Running the American route was originally a hard job. Even if it was to unload cargo in Alaska, Zheng Guangying was completely reluctant.
If it weren't for his uncle's order, he would never go to that place where birds don't poop.
But after tasting the benefits of the expedition, Zheng Guangying completely changed his attitude.
No matter how hard and tiring it is, it is one's unshirkable responsibility and obligation to show strength to the Ming Dynasty and serve the imperial court!
Everyone in the fleet knows that no matter how tiring it is to travel thousands of miles to fight the Spaniards, it is not as tiring as playing with the Ocean Horse at night...
This unspeakable secret quickly spread in the naval base, so that the officers and soldiers who signed up for the expedition were like crucian carp crossing the river.
It's safe, you can play Ocean Horse for free, and half of the money you earn from scratching the land can be put into your pocket. This kind of good thing can't be found even with a lantern.
Jiexuan was well aware of the situation below, but he didn't want to expose it. Anyway, even the Holy Emperor knew it all, so there was no need for him to act like a blackface.
Once the Marines land and the battle goes well, then you can play whatever you want next.
On the contrary, don’t worry about the ocean horses, their relatives will send the marines to the sea to feed the fish!
The first expedition earned the Zheng family no less than two million taels of silver, and everyone in the expedition fleet did not need Zheng Zhilong to provide them with a monthly salary, because they had already made enough money, and they were embarrassed to ask Zhenhai Gong to pay extra.
If you include a large plywood ship that costs as much as one hundred thousand taels of silver, even if the depreciation is 50% off, the total would be worth more than five million taels.
A trip to America would net the Zheng family seven to eight million taels of silver. Zheng Zhilong couldn't refuse such a huge profit before him.
The last time we went to America, we only mobilized Zheng's own ships. After hearing that they were making huge profits, many ship owners also wanted to join the expedition.
Why?
Because a certain new emperor negotiated with Zheng Zhilong, in view of the uncertainty of the expedition and the great danger, all the income from the expedition would be tax-free.
Zheng Zhilong didn't give a tael of silver to Nan Ting.
If the other party asks for it, a certain new emperor will come forward to settle it. At the worst, he can just give the scapegoat a bunch of weapons.
Since maritime merchants had paid him three to four thousand taels of silver per year for transportation expenses for many years, Zheng Zhilong was too embarrassed to refuse.
Anyway, America is big enough, and there are enough places to scrape the land. If there are no survivors, the ore can be brought back by the boatload, and there will definitely be no loss.
Whether it is copper ore or saltpeter, both are lacking in the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, a new emperor would not have spent huge sums of money to build a railway to Monan Jinshan.
Digging gold is very laborious, but mining copper ore is very easy, so tens of millions of taels of silver were spent to build a railway mainly used to transport ore.
All private merchant ship owners who participate in expeditionary operations must sign a contract, which means they voluntarily participate. The fleet is only responsible for protecting merchant ships from enemy ships at sea.
As for the weather and sea conditions, you have to ask for good luck. You have to pay homage to Mazu before going out...
In order to ensure the basic interests of ship owners, a certain new emperor also discussed with Zheng Zhilong to set up a global insurance company.
Ship owners can insure the person, the ship, or both. The insurance amount is also divided into three levels: high, medium and low. They can voluntarily participate in the insurance according to their own strength.
If there is no insurance, you can receive the full insurance benefit in one lump sum after five years.
Many people are hesitant about investing money before they have earned it yet. After all, making money is not easy.
However, there are always people who are willing to take the cake. As long as it is something that a certain new emperor admires, their own interests will certainly not be harmed.
The Purple Gold Bonds that were incomprehensible to everyone back then have now been redeemed in full, with the principal and interest remaining the same. The merchants, chamberlains, and maids who purchased the Purple Gold Bonds all made a steady profit.
A certain new emperor has almost finished paying off the loans he borrowed from merchants, and the repayment has basically reached the end. Now that a certain new emperor's pockets are bulging, he no longer needs to borrow money from others to live.
As for Monan Jinshan and Nanyang Jinshan, they are joint-stock systems. It is easy to withdraw your shares. Since both mines have undergone large-scale development, many people are holding coins and waiting to buy shares so that they can get dividends!
Any money-making project will have corresponding risks. The higher the profit, the greater the risk. If you want zero risk, just buy insurance!
There is no need to pay a share of money to participate in the expedition, but when setting off, each ship must carry a certain amount of designated commodities or supplies needed for combat.
Unless the ship sank halfway, the ship owner would have to lose money if these designated items were missing after arriving at the destination.
In return, the ship owner can load whatever he wants on the return journey. No matter how small the items are, as long as they arrive at the mainland, the court or the Zheng family will purchase them at market prices.
Even if a boatload of ore is brought back, it will be enough for the owner to stay at home for two years without doing anything...
Before the Bohai Sea froze, Zheng Zhilong arrived in Beijing with a group of people. Firstly, they discussed supporting the Myanmar battlefield, secondly, they discussed another expedition to the Americas, and thirdly, something big happened.
Tokugawa Iemitsu, the second-rate Japanese general, died, and his title is currently succeeded by his second son, Tokugawa Ietsuna, becoming the fourth-generation shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Since the eldest brother died at birth, Tokugawa Ietsuna naturally became the crown prince. He became the shogun at the age of twenty. It is said that he is not very intelligent...
Well, now, "general scumbag" is no longer an adjective!
Thinking of this, a certain new emperor came up with a bold idea, that is, to visit Japan, or to ask Tokugawa Ietsuna to come to Hokuto.
If the other party doesn't want to come, go there yourself. In short, you must have a good relationship with the new shogun, not only openly, but also privately.
Now that the braid has not been eliminated, a certain new emperor still needs 500,000 Japanese troops to stay in the northeast to fight, instead of letting them go back and cause trouble in the mainland when the second-rate general has just succeeded to the throne and the government is unstable.
A certain new emperor will oppose any behavior that is not conducive to the Northeast battlefield, and if necessary, support the useless general in sending troops to suppress possible rebels!
Simply dispatching the shogunate army may not be enough, but with the Ming Dynasty's steam tanks, the battlefield situation will definitely favor the shogunate army.
After giving hundreds of steam tanks to the second-rate general, coupled with airships and mortars, the shogunate army, especially the Tokugawa army, could really become invincible in Japan!
On New Year's Eve, there are conches, crickets, sea cucumbers, squid, grouper, and bread crabs on the table, plus six vegetarian dishes, which is perfect.
A certain new emperor didn't have high requirements. He was very satisfied if he could eat twelve dishes during the New Year.
Zheng Zhilong and other people who came from the south had long been tired of eating seafood, so a certain new emperor asked the imperial chefs to prepare a bunch of northern dishes for them to feast on.
For example, dishes such as steamed bear paws with honey, grilled tiger tendons, and spicy hazel chicken are not easy to eat in the south, and the skills of the imperial chef are even more extraordinary than those of ordinary cooks.
Stewed Sanhua Wuluo Pancakes are not available in Fujian. Although the quality is not that good, the picture is fresh.
The variety of pastries is so dazzling that it can hold an exhibition. The display in the window is really colorful and dizzying, and many styles cannot be bought in Qianqi Department Store.
Many people who are tired of eating delicacies from all over the world simply order a few platters of side dishes, and then set out a table of desserts. They must eat enough that night.
Military generals and envoys from various countries who have lived in the northern capital for a long time have been lucky enough to taste a variety of seafood. If it were an outside restaurant, plus high-end drinks, a single person would have spent hundreds of taels of silver.
There is no doubt that the new emperor is looking at a bunch of losers!
Those guys who are already old and unable to eat, were also serious eaters in the past!
As the saying goes, people grow old, teeth grow old, but the heart never grows old. Even if the food is hard to enjoy, I still miss the dancing teenage beauty...
A certain new emperor doesn't mind this. If you think your body is okay, just give it a try.
Anyway, if someone goes to funeral early, it means that a certain government office is vacant early!
A certain new emperor has reached the age when his father was blamed for the country's collapse, but the current situation is completely different.
According to the factory guard's report, there are rumors in the market that a certain emperor started to mess around after he was firmly established. The situation was exactly the same as that of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty in the early period.
At that time, there was nothing going on in the world, so Emperor Sui Yang discussed with his ministers whether to go out to conquer the country. What followed was a group of tiger-like gangsters, and finally the content that everyone is familiar with...
Some people believe that the Ming Dynasty's army's expedition to America is extremely similar to the Sui army's expedition to Korea.
But they failed to see the essence of the matter. A certain new emperor's expedition was to make money, and he would not sell it at a loss.
The expedition before the Ming Dynasty was a money-losing journey. Today's expedition is also known as a land-scraping operation.
The Ministry of Household Affairs only needs to work with the Ministry of War to purchase a batch of goods for the fleet in the early stage to maintain its operations. After the fleet returns, they can sit on the ground and count the money!
A certain new emperor had already settled the matter, and at worst it was guaranteed to be capital-guaranteed. How could it be possible to lose money?
So far, the only project with a large investment and a slow return cycle is the Jinshan Railway.
It would not be impossible if we forcefully include the suppression of bandits and the braiding of people out of seclusion. Anyway, those two projects are pure compensation without any impurities!
Some people were opposed to the ironclad ship project at first, but what about now?
This is the most profitable project for the imperial court, and the average annual profit can be calculated in millions of taels of silver.
In order to ensure the smooth operation, a certain new emperor also asked the Military Aircraft Department to agree to Jiexuan's proposal.
That is to say, naval bases will be established in Jin State in the south of Sakhalin Island, Chong State in the south of Kamchatka Peninsula, and Vancouver Island in North America. If possible, it is best to set up naval bases in Long Beach.
In addition, setting up a transfer station in Alaska, where the climate is not suitable for large-scale construction at the moment, but it is no problem as a temporary anchorage for ships.
Regarding the establishment of a naval base on Zhang Xianzhong's territory, Jiexuan asked Zhang Xianzhong's intention before returning last time.
The latter welcomed this very much, because as long as they had the Ming Dynasty fleet, the Spaniards would not be able to sneak attack on their northern hinterland from the sea.
As for whether Ming Dynasty will send troops to eat up all its territory in the future, Zhang Xianzhong is not worried at all.
He is already old, so that is what his son Zhang Tianbao should worry about.
And it's obvious that he has a group of guys with high achievements who can shock the master. With the pressure of the Ming army, they can be more restrained.
Zhang Xianzhong did not want to imitate Zhu Yuanzhang and almost killed a group of heroes, but he was also worried that his son's throne would be unstable a hundred years later.
Therefore, there is still a glimmer of hope for Emperor Hao Jing, because it was Emperor Hao Jing who gave herself and his men a way out.
As long as his son won't be chopped into pieces by his men, and won't become a criminal of the Ming Dynasty, then everything is easy to say.
Li Dingguo had previously presented a letter from his adoptive father to a certain new emperor. The content was very simple. At the critical moment, he hoped to remember his past feelings and try to save Zhang Tianbao's life.
A certain new emperor laughed it off. As long as this guy didn't do anything harmful and had a slightly normal mind, no one would do anything to him.
The new emperor did not tell Li Dingguo that he would protect his son, nor did he say anything about settling accounts after the fall, but Li Dingguo basically understood the emperor's attitude and meaning, so he wrote back to reassure his adoptive father.
This is no longer an uncivilized wilderness era. Although North America is far away from the Ming Dynasty, it can still obtain some popular science materials from time to time.
As long as Zhang Tianbao is not a fool and his IQ reaches the level of a new second-rate general, he should not be played to death or actively seek death.
What his father, the young emperor Zhang Xianzhong, meant was that all three adopted sons would be granted the title of king, and all his generals would be granted the title of duke, and their respective territories would be designated, which would make things more stable in the future.
As long as it has the support of Emperor Haojing, the Dadong Empire will not be like the Qin Empire or the Sui Empire, which will be over after two generations...
North America is a rare piece of fat, but before a certain new emperor goes crazy, it is impossible to spend all his money to send a large number of soldiers, horses and people there.
If the thing you buy is expensive and the express delivery fee is more expensive than the thing, how many people will buy it?
Unlike Western Europe going to live in North America, doing the same thing from Daming to North America would cost two or three times more.
The east coast was the best location when the Europeans landed. What Ming people saw in the past were the Rocky Mountains!
You can't even hope to see Loki in the Rocky Mountains...
When he thought of Tokugawa Iemitsu's death, a certain new emperor began to think about when Zhang Xianzhong would die.
But I still hope that this guy can live for a few more years, otherwise if he dies, his men will probably become a mess.
No matter what, we have to wait until the Big Orange Fleet has robbed five or six times, otherwise the initial investment will be in vain.
This time, not only Zheng Zhipeng's eldest son Zheng Guangying will return to America, but his third son Zheng Haiying and fifth son Zheng Shengying, as well as Zheng Ju, Zheng Shao, and Zheng Jiaqi will also return.
Last time, the Marine Corps from Jiexuan took the lead. The tough battles were fought by others. In order to achieve the purpose of using combat as training, Zheng Zhilong decided to let his juniors lead the team.
It was also so that a few years later, when his son Zheng Chenggong led an army to attack Spain, he would be able to come up with an army that was good at fighting.
The intensity of the battle in attacking Spain's two overseas viceroyalties was not very high, but it was actual combat after all, and it was much stronger than training at home.
If Zheng Chenggong had not fought in Burma, Zheng Zhilong would have sent his son to participate in the expedition to America.
Jiexuan was still thinking about his old friend. He didn't know that he was caught by the Spaniards grilling skewers, but he was still capable and had disappeared into the forest.
I hope that there will be a group of Spaniards gathered in Lima by then, so that they can be used to reimburse travel expenses when we come back...
