Daming Yinghua

Chapter 184 Think Tank

In Xiamen at the beginning of Huaihua month, the southeast wind is soft and soothing, and the sun is no longer blazing near the end of the application period. It slantly shines into the room, leaving a golden-red grid on the blue brick floor.

When Zheng Haizhu and Xu Xinsu followed Zhang Yanke into the flower hall behind Yu Zigao's official office, they saw a middle-aged civil servant in a red robe sitting above him, with a peacock on his chest.

It must be Shang Zhouzuo, the new governor of Fujian.

Apart from Yu Zigao, the military commander, there was no one else sitting with him in the hall.

Both Xu Xinsu and Zheng Haizhu were white-bodied grassroots, and they knelt on their knees without hesitation.

After kowtowing, Xu Xinsu raised her body, staring down at the green brick floor, secretly happy.

All of Yu Zigao's generals were absent, and none of the civil servants in the Zhangquan, Xiajin and Jin areas were there.

The fewer people in the room, the more it means that what Shang Zhouzuo wants to ask is a key matter, and he is afraid that the presence of local civil officials will make Yu Zigao hesitate to make a frank statement.

It also shows that those who can come in to discuss matters are favored by Shangguan.

With a sound of "ding", Zhang Yanke, who was sitting next to Zheng Haizhu, tipped the teacup in his hand, touched the lid, and shook out the tea.

Shang Zhouzuo put the sleeves of his robe on the handle of the chair, leaned forward slightly, stared at Xu and Zheng, and said: "One of you is a man who is proficient in sea peddlers, and the other is Yu Zongbing's aide, don't worry about it. The official said, why did the Hongyi people do everything possible to occupy Penghu Island before this disastrous defeat. Even though they are old enemies with the Frankies in Guangdong and Luzon, they cannot go to trade. Do sea merchants trade with them?"

Zhang Yanke complained with embarrassment in panic: "This subordinate is impolite, I was a bit fascinated."

Not only because he also knows how short of money Daming is now, but also because Fang Congzhe was criticized by the Qingliu people for being suspected of protecting Concubine Zheng, and last year he even arranged for his fellow villager Yao Zongwen, who also had a bad reputation, to patrol Songjiang Mansion, which made the court even more angry. Hall looked sideways.

Shang Zhouzuo glanced sideways at this junior from a family of family friends.

This time he was suddenly transferred to Fujian as the governor. Fang Congzhe, the chief assistant who is also from Zhejiang, mentioned him, and Liu Shimin, a confidant of Eunuch Wang An, also visited him.Without any suspense, the hints given to him by the two were completely opposite.

Shang Zhouzuo, who was seated above, was thinking about it.

Shang Zhouzuo sneered: "Well, now, they don't even want to get involved in these two places."

Fang Congzhe advocated that the merchant ships of the Hongyi people are not allowed to appear in the Daming sea area again.

Turning back to an approachable tone, he continued to ask: "The Hongyi people really have silver in their hands?"

Liu Shimin's meaning was also very direct, Long Live Lord still wants money, the more the better.

In the past few days, Zheng Haizhu has searched the main points of the post-war treaty with limited knowledge, and then added a few more items, such as compensation for the damage of the Ming army's ships and casualties, the tonnage of the incoming ships, and the number of guns. The amount shall not exceed the number of doors and other terms.

Besides, what Liu Shimin meant was what Wang An meant, and Wang An was Da Dang who served the prince.The courtiers all said long live and long live, but they all knew that the emperor, Yang Shou, was not that old.

So what if they are all from Zhejiang, Shang Zhouzuo, a native of Shaoxing, has a shrewd mind and a bit of character. He hates being included in the "Zhejiang Party" the most, so he doesn't want to be a pawn for Fang Congzhe.

The second-rank governor didn't even put on airs to drink tea and dry people, he waved his hands and said, "Get up and sit down, although you two are neither officials nor officials, nor generals nor soldiers, you have also made great efforts this time. Especially Miss Zheng, your name is in the Tang newspaper that Wang Junmen played to the imperial court in April."

Zheng Haizhu was busy and blessed, Xu Xinsu bowed her hands to express congratulations.

Shang Zhouzuo leaned towards Liu Shimin.

Zheng Haizhu nodded with certainty: "Yes. Master Junmen, Daming goes tens of thousands of miles to the east. On the other side of the sea, the Frankies mine and dig silver in a continent called North and South Amoriga. Frankies from Luzon People use the silver dug there to buy goods in Southeast Asia. The silver will also be transported to Europa and exchanged for goods in Europa. Therefore, as a country of Europa, the Hongyi people can definitely get silver. We are short of silver in Ming Dynasty. Why not trade with them with silk and porcelain? It’s nothing more than that we have to set the rules of our Ming Dynasty for these barbarians, either to come to Yuegang or to Taiwan, under the watchful eyes of our officers and soldiers from the two places, enter and leave Hong Kong, and buy silver goods. The two are paid; the goods and taxes are paid according to the facts; if there is another evil act of disturbing the people on the border and robbing the merchant ship, it will not be like this again.

I was really moved in my heart. When I saw this little woman making firearms in Songjiang, I guessed that she was talking about strengthening the army and resisting thieves. It was used to cheat money and play new tricks. I didn't expect that she was here for real, and it took only a few years. , a grassroots person, has been able to offer advice to the governor on the strategy of suppressing barbarians.

Shang Zhouzuo then looked a little more kindly, even with a hint of respect for a corporal, looked at Zheng Haizhu and said: "Miss Zheng, if you have anything else to say, feel free to tell me."

This congratulation is out of the sincerity of interest.Xu Xinsu is well aware of her identity and origin, how can she be famous in the court, so she is looking forward to Zheng Haizhu's official approval. In the future, she will ask her to buy artillery and heavy guns, or make friends with her nephew and nephew.

Of course, while Xu Xinsu was complacent, she also realized that Zheng Haizhu, as a woman, could become a discussant just like herself. Take care.

Xu Xinsu looked at Zheng Haizhu, Zheng Haizhu understood it, and said firstly: "Master Junmen, the force of the Hongyi people in the sea is better than that of the Frankies, and their ambitions are like firewood. They think that the pepper in Nanyang Spices, homemade cloth from Tianzhu, silver from Japan, and silk tea from Ming Dynasty are the roots of prosperity in the East and Southeast Asia. If their East India Fleet can control these four transactions in the palm of their hands, they will have nothing to lose. White wolves, without having to bring silver coins from Europa, can bring back the rich goods from Dongyang to Nanyang at a profit. Therefore, they will soon not want to go to Yuegang to trade honestly, but want to occupy a place between Dongyang and Nanyang. The main point is not only the stronghold of our own navy, but also the cardinal place where merchant ships from various countries are transferred to transfer money. This place is Penghu, or Taiwan.”

Finally added a sentence: "Junmen, Europa has very few goods that can be used by our Ming Dynasty except silver. We can ask the Hongyi people to buy some. When the Junmen summons the Hongyi envoys, they can promise to sell some of them every year. One, to show my mind of the heaven and the kingdom."

Shang Zhouzuo asked curiously, "Oh, what is it?"

"Whale oil," Zheng Haizhu said, "the barbarians in the northern part of Europa are good at catching big fish in the deep sea, that is, giant whales. They extract oil as fuel, or use it as candles to illuminate the night. Candles, turpentine, and animal oil are better than mine. It’s easy to use. Whale oil is quite expensive in Europa, but Europa people also regard our products as treasures, and we exchange them with silk and porcelain, which is not a waste of money.”

Shang Zhouzuo nodded: "Just a few barrels of oil, it's not a big deal."

Zheng Haizhu smiled respectfully, thinking to himself, this is not a trivial matter, because whale oil is not only used for lighting.

(End of this chapter)