Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1023 The Merchant of Venice

Zhu Su had a rough understanding of the development of Fengmingzhou. Due to the shortage of manpower in Fengmingzhou, except for Jinshanbao which was operated by Daming itself, the development and operation of other vast areas mainly depended on the teams formed by merchants.

Generally speaking, a pioneering group composed of the Ming Dynasty court and indigenous guides would first open up a road to a certain resource point and eliminate threats around the resource point, and then entrust the resource point to a merchant group for contracting through bidding.

Tie Xuan, Zhang He and other officials representing the Ming Dynasty imperial court stationed in Fengmingzhou were mainly responsible for collecting taxes from merchants and, to a certain extent, ensuring the safety of the merchants' strongholds.

Therefore, there are not many people in a single stronghold, only dozens at most, and most of them are laborers recruited by merchants, and only a small number of them can serve as combat forces.

For these merchant guards, armor and bows and arrows are rare items. Fengmingzhou is far away from the mainland of the Ming Dynasty. Tie Xuan, Zhang He and others will not allow these merchants' subordinates to be equipped with armor, firearms and other important military weapons. Therefore, these people are at most equipped with leather armor and weapons, which is not an advantage over the natives.

If they encountered indigenous people armed with iron weapons, it would be difficult for the guards of Ming merchants to fight against them as they had the advantage in numbers and were familiar with the terrain.

However, it should be noted that iron smelting is not a technology that can be easily mastered overnight. How could the indigenous people, whose civilization level is far behind, master the casting of iron tools in a short period of time?
Who provided them with iron tools? Was it an external enemy? Or was it an internal enemy?
"It's not just the merchants. Many indigenous tribes that are friendly to our Ming Dynasty have also been attacked. The indigenous empire seems to be trying to invade our Ming Dynasty's forces stationed in Fengmingzhou." Tie Xuan said. "Therefore, when I returned to the country this time, I also wanted to ask Your Majesty for help and request that our Ming Dynasty mobilize troops to pacify the indigenous people of Fengmingzhou."

"Yeah." Zhu Su nodded, showing his understanding. Those natives attacked the base of Ming merchants without making any noise, and it was obvious that they came with bad intentions. Moreover, they attacked merchants under Ming rule, which was a situation of life and death. There was nothing to say, just strike hard.

However, it still needs to be thoroughly investigated how the ironware reached the indigenous people.

"When I entered the city, I saw natives from Fengmingzhou appearing and disappearing in the city. Who are they?" Zhu Su asked again.

"Those are the tribal leaders who are willing to submit to the Ming Dynasty," Tie Xuan said. "They are willing to acknowledge their identity as the descendants of the Shang Dynasty and want to come to pay homage to the emperor of the Ming Dynasty as subjects, so I brought them here."

Zhu Su nodded again. Allowing these "Yindian people" to come to pay homage to the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was a move of great political significance. It could give the Ming Dynasty the legitimacy to open up Fengmingzhou and enable the Ming Dynasty to control the land of Fengmingzhou.

At the same time, it will also help enhance the indigenous people's sense of belonging and awe of China. After witnessing the prosperity and strength of their "homeland" with their own eyes, they will undoubtedly work harder to help the Ming Dynasty develop Fengmingzhou.

"Old Five." Seeing that Tie Xuan had finished explaining everything, Old Zhu said, "We have decided to give you Fengming Prefecture."

"Then you should also take a look at the rebellion of the natives of Fengming Prefecture."

"We have already asked the cabinet and the six ministries to discuss this matter. Many officials in the court feel that Fengmingzhou is a long way away, and sending a large number of troops will not be able to provide logistics support. Moreover, a large-scale conquest of the natives may not be beneficial to our Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Biao also said to Zhu Su: "Fifth brother, the cabinet thinks that we can send a small number of elite troops to Fengming Island to deter the locals. Let the natives be afraid of them and dare not disobey the Ming Dynasty. Then we can use gentle means to appease them and make them work for the Ming Dynasty."

"how do you feel?"

"What the cabinet members said is a mature plan for the country." Zhu Su said. "Indeed, Fengmingzhou is vast, and sending a large number of troops may not be effective. Moreover, the land in Fengmingzhou may not be able to support it. If we send grain from the mainland of Ming Dynasty, it will waste the national treasury."

"Even if there is a country in Fengmingzhou, I think it is just a group of tribes connected together. As long as we defeat the leader, it will no longer be a threat to the Ming Dynasty. In my opinion, we only need a thousand elite soldiers, equipped with war horses and firearms."

"We only need to recruit famous doctors and go deep into Fengmingzhou with the army, and that will be enough to quell the chaos."

"Famous doctor?" Zhu Biao asked puzzledly, "Why?"

"Your Highness, you don't know." It was Tie Xuan who answered, "When our Ming army and civilians went to manage Fengming Island, the most deadly thing was not the elusive beasts and natives, but the many unknown diseases."

"Although Fengmingzhou has abundant soil and water and amazing resources, it also has many diseases that I have never seen in the Middle Earth."

"If we want to go deep into Fengming Island, we must have a famous doctor with us. Otherwise, many soldiers will lose their lives due to the unfamiliar climate and water." After saying this, Tie Xuan bowed to Zhu Su and said, "I am ashamed that I did not think of this before. Fortunately, you made up for it. Otherwise, I don't know how many soldiers would have lost their lives because of my mistake."

"In that case, Lao Wu, you should submit a memorial on this matter tomorrow so that the court officials can discuss it." Lao Zhu said. "The matter of Fengmingzhou is also extremely important to our Ming Dynasty. Not to mention the gold, silver and copper mines there, because of the undiscovered divine seeds, our Ming Dynasty cannot hand over that place to others."

"Dingshi, you will contact the Maritime Affairs Department later and tell them everything that happened in Fengming Prefecture, no matter how big or small, to compile a book so that we can check it from time to time to avoid being blinded by the distance of thousands of miles."

"Old Five, you should also pay attention and give more advice on the affairs of Fengming Prefecture. I think Annan will be quiet for a while. I will give you a month's leave. After a month, you will select the navy generals and arrange the affairs of Fengming Prefecture."

Zhu Su naturally thanked him, and then the three of them, father and son, and Tie Xuan chatted about some anecdotes about Fengmingzhou and Annan. Then Zhu Su left the palace and returned to his own Zhou Palace.

In the palace, Xu had been waiting for a long time at the gate with the prince Zhu Youdun in her arms. When the two met, there was a kind of tenderness in their hearts, which they did not want to tell to outsiders.

After finishing his errand and returning home, Zhu Su left all other matters and the invitations for the audience behind the next day, and took Princess Xu and little Zhu Youdun to Bifeng Mountain Royal Manor to go outing and worship Buddha. Now Yingtian Prefecture is developing rapidly, and Bifeng Mountain Royal Manor outside the city has long been a gathering place for merchants. Cement roads have been used here for a long time, and shops and warehouses have been built. At this time, it seems that the bustle is not less than that of the inner city of Yingtian Prefecture.

Zhu Su first went up the mountain to visit the abbot of the Bifeng Temple on Bifeng Mountain. Thanks to the rapid development of Yingtian Prefecture, this mountain temple, which originally had little incense, now has the atmosphere of a prosperous temple. Zhu Su and his family burned incense in the temple, settled his wife and children in the imperial manor for a while, and took a few followers to start touring this imperial manor that he built.

The cement road is clean and flat. After a few steps, there is a stone bridge. A river flows under the stone bridge. By the river, there are several village women washing clothes. Their laughter and the sound of pounding clothes are quite pleasant. Further ahead is the commercial area, especially the theater and the wine shop. The mountain springs here are clear and suitable for brewing wine. The famous Yingtian City Green Ant Fairy Brew is produced in abundance. There are always drinkers or wanderers driving here, leaning against the high building, tasting fine wine, and pointing out the mountains and rivers.

Zhu Su came to a wine shop called "Zuixianlou". This wine shop was once a wine shop opened by a lame old soldier. Because of the relief from the court, he worked as a guard in the factory under Zhu Su. When he retired, Zhu Su taught him the method of distilling wine. The old soldier carried forward this skill and now he has become one of the best wine shop owners within a hundred miles.

Seeing that the wine shop was doing a booming business, Zhu Su was about to go in to greet the shopkeeper, but unexpectedly, as soon as he raised his right leg, a man was kicked out. The man rolled on the steps, screaming miserably. Zhu Su looked closely and found that he was a blond and blue-eyed Semu.

"This Bifeng Royal Manor was once run by His Highness the Fifth Prince himself. You, a slave, are under the Emperor's feet. Why don't you ask around? How dare you cheat here?" The waiter inside looked strong and powerful, and his arms looked like they had hundreds of pounds of strength. After kicking the Semu man out, he stood with his hands on his waist and scolded him angrily.

"Get out of here now, don't act crazy in front of me! If it weren't for the fact that you're such an ugly ghost slave, I would have stripped you of your clothes! Don't show up near my Zuixianlou again!" The waiter cursed, and the drinkers in the building looked at the Semu man who was kicked out of the restaurant with either sinister or gloating expressions.

The Semu man shook his head, not caring about his bruised face, and crawled over to hug the waiter's thigh, saying in half-familiar Chinese: "No, no! I won't cheat you, I will pay you back!"

"My ancestors were high-ranking officials in your Celestial Empire! I am also the son of an official in your Celestial Empire! I swear on my family's honor!"

"Go to hell!" The waiter should be the son or nephew of the shopkeeper. He was obviously a martial artist who had practiced military skills. He quickly broke free from the restraints of the colored man without any movement, kicked him out of the door again, and said disdainfully: "You think you are the son of an official? If you are the son of an official, then I am the son of a general!"

"Get out! Get out! If it weren't for my boss' kindness, I would have to settle the money you owed me for the wine! Don't look at your ugly body. If you sell it to those merchants in the east, you can earn a few coins for the wine!"

When the Seljuq man heard that he was going to be sold, he trembled all over, hung his head in dejection and dared not say a word.

Before leaving, he greedily inhaled the rich aroma of wine in the tavern, looking as if he was reluctant to leave.

Although most of the human markets in Ming Dynasty had been banned, Ming merchants did not sell, but they could not stop foreign merchants from coming to sell foreign people. Among them, Arab merchants were the most fond of this business. In addition to the dark Kunlun slaves, the white slaves with white flesh were also one of the commodities that Arab merchants trafficked to Ming Dynasty.

Since the Tang Dynasty, Arab merchants often castrated slaves captured in wars and sold them around the world. Compared with the white slaves of Semu, the Tang people preferred the strong Kunlun eunuchs and had little interest in white slaves. However, the merchants of the Ming Dynasty were in an era of barbaric development. Whether it was farming, herding sheep, building settlements, or concessions, they needed a large number of people, and they accepted all white slaves.

Therefore, there are many white slaves brought in by Arab merchants in the territory of Ming Dynasty. So when the Seljuq heard that he was going to be castrated and sold to merchants in exchange for wine, he immediately dared not say anything.

Zhu Su was somewhat interested in this man, not because of his identity as a Semu, the Ming Dynasty was tolerant and inclusive, and there were many Semu people serving in the army. Zhu Su was interested in the fact that he claimed to be a "son of an official".

There were not many Semites serving in the imperial court, but in the pre-Yuan Dynasty, there were even more Semites. However, most Semites who served in the pre-Yuan Dynasty had already been sinicized or Mongolized, and their descendants, most of whom were born in the Central Plains or Mongolia, were no different from the Han or Mongolian people.

This Semu man was obviously not born in the Central Plains. Judging from his accent, he was obviously an outsider. But he claimed to be the "official son" here. Could there be some other story behind him?
"Where do you come from? How dare you claim to be the son of an official and swindle people? Aren't you afraid of going to jail?" Zhu Su stood tall and said in a teasing tone.

The Semu turned around and saw a handsome young man in luxurious clothes, obviously a nobleman. He did not dare to neglect him and quickly dusted off the dust on his body. He bowed respectfully but in a somewhat inappropriate way and said in his inappropriate Chinese accent: "My dear young master, I dare not lie to you."

"My ancestors were high-ranking officials in the Celestial Empire. Later, they returned to my homeland and wrote a book in my homeland!" said the Seljuq man.

"A book?" Zhu Su's eyes narrowed, and he had already guessed something. He didn't care about his strange name and asked, "What was your ancestor's name?"

"When did you come to China?"

"My dear lord, my ancestor's name is Marco Polo. He once came to China and met Emperor Kublai Khan. Emperor Kublai Khan appointed my ancestor as an official. This is absolutely true..."

"If you want to hear me talk about my ancestors, you might as well give me a pot of wine. I will tell you everything clearly..." Realizing that Zhu Su seemed interested, the secular man rolled his eyes and spoke tentatively.

"Tsk, an official appointed by the Tartar emperor dares to talk big. Sir, ignore him." The waiter didn't know Zhu Su, but he didn't want Zhu Su to be deceived by this man, so he reminded Zhu Su.

"This foreigner has been drinking on credit for three days in my shop. He is like a drunkard who has been reincarnated. He keeps saying that he is a descendant of an official, but he has no shame at all. I think he is just talking nonsense... If I buy him a drink, what is the difference between that and throwing money away?"

(End of this chapter)