Chapter 62: Planning in Jinjiang

“Where is the general’s body now?” Qian Taichong was very concerned about this question.

“The general’s head, I preserved it with lime when I escaped to the shore and hid it in a secret place at the mouth of the Jiulong River. But I don’t know if the body left on Xiamen Island was taken away by the short-hair thieves.”

After the various generals “recovered the lost territory,” they did indeed search for Zheng Zhilong’s body. However, the Japanese mercenaries who had accompanied Zheng Zhilong on his final journey were either killed in battle or captured. Those who escaped had followed Tong Tailang to Jinjiang. Since no one cared about Zheng Sen, no one came to Tong Tailang for advice. The generals found nothing. As time went on, this matter was forgotten. After all, the realistic struggle for power was more important.

“This makes it easier,” Qian Taichong thought. It was a pity that the body was missing, but it was not a problem as long as the head was there.

“Stupid fellows, country bumpkins!”

Qian Taichong thought: The generals of the Zheng family only know how to fight for power and profit, and they still have the short-sightedness of merchants who only pursue immediate interests. They didn’t consider the political significance of burying Zheng Zhilong at all. Zheng Zhilong was not a commoner. He was a legitimate military official of the court. To hold a funeral for him would be to announce to the world that one was Zheng Zhilong’s successor. The funeral itself had immeasurable significance.

“You send another meticulous person to quietly go to the mouth of the Jiulong River first to try to retrieve the general’s remains,” Qian Taichong instructed. “Everything must be done in secret.”

“I understand.”

“I will go to Fuzhou tomorrow to request an audience with the governor. You must protect the young master here,” Qian Taichong said. “Don’t go out, and try to have as little contact with people as possible. Don’t mention the governor and my whereabouts.”

Tong Tailang nodded solemnly.

Qian Taichong’s trip to Fuzhou was very smooth. When Zou Weilian heard that someone had brought news of the whereabouts of Zheng Zhilong’s legitimate son, he immediately arranged for a personal audience. When he heard that Zheng Sen had escaped from the hands of the short-hair thieves and was currently living in the Jinjiang County School, he was overjoyed. He praised Qian Taichong, Tong Tailang, and others for their “loyalty and courage,” expressed deep condolences for the death of Zheng Zhilong, and then asked when Zheng Zhilong’s funeral would be held so that he could go to pay his respects in person.

“After the general was killed, his remains were tragically desecrated by the short-hair thieves. Only his head was brought out by General Tong and his subordinates at the risk of their lives. It is now enshrined in a temple, and we are preparing to choose a day for the sacrifice and mourning…”

“This matter should not be delayed,” Zou Weilian said with a frown. “Since the general has died for his country, he should be buried in peace. It has been a month now, and the mourning has not yet begun. It will not look good in the eyes of the court and the public.”

Filial piety is the first of all virtues. It had been almost a month since Zheng Zhilong was killed in battle, and the Zheng family’s generals had all “recovered” all parts of Zhangzhou Bay, but there was still no news of a funeral being held. This was too ridiculous. If it were an ordinary official family, the censors would have impeached them upon hearing of it.

Qian Taichong had a plan for this matter. He wiped his tears, feigned grief, and roughly explained Zheng Sen’s current situation.

“…Young Master Sen is now living under someone else’s roof, and he has to rely on others for every meal and every cup of tea, let alone holding a funeral and mourning,” Qian Taichong said, tears streaming down his face, half real and half fake. He suddenly stood up from his chair, lifted his robe, and knelt down to perform a grand salute. “Please, my lord, make a decision for Young Master Sen!”

The attendants on both sides quickly helped Qian Taichong up. Zou Weilian immediately stated that he would definitely “make a decision” for Zheng Sen.

The attendants around Zou Weilian were all very surprised that day. The governor not only personally received this poor-looking scholar, but also “talked with him very happily.” In the end, he even sent away his attendants, and the two of them had a secret talk in the warm pavilion until the lamps were lit.

Qian Taichong returned to Jinjiang County full of confidence. As he had estimated, Zou Weilian was very interested in supporting Zheng Sen to restrain the generals of the Zheng family. He not only talked with him happily and gave him enough verbal promises, but also gave him practical things.

First, to quickly implement the matter of Zheng Sen’s succession. Qian Taichong had already drafted Zheng Zhilong’s “last memorial” and asked the governor to present it on his behalf. As for the specific procedures for succession, they were all handled by Zou Weilian’s advisors and could be implemented quickly.

Secondly, Zou Weilian promised that once Zheng Zhilong’s funeral was held, he would definitely lead the provincial officials to attend the sacrifice in person to fully show the support of the Fujian officialdom for Zheng Sen. At the same time, he would secretly send letters to the prefect of Zhangzhou and the county magistrates under his jurisdiction, asking them to give Qian Taichong full convenience in his actions.

Finally, he also promised to give Qian Taichong economic and even military support to ensure that the legitimate son of the Zheng family could smoothly inherit the position of the head of the family.

“This is General Cao,” Zou Weilian ordered a captain from the Fubiao to be summoned. “Don’t look at how young he is, he is a loyal and righteous man…”

Qian Taichong looked at this young junior general. He was tall and strong, with a round face and a pointed chin, a few sparse whiskers, and upturned nostrils and small eyes. He looked quite capable. He seemed somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him before.

“Captain Cao once accompanied General He to conquer the short-hair thieves. Our army was defeated at Chengmai City, but thanks to General Cao’s rearguard action, General He was able to escape from the encirclement of the short-hair thieves,” Zou Weilian said with a smile.

Only then did Qian Taichong realize that this young general, like himself, was also a survivor of the defeat at Chengmai.

“I am incompetent!”

“Let’s not talk about the past,” Zou Weilian waved his hand. “This is Mr. Qian. You two will have to work together in the future to defend our eight Fujian seas.”

The two of them sang their praises in unison.

“I will issue an order tomorrow to transfer Captain Cao and a hundred soldiers to Jinjiang to secretly assist you,” Zou Weilian said with a smile. “You two will have to work together in the future.”

“Yes, thank you, my lord!”

Although there was an extra “supervisor” by his side, Qian Taichong did not think it was a big deal. They were currently weak and in need of manpower. Moreover, Cao Xiangjiao was the governor’s man, and it was also good to use him to show off.

On the other hand, Tong Tailang had some reservations. Like most people in the Zheng clan, he had a great instinctive distrust of the government. But Qian Taichong said that if they wanted the governor to help, this was a necessary price to pay.

Moreover, with the governor’s people in Jinjiang City, the other factions would have to be wary if they really had any “unfavorable intentions towards the child.”

“We are very weak. If we want to rely on the governor’s power, we can only swallow our pride,” Qian Taichong explained patiently. He knew that Tong Tailang was a loyal and righteous man who was willing to risk his life for the sake of “great righteousness” at any time. He would be an indispensable and trusted general by Zheng Sen’s side in the future. If he wanted to assist Zheng Sen in regrouping, he must do a good job of winning him over. “As the saying goes, if you can’t bear small things, you’ll mess up big plans. We must be patient.”

After Qian Taichong met with Zou Weilian, the Jinjiang county magistrate’s originally wait-and-see attitude suddenly became enthusiastic. Not only did he send people to deliver rice and firewood every three days to inquire about their well-being, but he also said that they could stay in the county school for as long as they wanted and would no longer urge them to move out and make way. The situation of this group of people improved greatly.

As a result, not only were Tong Tailang and his men greatly convinced by Qian Taichong, but the scattered soldiers who had been staying in the county school, thinking they had nowhere to go, also had confidence in Qian Taichong and his men, and they all “actively moved closer to the organization.”

Qian Taichong was not satisfied. Jinjiang County had never been the Zheng family’s territory. He was only staying there as a guest. It could not be used as a base for regrouping. It was necessary to seize a piece of his own territory in Zhangzhou Bay!

“We must retake Anping,” Qian Taichong said.

The reason for setting the target as Anping was that Anping was the center of the Zheng family. It was not only the location of Zheng Zhilong’s mansion, but also the location of the Zheng family’s ancestral graves and ancestral hall. As the young master of the Zheng family, Zheng Sen’s return to Anping had a self-evident symbolic meaning, and it had a great appeal to the Zheng clan members and generals who were scattered in various places, unable to participate in the struggle for supremacy in Zhangzhou Bay, and were still waiting and seeing.

Once Anping was occupied, the young master would be firmly established as the “orthodox” of the Zheng clan. With Zou Weilian’s “endorsement” on the official side, he would occupy half of the country in terms of morality and legitimacy.

From an economic point of view, Anping was an important trading port for trade with Japan. Many of the Anhai ships bound for Japan departed from here. Seizing Anping was equivalent to controlling a considerable share of the trade with Japan. Some of the Anhai ships that had not returned when they were attacked would choose to join the young master, and they would have both maritime power and economic strength.

Tong Tailang had no objection to choosing Anping, but he was a little worried and said:

“Our troops are insufficient. We need to win by surprise.”

Tong Tailang had long been eyeing the nearby Anping, so he had been sending people to secretly scout it out. Zheng Zhiguan had several hundred personal soldiers and more than a thousand armed tenants. He was on guard day and night to prevent incursions from other generals. It would be difficult for Tong Tailang to seize Anping with the three hundred scattered soldiers he had gathered. Of course, if it was well planned, it was not without a chance. Japanese samurai-born mercenaries like Tong Tailang were best at small-scale fighting and sneak attacks, and they were bold and reckless.

“We cannot use force. Zheng Zhiguan and the young master are after all uncle and nephew. We must not leave this as a handle,” Qian Taichong seemed to have a plan in mind. “We must seize Anping peacefully.”

“Although Anping is now in ruins, Zheng Zhiguan is even reluctant to give up a farm in Jinjiang County, let alone the city of Anping.”

“It will be the first day of the tenth month (November 12th), the Cold Clothes Festival,” Qian Taichong said. “The Zheng family’s ancestral hall has always held ancestral sacrifices and burned winter clothes. The young master is the legitimate son of the Zheng family and has inherited the hereditary post. He should return to the ancestral hall to preside over the sacrifice. Even if he is young and cannot perform his duties, he should be present. We will return to Anping in the name of ancestral sacrifice!”

“What if Zheng Zhiguan obstructs?”

“He wouldn’t dare. Otherwise, he would be putting himself in a position of ‘disloyalty and unfilial piety.’ Even if he becomes a pirate in the future, I’m afraid he won’t be able to get by. At that time, we will list his ten major crimes and righteously and honorably attack the unrighteous!”