6. Zheng Kesong and sugar

  Since Zheng's side had a falling out with Geng Jingzhong, they naturally became less courteous. From the end of May to mid-July that year, the Taiwan Strait was filled with troop ships and grain ships coming from Chengtian Prefecture. Only when the typhoon season began did the entire transport fleet come to a temporary halt. By then, Zheng's army had already gathered tens of thousands of troops in Jinmen and other places.

  Apart from continuously dispatching troops and supplies from Taiwan, Zhu Jin also constantly sent out secret agents to form alliances. Due to the Zheng family's three generations of operations in southern Fujian and northern Guangdong, their influence still existed, and their connections were still there. Moreover, with Geng Jingzhong's treachery, Wang Jinfu's son Wang Fanxi, who was garrisoned in Quanzhou, Fujian, Huang Fangduo, the Qinghai General who occupied Zhangzhou, Liu Jinzhong, the commander of Chaozhou, and others all defected to the Zheng army. For a time, the situation was extremely favorable for the Ming-Zheng regime.

  As the momentum of Ming Zheng's side gradually increased, Geng Jingzhong, who was regretful and couldn't sit still, sent an envoy to Zhu Jin to negotiate, hoping that the Ming Zheng side would return Quanzhou to him. How could Zhu Jin possibly agree? Therefore, Geng Jingzhong decided to use force to retake Quanzhou, and a major battle was imminent.

  ??

  "Has Grandma gotten out of bed yet, Elder Sister Ziliang?"

  Although the children's camp has been converted into a formal training, Zheng Kecang's identity is not just the commander of this branch that looks like a joke to outsiders. It is impossible for him to stay inside and socialize with them all day, lest he give Zhu Jin or some people who care about his growth the feeling of being frivolous.

  "The old lady is reciting scriptures," replied a female official in her twenties, who was as beautiful as a flower but had a stern expression on her face. As the saying goes, "those above set an example for those below", and Lady Dong had always held a grudge against Zheng Kechang's mother and son, who had caused her husband's death. The female attendants naturally didn't dare to smile at Zheng Kechang either. "The young master's filial piety will be reported to the old lady by me later, so as not to delay the young master's return to his studies."

  "Then trouble Purple Lotus sister." Zheng Kezang secretly curled his lip, to be honest, coming to the North Garden Villa every morning and evening to pay respects was a duty he should fulfill as the eldest grandson after Zhu Jin left Taiwan. As for whether Dong Lao would appreciate it or not, that wasn't something he could control. Anyway, as long as he came, others couldn't attack him from the aspect of etiquette for being unfilial. "Also, please ask Purple Lotus sister to inform Grandmother, tell her that Qin'er will come again in the evening to pay respects."

  ??”

  This is now Zheng Kezang's daily routine: apart from visiting Dong Guotai in the morning and evening, he gets up early to practice martial arts, followed by a whole morning of studying literature with Mr. Lü, only afternoons are his free time - usually he will rush to Tongziying for training together, of course, also can't miss having dinner with his mother Chen Zhaonang on schedule.

  "Qin She?" Zheng Kezang had just come out of the North Garden annex, and his eyes landed on Zheng Kesong, who was jumping out of the sedan chair. The little kid, who was originally dashing towards the courtyard, suddenly saw his six-year-older brother standing in front of him, and before he could stop himself, he bumped right into Zheng Kezang's arms. "Ah, Qin She has gotten even fatter."

  Zheng Kezang hugged the child and lifted with all his might. Fortunately, although it was still a bit strenuous, he managed to lift the other party up. However, Zheng Kesong suddenly burst into tears with both feet off the ground: "Put me down, mother, sister, big brother is bullying me."

  Zheng Kezang couldn't help but laugh and cry as he put down the kicking child, pinching his little face with one hand and pulling out a package wrapped in oil paper from his pocket with the other. He slightly opened it and shook it at Zheng Kesha: "You little rascal, tell me, how did I bully you?"

  "Sugar?" Zheng Ke's eyes lit up, and this sweet thing quickly pressed down the estrangement between him and Zheng Kezang. He proactively hugged Zheng Kezang back. "Good big brother, good big brother, give Qin'er some sugar to eat."

  ??”

  The female servants from the other courtyard and the maidservant who escorted Zheng Kesha were stunned, but their identities made them dare not say anything, so they let Zheng Kesan lead Zheng Kesha to sit aside.

  "Eat slowly." Watching Zheng Ke Shuang licking the sugar coating with big mouthfuls, Zheng Ke Zang's eyes narrowed slightly. As a web writer who made full use of Du Niang in later generations, Zheng Ke Zang naturally knew that the coup six or seven years later was not the intention of this little glutton who loved sweets.

  "It's also a poor guy being used by the ambitious ones." Zheng Kezang sighed to himself, this might be the reason why the other side finally agreed to surrender to the Qing dynasty. Similarly, they were both being held hostage and under house arrest. At least going to Beijing seemed like they could still get rid of the power-hungry officials' control. Unfortunately, it was just a case of "out of the tiger's den into the wolf's lair". Thinking about this, Zheng Kezang felt even more sympathetic, so he raised his voice and said with double meaning, "Don't worry, big brother is here, no one can blame you."

  ??”

  After parting with Zheng Ke-shuang, who was reluctant to leave, Zheng Ke-zang fell into deep thought as he rode his horse back to his residence. The cause of this introspection could be attributed to a fleeting insight, and the subject of his contemplation was the sugar he had just given to Zheng Ke-shuang to eat. Sugar was not a novel thing in Taiwan; during the Dutch occupation of Tainan, sugarcane and sugar were a crucial source of revenue for the Dutch East India Company. However, under Zhu Yigui's rule, with Chen Yonghua's proposal to convert large tracts of sugarcane fields into farmland to provide sufficient provisions for the army, although this made up for the Zheng military's shortage of food supplies, it also resulted in the loss of a lucrative export item that could have brought significant benefits through foreign trade.

  "Taiwan's sugar, a drop of blood and tears" --- Even during the Japanese occupation period, the sugar industry was an important source of profit for Taiwan. However, it is obviously impossible to persuade Chen Yonghua to change his ways now, especially when the army is marching west and urgently needs grain and fodder. Therefore, Zheng Kecang can only improve the yield and quality of sugarcane within the existing sugarcane planting area at present.

  "Jin nineteen," Zheng Kezang returned to his study and called over the personal attendant who served him before Master Lv arrived. "Go find a few sugar craftsmen, after class is dismissed, bring them to see me."

  ??”

  "What? The young master wants a sugar hut?" Upon hearing Zheng Kecang's request, Chen Yonghua was somewhat displeased. In his view, the other party seemed to have gone mad, putting aside the good books on self-cultivation and governance, and instead wanting to experiment with new sugarcane presses in a sugar hut. "It would be better if the young master didn't mention this matter again, otherwise I won't be able to report it to the king."

  "Mr. Chen's thoughts, I can guess a few points, no more than thinking that my move is not decent, but the old man doesn't know, recently I occasionally flipped through Xu Wen's 'Complete Book of Agricultural Administration' and felt greatly benefited." Zheng Kezang gave up going to Tongziying with future direct descendants to get close and practice together, and instead came to grind teeth with Chen Yonghua, definitely wanting to achieve his goals in one go. "If you don't know about farming, you don't know about people's livelihoods; if you don't know about people's livelihoods, how can you govern? I am also a person who combines knowledge and action."

  "Mr. Xuanyin? Mr. Yangming?" Chen Yonghua raised an eyebrow, these two people were incredibly famous, both being masters of their generation, but coming from the mouth of 12-year-old Zheng Kecang, it sounded ridiculous and unbelievable. Therefore, Chen Yonghua's attitude was extremely firm. "Young master, I've already said it, this matter is absolutely not going to happen, young master should give up on this idea."

  "Stubborn old man, Taiwan's Zhuge Liang, I think even if he dies, it will still be just one Jiang Wei."

  Zheng Kecang, who was driven out by Chen Yonghua, felt somewhat indignant and unjust, but no matter what, he couldn't change Chen Yonghua's decision. Without Chen Yonghua's support, the 12-year-old Zheng Kecang seemed to be at a loss for what to do. What could he do? Should he just give up? Time was not on his side, and he didn't have much time to wait for Chen Yonghua to change his mind, so he had no choice but to take a detour.

  "Go, to the mansion of Fu Ning Hou (Note: I didn't know which book it was when I glanced at it and said that Zheng Chenggong's sons had the title of Hou Bo, so I spent a whole day searching for information but still couldn't find any, if there are any book friends who know, please enlighten me)."

  Zhu Cheng had ten sons, except for the eldest son Zhu Jin who inherited the title of Ming Zhao's General and Duke of Yanping, all the others were enfeoffed as marquises. However, Zheng Cong, whose name meant "intelligent", was extremely greedy and showed no signs of intelligence or wisdom. When Zhu Jin was in power, he suppressed Zheng Cong tightly, but when Zhu Jin went on an expedition, Zheng Cong began to stir up trouble, just in time for Zheng Kechang to use him.

  "It's really rare to have you here." Indeed, upon hearing that Zheng Kezang had come to pay his respects, Zheng Cong was somewhat surprised and hastily ordered someone to usher this prince in. "Please sit down quickly, my nephew only has this meager salary, so I can only treat you to some snacks and fruits, don't think that your uncle is being unreasonable."

  "Nowhere, Second Uncle is being polite." As soon as they met, Zheng Cong complained about his tight finances, which made Zheng Kezang feel that his plan was likely to succeed, so he continued to fuel the fire. "Second Uncle is a noble marquis, if you say that just barely enough to eat and wear warm clothes, wouldn't outsiders hear it and blame Father King for treating his siblings poorly?"

  Zheng Cong had always been deeply respectful of Zhu Jin, his majestic older brother. Upon hearing Zheng Kezang's words, he couldn't help but pause for a moment before forcing a smile: "Qin She is joking, you and I are uncle and nephew, what outsiders are there between us? Besides, the army is on a western expedition, expenses are tight, and Second Uncle's finances are indeed strained. He was just venting his frustrations, don't take it seriously."

  "Hehe," Zheng Kezang chuckled and sat up straight with a serious look. "Second Uncle, don't worry, I won't tell Father King." Zheng Cong finally let out a sigh of relief, but then immediately heard Zheng Kezang say in a light tone, "Does Second Uncle have any sugar refineries? Which one can be given to me to play with?"

  "Qin She, don't joke around." Zheng Cong almost jumped up from his seat. "Sugar depots are exclusively managed by the Ministry of Works, how could Second Uncle possibly have one?" However, Zheng Kezang didn't listen to his explanation, his big eyes just stared at him fixedly, making Zheng Cong feel a chill run down his spine, he coughed. "Qin She, Second Uncle really doesn't have any sugar depots."

  "That's it," Zheng Kezang stood up from his chair, turned around and walked away, sighing in a casual tone. "Originally wanted to give Second Uncle a windfall, unfortunately... forget it, forget it, go ask Third Uncle instead."

  "Slow down," Zheng Cong jumped up and grabbed onto Zheng Kezang. "Qin She, what windfall are you talking about? Explain clearly before leaving."

  Nothing much, I flipped through a few agricultural books and suddenly came across an article about sugar making, which included methods for making rock sugar and snow sugar. Originally, I planned to borrow my second uncle's sugar mill to demonstrate it and see if the secret methods mentioned in the book were true, but unfortunately, my second uncle didn't have a sugar mill.

  ??”

  Although the southern region had already begun to produce white sugar in succession at the end of the Ming dynasty, on the one hand, the quality was not good and needed to be improved. On the other hand, the so-called rock candy was unheard of. If it were true that Zheng Kezang had some secret method, it would be a windfall. For a moment, Zheng Cong's eyes flashed with golden light.

  Zheng Cong hastily changed his words: "There is a sugar hut, of course there is a sugar hut. Don't worry, Second Uncle will think of a way to buy one right away."

  "Buying now?" Zheng Kezang looked at Zheng Cong with a hint of a smile. "Isn't Second Uncle afraid that this secret method is fake?"

  "Fake?" Zheng Cong was stunned, yeah, what if it's fake?

  "It doesn't matter if it doesn't work out," Zheng Kezang said with a sigh. "The sugar business is small investment, big returns anyway."

  "Right, right." Zheng Congruo suddenly woke up from his dream. "If we can't make top-grade rock sugar, can't we still make ordinary rock sugar?"

  "Is it a monopoly of the Ministry of Works?"

  "Second Uncle has his own way!"

  "Alright, before the sugar season, I want to see the sugar hut and the people's hands."

  ??”

  After sending off Zheng Kezang, the pleased Zheng Cong calculated for half a day and suddenly came to his senses: "This little scamp is like a little adult, he's only twelve years old this year, it's unbelievable, our Zheng family has produced another genius."

  Zheng Cong paced back and forth in the main hall for a while, but soon shook his head: "Who cares who becomes the master of Taiwan? As long as I have money in my hands, investing in Manchu is no big deal."

  ??”