I was living at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and I dealt a brutal blow to the Eight Banners!

Zhang Jingchuan, a cigar dangling from his lips, flipped through the ledger in his hand, then looked up at Zheng Zhilong in front of him and murmured:

"Brother, you've had a long and arduous journey. You've not only brought me five boatloads of grain, but also a lot of good goods from Jiangnan!"

"Hahaha," Zheng Zhilong laughed loudly, "Brother, you've just arrived in Jinzhouwei, so you must take good care of yourself. These jewels and ornaments from Jiangnan are perfect for exchanging for silver."

At this point, Zheng Zhilong's tone turned serious, and he said, "I heard that you are planning to establish a Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce and intend to do business with Korea and Japan?"

Zhang Jingchuan tapped the table with the hand holding the cigar and said, "Now that I have occupied Jinzhouwei, it is only natural that I must resume maritime trade with Goryeo and Japan."

Zheng Zhilong frowned but remained silent.

Since Zheng Zhilong was in charge of the trade between the Ming Dynasty and Japan, Zhang Jingchuan's mention of it was an attempt to steal his business.

Seeing Zheng Zhilong's somewhat unpleasant expression, Zhang Jingchuan instantly realized that the other party had misunderstood him, and quickly explained with a smile, "Brother, you misunderstood me. I want to expand the maritime trade market so that there's enough for both of us!"

Zheng Zhilong raised an eyebrow and asked, "Please explain in detail, my worthy brother."

In fact, Zhang Jingchuan's idea was very simple.

Jinzhouwei was a strategic location by both land and sea. To the north, it could conduct smuggling business with the Qing Dynasty, and by sea, it could connect with the Ming Dynasty, Goryeo, and Japan.

Although most of Zheng Zhilong's business was in Southeast Asia, he also had business dealings with Korea and Japan.

Although the cake wasn't big, it was still somewhat unfair to try and take food from Zheng Zhilong's bowl.

Therefore, Zhang Jingchuan's idea of ​​"making the pie bigger" meant dragging Goryeo and Japan into the fight against the Qing army. To put it bluntly, it was about shifting the conflict and sharing the risks.

After Goryeo surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, it was constantly exploited by the Qing. There must have been ministers in Goryeo who were loyal to the Ming Dynasty. If the Qing Dynasty were to use troops to incite them to rebel against the Qing, Goryeo would surely join forces with Zhang Jingchuan.

By then,

Goryeo would provide some money and supplies to support Zhang Jingchuan.

As for Japan, although it is an island nation, it is short of resources and lacks supplies. As long as you can lure them with a lot of money, you will definitely be able to recruit a Japanese army with considerable fighting power.

They could send these Japanese soldiers to the front lines of the resistance against the Qing Dynasty as cannon fodder, or recruit cheap Japanese laborers to work in the mountains to cultivate land and grow crops.

If conditions permit, Japanese women could also be brought to Jinzhouwei to work as prostitutes, which would also contribute to boosting domestic demand in Jinzhouwei.

When Zhang Jingchuan shared these thoughts with Zheng Zhilong, the look in Zheng Zhilong's eyes was beyond shock.

Zheng Zhilong was originally a merchant who started out as a pirate. After listening to Zhang Jingchuan's story, he could already imagine how much profit this business could bring to him and Zhang Jingchuan.

Just take supporting Goryeo's anti-Qing efforts as an example, and you'll get financial and food support from Goryeo.

Send this money and grain to Japan in exchange for Japanese soldiers, laborers, and women. Use the Japanese soldiers to support Goryeo's anti-Qing movement, use the Japanese laborers as forced laborers, and use the Japanese women to make money.

Isn't this just a business of getting something for nothing?

Moreover, only Zhang Jingchuan could do this kind of business, because he occupies Jinzhou and has 40,000 soldiers under his command. To put it more grandly, Zhang Jingchuan has the Ming Dynasty behind him.

Back then, Mao Wenlong had only a small force but was able to secure financial and logistical support from Goryeo. How much more so now, with 40,000 valiant soldiers under his command, Zhang Jingchuan would be in a much larger position.

As for the small profits that Zheng Zhilong cared about, they were simply insignificant compared to this.

On the other hand, although Zheng Zhilong saw the huge profits involved, he wanted to know which of those profits belonged to him.

“Brother, you’ve played such a big game,” Zheng Zhilong said with a hint of sarcasm, “I wonder how much of the spoils will be yours.”

Zhang Jingchuan smiled slightly and then explained the matter of establishing the Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce and customs duties.

“If you could get the fleet to handle the shipping, in addition to the freight costs, I would also give you 30% of the profits from the Chamber of Commerce’s customs duties,” Zhang Jingchuan said with a smile. “What do you think, brother?”

Customs duties were essentially profits that Zhang Jingchuan extracted from various businesses. The larger the trade volume, the greater the profits he, Zheng Zhilong, would receive.

For Zheng Zhilong, this was an incredibly profitable business.

As for plundering Japan, the cooperation model remained the same: Zheng Zhilong provided the ships, Zhang Jingchuan provided the men, and the profits were split 50/50.

Zheng Zhilong had no reason to refuse such a price.

and,

Zheng Zhilong also learned that the Ming court had just conferred upon Zhang Jingchuan the title of General Who Pacifies the Barbarians and granted him the title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, which showed the Ming court's recognition of Zhang Jingchuan.

Moreover, His Majesty also bestowed upon Zhang Jingchuan the title of Earl, which means that Zhang Jingchuan has officially become a powerful and influential figure.

Although Zheng Zhilong held the official rank of naval guerrilla commander, he still dared not return to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors in this capacity, because he had once been a pirate and because he was a wealthy man on the coast, many people had designs on him.

If Zhang Jingchuan were protecting him, even a provincial governor wouldn't dare to touch him easily.

Therefore, serving under Zhang Jingchuan would not only bring him fame and fortune, but also save him a lot of trouble. For him, why wouldn't he do it?

“We’re brothers,” Zheng Zhilong said with a smile, “we’ll do as you say, my brother!”

Then,

Zheng Zhilong then took out a folded document from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Jingchuan.

"This is?"

Zheng Zhilong smiled slightly and said, "These are two galleons equipped with cannons that I recently purchased from the Dutch!"

Zhang Jingchuan's heart skipped a beat. He opened the folded document and was shocked to find it contained illustrations and descriptions of galleons.

"Knowing that you admire the giant ships of the West, I bought these two ships as a gift to you to celebrate your promotion," Zheng Zhilong said with a smile.

Zheng Zhilong was able to become the shipping magnate of the Ming Dynasty, with businesses spanning Southeast Asia, because he had a very precise grasp of interpersonal relationships.

Once he has chosen a patron, he will spare no expense to cater to their preferences.

These two galleons each had a displacement of 1,000 tons and could carry 21 long-range cannons, a world of difference compared to the Fujian ships, which had a displacement of only 200-300 tons and could carry more than 10 close-range cannons.

Zhang Jingchuan, who was initially delighted to have 10 Fujian ships, suddenly felt less excited.

Right now,

When Zhang Jingchuan saw the various data of the galleon, he became even more determined to build the first fleet of the Ming Dynasty.

One day, Zhang Jingchuan will lead a powerful fleet into the ports of Japan, and then return to Liaodong with the wealth, laborers, and women he has plundered from Japan, thus accelerating the development of Liaodong.

The suffering we experienced in later generations must be made to be experienced by Japan in this life.

……