Liu Jun sat alone with Zheng Zhifeng in the study, Liu Jun was not in a hurry to speak, he took the hot tea and tasted it slowly. Although Zheng Zhifeng is young, he seems to be a powerful character, Liu Jun didn't speak, he didn't speak, and the two of them sat there and tasted the Fujian Wuyi Mountain tea that Zheng Zhifeng gave to Xiong Wencan.

After a long time, it was Liu Jun who broke the silence first.

"Brother Zheng, when you enter Beijing this time, you should also know that the imperial court has now exterminated the bandits who have been suffering for many years, right?"

Zheng Zhifeng nodded, "Hou Ye is heroic and extraordinary, capture Zhang Xianzhong and defeat Luo Rucai to kill the five thieves of Ge Zuo, these giants who have been crisscrossing the Central Plains for more than ten years, when they meet Hou Ye, they are like ice and snow thrown into hot soup, and the ice melts. ”

Liu Jun smiled, took a sip of tea, and then said lightly, "I heard that Zheng Dudu has swept the South China Sea since he was recruited in the first year of Chongzhen, and with the banner of the imperial court, he has swept away all the big and small pirate gangs such as Li Kuiqi and Liu Xiang over the years. Even in the sixth year of Chongzhen, he also defeated the Dutch, and this year he once again defeated the Dutch who provoked trouble, I heard that on the southeast coast, the people and merchants called Zheng Yiguan the king of the Fujian Sea, and even the Netherlands and other Hongyi only knew that there was Zheng, but did not know that there was a Ming Dynasty. ”

At first, Zheng Zhifeng's face was still a little proud, but gradually, the smugness on his face was put away and gradually replaced with fear.

These are all facts that Liu Jun said, but these facts are also quite taboo facts. Especially if the imperial court let the emperor know, he will never be happy. Zheng Zhifeng was surprised that Liu Jun knew the details of the affairs in the Southeast China Sea, he not only knew the Zheng family's actions over the years, but even knew about the Zheng family's war with the Dutch this year.

"I have also heard that ships running maritime trade in the southeast sea must buy Zheng's flag, otherwise they will be sunk or plundered when they go to sea. The Zheng family harvested 2,000 gold per ship, with an annual income of 10 million. And Zheng paid a tax of ten taels to the court for each ship, and Zheng negotiated and signed an agreement with the Dutch without the consent of the court."

"Brother Zheng. You say what I'm saying is true, right? ”

Zheng Zhifeng's face was already a little sweaty, and he didn't know what Liu Jun wanted to do when he mentioned this.

"Brother Zheng, do you know, today the emperor summoned me, saying that now the Central Plains bandits have been pacified, and the newly trained more than 100,000 new troops in the Central Plains are invincible, someone proposed to His Majesty, saying that the southeast has lost control, and proposed that more than 100,000 well-equipped, well-trained, and brave soldiers in the Central Plains be transferred to the southeast."

"My Zheng family has been loyal to the imperial court since I was recruited. There are no two hearts, heaven and earth can be learned! Zheng Zhifeng hurriedly shouted. Although the Zheng family is strong, it is precisely because of the internal and external troubles of the imperial court in these years that they are unable to control the southeast that they have been able to grow rapidly.

But although the Zheng family is much stronger, they don't dare to turn their faces with the court, and the Zheng family has no ambition to divide one side and claim hegemony. What they want is to monopolize the benefits of maritime trade. What I want is to be a maritime merchant.

"Brother Zheng, do you know, today His Majesty summoned me to the palace and asked me something, His Majesty asked me if I wanted to be a general of Zhenhai or a general of conquest? If you want to be a general of Zhenhae. He sent me to Fujian, and commanded Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Guangxi coastal defenses, and if he was willing to be a general of conquest, he would send me to lead troops to attack all parts of the coastal areas of eastern Liaodong. ”

"You know. If I take over as General Zhenhai and go to Fujian and other places, what will be the first task? ”

"What is it?"

"Exterminate all pirates and bandits. Especially those who dare to claim to be kings, such as the King of Minhai and the like. ”

"Master Hou, our Zheng family is loyal to the imperial court, and heaven and earth can learn from it. King of the Minhai Sea, that's just the people's nonsense. ”

"Oh, is it? How can it be proven? If the imperial court recruits you, are you really willing to obey the edict? As far as Ben Hou knows, the imperial court has recruited the Zheng fleet to go north several times before, but you all excuse yourself to shirk it, right? Liu Jun sneered a few times, "Could it be that you Zheng don't listen to the tune?" ”

"Never." Zheng Zhifeng was really afraid that the imperial court would send a large army to Fujian, and Zheng Jiaqiang was at sea. No matter how strong the maritime group is, if it does not have a stable port base, it will be difficult to move an inch. In particular, the Zheng family still wants to continue the current monopoly of maritime trade, if there is a conflict with the imperial court and the two sides fight, the Zheng family may be able to go back to being pirates, but without the banner of the imperial court, then they will no longer want to maintain the hegemony of maritime trade, it will definitely outweigh the losses.

"Yes, Ben Hou believes in you, but you also have to show some sincerity. If every time the court is recruited, you find all kinds of reasons to shirk it, do you still believe your words? ”

"Now there is a chance to prove yourself, it depends on whether you care or not."

"I don't know what opportunity Hou Ye is talking about?" Zheng Zhifeng said.

Liu Jun smiled, he knew that what he said just now could not really scare the Zheng family, it was just a strategy to talk. Let's talk about the matter more seriously first, so that Zheng Jiahao can pay attention to it. The final negotiation still has to be negotiated with Zheng Zhilong. And if it's just a threat, but no benefit, it's hard to scare this King of the Min Sea.

There must be enough benefits to make Zheng Zhilong's heart move.

Feng Zheng Zhilong's Taiwan general army, and then issue some threats, just to make Zheng Zhilong pay attention to it.

"I hope to meet with Zheng Yiguan before the year, preferably in a month. If I can, I hope to meet with Zheng Yiguan in person in Nanjing in January. ”

"I have a handwritten letter to Zheng Yiguan here, and you can forward it to him for me." After speaking, Liu Jun got up and left.

Zheng Zhifeng can't be the master, if he really wants to talk about things, he has to talk to Zheng Yiguan.

When leaving Xiong Mansion, Xiong Wencan personally sent Liu Jun to the door. At this time, Xiong Wencan already knew the emperor's intention to let him out. "I'll have a good talk with Zheng Yiguan when I go back, and I will definitely let him listen to the orders of the Hou Imperial Court."

Liu Jun smiled and said goodbye and left. If you want Zheng Yiguan to send troops, it will not be so simple.

Out of Xiongfu, Liu Jun went to the Huguang Hall. This guild hall was built with funds raised by Huguang merchants in Beijing, covering a large area and decorating it magnificently. Whether it is Huguang businessmen who come to Beijing, or scholars who enter Beijing to take the exam, or even some officials from Huguang who enter Beijing, they sometimes stay here.

Chongzhen gave Liu Jun a set of mansions, which was Liu Jun's Zhennanhou Mansion in Beijing, but he hadn't cleaned it up yet, and Liu Jun still lived in the barracks outside the city. He came to the guild hall to see Li Chunjiang, his brother Liu Jian, and the fourth son of the Fushe Society.

As soon as Liu Jun arrived, Li Chunjiang and a group of people came out to greet him, and Fu Shan and Liu Yunsheng, who had been working in Beijing, were also there.

The merchants and scholars in the Huguang Guild Hall heard that the Marquis of Zhennan was coming, and they had been waiting for a long time. Recently, the Huguang people in Beijing can be said to be quite proud, and the Huguang people have been reused by the imperial court, and now they have reached their peak.

The first and second assistants of the dynasty were all from Huguang, and even one of the elders, Yao Minggong, was also from Huguang, and half of the six scholars in the cabinet were from Huguang. In addition, Liu Jun, the young marquis, and Liu Qiao, the commander of Jinyiwei, are also from Huguang.

Nowadays, the Huguang people in the Beijing Division, walking on the street, are much more high-profile.

When Liu Jun arrived at the hall, he had to meet with a group of businessmen and chat with them for a long time before he was able to meet Li Chunjiang and other friends alone.

"I heard that the imperial court is going to fight the Tartars again, and even heard that His Majesty is going to send the nine-headed bird to Jinzhou to participate in the war?" Li Chunjiang asked Liu Jun that although he had already withdrawn from the Nine-headed Bird now, he was still very concerned about this unit.

Liu Jun smiled and asked his old friend, "What does the public editor think about this matter, and you seem to be opposed to a decisive battle with the Tartars outside the gate?" ”

"Of course I object, the imperial court has newly exterminated the bandits in the Central Plains, which is indeed gratifying. But that doesn't mean we can ignore the Tartars' abilities. For the Tartars, it is quite reckless to blindly mobilize a large army to go out of the customs for a decisive battle. ”

"And what do you think should be done?"

Li Chunjiang is different from ordinary scholars, he often considers problems from a very special angle, just like this, "I thought that the imperial court should abandon the eight cities such as Ningjin outside the Guan, and retreat the soldiers and horses to Shanhaiguan." ”

"Just give up the land outside the gates? There was also a debate back then, but I was afraid that as soon as it was raised, it would be drowned in the saliva of the officials of the science and Taoism. Especially now, the imperial court has just pacified the bandits in the Central Plains, and now the confidence of the whole dynasty has increased greatly, and many people have even shouted the slogan of counterattacking and recovering Liao. Liu Jun shook his head and sighed, in fact, retreating to Shanhaiguan, Liu Jun felt that it was still a good strategy.

The Ming army stubbornly defended the Ningjin line outside the Guan, spending a huge amount of food and salary, but it was still difficult to hold, but was exhausted by the long supply line, and it was particularly easy to be besieged by the Qing army. And if the soldiers and horses were retreated to Shanhaiguan, and then troops were sent out of the customs from time to time to sweep Liaoxi, so that the Qing army could not establish Tuntian in Liaoxi, and Liaoxi became a strategic buffer zone, then it would be of great help to the Ming army to regain strength.

After all, if the Qing army could not establish a stronghold of Tuntian in western Liaoning, then every time they wanted to attack Guannai, they would have to pull a long supply line, and even if the Qing army wanted to invade Guannei from other places on the Great Wall, such as Xuanda and other places, then the defenders of Shanhaiguan could quickly support and defend the capital. And it will not be the same as before, the Qing army will go around in a circle, and the defenders of Ningyuan will be quite embarrassed, and they can only enter the customs all the way.

However, the matter of abandoning the border has long been mentioned by many people, and even debated it very much, but in the end it was vetoed, because those ministers shouted at every turn that they could not give up an inch of land. Many officials in the Ming Dynasty are like this, their bones are very hard, but unfortunately they don't understand the means, not to mention that most people don't know strategy. How can there be a way to fight a war that must be defended by an inch of land, and it is strange to fight a war like that and not lose. (To be continued......)