Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1091 Beating
Although Zheng He's seven voyages to the West opened the curtain of the Age of Exploration, it was interrupted for various reasons. In the following hundred years, Western countries came from behind and explored the world through great voyages, gained huge wealth from overseas, and thus started reforms and became stronger.

Now, with the support of Zhu Shenzhui, the Ming Dynasty was ready to continue its exploration of the ocean, establish the South China Sea and North China Sea navies, and seal off the princes and clansmen, and recover Little Ryukyu, which is Taiwan Island. These actions were preparations for all this.

But this was still not enough. The Ming Dynasty had been cut off from external communication for a long time. Except for the southeastern coastal areas, ordinary people in the entire Ming Dynasty had no idea of ​​the vastness and truth of the world. Even in the southeastern coastal areas, there were not many people who really knew about it. Those scholars who only understood the incompleteness were still intoxicated in the fantasy of the Celestial Empire.

If we don't catch up now, the future Ming Dynasty will continue to be self-contained like the Qing Dynasty in history, and eventually be out of touch with the world. This is not a good thing. The world has changed a long time ago. The world is not limited to the Chinese region, but the real world. In this era of great change, the Ming Dynasty must seize the last opportunity, otherwise it will be too late to regret it if it is missed.

Wang Fuzhi's "Journey to the West" not only has great military and political value, but also is the best first-hand record that allows people to clearly understand the world. After reading this booklet, Zhu Shenzhui had a plan in mind. He planned to have Wang Fuzhi's "Journey to the West" reorganized, remove some politically sensitive content, and then add some necessary content to it, increase some interest, and officially publish it, so that the literati and the people of the Ming Dynasty can take a good look at what the world is like, and let everyone feel how big the real world is.

Thinking of this, Zhu Shenzhui concentrated on thinking about who would be more appropriate to do this. His first thought was naturally to let Wang Fuzhi do it himself. After all, Wang Fuzhi was the person involved, and his official position was also the Imperial Academy Reader, so he was the most appropriate person to do this.

But after careful consideration, he felt that it was inappropriate. Although this booklet was written by Wang Fuzhi, he had just returned to the Ming Dynasty. He had made great contributions after three years of hard work. Zhu Shenzui had already decided to promote him. What's more, Zhang Xijun had long been eyeing him and hoped that he would go to the Zongli Yamen to take up a post as soon as possible.

If this is the case, Wang Fuzhi probably would not have enough energy to do this. Moreover, Zhu Shenzhu would delete and add to this booklet. Given Wang Fuzhi's personality, even if he did not object, he would probably have some objections to this. In addition, in terms of writing, there are many people in the court who are better than Wang Fuzhi. Why should he be so hard?

Zhu Shenzhu noticed Song Wang Zhu Mincheng standing beside him. Seeing that he was curiously looking at the booklet in his hand with an interested look on his face, he suddenly had an idea in his mind, smiled and handed the booklet to him.

"Aren't you going to be sealed up soon? You can study this booklet carefully. Take it and read it carefully. If you don't understand something, you can go and ask Lord Wang for advice. Come to see me after you finish reading it and tell me what you understand from it."

"Thank you, father!" Zhu Mincheng was overjoyed. He thanked him repeatedly and happily took the book "Journey to the West".

Afterwards, Zhu Shencui chatted with Wang Fuzhi and others about the diplomatic mission and listened carefully to their stories about their experiences in Europe. When he talked about something interesting, Zhu Shencui couldn't help laughing. Even the Crown Prince and King Song listened with great interest.

This summons lasted for half a day. At noon, Zhu Shenzhu specially gave them a meal in the Qianqing Palace and kept them for lunch. After lunch, the crown prince and the King of Song said goodbye and left first. After all, they only took half a day off today and had to go back to the military academy to continue their studies in the afternoon.

After the Crown Prince and Prince of Song left, Zhu Shenzui talked with them for a while, and then motioned for them to go back and rest. At this time, Wang Fuzhi and Zheng Hongkui hurriedly got up and said goodbye, but before they walked far out of the Qianqing Palace, Zheng Hongkui was stopped by someone. Zheng Hongkui motioned for Wang Fuzhi to go first. After Wang Fuzhi left, he turned around and followed the eunuch who called him back to the Qianqing Palace.

"His Majesty……."

In just a stick of incense, Zheng Hongkui sat on the stool he had just sat on again, looking at Zhu Shenzhui in front of him with a little trepidation in his heart.

"Don't panic. I called you here just because I have something to say to you in private." Seeing Zheng Hongkui's expression, Zhu Shenzhui said with a faint smile.

Zheng Hongkui responded and placed his hands on his knees. Although his expression relaxed, he was still nervous inside. He didn't know what the emperor wanted to talk about when he came back.

Zhu Shenzhui took a sip of tea and asked, "During your journey back, you must have heard about the affairs of Zheng Zhilong and his brother and the Fujian Navy, right?"

"Your Majesty, I have already known about it." Zheng Hongkui was moved and replied quickly.

"What do you think about this?" Zhu Shenzhui asked.

"Your Majesty, I think Zheng Zhilong has received the emperor's grace but has no intention of repaying it. He used the Fujian navy to disobey the imperial orders and secretly disobeyed your majesty's orders. This is the way to his death. Your Majesty is merciful, but he only demoted him to a lower position and sent him to the capital for custody, retaining his title. He even spared Zheng Zhibao's life. In my opinion, Zheng Zhilong brought this upon himself, but Your Majesty showed him mercy. It is not an exaggeration to say that the grace of heaven is so great..." Zhu Shenzhui nodded slightly and sighed, "Zheng Zhilong is a talent, but unfortunately he is too selfish. I wanted to use him, but he failed my expectations."

"Given what he did, even if I killed him, no one in the world would blame me, but I kept him alive. I also spared Zheng Zhibao's life and appointed Zheng Zhiwan as the admiral of the Nanyang Navy. Do you know why?"

"This... this is all due to the kindness of your Majesty..." Zheng Hongkui thought for a moment and then tried to probe.

"Benevolence? Haha..." Zhu Shenzhui laughed out loud and shook his head, "How can an emperor be truly benevolent? Even if someone says that I only show my kindness by using thunderbolts, it's just flattering myself. Killing Zheng Zhilong is not difficult. I just care about Zheng Zhilong's old subordinates. Once Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhibao die like this, his old subordinates will inevitably be worried even if they don't say anything. If someone with ulterior motives instigates and there are changes in the army, I will be in a very difficult situation..."

Zheng Hongkui's heart skipped a beat. He never expected that the emperor would actually say such a thing. For a moment he didn't know how to respond. He could only lower his head slightly, look at his nose, and pretend not to know.

But Zhu Shenzhui continued, "Letting Zheng Zhiwan be the admiral is simply a stopgap measure. After all, Zheng Zhiwan is a member of the Zheng family. With him, Zheng Lian and Zheng Cai also serving in the Nanyang Navy, this can temporarily stabilize the army and appease Zheng Zhilong's former subordinates. You are also a member of the Zheng family, so you should know what Zheng Zhiwan's ability is. In my opinion, this person, including Zheng Lian and Zheng Cai, are mediocre. Not to mention compared with Zheng Zhilong, they are far inferior to Zheng Aiqing."

“Your Majesty… Your Majesty…” Upon hearing this, Zheng Hongkui broke out in cold sweat. He was so scared that he could not sit still. He stood up and knelt down in front of Zhu Shenzhui.

"Get up, get up. You are you, and Zheng Zhilong is Zheng Zhilong. I am not saying these words to you today to punish you. You, Zheng Hongkui, have been loyal to the court since you entered Beijing. Whether it was leading troops across the sea to attack the north, or later forming the Shandong Navy, or going on a diplomatic mission to Europe for the Ming Dynasty, you, Zheng Hongkui, have made contributions without faults. There is no need to do this."

"Your Majesty, your subject...your subject..." Zheng Hongkui had no idea what the emperor meant by saying this. The more he thought about it, the more scared he became, and he couldn't even speak clearly.

Seeing how scared he was, Zhu Shenzhui knelt with him and continued, "I called you back today to tell you something from my heart. Zheng Zhilong has been active in the world for many years. The entire Fujian Navy was under his command. I cannot tolerate what he has done. For the sake of the country, the world, and the people of Ming, I have to take action against him."

"As for using Zheng Zhiwan and others to temporarily lead Nanyang, it is also a helpless move. Let me tell you the truth. Zheng Zhiwan will not be the admiral of the Nanyang Navy for too long. Zheng Lian and Zheng Cai will not be able to sit in this position either. You have been to Europe as an envoy. You should know the current situation in the world and understand what the ocean means to the Ming Dynasty."

"The future of the Ming Dynasty lies not in the continent, but in the ocean. Compared with the European countries, the Ming Dynasty has fallen behind. But it is not too late to catch up now, so the Ming Dynasty Navy must not fall into the hands of the ministers. The Ming Dynasty Navy is the navy of the Ming Dynasty, not the navy of the Zheng family!"

"Your Majesty has a far-sighted vision. I admire you very much." Zheng Hongkui said tremblingly.

Zhu Shenzhui nodded and continued, "I have some foresight, but not too much. This is simply the general trend. So I must split up the Zheng Group, and rebuild the Nanyang Navy. I am saying these things to you today because I am afraid that you will think too much, or even believe what others say and lose your composure and do something wrong. That is why I am speaking my heart out to you."

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty dare not...Your Majesty..." Zheng Hongkui's forehead was covered with sweat, but the fear in his heart was relieved a lot, and he replied quickly.

Sighing, Zhu Shenzhui said, "I have supported you, so I naturally know who you are. To be honest, I had selfish motives when I asked you to go to Europe. I was afraid that if you stayed in Ming Dynasty, I would take action against Zheng Zhilong, which would put you in a dilemma."

Zheng Hongkui was stunned and suddenly remembered what Wang Fuzhi had said to him before. It seemed that Wang Fuzhi's guess was correct. Zhu Shenzhui asked him to go on the mission not because he did not trust him, but because he deliberately arranged to protect him. Thinking of this, Zheng Hongkui breathed a sigh of relief.

"The matter of Zheng Zhilong is over, and you have returned to the Ming Dynasty. Besides, Zheng Zhilong is Zheng Zhilong, and you are you. The two have nothing to do with each other, and you don't have to worry about being implicated in this matter. In addition, you have made great contributions as a deputy envoy to Europe, so I will naturally reward you. Tell me what you think."

"I am your Majesty's subject. I was sent on a diplomatic mission to serve the country and your Majesty. I dare not talk about my achievements, let alone rewards..."

(End of this chapter)