Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Vice Captain Li is the number two person on the ship. He even thinks that he is the number one person. After all, his background and talents are above those of the real captain.

Because he had attended private schools for several years, he was different from many old and rough captains, but he paid great attention to cultural accomplishment, and he was also a good friend of the 62nd generation grandson of Saint Kong.

Vice Captain Li had just learned that Kong Ju had been wronged, and also pointed out that there were two Inca spies on his ship, so he rushed over with his people as soon as possible.

Behind Vice Captain Li were four able-bodied crew members. They were not allowed to set foot here originally, but now they were lucky enough to follow Vice Captain Li in. They immediately became hostile to everyone present, and finally their eyes fell on the two young men.

"You accused the two of us of being Inca spies. Do you have any evidence?" The young man who called himself Zheng Hua looked at Kong Ju coldly and asked immediately.

The corners of Kong Ju's mouth raised slightly, pointing at Zheng Hua and about to speak.

"Put down your hand immediately, or I will chop off your hand today!" The young man who called himself Yuan Zhou interrupted coldly when he saw this impolite gesture.

Kong Ju relied on his identity as the 62nd generation grandson of Saint Kong and was not afraid of anyone. However, he sensed the threat from Yuan Zhou's eyes and seemed to put it down out of nowhere.

Vice Captain Li involuntarily took a step back, and suddenly realized that he was the captain and took a big step forward: "How reckless! I am here as captain, and it is not your turn as a small businessman to act wildly!"

Since the Dongwang belongs to an American trading company, and the Ministry of Revenue is the largest shareholder, their captain and deputy captain both have the imperial establishment. Although the ninth rank is simply insignificant in the officialdom, their status is naturally higher than that of merchants.

What's more, he is the deputy captain of the Dongwang and is already half the owner of this place.

"His Majesty has made repeated orders in the past few years to focus on development, industry and commerce, and light on bureaucracy! One is relying on the 62nd generation grandson of the saint to be arrogant, and the other dares to use chicken feathers as a token. It is really eye-opening!" Yuan Zhou Facing the tough Vice Captain Li, his eyes were still full of disdain and anger.

Huh?

Lu Yuanwai and other merchants looked at each other, and then looked at Yuan Zhou.

The reason why they support Emperor Hongzhi so much is not only that Emperor Hongzhi created era dividends for their merchants and allowed countless merchants to eat meat, but more importantly, Emperor Hongzhi determined their status politically and even protected their property.

Even wealthy businessmen with millions of dollars were actually just fat sheep in the eyes of local officials and gentry. This was also the fundamental reason why Jiangnan and Shanxi merchant groups trained their children to pursue official careers.

Now, while the Ming Dynasty levies luxury taxes, it also tries its best to protect their property from being misappropriated by the powerful, and it also cracks down on the bullying behavior of officials and gentry.

Of course, although Emperor Hongzhi did indeed improve the status of their merchants, in real life it was inevitable that they would use their power to bully others.

On the current Dongwang, Vice Captain Li in front of him relied on his status and only believed Kong Ju's words, and actually wanted to label these two young men as Inca spies.

Officer Lu glanced at Zheng Hua outside, and then warned Captain Li: "Captain Li, Kong Ju cannot have the final say in this matter. Be careful of bringing trouble to yourself!"

"Although we merchants are humble, we are also the subjects that the emperor cares about, and we are not the ones who can be bullied!" Several merchants immediately formed a group and also put pressure on Vice Captain Li.

Faced with the support from everyone, Vice Captain Li couldn't help but retreat.

"Captain Li, my great-grandfather said: A gentleman has three fears: fear of destiny, fear of adults, and fear of the words of saints, but there is no such thing as fear of Xiao Xiaoyi!" Kong Ju saw Vice Captain Li's thoughts and immediately reminded him from the side.

Captain Li seemed to have been injected with blood, but he waved his hand and said: "I think they are Inca spies, and anyone who dares to stop them will be regarded as an accomplice! Come, take these two people to the secret room, and I will personally Interrogation!"

The four tall crew members were already gearing up and immediately pounced to catch people like wolves and tigers.

"Presumptuous! I think you are not only seeking your own death, but you also want the whole family to suffer!" Yuan Zhou was so angry that his face was livid, and he immediately pointed at the crew members who were about to take action and angrily accused them.

this……

Member Lu was shocked when he heard Yuan Zhou slapped such a big label on him.

Although the current situation is still unclear, Yuan Zhou is very sincere and is unlikely to be an ordinary merchant. In fact, the two of them are not merchants at all.

In particular, Zheng Hua is clearly an eunuch, so he is still carrying the status of an imperial envoy. So aren't Vice Captain Li and others digging their own graves?

Vice Captain Li was still addicted to the idea that a gentleman is not afraid, but he smiled coldly: "Stop pretending to be a ghost here, just tell me who you are, and I will see if you can make a gentleman fear you!"

As if he had seen through everything, Kong Ju looked at Yuan Zhou mockingly, as if he was watching a good show.

"Yuanzhou is not my name, but I come from Yuanzhou Prefecture in the south of the Yangtze River. As for my identity, I am Yan Song, the governor of the American Governor's Palace who was just gifted by His Majesty!" Yan Song no longer concealed his identity and solemnly handed over his hand in the west direction.

He was the Tanhua Lang in the twelfth year of Hongzhi. Because the imperial court focused on recruiting people overseas, he was also assigned to the American Governor's Mansion and became an ordinary judge.

Although life is indeed more difficult overseas, it is also a very experienced place, which has allowed me to fully grow in these years in the American continent.

In particular, he was highly regarded by the Governor-General of America, Zheng Yong. In addition to assisting the Governor-General of America in governance, he also personally led the fleet to fight against foreign enemies, and even annihilated the Portuguese fleet that came across the Atlantic Ocean in one fell swoop.

It was precisely because of his various achievements and his strong talent in military affairs that he was personally promoted by the emperor to be one of the co-governors of the Governor-General of America.

Since the Governor-General of America was a second-rank government office, he, the co-governor, was actually a fourth-rank official. In just four years, he, an ordinary candidate, became a big boss of the Ming Dynasty in America.

"Yan Song?"

"Yan Tongzhi?"

"This seems to be Mr. Yan!"

...

When Mr. Lu saw Yan Song introduce himself, he was so surprised that his mouth opened slightly.

They naturally had to be bound by the Governor-General of America when they went to America to do business. If anyone could hold the thigh of the officials of the Governor-General of America, then it would be like getting the key to wealth.

But no one expected that a young eunuch of unknown identity would be fine, but now there was a powerful and powerful co-governor of the Governor-General of America, Yan Song, on this ship.

Although everyone knows that the Governor of America is Zheng Yong, during the development of the American continent, the third place winner Yan Song has been constantly making ingenious plans and has become a very eye-catching presence in the Governor's Office of America.

However, Yan Song is usually not in the Daming City in America, but was sent by Zheng Yong to the east coast of the American continent to snipe the fleet of Western Europe, so many people have never seen Yan Song's true face.

Yan Song is a model of young success. He was already a third place winner at the age of 19, and now he is only 23 years old. If he hadn't looked mature, they would not have considered him a young man.

"Yan... Yan Tongzhi?"

Deputy Captain Li was suddenly dizzy, but he was unwilling to accept such a cruel fact.

Although Deputy Captain Li was a staff member of the Ming Dynasty, the lowest rank of the Ming Dynasty was from the ninth rank, which was one level lower than the demoted Cang Ambassador Yang Tinghe.

Now facing the high and mighty fourth-rank Tongzhi, he dared to be so arrogant, which was simply courting death.

Kong Ju looked at Yan Song in disbelief, but shook his head repeatedly: "No... Impossible, Impossible... This must be fake! Fake, if you are really the Viceroy of the American Governor's Office, how can you return by ship?"

When Lu Yuanwai and others heard this, they found that it was really reasonable, but they felt that this was probably Kong Ju's dying struggle.

"Do I have to report to you when I do my job? What are you doing here? Call your Captain Lin over!" Yan Song was upright and fearless, and he looked at one of the crew members and ordered.

The crew member nodded as if he had been pardoned.

Just as the crew was about to call someone, a dark-skinned Shandong man walked in. Since he had learned that Yan Song had revealed his identity outside the door, he walked in and saluted solemnly and said: "I, the captain of the East King, Mr. Lin, pay my respects to the Viceroy!"

Although the captain is nominally the helmsman of the East King, if there is really a big man on the ship, then he is actually a grandson.

Moreover, the Chamber of Commerce of America, to which the Dongwang belongs, is under the Governor's Office of America. The man in front of him is the boss of the boss of the boss of his boss. He doesn't even need to blink an eye to get rid of him.

"It's really Yan Tanhua!" Although Mr. Lu had already guessed that Yan Song's identity was true, he couldn't help but be shocked when he got the confirmation from Captain Lin.

No one expected that Yuanzhou, who was traveling with them, was Yan Song, a Tanhua Lang who was a star in the entire Hongzhi Dynasty.

There is no harm without comparison, and people who like to gossip often like to bring up old accounts.

The spring examination in the third year of Hongzhi was the first imperial examination after Emperor Hongzhi ascended the throne. However, Liu Cunye, the first-class Jinshi of that subject, was called the most failed subject.

After entering the Hanlin Academy, Liu Cunye, Qian Fu and Jin Gui showed that they were ambitious but incompetent, and could not pass the emperor's assessment. Now they have disappeared from the officialdom.

On the other hand, the Tang Yin list of the 12th year of Hongzhi was called the most brilliant subject of the Hongzhi Dynasty, and became a year of talent explosion that everyone talked about with great relish.

The top scholar Tang Bohu was a natural diplomat. With his eloquence, he not only fooled the princesses of several countries to the Ming Emperor, but also made the dynasties in the Indian Ocean pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty. In just a few years, he became Wang Zhi's right-hand man.

The second place Wang Shouren worked hard in Nanyang, not only helping the Ming Dynasty to monopolize the spice trade from Nanyang to Western Europe, but also opening up the passage for Australia to enter the Ming Dynasty.

As for the third place Yan Song, he made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty's domination of this continent in America. If it were not for the tradition of the Ming Dynasty court that civil officials were not granted titles but were not included in the Nine Ministers, he could have been granted a title based on his military merits.

"This Mr. Kong told this Captain Li that I am an Inca spy. What do you think?" Yan Song looked at Captain Lin who was kneeling in front of him and said indifferently.

Captain Lin had long held a grudge against Li, and immediately said loudly: "I will deal with these two people!"

"How?" Yan Song has never been a good man, but asked calmly.

Li realized that his future was in jeopardy, and immediately knelt down and begged for mercy: "Sir, I am blind and just offended you at the instigation of Kong Ju. Please forgive me!"

Kong Ju also wanted to beg for mercy, but he felt Yan Song's cold eyes, and he was indeed the culprit, so he fell to the ground.

Although their Kong family had a transcendent status, their power was actually limited to Qufu. Once these powerful officials did not give them face, they were actually nothing.

In fact, the court is becoming more and more indifferent to the Kong family. In the Chenghua Dynasty, the sacrificial officials sent were either cabinet ministers or ministers of rites, but now only ordinary rites officials are sent.

Captain Lin's eyes turned, and he immediately proposed a plan: "Mr. Tongzhi, I think they have contacts with the White Lotus Sect, so we will put them in jail and transfer them to the court in Tianjin!"

"I asked you to deal with them, not to make up charges! They falsely accused me and abused their power for personal gain. They can be transferred to the Donghai Governor's Office!" Yan Song frowned slightly, looking a little dissatisfied.

Huh?

Cao Yuanwai and others looked at each other when they heard this.

This treatment is undoubtedly very fair. After all, Kong Ju and Deputy Captain Li did not commit heinous crimes, but the two crimes listed by Yan Song.

However, Vice Captain Li's career has ended. Kong Ju has offended the dignified Tongzhi, so he will not be able to do business in the Americas in the future. Moreover, he will be imprisoned for several years for falsely accusing the court official.

However, what shocked them most was that although the Dongwang passed through the Korean Strait, it usually did not go to the Donghai Governor's Office, but would return directly to Tianjin Port.

Captain Lin did not feel anything wrong and immediately said solemnly: "I obey your order!"

After this farce, the tea party ended quickly.

Yan Song nodded slightly to Wu Sanlang. Seeing that Zheng Hua liked Emperor Tea very much, he asked Wu Sanlang to send the remaining tea to Zheng Hua's room later.

Wu Sanlang has been able to go smoothly in the Americas in recent years, thanks to Yan Song's care. This time, he spent a lot of money to hold a tea party, not to expand his network at all, but just to repay Yan Song and please Zheng Hua.

"Yan Tongzhi is really a man of talent!"

"More than a man of talent, he is a pillar of our Ming Dynasty!"

"I can guarantee here that Yan Tongzhi will definitely be appointed as a prime minister in the future!"

...

When seeing Yan Song leave, the merchants present were like a pot of boiling water. They immediately started to discuss and envied Wu Sanlang for having such a strong network of contacts.

Lu Yuanwai's focus did not seem to be on Yan Song, but looked at Zheng Hua who was leaving and said: "What is the identity of this person, and why can he be personally escorted by Yan Tongzhi?"

Only one day later, the Dongwang, which changed its course, arrived at the East China Sea Governor's Office on Kyushu Island, and then the East China Sea Governor's Office personally sent a fleet to escort the two back to Beijing. (End of this chapter)