"Is that so?"

Zhu Cihong was taken aback, although he knew that Zheng Zhilong had a half-Chinese and half-Western naval division, which was definitely worthy of being the existence of the East Asian maritime hegemon. But he didn't know that Zheng Zhilong had built ten Western-style warships with double-deck guns more than ten years ago!

This is an amazing maritime armament! How come a warship with a double-deck gun deck has twenty or thirty Hongyi cannons, right? Ten ships plus together is two or three hundred Hongyi cannons, and if they are lined up and fired from one side, there are also one hundred to one hundred and fifty Hongyi cannons fired in a salvo...... With so many cannons and warships, the Tartars still dare to be arrogant?

That's not right! If Zheng Chenggong had such a fleet back then, would he not be able to defeat Nanjing? One hundred and fifty Hongyi cannons hammered at the city wall of Nanjing, what kind of tartar can still live? How could Zheng Chenggong lose the Battle of Nanjing?

"Old Tarzan, how many of these ships do you have now?" Zhu Cihong hurriedly asked.

If you want it, take it out and use it! Next spring, when the southeast wind blows, they will go north and go to the fortress of Tartar at the mouth of Dagu, Tianjin.

One hundred and fifty Hongyi cannons fired together, and they didn't scare Dorgon to death!

"Now?" Zheng Zhilong spread his hands, "No ......"

"Gone?" Zhu Cihong blinked his eyelids.

"They were all burned by the Dutch."

Zhu Cihong was stunned and stunned, "Won't you make it again?" You have so much money, can't you afford it? It's been more than ten years...... If you build one a year, you should have more than a dozen! ”

Zheng Zhilong smiled embarrassedly: "Master Chitose, the minister has won the battle of Liuluo Bay without these Xiyi ships...... The East India Company of the Hongmao Country was also convinced, and only purchased goods from the minister every year, and the ships that passed through the sea off Fujian spent money to buy the passage flag from the minister. ”

What's the use? Zhu Cihong said: Give your son Zheng Chenggong a hammer tartar! After hammering the Tartars, your son can still rely on them to usurp the throne, seize the Ming Dynasty, and establish your Zheng dynasty...... At that time, you will be Zheng Liezu in the Taimiao, and you will be happy to die!

"So, can you still build these ships now?" Zhu Cihong didn't talk nonsense with "Zheng Liezu" anymore, but continued to ask.

"Can ......," Zheng Zhilong frowned, "But this kind of Western ship is expensive to build and difficult to operate, so it is not as easy to use as a big bird ship." ”

Zheng Zhilong spent a lot of money to build these ten Western-style warships in order to compete with the Dutch East India Company for supremacy at sea. Therefore, these ten Western-style ships were all built according to the standards of warships, and the cost was high.

In addition, in order to pursue the East India Company's soft sailing ships on the high seas, all ten of these warships could be hoisted with soft sails.

For this reason, Zheng Zhilong also invited Western sailors from Hao O at any cost, wanting them to teach them the skills of sailing and sailing...... According to Zheng Zhilong's thoughts at the time, the war between him and the East India Company was easy to fight!

So prepared for a long struggle!

Unexpectedly, the East India Company was mainly seeking money, and it didn't have the time to fight a protracted war with Zheng Zhilong. After the defeat in Liuluowan, he simply relented. The East India Company softened, and the "short-sighted" Zheng Zhilong had no motivation to continue to develop the Great Navy, and then the Zheng Group lived a good life of lying down and making money comfortably, until the Qing soldiers came in surging!

What a blessing and a curse it is! If the Zheng Group and the Dutch East India Company had fought for more than ten years, until the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, what sail battleships, what Morris phalanx, what three-pounder regimental guns, all of them. As for the Hongyi cannons, I'm afraid they have all been built to twenty-four or thirty-six pounds...... The displacement of the flagship of the fleet may be in the thousands!

And a group of pirates who have been fighting the Dutch for more than ten years will be afraid of those Tartars who don't even have a sixth-tier ship with a gun deck? Still want to go to Gangnam? First of all, ask the 36-pounder cannon if you say yes! annoyed Lao Zheng, that is, the strong ship and the cannon went to Tianjin!

"How can a big Western ship not be as good as a big bird ship?" Zhu Cihong glared at Zheng Zhilong, and asked angrily, "People have come all the way to our door, when can you go to Amsterdam?" ”

Zheng Zhilong was confused when he heard it, "What Dan is Eminem?" ”

Zhu Cihong waved his hand, "I can't go to any Dan now...... Hurry up and build a ship! Can it still be built now? If not, buy a Western war ship first? ”

"What can be made, what can be made......" Zheng Zhilong nodded, "The minister can go and ask the foreign craftsman to help, that is, to build a large Western ship, you need to use a lot of Siamese rouge, not to mention, not to mention, and it is inconvenient to transship, so it will not be able to be made up in a while." ”

Siamese rouge is teak, and the European sail battleships of this era were very durable, so good woods such as teak and oak were chosen. With proper maintenance, a sail battleship can last for decades!

"Then let's make it up from now on!" Zhu Cihong said to Zheng Zhilong, "Build ten ships first...... A subsidy of 30,000 taels of silver will be given to you, and when the warship can be built and can sail to sea, the palace will send someone to accept it, and if it is qualified, it will pay you! What do you think? ”

Zheng Zhilong was stunned for a moment, this style is too big, right? 30,000 taels of silver for a boat, 10 boats for 300,000 taels!

He paused and said tentatively: "Chitose Lord, who does this ship belong to?" ”

"Of course, it's the Fujian sailor!" Zhu Cihong smiled, "Give it to me, and no one can drive the boat...... But these ten boats can be built, and they have to be dispatched by this palace! ”

Zheng Zhilong breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay, the old minister will arrange it when he returns to Quanzhou!" ”

Zhu Cihong nodded, seemingly very satisfied with this reply, "Okay! When I go back to the palace, I will let people prepare the contract, and we will sign the contract in black and white! ”

After talking about shipbuilding, Zhu Cihong turned the topic to the issue of negotiating with the Dutch.

"Old Taishan," Zhu Cihong looked at Zheng Zhilong and said, "We have to let the Dutch in...... But we can't let it go in vain, we have to go out too! The Zheng family's merchant house should be able to open to Batavia, to Ceylon, to Europa! The Zheng family's merchant ships will sail freely in the South and Western Seas.

This is the condition for the Dutch to freely enter and exit the ports of Shanghai, Quanzhou, Ningbo, and Guangzhou! ”

Zheng Zhilong's brows furrowed, obviously struggling to calculate.

Opening up the Dutch to trade in the ports of Shanghai, Quanzhou, Ningbo, and Guangzhou was of course detrimental to Zheng Zhilong.

Because Zheng Zhilong had monopolized the Sino-Dutch trade before, the Dutch could only buy goods from him.

Similarly, it is advantageous for the Zheng family to enter the South and Western Seas...... But compared with the pros and cons, the Zheng family may still suffer.

Zhu Cihong then said: "Although the Netherlands can freely enter and exit our ports, the sea toll tax still has to be paid to ...... This is the military money for the Fujian Navy to catch pirates, and it must be given!

They also have to give up all the strongholds on the island of Taiwan to the Zheng family! In the future, the Zheng family will be the owner of Taiwan Island. ”

Zheng Zhilong's brows were still tightly furrowed, he made a huge profit through the monopoly Sino-Dutch trade every year!

If the Dutch are allowed to enter and leave the ports of Shanghai, Quanzhou, Ningbo, and Guangzhou freely......

Zhu Cihong looked at Zheng Zhilong, and suddenly laughed: "Old Taishan, there is still a big deal to be made for you in this palace." ”

"Big deal?" Zheng Zhilong asked, "What kind of business?" ”

"Food!" Zhu Cihong said, "The people take food as the sky, there are many people in the southeast, there is little land, and too much cotton and mulberry trees are planted, so there is always a shortage of food...... The main palace wants to enter a little from the outside and fill it in. ”

"Thousands of miles to transport grain?" Zheng Zhilong frowned, "This can't work, right?" ”

Annam, Champong, Shui Chenla, and Siam are all rich in rice, and the price of rice is very cheap, but the cost of transportation of thousands of miles is added, I am afraid there is nothing to be earned.

"Ten thousand miles?" Zhu Cihong said, "From Champa and Shuizhenla, which are rich in rice, to Quanzhou is three or four thousand miles at most, and it is only five thousand miles to Shanghai. It's nothing more than a cut on the trade line...... The palace paid one or two and a half dollars to buy a stone of Zhancheng rice, is there any profit from this transaction? ”