Chapter 60: The Warring States of Zhangzhou Bay

The Jinjiang County School, usually a quiet place, was now bustling with hundreds of Zheng clan members who had taken refuge there. The sounds of adults talking and children crying filled the air. Blue smoke from cooking fires rose from the main hall.

The Zheng clan members, shopkeepers, and generals’ families who had been lucky enough to escape with Zheng Zhiguan had been staying here since they fled into Jinjiang County. The Zheng clan held great power in Jinjiang and Nan’an counties, and many of them had property there. The wealthy and powerful soon dispersed to stay with relatives and friends or in their own manors. The crowd at the county school gradually thinned. But the distant relatives, the families of middle and lower-level personnel, the scattered servants, shop assistants, and personal guards who had fled from Anping City had nowhere to go. They waited here bitterly for the day they could return to Anping.

In the hall behind the school, more than a hundred people were crowded into the main room, side chambers, and courtyard. Many of them were dark-skinned black soldiers, and there were also many Japanese samurai with their katanas.

After Tong Tailang and his men escaped from Jinmen Island with Zheng Sen, they did not dare to linger on the shore. Tong Tailang, a foreigner, was unfamiliar with the coastal geography. He took Zheng Sen and fled to Jinjiang County, a place he had been to many times and knew well.

Along the way, Tong Tailang gathered many scattered soldiers. Many Zheng clan members who had fled from Jinmen, Xiamen, and Anping had already gathered in Jinjiang.

However, Zheng Zhiguan, the highest-ranking person in the city, seemed to have no interest in the heir of the Zheng family. He did not even pay a formal visit, merely sending a servant with some money, rice, and clothes. After that, there was no further news.

Besides Zheng Zhiguan, the rest of the Zheng clan also seemed to have forgotten them. No one came to inquire about Tong Tailang and his party. This disregard surprised Tong Tailang. The head of the family was dead, and the young master left behind was the natural heir. Why did no one come to support him? At first, he thought that others did not know that Zheng Sen had escaped the tiger’s mouth, so he sent men to look for the escaped members of the “Eighteen Banners,” especially the “one family” of the Zheng clan. But so far, no one had come.

The scattered soldiers gathered at the county school all regarded the young master as their last hope. They were from the lower class and had little savings. If the Zheng family collapsed, they would be unemployed. They all hoped that the young master could inherit the position of the head of the family, so that they could at least have the sentiment of “sharing weal and woe.”

Though Tong Tailang knew little about the power struggles within the Zheng clan, he knew it would be very difficult to unite the family after the leader, Zheng Zhilong, was gone.

It was formally correct for Zheng Zhilong’s eldest son, Zheng Sen, to inherit his father’s position. But Zheng Sen was only seven years old. Any discerning person knew he could not possibly lead the Zheng family through this crisis. If he were to ascend the throne, he would need a strong regent to control the situation.

Logically, this was a good opportunity to hold the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords. There were many examples in both China and Japan of powerful ministers who “assisted” the young master and usurped power. Zheng Sen should have been a hot commodity, but unexpectedly, no one paid him any attention.

Even Zheng Zhilong’s brothers showed no intention of assisting their nephew. Only Zheng Zhifeng sent someone with money and rice, saying that Anping, Jinmen, and Xiamen were all in ruins, and it was impossible to settle them for a while. They would have to be wronged and continue living in the county school.

Then there was no further news. Tong Tailang, a foreigner, was at a loss.

In these days, only Matos, who had escaped death, came with the remnants of the black guards, a few dozen of them. But this non-Portuguese mixed-blood could offer no useful suggestions.

Now there was only one person Tong Tailang could discuss with: Qian Taichong.

Qian Taichong had been an ordinary clerk under Zheng Zhipeng. It was said that he was originally from Guangdong and had been recommended here to make a living. Now that his master was killed in battle, he too was unemployed.

Tong Tailang found Qian Taichong to be a mysterious figure. Though a scholar, he was dark-skinned and strong, with calluses on his hands and feet. He looked like a man who had known hard labor. Once, Tong Tailang saw him fetching water to bathe and noticed many scars on his body, as if he had been on the battlefield.

But Qian Taichong rarely spoke of his past and often sat alone in a daze. It was not until a few days ago, when Tong Tailang wanted to send an envoy to Zheng Zhifeng as a lobbyist, that he had contact with him.

Tong Tailang believed that Zheng Zhifeng, as Zheng Sen’s uncle and one of the powerful figures in the Zheng family, was the most appropriate person to assist the young master. He had always wanted to persuade him. But as a Japanese warrior, it was difficult for him to be a lobbyist, so he took a fancy to this taciturn scholar.

Qian Taichong took the travel expenses without a word and left. A few days later, he returned with a few hundred taels of silver but still had nothing to show for it.

“He’s not willing to send someone to welcome the young master?!” Tong Tailang was extremely disappointed.

“He only said that Jinmen Island is currently in ruins, with many corpses yet to be cleared and buried. It would be very inconvenient for the young master to move there. He asked the young master to rest in Jinjiang for a while longer.”

“Bastard!” Tong Tailang cursed. “The master’s bones are not yet cold, and they are already treating the young master like this!”

He had reason to be angry. Yesterday, he had sent an envoy to Zheng Zhiguan, asking him to clean up a Zheng family manor in Jinjiang County for Zheng Sen and his party to move into. It was very inconvenient for several hundred people to live in the county school.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Zhiguan, who had already taken over all the Zheng family’s manors in Jinjiang County, refused on the grounds that “the Australian bandits have not been cleared, and it is not safe to live outside the city.”

“It seems we can only look for the Zheng Lian and Zheng Cai brothers…” Tong Tailang was at a loss.

“Isn’t looking for them like asking a tiger for its skin?” Qian Taichong said.

Tong Tailang was stunned. So far, this scholar had not expressed any specific views. Now that he was willing to speak his mind, he felt a surge of energy. “What is your esteemed opinion, sir?” he asked quickly.

“I have no esteemed opinion, but since even his own uncle is unwilling to step forward, how can they, as outsiders, be expected to?” Qian Taichong said with a bit of melancholy. “The two Zheng brothers were originally an independent force who later came to serve under the general. They were borrowing the general’s power. Now that the general is dead, and they have occupied Xiamen Island, they probably plan to go into business for themselves. Why would they want to support the young master?”

Tong Tailang was deeply disappointed.

“So Xiamen Island has become the world of the Zheng Lian and Zheng Cai brothers?!”

“Zhangzhou Bay is now the Seven Warring States,” Qian Taichong said contemptuously. “Everyone is making their own plans, and it has nothing to do with the young master.”

While Zheng Sen and the others were sitting idly in the Jinjiang County School, the members of the “Eighteen Banners” who had not been killed in battle or captured were engaged in a fierce struggle over the corpse of the Zheng clan.

The most powerful, Zheng Zhifeng, occupied Jinmen Island. Zheng Zhibao occupied Little Jinmen Island. The Zheng Lian and Zheng Cai brothers occupied Xiamen Island. Though Zheng Zhiguan was quick to escape from Anping, as soon as he heard that the Australian bandits had withdrawn, he immediately armed the tenants on his manor, as well as his personal soldiers and servants, and “recaptured” Anping with great fanfare.

The rest of the Zheng family’s generals either joined one of the forces or occupied a small island in Zhangzhou Bay. Some who were weak and unsure of the direction the wind was blowing stayed on the shore or entered the Jiulong and Shijing Rivers to wait and see. The huge Zheng clan had fallen apart.

Though the Zheng clan had been established under Zheng Zhilong, its internal cohesion was still very weak, maintained primarily by his personal prestige. Now that the clan had suffered an unprecedented blow, and the leader and a large number of key members had been killed, the weakness of its lack of cohesion was immediately exposed.

On this sea where anyone with a boat and men could be a king, the title of Zheng Zhilong’s legitimate son was useless. He had no direct power. As soon as Zheng Zhilong died, the remaining army, ships, and property were quickly carved up by the survivors in the upper echelons of the group. Except for Zheng Zhilong’s personal black guards and Japanese guards, no one took him seriously.

As for the generals and shopkeepers, they were weak and could only join one side. It was even more impossible for them to pin their future on a seven-year-old child.

“It’s a pity I have no soldiers,” Tong Tailang said. Though he had only experienced the tail end of the Warring States period, he deeply understood the importance of military power. But this disastrous defeat had caused heavy losses to the black guards and Japanese guards. Those who were killed, captured, and scattered were almost completely wiped out.

“The people gathered here now probably all want to follow the young master,” Qian Taichong suddenly said.

“How many people can that be?” Tong Tailang said. “My men, plus Matos’s, are less than two hundred in total.” He suddenly understood Qian Taichong’s meaning. “You mean…”

“It doesn’t matter if there are few people. As long as they dare to fight, they are still stronger than a motley crew,” a gleam of light flashed in Qian Taichong’s eyes. “Besides, we may not need to fight.”

Though the Zheng clan was already in a state of disunity, they were still of the same clan. At present, the situation would not lead to fighting among themselves, but various forms of struggle around the leadership would be inevitable. At such a time, the number of personal soldiers was indeed a key issue, but by no means the main one.

Tong Tailang realized that this scholar had a clear plan and was a “strategist.” He was now in need of someone who could give him ideas. “Please teach me, Mr. Qian!” he said quickly.

Qian Taichong smiled. “General Tong, you are from the East. Why do you want to protect the young master and help him ascend the throne? What does the survival of the Zheng family have to do with you?”

“This was the general’s last entrustment,” Tong Tailang said in a loud voice. “We were forced to leave the East and have been serving under the general for all these years, able to live a comfortable life with food and clothing. Shouldn’t we repay his kindness?”

“Hehe, well said!” Qian Taichong nodded. “Then I will help you.”