Xiang Yu said: "Wealth does not return to his hometown, if the clothes are fine at night, who knows?" Because of this sentence, Xiang Yu was also put into a map cannon where the people of Chu are all monkeys. The pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info influenced by Zheng Sen, Zheng Zhilong has also read some books over the years, especially some history books. When he saw this record in "Xiang Yu's Benji", Zheng Zhilong also despised Xiang Yu for giving up the Qin land of the rivers and mountains on the surface, and just wanted to go back to his hometown to play prestige, but his vision was too small, and he was a hillbilly. But when it was his turn, when he did things, he was not much different from a hillbilly. At least, it really doesn't make a difference in terms of liking to show off in front of old family.

On the twenty-third day of the lunar month, when the stove was sacrificed, Zheng Zhilong killed hundreds of pigs in Anping in one go, and distributed more than ten catties of pork to every household in the town. A good show off of wealth. On the day of the Chinese New Year's Eve, more than two hundred tables of flowing water were set up in one breath, so that the people in the whole town ate wildly from morning to night, and in the evening, they took out the rockets that Zheng Sen and they had built for the night communication of the ships and set off fireworks. Fortunately, the brothers at sea also knew that Anping was going to put this thing at night, otherwise it would have been possible to play a story of "Beacon Opera Princes".

The messy things of the New Year were busy until the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, and it was generally over. On the sixth day of the first month, Zheng Zhilong recruited several of his brothers, as well as Zheng Sen, Zheng Du, and Zheng Xi.

"It was Assen's idea to get everyone together today. As you know, I'm lazy, and I'm left to Asen to take care of a lot of things. A lot of things have happened this year, and there have been a lot of changes, and Ah Sen is still a child, and he can't make up his mind about many things, so he wants to take this opportunity to let us elders remind him. ”

The other brothers all said, "Ah Sen has done a good job, much better than all of us, where is our turn to raise him?" ”

"How can Asen do it, he is also a hairless child." Zheng Zhilong said with a smile, "Now that our family's business is getting bigger and bigger, there are some things that we still need to let him talk about, so that everyone can know about it." Well, Arsen, tell your uncles about some of the situation this year. ”

After listening to Zheng Zhilong's words, Zheng Sen hurriedly stood up and said, "Daddy, uncles, our Zheng family has done several things like this this year...... Although there are many projects to make money, because of the large expenses of these things and the impact of the war with the Spaniards on shipping, my family's income this year has decreased compared to last year. ”

"There have been so many battles this year, and if it is chaotic today, it is not easy to make money, and it is already very good that my family can still make money. Moreover, although my family has invested a lot now, the money invested in it will be able to earn back several times in the future. Zheng Cai said, "It doesn't matter if you make less money now." ”

"That's it." Zheng Zhibao also said, "Now this Luzon has basically entered our mouths." Luzon, where my eldest brother and I have been, is a good place, where there is never a drought, and we can grow three crops of rice a year. It's a business, it's fast, but it's not stable. Only the land is real, and it can be passed on to future generations, isn't it? This guy, aren't we just buying a large piece of fertile land? If you want me to say, this battle is really too profitable. But Asen, I heard that Spain is also a big country, and I am afraid that I will not be willing to suffer such a big loss all of a sudden. Will they come back, and how are we prepared? ”

"Fourth uncle, to say that Spain is indeed a big country, in terms of warships alone, there are many more than us. It's just that Spain is too far away. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a map that my nephew bought at a high price from Mr. Grylls, a Tessie adventurer. Zheng Sen said as he spread out a map on the table.

Several of Zheng Sen's uncles gathered around.

"Asen, where is our Fujian on this map? Where is Luzon and Spain? Zheng Zhihu asked.

"Second uncle, Fujian is here, this is Luzon, and then it went like this, this is Malacca, and now it is occupied by the Dutch, and then in the past, this is Tianzhu, well, it is the place where Master Sanzang took the scriptures, such as the hometown of the Buddha. And then on this side, there is the heavenly side, and those Islams come from here. And then down the coastline south, which is what the Tessians call Africa, and that's where the blacks we rented to mine came from. In this way, I went around the sharp corner called Cape Storm, and after going all the way north, I got here, and it was Spain. Zheng Sen said as he pointed to the picture.

"God, this Spaniard's hometown is several times farther than the western sky!" Zheng Zhihu sighed.

"Yes, so once you go, it will take at least a whole year to go smoothly. The biggest weakness of Spain is that it is too far away, everything and people have to be transported from tens of thousands of miles away, so how can it fight? They sent fewer men to defeat us. There are more people sent, and the supplies along the way, sheltered from the wind, and the repaired ports will all become problems. Moreover, I heard that Spain was still at war with several large countries no less than it in Ctessy, and if the rumors were to be believed, they would not have many men and warships to come here. Moreover, when their own country knows the news of the defeat, they will organize an expeditionary force, and then come back, I am afraid that it will take a year and a half to two years, or even longer. By that time, we would have already established ourselves in Luzon, and our fleet would be stronger than it is now. Zheng Sen replied.

"How is our fleet doing?" Zheng Zhifeng asked.

"Third uncle, the repair of those damaged ships in our fleet has basically been completed. The four newly ordered fast warships are also about to be launched. Add in the time of training, and if the Spanish reinforcements arrive in a year and a half, they will find that we have six fast ships, one captured Spanish ship, and twenty frigates. And with the support that the Spaniard-controlled ports could provide along the way, it was impossible for them to send a fleet that outnumbered our forces. So the Spanish side is actually not a concern. Zheng Sen replied, "What really worries me is actually my domestic problems in the Ming Dynasty." ”

"What's wrong with the country?" Zheng Zhilong asked.

"Daddy, look at the income of the business in the north over the past year or so." Zheng Sen said, "Compared with the year before last, it has dropped a lot ......."

"Asen, isn't that normal? The north is all broken, who has the money to buy our things. Zheng Zhihu just hurriedly said that he is now staying in the north, and the business in the north is closely related to him.

"What the second uncle said makes sense." Zheng Sen said, "Now that the north is broken, there are fewer people who can afford our things, and it doesn't matter if the north is broken, my family's business is still sea trade." And most of the main things we sell to the Tessians to make money - porcelain, tea, silk, cotton cloth and so on are produced in the south. As long as there are no problems in the south, at least our supply will not be too affected. But it's hard to say what will happen to the South now. ”

"Ah Sen, you mean ......," Zheng Zhihu said.

"Second uncle, in the first battle of Jinzhou, the imperial court has gambled on the last army that has the ability to fight and can command and move. As a result......" Zheng Sen shook his head, and turned to Zheng Zhilong again, "Daddy also knows that since ancient times, there has been a court that has reached such a point, can it not collapse?" This defeat can already be said that the number of great bright qi has been exhausted. ”

Zheng Zhilong listened and seemed to want to say something, but he still didn't say anything.

"The porcelain, silk, and cotton cloth we need are all from Jiangnan, but how much power does the imperial court still have to keep Jiangnan? Two years earlier, the officers and soldiers of the imperial court had a special chance of winning against the upper class Kou with one blow to ten. A thousand officers and soldiers can chase and cut down tens of thousands of rogues. But what about now? The 10,000 officers and soldiers did not necessarily dare to fight against the 10,000 rogues. On the Hubei side, Zuo Liangyu can still get some money by selling people to us, so he can still ensure that his soldiers can have food to eat and a knife that can cut people. Don't let your army go into battle with sticks. However, Hubei has also been ruined by Zuo Liangyu. So much so that Zhang Xianzhong declared that he would 'exterminate Zuo Liangyu and return Huguang to a bright and prosperous world', and there were really chaotic people in Huguang to respond.

Moreover, Zuo Liangyu's military discipline is corrupt, although the weapons are still Zhang Xianzhong and Li Chuangqiang, but the combat effectiveness of the army cannot be compared with before, and it has suffered several defeats recently. On the contrary, whether it is Jianxuan, Li Chuang, or Zhang Xianzhong, they are getting stronger and stronger. Jiangnan is afraid that sooner or later he will not be able to withstand it. If these guys are allowed to kill in Jiangnan, whether it is porcelain, tea, or cotton cloth production, it will be greatly affected. In the midst of war, it is difficult to ensure the smooth flow of trade routes. I'm afraid that my family's income will be greatly affected. Especially whether it is a rogue, a Jianxuan, and even an official or soldier, they are easy to kill. No matter how good the place is, let them come over for a spin, and it won't be able to recover for many years. Daddy, uncles, think about it, if Zhang Xianzhong or Zuo Liangyu went to Jingdezhen with the soldiers to take a spin, how much porcelain could we buy? I'm afraid that those porcelain kilns will be burned by them, and those porcelain workers will be arrested by them and charged into the army, and then they will die inexplicably. If these guys are allowed to go to Songjiang, they will rob all of them if they can rob them, and burn them all out if they can't rob them, not to mention those cotton cloth workshops and silk workshops, they won't be able to keep them. It is the silk and cotton industry, I am afraid that it will not recover for many years.

In addition, if they really let them kill Jiangnan, it will also bring a lot of population losses. My family's plans to use troops abroad and seize more territory will also be affected. ”

"Asen, you have a point." Zheng Zhilong said, "Then do you have any suggestions?" ”