Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Zheng Zhilong was reluctant to make any major changes to the newly built house, but Zheng Shibiao did not think so.

He said to Zheng Zhilong:

"The house is the easiest thing to see. People in the countryside look at that."

"If you build a mansion according to the earl's specifications, everyone will know that you have become an earl."

"You didn't follow the earl's regulations, but you still live in a baron's house. If you don't know, you would think you are just a baron!"

"This house must be changed. It is the foundation of our Zheng family."

Since his father said so, Zheng Zhilong could not object. He told his father about his difficulties and explained:

"The palace in the capital needs to be built, and the palace in the fiefdom also needs to be built."

"Plus the renovation of the mansion in my hometown, the cost is too much."

"It's better to wait a few years until you have more money."

When Zheng Shibiao heard this, he hurriedly asked him:

"From what you said, do you really want to live in Beijing?"

"The emperor conferred upon you the title of earl, but it is a title of Chengtian."

The title of Chengtian is different from the titles of Kaiguo and Fengtian, and is closer to the title of Shuntian.

This is a title that the emperor can directly confer by imperial decree using his power to govern overseas.

If one can be conferred a title by imperial decree, one can also be deprived of it by imperial decree. Therefore, in the eyes of those who understand this, the title of Chengtian is still lower in rank and is not considered a proper title.

Especially now that the Parliament of Nobles has not been established, stripping Chengtian of his title is just a matter of the emperor's decree.

Zheng Shibiao was worried that his son would not be able to come back after going to the capital, which was also the reason why Zheng Zhilong did not go to Beijing in the past few years.

Zheng Zhilong did think about this matter and said to his father:
"We must go to Beijing."

"After the establishment of the feudal domain, you also have the responsibility to go to the capital to pay homage."

"And if I don't go to Beijing, it will seem like I have a gap with the court and I can't trust the emperor and his ministers."

"If the Zheng clan of Nan'an wants to be integrated into the imperial court, we must have someone in the capital."

Zheng Shibiao was a little worried when he heard this and said:
"That being said, the risk of going to the capital is too great."

"You have now become the overlord of Southeast Asia just like the Dutch. How do you know that the imperial court is not afraid of you?"

"Even if I don't kill you like I did Wang Zhi, but just detain you in the capital, what will you do then?"

Zheng Zhilong had not figured out what to do. He knew that what his father said was not impossible. The court might be able to grant him an official position and keep him in Beijing.

Just like Zheng Zhihu has been serving in the navy, doing logistics for Liaodong in the north.

This reason is legitimate, and as long as Zheng Zhilong does not want to rebel, it will be difficult for him to disobey the court's order.

So he thought about it, then suddenly looked at his father and said:
"How about my father go to the capital on my behalf?"

"I still have a seat in the Noble Council, and father can serve as a representative."

He wanted to use his father to represent himself and live in the capital permanently, which would show his loyalty without having to go there in person.

Zheng Shibiao was a little surprised when he heard this, and pointed at himself and said:

"I go?"

"Is that okay?"

"Besides, I have to stay at home and take care of the household chores."

Zheng Zhilong smiled and said:

"You are my father, and you have even been given the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Jinwu Guards. Why is that not possible?"

"Besides, if there is any trouble at home, just leave a clan member behind."

He knew his father's abilities. If he was really capable, he would not have allowed himself to become a pirate.

Therefore, he didn't care at all about his father's statement of taking care of the household affairs, and thought it would be better to keep a member of the clan.

But Zheng Shibiao really had an idea and said:
"No!"

"How can you just hand over your family affairs to others?"

"You are now an earl. Not only do you have a 300-acre house, but your earldom's land can also exceed the 1,000-acre limit."

"Did the emperor tell you how much farmland he would grant you?"

Zheng Zhilong was a little surprised and said to his father:
"What farm?"

"Don't I have a fiefdom?"

"The emperor gave me a fief of 500 li, which is reserved for my future title of duke."

"With such a large fief, what do you need farmland for?"

When Zheng Shibiao heard his idea, he immediately advised:

"How can I not want it?"

"Ten acres of land overseas may not be as good as one acre in the Central Plains."

"If you own tens of thousands of acres of farmland, wouldn't that be equivalent to owning hundreds of thousands of acres of overseas fiefdoms?"

"Besides, how risky is it to operate overseas? It's not as stable as in the Central Plains."

"Do you really want the Zheng family to move overseas and become barbarians on the island?"

After hearing this, Zheng Zhilong became a little hesitant.

Even though he became a pirate leader, his legacy was also on the sea.

But deep down, he didn't think highly of overseas countries. So he didn't even put in the effort to manage the nearby Dongning Island, but instead planned to recruit them to land.

Now the recruitment was successful, but the matter of landing had changed a little because the emperor wanted to grant fiefdoms overseas. If he wanted to become a hereditary noble, he had to go overseas to establish a fiefdom.

This made him regret more than once that he did not manage Dongning Island well and make Dongning Island his own fief. In that way, he could control Dongning and Fujian, control the strait between the two places, and collect insurance premiums here all the time.

Now he had to go to Borneo to establish a vassal state. If the emperor had not forced him, he would not have wanted to go there at all.

Who would want to go to Southeast Asia to farm when you can keep collecting insurance premiums here in Fujian?
If Borneo was not large enough and he wanted to become a noble, he would never have gone there.

So he sighed and explained to his father:
"It is impossible to become a hereditary noble without establishing a fiefdom overseas."

"The Emperor has driven all the nobles in the capital out one by one, so why would he confer new titles on new nobles to increase the burden on the court?"

"I heard that some of the nobles who made mistakes had their farms and fields confiscated, leaving only a thousand acres of sacrificial land."

"Although the emperor did not specify the land we can own in the Central Plains, it is estimated that it is only one thousand acres of sacrificial land."

"It is impossible to have a vassal state and control a large amount of land in the Central Plains at the same time."

Obviously, he had a clear mind and could guess why the emperor encouraged the establishment of feudal fiefdoms.

The purpose was to reduce the burden on the imperial court and allow the nobles to establish fiefdoms and pay tribute.

If he was unwilling to go overseas, the emperor would probably take back his title immediately.

Zheng Shibiao felt a little embarrassed after listening to his son's explanation.

He originally planned to use the name of the Earl to build up a fortune for the Zheng family.

I didn't expect the current emperor to be so stingy that he only left one thousand acres of sacrificial land for some nobles.

This made him grumble and complain for a long time, and then he tried to say to his son:

"Whether it works or not, we can give it a try." "The Emperor may not limit our farmland to 1,000 acres. Aren't there nobles in the capital who have 20,000 acres of farmland?"

"If the Zheng family owns 20,000 acres of land in Fujian, then they are truly wealthy and have a real family foundation."

Zheng Zhilong was somewhat moved by what he said, and then he heard his father say:

"I just said the same thing about expanding the mansion."

"Now that we have become earls, who among the local officials and gentry won't give us some respect?"

"It will also be easier to buy farmland then."

After hearing all the benefits, Zheng Zhilong was moved and said:
"Then let's try it first!"

"If the emperor does not forbid it, then we will buy 20,000 acres of farmland first."

"These fields are mainly for the tribesmen to cultivate, nominally they are sacrificial fields."

Zheng Shibiao slapped his thigh and said:

"It's done!"

"Just rest assured!"

"Our Zheng family is a big family, and its origin can be traced back to the Jin Dynasty when eight families migrated to Fujian."

"Except for the close relatives of Ishii Zheng, everyone else can be more or less related."

"It is only natural that as the tribe grows larger, there will be more sacrificial fields."

"Even if the court knew about it, they couldn't blame us for worshipping our ancestors."

After discussing with Zheng Zhilong the measures to purchase farmland for sacrificial purposes, Zheng Shibiao said to him:
"Speaking of which, many of our Zheng clan members have gone out to sea, and many have even gone to Luzon."

"Didn't the Emperor reserve a dukedom for you?"

"What's the next step to improve your rank? Should I defeat the Spaniards?"

Defeating the Dutch made him a count, and defeating the Spaniards would naturally allow him to upgrade his title by one level.

Although Zheng Shibiao wanted to establish a deep foundation in Fujian, he knew that his son's foundation was ultimately on the sea. If he wanted to improve his title, he had to fight in naval battles.

Zheng Zhilong did have the idea of ​​attacking Luzon, and even considered making Luzon his fiefdom.

However, because Luzon was close, the imperial court considered directly administering it as the first overseas province to explore overseas governance.

In addition, the Spaniards were declining, and now it was the Dutch who were competing with the Ming Dynasty for supremacy in Southeast Asia. He said to his father:

"It will probably take a long time to fight the Spanish. The current goal of the Ming Dynasty is to drive the Dutch out of Southeast Asia."

"Once they are all in Southeast Asia, the Spanish will be trapped and can be dealt with at any time."

Among the Western colonists who came to Southeast Asia, the Portuguese had already submitted to the Ming Dynasty, and the two sides established a good cooperative relationship.

The relationship between the Spaniards and the Ming Dynasty was not that good, and they even massacred the Chinese in Luzon.

However, the Spanish, who fell into decline after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, did not have the strength to compete with the Ming Dynasty for hegemony in the South Seas.

The people who are now competing with the Ming Dynasty for Southeast Asia are the Dutch, who have gained independence from Spain.

These Dutch people not only invaded the strongholds of Spain and Portugal, but also drove out the colonists sent by England.

They were extremely wary of the Ming Dynasty's entry into Southeast Asia. Although they had no choice but to agree this time, they were clearly unwilling to do so.

Many people believed that there would be another war in the future, which was why not many people objected when Liu Xiang proposed to rob Dutch merchant ships.

Since the war will have to happen sooner or later, it is natural to weaken the enemy as much as possible, as long as it is not excessive and triggers a war between the two sides.

After explaining the situation in Southeast Asia to his father, Zheng Zhilong said:

"If you want to be a marquis, you probably have to drive the Dutch out completely and let the Ming Dynasty completely establish its position as the overlord of Southeast Asia."

"The Spanish are just a bonus. Taking them might earn you a barony, but you won't get a higher title."

"Qi Jiguang was made a marquis because of his contributions to the suppression of the Japanese and the border defense. If I want to become a marquis, I must pacify the entire Nanyang and drive out the Dutch and Spanish."

This is his understanding of himself and also his judgment of the entire situation in Southeast Asia.

Because of this, he wanted to move his power to Borneo to prepare for further achievements and promotion in the future.

Zheng Shibiao frowned and said:

"You can only be granted a title of nobility even if you pacify Nanyang. Why did the emperor leave a duchy for you?"

"What kind of achievements do I need to make to become a duke?"

Zheng Zhilong laughed and said:
"We've only just reached Nanyang!"

"Zheng He controlled the South Seas as early as the Yongle period, and also sailed to the West to make many countries pay tribute."

"If you want to be a duke, you should at least go to the West and restore your former power, right?"

"Besides, the merit of recovering our homeland cannot be compared with the merit of expanding our territory. Maybe the emperor will let us go to the west and fight along the route the Dutch took to the east."

Although Zheng Zhilong had some idea of ​​how far the Netherlands was from the Ming Dynasty, his understanding was not very deep.

His idea was that since the Dutch were able to travel thousands of miles to attack the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty's warships could also do the same.

Only in this way could he achieve achievements that surpass those of his predecessors and obtain the title of duke conferred by the imperial court.

Otherwise, he would just wander around in Southeast Asia. He didn't think the emperor would confer the title of Duke on him.

That's a fiefdom of 500 miles, and many of the powers are equivalent to the title of a king.

Zheng Shibiao listened to his son's ambitions and stroked his beard with great joy.

He used to dislike his eldest son, thinking that he would not be able to achieve anything because of his unruly character. But now it seems that he was not placed in the right place, as his character is just right for going to sea.

In this case, he would help his son and help him master the land, saying:

"There are many Zheng clan members in Fujian, many of whom are talented and have many connections both in the Central Plains and overseas."

"If you can create momentum in the countryside and get the entire Zheng family and even the big families in Fujian to help you, it will definitely be easier for you to achieve merit and be promoted to a higher rank."

"Our family can also become a prominent family in Fujian, and even control this place."

Apparently, he had not given up the idea of ​​expanding in Fujian, and even thought that this matter was more important. If Zheng Zhilong wanted to make achievements at sea, he could not do without the foundation he had laid in Fujian.

Thinking of the difficulties encountered at sea, Zheng Zhilong was very supportive of his father's idea and believed that if the Zheng family wanted to prosper in the future, both the sea and the land were indispensable.

Therefore, he quickly selected several capable clansmen to take charge of this matter. His father Zheng Shibiao went to the capital as the representative of the Earl of Nan'an to pay homage to the court. He found out the court's attitude towards the nobles' farms and made friends with the dignitaries in the capital.

Also accompanying them were some knighted leaders and their representatives.

These people all made contributions in this naval battle and were rewarded with titles and other honors. They went to the capital to express their gratitude.
-
Zhu Youjian frowned slightly when he received the news that Zheng Zhilong did not come to Beijing in person.

He felt that he had enough trust in Zheng Zhilong and had been showing him favors over the past few years.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Zhilong still had concerns about the imperial court and was unwilling to go to Beijing to pay homage.

Especially after learning from the Jinyiwei's report that Zheng had expanded his house and built a manor on a large scale in his hometown, he became even more suspicious that Zheng Zhilong had ulterior motives:

"This man wants to control Fujian and is a local tyrant!"

"One vassal state is not enough, you want to control Fujian?"

The dukedom reserved for Zheng Zhilong was already a clear promise that he would be made a duke in the future. Unexpectedly, this man still felt it was not enough and wanted to control Fujian.

This made Zhu Youjian feel that although Zheng Zhilong might not have the courage to rebel, he did have the will to be independent.

This was the case with this person in history, and he was a separatist in Fujian.

We must suppress his delusions and prevent him from having any unnecessary ambitions. (End of this chapter)