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

Chapter 483 Zhang Shikang, the old enemy of the Netherlands, at this time showed not only arrogance and ignorance, but also greed.

This made Zhu Cilang and his sister very puzzled, as they had been living with Zhang Shikang for some time.

They think that their Master Zhang, who is a bit nonsensical and always says some strange things, has no arrogance or greed in his character.

But the brother and sister knew that their Master Zhang was talking about something important and did not dare to disturb him.

"Your Excellency the Duke, the silver is all there." Da Vinci pointed in the direction of the sea.

"It's all in the sea!" His eyes were firm, as if he wanted Zhang Shikang to understand how huge the wealth was in maritime trade.

"What? You threw all the silver into the sea?

How dare you! You bastard, you threw me into the sea instead of giving me anything. Do you want to die?" Zhang Shikang was furious again and slapped the table so hard that the tea bowl almost jumped up.

Da Vinci was so frightened when he heard this that he quickly stood up and explained:

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant, I meant sea trade, ocean trade!

As long as Your Excellency the Duke can trade with our country of Holland, there will be a lot of money and silver. "

Da Vinci didn't want to express his demands so quickly, as this would be very disadvantageous at the negotiating table.

However, the young Duke of the Ming Dynasty in front of him had a very unstable temper. He was worried that if he spoke nonsense again, he might not be able to leave this place.

The nobles of the Ming Dynasty are indeed more arrogant and rude than the officials of the Ming Dynasty, Da Vinci thought to himself.

As the Dutch director in Dongfan Island, he has been trying every means to contact the Ming court in recent years.

But no one knows whether it is because he is unlucky or the Ming Dynasty court is really dying. The officials he meets are either corrupt scholars or greedy for money, or both arrogant and greedy.

Da Vinci did not back off because, after all, the Ming Dynasty was a land with a large population and huge market potential.

As long as he can open up this market, he will definitely make a great contribution to the company. By then, relying on his understanding of the surrounding forces, he may be promoted to the next Governor-General of Dongfan.

Last year, Da Vinci learned that there had been a dramatic change in the Ming court. A new noble had risen and killed all the Ming officials in one go.

So from that time on, Da Vinci had been asking people about the news of this new noble of the Ming Dynasty.

He believed that since the Ming Dynasty had undergone drastic changes, it might also be an opportunity for them, the Dutch.

But now it seems that the officials and nobles of the Ming Dynasty are too unreliable.

With the large population of the Ming Dynasty, there must be a great demand for all kinds of consumer goods, and those Europeans are in great need of Ming Dynasty's porcelain, silk and tea.

Wouldn't it be possible for officials and nobles like these to earn a lot of silver if they just put in a little effort and start trading?

But they are only greedy for money and their short-sightedness is appalling.

To be honest, at this time, Da Vinci was extremely disappointed and believed that the Ming Dynasty was really about to die.

"Maritime trade?" Zhang Shikang showed a very puzzled expression.

Maybe his acting was so good that Zhu Cilang reminded him quietly:

"Master Zhang, our Ming Dynasty has always had a sea ban policy, and ordinary people are not allowed to go to the sea."

"Oh, yes, Da Vinci, the imperial court won't allow it! They say it's competing with the people for profit?" Zhang Shikang said.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang became even more certain that Master Zhang was acting, because Master Zhang had teased him more than once about the court officials competing with the people for profits, and said those officials were truly shameless.

"Your Excellency the Duke, I can tell you a secret." Da Vinci said with a hint of mystery.

"Oh? Tell me."

“Although the Ming Dynasty banned maritime trade, trade has never stopped. It’s just that the officials didn’t tell the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

They... are smuggling." Perhaps worried that his explanation was not direct enough and the seemingly stupid Ming noble in front of him would not understand, Da Vinci explained again.

"What? Who dares to smuggle? I will kill his entire family!" Zhang Shikang pretended to be furious.

Da Vinci did not question Zhang Shikang's words because this Ming nobleman had killed tens of thousands of Ming officials and their relatives the previous year.

"Your Excellency, my point is that maritime trade cannot be banned.

This is just like human greed. No matter how the law is enforced, there will always be corrupt people.

If that’s the case, why didn’t the Ming Dynasty court lift the maritime ban?

The profits from doing business with the Netherlands should belong to His Excellency the Duke and the Emperor of Ming!" Da Vinci had a smile on his face, as if he was thinking about the Ming court.

"Something's wrong with you!" Zhang Shikang pondered for a while, and suddenly said to Da Vinci with a very unfriendly look.

His bodyguards immediately started drawing their knives again, and Da Vinci's heart immediately rose to his throat again.

"You came all this way just to send money to the Ming Dynasty?

Are you doing charity?

Tell me! What do you want to do?

"Your Excellency the Duke, please calm down! I really just want to do business with Ming!

You should know that doing business is all about sharing what you have and what you don't have. You can make a profit from the business, and so can I.

This is a win-win situation for both of us!" Da Vinci quickly explained.

He is really about to be driven crazy by Zhang Shikang. Why is this man like this? He gets angry at any time and wants to kill the whole family at any time.

The point is...he actually did it.

It is said that the mysterious Eastern country is a country of etiquette. Da Vinci felt that someone must have said it nonsense because he had never seen it.

"You bastard, just speak clearly. Don't hide anything. It makes it seem like I'm trying to take advantage of you." Zhang Shikang then waved his hand and ordered the ferocious bodyguards to retreat.

"Since you said that smuggling has always existed in our Ming Dynasty, why don't you go and negotiate business with the smugglers?" Zhang Shikang asked again leisurely.

These words made Da Vinci look very strange. He seemed to be pondering over his wording, worried that if he angered this moody Ming noble, he would be in real danger this time.

"Your Excellency the Duke, this is all thanks to you!

I heard that Your Excellency the Duke killed countless corrupt officials for the Ming Dynasty last year.

Your Excellency the Duke has made such great contributions and must be trusted and appreciated by His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

But Your Excellency, those smugglers seemed to have been killed by you as well."

After praising Zhang Shikang for a long time, the last sentence was what Da Vinci wanted to say the most, but he didn't dare to say it directly.

Even Zhang Shikang did not expect that his action to rectify the court last year would also catch the smuggling gangs.

"Oh, that's how it is.

But I heard that Zheng Zhilong seems to be doing marine business, why don't you go find him?" Zhang Shikang looked as if he had suddenly realized something, and at the same time mentioned the Zheng family.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Da Vinci frowned immediately.

"Your Excellency, the Duke, Zheng is the old enemy of the Netherlands!"

……