Chapter 118 Chapter 12 Father and Son

In February of the second year of Longwu in the Southern Ming Dynasty (1646 A.D.), the Qing army made a large-scale southern expedition, and the front of the army pointed directly at Fujian, Zheng Zhilong's sphere of influence.On the way of the Qing army's southward march, Zheng Zhilong had already started negotiating with his secret envoys about surrendering.In order to express his sincerity, Zheng Zhilong secretly ordered his subordinates to give up natural dangers, retreat automatically, and leave food and grass for the Qing army to use. Twenty-two-year-old Zheng Chenggong was deeply disturbed by his father's behavior.He had a long conversation with his father.

There is such a record in "Taiwan Wai Ji": Chenggong persuaded: "...with the finer details, the land of Fujian and Guangdong is not as good as the north. If you rely on the high and dangerous and set up an ambush to defend, even if there are millions, it may be difficult to fly by once. Take care of people's hearts and strengthen them. The basics are to open up sea routes and sell various ports to meet their wages. Then select generals to train troops and call on the world. It is not difficult to make progress.” Long said: "Children talk nonsense and don't know the time and the situation. The husband is separated by a natural moat, and the four towns can't resist the army, let alone a corner. If you can't draw a tiger, you are not like a dog?"

Chenggong said: "What my father has seen is roughly, but he has never carefully considered the opportunity. The time and place are favorable, and there are different ears. Although the Qing soldiers and horses are strong, they cannot drive forward for a long time. There are no people in my court, and civil servants exercise power. Once the ice cracks and disintegrates, It caused the tragedy of Meishan. Therefore, in the right time, the door was pushed straight in, and the ugly and ugly were cut off, so as to inherit the great rule. When it came to the southern capital, it was not the Yangtze River that lost its support. If you look carefully at the reason, the emperor is not the emperor who suppressed chaos, and the ministers are too mediocre. Your minister will cause the heroes of the world to hate, and it is difficult to rely on the natural moat. If my father takes advantage of its ruggedness and narrows its danger, the geographical advantage will still exist, and the hearts of the people will be accepted."

Long said: "Knowing the current affairs is a hero. If you recruit me and respect me now, you will respect me. If you fight with each other, once you lose and beg for mercy, you will regret it at that time. You will look down on it, so be careful not to talk about it." Seeing that the dragon refused to follow Chenggong, he pulled his clothes and knelt down and cried: "Husbands and tigers must not leave the mountain, and fish must not escape the abyss; if they leave the mountain, they will lose their prestige, and if they leave the abyss, they will be trapped and killed immediately. My father should think twice."

Zheng Zhilong's choice, in the eyes of the vast majority of Chinese people who have become more and more familiar after the Tang and Song Dynasties, is understandable.After all, at this time the Qing people had already occupied most of the Chinese territory, only Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan had not yet been attached.The combat effectiveness of the Manchurians has been clearly demonstrated time and time again. Fighting the whole situation with one province is no different than a mantis' arms.Since you have to surrender sooner or later, it is better to surrender early than to surrender late, to be active rather than to be forced, and to be active than to be passive.Now that the general trend of the world has been determined, the current countermeasures should be arranged according to the maximization of interests after surrender.

In Zheng Zhilong's view, now is a great opportunity to act "sincerely" and "actively" like a talented actor.He also used the old trick of pirates to make new acquaintances by pouring one's heart and soul into new knowledge. As soon as the Qing people believed in the invitation, they wanted to go alone happily.He didn't take Zheng Chenggong's persuasion to heart at all.In his eyes, although the 22-year-old Zheng Chenggong is smart and capable, he is still a child after all, a child with a yellow mouth, and there is no need to discuss it with him.Therefore, "Long saw the success of his speech, tired of listening, and jumped up", and simply got up and left.

The scheming Zheng Zhilong never imagined that his eldest son with a strong personality would dare to disobey his orders. Not only did he not surrender with him, but he later became the most staunch enemy of the Qing army, and in the end he was so tired that his father died. . Chinese thinkers say that the most fundamental meaning of filial piety lies in "no violation", that is, unconditional obedience to the father.It stands to reason that Zheng Zhilong's considerations are undoubtedly more rational, more realistic, and far-reaching than Zheng Chenggong's.This old pirate, based on his experience in China's social and political turmoil, has clearly judged that the drama of regime change is almost over at this time.The general trend of history cannot be changed.After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, even if he cannot be crowned king and occupy the land like Wu Sangui, Shang Kexi, and Geng Jingzhong, he can certainly retain his vast wealth in Fujian; wearing foreign costumes does not prevent him from continuing to enjoy the glory and wealth of the world.

Therefore, no matter from Zheng Chenggong's own consideration or from the interests of the entire Zheng family, it is a correct choice for Zheng Chenggong to obey his father's order and surrender with peace of mind.Moreover, the evolving Chinese culture has less stringent requirements for "loyalty" than in the Spring and Autumn Period. "Following Heaven and Knowing Fate" is no longer harshly criticized by public opinion, and even the eloquent ministers gave themselves a very righteous reason: "Who is not a loyal minister, who is not a filial son, knowing the destiny will return, and knowing the big things have gone , Surrender to fate, save hundreds of millions of lives, what a man of lofty ideals has done, a man can decide on his own!"

However, Zheng Chenggong made a move that surprised everyone.When Zheng Zhilong ordered him to go with him to meet the officials of the Qing Dynasty, Zheng Chenggong refused to obey and wrote back: "I have never taught my son to be loyal, but I have never heard that my father taught his son to be stern. Now my father does not listen to my son. It's just onyx." This is a rare book of father-son breakup in the history of Chinese culture.Zheng Chenggong jumped out of the shackles of "filial piety" that had shrouded the Chinese people for thousands of years, and achieved his own unique personality.This breakup letter clearly shows Zheng Chenggong's fierce and generous youth character.The difference between Zheng's father and son lies not only in the simple moral labels of "loyalty" and "betrayal", but also in their views on the current situation.

Young people always have a more optimistic and idealistic view of the future and the world.Just as Zheng Chenggong said to his father, there is still a lot to do in the world, "the geographical advantages still exist, and the hearts of the people can be accepted."If it is handled well, "it is not difficult to choose generals to train troops and call on the world to make progress."In Zheng Chenggong's eyes, the current situation is promising, and there are still many miracles waiting for him to create in this world. Another difference between Zheng and his son is their views on life.In Zheng Zhilong's view, such grand things as "nation" and "empire" are tantamount to nothing for him.To live in this world is to have power, wealth, and women, and that is enough.This old pirate's outlook on life is a typical Chinese pragmatism "embodied" outlook on life.The young Zheng Chenggong's outlook on life is undoubtedly a heroic and idealistic outlook on life.

In Zheng Chenggong's view, honor is more important than life, and of course more important than material interests.People live not only for their "body", but also for their "heart".So, not long after, he wrote the unique "Godfather Article" in Chinese history, asking his father to "love himself": My family's drafting was reckless, and the game gathered crowds. The court did not punish it, and even gave it a noble order.As for today, favors and honors have been inherited one after another, the door is closed and worshiped, and the surname is bestowed on the unworthy of the son, the jade plate is held, and the sword is sealed.Since we can't help the king in trouble now, and the clan society has fallen to the ground, how can we bear to turn our backs to survive and turn our backs on other things?My lord disregards righteousness, does not think of his heirs, and throws himself into the tiger's mouth. It is unknown.The matter of Zhao Wu and Wu Yuan, the ancients always thought of the big ones.Only adults work hard to love themselves, don't think about success! Western culture is a patricide culture, while Chinese culture is a son-killing culture.In Chinese history, only fathers teach sons, but where have you seen sons godfather?However, Zheng Chenggong killed his father spiritually and became a unique rebellious son.Later, when negotiating with the Qing court, he repeatedly said: "I don't know there is a father, it's been a long time." He wrote an ambiguous reply letter to Zheng Zhilong, the summary is as follows: It has been eight years since I violated the servant's knee.But my father neither regards his son as a son, nor does my son dare to regard himself as a son.To sit is to greet Kuojue, that is, a word does not communicate.It is always due to the different times that the situation is different, so that the flesh and blood are separated. Since ancient times, righteousness has killed relatives, and ordering fate is not following disorderly fate.The son was just literate and admired the meaning of "Spring and Autumn". Since Bingxu (the second year of Longwu in the Southern Ming Dynasty, AD 1646) when his father drove to Beijing, the son was familiar with the planning and decided to do it. Since the father was wrong before, how can the son be wrong again?In this dynasty, the son is also given a surname and is called a vassal. The position of a minister is already extremely high, so how can there be any additions?Kuang'er's thoughts of fame and fame are light, and if he becomes Feng's wife again, it will be out of his original intention.This can be the ear of a wise man.Otherwise, it will be difficult for the south of the Yangtze River to be at peace for a long time if there are empty names in the air and the real disasters that have already happened, and people's minds are excited. Zheng Chenggong's choice, whether at the time or in the eyes of later generations, was an unwise choice.Although his big tree was tall, it finally failed to hold up the sky of the Ming Dynasty.History has proved the vision and insight of those who surrendered.However, in the long history of China at that time and later, there were too many "junjie" who "knew current affairs" and these people were depressingly smart and dishearteningly rational.Only the appearance of Zheng Chenggong gave history readers a little relief.