Chapter 63: Recapturing Anping

Tong Tailang was completely bewildered by his words. This Japanese warrior had never imagined that there were so many twists and turns to conspiracy and intrigue. He was even more impressed with Qian Taichong. However, he was a little curious and asked:

“What are the ten major crimes?”

“As the commander of Anping, when the short-hair thieves attacked, he disregarded the safety of the mistress and the young master above, and the families of the clan below. He fled the city without firing a single shot. This is the first major crime!”

“Right!”

“When the mistress and the young master were in distress, he had no way to defeat the enemy and no plan to rescue them. He just stood by and watched. This is the second major crime!”

“The general was killed in battle in the field. He did not bury the body, did not hold a funeral, did not take off his auspicious clothes, and drank and made merry every day, playing as usual. Such ‘insanity’ is the third major crime!”

…

Qian Taichong listed them one by one, and recited ten crimes in one breath. Each of them was a very serious “crime” in the social environment of that time. If he were to be held accountable for these crimes, even beheading would be a light punishment for Zheng Zhiguan.

“Are we going to kill him?”

“If he is sensible, we will let him atone for his crimes with meritorious service.” Qian Taichong was not prepared to kill anyone, especially a member of the Zheng clan. This was a very serious matter in a patriarchal society, not to mention that he was essentially an outsider.

Zheng Zhiguan himself was insignificant, but once he was killed, it would make the Zheng clan members resistant and wary, and it would be even more difficult to carry out things in the future. Although the governor supported him, his power was the smallest after all.

“I am going to have an audience with the young master now,” Qian Taichong said. “I will report these matters to him.”

Although Zheng Sen was only eight years old, he was already at an age where he could understand and remember things. Although he was currently in charge, he would grow up one day. The relationship between the assisting powerful minister and the young master who ascended the throne at a young age had always been very delicate since ancient times. If he could not handle it properly, it would inevitably plant the seeds of disaster for the future.

However, he did not go to see the young master immediately. Instead, he went to see a servant woman who was currently in charge of taking care of the young master’s daily life.

This servant woman was also a distant relative of the Zheng family. She had originally worked in the inner quarters of the Zheng mansion and was acquainted with the young master. So after Tong Tailang fled to Jinjiang with Zheng Sen, this servant woman, who had also fled there, served him.

“I would like to have an audience with the young master in a moment. I wonder how the young master’s daily life is recently?”

“His daily life is normal, but he hardly speaks on weekdays. He is silent all day long. In addition, the young master has been refusing to eat fish and meat. I am afraid his body will not be able to hold up,” the servant woman said anxiously.

So, the young master was very sad in his heart, Qian Taichong thought, but because he was in an uncertain situation, he did not want to cause trouble for the people around him, so he remained silent. This kind of forbearance was superior to that of ordinary children. Not eating fish and meat was to mourn for his father, and his filial piety was commendable. In this way, the young master was a promising talent.

“I want to have an audience with the young master.”

Zheng Sen was only eight years old, and like his father, he was handsome. Because of the successive changes, he had become very deep at a young age. When he saw Qian Taichong coming to pay his respects, he knew that this was the “Mr. Qian” who was assisting him. Although Zheng Sen was young, he also knew that this Mr. Qian was now working hard for his position. He had only returned from Japan in 1630, and his Chinese was not yet fluent, but he still managed to say a few words to encourage “Mr. Qian.”

After seeing the young master, Qian Taichong became more confident. He then planned with Tong Tailang and others to return to Anping.

The core of the plan was surprise. Although Qian Taichong was unwilling to kill, he could still launch a surprise attack without killing. He decided to suddenly enter Anping City on the day before the Cold Clothes Festival, under the pretext of returning to the ancestral hall to worship the ancestors, disarm Zheng Zhiguan, and seize his troops.

The plan was not complicated, and it had a gambling element, but Qian Taichong believed that the probability of success was high. Although Zheng Zhiguan was also one of the Eighteen芝, he was mediocre and lacked courage. This could be seen from his desperate escape from Anping. And in these days, he had received news from the spies he sent to gather intelligence: after Zheng Zhiguan returned to Anping, he just drank and made merry and rarely asked about political affairs. From this, it could be seen that he was a person with little ambition.

In terms of strength, Zheng Zhiguan was also the weakest. He only had more than four hundred of his own personal soldiers and servants. As for the more than one thousand hastily armed tenants, Tong Tailang believed that they did not have much combat power.

As long as his side acted decisively, Zheng Zhiguan’s will could be easily destroyed, and Anping could be retaken without bloodshed.

A few days before the action, in order to paralyze the other party, Qian Taichong sent people to Anping to express that the young master hoped to return to Anping to worship the ancestors on the Cold Food Festival. Of course, he was rejected on the grounds that the ancestral hall was seriously damaged and was still under repair, and the young master might not have a place to live when he returned.

“In that case, can the young master be allowed to send some offerings to show his filial piety?” the person sent asked in a helpless tone.

“Ten people are allowed to come, but they are not allowed to carry weapons. They must come and go on the same day. They are not allowed to stay overnight in the city.”

“Yes, thank you, my lord.”

Qian Taichong believed that in this way, the Anping side would focus their main vigilance on the day of the Cold Food Festival. So on the morning of the day before the Cold Food Festival, led by Qian Taichong, Tong Tailang led a hundred Japanese mercenaries, and Cao Xiangjiao led fifty Fubiao soldiers. They surrounded Zheng Sen, who was sitting in a sedan chair, and with the yamen runners sent by the Jinjiang county magistrate clearing the way, they suddenly set out from Jinjiang and went straight to Anping.

In order to ensure surprise, the whole team did not rest along the way. The sedan chair bearers were changed without stopping the sedan chair. They walked thirty li in four hours and arrived at Anping City at noon.

The city wall of Anping had not been repaired and was still a ruin. Because Zheng Zhiguan had limited troops, he placed his main force near his own residence and other key points in the city for security. He deployed his main force on the side facing Zhangzhou Bay. On the side facing the mainland, he only built a simple gate tower at the original city gate and sent some soldiers to check pedestrians.

Seeing this group of people suddenly appear, the guards were at a loss—they had indeed received orders not to allow people around Zheng Sen to enter Anping, but the person who came was Zheng Sen himself, the general’s legitimate son.

“We are escorting the young master back to the ancestral hall to prepare for the Cold Clothes Festival to worship the ancestors. Anyone who obstructs the young master’s ancestral worship is a disloyal and unrighteous person of the Zheng family,” Qian Taichong shouted from his horse. “Who dares to obstruct?”

The Zheng army officers and soldiers at the checkpoint looked at each other hesitantly, not knowing what to do. Even the soldiers knew the identity of the general’s legitimate son, and moreover, the people who came with him were from the government. If they really started a fight, no one could bear the responsibility! Besides, there were only twenty or thirty people at the checkpoint, and they were no match for the Japanese mercenaries who were holding shiny katanas and were as fierce as wolves and tigers.

Just as everyone was hesitating, Qian Taichong raised his horsewhip, “Escort the young master into the city!”

The Japanese mercenaries and the Fubiao central army drew their long swords together, forcibly broke through the checkpoint, entered Anping City, and went straight to the Zheng family’s ancestral hall in the city.

Zheng Zhiguan, who had received the news in advance, was greatly shocked. He had not expected Zheng Sen to come in person suddenly. He had even less expected that he would go straight to the ancestral hall. He had originally thought that even if Zheng Sen entered Anping, he would first seize the original Zheng family mansion. Therefore, he had made arrangements there and had also sent capable and trusted subordinates. On the contrary, he had not sent troops to guard the ancestral hall, but only sent some servants to clean and guard it.

For a moment, he was at a loss. In terms of military strength, he had more than two thousand men in his hands, and it would be easy to resist by force. But he did not dare to lay a hand on his nephew. Once he harmed Zheng Sen, it would not only be difficult to explain to the court, but some people within the Zheng clan would also use this as an excuse to attack him.

He gathered his servants and rushed to the ancestral hall. Offerings had already been laid out in the courtyard of the ancestral hall. The Japanese guards and the Fubiao soldiers stood in formation in the courtyard, creating a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

“This is the Zheng family’s ancestral hall. No soldiers are allowed to enter!” He was stopped at the main gate by a captain in bright armor and fully armed. Zheng Zhiguan could tell at a glance that this was a legitimate military officer of the court: a captain of the Fubiao camp.

Zheng Zhiguan hesitated. He was not the kind of bold and reckless person who dared to defy the world. Now that Zheng Sen was already in the ancestral hall, and he not only had his own armed forces but also government soldiers to protect him. The only way to solve it was to rush in and fight, and then expel his nephew. This would ruin his reputation and make him beyond redemption.

Besides, his few hundred servants were probably no match for this group of fierce men. Seeing the timid look on the faces of the servants around him, Zheng Zhiguan yielded, “Alright.”

On the first day of the tenth lunar month, Zheng Sen, as the eldest legitimate grandson, presided over the sacrifice of the Cold Clothes Festival in the ancestral hall of Anping. Zheng Zhiguan was disarmed and placed under house arrest. The Zheng family’s ships, army, manors, and property that were originally under his control also fell into Zheng Sen’s hands.

“Sir is truly a god!” Tong Tailang was deeply impressed. Qian Taichong had led them to seize Anping City “without bloodshed” and had seized Zheng Zhiguan’s power.

“We still have a lot of things to do,” although Qian Taichong was excited about his small success, he was still very worried. Although it was gratifying to have suddenly seized Anping this time, it would also make the other forces wary of the young master. It would be difficult to achieve such a sudden effect in any future plans.

“Please give your orders, Mr. Qian!” Tong Tailang and the others were all very excited.

“The first thing is to hold a funeral for the general!” Qian Taichong said. “For this matter, I have to go to see the governor again. I’ll leave Anping to you.”

Qian Taichong rushed to Fuzhou without stopping and reported the successful capture of Anping to Zou Weilian.

“…It’s all thanks to your might, my lord,” Qian Taichong said, presenting a gift list.

The gift list contained four kinds of valuable gifts, all of which were rare foreign goods of considerable value. Zou Weilian nodded slightly, “Mr. Qian is indeed a great talent. I wonder what you plan to do next?”

“I implore you to guide me through the confusion, my lord!”

“How dare I? If you have anything to say, please feel free to say it.”

“I am just a scholar, and there are many things that are inconvenient for me…”

Qian Taichong said without concealment that he needed an official position for the next step of his plan.