Chapter 3: Hangzhou Victory (2)

After Zhu Yinglong had almost finished reading the contents of the good news, he roughly cleared the entire plan forward and backward, and Zhuoba and Zhou Wenyuan came together.

The two had already learned about the Hangzhou victory on the way, but the specific situation was not entirely clear. Because of the confidentiality, Zhu Yinglong did not disclose the matter of Hong Chengchou asking Zhou Wenyuan to help him forge Zheng Zhihu's personal letter. It was not because of the precautions of him, but there was no need for this. Zhuoba's main energy was still on the battlefield around Nanjing. Therefore, Zhou Wenyuan knew more. Due to the "Confidentiality Ordinance", he did not dare to reveal a word to Zhuoba on the way.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw the smile that had not dissipated for a long time on Zhu Yinglong's face. The two confidant ministers finally showed long-lost smiles. Although the Southern Expedition Army came one after another, I had not seen the emperor's face for many days. Now I finally swept away the indifference and was naturally very happy.

"Congratulations to the Emperor, congratulations to the Emperor." The two stood and leaned over and said in unison.

"Haha, be happy together!" Zhu Yinglong was of course happy after winning a big victory, and it was an unprecedented victory.

"This is the memorial of victory jointly issued by Hong Chengchou and Song Xiance. You can take a look first, and then pass it on to the world with the mansion. I want everyone in the world to know that Nanzheng is sure to win!" Zhu Yinglong ordered Yanhong, who served on the side, to hand the memorial in his hand to the two of them.

Zhuoba and Zhou Wenyuan thanked the "Empress Yu" and then held the side of each hand and read it carefully.

However, Zhu Yinglong closed his eyes and thought about how to reward Hong Chengchou and others for their great contributions, as well as how to change the next strategy after the victory, and how to deal with the three Zheng brothers. Zheng Zhilong was captured and it was only a matter of time before Zheng's four brothers were left. Zheng Hongkui was left. Zheng Zhilong put him under house arrest before Zheng Zhilong went to war. The Zheng family in Fujian was about to fall apart. There was no other Zheng Zhilong among the Zheng clans, and he had the advantage of the sea. If the Zheng clan made a quick decision, the court was still unable to do anything about him. But Zheng Zhilong was the person Zhu Yinglong had made up his mind to kill. Zheng Zhilong killed Ye Xianggao and Ye Lianyi's grandfather and rebelled against the court. Such a serious crime was not undead, but is it the best time to execute him?

Intuition tells Zhu Yinglong that it is harmful and not beneficial to execute Zheng Zhilong immediately. If the Zheng clan retreats to Penghu, Taiwan, the three Zheng brothers will be the bargaining chips for coastal security, because the court wants to develop a navy that can match the Zheng family fleet in one or two years. It is a lucky victory for the East China Sea. People who don’t know the details think how powerful the imperial navy is. He knows that if both sides really set up their formation and fight in a real battle, the imperial court’s chances will only win 30%. These 30% are based on the premise that the enemy keeps making mistakes. After all, whether it is cold weapons or hot weapons, war always depends on people.

After reading the memorial to report the victory, Zhuoba couldn't help but sigh, the younger waves of the Yangtze River pushed the older waves, and a new generation of new people replaced the old ones. If it were him, he might be able to arrange the exquisite plan now, but he probably didn't have the determination to implement it, because there were too many accidents and variables in it, and it was too risky that people of his age could do. He said: "Your Majesty, after this battle, although there were tens of thousands of soldiers in Fujian, it was no longer the enemy of the court. The old minister suggested that Lord Hong Chengchou go south quickly and pacify Fujian in one fell swoop."

This idea was already moved after Zhu Yinglong received the good news, but he was not only considering the gains and losses of Fujian Province. He was the emperor and the highest leader of the Ming Empire. His vision could not be limited to the domestic, but should be more focused on the international community. To be precise, looking for potential enemies. Once the Zheng family was destroyed, the benefits would not be only the court.

"The Emperor is worried about the Dutch with Red Hair?" Zhou Wenyuan was in charge of Shadow, the intelligence chief of the Ming Empire, and one of the ministers closest to and trusted. It is naturally fast and accurate to figure out the holy intention.

In the eyes of many people, Taiwan (Xiao Liuqiu), Penghu and other islands are just barren enemies and some foreign barbarians who live together. However, Zhou Wenyuan knew the thoughts of the emperor Zhu Yinglong, because Zhu Yinglong had said more than once that he wanted to take back Xiao Liuqiu, and those who heard it were concerned. Moreover, in the shadow's intelligence work, Xiao Liuqiu's intelligence spy was also ranked first. In this way, how could Zhou Wenyuan not see the emperor's concerns?

"Yes, there will be great worries after a big victory. The Dutch and Zheng Zhilong have been fighting for control of Xiao Liuqiu for several years. In the past two years, as Zheng Zhilong's strength has increased, the Dutch are constantly increasing troops in Taiwan. Once the Zheng family is defeated, will the Dutch be spared the fat meat that comes to his mouth with the Dutch's aggressive character?" Zhu Yinglong was worried about this, and because of this, he did not want to execute Zheng Zhilong for the time being, but instead needed to use him to make a fuss. Of course, he would not do the matter of letting the tiger go back to the mountain.

"Why did a small foreign country make the emperor so nervous?" Zhuoba was puzzled. Although he was extremely wise, he was limited to history. He did not know much about emerging European maritime powers such as the Netherlands and Britain.

Of course, Zhu Yinglong himself was not very clear. He did not learn history. He knew some general situations. The Netherlands should be the most powerful country on the sea at this time. After the three British-Ho Wars, the Netherlands slowly declined. Britain replaced the Netherlands and became the empire of the sea. However, the Dutch's maritime power is still the most powerful in the world. It occupied the islands of Luzon and other Southeast Asian countries. The maritime trade brought huge wealth to the Netherlands and also expanded the Dutch's ambitions, especially the mysterious and rich ancient Eastern civilization full of gold. The Dutch were eager to open up trade with the Ming Dynasty, but the Ming Dynasty closed its doors, and the Dutch were always looking for it.

Looking for opportunities, I can't do it, and the next step is to use strong ships and powerful guns. This is a common trick used by Western colonists. In the history they are familiar with, it took eight years for the greatest monarch of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi, to recover Taiwan. Moreover, because of the existence of Zheng's fleet, Taiwan was repeatedly invaded by Zheng's coastal state in the early days of its founding, but the Western powers never opened the door to China. Of course, this is also related to the competition between Western powers for colonies and overlords. Now when I go to Zheng's family, the court directly faces the Western powers. Although this is just their very weak force, it is not realistic to wipe out Zheng Zhilong's maritime power in one fell swoop. This is really a headache.

However, it is not that there is no best solution to the problem. It is just that no one dares to say it, and no one dares to write a letter. The easiest thing is to surrender Zheng Zhilong again, and the court will take over Zheng Zhilong's fleet in full. In this way, the strength of the imperial court's naval must have a huge leap, which is enough to compete with the Dutch in a short period of time. At the same time, if we want to open up the trade channel to Europe, one is to agree to the Dutch's request for trade and trade, which can be achieved through negotiations. Second, force opens the waterway to Europe. However, at this stage, the imperial court needs more stable time and restores the national economy and people's livelihood. Even if Zhu Yinglong wants to go, he will be subject to the most fierce opposition, and he is unwilling to do so.

Fujian is easy to fight, but what should I do if the safety of the coastal areas is done? Before the Nanzheng, Zhu Yinglong had convened several cabinet ministers to discuss this issue, but he did not find a best solution. Moreover, the future of the Nanzheng was not yet determined, even if a good solution was found, it might not work.

Of course, Zhuoba didn't know that Zhu Yinglong would have so many thoughts, but saw that the smile on Zhu Yinglong's mouth gradually restrained, and his expression seemed to be three points heavier than before receiving the good news of Hangzhou's victory. What made the emperor feel heavy after the imperial court's victory?

"Old Master Zhuo, do you know how much silk is for my Ming Dynasty? " Zhu Yinglong asked.

Zhuoba closed his eyes and thought for a moment, and said, "The ordinary ones are about five to ten taels, and the best silk is more than fifteen taels, and the best silk is even more than white taels."

"Does Mr. Zhuo know that my Ming Dynasty's ordinary silk was transported to the Western Red-Haid Vanguard and sold it, how much silver will be obtained?" Zhu Yinglong asked again.

Zhuoba was stunned for a moment and replied, "This old minister doesn't know."

"Ten times ordinary, twenty times superior." Zhu Yinglong's hand gently hit the table and said heavily, "Why is such a huge profit meant to be like this? Mr. Zhuo knows?"

Zhuoba was shocked. Although he knew nothing about sea trade, even his calm heart could not help but jump for a moment with such huge profits. He faintly understood what Zhu Yinglong was worried about, but he was stuck in his throat and didn't know what to say.

"If it were you, Mr. Zhuo, what would you think?" Zhu Yinglong's questions followed one after another, and immediately made Zhuoba, the wise man, feel a little confused. He was so crushed by the problem that he couldn't speak, and his calm heart suddenly exploded.

If a businessman hears that there is ten times the profit, it is like a fly smelling the smelly meat, and he will do it even if he sacrifices his life!

"This is how Zheng family started. Mr. Zhuo might as well think about it. In just a few years, a family owned more than 400 armed merchant ships, with more than 100,000 armored merchant ships, and separating the country. Before, he was just a little pirate who was dependent on others. If there were more people like Zheng Zhilong in the court, would the southeast coast still be my territory?" Zhu Yinglong was so angry that he thought about it. At the beginning, the sea ban was opened, and there were many opponents. The opposition was higher than the other, and most of them were on the coast. Now he finally had a little understanding, that is,

The sea ban was opened not because the ancestral law was unabolized, but because the sea ban violated the interests of these people. Once the sea ban was opened, merchants could legally conduct maritime trade. The sea smuggling that the gentry and powerful people originally operated would be greatly hit. This is something they cannot tolerate. Naturally, they do not want the court to open the sea ban, because the sea ban, on the one hand, they can crack down on smuggling, and on the one hand, they can continuously make huge profits through smuggling. The laws of the court and the family rules of the ancestors are all tools they can use to make money!

Fortunately, forcibly opening the sea ban does not take the lives of these people, otherwise civil strife will inevitably arise. Of course, this is also related to Zhu Yinglong's iron-fisted policy. Although the ban on a Fu King caused the rebellion of the Shu King in Sichuan and the local area was ready to move, as the Shu King was quickly suppressed, the eagerness of various places had the same choice to lie dormant. The emperor controlled the army. Although the gentry and powerful who were used to being frugal and food were unwilling to give up, they did not want to be crushed into powder by the imperial army, but instead calmed down for a while.

"Does the emperor want to do business with these red-haired foreigners?" Zhuoba asked.

"Do business, hehe." Zhu Yinglong sneered, "Old Zhuo thought the Red-haired Yangyi would be so kind-hearted and willing to do business with you?"

"What's the emperor worried about?"

"They want to plunder and colonize. Their so-called equal trade is actually to plunder the wealth of our Ming Dynasty, and then continue to strengthen ourselves, and finally invade and turn our Ming Dynasty into their colony!" Zhu Yinglong said heavily.

What Zhu Yinglong said today has exceeded the cognitive scope of Zhou Wenyuan and Zhuoba, which made the two confidant ministers stunned and deviated from the core of the issue of summoning them to discuss the strategic transformation after the Hangzhou victory today.

Zhou Wenyuan was a little better. He often encountered such situations. The emperor's words often exceeded his cognitive range. He was no longer surprised. On the contrary, Zhuoba was still short of his time with Zhuoyinglong, and he was confused about Zhuoyinglong's predictions of such a wild and imaginative way. But he vaguely felt that these words seemed to make some sense and were attracted to them without realizing them. Of course, this was also related to Zhuoba's background and thinking personality. If he was a staunch Confucian defender, he might have long denied Zhu Yinglong's words in a "gentleman, a great country, Confucius, Mencius" and so on. Zhu Yinglong either asked them to write books and compile history, or went to the Lifan Academy to go to the affiliated vassal states to promote Confucian culture and use their eloquence.

After saying so much, Zhu Yinglong also felt that he was too worried. Everything was one step at a time. Governing a big country was like cooking a small freshman. It was impossible to get anxious. There were always more troubles than troubles. So he issued an order to be promoted to Minister of Coast Defense and the Minister of War. Hong Chengchou, who was appointed as the Governor of Fujian, was the general of Fujian Province, and promoted Song Xiance to Fujian Governor, and was appointed as the governor of Fujian. He was appointed as the governor of Fujian and was appointed as the chief censor of the army and censor of Zheng Nansheng, and ordered him to quickly reorganize his army south and recover the entire territory of Fujian.

At the same time, Zhou Wenyuan was ordered to pay close attention to the Xiaoliuqiu side. Zheng Zhilong was defeated and the Dutch in the city would definitely not be lonely. Once the Xiaoliuqiu (Taiwan) is sunset, the southeast coast will probably not be peaceful.
Chapter completed!