Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Memory is sometimes a strange thing. For example, you read a book but quickly forget the story in the book.

And at this time, if someone mentions it, you can miraculously remember it again and even retell the details of the story.

This is how Zhang Shikang felt at this moment.

He had also read a lot of historical materials about European countries in the 17th century, and he understood that after the Renaissance, Europeans began to take off.

Then the Spaniards began to dominate the oceans, followed by the Netherlands, the coachman of the sea, and finally the legendary Great Britain.

Zhang Shikang even recalled that in the most important war between the Netherlands and the British Empire, the Dutch merchant group actually lent money to the British, allowing them to use the Dutch money to buy Dutch weapons and eventually defeat the Dutch.

No novel would dare to be written like this.

But reality is sometimes more magical than fiction.

The Dutch ultimately succumbed to greed, greed for money.

This business group, packaged as a country, was once the financial sponsor of most European countries.

They rose from capital and were defeated by capital.

It has to be said that Zhang Shikang is still very interested in such a country.

"If there is a chance, I will go find them." Zhang Shikang suddenly became confident.

Problems that can be solved with money are not the biggest problems.

Because the Ming Dynasty was rich now, and Europeans needed the three things of the Ming Dynasty - porcelain, tea and silk.

For thousands of years, these three commodities have never lost their competitiveness in front of Europeans.

"Their main warships are galleons," Ma Tong reminded.

"Everything will be there." Zhang Shikang said, looking at the river.

The river flows from west to east, and the fleet sailed very fast because it was downstream.

After going out to sea, traveling along the coast of Zhejiang, Zhang Shikang looked at the endless sea, his heart full of longing.

This was the first time he saw the sea of Ming Dynasty.

The sea here is not polluted by chemical industry. Apart from the occasional wooden planks floating on the sea, there is no other garbage to be seen.

This is a pure sea.

But what Zhang Shikang saw were the silver mines of the island countries, the spices of Southeast Asia, the copper and gold mines of Australia, the cocoa, tobacco and rubber of America...

They are Dutch, French, and British now, but they will be Chinese in the future.

At the end of October, Zhang Shikang arrived at Jinjiang County, Quanzhou Prefecture, Zheng Zhilong's hometown, within the time promised in the letter to Zheng Zhilong.

The person who came to greet him was Zhang Shikang's acquaintance, Zheng Zhibiao.

Logically speaking, Zhang Shikang was the spokesperson for the current emperor, the top noble of the dynasty, and the actual holder of the military power of the Ming Dynasty. Zheng Zhilong, as a mere general of the Five Tigers, should have knelt down to welcome him personally.

But strength seems to be the biggest backing. Zheng Zhilong is undoubtedly a pragmatic guy and an even more stubborn guy.

Zhang Shikang was not angry about this, the Lord did not care.

One day, one day, Zhang Shikang will take back this sea.

"Biaozi, long time no see!" Zhang Shikang waved to Zheng Zhibiao as he got off the boat.

Zheng Zhibiao was very enthusiastic. After some polite exchanges, Zhang Shikang boarded the luxurious carriage prepared by the Zheng family.

This was the largest carriage Zhang Shikang had ever seen. It was as big as a house and was pulled by more than a dozen strong horses.

When I got into the carriage, I saw that it was decorated very luxuriously. It was not only equipped with maids and beds, but also with tea tables and delicious food. I guess these were all prepared in advance.

Zhang Shikang was not vague and sat in the main seat immediately. Zheng Zhibiao kept chatting with Zhang Shikang.

After about two quarters of an hour, Zhang Shikang finally arrived at Zheng Zhilong's mansion with a guard of a thousand men.

This is a real mansion. Zhang Shikang could see it from a distance. It is said that it took Zheng Zhilong more than three years to build at a huge cost.

The Zheng Mansion is located north of Anping Bridge, extending from Xidai to Xigang in the west, Xiyantou in the north, Anping Bridgehead in the south, and directly connected to Wugang Port. It is said to cover an area of nearly 150 acres.

Compared to the mansion, Zhang Shikang saw something even more unusual—a whole team of black guards.

Although it was not uncommon in later generations, it was the first time that Zhang Shikang saw black people at that time after staying in the Ming Dynasty for so long.

It’s so fucking dark.

After entering the Zheng Mansion, the first thing that catches your eye is the huge rockery, followed by the wing halls, pavilions, terraces, and corridors.

After walking for another quarter of an hour, they finally arrived at Taiyun Building of the Zheng Mansion, which was where the Zheng family received their most distinguished guests.

However, Zhang Shikang did not feel how noble he was, because Zheng Zhilong, that idiot, was not there and asked him to sit and wait.

Damn it, you’re pretending, right?

Half a quarter of an hour later, Zheng Zhilong came slowly over accompanied by several people.

Zheng Zhilong was wearing a strange set of clothes that looked neither Chinese nor Western. It looked more like a modified version of the classical European priest's clothes in a game that Zhang Shikang had played.

Although his clothes were a bit strange, Zheng Zhilong was still quite handsome. Especially during the Zheng family's most glorious period, Zheng Zhilong gave people a strong feeling that no one else could match him.

As soon as Zheng Zhilong came in, he smiled and bowed to Zhang Shikang, his words were gentle and humble, but this humility was only an appearance. Through the appearance, Zhang Shikang only saw the complacency in Zheng Zhilong's heart.

So he looked at Zheng Zhilong, with a smile on his face, but he did not stand up or even move.

You are pretending to be nothing. I am not pretending at all, but you are the one who is pretending.

Admit that you have a large family and a large business, and admit that you have many ships and many people.

But do you really think that the Ming Dynasty will be useless without you?

But there are also French guys in the trenches!

When someone greets you with courtesy, you usually have to stand up and return the courtesy. This is the most basic respect. What's more, Zheng Zhilong was the host and Zhang Shikang was the guest.

This made Zheng Zhilong feel a little embarrassed. He thought, if I had known that this upstart of the Ming Dynasty was a playboy, had I been too much of a show of power?

"I'm so sorry, Marshal, I was attending church service.

Oh, let me tell you, the Lord is a very important festival in Catholicism. On that day..."

"On that day, Jesus was resurrected, right?" Zhang Shikang interrupted.

His words were calm, but already full of condescension.

Stop pretending, I am a playboy in the Celestial Empire. If you keep pretending, I will get angry and tell you, God or Jesus, to get out of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Shikang was like this. If there was something, he would show sincerity and talk it over. It was good for everyone, and it was not a question of who looked down on whom. It was just mutual respect.

But he came to the residence of a guerrilla general as a grand marshal. Even if you have your own capital, you should not be so arrogant.

Do you really think that Zhang Shikang has a good temper?

Zheng Zhilong was a Catholic, and Zhang Shikang knew this.

He also knew this guy's Catholic name, which seemed to have some connection with a dance king named Zhao Si in later generations. His name was Nicholas, Nicholas Yi Guan.

But when Zheng Zhilong saw that Zhang Shikang actually knew the great Jesus, he immediately became very excited.

"Marshal, you actually know the Lord's name?"

……