how the original plan to sneak attack Nanjing could become like this? Not only did the goal not be achieved, but the battleships of the Fifth Fleet of the Zheng family's fleet were completely lost. The whole operation, it looks, is almost like a perfect trap, a trap waiting for Zheng Chenggong to fall.

However, Zheng Zhilong firmly believes that this action was planned by himself, and it is definitely not a trap. He couldn't have sent his eldest son, and the Fifth Fleet, into the enemy's trap for nothing. Among them, what went wrong, Zheng Zhilong thought about it, but he never understood it very well.

Although it is said that the Fifth Fleet is the weakest in the Zheng family fleet, if the Fifth Fleet is really wiped out, the strength of the Zheng family fleet will still be affected to a certain extent. By this time, the Zheng fleet could no longer withstand such heavy losses.

Is the appearance of the Tiger Ben Navy in the Yangtze River a coincidence, or is it intentional? Is it his own internal that Jin details appeared and leaked the information that Zheng Chenggong went north? Or is it really so magical that the intelligence department of the Tiger Ben Army deduced the actions of the Zheng family's fleet? A series of questions made Zheng Zhilong distressed.

Zheng Zhilong was also quite distressed about whether to send the fleet north for reinforcements. At the moment, the use of the Zheng family's fleet is still very tense, and it is easy to adjust. To put it bluntly, almost every warship is on a mission. It is indeed very difficult to deploy a powerful fleet to rescue Zheng Chenggong.

The Zheng family's fleet originally only had five fleets, and now that Zheng Chenggong was surrounded, at least two fleets had to be dispatched to successfully rescue Zheng Chenggong. Such a refueling tactic of dispatching a fleet is of no use at all. In this way, it will have a great impact on the normal operation of the Zheng family's fleet.

The Dutch weren't stupid either, maybe they would have sensed something. If the main force of the Zheng family's fleet goes north and the Dutch take the opportunity to sneak attack, the base camp of the Zheng family's fleet may be seriously hit. If those powers in the South Seas were also aware of this, the Zheng family's fleet would have made the business in the South Seas even worse.

However, Zheng Chenggong is his eldest son after all. The concept of the firstborn son is very different from that of other sons. His eldest son is now threatened by the Tiger Army, and if he is a father, he doesn't care, and he will also be chewed on the root of his tongue behind his back. Tiger poison is not yet eaten, let alone human?

Besides, if Zheng Chenggong was captured by the Tiger Ben Army, or killed, it would be a major blow to Zheng Zhilong's own reputation and the overall impression of the Zheng family's fleet. As the future heir of the Zheng family fleet, Zheng Chenggong was wiped out so easily, and the impression of others on the Zheng family fleet was only afraid that it would be greatly discounted. The majesty of the Zheng family's fleet no longer exists. This point is very fatal for the current Zheng family fleet.

In the past, the Zheng family fleet was off the coast of Fujian, as long as they stomped their feet, who would dare to say a word? Even the Ming court, for Zheng Zhilong, must be respectful and dare not have the slightest disobedience. Except for Xiong Wencan, Zheng Zhilong's account is not sold. However, since Zhang Zhun appeared, since the appearance of the Tiger Ben Army Navy, the majesty of the Zheng family's fleet has been seriously challenged.

In the past few years, the Zheng family fleet has continuously sent fleets north to try to extinguish Zhang Zhun's sea power, but as a result, they have all been defeated by the Huben navy. In the end, even Yang Tiansheng and Zheng Chenggong failed in the hands of Zhang Zhun. These two defeats were indeed a very heavy blow to the Zheng family's fleet.

Since then, people have begun to know that on the ocean, you Zheng Yiguan is not the most bullish, and there are people in the world who are more bullish than you. This person is Zhang Zhun. After Zhang Zhun completely annihilated the Tartars, the momentum of the Tiger Ben Army was even more vigorous. Even on the ocean, there are more and more people who believe that the ocean in the future will be the world of the Tiger Ben Army and Navy, and will no longer be the world of the Zheng family fleet.

Once such an opinion is formed, the blow to Zheng Zhilong will be absolutely fatal. First of all, it was those wealthy businessmen and big families in Jiangnan who no longer dared to cooperate with Zheng Zhilong, for fear of provoking the death of the Tiger Army. Secondly, the Japanese have also begun to look down on Zheng Zhilong. Again, it was within the Zheng family's fleet that some people began to question Zheng Zhilong's ability.

In fact, as long as you are a discerning person, you can see that the Zheng family fleet is going downhill. In the south, the Zheng fleet was suppressed by the Dutch fleet, and business shrank more and more. In the north, it was suppressed by the Tiger Ben Navy again, and the sea area under its control became more and more xi. If there is no miracle life, the Zheng family's fleet, which is suffering from the enemy, will slowly die.

What Zheng Zhilong couldn't stand the most was that even the Japanese looked down on him. During this period of time, the envoys from the Japanese shogunate have been asking Zheng Zhilong to send a fleet to Japan to directly confront the Tiger Ben Navy. Before, the Japanese envoy still pleaded in a low voice. However, now, it seems that he also looks down on the Zheng family's fleet.

Although he started in Japan, without Japan's markets and ports, there would be no Zheng Zhilong today. However, deep down in Zheng Zhilong's heart, he looked down on the Japanese. If you are not of my race, your heart will be different, and Zheng Zhilong's heart also has such a concept. The Japanese used to prostrate in front of him and beg him, but Zheng Zhilong could still accept it. However, once the Japanese turned their faces and felt that the Zheng family fleet was no longer good, Zheng Zhilong would be annoyed.

After thinking about it for a long time, Zheng Zhilong finally decided to go north. He will lead two of the most powerful detachments north. According to Zheng Zhilong's estimate, at the same time as Zheng Shouyuan sent a request for reinforcements, the Huben Army Navy should also send a request for reinforcements. Reinforcements from the Huben army and navy should also rush towards the mouth of the Yangtze River.

In other words, what he has to face when he goes north this time is definitely not a single Tiger Army naval fleet, but most likely two. It is even entirely possible that the three fleets of the Huben Navy will all sail to the mouth of the Yangtze River. If that is the case, a large-scale naval battle may occur between the two sides in the sea near the mouth of the Yangtze River.

Zheng Zhilong's initial consideration was to rescue Zheng Chenggong and forget it. It is not in the interests of the Zheng family fleet to fight hard with the Tiger Ben Army and Navy. The interests of the Zheng family fleet are still in Japan and the South Seas. The situation has developed to the present, and fighting hard with the Tiger Ben Navy is no longer something that the Zheng family fleet can do. It's not that Zheng Zhilong doesn't want to fight, it's that he can't afford to fight.

Intelligence shows that the shipbuilding degree of the Huben Navy is really terrifying. In September, nearly 100 large warships were launched in the Huben Navy. A hundred large warships, what is that concept? If you fight hard, the Zheng family fleet will be counted out with the other party. In the near future, there will be more warships in the Tiger Navy.

The biggest trouble for the Zheng family's fleet at present is that it cannot sell a large amount of wood from other places, especially for shipbuilding. To build more new warships, there must be enough wood for shipbuilding. The shipbuilding timber of the Zheng family fleet used to come mainly from the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia, where there were towering trees. Just cut down a forest and you can build dozens of large warships.

However, now, most of Southeast Asia is controlled by the Dutch and other Western powers, and the wood for shipbuilding is under their strict supervision, and the Zheng family fleet will definitely not be able to hide from the Dutch if it wants to obtain a large amount of wood from the South Seas. The shipbuilding industry of the Dutch is unusually good, and their own demand for wood is also very large, where will they be willing to give it to Zheng Zhilong? Besides, the amount of wood needed for shipbuilding is not a fraction of it, and the quantity is so large that it cannot be hidden from anyone at all.