At the end of May, Zhu Hao led the fleet to Nanjing.
After entering Nanjing, he kept a low profile. Su Xigui had already arranged a place for him, so he did not need to live in the mansion of the Minister of Industry in Nanjing. He did not even go to the Ministry of Industry in Nanjing to complete the handover of his duties.
Guan Dezhao came to visit him at his private residence that night and brought him the latest news: "...the first batch of sea ships were sent out at the beginning of the year, but no news has been sent back until now. The shipyard here has stopped working...The imperial court has not allocated silver for a long time.
, it has been difficult to maintain..."
For the Ming Dynasty naval expedition, Guan Dezhao did not go with the fleet, but Guan Jing and Lu Bing both went, and the Zhoushan Islands set off after the first naval battle.
Guan Dezhao was not a commander-in-chief. He stayed in Nanjing, mainly to help Zhu Hao keep an eye on the "business" here. In order to sustain the sustainable development of his industry, Zhu Hao invested in Nanjing's weaving, printing and dyeing, colored glaze workshops and the steel in Ma'anshan.
The factory has always been open. Although the profit is not necessarily high, the annual income is very fixed, bringing economic benefits to the people in Jiangnan.
The person who came to manage the business here before was Ouyang Fei, the head of the Ouyang family, who was nominally Zhu Hao's concubine.
Guan Dezhao then presented to Zhu Hao the general ledger of business in the Jiangnan area in the past few months, especially the expenses.
Zhu Hao was not in a hurry and sent someone to call Su Xigui.
…
…
Now Su Xigui's hometown is not in Nanjing. He is from Yangzhou, the same hometown as his brother-in-law Huang Zan.
"Little Master, I have inspected the business here. Everything is fine. The Sixth Department of Nanjing has not interfered with the workshops we run, and the garrison yamen has also been taken care of. After Cheng Guogong passed away, Nanjing is now guarded by Wei Guogong.
Pulse control..."
Nanjing's officialdom has not changed much in the past few years, and its power structure is clear at a glance. The officials who moved from the capital are like strong dragons crossing the river, and the local snakes are the ministers of the Ministry of War, the garrison ministers and the garrison central officials. Although the Nanhu Department has tax collection
authority, but most of the time they are just rich and have no authority to interfere with the government.
"There is someone who wants to meet you." Su Xigui said.
Zhu Hao frowned: "Who?"
Su Xigui submitted a greeting card, and it turned out to be Yan Song, who was an attendant of the Nanjing Hanlin Academy and was in charge of the affairs of the Nanjing Hanlin Academy. Su Xigui seemed to value Yan Song very much.
"When Huang Gong was a minister in Nanjing, he had many contacts with Yan Hanlin. However, he did not know where he heard the news that the young master was coming to Nanjing, so he specially asked his connections to send the greeting card to me. I told him
…It’s a one-sided relationship, but it’s too high to reach…”
Su Xigui claimed that he could not compete with Yan Song, but in terms of actual status, it was Yan Song who could compete with Su Xigui.
It was not a matter of clinging to power, but more of wanting to take advantage of Su Xigui's strong connections. After all, Yan Song was only an official in Nanjing's officialdom in the traditional sense. If he had not been admired by Zhu Houcong when he entered Beijing and stayed, he might have been wandering around Nanjing all his life.
It is difficult to reach high-level officials.
The situation is different with Su Xigui. Su Xigui not only has Zhu Hao as his great backer, but his brother-in-law Huang Zan is now the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He will take over as the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs at any time, holding the title of official in the world. Standing in front of local officials
From this perspective, Huang Zan was one of the "golden phoenixes who emerged from the mountains", and his connections in Nanjing's official circles were far deeper than those in the capital.
Su Xigui, a seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister's door, is not a disciple. He is also a famous white glove among Hui merchants. Yan Song wants to see Su Xigui, so he may have to hand over a greeting card.
Zhu Hao frowned and said, "I don't want to have too much contact with this person."
Zhu Hao does not intend to forcefully deal with Yan Song, a traitor who has a reputation in history. Just like some of the things he has done forcefully before, it seems that the results are not very good, so it is better to let nature take its course. Besides, he does not want to engage in any factional struggle now.
The goal has been set overseas.
Su Xigui said: "This Yan Hanlin is an old disciple of the former Chief Assistant Yang Ge. He is said to be a disciple, but in fact he only had some correspondence with him. Although he was promoted by Yang Ge, it is actually just a small step in the officialdom. From
The editor of the Southern Hanlin Academy was promoted to the rank of Attendant. It stands to reason that he should have been promoted after sixteen years in the Hanlin Academy.
"But precisely because of his unclear relationship with Mr. Yang Ge, his position was awkward after His Majesty took office, and many people avoided him. There were even rumors that his position as director of the Southern Hanlin Academy would be taken down and he would be ordered to
To become an official. For this reason, he wants to curry favor with the young master, eliminate the current negative influence, or even further transfer him to the capital."
Zhu Hao smiled, Su Xigui spoke very directly, without any secrets.
"Dongzhu Su, you have always been unprofitable. Could it be that this Yan Song can give you any benefit to let you speak for him like this?" Zhu Hao asked with interest.
Su Xigui smiled ashamedly and said, "What can he give? I just think that this person is serious about his work, treats people well, has a good official reputation, and his future may be unlimited, and he is not comparable to ordinary Confucian officials."
Su Xigui is pretty good at judging people.
He admired Yan Song because Yan Song had an inexplicable affinity. To put it bluntly, he had a very high level of flattering people.
Moreover, he is very eye-catching, and when he comes into contact with him, he feels like a spring breeze, and he understands the feeling of repaying his kindness. In addition, this person has never had a prominent position. The most important relationship between the DPRK and China is Yang Tinghe, and now Yang Tinghe has become a thorn in the emperor's side.
This is a thorn in the flesh, which means that Yan Song does not have a strong background in the court.
People who know how to do things appropriately and have the ability are actually very lovable.
Su Xigui felt that Yan Song, who was born as a Shujishi, could always remember him, be devoted to him, and even be willing to give him some official conveniences, so he should reciprocate and introduce him.
Zhu Hao thought to himself, if you knew that this person would cater to his superiors in the future, hold power in the government with one hand, and treat his political opponents ruthlessly, you probably wouldn't think he is a good person.
"Still missing."
Zhu Hao has no plans to punish Yan Song now, but he also has no plans to recruit him as his younger brother. It will do him no good at all to take such a talented person under his command. Historically, Yan Song showed no mercy to Xia Yan, who promoted him.
He chased and beat him fiercely, intensified the persecution, and even spread rumors that caused Xia Yan to be beheaded on the order of Emperor Jiajing. His despicable character was evident. Promoting Yan Song was like raising a white-eyed wolf.
"I came to Nanjing not to take over as Minister of the Ministry of Industry in Nanjing. The mission entrusted by His Majesty is to let me go overseas to find a panacea. Although it is not necessary for me to go there in person, the officialdom of Nanjing has nothing to do with me."
What Zhu Hao meant was not that I deliberately targeted Yan Song, but that I would not have any substantial contact with anyone in the Nanjing officialdom.
Su Xigui shook his head and sighed: "That's such a pity."
Although he didn't explain clearly what it was that was a pity, Zhu Hao could sense it.
The so-called pity is that Zhu Hao had the opportunity to use the emperor's favor to clean up and rectify Nanjing's officialdom, recruit Nanjing's Minister of War, garrison ministers and garrison lieutenants under his command, and establish a strong network of contacts in the south of the Yangtze River, whether doing business in the future
Or being the chief assistant in the center will be of great help.
Zhu Hao is like crossing the treasure mountain without entering.
…
…
Zhu Hao only did two things in Nanjing.
The first is to raise money and hire people, and the second is to prepare to go to sea.
Less than three days after Zhu Hao arrived in Nanjing, a disciple named Zhang Lianjiao hired by Lu Wan came to pay his respects.
Lu Wan went to the capital to report on his duties, and may have to accept a new appointment from Emperor Jiajing. This Zhang Lienjiao was just a living member. It is said that Lu Wan received help from this man when he was in trouble at Jinghaiwei, so that after Lu Wan was appointed by the imperial court,
So he took Zhang Lian as his staff.
"... Mr. Lu made a special statement before he left that he would treat Master Zhu very well after he goes south."
Although Zhang Lianjiao does not hold an official position, he has a rich net worth.
This person is in his forties. It seems that it will be difficult for him to take the provincial examination and become an official in the court in the future. He can only get a position by being a master, relying on the power of the boss to run a network in the officialdom and make friends with officials at all levels.
To pave the way for future generations to enter the imperial court.
This time when he saw a "big man" like Zhu Hao, he behaved extremely respectfully. He was about to kneel down to salute, but was stopped by Zhu Hao.
Zhu Hao asked: "Before Lu Zhongcheng left, he didn't say anything about the difficulties in Jinghai in the south? The bandits along the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang were wiped out by his army, but the land of Fujian and Guangdong is not peaceful. When he leaves, I'm afraid there will be
Make the bandits come back."
Zhang Lianjiao said: "No problem. The security posts along the coast have been dispatched frequently in the past year. Pirates, Japanese pirates and insurgents have retreated to overseas islands and do not dare to invade."
Zhu Hao shook his head: "The bandits are on the island, don't they want to eat? It's uncomfortable to be hungry... In order not to starve to death, those bandits will inevitably continue to harass the people in the coastal areas and rob the ships. We can't count on them.
Are you going to farm your own land and be self-sufficient? Although I am not going south this time to lead troops to defeat the invaders, I still have to take care of coastal defense matters."
Zhu Hao, as the Minister of the Ministry of Industry in Nanjing, did not have any control over the war in the south.
In fact, this was Zhu Si's little thought. To prevent Zhu Hao from using the army to "make a fuss", it did not mean that Zhu Si was prepared for Zhu Hao to lead the rebellion, but that Zhu Hao felt that if he stayed in the south to fight, his return to the capital would be even further away.
Zhu Si checked and found that it would take three to five years to completely pacify Jinghai. This time Zhu Si transferred Lu Wan back to the capital. There was also a way for Zhu Hao to go to the south. He had to contact Nanjing garrison and local officials in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
The intention is to create some trouble for Zhu Hao's troops.
In addition, Zhu Hao himself was just the Minister of the Ministry of Industry in Nanjing. Zhu Si felt that this would definitely make Zhu Hao retreat in spite of the difficulties.
But in fact, Zhu Hao's purpose is not to pacify pirates and Japanese pirates, but to take a group of people out to sea. Zhu Si has no restrictions on this... Maybe Zhu Hao feels that Zhu Hao will come back soon after going to sea. After all, overseas are all
A place where hair grows and drinks blood has value for exploration but not value for long-term residence or even business.
If you don't come back, will you stay overseas and live with the "savages"?
Zhang Lianjiao said: "If Mr. Zhu wants to meet someone, the student can introduce him to him."
Lu Wan left for the capital, but the significance of leaving Zhang Lianjiao behind was fully realized.
As a close confidant of Lu Wan, Zhang Lienjiao had no official position, but when local officials wanted to talk to Lu Wan, they had to go through Zhang Lienjiao's path. In addition, Zhu Hao's current status in the court was no longer a secret.
So as long as Zhang Lienjiao helps introduce him, who dares not to give Zhu Hao face?
And Zhu Hao did not need those staid and pedantic civil servants to submit to him.
Civil servants were of no value to him at all.
What he wants is the relationship network of the various guard posts along the coast, especially those who command the guards and command the officials, and then to the thousands of households, hundreds of households, etc. below, to fully mobilize them and recruit manpower, so that the preparations for going to sea can be completed