Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

Zheng Zhilong then took out a seated clock from the box: "This is a French chronometer!"

Zhu Jian glanced at the clock, then looked down at the flintlock pistol and said softly, "Do these firearms come in longer versions?"

"Yes! The long range is about fifty paces!" Zheng Zhilong replied truthfully.

"How much does it cost?"

"About ten three-eyed muskets can be exchanged for one long-handled self-igniting firearm!" After saying this, Zheng Zhilong looked at Zhu Jian's face and, seeing that there was no change in his expression, he felt relieved.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jian muttered to himself, "A three-eyed musket costs seven qian of silver, ten muskets would be seven taels! Ten thousand muskets would be seventy thousand taels!"

Then he suddenly looked up and asked, "Zhilong, can you get 20,000 of them!"

"able!"

"The soldiers I brought this time are equipped with ten long-handled self-propelled firearms. I can show them to the officials of the Cabinet and the Ministry of War first. If they are acceptable, I can coordinate with the Ministry of War on the remaining matters!" Zheng Zhilong thought to himself that he still needed to go through the normal procedures, the Cabinet and the Ministry of War, before he could allocate funds for the purchase and negotiation.

Zhu Jian waved his hand: "There's no need for the cabinet and the Ministry of War to get involved. I will dispatch Fang Zhenghua to take 150,000 taels from the Wuchang Mint and deliver it to you in Fuzhou!"

"yes!"

Zheng Zhilong hypocritically replied, "If it weren't for my financial difficulties, I should have been supporting the court, but alas, there is a shortage of provisions!"

Although he wasn't short of 150,000 taels, he couldn't start this trend. If he did, who knows what might happen in the future. Originally, he and the court were complementary. The court didn't provide him with provisions or pay, but gave him a title. He didn't hand over trade profits to the court, but used the title to expand his own power and indirectly protect the Ming Dynasty's coastal defense.

"I do have a business opportunity!"

Zheng Zhilong was taken aback upon hearing this, then pricked up his ears and looked at Prosecutor Zhu warily.

"After Mao Wenlong died, the trade on Pi Island, which was under his control, became a direct import route to Jiangnan. You can block the trade routes from Jiangnan to Pi Island! Later, when there is a surplus of goods in Liaodong and prices drop, I will reopen Pi Island. At that time, mink furs, ginseng, and other goods will all be transferred to you. If they are sold to Southeast Asia, the prices will be even higher. What do you say?"

He paused, then added, "If the imperial court recovers Liaodong, this entire ocean trade route from north to south will be yours!"

Zhu Jian planned to first completely strangle the Jurchens in terms of trade routes. Now that the Shanxi merchants' route had been cut off, the only remaining route was by sea. He planned to use Zheng Zhilong's influence to cut off the Jurchens' direct sales of goods to the Jiangnan region, thus economically starving them.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong's eyes lit up: "Your Majesty, I am willing to serve you!"

As early as Mao Wenlong's time, he had his eye on the Pi Island trade route. However, he had influence in Fujian at that time, but not in the north, so he couldn't get in. Later, he heard that Mao Wenlong had been beheaded by Yuan Chonghuan, and he thought that his opportunity had come. But he didn't expect that the Pi Island trade would fall into the hands of the Jiangnan merchant group.

These large financial groups in Jiangnan looked down on him and gave him no chance. He could only hold on tightly to the South China Sea shipping route. Now that the emperor wants to unite with him to cut off the Jiangnan commercial route, he is naturally happy to do so.

"What are the prices of porcelain in Southeast Asia?" Zhu Jian asked again.

"High demand! Especially for porcelain from the folk kilns of Raozhou Prefecture, which are even more sought after!"

As Zhu Jian rummaged through the contents of the three boxes Zheng Zhilong had brought, he said nonchalantly, "What if it were imperial porcelain?"

"The Imperial... Imperial Kiln... was never widely distributed; its porcelain was mostly given as gifts!"

"Are you interested in becoming a licensed distributor of imperial porcelain, exporting it to Southeast Asia?"

Zheng Zhilong was overjoyed upon hearing this and firmly replied, "Yes!"

"And you'll also be granted the privilege of exporting the silk produced by the Imperial Workshops!"

Zheng Zhilong quickly agreed: "Your Majesty, I will certainly forge a new path!"

Zhu Jian planned to appoint Zheng Zhilong as the leader of the Ming Dynasty's overseas trade, with him providing goods in the mainland. After all, there were so many refugees, and they needed to find some way to make a living.

However, this might provoke fierce resistance from court officials and merchants. There are ways to deal with such resistance; these people are blocking Zheng Zhilong's path to wealth, and Zheng Zhilong will fight them. Zhu Jian believes that whether it's better to do business with the Ming Emperor or with this group of merchants, he must have a clear understanding of the situation. After all, Zhu Jian is not Emperor Xian of Han.

Zhu Jian examined the items; they were indeed novel from Southeast Asia. However, he was most interested in the flintlock pistol in his hand. He then handed the silver coins in his pocket to Zheng Zhilong: "Zhilong, there should be machines for minting these silver coins in France or France. Could you bring me a batch from overseas?"

"I have already established eight mints in the Ming Dynasty, ready to mint these one-tael silver coins on a large scale!"

During the Jiajing era, Europe developed water-powered coin-minting machines to combat silver theft by cutting edges, in order to develop silver mines in Central Europe. Therefore, Zhu Jian also wanted to obtain this silver coin and regain the monetary power lost by the court! As soon as this silver coin appeared in large quantities, he directly issued an edict to increase the fire loss of silver ingots and broken silver transactions by 50%!

Exchange silver up to 10,000 taels annually at the mint at the normal loss rate! Let small merchants survive, then lock up the large amounts of silver appearing on the market year by year, harvesting the purchasing power of the silver hoarded by wealthy merchants every year! Devalue their wealth by half!

What is money? Only currency with purchasing power is money. Silver without purchasing power is just a pile of minerals!

However, this method should only be used after the Jurchens have lost the initiative to launch an offensive! To avoid creating collusion between internal and external forces! When it comes to economic and trade wars, Zhu Jian has never been afraid of anyone because he holds absolute imperial power! But he also needs the strength to suppress these people who want to overturn the table.

"The East India Company also has this kind of silver coin, and presumably they also have the machinery to mint it. I will discuss this matter with the East India Company!" Zheng Zhilong bowed solemnly.

Zhu Jian nodded slightly. Now that the benefits had been given, it was time to make demands.

"I've heard you have quite a few warships. I want to rebuild the Ming Dynasty's navy to escort the grain transport. As you know, several northern provinces are currently suffering from frequent natural disasters and need large quantities of grain. However, the inland canals have limited transport capacity. I'm considering shipping the grain from Jiangnan to Shandong by sea, but the seas are not safe!"

Zheng Zhilong was not surprised. He understood that there was no such thing as a free lunch. With so many exclusive trades and huge profits in his hands, the emperor must have something in mind.

He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture: "Your Majesty, I am willing to offer five large warships to safeguard the grain transport!"

Zhu Jian shook his head: "Seagoing vessels are not suitable for domestic navigation. Let's replace them with two medium-sized warships and eight small warships!"

Seagoing vessels are for navigation, but Zhu Jian currently does not need to navigate; he only needs to transport supplies between Pi Island and Denglai. Moreover, large seagoing vessels are not very maneuverable and have a slow reaction speed, making them unsuitable for coastal harassment warfare.

"I obey your decree!"

"Let your son stay by my side, serving as a bridge between me and Fujian, shall we?"

After Zhu Jian finished speaking, Zheng Zhilong suddenly thought of the word "hostage," then pondered for a moment and nodded.

Although there was suspicion of being a hostage, there seemed to be no better way at the moment, so they had no choice but to agree. After all, if Zheng Sen took the imperial examination in the future, he would also enter the court. If he was by the emperor's side now, he could have an advantage.

"I obey your decree!"

Zhu Jian continued, "Do you have a subordinate named Shi Lang? He's eighteen years old and a brave warrior?"

Zheng Zhilong pondered for a moment, but still couldn't recall who it was: "Your Majesty, I will go back and search for them!"

"How about you send Shi Lang, along with fifty skilled naval warriors, to the capital to help me train my navy?"

"yes!"

Zheng Zhilong had too many men who had fought in naval battles, and there were many skilled ones among them. After all, with tens of thousands of men, it would be effortless to select fifty sailors!