"Please come quickly!"
As soon as Li Zhongshan heard that Zheng Jing and Chen Yonghua were coming, he ordered Zhou Chang to greet them. He stood up and walked around from behind the desk to the door of his capital room. When he was about to go out to the yard to greet them, the two distinguished guests were already there. Coming.
So Li Zhongshan hurriedly handed over to the two of them: "King Yi, Fufu, you two are distinguished guests. Why don't you ask someone to come and let you know first? This will not be a good reception."
In fact, Chen Yonghua often visited the General's Mansion, and his relationship with Li Zhongshan was relatively casual. However, Zheng Jing had been in Fujian a while ago and had just arrived in Nanjing yesterday. He was a real rare visitor. Hearing Li Zhongshan's polite words, he immediately smiled and returned the courtesy: "General, you're welcome. Although my title is the same as that of the general, when it comes to official positions, after all, I am a subordinate of the general. There is an emergency in Beijing this time." How can I spare the time for General to greet and send off official business during his busy schedule?"
"Is there something urgent?" Li Zhongshan was also stunned.
Although he and Zheng Jing and Chen Yonghua may have differences on the issue of restricting mergers, this matter has not been brought to the table yet, and he will not go out and personally propose a bill to inhibit mergers from the beginning. Instead, he will arrange for Li Laishun to come out This head. First, let Li Laishun lead a group of "camp-breaking political discussions" to put forward a radical proposal, and quarrel with Zheng Jing, Chen Yonghua, Lu Sanhao and others in the political meeting for a while. Finally, he came forward to arbitrate and proposed a majority proposal. A solution that can be reluctantly accepted.
But these arrangements are still on the way, how come Zheng Jing and Chen Yonghua know about them? Did Li Laishun reveal the news? This is also a little fox!
Thinking of this, Li Zhongshan quickly raised his hand and pointed to the capital room where he worked, and politely invited Zheng Jing and Chen Yonghua in.
When Li Zhongshan, Zheng Jing, and Chen Yonghua all sat down, and the servants of the General's Mansion served them tea, Chen Yonghua opened his mouth to clarify Li Zhongshan's confusion: "General, the urgent business this time is related to Geng Jingzhong! "
"Geng Jingzhong?" Li Zhongshan was startled again, "Have you found him? Where did he slip away this time? Could he have slipped away to Japan again?"
Geng Jingzhong's trip to Ryukyu had already been heard by the Jin Yiwei led by the General's Office. However, Li Zhongshan did not send troops to Ryukyu to capture him, but left him to fend for himself in Ryukyu. But a few months ago, Jin Yiwei reported that Geng Jingzhong's people had escaped again, but not all of them escaped, only some of them, and Geng Jingzhong himself was among them. Now the person in charge of the Ryukyu side has become Geng Jingzhong's confidant Xu Wenhuan.
However, Li Zhongshan did not expect that Geng Jingzhong would run across the Pacific to Mexico. He also thought that Geng Jingzhong would flee to Japan to commit evil, so he did not take it seriously.
"It's not Japan!" Zheng Jing shook his head, with a look of disbelief on his face, "This Geng Jingzhong actually set up a trap on Ryukyu Island, robbed the Spanish sailing ship, and transported two to three thousand elites across the ocean to the New World!"
"What?" Li Zhongshan was really surprised now, "He went to the New World? Did he successfully arrive?"
Zheng Jing shook his head, frowning and said: "It's not clear, but the possibility of successfully arriving and seizing the port of Acapulco is still very high! Moreover, and"
In fact, Zheng Jing knew full well whether Geng Jingzhong was successful or not! Because Feng Xifan had already taken two British-style galenic ships built by King Louis and King Edward III of France, and under the guidance of Juan Lopez, commander of the Spanish galleon fleet (I must have seen the charts), he set sail. The northeast trade winds returned to the Western Pacific and arrived at Quanzhou Prefecture, where Zheng Jing was, half a month ago. Tell Zheng Jing everything about Geng Jingzhong’s crazy behavior of launching a republican revolution in the New World and declaring war on the Spanish monarchy!
In addition, Feng Xifan also told Zheng Jing that Geng Jingzhong promoted the Republican Revolution in the city of Acapricho, New Spain, in the name of General Zhengdong of the Ming Dynasty!
What's even more exaggerated is that Geng Jingzhong didn't run away immediately after going crazy, but instead established a base in Acapulco Port!
Originally, the territory Zheng Jing chose for Geng Jingzhong was a good one. It was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Moreover, it was further away from Mexico City than Acapulco. It would be very difficult for the Spaniards to send large troops to conquer it.
There is still hope that Geng Jingzhonggou can stand there, but now he is at the Spanish gateway to the Pacific. Although Acapulco is hundreds of miles away from Mexico City, it is a large port after all, and there must be relatively good roads connecting it to Mexico City.
If Geng Jingzhong stays there, his chances of winning are really slim!
The most speechless thing is that Geng Jingzhong also wants Zheng Jing to send more silk, porcelain, and tea to the Port of Acapulco next spring. This guy also plans to do business with Spanish merchants in Acapulco City. !
After hearing what Feng Xifan said, Zheng Jing was also confused. Geng Jingzhong is promoting the republican revolution and opposing the Spanish monarchy. What else is he doing? Just wait to be punished by the "Cross Heavenly Soldiers" of the Spanish Empire!
Moreover, Geng Jingzhong still exported the Republican Revolution to New Spain in the name of General Zhengdong of the Ming Dynasty!
This might trigger a war between the Spanish Empire and the Ming Dynasty!
Moreover, Spain also has a lot of allies in Europe, all of them are "kingdoms". You don't need to think about it to know that they must all be anti-republican!
If they all join Spain to oppose the Ming Dynasty, then there will probably be a worldwide anti-Ming Dynasty alliance.
Zheng Jing knew that the two "teeth", Spain and Portugal, had planned to conquer the Ming Dynasty as early as the Wanli period. Later, because Portugal was "shared monarch" by Spain, and the Spanish Armada was defeated by England, so he had no choice but to Don’t give up.
But this time, Geng Jingzhong made too much trouble in the New World and was so good at inciting hatred!
Zheng Jing, who knew that his "human essence" had encountered "nerves", might cause a big disaster, quickly put on a fast horse and came to Nanjing - he wanted Li Zhongshan to work with him to clean up the situation and prevent the situation from deteriorating out of hand. .
Li Zhongshan is actually quite smart. He indulged Geng Jingzhong before because he wanted Geng Jingzhong to provoke the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan and find out the reality of this closed-door samurai country. So that when we invade Japan in the future, we can be well aware of it.
As a result, Geng Jingzhong was pushed to the New World. In all of East Asia, Zheng Jing seemed to be the only person with such great ability!
Although Li Zhongshan had already guessed that Zheng Jing was causing trouble, he did not blame King Zheng Yi in his heart. Instead, he gave him a high look - he could think of using Geng Jingzhong to test the reality of New Spain. King Zheng Yi's The progress is really fast! Yes, yes, the Ming Dynasty needs such a political king!
This European Age of Discovery was not mainly promoted by governments of various countries, but by all kinds of people going out to sea to engage in zero-dollar purchases, and finally turning most of the earth into a white territory.
Therefore, Zheng Jing’s behavior should not only not be strictly stopped, but should also be encouraged and promoted!
"What's the big deal?" Li Zhongshan looked at the hesitant Zheng Jing and laughed, "Isn't it just Spain? The country has only a few million people, but it dominates the largest territory in the New World. In the process of grabbing the New World, at least It killed tens of millions of people, and now they force the natives of the New World to mine gold and silver for them. Every year, a hundred and eighty thousand people die from exhaustion. What’s even more despicable is that during the Wanli period, the Spaniards actually tried to kill 20,000 people. We, the Chinese, have committed extremely evil crimes, and if we don’t punish them, they will not be able to promote the power of the Ming Dynasty! It’s just that the Spanish mainland is too far away from the Ming Dynasty, and it is indeed difficult for the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty to reach us. If the Spaniards are really willing to send troops tens of thousands of miles away There are twenty or thirty thousand people seeking death, and I don’t mind sending them all together to meet their heavenly father!”
Li Zhongshan's words greatly exceeded Zheng Jing's expectations. Although he knew that General Li was very disgusted with Spain, Portugal and the Roman Catholic Church, his disgust seemed to be in spirit and rhetoric. In addition to taking down Macau, which was actually controlled by Portugal, he banned the spread of Catholicism within the jurisdiction of the General's Mansion. Apart from that, no other hostile measures were taken.
Not only are Spanish and Portuguese merchants allowed to engage in trade in open port offices such as Guangzhou Prefecture, Quanzhou Prefecture, Zhangzhou Prefecture, Ningbo Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, Songjiang Prefecture, Yangzhou Prefecture and Yingtian Prefecture, like merchants from other countries, but they are also allowed to The country’s consuls are stationed in Macau, Quanzhou and Ningbo to handle business issues. The consuls of these two countries were also allowed to enter Nanjing to conduct diplomatic activities like envoys and consuls from other countries.
But looking at Li Zhongshan's attitude now, it seems that he doesn't mind starting a war with Spain. This attitude has changed a bit quickly!
Thinking of this, Zheng Jing, who was not sure what Li Zhongshan's plan was, quickly gave Chen Yonghua a wink.
Chen Yonghua also just officially found out that Zheng Jing was pushing Geng Jingzhong to die in the New World behind his back. Now that Zheng Jing had greeted him, he had no choice but to help his old superior.
"General, if the Spaniards land on the coast of Ming Dynasty, with the general's power and the good fighting skills of the model army, not to mention 20,000 to 30,000 people, even if there are several times more, they can be wiped out in one blow," Chen Yonghua said, "Now I am afraid that the Spaniards will not go ashore, but will use their invincible fleet to join forces with England, France, the Netherlands and other countries to deal with our Ming Dynasty at sea. Our Ming Dynasty's navy is still weaker than them."
Li Zhongshan already understood that it turned out that Zheng Jing was afraid that the Spaniards would unite with the Western maritime powers of Portugal, the Netherlands, England, and France to attack his wealthy people at sea.
Although the fleet owned by Zheng Jing is very large, it is already comparable to the navies of the Netherlands, England and other countries. But the main force of Zheng Jing's fleet is the Big Bird Ship and the Old Lock Ship. As armed merchant ships, they are undoubtedly qualified, but it would be too much to ask them to engage in naval battles with the sailing battleships of the serious navies of Western powers.
In addition, Zheng Jing has also been building Western-style soft sailing ships in recent years, but it has just started now, the number is not worth mentioning, and it has only reached the level of armed merchant ships. It’s still early to build a sailing battleship!
"King Yi, Chen Zuocheng, have you heard? Recently, King Zhong and a group of Hubei political officials want to push the Land Restriction Order and Land Equalization Law. What do you think?" Li Zhongshan suddenly changed the topic and said The story of the two laws promoted by Li Laishun aimed at "equalizing the rich and the poor and inhibiting mergers" came up.
Of course Zheng Jing and Chen Yonghua are not in favor of "equalizing the rich and the poor and suppressing mergers", because they are both very rich, and Zheng Jing is still the richest man - his family's shipping fleet has a tonnage of "navy level of great powers", although it is smaller than The Dutch East India Company is still a little less popular, but its ships are extremely profitable in the offshore waters of East Asia. Bird boats and old lock boats use fewer people and are more efficient in taking advantage of coastal winds. The risks of near-shore navigation are low, and the success rate of voyages is extremely high. This makes the Westerners' soft sailing ships unable to compete with the Zheng family's bird ships and old lock ships, and they do not dare to go to war with Zheng Jing. This means going to war with the Ming Dynasty!
There is a war with Ming Dynasty, how can we still make money?
Therefore, the Dutch policy in recent years has been to retreat to Java Island and Malacca to receive goods, and basically gave up competing with the Zheng family and other Chinese merchant ships on the coasts of China, Annan, and North Korea.
Zheng Jing and his men, who had made a lot of money, of course wanted to invest their spare money in familiar land in Ming Dynasty where they could make a profit without losing money.
If the "Land Restriction Order" and the "Land Equalization Law" are passed by the political assembly, approved by the General's Office and the Shangshu Province, and finally add a jade seal to Zhu Cijiong, then it will be difficult for people like them to want to acquire land on a large scale in the future. . Even the land they bought before will be hit by the "Land Restriction Order" and have to be sold.
However, compared with the benefits that the Zheng Jing Group has gained from maritime trade and the benefits that they can obtain in Luzon Island, the losses that may be caused by the "Land Restriction Order" are not worth mentioning.
"If you want to limit the land, just limit the land." Zheng Jing gave in, "But this equalization of land needs to be carefully considered!"
Chen Yonghua also nodded and said: "That is, if Tian Jun is given to the soldiers and generals of the Chinese People's Army, both Yiwang and Xiaguan will agree, and Lu Youcheng will definitely agree. But according to the equalization law of Prince Zhong's Palace, it is too much. .”
The land equalization method of Prince Zhong's Mansion is to divide the remaining land equally after ensuring the share of the soldiers and generals!
Although Li Laishun did not have any political officials under him to propose the "Land Equalization Law" in full compliance with the standards of the five eastern Hubei provinces, the land equalization method they planned to propose was still very strict. Of course, this did not have to be passed. Because this draft of the "Law of Land Equalization" was originally proposed by Li Zhongshan under Li Laishun's instructions to scare people.
According to Li Zhongshan's ideas, as long as the "Land Restriction Order" can be passed, the "Land Equalization Law" can be used to scare big landowners everywhere, so that they invest less money in land and more money to develop industry and commerce. . If you really want to buy land, the world is big!
"Let's study the Land Equalization Law slowly!" Li Zhongshan said, "Fufu, we must also step up the establishment of water and land customs in the four provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, as well as on the Yangtze River waterway. In addition, we must hurry up. The Lianghuai Salt Transportation Department has always been directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue. Now that you are in charge of the Department of Revenue, can you be more careful?
Now the imperial court is heavily in debt, and Jin Fu's plan to dig a new Yellow River channel has been finalized. Construction will start next year. This is a major project that affects tens of millions of lives in Huainan and Huaibei. It must be completed as soon as possible! "
For Li Zhongshan, the real problem now is not how to deal with foreigners, but how to solve financial difficulties. We fought for several years and relied on debt to support us, but debt must always be repaid!
After all, the Zhongshan Bank (formerly the Guangdong Customs Bank) controlled by Li Zhongshan, the Ruiyintang Bank jointly controlled by Chen Yonghua and Lu Sanhao, and the Nanyangtang Bank controlled by Zheng Jing were the biggest creditors of the Ming Dynasty!
There are not many methods that Li Zhongshan can take to increase fiscal revenue at the moment. The only thing he can think of at present is to pay more attention to the salt tax, and at the same time, set up customs to collect tolls in the four prosperous coastal provinces and the Yangtze River waterway - this kind of tolls It's a bit like the Lijin that appeared in the Taiping Rebellion in history. Although Lijin is not conducive to promoting the circulation of goods, it is indeed easier to receive money.
However, Li Zhongshan was not as evil as the Qing Dynasty. He only planned to set up water and land customs in four coastal provinces, and the density of customs did not need to be too high. It would be best to avoid repeated collections. He could collect five to six million a year. Not bad. Coupled with the increased revenue brought about by the strict collection of salt taxes, there may be 7 to 8 million.
However, these two increases in income are indispensable without the support of Zheng Jing, Chen Yonghua, Lu Sanhao and Liu Jinzhong, and the attitudes of Zheng and Chen are the key.
"Put it on Chen!" Chen Yonghua and Zheng Jing looked at each other and patted their chests.
After receiving a satisfactory answer, Li Zhongshan had to come up with a "solution to the Geng Jingzhong incident." He smiled and said: "King Yi, Fu Fu, you help me get things done, and of course I will do it for you. Let’s settle the matter! Aren’t they just a few Western powers that are domineering on the ocean? There is nothing difficult to deal with. As long as we don’t let the Netherlands, Spain, and England unite to deal with the Ming Dynasty, the rest will be easy to handle.”
"General," Zheng Jing said with a smile, "what clever trick do you have, can you tell me about it, so that I can feel at ease."
Li Zhongshan smiled and said: "Let's talk about it. The first thing is to hold the Netherlands. The Dutch East India Company controls the main sea route to Europe. As long as they continue to do business with us, they will not rob us in the Nanyang Sea. The problem is It’s not big.”
"General, this Dutchman is a profiteer, they are not easy to win over!" Zheng Jing reminded.
The relationship between Zheng Jing and the Dutch East India Company was bad. When these profiteers saw that the Zheng family was being punished by the Spaniards, they had no choice but to add insult to injury?
"I have a solution!" Li Zhongshan smiled, "Don't worry, King Yi!"
He paused, then suddenly lowered his tone: "The second step is to hit Spain hard! Since we have already broken up with Spain, there is no need to hold back. We must hit hard so that the Spaniards will never dare to peek at the Ming Dynasty! Moreover, we have to cut off the Spaniards’ attempts to reach out to the Ming Dynasty and significantly expand our influence in the New World!”
When Zheng Jing heard this, his heart sank: Damn, with this approach, Spain might really be able to form a worldwide anti-Ming alliance!
(End of chapter)
