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

"Fuck you!" Zhang Shikang cursed subconsciously.

Even if a showdown with the Zheng family will have to happen sooner or later, if it can be delayed a little, the court will have more protection. After all, the Ming navy is visibly getting stronger.

Didn't Brother Chongzhen's actions directly force Zheng Zhilong to the opposing side?

Zhang Shikang even felt a little regretful for taking full charge of military affairs. In three years, his brother had not made any progress in military affairs.

Having said that, Zhang Shikang hurried to the Qianqing Palace.

When we arrived at the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Chongzhen had calmed down, but he was still digging the soil in his vegetable garden, working very hard.

"Wuji is here." Seeing Zhang Shikang coming, Emperor Chongzhen greeted him warmly.

"Your Majesty, have you stripped Zheng Zhilong of his title?" Zhang Shikang asked.

"Well, it's not just Zheng Zhilong, but also his three brothers." Emperor Chongzhen said nonchalantly.

When he saw Zheng Zhilong's letter, he was really angry. This man, as a noble relative of the Ming Dynasty, dared to openly and secretly suggest to him to take back the power from Zhang Shikang.

Wouldn't this cause trouble for the revival of the Ming Dynasty?

How could the Ming Dynasty be revived without Zhang Shikang?

On his own?

Or rely on the civil and military officials in the court?

This kid Zhang Shikang has been finding various excuses to be lazy, and Zheng Zhilong is really handing him a ladder!

So bad!

"Your Majesty is confused! Breaking up with the Zheng family will not benefit the current court at all!" Zhang Shikang said helplessly.

"The imperial edict has been issued and the factory guards have sent it out with expedited regulations. It has been more than an hour, and I am afraid it cannot be retrieved.

But Wuji, is it worth it for the Ming Dynasty to take Zheng Zhilong so seriously?" Emperor Chongzhen frowned.

Before the imperial court recruited Zheng Zhilong, the imperial court's navy was almost non-existent, but wasn't it doing fine?

Although the Zheng family might have considerable power at sea, they could not influence the Ming Dynasty court at all. After all, the Ming Dynasty was a superior country with abundant resources and was self-sufficient.

In the past two years, Zhang Shikang has mentioned Zheng Zhilong more than once. In fact, Emperor Chongzhen has been unhappy about this for a long time, thinking that Zhang Shikang took Zheng Zhilong too seriously.

With the guards around, can Zheng Zhilong still sail on dry land?

In the eyes of Emperor Chongzhen, there was only one real threat to the Ming Dynasty at present, and that was the Jianlu.

If the Jianlu were not eliminated, he would not only lose his appetite, but also lose his interest in farming.

As for the so-called Zheng family, he really didn't take it seriously.

"Your Majesty! It's not a question of whether to take it seriously or not. We have invested so much money in the past two years. We have invested so much money in the navy and the Liansheng Chamber of Commerce, and we are all hoping to make back the cost from the sea.

If we fall out with Zheng Zhilong now, with the current combat capability of our imperial navy, I'm afraid we won't even be able to break through the blockade.

Even if they could break through, would merchant ships dare to venture out to sea? The Zheng family was originally pirates.

Isn't this the end of the game?

Your Majesty, the investment in the navy and Liansheng over the past two years has exceeded 18 million taels of silver."

As Zhang Shikang spoke, he began to settle the accounts with Brother Chongzhen, including the money for forming the navy, the continuous purchase of warships and artillery, as well as the money for the Tianjin military port, civilian port, and shipyard.

There were also more than sixty Ming nobles who almost emptied their family fortunes to build Heliansheng, recruiting and training sailors, buying merchant ships, setting up businesses, researching shipping routes, and so on.

Zhang Shikang stayed at home for a short period of time. In fact, his elder brother Zhang Shize also traveled all over Daming to find suitable and reliable suppliers for He Liansheng in China.

Then there is the Marquis of Taining. Apart from Zhang Shize, this uncle is the noble who has contributed the most to He Liansheng.

Other nobles and relatives also followed He Liansheng's rules and transferred all their properties and shops across the Ming Dynasty to local ordinary businessmen in order to avoid competing with the people for profits.

That’s great. He sold all his property and went all in on Liansheng.

As a result, I couldn't even get out of the door.

Of Zhang Shikang's many words, Chongzhen only listened to the last sentence.

If you don’t count it, you wouldn’t know, 18 million taels of silver, this kid has already spent so much at sea!

It is almost equivalent to the annual income of the Ming Dynasty a few years ago.

"What should I do? Are you going to ask me to change my orders every day?

This Zheng Zhilong is really abominable. I cannot swallow this breath!" Emperor Chongzhen frowned and put all the blame on Zheng Zhilong.

"It's not impossible. Anyway, we'd better wait for another year or so." Zhang Shikang asked Fang Zhenghua:

"Manager Fang, can the imperial edict be retrieved?"

Fang Zhenghua hesitated and looked at Emperor Chongzhen first. Emperor Chongzhen was unhappy, but still nodded and allowed him to answer.

"Master, I'm afraid it's not going to work.

You know how fast the Jinyiwei transmit messages. They are sent out on an expedited basis, day and night.

It's more than an hour late, and I can't catch up with him at the same speed." Fang Zheng said with difficulty.

Horsepower is different from that of later cars. It’s not that fast. You can’t catch up with the car in front of you by just stepping on the accelerator.

“Hmph, if you can’t catch up, then don’t chase him. If the imperial edict is issued, then chase him back and let Zheng Zhilong know. He will just make a fool of the court.” Emperor Chongzhen breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.

It is unbearable for an emperor to change his orders every day.

"As for the navy and He Liansheng, the worst that can happen is that the court will increase the investment. I will go and talk to Hai Zhongqi of the Ministry of Revenue." Emperor Chongzhen also gave his own solution.

The Tianjin Shipyard has been put into operation, and with the help of the red-haired merchants, the galleon warship will soon be put into production.

Although most of the wood for building warships is imported from Southeast Asia, there is also good wood suitable for building large ships in the deep mountains of Yunnan and Guizhou. It just costs a little more money.

Another reason why Emperor Chongzhen was so determined to punish Zheng Zhilong was that he was also venting his anger on Zhang Shikang.

He felt that Zhang Shikang was more patient and tolerant than he was. The Ming Dynasty was no longer what it used to be. It had a strong army and a sufficient treasury. There was no need to fear the Jianlu anymore, nor to accommodate Zheng Zhilong.

This kid Zhang Shikang can be disciplined by no one except Zhu Youjian.

Who do you think you are, Zheng Zhilong? Are you worthy enough to suppress my right hand?

"It takes time to make dumplings. Alas, now that things have come to this, I can only think of other countermeasures." Zhang Shikang accepted this fact helplessly.

Even if galleons could begin production, it would take time to train skilled shipbuilders and familiarize them with the new ships.

According to the estimate of Mo Wude, director of the Ship Bureau, if all goes well this year, fifteen to twenty galleons can be produced. If more investment is made, the number can be doubled next year.

But it’s only March now, and if you add next year, it will be another two years.

Even so, compared with the size of Zheng's two or three thousand ships, the Ming navy was still a bit shabby.

On the other hand, He Liansheng definitely cannot wait that long. If they really have to wait another two years, Taining Hou and his men will probably have to file for bankruptcy.

I should write a letter to comfort Lao Zheng. Lao Zheng has bought a mansion in Quanzhou and regards Quanzhou as his retirement place. I guess he doesn't want to be driven out by the court.

Thinking of this, Zhang Shikang said to Brother Chongzhen:

“Your Majesty, I feel that since you are the Son of Heaven, even if I manage military affairs on your behalf, you should not only know what I do in military affairs, but also why I make such arrangements.

Before this, I only informed Your Majesty of the military arrangements but did not explain why I did so. This was my fault.

Therefore, if I am in Beijing in the future, I hope Your Majesty can also participate in important military meetings.

If I were not in Beijing, I would explain everything to Your Majesty in writing.

Military affairs are much more important than your Majesty's vegetable garden."

Zhang Shikang's words were sincere, but to the ears of Emperor Chongzhen, they had completely different meanings.

Emperor Chongzhen frowned and became furious.

"Wuji, are you thinking of finding an excuse to return the military power again?"

……