Ming Dynasty: Tanks blocked the door and you said to me, "Long live Ming Dynasty"

"I understand! I will do it right away!"

The matter was settled in the morning.

In the afternoon, Sun Chengzong of the Ministry of War received two memorials.

After seeing the above content, he did not dare to delay for a moment and personally went to the Qianqing Palace with the memorial.

"Your Majesty!"

"Shanxi Governor Sun Chuanting sent a letter saying that the bandits in Shaanxi are too rampant. There are now many uprisings, and the total number of bandits exceeds 80,000!"

"Governor Sun wrote in a memorial that the military equipment of Zhenqiang, Ningwu, and Yulinwei is in disarray, and their weapons and armor are incomplete, so it is difficult to fully suppress the bandits. Please ask the court to provide them with weapons, armor, and food!"

"In addition, the commander of the Hanzhong Guard, Zuo Xiansheng, requested to report that the bandit Liu Zongmin was powerful and had taken tens of thousands of civilians hostage. He had already looted Lantian, Shangzhou, Shanyang and other places."

"To prevent the bandits from becoming more powerful, Zuo Xiansheng, please take out 30,000 sets of weapons and armor!"

"And request an order to mobilize the garrisons at Luguan, Baituguan, Goupingguan, Yanchangguan, Qingshiguan and other places so that we can wipe out the bandits in one fell swoop!"

Zhu Youxiao approached the memorial, pretended to take a look at it, and then threw it to the ground in anger.

"Someone, call the Minister of Works!"

Wu Chunfu came very quickly. As soon as he entered the hall, he was affected by the atmosphere here. He walked into the hall quietly and bowed.

"Minister of Works Wu Chunfu, I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

"Ministry of Works! I want to ask you, are there any swords, knives, or armor in the warehouse now?"

The cold tone made Wu Chunfu shiver, and he immediately racked his brains to think about the accounts.

But after a while, he replied somewhat frustratedly.

"Your Majesty, there are many types of weapons and armor. I need to go back and check the accounts before I can reply!"

"boom!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youxiao threw a teacup at him, and it was a fine Yuan blue and white porcelain...

"Useless! You don't even know your own financial situation, what's the point of me supporting you!"

"I'll give you one stick of incense to go back and find out the details, then report back!"

"Yes!"

Wu Chunfu covered his hit shoulder and stumbled out of the Qianqing Palace.

After a stick of incense, he came back with a pile of account books.

"Your Majesty!"

"There are 75,000 swords in the warehouse, more than 124,000 spears, 60,000 rattan shields and shields, 40,000 bows, 700,000 arrows, 17,000 three-barreled muskets, and 6,800 flintlock muskets..."

"Five thousand pieces of cotton armor, one thousand four hundred pieces of fish scale armor, three thousand two hundred pieces of chain mail, eighteen thousand pieces of leather armor, and more than forty thousand mandarin duck battle jackets..."

This series of assets may sound like a lot, but it is only enough for emergency use.

Zhu Youxiao immediately made the decision: "Order someone to count and load the goods immediately!"

"Give Sun Chuanting and Zuo Xiansheng 20,000 each, 20,000 spears, 10,000 shields, 5,000 bows, 200,000 arrows, 1,000 cotton armor, 1,000 chain mail, 1,000 pieces each, and 200 pieces of fish scale armor each!"

"Once you are ready, hand it over to the East Factory!"

Wu Chunfu was stunned when he heard this, and asked in confusion: "Your Majesty, these are all prepared for the border troops! They must be dispatched in the spring of next year!"

Zhu Youxiao looked at him unkindly: "The weapons and armor needed by the border troops should be made separately, and there should be no delay in Shaanxi!"

Wu Chunfu smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue..."

Got it!

Or the Ministry of Revenue has no money...

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand generously and said, "I will give you two million taels of silver from the treasury first!"

"Wei Daban, let him get the silver."

"By the way, don't forget to go to the Ministry of Revenue to find Guo Yunhou afterwards and ask him to write me an IOU, including the three million taels from before!"

The corners of Wei Zhongxian's mouth twitched a few times. For some reason, he suddenly felt a little sorry for that guy Guo Yunhou.

In less than three months, the treasury owed five million taels of silver!

I guess there has never been a Minister of Revenue in any dynasty who was as miserable as him?

After the two men left, Zhu Youxiao asked someone to find the new Jinyijiang commander Sun Kangwang.

"Have you taken over those people that Tian Ergeng sent to Shaanxi before?"

Sun Kangwang nodded and responded: "Your Majesty, I have sent out the Tiqi to contact him!"

"That's good. Here are two maps. Send 500 people over there to quietly transport the silver sealed there and put it into the inner treasury! Be careful not to make it public. If the news leaks out, you will no longer be the commander!"

"Your Majesty, don't worry, I understand!"

Chapter 92: Six Hundred Miles to Go, Send a Horse to Beijing Immediately to Report to Your Majesty

Just when the government affairs were getting on track, on the southeast coast, Wei Zhongxian's godson, Li Chaoqin, finally met the target person of this trip.

Zheng Zhilong!

Zheng Zhilong was still very young at this time. Although he was only 23 years old, his strength should not be underestimated.

In the past few years, he followed Li Dan, a Chinese overseas in Hirado, Japan, and did business in the area from Xiangshanao (Macau) to Nagasaki, Japan. Because of his smart mind and unique talent in languages, he gradually became Li Dan's right-hand man.

Therefore, in addition to the business from Xiangshan Bay to Japan, Li Dan gave Zheng Zhilong a fleet and let him be responsible for trade matters with Annan (now Vietnam).

In the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, Li Dan died of illness, and all of his properties were taken over by Zheng Zhilong.

Over the years, because Zheng Zhilong was familiar with maritime affairs and proficient in multiple languages, coupled with the foundation left by Li Dan, he had become a tyrant on the southeast coast. Now he had more than 700 ships under his name!

When Li Chaoqin first arrived here, Zheng Zhilong had led his fleet out to sea and had not returned. After waiting for more than a month, they were finally able to meet.

In Xiangshanao, Zheng Zhilong lived in a mansion that was not suitable for his status. It was just an ordinary three-courtyard house. This might be related to the fact that he lived abroad for many years.

Early in the morning, Zheng Zhilong and his family were waiting at the door. When he saw Li Chaoqin and Xiong Wencan coming from the corner of the street with a group of Dongchang men, he hurriedly greeted them with a smile.

"I didn't know the angel had arrived. I went out to sea some time ago and didn't return. I kept the angel waiting for a long time. Please forgive me!"

"Hahahaha, ignorance is no crime!" Xiong Wencan laughed and saluted him back.

"I've heard for a long time that Zheng Yiguan from the southeast is very handsome. Seeing him today, I find that his reputation is well-deserved!"

"I am Xiong Wencan, this is the angel from the capital, Lord Li, the Chief of the Eastern Depot!"

Zheng Zhilong bowed to Li Chaoqin again and said, "I am honored to meet Captain Li!"

"You're welcome, you're welcome."

Li Chaoqin also responded with a smile. When he came, Wei Zhongxian had told him that he must treat Zheng Zhilong with courtesy. If he made enemies with Zheng Zhilong, he would have no choice but to die to apologize.

After the three of them exchanged polite words for a while, Zheng Zhilong stepped aside and said, "My lords, please come in!"

Entered the mansion and went into the main hall.

Li Chaoqin was seated in the main seat, Xiong Wencan sat on his right, and Zheng Zhilong sat below to accompany him.

From this point alone, it can be seen that his cultivation is worthy of his current status.

After the fragrant tea was served and the servants left, Zheng Zhilong asked his doubts.

"I wonder what you two gentlemen have to say to me after coming all the way to my humble abode?"

Li Chaoqin didn't say anything, but just winked at Xiong Wencan.

This was also Wei Zhongxian's instruction, Xiong Wencan should be the chief in everything!

Xiong Wencan picked up the teacup, took a sip, and smiled with wrinkles on his face.

“Good tea, really good tea!”

"I never thought that I could drink such exquisite Songluo tea here at this time!"

Put down the teacup, chew the tea leaves that accidentally fell into your mouth twice and swallow them directly.

"To be honest, Brother Zheng, Captain Li and I came here to tell you the good news!"

"The emperor is wise and wise. I heard that Brother Zheng is young and promising, and has brought honor to the Ming Dynasty in the southeastern coastal areas."

"Therefore, the emperor intends to give Brother Zheng the title of Earl of Nanhai. I just wonder if Lord Zheng is interested?"

Zheng Zhilong was very surprised!

His current identity is that of a notorious pirate in the eyes of the government!

The imperial court actually wants to recruit me by offering me the title of earl?

He took a deep breath and asked seriously.

"I wonder what the court wants?"

This matter concerns the future of more than 30,000 brothers under his command, so he has no choice but to be cautious.

Xiong Wencan naturally understood his concerns and said with a smile.

"Master Zheng, please don't think too much. His Majesty has never said that he has any requirements for you."

"All you need to do is lead your heroes to accept the rule of the imperial court, and from now on, obey the imperial court's orders!"

Zheng Zhilong hesitated!

What Xiong Wencan said is hardly a condition.

If you surrender to the Ming Dynasty, you naturally have to accept the court's orders. This is your duty.

Can........

"Master Xiong, since the court is so generous, then I, Zheng, will not be hypocritical!"

"But Zheng has a condition!"

"This year, there was a severe drought in southern Fujian, and the people had almost no harvest. I'm sure you two are aware of this."

"Zheng went out to sea a few days ago, leading fellow villagers from southern Fujian across the sea to Taiwan to find a way to make a living."

"If the imperial court really wants to recruit Zheng's troops, please allocate enough food to help the folks in southern Fujian first."

"If this matter can be resolved, Zheng will personally go to the capital to pay homage to the emperor!"

Xiong Wencan's expression froze. Disaster relief was a matter of great importance and it was beyond his control to decide.

Li Chaoqin frowned and said, "Master Zheng, I heard that the imperial court had already sent disaster relief grain to southern Fujian. Why is it not enough?"

Zheng Zhilong shook his head and sighed.

"The relief food has arrived!"

"But there are tens of millions of people in southern Fujian. What can we do with just 100,000 dan of grain?"

"boom!"

Li Chaoqin slapped the table and stood up.

"Only 100,000 shi of grain?"

"How did I hear that the imperial court has taken out 800,000 dan of grain?"

"Eight hundred thousand stones?"

Zheng Zhilong was also stunned!

Forty percent of the people in southern Fujian, or about four million people, were affected by the disaster.

One hundred thousand shi of grain is equivalent to 1200 million jin. Each person can only get three jin of grain. Even if they eat sparingly and eat together with wild vegetables and tree bark, they can only last about ten days at most.

But if it is 800,000 dan of grain, each person can get 24 jin of grain. If it is combined with wild vegetables and tree bark, it will be enough to last for more than two months!

Seeing that Zheng Zhilong's reaction did not seem like a lie at all, Li Chaoqin became angry.

"Damn it, those 700,000 dan of grain, could it be that they were all withheld at every level?"

"Somebody come!"

He shouted loudly outside, and several guards rushed in immediately.

"Go to southern Fujian quickly and bring the local mining supervisor, tax supervisor, and Jinyiwei thousand households to see me!"