In his crew, there was a masked, limping eccentric.
The strange man was on the deck, gazing out at the vast sea, when Zheng Zhilong walked over and said, "Mr. Guan, do you think the Dutch will help me?"
The man known as Mr. Guan spoke, "The Dutch are not looking to help you, but are seeking even greater interests. As long as you can provide them with more benefits, they will naturally help you. After all, where in this world are there eternal enemies?"
His voice was hoarse and unpleasant, sounding as if speaking required immense effort, yet Zheng Zhilong listened very intently.
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Actually, I still hope everyone can be of one mind; if not, I'll just have to force us all to be. Kitten strikes a Wing Chun pose. jpg
Next update at 12:00 PM~
Chapter 170
Zheng Zhilong looked at the approaching island of Taiwan and said with melancholy, "I never imagined that there would come a day when I would have no place to call my own."
Mr. Guan said, "It is too early for the Duke to speak like this. The world is not yet settled, it remains to be seen who will emerge victorious."
Zheng Zhilong shook his head. "Zhu Ci's momentum is already unstoppable; even if he cannot unify the world, he can still hold half the realm securely."
Hearing the name Zhu Ci, a flash of resentment flickered in Mr. Guan's eyes. He spoke, "The Zhu family's foundation is now stable, the boy is headstrong, arbitrary, refuses to listen to advice or admit his faults. Furthermore, his Navy is extremely weak; the Duke might just have an opportunity."
Although Zheng Zhilong was not quite so optimistic, he still felt uplifted, feeling that he too might have a chance.
“You are right, Mr. Guan. I still have my fleet; I haven't lost yet!”
In truth, it wouldn't matter even if he lost; the worst that could happen was surrender. He didn't believe the Guanglie Emperor wouldn't be tempted by the connections and resources he held in his hands.
Right now, he is merely feeling somewhat unwilling to accept defeat and wants to take one last gamble; after all, if he truly surrendered, he would have to hand all these things over, the one taking them over would most likely be Fu.
He had fought Fu for so many years, how could he swallow this insult?
Mr. Guan changed the subject and said, "Actually, the Dutch might not be reliable either. Why not throw your lot with the Qing Court, My Lord? The Qing Court is in greater need of talent, you will surely be given significant responsibilities."
Zheng Zhilong hesitated slightly, only saying, "Allow me some time to think about it."
At this moment, a young man with fair skin and a calm expression walked over and said, "Father."
Mr. Guan immediately bowed to him and said, "Greetings, Earl of Zhongxiao."
The man who arrived was none other than Zheng Chenggong, who had been granted the imperial surname by Emperor Longwu and titled the Earl of Zhongxiao, though everyone seemed to prefer calling him Zheng Chenggong.
He glanced at Mr. Guan, a nearly imperceptible frown crossing his face.
Mr. Guan, however, was observant; having noticed this, he said, "I shall not disturb the Duke and the Earl any longer."
After he walked away, Zheng Zhilong asked, "What happened?"
Zheng Chenggong said in a low voice, "Father, this person's origins are unknown; we must not rely on him too heavily."
Zheng Zhilong did not even spare him a glance, saying noncommittally, "He has his uses."
But Father, I suspect he is a Tartar.
Shut up!" Zheng Zhilong said with a frown, "Forget the Tartars; next time, remember to call them Manchuria or the Qing Army.
Zheng Chenggong's heart sank, he asked hesitantly, "Father, do you intend to surrender to the Qing Court? But.. they are not of our kind.."
Zheng Zhilong had no desire to listen to him any longer; he waved his hand and said, "I will decide for myself."
Zheng Chenggong sighed in his heart and could only bow and withdraw.
He had actually long ago sensed his father's intention to surrender to the Qing Court; in his view, surrendering to the Qing Court was not as good as surrendering to Great Ming, as he might not even be able to save his life among the Tartars.
But his father was deceived; he only saw that the Great Ming had a Grand Secretary Fu, while the Qing Court had a void in this regard, making him believe that he would be highly valued if he joined the Qing Court.
Zheng Chenggong, however, felt it was not so; his father used to say that the Emperor of Great Ming would kill those who surrendered.
But isn't Chuangwang Li Zicheng still living well? Not only was his throne preserved, but he was also permitted to continue leading his troops.
The Emperor of Great Ming knows very well who should die and who should not.
And there is also that Mr. Guan, who is very suspicious of the other party's identity.
After causing such a commotion for so long, the other party had accomplished nothing except spreading a few rumors to anger the Emperor of Great Ming, now he was attempting to bewitch his father into surrendering to the Qing Court.
This person.. couldn't be a Tartar, could he?
The more Zheng Chenggong thought about it, the more he felt the possibility was great; it was just a pity that his father was becoming increasingly dictatorial and refused to listen to anyone's advice.
If all else fails, Zheng Chenggong would have no choice but to find a way to eliminate that Mr. Guan.
Mr. Guan, whose identity Zheng Chenggong had suspected, returned to his cabin. He removed his black iron mask, revealing a terrifying, scar-covered face.
More than half of his face had lost its original contours; the skin was uneven, his eyelids were everted, his eyebrows and eyelashes had completely disappeared, his nostrils were collapsed, one side of his nostril was almost fused shut.
The skin on his cheeks was crisscrossed with scars, dark in color and hard to the point of being shiny. His original lip shape had also become blurred, making his entire face look exceptionally hideous.
He stared into the mirror for a long time before suddenly grabbing the bronze mirror and throwing it out. The mirror struck the door and fell to the ground, bouncing twice, its mother-of-pearl inlay shattering into two pieces.
“Zhu Ci! You have blocked my future and ruined my appearance; I will never forgive you!”
The mentioned Zhu Ci let out a small sneeze.
Beside him, Wu Xia immediately said, "Your Majesty, put something on; the weather is getting chilly."
Zhu Ci looked at the sun outside and then at the charcoal brazier in the room, sounding somewhat skeptical: "It's not cold."
However, the weather these days is truly unpredictable; it's clearly just the beginning of July, yet it's already so cold that charcoal braziers are needed in the rooms. If the temperature drops any further, I expect even the floor heating will need to be lit.
The big sun hanging in the sky outside was like a lightbulb, providing not a shred of heat.
Zhu Ci sighed and picked up his pen to continue the review.
If all else fails, we should subsidize coal prices this year; it is quite frustrating that most of the coal mines are in other people's hands.
Your Majesty, the Grand Secretary requests an audience.
Zhu Ci looked up. "Please, come in."
Fu walked in wearing a mink fur cloak. Seeing him like this, Zhu Ci said, "I told you that if there's nothing major going on lately, you don't need to come. The weather changes every single day."
Fu said helplessly, "I am not that fragile."
He had not been raised with care when he was a child, which was indeed quite difficult, but he had been recuperating all these years.
Back then, he was holding onto a breath of indignation, wanting only to live until the day he could have his revenge; now, however, he simply wanted to live as long as possible, just a little longer, to stay by the Little Emperor's side, to watch him grow, to help him unify the world.
Zhu Ci said, "Be careful, nothing will happen. Allicin isn't omnipotent."
Fu decided not to dwell on the topic; he was the only one in the entire court that the Little Emperor cared for so much.
Even though he knew this concern was merely because Zhu Ci was inherently kind, he still enjoyed this uniqueness.
He bowed slightly. "Your Majesty, I have come with urgent news."
“What?” Zhu Ci asked nonchalantly.
Nowadays, Great Ming is making steady progress; although it is not expanding as rapidly as before, it wins far more than it loses. The Qing Army is retreating step by step, it won't be long before they take over Shandong.
As long as it isn't a case of deus ex machina from the opposition, there theoretically shouldn't be any major problems.
Even if Alna were to reappear, it would be the same.
After all, he was merely a mortal; even if he were reborn, he would only know the trajectory of his previous life, but things were already very different now.
Moreover, if it were truly an urgent report, it should have been submitted by the Ministry of War; urgent reports from the front lines do not need to go through the Grand Secretariat.
This is a privilege granted to Zhu Ci to prevent delays, so this urgent report should not have come from the Ministry of War.
Fu said, "Zhu Yujian has come to Nanjing, claiming he wants to surrender."
Ah?
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: What has this fellow been doing all this time? He only behaves after getting beaten. *Cat shakes its paws in disdain. jpg*
Next update at 6:00 PM~
Chapter 171
Once Zhu Ci snapped out of it, he could only ask one thing: What was Liu Zongmin doing? The enemy leader had run straight into your own headquarters, you didn't even notice?
Zhu Ci looked at Fu with a rare sense of bewilderment, after a long pause, he asked, "How did he get here?"
He came by sea. He encountered a storm along the way, my subordinate brought him here.
The sea route, then it's nothing to worry about.
The maritime defense of Great Ming is currently in such an awkward state; it is hardly any different from having none at all, so it is only natural that Liu Zongmin and the others failed to notice.
The only thing that puzzled Zhu Ci was that if Zhu Yujian wanted to surrender, he should just surrender; why did he sneak into Nanjing like this to deceive people?
Zhu Yujian has surrendered, but what about Zheng Zhilong?
Zhu Ci's mind was full of question marks, but in the end, he said, "We must strengthen coastal defenses."
Fu..
Your Majesty, is this the main point?
Zhu Ci watched his expression and gave a light cough. "Where is he now? Has his identity been verified? And what about Zheng Zhilong?"
“It has been confirmed to be Zhu Yujian himself. Zheng Zhilong fled to Taiwan with his men, one of the people he took was Alna.”
Zhu Ci sat up straight the moment he heard Alna's name: "He's actually still alive? He was taken away by Zheng Zhilong?"
Fu nodded. "At least that is what Zhu Yujian said."
Zhu Ci's first reaction was: "How on earth did he manage to join the Longwu Court?"
After asking, he said to himself, "Forget it, it doesn't matter."
Indeed, even if he knew exactly what methods Alna had used, it wouldn't matter; he couldn't exactly travel back in time to stop him, could he? If he had that kind of ability, why would he be worrying?
Fu remained silent, he was also very unhappy about this; he had spent so much time making arrangements, only for the enemy to escape in the end.
He does have people in Taiwan, but their numbers are nowhere near the influence Zheng Zhilong holds there. Even if he wanted to join forces with the Dutch, it wouldn't be easy, because Zheng Zhilong has the Japanese backing him.