Dragon Sea Empire

On an early summer night in the south of the Yangtze River, the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers and plants, which mixed with the smell of manure in the fields to create a strange smell. However, none of the imperial envoys of the Ming Dynasty felt this. Under the escort of dozens of Chinese soldiers, they rode horses or sat in carriages and walked towards Qimen in Suzhou City.

They are still immersed in what they have seen and heard all day, unable to extricate themselves.

The civil servants have been talking about the fresh weather in the Chinese Army barracks and the incredible behavior of the Chinese Army soldiers. When Xu Guangqi presided over the establishment of the new army, he knew the various rules and regulations of the Ming Army very well, and he had also seen officers in the Ming Army The scene of the little soldier flying domineering and bowing in front of his superior can't help but sigh: "In the army of the guard, as usual, the Chinese army and Qian Zong see the commander of the battalion, kneel and bow, and the commander of the joint battalion is the same. Sticking to the gate of the gate, kneeling and bowing... Generally speaking, the general manager Qian treats the Chinese army with the courtesy of an officer. When the general manager sees the general manager, he usually kneels twice and bows to the general manager. If he obeys orders, he kneels and listens to him. , The flag is in general in the hundred generals, and it is in the teaching field at ordinary times, as the soldiers are in the team... But today I waited in this Chinese army barracks, and saw that no matter how big or small the generals and officers met, the encounters between soldiers and generals were all normal. The same horizontal hand and chest stand at attention and salute, concise and clear,..."

Sheng, the deputy imperial envoy, took Hong Yuan as the minister of the Ministry of Rites. He was born as the commander of Tongguan Guards, but he abandoned martial arts and followed literature. Understanding, at this moment, I couldn't help but said: "Being like this is nothing more than a bandit's behavior regardless of superiority or inferiority. Humans are rude, and they are still human."

Xu Guangqi glanced at him silently, disapproving of his pedantry in his heart, didn't say anything, just ignored him, turned his head and said to Yuan Chonghuan behind him: "What does Element have to say about today's events?"

"Students are stupid, and they can't afford to be taught." Yuan Chonghuan seemed to become very humble all of a sudden, and Xu Guangqi couldn't help turning his head to look at him.

Yuan Chonghuan gave a wry smile, cupped his hands to Xu Guangqi and said: "It's not that the students are self-effacing, but there are too many things that I don't understand about what I saw and heard today. Mr. Xu is very knowledgeable and talented. The students would like to ask: Your Excellency is proficient in Western culture. From my knowledge, we can know that the land of Europa in the far west has such an army as we see today."

Xu Guangqi froze for a moment, frowned and thought for a while: He has studied the Western science and Catholic teachings brought by Matteo Ricci for more than ten years in an attempt to communicate with traditional Chinese academics. The situation of the army is not well understood.

He thought about it carefully, and recalled some correspondence with Jesuit missionaries, and said slowly: "I've heard of a certain prince of the Hongmaoyi, who is very strict in running the army and good at using firearms, but, like today's I have seen such an army with such a perfect system, such arduous training, and the weapons and soldiers are all extremely elite... There should be no such army in the whole world, I am afraid there is no other army like this,"

After listening to his words, Yuan Chonghuan sighed: "Such a powerful army, but it does not belong to the imperial court... In that case, who is this Yin Feng, a mere maritime merchant, how could he have such ability to create such an army out of nothing? ,"

Zhang Ye and Zhou Xiang had been discussing some topics among soldiers just now.

Zhou Xiang, who had been at the bottom of the Ming army before entering Jinyiwei, compared what he had seen and heard today with what he had seen and heard about the Ming army. He couldn't help but feel very desperate for the outcome of the war. With a touch of luck, he said: "Perhaps, today's army is just the elite soldiers specially selected from various departments of the Marine Bandit Army, and they all gathered here to perform for us. Could it be that in the Marine Bandit Army, every army is so elite?" ,"

Zhang Ye and Yuan Chonghuan shook their heads together. Zhang Ye, who had led troops in battle, said: "It is indeed possible to gather a group of people to train hard for a few days in the marching ranks or something, but the training in the afternoon is all about cooperation in combat. In fact, it is impossible to think of it without years of actual combat training. This cannot be faked. I once deliberately eavesdropped on the chats of these soldiers when they were resting. The soldiers here are very familiar with each other. Obviously They have been training together for a long time, at least a year or two, and we have only been here for a few days, so they can't be cheating." After all, Zhang Ye has worked in Jinyiwei for many years, and he is very concerned about how to get information from people's conversations. , more or less professional level.

Yuan Chonghuan also said: "When we boarded the ship from Guazhou, I paid attention to the board and lodging of the sailors on the warships. At that time, I thought that the pirates wanted to save face in front of the imperial envoys. The food is similar to the food of these infantry troops today, how did they do it, "

Xu Guangqi shook his head: "I don't know, who is Yin Feng, the leader of the pirate army?"

Sheng Yihong said with a little surprise: "Master Xu, didn't you just meet this big boss Yin Feng when Jinling recruited and negotiated?"

Xu Guangqi said: "Back then I only met him once and saw that he treated me very enthusiastically, but I didn't know why. Afterwards, this Yin Feng stopped showing up and always made excuses, so he asked his student Chen Zhongji to negotiate with me... ...is the Chen Zhongji who is negotiating with us now,"

……

At this time, Yin Feng, who was in the backyard of the Hong Kong Prince's Mansion in Taiwan, sneezed several times behind the desk.

Qiao Ling'er, who was serving him, hurriedly put on his coat, and said softly, "Look at you, it's only late now, the sea wind here is strong, and it's still very cold at night..."

Qiao Ling'er is Yin Feng's concubine, she is the youngest, she comes from the Shanxi merchant Qiao's family, and is the concubine of a side branch of the Qiao family. At the beginning, the Qiao family sent this concubine to fight for overseas land ownership rights in Yin Feng's ruled area. For Yin Feng.

The most powerful Shanxi merchants, Qiao and Chen, stepped on several boats at the same time. They not only made money to sell officials and nobles in the Ming court, but also communicated and traded with Mongolian tribes and the Eight Banners of Manchuria, buying and selling various ironware and grains and other prohibited items. After the Great War at Hetuala, the Eight Banners of Jurchen weakened rapidly, and the various ministries of Eastern Mongolia were in chaos. The Shanxi merchants were very sensitive, and immediately sent their own children to the sea with a large amount of money, and hurriedly came to meet with Yin Feng and others. At this time, Qiao Ling'er, who had been neglected in Yin Feng's back house, was young and not outstanding, suddenly became a favorite, and all Shanxi merchants wanted to follow her. See Yin Feng.

Yin Feng doesn't hate her, on the contrary, he has great sympathy for this girl who has become a weight in the family's hands at such a young age. Qiao Ling'er is soft on the outside and strong on the inside. She has seen a lot, but she has a flexible mind. She usually does not show her beauty, and treats Li Lihua and Mai Wan'er very respectfully and politely. Therefore, everyone in Yin Feng's back house treats her well.

At this time, girls in big northern families were generally married early. Qiao Ling'er was actually only 12 years old when she was sent here.

Even now, this young woman with a bun is only 19 years old. She has a round face and is very attractive. She still has a hot body in a skirt. She has never given birth to a child, and her body still retains the charm of a girl. , causing Yin Feng to take a few extra glances.

Qiao Ling'er has just been appointed by Yin Feng to be in charge of the company's Northwest Trading Road, that is, to be in charge of liaison with Shanxi merchants and other big businessmen.

Tonight, Yin Feng is dealing with some matters related to the establishment of secret branches of China Bank in Shanxi, Shaanxi and other northwest. China Bank is uniformly funded by Zhonghua Corporation, and it is jointly established with major Jewish business families in Asia. Neither of these two companies is suitable for public appearance. The northern hinterland of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, Qiao Linger's main job now is to cooperate with Shanxi merchants and other northern merchants to open a bank.

"I probably caught a cold when I went out to clean my hands just now. It's okay. We've finished sorting out the bank's joint stock charter, and we'll be fine tonight." Yin Feng took a sip of tea, and pointed to Qiao Linger who was looking down at the documents: " These regulations are related to the deposits of overseas merchants. I think that there is a famine in the Northwest and the sea ban of the Ming Dynasty is still in place. Will there be overseas merchants going there to deal in goods in a while? In this way, these regulations can be deleted to save money. Mrs. Qiao of your family is too caring, "

Qiao Ling'er chuckled: "Master said that, but I was overthinking. That master is rigorous and meticulous, but he knows the current situation best. If there are foreigners doing business, as long as he can make money, he will not No matter where they come from,"

Seeing her smiling at him, Yin Feng couldn't help but embrace her in his arms.

That night, Yin Feng rested in Qiao Ling'er's room.

... Early the next morning, Yin Feng really caught a cold and had a fever.

On this day, Zeng Yue, Chen Zhongji and others' reports on the Jiangnan negotiations had been sent to Taiwan and Hong Kong. Yin Feng, who was ill, was lying on the bed, drinking soup, looking at the report with a frown, and said to Xu Hongji who had just arrived: "Sir, I plan to let the angels of the Ming Dynasty come over,"

"Come here, let them come to Taiwan,"

"Yes, just negotiate here, talk to them on our territory, let them see that we are not pirates, but a regular country,"

So, that night, the captain of the communication ship that came from Jiangnan with Zeng and Chen's report stayed at his home for less than half an hour before he was called away by Yin Feng's messenger.

Then, he and more than twenty of his subordinates received a new mission, and immediately rushed to Jiangnan at full speed with a written order from Yin Feng.

Ten days later, the communication ship appeared at the pier of the Chongming base, and three days later, Yin Feng's order was delivered to Zeng Yue, Chen Zhongji, Luo Quanxiu and others.

On the same day, Chen Zhongji sent someone to inform Xu Guangqi and others: The Chinese Army will begin to withdraw from tomorrow, and will withdraw from the Yangtze River. Of course, Zhenjiang, Suzhou, Songjiang and other counties will continue to be occupied. These places have to be negotiated between the two sides. determine the attribution,