"Feihuang, your eldest son is my adopted nephew. I am very optimistic about him and will try my best to train him to become a powerful official in the Ming Dynasty." Zhong Jinwei asked Zheng Zhilong to sit down and drink tea.
said suddenly.
When Zheng Zhilong heard this, he quickly put down his tea cup, cupped his fists and saluted Zhong Jinwei and said, "The Duke of the country is so kind that both the general and the dog will never forget it."
Zhong Jinwei accepted his courtesy and continued: "As for Feihuang yourself, what achievements you can achieve in the Ming Dynasty mainly depends on your own efforts."
After Zheng Zhilong heard this, he knew that the Duke of Guo meant his son, and that the Guo Gong would try his best to cultivate him. But as for himself, he had to rely on his own ability.
He was about to make a statement to the Duke, but Zhong Jinwei changed the subject and said: "But I feel that among the generals of the Ming Dynasty Navy, no one can match you in terms of naval warfare experience. Even my brother-in-law
, despite my efforts, at least at this stage, I am not as experienced as you in naval battles."
After hearing this, Zheng Zhilong remained calm and humble on the surface. But he was still very proud in his heart. What the Duke said was fair. He was second among the generals of the Ming Dynasty in terms of his ability at sea, and no one dared to say he was first.
When Zhong Jinwei said this, he picked up the tea cup and motioned for Zheng Zhilong to drink tea. Zheng Zhilong responded quickly when he saw it.
As soon as the tea cups were put back on the table, Yu Changjian on the side immediately filled them with tea again, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.
Zhong Jinwei looked at Zheng Zhilong with a smile and said kindly: "Feihuang, you know the changes in the Ming Dynasty's maritime national policy. What do you think the Ming Navy will do in the future?"
When the Duke asked this question, Zheng Zhilong had already thought about it. Therefore, he immediately replied: "The general can guarantee that in the future, I will be the only naval force of the Ming Dynasty in the waters near the Ming Dynasty."
"Haha, that's good. I have an idea, which I have told the Emperor once before. When the time is right, I will formally propose it and let the Emperor decide." Zhong Jinwei said this, paused for a while, and saw Zheng Zhilong serious
Listening to himself speaking, he continued: "The Ming Navy will be renamed the Ming Navy, and it will be given equal importance to the army."
When Zheng Zhilong heard this, even though his palace was very deep, he also showed a surprised face.
The navy of the Ming Dynasty has always been an embarrassing branch. Even during the most glorious Yongli period, it was not taken seriously. Later, the title of navy was simply lost. Various military books, even those written by Qi Jiguang, were
Call it water camp.
Now Duke Xingguo has revealed that the name will be changed to the Navy, and that it will be given equal importance to the Army. For Zheng Zhilong, who was a pirate and was good at naval warfare, the significance of this name change obviously did not need to be elaborated on, and he could understand it.
Zhong Jinwei was very satisfied when he saw that Zheng Zhilong's reaction was as expected. Now that he had painted a wonderful and attractive prospect for him, it was time to get down to business.
Just listen to Zhong Jinwei continue to say: "Fei Huang, you were born among pirates, everyone knows this..."
Zheng Zhilong was happy when he suddenly heard what Duke Xing Guo said. His excited heart immediately calmed down. He didn't know what the Duke was going to say next.
"After you were recruited, you were still engaged in the illegal smuggling business. Not only I, but also the emperor knew this."
When Zheng Zhilong heard that Duke Xingguo raised this matter in person, his expression changed with fright. He glanced at Gu Baichuan who seemed to be doing nothing, looking at the candlelight, and when he was about to plead guilty, Zhong Jinwei spoke again: "But
Because you performed well later on, you were no longer prosecuted for the crime of smuggling, and your official position was even promoted."
Zheng Zhilong couldn't sit still anymore, and quickly stood up and knelt down to plead guilty: "I am stupid, the Duke and the Emperor are so magnanimous, I will never do this again in the future."
Zhong Jinwei's face never changed, he still smiled and nodded: "That's good. Get up, I don't mean to hold you accountable for this."
Zheng Zhilong stood up obediently, but his mood was no longer as joyful as before. He was also an old man, so he knew that the Duke would not talk about this matter for no reason.
Sure enough, I heard Zhong Jinwei continue to say: "As the saying goes, a person who has been sick for a long time will naturally know how to cure the disease. If you have been in the smuggling business, you should also have experience in how to prevent smuggling. Therefore,
I hope you can contribute to the anti-smuggling work of the Shipping Department."
Zheng Zhilong now understood that the Duke had said so many words starting from his own son, which was actually for this purpose.
Now that I have reached this point, I have no other choice but to cling to the imperial court's lap. And always serving the imperial court will be of great benefit to myself and my son.
Zheng Zhilong thought of this and saw Zhong Jinwei staring at him, so he simply expressed his position: "Don't worry, Duke, as long as the Duke has orders, the general will obey them and do his best to do them well."
"Fei Huang, if you agree, I don't want you to be in a dilemma when you see your old friends during the anti-smuggling operation, or let them go directly." Zhong Jinwei still stared at Zheng Zhilong, reminding him as if he was thinking about him.
.
Zheng Zhilong was not a kind-hearted person to begin with. After being recruited, in order to monopolize the maritime smuggling business, he turned against his brothers and killed his former sworn brothers.
Now that he has expressed his stance, the Duke specifically reminded that for his own benefit, Zheng Zhilong naturally did not think of being soft. He only heard him express his stance to Zhong Jinwei: "Don't worry, Duke, no matter who it is, as long as they dare to violate the national law, I, Zheng Zhilong, will
I will never tolerate it. Even if Zhihu breaks the law, I will definitely tie him up and punish him."
Zheng Zhilong's words were righteous and impassioned. People who didn't know it thought he was an upright official who could kill relatives with righteousness.
After Zhong Jinwei heard this, he looked very happy. He praised Zheng Zhilong, and then repeatedly motioned to Zheng Zhilong to drink tea. He looked very harmonious.
After a while, Zhong Jinwei said to Zheng Zhilong: "I know that your Western-style warship still has three bows, and it is still in Fujian. What I mean is that your brother Zheng Zhihu was promoted to the naval garrison, transferred from Fujian to Guangdong, and temporarily under the command of the Municipal Shipping Department.
In charge, patrol the coast of Guangdong and inspect smuggling. What do you think of this arrangement?"
Zheng Zhilong looked overjoyed and quickly clasped his fists and defended Zhong Jin: "General, I would like to thank the Duke for the promotion on behalf of Zhihu!"
Zhong Jinwei had no choice but to make such an arrangement. Shuiying in Guangdong was no match for smuggling ships. In Fujian and along the coast of Guangdong, only Zheng Zhilong's three-prow Western-style warship could form an overwhelming advantage over smuggling ships.
However, the Western-style warships that the imperial court is repairing and forging are intended to form a northern navy to escort the feudal kings to North America. At least this year, they cannot be transferred here.
He said so much that he wanted to use Zheng Zhilong's power to strengthen the anti-smuggling force at sea and make every effort to crack down on maritime smuggling in Guangdong.