Zhang Bin rented the Zhenyuan cruiser to a major Ming merchant gang to help them transport goods to all parts of the world, which did not seem to be wrong, because this was the only way to quickly seize the colonial market of the Ming Dynasty, but he was not the emperor, and it was indeed a bit beyond his authority to do so.

If Chongzhen is in power, he will definitely be furious, don't ask, and lease the battleship to merchants without authorization, do you still have me, the emperor, in your eyes!

Of course, at this time, Zhu Cihong will not blush with Zhang Bin because of this matter, he is just a little curious about why Zhang Bin did this.

Zhang Bin explained carefully: "Your Majesty, Weichen also did this after many considerations. First of all, ocean voyages are different from short-distance voyages along the coast of Daming, because ocean voyages are thousands of miles or even tens of thousands of miles if they do not move, so the fleet must carry enough fresh water and grain, and the largest merchant ship in the hands of merchants is just the Daifuku ship, which originally loaded not much goods, and there is no space to carry too much fresh water and grain. This creates a contradiction, if they don't bring enough fresh water and food, they can't travel far, if they carry enough fresh water and food, they can't bring much goods, and if there is less goods, there is not much profit, which makes the ocean-going business meaningless, and no one will waste time and effort to do this kind of unprofitable business, that is, if they let them use the Daifuku ship to do the ocean-going business, they won't do it after a trip. The Zhenyuan cruiser is different, because there is a huge space inside, if you don't bring soldiers and goods, you can carry hundreds of thousands of catties of goods, so they will have a lot of profits, and someone will be willing to do this business. ”

When Zhu Cihong heard this, he thought for a while, and then nodded: "What the master said makes sense, they have to let them have a good profit, so they will work so far to do business." ”

Zhang Bin then explained: "Also, the emperor, you should know that in the year of the Apocalypse, piracy was rampant on the southeast coast of the Ming Dynasty, and merchant ships from various countries were frequently robbed. Now although the pirates on the southeast coast of the Ming Dynasty have been exterminated, there are still many pirates in other seas, plus the fleets of various countries and even the merchant fleets of various countries sometimes see that they will be rich, if the merchant fleet encounters them in the vast sea, it is very likely that they will kill people and seize goods. The Dafu ship of the Daming merchants has no combat effectiveness at all, and it will become a lamb to be slaughtered when it comes out of the protection range of the Daming Sailor, and nine out of nine will be robbed. Therefore, Weichen would think about leasing the Zhenyuan cruiser to them, because there are more than ten Zhenyuan cruisers forming a fleet, not to mention pirates, and the naval fleets of ordinary countries are not necessarily opponents. ”

When Zhu Cihong heard this, he couldn't help but be surprised: "There is still such a thing? There are pirates in other seas too? The fleets of various countries will also attack merchant ships! ”

Zhang Bin nodded affirmatively: "Of course, when Zheng and Zheng Gonggong went to the Western Ocean, they were attacked by pirates and several countries along the Western Ocean, Zheng Gonggong's fleet can have hundreds of huge ships, tens of thousands of soldiers, everyone dares to attack, let alone a small merchant ship." ”

Zhu Cihong said with some fear: "If this is the case, then the Zhenyuan cruiser should really be leased to the merchants of the Ming Dynasty, otherwise, the next trip to the West will lose all the money, who would dare to go to the West to do business!" ”

Zhang Bin nodded, and then said: "Also, the rent of this Zhenyuan cruiser is not cheap, the rent of one is 10,000 taels of silver a month, the rent for a year is 100,000 taels, a hundred ships is 10 million taels, and more than half of the Weichen leased out is 200 ships, a total of 20 million taels, so that the military expenses of the Fuguang Army and the Fujian Navy Division are almost all out." Moreover, as the major businesses become bigger and bigger, we can also produce more Zhenyuan cruisers, so that the merchants of the major merchant gangs will become richer and richer, and our sailors will become more and more powerful. ”

When Zhu Cihong heard this, he couldn't help but high-five and exclaimed: "Yes, this method kills two birds with one stone, it is really a good way, master, or you think about Zhou Xiang, I can't think of this." ”

Zhang Bin said modestly: "The emperor has a good reputation, in fact, the benefits are not only these, but also conducive to the control of merchants, because their goods are transported through the Zhenyuan cruiser, and the pilots of the battleship and the operation of the artillery are all sailors, so they will definitely not dare to falsely report and conceal the quantity of goods, the emperor only needs to establish a city department in various colonies in Spain and Portugal, do a good job of registration, and collect taxes according to the number of goods." ”

Zhu Cihong was a little puzzled: "Will they still allow us to build the City Division into their colony?" ”

Zhang Bin nodded confidently and said: "Of course, not only will they not object, but they will also welcome it, because where we established the City Ship Division means that the merchants of our Ming Empire will often go there to do business, and the merchants are all rented Zhenyuan cruisers, and the combat effectiveness is also considerable, which is equivalent to adding a layer of protection to their colonies in disguise, how can they not be happy?" ”

It turns out that there is still this benefit, someone provides them with protection for free, and they will not object to it, Zhu Cihong nodded and said: "Okay, then establish a city department in each colony of Spain and Portugal to ensure the increase of imperial taxes." By the way, master, what is the situation of Portugal and Spain now, I heard that Spain is at war with many European powers, right? ”

Zhang Bin nodded and said: "Yes, Spain is fighting fiercely with five or six European continental powers, and it looks like it is about to be unable to hold on, so Weichen can only transfer the 50,000 Fuguang troops originally stationed in Portugal to Spain to assist them in defense." ”

"Ahh , Zhu Cihong was shocked when he heard this: "Spain is almost unable to hold on, why do we want to form an alliance with them?" ”

Zhang Bin said meaningfully: "Your Majesty, it is precisely because they can't hold up that we want to form an alliance with them." ”

What is this for, Zhu Cihong thought for a while and didn't understand, so he could only look at Zhang Bin curiously, waiting for his explanation.

Seeing this, Zhang Bin lost no time in teaching: "Your Majesty, these barbarians are all tiger and wolf hearts, once they become strong, they will invade everywhere, like the colony is the most obvious example, if they are strong to a certain extent, they will even hit the idea on the head of Da Ming!" Therefore, we must take precautions and not let them surpass the Ming Dynasty. So why don't you let them surpass the Ming Dynasty, naturally you will find a way to let them fight, and the fight will be inextricable, and the sky will be dark! ”

When Zhu Cihong heard this, he experienced it carefully, and then nodded slowly: "Yes, let them fight in the dark, master, what you mean is to help Spain resist and let them continue to fight, right?" ”

Zhang Bin nodded with satisfaction: "Yes, only in this way can they continue to fight, if we stand on the side of the anti-Habsburg alliance that is about to win, then the war on the European continent will end soon, and the anti-Habsburg alliance powers will have time and opportunity to develop, let them become strong, it will not be good for us to Daming." ”