Mixed with salted fish in Hongwudang

Chapter 364 Old Zhu Tou Adds Sand to Our Army!

Although Zhang Tianyou knew that Lu Hongfu was a woman, out of respect, he still called her a good brother.

Lu Hongfu glanced at Zhang Tianyou gratefully.

Isn't the reason why she wears men's clothes because she is afraid of being looked down upon?

After all, among the Jiangnan maritime merchants present, he was the only one who was a female streamer.

"Brother Zhang, you are too polite!"

"Although my father was appreciated by the emperor's grandson, he abandoned business and became an official, and no longer engaged in maritime business, but before my father left, he entrusted the family property to me. His intention could not be more obvious. He did not want his affairs to affect the family's property in the capital. .”

"Therefore, my Lu family stands firmly with all uncles and elders, and resolutely resists the imperial court's re-opening of the Shibo Department!"

Lu Hongfu's statement made the maritime merchants present look a lot better, and even Zhang Tianyou, a rising star, also looked at Lu Hongfu with admiration.

He suddenly called Lu Hongfu's name just now, but he actually thought of something.

If the Zhang family and the Lu family marry together, the two forces will merge into one, even if they can't fight against the imperial court, at least they can separate one side in the southwest and become the maritime princes of Ming Dynasty, right?

Of course, his idea was just a flash, he wasn't arrogant enough to think that he could conquer the Lu family.

Although the Lu family is not as powerful as their Zhang family in the sea, their family has been engaged in maritime trade since the Song Dynasty. The inland is deeply rooted and has a large number of clansmen.

If the goods of his Zhang family want to go to sea along the river, it also depends on the face of their Lu family.

"Brother Lu Xian, in your opinion, how should our Nine Great Merchants deal with it?"

The reason why Lu Hongfu was in a hurry to express his opinion just now was because he didn't know how to answer this question.

She has just taken over the clan's business now, and she hasn't figured out many things yet, so how can she know how to deal with the court affairs?

"This will trouble Brother Zhang to think about it."

"I have just taken over the family business, and I have a lot of thoughts at this time. I don't have time to think about these things."

"However, I can express my opinion on behalf of the Lu family. No matter what the uncles and elders do, my Lu family will follow."

Seeing Lu Hongfu say this, Zhang Tianyou immediately showed a satisfied smile on his face.

"Brother Lu Xian expresses his opinion, then this matter will be handled easily!"

"Everyone, although the imperial court is aggressive this time, we have encountered many things in these years, and it is not bad."

"If the court can build a navy, can't we recruit sailors?"

"On land, we can't beat Daming's Guards Army, but when it comes to sea, we have the final say!"

The more Zhang Tianyou talked, the more excited he became, and there was even a faint glint of anti-thief on his face.

However, the audience below was embarrassed, their eyes dodged, and they coughed twice.

They are different from the Zhang family, they just smuggle to make money, but they really never thought of rebelling.

Lu Hongfu didn't want to make trouble either, her own father even ran to hug the court, no matter how stupid she was, she would never engage in rebellious activities.

According to what his father said before leaving, this is called hedging.

If the emperor's grandson is really determined to forge ahead and insist on developing overseas trade, then their Lu family can turn to support the imperial court at any time in setting up a shipping department.

If the emperor's grandson is just playing around and thinks this is too troublesome and doesn't want to go any further, then the Lu family will continue to do the smuggling business.

In a word, their maritime merchants are just businessmen after all, nothing more.

Zhang Tianyou saw that the topic was frozen, so he could only sit down awkwardly, and stopped mentioning the rebellion.

Seeing that Zhang Tianyou had stopped talking, the others chattered and began to discuss.

"Everyone, what do you think we should discuss with the emperor's grandson and give him 300 million taels of silver every year?"

"Isn't he setting up the Shibo Company just to collect taxes? We offer more money than he can collect. There should be no reason for him to refuse, right?"

Another person took the topic and said.

"It would be best if the emperor's grandson is willing. I'm afraid that the emperor's grandson will be greedy and think that money comes too easily, so he wants more."

"How about we organize the weavers to make trouble?"

"There are 20 weavers in Suzhou City. As long as they are organized, the imperial court will definitely be afraid!"

Hearing this, Zhang Tianyou couldn't bear it anymore, and poured cold water on everyone.

"Butcher Zhu is not dead yet!"

"There was a civil uprising while Zhu Tuhu was alive, do you think you lived too long?"

"Uh uh..."

After hearing Zhang Tianyou's words, everyone fell silent again. Even the Patriarch of the Gu family who suggested it felt that he had come up with a bad idea.

But they are not reconciled to let everyone kill at the neck and give up the business at sea.

Ever since, everyone once again fell into a gloomy look.

Lu Hongfu has always kept his father's teachings in mind, watch more and listen more, talk less and do less.

However, now seeing the room full of people, there was no one who could give an idea, which made Lu Hongfu very upset.

Is this still the Nine Masters of Jiangnan?
Nonsence!

"Uncles and elders, if you have no choice, why don't you listen to the younger generation's advice?"

"you?"

There was disdain on everyone's face, but because of the affection of the Lu family, they didn't retort.

Otherwise, in another occasion, a yellow-haired girl who dared to speak would have been reprimanded by them long ago.

Zhang Tianyou was quite excited, and hurriedly made a gesture of invitation.

"Brother Lu Xian, please tell me!"

Lu Hong cleared his throat and said.

"The younger generation has observed the behavior of the emperor's grandson during this period of time, and he can see that the emperor's grandson is quite a well-behaved person. Even if he wants to sell his shares at a high price, it is only done through commercial means and has not been used. The court's laws come to suppress people."

When everyone heard this, there was a mocking expression on their faces.

"Even if he wants to suppress people with court laws, can he suppress such a thing?"

"The imperial court can raid homes and destroy families, but it can't make people willing to pay money!"

"As long as the silver is hidden in the cellar, even if the imperial court is full of eagles and dogs, what can they do to those merchants?"

Lu Hongfu shook his head when he heard the words.

"Not really!"

"When the emperor's grandson was running the bookstore, he didn't take advantage of it."

"Therefore, the younger generation thinks that we can start with business."

"Now the Maritime Department has recruited some sea merchants. Although these sea merchants are average in strength, they can still take dozens of ships."

"If we hold on to the supply of goods so that the imperial court cannot receive the goods, the imperial court will not be able to trade with Fanshang."

"At that time, let's send envoys to negotiate with the emperor's grandson, agree on how much taxes and fees to pay each year, and then allow us to trade freely. Wouldn't it not only give the court face, but also benefit us?"

"what……"

Everyone originally wanted to hear a joke, but after hearing what Lu Hongfu said, everyone showed surprise.

Can't tell, this little girl still has two brushes, so she can come up with such a method.

Shen Congxing also looked at Lu Hongfu in surprise, but he didn't think this was a solution that Lu Hongfu could come up with. He guessed it was Lu Shiyuan's arrangement before he left.

In fact, these maritime merchants were not very opposed to Lu Shiyuan's joining the court, and they were even a little envious.

If the grandson of the emperor gave Shen Congxing a chance, he would definitely kneel faster than Lu Shiyuan.

The most profitable business in the world is to be an official, and that is a very profitable business.

Now Lu Shiyuan is serving as the promotion officer of Songjiang City Shipping Department, and he still has the title of a scholar of the Wenhua Palace. I don't know how many people died of envy.

It can be foreseen that no matter how the business of Shibosi will be in the future, his Lu family will be invincible!
Zhang Tianyou also looked at Lu Hongfu with admiration, and even felt a little appreciation.

Unexpectedly, this little girl is quite flexible enough to think of a way to seize the source of goods.

"Everyone, I think Brother Lu Xian's suggestion is good."

"Isn't his grandson shameless, then let's hold all the goods in our hands and see if he can't deliver the goods when the date comes!"

The others nodded when they heard the words.

"That's not a bad idea!"

"But we have to be careful, and don't make the emperor's grandson anxious. If he really uses the power of the government, we can't afford to go around!"

This is what Zhang Tianyou hates this group of merchants the most. He thinks about eating mutton every day, and he is so afraid of mutton!
How can there be a good thing in the world that can be a bitch and set up a memorial archway at the same time?

If you want to make money, you have to take corresponding risks!

"Since everyone agrees, let's study how to do it!"

"My Zhang family is different from yours. Our main power is at sea, and there are not many manors, fields, and shops on land, so I have to trouble you for receiving and stocking up."

Others heard the words one after another.

"That's good to say!"

"It's almost the season of receiving goods. We only need to increase the price by [-]% this year, so that the imperial court can't even receive it!"

When a group of merchants were thinking about how to sing the opposite of Zhu Yunxi, Zhu Yunxi was receiving a distinguished guest.

Since Chen Hai took Zhu Yunxi's order to go to Japan as an envoy, he took the risk to lead the fleet to sail to sea.

His trip has two purposes, one of which is to find the Iwami silver mine, and the other is to establish a relationship with the Japanese general Momoichi.

The so-called Minamoto is the famous Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the general in "Smart Ikkyu".

In history, Yuan Daoyi sent envoys to visit the Ming Dynasty several times, expressing his good wishes to do business with the Ming Dynasty.But Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty despised this man as a traitor and a traitor, so he sternly rejected him several times.

I once wrote a letter, admonishing Yuan Daoyi to abide by the law, be a good citizen of Japan, and stop bullying the Japanese emperor...

Old Zhu's teachings are doomed to go to waste. The efforts of generations of Daoyi's ancestors have brought him the current power. How can he give up just because of his letter?

Yuan Daoyi was unwilling to delegate power, and Lao Zhu was naturally unwilling to do business. The two countries remained at loggerheads until the emperor of Ming Dynasty was replaced by Zhu Di. .

Zhu Yunxi also knew about Lao Zhu's taboo, so he conveyed goodwill in his own name and recognized Yuan Daoyi's status.

This gave Yuan Daoyi a lot of respect. He not only warmly entertained the envoy of Ming Dynasty, but also led Chen Hai to have a good time in Japan.

If it weren't for the great grandson of the Ming emperor waiting eagerly, Chen Hai really wanted to play in Japan for three to five years before coming back.

"The grandson of the emperor, fortunately, the humble job has not disgraceful, and finally completed the task you gave me, and asked for the Iwami Yinshan from Japan."

"However, the humble job did not send people to mine immediately, but occupied this place on the grounds of repairing the ship!"

"The Japanese don't know that there is silver here, they just think it's a barren mountain, hehehe..."

Zhu Yunxi did not hide anything from Chen Hai, and when he sent Chen Hai to Japan, he informed the importance of this place.

This move also intended to test Chen Hai. If Chen Hai really had other intentions, he would naturally send someone to mine it secretly, or secretly tell the Japanese to seek greater benefits.

However, Zhu Yunxi is not afraid of Chen Hai's betrayal.

Because the Ming Dynasty's navy will come to Japan sooner or later, and will occupy this silver mine.

He asked Chen Hai to go to Japan as an envoy, but he wanted Chen Hai to take the trip for him, familiarize himself with the hydrological conditions on the sea, and test whether his new route is good or not.

"it is good!"

"You have done a good job in this matter. I will give you a shark suit, and the deputy director of the Shibo Department..."

When Chen Hai heard that the grandson of the emperor named him an official, he was very happy.Although he didn't know what the shark suit was, but the emperor said it so solemnly, it must be a very precious thing.

However, Chen Hai thanked the emperor grandson for his kindness, and was dumbfounded when he saw the shark suit brought up by the little eunuch. Why is there a grinning great white shark on this official uniform?
This thing is not a good thing, the people who make a living at sea hate this thing the most.

As long as this thing smells blood, it can follow the boat for hundreds of miles!

"Emperor Grandson, the humble official has only been sent to Japan for a few months, why did our Daming's official uniform change to a shark?"

Seeing that Chen Hai dared to question the reward from the emperor's grandson, Wang De was immediately unhappy.

"You don't know what's good or bad!"

"This is the unique official uniform of the Wenhua Palace, and it is the only one in the court!"

"Now the princes and princes in the court wear this, how dare you dislike it?"

Chen Hai shook his head quickly after hearing this.

"No no no!"

"How dare a humble official dislike it, but I have never heard of this thing before, and I thought that the official system of the imperial court had changed!"

Zhu Yunxi didn't care about that, and hurriedly ordered Wang De to put it on for Chen Hai.

Chen Hai put on the shark suit and looked in the mirror. Except that the great white shark's make-up suit was a bit creepy, the official uniform was basically the same as that worn by court officials, so he became happy again.

"Thank you for the reward from the emperor's grandson!"

Zhu Yunxi enthusiastically dragged him to the cafeteria for dinner.

His Wenhua Palace is different from Lao Zhu's Qianqing Palace. He used both the left and right side halls, so he can only go to the public cafeteria for meals.

While the two were eating, Zhu Zhi, who was in charge of recruiting soldiers from Yiwu, also rushed back.

Originally, Zhu Zhi had a lot to say to his elder nephew, but seeing his elder nephew entertaining guests here, he suppressed his excitement for the time being, and sat aside to eat, drink, and chat.

However, when he heard Chen Hai tell what he had seen and heard about Japan, that two daimyos in Japan were fighting, and there were hundreds of people in a battle, he couldn't help but sneer.

"Chen Hai, are you sure you are talking about two countries at war?"

"Reporting to His Royal Highness Liao Wang, the country of Japan is different from that of our Daming, and their country is similar to a county of Daming."

"However, it is not a small country to send out hundreds of warriors to fight. Many countries can't get so many people together!"

When Zhu Zhi heard this, he immediately told what he saw on the way back.

"If you talk about wars, Gu will also see one when he goes to Yiwu this time."

"That's when Gu just came out of Yiwu County, just in time for the villagers from the two villages to fight."

"Good guy, there are only more than 1 people in more than a dozen villages in the two townships, and all men, women and children have been mobilized."

"In just the blink of an eye, dozens of people were killed and injured. If it weren't for the soft-heartedness, I really can't stand it anymore. They can fight until dark!"

When Zhu Zhi said this, he couldn't help but bowed his hands to Zhu Yunxi.

"Eldest nephew, I am alone!"

"Gu finally knows why you sent Gu to Yiwu to recruit soldiers. This unscrupulous people raised in poor mountains and rivers are really desperate to fight!"

When Chen Hai heard what Zhu Zhi said, he also agreed with a smile.

"Who says it's not!"

"Our two townships in Ming Dynasty fought wars, and both of them caught up with the Japanese National War, hahaha!"

Zhu Zhi laughed loudly when he heard this, but Zhu Yunxi was holding the wine glass quietly, without the slightest smile on his face.

He also wanted to laugh, but his heart became inexplicably sad, and disharmonious pictures appeared in his mind.

He knew that it was another memory of himself, a memory of hundreds of years later.

But he didn't want to touch it too much at this time. He was afraid that once he touched it, he would erase a certain island country from the map.

"never mind!"

"Let's not talk about Japan for now, let's talk about the Ming Dynasty Navy in the future."

"Chen Hai, how much navy do you think Daming needs if we want to defend our Daming's borders?"

Chen Hai is just a shipbuilding businessman, and he only runs the sea transportation business by the way, so he really hasn't thought about this issue.

"Dare to ask the emperor grandson, where does the sea area you refer to come from?"

"If it's just the coast of Daming, 5 to 20 people should be enough. If Vietnam, Japan, Ryukyu and other places are included, then at least [-] people..."

"20?"

"Then 20 million!"

After Zhu Yunxi accompanied Chen Hai to eat, he led Chen Hai to inspect his recruits.

Chen Hai saw that the grandson of the emperor had recruited more than 2 navies in a short period of time, and he felt a surge of emotion.

It seems that the grandson of the emperor really wants to do something big!

Zhu Yunxi walked around the barracks, checked the camp where the soldiers were staying, asked about the soldiers' food, and finally gave a speech to the soldiers, and then ended the inspection.

However, just as he was about to go back to the palace, Duke Ying Fu Youde walked into the barracks with an imperial decree in his hand.

"Your Majesty has an order, everyone kneels to accept it!"

Zhu Yunxi was taken aback when he saw the imperial decree. When he had dinner with Lao Zhutou in the morning, the old Zhutou hadn't mentioned the imperial decree yet, so why did he suddenly send someone to deliver an imperial decree?
Although Zhu Yunxi was full of suspicion, he still knelt down obediently.

Seeing that Zhu Yunxi had knelt down, Fu Youde opened the imperial decree and read it aloud.

"Following the heavens, the emperor...the grandson of the emperor plans to build a navy to strengthen our Ming defense, and we are very pleased..."

"However, the navy is a serious matter, and it is difficult to convince the public without appointing important ministers to supervise it. Now we appoint Ying Guogong Fu Youde to serve as the commander of the navy capital of the Ming Dynasty..."

"Kin this!"

When Zhu Yunxi heard this imperial decree, his face turned pale with anger.

Old Zhutou mixed sand into our army!

(End of this chapter)