(Please recommend votes, support. Thanks to book friend He Xian for his 100-coin reward)

Zheng Chenggong felt that there was a temptation in His Majesty's words, and sweat had already oozed out of his forehead.

His father Zheng Zhilong basically monopolized the trade to Japan after replacing Li Dan's position.

It has similar preferences to the countries in Southeast Asia. The Japanese are very interested in the raw silk, satin and porcelain of the Ming Dynasty.

The Zheng family's ships to Japan were basically filled with these things.

The Zheng family has a wide range of relationships in Hirado. These porcelains and silks do not have to worry about selling them. They can basically be underwritten as soon as they are unloaded, and the price is three to five times the price.

This profit seems considerable, but it is nothing compared to the high risk of traveling to the ocean.

What really makes money is the "goods" taken away on the return journey.

After the Zheng family's fleet sold goods, it would stay in Hirado's wing for a while, waiting for the Japanese to load the "cargo" into ships.

The "goods" they were going to take away on the return journey were nothing else, they were copper! A large amount of copper!

It is well known in Japan that copper production is widely known, and there are many copper ores.

Of course, the Zheng family bought copper not to cast statues for Buddha, but to make private money.

Before Wanli, silver had not poured in in large quantities, and private transactions basically relied on copper coins.

Even after a large amount of silver poured in, it was basically gathered in the hands of a few merchants and landlords. Ordinary farmers and civilians did not have much silver in their hands. Most of the people rely on copper coins for transaction settlement, and they only used silver during bulk transactions.

Therefore, the quality of copper coins has become the most concerned thing for ordinary people.

Throughout the dynasties, the right to mint has been a privilege enjoyed by rulers.

If the ruler is kinder, he will increase the proportion of copper. If the ruler is darker, the coins of copper, four, lead and six can also be cast.

In the early years of Chongzhen, the court once minted a batch of good coins, but eventually gave up because of the huge consumption.

The people are not fools, and they can tell the good and bad coins at a glance. Some copper coins minted by the imperial government are really useless, so they choose to use private money.

The casting of private money requires a large amount of copper, which is not something that ordinary people can do. Therefore, those who can cast private money are all well-known merchants.

These people also have connections with the government, which can ensure that private coins can flow smoothly into the people after they are minted.

To be honest, minting coins is definitely the most profitable business in the world. Even if you are not as slandered as the court when minting copper coins, you will definitely make some profits, and the profits are as high as those in the court.

Of course, Zheng Zhilong would not not see this. He used his relationship in the Hirado family of Japan a long time ago to open up channels to acquire a large amount of copper at a low price, and then took advantage of the opportunity of sea trade to load the acquired copper back to Fujian.

After more than ten years of hard work, Zheng Zhilong controlled an army of tens of thousands of people, with more than a thousand warships, like the local emperor of Fujian.

Here he can mint private coins without any scruples, and the minted copper coins will naturally flow into the homes of ordinary people.

Cricketing is a huge profit, and because Zheng Zhilong bought the main material copper at a very low price, it made him make a fortune.

Such a big noise will certainly attract attention, but who among all the officials in Fujian dare not give face to the Zheng family?

All the officials pretended to be confused and turned a blind eye to Zheng Zhilong's behavior of minting private money.

Therefore, after so many years, a memorial impeachment of Zheng Zhilong was not delivered to the imperial court.

The emperor suddenly asked a question, which made Zheng Chenggong very nervous.

The things that were produced in the Ming Dynasty were nothing more than silk and porcelain.

These top-notch goods are also the first choice for marine merchants to load ships and go to sea.

The Zheng family is naturally no exception.

The emperor could not have known this, so he asked Zheng Chenggong what the Zheng family sold to Japan, which was obviously a test.

Zheng Chenggong reluctantly calmed himself down and replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, most of them are silk and porcelain."

"Oh." Zhu Cixuan smiled faintly and said, "What did you bring when you return? It would be impossible for you to return in an empty boat, right?"

Boom!

Zheng Chenggong felt his mind exploded and he was a little confused.

His speculation was completely correct. The emperor asked this question and it seemed that he knew that the Zheng family bought copper in Japan and brought back private money to Fujian to cast private money...

Zheng Chenggong clenched his fists tightly, thinking in his heart how to answer.

He also knew that casting private money was a taboo, and his father did it a bit too domineering and arrogant.

But no matter how, Zheng Zhilong is also his father. As long as his father did not commit evil deeds similar to treason and other evil deeds, Zheng Zhilong still couldn't bear to destroy his relatives for justice.

On one side is the king, on the other side is the father, on the other side is the country, on the other side is the family.

How should he make a choice and how should he choose?

"I'm just a joke."

Zhu Cixuan waved his hand and said, "Nan Anbo has been in the sea for many years and should be very clear about Japanese specialties. Japanese knives, folding fans, and lacquerware are all good. The sea boats on the Zheng family's return must be full of these, right?"

His Majesty the Emperor took the initiative to give Zheng Chenggong a step forward, and Zheng Chenggong was naturally very grateful.

He went down and said, "Your Majesty is wise, and the fleet does bring these things back mainly from Japan, and they are all very easy to sell."

The Ming Dynasty did not ban knives from the people, so it is said that the sale of Japanese knives can be obtained from the public.

Seeing that the emperor had no intention of pursuing the matter to the end, Zheng Chenggong felt much more relaxed and said to Zhu Cilang: "Your Majesty, I heard that the first batch of sea ships built by the Longjiang Shipyard can be launched. I wonder if Your Majesty wants to use them as sea ships or merchant ships?"

This question is actually a test of Zheng Chenggong. The emperor's answer to some extent implies the court's future actions.

“It has both.”

Zhu Cilang smiled and said with a smile: "I am going to allocate some to make merchant ships and set aside some to make warships."

Zheng Chenggong sighed in his heart. The emperor pushed out his temptation with just one light sentence. He was really clever.

However, he still couldn't understand why the emperor had just stopped and did not investigate the Zheng family's smuggling of copper and minting private coins.

Could it be that the emperor wanted to use this to attack the Zheng family and make him more honest in the matter of maritime trade cooperation with the imperial court?

The more Zheng Chenggong thought about it, the more he felt that this possibility was very high.

Otherwise, why did His Majesty the Emperor divide the first batch of sea ships made by the Longjiang Shipyard into two halves, half as merchant ships, and half as warships?

Doesn’t this mean that the emperor wants to form a fleet controlled by the court to conduct maritime trade?

As for the warships, they are showing off their military power...

Zheng Chenggong is very clear about who to show off his martial arts.

Although the court may not have enough soldiers to form a navy force now, if the emperor really makes up his mind, it will only take a few months to recruit people.

The best candidate is fishermen, who are familiar with water and hard-working, and have a clean background. They are not as pirates as they will attract the court's concerns.

Zheng Chenggong sighed in his heart, Your Majesty is the best of the hero!

......
Chapter completed!