Chapter 46: Playing the Odds

Zheng Zhilong raised his wine cup and said with a smile, "Today the old master honors my humble home with his presence—I am most honored. This time His Majesty has promoted us, and it is all thanks to the old master's blessing. This cup is from us brothers to you, sir. Please, drink!" With that, he drained his cup in one go.

Zou Weilian slowly raised his cup and said, "I'll presume on my age and call you Yiguan. That the Zheng family has come this far is due to your abilities, Yiguan. In my memorials to the court in the past, I have praised you highly. I hope that from now on you will have more loyalty to the state in your heart, so as to live up to His Majesty's intention in promoting you!" Having said this, he tipped his head back and drained his cup. Zhang Weifeng and Zheng Zhifeng hurriedly drank theirs dry as well.

Zheng Zhilong quickly picked up his chopsticks and said, "Come, come, old master, try my Zheng family's cooking!"

Zou Weilian picked up a slice of snow-white, translucent raw fish as thin as a cicada's wing, dipped it in the seasoning in the small bowl, and put it in his mouth. A look of rapture immediately appeared on his face. After savoring it for a moment, he sighed, "Gold sauce and jade flesh—the finest delicacy of the southeast! It melts on the tongue, fresh and tender. Truly the pinnacle of cuisine!"

Zheng Zhilong laughed and said, "This is mullet. Of all sea fish, none is more delicious eaten raw than this. Sir, have some more!" Zhang Weifeng also picked up a slice and put it in his mouth, then praised it endlessly as well.

After eating several slices, Zou Weilian set down his chopsticks and said with a smile, "I am old; raw and cold foods are not easy for me to eat in quantity. Come, let me toast you Zheng brothers. From today on, you are all great generals of the court. His Majesty has said that as long as you devote yourselves wholeheartedly to serving the Great Ming, His Majesty will not stint on rewards of dukes and marquises. Here, I first wish you all an early ennoblement that brings honor to your wives and descendants. Cheers!"

By the time the sky had fully darkened, the banquet ended with host and guests thoroughly pleased. Zou Weilian and the others were escorted to guest quarters in the Zheng mansion to rest, while Zheng Zhilong and his two brothers went to the study to discuss matters.

After wiping their faces with warm towels, the three sipped the hot tea a maidservant brought. Zheng Zhibao said excitedly, "Big brother, we've hit the jackpot this time! You've become a Regional Commander, and me and Fourth have become generals too. You have to admit, this Emperor isn't treating us badly at all. Shall we try on our official robes now? Hahaha!"

Zheng Zhilong laughed and said, "To tell the truth, I never much cared what size of official post they gave us before, but back then when they gave me a Coastal Defense Mobile Corps Commander and you lot some Battalion Commander posts, I was still pretty sore about it inside! We have tens of thousands of brothers under our command and over a thousand ships—on this sea, we are kings. Whether it's the Japanese, the Dutch, the Franks, or those merchants of the Great Ming, who doesn't kowtow to us like a grandson? If it weren't that I wanted to return to my roots, and that having an official title lets us act with legitimacy, I'd have long since shown the court a thing or two! This time the Emperor suddenly came to his senses and gave me a Regional Commander post. Well, I suppose it counts as bringing glory to our ancestors, haha!"

Zheng Zhifeng drank his tea in silence. Zheng Zhilong joked, "Zheng Mobile Corps Commander, why so quiet? Could it be you're unhappy that your post isn't as big as mine and Third Brother's?" Zheng Zhibao roared with laughter and made faces at Zheng Zhifeng.

Zheng Zhifeng set down his teacup and said, "Big brother, third brother, what we brothers rely on is our power at sea. The Emperor must surely be wary of us, which is why he's handing out titles and promises. Didn't you hear what Zou Weilian was really saying between the lines? The Emperor is short on silver. We can't take these official posts for nothing—we'll have to spend money!"

Zheng Zhilong laughed and said, "Your big brother has been dealing with all sorts of people since I was in my teens. Do you think I can't see what the Emperor and the government are getting at? Fourth, are we short of money? Every year there are no fewer than three thousand merchant ships on the ocean—at least five thousand. We collect three thousand taels of silver from each ship every year. After deducting all sorts of expenses, how much do we brothers clear in a year? The Great Ming court doesn't even make as much as we do! As long as we hold swords and spears in our hands, have men, have ships, no one can do anything to us. Spending money to buy peace is a trivial matter!"

Zheng Zhifeng said, "Big brother, this isn't about silver. The Great Ming is torn by internal strife now—the roving bandits have grown into a real force. And I hear the Jurchen beyond the passes are fierce as well. I always feel that a change of dynasty might be right around the corner. This silver we're spending now is a bit of a waste! If the bandits or the Jurchen seize the realm, won't our silver have been spent for nothing? And if they later investigate us for having paid money to the Ming, that's no small crime!"

Zheng Zhilong laughed and said, "I know everything you're saying. The Zhu family Emperor's seat is indeed unsteady. But it doesn't matter—whoever sits on the throne, isn't it just a change of master? We're not contending with anyone. As long as we control the sea, no matter who becomes Emperor, they can't do anything to us. Right now the Son of Heaven of the Zhu family sits on the throne, so we just listen to him! Zou Weilian came wanting silver, didn't he? We'll give it. If a hundred thousand taels isn't enough, then two hundred thousand!"

Zheng Zhibao chimed in, "Big brother is right. Fourth, you're overthinking things. Who becomes Emperor doesn't matter—as long as they treat us well and promote us!"

Zheng Zhifeng wanted to argue further, but Zheng Zhilong said, "It's settled then. Tomorrow Zou Weilian returns to Fuzhou. We'll give him two hundred thousand taels of silver so he can give the Emperor a proper accounting. That old man is a good official. Over these years we've given him several thousand taels, and I hear he's bought grain with all of it to relieve the poor. For that alone, we can't let him suffer, can we?"

In an elegant courtyard of the Zheng mansion, Zou Weilian and Zhang Weifeng were conversing. Zhang Weifeng said, "Sir, from my observations of his words and manner, Zheng Zhilong doesn't seem very enthusiastic about his promotion. Could he be harboring some other intentions?"

Zou Weilian frowned and said, "Ziming, the realm is in turmoil these days. The Great Ming faces troubles within and threats without—natural disasters and man-made calamities without end. Rumors of a change of dynasty are rife. It's impossible the Zhengs know nothing of all this. It's precisely because his heart is wavering that he's not much moved by the promotion. As for other intentions—no, he wouldn't have any. His Majesty sees through him completely. Do you know how His Majesty described Zheng Yiguan in the secret letter he sent me?" Zhang Weifeng shook his head without speaking.

"'Capable but without ambition!' These four words are supremely apt! I have dealt with the Zheng family for three years now and understand them quite deeply. His Majesty's judgment is remarkably accurate!" Zou Weilian said with a sigh.

"The Zheng clan's wealth rivals that of a nation. They command over a thousand warships and can field fighting men by the hundreds of thousands. But Zheng Yiguan has no ambition, so he is not a concern. His words and deeds are no different from grass atop a wall! If the court is strong, he will bow his head and play small. Are court officials who harbor the same thoughts as Zheng Yiguan few in number? The difference is that court officials eat the sovereign's salary yet are disloyal to the sovereign's cause! Zheng Yiguan is better than some! At least he knows how to play the odds! At least he brings out real gold and silver to offer the court—a hundred times better than those beasts who drink the court's blood and eat the people's flesh!" Speaking to this point, Zou Weilian's anger surged and his chest heaved.

Zhang Weifeng hurriedly picked up the teacup and handed it to him, saying, "Sir, please don't be angry. The reason your student follows you is precisely because I admire your integrity. If all the civil and military officials of the court thought of His Majesty, the court, and the people in every matter as you do, the roving bandits and the Jianzhou barbarians would be no concern at all. Alas, what a pity!"

Zou Weilian took a sip of tea, and his emotions calmed somewhat. He said, "Ziming, there is a line in His Majesty's letter that I find most reasonable: To forge iron, one must be strong oneself! If the court can wipe out the roving bandits and the Jianzhou barbarians completely, Zheng Zhilong will naturally submit obediently and be utterly loyal to the court! All I can do is support His Majesty and the court, and do my utmost to extract money, grain, and supplies from the Zheng family to fund the suppression of the bandits!"

Zhang Weifeng smiled and said, "Just now, when your student returned to his room to wash up, there were two chests in the room, containing one thousand taels of gold and five hundred taels respectively. Should these be returned?"

Zou Weilian waved his hand and said, "Keep them. Whatever they give, keep it all. This gold and silver is enough to buy food rations for many poor common folk! Zheng Yiguan is truly stingy—I am, after all, a high official of the second rank, and this is all the wealth he gave? He really doesn't treat a Governor as worth his salt! Haha!" Zhang Weifeng burst into laughter at this.

The next morning at the hour of the dragon, Zheng Zhilong accompanied Zou Weilian at breakfast and conversation, agreeing to purchase three hundred thousand dan of rice from Champa, Siam, and other places, shipping it by sea to the port of Tianjin Guard. Only then was Zou Weilian satisfied as he boarded his ship to return to Fuzhou.

Several Embroidered Uniform Guard officers who had come from the capital remained in Quanzhou, waiting to escort the grain back to the capital together with Zheng Zhilong's fleet.