Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

On January 1715, 1 in the Western calendar, at the Palace of Westminster in London, England (Note: British Parliament), the Dutch special envoy Verzif Van Spoult boarded the carriage against the cold wind and snowflakes. Ten minutes ago, he had just finished communicating with Sir Robert Wolfe, one of the leaders of the Whig Party, but the reaction of the British made him extremely disappointed. Obviously, the British side had decided to give up confrontation with the Chinese Empire, even if The British East India Company thus suffered a certain degree of loss.

In fact, when the news of the Chinese Empire’s seizure of the British East India Company’s merchant ships first spread to the UK, the “knights” in the House of Commons really rebelled against it. Stimulated by France's acquisition of the monopoly of Chinese goods in continental Europe, the British Parliament almost passed a resolution to start war against the Xia-Fa Alliance, and the British court also once made a decision to intervene in Xia Xi's trade in the Philippines.

However, with the signing of the "Lingyamen Treaty" between China and Portugal and the news of China's complete victory in the East Indies War, the attitude of the British side has changed drastically.The British government, which is not yet an empire on which the sun never sets, obviously does not want to have a direct conflict with the powerful and rising First Eastern Empire, lest it be driven out by the Chinese Empire with its ever-growing tentacles after losing the right to trade with China. India and the entire Indian Ocean business circle are very important.

And this change tends to intensify as some of the British ships released by China return to the mainland.

When these merchant captains who returned from China testified in Congress, they unanimously criticized Rudd, the head of the British East India Company’s trading office in Xiamen, and Sir Denver, the head of the company in Calcutta, and believed that these two were the ones who ignored the Chinese Empire. Due to the actual situation of powerful forces, being attracted by petty profits and taking risks to cooperate with the Dutch United East India Company led to the conflict between Xia and Britain. The monopoly of European trade was handed over to the French, which greatly damaged the interests of Britain and the British East India Company.

The testimony of the captains caused great confusion at the top of the British government. After all, the British weakened France in the Spanish succession war with great difficulty. A great challenge, which of course will never be allowed.

At this time, the fact that the British East India Company stalked and attacked the Chinese mission several times during its sea trip to Europe was also revealed.For a while, there were rumors in the UK that the East India Company directed and staged the Xiaying crisis, and this statement was also used by the Tories as a powerful weapon to attack the Whigs.Under such circumstances, the British Parliament was naturally unable to form an alliance with the Netherlands again, and even had to shyly invite the Chinese mission to visit Britain, so as not to lose the interests of the East.

The Dutch were abandoned, and without the intervention of the British court, the United East India Company could only announce its reorganization amidst the bitter wind and rain.However, looking around the world, in Central and North America, the Netherlands no longer has a foothold; in South America, although the Dutch West India Company has a small colony in Guyana, to continue to expand, it is bound to have to cooperate with early colonists such as Spain and Portugal. In the event of a conflict, there will definitely be a strong rebound from the opponent, which is something that the Dutch, who are now greatly weakened in strength, do not want to see.

Therefore, after the consensus of the 17-member committee, the new Dutch United Africa Company had to focus on the direction of southern Africa and East Africa, and completely retreated from the Chinese and Southeast Asian markets—fortunately, the Dutch population who was later released by China It was learned in the middle that Huaxia also agreed with the Netherlands to conduct harmless trade in East Asia, which gave the Dutch the opportunity to return to Asia, but the focus of the Dutch business is no longer in Asia, which is already a foregone conclusion.

The almost bankrupt United East India Company was reorganized while the Dutch investors were crying without tears, while in the far east, Lingyamen, full of festive atmosphere, was about to usher in the 17th New Year of Wucheng.However, for some people, the festival is a good opportunity to drill. No, someone who has made a comeback has started to act.

"Brother Li Nong," Niu Mingli, who walked into the courtyard with four-color cakes, bowed to his master. "I'm also a descendant from the end of the world. Brother Li Nong won't mind if I come here to pay my respects."

"Lord Niu, what are you doing?" Chen Xiaoze, the former Sima of the Lingyamen Protectorate who was demoted because of the trespassing case, looked at the things in Niu Mingli's hands, and said with a slightly embarrassed expression. "Come right here, what else do you bring? If the Overwatch Council finds out about this, it's time to gossip again."

"What gossip," Niu Mingli said disapprovingly. "Could it be that colleagues move around, and the Overwatch Council should also take care of it."

"That's true." Chen Xiaoze stretched out his hand as a gesture of invitation. "I forgot, Mr. Niu has been reinstated as an official because of Xiao Panpan's attachment and the opening of Chittagong Township. It's really gratifying to congratulate." Although he congratulated, there was no enthusiasm in his tone, and it wasn't because of Chen Xiaoze He couldn't see others being good, but these days he reorganized the transgression case, and had doubts about Niu Mingli's role in it, and even Niu Mingli's identity. "Master Niu," Chen Xiaoze asked bluntly after the two sat down. "Aside from New Year's greetings, do you have any errands?"

"I don't dare to be sent." Unknowingly seeing this scene, I thought that Niu Mingli was sticking his hot face against his cold ass, but Niu Mingli didn't take it seriously at all, and still spoke with a smile. "I heard that the navy may sell several ships in the next year. I wonder if brother Li Nong can help me clear one or two."

What Niu Mingli was talking about was the severely damaged warships in the Xiahe naval battle. Although these warships can still be used after major repairs, their life expectancy has been greatly affected. After its sale, new ships will be built to supplement the system.Of course, outsiders are very jealous of things that the military doesn't like, so all kinds of ghosts and snakes come out to show their abilities, trying to get it into their pockets, and Niu Mingli is just one of them.

"Your Majesty Niu's news is very well-informed, yes, after all, your lord is now a secretary." The reason why Chen Xiaoze doubted Niu Mingli's actions in the trespass case was precisely because Niu Mingli's current position, a secretary of the Privy Council, was unknown to him. He thought it was the same as the previous government who was in charge of the map frame, but Chen Xiaoze, who was from the Ministry of War, knew that this was an external intelligence department, so he had absolutely reason to instigate the whole trespassing case. "But the imperial court hasn't agreed on this matter yet. Whether it is to be demolished or sold is still a matter of debate. Is Mr. Niu too anxious? Let's wait for a while. The Ministry of War will have an explanation later, and it won't be too late to make a way."

"Is this matter not urgent?" Niu Mingli didn't hold back. "Although it is a warship that the navy does not want, the imperial court has always dismantled a lot of cruise ships and sold them for a small amount. Now it is rare that a few ships will flow out. The people who want it have gone, and there is no advance notice. I have figured out a way, and when the matter is really settled, there is no place for me as a brother."

Chen Xiaoze pretended to be surprised and asked: "Listen to this, but Master Niu wants to resign and start a business?"

"That's not true." Niu Mingli explained honestly. "Sili plans to explore the waterways to Persia and Dashi after the next year, but it is not easy to use navy ships, so he is thinking that if he can win these ships, he will build a business name as a cover."

"To build a business is to build a business. Is it necessary to have these warships just for show?" Chen Xiaoze asked pretendingly puzzled. "Besides, let the Secretary of the Ministry of Military Affairs discuss this matter with the Ministry of War. Why go around such a big circle."

"Brother Li Nong, you don't know. Although the imperial court has acquired Xilan, the west is the territory of the barbarians in Thailand and the West. If you rush up like this, you will inevitably encounter some obstacles. The use of warships is not only a deterrent but also a preparation for real action. You won’t suffer a big loss from time to time.” Niu Mingli explained seemingly honestly. "As for why the Secretary doesn't directly communicate with the Ministry of War, you know, Brother Li Nong, that the Staff Secretary belongs to the Privy Council, and the Privy Council is not allowed to intervene in the military. It can’t be changed.”

Chen Xiaoze didn't believe that the matter would be so simple, so he sneered and said, "The staff members are cautious, but it's useless for Mr. Niu to find a subordinate official. After all, the subordinate official is only a mere sixth-rank foreign official. little"

Niu Mingli interrupted: "Niu is precisely because Li Nong is not in the center, so he specially asked to come to the door."

Chen Xiaoze understood that the other party originally wanted to mobilize from the outside, and then use force in the middle, unwittingly finishing the matter.

But the more he understood, the more furious Chen Xiaoze became. He was almost certain that in the original usurpation case, most of the time, the official secretary was behind the scenes. It was nothing more than a play, but it made a lot of people on the bright side take the blame.

It's just that he understands it, but Chen Xiaoze doesn't have any evidence for him to submit a letter to overturn the case, so he just shook his head and said, "Master Niu, I've already registered in the center, how dare you make trouble? It's better not to get involved with me, so please invite Master Niu Haihan to come and serve tea."

"Brother Li Nong," Niu Mingli's face sank when he saw the Malay servant coming over with a smile on his face, but the Ministry of War belongs to the civil service system, and the staff department has no right to ask the other party what to do. The helpless Niu Mingli could only whisper After cursing, he walked out of the Chen Mansion resentfully, and after getting into his carriage, Niu Mingli said to the person sitting opposite. "It can't be done, the surname Chen refuses to intervene, so we can only think of another way."

"Maybe Chen Xiaoze has doubts about the trespass case?" asked the person opposite. "Are you looking for a chance to silence it?"

"That's not necessary." Niu Ming thought for a while and denied. "He doesn't have any evidence. If he silences it, it will cause trouble." After all, he is an official ordered by the court. If he dies unexpectedly, it will definitely attract unnecessary attention. Once a big boss like Gong Tian is alarmed, one can imagine what the result will be. Among other things, Niu Mingli and his group will definitely be sacrificed. "Just send someone to keep an eye on him for the time being, but those boats must not fall into the hands of others." The real problem is the boat. It is reported that the inner court manager also wants these gunboats. Once it is true, the official party company will not be able to compete with the other party anyway. "Let's go to the town guard mansion, I'm afraid we have to start with the army"