Lin Gao Qiming

However, the emperor hesitated. To be honest, this was beyond his cognition.

The overseas trade of the Ming Dynasty itself is a complex topic. Like many things in the Ming Dynasty, there is no specific organization to manage it, and there is no unified management standard.

Chongzhen ascended the throne as a young man. He did not receive complete imperial education and experience in his youth, and he knew little about the imperial system. Qian Taichong's suggestion seemed wonderful, but to him it was full of uncertain risks. Although Qian Taichong used the old system name Shibosi, the strangeness of "sea trade" still made him subconsciously feel fear.

Seeing the emperor's hesitation, Qian Taichong knew that such a major matter could not be decided by his words. It is inevitable that it will have to go through court deliberation. Fortunately, Mr. Le told him that there are many people from the government and the public who support the "Kongwu" project.

Immediately he said again: "Wei Chen has written an abbreviation of this matter and asked the emperor to read it." Then he took out a thick folder from his arms and presented it.

The eunuch in front of the emperor hurriedly took the zhezi and put it on the imperial book table. Qian Taichong added: "If your Majesty obeys my request, I would like to move the Zheng family, soldiers, ships, and assets to Shanghai, and I will be responsible for the 36th trip to Guangzhou for the imperial court."

No. 36 is the 36 tooth dealers in Guangzhou that used to act as agents for foreign merchants. Being a maritime tooth merchant can be very profitable and can make you rich as a country, but the tooth merchant itself also needs abundant funds and abundant trade channels to be competent.

Considering the strength of the Zhengsen Group, it is not difficult to be a maritime tooth merchant. Once you get the official title from the Ministry of Household Affairs, you will become an "imperial businessman" with the aura of the imperial court. Moreover, Zheng Sen himself is a real hereditary military attache. With the blessing of the two, wouldn't Shanghai County be the domain of the Zheng family?

The emperor nodded slightly. Indeed, judging from the past history of the Zheng family, this is indeed a method that allows them to give full play to their strengths. They continued to remain in Zhangquan, almost useless. Shen Youlong reported in the memorial that the various forces of the original Zheng family in Zhangzhou Bay were incompatible with each other and had no control over the Kun thieves. Instead, they competed to trade with the Kun thieves.

Since they are willing to move out, it is not a bad thing. Chongzhen thought, regardless of whether the establishment of a port and a city shipping department in Shanghai would be successful or not, as long as the Zheng Sen Group arrived in Shanghai, it would be entirely at the discretion of the imperial court. Far from being like in Fujian, where the sky is high and the emperor is far away, he listens to the tune but not the propaganda. Although the Zheng family is not what it used to be, at least the Zheng family still has a large fleet and thousands of troops that the imperial court does not have - and they do not need to be paid by the imperial court. It is also useful simply to defend Jiangnan.

Immediately he said: "Ai Qing's heart is commendable. The imperial court will handle the matter of setting up a shipping market in Shanghai. The Zheng family is willing to move to Shanghai, and the imperial court welcomes it. When the time comes, I will make appropriate arrangements for the place where I will issue the order."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Qian Taichong couldn't restrain his excitement and quickly knelt down and kowtowed. Although the establishment of a shipping department was not approved, allowing the Zheng family to move north to Shanghai showed that the emperor valued the Zheng family very much.

Although Shanghai is just a county under Songjiang Prefecture, it is the heart of Nanzhi and is even closer to Nanjing. Without full trust, the emperor would not have allowed an originally semi-independent maritime business group like the Zheng family to move. To Shanghai.

For Qian Taichong, only gaining the emperor's trust is the key to achieving his career. Especially for the Zheng family, which is currently "under the jurisdiction of a young country", without the protection and support of the imperial court, and without the talents of Zhuge Kongming, it would be impossible to revive the Zheng family!
Now, the emperor has fully expressed his trust in the Zheng family, no, in himself! The emperor may not know whether the Zheng family is loyal or treacherous. He only comes to a conclusion based on his words and deeds.

After thinking about this, Qian Taichong couldn't help but feel happy while crying with gratitude.

"...As for you, your public loyalty to the country is very commendable!" the emperor said, "I am determined to promote you. Your job is to inspect the school of Zhangzhou Haiphong Tongzhi Yamen. Therefore, I will temporarily appoint you as the governor of Haiphong Tongzhi Yamen. Responsible for Anping coastal defense matters."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!" Although the inspector of Tongzhi Yamen is an "official", he is an "unofficial" with no rank, while the governor is an official of the ninth rank. And "full-time Anping coastal defense." Although he rarely went to Zhangzhou Haiphong Yamen as an errand and mostly worked in Anping, but now that he has this title, the name of his activities in Anping becomes more and more justified.

"Don't leave the capital just yet." The emperor continued.

"Wei Chen knows." Qian Taichong burst into ecstasy: This means he will continue to call for the right one!
After seeing each other twice, the emperor was quite satisfied with himself. If the next call is right and the affairs of the Shipping Department can be handled smoothly, it will be "in the emperor's heart", and the future is immeasurable.

Although he was just a student of the Imperial College through donations, the state affairs were deteriorating day by day, and the people employed in the imperial court were becoming more and more eclectic. Sun Yuanhua was just a civil servant, and he had only been an official for more than ten years. Now he was already a serious governor of Denglai with the title of minister of the Ministry of War.

He asked himself that his talent was no worse than that of Sun Yuanhua. It was only because Sun Yuanhua had a good father-in-law and used some connections with concubines that he could rise to the top. Although he did not have a good father-in-law, he had much more dealings with thieves than Sun Yuanhua. If the imperial court really needs to set up official affairs, I will be a top talent. Maybe within ten years, I will be able to become a high-ranking official...

With such burning thoughts, Qian Taichong was sent back to the guild hall by Jin Yiwei from the palace. That night, "Mr. Le" came again. As soon as he arrived, he said "congratulations" repeatedly.

Qian Taichong was surprised and thought that Mr. Le didn't know his background. He would know everything about the performance he had with the emperor today by evening.

Mr. Le first congratulated him on his "promotion" and then praised his proposal to open Shanghai as a port. He also said that he would do his best to get the matter approved by the court.

"It seems that students are worried about this matter." Qian Taichong is not a three-year-old child, nor is he new to officialdom. He is well aware of the shortcomings of the imperial court. Whenever the court had major initiatives, they would often be delayed for several months without being decided, and the emperor was indecisive. Many officials would always oppose and obstruct them in every possible way for various purposes.

"That's what worries you sir." Mr. Le nodded, "This matter is indeed not easy to handle. However, there are many knowledgeable people in the court. My master will contact them secretly and form public opinion in the court. Naturally, we will get twice the result with half the effort."

"Who is your master..." Qian Taichong couldn't help but be very curious.

Mr. Le smiled slightly and did not answer. Qian Taichong knew that his question was presumptuous.
"Never mind that," Mr. Le said, "Do you know anything about the situation in Shanghai?"

"I know a little bit about it." Qian Taichong has been equivalent to the "prime minister" of the Zheng Sen family in these years, handling all matters, big and small. Naturally, I know something about the situation in Shanghai.

"I heard that some gentry in Shanghai jointly established a large shipping company called China Merchants Bank. It specializes in shipping routes throughout the Beiyang. The business is very prosperous."

"Do you know who the shareholders of this China Merchants Company are?"

"No need to ask, of course there will be thieves."

"That's right," Mr. Le said, stroking his hands, "Apart from Kun Thief?"

"It is said that it is Shen Tingyang of Chongming. I know a little about this person. His family was originally the leader of the Shachuan Gang in Shanghai. He has hundreds of sandships under his command and specializes in trade between the North and South."

"It's not just him."

"It's not surprising that there are probably a lot of Jiangnan Jingentry people who are shareholders."

"Sir, you only know one, but don't know the other." Mr. Le shook his head and said, "The four words Jiangnan Jin Gentry cannot be summed up with the words 'not surprising'."

These words aroused Qian Taichong's curiosity and asked: "Where else is the big shot?"

"To tell you the truth, the third largest stock in China Merchants Group is mostly owned by Fushe people."

"Fushe?!" Qian Taichong was dumbfounded now. Even though he had been active in Zhangquan area for these years, he also knew about the Fushe group. I know the names of Zhang Pu and others.

"Why did they get together with the Kun thieves?" Qian Taichong couldn't help but get nervous. If the thieves had the support of Fu She in Jiangnan, even if they set up a shipping department in Shanghai, they would not be able to do any business at all. Not to mention the tax of "20 taels per year".

"Here, what should we do?"

"Don't panic." Mr. Le made up his mind first, "Tianru's cooperation with the thief Kun was originally a compromise. Now that the thief Kun's wolf ambition has been exposed, Tianru also wants to get rid of it. But this cross-sea business matter... ..." He said, looking at Qian Taichong with a half-smile.

"Yes! Yes! As long as the imperial court approves the opening of Shanghai as a port, students should do their best!" Qian Taichong understood what he meant and immediately agreed, "I just don't know if the imperial court can agree to the opening of the port."

"You don't need to worry too much about this matter." Mr. Le said, "There are many bigwigs in the government and the public who hold the idea of ​​'teaching Kun the skills to fight with Kun'. What's more, Tianru also has this opinion. With his help, it can be said to be twice the result with half the effort!"

"Yes, yes, it's all thanks to the master's plan!" Qian Taichong quickly flattered him.

Mr. Le cherished the matter and said: "Sir, you are ridiculous! Everyone in the world who is knowledgeable knows that we in China are neither rogues nor pirates, but bandits! How can the princes of the government and the public not know the key here? It's just that The thief's ship is strong and the artillery is strong, and the world is in troubled times, so we can only take advantage of it slowly."

"Yes, yes, students admire it!"

Mr. Le looked at Qian Taichong and said, "Sir, he is familiar with the affairs of the emperor. He will definitely be a capable person in handling the affairs of the emperor in the future. His future is immeasurable!"

"Students are ashamed."

Mr. Le smiled again and whispered: "There is one more thing that I will tell you in private. Whether you do it or not depends on you..."

"Don't know what?"

"Tianru is planning to return Yi Zhai to the prime minister. This matter is quite difficult. If Mr. Tianru helps Tianru at this juncture, I think Tianru will be grateful, and Yizhai will probably also thank the Zheng family."

"I don't know where the difficulty lies..." Qian Taichong didn't understand it for a moment. He suddenly realized it before he finished speaking. He secretly cursed himself for being "stupid" and said quickly, "This is a trivial matter. It's just that the student and Tianru don't know each other..."

"This is my name card. You can take it with you to Suzhou." Mr. Le took out the name card from his sleeve. "He generally knows about you. As long as you submit this name card, he will meet you naturally." "