Smuggling Daming

The position of admiral of the four seas is very delicate. After the Ming Dynasty implemented the sea ban, there was no administrative jurisdiction over the sea. However, in order to combat pirates and maintain the safety of the coastal people, the coastal guards can still build sea ships to patrol the sea.It is precisely because of this that the Admiral of the Four Seas appointed by Zhengde to Zhou Zhong is a military post, and his authority is only to manage the navy of the Ming Dynasty, and has not touched the line of the sea ban, so he was able to get the approval of the cabinet so smoothly.

Although the Admiral of the Four Seas is a temporary military post, he also has his own official residence, and it is located in Ningbo Mansion next to Shuangyu Port. After the Ming Dynasty implemented the sea ban, Guangzhou and Ningbo were the only two ports that were lifted. After so many years of corruption, only the navy in Guangzhou and Ningbo still maintains a relatively complete organizational system. When overseas countries pay tribute, these two navy come to welcome guests. Secondly, it is also a deterrent to overseas vassal states.

Zhou Zhong did not go directly to Ningbo when he came back this time, but went to Shuangyu Port first, firstly he wanted to send Jinxuan and the others home, and secondly, after Ashikaga Kazuki got the imperial decree from Zhengde, They also have to return to the Wa Kingdom, and they will also bring back the weapons that Zhou Zhong promised to support them before. Zhou Zhong needs to go back and make arrangements for these in person.

However, the above is not the main reason why Zhou Zhong didn't go directly to Ningbo. The most important reason was that he was worried about one person. Xie Di is here, so he has the confidence to compete with him for the management of the Haimeng. Now he is entering the officialdom for the first time.Moreover, Ningbo, where the official residence is located, is also under Xie Di's jurisdiction, so he needs to chat with Xie Da who is very familiar with Ningbo first.

Businessmen are always the most well-informed, so when the news that Zhou Zhong was appointed as Admiral of the Four Seas just spread in the capital, everyone in Shuangyu Port already knew about the news, and it immediately caused a huge commotion. He also did not expect that the young Zhou Zhong would become a member of the imperial court, and he would also be in charge of the navy of the Ming Dynasty. This was a big deal for the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce, which had already become the overlord of the smuggling industry.It's simply great news.

It is precisely because of this that after the news that Zhou Zhong became the Admiral of the Four Seas was confirmed, San Niang and Uncle Tuo in the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce and others suffered a lot. A large number of people came to visit every day, usually through talking To make connections in the name of business, those with a thicker skin would come to the door directly with gifts to make connections.Anyway, for them, both the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce and Zhou Zhong himself will have a bright future, so taking advantage of the current opportunity, they naturally want to get closer to each other.

In addition to the several stewards of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce, Xie Da of the Xie Family Chamber of Commerce is also full of guests.After all, everyone knows that Zhou Zhong will marry Xie Da's daughter as his wife.Although Ping's wife is inferior to his wife in status, Zhou Zhong's father is a high official in the court, so they only came to curry favor with Xie Da.Besides, the news that the Xie Family Chamber of Commerce, the Hong Family Chamber of Commerce, and the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce will cooperate to form the Haimeng has spread, which made the smugglers lament the ambitions of the three chambers of commerce, but they paid more diligent visits to Xie Da.

Under such circumstances, when Zhou Zhong's fleet returned to Shuangyu Port, one can imagine the warm welcome they received.Especially those small and medium-sized smuggling chambers of commerce and cargo owners rushed to the port to welcome them one by one.Moreover, they all gave an expensive gift, which is called a congratulatory gift to congratulate Zhou Zhong on his promotion, and in the next few days, Zhou Zhong will be entangled by these gift givers endlessly. After finally meeting some important people, the others simply blocked the door, and it was a bit quieter.

Others were eager to see Zhou Zhong, but Zhou Zhong was also anxious to see Xie Da. Although he met Xie Da when he came back, Xie Ke was there at that time, so Zhou Zhong couldn't directly ask Xie Da what he should do. Facing Xie Di's matter, Xie Da also knew that he was too busy here in the next few days, so he never came again, so Zhou Zhong had no choice but to visit Xie Da himself.

When Zhou Zhong arrived at the Xie Family Chamber of Commerce in Nangang by car, Xie Da had already been waiting for a long time. Instead of entertaining Zhou Zhong in the living room, Xie Da went directly to his study and waited until the servants brought him tea. , Xie Da ordered his servants not to approach the study, and then he closed the door and smiled at Zhou Chong: "Wenda, you really amaze me more and more. I never thought that after going to the capital, you would become a member of the imperial court." Admiral, the governor of coastal defense and military affairs, this is simply a great benefit for our smuggling business!"

Hearing Xie Da's words, Zhou Zhong smiled wryly and said, "Uncle Xie, you may not believe it. I was forced to accept this appointment from His Majesty. In addition, this official is not so easy to be. Others Not to mention, I want to take over the navy from Ningbo and Guangzhou, let’s not mention Guangzhou for now, it’s not easy to just take over the navy here in Ningbo.”

Hearing this, Xie Da also understood what Zhou Zhong was worried about. He sipped his tea and smiled and said, "Wenda, you are too timid. , if you take over Daming's coastal defense now, it is equivalent to taking Xie Di's power over the coastal defense, but don't forget that Xie Di no longer has any strong backing in the court, but you are deeply loved by His Majesty. Chongxin, in this way, as long as you act tougher, I am afraid that Xie Di will have no choice but to back down in the end!"

"This... can this work?" Zhou Zhong knew almost nothing about official affairs, and he didn't know how to take over the Ningbo Navy, so he came to Xie Da to hear the other party's opinion. Unexpectedly, Xie Da only gave him one suggestion, that is to use a tough attitude to seize control of the navy, which made Zhou Zhong hesitate.

"Haha, Wenda, you are still too young. In fact, officialdom is the same as shopping malls. Except for personal connections, those who should be tough must be tough, and those who need to compromise must be compromised. Xie Di is from the Xie family. He has always wanted to take it away. Our control over the Chamber of Commerce, you will seize power from Xie Di again this time, so he will definitely be dissatisfied with you. If you show weakness this time, it will be difficult for you to move forward in the officialdom in the future, but if you behave tough enough, Coupled with your ability and His Majesty's favor for you, I believe that those in the officialdom will definitely try their best to curry favor with you, and your official career will be smoother!" Xie Da laughed and said at this time.

Although Xie Da has never been an official, he has spent most of his life in shopping malls, and businessmen will inevitably deal with officials, so he has already figured out the officialdom and shopping malls, even better than some officials who have been officials for many years. Aware of the tricks in officialdom, the advice given to Zhou Zhong at this time is also based on his experience.

After listening to Xie Da's words, Zhou Zhong pondered for a long time. Even though he has been a human being for two lifetimes, the education he has received since he was a child has made him have a certain awe of official newspapers. Even though he has become an official now, his mentality is still He didn't change it all at once, so he would inevitably be timid about going to Ningbo to take over the job, but Xie Da's words made him feel suddenly enlightened. With his current status and power, there is really no need to worry about Xie Di .

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhong also breathed a sigh of relief, then he stood up and bowed solemnly to Xie Da: "Thank you uncle for your guidance, my nephew's worries before are really unnecessary!"

Seeing that Zhou Zhong had figured it out, Xie Da nodded approvingly, and then he smiled and said, "Also, Wenda, you should know that although Xie Di is the governor of Zhejiang, he just took office this year. And it was because of Xie Qian and Li Dongyang's recommendation that he became the governor of Zhejiang, but Xie Di's appointment has already made those who hold the position of governor in Zhejiang officialdom feel satisfied, so now Xie Di is in Zhejiang. He has not gained a firm foothold in the officialdom, and quite a few officials are not convinced by him, this is a perfect opportunity for you, Wenda!"

Zhou Zhong's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he immediately turned his head and said to Xie Da: "Uncle Xie, if I remember correctly, you once said that you are very familiar with the officialdom in Ningbo, and even have friendship with the prefect of Ningbo and others, so this I'm afraid I'll have Uncle Laucher to introduce it for me next time!"

The last time when Xie Yi and his son threatened Zhou Zhong, Xie Da asked Zhou Zhong to take refuge with the prefect of Ningbo and others. Although Ningbo is also under the jurisdiction of Xie Di, the prefect of Ningbo and others also have their own backers, so Xie Di did not dare to offend too much They, if Zhou Zhong pays to bribe these people, then Xie Di may really have nothing to do with him.It's just that after Zhou Zhong bestowed a marriage, everyone knew that His Majesty the Emperor attached great importance to Zhou Zhong, so the Xie family immediately changed their strategy towards Zhou Zhong.

Hearing Zhou Zhong's words, Xie Da stood up and patted Zhou Zhong's shoulder with a smile: "Wen Da, even if you don't tell me, I will introduce you to the local officials in Ningbo, and in just two days A while ago, Yu Wenyuan, the magistrate of Ningbo, also came to visit me quietly, the purpose is to let me introduce them, if you need to use them in the future, just ask Wenda!"

Hearing this, Zhou Zhong was first surprised, and then overjoyed. Now he finally realized the happiness brought to him by power, and now he didn't have to do anything. With the help of the prefect of Ningbo Prefecture, it will be much smoother for him to receive the navy stationed in Ningbo Prefecture.

Zhou Zhong chatted with Xie Da in the study for a long time. Apart from his going to Ningbo to take up his post, they also discussed the matter of the Sea League. There is no way to pay attention to the affairs of the Haimeng in a short time, so we can only entrust the establishment of the Haimeng to Xie Da for the time being. I believe that with his experience, I am afraid that he will do better than himself. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)