Chapter 183: Invasion

The Mightiest Chongzhen in History

"Da Xuan, hurry up and see the eunuch off."

After Li Fengxiang and Wang Xiantong and the others had left, Zheng Zhilong, who had been all smiles just moments before, immediately darkened his expression. Under the gaze of the crowd, he quietly walked back to his seat and sat down, asking flatly:

"What do you all think?"

Everyone exchanged glances, silent for a long while. After quite some time, Zheng Hongkui was the second to walk over and take a seat, saying with a smile: "What else can we think? It's obvious. It seems the court has no other way this time—without relying on our Zheng family, they simply have no answer for the Portuguese."

"Second Master speaks truly." Gu Daxuan, who had just seen off Li Fengxiang and the others, arrived with his voice preceding him, also saying with a smile: "This servant congratulates the Master on his elevation to the high post of Governor-General!"

"Now that the Master sits in this position, those civil officials who have been chattering on for so long won't dare say anymore that our Zheng family profits from smuggling. After all, even the current Emperor Himself must rely on our Zheng family's fleet."

"Indeed, indeed."

"And the imperial edict just now also said—if the Master can accomplish this matter, the court will not be stingy with rewards!"

"At that point, the Master will become a proper meritorious noble."

Looking at the flattering expressions on the faces of those around him, Zheng Zhilong's own expression only grew uglier. If only this matter were as simple as it appeared on the surface.

After a long silence, Zheng Zhilong did not answer directly, but instead turned and asked: "Fourth Brother, how is Fusong doing in Nanjing? Is everything going smoothly?"

Zheng Hongkui hadn't expected Zheng Zhilong to suddenly bring this up, and paused for a moment before saying:

"Ah, same as always. Fusong is a member of the Zheng family, so those officials can't wait to treat him with the utmost respect. They say quite a few come to his door with gifts every day—high officials and nobles alike. Who would be so foolish as to cause him any trouble?

Oh, right—last time Fusong wrote that the teacher with the surname Qian that Eldest Brother found for him is quite good, long renowned for wisdom among the Donglin. This Old Qian gave him a new name, a single character 'Sen', with the courtesy name 'Damu'. What does Eldest Brother think?"

"Hmph." This time, Zheng Zhilong's reaction differed from his historical counterpart. He slapped the armrest of his chair hard and shot back: "Zheng Sen? What is the meaning of this name?"

Zheng Hongkui said: "According to Old Qian, this name carries the meaning of deep solemnity and order, of lush abundance and thriving growth."

"No. I think it's inappropriate." Zheng Zhilong had barely finished listening before he said decisively: "Body, hair, and skin—all are received from one's parents. A name is fixed at birth; how can it be casually changed? Besides, Fourth Brother, do you not know of the court's recent decree regarding the Fushe?"

"Of course I know that." Zheng Hongkui smiled and said: "But the Fushe is the Fushe—what does that have to do with Old Master Qian? It's just giving a name, what does it matter?"

"Hmph, the Fushe is the Donglin, and the Donglin is the Fushe. That old fellow Qian Qianyi, as the leader of the Donglin Faction—do you think he knows nothing at all about that so-called 'Record of a Tyrant Monarch' from the Fushe?" Zheng Zhilong laughed coldly a few times, then said in a sinister tone: "That is a heretical book slandering the Son of Heaven. The current Emperor is a thousand times dissatisfied with the Donglin, wishing he could slaughter them all clean. At this critical juncture, Fusong had better stay far away from them!"

"Then... what does Eldest Brother mean?" Zheng Hongkui, sensing the concern in Zheng Zhilong's words about the court's displeasure with the Zheng family, asked cautiously.

"Last year, didn't the Emperor personally appoint a man named Ma Shiying as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in Nanjing? Have Fusong study under this Ma as his teacher. Tell him that from now on, just stay away from those Donglin Faction and Fushe people—don't get any filth on himself!" Zheng Zhilong thought for a moment, then spoke in a tone that brooked no dissent.

"Also, instruct the men on the ships below: from now on, whenever they encounter people from Beizhili, don't be too ostentatious. If anything goes wrong, I'll hold you all accountable!"

"Master, regarding the Macau matter... do we take it on, or not?" Gu Daxuan, somewhat uncertain of Zheng Zhilong's intent, asked hesitantly.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong shot him a glare, said not a word, and directly rose to leave the Xiaosi Hall. Seeing the First Master silent, the crowd could only turn questioning gazes toward Second Master Zheng Hongkui.

"Gu Daxuan, take one hundred ships—medium size will do—get them ready, and tomorrow follow the Master to Macau." Having said this, Zheng Hongkui chuckled, rose, and walked off while saying:

"Keep a firm grip on the knife handle. If those Portuguese are afraid, then naturally nothing will come of it."

The next day, outside the walls of Anping, the Zheng family's naval forces gathered in full.

Ever since the Battle of Kinmen utterly annihilated the great pirate Liu Xiang, the Zheng family had seized control of the southeastern seas in one stroke. It was said they now possessed over a thousand warships—truly the undisputed overlord of the seas.

It was said that anyone venturing into the southeastern seas, regardless of what nation they came from, had to fly the Zheng family's command flag if they wished to trade or sail. Thus, the Zheng family was now wealthy enough to rival a nation.

Beyond that, the Zheng family had accepted the Ming court's amnesty years ago, nominally belonging to the Ming. The family head, Zheng Zhilong, had just accepted the court's promotion to become the current Governor-General of Fujian's Maritime Defense—a position of great power and weight.

The Zheng family had not made any major moves in years. This sudden large-scale mobilization came just one day after the imperial edict had arrived in Anhai, leading many to link the two events together.

Walking down the streets of Macau, foreigners—rare or even unheard of elsewhere—were everywhere here.

Churches and Western-style factories, which in other places could only be seen in the most prosperous and expansive great cities, could be found on nearly every street here.

Nearly a hundred years earlier, the Portuguese had landed near the A-Ma Temple and forcibly occupied Macau. At the time, the court regarded the Portuguese in Macau as invaders, and thus exercised extremely strict control over the Portuguese who had landed.

Should the Portuguese show the slightest defiance, the Ming court would send a great army to pressure them, forcibly demolishing Portuguese houses and buildings to achieve the goal of suppression.

Beyond that, the court stipulated that Portuguese residing in Macau must pay at least five hundred taels of land rent silver annually, and must also submit to the jurisdiction of local officials and government offices. The most famous incident was a Chinese county magistrate applying punishment to Portuguese—which was, in fact, the spark that set things off.

The people of Macau were deeply resentful, and thus Ming-Portuguese conflicts broke out repeatedly in the Macau area, including several fairly large-scale naval battles. But at that time, the Wanli court was well-supplied with military provisions, and without exception, these conflicts all ended in crushing Portuguese defeats.

After winning several conflicts, the Wanli Emperor formally sent a letter to the King of Portugal and issued an edict to the Portuguese remaining in Macau, explicitly stipulating:

"You who reside in Macau, being within the territory of the Celestial Dynasty, must honor the laws of the Celestial Dynasty. Otherwise, you shall be severely punished for your crimes, with no forgiveness."

Shortly thereafter, Portugal issued relevant policies domestically, stipulating that Portuguese residing in Macau must comply with Ming dynasty regulations; otherwise, they would face the severe penalty of deportation back to their homeland.

Additionally, the Portuguese side further stipulated that every governor sent to Macau must adhere to the principle of mutual benefit between Portugal and Ming—"bathed in the Celestial Dynasty's sacred grace for generations, steadfast in vassal duty, sworn never to waver."

For a long time, due to the Ming dynasty's dominance, the Portuguese had behaved themselves properly.

By the present Chongzhen era, flames of war blazed across the land. The Dashun and Daxi forces echoed each other in revolt; bandits and brigands were as numerous as ox hairs, impossible to wipe out; and the Jianzhou barbarians watched with hungry eyes, intent on breaching the passes and sweeping south.

For decades, plagues and disasters of every kind had emerged one after another. The Ming court, robbing Peter to pay Paul, had long been beset by troubles both within and without, its finances exhausted, utterly unable to spare attention for Macau.

Portugal itself was now like the Ming court—mired in Europe's Thirty Years' War with no way out, teetering on the brink of ruin. Thus, Portugal continually contracted its overseas colonies and could not properly govern its governor stationed in Macau.

Recently, Portugal's domestic parliament discovered that the current Governor of Macau, Ferreira, was pursuing an aggressive policy of invasion against Ming. Alarmed, they dispatched a trusted pro-Ming governor to replace him.

However, Ferreira was an extremely aggressive warlord. Seizing the opportunity while his homeland was too preoccupied to attend to Macau, he brazenly wielded his military authority to completely seize control of the Portuguese Macau Senate. Joining with certain extremist missionary elements, he drove the newly arrived governor out of the territory.

From then on, Ferreira began expelling Ming commoners from Macau and detaining officials of the Macau Maritime Customs Superintendent's office.