After all, Zeng Qi had been an official in the Ming Dynasty, and the Confucian concept of loyalty to the emperor could not be shaken off by Confucian scholars who had participated in the imperial examination. He did not want the Zhonghua Company to embark on the path of a complete break with the Ming Dynasty court, but now it seems that the Zhonghua Company has
We are facing the old path of Wang Zhi and other maritime merchants during the Jiajing period.
Yin Feng did not expect Zeng Qi to give him any good ideas: "For the current plan, we really can't come up with any good ideas. We can only wait and act. However, there are too many people involved in overseas trade in the Fujian government.
"More than that, I don't believe that an outsider like Xie Jun can do anything. We can just sit back and wait until there is no change in the government, and then we can enjoy the benefits of being a fisherman,"
Zeng Qi looked at him suspiciously and shook his head in disbelief.
The next day, Yin Feng sent an official document to the Governor of Fujian in the name of the Taiwan Inspection Department, saying that Japanese pirates had reappeared in the Jilong area and that troops needed to be organized to prevent Japanese pirates. At the same time, he issued an order to allow Taiwan Port and Anping Port to
, Dagou Port (later Kaohsiung) and the naval naval port Singang, Jilong Tamsui in Taipei, shipyards in Cavite, Cebu and other places on Luzon Island simultaneously started building a large number of ships; including transport sailing ships for both military and civilian purposes (
Mainly Chinese-style Fuchuan type), gunboats and other military ships (a combination of Chinese and Western sailing ships), fast sailing ships, especially quasi-clipping ships - as many as five fast ships were started at the same time. Within the jurisdiction of the Zhonghua Company, there were nearly 100 ships at the same time.
Construction of various ships began.
In June, the young lady Mai Wan'er gave birth to a son, which made the officer corps headed by the naval generals very excited, while the businessmen and civil servants headed by the Zeng family felt uneasy. Yin Feng did not know that at this time, the Zeng family
Shang Xia was planning to marry another daughter of the Zeng family to him as his official wife. Yin Feng had already left Taiwan and gone to Manila on Luzon Island. He was worrying about the battle against the Spanish Expeditionary Force. The person in charge of Taiwan's government affairs was Mr. Zeng Qi.
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At this time, news came from the mainland: one was that Zhejiang and Fujian began to interrogate the criminals in the major Japanese-traveling case at the same time; the other was that Xie Jun, the deputy envoy of Fujian Haidao, was about to inspect Taiwan Port; the other was helpless: Ye Xiang was
Gao Cai, the tax eunuch whom Gao had expelled, returned to Fuzhou. The tax eunuchs were directly subordinate to the emperor. Ye Xianggao, the chief assistant, had no right to remove him. Gao Cai was expelled four months ago because of Gao Cai.
Although Emperor Wanli had ignored the government affairs for a long time and had not seen the courtiers for many years, it did not mean that he knew nothing about the world outside the palace. On the contrary, he used the eunuchs to monitor every move of the courtiers.
He knew full well that Emperor Wanli could not tolerate the civil service system treating his servants like this. With just one sentence and an imperial edict from the inner court, Gao Cai returned to Fuzhou.
Zeng Qi thought of what Yin Feng had said: There was discord within the government. If something happened, the China Company could take advantage of it. He was worthy of being a veteran in officialdom. He was keenly aware of the opportunity and planned to take the initiative to use this opportunity to provoke a fight within the government.
He immediately cleared up the relationship, got in touch with Gao Cai, bribed Gao Cai with a large sum of money, and allowed him to cause trouble in Fujian, thus limiting the Fujian government's ability to implement the sea ban policy. The sea ban policy would undoubtedly cut off Gao Cai's financial path. If he could not
If gold and silver are collected from maritime merchants, the targets of the tax envoys and eunuchs will be transferred to anyone within the jurisdiction of the Fujian chief envoy.
The Zhonghua Company and Gao Cai were sworn enemies in the past. After the Penghu War and Yin Feng's recruitment, the Zhonghua Company regularly gave Gao Cai a fixed amount of gold and silver every year to buy him peace. Eunuch Gao also knew that the Zhonghua Company was not ordinary people who were not easy to mess with, so the two sides They have been basically peaceful for several years. Now, when the maritime ban policy is about to threaten the interests of both parties, Zhonghua Company and Gaocai are on the same front again.
It's just that Eunuch Gao Cai's movements were too violent, beyond the imagination of Zeng Qi and the entire Fujian government.
Fujian tax superintendent Gao Cai obtained funding from a Chinese company and built ships on the Minjiang River without authorization. He privately built a two-masted sea-going ship for the Japanese and purchased hundreds of thousands of gold worth of goods for the Japanese. By plundering, no value was given to the common people. As a result, the merchants and people became resentful and caused trouble at the gate of the governor's office and at Gaocai's residence.
Ding Jisi, the governor of Fujian, sent out government officials to drive away the people who were petitioning and making trouble. Xie Jun, the deputy maritime envoy, also sent people to seize Gao Cai's merchant ship that was preparing to go to sea.
Gao Cai was furious. He had been driven away by civil servants at the beginning of the year and was living in Nanjing. He had already accumulated deep grudges against the Fujian government. Now when he was furious, he had completely ignored everything. He used his power to mobilize the guards and himself. The guards and local gangsters he hired rushed into the streets of Fuzhou and slashed with knives, killing and wounding many people collecting debts. Since the Fujian government also seized his ship, he also pointed the finger at the governor's Yamen.
Gao Cai encouraged his soldiers to launch rockets, burn down people's houses, and break into the governor's office. He threatened the governor Ding Jisi with his sword exposed. Ding Jisi did not expect that Gao Cai would act so recklessly. When he was confused, he put all the blame on Xie Jun, the deputy envoy of Haidao. Above, Xie Jun was inspecting the Japanese ships on the Minjiang River. Gao Cai took the governor and other officials of the Yamen's inner court hostage without hesitation, and fiercely demanded that the government return all his merchant ships to him.
This kind of behavior that is almost banditry was carried out by the tax eunuchs of His Majesty the Emperor. All the civil servants and military generals were helpless to deal with it. The officers and soldiers of the Fuzhou Guard Station were encouraged and induced by Gao Cai, and they all followed Gao Cai. Within two days They caused smoke to cover the sky inside and outside Fuzhou City, with casualties everywhere, and the damage caused was almost greater than when the Japanese pirates attacked Fuzhou City.
Many of the soldiers under Xie Jun, the Haidao deputy envoy, also followed Eunuch Gao. Gao Cai got rid of a large sum of money on the spot. How could those officers and soldiers who had been owed their pay for many days not be jealous? Of course, these white money It was given to Gao Cai secretly by Zhonghua Company.
On the third day, there seemed to be a mutiny around Fuzhou City. Soldiers were everywhere. The merchant ship on the Min River was snatched back by Gao Cai's people. Officials held hostage.
The Chinese company-Huaxing joint store also suffered a disaster. The door was burned down by the rebels. A group of rebels broke into the store and attempted to rob it. Xu Xinsu, who was secretly handling the liaison with Gao Cai, was in the store and the bodyguard assigned to him showed his face. He picked up the Zhonghua Company's Chinese-character flag with a blue background, and pointed more than a dozen matchlock guns at the rebels. At this time, a sentry officer from the Funing Guards stood up, stopped the rebels who were about to move, and shouted loudly: "Those who don't know whether to live or die. Didn’t you see that this is a friend from Taiwan? We will have to rely on them for food in the future. Stop making trouble and go to Xue’s house in Nancheng. Their house has piles of gold and silver.”
Most of the Funing Guard soldiers had participated in the Battle of Penghu Island and knew how powerful the Zhonghua Company was. Now their minds were clear. After looking at each other for a while, they turned around and left. Before going out, the little sentry turned back and smiled at Xu Xinsu and others. He smiled and said softly: "Director Lin Xiao and I are old acquaintances. He brought me a message saying that Jiang Ping, the Funing Guard, is waiting for him."
Xu Xinsu let out a long breath, and a guard next to him asked him doubtfully: "Mr. Xu, what does this person mean?"
"It's one of our own, probably the backbone of Lin Xiao's Commercial Information Department," Xu Xinsu then sneered: "I didn't expect that this high eunuch was so bold that he actually tied up all the governor's Yamen officials. This move is comparable to what we did back then. There are too many robberies at sea." He turned back to the frightened store manager and said: "Sooner or later, this matter will involve our company. You should immediately transfer all the funds and personnel of the Fuzhou Store to Quanzhou Prefecture."
The rebels attacked the mansions of Fuzhou wealthy businessmen Xue Mingqi and Xue Rugang that night, burned their mansions, looted a large amount of gold and silver treasures, and killed the Xue family's housekeepers. These two had turned a blind eye to Zeng Qi's visit, respectively. The cousin and uncle-in-law of the chief minister, Ye Xianggao.
This matter soon became known throughout the country. Academicians Ye Xianggao, Fang Congzhe, Yao Yongji, and Guo Shangbin successively impeached Gao Cai. After the memorial was submitted, there was only one result: "No report", which means that there is no news like a cow in the sea. Already.
At the same time, the party disputes in the imperial court began again. Countless officials attacked Ye Xianggao for his inability to employ people, which led to the chaos in Fuzhou. Ye Xianggao and the officials who supported him accused Xie Jun, the deputy envoy of Haidao, for his inability to do things and caused the changes.
The incident broke out in October of that year, when Governor Ding Jisi was removed from his post, and Haidao Deputy Envoy Xie Jun was also removed from his post. Each party in the party dispute removed one person from his post. The turmoil gradually subsided. However, the main character who caused the turmoil, Gao Cai, still wields power in Fuzhou City. Make blessings.
After the new governor Yuan Yiji and the inspector Xu Jian took office, they had no intention of implementing the maritime ban policy and were entirely busy dealing with Gao Cai. However, the maritime ban policy was already in name only before it began to be enforced in Fujian.
There was also someone in the area under the jurisdiction of the Chief Secretary of Fujian who wanted to implement the maritime ban seriously, and that was Prince Xingquan Dao of Fujian in Jin Dynasty. This man was once famous in the original history. He had served as Yuan Chonghuan's boss and served as the manager of Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty.
However, the area around Quanzhou Prefecture is completely controlled by the China Company. The government officials, guardsmen, and Shuizhai Navy officers and soldiers all receive two salaries; one is issued by the China Company, and every month they receive a full ten cents. The other one was issued by the government, but it was never in full and never issued in time. Moreover, the naval officers and soldiers near Quanzhou were simply under the secret jurisdiction of the Chinese Navy Navy, so he was unable to mobilize any manpower or troops to carry out the mission. .
Yin Feng was in Luzon during this period, so Zeng Qi was in charge of Taiwan's government affairs. His plan was basically a success. Fujian officials were unable to implement any sea ban measures in the short term.
However, Chinese companies in Zhejiang and Guangdong do not have such strong influence and political resources as they do in Fujian. Therefore, except for Fujian, coastal areas have begun to implement the maritime ban policy more seriously, such as Hangzhou, Taizhou, Guangzhou, and Zhaoqing. The Zhonghua Company-Huaxing joint stores in other places were sealed. Finally, Huaxing Bank and the bank account involved too many funds from internal government personnel, so they were not affected.
According to Yin Feng's prior arrangements, the Chinese navy took resolute measures against those officials and businessmen who took the opportunity to break the Chinese company's sea monopoly.