However, Zheng Zhilong still underestimated the speed of Liang's information transmission and overestimated his authority in Fujian.

When Fuzhou learned that Zheng Zhilong had sent a messenger to Daliang to discuss the surrender of Cheng, he opened the city gate on the same day, sent a messenger, and waited for the officials and troops of Daliang to come and take over the city. As soon as Fuzhou surrendered, it was like pouring a domino, and all towns in Fujian under the control of Zheng Zhilong, except for Quanzhou, posted notices at the same time as receiving the news, announcing that they would return to Daliang, and abolish the name of Hongguang of the Ming Dynasty and replace it with the name of Anping of Daliang.

That is, five days after Zheng Zhilong sent a messenger, Li Yan in Kaifeng received the news that Zheng Zhilong was willing to surrender. Without wasting a little time, he immediately authorized Huang Desheng to handle Zheng Zhilong's surrender with full authority, and at the same time ordered Zheng Zhilong's ships, whether merchant ships or war ships, to dock at the nearest port and register ships and sailors.

"Inform Zhang Han and ask him to send someone to go south with Luo Miaoxun as fast as possible to take over the fleet under Zheng Zhilong. After all, Luo Miaohyun had dealt with Zheng Zhilong's fleet and knew some inside information. The Intelligence Department should also cooperate and try to find out as much as possible the manpower under Zheng Zhilong's command, so as not to hide Zheng Zhilong's secrets. Li Yan thought for a while, and then ordered: "After Zheng Zhilong's armed control is indeed controlled, let Zheng Zhilong come to Kaifeng earlier." As for his brothers, there is no need to move for the time being. ”

"Subordinates receive orders." Sun Sifu hugged his fists and agreed.

Luo Miaohyun had already returned from Luzon at this time, although he brought back two shipwrights, but they were both native Luzon natives, and they had only built small merchant ships, but no warships had been built. The Portuguese warships were all built in their own country, and in the South Sea colonies, the most they could do was to repair them.

However, it does not matter whether there are Western shipwrights or not, with the battleships captured by the Dutch, the Chinese shipwrights have a reference, and they can naturally build Western warships. However, this will take time, not only will the structure of the battleship need to be explored, but also the large timber that will be used will have to be used.

Li Zhong said with a smile: "I thought that Zheng Zhilong would hold out for a while, but I didn't expect to surrender so soon." ”

"He is a smart man and understands that without the fulcrum of the mainland, he will not be able to last long no matter what." Li Yan said lightly.

He is in a good mood now, Zheng Zhilong's surrender, there will be no resistance in Liangguang and Guizhou, and the next thing is to clean up the remnants of Daxi hiding in Sichuan and Yunnan. And Wu Niang is pregnant again, which also makes him happy. After all, there is only one son, and it is not safe after all, in case there is a mistake, just like the eldest son Yuanbin dies, then the world that has finally settled down may be chaotic again.

Li Zhong did not talk about Zheng Zhilong anymore, but talked about the Mongolian side's concerns: "According to Li Mou's report, it has been a month since the cavalry and the caravan entered Mongolia, but they have not seen a single Qing army. Even the Horqin Tribe, which had close ties with the Qing State, did not show any hostility this time. Isn't that weird? ”

"There's no news from Wu Sangui either?" Li Yan still asked easily.

Wu Sangui, Gao Di, and Bai Guangen had long wanted to surrender to Daliang, but Li Yan felt that the time was not yet right, so he asked them to continue to deal with the Qing State first, so the news from the Qing State could also get a lot of useful information from Wu Sangui and others.

Li Zhongdao: "It's still news more than a month ago, and it only says that the ministers of the Qing State are still discussing. It seems that the Qing State has been very wary of Wu Sangui and them. ”

Li Yan smiled and said, "Don't think about it so much. No matter what tricks they are thinking, or they want to recuperate, we are not afraid of him. The Mongols knew that it was no longer possible for them to enter the Central Plains and grab things, and trade was the only way for them to obtain wealth and goods. No matter what means the Qing and those tribal leaders use, their contradictions with the low-level herdsmen will be even deeper, and that is because they dig their own graves. As for their attacks, as long as the generals are not dizzy, there will be no problem. ”

Li Zhong also laughed, nodded and said, "Well, that's the truth." After that, a new question was raised: "There is another problem, the amount of copper used in our artillery casting is too large, and the output of several mines cannot keep up, is it to buy some from the market?" Large families have a lot of copper coins and copper utensils in their hands. ”

Li Yan thought for a while before vetoing: "Let's let the mine increase production, if the price of copper rises among the people, the people will start hoarding copper money again, which will hinder the people's livelihood." However, to increase mine production, do not force the miners to work hard, but to appropriately improve some treatment, set up incentives, and let the miners work hard willingly. Otherwise, the court would not have access to minerals, and the workers would have no livelihood, and neither would have been good. ”

"This is a solution, and I will ask the mines around the country to come up with a feasible solution." Li Zhong said thoughtfully.

Li Yan reminded: "It's better to patrol the imperial history or send it often, those officials are not beaten, and they will soon revert to the old state." There are also officials and gentry in various places, and they must also have one eye to watch, those who are used to oppressing and doing good deeds, they will not live honestly without the lesson of blood. ”

"Oh? Was it reported by the Intelligence Division? Recently, there has been no local report. Li Zhong frowned and asked.

This is a serious situation, and in some places some people have begun to isolate the news from the center, and if this situation expands, the center will become the plaything of the bureaucracy and the joke of the historians.

And Sun Sifu, who was standing on the side, also frowned, and he didn't receive any news in this regard, which was a major dereliction of duty.

Li Yan shook his head and explained, "It's not news from the Intelligence Department. The newly recruited palace maids from various counties are also a channel to observe the situation. What they have heard and seen is no less than the news reported by the localities. Officialdom in various places, after decades of edification and transformation in the late Ming Dynasty, most of them are corpse vegetarians. And we have appointed a large number of former local officials, and it is inevitable that some of them will be mixed in with each other. ”

"I see." Li Zhong nodded knowingly.

Sun Sifu also hurriedly clenched his fists: "My subordinates are derelict in their duties, and we will immediately arrange for the rectification of the Intelligence Department to eliminate those black sheep and mediocre people." ”

Li Yan nodded and reminded: "Act safely, don't be too careful." Most of those palace ladies have also heard of it, and it is inevitable that there will be mistakes and exaggerations, so you must be careful to investigate and not cause unjust cases. The candidates for the imperial history should also be careful, and they must send some people who are capable, well-versed in affairs, and have righteousness, otherwise even if they are sent down, it will not be of much use. ”

"Well, I'll keep an eye on it." Li Zhong nodded in agreement.

Sun Sifu also clenched his fists: "Subordinates obey orders!" ”

"By the way, Western Mongolia should also pay attention, and send some caravans to the northwest next year. The Great Wall in the northwest is too dilapidated and too laborious to build, so it is better to actively defend it. Li Yan gave another instruction. Although Western Mongolia has always been relatively stable, it should not be taken lightly.