The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 329 Overseas Trade Changes Ownership Suddenly
The pirate Li Dan surrendered, and overseas trade changed hands in an instant.

The Zhejiang Party is still kept in the dark.

This time, Wanli not only wanted to seize overseas business, but also wanted to blackmail the Zhejiang Party for goods and force them to return part of the money they had previously earned.

As for how much he could extort, that depended on how clever Li Dan, or Lieutenant General Li Yuansheng after his surrender, was.

Li Yuansheng was full of energy at this moment.

He never expected that he would gain so many benefits after surrendering.

Originally, he thought it would be good enough if the current emperor could give him 10% of the profits.

Who would have thought that 10% profit was nothing at all. The current emperor directly gave him a name, changed his background, and appointed him as the lieutenant general of the navy.

Moreover, a small courtyard was specially arranged for him and his nephew Li Guozhu in the Wanshou Palace, allowing them to live directly in the imperial city.

He went straight from being a pirate leader to being the confidant of the current emperor!

This made him so excited that he was full of energy.

The next morning at about noon, he took the written list, brought his nephew Li Guozhu, and followed the deputy commander of the navy Yu Zigao to the palace to meet the emperor.

When Wanli saw the list he presented, he couldn't help but frown.

There are too many of these things, not just in quantity, but in variety. There are so many varieties that it makes his scalp tingle.

He doesn't have time for these things.

It's not enough to just make a list of the goods. They have to organize production and a fleet to transport them to the naval port terminal.

He must find someone to be responsible for this matter, and this person must be absolutely trustworthy.

Who else could he put in charge of this matter at this moment?

His business is too big, and each of his confidants seems to be responsible for more than just one or two things.

With such huge profits in overseas business, we can’t let them take care of other messy things.

The question is, who else can he turn to?
He frowned and thought for a while, and suddenly thought of someone.

Father-in-law Zhang Zhen!

Originally, the father-in-law Zhang Zhen was responsible for finding ships to transport pig iron and wrought iron to the two capitals and thirteen provinces for sale.

However, at this time, there are tens of thousands of navy speedboats, and Wang Chengxun, the Earl of Xinjian, is specifically responsible for mobilizing speedboats to transport various goods, so there is no need to look for ships at all.

Therefore, the father-in-law Zhang Zhen had nothing to do.

The father-in-law of the emperor, Zhang Zhen, was a merchant himself and had been doing business for many years. He was very familiar with all kinds of goods, so it was just right for him to be responsible for preparing goods for overseas trade.

Thinking of this, Wanli said decisively: "Pass it on to the father-in-law Zhang Zhen."

Father-in-law Zhang Zhen really has nothing to do at the moment.

Anyway, he was not short of money at the moment, so he simply bought a large mansion of over a hundred acres in the capital, renovated it well, and brought his family over.

He was even thinking of enjoying his old age, but he didn't expect that not long after he finished his work, the Emperor ordered someone to summon him to the palace for an audience.

What does His Majesty want to see him about?
He hurried to the palace, walked quickly into the imperial study, and was stunned when he saw it.

He had seen the deputy commander of the navy, Yu Zigao, but he had no impression of the other two people.

He has traveled all over the country for so many years and has met countless people. He knows almost all the confidants around the Emperor. Now two people he has never seen before appear in the imperial study!
What do these two people do?
After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli directly handed him a list.

He took the list and looked at it, but he didn't feel his scalp tingling.

Because he used to be a traveling merchant, he often carried dozens or even hundreds of kinds of goods around the countryside, and this variety of goods was not too many for him.

However, the number behind it shocked him.

What does it mean when it comes to millions?
When Wanli saw that he had finished looking at them, he asked, "Well, father-in-law, do you recognize all these?"

The father-in-law Zhang Zhen nodded repeatedly and said, "I recognize it, I recognize it. Many of the goods here are what I used to sell when I was a merchant."

That's good.

Wanli said solemnly: "This is the list of goods for overseas trade, which is roughly the amount for one year.

You are specifically responsible for preparing these goods. The quantity must be large, not small. You must also arrange for the navy express ship to deliver them to the navy harbor southeast of Songjiang Prefecture. A large number of warehouses must also be built there. All of this is your responsibility."

what?
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhen, the father-in-law of the emperor, was surprised and said, "Your Majesty, it seems that we don't even produce many of the goods here. If we buy them, it will probably cost tens or even millions of taels."

I don't care about this. Wanli spread his hands and said, "I have already said that I will leave it to you to take charge. You can do it yourself.

If waterwheels can be mass-produced, you can discuss it with Wang Guozhang. If you think it's too troublesome to make them yourself, then you can just purchase them directly. Tell me how much you need and I will pay you from the inner treasury."

Well, you want to be a hands-off boss.

Zhang Zhen, the father-in-law, nodded slowly and then asked, "When will you need these goods?"

Wanli asked directly: "Yuansheng, this is your responsibility, you tell me."

Li Yuansheng thought about it carefully, then said carefully: "Your Majesty, I came back this time to pick up the goods and go to Japan. Since the wind is blowing from the south, it is very convenient to go to Japan.

At this moment, my men are loading goods from Fujian, and at the same time going to Dongfan to exchange for some deerskin. After these goods are loaded, I will go to Zhejiang to pick up the goods. After picking up the goods from Zhejiang, I will go directly to Hirado Domain in the north of Kyushu Island in Japan to deliver the goods.

They should have prepared all the goods for this trip to Japan, and these were agreed upon during the last delivery. If they want to increase the supply, I will have to discuss it with them again.

So, there is no need to prepare any goods for this trip.

I will turn around and go to Southeast Asia when the north wind starts in September and October, and I will also pick up goods along the way. In fact, as long as I don't get caught, they will prepare all the goods on this list.

It doesn’t matter much if we can’t produce now, as long as we can produce enough goods next year.

There are many countries in Southeast Asia that purchase our goods, so we can bring more of our existing goods over to see if anyone wants them.

I estimate that there should be a lot of people wanting these popular goods such as raw silk, silk, cloth, porcelain, and tea."

Very good, you can blackmail the Zhejiang Party first for those messy goods, no need to rush.

Wanli nodded slightly, then estimated: "Spring silkworms spin silk, but there is no hope for raw silk this year. For silk, you can go to the three major government-run weaving mills in Jiangnan to pick it up. For cloth, you can go directly to Yuan Gong to pick it up. For porcelain, you can ask Zhou Gong to send it to the harbor. As for tea, you can decide for yourself.

Anyway, I'll leave this matter to you. Please discuss it with Yuan Sheng and quickly start this overseas business."

Oh, it’s not too late to stock up next year.

That's no problem.

The father-in-law Zhang Zhen quickly bowed and said, "I understand."

Wanli thought about it again, then said decisively: "How about this, I will give Guozhu a promotion to a captain of the Jinyiwei. From now on, he will follow you and be your deputy, responsible for liaison with Yuansheng."

Oh, now I have become a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

Li Guozhu bowed repeatedly and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Wanli then gave detailed instructions: "Kemai, you also need to return to Nanjing and prepare. This time, you will lead the navy fleet and Yuan Sheng to the Southeast Asia. Remember, do not fly the navy flag, and your officers and soldiers should not wear navy uniforms. Pretend to be pirates first."

Haha, I can go to Southeast Asia now.

Yu Zigao excitedly bowed and said, "I understand."

Wanli thought about it carefully, then waved his hand and said, "Alright, you can discuss it among yourselves. If there is any problem that cannot be solved, come to me again."

Everyone hurriedly bowed and took their leave.

At this time, Yu Zigao also lived in Wanshou Palace.

They simply went to the courtyard where Yu Zigao was to discuss the matter.

Overseas trade changed hands quietly.

The next morning, Li Yuansheng boarded his speedboat and headed straight for the waters off Fujian.

The father-in-law Zhang Zhen and Yu Zigao dispatched a large number of naval speeders, loaded with millions of pieces of cloth stockpiled by the Duke of England Zhang Yuangong, and headed straight for Nanzhili.

Li Yuansheng was a really smart guy. He quietly delivered goods from Fujian and Dongfan and led his fleet to the overseas of Ningbo Prefecture. Then he took the gold and silver and went to Pinghu to find Shen Weijing in person.

He did not swallow all the money he collected from the goods in Southeast Asia this time, but took away a large part of it.

Moreover, he did not tell Shen Weijing that he did not receive the payment for the goods this time. What he said was that some of the goods did not come to pick them up this time.

Shen Weijing had no doubt at all.

This is normal. After all, they are doing big business. It is possible that they cannot raise enough money. Some of them may even be blown away by storms at sea.

Not only did he not doubt it, he also told Li Yuansheng to do a very important thing.

When Li Yuansheng heard what he said, he felt something was wrong.

This guy directly wrote a secret letter, and then sent a speedboat to the navy dock south of Songjiang Prefecture, asking someone to help pass the secret letter to Yu Zigao, the deputy commander of the navy.

So, what exactly did Shen Weijing tell Li Yuansheng?
(End of this chapter)