"At the very least, a disciple will be admitted to the Imperial Academy, and at most, it will be inevitable for an official."

Zhang Qi glanced at everyone and chuckled.

Obviously, the official status here naturally does not refer to the official position, but to the imperial merchant status of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In an instant, everyone's breathing became rapid and their eyes widened.

The identity of an imperial merchant is worth tens of thousands of gold. If it doesn't matter, you can't buy it even with money. This bait is really too big.

Naturally, everyone patted their chests and looked like they would go through fire and water to serve the emperor.

Using businessmen to obtain information is more convenient than official dispatch.

This was also a clever trick used by the emperor.

In the 17th century, after leaving the mainland, all merchant ships could not only carry goods, but also become pirates, and moral laws were reduced to decoration.

Their intelligence network is far more extensive than that of the imperial court.

After these people left, three co-ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs came over and said in confusion:

"Young Master, in recent years, the Xiyi people in Taiwan Prefecture have purchased less and less sugar, and the price has been decreasing. Why are they still greedy for Luzon?"

"Luzon and Taiwan are different."

Zhang Qi shook his head, then sat down, Niu drank a cup of tea, and then said slowly:

"As far as I know, the Spanish and Portuguese people, greedy for sugar profits, went to the so-called New World to immigrate and cultivate land, so sugar exports have become less and less."

"With less exports, we can only ship to inland areas for sale."

"And if it's not enough to just rely on sugar from Taiwan, you have to add sugar from Manila."

"This is called expanding domestic demand, do you understand?"

Learning the terms he stole from the emperor, Zhang Qi held his head high.

The other three co-organizing ministers didn't know how serious they were, so they could only bow down.

The white sugar that first appeared in the Western world was basically purchased from China through Arabs as a transit agent.

By the second half of the 17th century, the slave trade was booming. Latin America, especially the West Indies, and Jamaica were greatly developed, which caused the price of sugar to plummet.

It was so cheap that by the beginning of the 19th century, the British consumed about 9 kilograms of sugar per year, about 25 grams a day.

Under such circumstances, it is foreseeable that the export of sugar will inevitably slump.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs was reluctant to bear such huge profits, and the emperor was even more reluctant, so they could only target the locals and convert exports to domestic sales.

By then, it will be difficult to meet the needs of the people with today's sugar production, so land must be prepared in advance.

Once the emperor has an idea, it will be implemented by the court immediately.

Therefore, the cabinet used the excuse that Spain massacred our people, and asked the Spanish ambassador in Beijing to apologize, pay with blood, and hand over the officials and troops who massacred.

The Spanish ambassador naturally shook his head and denied it. He would never admit it, let alone hand him over.

At this time, after notifying the ambassadors of other countries, the Ming Dynasty had a legitimate reason to send troops, and couldn't wait to ask the navy to go south to force the Spanish to surrender.

After giving the order, the Donghai Navy went south to Fujian to join the Nanhai Navy.

Thirty ships and five thousand naval officers and soldiers rode the wind and waves toward Fujian.

Standing on the bow of the ship, with the sea breeze blowing on his face, Shi Lang looked serious and his eyes were full of thinking.

Two years ago, after Zheng Zhilong retired from office, he went to Beijing to retire. Most of his relatives, friends and old friends also went with him, leaving only a few young and strong ones.

In order to avoid suspicion, when Zheng Zhilong recommended his successor, he did not recommend his own brother. Instead, he appointed Shi Lang, who was not far away, as the commander-in-chief of the Donghai Navy.

He and Zheng Zhilong were both from Quanzhou, so they defected to them when they were 17 years old. Whenever they went into battle, they would definitely take the lead and make many military exploits.

Extremely outstanding among the younger generation.

At the age of only thirty-six, he was recommended as the commander-in-chief.

Such a great favor made his involvement with the Zheng family even greater.

"Commander, why do you have to obey the Nanhai Navy this time when you go to Fujian?" The general on the side couldn't help complaining.

"Don't talk about that." Shi Lang frowned and said, "He has a good family background and is a relative of a foreigner. You must not offend him."

After hearing this, several generals restrained themselves.

Shi Langze said leisurely: "I have been blowing the sea breeze in Penghu for five years, and I only became the commander-in-chief this year. It is already too late."

After hearing this, no one said anything.

The Nanhai Navy Commander-in-Chief they are referring to is Sun Lin, who just took office at the beginning of this year.

At the age of only twenty-six, he was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the army, and he only had a baron. No one dared to believe him.

But unfortunately, this is reality.

Before serving as the commander-in-chief, Sun Lin served as a guerrilla general in Penghu, responsible for the coastal defense of the entire Taiwan government.

Due to the lack of harassment by pirates and the prosperity of the Taiwanese government, the number of Dingkou in Penghu County continued to increase. In just a few years, it exceeded 30,000.

Not to mention the Taiwanese government, the number of troops exceeded 500,000. As a result, the Penghu Navy was renamed the Taiwan Navy, and the top officer was changed from a guerrilla general to a staff general.

After that, Sun Lin built a large navy camp in Penghu, which can be regarded as a credit. At the beginning of the year, he served as the commander-in-chief of the Nanhai Navy, responsible for the coastal defense of the entire Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian provinces.

It's so logical and logical that it's hard to say anything at all.

Of course, what makes people unhappy is that this time the two armies jointly fought, the commander-in-chief was Sun Lin, and the deputy commander was Shi Lang.

No matter in terms of seniority or age, Shi Lang was above Sun Lin, but the latter jumped above him, which was helpless.

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After riding the wind and waves for several days, the Donghai Navy arrived at Xiamen Island.

Compared with the Zhoushan Islands where the East China Sea Navy is stationed, although Xiamen is a little smaller, it is close enough to the mainland and has fertile land to become a prosperous naval city.

What surprised Shi Lang was that the newly appointed Nanhai Navy Commander, Sun Lin, was standing on the dock, wearing a black short coat, with a rough and dark face, and a big smile.

"Commander Shi, you're welcome and safe!"

Sun Lin greeted him warmly and put his arm directly on Shi Lang's shoulders. Before the latter could react, he said enthusiastically:

"I have prepared a lot of meat for the brothers, free flow of wine, and the camp room is ready. You can move in directly tonight, and the bedding is all new..."

"Let me tell you, Fujian's mats are comfortable to sleep on and don't scratch you. I also prepared a wild deer, just in time to entertain you..."

Shi Lang was stunned.

Do I know you that well?

"You haven't taken a shower yet, have you? Come on, I've got the hot water ready."

Sun Lin took the generals to a bathhouse: "You have to wash in hot water. It's not good if you catch a cold."

In this way, before Shi Lang had time to say a word, the Donghai navy was treated to a hot bath, wine and meat, and a warm bed.

The next day, everyone gave a thumbs up and praised: "The Nanhai Navy is bright and bright——"

Since the Nanhai Navy and the Donghai Navy were originally from the Zheng family army, and many generals in the Donghai Navy were from Fujian, verbal communication was not a problem, and fellow villagers felt indescribably cordial when meeting fellow villagers.

By noon, Shi Lang immediately realized that something was wrong. The military morale had been bribed by the enemy.

Good guy, the grievances along the way have been wiped away, what else can I, the commander-in-chief, say?

"Brother Sun, you are so polite." Shi Lang got off the donkey and said with a big smile, "This will cost a lot of money!"

"Not much."

Sun Lin showed his white and neat teeth and felt Shi Lang's closeness: "It's only a few thousand yuan."

"this--"

Shi Lang was shocked, what a big deal! My annual salary is only so much!

Unexpectedly, Sun Lin bowed his hands and said: "Sprinkle some water——"

"Brother Shi, let me tell you that for this southern expedition, the Ministry of Revenue directly allocated 300,000 yuan."

"You and I only have ten thousand people, which is more than enough."

Shi Lang was silent. He looked at Sun Lin and lowered his head, not wanting to speak.

Good guy, we handed out three hundred thousand yuan before the battle even started. If we win, what's the point?

Sun Lin saw Shi Lang's face, and saw that there was only a little joy in his shock, and he suddenly had concerns in his heart.

He served as a gendarmerie in the army when he was in his teens. Relying on his status, he was not afraid of anyone and went on a rampage, which can be described as majestic.

When I got older, I decided to come to the navy to gain experience. Over the years, I have gained a good understanding of people's hearts.

Perhaps ordinary soldiers would be excited about money, but for a navy commander like Shi Lang, only official titles can greatly increase the interest of people like him.

With his mind spinning, Sun Lin suddenly asked: "Brother Shi, please forgive me for being presumptuous. I wonder what your title is?"

When Shi Lang heard this, he felt unhappy. Didn't you ask knowingly?

But he was in the city, and he just said indifferently: "It's hard to explain in one sentence. The Western Yi who followed Nan'an Marquis to attack Taiwan a few years ago only got a viscount."
To be continued...