Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 307 Anping Old House

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Two flowers bloom, one on each side.

The Qiongzhou Army split into two routes. The fighting at Zhongzuo Fortress was quite intense. Although they encountered some resistance, the two infantry battalions steadily pushed forward, and the battle plan was successfully completed. On the Anping side, the difficulty was even lower. Facing the heavily armed guards and special forces, plus two additional infantry companies, the town of Anping, which had virtually no defenses, was taken in one fell swoop. The townspeople were still in shock when this group of menacing people stormed in. While Shi Ying was still fighting against the rattan armor soldiers, Lin San and Qin Tian had already led their men to surround the Zheng family's old house. It went much more smoothly than expected. The local government was powerless to resist, and the people were each minding their own business.

At this time, the Zheng family's old residence was not the luxurious mansion that covered hundreds of acres in the early Qing Dynasty. It was merely the size of a local prominent family. With the front and back gates blocked, all the more than one hundred people inside, young and old, could not escape.

When Lin San and Qin Tian burst through the door, Wang Qinian, who had been waiting for a long time, came forward to greet them: "Please move to the inner courtyard, the Zheng clan members are all inside."

Upon reaching the inner courtyard, Zheng Hongkui, pale-faced, stood alone, with hundreds of people, men, women, and children, kneeling in fear behind him.

Lin San said expressionlessly, "Fourth Master Zheng, very good. You have indeed kept all the clansmen within the house as we agreed, preventing them from running around and saving us the trouble of searching and questioning them..."

Upon hearing this, the Zheng clan members on the ground looked up at Zheng Hongkui in surprise. When this gang of thugs stormed into the town, gunfire erupted, and everyone tried to escape, but Fourth Master stopped them. Could it be that Fourth Master was in cahoots with these people?

Zheng Hongkui's face was grim. His words were ambiguous and could lead to misunderstandings among the clansmen; that wasn't the case. However, he couldn't worry about that right now; he was concerned about something more important.

He asked in a low voice, "My older brother... he lost?"

Only if Zheng Zhilong is defeated and retreats to Zhongzuo, would the Qiongzhou camp be able to come to Anping so brazenly. It seems that my elder brother is in grave danger.

Lin San grinned and replied in a loud voice, "Your eldest brother suffered a crushing defeat in the naval battle. Hundreds of ships and nearly 10,000 men have all gone to the bottom of the sea to meet the Dragon King. Now that he has retreated back to Suocheng, I'm afraid he will not escape the fate of being beheaded!"

Zheng Hongkui's vision blurred. If the burly man's words were true, then things were worse than he had imagined. The Zheng family was facing an unprecedented crisis, a catastrophic disaster. He had originally thought that the naval defeat would simply mean retreating to land, waiting for the Qiongzhou camp to withdraw, and then trying to make a comeback. He also thought that the Qiongzhou camp in Anping had only taken a few hostages to threaten his elder brother. He never expected such a complete defeat, and in the end, he feared they wouldn't even be able to hold onto Suocheng.

The clansmen and servants kneeling on the ground felt despair. Some began to sigh, and the women couldn't help but sob softly.

Lin San glared and roared, "What are you howling about? If you howl again, I'll cut your tongue out first!" He was burly and had a fierce appearance. His voice stunned everyone, and the crying stopped abruptly.

Qin Tian said coldly, "Fourth Master Zheng, as the general ordered, you have cooperated with us and have done a good job. We will give you a special privilege: point out your wife and children and have them stand aside."

Zheng Hongkui was shocked. Were they going to take everyone except his family hostage? He felt a little reluctant, but he had no choice but to submit to the situation. As long as they could save their lives, he could slowly find a way to plead for them and bring them back later.

He hesitated for a moment, but finally obediently pointed out his wife and children in the crowd. His wives and concubines, along with their children, stood timidly to the side.

Qin Tian urged from behind, "Have you all identified them?"

Just as Zheng Hongkui was about to answer, he suddenly noticed a dark-skinned boy staring at him from the crowd, his eyes filled with a pleading look. He paused, then looked closer and realized it was his nephew, Zheng Fusong. Fusong had smeared some kind of ash or mud on his face, turning his once fair complexion dark, making him look like a fisherman's boy who had been exposed to the sun and rain all day.

Seeing Fu Song's pleading eyes, Zheng Hongkui hesitated for a moment.

At this moment, he recalled the times he had visited young Fukumatsu in Hirado on his elder brother's orders. He had practically watched this nephew grow up, and he couldn't bear to hand him over to the Qiongzhou camp. Although he harbored resentment towards his elder brother, the child was innocent, and he couldn't take his anger out on Fukumatsu.

Zheng Hongkui extended his index finger again, which he had previously retracted: "This is my son's page who accompanies him in his studies. He is treated like half a son and is considered part of my household."

Wang Qinian stood far away, glancing casually in this direction. He didn't immediately recognize that this was Zheng Zhilong's son, since he had only met Fusong once. Although he was very good at recognizing faces, he was caught off guard by Zheng Fusong's deliberate attempt to conceal his true appearance. Without a close inspection, he wouldn't be able to spot anything amiss.

Lin Sanjian was just a child, dressed very plainly, like a servant. He waved his hand dismissively and said, "Fine, go stand over there."

Zheng Fusong stood up silently, head bowed, and walked into his fourth uncle's family. Once he was in place, his heart pounded wildly. In truth, he wasn't as calm as he appeared; he was terrified. Unlike his fourth uncle, he felt these people were up to no good and wouldn't just show off their power; a bloodbath was likely to ensue. So, in the chaos, he grabbed some dirt from the ground, spat on his face, and exchanged his outer garment with his page, waiting for a chance to beg his fourth uncle for help. Fortunately, this plan worked, and he successfully escaped.

Zheng Hongkui bowed respectfully to Lin San and said, "What is your honorable surname, leader? How do you intend to deal with my Zheng clan? I have reached an agreement with your general. He promised not to harm my clansmen if I ensure they do not resist or flee..."

Lin San remained silent, his face stern, seemingly uninterested in answering the question. He simply gestured to his subordinates. The men understood and went to relay the order. Soon, squads of soldiers entered the courtyard, filling it to capacity. Each soldier stared at the Zheng family members opposite them with hostile eyes, like hunters eyeing their prey.

Lin San grinned and said, "Hey, Master Zheng, you didn't think we went to all this trouble to come to your Zheng family's old residence just to invite your clansmen for a meal and drinks, did you?"

Zheng Hongkui was startled, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart. He pressed, "What do you want?"

Lin San did not answer immediately. After more than two hundred soldiers surrounded a hundred unarmed women, children and the elderly, he casually asked, "Are your Zheng brothers and your family members among them?"

Zheng Hongkui answered instinctively, "I'm the only able-bodied man with a job; the rest of us are with my elder brother on the navy's ships to fight the enemy. These are all the wives and children from each family, the oldest being fourteen or fifteen, and the youngest only three or four..."

Lin San nodded: "In other words, all the male members who could potentially become the heir of the Zheng family are here..."