(The second update, ask for recommendation votes.) Thanks to the 500 coin reward of the book friend Rou Zhihu~)

Even if the canal from Hangzhou to Linqing is unblocked, it is only half of the original Grand Canal.

More than half of the workers who originally relied on the canal for their livelihood will inevitably change careers to make a living.

What's more, it is a troubled time now, and even the canal in the Shandong section cannot be guaranteed to be completely unobstructed, which means that the transportation of this Jiashen year is basically paralyzed.

Fortunately, the imperial court now only owns half of the country, so there is no need to worry about transporting supplies to the north. Now the real headache is the Qing court that occupies most of Jifu, Beizhili, and Henan.

Of course, not needing to worry now doesn't mean you won't need to worry forever.

If the imperial court defeated the Eastern Captives and recovered Shenjing, it would inevitably face the problem of material transfer from north to south.

The Son of Heaven raised this question in advance, and Zheng Zhilong was not surprised at all.

"There was a controversy during the Wanli period when the sea was transported by sea, but the court had many scruples and finally could not make the trip. Now is a great opportunity. ”

After Zheng Hongkui calmed down, he analyzed it carefully and felt that this was a rare opportunity for the Zheng family.

"Big brother, it seems that the Son of Heaven really values you. Why don't you say yes to the eldest brother? ”

Zheng Zhilong shook his head and said: "Scrap the water and change it to the sea, of course my Zheng family has the ability to undertake north-south transportation." It's just that it has to wait for the imperial court to recover Shenjing. ”

"That's just as well. Now the court is just drawing a big pie, and wants to stabilize the eldest brother first. ”

Zheng Hongkui is not stupid, and there is a bit of contempt and ridicule for the imperial court in his words.

"It's not easy to eat this picture." Zheng Zhilong sighed and said, "Fourth brother, do you know what Sen'er said in the letter? ”

Zheng Hongkui was stunned and said, "What else did my nephew say?" ”

"The imperial court handed over the burden of shipping to me Zheng Zhilong is not for nothing, the meaning of the Son of Heaven is very clear, and he wants me to take the lead in running this Emperor Ming Trade Chamber of Commerce."

Zheng Zhilong's face was a little gloomy, and his voice was dry: "The conditions are still the same as what I said last time, and the silver earned is divided into two and a half percent." ”

"Shhh How can this court be like a businessman, a stock market with a face. ”

Zheng Hongkui said helplessly: "What does the eldest brother think about this matter?" ”

"The imperial court wants to tie my Zheng family firmly to the big ship of the Huangming Trade Chamber of Commerce." Zheng Zhilong narrowed his eyes slightly and said: "If my expectations are right, in the future, this north-south shipping matter must also be carried out in the name of the Huangming Trade Chamber of Commerce, if my Zheng family does not do it, there will definitely be other families to do it." I'm afraid that by then we won't have a chance to get involved if we want to. ”

Zheng Zhilong's vision has always been unique, and no one was optimistic about him before the war with the Dutch, and they all thought that he was a moth to a fire.

But the facts proved that Zheng Zhilong's choice was correct, since he conquered the Dutch, the coastal routes of Fujian were completely controlled by him, and the merchant ships, regardless of the Nanyang background, the Fujian merchant background or the Japanese background all need to pay tolls for him, Zheng Zhilong also relied on taxes to earn a lot of money, rich and rival the country.

The opportunities that lie ahead of him today are equally elusive.

If he can monopolize the task of shipping between the north and the south, Zheng Zhilong will be the first imperial merchant of the Ming Dynasty, and his annual income is conservatively estimated to be several million taels, which is no less than the silver taels he earned by collecting sea taxes.

How to choose, Zheng Zhilong is very entangled.

Zheng Hongkui saw all this in his eyes.

He did not rush to force Zheng Zhilong to make a statement, but stood quietly aside, waiting for Zheng Zhilong to make a decision.

After about a cup of tea, Zheng Zhilong let out a long breath.

"Sen'er is right about this, the opportunity is rare, my Zheng family can't let it go!"

"The eldest brother said that he would do what he wanted, but in this case, we really have to do what the Emperor Ming Trade Chamber of Commerce is?"

As soon as Zheng Hongkui's words fell, Zheng Zhilong smiled and said, "Yes, of course it must be done." The Son of Heaven said that the silver earned by the Huangming Trade Chamber of Commerce was divided between the two imperial courts and my Zheng family, and I only thought about it carefully, and it did not have much impact on my Zheng family's income. ”

Zheng Hongkui was a little dazed.

"But my nephew made it clear in the letter that as long as he joins the Huangming Trade Chamber of Commerce, he doesn't need to pay sea taxes, isn't it equivalent to digging out the rice in our Zheng family's pot in disguise?"

"Ke Sen'er also said in the letter, the power to decide who can join the Huangming Trade Chamber of Commerce lies with my Zheng family and the imperial court. I can't control other places, and if the businessmen along the coast of Fujian want to join the Huangming Trade Chamber of Commerce, they don't have to get the consent of Zheng Zhilong. If they don't give enough money, can Lao Tzu let him join the club? As for those Dutch and Japanese, they don't even have the identity of my Ming people, so naturally it is impossible for them to join the Huangming Trade Chamber of Commerce, and Lao Tzu can't find fault with the imperial court that collects sea taxes. ”

Zheng Zhilong's words completely woke up Zheng Hongkui.

"Wonderful, wonderful. Big brother really understands people. Haha, it means that our left hand is down to our right hand, and tax collection is another way of saying. ”

"I'm wondering how to get the entrance fee. If it is a one-time collection, it is too much of a loss, it is better to collect it once a year, and estimate a number according to the volume of the joining businessman Jia Haimao, so that it will not be too much of a loss. ”

Of course, the more businessmen who join the association, the more dividends the Huangming Traders will need. Overall, the Zheng family still has to lose more than only collecting taxes, and the only one who makes a steady profit is the imperial court.

Zheng Zhilong smiled and said: "I didn't expect that the Son of Heaven really had two shots, and he could eat half of the profits just by virtue of the righteousness of the imperial court." ”

Zheng Hongkui spread his hands and said: "There is no way about this, who called the world his Zhu family." Lao Tzu fights the country, and the son sits on the country, which is justified. Haha, speaking of which, wasn't my little nephew still given a national surname by the Son of Heaven? Big brother, do you think our brother can make a vassal king? ”

Zheng Zhilong didn't care at all about Zheng Hongkui's half-jokes.

"Vassal King?" Zheng Zhilong shook his head and said, "Except for the founding fathers, the Ming Dynasty has never been crowned a king with a different surname. Besides, since ancient times, can kings with different surnames have a good end? Our brothers sit and enjoy the wealth, and they want to be famous. ”

Zheng Hongkui nodded.

Yes, in this troubled world, as long as there are soldiers in hand, it is king.

The imperial court has repeatedly wooed the Zheng family, isn't it because the Zheng family has thousands of sea ships and tens of thousands of soldiers in their hands?

If you really provoke the Zheng family, it's a big deal to break up.

"The only thing I'm worried about right now is Sen'er."

Zheng Zhilong's eyes became a little gloomy: "Originally, I wanted to send him to the Guozi Prison to be a prisoner, but I never thought that he was transferred by the Son of Heaven to study at the Huangming Military Academy, and he was also given a surname and a first name." I always felt that there was something unusual about his letters these few times, and his tone was more like being a lobbyist for the imperial court. ”

Zheng Hongkui laughed and said, "Big brother, I'm afraid you're thinking too much about this." Sen'er grew up watching him, since he left the Hirado Domain at the age of six and was taken to Anhei, Quanzhou Prefecture to study, and he didn't move his nest for eight years. He is under the noses of you and me all day long, eating our Zheng family's rice noodles and drinking our Zheng family's water, how can he turn his elbows out. ”

"I hope I'm thinking too much." Zheng Zhilong said faintly: "If one day Sen'er stands on the opposite side of my Zheng family for the sake of the imperial court, I will never show mercy. ”

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