PDLP Chapter 662 A gentleman ignores his conduct and his heart
Chapter 662 A gentleman ignores his conduct and his heart
After Zheng Sen said this, Zheng Zhilong finally realized the seriousness of the problem.
When that kid came to visit his house, he smiled at everyone. When he came to the Zheng family to order warships, he was also very negotiated and spoke nicely.
The most important thing is that the boy also accepted the silver that the Zheng family gave him.
I originally thought that this person was just a young man who became famous but had no big ambitions, and that he only had his current status because of the trust of the emperor.
Now I think I was a little too arrogant.
How could a family that cannot even be tolerated by the gentry of the world tolerate a behemoth like the Zheng family that can threaten the imperial court?
When he came to order warships before, Zheng Zhilong thought that the guy was just putting on an act to show off to the emperor.
Now that I think about it carefully, I'm afraid that at that time, that kid was trying to deal with Zheng Zhilong.
Considering that this person not only ordered warships from his Zheng family, he also secretly ordered a total of thirty large galleons from the red-haired barbarians.
There were also a large number of cannons ordered from the French. It is said that one hundred of them were for equipping the imperial navy, and they were large-caliber copper cannons.
The more Zheng Zhilong thought about it, the more frightened he became, and the more regretful he became. He regretted his arrogance over the years.
"Alas, ever since my Zheng family returned home, we brothers have rarely gone out to sea, and the affairs of Southeast Asia are now handled by our subordinates.
This person, now that he is old and has made achievements, he wants to be famous, and it is easy for him to go wrong if he rebels against the situation.
Da Mu is right. I misjudged the situation and may have sent my Zheng family into a fire pit."
This time, Zheng Zhilong was not angry with his son. Instead, he respected Zheng Sen even more.
Zheng Zhilong glanced around at his brothers and frowned:
"You guys hold important positions, why haven't you tried to persuade this old man in the past few years?"
Zheng Zhihu and Zheng Zhibao looked at each other and suddenly felt a little confused. They thought that for so many years, they had always followed their eldest brother's words. Both of them rarely made any suggestions and could be said to be following his lead.
Zheng Zhibiao was also a little helpless. He had advised him more than once, but his elder brother never listened.
Now I blame my brothers, what a shame...
Fortunately, Zheng Zhilong only complained and did not really blame his brothers. He quickly said:
"It's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep have been lost. Fortunately, nothing serious has happened and everything can still be salvaged.
Doesn’t the Duke of Zhenguo like silver? Oh, I think he also cares about the Persian woman I gave him last time.
Third brother, why don’t you prepare some more money and send them to the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion together with the Persian woman.
Well, one woman might not be enough, as the Duke of Zhenguo is young and strong.
So, didn’t your mansion send a lot of black women a while ago?
I think the Duke of Zhenguo has never seen them before. You go and pick a few and let that kid have a taste.
besides……"
"Father, if the Duke of Zhenguo is truly greedy for money, would he still take action against the gentry?"
Although Zheng Zhilong has somewhat disregarded the imperial court in recent years due to his past achievements and family background, he has always been very generous to imperial officials.
This can be considered as catering to his wishes. What is the purpose of being an official?
It's nothing more than power and money, that's easy.
While he was thinking, he told the third son to do it, but before he could finish, he was interrupted by his rebellious son again.
Zheng Sen once again interrogated the people present.
Is the Zheng family rich? The answer is of course yes.
But what if we compare it with all the gentry in the previous Ming Dynasty?
One gentry may not be enough, but there were tens of thousands of gentry in the Ming Dynasty at that time.
Especially those who hold high positions, Zheng Sen doesn't believe that they have never thought about giving money and women to the Duke of Zhenguo. They have always done so.
Those guys who are nominally officials appointed by the imperial court, but secretly almost monopolize the land and businesses in their ancestral hometowns, and even engage in smuggling, have so much silver that it can rot in the cellar.
However, even so, the Duke of Zhenguo attacked them without hesitation.
The reason why Zheng Sen made such a judgment was that he later heard that when the Duke of Zhenguo first met the emperor, he proposed to call on the nobles to donate silver to the court.
Moreover, the donation was several hundred thousand taels, and I heard that it was all the cash in the Duke of England's mansion.
Could such a person really be a greedy person?
Maybe, but a gentleman judges by deeds, not by heart.
"Nephew, what you mean is that he accepted the generous gift from our Zheng family just to paralyze us?" Zheng Zhihu frowned.
"My nephew thinks it's possible." Zheng Sen nodded.
"His father is a hereditary duke, and he is also a duke, and has already taken control of the entire military. If a man likes silver, countless people will rush to give it to him.
But I have never heard of such a thing. My Zheng family also has spies in the capital, and you uncles should understand."
Zheng Sen added.
"I think it's very likely too." Zheng Zhibiao took over the conversation.
He had previously sailed with the Duke of Zhenguo for several days, and was considered the person in the Zheng family who had the most contact with the Duke of Zhenguo.
At first, Zheng Zhibiao only felt that this young marshal was different from others. What he said and did were beyond his stereotype of court officials.
The most important thing is that Zheng Zhibiao had personally seen Zhang Shikang eating with the lower-level soldiers on the same ship.
Yes, it was a big pot meal prepared by the cook on the ship. There was no meat or oil, but the Duke of Zhenguo ate it with relish and even made dirty jokes with the lower-level soldiers.
This is completely different from the grand banquet his elder brother hosted at Zheng's house.
He suddenly felt more and more confused, he couldn't see through this person.
Zheng Zhilong seemed to remember something and couldn't help frowning.
If this is true, he is really in a dilemma.
After a moment of silence, Zheng Zhilong frowned and said:
"What should we do now?
You guys can also talk about it."
Zheng Zhilong didn't even raise his head while speaking. It was obvious that as the head of the Zheng family, such remarks were tantamount to asking for help, which made him feel a little embarrassed and uncomfortable.
But Zheng Zhihu and Zheng Zhibao have been doing their work for so many years, and it is really a bit overwhelming for them to be asked for their opinions like this.
"He doesn't like beautiful women and money. Where in the world can there be such a person?" Zheng Zhihu grinned.
"That's right. Didn't that kid have seven or eight concubines in Nanjing? I heard that they were all singers. Da Mu, don't overestimate that kid." Zheng Zhibao also said.
Zheng Zhibiao shook his head helplessly upon hearing this.
"Alas, if my two brothers still look down on others like this, it's not unfair that my Zheng family is in crisis."
In the early years, they brothers traveled across Southeast Asia, through mountains of swords and seas of fire, wind and rain to get to where they are today. Now that they are older, they always like to be arrogant.
But Zheng Zhibiao felt that this was a matter of great importance to the rise and fall of the Zheng family. If he still looked down on others, he would be close to death.
A few people chatted with each other, but after half a minute, they still couldn't come to a conclusion.
In the end, Zheng Zhibiao looked at Zheng Sen, hoping that he could also express his opinion.
Although Zheng Sen is only eighteen or nineteen years old, he has his own set of principles in dealing with people and looking at problems.
Zheng Zhihu and Zhibao also looked at Zheng Sen after hearing this, but they no longer had any contempt for him.
Zheng Sen did not speak immediately. He frowned and thought for a while before he said calmly:
"For now, no matter how clever we are, it's better to be open and honest with the country."
……