At this moment, Zheng Zhilong was suddenly very happy that he had made the right choice. Otherwise, if the emperor is outraged and the imperial commander goes to conquer Fujian in person, all the hard work he has accumulated over most of his life may be wiped out!
"Has a tiger passed away?" Lu Xiangsheng said to himself with a smile on his face, "I have heard of this person. It is said that the war was very fierce. I hope that the killing of Jianlu in Liaodong will be very fierce in the future!"
At this point, he came back to his senses, smiled again and said to the angel who was delivering the message, confidently: "Immediately make preparations here and rush to Jinan Mansion to pick up the people. After those people have arrived, we will start training again." In one winter and next spring, we will be able to rebuild Dongjiang Town!"
It can be said that Lu Xiangsheng admired the emperor's method of dealing with thieves. Forget about dealing with the ordinary thieves, the most difficult to deal with are the old thieves. In fact, many of them are from the frontier army. They already have combat skills, and after so many years of wandering around, they know how to avoid reality and use weakness to attack the strong.
If the emperor threw all these thieves at him, there would be more than 15,000 thieves, and he would definitely have a huge headache. Once these bandits start to cause trouble, whether they continue to rebel or collude with Jianlu, they will cause him a lot of trouble.
However, the emperor did not pressure them at first and allowed them to voluntarily choose to come to Liaodong to kill Jianlu. With this distinction, five thousand people were screened out. For these people, at least the chances of causing trouble again are much smaller. As for those stubborn old thieves, it would be best to kill them all. Otherwise, they will definitely continue to cause trouble after they stay, because they are used to eating and drinking, and have no other advantages. They will definitely not be able to live the life of ordinary people.
After the messenger received Lu Xiangsheng's reply, he rushed back to deliver the decree to the emperor.
At this time, the emperor was returning eastward.
Along the way, wherever the army went, the news about the emperor's expedition to annihilate the Tatars in the Hetao River and the extermination of the bandits spread first. Among these news, there were also punishments for the feudal kings and corrupt officials. These legends all tell the people along the way what kind of emperor their emperor is!
To be honest, the achievements of Emperor Chongzhen's personal expedition far exceeded everyone's expectations.
You must know that not long after the current emperor ascended the throne, the Jianlu invaders entered the pass for the first time, causing immeasurable losses to the people in the capital area; then, the rogues in Shaanxi began to rebel one after another, and finally caused harm to Shanxi, Henan, and the two lakes. The region and even Fengyang, the central capital, were captured and the imperial tombs were burned. Along with all this, Jianlu also began to enter the pass one after another and continued to poison the pass.
It can be said that before the twelfth year of Chongzhen, the people under Emperor Chongzhen basically had no good life. There was chaos and disaster everywhere, and even the emperor issued several edicts on sin, but it was still to no avail.
To be honest, many people are a little desperate about the future. They wonder if they will become starving on the roadside in the future?
However, starting from the 12th year of Chongzhen, to be precise, from the end of the 11th year of Chongzhen, the emperor showed a side that he had never seen before. Now that the emperor is on a personal expedition, his performance is even more unbelievable. This is still the case before. Is that what the emperor can do?
Regarding this situation, a rumor began to spread quickly among the people and officials: It was said that the emperor fell into a coma one day, and when he woke up, Taizu entrusted him with a dream and gave instructions to the emperor. From then on, the emperor's performance, It's different.
Since ancient times, China has respected its ancestors. Even those who believe in Buddhism and seek Taoism do not dare to disrespect their ancestors. Dreaming about your ancestors is something that people have done at some point in their lives. And who is Taizu and who is the emperor? If it is the spirit of Taizu in heaven, seeing that the people of Ming Dynasty are so miserable, they go to the lower world to enlighten the emperor through dreams, and then the current emperor has changed like a new man. It seems that it is not incomprehensible!
Therefore, this rumor spread even wider. Some people even speculate that maybe Taizu saw that the current emperor has been diligent in government affairs since he ascended the throne and had the same demeanor as Taizu, and felt that he could be educated, so he asked for advice in a dream.
This guess makes sense to many people. This also produced unexpected effects.
Some unfilial sons and some people who forget their ancestors after reading the classics all have psychological shadow after hearing this legend. Some remember the ancestral precepts, and some change the past and respect their elders. During the holidays, they dare not forget their deceased elders and remember to burn incense and pray for blessings. All these things have increased a lot compared to before.
During the long march, these rumors from outside slowly spread back to the army, once again consolidating and seeming to deepen their impression on the lieutenants. The original soldiers were all fine, and they had already become convinced and respectful of the emperor;
However, Li Guo and the five thousand distant bandit soldiers were greatly affected by this. They had only experienced some of the things related to the emperor, and they had only heard about the rest. In particular, I also heard about Taizu Tuomeng and some things about defeating Jianlu. From this, they had a better impression of the emperor. In this regard, many people have got rid of the past of witnessing the execution of their companions more than 10,000 years ago, and look forward to the future, hoping that the Ming Dynasty will have such a good emperor, and their future will no longer be gloomy and will no longer bring shame to their ancestors. It’s about honoring our ancestors!
On this day, the army arrived at Jinan Prefecture in Shandong Province. Lu Xiangsheng and Zheng Zhilong were waiting here according to the order, preparing to receive 5,000 troops, and then the emperor went north from here back to the capital.
Jinan Prefecture was plundered, massacred and burned by Dorgon's army. Although the Yongwei Battalion's swift arrival was beyond Dorgon's expectation, the city was almost completely destroyed.
The plundered old and weak people were left behind by Dorgon along the road to slow down the pursuit of the Yongwei camp; these old and weak people returned to Jinan Prefecture, missing each other after seeing them, and then a plague broke out, spreading from Dezhou to here, and again. Many died.
Now when Emperor Chongzhen arrived at Jinan City, it can be said that he saw at a glance the traces of Jinan City being poisoned by the captives. It will take at least one generation of efforts to restore it to its original state.
Therefore, although he saw Lu Xiangsheng again and heard Lu Xiangsheng's heartfelt words of admiration, Emperor Chongzhen was still not very happy.
Leading these generals, Emperor Chongzhen climbed to the top of the city of Jinan, with his fingers covered in scars, and said: "The prisoners entered the pass, and the battlefield is within the pass. The people of our Ming Dynasty will bear the harm of the war. How many people have their families destroyed because of this!"
At this point, he turned to look at Lu Xiangsheng and said seriously: "Therefore, I want you to rebuild Dongjiang Town as soon as possible, and coordinate with Shanhaiguan to lock the Jianlu outside the pass. One day, I will personally conquer Liaodong." !”
If in the past the emperor said that the emperor personally conquered Liaodong, others probably only listened to it and would not really take it to heart.
But now that the emperor has demonstrated his ability, no one will just listen to this "imperial conquest and conquer Liaodong", but this is really a possibility!
"Wei Chen understands, Wei Chen accepts the order!" After the emperor emphasized it again, Lu Xiangsheng immediately bowed seriously to receive the order and said, "Your Majesty has mobilized the troops and horses. If Wei Chen still cannot rebuild Dongjiang Town and contain the Jianlu troops, I will never go to the state!"
Obviously, he wanted to cross the sea in person to fight in Liaodong.
In this regard, Emperor Chongzhen said nothing, just nodded, and quietly looked at the ruins of Jinan Mansion again. After a moment, he suddenly said: "Zheng Qing?"
Zheng Zhilong has been behind Lu Xiangsheng, silently observing the Ming emperor whom he met for the first time. From the emperor's words and deeds, he could not feel any falsehood. What he said was all from the heart.
Speaking of which, he, Zheng Zhilong, had been the eldest brother for so many years and stood out from all the pirates. If he hadn't been a human spirit, he wouldn't have achieved what he has today. This means that he, Zheng Zhilong, is a good actor and knows the ropes well. However, even so, he couldn't see any falsehood.
Then there are only two possibilities, one is that the emperor is better at acting than he is; the other is that what the emperor shows is what he thinks. No matter which one, Zheng Zhilong felt even more fearful after meeting him.
If you can act better than him, you are the best among the best. If you play tricks, you will definitely be known; if you act from the bottom of your heart and win such support from the army, then the emperor will be extremely powerful. He was not even sure that if such an emperor led the army to deal with him, there might be many traitors among his men who would sell him to the emperor.
An emperor who can win the sincere support of the army and the people is invincible, because he practices the royal way and has the most powerful strength!
While he was thinking about it, he suddenly heard the emperor calling him. He did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly stepped out of the queue, respectfully echoing: "The general is here!"
Emperor Chongzhen heard this and turned to look at him, sizing him up.
It has to be said that although Zheng Zhilong was a pirate, there was no trace of the tanned look on his body. His temperament is more like that of a businessman, that kind of shrewd businessman.
Zheng Zhilong lowered his head and felt that the emperor had been staring at him and didn't speak for a while. He couldn't help but feel a little scared. Could it be that the emperor had deceived him and Qiu Hou would settle the score?
At this time, the name of one of his seniors flashed in his mind: Wang Zhi!
When the imperial court dealt with people like them who were wandering the sea, they tricked them into recruiting them and promised that they would not kill him. However, as soon as Wang Zhi came ashore, the imperial court beheaded him!
Thinking of this, Zheng Zhilong sweatdropped.
However, at this time, Emperor Chongzhen spoke: "Zheng Qing, you did a good job and lived up to my expectations..."
As soon as he heard this, the mountain-like pressure that Zheng Zhilong felt just now disappeared a lot, and he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied: "I don't dare, I just have a low background in the past, and sometimes my brain is confused. , thanks to the emperor’s advice, from now on, I will never let down the emperor’s expectations!”
Others didn't quite understand what the two were talking about. However, Lu Xiangsheng knew that the emperor was probably trying to beat Zheng Zhilong.
After listening to Zheng Zhilong's words, Emperor Chongzhen smiled for the first time and said: "Heroes don't ask where they come from. You are familiar with maritime affairs, which will be of great help to Ming Dynasty's national policy in the future. Work hard, and it will be a matter of time before you become a marquis in the future!"
Hearing this, Zheng Zhilong's mind flashed back to what Emperor Chongzhen had said in his secret edict: There must be the flag of the Ming Navy at the end of the sea! Now the emperor actually said that he was familiar with maritime affairs and would be of great help to Ming Dynasty's future national policy. If you say it again and again, then you are sure that it is true!
As a result, Zheng Zhilong was overjoyed. Because if this is really the case, it will only be a matter of time before the emperor says that he will be granted a title of marquis in the future, and this will also be true!
I want to be knighted! Guangzong Yaozu!
In this era, even in later generations, honoring one's ancestors is what everyone looks forward to. Being a pirate, even being a de facto pirate king, is not a very honorable thing. However, if you can be granted the title of Marquis and return to your hometown in a serious manner, then you will truly be a proud ancestor!
Thinking like this, Zheng Zhilong couldn't restrain the joy in his heart even if he had mastered the city government. He recited happily: "I will be ashamed of myself at the end. I will work hard, serve the country with loyalty, and die without fear!"
Emperor Chongzhen listened, nodded, and asked about his son Zheng Sen with concern, knowing that Zheng Sen had gone to the capital two months ago.
Suddenly, something moved in his heart, and he smiled and said to Zheng Zhilong: "It will probably take several generations for the Ming Dynasty to dominate the sea. I hope that our next generation can successfully achieve this goal. Zheng Qing, I also want to How about changing Zheng Sen’s name?”
The emperor bestowed the name, which was an honor and also showed the emperor's favor for the Zheng family.
After hearing this, Zheng Zhilong was naturally very willing.
Emperor Chongzhen, with a little "evil" intention towards history, smiled and said to Zheng Zhilong: "In the future, Zheng Sen will be renamed Zheng Chenggong, which means that his generation will be successful!"
When Zheng Zhilong heard this, he immediately felt that his son also had high hopes from the emperor. He was definitely inheriting his father's legacy and would gallop on the sea. In other words, at least two generations of the Zheng family will have a bright future.
Zheng Zhilong swallowed this kind of good thing, this painted cake without any hesitation, and quickly thanked him.
At this point, Emperor Chongzhen said no more, looked at the ruins of Dezhou Mansion, talked to Lu Xiangsheng about some people's livelihood issues, and then returned to the capital.
One of the most important purposes of coming to Jinan this time is actually to meet Zheng Zhilong, the pirate king of the late Ming Dynasty. Whether this person can be used well in the late Ming Dynasty is a very crucial link for the Ming Dynasty to strive for hegemony at sea.
Admittedly, there would be no problem if he killed Zheng Zhilong at this time; however, even if he could obtain Zheng Zhilong's wealth, he felt that it was not cost-effective. Just like when the court killed Wang Zhi, in his opinion, it was also a wrong decision.
Now in this great age of navigation, since you have traveled through time, you absolutely cannot miss it!
ZTE is only the first step. Conquering the world is our goal!
Emperor Chongzhen only stayed in Jinan Mansion for one night, and then headed north back to the capital.
When the people in the capital heard that the emperor was about to return to the capital, they were immediately shocked.
