Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 246 Zheng Hongkui's Encounters

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Zheng Hongkui tried to defend himself, but before he could finish speaking, Zheng Zhilong waved his hand to stop him.

"Alright, I was just saying that. I didn't mean that your death was your fault. Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its debtor. We should be looking for trouble with Liu Xiang."

Zheng Hongkui felt a little relieved, but Zheng Zhilong's next words made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

"...However, Fourth Brother, you've been having a run of bad luck lately, encountering misfortune time and time again. Why don't you go back to the old house in Anping to recuperate for a while... Let A-Cai handle the business in Japan for now. She's already familiar with it, so just do everything the old way."

Zheng Cai hesitated before stepping forward and saying to Zheng Zhilong, "Thank you for your trust, Chief. I will definitely handle things properly..." Then she glanced back at Zheng Hongkui, lowered her head, and retreated.

Apart from Zheng Zhilong, the eldest son, all the brothers in the Zheng family had their own duties, the importance of which determined their status within the family. Zheng Hongkui, due to his shrewdness and thoroughness, was always in charge of managing Zhongzuo's trade with Japan. A large portion of the Zheng family's income came from this trade route, and Zheng Hongkui's status rose accordingly, second only to his second brother, Zheng Zhihu. Now, being sent back to the old Anping residence and left idle—although Zheng Zhilong phrased it tactfully, it was clear to everyone that this was a move to remove him from the core circle of the Zheng family and sideline him.

Zheng Hongkui was utterly despondent, repeatedly saying that the fault was not his. However, his elder brother's actions clearly blamed him. Perhaps in his brother's eyes, he hadn't been proactive enough in rescuing his second brother, and hadn't put in enough effort, which indirectly led to his second brother's tragic death at Liu Xiang's hands. Adding to this the old grievances of the Kinmen Island robbery and the attack on the Zhongzuo Police Station, this outcome was somewhat expected.

After a long pause, Zheng Hongkui came to his senses and found Zheng Zhilong still staring at him with piercing eyes. A chill ran down his spine, and he forced himself to reply, "...Thank you for your concern, brother. Things haven't been going well lately, and I'm quite tired. I'll go back to Anping to rest for a while..."

Seeing that Zheng Hongkui obediently accepted his arrangement, Zheng Zhilong shifted his gaze from him and turned to Zheng Zhiwan: "Go to Qiongzhou Prefecture again and urge them to finish that batch of cannons. Although the man surnamed Xia keeps saying that it will take three months to cast them, it is probably just an excuse. We have already paid the full amount of money for the cannons in advance, so make him deliver them as soon as possible."

Zheng Zhiwan respectfully replied, "Yes, I will set off tomorrow."

"There's no need to rush in a day or two. The man surnamed Liu just left today, and he just finished fighting. He'll have things to take care of when he gets back to Lingao, so he probably won't have time to see you. Let's wait a few days before setting off."

"understood."

Zheng Zhilong squinted and glanced again in the direction Liu Ye had left. By now, the Qiongzhou fleet had become just black dots on the horizon, about to disappear from sight. After a while, he said calmly, "The guests have left; let's go back."

The Zheng brothers followed Zheng Zhilong and left the dock together.

The two fleets of Qiongzhou Camp met at Nan'ao Island and rested for a night under the warm hospitality of Nan'ao Deputy Commander Tang Baicai before returning to Lingao the next day.