What to do?

  Just as Zhu Jin was busy restoring the strength of Zheng's army, another piece of bad news came to him: Liu Jinzhong, the Right Commander-in-Chief and Dingyuan Earl appointed by Zhu Jin, who had been vacillating between loyalty and betrayal, once again switched sides when he saw the Qing army's powerful momentum.

  Liu Jinzhong's betrayal resulted in the land connection between Liu Guoxuan's troops in Huizhou and the main force of Zheng Ming being severed. What's more frightening is that Guangzhou Shang Zhixin also declared his return to the Qing court, which means that Liu Guoxuan's troops, who were the most intact force among the Zheng army, were completely surrounded.

  Unable to withstand, Zhu Jin ordered Liu Guoxuan's troops to withdraw from the sea immediately. The Qing court was very worried about the withdrawal of the Ming Zheng army and once ordered Shang and Liu's troops to intercept and annihilate them. However, the Guangdong army under Shang Zhi's command had suffered a great defeat at the hands of the Zheng army in the battle of Langshan Island, so they did not dare to take any action easily. Liu Jinzhong, although he had surrendered to the Qing, also did not want to thoroughly tear his face with the Ming Zheng side before the war situation was settled, so both sides just watched the withdrawal of the Zheng army.

  Since neither the Shang nor Liu departments dared to slightly exceed Leiqi, Liu Guoxuan naturally arranged for a peaceful deployment. Therefore, by June of the 30th year of Yongli, except for one department of over 2,000 people who withdrew to Qiongzhou to strengthen Yang Xian's power, the main force of Liu's department took with them over 10,000 Huiyang civilians and all supplies, grain, and fodder intact, withdrawing to Siming, and then dispersing to Dongning.

  Regarding Liu Jinzhong's duplicity, the Qing court was extremely enraged. Although he was granted the title of General for Suppressing Rebels, after the Pingnan General Laita's army controlled Chaozhou, he was immediately arrested and imprisoned, then taken to Beijing to be executed by beheading in the market. Shang Zhixin was shocked upon hearing this and quickly mobilized his troops to cross the sea and attack Qiongzhou to redeem himself. However, Sunzi said "A ruler should not launch an army out of anger, a general should not engage in battle out of frustration". As a result, Shang Zhixin, who did not heed the words of the military sage, was defeated by the increasingly powerful Yang Xiang with 7,000 troops defeating 20,000, and he returned in disarray.

  The defeat of the Qing army in the Battle of Quanzhou and the return of Liu Guoxuan's main force made the Qing court realize that the Ming-Zheng side still had strength and was not easy to deal with. At this time, the war situation in Hunan was becoming increasingly tense, and the main force of the Qing army was successively transferred westward. In order to quickly resolve the threat from Fujian and Guangdong, there were disagreements within the Qing army on whether to adopt an attitude of "extermination" or "conciliation" towards Zheng's army.

  "Kang Qinwang, Lang Zhi Jun, I think that at present the imperial court is using troops in Hunan Province, and the actual strength of Fujian is already empty. To deal with Zheng Ke's rebellion, we should calm it down with stability, or use appeasement to shake his will. If Zheng Ke recognizes his mistakes and surrenders, everyone will be overjoyed. If he refuses, it won't hurt the overall situation. When the imperial court's main force returns to Fujian, it will be just in time to wipe them out with one blow."

  "Governor Du, what a clever delaying tactic." Huang Fangshi, who had been reappointed as the Duke of Haicheng by the Qing court, sneered at the proposal made by General Duan Yingjue of the Fujian Land Force. "But I never thought that Zheng Ke would also take advantage of the imperial court's amnesty to regroup and recover his strength, and after a fierce battle, if the imperial army is still stuck in Hunan, Zheng Ke will regain his vitality and come back again, what should we do then?"

  Duan Ying's face stiffened, and in the Kangxi era, a Tidu was not yet a humble military officer in front of a future Governor or Governor-General. As someone who shared the same rank as them, he was an equal presence, but now he was being humiliated by a two-faced, hypocritical little man - how could he not be angry? But before he had time to retort, Huang Fangshi spoke up with a sneer on his face.

  "This general thought that troops valued speed, and should take advantage of Liu's forces having just returned from the sea and not yet stabilized, immediately crossing the sea to attack Xiamen, not giving Zheng's rebel forces a chance to catch their breath."

  "General Hai Cheng has an irreconcilable feud with Zheng Kou, of course he wants to immediately send troops to Xiamen and drive Zheng Kou back to Taiwan in one fell swoop." Duan Yingju didn't have time to ask questions, Hu Tu, the deputy commander-in-chief who had always been on good terms with him, couldn't bear it anymore. With a face that seemed to be smiling but not quite, he asked with hidden intentions: "But what about the ships? Can General Hai Cheng conjure up ships out of thin air? Even if he could, Zheng Kou's naval forces have always been the best in Fujian Province, isn't General Hai Cheng planning to abandon the imperial army at sea?"

  "Lord Hu!" Huang Fangshi clenched his fists in anger, but Hu Tu, although not as high-ranking as him, was a member of the Eight Banners and born into nobility under the Qing dynasty's rule. Moreover, he was a genuine second-rank official, the Vice Commander-in-Chief of Fuzhou, whereas Huang Fangshi was merely an empty title holder with only a few thousand private soldiers. "You?"

  "Alright, alright!" Seeing Huang Fangshi about to lose his temper, General Huang Lan hastily stood up to calm him down. "Of course, Hai Qinggong didn't mean to abandon the imperial army, but Lord Hu was right, without ships, Xiamen is impassable. However, now that Miao Zhixiu has surrendered to the imperial court in Wenzhou, as long as we retake Dinghai, the imperial navy will be able to come and confront Zheng's rebellion. As long as the navy wins, won't Xiamen be like a naked girl?"

  Several generals burst out laughing, and General Ninghai Lahada didn't even look at Huang Fangshi's iron-green face beside him, nodding repeatedly and loudly agreeing: "That's right, it's this reason, whether Xiamen can be taken or not depends on the navy's ability."

  Lang Tingxiang, the Governor of Fujian from the Hanjun Bordered Yellow Banner, listened for half a day and saw that all the military generals except Huang Fangshi agreed to temporarily stop firing. He then asked the commander-in-chief, Prince Gong Jingyu: "Your Highness, what do you think?"

  The Lang family began to rise with the Qing court after his father, Lang Xi Zai, defected to the Qing outside the pass. By his generation, his eldest brother, Lang Ting Fu, served as a Grand Minister of State and inherited the title of First Class Baron (Light Chariot General) and Cloud Rider General, successively holding positions such as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Han Army's Yellow Banner, Vice Minister of Revenue, and finally promoted to Minister of Revenue. His second brother, Lang Ting Suo, was even more renowned, serving as Governor of Jiangxi, Fujian, and Jiangnan, as well as Minister of War, with his greatest achievement being the defeat of Zheng Chenggong's Southern Ming army that attacked the Yangtze River, securing the Qing court's control over the Grand Canal and stabilizing its rule.

  It was precisely because the Lang family had made great contributions to the Qing dynasty's conquest of China that Jie Shu couldn't help but give this Han traitor some face: "Governor Lang is an imperial appointee, and he must be more familiar with Xiamen and other places. I'm new here, so let me hear your thoughts first, Governor Lang."

  "The king is the emperor's appointed general to pacify the southeast, how dare I overstep my authority." Lang Tingxiang flattered with a smile, but Jie Shu had made up his mind and insisted that he speak first. Lang Tingxiang had no choice but to express his attitude. "In my humble opinion, Mr. Duan and Mr. Huang's words are quite insightful. For now, taking the sea route to capture Xiamen is still a bit risky, it's better to temporarily use appeasement, perhaps we can avoid bloodshed."

  "Amnesty?" Jie Shu stroked his beard. During Zheng Chenggong's time, the Qing court had offered amnesty five times, and since Zheng Jing took over, there had been four more attempts at surrender, but all were in vain. Now they wanted to offer amnesty again? Jie Shu was somewhat hesitant, but seeing that the proud soldiers and fierce generals below him all seemed unwilling to fight again, he finally nodded his head. "It won't hurt to try, but Zheng Keshuang is still obstinate and arrogant, so we must prepare for another battle. Lang, you must continue to pay attention to the ships, and also urge the naval forces to be more diligent."

  Zheng Kezang walked out of the Ci'an Temple, where he had stayed for over three months. He looked back at the tomb of Chen Zhaonan, and a faint misty rain floated in the air, as if it were tears hanging from his eyes, giving him a sorrowful and desolate feeling. Zheng Kezang stood still for a moment, then turned around resolutely and walked away with big strides.

  Returning to the Zheng's mansion, which had already changed beyond recognition, Zheng Kezang did not have time to rest and immediately sent someone to invite Zheng Cong and several other Zheng family relatives. In these three months, Wan Nian and Tian Xing prefectures, under Chen Yonghua's orders, carried out a siege against several manors of the Zheng family, with both sides having clashed several times, causing a stir throughout Taiwan. Therefore, even though the English merchant had just sent out an order, Zheng Kezang wanted to immediately resolve this unstable factor.

  "Qin She, you're back just in time. Fifth Uncle was just looking for you. What is Chen Yonghua thinking, daring to let someone lay hands on the Bo Mansion? Is he trying to start a rebellion?" Zheng Zhi Ren's voice boomed from outside before he even entered the room. "If you don't take care of this matter, Qin She, Fifth Uncle will go to Si Ming to find him."

  Zheng Zhi hadn't finished speaking when he walked into the house and saw Zheng Kezang staring at him with cold eyes. He felt a pang of guilt in his heart and suddenly lost his voice. At this time, Zheng Kezang gestured with his hand: "Fifth Uncle, please sit down for a moment, Second Uncle and the others will arrive soon, and then I'll discuss this matter with several uncles."

  As soon as he heard that Zheng Cong and others were also coming, Zheng Zhi's courage grew a bit, and he sat down with a swagger: "Qin She, where is the tea?"

  "Serve tea to Mingqing Bo." Zheng Kezang instructed, and the inner servant presented the tea water. Zheng Zhi took two sips, at which point Zheng Ming, Zheng Yu, Zheng Kuan, Zheng Cong, and Zheng Rou arrived one after another. Zheng Kezang invited them to take their seats one by one and also offered them tea water. The crowd knew the purpose of being summoned by Zheng Kezang, but they sat there sipping their tea with expressionless faces. However, after a moment, Zheng Wen still hadn't arrived, clearly intending to show off his power over Zheng Kezang.

  "Eight Uncle, if you don't want to come, that's fine. When you have time, please ask Sixth Uncle and Ninth Uncle to pass on what was said today." Zheng Kezang began with this opening remark. "Today, I invited several uncles because Chen Zongzheng repeatedly complained to me, saying that several uncles had first encroached on official land, secondly forced immigrants to become slaves, and the Green Foot soldiers could not be stopped."

  "Chen Yonghua is a complete reversal!" Zheng Rou jumped up. "Why didn't he mention the fact that his subordinates injured the slaves of the Bo Mansion?"

  Zheng Rou fired this shot, and several of Zheng's relatives on the side also started to help, Zheng Kezang quietly listened until they automatically extinguished: "Who hit who, I don't care, but did Mr. Chen say these two things or not?"

  Although Zheng Kezang's tone was implicit, his meaning was firm and directly pointed. Several people hesitated for a long time before Zheng Ming finally spoke up: "This Taiwan land originally belonged to our Zheng family, what's the big deal about occupying a few mu of official land? Chen Yonghua is making a fuss over nothing, why bother?"

  Zheng Kezang cut him off: "Under the heavens, all is the king's land. Are you saying that several of my uncles have their eyes on the throne?"

  This accusation left Zheng Ming and several others stunned, as Zheng Kezang did not give him a chance to refute, speaking at an extremely fast pace: "When Father King lost the war on the mainland, the seven counties fell overnight. It was time to reorganize the troops and replenish supplies, but several uncles took over the official land that should have been used as military rations, and turned the immigrants who could provide taxes into their own slaves. What is the intention? Is it to let Father King lose again on the mainland, so that you can take his place?"

  At this time, Zheng Cong couldn't sit still: "Qin She, you also know that Lao San and the others are just greedy, how could they possibly have such thoughts."

  "Is it greed?" Zheng Kezang shook his head. "Maybe, but if the foundation is shaken, where will the last few uncles go to be imperial relatives?" The tone of this sentence had already softened, and Zheng Ming and others finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Return all the occupied official land, release all the slaves who were forcibly taken, and point out another way for the few uncles to make a fortune."

  "Second brother, third brother, are we really going to listen to Xiao Jian's suggestion?" After leaving the Huayuan, Zheng Rou invited several people to his own mansion. As soon as they sat down, he asked Zheng Cong and Zheng Ming, these two elder brothers, in a probing tone: "Although sailing on the sea can bring thick profits, but the risks are not small either. Where is it comparable to directly planting sugarcane which is more stable?"

  "He is the grandson of Yuanzi!" Zheng Ming glared at Zheng Rou and several brothers beside her. "Since Brother Wang is not here, he is the biggest one now. If you don't give him face today, will he still give you face in the future?"

  "How dare he be so presumptuous and take liberties with someone of his uncle's generation?"

  "Nonsense!" Zheng Cong rolled his eyes at Zheng Zhi. "He's not guarding against us, who is he guarding against?" To be honest, Zheng Kezang's idea was actually beneficial to him, but when facing different people, one had to speak differently. In front of Zheng Zhi and the others, Zheng Cong naturally had to pretend to lean towards them. "Besides, he has a point."

  Zheng Ming sighed and exhorted his discontented brothers: "Qin She has already agreed, after retreating from the land, one person will send a Fu ship of 800 liang, and after sending away the migrants, another compensation of 100 black slaves per prefecture is enough. Moreover, transporting sugar from Annan and Siam, and usually transporting rice from Annan are all profitable, so let's take a step back and have a clear conscience."

  "Indeed!" Zheng Cong also advised. "Transporting brown sugar from the Western Ocean, transporting rock sugar and ice sugar to Ryukyu and Japan, and then transporting Japanese copper and goods as well as Korean ginseng back, one trip can earn at least three times more profit, and in a year, making just two trips is better than farming, isn't it?"

  "In the end, Second Brother, you're a profiteer, just earning more. In Zheng Kezang's plan, Zheng Cong didn't have to invest any capital, he only had to receive red sugar for free and provide snow sugar and ice sugar for free, yet he could still get a 1% share of the profits. Meanwhile, the other six people had to contribute ships, labor, and startup funds, just to equally divide 1.5% among themselves, no wonder they're all envious."

  Zheng Cong immediately became impatient and hastily explained: "Don't talk nonsense, in this sugar warehouse there is a share for the imperial household, after the profit is made, I can only take eight parts."

  "This little scoundrel!"

  "Stop cursing, is this going to happen or not?"

  "Can't you just let it go? The land and people will all return to their origins, why suffer in vain?"