Chapter 372 The possibility of cooperation with the Zheng family!
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For Zheng Zhilong, although his Zheng family has a great business, he is also the chief military officer of Fujian, and he can be said to be the real overlord of the southeastern coastal area!
~But subject to the limitations of the times, when he faced the central court and a down-to-earth and truly powerful general like Liu Ruyi, he still had an uncontrollable and instinctive guilty conscience!
This is actually easy to understand~!
The Ming Dynasty lasted for three hundred years. It can be said that it is deeply rooted in the people and deeply rooted in the body and mind. However, the Zheng family has only risen for less than twenty years and is still a bit of a 'nouveau riche'. This gap in time and heritage has made history
and the guidance of public opinion, the Zheng family was far from having the courage to compete with the imperial court and Liu Ruyi!
And with Liu Ruyi's current status as a holy family member, in a sense, he represents Emperor Chongzhen and the interests of the imperial court!
The most important thing is that although Zheng Zhilong has very high methods, his strategic vision and courage are far less smooth than the former!
Although the Zheng family has a large business, its foundation is still based on several important ports on the southeast coast!
At this time, Zheng Zhilong's talented and strategic son was still young and had not yet been able to secure the gold and the Xia Dynasty. This made Zheng Zhilong's confidence weak when facing the court.
point!
Who is Liu Ruyi?
In later generations, he has been involved in business for a long time, and what he is best at capturing is the human heart!
If it were the future 'Master with a surname of the country', Liu Ruyi would not dare to make such detours with him, but if it were Zheng Zhilong, Liu Ruyi could easily hold his seven inches!
"Master, what about me? What I like most is making friends! Liu looks up to the great achievements of the master! In other words, Liu established the China Shenzhou Ocean Trading Company in order to make us
The Han people can allow our wealthy merchants and common people in the Ming Dynasty to get a share of the trade on this golden route!"
Liu Ruyi smiled, looked into Zheng Zhilong's eyes and said: "Master, you have been on the coast all year round. I must not say it, but you, the master, know it in your heart! The spices from Nanyang, the ivory from Tianzhu, and the gems from Ceylon
, Oriental ironware, if you put your hands around it, it will be much greater than the income you can get from setting up Kalilijin on the sea, right?"
Zheng Zhilong's expression changed when he heard this!
As the actual number one maritime merchant in the Ming Dynasty and the ‘Commander-in-Chief of the Ming Dynasty Pirate Group’, how could Zheng Zhilong not know what Liu Ruyi said?
But the current actual situation is that the spice trade in the Nanyang area is basically in the hands of the Dutch and Portuguese, while various profit-making industries such as gems, cotton, ivory, etc. in the Indian Ocean have basically been monopolized by the British!
Zheng Zhilong's so-called "richness that rivals the country" is just based on setting up Cali Gold in the Taiwan Strait and key sea areas around Nanyang in the Ming Dynasty. They only collected their share of the past, but the most profitable profits were
But these white people still took the lion’s share of it!
The only substantive route controlled by the Zheng family is the trade from Ming Dynasty to Japan!
But after all, in a place like Japan, there are few things and few people, and the consumption, creation, and purchasing power are limited. Although Zheng Zhilong can barely be regarded as a member of the great powers in Shanghai, he is eating the lowest scraps!
"General Liu, you, you are..." Zheng Zhilong did not expect that Liu Ruyi, who had been living inland all year round, would be so clear about his Zheng family's business. For a moment, he was stunned and didn't know what to say.
What!
Liu Ruyi smiled and said, "Master! You don't have to be anxious or angry! Liu's purpose of establishing Huaxia Shenzhou Ocean Trading Company was definitely not to steal business from you! In fact, Liu can say responsibly that between us
During this time, not only is there no conflict, but there is great possibility of cooperation!”
"I would like to hear General Liu explain Zheng's doubts!" Zheng Zhilong quickly said with his hands in hand!
How smart is he?
To be able to stand out in the chaotic background of numerous pirates at the end of the Ming Dynasty and become the overlord of one party, there is no doubt about his ability!
And the powerful ambition revealed in Liu Ruyi's words could not help but change Zheng Zhilong's mind!
Of course, the reason why Zheng Zhilong is like this is inseparable from Liu Ruyi's current identity!
After all, if Liu Ruyi was just a little-known flag-officer, Zheng Zhilong would have ordered Liu Ruyi to be hacked to death!
What kind of status and words will have what kind of weight!
This is one of the magic powers of power!
"Haha! Master, come here, don't be in a hurry! It's not easy for you to come all the way. Let's have a cup of hot wine to warm up first, and we can talk later!" Liu Ruyi smiled and filled a cup of hot wine for Zheng Zhilong with his own hands.
!
In everything, the most important thing is to grasp one of the degrees!
A hero like Zheng Zhilong starts to intimidate him and let him know how powerful he is, but if he continues to be arrogant, it will cause serious problems!
After all, the clay figurine still has a certain amount of anger, let alone a powerful man like Zheng Zhilong who holds real power?
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The wine is made from bamboo-leaf green, a specialty of Suzhou. It is gentle and soft, just like the women of Suzhou, making people feel very comfortable!
At this time, Liu Ruyi ordered his soldiers to bring some side dishes, and then he and Zheng Zhilong started drinking together!
Although Dong Xiaowan was in the main tent, like Zheng Zhilong, he was not very familiar with Liu Ruyi, so Liu Ruyi couldn't let his wives and concubines come out to entertain him!
After a few glasses of wine, Zheng Zhilong also had a bit of blush on his face. In fact, he was not willing to fight with Liu Ruyi, but things had already happened. He also had the mentality of losing money and avoiding disaster, hoping to break through.
Xiaocai sent Liu Ruyi away!
But what Zheng Zhilong didn't expect was that Liu Ruyi was not the traditional warlord of the Ming Dynasty that he could understand, but was more like a shrewd businessman!
this?
This made Zheng Zhilong relax physically and mentally!
He is a businessman himself, so he naturally knows that the most important thing among businessmen is profit!
Now that there are benefits, everything can be discussed!
Everything will no longer be so chaotic!
"Listening to what General Liu said, Zheng is really better than the number of saints who have read for ten years! But, General Liu, it is not that Zheng has not thought about what you said! But General Liu, you have to know that at the moment, the Dutch are in Nanyang.
They are extremely powerful. If you want to engage in maritime trade, you must first pass them!" Zheng Zhilong looked at Liu Ruyi and said with deep feeling.
Liu Ruyi nodded, but suddenly remembered that Taiwan is still a virgin land that has not been deeply developed, so he hurriedly asked: "Master, do those Dutch devils control Taiwan's territory?"
"Taiwan?" Zheng Zhilong was stunned. After a moment, he realized, "General Liu, are you talking about the big island east of Xiamen?"
Liu Ruyi nodded hurriedly.
Although Taiwan is not rich in land, its geographical location is very important, especially in the current age of navigation. It can be said to be an important bridgehead and transit station in the Chinese mainland!
Historically, the Dutch were also very foresight and seized this treasured land by force!
Zheng Zhilong frowned and said after a while: "General Liu, I heard that the Dutch built a dock called Tamsui on the west coast of Taiwan. Many Dutch merchant ships transit here! However, they should
It only started in the past two years, so it should be just getting started!"
Liu Ruyi's expression changed after hearing this!
It is only the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, that is, around 1640. In this era, even the East India Company was only in its infancy. But who would have thought that at this time, they would already have the idea of Taiwan?
In fact, the Dutch have been coveting Taiwan for a long time!
As an emerging capitalist kingdom that started earlier than the 'Empire on which the Sun Never Sets', the Dutch are known as the first generation of 'Sea Coachmen!'
Through their powerful navigation capabilities, they had already opened routes to Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, Africa, and Europe very early on!
This near-monopoly of maritime trade greatly accumulated a large amount of wealth for the emerging Kingdom of the Netherlands, and it suddenly became the leader of European capitalism. This also allowed the old empires of Britain, France, Germany, Spain, and Portugal to quickly
My gaze shifted to the ocean!
You know, in this era, if spices from Southeast Asia, porcelain and tea from China, and ironware from Japan can be shipped back to Europe, the profit will definitely be more than ten times higher!
This is simply like stealing money!
"General Liu, your idea is very good! But Zheng thinks that if you want to implement it, it will be really difficult!" Looking at Liu Ruyi's expression, Zheng Zhilong explained from the side.
Liu Ruyi nodded, but smiled and said: "Master, there is no need to be so pessimistic before everything is done! Although the Dutch are powerful, they may not be invincible! Don't forget, they are guests after all, and we are the only ones.
He is the owner of this place!"
Thinking of his brave and invincible son, Liu Ruyi also felt an inexplicable confidence in his heart!
After all, when Zheng Chenggong captured Taiwan, he had less than 20,000 troops, and they were not equipped with advanced firearms, but he was still able to capture the Dutch!
But Liu Ruyi now possesses a cannon that is quite advanced in this era, and has the support of the Chinese mainland. It must not be that difficult to defeat the Dutch who are not yet stable!
"General Liu, could it be that you are preparing to go to war with the Dutch?" Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but change his face. He was a Dutch translator, so he naturally clearly understood the strength of the Dutch!
After all, the name "Sea Coachman" is not just for you!
Although there are not many Dutch people at the moment, Zheng Zhilong feels like a nightmare just thinking about their powerful firepower!
Zheng Zhilong simply couldn't imagine a confrontation with the Dutch!
"Haha! Boss, you don't have to be so pessimistic? I'm not even afraid of those Manchu Tatars? How much less the Dutch devils who only have less than ten thousand?"
Liu Ruyi looked into Zheng Zhilong's eyes with a smile, "It's just that if the head of the family wants to attack the Dutch, I, Liu, am afraid that my own strength is still a little inadequate! I heard that, of the head of the family, how many of you have in Quanzhou?
Shipyard, I wonder if there is any possibility for us to cooperate?"