Fenghou

Chapter 1124 Void and
Zhao Gou was very interested in Han Shizhong's idea of ​​acquiring private ships. His only worry was that it would take too long to build a ship. It would take at least ten years to build an army. It couldn't be better.

"Han Aiqing, can sea ships really be used as warships?" Zhao Gou asked.

Han Shizhong bowed and said: "Returning to Your Majesty, when I was in command of the navy in Zhenjiang Prefecture, there was a Wanshifu ship in the army. It was huge and I used it to transport food. In the middle of the Yangtze River, a three-thousand-stone military ship collided violently. The military ship was hit and sunk, but the Fuchuan was safe and sound. Only then did I realize that the Fuchuan was very strong.

After thinking about it, since it can sail in the depths of the ocean and withstand the stormy waves, of course it must be very strong, so there is no problem in its sturdiness, even stronger than a warship, and it can collide with enemy ships head-on. It is lacking in function, after all, it is a cargo ship, which is why Beizhi said that it needs to be slightly modified. "

Zhao Gou nodded, and then asked Qin Hui, "I remember how many big merchants there are in Lin'an. Who has the most lucky boats?"

Qin Hui bowed and said: "At most it is Zheng Tongquan, but it seems that many of his lucky boats have been given to the Western Army. I don't know how many small officials still have in his hands, followed by Wang Zhenbang's family, with nearly a hundred lucky boats, and then Yu Wanfeng's family. There are about [-] lucky boats, and there are also some small sea merchants, I don’t know about it.”

Zhao Gou suddenly remembered something, "I remember that uncle Guo also has a lucky boat! I gave it to him."

Zhu Shengfei said from the side: "That's right, His Majesty gave Uncle Wei Guo twenty lucky boats in the eighth year of Shaoxing to transport tribute tea from Fujian Road."

Zhao Gou nodded, "Give him some land compensation, take back this batch of lucky boats, and take back the lucky boats of other maritime merchant families, first give gifts and then soldiers, and exchange land with them. If you want to be an official, I can also Give them official titles, let them honor their ancestors, if you insist on refusing, then don't blame me for not being considerate of people's feelings."

Speaking of this, he glanced at Xu Xiantu again, "Zheng Tongquan, Xu Xiangguo, go and talk to him! If he is obsessed with obsession, I can also go and talk to him in person."

"The minister obeys the order!"

Zhao Gou said to Han Shizhong again: "Preparing to build a water military is of great importance. I hope Han Aiqing will do her best. If you need anything, you can directly ask me."

Han Shizhong bowed and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, although Wang Gui is a strong general, he is not familiar with the navy and has no experience in the navy. I want to arrange for him to train soldiers on land. I want to recommend another person as the left deputy commander of the navy. Responsible for training the navy."

Zhao Gou didn't want Han Shizhong to recommend former generals again. This was one of the taboos Zhao Gou couldn't tolerate. He asked quietly, "Who does Han Aiqing want to recommend?"

"My minister recommends Zhang Gongyu, the defense envoy of Mingzhou."

Of course Zhao Gou knew about Zhang Gongyu. Back then, Wanyan Wushu searched the mountains and seas and drove Zhao Gou into the sea. The golden soldiers and warships were chasing after him. When it was extremely critical, it was Zhang Gongyu, the defense envoy of Mingzhou at that time, who led Mingzhou The navy defeated the Jinbing navy and saved Zhao Gou's life.

It was only later that Zhao Gou publicized his rescue as the protection of the gods, and Zhang Gongyu's credit was also obliterated, and he has been working in Mingzhou for ten years.

Zhao Gou remembered Zhang Gongyu's achievements back then, and he had nothing to do with Han Shizhong, so Zhao Gou immediately agreed to Han Shizhong's request, and made Zhang Gongyu the deputy governor of the navy and the capital to assist Han Shizhong in training the navy.

After arranging all the affairs of the navy, Zhao Gou left Xu Xiantu behind. He stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, and said for a while, "I shouldn't have accepted Mr. Qin's suggestion on negotiating with Chen Qing, so I'm quite passive now. , I have considered it again and again, and I would like to ask Xu Xiangguo to preside over the negotiation with Hu Yun."

"My minister is willing to share the worries for His Majesty!"

Zhao Gou nodded in relief, and said again: "I won't mention Jiangling Mansion and Ezhou, but if I want to keep Jinghu North Road, I must at least keep Suizhou, Yingzhou, Fuzhou and Hanyang Mansion, that is, the east of Han River. My bottom line, on the basis of the guaranteed bottom line, Aiqing strives to return to Xiangzhou, Fangzhou and Jingmen Army can give them, but I don't want to lose Xiangyang, and Aiqing from Bianliang should try to strive for some practical benefits."

Xu Xiantu sighed inwardly, Chen Qing had already swallowed such an important strategic place in Xiangyang, how could he give it up again, but he didn't want to spoil the emperor's happiness, so he had to vaguely agree, "I will definitely do my best!"

In the guest hall of the Zheng Mansion, the tea was already cold, and the maid served the second cup of tea. Zheng Tongquan was really under great pressure, and Xu Xiantu came to put pressure on him personally. If we can't talk today, the emperor will come to talk to him in person.

Xu Xiantu patiently persuaded again: "Actually, the Son of Heaven is already very tolerant. Use the method of acquisition. Otherwise, you will have no choice but to forcibly confiscate it for military use. Therefore, we should be grateful for the Son of Heaven's tolerance and give some face. Otherwise, Zheng Yuanwai only considers Jingzhao's interests, what will the emperor think?"

Zheng Tongquan was silent for a quarter of an hour, and finally sighed: "It's not that I don't understand the emperor's tolerance, it's just that Mr. Xu came late."

"What do you mean?" Xu Xiantu's face darkened slightly.

"I have decided not to do overseas trade anymore, so I sold the remaining [-] blessing boats to King Yong last year at a discount of [-] Guan. This is the price that King Yong asked, and I agreed, King Yong He has done me a great favor, and he wants to buy my sea-going ship, which I really can't refuse."

At this time, Zheng Tongquan's eldest grandson, Zheng Ming, came and handed a small sandalwood box to his grandfather. Zheng Tongquan took the box and said with a smile to his eldest grandson, "Go!"

Zheng Ming saluted and left, Zheng Tongquan opened the box, took out a contract and handed it to Xu Xiantu, "Xu Xianggong will know it after reading it."

Xu Xiantu took over the contract and opened it. It was indeed a transaction contract. He sold one hundred Wanshifu boats to Chen Qing. , and also stamped with the seal of King Yong. Looking at the ink and red seals, it is indeed about one or two years ago.

Xu Xiantu was greatly disappointed, and said for a while: "How can I explain to the emperor!"

"Otherwise, if I donate another five hundred thousand yuan, what does Mr. Xu think?"

Xu Xiantu shook his head, "It's not about money, it's about attitude. What the emperor wants is a boat, but Yuanwai Zheng gave all the boats to the Western Army. He didn't keep a single one. How can the emperor accept it? Old Zheng! You went a little too far this time."

Zheng Tongquan's face changed slightly, he hesitated and said: "I still have two inland river fleets, both of which are thousand-stone cargo ships. There are about [-] ships, or I can donate them all!"

"The Son of Heaven is preparing a navy, what's the use of having a thousand-stone cargo ship?"

"It's definitely useful. The navy also needs logistics and transports all kinds of supplies. You can't use warships as logistics ships!"

It made sense for Xu Xiantu to think about it, so he nodded and said: "Okay! In addition to your donation of [-] guan, I will persuade the emperor to hand over the boat and money to Lin'an Mansion as soon as possible."

He got up to leave, Zheng Tongquan wiped a cold sweat secretly, his hundred ships sailed from Mingzhou to Quanzhou ten days ago, this contract was also just made, please clever people to make the ink and seal old.

He thought about it, and he still had to tell Hu Yun about this matter, after all, it was a cargo ship of five hundred thousand stones!
He changed his clothes and hurried out.

Xu Xiantu left Zheng's mansion and immediately went to the palace to face the saint.

After listening to Xu Xiantu's report patiently, Zhao Gou was really dissatisfied and said, "Zheng Tongquan did a good job, even selling all the sea-going ships to Chen Qing. Didn't he think that I would also buy them?"

Although Xu Xiantu exerted all his pressure on Zheng Tongquan, he would still say good things to Zheng Tongquan in front of the emperor. After all, Zheng Tongquan still gave him [-] yuan of restaurant dividends on time every year, which was actually a protection fee.

"Your Majesty, I saw the contract with my own eyes. It was signed in August last year. It should be that Chen Qing helped Zheng Tongquan once last year. He owed a lot of favors. Chen Qing wanted a sea boat, so he used a sea boat to repay the favor."

Pausing for a while, Xu Xiantu saw that the emperor's face was ugly, and he said hastily: "In order not to disappoint His Majesty, he is willing to donate [-] thousand stone cargo ships, which can be used for the logistics support and transportation of the navy, and then donate another [-] yuan. Your Majesty, I feel that it is not easy for Zheng Tongquan, it is indeed very sincere for him to be able to do this."

It turned out to be a free donation, Zhao Gou finally calmed down, nodded and said: "Yes! Thank him for his generosity on my behalf."

Zhao Gou was stingy from the bottom of his heart. He said that he would exchange land for ships, but that was just his talk, and he would be foolish if he took it seriously.

(End of this chapter)