Chapter 248 Governor of the Chinese West India Company (1)
--Remember!
Inspection of the land is a basic responsibility of the emperor. During the reign of the vast majority of emperors in China, they will inspect their own land. On the one hand, they will show off the emperor's authority and solve major events in some places. On the other hand, they will also appease the local area.
The local forces, the local people's sentiment and opinion, reflect the emperor's love for the people. Of course, there are also emperors who use inspections as an excuse, but are actually traveling around. Among them, the famous ones are Zhu Houzhao, the Zhengde Emperor of Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty, and the other ones are in another time and space.
Qianlong went to Jiangnan seven times.--./
Although the Chinese Empire did not regard itself as the successor of the Ming Dynasty, it was all countries established by the Han people. Therefore, the empire still had the right and obligation to fully accept the legacy left by the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, of course, at this time, Shang Yi decided to inspect Beijing, which was completely necessary, because Beijing was the capital after Qingting entered the pass, and at the same time, it turned out that the capital of the dynasty was a place with great political influence and was recovered.
After Beijing, Shang Yi, as the emperor of the Chinese Empire, inspected the Beijing area, which also had the greatest political significance. He could not only appease the people of Beijing area, but also use this northern tour to declare the dominance of the empire in the north. The emperor
The authority of the empire strengthens the dominance of the empire in these areas and shocks a few unstable people. In addition, in response to the current situation of Manchuria and Mongolia joining forces to fight against China, it can also be arranged nearby and can also inspire the morale of the soldiers ahead.
No matter when the empire finally denied its capital to Beijing and when it would move its capital to Beijing, this time the inspection of Beijing was also very necessary. The cabinet members did not object and unanimously agreed to Shang Yi's trip to Beijing.
However, the emperor's trip is not a simple matter. Qian needs to do a lot of preparation, itinerary, and how to determine the escort. Not only do you need to prepare in Nanjing, but also do a lot of preparation in Beijing.
Sending people to check in advance cannot be completed in a short period of time. In addition, envoys from various countries are still conducting various visits and exchanges in Nanjing, and there are many occasions that require Shang Yi to attend, so it is estimated that they will have to wait until nine.
This Northern Tour will only be completed in the month.
But no matter what, the itinerary for this Northern Tour has been determined and all work has begun.
At this moment, someone came to inform Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Chenggong and his son came to Beijing to meet him. Now Zheng Chenggong is waiting for the imperial edict outside the hall. Shang Yi heard this and nodded, saying, "Here he comes in." Several cabinet ministers saw him
It was okay, and they all said goodbye and left.
Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Chenggong and his son also made a special trip to visit this exhibition in the European Country. After the surrender of the Shaowu court in the Southern Ming Dynasty in Fujian, Shang Yi temporarily handed Fujian over to Zheng Chenggong. On October 18 last year, Shang Yi officially stated
Emperor Jianguo, Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Chenggong also came to Nanjing to congratulate him. Zheng Chenggong asked Shang Yi to hand over Fujian to the imperial management and sent local officials to the administrative work of Fujian Province. Shang Yi also agreed to Zheng Chenggong's request, and at the same time wanted to
Zheng Chenggong was organized into the Nanyang Fleet and became a squadron commander, but Zheng Chenggong refused. At that time, Shang Yi did not think about how to resettle Zheng Chenggong, so he had to leave Quanzhou to Zheng Chenggong so that he could resettle his old subordinates.
After hearing that after the visiting European delegation returned, Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Chenggong and his son were also quite interested, because in this era, Zheng Zhilong and his son were relatively few people with ocean awareness and overseas strategic vision. Because he was Zheng Zhilong, he was young. For a considerable period of time, I spent traveling between the countries of Southeast Asia, dealing with people from the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and other countries, and also had a considerable understanding of the overseas world.
Moreover, the father and son have also agreed that they do not intend to become officials in the imperial government, but instead re-engage Zheng Zhilong's old business and become a maritime businessman. Now that most of his subordinates have been dismissed, the remaining few are still thousands of trusted people. People, and their father and son have been around for a long time. The father and son also plan to find opportunities to mention to Shang Yi in the near future. However, after the New Year, the Chinese army began to launch a final attack on the Qing court, and the Zheng family and son were not inconvenient to this. When he disturbed Shang Yi, he dragged it down.
Now that the Qing court has been destroyed, the Chinese army has unified the whole country. Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Chenggong and his son also want to go to Beijing to meet Shang Yi in the near future. They happened to learn that the mission to visit Europe brought back a large number of European goods and envoys from various European countries. Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Chenggong also thought about coming to Nanjing to resign from Shang Yi, and at the same time, they could also learn about the situation in various European countries and see what business opportunities there were. After all, both father and son had not been in charge of business affairs for several years. So Zheng Chenggong immediately submitted a memorial to Nanjing to explain his intentions.
After receiving Zheng Chenggong's memorial, Shang Yi immediately issued an order, urging his father to go to Beijing.
Because Zheng Zhilong had no actual official position, after the father and son arrived in Nanjing, Zheng Chenggong entered the palace to meet Shang Yi. After Zheng Chenggong entered the palace to meet, Shang Yi also gave him a seat and said, "Ming Yan, from all over the European countries." Have you ever seen the exhibition?"
Zheng Chenggong said: "Report to the emperor, when I was docking, I took a look and saw that there were many people and was very lively. It was not because I was going to meet the emperor first, so I did not dare to stop watching. But my father was afraid at this time Have already seen it."
Shang Yi smiled and said, "Then you have to go and take a look after it later. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event. If you don't go and take a look, you may not have such an opportunity in the future."
Zheng Chenggong said: "The emperor has a great talent and profound knowledge. He also means that it is time to create a prosperous Chinese era. Therefore, there will be such a grand event in the future. Now it is not just a few countries, but there will be thousands of countries coming to pay tribute to us in the future. The prestige of the country must also be spread far beyond the waves of thousands of miles."
Shang Yi shook his head and smiled and said, "Don't give me a high hat. What kind of nations come to pay tribute? Although the world is big, it's good to have more than a hundred countries. And you should do things for overseas countries. It is clear that although they may not be as big as China, they have a long history. The country is not a minor dynasty, and their country has its own strengths. Therefore, this time they came to China, they did not come to China. Paying tribute is just an equal exchange. If we are arrogant and cover our eyes with a leaf, we cannot take advantage of our strengths and make up for our weaknesses, we will be behind our country long ago."
Zheng Chenggong hurriedly said: "The emperor's vision for the truth is beyond my ability."
Shang Yi smiled again and said, "Okay, let's talk about serious business. I have read your memorial. It seems that you don't want to help me create a prosperous era in China."
Zheng Chenggong said: "How dare I? The terrible ministers? The terrible ministers are the kings. If the emperor uses the terrible ministers, I should do my best to do my best. Even if I die, I will not regret it. I am just around the emperor.
He is a man who is a good at helping the world during the times and can attract talents who are good at fighting. He is a mediocre person, but his literature is not enough to maintain peace and martial arts, so he is afraid that he will mislead the emperor's trust and harm the emperor's British destiny. Therefore, he is only willing to leave his post and return his post.
The township, doing business and being a Zhu Tao Gong is enough." After a pause, he said: "The emperor often said that merchants barter goods, and they can communicate with the lack of goods between the north and the south, which is also beneficial to the country. With the material of the ministers and horses,
I can only do my best for the country in this way.”
Shang Yi couldn't help laughing when he heard this. After a while, he said, "Ming Yan, these cliches need not be said. As long as everyone works hard, farmers pay rent, and merchants' taxes are of course made for the country.
The contribution is only different from the big or small, high or low. With your talent, being a businessman is really a waste of talent."
Zheng Chenggong was about to speak again, but was interrupted by Shang Yi and said, "But I know your concerns, so I want to arrange something for you. After doing it, you can do whatever you want.
”
After hearing this, Zheng Chenggong hurriedly said, "Please make it clear."
Shang Yi took the map and said, "Look, from China to Europe, there are more than 100,000 miles apart from the ocean, and a voyage of at least seven or eight months, or a year or two. There must be a place to connect to the middle of the journey.
Cultivate ships to replenish water and food, otherwise you will not be able to reach Europe. Now European countries have two connection locations on the way, one is India, that is, the ancient country of India, and the other is the Cape of Good Hope in Africa.”
Shang Yi said while pointing out these two places on the map. When Zheng Chenggong saw that these two places were indeed in the middle between China and Europe, Shang Yi said again: "This visit to Europe."
During the trip, our fleet stopped and repaired at these two places, but it was just a place where the British were borrowed. From India, Britain, and Portugal established East India companies here, but if China wants to trade with Europe
, we cannot always rely on strongholds in other countries, and we must also establish our own settlements in these two places. Since Europeans can establish strongholds in these two places, then we Chinese people should do the same. And we ourselves
After negotiations with the British, they will help us establish a stronghold in India and establish a Chinese West India Company, but it will start next year, so I want to leave this matter to you, and now we will start preparing personnel ships immediately,
Do you want to go to do it at the end of the year or early next year?”
After signing a series of peace treaties with the British, Shang Yi also began to prepare to arrange candidates for Chinese ambassadors to the UK and candidates and teams to colonize India. Relatively speaking, it is easy to find candidates for ambassadors to the UK, after all, it is
The Duke and Duke are still found by those who are familiar with overseas affairs. It is difficult to choose the candidates and teams in colonizing India, because to put it bluntly, it is the election of the governor of India, and it is the first one, and many things have to be started from scratch.
This not only requires a comprehensive talent who is familiar with overseas affairs and proficient in commercial trade, but also has strong administrative command and military capabilities.
This is not easy to find. People from the Admiralty Department can fight and have certain administrative organizational and command capabilities, but they are not familiar with overseas affairs and business. People from the Foreign Ministry understand business and overseas affairs, but they do not know how to fight. Therefore,
Shang Yi also felt very embarrassed, so he could only choose two people to complement each other, but the two people were not the same person. What if there was a conflict if there was a disagreement? In India, it was a place far away from the emperor.