Dongliu County, a small riverside town, has been very lively recently.
At first, they were captured by the officers and soldiers in a daze, and then suddenly thousands of officers and soldiers entered the city. Then at dawn, the rain stopped and they left again. What surprised the people was that these officers and soldiers changed their usual behavior and were polite and asked questions even if they stayed at home. Some of them said the soldiers were from Nanjing, and some said they were from the imperial body. What surprised them most was that there was a very big official in the city. As for how big he was, they said he was bigger than the prime minister.
Was there a prime minister in the Ming Dynasty?
Of course not.
But the news that there was a high-ranking official in the city soon spread throughout the small town, and many people even deliberately went to the Yamen to poke their heads around to see what the high-ranking official looked like.
The high-ranking officials did not see it, but they saw a few officers and soldiers nailing horseshoes at the yamen gate, so they went over curiously and inquired: "A few military officers wanted to inquire about something. I heard that there is a high-ranking official from the capital in this yamen. He is really good." of?"
Chang Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead, handed the hammer to the guard next to him, frowned and looked at the fellow: "Why do you ask this? I haven't heard of any high officials."
"Hey, what those officers and soldiers said yesterday, could they be deceiving us?"
"Hey, you can believe it if you are a soldier." Chang Yu laughed: "How can a high-ranking official in the capital work hard to come here to fight? If there is a high-ranking official, it is me." Everyone thought about it, Then he scolded those soldiers who were really stupid, and couldn't help but laugh at him: "You little kid, you are not afraid of the wind blowing your tongue. By the way, the one who led the troops to fight here should be a general, who is he?" ah?"
"Have you ever heard of General Li Yan?" Everyone shook their heads. Chang Yu curled his lips and muttered in a low voice: "The frog in the well."
While they were chatting, Li Muxian hurriedly came from a distance, followed by a Jin Yiwei with a dusty face. Chang Yu knew something was going on and turned around and entered the Yamen. Then the Jin Yiwei whispered in his ear: Zheng Chenggong has arrived in the capital.
This is another move that Chang Yu made in advance to prepare for a rainy day.
Although he was later said to be awesome, Zheng Chenggong was only a student at Nanjing University (Nanjing Imperial College), but his father Zheng Zhilong controlled the most powerful navy in the Ming Dynasty in Fujian.
How powerful is it?
Anyone who knows a little bit about the Zheng family knows the history of his fortune. When he was a pirate, he was like the current US aircraft carrier fleet, running around everywhere and punishing anyone who disobeys.
In the seventh year of the Apocalypse, the Dutch troops stationed in Taiwan went to war with Zheng Zhilong, but he beat him up. In the sixth year of the Chongzhen period (1633), Zheng Zhilong, who had surrendered to the imperial court, had the famous Kinmen naval battle with the Dutch East India Company fleet. This time, the sea dropped again. The carriage driver beat the shit out of him. From then on, the sea atmosphere calmed down, and foreign goods were sold under the banner of Zheng. The name is the Great Wall." So far, Zheng Zhilong's trade scope has spread to all parts of East and Southeast Asia: Dadi, Fenni, Champa, Luzon, Jingang, Beigang, Dayuan, Hirado, Nagasaki, Bombay, Banten, Old Port, Batavia , Malacca, Cambodia, and Siam. It is estimated that the military strength is as high as 20,000 including Han Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Austronesian people, black Africans and other ethnic groups, and has more than 3,000 large and small ships. The fleet has become a powerful force in the ocean world of East and South China.
Chang Yu, who traveled from later generations, truly focused on naval development and international trade, so he had to win over Zheng Zhilong to cooperate with him.
Some people will say that you will be banned from trading woolen yarn in the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty's sea ban was good, but it was fundamentally different from the Qing Dynasty's sea ban, but neither was a good thing. One was a trap for the country and the other for the people.
The Ming Dynasty implemented a maritime ban mainly to prevent Japanese pirates and the outflow of gold and silver, rather than to prohibit international trade. The maritime ban of the Ming Dynasty prohibited private trade, in order to promote official-led tribute trade. This kind of tribute trade was particularly evident in Zheng He's voyages to the West. The country earned huge profits through this monopoly trade. However, this kind of monopoly that violated the laws of the market was quickly destroyed by private smuggling, which caused Japanese invasion and smuggling to intensify. The tribute trade system of the Ming Dynasty existed in name only. Finally, during the Longqing period, the Ming Dynasty had to shut down trade and opened Yuegang, allowing civilians to traffic in the East and West.
Moreover, the Ming Dynasty's maritime ban was not rigid, and exchanges with the West were still maintained. In particular, the Ming Dynasty did not reject Western science, technology and advanced culture. After the Longqing switch, the Ming Dynasty had reconnected with the world. The Ming Dynasty not only earned a large amount of silver through maritime bans, but also used the incoming Western advanced technology and scientific culture to achieve military innovation and a new understanding of the world. Coastal defense was also greatly consolidated. In cooperation with Portugal, Britain, the Netherlands, etc. The Western colonists had the upper hand in the confrontation.
Chang Yu is an ambitious man. His territory is obviously not just the existing land of the Ming Dynasty, so he must connect with the Zheng family. Therefore, when he first took office a few months ago, he secretly mobilized people from Dongchang and Jinyiwei to lead. Following his beloved brother Fang Ba, he traveled by water to Fujian to contact the Zheng family.
Zheng Zhilong surrendered to the imperial court through Xiong Wencan in September of the first year of Chongzhen, and was given the command of coastal defense guerrillas. He appointed the Five Tiger Guerrilla Generals to guard the Fujian Sea to protect the Ming Dynasty's coastline and fight against pirates, Japanese pirates and the Dutch. It can be said that the entire southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty was under his protection. Next, he is equivalent to the Commander-in-Chief of the Ming Dynasty Navy and the Director-General of the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce. No one dares to provoke him, and even depends on his face, let alone the current precarious court.
Zheng Zhilong has now been promoted to the rank of chief military officer and has built a big house in his hometown of Anhai Town, Jinjiang, Quanzhou to live and work in peace and contentment (it was set on fire by Zheng Chenggong in the ninth year of Yongli). As for his son Zheng Chenggong, he is only a twenty-year-old boy who only relied on connections to get him a few years ago. He went to Nanjing Imperial College to attend college. Later, he did not go to school at the beginning of the new year because of the bandits' Eastern Expedition and Bai Wang's Northern Expedition. Unexpectedly, someone came to visit him.
At that time, Chang Yu was not well-known, and his legend and name had not even been heard here. But when a group of Jin Yiwei and Dongchang people came to deliver a greeting card from the governor of the Ming Dynasty Dongjishi Factory, , even Zheng Zhilong, who has always been arrogant and arrogant, was surprised and also complacent.
Chang Yu sent people here for three things: first, to make friends, second, to help Zheng Chenggong transfer from Nanjing University to Peking University, and third, to ask Zheng Zhilong to help him purchase sweet potatoes and potatoes on a large scale and send ships to Gyeonggi by waterway.
The third thing is also the most important thing, because it is related to the people's livelihood in the capital. Locust plagues and severe droughts have caused no harvest in parts of Hebei, Henan and Shandong. People have no food and starve everywhere.
Potatoes and potatoes are easy to grow, drought-resistant and have high yields. They are simply a great savior in disaster years.
Chang Yu assured Zheng Zhilong that all expenses would be settled immediately in the capital, and he pledged his identity and reputation as the governor of the East Factory as a guarantee.
Zheng Zhilong agreed without any hesitation. Although he did not know or even heard of this eunuch's name, he could see the sincerity and sincerity of this eunuch. He also needed to make this kind of friend. Who has the most power in the Ming Dynasty? Of course He is the emperor, and the power of the governors since Dongchang has been almost the same as that of the emperor.
So while Zheng Zhilong was busy processing Chang Yu's request, he sent people north to inquire about this eunuch. The news that came a month later shocked him. What a great guy, such a talented person. At such a young age, he was able to turn the tide and sweep across the capital. Thieves and Tartars, this is just as awesome as being at sea!
This person must be handed over, so Zheng Zhilong raised funds to buy sweet potatoes, potatoes, and grain for Chang Yu. He successively sent more than a hundred ships and sent the navy to protect him along the way. His son Zheng Chenggong personally led the team to Beijing. .
During this time, Chang Yu was busy fighting in the north and south, and had almost forgotten about this incident. At this time, Jin Yiwei sent news. He was startled and shouted "good, good, good" repeatedly.
"What kind of potatoes and sweet potatoes did the governor talk about? Are they delicious? Is the output really amazing?" Li Muchian was very curious.
Chang Yu perked up when he mentioned this: "It's so delicious. The potatoes can be eaten boiled or steamed. You can also make mashed potatoes, French fries, potato chips, hot and sour potato shreds, oh, Damn, I haven’t eaten hot and sour potato shreds for a long time, as well as those roasted sweet potatoes, steamed sweet potatoes, sweet potato porridge..." Chang Yu’s mouth started to flow as he spoke. What’s funny is that Li Muchian has never seen it but heard from the little eunuch After saying this, he couldn't help but swallowed: "After the battle, let's go back to Beijing quickly. I want to taste how delicious it is!"
Chang Yu was stunned when he heard this, and then smiled bitterly: "It's not up to the governor to decide when to return to Beijing. It depends on Zuo Liangyu."
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