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The three-session imperial examination on the first, third and fifth day of the first lunar month was over. Although the examiners were anonymous and it would take about ten days to announce the rankings, everyone had some idea of how they did.
When thousands of scholars walked out of the Jiangnan Imperial Examination Hall, some were happy and some were sad. But regardless of whether they were happy or sad, many people chose to go to brothels. There were countless brothels in the ten-mile Qinhuai River, and they were all overcrowded.
Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, visiting brothels after the imperial examinations has almost become a kind of "historical sedimentation".
The honor and disgrace of a lifetime depended on this. The imperial examination not only affected one's own fate, but also carried the hopes of parents, wife and children, clansmen, and even the entire village. During the examination, the pressure on each person was too heavy.
People who think they did well in the exam go to brothels to celebrate. People who think they did not do well in the exam also use brothels as a common way to relieve stress.
As an envoy of the Zheng family, Zheng Jie rushed to Jinling City without stopping. It was the time when thousands of scholars walked out of the Jiangnan Examination Hall. Seeing the scene of people's heads moving around, Zheng Jie was secretly shocked.
It was well known that the imperial examination was a means for the emperor to bribe scholars. From another perspective, the fact that so many scholars came to take Qin Mu's special examination was enough to show people's support.
The Qin State had already established a system for receiving envoys. First, the officials of the Honglu Temple would come forward to accommodate them, and then report to the higher authorities. It was no longer easy for Zheng Jie to meet Qin Mu directly.
The person who received Zheng Jie was Gan Nan, the Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple. After reporting to Qin Mu, Qin Mu did not change the person and directly let Gan Nan be responsible for the talk with Zheng Jie.
In the Honglu Temple, Zheng Jie was somewhat dissatisfied and repeatedly asked to meet Qin Mu.
Gan Nan was wearing a bright and elegant black official robe, which was worn meticulously. He smiled and said, "If Envoy Zheng does not want to talk to me, I will not force him."
Zheng Jie was the Minister of Rites during the Longwu Dynasty. Gannan called him "Envoy Zheng" and called himself "this official", which sounds a bit harsh.
However, this is not Gannan's fault. The Qin State has never recognized the legitimacy of the Longwu small court. Gannan naturally would not regard Zheng Jie's position as worthy of his status.
Seeing that Gan Nan was about to leave, Zheng Jie didn't care about his address. He immediately asked, "Master Gan, are you here on behalf of the King of Qin?"
"Yes!"
"Okay, please take a seat, Master Gan."
"Envoy Zheng, please take a seat."
Zheng Jie became the host, but Gan Nan didn't care. He sat down and said with a smile, "In my Great Qin, we all pay attention to efficiency in handling official business. Therefore, from my king to the officials, we don't like to drag things out. Envoy Zheng, please tell me what you are here for."
"In that case, I will speak frankly. I came here on orders in the hope that our two countries will make peace and never fight again."
"So, Envoy Zheng is here on behalf of the King of Tang?"
"The King of Tang has succeeded to the throne as the Emperor of Ming..."
Gan Nan interrupted him with a smile: "Then we have nothing to talk about."
"Lord Gan, wait a minute." Seeing Gan Nan calm and ready to leave, Zheng Jie finally had to face reality, "My family's Duke Ping is willing to make peace with the King of Qin and never fight again."
"Zheng Zhilong colluded with the Tartars and first attacked our Great Qin. Now he says he doesn't want to fight anymore. Where does he put our Great Qin? If he really wants to stop the war, he must show some sincerity."
"The previous conflict between the two armies was just a misunderstanding, and my Duke Ping has no intention of surrendering to the Qing. The Qin King raised the banner of justice to drive out the Tartars. My Zheng family's 200,000 land and sea troops are willing to follow the Qin King's banner, serve as the southeastern defense of Qin, and forever guard Fujian. To show sincerity, my Duke Ping is willing to send his eldest son to Beijing as a hostage."
Zheng Jie's words surprised Gan Nan a little. According to intelligence, Zheng Sen has always been regarded as a talented young man of the Zheng family. Could it be that Zheng Zhilong was too disappointed with Zheng Sen's recent behavior, so he decided to send Zheng Sen to Nanjing as a hostage
In the main hall of the palace, Qin Mu, Sima An, Zhuge Min, Li Yuan, He Liang, Gu Jun'en, and Liu Meng were also discussing the affairs of Fujian. The situation in Fujian not only concerns Fujian Province, but will also have a far-reaching impact on the four provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou.
Therefore, we cannot just focus on Fujian, but also need to look at the overall situation.
Zhuge Min said: "King of Qin, after the northern barbarians obtain food and grass, the army will be on the border. At this time, our Great Qin will have to focus on dealing with the northern barbarians, and it will be difficult to withdraw heavy troops to pacify the southwest. The Zheng family in Fujian has nearly 200,000 soldiers and a navy to rely on. I think it is not appropriate to push them too hard now. It is better to appease them first, and it will not be too late to slowly weaken them in the future."
Zhuge Min's words were exactly what Qin Mu was considering. How to treat the Zheng family would be most beneficial to the Qin Dynasty. This indeed requires some wisdom.
He Liang said, "King of Qin, Zheng Zhilong is only interested in profit and has no ambition. The Qin can regard him as a major threat, but it is not necessary to regard him as a major threat. The key is Zhu Yujian. Zhu Yujian's stay or departure is related to the support of Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou.
In my opinion, it may not be beneficial to depose Zhu Yujian immediately. Since Zhu Yujian proclaimed himself emperor, although he was recognized as the master by Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou, he was controlled by the Zheng family and was actually a puppet. Therefore, he had no control over Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan.
If Zhu Yujian is deposed immediately, with the northern barbarian army pressing down on us and our army unable to look south, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou are likely to establish new rulers, which will be disadvantageous to our Qin. Therefore, I think it is okay to accept Zheng Zhilong's conditions, but it is necessary to let him raise the banner of Longwu first. "
Qin Mu glanced at Sima An and the others and asked, "Do you have any other opinions?"
Sima An pondered and said, "I'm afraid this may not be effective. Huang Daozhou led his troops to break into the palace to rescue the emperor, and a large number of Longwu officials fled to Guangdong and Guangxi. In addition, Longwu fell off his horse and was seriously injured, which is bound to make people more confused. Even if Zheng Zhilong wants to raise the banner of Longwu, he may not be able to raise it again, especially in Guangdong and Guangxi. There is a high possibility that a new emperor will be appointed."
The current situation is that those who are willing to surrender to Qin have basically surrendered to Qin, and those who have fled to Guangdong and Guangxi are mostly sentimental to Zhu Ming, so it is difficult to persuade them to surrender. In this way, as Sima An said, the possibility of them establishing a new monarch will be very high.
However, it is impossible that all the people in Guangdong and Guangxi are loyal to Zhu Ming.
According to Ye Bu Shou's report, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Ding Kuichu, was not a good person and was probably not that loyal to Zhu Ming.
Since Ding Kuichu was appointed Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi during the Hongguang period, he has been enjoying himself every day. He has three or four hundred wives and concubines at home and has accumulated dozens of warehouses of wealth.
Two months ago, he sent his navy to Lingyang Gorge near Zhaoqing to drain the river and take inkstone stones from the old pit under Fuke Mountain. His administration and appointment of personnel were all based on the amount of bribes. He was indeed a foolish, incompetent, and pleasure-seeking person.
However, the situation in Guangdong and Guangxi is quite chaotic now. Although Ding Kuichu is the governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi, he only controls the areas around Zhaoqing and Wuzhou.
Guangzhou and other places were actually controlled by Wang Huacheng, the governor of Guangdong, Gu Yuanjing, the governor, Lin Jiading, the provincial governor, and others. Guilin and Liuzhou in Guangxi were controlled by Qu Shisi, the governor of Guangxi.
However, Ding Kuichu is still a good breakthrough point. After discussing with everyone, Qin Mu decided to take Ding Kuichu first, cut off Guangxi and Guangdong, and prevent the two forces from connecting together. In this way, the impact of Fujian's changes on Guangdong and Guangxi can be reduced a lot.
Afterwards, Qin Mu personally met with Zheng Jie and said to him directly: "This king can accept Zheng Zhilong's surrender and agree to appoint him as the general of Fujian to take charge of Fujian's defense. According to the system of our Great Qin, generals are not allowed to interfere in local government affairs. Therefore, Fujian will be governed entirely by officials sent by this king."
Zheng Jie learned from some unknown channel that the Qing army was preparing to march south in large numbers, and his attitude began to become tough. He replied: "My family, Duke Ping, sincerely surrendered and is willing to be the southeastern defense of Qin. Fujian has eight mountains, one river, and one piece of land, and the production is not abundant. Fujian should be kept for supporting the army, otherwise the soldiers in the southeast will not be able to live in peace."
Qin Mu sneered and said, "Zheng Jie, don't refuse a toast and drink a penalty. Do you think I can't do anything to your Zheng family? I believe that the Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish are definitely interested in the trade privileges of my Qin. As long as I give them some concessions, I believe they will be willing to cooperate with me and attack Fujian by land and sea. If that happens, are you confident that the Zheng family can keep Fujian?"
Zheng Jie was secretly shocked when he heard this. The Zheng family controlled the southeast waterway, which had a conflict of interest with the Westerners. The two sides had been arguing with each other for a long time. Now Qin Mu controlled the richest Jiangnan and Huguang. If he agreed to give Westerners trade privileges, then reaching an alliance with them would not be a problem at all.
With the joining of Westerners, the advantage of Zheng family navy will be offset. Not counting the army, Qin Mu will be able to fight against Zheng family with the navy alone.
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.(To be continued..)
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