I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 441 Li Dan and Yan Siqi
Zhu Youxiao didn't care about Wang Yingjiao's objection, but looked at Bi Ziyan with interest.

"Since Aiqing said so, it seems that you already have someone to recruit?"

I heard that the emperor did not show any impatience, but patiently asked for details.

"Your Majesty, as far as I know, there are only two powerful pirates on the sea at present. One is Li Dan and the other is Yan Siqi. Both of them are based in Japan and have armed fleets.

They have always carried out trade and ship robbery in the southwest, Japan, southeast and other routes of the Ming Dynasty.As long as the imperial court can recruit these two people, appoint them to official positions, and recruit a fleet, the pirates will be at peace. "

These two people are famous, and Zhu Youxiao has naturally heard of them, but these two people are ambitious and don't know whether they can accept the imperial court's recruitment.

Thinking of this, he stood up and paced back and forth, weighing the pros and cons of recruiting people.

Bi Ziyan and Wang Yingjiao also knelt on the ground and remained silent, waiting for the emperor to make a decision after thinking about it.

"It's not impossible to recruit pirates, but I have a few concerns. First, whether they are willing to accept the recruitment. Second, they were not subject to the constraints of the imperial court before. If after recruitment, they act recklessly in the name of the imperial court, wouldn't it be more damaging to the imperial court? Fame."

"Your Majesty, don't worry. I have learned about this before and found that most of them were pirates because of the situation."

When Bi Ziyan heard that the emperor agreed with his idea, he was very happy and immediately opened his mouth to dispel the emperor's concerns.

"Li Dan, Yan Siqi and others were originally large-scale merchants. When they traded across the sea, they not only had to compete with my Ming merchants, but also with the Portuguese and the French. The Westerners had strong ships and powerful guns, so they also Cannons must be cast and warships must be built to compete with them, which is also very laborious.

Therefore, as long as the imperial court sends people to recruit people, I cannot say that they will definitely agree, but I can guarantee that this choice is definitely the best choice for them.As long as Li Dan and others are not fools, they can understand that after recruitment, they can rely on the imperial court to compete with the Westerners, why would they not do it?"

But unexpectedly, Wang Yingjiao became even more dissatisfied with Bi Ziyan when he heard this.

Why rely on the imperial court to contend with foreigners?

Isn't this what the emperor is worried about? These people even dare to cast cannons privately, clearly suspected of rebellion.I don't know what I'm going to do after I have the support of the imperial army and my horse is strong.

"These people first went to sea secretly in violation of the imperial ban, and now they are making cannons privately. The imperial court has ordered that making cannons privately is the same as rebellion. Such people have no law and are daring. They really cannot be reused. Your Majesty, please think again."

Hearing Wang Yingjiao's objection, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but nodded.

What Wang Yingjiao said makes sense. He has the memory of later generations, so he naturally knows what these people will be like after they submit to the imperial court. He doesn't know whether they will contribute or not, but doing business under the banner of the imperial court will definitely lead to chaos.

"I cannot agree with what Wang Shangshu said. The imperial court recruited them because they had artillery and warships. Moreover, these people have been involved in maritime trade for many years and know Westerners very well.

If he is recruited, his warships can be reused by the imperial court. I wonder how much money can be saved for the imperial court. Wang Shangshu is the minister of the Ministry of Revenue, so this account should be able to be calculated clearly. "

Listening to Wang Yingjiao's repeated objections, Bi Ziyan couldn't help but shake his head.In his opinion, people like Wang Yingjiao are too particular about the dignity of the court and do not consider the current practical problems at all. If they do not recruit people, what will happen to the southeast trade?
But Bi Ziyan knew very well that Wang Yingjiao's opinion was not important. He only needed the emperor's support.

"Your Majesty, as far as I know, Li Dan, Yan Siqi and other merchants are not monolithic. As long as they are slowly divided into groups after recruitment, and then the training of the imperial navy is stepped up, these people will naturally not be worried, and they will have to bow their heads and obey orders."

After he finished speaking, he looked at the emperor and saw that the emperor was still thinking and had not made a decision, so he continued:

"Moreover, both of them have settled in Japan and have close contacts with the Japanese government. If they can be recruited, wouldn't it be more convenient for merchants from the Ming Dynasty to trade in Japan?"

Zhu Youxiao laughed secretly in his heart when he heard this. In order to persuade him to recruit, Bi Ziyan really used any excuse.

Could it be that with the two of them here, merchants from the Ming Dynasty would not be able to go to Japan? Thinking of this, he felt that Bi Ziyan's words were a bit ridiculous.

But having said that, Bi Ziyan's suggestion still makes some sense.

At this stage, recruiting Li Dan and Yan Siqi is indeed the best strategy for the imperial court, and Zhu Youxiao also has his own considerations.

The Dutch are coming next year, and people like Li Dan who know how to deal with Westerners and are proficient in naval warfare will be very useful.

And Bi Ziyan's last words actually moved Zhu Youxiao.

According to Zhu Youxiao's memory, this Li Dan also funded Tokugawa Ieyasu, so he had a high status in Japan. If they want to attack Japan in the future, the two of them may be a help.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao stood up, looked at Bi Ziyan and nodded slowly:

"Since my beloved is so insistent, I agree to the recruitment. You will be personally responsible for this matter. As long as they accept the imperial court's recruitment, they will forget about their past affairs. The imperial court can also grant them the rank of general and guerrilla."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your obedience!"

When Bi Ziyan heard this, he was overjoyed and immediately bowed and thanked the emperor for his permission.Wang Yingjiao on the side saw that the emperor actually agreed to his request, and he immediately objected.Seeing him like this, Zhu Youxiao immediately waved his hand to calm him down.

"Okay, this matter is settled. In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures are used. Recruitment is not something that goes against the dignity of the court. I think I can give it a try, but whether it can be done depends on Bi Aiqing. "

As Zhu Youxiao said something, he suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Bi Ziyan.

"To recruit pirates, I can recommend someone to you. This person's name is Zheng Yiguan. He is proficient in maritime trade. He might know Li Dan and be able to help you when the time comes."

Bi Ziyan naturally knew this person. He was now a legend in the capital, and his story was talked about by many people.

I heard that this person was favored by the emperor for some reason, and asked the emperor and nobles to invest nearly 100 million taels of silver in him to establish a Daming Trading Company to specialize in maritime trade.

Now using the title of emperor's investment is equivalent to that of an imperial merchant. Business is always successful and profitable.This made Bi Ziyan have a bad impression of this person, and he actually tempted the emperor to do business. Isn't this the story of Xing Wuzong's opening of the emperor's shop?

Thinking of this, Bi Ziyan wanted to remonstrate with the emperor, but after thinking for a while, he held back.No one in the cabinet said anything, why would he have such bad luck?

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Seeing Bi Ziyan's agreement, Zhu Youxiao nodded with satisfaction. Yan Siqi could not guarantee that he would join the imperial court, but Li Dan was confident.

Because he knew that among the pirates in the late Ming Dynasty, Li Dan was the oldest, which also meant that he was also the oldest. In his impression, Li Dan would die of illness in two or three years, and the entire Li Dan Group would also die. Will fall apart.

What this kind of person wants to do most now is to settle down. Recruiting him from the imperial court is not the best way to stabilize him. As long as the imperial court recruits him, he will happily agree.

It can be seen that not only has the naval affairs of Nanzhili been finalized, but there is also a proposal to recruit Li Dan and others, which makes Zhu Youxiao feel very good.

After this matter is resolved, the next thing is to discuss reforming water transportation.

But this matter is of great importance. It would be a bit hasty to decide it just after discussing it with the two of them.

"Dang! Dang! Dang!..."

Suddenly several bells sounded from far away, and Bi Ziyan was slightly startled when he heard the words.

He had never heard this kind of sound before, and he felt a little strange. He didn't know what was going on, so he wanted to follow the sound to find where the sound came from.

But Zhu Youxiao, Wang Yingjiao and others were accustomed to this sound. Seeing Bi Ziyan's surprised look on his face, Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said with a smile:

"Don't worry, my dear, this is a self-ringing bell used by Western monks to pay tribute. It will sound a reminder every hour. It should be about six o'clock ([-] to [-] o'clock in the morning) by the sound. It's getting late. We have to go to Wenhua in the afternoon. We are discussing matters in the palace, you two don’t need to go back, just have lunch with me.”

Bi Ziyan and Wang Yingjiao were naturally grateful and quickly agreed.

Wang Boyu on the side had already asked the small kitchen of Qianqing Palace to prepare lunch. When the emperor opened his mouth, he immediately had it served.
Seeing that the discussion was over, everyone felt a lot more relaxed. During the meal, Zhu Youxiao asked Bi Ziyan a lot about his knowledge of Nanzhili.

Although he had made private visits incognito, the furthest he had traveled was wandering around the capital, and he did not know much about many situations among the people as Bi Ziyan did.

Bi Ziyan also knew that the emperor liked to hear some anecdotes, so he specially selected some folk anecdotes to tell Zhu Youxiao.

Some of the stories were very interesting, making Zhu Youxiao laugh, and the Qianqing Palace was very lively.

The excitement in the Qianqing Palace could not spread very far, but the news that the emperor met with Bi Ziyan and Wang Yingjiao in the Qianqing Palace spread quickly.

"Jing Hui (Bi Ziyan's nickname) is a capable man. At that time, he went to Nanzhili to take office against all the opinions. He took over such a big mess. Now he has sent 1000 million taels to the capital. His future is unlimited."

In Wenyuan Pavilion, everyone had also drafted the title book. Liu Yishen, while drinking tea, expressed his feelings to Sun Chengzong, Ye Xianggao and others about Bi Ziyan.

However, there are only two biggest things happening in the DPRK at present. One is the great victory in the Southwest, and the other is Bi Ziyan escorting salt and silver into Beijing.

Compared with the Southwest Victory, they cared more about Bi Ziyan.

After all, people who can turn the entire Southern Zhili officialdom upside down are not simple people. The last person was named Hai Rui!
"It's true. The imperial court's expenses for the next two years are completely sufficient. Anyone with this kind of credit will be treated differently. I just don't know what His Majesty's arrangements are for him. Should he be promoted or stay in office?"

Sun Chengzong agreed very much with Bi Ziyan and felt that he was capable and capable. As Liu Yishui said, his future prospects were limitless.

But even so, he now dared not express his opinion on Bi Ziyan's future trends.

(End of this chapter)