.Shijing Township, Nan'an, Quanzhou, Fujian. Professionally provide mobile e-books/e-book downloads. The gorgeous and magnificent courtyard occupies almost half of the area of ​​the township. Every Shijing Township people will look at this mansion from afar and show a hint of respect in their eyes. This mansion is the hometown of Zheng Zhilong, the general officer of the Fujian general and the general of the Navy.

Fujian has many mountains and is often affected by disasters. From the sixth to seventh year of Tianqi, the entire southern Fujian was drought. The crops were not harvested. The wild soil was everywhere. Many villages were eaten up. Zheng Zhilong, who was still a pirate at that time, took advantage of this opportunity to lead a fleet to attack Zhangpu, Fujian and recruit tens of thousands of hungry people in Quanzhou to Taiwan to expand their cultivation. Although the court was extremely angry, countless people lived. The hungry people on the coast fled to join us.

In this battle, Zheng Zhilong defeated the officers and soldiers who pursued him, and also laid the foundation for Zheng Zhilong's great cause. In the first year of Chongzhen, after accepting the admonition of Fujian Xiong Wencan, then governor of Fujian, Zheng Zhilong completed the transition from bandit to official. His career became bigger and bigger. With the support of the court, not only defeated Liu Xiang, a pirate who was originally stronger than him, forcing Liu Xiang to commit suicide. He also defeated the Dutch who colluded with Liu Xiang, forcing the Dutch to cooperate with Zheng Zhilong and recognize Zheng Zhilong's hegemony in Nanyang.

This was the most glorious moment for Zheng Zhilong. The Zheng family was named an earl, supporting all the military and political power in Fujian Province. Fujian officials all rely on the Zheng family to survive. They dominate more than 80% of the overseas trade in the Ming Dynasty. They earn nearly 10 million taels of silver per year. Even the tax revenue of the court was worse than that of the court. They truly became rich and could defeat the country Zhilong, who was overlord of the sea. However, they were as timid as a mouse. When the Qing army headed south, they surrendered without any low resistance. In the end, they did not end up well. They were simply cowardly. Therefore, even though they knew that Zheng Zhilong had the most powerful navy in Asia, Wang Fu still wanted to suppress it with his power.

But among the many people along the coast of Fujian, Zheng Zhilong is not only a legend, but also a great charity with countless living people. If it weren't for Zheng Zhilong, many people would have died in the famine. Therefore, there are many people who brought Zheng Zhilong to the temple along the coast of Fujian. It is not surprising that the Zheng family is so respected in their hometown.

Zheng Zhilong, as the general officer of Fujian, was supposed to be in Fuzhou. However, Zheng Zhilong spent most of his time in Quanzhou. Quanzhou was not only Zheng Zhilong's hometown. Most of his subordinates came from Quanzhou. Quanzhou and Xiamen were the most important ports. The two were not far apart. The Zheng family's wealth was all taken from the sea. Of course, Zheng Zhilong would rather stay in Quanzhou than Fuzhou. He even built a large shipyard in his hometown, Nan'an Shijing. He could build three to five large sea boats every year and repair dozens of them.

Today is August 15th. It coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival. Even when Zheng Zhilong returned to his hometown, many people still came to him. Some were businessmen and some were officials. These people were not at home during the holidays but were eager to come. Naturally, they were thinking about what benefits they could get from Zheng Zhilong. The Zheng family controlled the maritime trade and controlled the military and political power of Fujian. Some people could not eat or drink. Zheng Zhilong was also happy that these people came to come and curry favor. At this time, hundreds of tables of water banquets were placed in the Zheng family compound, not limited to guests. Anyone who passed by the Zheng family could go in to eat the meal. Of course, most of the people who were entertained were from Zheng Zhilong. Most of these people had their families working for the Zheng family. They either joined the Zheng army's navy or army, or at the shipyard or cargo warehouse.

Compared with the lively front yard, the Zheng family's backyard was much quieter. Only two tables were opened. Not only were Fujian Governor Zhang Kentang, inspector Wu Chunzhi and others. There were several golden and blue-eyed Westerners on the other seat. At this moment, there were some muddy cups and plates on the table. Everyone had been dining for a while.

A foreigner said in a mandarin with his tongue rolled up: "For our friendship, I specially asked someone to bring two gifts this time. Zheng Guanren must have never seen him."

Zheng Zhilong smiled and said nothing. He had dealt with foreigners too much. He did not believe in the friendship between foreigners at all. Foreigners believed in strength. At present, Zheng's fleet was the overlord of the entire South Ocean. He also controlled the flow of all supplies in the Ming Dynasty. The Dutch, Spaniards, Franchise and others all had to establish a good relationship with the Zheng family.

It was just that this foreigner was so terrifying. Zheng Zhilong wanted to see what gift it was. However, his face was silent so as not to let these barbarians underestimate him.

Zheng Zhibao looked at his brother's face, took over the topic with a smile, and asked, "What kind of gift is Mr. Doni? I want to see it."

The four brothers of the Zheng family are divided into dragons, Zheng Hongkui, whose original name is Zheng Zhifeng. Maybe they think that this phoenix is ​​a woman. Zheng Hongkui later changed his name by himself. Now Zheng Hongkui is in Nanjing. Zheng Zhihu died in a fight with Liu Xiang. Among the four brothers, only Zheng Zhibao and Zheng Zhilong are not separated.

When Donnie saw that he attracted the attention of the Zheng brothers, he was very proud. He was a Portuguese. Among the Western countries, the Portuguese had undoubtedly had the deepest relationship with the Ming Dynasty. As early as the Apocalypse period, a group of Portuguese gunners participated in the war against the Jurchens as mercenaries. The Portuguese also received unexpected conveniences from other countries. Not only could they enter the mainland, but they even successfully established a church in Beijing. However, Donnie had been in the Ming Dynasty for more than ten years. Because he was a small person, he had never had much money. If he could please the King of Donghai in front of him, he would undoubtedly change his destiny.

"Take the box in."

As soon as Doni's shouting fell, a tall black servant walked in with an exquisite box in his hand. The box was not big, square, with honeysuckle ornaments on it. Seeing this box, Zhang Kentang, Wu Chunzhi and others also became interested. They stretched their necks and looked over.

The black man came straight to Zheng Zhilong and knelt down. He held the box high and presented it to Zheng Zhilong. Looking at the tall and strong body of the black man, a look of envy flashed in Zheng Zhilong's eyes. He traveled through Japan, Korea, Cambodia, Siam, Chameng, Jiaozhi, Sanfoqi, Luzon and other countries. Many servants from various countries in the palace also collected. Only no such tall black man took the box. Zheng Zhilong opened it opens it a little unshockly. He was thinking in his heart whether he wanted to buy a few tall black men from the foreigners in front of him as guards. He just didn't know if these black men would be rebellious.

As soon as the box was opened, several people around him exclaimed. Two works of art inlaid with various gems lay side by side. Judging from their appearance, they looked a bit like fire milling. However, there was no hook with fuses installed. The barrel also seemed too short. However, just look at the gems inlaid on them. These two things were worth at least hundreds of taels of silver.

"What is this?" Zheng Zhilong asked. If it were just two works of art, he was not excited at all. It would be more valuable than picking up one or two things from the Zheng family's warehouse.

"Zheng Guanren. This is a musket for body protection." Doni said proudly. This short musket was just released in Europe and was welcomed by the nobles as soon as it came out. He was almost certain that he was the first person to bring this short musket to the East.

"Mustgun." Zheng Zhilong picked up a short gun and looked at it carefully. It really looked like a musket. But he couldn't find the metal hook used to set the fuse.

The Ming Dynasty's flints were only a year since they were equipped with troops. Although they had already shined in the battle with Duoduo, Manchus' understanding of muskets reached a pitiful point. Although some people fled back one after another, no one could say that the muskets used by the Qingming Army could be shot continuously as before. And it was not affected when it rained. They even described this musket as a devil's weapon. Manchus must have offended the gods on the grassland. Losing the protection of the gods would lead to great defeat.

Dorgon and other Manchus naturally did not believe such remarks. In order to avoid affecting the morale of the army, Dorgon strictly prohibited the soldiers who came back to talk about Ming munitions. Until now, many people are still confused about why the Manchus' southern expedition failed. The main force of the Zheng family was at sea. With the increasing number of Western warships and cannons installed, the Zheng family has always advocated the tactic of picking up strings. It can be said that although the Zheng family's fleet is still dominating the South Ocean, it is completely backward in tactics. In this case, naturally I will not pay attention to the new muskets used by the imperial army. Zheng Zhilong has no understanding of flint rifles.

The other party said that this was a musket. Zheng Zhilong couldn't find a way to use it. He couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. Zheng Zhibao saw that there was something wrong on his brother's face. He couldn't help but pick up another one. But he turned left and right and didn't know how to use it. He didn't have Zheng Zhilong's concerns and threw the short mill in his hand at Donni: "Grand of Donni. Try how powerful this musket is?"

Doni reached out to take it and replied: "No problem."

He took out two pockets from his waist. The two bags were filled with gunpowder and projectiles. The ammunition was installed in less than a minute. He aimed at a big tree dozens of meters: "Everyone is ready."

With a sound, Doni pulled down the plate machine. The fire in his hand suddenly appeared. A large piece of white bark was exposed in the big tree in front. There was a big hole in the middle.

A group of people in the yard were stunned. It was most appropriate to use such a weapon to defend themselves. Everyone who didn't care about it just now looked at the two short mills and showed a look of enthusiasm. If they could buy it, many of them here would probably be willing to pay for money.

Looking at the reactions of everyone, Doni was very satisfied. He was about to brag about it. The butler of the Zheng Mansion hurried in. Seeing Zheng Zhilong's eyes lit up, he whispered a few words in Zheng Zhilong's ear. Zheng Zhilong's face changed slightly. He immediately stood up: "Everyone. I have an urgent matter to deal with. Let's take a leave for the time being. Come over and accompany you later."

When they heard that Zheng Zhilong had an urgent matter, everyone could not stop him. They clasped their fists and said, "You are polite, General." Only Doni lost the opportunity to show off. He was very dissatisfied and muttered. However, he spoke in Portuguese. No one could hear what he said.
Chapter completed!