Chapter Two: A Flash in the Pan, the Longwu Regime

In 1127, Zhao Zhao established the Southern Song Dynasty, and successively competed with the Jin and Yuan for 125 years; in 1644, the Ming Dynasty Capital Fell, and the Ming Dynasty Clan successively established the Hongguang, Longwu, Yongli and other regimes in the south, which collapsed quickly, and for 18 years before and after, there was no confrontation with the Qing Court, and the Qing court was at best like a fish in the throat.

The first section is Zheng Zhilong, from a small pirate to a general scoop on the southeast coast

In the Southern Ming Regime, the Hongguang regime was highly represented, the Yongli regime was fierce, and the Longwu regime continued to ming zheng, which had a great impact on the sea frontier and future generations.

When it comes to the Longwu regime, it is necessary to mention Zheng Zhilong. A legendary figure who went from being too poor to afford to eat, to learning to speak more Chinese, to engaging in "maritime trade" and "money and beauty".

Di Si counterattacked

Some people explain that the death began in Wanli, the Wanli Emperor reigned for 48 years, there were 27 years of non-access to the dynasty, some courtiers have not seen the emperor until death, the dynasty is chaotic, and the people's lives are becoming more and more difficult. Zheng Zhilong was born in this era.

Zheng Zhilong, zi Yue Jia, small character one official, born in the thirty-second year of the Wanli Calendar (1604), his father Zheng Shibiao was a small official, should have been able to get by, how to be a difficult world, his father Zheng Shibiao did not pay attention to "temperate production", and gave birth to three brothers in one breath. As the saying goes, "half a child, eat poor old man", every day you open your mouth to eat and wear, and the days get worse and worse.

Although the imperial court regarded population growth as a moral government and the growth of the country's wealth, it did not encourage the people to have children, nor did it restrict the people from having children.

Hold your own baby and raise your own.

Zheng Shibiao raised his third son, just like he is now raising his third son, his heart is to earn a house and a car, and his heart is congested and bitter.

The ancients adopted sons, what to do if they can't move. Grow up to a certain age, open the door of the house, let it support itself.

Just like the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin had nothing suitable to do in his hometown when he was 20 years old, and a big man was not embarrassed to eat idle meals at home (there were many people in the family, and his father's salary could not afford to support), so he left home to find a way out, and later broke out of the world.

The old Zheng family was more difficult than the old Zhao family, in 1621, Zheng Zhilong was 17 years old, Zheng Shibiao really couldn't stand it, and directly sent the two brothers Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhihu out of the door and sought food for themselves.

The two brothers Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhihu could not continue to mix in their hometown, and other places certainly could not mix, because at that time, all parts of Daming were the same, and the people's livelihood was increasingly withering everywhere, and there was no place to mix and eat.

The goals of Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhihu were clear, and they went to Macau to join their uncle Huang Cheng.

Macau, one of the few windows to the world in the Ming Dynasty at that time.

At that time, the Western countries had already opened the era of great navigation, engaged in colonization and global trade, and the Ming Dynasty boasted that it was a heavenly kingdom, and it did not hear anything out of the window and concentrated on studying Confucius.

Spain is mainly to the west and Portugal to the east.

In 1513, Ovich, the first Portuguese to reach China, sailed from Malacca to Tuen Mun Ao at the mouth of the Pearl River in Guangdong province and traded spices with the local population.

In 1553, Portuguese began to live in Macau.

In 1557, the Portuguese obtained the right of residence in Macau, where the Ming Dynasty established an official office under the direct jurisdiction of Guangdong Province.

Compared with other coastal and vast inland areas, Macao is prosperous on the one hand and withered on the other (the reason for this is the incompetence of the rulers, closed to the country), Guangdong and other coastal areas can not continue to live, many people go to Macao, hoping to make a living.

Huang Cheng, the uncle of the Zheng family, is one of the few achievements in Macau.

Huang Cheng also couldn't mix in his hometown in his early years, first doing business, and then slowly breaking into Macao and occupying his heels.

After Huang Cheng received the Zheng Zhilong brothers, he was also very embarrassed, no one was rich in that era, and he had two more mouths to eat.

This meal certainly could not be eaten in vain, but I could not bear to drive away my two nephews. Therefore, let Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhihu brothers be their own partners.

Of course, the wages do not want to think, the package you eat the package you live in also want the salary, is not an international joke!

Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhihu did not talk about wages, and when they arrived in Macao, everything was fresh, so they wanted to do something long.

It is said that reading thousands of books is not as good as walking thousands of miles, and this truth has been fully reflected in Zheng Zhilong's body. Zheng Zhilong followed Huang Cheng to the north and south, to Luzon, to Manila, and learned Lusita and Portuguese along the way, which laid a solid foundation for his future business and pirate career.

From this point of view, Zheng Zhilong has surpassed ordinary people.

Today's students from elementary school to junior high school, high school, college, English is still half a day can not burp a word, Zheng Zhilong learned Lucita and Portuguese in less than 2 years, and later learned Japanese, Dutch, Spanish, if placed in today is also a living linguistics bully.

In 1623, Zheng Zhilong was 19 years old and studied boat running and trading with Huang Cheng for two years. Huang Cheng then sent Zheng Zhilong to escort a batch of white sugar, Qinan, musk, deerskins and other goods to Japan.

From Macau to Japan, going to sea depends on the weather, relying on the monsoon, unilaterally taking at least 1-2 months. The return trip will have to rely on the monsoon, and it will not be possible to return to Macao without half a year.

The intention is very obvious, Huang Cheng is to sharpen Zheng Zhilong. If you don't go back to Macau, you won't go back to Macau, and you can stand on your own outside.

After 2 years of wandering, Zheng Zhilong is full of curiosity about the outside world and gladly accepts the task of escorting goods.

After arriving in Japan, Zheng Zhilong wanted to go outside to try his hands and feet, and quickly left Huang Cheng, but was quickly punched in the face by reality.

At that time, Japan also pursued a closed country policy, and the opportunity to get rich was no more than that of the Ming Dynasty. Zheng Zhilong had to sell some shoes and help people sew clothes for a living.

After being punched in the face, Zheng Zhilong had a certain understanding of this strange world and a certain understanding of himself. One cannot easily leave the platform, and after leaving it may be nothing.

Zheng Zhilong went from fiercely wanting to leave his uncle Huang Cheng, and now he had to go back in ashes. He returned to his uncle's door and helped him sell sugar, Qinan, musk and other things in Japan, and became Huang Cheng's first-class agent in Japan.

But this agent is very depressed and works for free. This model has continued to this day, today's Guangdong, Fujian and other places people to break overseas, generally first turn to relatives and friends, follow the study of business, you do not need to pay tuition, but he will not give you too much salary, at most manage the meal, control.

First let you taste the pain of life, it is also a kind of advance experience for starting a business in the future.

As the days passed, Zheng Zhilong became familiar with the Japanese environment and had new ideas. Although his uncle was good to him, he did not make much money with him.

Therefore, Zheng set his sights on the great pirate Li Dan, who had more money, more ships, more people, and more beautiful women.

Zheng decisively turned to Li Dan to help him manage his business. At the same time, he also recognized Li Dan as a father, and he recognized Gan Dad, and Gan Dad may not have recognized him explicitly.

"Dry Daddy" Li Dan saw that Zheng Zhilong, a young man, was capable and had a high language talent, and he trusted Zheng Zhilong more and more.

People like capable people.

Soon, Li Dan gave Zheng Zhilong some of his assets and ships, allowing him to do business in Vietnam and reap great profits. Zheng Zhilong earned the first bucket of gold in his life.

However, in a few years, Zheng Zhilong became a huge rich man, living in Japan, often traveling between China and Japan, and became a leading figure of overseas Chinese in Japan at that time.

After having money, it is generally necessary to pursue power and fame. With the capital of overseas Chinese leaders, Zheng Zhilong met with the retired former shogun Tokugawa Hidetada and offered medicine.

What drug history books do not say, it may be a powerful pill, you can brain supplement ...

This meeting was very successful, and after being received by the former shogun, Zheng Zhilong's fame increased greatly, and his position in the hearts of the Japanese people also increased greatly.

Hirado Domain was the center of Japan's foreign trade at that time, and merchant ships from all over the world gathered, and Zheng Zhilong also flocked to it.

While making money in hirado business, Zheng also paid attention to contact with Japanese officials and was favored by the local princes Matsuura clan.

The Matsuura clan gave Zheng Zhilong the land to build a new home, and introduced Tagawa Matsu, daughter of Emperor Tagawa Yu, a vassal of the Hirado Domain, to Zheng Zhilong.

Tagawa Matsunen is seventeen, beautiful and dignified.

At this point, Zheng Zhilong has wealth, a new house, a wife, and a Japanese wife.

From a person who went out to make a living, became the CEO of Li Dan Pirates (taking care of business for Li Dan), and married Bai Fumei, Zheng Zhilong spent 4 years.

Self-reliant portal

When people have great luck, good things happen one after another. Funerals can also turn into joy.

In 1625, Zheng Zhilong's rich and powerful father Li Dan, a great pirate, died, and his father died and took charge.

The better news is that Li Dan has no children and no daughters, and when dividing the inheritance, Li Dan divided Taiwan's industries and business industries to Zheng Zhilong, and since then Zheng is no longer the CEO and has become a real boss.

Gan Dad died, Zheng Zhilong was very sad, this sadness should be true.

One of them, Li Dan, is Zheng's reborn parent and gave him everything;

Second, when Zheng was serving Li Dan, if there was any slight hypocrisy, Li Dan, as an old man, could definitely feel it, and the consequences were unimaginable.

Sad to sad, the days still have to go on, Zheng Zhilong picked up his mood and prepared to do a big job.

Just when Zheng Zhilong's heart was surging with emotion, when he looked at his family background and base area "Taiwan", his heart was cold for half a knot.

Taiwan is a treasure island, but it also needs to be developed to be a treasure island. At that time, the degree of development of Taiwan was very low, and it belonged to a barbaric land.

What to do?

Talent is the key factor.

All economies ultimately serve people, and no one can only entertain themselves. Looking at today, the strategy of grabbing people in major cities is this truth.

The opportunity soon came. From 1626 to 1627, there was a severe drought in southern Fujian, that is, Zheng Zhilong's hometown, and the red soil was everywhere, and many villages even ate the bark of grass roots.

On the whole, the imperial court was still busy engaging in corruption and degeneration, and there was no time to take care of the victims, and a few officials with conscience were also powerless.

Seeing this, Zheng Zhilong saw an opportunity, saw a great opportunity to exert benevolence and save all the people; second, he could develop Taiwan and accumulate strength; and third, he could contain the power of the Dutch.

The imperial court does not care about the victims, I will take care of it. Zheng Zhilong raised his arm and called out, and the people responded. It is like a country facing the epidemic now regardless of the domestic slums, the local underworld can not see it, the underworld to manage.

The vacuum of power can quickly be filled.

The ordinary people of Fujian under the severe drought have no food to eat, and when they see a glimmer of hope, they will not give up, help the old and the young, and are willing to listen to Zheng Zhilong's arrangement.

Zheng Zhilong quickly mobilized a large number of ships to transport tens of thousands of starving people from the prefecture to Taiwan to expand the reclamation, and laid out a way out for the people, and the prestige was higher than that of the official government.

The government is a very wonderful organization, he himself does not do good things, others do good things, he is not allowed to do. Because others have won the hearts and minds of the people if they have done it, the government has lost the hearts of the people.

See Zheng Zhilong transporting tens of thousands of hungry people to Taiwan to seek a living, one piece of great merit, one piece of great virtue. The official government stopped doing it, and Zheng Zhilong's rival, the official businessman Xu Xinsu, stopped doing it.

Xu Xinsu, a maritime merchant and pirate representative figure at the end of the Ming Dynasty, befriended the Japanese Chinese leader Li Dan as his representative on the mainland.

Xu Xinsu is also Li Danyi's brother.

When Li Dan was working hard in Japan, Xu Xinsu built a supply network in mainland areas such as Xiamen, the capital of Quanzhou, and then shipped the silk and other commodities needed by Li Dan to Taiwan and then transferred them to Li Dan's hands.

As soon as Li Dan died, Xu Xinsu had less support, and the sea cargo often faced the plunder of pirates.

Xu Xinsu first sought help from the Dutch and formed a self-defense force, but the effect was not very good. In addition, the relationship between the Dutch and the Ming Dynasty government was not good, so Xu Xinsu decided to become an official businessman.

Xu Xinsu bought the key figure of coastal defense at that time, The Chief Soldier Yu Zhigao (the son of the famous anti-Wu general Yu Dayu), for 20,000 gold, and became Yu's confidant. Xu helped Yu recruit pirates to make meritorious contributions, while playing the brand of the imperial court to do business and make a fortune.

In 1626, Xu Xinsu became the chief of the water master because of his merits in appeasing the pirate Yang Lu and others, ushering in the highlight moment of his life.

When Li Dan was there, Xu Xinsu was Li Dan's agent in the mainland and nominally righteous brother, Zheng Zhilong was the CEO and son of Li Dan Group, and Xu and Zheng were also harmonious.

As soon as Li Dan died, the group split up, Xu Xinsu was an official and businessman, responsible for the mainland and Taiwan routes, and Zheng Zhilong inherited Li Dan's industry and career in Taiwan, which inevitably led to conflicts of interest.

There is no room for two hegemons in one sea, and Xu and Zheng will eventually duel.

Just in 1626-1627, when there was a drought in Fujian, Zheng Zhilong used his fleet of ships to transport hungry people to Taiwan to seek a new life, and the scenery overshadowed Xu Xinsu and became the fuse of the duel between the two.

Xu Xinsu said to Yu Zhigao: "I have imposed a sea ban in the DPRK, and Zheng Zhilong has illegally engaged in maritime trade and pirate activities, and should be severely cracked down."

Yu Zhigao replied, "Yes."

Yu Zhigao and Xu Xinsu xing recruited Zheng Zhilong and were defeated by Zheng Zhilong, and Xu Xinsu was also killed by Zheng Zhilong.

After this, Zheng Zhilong truly inherited the strength of Li Dan and became the hegemon of the southeast coast.

This hegemonic court could not be shaken.

First, zheng zhilong transported tens of thousands of starving people from Quanzhou to Taiwan to survive in the year of the great famine and won the hearts of the people. The government ignored this and lost the hearts and minds of the people.

When the government wants to pursue Zheng Zhilong, the people will still report to Zheng.

Second, the tens of thousands of starving people who went to Taiwan to reclaim the famine are equivalent to becoming Zheng Zhilong's "base people" and are the capital on which Zheng Zhilong relies.

Third, Zheng Zhilong defeated Yu Zhigao, killed his opponent Xu Xinsu, established a will, and integrated all the forces left by Li Dan, and no one could match it.

In 1627, Zheng Zhilong was 23 years old and standing.

Dominate the southeast coast

The 17th century was the era of Dutch coachmen at sea, and the tentacles of the Netherlands had spread all over the world.

On the contrary, Daming self-destructed the Great Wall, imposed a sea ban, and chose to be when the ostrich buried its head in the sand and exposed its ass for others to kick.

The Dutch, the Portuguese, and the Japanese (Wokou) all came up and kicked a few kicks, but the Ming Dynasty felt that it was nothing, at most it was to rob, at most to grab some money, kill some people, burn some houses, etc., and would not threaten its own rule.

The Ming Dynasty considered the greatest threat to come from the Mongol Tartars north of the Great Wall, the Manchu Tartars, and of course the peasant rebels in the territory, who did not pay much attention to the sea, even if the pirates swarmed.

The more the government prohibits it, the more opportunities it has to get rich. Li Dan and Zheng Zhilong just ignored the imperial court's policy of forbidding the sea and made a fortune by asking for a living from the sea.

The Ming government did not want the sea, but the Westerners wanted the sea, and the people at the bottom of the Ming Dynasty also wanted it, so conflict was inevitable.

After the Ming Dynasty officials and troops retreated from the sea, civilian maritime forces such as Zheng Zhilong rose up and filled the blanks, of course, at this time, the Netherlands also took advantage of the void.

Zheng Zhilong was very unhappy that the Dutch entered the China Sea without permission, and took advantage of the fact that they were right at home to intercept Dutch ships from time to time.

Such friction between the two sides for a long time, it is inevitable to produce some sparks.

Time: 1627

Location: Taiwan

The two sides of the fight: the Dutch garrison in Taiwan (the invaders), Zheng Zhilong's personal armed forces

Result: Zheng Zhilong won, and the Dutch garrison in Taiwan was defeated

Impact: Zheng Zhilong's prestige is even worse, but Zheng Zhilong did not drive the Dutch away from Taiwan.

At this point, on the southeast coast, no one dared to easily find Zheng Zhilong to break his wrist.

People are afraid of being famous pigs are afraid of being strong, and trees are big and windy, and Zheng Zhilong is no exception.

In the eyes of the Ming rulers, the Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese were thousands of miles away, and they were all foreign countries, but when their own people Zheng Zhilong rose on the southeast coast, the Zhu family emperor was worried, whether the southeast coast was surnamed Zhu or Zheng.

Perhaps every government is not afraid of external enemies, but of its own "internal thieves". What every dictator fears most is the rebellion of his own people.

Seeing that Zheng Zhilong's power was growing day by day, although Zheng Zhilong's power blocked the invasion of external forces such as the Netherlands, the Zhu family emperor was more worried.

After several mobilizations of troops, the officers and troops were beaten to a pulp. Moreover, Zheng Zhilong has always been at sea, his whereabouts are uncertain, and the officers and men are dizzy when they think of the sea, and they are in trouble.

If he can't win, he will join him, or co-opt him. From 1627 to 1628, the Ming Dynasty government Quanzhou Patrol Haidao Cai Shanji and Fujian Inspector Xiong Wencan successively appeased Zheng Zhilong.

His brothers Zheng Zhihu and Zheng Zhibao successively advised Zheng Zhilong that the tiger should not leave the mountain and the shark should not be in the sea, and should not accept the solicitation, and the day of dominating the sea was very good.

I don't know whether the influence of Confucianism was too strong, or Zheng Zhilong missed his hometown, or the conditions in Taiwan at that time were too poor Zheng Zhilong was bored, zheng Zhilong actually accepted the Ming Dynasty's recruitment.

In September 1628, Zheng Zhilong accepted the invitation, led his troops to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, and moved from Taiwan to Fujian (the Dutch in Taiwan laughed), and the Ming Dynasty named him "Five Tigers Guerrilla General", equivalent to the current "Minister of the County People's Armed Forces".

No grade, no grade, Zheng Zhilong does not care about this, as long as the sea power is in his own hands.

The reason why he is willing to accept Ming's solicitation also has his own considerations:

After accepting the invitation, they can take the brand of the imperial court to strengthen their own maritime empire, and all the maritime forces that do not obey their orders can justifiably go to the name of the officials and troops to suppress it. Just as Xu Xinsu attacked Zheng Zhilong with the sign of the official army.

Zheng Zhilong received a Confucian education from an early age, although he did not like to read, but he was still somewhat influenced, and the concept that whoever sat in China would recognize who was the boss can be seen from his surrender to the Qing Dynasty later.

When he became an official of the imperial court, he could honor his ancestors and return to his hometown. After Zheng Zhilong accepted Zhao'an, he built a luxurious mansion in Anhai Town, Jinjiang, covering an area of 138 acres. This can also be seen in his later sending his son Zheng Chenggong to study at Da Ru Qian Qian.

The life of a pirate is really too hard, not as thrilling, romantic, and exciting as Captain Jack imagines. Although Zheng Zhilong was a pirate leader and a maritime merchant leader, there was no air conditioning on the ship at that time, and life at sea was very difficult, and the degree of development in Taiwan, where he settled, was not high, and he was not comfortable.

Based on the above considerations, Zheng Zhilong still accepted the court's offer, and Zheng Zhilong changed from a pirate to a person who fought pirates.

Since 1627, when the Dutch garrison in Taiwan fought a fight with Zheng Zhilong's department and lost the battle, he often thought of turning the tables over again.

In 1633, the Dutch East India Company fleet vs Zheng Zhilongbu (nominally flying the banner of Daming), the two sides fought in the Battle of Kinmen, zheng shenghe was defeated.

Zheng Zhilong once again proved his maritime strength.

Since then, the sea atmosphere has been quite popular, and foreign goods have been sold, all under the banner of Zheng. Zheng Zhilong's trade scope was wide as that of the East (Japan) and the South China Sea (South China Sea).

The army consisted of Han Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Austronesians, black Africans and other ethnic groups, about 200,000. With a fleet of more than three thousand large and small ships, it became the maritime hegemon of the southeast coast and even the western Pacific Ocean.