Smuggling Daming

Zhou Zhong was very surprised. It was very normal to move the government office to Taiwan and the military academy to Taiwan, but both were opposed by Wang Shouren and Jiao Fang, and neither of them gave an explanation in person. He just found some plausible reasons to disagree, which made Zhou Zhong very helpless. After all, he is not alone in the Governor's Mansion, and he also needs to consider other people's opinions, so these two matters can only be put on hold temporarily.

After the meeting, Zhou Zhong went back to the study by himself, and then sat there leisurely drinking tea and waiting for others, because he knew that Jiao Fang would definitely come to him to explain the reason.However, what Zhou Zhong didn't expect was that instead of Jiao Fang, it was Wang Shouren who waited.

"Your Excellency is so leisurely!" After entering the study, Wang Shouren sat down with a smile and sipped the tea ceremony. After getting along with him for this period of time, he also understood Zhou Zhong's temperament, and knew that the Governor was usually very easy-going. , and never put on airs, it can be said that he is a very easy-going Shangguan, so when he gets along with Zhou Zhong in private, he also behaves very casually.

"Brother Bo'an, why do you have time to come and sit with me? You are expected to be quite busy during this period of time. After all, not only the three major fleets will change, but the three state capitals under the Governor's Mansion will also make corresponding changes. It's not a small challenge for you to make adjustments!" Zhou Zhong also said with a smile.

After Wang Shouren and Zhou Zhong had a few irrelevant business conversations, they began to get down to business. Wang Shouren took the initiative to say: "My lord, today the lower officials proposed to move the government office from Shuangyu Port, and Mr. Zhang proposed to move to Taiwan." The lower officials felt that it was very inappropriate, so they did not agree, and Master Jiao Fangjiao seemed to have the same idea."

"Oh, I'm also wondering about this matter. Among the three prefectures under the Governor's Mansion, only Taiwan is the closest to my Ming Dynasty, and there are also Han people there. It is very easy to develop. Why do you and Mr. Jiao disagree? At this moment, Zhou Zhong finally raised the question in his heart.He thought about this question for a long time, but he couldn't figure it out.

Wang Shouren came to Zhou Zhong to explain the reason to him, but before explaining, he still hesitated for a while, and finally said with a straight face: "Your Excellency, I have a question that may offend the Governor. So before raising this issue, I hope the governor will not blame you!"

"Brother Bo An, if you have any questions, it's okay to ask. Although Zhou Zhong is young, I still have a lot of stomach!" Zhou Zhong knew that Wang Shouren's problem must have something to do with his previous opposition to moving the government office to Taiwan, so he was also eager to think about it. You have to know what Wang Shouren is worried about.

"My lord, what I want to ask is, do you have the heart to rebel?" Wang Shouren asked solemnly.

"Boom~" When Zhou Zhong heard this question, it was as if someone had thrown a grenade in his head.Because he didn't expect Wang Shouren to ask such a question, but then he couldn't laugh or cry. He is Zhengde's younger brother, and Zhengde has no son. His son will be the future emperor of Ming Dynasty. If so, what does he have? Reason to rebel?

"Brother Bo'an. The question you asked really made me laugh and cry. Although I, Da Ming, have encountered some problems. But with the efforts of His Majesty and our courtiers, the situation of Da Ming is improving day by day. At this time, rebellion is simply seeking death. Do you think I look like a person who is looking for a dead end?" Zhou Zhong couldn't tell his relationship with Zhengde, so he could only use other reasons to explain whether he couldn't laugh or cry.

However, Wang Shouren did not relax when he heard Zhou Zhong's words, but still said with a solemn expression: "My lord, through this period of getting along, I also know that my lord has no intention of rebelling, and only wants to benefit the people of Ming Dynasty. It is precisely because of this that His Majesty trusts you so much."

Wang Shouren took a long breath when he said this, and then said: "Although your lord is loyal to the court, you must also have a heart of self-examination. Although your lord has no intention of treason now, open your eyes and take a look. The land under your rule is all overseas, where there are money and people. At the same time, you also have three major fleets in your hands. These people add up to 10,000+ people, and these people are nominally the army of the imperial court, but they have always been managed by the Governor’s Palace. Support yourself, and you can even say unceremoniously that their loyalty to the Governor's Mansion is far greater than their loyalty to the imperial court. It can be said that you already have the strength to rebel. You only need an order from the Governor-General, and the entire Daming Overseas will become A kingdom that belongs to you alone..."

"Stop talking!" Before Wang Shouren could finish his sentence, Zhou Zhong was already dripping with cold sweat. Before that, he always wanted to increase Ming's maritime strength as much as possible, so he was unscrupulous when developing the fleet, and the court's military salary was not enough. , then the governor's mansion will raise the money, and he and Zhengde are blood brothers, so he feels that he and the imperial court are actually one, and never thought that the imperial court would have scruples about his own strength.

But now Wang Shouren's words suddenly awakened him. Even if he is Zhengde's younger brother, so what? Daming has always been the strictest guard against the royal family. One day Zhengde suddenly discovered that Zhou Zhong's strength had been out of the court's control, and had even threatened his throne, then the current trust would become extremely fragile, and there would even be brothers killing each other in the future.

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhong also felt a kind of powerless fear. He never had any intention of rebelling. He used to participate in smuggling just to make life better for his family. Later, as the business grew bigger and bigger, he hoped that he could use his own strength to fight against Daming made some small changes, but after he was appointed by Zhengde as an official, his influence on Daming became greater and greater. Even he himself regarded himself as Daming's savior, but he forgot that he was Not the emperor of Ming Dynasty, he still has Zhengde on top of his head, if he continues to develop so unscrupulously, I am afraid that sooner or later he will attract Zhengde's suspicion.

"Thank you, Brother Bo'an, for reminding me that Zhou Zhong is here to thank you!" At this moment, Zhou Zhong stood up solemnly, and made a big salute to Wang Shouren. He didn't get along with Wang Shouren for a long time, but now The other party took the risk to warn him, which moved Zhou Zhong very much.

Regarding Zhou Zhong's thanks, Wang Shouren did not dodge, but stood there and accepted Zhou Zhong's thanks, and then said with a smile: "It's not too late for the Governor to wake up, and His Majesty still treats you very much." Trust, but if you want His Majesty to maintain this kind of trust, then you need to pay attention to some things, such as the Governor's Mansion, you must not be located overseas, it is best to choose one in the coastal areas of Daming Appropriate place, in this way, the activities of the Governor's Mansion will be under the supervision of the court, and the ministers in the court will not say anything, and His Majesty will naturally feel more at ease with you!"

The reason why Wang Shouren and Jiao Fang disagreed with Zhang Cai's idea of ​​moving the government office to the Taiwan government was actually because they were concerned about the imperial court's reaction. After all, Zhou Zhong's strength was growing too fast now, and the entire Governor's Mansion hardly relied on the imperial court. It is said that it is independent from the imperial court, and now relying on Zhengde's trust in Zhou Zhong, nothing happened, but if Zhou Zhong moved the governor's office to Taiwan now, although Taiwan is very close to Ming Dynasty, in the eyes of the imperial court , it is still an overseas place, and the Governor's Mansion moved there, almost out of the control of the imperial court. Even if Zhou Zhong did not intend to rebel, it would definitely arouse the suspicion of the imperial court.

It is precisely because of this that Wang Shouren and Jiao Fang objected to Zhang Cai's opinion. As for why Zhang Cai proposed to move the Governor's Mansion to Taiwan, the meaning of this is very intriguing. Maybe he couldn't see the meaning of moving the governor's office to Taiwan, but even so, he still proposed it on his own initiative. Just thinking about it made Zhou Zhong feel chills in his heart. Zhang Cai was preparing to force If he wants to rebel himself, then he will be the founding minister of the country!

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhong wiped the cold sweat off his face again, and then said to Wang Shouren: "Brother Bo'an, the government office must not be moved overseas, or according to your intention, find a suitable landlord on the coast of Daming. Then we jointly signed a petition to the imperial court to settle this matter as soon as possible, but now my heart is very confused, I wonder if you have a suitable place?"

Seeing Zhou Zhong's current performance, Wang Shouren was even more sure that the other party had no intention of rebelling, which made him completely relieved, and after thinking about it, he answered Zhou Zhong's words: "My lord, our Governor's Mansion mainly manages the coast of Daming. Therefore, the government office of the Governor-General should preferably be a good seaport, and the seaports along the coast of Daming are best in Guangzhou, Ningbo, Quanzhou and other places, but these ports are also highly valued by the imperial court, and it is difficult for the imperial court to agree to allocate them to We are a government office, so we might as well find a coastal area with the most potential for development as a government office. In the view of the lower officials, the area around the estuary of the Yangtze River, which is the old man's hometown of Songjiang Mansion, is the most suitable place! "

Hearing that Wang Shouren actually chose Songjiang Mansion, Zhou Zhong also praised: "Wonderful, although Songjiang Mansion is famous for silkworm and cotton cloth, it is not well-known in the sea trade. If we jointly sign the letter, we should be able to The most rare thing is that it is located at the estuary of the Yangtze River. Not only can it communicate with Sichuan and the two lakes with the help of the Yangtze River, but it is also located in the middle of the coast of Daming, and it can also communicate with the north and the south, and the port there is also very Excellent, as long as we increase investment, we can build an excellent seaport soon!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)