Lin Gao Qiming

However, he remembered what his master had said: The calmer the sea, the more likely it is that a storm is brewing. There seems to be something strange about this strange calmness.

Do you want to leave the capital for a while?
Zhou Lezhi thought for a long time, and it was not impossible to say that there was no place to go. He goes back to the Wang Family Farm in Jinhua every year, and now it is running a prosperous business. The Wang family is a local gentry, and they are surrounded by his family's tenants. There are dozens of servants in Zhuangzi, all of whom were personally trained by the master. Later, they were also equipped with specially purchased Nanyang rifles and pistols. It can be said to be a quite safe place. But from here to Jinhua, it's a long way, and the thief Kun has a chance to intercept him halfway.

After all, the capital is at the feet of the emperor, and the minions of various yamen are everywhere. No matter how powerful the thief is, he can't act unscrupulously in the capital. As long as you are careful, you won't have big problems.

He did not increase the number of guards. Except for Wang Zhi and Xu Yong, there was no one else around him. Liu Zhao suggested that he add more bodyguards, especially heroes raised by several princes, but he still declined. There were too many people, it was too eye-catching, and it was far from his status as a "miracle doctor".

Now, because Liu Zheng's whereabouts are unknown, he has even abandoned his identity as a miracle doctor. His external identity is just a scholar studying in the capital. There are countless such people in the capital, but it is not easy to attract attention.

Now, he has no choice but to lurk in secret, waiting for the next opportunity.

After Zhou Lezhi's visit, Qian Taichong forgot about the emperor's summons and focused on planning to start a sugar factory. Sugar making is highly profitable and profitable, and is a good way to make money quickly. Although it is necessary to cooperate with the Kun thief, it is also a helpless move.

As for the Kun thief being a feuding man, he doesn't care much about it now. Fortunately, everyone around Damu is following his lead, so the resistance is expected to be much smaller.

He's also very thoughtful. If the candy is made, it will probably only be sold to dealers, and the bulk of the profit will still not be with you. If it can be shipped directly out of Fujian and sold without going through Kun Thief, wouldn't it be possible to make a lot of money? Especially this time, I have gained a lot from my activities in the capital. If I can transport sugar directly to the capital...

But then I thought again, there is no other way to transport bulk goods from Anping except sea transportation. After all, there is still no way around the Kun thief.

If the Kun thief does not allow Zheng's ships to sail overseas, no matter how much sugar he makes, he can only sell it to the Kun merchants.

The Kun thieves implemented a comprehensive blockade of Zhangzhou Bay. Only ships flying their flags could enter and exit Zhangzhou Bay. Anyone can apply for the Lingqi, but former members of the Zheng Group cannot apply.

This is tantamount to strangling the Zheng family's trade route in disguise. In order to avoid being completely strangled, the various shares removed by the split of the Zheng Group had to change their banners and "sell" the ships under their names to agents, who would then apply for them.

Although this "skin change" can fool Kun Thief, the price of the flag is high. Kun Thief also implemented a "merchant ship home port registration" system. If the port of Zhangzhou Bay is used as the home port, the registration fee will be increased by [-]%. In order to save [-]% of the cost, the home ports have been registered in other places.

Over time, the various owners of the original Zheng Group gradually realized that they had lost direct control over their ships. Maritime merchants mostly cultivated "adopted sons" as agents for overseas trade. Now the policy of thieves has made these "adopted sons" the owners of ships and flags under the maritime order of the Senate. It wouldn't matter if everything was peaceful, but if there was some kind of turmoil, these ships would have nothing to do with him in an instant!

Although I have awakened, it cannot change the reality. Qian Taichong is clear to all observers, and he knows it well.

After thinking about it, I can only bite the bullet and take the "agent" approach. Fortunately, Totaro and others are quite reliable and can be trusted.

As long as the ship can sail out, it can make money. As for how to earn this money, it is another matter. Now that money is too much, the whole group must survive first. Whether it is Matos' black mercenaries or Tontaro's Japanese samurai, they cannot survive by relying on the word "loyalty" alone.

If the Zheng family can be revived, it won't hurt to endure temporary grievances.

However, if I am willing to bow my head, how can I get the sugar factory owned by Kun Thief? He has been the enemy of Kun Thief for these years, and he can be regarded as one of the rare people who "know Kun", but he has never paid attention to the sugar factory. Mr. Le did say that Kun Thief would regularly sell equipment, but he just wanted to go there Guangzhou……

While I was thinking wildly, suddenly the steward of the guild hall came to report: "There are guests outside to pay homage."

The guest who came to pay his respects this time was the Jinyiwei Military Academy where he was taken not long ago, but this time they were much more polite. Not only did they greet him, they also called him master. He was invited into a small sedan chair.

The sedan was lifted up, and the bearer walked as fast as the wind. It was unknown how far he had walked in the dark. When he got out of the sedan, he was in a passage with red eaves and red walls, which showed that he was in a palace. Qian Taichong did not dare to say anything and just waited outside the sedan chair. After a while, two officials came and led him to a palace to kneel and wait.

He knew that the person who saw him must be the emperor. The last time he asked him to "stay in the guild hall and don't leave the capital" meant that the emperor would still summon him. At this moment, he was feeling scared and happy.

During the last meeting, the emperor's interest was mostly in Kun Thief, and he didn't express much to the Zheng family. However, since the emperor is very interested in the Kun thief, taking advantage of this "anti-Kun" trend and asking the emperor to support Zheng Sen is currently the most feasible way.

He thought of Mr. Le's words and thought about it several times in his mind, and then he heard footsteps outside. He quickly made a respectful appearance and waited for the emperor's arrival.

The sound of boots could be heard, and someone could only be heard passing by. At this time, a little eunuch reminded him softly: "See you!" Qian Taichong stood up quickly, signed up, and knelt down to worship as expected.

Since Emperor Chongzhen summoned Yang Sichang, he has accepted the advice of "fighting foreign forces to secure domestic peace" in his heart, and has taken defensive positions in the north and south directions to wipe out "rogue bandits" at home.

As for Donglu, due to the recent outstanding performance of Sun Yuanhua and the Dengzhou Army, the situation has gradually stabilized. The Jianlu invaded North Korea last year, which greatly shocked the North Korean government and the public, forcing them to abandon the defense of Seoul. However, in the end, thanks to the active actions of the Dengzhou Army commanded by Sun Yuanhua, they saved Ganghwa Island in the first place, and saved Ganghwa Island in the second. Nanhan Mountain City fought three battles on the Yalu River, causing it to return without success. North Korea is still a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.

If North Korea cannot be taken, the Manchu Qing's eastern wing will be unstable. The imperial court's defense line in the Ningjin area was basically unimpeded. As for the Kun bandits in the south, although they captured Guangdong and Guangxi, they stopped at Wuling. There are currently no major battles on both the northern and southern fronts. It's a good time to wipe out the rogue bandits.

But on the southern route, there are relatively big hidden dangers. The Kun thieves were extremely powerful, and in many fierce battles they defeated the many with less. The imperial officers and soldiers were numerous and invincible. It cannot be suppressed without heavy troops. However, after the fall of Guangdong and Guangxi, the imperial court's heavy military group in the south had been completely lost. The provinces of Jiangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Fujian either have insufficient military strength or are internally unstable and cannot produce any decent troops for "defense." Although Fu Zonglong was a capable minister and had several battalions of troops under his command as the governor of Southern Jiangxi, compared with the long front line and the illustrious combat power of the Kun thieves, they were somewhat inadequate. When the thieves come to attack, the so-called line of defense is nothing more than a thin piece of paper.

If they wanted to build a new heavily armed group like the Guan Ning Army in Ningjin, the imperial court would have to go bankrupt.

Therefore, how to "spend less and do more" has become the most important issue for the emperor and his cabinet ministers. "Appeasement" is obviously the cheapest and most realistic option.

Of course, the emperor was quite hesitant about recruiting the captives. After all, Jianlu and the Kun thieves had already "split the soil to build the Hao" of the giant captives. Regardless of the specific recruitment conditions, the court and himself would lose face. Especially for Chongzhen, who has always been striving to be a "saint king", it is even more difficult to accept psychologically. In particular, there were many ministers in both the government and the public opposed to the recruitment. Once the rumor of the recruitment came out, the emperor was not sure how many people would fiercely oppose it.

Although he is a "holy dictator", no matter how fierce the opposition from the courtiers, he cannot shake his political intentions. But the young emperor paid more attention to the "style evaluation" of his court ministers than his ancestors in previous generations. Often hesitant before major moves.

This time, he also took a step-by-step approach to "appeasement". He had revealed some of his thoughts to the cabinet ministers. Judging from their ambiguous calls, they either did not fully understand what he meant, or they were deliberately pretending to be confused.

"None of these scoundrels is willing to slander your father!" The emperor was secretly angry. That's it for everyone else. Since Wen Tiren entered the cabinet, he can be said to be a "good understanding of the Lord's will", but in this matter, he has not been very active. Naturally, once the news of the peace talks leaks out, there will inevitably be another turmoil in the court. Wen Tiren's attitude further reduced the emperor's trust in him.

This is only a matter for the court. Although the emperor is young, he still understands the basic principles, even if he tries his best to push for peace through court discussions. But this is something that you and I are willing to do. If we don’t put some pressure on Kun Thief, Kun Thief may not be willing.

They levied "Kung salaries" with great fanfare, appointed Fu Zonglong as governor of Southern Jiangxi to "train troops"... and other measures were all put to put pressure on the Kun thieves. Let them realize that the imperial court still has the ability to devote all its strength to fighting.

In addition to Fu Zonglong, it is also a way to cultivate a partial army to contain the Kun thieves. He had already thought of this idea when he summoned Qian Taichong for the first time.

The emperor witnessed the entire rise and fall of the Zheng Zhilong Group. Although the "Southeast Sea Giant Canal" no longer exists, Qian Taichong is not only familiar with the relationship, but also has a passionate impulse to do business. Zheng Sen and Kun Thief also have a grudge against killing their father.

With a little support, he will be a partial force that can contain the Kun thieves. The key is that it doesn't cost the court much money.