nanming man

Chapter 1009 Colluding with the Dutch

In July, the Great Wei's recruitment of Zheng Zhilong was blocked because of Zheng Sen.

Chen Mingxia suggested to stop recruiting and exterminate the Zheng family, but Gao Yihuan believed that Zheng Zhilong was Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Sen was Zheng Sen, and insisted on continuing to recruit Zheng Zhilong.

Wei's honorable group is powerful. They need wars to gain achievements, titles, and land. At the same time, they also hope to gain a large number of people in the south of the Yangtze River.

This caused Gao Yihuan a headache. The world has been in chaos for many years, and the population in the north has dropped sharply. The noble landlords need tenants to farm the land, and the handicraft industry in the south needs a large number of hired workers.

The palms and backs of the hands are full of flesh. Although Gao Yihuan has long put forward a policy to encourage births, it will take at least 20 years to restore the population. During this period, it is really difficult for him to take into account the interests of all parties.

Recruiting the Zheng family is related to whether Wei can participate in the great voyage and catch up with the last train. For this reason, Gao Yihuan vetoed Chen Mingxia's suggestion.

It's just that because of the detainment of the envoy, there was a grudge between both parties. Moreover, Zheng Zhilong could not dedicate the whole of Fujian, and the conditions of the Great Wei were lowered, so Zheng Zhilong hesitated again.

In view of this, after autumn entered in early August, the weather turned cooler, and the Wei army assembled in central Zhejiang began to move south one after another, and once again came to Xianxia Pass to put pressure on Zheng Zhilong.

On this day, it was a sunny day, and the weather was not as hot as it was in June and July. The Xianxia Pass was closed, and the soldiers of the Zheng army stood at the top of the city. Spears patrolled back and forth.

Suddenly, the patrolling soldiers stopped, and the leader turned his head to look out of the pass. He only took one look, his expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly shouted, "There is an enemy situation."

On the hill outside the pass wall, black soldiers of the Wei army came all over the mountains, like a moving black carpet.

Not long after, Zheng Cai, wearing a mountain-pattern armor and a phoenix-winged helmet, climbed to the top of the city. He leaned on the stack and looked out, and saw the Wei army coming from far away, and his expression suddenly sank.

"How many troops are there?" the general next to him exclaimed.

"Looking at the posture, it can't be less than a hundred thousand!" Someone said in a deep voice.

The generals of the Zheng army in the city rushed to the wall, discussing and bluffing: "There are so many Wei troops."

Zheng Cai supported the wall with his hands, anxious in his heart, and said anxiously: "You are not allowed to shoot arrows, report to Fuzhou immediately!"

~~~~~~
Zhejiang and Ningbo were the few ports opened to the outside world in the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, due to the impact of the war, especially the uncertainty of Zheng's return, the number of ships in Ningbo Port has been reduced by half.

In the Yamen of the Shipping Department in Ningbo, Gao Yihuan was wearing a black dragon robe, a winged crown on his head, and a belt in his hand. Surrounded by a group of officials, Gao Yihuan visited the Shipping Department and listened to the situation of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang maritime trade.

Fang Yizhi, the official in charge of the Shipping Department of Ningbo City, introduced as he walked: "Your Majesty, there are four main trading ports in Nanming, namely Hangzhou, Ningbo, Quanzhou, and Guangzhou. Among them, Ningbo is mainly responsible for the communication with North Korea. , Japan’s trade. In addition, the Zheng family in Fujian, the Hongmaoyi in the sea, and the Folangji people also often come here for trade.”

Gao Yihuan and others walked in a lobby, which was filled with models of various ships. On the walls were a pair of nautical charts and some tax descriptions from the Shipping Department.

Gao Yihuan nodded slightly, "How much does the Zheng family account for in the trade?"

Fang Yizhi hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the Zheng family has five merchants in the mountains and five merchants in the sea. The five merchants in the mountains are spread all over the south of the Yangtze River and are responsible for purchasing goods. The five merchants in the sea are their fleets and are responsible for transporting goods. Within a year, the Shipping Department of Ningbo City has Half of the transactions are from the Zheng family, and if you include the Zheng family's yellow flag, the proportion can reach about [-]%."

Gao Yihuan was a little surprised. Zheng Zhilong's grandson must be rich.

At this time, Fang Yizhi continued to take Gao Yihuan forward, and came to a lobby where various kinds of porcelain, tea, and cloth were placed.

"Your Majesty, this is the display area for goods. It is mainly for businessmen from overseas. They can see samples here and then place orders. If there are any special needs, they can also be customized!" Fang Yizhi continued to introduce.

Gao Yihuan looked at the many porcelains on the table, many of which were exotic, "Are these from Jingdezhen?"

Fang Yizhi shook his head, "Your Majesty, Jingdezhen's porcelain is exquisite, and it is mainly sold domestically, or to Japan, North Korea, and Annan. These are not from Jingdezhen, they are fired in Changsha kiln, and are sold overseas."

Gao Yihuan secretly marveled, when Li Laiheng came in and saluted, "Your Majesty, the Dutch have arrived."

Gao Yihuan nodded slightly when he heard the words, looked away from the porcelain with some reluctance, and said casually, "Let them wait in the side hall."

"Yes!" Li Laiheng bowed and left.

Gao Yihuan turned around again and came to the side hall. The guard at the door immediately sang loudly: "Your Majesty is here!"

Niu Jinxing immediately motioned for the two red-haired barbarians to stand up, salute on one knee, and said in blunt Chinese, "Kui Yi has seen His Majesty the Great Wei Emperor!"

Gao Yihuan didn't like the Dutch, they were too domineering and barbaric, but he smiled slightly and said, "Excuse me, get up and talk!"

Gao Yihuan sat down at the main seat, and the red-haired ghost Kuiyi waved his hand immediately, and an attendant beside him immediately carried a tray.

"Your Majesty, a small gift is not a tribute!" Aoi said with a hint of arrogance on her face.

The guard took it and lifted the red cloth. On the tray was a short-barreled flintlock gun, which was exquisitely crafted.

After Gao Yihuan looked at it, he sneered and waved his hand backwards. The guards behind him all took out something from the leather holster around their waists.

Gao Yihuan pretended to be aggressive, and said with a slight smile, "It's not unusual for my army to have at least [-] such flintlock guns, but since it was sent by an envoy, I will accept it."

After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and the guard stepped back with the tray upright.

Gao Yihuan bragged about it, but Kui Yi believed it and was frightened.

Gao Yi laughed and said: "The envoy came to Ningbo, what's the matter? If it is to pay tribute, it will be a little earlier."

As soon as Kui came back to her senses, she hurriedly bowed and bowed, "His Majesty the Great Wei Emperor, I am here this time to hope that Great Wei can resume trade with the Netherlands and keep the agreement signed between the Netherlands and the Ming Kingdom unchanged."

Not long ago, Gao Yihuan decreed that the trade with the Dutch was temporarily suspended on the grounds of the need for a contract exchange, in order to let the Dutch come to him for negotiations.

Gao Yihuan wondered: "This matter is a bit difficult, but if you promise me a condition, I can consider it."

The ship stopped in Ningbo, and every day it was a big loss. Kui Yi was overjoyed when he heard that, and hurriedly asked: "I don't know what the conditions are. As long as it doesn't harm the interests of the company, we can accept it."

Gao Yihuan smiled and said: "The condition is very simple. I want you to cut off any contact with the Zheng family in Fujian and help Wei block Zheng Sen. As long as you agree to this condition, I will allow you to come to Ningbo for trade!"

(End of this chapter)