Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 111 The Desire and Ambition to Overthrow the World and Change the Heavens and Earth
Zheng Zhilong knelt there, like a stone statue that had been eroded by wind and rain for thousands of years.

All the previous eloquent speeches and grand pronouncements now felt like ice crystals frozen in my throat.

The emperor's casual yet all-knowing words shattered all the pride and confidence forged in his ambitious heart into scattered dust.

Sweat had already soaked through the lining of his first-rank military officer's robe with its unicorn emblem. The sticky silk clung to his back, bringing waves of chilling cold. He could clearly hear his own heartbeat, heavy and slow, as if it might stop at any moment from being unable to withstand the invisible imperial might.

The main hall was deathly silent.

The air, which had been somewhat lively because of Zheng Zhilong's words, now froze like amber, sealing this self-righteous maritime overlord in the very center.

Zheng Zhilong dared not look up; all he could see was the cold, smooth gold brick floor that reflected his image.

After a long while, that calm voice, devoid of any discernible emotion, finally rang out again.

"Rise and come with me."

Zheng Zhilong's body trembled almost imperceptibly, and he used all his strength to slowly stand up, supporting his weak knees.

He followed silently behind the emperor.

Zhu Youjian walked steadily, neither too fast nor too slow, and the road from the Golden Palace to the Imperial Study seemed exceptionally long.

Every step felt like walking on an incredibly sharp knife tip. Zheng Zhilong's mind was in chaos, yet strangely clear.

He stopped thinking about those terrifying speculations about life and death, because speculation was meaningless in the face of absolute power. His mind, sharpened like a wild beast through countless life-and-death battles, was racing, trying to understand the game before him.

The emperor knew everything about him.

This was no empty talk. From the price of the command flag to the optimization of the flight path, to his proud fleet tactics, and even his most deeply hidden intelligence network... all of this was revealed in a single sentence by the young man sitting on the dragon throne.

He felt like a naked child standing before a giant who knew everything; all his thoughts and tricks seemed so childish and ridiculous.

What exactly does the emperor want to do?
This question replaced fear and became the only thought in his mind.

Finally, the emperor stopped in front of a palace gate.

"Come in with me."

Zheng Zhilong took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and followed closely inside.

The expected strictness and oppressive atmosphere did not materialize.

The Imperial Study was filled with the scent of ink and old paper, a smell that inexplicably eased Zheng Zhilong's tense nerves.

However, the next moment, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his breath caught in his throat. Right in front of him was a huge sand table!

That wasn't an ordinary military sand table, but a... naval map!
Zheng Zhilong had traveled the world and seen countless nautical charts throughout his life. He was proficient in everything from the official Ming Dynasty Maritime Map to the parchment scrolls drawn by the Portuguese. However, the terrifying details of the sand table in front of him made even this seasoned traveler feel his scalp tingle.

From the Japanese archipelago in the northeast to the Ryukyu Islands in the southeast, and then to Taiwan and Luzon, the land he relied on for his livelihood, he traveled south, through the storm zone of the South China Sea, all the way to the Strait of Malacca, which Europeans regard as their lifeline... All the known islands, ports, and even reefs were clearly marked with different colored markers.

What sent a chill down his spine even further were the crisscrossing patterns drawn on the sand table with threads of different colors, such as gold, silver, red, and black.

That's an air route!

Not only are there the traditional routes he is familiar with, but there are also some secret routes that he is trying out and that are not yet fully mature, which have been almost perfectly replicated!
On the sand table, there are also some miniature ship models scattered around.

The ship models were small and exquisite, yet their types were easily identifiable. There were Fujian and Guangdong ships commonly seen along the Ming Dynasty's coast, as well as the large bird-shaped ships that were the mainstay of Zheng's fleet, and even... he spotted several strangely shaped, towering Western galleons!
Zheng Zhilong's gaze was fixed on the sand table, and he felt as if his heart was being squeezed tightly.

Everything presented on this sand table represents the knowledge and secrets that Zheng Zhilong painstakingly acquired over half his life, using countless amounts of money, blood, and lives.

Now, they lie quietly in the emperor's study, like ordinary decorations.

At this moment, Zhu Youjian had already moved to the other side of the sand table.

He held a jet-black wooden pole in his hand, and instead of looking at Zheng Zhilong, his gaze seemed to have pierced through the roof of the Imperial Study, through the walls of the Forbidden City, and landed on that vast expanse of blue.

"Zheng Qing."

His voice regained the chilling coldness that seemed to freeze the soul, a quality found in the imperial palace.

"You just said that your skills lie outside the pot, very good."

He slowly raised the ebony pole, pointing it towards the distant blue sky.

"Now, I'll tell you just how big my pot is!"

The word "pot," spoken by the emperor, seemed to carry immense force, crashing heavily into Zheng Zhilong's heart.

The sand table in front of him seemed to come alive in that instant; the azure ocean was no longer an inanimate object, but a giant cauldron boiling with endless wealth and opportunities.

The emperor was the owner of this pot.

Zhu Youjian held the ebony staff in his hand like a ladle that could stir up the winds and clouds, and heavily tapped it on the southern end of the sand table, the area representing Siam and Champa.

"This place," the emperor stated as if stating a preordained fact, "is a granary bestowed by heaven. Fertile fields stretch for thousands of miles, yielding three harvests a year."

Zheng Zhilong's gaze was firmly drawn to the ebony pole; as a maritime merchant, he certainly knew where it was.

The rice of Siam and the paddy rice of Champa were indeed plentiful, but for him who pursued high profits, transporting grain was a small and tedious business, far less profitable than transporting ivory and spices.

But the emperor's next words made his blood run hot.

"I grant you the title of Imperial Envoy," Zhu Youjian said slowly, "and further, I give you the authority to allocate shipbuilding materials from the Ministry of Works and to oversee the construction of new ships. My imperial treasury will provide you with funds, and I want your best shipwrights to go to the Longjiang Shipyard to help me build a brand new fleet!"

He paused, his deep, dark eyes fixed undisguisedly on Zheng Zhilong, and the weight of his words suddenly increased.

"I also need your men to teach my new navy how to survive and win at sea! And the first mission of this fleet of mine is to escort it south, to trade with the Siamese royal family first, and to bring back goods."

A meaningful smile flashed across Zhu Youjian's face. "As for the later stages... once the sea routes are familiar and the troops are trained, I will naturally have other uses for that land."

"Other uses!"
These words, though spoken lightly, sounded like a thunderclap to Zheng Zhilong!

He suddenly understood!
The emperor's gaze didn't even linger on the word "transaction"!

Build an ocean-going navy that belongs to the emperor, feed it with the blood and experience of the Zheng family, and then turn that "granary bestowed by heaven" along with the land, port and people into "other uses" for the emperor!
This is no longer a hint, it's practically an explicit statement!

Zheng Zhilong was horrified. He truly felt that the emperor sitting on the dragon throne harbored a desire and ambition in his heart that was enough to overthrow the world and change the course of history!

(End of this chapter)