Borrow the day to change the day

Zheng Zhilong's younger brother Zheng Zhihu also followed Zhong Jinwei to the south, and was in the Yamen of Shibosi.Now that the two sides have reached an agreement, Zhong Jinwei immediately sent Zheng Zhihu and appointed him as the naval guard.And asked him to rush back to Fujian overnight and lead three western-style warships southward.

After some busy work, Zhong Jinwei and Zheng Zhilong sat down again.Among them, Zhong Jinwei continued to say to Zheng Zhilong: "When you were in the restaurant, you also heard what Cai Linwei and Li Suiqiu agreed to. But this kind of spontaneous raising of money and food from the people, from contacting gentry from all over the country to writing letters to Nanyang, and then contacting each other to transport food It will take a long time to come back.”

"The general understands that the general also knows many people in Nanyang, so you can spread the word and ask them to raise food and come to Daming." Zheng Zhilong is a fine person, and he knows the elegance after hearing the strings, and immediately said to Zhong Jinwei.

"Okay, you can tell them about the current shipping department system in Ming Dynasty. Except for a few kinds of goods such as grain that are exempt from customs duties, the rest will be taxed heavily. In addition, if the merchant ships transporting grain to Daming this year, they can rely on the grain transport certificate. Part of the tax is exempted when exporting materials from Daming. After this year, there will probably be no such preferential treatment next year." Zhong Jinwei first praised, and then said immediately.

"The general understands." Zheng Zhilong immediately agreed.

Zhong Jinwei knocked on the coffee table with his hands, and then reminded with a smile: "Fei Huang might as well tell them that the anti-smuggling efforts of Ming Dynasty will be very strict in the future. Any attempt to evade customs duties through smuggling will be severely punished by the court." Punishment. As for the degree of severity, you will be able to see it in a few days and describe it to them."

"The general understands that the general will remind them that they must abide by the rules of the Ming Dynasty when they come to Daming." Zheng Zhilong immediately expressed his position righteously when he heard it.

Zhong Jinwei looked out the window and found that it was getting late.What I want to say, I have already said almost.

So, he said to Zheng Zhilong: "Fei Huang, you know the urgent need for food. Can you see if you have any ideas that need to be added, which can prompt Nanyang to transport as much food as possible to Daming?"

That's all Zhong Jinwei said, without thinking of any other suggestions.But I didn't expect that Zheng Zhilong really had a suggestion, so I just heard him answer Zhong Jinwei: "Master, the general finally has a suggestion that can greatly increase the enthusiasm of Nanyang to transport grain to Ming Dynasty. But if this suggestion is said, I'm afraid it won't be true." It is very appropriate, so the general will not know whether to say it or not."

"What should I say or not? If you have any ideas, even if you think it is a bad idea, you can tell me. I will judge whether I adopt it or not." Zhong Jinwei raised his eyebrows when he heard it, looked at Zheng Zhilong immediately, and raised his voice and said .

In fact, Zheng Zhilong has already weighed it. The idea he came up with is very likely to be adopted by the Duke, so he said so.If the idea is really inappropriate and will affect many things, with his style of dealing with the world, he will definitely not tell Zhong Jinwei any ideas he thinks of.

Now that Zhong Jinwei has given an affirmative answer, he no longer hesitates, and directly said to Zhong Jinwei: "My lord, Nanyang is in chaos now. The Western Barbarians, the indigenous people, and the Huaxia people are the three major forces, and among these three major forces are There are different small forces. It can be said that Nanyang is actually a troubled world now."

Zhong Jinwei agreed with this statement, so he nodded slightly when he heard this.

Zheng Zhilong saw that the Duke was nodding and agreed with his words, so he spoke more smoothly: "As the saying goes, force is king in troubled times. As long as you have soldiers and power in your hands, you have everything. Therefore, for those people whom the general knows It is said that what they need most now is actually a good weapon so that they can gain a foothold in the troubled times."

Hearing this, Zhong Jinwei understood.The Nanyang people that Zheng Zhilong knew were probably not good men and women, they were all figures who ruled over one side.

As Zheng Zhilong said, these people will not worry about their military strength in the chaos of Nanyang, but worry about not having good weapons.

And this so-called good weapon actually refers to firearms.The most advanced firearm now is Daming's flintlock gun.

Others may not know it, but Zheng Zhilong has seen it.Therefore, he can assess how attractive this flintlock is to those people in Nanyang.

But flintlock guns are still a rarity now, and only a small number of Ming troops have equipped them.And Zheng Zhilong didn't know in advance that the court had planned to sell flintlock guns, so the idea still carried a little risk.Because if you encounter a somewhat uneasy and kind chief official, you may directly label him a big hat.

Zhong Jinwei originally planned to sell the flintlock gun to Jiaozhi, so that the current forces of the North and the South in Jiaozhi could kill each other more quickly.So since it can be sold to Jiaozhi, it doesn't matter if it is sold to other forces in Nanyang.

So he pondered for a while, then nodded in agreement and said, "If Nanyang can bring grain over there as soon as possible, and exchange it for the court's flintlock guns, that's no problem."

When Zhong Jinwei said this, seeing Zheng Zhilong's happy face, he added another weight: "Besides, I can make the decision here. The three parties that have transported the most food this year can not only exchange for the imperial court's flintlock guns, but even exchange for the court's flintlock guns." artillery."

When Zheng Zhilong heard this, his expression changed.He is a pirate, so to his understanding, artillery is much more important than flintlock.As soon as he heard that even the cannons were going to be sold, was that okay?

"Duke, this cannon..." Zheng Zhilong reminded Zhong Jinwei.

"As long as food can be delivered, the artillery is not a problem. As for whether the artillery will threaten the safety of my Daming after it is sold, this is actually not a problem. The emperor and I have also explained it. Don't worry." Zhong Jinwei comforted Zheng Zhilong. .

In fact, no matter if it was a flintlock gun or a cannon, selling it would not have much impact on Daming.

For example, the flintlock gun, the principle is actually very simple.Even if Daming doesn't sell it, other countries can imitate it after they hear or get one.Therefore, it is better to take advantage of the novelty of flintlock guns and sell them at a good price.

There are also cannons, so they should be sold to earn money and food for Daming.Therefore, Daming's artillery uses the method of casting iron molds.This method is currently only mastered by a place like the Daming Military Bureau, and it belongs to a technological monopoly.

And because the quality of the cast artillery is much better than that of the mud casting method, not to mention the cost.

Therefore, after the artillery is sold, there is no need to worry about imitation by other countries.And no matter what kind of artillery, the number of shots fired has its rated upper limit.It has been used for a long time and must be replaced.At that time, the only option was to buy from Daming again.

Of course, Zhong Jinwei only told Emperor Chongzhen about these specific analysis.As for Zheng Zhilong, there is no need to elaborate.

After Zheng Zhilong received the clear statement from Duke Xing, he immediately patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Duke Xing, the general can guarantee that there will be no food crisis in Ming Dynasty."