Chongzhen Wiretapping System

Chapter 293 Another 500 Income

In fact, Zheng Zhilong has long wanted to meet the wise and mighty emperor, what kind of person is he?

Although he had met him once in Jinan before, as a man who started from scratch and climbed up to become the Pirate King of the Ming Dynasty, there were not many people he could admire.Among them, Lu Xiangsheng is one.

And Emperor Chongzhen won the respect of Lu Xiangsheng even if his identity was removed, let alone Zheng Zhilong himself.If there is a chance to meet again, he would be very happy.

Therefore, with the joy of reuniting with his son and admiration for Emperor Chongzhen, Zheng Zhilong took a fast boat to Tianjin, and then hurried to the capital.

Needless to say, the first time he saw his son, he naturally asked Zheng Chenggong how he was studying with the prince, and told him to work hard.He then requested an audience through the General Secretary.

In fact, when he arrived in the capital, Jin Yiwei had already reported the news to him.

Emperor Chongzhen originally wanted to see Zheng Zhilong on something, and after receiving Zheng Zhilong's request, he met him in the Wuying Hall.

The reason why he didn't send an edict to summon him directly, but asked Zheng Zhilong to ask for an audience.Among them, there is the meaning of being kind to him.

Sure enough, Zheng Zhilong was very happy that the emperor immediately agreed to his request. He felt that he was indeed valued by the emperor. Therefore, he was a little excited when he entered the Forbidden City for the first time.

When Emperor Chongzhen saw the ceremony, he was also looking at this man who had known his name for a long time but met him for the first time.I have to say that Zheng Zhilong looks more like a businessman even if he is wearing a military uniform.

After Zheng Zhilong finished seeing the ceremony, Emperor Chongzhen smiled and asked: "But have you seen success? This kid, I look really good, and he will definitely be promising in the future!"

Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but be overjoyed that the emperor Yukou had appointed his son's future.To reciprocate, after thanking Shengen, he immediately played: "At the end of the day, seeing that there is insufficient food in the north, I would like to let my family buy food from Nanyang and go north to Tianjin for the imperial court's disaster relief!"

He knew that the emperor must have already figured out how much money he had. Therefore, on the emperor's side, he did not shy away from it. The matter of not revealing the money was useless in front of the emperor.

In addition, he also vaguely felt that there was a possibility that the emperor treated his son so differently and treated him well, and it was probably related to the wealth in his hands.That being the case, instead of waiting for the emperor to ask for it, it is better to be more straightforward, in exchange for more benefits.

From this point of view, Zheng Zhilong has always been doing things with the thinking of a businessman.

Emperor Chongzhen was also happy when he heard this, and secretly praised that dealing with smart people is comfortable.Seeing him nodding, he smiled and said to Zheng Zhilong: "Zheng Qing is dedicated to the country, which is really rare in my Ming Dynasty. I can't let you pay this money for nothing. That's good..."

At this point, Emperor Chongzhen seemed to think for a while, and then continued to say to Zheng Zhilong: "Just make your brother Zheng Hongkui a guerrilla for Fujian coastal defense."

Although Zheng Hongkui was actually Zheng Zhilong during his absence in Fujian, he was the controller of the Zheng family fleet.If it is now designated as a coastal defense guerrilla, part of the Zheng family's fleet can become an official army.In fact, there is not much difference.

However, no matter what, Zheng Hongkui is only a Wu Jinshi now, so he got the post of guerrilla, which is already several levels above.At least at the level of the government, Zheng Hongkui has officially entered the ranks of generals, and he has status, which can be regarded as fulfilling his wish to change his name.

Zheng Zhilong was delighted when he heard this, but on the surface, he still pretended to be a little apprehensive, and hurriedly played: "Your Majesty, the last general made a lot of money before, but thanks to your majesty, he didn't care about the last general, and the last general was very worried. Don’t worry, it’s only natural that you can do something for the imperial court if you take it out, don’t dare to ask for rewards!”

"I have made up my mind, so you don't have to refuse!" Emperor Chongzhen said happily to his acquaintance, "It takes a lot of energy to buy grain from Nanyang and transport it to the north. Worry about it. Based on this, I named him a coastal defense guerrilla, which is also a reward for him."

Speaking of this, he said with emotion: "Actually, my Ming Dynasty is really short of food. If possible, I hope to buy as much food as possible from Nanyang and transport it to the north. That's good, I will also issue a decree to the governor of Fujian, Let's see how much money Fujian can squeeze out, and give it all to your Zheng family, how about using it to buy Nanyang food?"

After hearing this, Zheng Zhilong wanted to refuse, saying that he didn't need the money from the Fujian governor.

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen had to emphasize: "You may not understand what I mean. In the next few years, you will still need to buy grain from Nanyang. If possible, even if you buy all the grain in Nanyang. So Too much money, you can't let your Zheng family keep paying. Although I am short of money and need money everywhere, I won't always worry about your Zheng family's money. Of course, I won't worry about other people's money either. Something will happen."

After Zheng Zhilong heard this, he was relieved a lot at first, but after thinking about it, he realized that his family had been making a lot of money by collecting protection fees for smuggling at sea. The emperor knew this.If the emperor used this as an excuse to deal with him in the future, this should not have violated his promise, so he is not a law-abiding person, is he?
Thinking of this, the fear hidden in Zheng Zhilong's heart arose again.

After thinking for a while, he gritted his teeth and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, the last general didn't know the greatness of the emperor's kindness before, and did something that violated the laws of the Ming Dynasty. Now the general has repented and will definitely write to his family. Since If you eat the king's salary, don't do anything against the king again, you will be damned!"

After finishing speaking, he knelt down and pleaded guilty.

Although Zheng Zhilong's words were a bit cryptic, Emperor Chongzhen understood.After thinking for a while, he stood up, walked out of the imperial case, went down and helped Zheng Zhilong up himself, looked at him, and said with a smile: "Zheng Qing has filtered it, since Zheng Qing is worried, that's good..."

Hearing the emperor's words, Zheng Zhilong wanted to plead guilty again, wanting to say that he dare not worry about the emperor.However, at this time, Emperor Chongzhen had already spoken first and said: "The court owes a lot of money. Although I have sent the inspector Yushi to collect it, it is estimated that it will not be so smooth. However, the court really needs money. Therefore, I Here's an idea..."

Hearing what the emperor said was a bit strange, Zheng Zhilong looked up at the emperor out of curiosity.

Seeing that the emperor said to him very earnestly: "The money you received for the command flag before is actually collecting sea tax in disguise! It is absolutely impossible to collect so much sea tax in a serious way. Therefore, I thought, Qing's Zheng family will continue to maintain the same, and continue to receive the flag money from those maritime merchants. But after receiving it, the imperial court will get [-]%, and Qing's Zheng family will get [-]%. I can give it to you A decree, if someone questions the Zheng family because of this matter, you can use the decree to justify your name!"

If Emperor Chongzhen directly made this request when he first came into contact with Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Zhilong would definitely feel that his interests were damaged, and even wanted to share [-]% of the income, and there was a very high probability that he would resist the emperor's request.

However, Emperor Chongzhen did not make this request at the beginning, but threatened Zheng Zhilong first. After Zheng Zhilong gave in, he immediately gave him benefits. Not only was he promoted to the rank of commander-in-chief, but he also named his son and became the prince's companion. Praise his son for being good.After Wei, he showed his kindness and allowed Zheng Zhilong to come to Beijing to reunite. Even when he wanted to see him, he felt that the emperor looked at him differently.

In addition, there is another more important factor, which is to let Zheng Zhilong feel the power of the imperial court.There are civil and military officials like Lu Xiangsheng, and his emperor is wise and martial, who can do things that previous emperors could not do.

The sum of these factors has greatly changed Zheng Zhilong's view of the imperial court and made him understand his position.

Under such a premise, Emperor Chongzhen made the request for the money, which is not abrupt at all.At this time, Zheng Zhilong also felt that with the emperor's endorsement, his collection of protection fees could be legalized, which would be of great benefit to the future.

However, he was obviously still a little hesitant and did not answer immediately. After a while, he reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, to be honest, this is not a bargaining, but it is true. If it is only [-]% If so, I'm afraid it will be difficult for the general to keep the fleet home, and some people may leave and go do it on their own. Your Majesty, the general is really not..."

Before he finished speaking, Emperor Chongzhen smiled and said: "I like to be open and honest. Since Zheng Qing thinks there is a problem, it is a good thing to bring it up. If it is according to Qing's estimate, how much will it take to maintain the current situation?" status quo?"

He could understand that it was impossible for Zheng Zhilong to unify the pirates with his personal charm.It must be coercion and lure, all kinds of means, so that all the pirates on the southeast coast of Daming were brought under his command.

Hearing the emperor's words, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but be very moved when he understood him so well, and quickly said: "Fifty percent, if there is fifty percent, they will be sure in the end, and they won't complain. Really, Your Majesty, the fifty percent is all It will cost a lot of money to distribute it to them and maintain the fleet."

"Well, I understand." Emperor Chongzhen nodded after hearing this, and after thinking for a while, he said, "That's good, it's still a [-]-[-] split. In addition, Qing feels that those subordinates who are loyal to the court and can be promoted will be given I have a list, and I can appoint officials to help you take care of him. In addition, you don’t have to worry about fleet maintenance and new warships. I told you that there must be a flag of Ming Dynasty at the end of the sea. , This is definitely not talking. Therefore, I will order to expand the shipyards in various places, and you don’t have to worry about the replenishment of warships in the future.”

Hearing this, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but be overjoyed.If he provides the list, the emperor will also give him an official position, which is definitely good for him to stabilize his subordinates.And the emperor once again reiterated his ambition for the sea, which means that Zheng Zhilong will always be reused in the future.

Thinking of this, he immediately played: "Your Majesty, since that's the case, the [-]-[-] share is enough!"

Hearing that he took the initiative to pay [-]%, Emperor Chongzhen shook his head with a smile and said: "As long as Qing Qing considers the court so much, if I can ask for [-]% less, I can't ignore the benefits of Qing's Zheng family. It will be divided into [-]% and [-]%." It's settled!"

Zheng Zhilong's fleet collects protection fees in the southeast, and the income is about 1000 million a year. If it is split 500-[-], the imperial court will also have more than [-] million silver.He didn't pay anything, he just moved his lips. The saliva that was consumed just now is probably the most valuable saliva.It is equivalent to the fact that the imperial court did nothing, and it more than doubled the previous year's treasury revenue.

Zheng Zhilong solved future problems, and Emperor Chongzhen received a large amount of income. Both parties have their own benefits and are happy.With the agreement on this matter, even the relationship between the monarch and his ministers seems to have taken a step forward invisibly.

Just listening to Emperor Chongzhen chatting, he said to Zheng Zhilong: "The income of the national treasury is too low, and the taxation of the imperial court will be changed in the future. I still have a lot of things to do, and all of them need money..."

Zheng Zhilong was a little surprised when he heard it, and thought to himself, Your Majesty, you don't need to explain anymore, I'm already willing to share the money!

From his point of view, the emperor is rather kind. He felt a little embarrassed after taking so much money, and wanted to explain.

"...The Western Barbarians are expanding everywhere, and I, the Ming Dynasty, cannot ignore it. Justice in the world cannot be achieved without the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, we need more ships, better ships, more cannons, and better cannons. Ship cannons must It also requires R&D and improvements, all of which require money..."

Hearing this, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but immediately agree in his heart, it would be great if the money was really used for these things.

"...Everywhere in the world has suffered disasters year after year. In the next few years, it is estimated that the disaster situation will not be very good. They all need disaster relief to keep the people alive. Only in this way can the country be stabilized. All of these need money..."

Zheng Zhilong nodded slightly when he heard that, that is indeed the case, otherwise, as before, there will definitely be thieves again.

"...In addition to building water conservancy, I also plan to rebuild all the roads, bridges, etc. in Daming. Daming is a bit big, and I don't know how long it will take to travel from south to north. Only the roads are smooth. , fast, and the business between various places will flourish. If there are more people doing business in this way, the life of the people will be better, and the court will receive more money, and then use the money to continue building roads and infrastructure. These things. In short, if you want to get rich, you must first build roads..."

If these words of Emperor Chongzhen were true to other courtiers, they might not have much effect.But the person in front of him is actually a businessman, and his understanding of business is far more than that of ordinary officials.So when he heard what the emperor said, his eyes lit up immediately.

The emperor was really different, and he said something like this: If you want to get rich, build roads first!
You know, the previous emperor never had such an idea.In fact, the previous emperor's approach was just the opposite.

They don't want the people to run around, which will be very inconvenient for the court to manage the people.As a result, of course, I don't want the merchants to run away.

Therefore, road construction and the like in the past were basically only for the transmission of official documents and had to be done for government use.

But what the emperor said in front of him is completely opposite to what he said before.Although they are all building roads and bridges, the purpose is completely different.Zheng Zhilong could imagine that if the emperor really did this, then all parts of Daming would definitely become more prosperous, and the money would definitely be worth it!
Listening to the emperor talking about where the court will spend money in the future, it is a place that benefits the country and the people, and he did not say that it will be used in the palace, but on himself.Zheng Zhilong knew that the emperor in front of him had a comprehensive plan, and he was definitely a good emperor of Ming Dynasty!
The emperor wants a lot of money, as it should be!
As a result, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help admiring the emperor even more in his heart.

After the emperor finished speaking, it seemed that they were about to leave. Zheng Zhilong remembered that Lu Xiangsheng's explanation before departure, and asked Emperor Chongzhen, why not let him wipe out the Jianlu Navy in one battle?

(End of this chapter)