My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 83 The Good Father-in-Law of the Ming Dynasty—Zheng Zhilong!

And at this moment, Zheng Zhilong finally realized Zhu Cilang's true intention!

At this moment, Zheng Zhilong's heartbeat accelerated and even his breathing became rapid.

However, he was someone who had experienced big events after all, so he finally suppressed his inner excitement and said:

"Your Highness, my second daughter is married, but my youngest daughter is still unmarried. Her name is Zheng Xiaomei, and she is fifteen years old."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang smiled and said:

"It's a coincidence that I'm fourteen this year and still unmarried. How about General Zheng send your little daughter to the capital to be my concubine?"

Zhu Cilang originally wanted to directly propose that Zheng Zhilong's daughter be the Crown Princess, but then he thought again and felt that this was too unrealistic.

After all, the Crown Princess is the future Queen who will rule the country, and the Queens of the Ming Dynasty have always been selected from commoners. If he really did this, not only would it be difficult for Chongzhen and Queen Zhou, but all the officials would not agree.

What's more, Zheng Zhilong's identity is indeed very special.

Once the matter got out of hand, even he could not stand the rumors, so he could only settle for the second best and give Zheng Zhilong's daughter the status of the prince's concubine.

Although Zheng Zhilong was mentally prepared, he was still shocked when he heard this.

He never expected that the prince in front of him would use such means to win him over!
To be honest, it would be a lie if I wasn’t moved!

For many years, he has been trying to establish good relations with officials in Fujian and trying to use his children to marry into their families.

After all, he couldn't let his children follow the path of piracy, so he had to find a good way out for them in the future.

Therefore, several of his sons married the daughters of local officials, but they were only minor officials of the fifth or sixth rank, and no high-ranking official was willing to marry him.

As for his three daughters.

The eldest daughter is still in Japan, and the second daughter married a third-rank military commander as his second wife.

If nothing unexpected happened, his little daughter could at most marry a local official of the fifth or sixth rank as his wife or concubine.

However, the prince in front of him brought him an unexpected surprise.

If his little daughter could really enter the palace and become the prince's concubine, then it would completely change the fate of his Zheng family!
After all, there is no son-in-law in the whole world who is more noble than the prince in front of him!

Similarly, previous matters can also be renegotiated!
Although Zheng Zhilong would not risk his life for the Ming Dynasty, it would be a different matter if it was for his son-in-law, the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty and the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

However, Zheng Zhilong also knew in his heart that this was not a simple matter.

First of all, the imperial court probably wouldn't agree. After all, he was now a high-ranking official, and his daughter shouldn't marry into the Eastern Palace.

Secondly, although his daughter was born in Fujian, he would take her with him when he occasionally went to sea.

This girl didn't achieve much in her studies, but she's a good fighter, and her water skills are even better. Can she really be the prince's concubine?
Just when Zheng Zhilong was hesitating, Zhu Cilang spoke again.

"What's the matter? General Zheng, what are you hesitating about? Do you think I'm not worthy of your daughter?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong hurriedly explained in panic:
"Your Highness, you have misunderstood. This is absolutely not what I meant."

"On the contrary, I feel that my daughter is not worthy of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"And, Your Highness, have you forgotten that the Ming Dynasty has an ancestral rule that my daughter cannot enter the palace?"

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he smiled indifferently.

"If it was true in the past, but the Ming Dynasty has become like this now, why do we still stick to the old ancestral system?"

"Besides, although I am the crown prince now, I might become the emperor someday. How can a mere ancestral rule constrain me?"

"You are a smart person and should know what to do."

Zheng Zhilong was certainly a smart man. He understood that Zhu Cilang did this to win him over, and he really could not refuse such conditions.

After all, although the Ming Dynasty is now on the decline, it has not yet reached its final step.

Liaodong had not yet fallen, the Jiannu were still being held outside the Great Wall, and Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were nothing more than insignificant thieves.

At least in Zheng Zhilong's eyes now, the Ming Dynasty is still the same Ming Dynasty!

Moreover, for him, the identity of 'father-in-law of the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty' was too tempting.

As long as he had this identity, Zheng Zhilong could walk around freely in Fujian and even in the capital.

Who dares to laugh at him for having been a pirate?
To laugh at him is equivalent to laughing at the prince's concubine, and is equivalent to laughing at the prince and the emperor. Who has such courage?

Thinking of this, Zheng Zhilong's mood suddenly became clear.

Then, he looked at Zhu Cilang seriously.

"Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has said so, then I will not refuse any more! When I return, I will immediately send my daughter to the capital."

But then, Zheng Zhilong added:

"But Your Highness, shouldn't you consult His Majesty and the Empress first about this matter?"

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he understood Zheng Zhilong's concerns.

But this cannot be blamed on Zheng Zhilong. After all, in ancient times, marriages were based on the opinions of parents and matchmakers.

Even if he was the crown prince, he could not ask Zheng Zhilong to send his daughter to be the crown prince's concubine without any reason.

Royal weddings have always been complicated, so it is understandable that Zheng Zhilong wanted some guarantees.

But this was not a difficult task for Zhu Cilang. He might not be able to persuade Chongzhen, but he could definitely persuade Queen Zhou.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang smiled and said, "Don't worry about this matter. I can guarantee that the Queen Mother will summon you tomorrow to discuss your daughter's entry into the palace."

"Relax, even though she is only the Crown Prince's concubine, I will never let your daughter suffer any injustice."

When Zheng Zhilong heard this, how could he hesitate at all?

At this moment, he was already fantasizing about becoming the father-in-law of the Ming Dynasty.

Then, he suppressed his inner excitement and said:
"In that case, after meeting the Queen tomorrow, I will return and bring my daughter here."

Zhu Cilang nodded, then walked to the map and pointed at it and asked:

"Father-in-law, if that's the case, then what do you think of what I just said?"

As soon as the words "Father-in-law" came out, Zheng Zhilong felt like he was floating up.

Now that he has become the prince's father-in-law, what else is there to hide?

Of course, we have to be honest with each other!
The next second, Zheng Zhilong said solemnly:

"I am willing to join forces with General Huang to destroy all the Jiannu navy!"

"To be honest, Your Highness, I do not possess 20 soldiers, nor 3000 ships."

"In reality, there were only about 17 troops and 2300 ships, half of which were merchant ships."

"But rest assured, Your Highness. After I return to Fujian and arrange matters there, I will take all the remaining warships I can mobilize and head to Shandong to reunite with General Huang!"

"I have estimated that we can mobilize approximately 8 troops and 1000 warships."

Although Zheng Zhilong also wanted to transfer all his troops here, it was basically impossible.

Firstly, half of his fleet were merchant ships with little combat capability.

Secondly, the coastal defense in Fujian really needs his warships to protect it. If he mobilizes all the warships, and the Japanese pirates and the Dutch take the opportunity to launch an attack, it will be more trouble than gain.

Zhu Cilang naturally understood Zheng Zhilong's concerns, so he was not surprised by Zheng Zhilong's words.

And 8 people and 1000 ships are really a lot!
Then Zhu Cilang nodded with satisfaction.

"Very good. I will be waiting for your good news."

At this moment, Zheng Zhilong seemed to remember something and added:
"In addition, I am willing to pay His Royal Highness the Crown Prince three million taels of silver annually."

Zheng Zhilong was once a pirate. Although he had been cleansed and became the general of Fujian, he still secretly engaged in maritime trade and earned more than 10 million taels of silver every year.

After distributing it to other brothers and supporting the army, there will still be about 6 or 7 million taels of silver left.

Although this makes money, it undoubtedly violates the laws of the Ming Dynasty.

If someone really brings this up one day in the future, I'm afraid that even his identity as the prince's father-in-law won't be able to save him.

But he couldn't give up maritime trade. After all, his hundreds of thousands of brothers relied on it for their livelihood, and his Zheng family had accumulated a fortune of tens of millions of taels of silver because of it.

So after a brief consideration, Zheng Zhilong decided to drag Zhu Cilang into the business and turn his own business into a royal business.

Only in this way can he rest assured.

Because as long as Zhu Cilang accepted his money, it was assumed that Zhu Cilang was also involved in maritime trade.

Even if someone really wants to cause trouble for him with this matter, it will depend on whether he can afford to offend the prince!
After hearing this, Zhu Cilang just felt funny.

Because he had already decided to open up maritime trade after dealing with the issues of Li Zicheng and the Jiannu.

After all, in this day and age, maritime trade is the most profitable business.

Since Zheng Zhilong, the good father-in-law of the Ming Dynasty, wanted to drag him into the water, he naturally went along with it!

I have to say that Zhu Cilang really made a fortune this time.

Just to marry a prince's concubine, he would come with a dowry of 17 naval soldiers and 2300 ships, as well as a dividend of 300 million every year!

Although Zheng Zhilong’s navy still belongs to him now, it may not be the same in a few years.

Because soon Zhu Cilang will integrate the existing navy, which will definitely divide Zheng Zhilong's power. Slowly, Zheng Zhilong's navy will become the navy of the Ming Dynasty!

And he would make Zheng Zhilong accept it with a smile.

After all, if a person's status reaches a certain level, there are some things that are beyond his control.

Thinking back, Zhu Cilang said:

"My father-in-law is truly loyal to his country. I will not be polite! But can this money be exchanged for food?"

Zhu Cilang is not short of money at the moment, but he is severely short of food.

Although food can be exchanged from the system, it is still more expensive than buying it with silver, so it is not cost-effective at all.

So Zhu Cilang wanted to use the 300 million taels of silver to exchange for some food.

When Zheng Zhilong heard this, he smiled cheerfully and said:

"Of course. To be honest, grain is quite cheap overseas, far less expensive than in the Ming Dynasty. If Your Highness needs it, I am willing to exchange 300 million taels of silver for 500 million dan of grain!"

This is undoubtedly a very good deal!

Because in the capital city, one stone of grain can only be purchased for two taels of silver, these 500 million stones of grain are worth 1000 million taels of silver in the capital city!

300 million taels of silver in exchange for 1000 million taels of silver worth of grain, this is a huge profit no matter how you look at it!
(End of this chapter)