disappointment!
Big disappointment!
Beijing, the most prosperous capital of the Ming Empire, turned out to be a disappointing, bleak, and even a bit dead city... At least after seeing the prosperous southeast of the Ming Dynasty, Hans Putsmann, Zheng Zhilong, From the perspective of profiteers such as Li Guozhu and Han Buan, the business atmosphere of this huge city is not only inferior to a prefecture or prefecture city in the southeast, it is even inferior to the nearby Tianjin Wei.
With the opening of Tianjin as a port and grain and sea transportation, this city, which also has a seaport, inland rivers, and canals, looks like it is about to take off.
Of course, the overall pattern of the Little Ice Age is here. No matter how much a northern port city takes off, its height will be limited...
But compared to Beijing, Tianjin is still a good place full of fireworks and prosperous urban development.
Zheng Zhilong opened the car curtain again and took a look outside the car. The streets are full of shops that have closed or are about to close. Only a few shops selling food are still slightly popular.
It's almost noon now, which is supposed to be a lively time, but the street is deserted and there are no pedestrians. Because there is no popularity, the color of Beijing is even more gray and dull, making people very uncomfortable. Looking further into the distance, you can see the tall and dark Zhengyangmen Arrow Tower... This place is quite popular. A group of infantrymen from the Dianqian Army were training in the Wengcheng of Zhengyangmen. From time to time, shouts, suonas and whistles were heard. It was very lively and made people feel deep awe.
The capital of the empire is very depressed and cold. There is no money here, only well-trained soldiers!
So whoever wants to break into Beijing and grab a big one should get rid of it as soon as possible... The current Beijing city has been rectified by Zhu Youjian and is about to become a military city.
Now even if you open the gate of Shanhaiguan and invite Huang Taiji to rob him, he will not come...
When the carriage that Zheng Zhilong and others were riding passed through the Zhengyang Gate, they passed by a group of cavalry. Although they were not riding good horses, the queue was very neat and the knights were extremely well-equipped. Some of the knights even shouldered Carrying Rumi's gun.
As the knights marched, they sang their military song: "The wind is rustling and the water is cold. A strong man is gone and never comes back..."
The song was impassioned and full of murderous intent. It frightened the little girl who looked like a dough ball sitting next to Zheng Zhilong. She started to cry. While crying, she said: "I want my mother, I want my mother..." ..”
Zheng Zhilong looked at his daughter Cha Gu and felt a little unbearable, but there was nothing he could do. Long live the Lord, he asked her by name, and also gave her the opportunity to be his great niece, so she had to choose one of the two... The Zheng family has a big backer this time!
Don't say nonsense like the Zheng family has a navy, so there is no need to be afraid of officers and soldiers (in fact, Zheng Zhilong is also an officer and soldier now)... Starting from Dagukou, the officers and soldiers Zheng Zhilong saw were all murderous. Look They looked similar to the samurai he saw in Japan in his early years.
Of course, the difference is just momentum. In terms of combat effectiveness, of course Zhu Youjian's troops in front of his tent and in front of the palace were powerful.
The troops in front of the palace and in front of the tents have many and sophisticated firearms, and many and ruthless cavalry. They can cooperate with artillery, infantry and cavalry relatively smoothly. There are even camel soldiers who can play a huge role in the desert and Gobi, and can also be ferocious on the grasslands. This kind of army with multiple arms working together will be an elite force that is difficult to deal with wherever it is placed. Their level is basically on the same level as the Ottoman Empire's Janissary Legion and the European armies that have experienced long-term high-intensity wars.
Oh, this is not the view of Zheng Zhilong, the pirate leader, but the view of Hans Putsmann, the naval admiral of the Netherlands United East India Company who came to Beijing with him.
This German had participated in the Thirty Years' War. He fought in brutal and bloody land battles on the German battlefield for five or six years before changing his career to become a sailor in the Netherlands... Although he did not stand out on the German battlefield. But I still served as a junior officer, so I still have a good eye for it.
After his careful observation, he found that all the Ming armies he saw along the way from Dagukou to Beijing were not easy to deal with... Any idea of forcing Ming Dynasty to surrender through military invasion can only be said to be too naive. .
Since it cannot be invaded...then how should this transaction be done? The United East India Company seems unlikely to do normal transactions!
Pang Tianshou, the eunuch guarding Nanjing, was also very surprised by the coldness and chill in Beijing. He was sent to Guangdong to contact the Portuguese shortly after Zhu Youjian came to power. Later, he was transferred to the eunuch of Nanjing, responsible for purchasing new firearms such as turtle doves and muskets from Guangdong and Fujian for Zhu Youjian. Later, he was responsible for contacting Zheng Zhilong, Li Guozhu and others.
And he, an old Beijinger, doesn't know the city of Beijing at all now... How can this place still be the most benevolent capital under the emperor's feet? This is simply a military town at the head of the Nine Borders!
This Long Live Lord is so militant that he turned the peaceful city of Beijing into a military camp.
Full of thoughts, the carriage with Zheng Zhilong, Hans Putsmann, Li Guozhu, and Pang Tianshou finally stopped outside Xi'an Gate.
Several eunuchs from the Royal Horse Guards were guarding Xi'an Gate. When they saw Pang Tianshou getting out of a two-wheeled carriage, they hurried up to greet him. One of the leaders is Shang Fuming, the current eunuch of the Royal Horse Supervisor - he was one of the several big men who followed Zhu Youjian from Prince Xin's palace to the palace. Although Zhu Youjian did not trust and reuse eunuchs in general after he came to power, these old people in the feudal mansion all got along well. Even a guy like Xu Yingyuan, who has a dirty butt, still firmly occupies the position of chief eunuch. The location of the palm print.
The reason for this is to set an example for future generations - you see, Emperor Zhu is a very reliable master, you can feel free to follow him!
"Eunuch Pang, I've finally waited for you." Shang Fuming and Pang Tianshou hadn't seen each other for many years, but they still recognized each other at a glance, "By the way, everyone is here?"
"They are all here," Pang Tianshou said, "including Admiral Zheng and Admiral Zheng's daughter from Shanghai, General Li from Fuzhou, and the Han Admiral (Hans Putsmann) from Batavia. , and Han Buan, who acts as general manager..."
Pang Tianshou introduced the guests one by one to Shang Fuming. Shang Fuming asked his eunuchs to search before leading everyone inside. At this moment, Zheng Zhilong took the initiative and conjured a large bag of gold leaves in his hand, which weighed 10 kilograms. He smiled and was about to give it to Shang Fuming.
However, Shang Fuming did not dare to accept it. He smiled and cupped his hands and said: "Admiral Zheng will be the in-laws of Long Live Lord in a few years, and he will be the grandson of His Highness... Our family does not dare to accept your gift." ah!"
Don’t dare to accept gifts? Zheng Zhilong was stunned, what happened? Are you afraid that people will report it to the emperor if they see it?
Of course Zheng Zhilong would not have thought that Zhu Youjian had already fallen in love with Zheng Chagu's daughter-in-law - Chagu was filial. In her previous life, she had always paid filial piety to Zhu Youjian, the "poor father-in-law", and her son Tuhao Wang was also a good grandson. Spend less money on Grandpa Huang!
The hands holding people are short! Zhu Youjian brought Zheng Chagu several million back and forth. Can his hand not be short? But Wu Sanmei is an iron hen who never plucks a hair out of her hair!
So Zheng Chagu is determined to be the concubine in this life! She will be the queen of Ming Dynasty in the future! In his previous life, Zhu Youjian couldn't make the decision, couldn't give Zheng Chagu the title of queen, and couldn't let the rich king become the emperor. But who Zhu Cixiang marries in this life, Zhu Youjian has the final say!
As Zhu Youjian's confidant, how could Shang Fuming know that Zhu Youjian valued Zheng Chagu far more than Wu Sanmei? Although he said he would let Zhu Cihong make his own choice, he arranged a full set of "Queen's Preschool Education" for Zheng Chagu, who had not yet entered the palace and was only four years old. The Queen had to start from a baby!
In contrast, Wu Sanmei was able to have a truly happy childhood...
(End of chapter)
