Chapter 197 Production and construction is the key
"How powerful is Zheng Zhilong?"
Facing Chen Cao's question, Xu Guangqi, who was a temporary staff member, said: "Zheng Zhilong's strength mainly comes from Yan Siqi. After his death, Zheng Zhilong took over the power. The imperial court's control of Dongfan Island relies entirely on the Penghu Inspection Department, but the island There is a lot of miasma in the mountains, and at least six out of ten people who immigrate to Zhangquan will die."
Huang Chunyao was known as the 'death-killing scholar' under Chen Cao, and he was full of bad intentions. When he heard this, he came up to him and said, "Master Hou, the student has an idea;
The students were of the same age in Fujian, and I heard that Zheng Zhilong was a thief and never harmed the lives of the people. Most of the people he moved were poor people from Zhangzhou Prefecture and Quanzhou Prefecture. After moving to Dongfan Island, they reclaimed the land on their own, and those people were included. on the body;
Moreover, I heard that Zheng Zhilong had obtained a meritorious service when he was young, but he failed to win. The Marquis had a navy under his command, so why not go south to recruit Zheng Zhilong personally? "
Chen Cao glanced sideways at Huang Chunyao, and then looked at Xin Zhao: "Xin Zhao, is there any Tangbao from Fujian?"
"Last year, Fujian Governor Zhu Yifeng wrote to the imperial court about the naval battle on Dongfan Island. Some time ago, his subordinates accidentally looked through the records of the Zhenfu Si Yamen." Zhao Xin said: "The Fujian side said that Zheng Zhilong was a pirate, but the governor's Yamen said The Fujian General Soldier and others were mobilized to go to Quanzhou Prefecture to encircle and suppress them, but I don’t know the specific situation of the battle."
"Master Marquis, if we don't let the navy escort the students south, the students will go to lobby Zheng Zhilong in person and say that they can't win Zheng Zhilong to our side."
Chen Cao suddenly felt something in his heart. What Huang Chunyao said made sense. Zheng Zhilong, the Nanyang giant, was a key talent in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. He was in the rising stage of his career. If he could win over Zheng Zhilong, Nanyang The sea trade business there will be better.
"What you said makes sense. If not, how about I write to the court and talk about the key to sea trade, and also recruit Zheng Zhilong to eliminate the pirates on the southeast coast?"
As soon as Chen Cao said this, Huang Chunyao handed over his hand: "In this way, students can be safe..."
Although this guy has many bad ideas, he is indeed a timid person.
Chen Cao had a plan in mind, so he ordered: "Huang Chunyao, you go first, and my fleet will come later."
..
"Master Hou, this is all the existing information about Zheng Zhilong in Nanzhen Fusi..."
In the county government office, Zhao Xin was pushing a pile of thick documents to Chen Cao. The key point of the information Chen Cao wanted was to know oneself and the enemy.
"Zheng Zhilong's ancestral home is Nan'an County, Fujian Province. His father, Zheng Shibiao, was once a household secretary in Nan'an County, and his family is also considered a member of our court. His father died when Zheng Zhilong was fifteen years old, and the family's financial resources were cut off. When he was seven years old, he followed his uncle to Xiangshan Ao, which was Haojing at that time, to engage in shipping business;
In the third year of Tianqi's reign, he established a business in the Japanese state, and then returned to Quanzhou Prefecture to do maritime business. It was at that time that he joined Yan Siqi. In August last year, he robbed the Hongyi Kingdom's supply ship off Dongfan Island and fought a naval battle with them. Win with multiple hits and win with few, and become famous on Toban Island;
After Yan Siqi's death, all his fleets belonged to Zheng Zhilong. Zhu Yifeng, the governor of Fujian, reported the pirate Zheng Zhilong's rebellion, and mobilized more than 30,000 troops from the Fujian General Army and the Guards Station to suppress the attack without success."
Zhao Xin said with a smile: "Then Zhu Yifeng made a lot of money in the name of suppressing bandits;
Secondly, as Mr. Xu said, Zheng Zhilong recruited many poor people in Fujian and sent them to Dongfan Island to reclaim wasteland, which can be regarded as a good deed. He now has about 800 ships of various types, and the maritime trade in Southeast Asia is Most of the business is handled by his Zheng family;
In addition..." Xin Zhao came closer as he spoke: "When Lord Marquis's foreign trade group was engaged in maritime trade, it also had to pay a lot of money to the Zheng family in order to safely pass customs in Nanyang. "
"Does that mean Zheng Zhilong is now a fat pig?" Chen Cao frowned, thinking that for a long time he was among those being charged protection fees.
"Does the Marquis want to fatten him up before killing him?"
Looking at Xin Zhao's fierce look, Chen Cao really had this idea. It was not impossible to annex Zheng Zhilong, but in history, this guy surrendered to the Ming Dynasty in the first year of Chongzhen, which means that as long as he persuades the bandit to surrender, he can become an official. It's not impossible, not to mention that the guy took the scholar examination when he was young, which further proves that Zheng Zhilong also wants to be an official.
"What he needs is a righteous reputation..."
Chen Cao muttered silently, then looked at Xin Zhao: "How is Zheng Zhilong's firearms equipment?"
Xin Zhao quickly opened the book and checked: "Most of them are equipped with heavy matchlock guns made in Japan, followed by turtle-dove muskets made in Haojing, and Folang machine guns made in Haojing. The specific number is not yet clear, but my subordinates What is certain is that there are not many of them, otherwise they would not have fought so hard last year.”
Xin Zhao's inference and Chen Cao agreed. Even the famous naval battle of Liaoluo Bay in later generations, the battle that allowed the Zheng Group to dominate Nanyang, was fought with numerical advantage. It is enough to see that although Zheng Zhilong focused on Western firearms, he was not in quantitative terms. Definitely not much.
"I agree with what you said, what about the Dutch?"
"After they occupied Dongfan, the Penghu Inspection Department withdrew, and we couldn't reach out..."
With Chen Cao's current strength, he is not afraid of the Dutch, but their three-masted soft-sailed warship is indeed a powerful force on the world's seas, especially those powerful red barbarian cannons equipped with Kaihua. The power of the mortars is even more astonishing, and the research in the academy and workshops is still at a critical stage. Although mortars have been developed, the difficult-to-produce shells are a stumbling block on the road to mass production.
"Xin Zhao, do you think that if I attack Zheng Zhilong, what is my chance of winning?"
When asked by Chen Cao out of the blue, Zhao Xin really couldn't answer. What's the matter? "I don't know, but the warships in the hands of the Marquis are no less than Zheng Zhilong's, and our firearms are also more advanced than Zheng Zhilong's. Defeating them is a trivial matter."
...
Naturally, the workshop was not relocated, but a new factory was built. The firearms factory was named 'Jiangnan Arsenal'. There was a 600-acre factory area outside the Puxi Port, which was closely protected by the guards directly under the arsenal.
The cement workshop also has a new name, named 'Da Ming Cement Manufacturing Co., Ltd.'. This is also the first enterprise in East Asia to be named after a 'limited company' since the Ming Dynasty was established. It will naturally go down in history and become a time-honored brand. Shop sign.
A company named 'Daming Food Can Manufacturing Co., Ltd.' also opened a factory in Puxi. Today's canned food has increased the catch of Zhejiang fishermen from the previous potatoes and sweet potatoes, allowing soldiers to not only Along with food and clothing, meat supplements are also necessary.
Chen Cao watched from the warship that the construction of Puxi and Pudong was in full swing. The cement foundations were being laid from the port all the way. The so-called Shanghai County was also in the process of being rebuilt. Sooner or later, the dilapidated county would have to be torn down and rebuilt, becoming a patchwork of dense forests. Cement construction.
"If this construction continues, at most half a year, ports on both sides of the Taiwan Strait can be opened. Once the workshop is completed, Shanghai County will be my base."
After Chen Cao finished reading, he turned around and ordered Zhao Xin: "Send people to Nanjing to inform the princes and marquises. Tell them that the new construction of Shanghai County will require a lot of external capital, especially the re-establishment of shops, and let them make plans quickly. Otherwise, when businessmen from other provinces arrive, we won’t be able to make money, and it won’t be our fault.”
"yes..."
At nightfall, Shen Zhuangling, who hurriedly came from Jinling, entered the county government office with a large group of waiters. Of course, the things to do after a long separation were business matters.
"Master Hou, I guess I have..."
"Yes?" Chen Cao was a little surprised. In addition to her, he also had Liu Min'er as an elderly concubine. However, although the appearance of that prospective 'mother-in-law' was not outstanding, Chen Cao actually took her into his bed with a vindictive mentality. Among the winners, no one has been given to Chen Caosheng until now: "It's great..."
These few words made Shen Zhuangling feel very happy. After all, she was already thirty-five years old. She would not have the ability to continue to seduce Chen Cao when she got older. And if she could give birth to a son now, she would be like this for the rest of her life. No more worries.
Chen Cao said: "The arrangements must be made as soon as possible, and they must be implemented before those individuals arrive. Shanghai County will be different in the future. Guangqinglou is an entire street. We must have four properties on this street. In addition, it involves You know, restaurants, teahouses, theaters and other industries related to people's livelihood must be involved."
"You have to plan for the future. Business is only one part. By the way, what's the news from Duke Qian? Has Mu Qilin filed a complaint?"
"The imperial court's decree went to Yunnan, and the Duke of Guizhou named his grandson. The future Duke of Guizhou will be ten-year-old Mu Tianbo."
"Xin Zhao really got it right," Chen Cao frowned: "Is there any way to get the imperial court to change the title of Mu Qilin?"
Shen Zhuangling shook his head: "Hongwu's old system established a chief, and if Mu Qiyuan doesn't live up to expectations, he can only let his son take the title."
Chen Cao touched his bare chin: "Mu Tianbo... It's not impossible, but Mu Qilin has to take care of everything in the Duke of Guizhou's mansion. Although Yunnan is poor, there are still many useful things. Too little..."
"Master Marquis, now Mu Qilin is in charge of all matters concerning the Duke of Guizhou's government leaving Yunnan."
"Well, in this case, you have time to send Mu Qilin one hundred thousand taels and tell him that this is to thank him for his hard work on tea. He should understand."
