The east coast port of Quanzhou, Fujian Province is one of the largest ports in Quanzhou and even Fujian, where the water depth and narrow terrain are natural havens, and it is also the nest of the Zheng family's fleet.

The weather in Quanzhou in September is still very hot, but the ships on the wharf are still very busy, there are constantly large and small ships leaving or docking, there are constantly sweaty coolies and feet on the wharf, they unload boxes of goods from the ship and then load them onto the car to transport away, or there are truckloads of goods are loaded onto the ship. The shouts of shipowners and merchants, and the shouts of coolie porters, make up a unique sight on the wharf.

Zheng Sen, dressed in a light blue shirt, sat quietly on a restaurant not far from the pier, his eyes had been looking at the dock outside for a long time, and he had not moved, it was obvious that he was waiting for someone or a ship to arrive.

Reaching out and picking up the teacup in front of him and wanting to drink water, but now that the tea in the teacup had already been washed indifferent, Zheng Sen put the teacup on the table irritably and snorted unhappily.

Seeing this, a young man in a green coat and a small hat next to him hurriedly stepped forward and wanted to change a cup of tea for him, but Zheng Sen stretched out his hand to stop him and said, "No need, let's go!" ”

After speaking, Zheng Sen stood up and walked outside. The little guy in Tsing Yi hurriedly followed, and persuaded in a low voice: "Childe, there has been news from outside, Leader Zheng Yang has fallen to the big man, and it is not a way for you to wait here every day, let's think of another idea." ”

"Hmph...... What else can I come up with? Zheng Sen snorted coldly: "Now that the master has fallen into the hands of Yue Yang, what can we do even if we have great powers?" Originally, I was going to think that my father Mao Sui recommended himself to meet the loyal and brave marquis, but I was drunk by my father, and it was too difficult to rely on my father to rescue Brother Zheng Yang. ”

The little guy in Tsing Yi bowed his head and said nothing, but he smiled bitterly in his heart: "This is already an obvious thing, Zheng Yang's leader is not treated by the big boss at all, and it is still useless for you to beg him ten more times." ”

As soon as the two of them walked down the teahouse, they saw a horse galloping from a distance, and soon came to the teahouse. The knight on the horse looked at the crowd for a while with a very anxious expression, and when he saw Zheng Sen behind him, he quickly jumped off the horse and came to Zheng Sen and knelt down on one knee and said loudly: "The eldest prince, the big boss, please go back to the house to discuss important matters." With that, he stood up, led his horse, walked to Zheng Sen, and handed him the reins.

"If you want to discuss things, what else can you do now?" Zheng Sen muttered before agreeing, "Okay, then I'll go back first." After saying that, Zheng Sen jumped on the horse and rode towards the gallop.

When Zheng Sen hurried back to Zheng's mansion, the outside of the mansion was full of horses, and many personal guards were standing outside the door and chatting with each other.

"Something is wrong."

Zheng Sen's heart was immediately tight, it was definitely not a trivial matter to be able to let his father gather everyone so vigorously, he rode his horse and galloped to the gate of the mansion, handed the reins to the oncoming porter and immediately ran towards the meeting hall.

When Zheng Sen ran to the meeting hall, the meeting hall was already full of people, and many of the leaders who were too busy to see people on weekdays had all arrived, and many people were talking to each other in each other's ears.

Zheng Sen, who was standing at the door, took a deep breath, and then strode in and saluted Zheng Zhilong: "The child has seen his father!" ”

Zheng Zhilong's originally solemn expression eased a little after seeing Zheng Sen's arrival, and he nodded and said, "Sen'er, you're here, sit down!" ”

"The boy thanked his father!" Although Zheng Sen was a little dissatisfied with what his father had done this year, he didn't dare to mess with the rules and etiquette, and he respectfully bowed to Zheng Zhilong before he sat down in the seat next to Zheng Zhilong.

Zheng Zhilong raised his head and slowly glanced around at everyone, and then said, "Brothers, let's say a digression before the discussion today. I want to ask, how have I, Zheng someone, treated you all these years? ”

The leaders sitting in the council hall looked at each other for a while, and one of the leaders stood up and said loudly: "Big boss, what are you talking about, you haven't said anything to your brothers all these years, who doesn't give a thumbs up and praise righteousness!" If it weren't for you, we who didn't know where to hide and play hide and seek with the officers and soldiers, how could we walk on the realm of the Ming Dynasty as openly as we do now, and almost all of us have an official body, and it is not an exaggeration to say that you are higher than the sky for us! Brothers, don't you say? ”

"That's it!"

"Who dares to say that the big boss is not righteous, I, Hao Laosi, am the first not to agree!"

"We can have a good life today because of the big boss, who dares to say that the big boss is not righteous?"

Everyone shouted one after another, and for a while, the crowd in the conference hall was full of excitement.

Looking at everyone's excited expressions, Zheng Zhilong's face showed a hint of imperceptible satisfaction, but then his face began to become serious, and he waved his hand to everyone: "Okay, everyone be quiet." ”

Seeing that Zheng Zhilong had something to say, everyone was silent, and Zheng Zhilong said: "Since I, Zheng someone, took over the position handed down by the old boss more than ten years ago, I am afraid of living up to the high expectations of the old master. Fortunately, the old master is blessed by the spirit of heaven, not only is our business bigger and bigger, but the court also sent people to recruit An, so that those of us who have been wandering all the year round have to go ashore to settle down and live a peaceful life. But now I can't live this peaceful life......"

Speaking of this, everyone's faces showed a look of surprise, and they all looked at Zheng Zhilong. And 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 an order to remove my official position and military power, and I will be allowed to report to Beijing in a few days." ”

"Boom ......"

Zheng Zhilong's words seemed to detonate a 10,000-strong enemy in the crowd, and in an instant, the council hall boiled like a pot of boiling water.

"What...... The imperial court let the big boss go to Beijing to report on his work, which bastard gave the order? ”

"No, if the big boss enters Beijing, won't he be a sheep in the mouth of a tiger, and he must not enter Beijing!"

"You can't go, big boss, the court is trying to harm you!"

Everyone was in chaos, and for a while, everyone was excited, and everyone persuaded Zheng Zhilong not to enter Beijing.

Although Zheng Zhilong was very relieved in his heart, the solemn color on his face became more and more serious, and he said with a bitter face: "Brothers, how can I not know that the imperial court has bad intentions in this move, but after all, we are people who have been recruited, and now we have an official body, if the court is summoned, why can't we go?" ”

At this time, Zheng Zhibao stood up and said loudly: "Big brother, the official body on our body is not rewarded by the imperial court, but by our fists, if it weren't for the imperial court being afraid of our power, how would they look at us more." Now that the imperial court has exterminated the Manchu Tartars outside the Guan, and Li Zicheng in the Central Plains has also been exterminated, leaving Zhang Xianzhong and his wife still struggling in Sichuan, but it seems that the grasshoppers after the autumn will not be able to jump for a few days, so they want to give us a pot too. Dream of his big head, do those rotten Confucians in the court think that we are the same as Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng? Don't forget that we are the Zheng family's fleet that has been crisscrossing the South Seas for more than ten years, who have we been afraid of, annoyed us, let's go back to our old jobs, I want to see what the court can do to us? ”

"Right...... Zheng Er's head said it well, it's a big deal, let's go back to our old business, see what the court can do to us? ”

"The court is a bird, this time we will do a big vote, and rob all the merchant ships in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, I want to see what the court can do to me?"

The council hall was full of noise, and there were voices turning against the court everywhere, although there were some people who had different opinions in their hearts, but when they saw that the crowd was so angry, they all sat silently and didn't dare to speak.

After a while, Zheng Zhilong looked sad after seeing that everyone had almost vented their emotions: "I understand the kindness of your brothers to me Zheng someone." To tell the truth, I Zheng Mou has been crisscrossing the South Seas for more than ten years, what women have not played, what have not eaten, what blessings have not been enjoyed, it stands to reason that there should be no regrets in this life, as long as I can keep the peace of all my brothers and my family, even if I enter Beijing? But I'm worried, I'm worried that if I enter Beijing, the court will take advantage of my absence to attack my brothers. If anything happens to my brothers, what will happen to me after I die, and I will see the old master and the underground! ”

"Big boss!"

"Woo ......"

Hearing this, many leaders began to grieve and some of them simply stood up and shouted: "The big boss, the court has no way, we simply turned against him!" ”

"Right...... On the contrary, the court of this dog day is so useless, let's enter the capital, the big boss is the emperor, we can also be a big general, wouldn't it be happy! ”

At this moment, the emotions of many people in the council hall have been stirred, and for a while, the council hall was full of voices shouting for rebellion.

Zheng Sen sat under his father's hand and looked coldly at the people in front of him, although the atmosphere in the conference hall seemed to be extremely hot, but his heart was unusually calm, at this time he seemed to be watching a funny farce. The leader complained, and then a group of subordinates echoed and shouted that they wanted to go to the capital to overturn the dragon chair of the emperor Lao Tzu and sit in the world by themselves, and they were all very excited, as if they were about to achieve their goal.

However, according to Zheng Sen's careful observation, except for a few two hundred and five who really lacked hearts, the vast majority of the other people were just joining in the fun. Everyone is not a fool, naturally knows how simple the five words of "rebellion and fight the world" are simple to say, but how difficult it is to do, now the Ming Dynasty has been eliminated, and all the thieves in the Guannai who have a bit of climate except for Zhang Xianzhong are still struggling in Sichuan, the rest have all been wiped out by the officers and soldiers, don't look at the Zheng family these years at sea can be the king and hegemon, but once you want to rebel, the leaders who were majestic on the sea in the past will immediately become soft-footed shrimp.

The naval battle and the 6th war are two completely different things, just with the more than 10,000 people of the Zheng family now really want to come to the 6th place to fight with the army of the imperial court, it is estimated that in less than ten days and half a month, they will have to be eaten by others and there is not even any scum left. What's more, there are also many powerful civil and military generals in the imperial court, Lu Xiangsheng, Sun Chuanting, and Hong Chengchou are not vegetarians, not to mention the Xuan army that can destroy even the invincible Manchu Tartars, if you want to take the world from these people, it is better to go home as soon as possible to wash and sleep.

Just as Zheng Sen was watching coldly, Zheng Zhilong raised his hands again to signal everyone to be quiet. At this time, his expression was very excited, and a happy smile appeared on his face, "Brothers, please be quiet, thanks to your brothers, Zheng is grateful." But I appreciate the kindness of your brothers. My family knows my own affairs, although I, Zheng Zhilong, have been able to commit murder in Nanyang for more than ten years, but I am not the material to be the emperor of the world. ”

Hearing this, many leaders who were originally shouting fiercely also quieted down, and this kind of thing can be said occasionally to show loyalty, and whoever wants to take it seriously will lose.

Zheng Zhilong said again: "Although we don't want to do those big rebellious things, we can't let the imperial court withdraw our envoys so easily, you must know that if we don't have the official robes on our bodies, I'm afraid it will not be easy for us to live in peace like now." I'm afraid that the officials who call us brothers and sisters on weekdays will be the first to jump out and find trouble for us, so we have to find a way to protect ourselves. ”

"Big boss, if you have any ideas, just say it, don't make the brothers feel upset."

"That's it, if you say something in charge, brothers, who else dares to go against your will?"

The crowd was clamoring and shouting.

A hint of triumph flashed on Zheng Zhilong's face, and he suddenly stood up and shouted: "Brothers, you should know that a few days ago, we fought a battle at sea with the Weihai Weishui Division under the command of the Marquis of Zhongyong, but unfortunately we lost, not only Li Laosan died in the battle, but even the second master almost couldn't come back." We lost more than 100 ships and hundreds of guns in this battle, what this means should be clear to everyone, right? ”

Hearing this, everyone's expressions became grim, speaking of which, ships are easy to find in recent years, but artillery is difficult to find, and there are more than five or six hundred large and small artillery pieces on more than a hundred ships, which are all gone, which is enough to make the Zheng family group suffer a lot of vitality.

Zheng Zhilong continued: "In order to make up for this loss, a few days ago, I sent Brother Zheng Yang to Dayuan to find the Dutch to buy artillery, but I didn't think that I ran into Yue Yang leading troops to attack Dayuan, and Brother Zheng Yang also died in this battle. ”

"What else can I do, damn!"

"Kill the Weihai Guardian Sailor!"

Hearing this, everyone became excited again, and this time it was not as pretentious as just now, but these people had already deeply felt the threat of Weihai Weishui Division. One mountain does not tolerate two tigers, the same in this place in Nanyang can not tolerate the emergence of two overlords, there used to be Liu Xiang and the Zheng family to contend with, since Liu Xiang defeated the self-slaughter, Nanyang has long been the world of the Zheng family group, and now a Weihai Weishui division suddenly appeared, how can the people of the Zheng family group tolerate it, it is about their jobs and territory, they naturally want to try their best to suppress this new force.

Someone asked out loud: "Big boss, I heard that although there are not many warships in Weihai, they are extremely strong and have sharp artillery, but on the other hand, the number of our artillery is too scarce, if we face them, I'm afraid we will suffer, I don't know what good way the big boss can do?" ”

"Hmm...... Brother Yanmou asked this question well. Zheng Zhilong glanced approvingly at the leader who spoke, with a smug look on his face.

"Actually, Brother Yan Mou didn't ask me what I was going to say, just a few days ago I had contact with those Portuguese in Macau, and I had already obtained more than a hundred twenty-four-pound guns from them."

"What? More than a hundred guns, and a twenty-four-pound one! ”

Hearing this, everyone jumped, it is not easy to cast artillery in these years, often ten artillery pieces can be cast into one or two, thank God, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is more expensive than gold, and now those Portuguese are willing to sell them so much, are these people taking the wrong medicine?

Seeing everyone's surprised eyes, Zheng Zhilong secretly sneered in his heart. These people didn't know him, but they knew that the Western colonists would not sell him artillery at all, and even if they did, they would only sell some twelve-pound or even six-pound small artillery, because they were afraid that the Zheng family would be big. But now that the Spanish and Dutch were successively defeated by the Weihai Guardian Division under Yue Yang, the Portuguese in Macao naturally felt a deep sense of crisis, and in order to contain the Weihai Guardian Division, the Portuguese did not hesitate to package and sell all the artillery they had hoarded in their hands for many years to the Zheng family, the purpose was to let the Zheng family and Yueyang fight to the death, so that they could sit firmly in the Diaoyutai in Macao.

Regarding the thoughts of the Portuguese, Zheng Zhilong's heart is naturally like a mirror, but this kind of thing is that both sides take what they need, and there is no reason why he should not do what is good for everyone.

He ignored everyone's surprised expressions, but said to everyone: "Now that we have artillery, it's time to settle accounts with the Weihai Weishui Division, as long as we can severely damage or even eliminate the Weihai Weishui Division, I want to see who else in the imperial court dares to remove me from Zheng's position!" ”

Hearing this, Zheng Sen was shocked in his heart, he knew that this time his father was planning to fight to the death with Yueyang, if he could defeat the Weihai Weishui Division, without others to speak, those officials and gentry in the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang would be the first to jump out to oppose this matter, because if the Weihai Weishui Division was defeated, and the imperial court removed Zheng Zhilong, the unofficial Zheng family fleet would definitely carry out crazy plundering of the coastal areas of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and even the Ming Dynasty. At that time, I am afraid that the Ming Dynasty will really return to the situation of not being able to go to sea at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, and if this situation really happens, those officials and gentry who have huge interests at sea every year will go crazy. r1152