The second day of the second month in the twenty-seventh year of Chongzhen.
Zheng Zhilong in Fujian received three messages from Nanjing.
There were news sent by the prince, as well as news sent by the Donglin Party and the nobles.
As the matter was of great importance, Zheng Zhilong was unable to make the decision on his own, so he summoned his key confidants to discuss countermeasures.
After everyone arrived, Zheng Zhilong said, "Everyone, the prince wants to raise an army to support the king!"
After hearing this, everyone looked at each other in surprise.
Zheng Zhibao frowned and said, "Brother, is the prince loyal to the king or rebelling?"
Zheng Zhilong shook his head: "I don't know. The situation in the capital is in chaos. The prince cannot get in touch with His Majesty. It is reasonable to come to the king's aid at this time."
"Will Nanjing not ask us to follow them in sending troops?"
"You are right. Let us send troops together."
Zheng Hongkui asked: "When will the troops be dispatched?"
“It hasn’t been decided yet, but it will be no later than June.”
Zheng Hongkui continued to ask: "What about the military pay and food? How to solve it?"
"The letter didn't say, but it's probably self-sufficient."
Zheng Zhibao immediately said, "That won't work. Fighting is a life-threatening job. Who would risk their lives for him if he doesn't get paid?"
Zheng Zhilong said earnestly: "That being said, the situation is different."
Zheng Zhibao straightened his neck and said, "What's the difference? I've never heard of anyone providing their own military pay and rations during a war."
Zheng Zhilong explained: "Nanjing promised that as long as we send troops to defend the king, the past will be forgiven!"
When they heard the words "let bygones be bygones", everyone immediately quieted down.
Most people have already made a lot of money.
As they get older, some people want to live a stable life instead of fighting and killing.
For them, if they can avoid fighting, they won’t fight; if they can avoid rebelling, they won’t rebel.
Their smuggling and collusion with the enemy were discovered by the imperial court, and in order to protect themselves they had no choice but to prepare for a rebellion.
Now the prince promised that as long as you follow the troops, the past will be forgiven.
This is in line with their interests and their demands.
Seeing that no one spoke, Zheng Zhifeng stood up and said, "It would be fine if the prince wins the fight, but what if he loses? Wouldn't we be dragged down by them?"
Zheng Zhilong glanced at him and said, "We are already in the water, how can we be dragged into it by them? Don't forget that the Three Courts are in Xuzhou, waiting for us to stand trial!"
Everyone was silent.
Zheng Zhilong continued, "Without our help, the prince would not be able to successfully serve the king. For us, helping the prince is helping ourselves."
"Brother," Zheng Zhibao crossed his arms and looked into Zheng Zhilong's eyes, "It's not that I don't understand the situation, but the difference in strength between the two sides is huge. Once the capital learns that the prince has raised an army to defend the king, they will definitely dispatch the Liao army to enter the pass to quell the rebellion."
"Even if Nanjing's troops and all our troops were added together, I'm afraid they would not be a match for the Ping Liao army. Why did we still want to get involved when we knew it was a losing battle?"
Zheng Zhilong walked up to Zheng Zhibao and patted him on the shoulder: "Do you think the people around the prince are stupid?"
"Of course they are not stupid," Zheng Zhibao answered without hesitation, "They are all outstanding people."
Zheng Zhilong patted Zheng Zhibao on the shoulder again and asked, "If those elites were not absolutely sure, how could they have encouraged the prince to raise an army to defend the king?"
"Uh..." Zheng Zhibao touched the back of his head, "It seems to be the case!"
Zheng Zhilong nodded and said to everyone, "I know what you are thinking, because we all think the same. It is indeed risky to follow the prince to serve the king, but high risk means high reward. Our smuggling and collusion with the enemy has been exposed, and the court will deal with us sooner or later!"
"If this succeeds, I will be given an official title and a noble rank; if I fail, I will just be liquidated by the court in advance."
"So in my personal opinion, we must send troops to help the prince win this battle!"
Everyone looked at each other, stood up and said in unison: "We are willing to follow you till death, even if it means going through fire and water!"
"Okay," Zheng Zhilong stretched out his hands and pressed down, motioning everyone to sit down.
Zheng Zhibao asked without waiting for the task to be completed: "Brother, what is our mission?"
Zheng Zhilong replied: "His Royal Highness intends to send troops to Beijing in three groups to defend the king. Our mission is to go north along the coast, transport food and fodder, and support the eastern route of the defense. After arriving in Shandong, we will defend Dengzhou and Laizhou to prevent the defense of the defense from being cut off."
Divide troops?
Everyone present frowned at the same time.
Although they are not good at land warfare, they still have basic knowledge of fighting.
If you don't have an advantage in military strength, it is far better to gather your forces and advance all the way than to divide them up.
Zheng Zhibao asked doubtfully: "Brother, dividing the troops is the worst of the worst strategies! Who has the final say in Nanjing? Why would they come up with such a bad strategy?"
Zheng Zhilong smiled bitterly: "The situation in Nanjing is indeed a bit chaotic, but since Nanjing chose to divide its troops, there must be a reason for it."
"Brother, give the order. We will fight however you say!"
"No hurry," Zheng Zhilong shook his head gently, "The Donglin Party in Nanjing sent a letter asking us to find a few more helpers."
Zheng Zhibao looked around and asked doubtfully, "All the capable fighters are here, who else can we find to help us?"
Zheng Zhilong ignored Zheng Zhibao and continued, "The nobles of Nanjing sent a message to ask us to find a way to get in touch with the Jiannu. While the army is dispatched, let the Jiannu counterattack Liaodong to attract the main force of the army to pacify Liaodong."
Zheng Hongkui thought for a moment, "The Jiannu can't even protect themselves, how can they listen to us?"
Zheng Zhilong smiled and replied: "That's not necessarily true. Jiannu is always thinking about counterattacking Liaodong. But they don't have enough troops to fight against the Ping Liao army. But this Ming civil war has given them an opportunity. As long as they seize the opportunity, it is not impossible to return to Liaodong."
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