Chapter 110 The army must remain aggressive and enterprising

"Fourth Uncle, I've invited you here!" Zheng Chenggong welcomed Zheng Hongkui into the inner courtyard with a smile, and Feng Chengshi followed them. "There are some things at home that involve too many things, so I don't want to invite Fourth Uncle to take action.

, this domain is really difficult to handle."

After hearing the good words, Zheng Hongkui smiled and became humble. However, Zheng Chenggong directly brought him into the inner courtyard of the "Recruiting General's Mansion" instead of the meeting hall, which made him a little confused - could it really be

Housework?

"I am also a member of the Zheng family. The affairs of the Zheng family are my business. As long as the feudal lord needs me, I will come anyway." Zheng Hongkui said with a cupped hand.

After the two sat down, Feng Chengshi stood next to Zheng Chenggong, and the maid from the mansion soon came in to serve tea. After Zheng Chenggong took a sip of tea, he asked with concern: "This vassal heard from Aunt You that the fourth uncle killed Shi Lang.

After that, I have been living in the house in Kinmen and haven’t gone out to move around, but what’s wrong with me?”

"I thank the lord for your concern." Zheng Hongkui said calmly, but with a cautious tone: "I don't have anything to worry about, but living at home all day with nothing to do makes me feel a little bored. The lord also said

I know that I am not the kind of person who can take time off, so I learned carpentry at home, which was quite interesting."

Zheng Chenggong smiled after hearing this, and then said a few polite words in an easy-going manner, and Zheng Hongkui also responded kindly. After the two seemed to have lost the initial sense of distance, Zheng Chenggong officially got down to business:

"Fourth uncle, to tell you the truth, our Zheng family's sea trade is getting bigger and bigger now. Zheng Tai has been recognized by the Holy Emperor and will soon be transferred to the Shipping Department. This vassal is now worrying about who should be appointed in the future.

Take care of this maritime trade."

Zheng Hongkui felt happy after hearing this, but he did not show it. Instead, he immediately frowned and seemed to be embarrassed:

"This matter is indeed difficult to handle. Zheng Tai was basically the liaison between the five Shanhai merchants before, and the supervisors of the two warehouses were also his confidants. Maritime trade-related matters are very complicated and cumbersome, and there are countless secret ways. Now he has

Most of these people will also be taken away when they are about to be transferred to a high position in the Shipping Department. In this way, the feudal lord must choose someone who is familiar with maritime trade and has a certain number of capable people under his command to be qualified."

After hearing this, Zheng Chenggong nodded, and then continued to wait for Zheng Hongkui to continue. He knew that the other party had heard what he meant. When Zheng Hongkui saw Zheng Chenggong nodding in agreement, he continued:

"Since the Qing Dynasty banned the sea, most of the sea trade in Jiangnan, Shandong, and Guangdong has been cut off. Now all ships going to Japan and Southeast Asia must carry the tokens of my Zheng family, otherwise they will be at the mercy of others at sea.

As the feudal lord revives eastern Guangdong and Fujian, maritime trade will be even greater, and we will face more enemies, even red-haired ones, who will have conflicts of interest with us.

Therefore, if the feudal lord wants to choose someone to be in charge of the Zheng family's maritime trade, in addition to knowing business, it is best that this person also knows military skills. If he already has considerable prestige at sea and has a close relationship with our Zheng family, he will be able to

At the critical moment, if you can represent the Zheng family without any credentials, that would be the best."

Zheng Hongkui naturally wants to fight for such an opportunity. He knows that Zheng Chenggong will not let him regain military power, and he will not go to the road of death. But Zheng Hongkui is still very interested in his old business of overseas trade. Not to mention

Said, the oil and water of this fat difference is also rich enough.

Although Zheng Hongkui has been living in seclusion in Kinmen, Zheng Chenggong has already requested Emperor Yongli's imperial edict to confer awards and to preside over military and political reforms. He is fully aware of the influence of the Fourth Master in the Ming and Zheng systems.

Not even young, which is why Zheng Chenggong has always been so wary of him, and Zheng Hongkui is so cautious.

Nowadays, with the establishment of the "Shiship Division", the nationalization of the Zheng family's navy, and the reorganization of the Zheng family's maritime trade, even if Zheng Hongkui is in charge of the five elements of the mountains and seas and controls trade, it will be difficult for him to have any resistance. With the obstruction of the Municipal Shipping Division and the Industrial and Commercial Department

Next, we can't even contact the old department through sea trade. At most, we can take advantage of the opportunity to make some money and become a serious shopkeeper.

In other words, Zheng Chenggong's institutional reform and adjustment was not only a reform and adjustment of the Zheng system in the Ming Dynasty, but also an adjustment within the Zheng family. Zheng Tai, who originally held the financial power of the Zheng family, had now become a regulatory agency with a very high reputation.

Zheng Hongkui, the Fourth Master, became the leader of maritime trade, and the two naturally formed a confrontation and check and balance.

After listening to Zheng Hongkui's words, Zheng Chenggong seemed to be deep in thought. He thought for a while, then looked at Zheng Hongkui with a smile and said, "What my fourth uncle said makes sense. If he is not a person with both civil and military skills and a reputation, he may not be qualified for such a high position."

After hearing this, Zheng Hongkui straightened his back. The person he just mentioned was completely based on his own characteristics. Moreover, he also believed that other than him, there would be no one else in the Zheng family who could take this position.

Competent. As for people outside the Zheng family, Zheng Chenggong is unlikely to consider it - this is the Zheng family's family business!

"We will definitely have to fight Hongmao at sea in the future. The Dutch are now bent on bypassing us and doing business with Japan. They even want to monopolize the trade in Southeast Asia and become the overlord of the sea. That is Luzon

The Spaniards in Taipei and Taipei are always on guard against us and may massacre our Ming people who are doing business overseas at any time."

Zheng Chenggong looked at the changes on Zheng Hongkui's face and continued: "There are people from the Ming Dynasty in Nanyang, Taiwan and other places. If we make good use of them, this will be a powerful force and the key to our foothold in Nanyang in the future. Otherwise

, they can only be the fish meat on the chopping board of the red-haired barbarians, to be slaughtered by others."

"You also need to be able to deal with those red-haired people without breaking through the fight. If you are broken, you must be able to fight with them. At the same time, you must not only be able to run the maritime business, but also be able to represent the Zheng family. Such a person...

How can we find it?" Feng Chengshi asked the question appropriately, and then answered himself: "But if you cannot meet such requirements, it will indeed be difficult to do the job. Today's situation is no longer the same as before."

"If these red-haired people really dare to kill my people as the feudal lord said, then we must let them know who has the final say in this sea. Otherwise, they will really think that there is no one in our country!

”

In fact, Zheng Hongkui had long wanted to teach these red-haired men who were eager for the Zheng family's money. He could not defeat the Qing army on land, but on the sea, the Dutch and Spanish might not be able to defeat him. Moreover, Taiwan and Siam

Luo, the power of the Zheng family is present in places like Cambodia. As long as it is managed properly, it will be a big help.

"Furthermore, what Feng Canjun said is true. The business at sea is all done with real swords and guns. Without bloodshed, burning a few ships, and killing a few people on board, why should we earn this vain money?"

Zheng Chenggong knew that Zheng Hongkui was a hardliner with sophisticated methods. He needed such people to deal with the Dutch who were ready to take action. At this time, he nodded in agreement: "It seems that my fourth uncle must understand that this business on the sea is a matter of life and death. Who can

If there are more and bigger cannons, whoever keeps his word will make money. Otherwise, he will have to go to the sea to feed the fish."

"Fourth Master, if you can come out of the mountain again, then the feudal lord will not have to worry about this. What a pity!" Feng Chengshi then let out a long sigh. People who don't know him may really believe it.

Zheng Chenggong did not continue to speak at this time, but just looked at Zheng Hongkui. Feng Chengshi's words meant what he meant, and he believed that Zheng Hongkui could understand this.

Zheng Hongkui actually wanted to agree immediately. He was even worried that Zheng Chenggong would suddenly regret it, but as the fourth master of the Zheng family, he couldn't be too active, lest his eldest nephew would suspect his evil intentions.

Seeing that Zheng Hongkui was still hesitating, Feng Chengshi sighed secretly, and then he had to name a few more candidates, and then listed their inappropriateness one by one, and rejected several of them one by one. Zheng Chenggong nodded in agreement from time to time,

Zheng Hongkui kept responding, which seemed to be a pity. In the end, the three of them went around in a big circle, and finally found that among the Zheng family, Zheng Hongkui was indeed the most suitable for this position.

After such a comparison, Zheng Hongkui's strength was recognized and he gained face. At the same time, he finally stopped appearing arrogant. Under Feng Chengshi's sigh and Zheng Chenggong's expectation, he finally decided to sacrifice his precious time to learn the carpenter's craft and re-invest in

Enter the pirate's career.

And now that the outermost layer of window paper has been pierced, the conversations between the three people in the room finally no longer need to be insinuations and secretive. Zheng Chenggong also immediately told about his plans to reorganize the Zheng family's maritime caravan, strengthen the Shanhai Five Merchants, and

The idea of ​​further expanding Nanyang trade and even establishing trade relations further west has been expressed.

The previous plans were within Zheng Hongkui's expectations, and he had also heard some rumors. But the subsequent ones, especially the handling of the relationship with the Spanish in Luzon, and the reasons behind them, were unexpected by Zheng Hongkui.

Yes, but after listening to Zheng Chenggong’s considerations and ideas, he felt that it should be so.

At the same time, this veteran who had followed Zheng Zhilong on the sea for decades and witnessed the rise of the Zheng family found that the knowledge he was proud of seemed to be narrow-minded in front of his nephew who had just been at the helm of the Zheng family for only a few years.

.

He also knew that silver was earned from sea trade, and that Japan had a lot of copper, silver, and even gold. However, he did not know about the flow of silver behind the trade, the roles of Japan and Luzon, the Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese in it.

This is unheard of.

"After the integration of the caravan, we will use a joint-stock company as the basic operating model. Not only the Zheng family, but also generals in our army, officials from various departments, and even merchants from Chaohuizhang and Jiangnan areas can also invest in subscribing for shares.

, participating in profit distribution, the basic operation mode is the same as that of previous government and merchants, except that the principal is changed to subscribed silver.

As for the company, its basic structure is actually the same as our previous trading company, but it needs some fine-tuning. At the same time, attention must also be paid to ensuring the rights and interests of investors, and for different investors, the model of different rights for the same shares must be implemented at the same time.

Existence..."

Zheng Chenggong kept talking about his ideas and plans. Since he wanted to operate in the form of a joint-stock company and use this model to bind businessmen, landlords, the army, and civil servants, he must also make appropriate innovations:

"The enterprising spirit and aggressiveness that our army must maintain can never be provided by safe land. Only ocean trade that is full of risks and struggles and is profitable enough can ensure the long-term prosperity of our army.

In the future, when we completely defeat the Manchus, revive the entire Ming Dynasty, and free up our hands, what we will eventually go to must be the ocean. This is the fundamental reason why this vassal chose shares in trading companies as incentives instead of land."<

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Zheng Hongkui and Feng Chengshi were both high-ranking officials in the Ming Dynasty. Naturally, they could understand Zheng Chenggong’s words to a certain extent. The company system of this era was not unfamiliar to them. Zheng Hongkui originally chose to fight against the Qing Dynasty instead of surrendering and shaving his hair.

, one of the important reasons is because we believe that the power of the ocean is strong enough, even enough to fight for the world.

"The Zheng family started as a maritime merchant and has dominated the southeast for nearly twenty years. Whether in the military or in the government, most people understand the huge profits of maritime trade. Although many people still like stable land, it is just profit.

It’s a matter of making enough money. Over the years, we have all benefited from the profits of maritime trade. Everyone knows that this is an opportunity to make a fortune. As long as there is a chance to get this wealth, I am afraid no one will spare their life.”

When Zheng Hongkui talked about the million-dollar profit from sea trade every year, his face was full of smiles: "There is no shortage of warriors in our army. Now the lord is implementing such a system with strong means. After the Tatars are defeated in the future, I am afraid there will be a large group of warriors."

If someone goes out to sea to fight Hongmao, we may not even be able to stop him."

"If you don't go to sea, what's the point of fighting for this three-quarter acre of land in your own home?" Zheng Chenggong knew that as long as he built this platform, those in the military who had sufficient interests in it would naturally fight for it themselves.

.And he also took out insurance. "Same shares with different rights" deals with the military and some special groups.

"The feudal lord is really a hero who created the world. Since ancient times, how many heroes only know the benefits of the land. Only the feudal lord can understand the benefits of the ocean. This move will surely benefit thousands of generations." Feng Chengshi flattered from the side.

"The benefits of the sea are important, and the benefits of the land are also important. Without the support of the benefits of the land, how can we get the benefits of the sea? The two are indispensable. The vassal vassal wants the sea, and the vassal will not give up on the land." Zheng Chenggong

He was high-spirited for a moment, but he always stayed awake. Now he was here to subdue Zheng Hongkui to do things for him, so he couldn't get himself involved, so he stopped the car immediately:

"However, now is not the time to think about it. Fourth uncle, reorganizing the caravan is not easy. Dealing with the Dutch in the future will be even more dangerous. You will have to worry a lot."

"Lord, don't worry, I will handle this matter properly. Within a month, the entire maritime caravan of the Zheng family, the five merchants of the mountains and seas, will be ordered and prohibited without exception." Zheng Hongkui heard this and immediately raised his hands and clasped his fists to promise.<

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For Zheng Hongkui, with great power in hand, it is simply a simple matter to deal with those under his command. He is not worried about this. He is worried about how to kill the Dutch in the open sea. The opponent's warships are indeed powerful.

A lot.

"In addition, in addition to the Dutch, Fourth Uncle also has to help this feudal lord with something."

"The feudal lord is talking about Annan buying horses?" Zheng Hongkui knew that Zheng's army was short of horses, so he immediately thought of this aspect: "But if Annan's horses are used as war horses, I'm afraid..."

Zheng Chenggong shook his head: "It's Li Dingguo. He now occupies western Guangdong and Guangxi, and has access to the sea. However, Guangxi and western Guangdong have suffered from repeated wars in recent years, and the lives of people have been devastated. He has tens of thousands of troops under his command. If he does not have effective means,

, I’m afraid it will be difficult to raise other military supplies except food.”
To be continued...