Twelve Taiping-class warships, each capable of carrying about 300 sailors and soldiers, of which 200 are dedicated to warfare, of course, if necessary, the 100 or so people who operate the ships can also be converted into soldiers at any time. Coupled with all kinds of other auxiliary ships, if the Daming Naval Division is fully dispatched, it will be a huge force of 5,000 people. In this sea, there are basically no opponents left. Of course, if you go a little further, to the area around Manila, if those island countries unite, this idea is still very problematic. Even if the Taiping-class warships have a great advantage over their warships, the tigers can't stand the wolves. But this fleet, which is now used to deal with the sailors of the Qi State, is more than enough.

The Zhou clan of Bozhou in Qi State has almost been subdued. Although Qin Feng guessed that the Qi court had intervened in this pirate family, it was far from quenching the thirst of the near, and if the Zhou family wanted to protect their own interests, sea smuggling was an indispensable way. Without this way, the Zhou family would not be able to support him with so many manpower.

The news that Ning Zeyuan brought back also confirmed Qin Feng's speculation. The Zhou family privately sent someone to pay protection money to Ning Zeyuan, and thirty percent of each cargo belonged to Ning Zeyuan.

"Your Majesty, I wonder if this is feasible or not?" Ning Zeyuan was a little apprehensive, after all, this must be a private contact with the enemy country, and he was worried that His Majesty the Emperor would have an opinion on this. With the rapid development of the Maritime Administration, whether it is the huge profits they bring or the growing strength of the sailors, the government hall has set its sights on this yamen that they were not very optimistic about before.

This continent has been closed to the sea for too long, so long that even people like Quan Yun, who are not short-sighted, ignore the profits that the sea can bring. When the Marine Department can not only support itself independently, but also make the scale of the two shipyards bigger and bigger day by day, and the team of sailors is getting stronger day by day, they are shocked and naturally want to stretch out their hands.

Ning Zeyuan is in charge of the Maritime Administration alone and is not subject to the constraints of the political hall, if the power is small, they don't care, but since they have shown such strength, they naturally can't let it go.

Quan Yun had already nagged in front of Qin Feng many times about this. However, Qin Feng has not let go.

Qin Feng had his own plans in his heart. He listened to Ning Zeyuan, He Ying, and Zhou Li said that those countries on the other side of the sea had organized a huge fleet to invade the east, which made him keep the alarm bell ringing in his heart, without a strong fleet, if one day they come again and even break through the strait around Manila, then, this continent will definitely suffer. He was thinking about harassing Qi Guo right now, and he didn't want to be harassed by others himself.

What's more, the State of Qi will also be the territory of the Ming Dynasty in the future, and without a strong naval division, how should I deal with it when a powerful enemy comes from the sea? With such a long coastline, is it all densely packed with troops, and you know that this is impossible with your ass.

So he now lets the Maritime Department grow wildly. They didn't use a penny from the political affairs hall, as for the control that Quan Yun was worried about and Ning Zeyuan's loyalty, Qin Feng was not worried, not to mention that among the first batch of sailors, there were thousands of soldiers from the Agni Death Battalion, which was the Eagle's Nest, so how could he let go of the monitoring of this army?

Hearing Ning Zeyuan's request for some lack of confidence, Qin Feng nodded: "Yes. It's almost enough to beat them until they're convinced, and there's no need to kill them quickly."

"But after all, they are Qi people, so I don't pay attention to them, I am afraid that they will become our enemies one day." Ning Zeyuan said cautiously." Zhou still has some talent."

Qin Feng smiled, "This matter cannot be viewed from one side alone, but from the perspective of the overall situation. It seems that the Zhou clan is now moving closer to the Qi court, and there are many people in the Zhou clan who are fighting against your father in Jinghu, you should know, right?"

"Yes, yes." Ning Zeyuan nodded.

"If we wipe out the Zhou clan at sea, if they have no way out, they will completely rely on the Qi court, they will give up the sea, they will turn to the land, turn to the inland river, at that time, your father will be in trouble, as you said, such a century-old pirate family, there are still a lot of talents."

Hearing this, Ning Zeyuan's eyes lit up.

"Therefore, leaving them a way to survive on the sea is also giving them a way back, and they will not be so single-minded towards Qi Guo. In the process, we have the opportunity to get our hands on it." Qin Feng looked at Ning Ze and said from afar.

"While fighting, while co-opting, even attacking from within them, dividing, and disintegrating!" Ning Zeyuan is very smart, and he immediately draws inferences.

"The children can be taught!" Qin Feng laughed loudly: "If we can really pull the Zhou clan on our ship on another day, then we will be one point stronger, and the Qi country will be one point weaker, according to your and your father's previous suggestions, the Qi country sailors are vulnerable, but this Zhou clan has made you very jealous, since this is the case, we will think of some ways to get them to our side."

"I'm afraid it's a little difficult." Ning Ze is far away.

"Of course it's difficult, but if you don't do it, how can you know that there is no hope!" Qin Feng smiled and said: "The Emperor of Qi is making drastic reforms in the country, and a powerful local wealthy family like the Zheng family is exactly what the Emperor Qi is afraid of, this time the Zheng family sent people to participate in the Jinghu Water Battle, and it is very likely that he encountered the pressure of this aspect and had to express a certain compromise to Qi Ting. But Qi Guo will not just let the Zheng family go, and will definitely continue to put pressure on the Zheng family in the next few days, and then swallow them in one bite. If that's the case, we have a lot of opportunities, and if the Zheng family doesn't want to be reduced to Qi Ting's meal, then there is a good chance that they will join us."

"But our Ming Dynasty will not tolerate such a wealthy family!" Ning Ze is far away." And it's a wealthy family with strong force."

There are a lot of rich people in the Ming Dynasty now, but it is far from being said that they are wealthy families. They have money, but no power, and if they dare to support the armed forces privately, the government will come to the door and invite you to tea.

If you want to protect your caravan, you have to look after the home and nursing home, no problem, pay to go to the dart store and hire the guards. There is a one-stop full service.

"At least we can guarantee that his Zheng family's huge fortune will not be swallowed, and we can guarantee that everyone in the Zheng family can live well without worrying about their heads being cut off." Qin Feng laughed: "Do you know that the Zheng family has deposited a huge amount of silver of three million taels in Daming Changlong Bank? They thought they were doing a secret, and the money turned several times into the Changlong Bank, and if they thought that we would not be able to trace the origin of the money, it would be too underestimating us."

"Changlong Bank's huge deposit secrecy system!" Ning Ze is far away.

"So the Zheng clan is actually already preparing a retreat for themselves, since they have this thought, then it can prove that they don't fully trust any promises made to them by the Qi Imperial Court, so I say that we have a chance." QIN Fengdao.

"I see." Ning Ze is far away." Your Majesty, the development of the Marine Department has been very large, just the combat sailors, there are already 5,000 people, if you add the two shipyards and Huludao, the Marine Department has as many as 20,000 people, the ministers are really limited in ability, and often feel exhausted, so I would like to implore Your Majesty to send personnel to the Marine Department again to share the pressure of the ministers."

Qin Feng laughed, "Feeling the pressure?"

Ning Zeyuan wanted to defend himself, but when he looked at Qin Feng's smiling eyes, he felt a pang in his heart, this emperor couldn't be fooled. After a moment of silence, he finally nodded: "There is pressure, but it is also the minister's own meaning. With the continuous expansion of the shipyard and the continuous proficiency of the technology, it will not take ten years for the Daming Navy Division to gather a huge force of hundreds of main warships, not only that, the maritime trade is extremely profitable, and the Maritime Administration also has huge financial resources, so whether it is for the country, or for the Ning family and the minister himself, the minister hopes to change the current power structure of the Maritime Administration."

Qin Feng thought for a moment and said, "It's good that you have this idea. This shows that you are loyal to Daming, but I have my own ideas about this matter, so for the time being, I am not ready to let the political affairs hall interfere in the affairs of the Marine Administration, but since you have said this, and you have also admitted that you are under pressure and worried about the future, then, you can also do something else first. The sailors will divide the troops first, He Ying, Zhou Li and the two of them will divide the left and right fleets, you will no longer directly lead the army, but be in charge of the government affairs of the Maritime Administration, in addition, I will let Ma Xiangnan have a position in the Maritime Administration, as long as you share some profits from the Maritime Administration to Changyang County every year, I think Ma Xiangnan will block a lot of things for you."

Hearing this, Ning Zeyuan knelt down again, "Thank you, Your Majesty." Qin Feng's move was undoubtedly an expression of his incomparable trust in him.

"Furthermore, I will transfer a group of officers from the Death Camp, and I hope that you will train them to become qualified sailor officers in the next few years. With the presence of these people, the adults in the government hall and various ministries will be less suspicious of you."

"Yes, Your Majesty, the minister will do his best to make them the best officers of the Sailor Division in the shortest possible time." Ning Zeyuan nodded vigorously, the emperor sent his own personal guard officer, undoubtedly to give him a talisman.

"Cultivating a qualified naval officer, I'm afraid it's much more difficult than training a qualified land general, don't rush, take your time, I'm not in a hurry." Qin Feng said lightly: "Daming's road has just begun, and the days to come will be long!"

"I understand." Ning Zeyuan said gratefully. Your Majesty, this time I went to sea, and the minister also encountered a strange thing, and also solved the reason why Tharan was suddenly so brave in the Manila Civil War, and this time, where did he bring back a person, who said that it was His Majesty's old man."

"Well, what old friends can I have there? Who is he?" Qin Feng asked strangely.

"His name is Chen Ci!"

"Chen Ci?" Qin Feng stood up suddenly. Where is he?"