With the disappearance of the Ming Crown Prince Zhu Cilang, the civil and military officials of Nanjing were captured, and Zheng Zhilong surrendered and committed suicide.
This "rebellion" was finally put down.
The army to suppress the rebellion stayed in Quanzhou awaiting the imperial court's order.
The news was quickly delivered to the capital.
Chongzhen ordered the army to stay in Quanzhou for two months to intimidate local tyrants and force the currency reform.
There are people in the world who are guilty of crimes. Choose those who disobey and punish them.
If you cooperate well, everything will be fine.
Those who resist the policy will be exiled and their property will be confiscated.
in addition.
He ordered the Fujian Navy and the Guanliao Dengjin Navy to repair their ships and be ready to march out to the Dongfan at any time to completely wipe out Wu Sangui and the Dutch who were entrenched there.
It was half a month later that the imperial edict was sent to Quanzhou.
In the Ming Dynasty.
When an official's parents died, he had to resign and return to his hometown to observe mourning for his parents for 27 months, also known as Dingyou.
If a major event happened in the country and the emperor needed him to serve the country, he would give up mourning for the sake of the country.
This is to seize the affection.
(The Book of Rites: Zengzi asked: If the ruler sends someone, then he should act accordingly, and no one should dare to refuse.)
However, this rule applies to civil officials, while the military officers of the Ming Dynasty abided by the system of "no resistance against imperialism".
In other words.
Military generals in the Ming Dynasty did not need to observe mourning period to prevent some people from using the excuse of mourning to be afraid of fighting and avoiding battle.
So theoretically speaking, Zheng Chenggong did not need to observe mourning for Zheng Zhilong.
But in order to show his importance and respect, Chongzhen gave Zheng Chenggong a hundred days of mourning.
More than a month passed.
As the currency reform was successfully implemented in Fujian and Guangdong and Guangxi regions, the main forces of the rebellion suppression army began to return home one after another.
Zhu Cijiong continued to stay in Fujian.
To prepare for the subsequent suppression of Wu Sangui and the recovery of Dongfan.
For his own safety, Zhu Cijiong left Li Dingguo and his 3,000 elite troops in Fujian.
Based on Zheng Chenggong's suggestion, he ordered a ban on coastal merchant ships trading with the Dutch.
Dongfan is short of supplies.
Once trade is cut off, prices will inevitably rise.
Conflicts will also be intensified.
In order to ease the conflict, the other party will definitely send someone to discuss the resumption of trade.
In this way, they can meet the translator He Bin.
After rewarding the three armies, Qin Yiming and Ma Wannian left first.
When they arrived in Jingzhou, they received a new order: lead a thousand elite troops to escort the King of Shu to the capital.
Ma Wannian was somewhat puzzled: "What is His Majesty the King of Shu doing in the capital?"
Qin Yiming thought for a moment and said, "Maybe His Majesty asked him to get the money."
"Take money? Take what money?"
"In the seventeenth year of our dynasty, Your Majesty borrowed five million taels of silver from His Royal Highness the King of Shu. More than ten years have passed, and Your Majesty should repay the money."
Ma Wannian suddenly realized: "Oh, that's why! Then do we need to prepare more carriages to carry the silver?"
Qin Yi understood him at a glance: "His Highness the King of Shu loves money like his life, how could he let you touch silver? Just prepare weapons and armor to escort you."
Ma Wannian nodded: "That's right!"
In order to complete the task as soon as possible, they accelerated their march.
On May 29th, the two returned to Sichuan.
It was not until I arrived in Sichuan that I realized that the so-called "escort" was not a real escort, but an escort.
The King of Shu was escorted to the capital for trial.
Of course, King Zhu Zhishu of Shu was unwilling to go to the capital.
But his mouth was no match for the knives in Qin Yiming and Ma Wannian's hands.
The two led a thousand elite troops to "escort" the King of Shu to the capital.
Except for King Zhu Zhishu of Shu, the other vassal kings were also on their way to Beijing.
However, some people were escorted into Beijing, while others were escorted into Beijing in the name of escort.
On the first day of June, Zheng Chenggong, who had just finished his mourning period, came before Zhu Cijiong and said, "Your Highness, I am here to see you."
Zhu Cijiong was very happy and pointed to the chair next to him: "Come, sit down."
Zheng Chenggong didn't dare to sit down and insisted on standing.
Zhu Cijiong did not force it. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he suddenly asked in a low voice, "General Zheng, where does your Zheng family's fleet go to do business?"
Zheng Chenggong did not know the purpose of Zhu Cijiong's question. After a brief thought, he answered cautiously: "There are mainly two routes, one is to the East, and the other is to the South."
"Oh, East Asia and South Asia!" Zhu Cijiong took out a map from his arms and placed it on the table.
He pointed to the three regions of Nanzhili, Dongyang and Nanyang and said, "Simply show me the routes from Nanzhili to these two places."
Zheng Chenggong simply drew two lines with his fingers.
The sea area passed by these two lines is very large, which makes Zhu Cixiong a little dazzled.
The East Ocean is mainly the Japanese archipelago, and the South Ocean is mainly Luzon Island (now the Philippines).
Zheng Chenggong waited for a long time but Zhu Cijiong did not speak, so he could only ask: "I wonder why Your Highness asks these questions?"
Zhu Cijiong lowered his voice again: "My eldest brother took a boat into the sea, but his whereabouts are unknown. I think he may have taken these two routes."
Zheng Chenggong thought for a moment and asked, "What can I do to help Your Highness?"
Zhu Cixiong said mysteriously: "I want you to ask all the merchant ships in Zheng's fleet whether they have encountered any suspicious ships on the route. If so, ask them to guess the destination based on the directions of those ships. If not, ask them to pay more attention in the future."
Zheng Chenggong suddenly realized what was going on and bowed, "Your Highness, you are too kind. I will send someone to ask right away. However, some merchant ships take as little as half a year to make a round trip, or as long as more than a year. I hope Your Highness will be aware of this."
Zhu Cijiong waved his hands and said, "It's okay, no rush!"
While the two were talking, footsteps were heard outside.
Then someone said, "Your Highness, the Dutch have sent an interpreter to discuss the resumption of trade."
Zhu Cijiong asked: "What is the other party's surname and name?"
"It is said that his name is He Bin. He once served in the Fujian Navy. Later, he was ambushed by the pirate Li Kuiqi and his entire army was wiped out. He fled to Dongfan and worked for the Helan people."
Zhu Cijiong looked at Zheng Chenggong and said, "Go and meet him and see if you can get some useful information from him."
Zheng Chenggong was overjoyed and immediately bowed: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I will definitely fulfill my mission."
He and He Bin are old acquaintances.
As long as he asked, He Bin would tell him all the information he knew.
This credit is like something I got for free.
In the Quanzhou government office, Zheng Chenggong met He Bin in person.
He Bin was once a member of Shibazhi.
On the way from Dongfan to Fujian, the army was ambushed and wiped out.
In order to avoid starving to death, he worked for the Helan people.
After a round of greetings, the two men sat down.
Without waiting for Zheng Chenggong to ask, He Bin took the initiative to say, "Sir, the Dongfan are in chaos."
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