Chapter 199 Nanyang Sea Route
"General Zheng, get up. Now you are under my command. You and I have a close relationship of superior and subordinate..."
Chen Cao handed the petition and other items to Zheng Zhilong, and then said: "Now you are also an officer of my court. The fleet under your command must be gathered as soon as possible to Shanghai County, Songjiang Prefecture. I still have important tasks for you." General Zheng will finish it.”
There was a nautical chart on the deck, which was drawn with the aid of Chen Cao's memory. Chen Cao stood up and tapped the map with a small wooden stick.
"Back then, our Ming Dynasty's influence in Nanyang reached Xuanwei Division in Jiugang. After Emperor Xianzong, our Ming Dynasty lost direct control over Xuanwei Division in Jiugang. The Shi family was also annihilated by later generations. Now the Dutch colonial Although the land of Old Port is composed of islands, General Zheng must have the same intention as this lord;"
Chen Cao was a little stickler: "Opening up the sea routes in Nanyang, conducting trade directly with Nanyang countries, and earning benefits from it, is it right or not?"
Zheng Zhilong handed over his hand: "The Marquis has excellent vision, and the general will indeed think so."
"The Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish are now the maritime powers on the European continent. Before the rise of the English, they still had the final say in Southeast Asia, and the rich products in these places were exactly what our Ming Dynasty wanted. I am interested in the three countries fighting for what they need in Nanyang."
Zheng Zhilong doesn't like the Europeans. They only know how to rob wealth, but his men have a more distinctive team.
"I heard that Mr. Bao has a group of Kunlun slaves under his command to form an army?"
Zheng Zhilong nodded: "The Marquis is well-informed. The general does have a musketry team composed of black ghosts under his command, and it was only formed a few days ago."
"Well," Chen Cao nodded, and then sat back on the chair: "I will send a navy to travel with you on the Southeast Asian trade, and now that you are also a member of the imperial court, you don't need to accept protection money from the Dutch."
"Those people were just trying to make ends meet with Mojiang. They will surely take revenge in the future. Mojiang never cared about this money."
"That's good. Now the imperial court has newly established the Shanghai Port District. I am also the governor of Songjiang and am in charge of Shanghai County affairs. I just discussed trade matters with the special envoys of the Three Kingdoms in Shanghai County last month. I am also working with the Dutch. Having fulfilled the promise, now General Zheng’s fleet can fly the military flag openly and trade with me.”
The establishment of Shanghai Shipping Division means that Quanzhou Shipping Division in the southeast will no longer compete for the interests of Ningbo Shipping Division. Moreover, Shanghai's port is not comparable to Quanzhou and Ningbo. Once the port is opened, it will be prosperous. The extent is beyond what Zheng Zhilong could imagine.
However, Zheng Zhibao became anxious when he heard this, and immediately asked: "Marquis Dingwu, we are from Fujian. If we leave Quanzhou Ship Division, how can we gain a foothold in Shanghai?"
In fact, this is what Zheng Zhilong wanted to ask, but now that Zheng Zhilong has accepted the imperial court's recruitment and is still under Chen Cao's jurisdiction, he cannot naturally say such things to contradict his boss. Fortunately, his seemingly reckless third brother is not a bigot. A reckless man.
"An Xin," Chen Cao had expected them to ask, but he didn't expect it to be Zheng Zhibao who asked: "After the opening of Shanghai, it was divided into two ports, Pudong and Puxi. Puxi built bases for various factories, while Pudong If the Zheng family wants to develop vigorously, as long as you join me, I will naturally not let you suffer. Not only can we build a port specifically for the Zheng family in Pudong, but we can also provide you with two yen per year for sea trade business. success dividends;
Of course, the premise is that you, the Zheng family, are fully committed to my camp. "
What is this? Blatant cliques? The key point is that there are a lot of royal guards on the ship. Isn't Chen Cao afraid?
Zheng Zhilong's mood was complicated, but he could imagine the huge profits from sea trade, but now he had another question he wanted to ask early in the morning: "Winning Lord Marquis's favor is a blessing for my Zheng family. However, Mr. Hou, I have a small problem at the end, I don’t know if I can let Mr. Hou solve it.”
"speak..."
"The reason why the general couldn't stay in the Japanese country was actually because Fangjin Village was attacked by the Marquis."
Zheng Zhilong only said this sentence. How could Chen Cao, an old man like Chen Cao, not understand what he meant: "I can divide a part of Japan's treaty port for you from the Nagasaki port in the future, and I will give you 30% of the dividend if it goes well." Together we are 50%..."
The most important reason why Zheng Zhilong was able to dominate Nanyang in the future was his own actions. Acceptance when things were good was a must-have condition for a big businessman. Obviously, this young Zheng Zhilong was an experienced businessman.
Hearing Chen Cao say this, he immediately knelt down again to show his loyalty: "The final general is willing to serve the Marquis..."
...
It was already early April when Chen Cao returned to Songjiang. Zheng Zhilong had already returned to Fujian with his fleet. Now that he was a serious official of the court, the first step was naturally to go home to worship his ancestors, and then he would take his fleet to the north. Come to serve Chen Cao.
"Master Hou..."
The Yamen is in good repair. Chen Cao's rule that officials should not repair Yamen is to be abolished. The construction of Shanghai County Yamen has been almost completed. The current Yamen is the Songjiang Governor's Yamen established next to Pudong Port.
Zhao Xin walked into the official corridor on the left side of the yamen. Chen Cao was sitting in the corridor looking at the busy workers coming and going: "Master Hou, the military situation in Liaodong."
"speak..."
Xin Zhao lowered his voice: "Wanqing came to report that North Korea was conquered by the Jiannu and surrendered. The army returned and gained a lot. Moreover, the Jiannu also captured many young men in North Korea. According to Wanqing's letter Said that they should form a North Korean army with no less than 30,000 people."
"Um..."
"In addition, the imperial court has just given Yuan Chonghuan the title of Censor of the Right Capital and Left Minister of the Ministry of War, allowing him to patrol Liaodong..."
Chen Cao sat up suddenly and turned to look at Xin Zhao: "Is the news accurate?"
Xin Zhao nodded: "Deploy the Nansi Jinyi Guards to escort the imperial envoys to Liaodong."
"What tricks did this guy use on the emperor to become the governor of Liaodong?"
"According to our brothers, Yuan Chonghuan built a shrine for Wei Jun in Liaodong..."
"Huh..." Chen Cao let out a long breath. This guy really did that to please Wei Zhongxian in order to get an official position: "Do you have faith in Wang Xiaojie?"
"Yes..." Zhao Xin took out the envelope from his arms: "Wang Xiaojie's messenger said that Zhang Heming recently severely reprimanded him for his behavior in Dajian Guangning City, and Xing Shenyan was also reprimanded when he came forward to make peace."
"Zhang Heming listened to Wei Yi after all," Chen Cao frowned: "Wang Xiaojie's situation should be good."
"Master Marquis, I think Wei Eunuch wants to seize your power from many aspects. I heard that a few days ago, a censor said that you have too many official positions, Marquis, and some of them need to be revoked. First, he mentioned the position of Cao Jiang Navy."
Although Chen Cao was only the deputy commander-in-chief of Cao Jiang Navy, the actual command was in Chen Cao's hands, and there was a legendary Duke above him. Even if Zhu Youxiao didn't believe Chen Cao, he would believe Xu Hongji.
"The Emperor will not withdraw from the naval official position unless he does not want me to make money for him." Chen Cao frowned as he said: "I am now worried that they will start with the Dingwu Army."
Zhao Xin whispered again: "If you move the Dingwu Army, you don't believe the Marquis. The Marquis of Xianning is watching over the Old Song Dynasty, but the sea is far away. Even if something happens, I believe that the Old Song Dynasty will not sit still and wait for death. It's just that over at Jinling... ."
Chen Cao really didn't think about this. Now he is the person who holds the most grudge against Wei Gong. Several assassinations can show that Chen Cao has offended many people. The last time he saved Zhao Nanxing and Gao Panlong, it was just a drop in the bucket.
"Zhao Xin, send Zou Weilian two hundred thousand taels in silver notes and tell him that Zhao Nanxing and Gao Panlong each have one hundred thousand taels."
"yes..."
"Also, send a confidant to Guangning. There are some things you need to explain to Wang Xiaojie."
...
Four days later, Su Song Governor Yang Weizhi suddenly arrived in Shanghai County with his people, which caught Chen Cao off guard.
It stands to reason that Chen Cao is the governor of Songjiang, and Yang Weizhi, the governor of Susong, is in charge of him, but he is also a marquis of the imperial dynasty, so it is naturally impossible for him to lower his status to welcome him.
The Songjiang Governor's Yamen was still under renovation, so the reception place was naturally the Shanghai County Yamen. The pertinent Chen Cao stood on the steps of the County Yamen waiting for Yang Weizhi's arrival.
Yang Weizhi, who got off the sedan chair, saw Chen Cao waiting outside the yamen, so he hurried up the steps and bowed his hands towards Chen Cao: "It's really disrespectful for Marquis Dingwu to welcome you from afar."
Standing at the gate of the county government office and greeting me from afar...
Of course, Chen Cao didn't say it out loud. He smiled and cupped his hand towards Yang Weizhi: "Mr. Yang, you're welcome, please..."
After the two sat down, Chen Cao immediately asked: "I wonder if Mr. Yang came here suddenly on business?"
Yang Weizhi smiled and handed over his hands: "Thanks to the trust of the imperial court, an official document arrived at Xianguan the day before yesterday, asking Xianguan to check on the situation of the refugees. The other thing was to check the grain depot of Songjiang Mansion. Marquis Dingwu was patrolling Songjiang, so Xianguan naturally wanted to I came to see Marquis Dingwu first."
Chen Cao glanced at Xin Zhao with an unkind expression, and then responded with a smile: "I'd like to trouble the court to remember those refugees. Since I rebuilt Shanghai County, all these refugees have been recruited to work, and they have no worries about food and drink. Mr. Yang, you can rest assured.”
"That's natural..." Yang Weizhi smiled and then changed the subject: "Now that the summer grain delivery is imminent, Songjiang Mansion's quota for this year is 300,000 dan. I hope Ding Wuhou will remind Huang Shijing that this matter cannot be careless."
If Huang Shijing were here at this moment, he would be sweating profusely. There is not enough food in his Songjiang treasury at the moment. He had previously reported to Su Song Governor Yamen after releasing the food according to the rules. It is obvious that Yang Weizhi must have said these words at this moment. Do it on purpose.
Chen Cao naturally understood, so he said with a smile: "Come on, hurry up and go to Fucheng and tell Magistrate Huang that Lord Yang is coming to Songjiang to inspect the grain depot, and ask him to come quickly with the account book."
After saying this, Chen Cao cupped his hands towards Yang Weizhi and said: "Master Yang, please wait a moment. It will take three hours for Magistrate Huang to come quickly. Why don't you let Master Yang rest during this time?"
"When I lower my rank, Marquis Laoding Wu will be in charge..."
"Where, where..."
