Zhu Youjian still has some impressions of Zheng Zhilong. He remembers that he finally surrendered to the Manchus, as if he had completely broken with his son Zheng Chenggong for this reason.
Zheng Zhilong’s surrender to the Qing was not something Zhu Youjian worried about. When he surrendered, Daming had already destroyed the country, and only half of the Nanming ****** in Fujian was left. Although soldiers should serve the country with death, the court was corrupt and popular It's not easy for a military commander to turn the tide!
Now that the Ming Dynasty is flourishing, Zheng Zhilong just wants to surrender, but he has no chance.
Zhu Youjian wanted to investigate Zheng Zhilong. There were two main points: first, ability, to see if he has the ability to command the South China Sea Fleet, and whether he has the ability to defeat the Xiyi Fleet in the future; the second is the tendency to become independent. Zheng Zhilong has been engaged in pirates for many years. There must be a kind of wildness that others don’t have. This wildness has both advantages and disadvantages. The wildness makes him a sea dragon, but if he does not have the country and the court in his mind, he will not obey the discipline, in case he quarrels with the court. Stiff, it is likely to lead the fleet to stand on its own.
Supporting soldiers and self-respect is something that no emperor can tolerate, not to mention that Zhu Youjian is now particularly dependent on the South China Sea Fleet.
From Zheng Zhilong's information, Zhu Youjian saw that “Zheng Zhilong sometimes robbed residents of the Daming coastal area, but he never hurt people for the purpose of robbing money”, which made Zhu Youjian a little relieved.
The looting of residents along the coast may be that Zheng Zhilong is really exhausted, and he needs to feed his brothers. But he doesn't hurt people, which shows that he follows certain rules: there is a way to steal.
It seems that Cheng Zhu's Neo-Confucianism not only confines Daming's women, but also restrains Daming's men.
When Zheng Zhilong arrived at the capital in the morning, Zhu Youjian was at the court meeting. In the afternoon, Zhu Youjian summoned Zheng Zhilong at the Palace of the Qing Dynasty.
The Palace of the Qing Dynasty is Zhu Youjian's bedroom, and Zheng Zhilong is summoned here, which obviously means to draw in and get close.
"At the end, you will see your Majesty!" Zheng Zhilong respectfully gave Zhu Youjian a grand salute.
"General Zheng, get up and take a seat!" Zhu Youjian didn't get up to help. He kept looking at Zheng Zhilong, as if he was a fortune teller.
Zhu Youjian did read the "Zhou Yi", Chu Tongwen Wang Bagua.
But based on his own understanding, he divides people into two types: the first type of people are very firm in goal and will, strong in control, and strong in personal dominance. They are emperor-level figures in the dynasty, and thieves in the wild, or like Like Taizu, he turned from a thief to an emperor; the second type of people has very weak pioneering ability, but has good interpersonal relationships. They are auxiliary talents. They are good people in the dynasty and obedient people when they are in the opposition.
If you want to select the top leader, you need the first kind of person, but to appoint a deputy, the second kind of person is more suitable.
Zhu Youjian's method of distinguishing these two people is mainly based on the earlobe.
The larger the earlobe, the closer to the second type of person, it is an ideal candidate for deputy position. On the contrary, the smaller the earlobe, even a straight diagonal line under the ear, like Fan Bingbing, is definitely a typical first type of person, with strong working ability. But the personality is also more public.
Zheng Zhilong is a person without earlobes, and Zhu Youjian's first impression is quite satisfactory.
"Your Majesty Xie!" Zheng Zhilong took a seat on the chair designated by the little eunuch, and he also looked at Zhu Youjian.
Young, too young. Although Zheng Zhilong knew Zhu Youjian’s age, he was very surprised when he first saw Zhu Youjian. It turned out that the emperor who suppressed the Shaanxi Democracy, suppressed Jianzhou Jurchen, and regained large tracts of land outside Guan. , It looks so young!
"General Zheng has been overwhelmed from a long distance, so I am straight to the point." Zhu Youzhen didn't want to waste time, even if it was a key observation object, "South China Sea Fleet, how is the training now?"
"His Majesty, the South China Sea Fleet is huge and its soldiers are strong in combat. It can be regarded as an elite division now. It will definitely not be a problem to protect the southern borders of Ming Dynasty."
Zheng Zhilong is full of confidence, but Zhu Youjian feels like he is reciting a slogan, "General Zheng said, there is absolutely no problem protecting the southern borders of Daming? I ask you, what are the possible enemies of the southern borders?"
"His Majesty, the southern seas and territories, the Southeast Asian countries are not worried, the main opponent is Xiyi, and Xiyi has already eroded the Southeast Asian countries."
"If facing Xiyi's fleet, how sure is General Zheng to win?"
"His Majesty, if you go to the door of Xiyi's house, I will not dare to say that if the battlefield is in Nanyang, the South China Sea Fleet has no opponents for the time being." Zheng Zhilong is still very confident. He has been a pirate leader for many years. The Yi Haijun really knows everything well.
Zhu Youzhen doesn't like it very much. Zheng Zhilong is full of words. Isn't it accidental? Besides, the South China Sea Fleet is only training now. There is no actual combat at all. The training must be tested in actual combat before it can be transformed into effective capabilities. "Then General Zheng briefly talked about the situation of Xiyi in the South China Sea."
"Your Majesty, in the Southeast Asia, there are mainly three countries in Xiyi: Holland, also known as the Netherlands; Spain; Portugal, also known as Francis. They occupy from Taiwan, the Southern Ryukyu Islands, and Java to Manchuria. The large areas of Tiberias, especially Portugal, were the first to come to Southeast Asia and blocked the Strait of Malacca. All passing merchant ships must pay taxes to them."
"Among these three countries, how are they strong or weak?" Without Britain, Zhu Youjian is more relieved. It is estimated that Britain has not yet completed the industrial revolution and the bourgeois revolution, and the goal is still at home.
"In the end, Spain was originally the strongest, but the Netherlands is a rising star, and its strength should not be weaker than Spain. As for Portugal, of the three countries, its strength should be the weakest."
"Could it be that Xiyi's navy has no merit at all?" Zhu Youjian saw that Zheng Zhilong was overconfident and did not forget to call.
"Your Majesty, the fleets of these three countries are basically not national troops, but merchants' armed ships. There must be a gap with their official navies, so the general is confident that they can defeat them."
"Is there any difference between armed ships and ships?" Zhu Youjian is basically a layman for navy ships.
"Your Majesty, armed ships are ordinary merchant ships. When they are equipped with artillery, they basically rely on quantity. More ships defeats fewer ships, big ships defeat small boats, and a large number of artillery defeats a small number of artillery. It cannot be concealed at sea. What kind of tactics."
"Oh?"
"Your Majesty, the number of ships of the South China Sea Fleet now far exceeds the three countries of Xiyi, and even exceeds the sum of the three countries. Moreover, Daming has a blooming bomb, and the ships of Xiyi are still solid bombs, so the final will think that if it is carried out in Nanyang In a naval battle, Daming will surely win."
"What is a real naval ship like? Have you seen a real battleship from Xiyi?"
"Your Majesty, I've seen a Spanish warship before. The bottom is not flat like a merchant ship, but sharp, with rocks on it. This kind of warship is not only very stable in the waves, but also fast."
"What if Xiyi sends a real warship? Can you deal with it?"
Zheng Zhilong shook his head: "A real warship is fast and equipped with a large number of artillery. The South China Sea Fleet really has to meet them. It is very difficult to win."
"What about the South China Sea Fleet? Do we have real warships?"
"Most of the ships of the South China Sea Fleet are modified by merchant ships. Only the new type of futuristic ships are warships. Although smaller than the Guangzhou Shipbuilding, they have 14 artillery pieces, two more than the Guangzhou Shipbuilding."
Zhu Youjian was shocked, "Is the Guangzhou Shipyard still producing merchant ships?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, they can't design large warships, they can only produce large commercial ships." Zheng Zhilong has some expectations. If Daming can produce large warships, then it will be a lion fighting a rabbit against Xiyi in Nanyang.
Zhu Youjian thought for a long time, and the South China Sea Fleet he painstakingly formed turned out to be nothing more than a bunch of scrap ships. No, it must produce real warships.
Since the Fujian Shipyard can produce warships, the craftsmen in Fujian will be gathered to study warships.
It would be great if there were ready-made drawings, but Zhu Youjian knew that this was just a delusion. Even the Zheng He fleet in the Chengzu era was all merchant ships, and there were no real warships at all.
Zhu Youjian remembered. It seems that Britain now has produced a sea giant with hundreds of artillery pieces. Sooner or later, Daming will crash into Britain.
Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian asked: "How big is the tonnage of the new-style lucky ship?"
"His Majesty, the new-style blessed ship has a displacement of 50 tons and is fixedly equipped with 14 artillery."
"It's only fifty tons?" Zhu Youjian couldn't help shaking his head. "I immediately ordered the shipyards in Nanjing, Fuzhou, and Guangzhou to stop production, so that they can prepare more wood, and then start production after new warships are designed."
Zhu Youjian expects that the new warship will have a displacement of at least 200 tons and be equipped with about 40 artillery pieces. As a small warship of the South China Sea Fleet, after the production technology is mature, larger warships will be produced, with a hundred artillery pieces.
"Your Majesty, when will this kind of warship start production?"
"I don't know yet," Zhu Youjian had to smile wryly, "I immediately gathered the excellent craftsmen, and then transferred personnel from the Daming Academy of Sciences, and took out the drawings as soon as possible, and produced two test ships first. While you train, let the craftsmen improve the drawings. ."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"General Zheng, new warships will not be counted on for a while, do you still have the confidence to defeat Xiyi?"
"Your Majesty, to attack Nanyang Xiyi, there is no need for new warships, nor do they have new warships. The existing warships of the South China Sea Fleet are enough. When their reinforcements arrive in Nanyang not far away, Daming's new warships should have been successfully manufactured. ."
"Well," Zhu Youjian thought so too, but new warships must be designed and built quickly, and there will be British warships coming to Nanyang in the future. "If General Zheng leads the South China Sea Fleet out of Nanyang, what will he do?" At this moment, Zhu Youjian basically recognized Zheng Zhilong, that is to say, Zheng Zhilong has initially passed Zhu Youjian's inspection.
"Your Majesty, if you enter the South Seas, you must capture Taiwan in the first battle, and then use Taiwan as a base to attack Malacca and gradually control the trade channel." Zheng Zhilong was born as a pirate. He never forgets the rich and rich Malacca. He was not as powerful as before The Dutch, now that he has the South China Sea Fleet, he naturally wants to control Malacca, not to mention overseas trade, that is, levying taxes on past ships.