When Zheng Zhibao heard the sound, he immediately said in surprise: "Brother keeps dragging me, could it be that the Jin Yiwei is here to arrest you?"
"Impossible!" When Zheng Hongkui heard this, he immediately refuted, "There are only a few Jinyi guards, but they still dare to come to Anping Town to catch the big brother? Is your brain soaked in sea water?"
After such a buffer, Zheng Zhilong also calmed down. After asking a few more questions carefully, he quickly told Zheng Hongkui: "You come out to receive the Jin Yiwei first, and then say that I am on my way back. By the way, you can trick them. What's the matter with them coming so far away?"
As soon as he said this, he heard loud noises coming from the front yard, and the northern accent was very obvious.
So Zheng Zhilong immediately avoided it, and Zheng Hongkui also collected his thoughts and hurried to the front yard.
At the entrance of the mansion, many servants of the Zheng mansion gathered there, blocking the door and preventing the ten imperial guards from entering. There was a dispute going on between the two sides.
"How dare you dare to stop my guard?" The leader of the guard, who was a general bannerman, shouted sternly, "You delayed your errand, how many heads do you have?"
"Without permission, I don't care whether you are a royal guard or not. Otherwise..."
Obviously, the servants of the Zheng Mansion are used to being arrogant, and there are no Jinyiwei activities there, so they don't have any Jinyiwei at all, so they are taking advantage of it.
But Zheng Hongkui was shocked. At least he had been to Yingtian Mansion and knew how powerful the factory guards were. Unlike these servants, they only lorded it over here in Fujian and didn't know how high the sky was. So, he immediately shouted sternly: "What are you doing, you want to get it, don't you? How dare you stop Jin Yiwei, why don't you get out of the way!"
As soon as he cursed like this, the servants blocking the road lost their temper and immediately dispersed on both sides. At the same time, they bowed their heads and said, "Fourth Master!"
Zheng Hongkui ignored them. Instead, he clasped his hands and faced the guard in uniform at the door with a smile on his face: "My lords, don't be surprised, country people don't know etiquette. Please, please come inside!"
After he finished speaking, he immediately scolded the servants and said, "Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and inform us that a distinguished guest is coming inside, and fish out two watermelons that are frozen in the well. Hurry up!"
Seeing Zheng Hongkui's performance, Jinyiwei Zongqi felt a little relieved, and cursed God: "Fuck, you are so hot!"
After finishing speaking, he strode inside and said to Zheng Hongkui: "Where's Zheng Zhilong? The emperor has a secret decree. Why don't you come quickly to receive it!"
Hearing this, Zheng Hongkui couldn't help but be stunned. No matter how much he thought about it, he never expected that Jin Yiwei would actually bring the emperor's secret decree. How much attention should be paid to his elder brother!
However, he did not dare to make the decision in this matter. Zheng Zhilong had already given the order just now, so he could only accompany the group of royal guards to the lobby and carefully explained: "What a coincidence, my eldest brother went to sea and has not returned yet. What should I do?"
When the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned. He didn't expect such a thing to happen. He immediately frowned and asked, "How can we delay the emperor's secret decree? Why don't we go find it quickly?"
"Yes, yes, I've been out for a while, or maybe I'll be back soon." After Zheng Hongkui answered, he felt something was wrong, so he immediately added, "It might take a few days. It's something like this at sea." , the wind is high and the waves are strong, it’s hard to say.”
The commander-in-chief of Jinyiwei felt a little headache after hearing this. He came to deliver the order, but the person who received the order was not there!
There was no other way, so he had to ask again: "Send someone to look for him quickly, the sooner the better!"
The weather in June is fine in the north, but here in Fujian, near the sea, the weather is so hot that people can't breathe. The Jinyiwei are all from the capital. It feels really bad. If possible, I really don’t want to stay in this stuffy and hot south for a whole day.
Fortunately, a servant immediately brought watermelons soaked in well water, and a servant rushed over to fan them, which relieved their fever.
On the other side, Zheng Zhilong, who was hiding, already knew that Jin Yiwei was here to convey a secret order. Unexpectedly, he decided to meet her.
"Brother, aren't you afraid that they are coming with bad intentions?" Zheng Zhibao asked a little worriedly.
After hearing this, Zheng Zhilong immediately shook his head and said: "Since it is the emperor's secret decree, it is impossible for the person who came to do it to be evil. Otherwise, the decree must be transferred to the Prime Minister's side, and the Prime Minister will make arrangements instead of going straight here!"
In his heart, it was actually very strange that the emperor, whom he had never had direct contact with before, would actually give him a secret order. Having never received an imperial edict before, he couldn't help but feel a little fresh and expectant.
In addition, he also knew that hiding all the time was not an option. Master Zhongcheng must have been very angry. Unless he is determined to fall out with the court, otherwise, he can no longer hide.
So, about half an hour later, he appeared in the front yard covered in sweat, and hurried to the lobby. He kept his posture very low, repeatedly confessed his guilt, and at the same time took the initiative to explain: "The red barbarians of the senior officials were restless and had no choice but to The last general rushed over personally to deal with them. I am late, please forgive me, sir!"
The relationship between Hongyi and Daming has always been hostile. If he said this, I believe no one can expose this excuse.
The General Banner of the Imperial Guard served him a delicious meal in the Zheng Mansion, which relieved the stuffy feeling, and his mood was no longer so bad. At this time, I saw that Zheng Zhilong was coming, and his attitude was so low. I felt a little more favorable in my heart, so I didn't embarrass him, so I asked him to clear out all the irrelevant people, and gave him the secret decree.
Out of curiosity, Zheng Zhilong unfolded the secret order and read it.
Although he guessed it was not a bad thing, after he looked at it for a while, the sweat on his forehead started to flow again, as if he had just come in from outside. At the same time, his face was filled with shock.
It turned out that Emperor Chongzhen told him straight to the point in this secret edict.
The main content is that the emperor knew Zheng Zhilong's strength at sea and what he was doing. But thinking about it, he did not bring trouble to the Ming Dynasty like the Shanxi merchants in the north. In a certain aspect, he, Zheng Zhilong, also maintained the peace along the coast of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the emperor did not intend to investigate Zheng Zhilong's past affairs.
However, Emperor Chongzhen warned Zheng Zhilong in a secret edict that he should not expect to continue doing things like requiring ships to pay to fly the flag of the Zheng family. This was not allowed by court law and was not allowed by Emperor Chongzhen.
The navy is the navy of the Ming Dynasty, not the navy of the Zheng family; the sea is the sea of the Ming Dynasty, not the sea of the Zheng family; if this kind of thing is really investigated seriously, it will also be suspected of treason!
Emperor Chongzhen clearly told Zheng Zhilong in a secret edict that the imperial court would definitely pay attention to the sea in the near future. At that time, not only the Fujian Navy, but also the Denglai Navy, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Navy, and the Guangdong Navy will be rebuilt one after another; and the goal of the Ming Dynasty Navy is no longer just to patrol the coast. Even at the end of the sea, there must be the flag of the Ming Navy!
The only way out for him, Zheng Zhilong, is to give the court the greatest help while the Ming Dynasty Navy is still in the early stages of reconstruction. Only in this way can we expect to be rewarded based on merit, be granted the title of wife and son, be granted the title of marquis and be given titles.
Now, in order to deal with the Liaodong rebels, the Denglai Navy must be rebuilt as soon as possible. Therefore, it was a great achievement to transfer him, Zheng Zhilong, to speed up reconstruction and eliminate the Jianlu navy. Fujian can also give Zheng Zhilong a three-year buffer. After that, it will be gradually incorporated into the formal establishment of the imperial navy, and it will no longer be just Zheng Zhilong’s navy!
At the same time, Emperor Chongzhen also made it clear that he had given enough patience and hoped that Zheng Zhilong would not be stubborn. Unless he wants to rebel, don't miss this opportunity. He was appointed the chief military officer of the Denglai Navy, and he immediately led the navy northward, followed the instructions of the Governor of Baoding, rebuilt the Denglai Navy, and played his due role in the war against the prisoners!
At the end of the secret edict, Emperor Chongzhen also expressed his admiration for his son Zheng Sen, and asked Zheng Sen to go north to the Imperial Academy to study and accompany the prince in reading.
After Zheng Zhilong read this imperial edict, he still didn't realize that he was sweating profusely. He understood that this secret edict was actually Emperor Chongzhen's last ultimatum. Either obey the orders or rebel. There were only two options.
Although it was an ultimatum, from this secret decree, he also felt the emperor's sincerity towards him and hoped that he could make the right choice. To earn a wife, a son, a marquis, and a noble title; otherwise, there will only be a sword fight.
At the same time, Zheng Zhilong was also surprised. Because Emperor Chongzhen stated his ambitions straightforwardly in this secret edict: there must be the flag of the Ming Dynasty Navy at the end of the sea! Such a wish has never been achieved by previous emperors.
As a Ming Dynasty man who started his career at sea, he naturally knew about the imperial navy's repeated voyages to the West during the Yongle period. Once the emperor really makes up his mind, the grand events in the past may really happen. Of course, the premise is to solve the current domestic troubles.
Zheng Zhilong is not stupid, he can be said to be quite shrewd. Therefore, he knows better than to look at the three thousand ships of various colors he now has. However, if he really chooses to rebel, it is hard to say whether he will still have 3,000 ships of various colors under his command. In addition, without the support of land, he is actually not much more powerful than Wang Zhi back then. Wang Zhi's final result is right there. He is not optimistic about what will happen to Zheng Zhilong in the end.
At least as far as Zheng Zhilong is concerned, he is not mentally prepared to fall out with the court.
Looking at this secret decree, he read it again from the beginning, and then remained silent, thinking nervously in his heart.
Seeing his expression, the imperial guards in imperial robes nearby guessed what the secret decree was about, and put a lot of pressure on him. For a moment, they all lost their relaxed expressions and became alert. I'm afraid that Zheng Zhilong can't bear the pressure and do unpredictable things.
After a while, suddenly, I saw Zheng Zhilong receiving the secret order. It was only then that he realized that he was sweating profusely, so he wiped away the sweat, smiled a little awkwardly and said to General Jin Yiwei with a smile: "This day is really too hot!"
Seeing him like this, the on-guard Jinyiwei captains all breathed a sigh of relief. One of them, the Jinyiwei Commander-in-Chief, echoed: "This damn weather is really going to be hot to death!"
After the digression, Zheng Zhilong said sternly to General Jin Yiwei: "Please tell me, Your Majesty, I will definitely act in accordance with your orders."
After finishing speaking, he immediately went to write a memorial and prepared for Jin Yiwei to take it back. His statement made the atmosphere much more relaxed.
"Zheng Youyi, since there is no problem, then your young master can come back to the capital with us!" Jin Yiwei Zongqi said with a smile.
When he came, he only received this explanation.
After hearing this, Zheng Zhilong nodded without hesitation and asked Jin Yiwei to wait while he made arrangements.
When he returned to the backyard, Zheng Hongkui and Zheng Zhibao, who had been waiting here, immediately gathered around to ask about the situation. Even his son Zheng Sen was there, but he didn't dare to get close.
Zheng Zhilong seemed a little exhausted, so he gave the secret edict to them to read by themselves. As for himself, he immediately sat down on the Taishi's chair, picked up the teapot and started drinking. After drinking it all, he leaned back on the chair. He seemed to be leaning on it without any strength.
Zheng Hongkui was the first to read it. He looked at Zheng Zhilong in great surprise and asked, "Brother, what should I do? You shouldn't... won't resist the order and disobey it, right?"
"No, I'm not ready now!" Zheng Zhilong shook his head and replied.
When Zheng Hongkui heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This is the best, brother. I'm not telling you that we have finally had a stable life, so we can't go wandering at sea again, right?"
After a pause, he sighed again: "The Emperor seems to be very powerful. There must be the flag of the Ming Dynasty at the end of the sea! Why do these words sound so desirable? Brother, do you think this will be Is that true?"
At this time, Zheng Zhibao had also finished reading. After hearing their conversation, he asked another question: "Brother, the emperor also asked Sen'er to be the prince's companion? This is the minister of Conglong. Sen'er's future will be bright. ah!"
Listening to the words of these two younger brothers, Zheng Zhilong felt even more powerless and didn't even bother to explain. He said to Zheng Sen, who was reading the secret decree: "You should pack up, go and say goodbye to your mother, and go to the capital with Jinyiwei."
When Zheng Sen heard this, he was very happy. He quickly agreed and left as fast as he could.
Watching him leave, Zheng Zhilong said to Zheng Hongkui: "Go pick some warships. According to the emperor's wishes, just five hundred ships. You will lead us to Denglai first and report to the Governor of Baoding."
"Ah?" When Zheng Hongkui heard this, he was a little dumbfounded and said: "Brother, the emperor's decree asked you to lead the way, and you can also be named the commander-in-chief!"
After hearing this, Zheng Zhilong frowned and said, "If I go, there will be no way out, okay? I thought, let's take a look at the situation first, so that if anything happens, I won't be passive."
"But...but what should Sen'er do?" Zheng Hongkui didn't understand and asked quickly.
After hearing this, Zheng Zhilong sighed and said: "We need to stabilize the emperor first. I want to see the situation first. I'll talk about it after I figure it out."
At this point, he said to himself: "The emperor is very different from the impression he had. I will send someone to find out what is going on as soon as possible. If he only talks big words and has great ambitions but little talent, then Let’s talk about something else!”
