Zheng Chenggong finally mustered up his courage again.
He didn't dare to look Zheng Zhilong in the eye. He could only look at the teacup in front of him and said in a low voice: "I want to ask about Shi Lang!"
Zheng Zhilong took a sip of hot tea and said, "Ask."
Zheng Chenggong hesitated for a while and asked, "Do you know about Shi Lang's smuggling?"
Zheng Zhilong took another sip of hot tea and pretended to be nonchalant and asked, "What do you think?"
"I think this matter has nothing to do with my father!"
Zheng Zhilong drank the remaining hot tea in the cup.
In the surprised eyes of Zheng Chenggong, Zheng Zhilong openly admitted: "Your father not only knew about Shi Lang's smuggling, but was also the mastermind."
Zheng Chenggong's face suddenly changed, and he opened his mouth and cried out in shock: "Ah!"
After confessing his secret, Zheng Zhilong no longer felt any pressure.
He reached for the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea.
While sipping his tea, he said calmly, "Don't be surprised, it's true! Not only did they smuggle supplies to the Jiannu, they also sent Shi Lang to help them. It's a pity that Shi Lang messed up the matter, not only did he lose his troops, but he also surrendered to the Jiannu."
Zheng Chenggong stood there like a piece of wood, motionless.
Although he had already prepared himself mentally, when Zheng Zhilong said these words in person, he was still shocked and speechless.
After a long time, Zheng Chenggong finally recovered from his shock.
He asked in confusion: "Why?"
"What why?"
"Why do you want to smuggle to Jiannu?"
"Of course it's for money!" Zheng Zhilong said without hesitation: "Don't forget that your father is a businessman. The essence of a businessman is to make money."
"But you are still an official of the Ming Dynasty!"
"What's wrong with officials?" Zheng Zhilong asked back, "Which official in the Ming Dynasty didn't have ways to make money? You should know that officials in Beijing have their own ways of making money, and local officials have their own ways of making money. Your father doesn't rob or steal, so what's wrong with making money by buying low and selling high?"
"And..." Zheng Zhilong pointed at the house and said, "I make money not for others, but for the entire Zheng family. Otherwise, where would this mansion of hundreds of acres come from? Without a house, our family can only hide on the ship and be blown by the wind and exposed to the sun!"
Zheng Chenggong straightened his neck and said, "As the saying goes, a gentleman loves money but earns it in a proper way and spends it in moderation. Our Zheng family is not short of money yet. There is no need for you to become a traitor just to earn that little bit of money."
"How dare you!" Zheng Zhilong slammed the table and stood up: "I am your father, how can you say I am a traitor? You have only studied for a few years and you have become like this. If you had studied for a few more years, wouldn't you have dug up our ancestral graves?"
Zheng Chenggong also stood up and said, "The Jiannu are a powerful enemy of the Ming Dynasty, but you smuggled supplies to the Jiannu when the two sides were at war. How is this act of surrendering to the enemy different from that of a traitor? Moreover, you have done what you did, are you afraid to talk about it?"
In Zheng Chenggong's view, making money is indeed not shameful.
But some money can be earned and some money cannot be earned.
Smuggling to the Jiannu and even sending troops to help fight the war was a violation of principle.
This must not be tolerated.
Seeing Zheng Chenggong's unwilling look, Zheng Zhilong became even angrier.
In his consciousness.
Everything I did was for the Zheng family.
Zheng Chenggong is his eldest son, and in the end all the property here will fall into the hands of Zheng Chenggong.
In other words, Zheng Chenggong was the ultimate beneficiary.
It would have been fine if he didn't understand me, but he actually accused and cursed me as a traitor.
This was something Zheng Zhilong could not tolerate.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he reached out and threw the teapot on the table to the ground.
With a loud crash, the teapot was smashed to pieces.
The relationship between the father and son, like the teapot, became shattered and could not be repaired.
Zheng Zhilong was still not satisfied, so he threw the teacup on the table to the ground and shouted, "What a pedantic thing! Get out! Get out! I don't want to see you!"
Zheng Chenggong turned around and walked out.
"Stop!" Zheng Zhilong stretched out his right hand: "Hand over the official seal!"
He was afraid that Zheng Chenggong would do something extreme in anger.
Zheng Chenggong stood where he was, neither looking back nor speaking a word.
Zheng Zhilong sarcastically said: "Didn't you study for a few years? Have you forgotten the principle of the Three Cardinal Guides that the father guides the son?"
The Three Bonds are: ruler is the bond of ministers, father is the bond of sons, and husband is the bond of wife.
(This word first appeared in Dong Zhongshu's "Spring and Autumn Annals". The original text reads: Heaven is the ruler and covers and reveals it, the earth is the minister and holds it; the yang is the husband and gives birth to it, the yin is the wife and helps it; ... The three cardinal principles of the kingly way can be sought from heaven.)
It mainly talks about the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, father and son, and husband and wife.
Before the Yuan Dynasty, the Three Bonds were simply understood as the responsibility and obligations of those in higher positions and as role models for those below them, and did not imply absolute obedience.
After the Yuan Dynasty, it came to mean absolute obedience.
Seeing Zheng Chenggong's hesitation, Zheng Zhilong continued to force him, "I am your father! Now I ask you to hand over the official seal. If you don't hand it over, you will violate the Three Bonds and will be despised by scholars all over the world!"
Zheng Chenggong's mind worked quickly. He puffed up his cheeks and said, "The position of the deputy commander of the Fujian Navy was granted by the imperial court and conferred by His Majesty himself. According to the Ming Dynasty Law, the commander of the Fujian Navy has no right to confiscate the official seal of the deputy commander, let alone dismiss him from his post."
It would have been better if Zheng Chenggong had not said this, but after he said it, Zheng Zhilong went berserk.
He originally wanted to use the father as the guide for the son to suppress Zheng Chenggong.
As a result, Zheng Chenggong fought back by saying that the emperor is the leader of his ministers.
Zheng Zhilong had not read many books, and when he finally had the chance to use his strategy, not only was it easily resolved, he was also slapped in the face by the opponent in the same way.
How can this be tolerated?
He originally wanted to slap Zheng Chenggong in the face to relieve his hatred, but the remaining trace of rationality made him calm down.
If Zheng Chenggong was really attacked, the father and son would probably become strangers or even enemies.
But I can't feel relieved if I don't beat him.
In a rage, Zheng Zhilong overturned the table to the ground.
There was a crashing sound.
The teacups and plates on top fell to the ground, making a mess.
"Good, good, good! You are worthy of being a son of the Zheng family. You have learned to use the court and His Majesty to pressure me." Zheng Zhilong pointed at Zheng Chenggong's nose and said, "Hand over the military token. The soldiers in your hands were all trained by me. I only lent them to you temporarily before, and you must return them now."
"Give it back if you want!" Zheng Chenggong reached out and took out the military token from his arms and paused.
He wanted to slam it on the table.
But the table had already been overturned by Zheng Zhilong.
With a quick glance, he spotted the windowsill.
So he slammed the military token heavily on the windowsill.
Then he angrily left the room and walked towards his own yard.
Zheng Zhilong was almost driven mad.
He reached out and picked up an unbroken plate from the ground and threw it hard in the direction where Zheng Chenggong was leaving.
While the plate was still flying, a figure flashed out from the direction where Zheng Chenggong left.
The plate hit him right on the head.
I thought it was Zheng Chenggong who had returned.
When he looked closely, he found that the person coming was none other than Shi Lang's uncle Shi Fu.
Zheng Zhilong's face became even uglier.
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