As the saying goes, "The Lord is worried about the humiliation of his subjects, and the Lord is concerned about the humiliation of his subjects."
For Ouyang Bo and Qian Bodao, although they are Zhao Junchen's aides in the palace, they are now ordered to assist Huo Zhengyuan, and Huo Zhengyuan is their temporary chief.
Under such circumstances, the attack on Huo Zhengyuan was the top priority in their minds.
What's more, Jiang Zhengnai is a colleague they have never met. Now he is seriously injured and his life or death is uncertain. They should rush to visit him as soon as possible to express their concern.
Therefore, even without Huo Zhengyuan's instructions, they would immediately drop everything at hand and go directly to Nanjing.
But just at this moment, they could not find their third staff member, Guo Min.
When Ouyang Bo and Qian Bodao received the news, it was already afternoon time. Considering that Suzhou and Nanjing were not far apart, if they set off immediately and traveled overnight, they could arrive in Nanjing before tomorrow morning and meet Huo Zhengyuan.
Meet as soon as possible.
On the other hand, if they were delayed waiting for Guo Min, they might not be able to leave Suzhou before evening, and their arrival in Nanjing would be delayed until tomorrow afternoon.
In this way, the difference between the inside and the outside is half a day.
Under an urgent situation, this time is enough to delay many major events, and it is also enough to decide many major events.
Therefore, after discovering that they and others could not find any trace of Guo Min, Ouyang Bo and Qian Bodao were both extremely anxious.
"What's going on with this Guo Min? He's a mysterious person on weekdays. When he doesn't need his help, you just see him wandering around in front of you. But when you really need him, you can't find him! He is
If you need to leave for something, why don't you even say hello? Where on earth are we going to find him?"
Ouyang Bo lost his composure due to his impatience, and became a little rude when he commented on Guo Min.
Ouyang Bo's biggest advantage is that he is capable in doing things, so he has a quick temper, and he can't stand others' procrastination and delays.
On the other side, Qian Bodao hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn't help but said: "Actually... I can roughly guess where Guo Min is going at this time..."
After Ouyang Bo was stunned for a moment, he quickly asked: "Oh? Where is Guo Min? Why didn't you tell me earlier? Let's send people to find him now!"
Qian Bodao's expression became more and more awkward, and he explained hesitantly: "Mr. Ouyang, you also know that I was ordered by Zhao Gechen to assist Bachelor Zuo Huo in handling all accounts and receipts, and that Mr. Guo
Since arriving in Suzhou, he has been mysterious and mysterious. He has repeatedly withdrawn large sums of money from me, but he has never been willing to explain why he wanted to withdraw large sums of money... Furthermore, considering that his brother Guo Tang has an old feud with Zhao Gechen
, he himself had taken refuge with Zhao Junchen not long ago, so I was a little worried. I once secretly followed his whereabouts after he took away a large sum of money again..."
After hearing Qian Bodao's deliberate explanation, Ouyang Bo immediately frowned again and looked at Qian Bodao with an extremely stern look.
Qian Bodao's approach can be said to be cautious and loyal at best, but to be suspicious of colleagues and spy on them at worst. It can be said to be serious in nature.
Ouyang Bo could roughly guess what Qian Bodao was thinking. This person was the old accountant in the Zhao family. Before Zhao Junchen expanded his staff team, this person was the teacher and treasurer in the Zhao family whose status was second only to Su Xiqing.
Zhang has always regarded himself as a loyal veteran.
Therefore, Qian Bodao probably believed that he had an obligation to help Zhao Junchen monitor Guo Min, a suspicious person, so he took it upon himself to follow and monitor him.
Ouyang Bo did not care about Qian Bodao's seniority at all, and immediately accused him sharply: "Hu Tu! Do you think that Academician Huo and I don't know about Guo Min's mysterious behavior? But why did the two of us never spy on him secretly?
? Because Academician Huo and I both know that Guo Min was assigned a secret mission by Zhao Gechen, and Zhao Gechen is willing to believe him, so we should trust Zhao Gechen's judgment and not be suspicious of him at will, let alone follow him at will!
Otherwise, it may affect Guo Min's secret mission, and may even reveal Zhao Gechen's secret plan! Mr. Qian, I know that you are a veteran of the Zhao family and have always been loyal to Zhao Gechen! But something like this
, I hope you will never make your own decisions again in the future! Regarding your performance this time, I will conceal it from the two academicians Huo University and Guo Min to prevent them from being biased against you, but I will also report it to Zhao Gechen truthfully.
Let Zhao Gechen judge!"
Upon hearing Ouyang Bo's accusation, Qian Bodao smiled bitterly and nodded, not daring to make any further rebuttal.
After Ouyang Bo paused for a moment, he asked again: "Then...where do you think Guo Min is now?"
Qian Bodao replied: "I secretly followed him twice and found that each time he would go around in circles to a store called 'Haiyu Chamber of Commerce' in the east of the city. I also personally entered that store and saw the products sold in the store.
The items are all rare specialties from the West... If nothing else, Guo Min would still go there now! Only when going to that store, Guo Min would deliberately conceal his whereabouts."
Ouyang Bo's eyes flashed and he nodded: "In that case, send someone immediately, make a few rounds, secretly rush to the 'Haiyu Chamber of Commerce', contact Guo Min as soon as possible, inform him of the news, and ask him to
Come back quickly and rush to Nanjing with us."
Qian Bodao was stunned and asked: "If we contact him directly like this, aren't we afraid of affecting his secret mission?"
Ouyang Bo glanced at Qian Bodao, his expression becoming increasingly dissatisfied, and explained: "When you followed him and discovered the 'Haiyu Chamber of Commerce', his secret mission was already at risk of failure and leakage! So,
We sent someone to contact him directly, just to let him understand that the place 'Haiyu Chamber of Commerce' has been exposed, remind him to abandon this place as soon as possible to prevent more people from discovering the traces, and also remind him that he should be more cautious in hiding in the future.
Your whereabouts can no longer be followed at will!"
Qian Bodao suddenly understood and nodded quickly: "Then I will make arrangements now!"
In order to make up for his mistake, Qian Bodao was particularly active at this time and immediately got up and took action.
Watching Qian Bodao's leaving figure, Ouyang Bo couldn't help but shake his head slowly, took the opportunity to find paper and pen, and began to write a letter to Zhao Junchen to inform Zhao Junchen.
*
Just as Qian Bodao guessed, Guo Min was in a hidden room in the "Haiyu Chamber of Commerce" store at this time, making contact with Zuo Qiuci, the big shopkeeper of the "Haiyu Chamber of Commerce".
This Zuo Qiuci has a strange appearance, with extremely deep facial features, a straight and big nose, black short thick curly hair and beard, and gray eyes. He is a Chinese-Dutch mixed race.
As for the identity of the big boss of the "Haiyu Chamber of Commerce", it was just Zuo Qiuci's disguise in the Ming Dynasty. His true identity was the important leader of a famous pirate fleet in Nanyang. He had wide connections among pirates in Nanyang, and he also
Maintained close relations with the Dutch East India Company.
Before Guo Min joined Zhao Junchen, he was his business partner in the Ming Dynasty.
More than three months ago, Guo Min was ordered to contact Zuo Qiuci on behalf of Zhao Junchen and proposed a big deal to Zuo Qiu Ci.
This big deal was extremely important and could even affect the future situation of the entire Nanyang. Therefore, Zuo Qiuci did not dare to make the decision without authorization, so he went to sea to Nanyang to contact various pirates and the Dutch East India Company. He had just returned from overseas two days ago.
After Guo Min learned the news of Zuo Qiuci's return, he quickly came here to meet Zuo Qiuci.
After the two met, Zuo Qiuci still had a bold attitude, laughing loudly and hugging Guo Min warmly, which made Guo Min extremely uncomfortable.
After finally breaking away from Zuo Qiu Ci's embrace, Guo Min quickly stepped back and distanced himself, and asked straight to the point: "Master Zuo Qiu, it's been a hundred days since you and I last met, but...
I wonder if your trip is going well during this period? And about the deal between us, does your boss behind the scenes agree to cooperate? "
Zuo Qiuci knew very well that Guo Min didn't like the overseas etiquette of hugging people close to each other's faces, but he would still do it forcefully every time he saw Guo Min, just to make Guo Min feel uncomfortable and then gain the upper hand during negotiations.
Seeing that Guo Min went straight to the topic, Zuo Qiuci's rough-looking face flashed with a hint of cunning, and he laughed and said: "Sit down and talk! We have a lot to talk about next, sit down and talk!"
After saying that, Zuo Qiuci dragged over a chair and pushed Guo Min to sit on the chair, while he sat beside Guo Min. The distance between the two parties was too close, which still made Guo Min feel uncomfortable.
Zuo Qiuci smiled again and said: "Boss Guo is so generous! During this period of time, I have not been in the Ming Dynasty, but Boss Guo did not wait for the cooperation to be concluded, so he came here several times to contact us and spend huge sums of money to bribe us overseas.
The people attacked the ocean-going fleet of the merchants of the Ming Dynasty, causing heavy losses to all the merchants of the Ming Dynasty, which in disguise accelerated the process of the great scholar Huo's establishment of the ocean-going fleet... It seems that Boss Guo is very anxious!"
Guo Min frowned. He is also a veteran in shopping malls, so he naturally understands that when negotiating and cooperating, the party that is anxious will suffer the most.
Therefore, Guo Min immediately shook his head and denied Zuo Qiuci's statement, and said slowly: "I'm impatient... not that much! It's just that I have nothing to do, and I can control a large amount of money at any time, so I want to take a little time before we cooperate.
Just test your strength! If your strength is not as strong as the legend, then there is no need for us to continue to cooperate, right?"
Zuo Qiuci asked: "Then... what does Boss Guo think of our strength? Is it worthy of long-term cooperation?"
Guo Min nodded and said: "The strength is indeed good, at least the task was completed properly! During this period, I bribed you five times to attack the ocean-going ships of Ming Dynasty merchants, and you finally succeeded three times... Considering that on the vast sea
Searching for ships is not easy, but it’s still unsatisfactory!”
Zuo Qiuci didn't mind Guo Min's comments that seemed both positive and negative. Instead, he said confidently: "Actually, our strength is far stronger than Boss Guo imagined! I hope Boss Guo knows that, as I
After the news that Zhao Gechen wanted to cooperate secretly was notified to all parties in Nanyang, not only did more than 20 powerful Nanyang pirates express their willingness to cooperate, but it also directly alerted a big shot."
"Oh? Who is that big shot?"
Zuo Qiuci replied solemnly: "It's Governor Lutte of the Dutch East India Company! He is very interested in cooperation with Zhao Gechen, and even wants to meet Zhao Gechen in person to discuss cooperation in detail! Boss Guo, you may not
Knowing the capabilities of Governor Lutte, he has more than 150 merchant ships, 40 warships, 50,000 employees, and 10,000 mercenary troops under his command... Compared with Governor Lutte, whether it is
We Nanyang pirates are the Taiwanese Zheng family, that’s all..."
When talking about Governor Rutte, Zuo Qiu Ci was full of respect and kept raising his thumb. After mentioning the Zheng family in Taiwan, Zuo Qiu Ci looked disdainful and raised half of his little finger.
Speaking of this, Zuo Qiuci even pretended to be powerful and boasted proudly: "So, as long as you Zhao cabinet minister shows enough sincerity and gets the full support of Governor Lu Te, any actions he takes in Nanyang in the future will be
Get twice the result with half the effort, it’s a piece of cake!”
When it came to the word "sincerity", Zuo Qiuci emphasized his tone.
Obviously, Governor Rutte also proposed a series of conditions to Zhao Junchen!
After hearing this, Guo Min couldn't help but feel shocked.
He never expected that he would be able to contact the governor of the Dutch East India Company so smoothly.
But then, Guo Min shook his head and sneered: "One hundred and fifty merchant ships, forty warships, fifty thousand employees, and ten thousand mercenary troops... It is indeed not to be underestimated, but what kind of big shot is he?
Isn't that too exaggerated?
When our Zhao Gechen commanded the Shaanxi-Gansu war, he could mobilize hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses at will, and wiped out more than 100,000 powerful enemies in one fell swoop. Moreover, Zhao Gechen also controlled the Ming Dynasty's treasury, handling the receipts and expenditures of tens of millions of taels of silver. With a little thought,
It can affect the livelihood of tens of millions of people in the Ming Dynasty... If Governor Lutte is also a big shot, then who is my Zhao Gechen? Is it the deity in the sky of my Han people? Or is it the God Jesus you believe in? "
All transaction negotiations in this world are essentially no different from buying vegetables at the vegetable market. When bargaining, you always need to belittle the other party.
Zuo Qiuci didn't mind that Guo Min belittled Governor Lu Te and promoted Zhao Junchen, but when he heard that Guo Min compared Zhao Junchen to Jesus God, he couldn't help but frowned.
Obviously, although Zuo Qiuci is a murderous pirate, he is also a believer in God who longs for redemption - in Western culture, the two do not conflict.
So, Zuo Qiuci sneered and said: "In the territory of the Ming Dynasty, the cabinet minister Zhao is naturally stronger, but Nanyang... Governor Lu Te has the final say! The cabinet minister Zhao is the most powerful in the territory of the Ming Dynasty.
No matter how powerful it is, it is beyond the reach of the countries in Southeast Asia, and they can only rely on Governor Lutte's breath."
Normally, Guo Min would have been bluffed by Zuo Qiuci's rhetoric, but after Zhao Junchen's reminder, he already knew the true details of the seemingly powerful Dutch East India Company.
In short, it’s all about being strong on the outside and doing things on the inside.
Therefore, Guo Min also kept sneering and said: "No matter how strong the Dutch East India Company is, it still needs to rely on the national strength of the Netherlands. Once the Netherlands begins to gradually decline, the East India Company will be a rootless tree.
It’s nothing more than waterless ping!
As far as I know, the Netherlands is not simply declining in recent years. Because it lost the Dutch-French War and the Anglo-Dutch Naval War, its sphere of influence is being rapidly eroded by Britain and France, and it is even worried about national subjugation!
Under such circumstances, how long can the East India Company remain strong? Maybe in a few years, Britain and France will extend their tentacles to the Southeast Asia, and the Netherlands has already lost to them in the Western Ocean. Can it be able to defend the Southeast Asia?
"
In fact, Guo Min did not understand the changes in the situation in Western countries at all. He could not even distinguish the differences between the Netherlands, England, and France. At this time, he just repeated what Zhao Junchen taught him.
But Guo Min knew very well that his statement could definitely scare Zuo Qiuci.
After a pause, Guo Min sneered again: "So, the strength of our Zhao Gechen is as stable as a mountain, with no worries for a long time! The strength of the Dutch East India Company is precarious and full of hidden dangers! Therefore, Zhao Gechen and
The cooperation between the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch East India Company not only requires each other, but also the Dutch East India Company wants more from us, Zhao Gechen!
I also want to remind Mr. Zuoqiu that my family, Zhao Gechen, has far more choices than you. He can choose your Dutch East India Company or the Zheng family in Taiwan. He can also invest heavily in recruiting a group of pirates to go it alone. You can even think of it...
Find a way to contact Britain and France and invite them to enter Nanyang in advance!
But your Dutch East India Company does not have the choice like Zhao Gechen, nor can you wait patiently like Zhao Gechen! After losing the support of the Netherlands, if the Dutch East India Company still wants to defend Nanyang under the covetousness of Britain and France,
For the sphere of influence, we can only rely on the support of the Ming Dynasty, especially the support of Cabinet Minister Zhao! That Governor Lutte must be very aware of this, so he will actively respond to Zhao Cabinet’s cooperation proposal, right? "
What Guo Min said was obviously an exaggeration. For example, Zhao Junchen's official status in the Ming Dynasty was definitely not as stable as Mount Tai.
But Zuoqiu Ci was a foreigner. No matter how proficient in Chinese he was, he would not know Zhao Junchen's actual situation.
And although Guo Min does not understand the situation in Western countries, he understands human nature very well! In Guo Min's view, when the Netherlands was in rapid decline, people like the Dutch East India Company and people like Zuo Qiuming accepted the asylum of the Dutch East India Company.
The pirates must be panic-stricken and at a loss as to what to do now, and as long as they point this out directly, they can completely gain the upper hand during the negotiations.
This is also the negotiation strategy taught to Guo Min by Zhao Junchen.
Sure enough, after hearing Guo Min's direct analysis, Zuo Qiuming couldn't help but feel at a disadvantage, his expression changed, and he remained silent for a long time.
Guo Min, on the other hand, smiled like an old man and said: "Well, there is no point in arguing about these things. Let's continue to discuss cooperation! By the way, you just said that as long as Zhao Gechen shows enough sincerity, you can get that
Governor Rutte’s full support, but I don’t know... what kind of sincerity does Governor Rutte want?”
After Zuo Qiuci thought for a moment, he replied: "Zhao Gechen mainly proposed three cooperation contents. One is to plunder all the ocean-going ships of Ming Dynasty merchants, except for the ocean-going fleet formed by the Southeast Patrol Envoy Yamen.
, we will no longer cooperate with any merchants of the Ming Dynasty; the second is that we hope that we will purchase large quantities of grain from various countries in Southeast Asia and transport it to the Ming Dynasty; the third is that we want to secretly purchase a batch of advanced ships and guns...
As for these three cooperations, Governor Rutte has already nodded in agreement! As long as Zhao Gechen pays a sufficient price, both the Dutch East India Company and us Nanyang pirates are willing to actively cooperate with Zhao Gechen! But... Governor Rutte and
Some of my pirate allies have also put forward three conditions, hoping that Zhao Gechen can cooperate."
In fact, the Dutch East India Company and the Nanyang pirates put forward a total of more than a dozen conditions, but because Guo Min hit the point directly, Zuo Qiuci did not dare to be aggressive, so he deleted those conditions that were too harsh and irrelevant, and only retained
The three most core conditions are met.
Guo Min frowned and asked, "Oh? What are the three conditions?"
Zuoqiu Ci replied sincerely: "These three conditions are not too much to say, and they are even easier for Zhao Gechen! The first is the condition proposed by the Nanyang pirates...
In fact, among the pirates of Southeast Asia, there are also a large number of Han Chinese, who were once subjects of the Ming Dynasty. However, they either committed crimes and were wanted by the government, or they lost their land and were unable to make a living, so they took the risk and went to Southeast Asia to become pirates...
And they hope that Zhao Gechen can find a suitable time to arrange for them to return to their hometown, especially those who are wanted by the government, and hope that Zhao Gechen can find a way to pardon their crimes."
Zuo Qiuci also knew that although this condition was a small matter for Zhao Junchen, Guo Min was not qualified to agree on behalf of Zhao Junchen, so he put forward the last two conditions on his own, saying: "The other two
The conditions were proposed by Governor Rutte. First, he hoped that Zhao Gechen could allow the Dutch East India Company to enter the territory of the Ming Dynasty for trade, especially the gold and silver exchange business, which could no longer be monopolized by Portugal. Second, he hoped that Zhao Gechen could allow part of the
Refugees from the Ming Dynasty were sent to Southeast Asia and became employees and mercenaries of the Dutch East India Company..."
Just like Zuo Qiuci's expectation, Guo Min was not qualified to decide these matters and needed to ask Zhao Junchen's opinion.
So, Guo Min shook his head and said: "These three conditions are not trivial. I need to ask Zhao Gechen before I can give you an answer."
Zuo Qiu Ci had expected it and was about to say something else when he suddenly heard someone reporting outside the room: "Master Zuo Ci, a customer came to our store and said he had urgent news that he wanted to report to Boss Guo.
!”
After hearing this, Guo Min, who had the upper hand with the old god just now, suddenly changed his expression!
The fact that he came to "Haiyu Trading Company" to meet Zuo Qiuci was a secret, and he thought his whereabouts were hidden. Why was his whereabouts discovered anyway?
Guo Min couldn't help but look pale when he thought that he might have revealed Zhao Junchen's secret plan.