But it's easy to see the problem, but it's hard to really solve it. The concept of defense of the Ming Dynasty was nothing more than building high walls and accumulating grain. But there is an example of Dengzhou being lost in one day, how far should the wall of Tianjin Wei be built to ensure safety? Moreover, the cost of building a city is huge, where will the money, food, and manpower come from?

As soon as a few practical questions were raised, the smart people who shouted with their mouths closed and shouted to beware of short-haired sneak attacks on Tianjin were all dumbfounded. At this time, the Qiong Navy announced that it would give Daming a huge ship, but the ship was too big to enter the Dengzhou Water City Gate. As soon as several officials of the imperial court summed up: Deler, let's put this ship in Tianjin, and the rebuilt Dengzhou Navy Division will also be pulled down in Tianjin, which just acts as a barrier for the Tianjin Guard, so we have considered this aspect.

As for whether it is ridiculous to use a ship sent by Shorthair to guard against Shorthair, the court can't take care of it at the moment. What's more, now that the government and the opposition are talking about it, it seems that they still laugh at the short-haired ones a little more.

But Zheng Zhilong's gaze was not so short-sighted, he was vaguely aware of the mystery, but he couldn't see through it for a while, so he came over today to try to talk to Wen Desi - of course he knew that the Zheng family and Qiong Haijun would be rivals sooner or later, and it would be impossible to sell the ship to him normally. But since Shorthair is willing to donate the ship to the imperial court, which is obviously wary of them, maybe he is also willing to sell the ship to the Zheng family for some reason? Zheng Zhilong couldn't understand what kind of big chess the short hair was playing, anyway, he was just an idle man.

But now it seems that Shorthair's mind is still very clear, at least there are no flaws in the decision-making of the Zheng family. Sure enough, then he listened to Wen Dehei laughing:

"Jinmen Water Master...... Haha, General Zheng, we are all in this business, so let's tell the truth: first of all, we didn't attack Beijing at all. Secondly, even if there is such a need one day, the sailors of the Ming Dynasty will not be able to stop us at all, even if we send it ten more galleons. ”

There was a pause. Wen Desi raised the wine glass in his hand towards Zheng Zhilong:

"And your Zheng Clan's fleet is different, we are still very ...... Values yours. ”

Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but smile bitterly, Rao was in his heroic posture. At this point, I don't know whether to see this sentence as praise or sarcasm. After thinking about it, Zheng Zhilong decided to try harder:

"Brother Wen. I, the Zheng clan of Nan'an, have formed a friendship with your Qiong Navy, and it has been several years now. Back then, thanks to the rescue of your army, I saved the life of my second brother, and I Zheng is extremely grateful. In the past few years, our two families have helped each other, and we have never had any awkwardness. When your army needs anything, my Zheng family will do everything in their power. But to be honest, I, Zheng, know it very well in my heart. You give more things. After making this friend of yours, my Zheng family has taken a big advantage. ”

"Your Qiong Navy has always been very generous, and if Taiwan Island is not without you, it will definitely not be able to be defeated, but if you say that it will be divided. And it was given half of our Zheng family! By today, most of the Zheng roots have migrated there. After driving away the Hongmaoyi people, the trade route to the Wa Kingdom is getting thousands of gold every day, and you say that you have never been there without interfering, so that the Zheng family will have a lot of money alone...... Numerous. I, Zheng Feihuang, am not a person who doesn't know what to do, I keep these things in mind. ”

"Not to mention the last battle at the mouth of the Tamsui River, Brother Wen, you and Pang Junshi and Captain Wang came to help. Let's break the Hongmao Yi Army together, this affection, I, Zheng Fei and Huang will never forget it...... Even this friendship of fighting side by side and dying has been concluded, Brother Wen! Why do you still think that my Zheng family will be the enemy of your army in the future? ”

Seeing Zheng Zhilong start to play the emotional card, Wen Deji secretly admired it in his heart. If he hadn't been in the office director of a large state-owned enterprise for many years, or had he been replaced by a young man with little experience, such as Guo Yi, he might have really coaxed him.

However, Wen Desi is also very self-aware, he knows that in front of Zheng Zhilong, a strongman who has left a great reputation in history, he can't play scheming with the other party.

So he decided to tell the truth to the other party honestly, and only to tell the truth and answer the other party with hard facts.

Of course, before that, there are some soft words to say about the situation - after all, he has also done the work of ushering in the delivery before:

"Hehe, General Zheng, Brother Zheng, in our team, especially the members of our navy, many people admire you, including me too-to be able to fight from a maritime merchant to the status of the overlord of the East China Sea, Your Excellency will definitely leave a heroic name in history."

Zheng Zhilong smiled bitterly:

"It's nothing compared to your army."

Wen Desi shook his head sincerely:

"Otherwise, we are standing on the shoulders of our predecessors, and we are completely different from you."

Zheng Zhilong was a little confused, but still tried to turn the topic to the scope he wanted:

"Can't we always be friends?"

Wen Desi took a sip of red wine lightly, and said solemnly:

"Brother Zheng, we have always regarded the Zheng family as friends, which can be seen from our attitude towards fulfilling the covenant, and you obviously feel it as well. In the future, we can still be friends, but at that time, the conditions for maintaining this friendship will be different - Brother Zheng, we have been working together very happily so far, and that is because we are very clear about our strength and status. The decisions we make, the covenants we sign, are consistent with our current position and our capabilities. ”

"However, times change, and what we feel is beneficial for both sides today may become an obstacle to the continued development of one of us in the future. What we can do today on the basis of cooperation may become a stumbling block in the future that will affect our relationship...... Brother Zheng, you are a smart person, you should be able to see that our Qiong Haijun ...... Sooner or later, it will expand into your territory. ”

Wen Deji pointed out this fact very bluntly, and Zheng Zhilong did not look offended at all, but showed an expression of "sure enough", and after a while, he sighed softly:

"Can't you really tolerate a friend?"

Wen Deji shook his head:

"Brother Zheng, since you have studied our decision-making system, you can definitely see that in our system, it is difficult for personal emotional factors to affect the final decision-making. You already know that each of us can make an opinion, and as long as there is no objection, it can be translated into collective decision-making, and the reverse is true - any objection is very difficult to implement, no matter who makes it. And so on. Brother Zheng, do you know what conditions must be met to make decisions in our system? ”

Zheng Zhilong shook his head in astonishment. Wen Deji smiled bitterly, half self-deprecating, half sighing:

"Interests. Only decisions that meet the interests of the majority of the population will be accepted. You just said it well: No one has a grudge against silver. But we are not short-sighted. The reason why I am sure that the large collective will never agree to sell the ship to the Zheng family is because it may affect our interests in the future. ”

In Zheng Zhilong's surprised expression, Wen Desi continued to speak unhurriedly:

"In the same way, in the choice of future development routes, only expansion is in the interests of most of us, so only those decisions that are in favor of expansion will be collectively accepted - Brother Zheng, I won't tell you. Not long ago, in our plenary meeting, a strategy of total contraction was proposed, but it was quickly rejected. Our community is bound to continue to expand in the future. Only external expansion can satisfy the growing interests of this group, which cannot be reversed by any individual thoughts and feelings...... Even if we are the real 'shorthairs', if we can't keep up with the general trend of development, we will also be left behind, and gradually marginalized in the group......"

In his speech, he used a lot of modern words. Zheng Zhilong had some difficulty understanding, but he still frowned tightly and carefully chewed every word Wen Desi said. And Wen Desi's eyes were unconsciously cast in the direction of Guangzhou, on the towering castle tower, which also had a faint reflection of telescopes, and some people were also looking this way.

"Of course. As your own person, you will always have a chance. As long as they are willing to accept the will of the larger group and find their own position, they can return to our group anytime and anywhere. But others ......"

As he said this, Wen Deji paused slightly, and Zheng Zhilong's ears immediately pricked up.

"If they are willing to accept our route and walk on the same path as us, then we are very welcome. No matter who he is or what he thinks, as long as his actions are beneficial to us and can bring benefits to our community, we will regard him as an ally, treat him fairly and sincerely, and share the benefits of expansion with him - in this regard, we are never stingy, I believe you can also understand it, Brother Zheng. ”

"However, if anyone tries to stop us or becomes an obstacle to our expansion...... Even if he didn't have the will to do so, even if he was once our ally...... Just get in the way of the expansion wheels of our Joan Navy. ”

Wen Desi raised his head and looked at the pale Zheng Zhilong, his hands were slightly spread out, and he put on an expression of helplessness:

“…… He will still be crushed, this is the power of capital, not subject to human will. ”

While the two were talking, they heard footsteps, and a herald hurried towards him, saluting him with the telegram he had just received. There are full-time translators on the navy ships, so the telegrams that Wen Desi got are clearly coded.

After a few glances, Wen Desi's face changed slightly, but after seeing Zheng Zhilong's gaze next to him, he suddenly smiled and handed him the telegram casually. Zheng Zhilong took it in amazement, but he didn't open it to watch, but looked at Wen Deji with an inquiring gaze, until the latter nodded with a smile:

"It's okay, at least for now, we're still allies."

So Zheng Zhilong opened the telegram and read it roughly, and his face immediately showed the same look of consternation.

"You see, Brother Zheng, some of our companions are about to set foot on the land of Liaodong and are about to go to war with the Manchurian Tartars, and I myself will soon join them. Da Ming may be happy about this, but I think you can understand that we are not actually for Da Ming, but only for our own interests. ”

Raising his head and drinking the red wine in the glass, and slamming the glass the deck, Wen Desi watched the glass shatter into countless crystal clear fragments, and then smiled indifferently:

"The great expansion has begun, and no one can stop it, not the Ming Dynasty, not the Westerners, and neither can the Manchurian Tatars!" U