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

"What? You are the enemy of the Zheng family?

Do you know that the Zheng family is the Haiqing Earl of my Ming Dynasty?

If you are an enemy of the Zheng family, then you are an enemy of the Ming Dynasty. How dare you come here? Are you trying to sow discord between the imperial court and the Zheng family?"

Zhang Shikang became furious again when he heard this, so the guards in the room drew their knives again.

Da Vinci was numb.

He had seen short-sighted people and people with capricious moods, but he had never seen someone like Zhang Shikang. In less than a quarter of an hour, he tried to chop him several times.

"My Lord Duke! Do you really think that Zheng is loyal to the Ming Dynasty?

The Zheng family is just relying on the Ming Dynasty to make money. Do you know how much profit they make from ocean trade every year? "Da Vinci quickly explained.

"Hmph, don't try to sow discord here. I only know that Hai Qingbo not only gave the imperial court this fleet, but also supplied 200,000 shi of grain to the Ming Dynasty every month.

What can you, a red-haired barbarian, give me, the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhang Shikang looked as if he didn't want to hear anything, and finally asked back.

He now roughly understood why the Dutch were looking for him. After he cleared out the Donglin Party and those big landlords last year, smuggling along the coast disappeared.

After all, the boss of the smuggling gang was killed by Zhang Shikang. Now Zhang Shikang has reason to suspect that the smuggling gang was trading with the Dutch who had a base in Dongfan.

After no one stopped smuggling, that share all went into Zheng Zhilong's hands, which made the Dutch even more uncomfortable.

Originally, when they traded with the Ming Dynasty, they were exploited by Zheng Zhilong. Before they could make any profits, they had to pay protection fees to Zheng Zhilong.

Now even the supply of goods has been cut off, and the Zheng family has its own ocean-going trade fleet, giving the Dutch no chance to get a share of the pie.

The Ming Dynasty government also banned maritime trade, which completely blocked the road.

After realizing this, Zhang Shikang became as steady as an old dog.

"Your Excellency, you are confused!

The Zheng family only used some petty profits to get the Ming Dynasty to ignore them. Do you know that the Zheng family could earn more than 20 million taels of silver from the South China Sea trade in a year?

Was that fleet given by the Zheng family? It was a big deal, but the Zheng family's ships were not good enough and were no match for the Dutch navy.

As for food, as long as Your Excellency the Duke cooperates with my East India Company, everything will be fine!"

Da Vinci was afraid that Zhang Shikang would kill someone before he could finish speaking, so he spoke very quickly.

"How dare you say that my Marshal is confused? Do you want to die?"

A bodyguard put a knife to Da Vinci's neck. This bodyguard had good eyesight and had learned to use his own skills.

The cold blade touched Da Vinci's skin, causing him to shiver unconsciously and fall to the ground.

"Your Excellency the Duke, please spare my life! What I said is true. As long as the Ming Dynasty cooperates with the Netherlands, we can earn tens of millions of taels of silver every year in the future!

I am telling the truth!"

Zhang Shikang waved his hand again upon hearing this, and the guard tactfully stepped back and retracted the knife.

"You said that the Zheng family's ships have poor performance? Can you provide me with warships with better performance?"

"Your Excellency the Duke, this is no problem. As long as the Ming Dynasty gives us money, warships will not be a problem!" Da Vinci said, patting his chest.

He often wandered around Tianjin during this period, and also used a telescope to observe the new fleet of the Ming Dynasty from afar.

I discovered early on that the fleet was full of Zheng family's silk ships, but there was also a damaged version of the Galleon warship.

If we only compare the performance of the galleon, it has more firepower than the Zheng family's silk ship, and is more suitable for seas with complex wind directions.

If the Ming Dynasty wants to buy it, Da Vinci can take the initiative to take the order.

After all, galleons have been used in the Netherlands for decades, and they now have better warships.

"Humph, after all this talk, you still want to make money from the Ming Dynasty.

You said your warships are powerful, but as far as I know, you have been defeated by the Zheng family twice in a row. How do you explain this?" Zhang Shikang said with disdain.

“Reporting to His Excellency the Duke, the two failures were all because the main fleet of the Netherlands was not in the Ming Dynasty waters.

To be precise, the Dutch used only a navy less than one-tenth of the Zheng family's navy, and sank dozens of enemy ships. This can be considered an honorable defeat!"

Da Vinci explained.

“You sound nice, but I only care about the result, and the result is that you red-haired barbarians lost.

The galleon in the Ming fleet is the spoils of war of our Ming Dynasty.

I thought the ship was pretty good, but not much better than the Fu ships of the Ming Dynasty.

If your so-called main fleet is really powerful, why don't you just engage in a decisive battle with the Zheng family?

The Zheng family sent a fleet to the imperial court to show their loyalty. You said you came to discuss cooperation. Is this your attitude?

If you still refuse even after being offered dozens of galleons, I think you should stop wasting your breath! "

Zhang Shikang picked up the tea bowl and drank tea, implying that if what you give cannot impress me, then go back to where it came from.

Upon hearing this, Da Vinci frowned. Sending dozens of galleons, wouldn't that be crazy?

The Dutch have always been honest in doing business, but there is one iron rule: they will not do business that will lose money.

No matter how tempting, you can't break this rule.

But the Ming nobleman in front of him was already the most powerful person in the Ming Dynasty that Da Vinci had met in recent years.

If they lose this opportunity, it will be difficult for the East India Company to open up the Chinese market in the next few years.

Thinking of this, Da Vinci considered it carefully and said:

“Your Excellency the Duke, the performance of the Galen warship is indeed higher than that of the Zheng family’s main battleship.

The reason why we did not have a decisive battle with the Zheng family is because the time has not come yet. To be honest, our country of the Netherlands is now fighting with the country of France, and the main fleet cannot leave Europe for too long for the time being.

As for sending dozens of galleons, the Duke joked that it was impossible and too expensive.

However, I can apply to the company's top management to provide this type of warship to the Ming Dynasty at a price slightly higher than the cost price.

My country, the Netherlands, has the best shipyards in the world. Galleons have been built and improved for decades, and the galleons they produce are also the best!"

When Leonardo da Vinci said this, he could not hide his pride on his face. His expression was very similar to the way Schroeder praised the level of cannon casting in his country.

The Netherlands had the best shipbuilding technology, and the Little France had the best cannon-casting technology.

"Eighty Years' War?

I calculated with my fingers and I think we should be winning soon.

But the conditions you offer can't impress me, and I can't turn around for you.

You can buy it with silver, but I want the best ship.

For example... a double-deck battleship." Zhang Shikang said casually.

……