Chapter 2770 Capital (one hundred and twenty-three)
However, he remembered what his master had said: the calmer the sea, the more likely it is that a storm is brewing. There seemed to be something strange about this strange calmness.
Do you want to leave the capital for a while?
Zhou Lezhi thought for a long time, and it was not impossible to say that there was no place to go. He went back to the Wang family farm in Jinhua every year, and now it has been running a successful business. The Wang family is a local gentry, and they are surrounded by his family's tenants. There are dozens of servants in the farm.
They were all personally trained by the master back then, and were later equipped with specially purchased Nanyang rifles and pistols. It can be said that it is a very safe place. However, it is a long way from here to Jinhua, and the thieves have the opportunity to intercept them halfway.
After all, the capital is at the feet of the emperor, and the minions of various yamen are everywhere. No matter how powerful the thieves are, they can't act unscrupulously in the capital. As long as you are careful, you won't cause big problems.
He did not add more bodyguards. Except for Wang Zhi and Xu Yong, there was no one else around him. Liu Zhao suggested that he add more bodyguards, especially the heroes of the world raised by several princes, but he still declined. There were too many people and they were too eye-catching.
It is also far from his status as a "miracle doctor".
Now, because Liu Zheng's whereabouts are unknown, he has even abandoned his identity as a miracle doctor. His external identity is just a scholar studying in the capital. There are countless such people in the capital, but it is not easy to attract attention.
Now, he has no choice but to lurk in secret, waiting for the next opportunity.
After Zhou Lezhi's visit, Qian Taichong forgot about the emperor's summons and devoted himself to planning the establishment of a sugar factory. Sugar production was highly profitable and a good way to make money quickly.
.Although it is necessary to cooperate with the Kun thief, it is a helpless move.
As for the Kun thieves being a feud, they don't care much about it now. Fortunately, the people around Damu are following his lead, so the resistance is expected to be much smaller.
He also had an extra eye. If the candy was made, it would probably only be sold to thieves, and the bulk of the profits would still not be with him. If he could directly transport it out of Fujian and sell it without going through thieves, wouldn't he be able to make a lot of money?
Especially this time, I have gained a lot from my activities in the capital. If I can transport sugar directly to the capital...
But then I thought again, there is no other way to transport bulk goods from Anping except sea transportation. After all, there is still no way around the thief.
If the Kun thief does not allow Zheng's ships to sail overseas, no matter how much sugar he makes, he can only sell it to the Kun merchants.
The Kun thieves implemented a complete blockade of Zhangzhou Bay. Only ships flying their flags could enter and exit Zhangzhou Bay. Anyone could apply for the flag, but former members of the Zheng Group could not apply.
This is tantamount to strangling the Zheng family's trade route in disguise. In order to avoid being completely strangled, the various stocks removed by the split of the Zheng Group had to change their banners and "sell" the ships under their names to agents, who would then sell them to agents.
Go apply.
Although this "skin change" can fool Kun Thief, the price of the flag is high. Kun Thief also implements a "merchant ship home port registration" system. If the port of Zhangzhou Bay is used as the home port, the registration fee will be increased by 20%.
In order to save 20% of the cost, the home ports have been registered in other places.
Over time, the various owners of the original Zheng Group gradually realized that they had lost direct control over their ships. Maritime merchants mostly raised "adopted sons" as agents for overseas trade. Now, the policy of thieves has made these "adopted sons" become
All the ships and flags under the Senate's Maritime Order. It wouldn't matter if everything was peaceful. If there was some kind of turmoil, these ships would have nothing to do with me in an instant!
Although he has awakened, it cannot change the reality. Qian Taichong is clear to onlookers and he knows it well.
After much deliberation, I had no choice but to resort to the "agent" method. Fortunately, Totaro and others were quite reliable and could be trusted.
As long as the ship can sail out, it can make money. As for how to earn this money, it is another matter. At present, Qian Taichong must first make the entire group survive. Whether it is Matos's black mercenaries or Tontaro's Japanese samurai, just
You cannot survive by relying on the word "loyalty".
If the Zheng family can be revived, it won't be a problem to endure temporary grievances.
However, if he is willing to bow his head, how can he get the sugar factory owned by the Kun thief? He has been the enemy of the Kun thief these years, and can be regarded as a rare person who "knows Kun", but he really has not paid attention to the sugar factory.
, Mr. Le said that Kun Thief would sell equipment regularly, but he just wanted to go to Guangzhou...
While I was thinking wildly, suddenly the steward of the guild hall came to report: "There are guests outside to pay homage."
The guest who came to pay homage was none other than the Jinyiwei Military Academy where he had been taken not long ago. However, this time they were much more polite. Not only did they greet him, they also called him "Sir" and invited him into a small sedan chair.
The sedan was lifted up, and the bearer walked as fast as the wind. He walked no matter how far it was in the darkness. When he got out of the sedan, he was in a passage with red eaves and red walls, which showed that he was in a palace.
Qian Taichong did not dare to say anything and just waited outside the sedan chair. After a while, two officials came and led him to a palace to kneel down and wait.
He knew that the person who saw him must be the emperor. The last time he asked him to "stay in the guild hall and don't leave the capital" meant that the emperor would still summon him. At this moment, his mood was both fearful and happy.
In the last meeting, the emperor's interest was mostly in the Kun thief, and he did not express much to the Zheng family. However, since the emperor was very interested in the Kun thief, he took advantage of the "anti-Kun" trend to ask the emperor to support the Zheng family.
Sen, is currently the most feasible method.
He remembered Mr. Le's words and thought about it several times in his mind. Then he heard footsteps outside. He quickly made a respectful appearance and waited for the emperor's arrival.
The sound of boots was heard, and someone could be heard passing by. At this time, a young eunuch reminded him softly: "See you!" Qian Taichong quickly stood up, signed in, and knelt down to worship as expected.
Since Emperor Chongzhen summoned Yang Sichang, he has accepted the advice of "fighting foreign forces to secure domestic peace" in his heart, and has taken defensive positions in the north and south directions to wipe out "rogue bandits" at home.
As for the Donglu, due to the recent outstanding performance of Sun Yuanhua and the Dengzhou Army, the situation has gradually stabilized. The Jianlu invaded North Korea last year, although it greatly shocked the Korean government and the public, and once forced it to abandon the defense of Seoul.
, but in the end it was because of the active actions of Sun Yuanhua commanding the Dengzhou Army, first to save Ganghwa Island, secondly to save Namhan Mountain City, and thirdly to fight against the Yalu River, that they returned without success. Korea is still a vassal of the Ming Dynasty.
If North Korea cannot be captured, the Manchu Qing's eastern wing will be unstable. The imperial court's defense line in the Ningjin area is basically unimpeded. As for the Kun thieves in the south, although they have captured Guangdong and Guangxi, they have stopped at Wuling. At present, both the northern and southern fronts are divided.
There is no major battle. It is a good time to wipe out the bandits.
But on the southern front, there are relatively big hidden dangers. The Kun thieves are extremely powerful, and they have won many fierce battles with less. The imperial officers and soldiers are too numerous to defeat them, and they cannot be suppressed without heavy troops. However, after the fall of Guangdong and Guangxi, the imperial army in the south
The heavily armed group has been completely lost. The provinces of Jiangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Fujian either have insufficient military strength or are internally unstable, and cannot produce any decent troops for "defense." Although Fu Zonglong is a capable military officer, the governor of Southern Jiangxi under his command
There are also several battalions of men and horses, but compared to the long battle line and the illustrious combat power of the Kun Thieves, they feel somewhat inadequate. When the Kun Thieves come to attack, the so-called defense line is just a thin piece of paper.
If they wanted to build a new heavily armed group like the Guan Ning Army in Ningjin, the imperial court would have to go bankrupt.
Therefore, how to "spend less and do more" has become the most important issue for the emperor and ministers. "Appeasement" is obviously the cheapest and most realistic option.
Of course, the emperor was quite hesitant about recruiting the giant captives. After all, the Jianlu and the Kun thieves had already "split the earth to build the Hao". No matter what the specific recruitment conditions were, the imperial court and himself would lose face. Especially for those who have been diligently striving to be "a" giant.
For the Holy King Chongzhen, it was even more difficult to accept psychologically. In particular, many ministers in both the government and the public opposed the recruitment. Once the rumor of recruitment was revealed, the emperor was not sure how many people would fiercely oppose it.
Although he was a "holy dictator", no matter how fierce the opposition from his courtiers, he could not shake his political intentions. However, the young emperor valued his "style evaluation" of himself more than his ancestors. He often hesitated before major initiatives.
In this "appeasement", he also took it one step at a time. He had revealed some of his thoughts to the cabinet ministers. Judging from their ambiguous calls, they either didn't fully understand what he meant, or they were confused.
Deliberately pretending to be confused.
"None of these scoundrels are willing to slander your father!" The emperor was secretly angry in his heart. That's all for the others. Wen Tiren has been called a "good understanding of the emperor" since he entered the cabinet, but in this matter,
However, he was not very active. Naturally, once the news of the peace talks was leaked, there would inevitably be another turmoil in the court. And Wen Tiren's attitude further reduced the emperor's trust in him.
This is only a matter for the court. Although the emperor is young, he still understands the basic principles. Even if he tries his best to push the court to negotiate a peace. But this is a matter of your will and mine. If we don’t put any pressure on Kun Thief, Kun Thief will
Not necessarily willing to.
The high-profile collection of "Kong's wages", the appointment of Fu Zonglong as the governor of Southern Jiangxi to "train troops"... and other measures are all to put pressure on the Kun thieves and make them realize that the imperial court still has the ability to devote all its strength to a war.
In addition to Fu Zonglong, cultivating a partial force to contain the Kun thieves was also a way. He had already thought of this idea when he summoned Qian Taichong for the first time.
The emperor witnessed the rise and fall of the Zheng Zhilong Group. Although the "Southeast Sea Giant Canal" no longer exists, Qian Taichong was not only familiar with Kun's love, but also had a passion for business. Zheng Sen and the Kun thieves also had murderers
Father's hatred.
With a little support, you can have a partial force that can contain the Kun thieves. The key is that it doesn't cost the court much money.