But those people are all businessmen, how can it be so easy to change careers? We can't just turn such a huge merchant fleet into fishing boats. Without a source of goods, what would they sell? Without the supply of goods, there will be no input. Without income, there is no livelihood. These people have no source of supplies and must find ways to get them. It's really impossible to get it, and there is huge force in hand.
Without the restriction of a person with some ability, it is not impossible for those people to transform into pirates when their livelihood is uncertain. Liangjiang was now the main source of wealth for the imperial court and a major producer of tea and silk. When those people become pirates, their focus will inevitably be on Jiangnan. Once a wealth powerhouse like Liangjiang was eroded, it would be a huge loss for the court.
Right now, it is indeed better to keep Liu Jinli than to kill him. Especially when he knew nothing about the remnant on the island and the internal situation, it was more appropriate to leave that person behind. Only this point was accepted by Lu Mengzheng. Lu Mengzheng could not accept the idea of using the fake emperor's body in exchange for money. In his opinion, this kind of businessman's partying has too much influence on Huang Qiong's reputation.
Looking at Lu Mengzheng, who nodded for a while, hesitated for a while, and looked a little confused for a while, Huang Qiong guessed the reason for his hesitation. The second reason is that Lu Mengzheng, who had served as a pacifier and magistrate, would not fail to see the benefits of this, as well as the causes and consequences. The reason why he nodded must be because of the second point. As for the other two expressions, I'm afraid it's still because of the first point.
Thinking of this, Huang Qiong sighed. Even Lu Mengzheng is very open-minded and visionary. If there were other officials, there would probably be even more fierce opposition. Looking at Lu Mengzheng's changing expression, Huang Qiong said: "The reason why I want to exchange the corpse of the false emperor is for another very important reason, and that is to think of some ways to weaken the strength of those remnants in disguise."
"The Guilin County Prince's Mansion has had exclusive rights to overseas trade for more than a hundred years, and has accumulated an unknown amount of wealth. The official army invaded Jingjiang Mansion, but only confiscated one hundred thousand taels of silver. They intercepted it on Guangnan East Road, but only a few hundred thousand taels of gold were seized. Silver. Lao Lu, you have been the pacifier of Jiangnan East Road. Do you think that the Guilin County Prince's Mansion has been so rich for more than a hundred years? Or do you think that all the Guilin County Princes have been prodigal? "
"But the development of the Guilin County Prince's Palace now proves that although there were some Guilin County Princes in the past who were lustful and lustful, and some were sexually fond of luxury, none of them gave it to them for free. Don't look at the performance of those Wang Zong, and dismiss certain talents as insufficient for the king. Zong Dang raises them like pigs and tells them not to cause trouble. This is the practice from the Tian Family to those aristocratic families. But when it comes to cultivating true heirs, others have done a much better job than the Tian Family."
"Otherwise, no matter how much wealth our ancestors have accumulated, they will not be able to withstand the destruction of future generations. The huge wealth accumulated by several generations of Guilin princes can only be accumulated by the pseudo-emperor for decades, and he will not be able to save it to rebel. Capital. To train an army of 200,000 people, maintain such a huge navy and fleet, and bribe officials in the DPRK and China. How can the real money and silver needed every year be a small amount? "
Huang Qiong stood up and paced slowly in the study while continuing: "If the money continues to stay in their hands, they can expand their power. With the huge wealth, if given time, it will not take just a few years. Their strength will be restored. Coupled with the huge navy and merchant fleet in their hands, a powerful or even greater threat to the imperial court will reappear."
"If they don't have money to gather troops, and without enough money, even if they want to continue to maintain a large navy and expand their strength, it will all be in vain. Especially now, they want to continue doing business, but their sources of goods are all gone. The control is in the hands of the imperial court. If you want to continue doing business, you don’t have the capital. We are taking advantage of them, eager to make peace with the imperial court and the opportunity to claim the corpse of the false emperor."
"In this case, we use the corpse of the false emperor and their royal sects to give them a hard blow and make them lose a lot of blood. Even if we can't make them disband all their forces, at least let them They cannot afford to feed so many soldiers, which weakens their strength. Since they had such huge financial resources in the past to feed so many soldiers, cast so many cannons, and buy so many ordnances."
"Then let's take this opportunity to let them disperse their wealth. Don't think that I don't know how to count. Those big food horses and Tianzhu horses among the rebels, aren't they worth thousands of dollars? Even the Dali horses are cheap. , but can’t bear the large quantity? To buy so many, the cost is sky-high. How can I be willing to buy a horse, but not to buy his father? I don’t want a high price, I feel sorry for myself.”
"That corpse is of no use to the court other than killing monkeys and chickens. Why not exchange him for some money and silk, which can not only relieve the court's urgent needs, but also take the opportunity to give them a good bloodletting. In disguise. Weaken their strength, delay their recovery, and buy time for the imperial court to reorganize the navy."
"Once the imperial navy regains its strength, even if they develop to an invincible strength, what does the imperial court have to fear? With the strength of the imperial court, as long as the navy can be restored and the right qualified generals are found, I believe that they will be more powerful than them. But all this will take time. Now exchanging the corpse of the false emperor for money can be regarded as killing two birds with one stone, so why not do it?"
What Huang Qiong said was very reasonable, but the problem was that everything was the emperor's wishful thinking. Is this acceptable over there? When the Lord opened his mouth, he estimated that the amount would definitely not be too low, and probably even more so than a lion would ask. There are only expenditures there now, which basically means there is no income. It's really not possible for them to pay such a high price for a corpse.
Hearing Lu Mengzheng's doubts, Huang Qiong smiled and said: "If we say it before, I'm afraid it was not possible. But now, it is inevitable to get the false emperor. I estimate that Liu Jinli is eager to ask for the body of the false emperor because he We haven’t yet grasped all of the Pseudo-Emperor’s old ministries. Before, those Pseudo-Emperor’s old ministries were with the Pseudo-Emperor and did not go to him, so it didn’t matter to him.”
"But now, the real talents in the Guilin County Prince's Palace, or those who hold the core secrets, must have been transferred to him. And these people may be devoted to the pseudo-emperor, but not necessarily to him. Lao Lu, you don't have Did you find out? We have captured so many pseudo-emperor officials, and even many internal servants. But there are only a few people who have the real secrets of the Guilin County Prince's Mansion."
"During the rebellion in Guilin County Prince's Mansion, so many officials of the imperial court in Jiangnan chose to rebel. They must have been instigated and bribed. To be able to do this, he must have a secret intelligence system in his hands. But now, we are a No one in this area has been found. There is also a person who manages the account books, have we seen one? Even the person they contacted Shanchanhou Mansion has not been found."
"Those people caught are the brothers and nephews of the false emperor, and they all know nothing about the real inside story of the Guilin County Prince's Mansion. These people are unknown, and there are only two results. Either they are silenced, or they are transferred. Gone. And the first one may not be very likely. Since the pseudo-emperor left Liu Jinli behind, it means that this person has a strong sense of crisis and is very good at leaving some backup for himself."
"Among these people, those who are not too reliable will be silenced. But most of those people should have been transferred away. He is eager to get the body of the false emperor back, probably to appease those people. This shows that these people are very Importantly, at least he can't get rid of them now. If he can't use them for his own use, it will even bring him certain risks, so he will try to get them back at any cost. "
"At least use the corpse of the pseudo-emperor to stabilize these people first, so that you can fully control the power left by the pseudo-emperor and buy a certain period of time. Lao Lu, you must not underestimate this Liu Jinli. He is a pseudo-emperor. Son of the Emperor, do you think that man's scheming and skills are poor? What's more, he can build such a large overseas foundation and can accommodate hundreds of thousands of people. How bad will his strength be?"
"Compared to using his father's body to stabilize his father's old ministry, a mere amount of money is nothing. This person can create such a big foundation, and his structure and ambition are not too bad. Take out a sum of money in exchange for his stable living The opportunity of the Puppet Emperor's old ministry, this deal is a good deal for him. As long as he can control his father's old ministry, he can earn back the money at any time. If he cannot control it, it will be his real loss. "
"This deal is a good deal for both the court and him. I believe he will agree. What's more, the money I want may be just a drop in the bucket for the real wealth they have in their hands. It can even be said that It’s just a drizzle. As long as there are people around, you can come back even if you have spent all your money. If you save people and lose the land, everyone and the land will be saved. If you save the land and lose people, you will lose both the people and the land. He understands this truth."
Huang Qiong's explanation stunned Lu Mengzheng. But after all, he was a smart man. After a moment of reflection, Lu Mengzheng had to say that the emperor's seemingly unreasonable words were actually quite unreasonable upon closer inspection. Lu Mengzheng had to admit that he, who was originally opposed, was basically convinced now. And he knew that the emperor explained to him so painstakingly.
He probably just wanted to show off and compete with Liu Jinli. However, this job is really not suitable for me. It's not that I hold my status as a second-ranked Jinshi, and I look down on those guys who like Aduwu. The problem is that I am a pure scholar, and I am really not good at bargaining. It's easy to suffer a loss when doing this.
After pondering for a while, Lu Mengzheng said: "Your Majesty, you have such a wonderful idea and you are dedicated to serving the country. However, it is not suitable for me to come forward in this matter. Once I come forward, if the negotiation reaches a deadlock, there will be no way out between the court and them. I'm not good at arguing with others. It's really inappropriate for me to do this kind of thing where I have to compare every penny. What's more, I still have a lot of government affairs to deal with every day."
"I am even more distracted and unable to argue about this matter. Therefore, it is still not appropriate for me to come forward. However, I can recommend someone to your majesty. Does your majesty still remember that when your majesty was the chief examiner, the Kou who was selected? Accurate? This person is flexible but does not lose the bottom line. He may seem upright, but in fact he is very measured and tactful in his dealings."
"The most important thing is that this person is not only good at words, he can even be said to have a sharp tongue. He is a good hand at doing this kind of thing. Your Majesty will see if this works, and let Kou Zhun fight with Liu Jinli in front. I will be here I will control the overall situation from behind and make suggestions for the negotiations ahead. If Kou Zhun really can't negotiate, it would be better for me to come forward. Your Majesty will control the overall situation and control the entire scale and process."
After Huang Qiong pondered for a moment about Lu Mengzheng's suggestion, he understood what he meant. If Lu Mengzheng had come forward directly from the beginning, his room for maneuver would have been greatly reduced. If the two sides reach a deadlock in negotiations, they may have to intervene directly. As the king of a country, let yourself talk about this matter with a rebellious minister and traitor. Once this spreads out, what will it do to your reputation?
