Chapter 439: Ask the Ship What the Mansion Sees to the South

Taking advantage of the difference in the price of silver and copper between the mainland and Japan, if large-scale transportation is carried out, this is indeed quite an astonishing theory, and it can also occupy many strategic materials.

Since Zhou Jihai has become a pioneer, with Shandong's style of acting, he will leave a profit for Zhou Jihai, but the premise is that these lifeblood businesses must be in their own hands, and others can't interfere if they want to.

In such troubled times, it is indeed a paradise for adventurers, as long as you dare to gamble, you may soon be able to soar, but it is unlikely that the latecomers want to repeat this road to success.

Kong Sande, Ning Qiangui, Zhou Jihai and the Meng family of Zou Cheng, etc., are all lucky or keen-eyed lucky people in this great era, they make the right bets and do the right things, they and their families will definitely soar in the future.

Jinan City because of the Tartar captivity of the population, the original residents were taken captive to the outside of the customs as slaves, but because of the hurry of the Tartars, the city and the housing facilities in the city have not been destroyed, into a complete empty city, now equivalent to the central fortress of Shandong.

In addition to the officials and their families placed here by the Ming Dynasty, the rest of the city were all soldiers and military families of the Jiaozhou battalion, and then some licensed merchants were allowed to do business in the city and provide some necessities of life.

By this time, the people from all walks of life had almost dispersed, and the city had returned to the quiet and deserted it had been a few months ago.

Therefore, when Zheng Zhihu walked on the street, he looked particularly awkward, in the city of Jinan, except for the female dependents and Ming civil officials who could sit in a sedan chair, and the elderly could make a big car, the rest of the people were either on foot or on horseback.

Zheng Zhihu rode on a horse. Followed by a few porters who carried the burden, they were already passing by with the three teams of patrols in the city, and the daily security of Jinan City was the rotation of the old battalion soldiers and horses outside the city, almost a regiment for a month, and these regular soldiers naturally did not have any folk style of maintaining law and order.

Therefore, Jinan City is currently under strict military management, Zheng Zhihu is the number one general of the Zheng family, fighting at sea, Zheng Erye is generally the first to jump and cut people with a knife. Naturally, there is also some murderous aura of martial artists on his body, in Jinan City, such a character, and not a character of the Shandong system, is naturally eye-catching.

It was not pleasant to be watched by heavily armed soldiers, especially since these soldiers were well-armed and murderous. The porters who followed behind Zheng Zhihu were already pale and frightened.

The news that Zheng Zhihu, the second head of the Zheng family, came to Jinan to ask for a meeting, but was rejected by Li Meng, the Duke of Qi, for a few months has long been spread.

Originally, the Zheng family was powerful, and the Fujian Commercial Bank was a first-class business. Many wealthy businessmen in Shandong have a good relationship with them, but in Shandong, Li Meng's attitude is a barometer, and Li Meng is like this. There are still people who dare to deal with the Zheng family, but they can't avoid it.

Zheng Zhihu couldn't find anyone to intercede, and his status was not low, but he had to go to the Guogong Mansion to make an appointment to see him every day, and he had to eat countless closed doors.

After being summoned today, Zheng Zhihu was in a relaxed mood, and he had some leisure to look around and pass by the patrol team on the road. It really makes me feel palpitations.

He Zheng Zhihu is not a good man and a woman, and it is not an exaggeration to say that his hands are stained with blood, but he is still a little scared after seeing these ordinary patrols of Shandong soldiers and horses, Zheng Zhihu also has some vision, and he also wonders whether he is holding a weapon or not, and the more he thinks about it, the more he has no confidence.

Moreover, after a few months in Jinan City, Zheng Zhihu also knew that these meticulous patrols in Jinan City were ordinary soldiers and horses stationed outside the city, not Qi Guogong's personal soldiers. Nor is it the famous subway cavalry. The troops patrolling the city have been rotated several times, and every time Zheng Zhihu sees it, he is so strong. It seems that the Zheng family's evaluation of Shandong Qi Guogong needs to be improved a little more, and the big boss was really dizzy at that time.

Zheng Zhihu had a lot of thoughts in his heart, and when he saw a flagpole on the left side of the intersection in front of him, there was no flag on the flagpole, and the flagpole was painted vermilion, Zheng Zhihu hurriedly turned over and dismounted.

Within a distance of three hundred steps from the Duke of Qi, there are such vermilion long poles erected at each pass, except for the core figures of the Jiaozhou camp, the rest of the people must dismount at the position indicated by this long pole, otherwise they will alarm the garrison troops on the periphery of the Duke of Qi.

This is also the rule of the Duke of Qi, it looks like a musical score, in fact, for the sake of safety, the soldiers guarding this place were also instructed in advance, Zheng Zhihu showed his identity, and did not interrogate him too much, just let him go.

Within a distance of 300 paces around the Mansion of the Kingdom of Qi, the houses were all demolished, and if the enemy walked on this open area, they would definitely be targeted by guns and artillery.

Zheng Zhihu was thinking about how to organize the wording after meeting Qi Guogong, and no one knew the reason why Qi Guogong refused to see him, but secretly there was gossip circulating, saying that the Zheng family had trade with the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which made Qi Guogong extremely annoyed.

After hearing this gossip that day, Zheng Zhihu was really scared into a cold sweat, the Zheng family sent a military ship to the open sea of Shandong, and I don't know if the Duke of Qi knew about the matter of plotting to seize several ports in Shandong, or the Manchu Qing sent spies to follow the Zheng family's ships to the port of Shandong, and wanted to pour tea inside, I don't know if the Duke of Qi knew about it.

Since there is already a trade exchange, many people will have a rough guess, if that is the case, I am afraid that it will be difficult to get this thing right.

Doing business with the Manchu Tatars, when the time comes, it will be said that the Zheng family is also in business, and for a while they were blinded by the gold and silver they earned, this is to do business. Collusion with the Tartars, being willing to be a secret agent, and plotting to attack the port, maybe Qi Guogong didn't know, if he knew, he would have been arrested a long time ago.

After walking more than 100 steps, Zheng Zhihu was stunned to find that Luo Xi, the housekeeper of the Qi State Mansion, was waiting in front, and he was really frightened.

Qi Guogong's housekeeper Rosie, that is also a big man who stomps on the ground in Jinan City, this housekeeper is biased not to collect money from guests, and does not rely on the power of the Guogong Mansion to connive at his family, so that he will do things more out of his public heart. It is even more feared.

Because Steward Luo is public everywhere and has a very high prestige outside the Guogong Mansion, few people will think that Steward Luo is a fox and a fake tiger, but think that he represents Li Meng.

Zheng Zhihu has been at the gate of the Duke of Qi for a few months, and he has also seen the visit of Yan Jizu, the governor of Shandong, but even if he is such a high-ranking civil official, Luo Xi is only thirty steps out of the mansion, how can he be virtuous. Actually let this butler come out so far.

He can be regarded as a character who has seen the world, but this treatment is still a bit trance-like, Zheng Zhihu couldn't help but look back, there was no one else on this road.

Rosie, the butler, arched his hand with a smile, and first greeted aloud:

"Second Master Zheng has been doing well lately, is Lord Guogong invited?"

According to the rules, it is true that there is no need to go so far, after Li Meng and Ning Qiangui talked to Zhou Jihai once. was going to summon Zheng Zhihu, and Ning Qiangui also came to the Guogong Mansion early to prepare to meet together, but just half an hour ago, Li Meng, the Duke of Qi, seemed to suddenly remember something and sent him to invite Mr. Gongsun over. After inviting Mr. Gongsun, he asked him to meet Zheng Zhihu outside.

and told him to lead Zheng Zhihu to drag on outside for some time, waiting for the instructions inside, Qi Guogong has always been steady. This is rarely the case, and although Rosie is confused, he still obeys the order.

Seeing the housekeeper Rosie so polite, Zheng Zhihu was even a little flattered, and hurriedly walked over with a smile and said in the official dialect of Fujian:

"Why did Master Luo personally come out, it was really tortured."

As he spoke, he already took a gold cake wrapped in silk cloth in his hand and handed it over. Whether it is a matter of saying it, the key is to show his flattering attitude, and sure enough, Rosie pushed back behind him, Zheng Zhihu was not embarrassed at all, and took the golden cake back casually, talking and laughing freely.

As he was talking, he saw a group of very small children in front of him, running in a fairly neat formation along the courtyard wall of the Qi State Mansion. Supposedly, these children should be lively and abnormal. Laughing and laughing, but these children are unusually quiet. Just trot to follow.

The leader and the guards, as well as the guards on both sides, were all young people dressed as soldiers of the Jiaozhou battalion, ran to the gate of the Guogong Mansion, all stopped, and the soldier led shouted a few voices, and these children scattered all at once, talking and laughing and laughing in a group.

Zheng Zhihu looked a little stunned, this didn't have to be Rosie to find something to delay time, Zheng Zhihu reacted and exclaimed:

"Even children behave like an army, and there is a reason why Shandong's soldiers and horses are strong, which is admirable."

On the side, Rossi smiled and said:

"Lord Guogong doesn't want the prince to be too idle, so he came up with this method of military training, all over Shandong and Huai, many children of high-ranking officials and generals are sent over, even the grandson of the next is among them, not to mention, after practicing for a while, he is not so skinny at home, and he knows how to abide by the rules, but it makes people happy."

Rosie is much older than Li Meng, and he started a family early, at this time he is already three generations in the same house, talking about his grandson, his face is full of love, and Zheng Zhihu over there also made up a few funny words, and the atmosphere is good for a while.

Li Meng specially announced in Shandong that all the children and grandchildren of noble officials and generals, as long as they are close in age, can come over and train together, as well as the children of those martyrs, they can also come in.

Being able to contact with the eldest son of the Duke of Qi and grow up together is a great thing, and it is of great benefit to the future of the family.

In this era, in addition to private schools, there are no institutions similar to nursery schools, and children like Li Hong, who are two or three years old, are generally managed by their parents and grandparents, or ask nurses to take care of them, and there are often all kinds of problems, unlike this training camp.

Cultivating children's good health and obedience, and having a large number of peers to play with, is really considered a healthy development, each family that sends the child over, takes the child home during the holidays and intervals, and finds that the child is healthy and healthy, and a lot of sensible. It was a real bonus.

Whether it is Li Meng's inner house or Shandong's civil and military wealth, they all have rave reviews for this method of training children, and Li Meng is already thinking about expanding the scale.

After all, this is also a good way to increase the network of your children and cultivate the future team.....

Rosie and Zheng Zhihu were talking back and forth, watching their grandson laughing and playing there, but they didn't feel that there was anything difficult about delaying time.

However, he didn't delay too long, because he soon saw one of Qi Guogong's personal soldiers gesturing at him from a distance. Butler Rosie breathed a sigh of relief, stretched out his hand sideways and said:

"Second Master Zheng, Qi Guogong is waiting in the room, please come with me."

Rosie was grinding here, Zheng Zhihu really didn't dare to say anything, and when he heard Rosie speak, he was also relieved, nodded and followed.

It's not a long way to get into Fuchu. The Mansion of Qi Guo originally did not occupy a large area, and Zheng Zhihu felt a little contempt in his heart, because the specifications of this mansion were compared to Zheng Zhilong's industry in Fujian, which was the difference between cloud and mud, and Zheng Zhilong's mansion occupied a very wide area. It is resplendent and has canals leading to the bay.

That is the courage of a big man, you can look at this Qi Guogong, all kinds of financial resources. is so stingy and simple, what kind of grandeur is there.

This kind of thinking may be the reason why the Zheng family can only be a pirate leader, and the heroic and powerful who was recruited is strong, but they have never achieved greater wealth.

When he entered the living room of Li Meng's reception place, Sun Chuanting was no longer there, only Li Meng and Ning Qiangui were waiting there, and when they walked outside this courtyard, Luo Xi and the personal guards at the door confessed. And step back.

Approaching the courtyard gate, Zheng Zhihu saw Li Meng looking at a large picture hanging up, with his back to him, while Ning Qiangui was sitting there smiling and nodding.

The two people in the room, no matter who they were, had a much higher status than Zheng Zhihu, so naturally they didn't get up accordingly, but Zheng Zhihu hurriedly walked a few steps. When they arrived, they knelt down in front of the hall. Respectfully shouted:

"Fujian coastal defense guerrilla Zheng Zhihu, please be safe to Lord Qi Guogong!!"

Li Meng didn't turn around from the big picture. Just said indifferently:

"Don't be so polite, come into the house and talk!"

Seeing Li Meng's attitude, Zheng Zhihu suddenly felt a sudden, and walked into this living room respectfully, and after walking in, he smiled at Ning Qiangui very humbly and said hello.

After entering the house, Zheng Zhihu found out what the big picture Li Meng was looking at was, it should be a sea chart drawn by a Westerner, Zheng Zhihu's heart was even more worried, thinking that this Qi Guogong was going to shift his attention to the sea, that was the territory of the Zheng family, if I waited for the request, what would I do here.

Carefully observing the angle at which Li Meng looked up, his eyes seemed to be looking at the top of the map, that is, the sea in the north, Zheng Zhihu breathed a sigh of relief.

"How much did the Zheng family make in business with the Tartars!?"

Li Meng turned around and asked lightly, Zheng Zhihu made a lot of preparations over there, but he didn't expect that the question Li Meng asked was actually this, and his heart suddenly raised, Qi Guogong asked, according to the rules of officialdom, he should kneel down and reply, Zheng Zhihu knelt on the ground respectfully, and replied:

"The words of the Returning Father, and the Tartar business has been done for almost three years, all through the North Koreans, the Zheng family received the North Korean businessman's land list, and they had to send them to the designated port, so that they started to do business with the Tartars, not afraid of the Tartar lord, the Zheng family now has an official body, but after all, pointing to this business on the sea, the villain is bold, and I ask the Lord Guogong to forgive me."

In fact, even if Li Meng does not know the detailed information, just doing business can convict the Zheng family of being a foreign country and being willing to be a spy.

This is common sense, and the Manchus are not fools, with such a source of information about the Ming Dynasty, they will naturally not let it go easily, but now the Jiaozhou battalion has something to ask for, and it will not be investigated.

"Don't be found out by my father, your Zheng family has any evil things to collude with the Tartars, otherwise you will be severely punished, get up, I was busy some time ago, so I didn't see you."

Zheng Zhihu was relieved when he heard Li Meng say this, but he didn't know why he was so easy to speak, and said respectfully on the ground, "Lord Guogong is magnanimous" This is how to get up and stand up. But he woke up in his heart that Shandong must have known about the Zheng family and the Manchu Qing Dynasty, but he didn't care about it. Zheng Zhihu was still pondering why the other party let it go so easily, when he heard Ning Qiangui on the side speak:

"Second Brother Zheng, Shandong recently wants to buy a large amount of copper from Japan, and it needs to use a lot of ships, Shandong alone will definitely not work, I don't know if the Zheng family is willing to help transport. This shipping fee is naturally negotiable. ”

The Zheng family's fleet traveled between Japan and the Ming Dynasty, every trip of business was a huge profit, each ship went out with a full ship of goods, and almost came back with a full ship of silver.

In business, the Zheng family was born in the maritime business. There are huge profits ahead, but if you want them to make less money, it is equivalent to losing money, which is really full of reluctance.

But thinking about it, he had already offended Qi Guogong before, and his eldest brother Zheng Zhilong had already said it. As good as possible, the glory and wealth of our Zheng family can only be achieved by relying on this Duke of Qi, Zheng Zhilong replied with a smile on his face:

"Mr. Ning. This kind of thing still needs you to open your mouth in person, it is really a killing, let the shopkeepers of Lingshan Commercial Bank go to our side to say hello, and it will definitely be done for you, but I don't know, how much copper will be needed in Shandong? ”

Ning Qiangui said a number, Zheng Zhihu sighed, this number. The Zhengjia merchant ships traveling between Shandong and Japan only need to replace two-thirds of the ballast boulders with copper, which will not affect the normal business of the fleet, and there are some additional freight to earn, which is easy to do.

However, between the Ming Dynasty and Japan, if you want to seek great profits, you should not do this copper trade, and you should know that silver buys goods. When they arrived in Japan, they sold their goods and exchanged them for gold. This is the real profit, and the Zheng family's business is almost like this. The same is true for the rest of the maritime merchants, the copper land business, even if it is minting money, counting the cost of craftsmen and shops, there is not much oil and water.

Thinking so, Zheng Zhihu still had a humble smile on his face, to show that he sincerely wanted to do something for the Jiaozhou camp.

Even if he was sitting there, Li Meng was still there looking at the chart on this side, and when Ning Qiangui finished speaking, Li Meng opened his mouth and asked:

"How many people can the Zheng family's ships transport at one time in Shandong?"

Zheng Zhihu's mind was racing, and he didn't know what the other party meant by asking this sentence, but he was still ready to answer cautiously, and said hesitantly:

"Lord Guogong, the villain takes the liberty of saying that how many people can be transported also depends on the distance, if they are transported from Fujian to Shandong, these ships will transport more than 8,000 people at most."

"What if you go from Hangzhou to Lingshan Private Port?"

Li Meng asked this sentence lightly, Zheng Zhihu thought that he had guessed Li Meng's next judgment, and his heart jumped a few times, this Li Erlang's ambition is really not small, fortunately, the dragon leader sent me here to communicate early, if it passes, then it will be too late.

"Lord Guogong, these ships of the Zheng family in Shandong are counted as Lord Guogong's ships, and there are 15,000 or 18,000 people, which is still certain."

After hearing this, Li Meng shook his head, was silent and said:

"Too little, too little, your Zheng family is always too stingy, aren't the shipwrights in Nanjing and Taizhou all collected by your Zheng family to Fujian, let's discuss, we will bring our own materials and wages, let those shipwrights come to Shandong to build ships for Bengong, what do you think?"

Zheng Zhihu laughed dryly, the Zheng family can achieve a near-monopoly position at sea, in addition to Zheng Zhilong's wrist ability, it is also one of the reasons why the shipwrights and shipwrights along the coast of the Ming Dynasty were concentrated in Fujian in the later period, the Zheng family can build ships, and can build big ships, and others need to buy from the Zheng family if they want to expand, which effectively restricts the development of others.

Although Qi Guogong wants to curry favor, he can't hurt his own job, with the terrifying development of Shandong, if they master the ability to take a boat, then there will be a way for the Zheng family to live.

"Lord Guogong, there are many ships in the Zheng family, and the shipwrights in their hands are already too busy just repairing the ships, if Lord Guogong really needs it, the villain will go back to Fujian to discuss with my eldest brother."

Seeing that Li Mengdi looked unhappy, Zheng Zhihu gritted his teeth and hurriedly said:

"Since the Lord Guogong is in urgent need, the Zheng family should try their best to repay it, if the Nanzhili and Zhejiang ships are transferred, the transportation capacity can be at least fifty percent."

"What if you need it in a month?"

"Then it can only be the current capacity of eighty, don't be angry, this is already counting the rest of the supplementary ships. Don't forget that there are still ships at sea and elsewhere. ”

Li Meng listened very carefully, and when he heard the words "eighty percent", Li Meng's face was a little gloomy, but although Zheng Zhihu on the other side was anxious, he did not continue to speak, thinking about the information obtained by the Investigation Division, the Zheng family is currently trying to show favor and convince themselves as much as possible, and the shipwright is equivalent to the lifeblood of the Zheng family. But Zheng Zhihu didn't say anything to death, and it is estimated that there will only be eighty percent of the capacity of the troops in the next month, and it is estimated that it will not be false.

Eighty percent, that is, it can transport more than 10,000 people, if it is a heavy equipment such as the Jiaozhou battalion, it is not good that it is 7,000 people to the sky.

Thinking of this, Li Meng was a little frustrated, leaned back in the chair and waved at Zheng Zhihu. Spoken:

"Seeing you today, it is to let you and your family leader not think nonsense, Shandong and Fujian are so far apart, and the contact is nothing more than the sea route, everyone does business well."

saw that Li Meng had the meaning of sending off guests. And he had already made a vague promise, Zheng Zhihu knew that the purpose of this trip had been achieved, and he knew an amazing secret, in fact, he thought he knew. Zheng Zhihu respectfully stood up and said goodbye, and made an appointment with Ning Qiangui on the side to say goodbye.

The Zheng family's fleet is really coveted, but it is impossible to control it in their own hands, these pirates in Fujian and the regular army in Shandong are not the same day, they are not opponents at all, but these pirates can escape by boat if they can't beat them, then they are helpless.

The manufacture of sea ships is completely different from river ships, which Li Meng does not understand. Shandong has such a long coastline, and there are not many qualified shipbuilders.

After the double-decker gunboat was in the private port of Lingshan, Shandong did not hesitate to send a shipwright to study it to see if it could build another one in this style, but it took nearly two years to imitate it, and the artillery was ten fewer than the Zheng family's, and the speed was also two percent slower.

If you want to complain, you can only complain about the policy of banning the sea in the Ming Land. Li Meng is really helpless. At present, the most sudden and efficient way to deploy troops is by sea. Especially those targets at the beach, but they can only borrow the Zheng family's ship, which is a headache!

Ning Qiangui sent Zheng Zhihu out of the Guogong Mansion, and on the way he had to finalize a few details about the transportation of copper materials, and when he turned around, he saw Li Meng was drawing on the map with his hand......

Ning Qiangui didn't care about things that had nothing to do with him, but just informed him in front of the hall, "Lord Guogong, I sent that Zheng Zhihu back", which can be regarded as a reminder to Li Meng.

Li Meng instructed the soldiers below to put away the sea map, beckoned Ning Qiangui to make it together, and said with a smile:

"This Father Federer really brought back a lot of good things, Mr. Ning, let's add another fifty percent to his monthly routine!"

Ning Qiangui nodded in agreement, and said in response:

"This Master Fei can't go to the public school of the Guogong Mansion every day to teach for half an hour, and he actually has an income of more than 1,000 taels a year, which is really easy to do."

At present, Father Federer has asked Li Meng several times to preach in Shandong, but Li Meng has politely refused, and it is still the old rule that the scope of Father Federer's mission can only be Westerners under the control of Shandong, and if he can bring in the rest of the foreigners, it can also be.

But now the two people who are well mixed are the deputy commander of the experimental brigade, responsible for training and supervision, Dunglas is cruising back and forth in the private port of Lingshan in Dengzhou, the two are too busy to touch the ground, and have no time to take care of it, and Duncan and Dewalter are far away from Jinan in the Ordnance Manufacturing Bureau, and they are running back and forth, for fear of delaying the business.

In addition to his enthusiasm for religion, Father Federer was very interested in educating the children of these Shandong nobles, who were teachers of princes and nobles according to Europe, and this was also a road to prosperity, and in the future his thoughts and names would follow these children who had become noble, and become famous all over the world.

However, Father Federer was also given serious advice not to mention anything about religion to his children, and all he had to do was to pass on the knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, and geography to the children, and of course, it was difficult for children of this age to calm down and listen to what was being said.

But every child was particularly interested in the globe and the claircase, and the music box, and Father Federer, who had been depressed for so many years, and who was now rich and happy, and with so many children, was not too anxious about the missionary business.

According to Su Anqi, the priest is currently writing a travelogue, writing about what he saw and heard in the Ming Dynasty, and about his various experiences and hearings in Shandong, which can be regarded as self-entertainment.

This "Priest's Travels" is one of the most important documents for the study of the history of this era a hundred years later, and of course, no one would think of it now.

Li Meng asked Father Federer to be the children's teacher, thinking that they should not let these children develop the habit of resting on their laurels, and only look at this small part of Asia, so that they know that this world is incomparably vast, and there are many, many territories waiting for them to conquer.

The horizon must be broadened, only by seeing more, the heart will be wide, in order to think more, want to get more.

Speaking of this Father Federer, Li Meng remembered a few other things, and asked:

"The manpower of the commercial firm sent to Macao should have arrived, is Zhang Lipu reliable?"

Ning Qiangui bowed down and replied:

"Calculating the time, it should have arrived, but the reply should still be on the way, Zhang Lipu became a home in Jining Prefecture at the beginning of the year, and when he left, his mother-in-law was already pregnant in March, and he was arranged to go back to Shandong once in three months, and he was accompanied by old guys from Shandong, absolutely rest assured."

Li Meng nodded, at present, many tools in Shandong need to be purchased from the West, and at the beginning of the year, he was planning to open a commercial bank in Macao, specifically dealing with foreign businessmen and purchasing various items.

Of course, this is also the first intelligence station arranged by Shandong in the Nanyang area of Fujian, Guangdong, and this shop is under the dual management of Lingshan Commercial Bank and the Inventory Division.

"Dashuai, Su Anqi has a great future in the future, and I am thinking about whether to open a township test for him, and recruit scholars who are willing to serve me in Shandong."