Three years after entering Chongzhen, various contradictions of Daming began to explode violently.
The last time Jianlu was defeated under the city of Beijing, he did not looted enough money and food, humans and animals, and his losses were not small. Now he can only silently lick his wounds, and short-term weakness poses an urgent threat to the Ming Dynasty.
On the contrary, the internal contradictions in the Ming Dynasty have blowout, and the Northwest chaos has the potential to start a prairie fire. The government and the people are all shocked. They have shifted their focus from Liaodong to Shaanxi.
As the court’s party struggle was killed with Yuan Chonghuan, Zhou Yanru succeeded as the first assistant, which seemed to be suppressed, but in fact, the internal undercurrents were still raging. The Ministry of Industry Shangshu Nan Juyi had just been forced to resign. To Shi. Liang Tingdong, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, was counterattacked and was already shaky.
Zhou Zheng is pursuing speed, completing the control and development of his basic board, and at the same time paying close attention to the development of the whole Ming.
In early October, Dagu.
The port is very busy, many ships are flying the flag of Ming Dynasty, but at first glance, it is known that it is the ship of Xiyi, busy loading and unloading goods.
The imperial court reopened the sea, and Zhou Zheng used this pretext to calmly start sea trade.
In a restaurant not far from the port, Zhou Zheng and others stood at the window, and they could see the busy scene of the port.
A dozen tall, blue-eyed Xiyi people stood behind Zhou Zheng, talking about something with a smile on their faces.
Yao Tongshun and others accompanied him, and several other translators.
For a while, a tall man stepped forward, whispering something to Zhou Zheng.
The interpreter immediately said: "My lord, the viscount said that he appreciates the trade spirit of the adults very much and hopes that our cooperation will continue and be further expanded."
This person is a little Francois machine, that is, a Portuguese.
Zhou Zheng carried his hands on his back, looking at the port, without looking back, "I hope their appreciation can become their credit."
The interpreter relayed it immediately.
The little Flange robot whispered and talked a long line.
The interpreter said: "My lord, the Viscount said that their little Francois robots have always believed in the spirit of contract, and we pay with one hand and deliver the goods with one hand. If the adults can't believe it, they can put out a part of it as collateral. Stay and choose your trading partner independently... ”
Zhou Zheng's expression remained unchanged, and said, "This needs to be discussed in the long term."
Now is the beginning of the great nautical era. Although the merchant ships of the Xiyi people have spread all over the world, the strength of the caravan is very weak. It is okay to bully some uncivilized natives. In a country like Ming, they are like eggs against stones. No way.
Daqing is indeed the world's most wealthy. Xiyi desperately wants to start trade with Daming, but Daming is very alert to the outside world, repulsive, and once forbids the sea, which makes Xiyi people very helpless.
Seeing Zhou Zheng tore open an opening, even if the opening was a grandiose'smuggling', their eyes were still blood-red, like a bloodthirsty beast pounced on it.
The tall man smiled and said chase again when he heard the translation.
The translator hurriedly relayed it to Zhou Zheng, saying: "My lord, they want to sign an agreement to purchase a lot of goods from Daming, and there will be a list for the adults, worth more than one million. If the adults have things they need, they can also sell them to the adults. , Including arms..."
Zhou Zheng listened to a move in his heart, turned his head, looked at these Xiyi people, and said, "I have a martial arts school. I can take you to see it in a few days."
The Xiyi people listened and looked at each other, shrugging unavoidably.
Zhou Zheng smiled, talked with these people for three days, set up a detailed transaction catalog, and went northward by boat to Xiangyun Island.
Xiangyun Island is to the east of Yongping Mansion and to the northeast of Xinqiao Haikou, where Zhou Zheng’s Military Bureau is located.
A group of people fluttered on the sea and finally arrived at Xiangyun Island.
It was Liu Liuzhe who greeted Zhou Zheng and the others. His arm was half-worn, and he stepped forward with joy when he saw Zhou Zheng going ashore, "Second Young Master, are you okay at sea?"
Zhou Zheng nodded, looked at his right arm, and said, "Alright?"
Liu Liuzhe smiled, lifted it up and shook it twice, and said, "It's fine except for eating and writing."
Zhou Zheng nodded slightly and said, "You are one of the seven directors of the Chamber of Commerce. You don't have to do everything yourself."
Liu Liuzhe knew that Zhou Zheng was very concerned about his injury and said with a grin: "I just did a run for the second young master, and nothing happened."
Zhou Zheng smiled, took his shoulders, walked forward, and whispered: "Ready?"
Although this is a bit inconsistent with the master, after listening to Zhou Zheng’s questioning, Liu Liuzhe hurriedly said in a low voice: "All are ready, artillery, bird bludgeon, which combined the skills of our Ming and Xiyi people, those craftsmen said, Even if they are sold to Xiyi people, they can't imitate them, so they have to buy them from us."
Zhou Zheng wanted this, and asked, "How many are there now?"
Liu Liuzhe stretched his head and glanced at the Xiyi people, and said in a low voice, "There are only fourteen doors and only two dozen shots. The main reason is that many things are not easy to handle, for fear that others will notice."
Zhou Zheng gave a hum, his expression pondering.
There are too many firearms involved, iron ore, gunpowder, etc. are very sensitive, even if there is a legal military bureau, if it is noticed too frequently or in large quantities, it is definitely troublesome. If you find Xiangyun Island, that is It's a disaster.
Zhou Zheng thought for a while, and whispered: "In this way, let Chengjiu separate it, with a small amount, and a little trouble, board the ship in different places, cover it with merchant ships, and transfer it to the island in a canal or sea. "
Liu Liuzhe said, "The shopkeeper Cheng thinks the same way. He is trying to find a way, but the output will not be able to come up for a while, and the court is also staring. We can't use it."
Zhou Zheng glanced at the wall in front and said, "Try it first, sell it, make some money, and I will definitely use it in the future."
Liu Liuzhe replied, and pulled out of Zhou Zheng's arm, and deliberately said loudly: "Second Young Master, you are ready."
Zhou Zheng smiled and spoke to the Xiyi people behind him.
These Xiyi people seem to be very curious, looking at the tall wall, whispering something.
Everyone entered the compound and found that the place was very patchy, with warehouses, dormitories, school martial arts fields, weapons workshops, and people coming and going. All kinds of voices gradually came out, and ping-pong-pong resounded everywhere.
Liu Liuzhe led the crowd directly to the school martial arts field. The school martial arts field was in a clearing. Except for some decoration in the front, there was a wasteland in the distance.
A dozen artillery pieces are placed neatly on the stone bricks, and the muzzle of the black hole is aimed at the distance.
A row of artillerymen stood, waiting for orders.
Zhou Zheng looked at him and said to the Viscount from Little Francois next to him: "This is what I want to show you. Cover your ears."
The interpreter immediately relayed it, and the Xiyi people looked at each other, glanced at each other, and slowly covered their ears.
After Zhou Zheng signaled, Liu Liuzhe waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "Fire!"
With an order from Liu Liuzhe, more than a dozen cannons were fired.
Bang bang bang
The huge roar sounded like thunder in the ears, and everyone was startled.
Before they could react, there was another series of explosions a few miles away, the ground trembled, the smoke rolled, and several small mounds were blown up.
The Xiyi people opened their eyes wide, and their faces were shocked. (End of this chapter)