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

Zheng Zhilong stood up from his chair in an instant.

After finishing, he felt that his behavior was very impolite, and sat back down with a frown.

"General, I promise that with me here at the Imperial Court's coastal defense, there will be absolutely no problems.

The court's request for so many warships would only increase its financial burden.

I dare not deceive the commander-in-chief. I have many enemies in the outer sea, especially those red-haired barbarians. They are unwilling to accept their defeat last time.

They have been building more warships, intending to re-enter the Ming Dynasty's waters.

I have to be on guard against them, and I also need more warships to support the safety of my court's coastal defense."

Zheng Zhilong's explanation was well-reasoned and at first glance it seemed to be true.

The navy, whether it is warships, cannons, muskets, or sailors, artillery, and combat soldiers, are much more expensive than land warfare. Not only are the purchase and training costs high, the maintenance costs are also high, and the consumption in fighting is also higher.

The cost of building a large ship alone is 100,000 taels. The various supplies, cold and hot weapons, cannonballs, gunpowder, and various soldiers on a ship also cost a lot of silver. But once a ship is sunk, basically all the money is wasted.

And it is indeed as Zheng Zhilong said, with the Zheng family around, the court's coastal defense is secure and the court does not have to bear such high naval costs at all.

Totally unnecessary.

If other officials were in the negotiations, they would probably have given up.

But Zhang Shikang had no such idea at all. Since the request had been made, he had to do his best to get it.

"I know that Zheng Youju's coastal defense is under great pressure, so don't I want to share some of the worries with the Zheng family?

If Zheng Youji could agree, our Ming Dynasty would immediately have an active navy.

When the time comes to fight the red-haired barbarians, just tell me and I will definitely go to support you.

As for the expenses, Zheng Youji doesn't have to worry, the court has money now."

Zhang Shikang refuted Zheng Zhilong's so-called concerns one by one. After all, they were discussing business and the proper attitude should be adopted.

Even though he held great power, he did not actually exert much pressure on the Zheng family navy at sea.

Therefore, he did not abuse his power excessively to oppress others.

But at the same time, Zhang Shikang roughly guessed that Zheng Zhilong had guessed the court's thoughts, or rather, his own thoughts.

Zheng Zhilong guessed that he wanted to reorganize the Ming navy and did not want to rely on the Zheng family to protect the Ming coastal defense. This was within his expectations.

Isn't this nonsense? Otherwise, why buy so many warships?

But Zheng Zhilong should not have guessed Zhang Shikang's true ambition. After all, he did not buy a single merchant ship, nor did he ever say a word that the court would engage in maritime trade in the future.

This old guy is too sensitive.

"This... Marshal, I have to agree, it's really... Please forgive me!" Zheng Zhilong stood up again, bowed and clasped his fists.

Although that fleet was insignificant compared to the Zheng family's current navy, it also had a No. 2 Fu ship, 32 main silk ships, and more than 70 other auxiliary warships of various types.

The fleet is not large, but it is fully equipped and well-manned, and can cope with most types of naval battles.

In addition, given the delicate relationship between the Zheng family and the imperial court, Zheng Zhilong was absolutely unwilling to hand over such a fleet to the imperial court no matter what he considered.

Zheng Zhilong considered the promise to rebuild a navy for the imperial court as the greatest goodwill.

"Forget it, you are so stingy. It's not like I won't give you the money." Zhang Shikang didn't force it, but there was definitely some dissatisfaction in his words.

Tang Ruowang, who was standing by, saw that there seemed to be a conflict between the host and the guest, and immediately tried to smooth things over.

"Grand Marshal, calm down. I don't know how many ships there are in that fleet, but I know that your Zheng family is definitely not short of ships.

Although Tang was only a priest, he knew that he should do his part for the country when necessary.

The Grand Marshal never said he would not pay, so if you have the money, why don't you just build more new ships?"

Tang Ruowang and Zheng Zhilong were fellow Christians, so what he said certainly had its reasons. He believed that since Zheng Yiguan was an official of the country, it was nothing for him to contribute to the country to the best of his ability.

Although Zheng Zhilong felt a little relieved after hearing this, he still did not agree.

"Forget it. At worst, I can go find the red-haired barbarians. I heard they'll sell anything if you pay them enough.

Their galleons are much better than your Zheng family's silk ships." Zhang Shikang said leisurely.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zheng Zhilong's brows immediately twisted into a knot.

The reason why he didn't want Zhang Shikang to go to Guangzhou was actually because there were many European businessmen there.

Zheng Zhilong was worried that if those European merchants approached Zhang Shikang and proposed to trade directly with the Ming court, based on his understanding of Zhang Shikang in the past few days, the other party would most likely agree.

But if the Europeans really traded directly with the imperial court, how could the Zheng family collect protection fees?

But if we don’t collect protection fees and send the Zheng family navy to plunder, how will we explain this to the court?

If the red-haired barbarians did this, the French and the French would certainly follow suit. What about the English? What about the Japanese?

If this is the case, how can the Zheng family survive?

At that time, the Zheng family would inevitably have a conflict of interest with the imperial court.

As for the galleons of the red-haired barbarians, they were even more of a headache for him. Generally speaking, the red-haired barbarians would not sell their main warships.

But the current situation is not an ordinary situation at all. The Red-haired Barbarians are mortal enemies of his Zheng family, but not of the imperial court.

The Red-haired Barbarians were the European countries that most desired to trade directly with the imperial court. They were profit-driven and might even sell galleons to Zhang Shikang in order to trade with the imperial court.

Oh, it’s really difficult!

Zheng Zhilong was in a state of panic at this time.

"Your Excellency the Grand Marshal is right. Dutch merchants are indeed profit-driven. I do know a few Dutch merchants. Since Yiguan does not want to help his country, I am willing to introduce them to the Grand Marshal." Tang Ruowang said.

Tang Ruowang now had only one thing in mind, that is, the disaster victims in the north of the Ming Dynasty needed the Bible and the Lord, and if the Grand Marshal could help him, he would certainly help the Grand Marshal.

He spoke relatively directly, which made Zheng Zhilong a little regretful for inviting this Westerner.

After weighing the pros and cons, Zheng Zhilong finally compromised:

"General, as the saying goes, those who are not of our race must have different hearts, those red-haired barbarians are very insidious and cunning.

If they could not make a satisfactory profit, they would never sell the galleons to the court.

Since the Marshal is determined to have that fleet, how dare I refuse?

Just a sailor gunner on the ship..."

"I want them all! With money!" Zhang Shikang emphasized.

Grandma’s legs, can’t they control you?

The reason why you, Zheng Zhilong, are so powerful is because you have the Zheng family’s navy behind you.

But behind me, I have Brother Chongzhen and tens of millions of people in the entire Ming Dynasty.

"Your humble servant... obeys your command." Zheng Zhilong said depressedly.

"It's settled then. Zheng Youji, please go back and calculate how much silver you will need for that squadron, plus the flagship you promised me, and the first installment of 200,000 dan of military rations. Give me a number."

Zhang Shikang finally smiled and said to Zheng Zhilong while drinking tea.

Having money means being generous, and spending money is indeed comfortable, but seeing Zheng Zhilong with a depressed face also has a different flavor.

After slapping him twice, Zhang Shikang handed him another date:

"Why does Zheng Youji look so depressed? Oh, I forgot to tell you that His Majesty already knows about your contribution in this war against the rebellion.

Perhaps it won’t be long before the imperial edict from His Majesty ennobling you arrives.

Four earls in one family! Not to mention in the Ming Dynasty, even if we count a thousand years ago, it is still a great honor!"

……