Chapter 913 Stumbling Block
Wang Tom's words made Zheng Zhilong, who had understood a little bit, fall into confusion again. He really didn't understand why these overseas visitors, who were said to have lived thousands of miles away and had never interacted with him, were here before they arrived. During the Ming Dynasty, he listed himself as an opponent.
If we extrapolate from the perspective of time, Zheng Zhilong did not set up his own business until the end of 1625, that is, the fifth year after the dawn of the Ming Dynasty, and began to form the Eighteen Zhizhi. In the next two years, he took advantage of the severe drought in southern Fujian to lead his troops to plunder the coast of Fujian. Tens of thousands of disaster victims were transported from Quanzhou to the west coast of Taiwan Island to cultivate land. The Haihan people arrived in Qiongzhou Island seven years after the Apocalypse. In that year, Quanzhou Patrol Cai Shanji tried to appease Zheng Zhilong. After meeting and discussing in Quanzhou, Zheng Zhilong's two younger brothers Zheng Zhihu and Zheng Zhibao thought that the court was not sincere enough, so the brothers He gave up this recruitment and returned to Taiwan to continue his work as a pirate. In the same year, Shibazhi also fought a battle with the Dutch on Taiwan Island, and also gained the upper hand. At that time, Zheng Zhilong had never even heard of the Haihan people, let alone had any grudge against them. This hatred really came out of nowhere.
Seeing the question mark on Zheng Zhilong's face, Wang Tom could naturally think of why he was confused. For all the reasons, even if Wang Tom was willing to explain to him, Zheng Zhilong probably wouldn't be able to believe it. After all, most of Haihan's fear of him came from things that never happened. Zheng Zhilong neither killed Xu Xinsu, nor was he able to clear his name and go ashore to become a Ming army general, nor did he surrender to the Manchus and become a traitor. Haihan demanded Isn't it a big joke to him that he is responsible for these things that he has never done?
Wang Tom said: "You don't need to ask about the reason in detail now. In short, we are here well prepared. If the Eighteen Zhi are not destroyed, the war will not end. Today's ending was already a few years ago." It’s doomed.”
Naturally, such a straightforward answer could not make Zheng Zhilong feel relieved. He had struggled for many years to have a family like Shibazhi, and he originally expected to be able to clear his name and become an official in the DPRK after getting rid of Xu Xinsu, a serious enemy. However, the emergence of the Haihan people not only blocked his planned development route, but also supported his opponent Xu Xinsu to rise to power, gradually eroding Shibazhi's advantages bit by bit. As the saying goes, blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing one's parents. Not only did this Haihan block his path to wealth, but he also blocked his official path. With such a deep hatred, Wang Tom actually took it lightly. Even if Zheng Zhilong had admitted his defeat, I can't bear this tone.
Zheng Zhilong asked: "General Wang, you want to compete with Shiba Zhi for control of the Fujian Strait, and you want to cooperate with the Fujian government in exchange for business opportunities. These purposes are understandable to me, but four years ago in Chongzhen, Shiba Zhi and Gui There is no conflict with the other side, so why did you not even give Shibazhi a chance to negotiate, and you must get rid of us quickly?”
The "four years of Chongzhen" mentioned by Zheng Zhilong refers to the first direct conflict between the two sides during this year. That is, in May 1631, the Haihan mission encountered an assassination attempt by the Shibazhi organization in Zhangzhou City. Subsequently, the mission's fleet They cooperated with the Fujian officers and soldiers to break through Nanri Island, an important stronghold of Shibazhi on the Fujian coastline. Only at this time did the two sides begin a real head-on confrontation. Before that, Haihan never ended up in person. He only fought against Shibazhi through the agent of Fujian Mingjun. Zheng Zhilong believed that all the vague excuses mentioned by Tom Wang were just excuses. He can face failure due to lack of strength, but it is difficult for him to accept that his opponent treats him so perfunctorily.
Wang Tom said: "What we want is not just control of the Fujian Strait and business opportunities. The existence of Shibazhi is a threat that must be eliminated for us."
"But we have already given up our territory!" Zheng Zhilong retorted sadly and angrily.
"What you are giving up is only the Fujian Strait." Wang Tom's tone also became serious: "But we now need the waterway from Taiwan to Ryukyu. For us, Shibazhi is still a stumbling block that must be removed. As for the certainty We have to use force to solve your reasons. I have just said that this has been decided from the beginning. No matter what you do, it will not change our plan."
After all, Zheng Zhilong still didn't hear Tom Wang give a reasonable explanation, which made him sad and angry but also very disappointed. Judging from Wang Tom's attitude, Haihan paid enough attention to Shiba Zhi, but the reason was simply because he regarded it as a stumbling block in the process of expanding his territory and must be completely eliminated. For Zheng Zhilong, who has been striving to get ahead all his life, this is undoubtedly a complete denial of his personal value.
"It seems that Mr. Zheng's life can't be saved. I have nothing else to ask for. I just hope that General Wang can take into account that Quanzi is young and ignorant and let him live." Zheng Zhilong knew that he had no luck, so he stood up immediately He bowed and begged Tom Wang to let his son go.
Tom Wang responded in a deep voice: "You don't have to be so discouraged. We have no intention of executing you, nor will we harm your family. It's just that you probably won't have personal freedom for a long time in the future. As for your son Zheng Fusong, you can choose a different future path for him. One is to be imprisoned with you until we think you no longer pose any threat, and the other is to let us raise him. Being an adult allows him to get rid of his identity as the son of Zheng Zhilong and live freely in the sun.”
Wang Tom's words made Zheng Zhilong feel relieved. What he was most worried about was that the Haihan people would execute him to avoid future troubles, and even his own son would not be spared. But since Tom Wang made this statement on behalf of Haihan, the lives of his father and son were basically saved. But Zheng Zhilong really couldn't understand why the Haihan people were so kind to his son and even offered to raise him on his behalf. Could it be that the Haihan people had other plots?
The most valuable asset in Zheng Zhilong's name is the Eighteen Zhi, but this armed force has been suppressed by Haihan to a small area on the island, and has also determined to surrender to Haihan, so even if Haihan Even if the Han people controlled Zheng Fusong, it would be difficult to achieve the effect of "holding the emperor from power to command the princes". The only possibility that Zheng Zhilong could think of was that Haihan wanted to use this method to control himself so that he could live out his prison life honestly.
Of course Zheng Zhilong didn't want his son to be imprisoned with him, but this second option was a bit strange, making it difficult for him to make a decision for a while. Even if Zheng Zhilong thought hard, he would never have thought that the reason why the Haihan people were so tolerant to his son actually had little to do with him. It was entirely due to the special treatment given to him because of his status as a national hero in the original time and space, "Zheng Chenggong". This kind of The "emotional" behavior that spans time and space simply cannot be explained by common sense.
Seeing that he was silent, Wang Tom knew that this guy was probably calculating the pros and cons, so he immediately said: "You don't have to feel embarrassed. Even if you don't agree with our proposal, we won't embarrass your son, but I still want to remind you. You know, if you choose to let him be imprisoned with you, he probably won’t have a chance to be released until you pass away.”
Zheng Zhilong clenched his fists. He himself was not yet thirty years old. After such a long period of imprisonment, his son would be at least thirty years old. Even if he was released by then, he would know nothing and would be separated from the outside world. How can people who have been cut off from society for many years survive in this world? Even if I leave him some secret property, how much will he be able to recover in a few decades? Although long-term imprisonment can save Zheng Fusong's life, there is no doubt that it will also destroy his future life, which is also an outcome that Zheng Zhilong does not want to see. "Then if I entrust the dog to you, will there be a chance to meet me in the future?" Zheng Zhilong asked with a glimmer of hope.
"There will be opportunities to meet, but the time will be arranged by us." Wang Tom paused and said: "About once a year."
Zheng Zhilong took a deep breath. Although this arrangement was still unlikely to satisfy him, it was undoubtedly the most beneficial way to deal with Zheng Fusong as far as he knew. Considering Zheng Fusong's future life, Wang Tom's proposal was already something he could not refuse. But this also made him more and more unable to understand the Haihan people's ways. On the one hand, they deliberately spent years and countless wealth just to deal with him, but on the other hand, they generously let go of his family, and even Willing to raise his son on his behalf. The two completely contradictory approaches of the Haihan people made Zheng Zhilong feel a little at a loss, and it was even more difficult to figure out the other party's true purpose.
After some discussions, Wang Tom and Zheng Zhilong reached a three-point agreement. First, to ensure the safety of Zheng Zhilong and his family; second, to ensure the safety of Zheng Zhilong’s subordinates who choose to surrender; third, before noon the next day, Zheng Zhilong must lead his subordinates to unconditionally surrender to Haihan and accept the arrangement.
After the two sides agreed on the surrender place for the next day, Zheng Zhilong stood up and left. Wang Tom did not try to detain him, but politely sent him out of the camp. However, the Fujian official representative responsible for identifying the identity was somewhat dissatisfied with Wang Tom's handling of the matter and believed that he should detain Zheng Zhilong on the spot or even kill him directly to avoid other variables that would arise after releasing him.
"Zheng Zhilong cannot die yet." Wang Tom explained patiently: "In the field of trade with Japan, it is difficult for us to find a more professional consultant than him. He still has great value for us. It’s more useful to be alive than to be dead.”
Of course, the Fujian side hopes to eradicate Zheng Zhilong to eliminate his troubles, but Haihan does not intend to follow the official opinions of Fujian in how to handle this matter. If Zheng Zhilong is just a pirate leader like Zhoushan Ship Gang Wang Jialin, then just kill him, it’s not a big deal. However, Zheng Zhilong had been stationed in Japan in his early years and was a true expert on the maritime trade between China and Japan. He also had many local connections in Japan that continue to this day. These are the resources and intelligence that Haihan currently lacks.
Keeping Zheng Zhilong alive is equivalent to having an experienced and highly qualified consultant who can slowly extract all the information Haihan needs from him. From an intelligence perspective, Zheng Zhilong may be more valuable than the remaining thousands of Shibazhi personnel on the island put together. Therefore, before the war started, the Haihan Security Department had already made a request to the military through the Executive Committee to save Zheng Zhilong's life as much as possible. If it was a battlefield confrontation, and swords and guns had no eyes, then that would be fine, but since Zheng Zhilong had chosen the path of surrender, it would not be too difficult to save his life.
Although the official representatives of Fujian were somewhat dissatisfied with this, this operation was led by Haihan. Fujian did not directly participate in the war. It only sent a military observation team to participate, and it was difficult to interfere with the decision made by Haihan. At most, they can report the situation to Xu Xinsu after returning, and then he will personally negotiate with Haihan. But by that time, Zheng Zhilong would have already been transported back to Hainan Island and imprisoned in a secret prison somewhere.
After Zheng Zhilong returned to Shibazhi Station, he informed everyone of the results of his discussion with Wang Tom, but did not mention the relevant details of Zheng Fusong. Everyone was naturally relieved to be able to save their lives despite the current defeat in the battle and no escape, but they still had a lot of uneasiness about how the Haihan people would deal with the prisoners, and they all asked Zheng Zhilong questions.
Zheng Zhilong explained: "General Haihan Wang said that their way of dealing with prisoners of war has always been to impose hard labor of varying lengths of time, ranging from one and a half years to several years. After the hard labor is over, they can return to freedom. Although it will cost you some pain, it is better than losing your life in vain.”
"What do the Haihan people plan to do with the big boss?" At this time, there were only a few people who were still thinking about Zheng Zhilong's fate.
"I will probably be treated slightly better than you brothers and won't have to do hard labor." Zheng Zhilong laughed at himself: "The Haihan people made it very clear that they will keep me in solitary confinement. As for the time limit... it will probably last forever. Locked up until death.”
Everyone immediately became quiet. For pirates like them, losing their freedom is actually not much different from death, not to mention being imprisoned for life. The reason why Zheng Zhilong accepted such conditions was to save his own life, but more probably to save the lives of others.
If Zheng Zhilong had not mentioned surrender before, everyone might have fought against the Haihan people as soon as they could. But now that they have seen the hope of survival, if they were to give up the chance of survival and fight to the death with the Haihan people, many people would fight. The will is not so strong. When Zheng Zhilong saw that no one in the crowd expressed their intention to fight the Haihan people for him, he was slightly disappointed at the moment. He could only forcefully smile and said: "Brothers, don't worry, we will complete the handover with Haihan tomorrow according to the agreed time. Follow them According to the arrangements, all the pigs, cattle and sheep on the island will be slaughtered tonight. Let’s have a dinner together, brothers!”
(End of chapter)