Back to the end of Ming Dynasty to be a warlord

Chapter 296 Triple the price

Zheng Zhilong's people came very quickly, and arrived before evening.

The visitor was big and thick, especially his face, which was quite round, completely different from the sharp and thin faces of ordinary Jiangnan people.

"This is fourth master!"

He Mingyu said.

Yang Chao cupped his hands casually.

"This is Master Yang, the brave general who beheaded tens of thousands of Tartars in Haizhou!"

The opponent also cupped his hands, with a different kind of eagerness in his eyes, as if he was meeting an opponent at chess and really wanted to play a game immediately, or he regarded Yang Chao as an opponent and wanted to try his skills.

"It's been a long time since I've heard of you."

Yang Chao nodded slightly.

After the few people sat down, Yang Chao didn't want to be too polite to the fourth master, so he almost stated his intention directly.

"I know that Zheng Zongbing's sea trade business is very big, and he also needs to handle a lot of goods in Jiangnan. I'm afraid it will be inconvenient. I happen to have some contacts in Jiangnan, and I want to make a big deal with Zheng Zongbing. Business!"

Zheng Zhilong is a legendary figure. With the power of the people, he has formed a huge sea fleet that usually requires the power of the country and the power of the whole country to build it. Even the sea carriages of the Netherlands have to fly the flag of the Zheng family, otherwise They dare not do business in the East.

But Yang Chao's tone was blunt. Standing behind was the emperor, Shi Kefa, the most powerful minister in the south of the Yangtze River, and elite soldiers in his hands. He was not tough and did not conform to his image. Of course, more importantly, Yang Chao had to use a tough posture to kill Entering the market, to put it bluntly, he joined Haimao to compete with the rich and the Zheng family.

Anyway, it is impossible to satisfy these people, so simply be tougher and directly give them a blow, maybe it will be less troublesome.

That's why you don't have to make false claims with Zheng Zhilong's people, just start the case and clarify the righteousness. First, give the leader of the Zheng family a disarm, and then the wealthy families below will be able to handle it more easily.

After listening to Yang Chao's words, the fourth master smiled noncommittally, "I don't know what kind of big business Mr. Yang wants to do with my elder brother?"

Yang Chao said: "In the future, I will arrange for Jiangnan's silk, porcelain and tea for Zongbing Zheng, and I will have as many goods as I want."

Although Zheng Zhilong can get goods from Jiangnan through smuggling, the quantity of smuggling is always not enough, so Zheng Zhilong often needs to pay double or even triple the price for purchases.

The fourth master laughed: "Master Yang is Master Yang, and he speaks arrogantly, but Master Yang is not the kind of person who helps for nothing, so let's make a condition."

The Zheng Group endured a price difference of several times, but suffered from the inability to obtain sufficient sources of goods in the south of the Yangtze River. There are thousands of large and small ships under the Zheng Group, and there are only a dozen or even fewer cargo ships that can go to Japan every year. , and even had to buy goods in a country like Vietnam. Everyone knows the grade of Vietnamese products and the grade of Jiangnan products.

Therefore, Yang Chao claimed to be able to provide sufficient supply of goods, and this alone was enough to make Zheng's heart move. He promised Yang Chao some extra benefits, and he was willing to accept it, so he offered it.

Yang Chao also laughed: "Happy! Please fourth master go back and pass a message to General Zheng. From now on, he has to raise his hand and raise the price of all the goods in Jiangnan."

It turned out that the price was going to be raised, and Fourth Master couldn't help frowning. Mrs. Zheng had already paid a high price for getting the goods from Jiangnan, and now she wanted to increase the price, so there was no profit for Mrs. Zheng's hard work.

But still patiently: "I don't know how much Master Yang wants to mention?"

Yang Chao simply said: "Three times!"

Fourth Master's expression changed immediately. The Zheng family's purchases from various wealthy families in the south of the Yangtze River were already very expensive, twice or even three times the price on the market. The profit is only ten times that of the Zheng family, which is tantamount to cutting off the Zheng family's profit and taking [-]% of it again. It is simply stealing money from the Zheng family. When is it someone else's turn to grab them.

But the fourth master laughed out loud instead, and cupped his hands: "Your Majesty Yang is magnificent, and my fourth son admires it very much. But anyone can say big things, but what about skills? Not necessarily!"

Yang Chao also laughed: "Whether you have the ability or not, we will wait and see. Anyway, the price of the goods from me in the future will have to be raised three times. As for the goods in other people's hands, I am afraid that there will be no more in the future! My army The Yangtze River will be blocked, without my official's permission, even a single piece of silk will never be transported to the Zheng family's boat!"

Fourth Master applauded, stood up at the same time, and suddenly put his hands on the table, staring into Yang Chao's eyes.

The fourth master said coldly, "Master Yang, let's wait and see, I want to see who can stop the Zheng family's boat on the river."

Yang Chao chuckled: "Don't be too busy, you'd better take what I said to the leader of your family, let him think about it if you agree or not."

During Zheng Zhilong's previous tenure, Yang Chao became amiable. Zheng Zhilong's strength in the sea is indeed great, but on the Yangtze River, Yang Chao really doesn't need to be afraid of him.

It is true that Zheng Zhilong dominates the sea, with a force of 20, including Han Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Southeast Asians, African blacks, etc., and they are all desperadoes. They have a fleet of more than [-] large and small ships. Li, Champa, Luzon, Hong Kong, Beigang, Dayuan, Hirado, Nagasaki, Mumbai, Banten, Old Port, Batavia, Malacca, Cambodia, Siam and other places traded and passed the Strait of Malacca It is Zheng Zhilong's sphere of influence, and no one can do business here without flying the Zheng Jialing banner.

It is true that Zheng Zhilong is as rich as the enemy's country. According to historical records, "any ship that does not have the flag of the Zheng family cannot come and go. Each ship has three thousand gold, and the yearly income is tens of millions, so as to enrich the enemy's country and build the city of Anping Town by itself"; "From then on, the sea atmosphere It's very easy to sell foreign goods, domestic and foreign merchants, all use the Zheng family banner, there is no warning, merchants have twenty times the profit, Zhilong will use the sea to facilitate the transportation, and make it a big show."

But so what, even if Zheng Zhilong dominates the sea, even if he is as rich as an enemy, the real ruler of the Ming Empire is the civil servants, and people don't pay attention to him at all. In the memorial to the emperor, they bluntly called Zheng Zhilong a pirate.

This inherent contempt for pirates and Japanese pirates made it difficult for Zheng Zhilong's forces to walk on land. Except for some influence in Fujian, people in other places did not take the Zheng family seriously at all, especially Jiangnan, where the literati were most powerful. Not to mention civil servants here, even those wealthy families don’t take Zheng’s seriously, otherwise they wouldn’t blackmail Zheng’s group in terms of supply. They can’t do things like smuggling because they don’t have a big background, so they eat to death The Zheng family.

Although Zheng Zhilong Group is annoyed by this kind of discrimination, it has no good solution. After all, they can develop to this level, they still rely on Daming's huge economic strength, otherwise how can they afford such a fleet, so even if they are discriminated against, They could only bear the humiliation with hatred, but with the temperament of those pirates, I'm afraid they really wished they could come to the south of the Yangtze River.

It was precisely because the Zheng family did not dare and had no strength to invade Jiangnan, so Yang Chao dared to manipulate them at will.

He really dared to intercept the Zheng family's boats on the Yangtze River, or even specifically intercept the Zheng family's boats, until the Zheng family's subdued.

So Yang Chao was confident, and asked Fourth Master to bring a message to Zheng Zhilong, and let Zheng Zhilong decide whether to fight or make peace.

But the fourth master said coldly: "No need. I'll let it go."

Yang Chao just paused in his heart. He always regarded the so-called fourth master in front of him as a small boss of Zheng Zhilong's subordinates. He thought he was sent to Jiangnan to handle goods, so he would see him immediately in Nanjing. Listen to him now. His tone, I'm afraid it's not something a small boss can dismiss.

Yang Chao asked directly: "Dare to ask fourth master's name?"

The third master said: "The surname is Zheng."

Surname Zheng?Zheng Zhilong is also surnamed Zheng!
Yang Chao asked, "Zheng what?"

Fourth master said: "Zheng Hongkui!"

Zheng Hongkui!The fourth child of the Zheng family, Zheng Zhilong's younger brother, and Zheng Chenggong's uncle.

He also has a name, Zheng Zhifeng, who is one of the core people who started Zheng Zhilong's career, Ma Shibazhi.

Knowing that this is the core leader of the No. [-] force in the entire Eastern Sea, Yang Chao naturally understands that this is not a small leader who handles goods, but also a hero across the sea.

So he immediately put away his indifferent attitude, and cupped his hands: "So it's Zheng Zhifeng, Fourth Master Zheng, I'm so disrespectful!"

Seeing that Yang Chao had finally put away the arrogance that he had been wanting to show his majesty all along, Zheng Hongkui's face finally softened a little, and he smiled heartily.

"I don't know how much the name Zheng Hongkui and Zheng Zhifeng is worth?"

Negotiating the price is fine. Yang Chao's so-called triple price increase is nothing more than exorbitant asking prices. After all, goods from Jiangnan do not necessarily have to go to the Yangtze River.

If the price of raw silk is high enough, it can be smuggled south to Hangzhou Bay, but it is more convenient to enter the Yangtze River through the canal, just like Jingdezhen porcelain in Jiangxi, which can enter the Yangtze River from Jiujiang through the Ganjiang River, or Go south through Meiling to go to the sea in Guangdong.

The triple price increase is obviously to force the goods to other directions, which is not Yang Chao's original intention.

Zheng Hongkui is now counter-offering.

Yang Chao immediately said: "Then raise the price twice."

Zheng Hongkui shook his head: "Zheng Zhifeng's name is worthless, so Zheng Zhilong's name must be worth something."

Obviously Zheng Hongkui was not satisfied with the double price cut, so it is said that his name is worthless.

Yang Chao smiled and said, "Then double the price."

Doubling the price also means twice the price in the past.

Zheng Hongkui smiled and said, "Master Yang is so sure, he will definitely take care of our Zheng family."

Yang Chao smiled and said: "No, the Zheng family is naturally not easy to mess with, but I won't be afraid of a battalion of sailors. After three months, my army will march eastward along the river in mighty strength. It's up to your Zheng family to make a peace."

Zheng Hongkui twitched his cheeks. Yang Chao's record of [-] million and [-] is really bluffing. Now that this guy has a battalion in his hand, he is really not easy to mess with, but the Zheng family is not afraid, the Zheng family is in the sea For decades, it was done by myself with a knife, not by others. If you want to use a knife to see blood, who will you be afraid of?
But that was only at sea, and the Zheng family had some foundations in Fujian, but they didn't have much say in Jiangnan, otherwise they wouldn't have to pay high prices to smuggle them from Jiangnan.

However, the south of the Yangtze River cannot be bypassed. Although the Zheng family can import silk from Fujian, Guangdong and even Southeast Asia, these silks are just to fool the Dutch who have never seen the world. The real big business of the Zheng family is still with the Japanese. Yes, Japan, like Daming, is also a place for silk production, but firstly, the Japanese love the scenery of Daming, and secondly, Japanese silk is indeed not as good as Jiangnan's silk, so Japan is the largest buyer of Daming's raw silk.

Raw silk has become the core trade of the Zheng family. If Yang Chao can control Jiangnan's products, he will really be able to strangle the Zheng family's neck.

"Three months?"

Zheng Hongkui's tone softened.

"Three months!"

Although Yang Chao had some respect for a sea tycoon like Zheng Hongkui, his attitude was still tough.

Zheng Hongkui laughed suddenly: "But I don't know what to do, I still have to discuss it with my elder brother."

Yang Chao said: "Those three months are enough."

Zheng Hongkui snorted: "Okay! Three months is three months, but I have a few brothers who are trapped in prison, and I ask Mr. Yang to fish them out. After three months, I want to see these brothers." .”

Zheng Hongkui's tone was actually ready to agree, not because he could really be Zheng Zhilong's master, but because Yang Chao's proposal was within their acceptable range.

Yang Chao just doubled the price. The Zheng family used to buy goods at double the price. Double the price is four times. If they are shipped to Japan, they will have ten times the profit. Only one-third of them were robbed by Yang Chao. It still belongs to the Zheng family.

But another advantage of cooperating with Yang Chao is that they will not be affected by the supply of goods, and they can have as much as they want, so there is no problem in doubling their business, and they can earn more than before.

As for whether Yang Chao has this ability, Zheng Hongkui really doesn't doubt it. If Yang Chao really has a battalion of soldiers in his hands, and they all look like the six hundred elite soldiers, he might dare to walk sideways in the south of the Yangtze River. It is Zuo Liangyu. Such a giant, not to mention selling goods, just robbing them directly, I am afraid that no one can do anything.

Therefore, Zheng Hongkui felt that he had to agree to Yang Chao's conditions if he agreed to them, or he had to agree to them if he didn't. He didn't believe that Yang Chao was talking big when he called him here.

But Zheng Hongkui still wants to say something: "Master Yang, you have to know that it's not that the Zheng family is afraid of you. The men of the Zheng family have never been afraid of anyone on the water. It's just that they respect Mr. Yang as a man. If you have money, everyone can make money together." .”

Yang Chao accepted it as soon as he saw it: "That's right, I don't think that the Zheng family is afraid of me. Just wait for the news, as long as you have a discussion with me about the person you want, you can get someone after three months. I am sending a message to Zheng Da, saying that I also admire him as a man, and hope that he will always be a man."

Yang Chao remembered that Zheng Zhilong surrendered to the Manchus later, and he was afraid that he would not be accepted. He surrendered very actively and proactively. As a result, the whole family was put under house arrest in Beijing. Only his son Zheng Chenggong refused to surrender in the south. ten years.

Maybe it's old, maybe it's scared, Zheng Zhilong when he surrendered didn't look at all like a giant bandit who has been criss-crossing the sea for decades.

Hearing Yang Chao's words seemed interesting, but he couldn't hear anything strange. Zheng Hongkui could only nod coldly: "I will bring the words."

(End of this chapter)