Just a few days later, another rain cloud blanketed Pearl Island, but the rain was much softer than the tropical storm not long ago.

In a mansion not far from the Pearl City Hall, a huge parasol is erected in the wide lawn area, and the continuous drizzle knocks a slight dripping sound on the umbrella surface, and a wisp of water quietly falls into the green grass along the umbrella edge.

Di Zugong, at this time, was leisurely leaning on the recliner, looking at the first local newspaper "Oriental Times" on Pearl Island, with a smiling expression behind the reading glasses on the tip of his nose.

“…… Trade between the South China Sea and Hong Kong has been interrupted for more than a month, and even Macau has been watched by Ding Chukui, the governor of Zhaoqing and Guangzhou; It is said that in Fujian, there are also rumors that Zheng Zhilong coerced the local government of the Ming Dynasty to ban Luzon merchants, but this has not been verified. Your Excellency Senator, the Oriental Union Group has officially submitted a commercial statement to the Guangzhou government of the Ming Dynasty, can we also exert a little pressure......"

A clerk of the Congressional research team stood respectfully on Di Zugong's side, holding a copy of the document and reading it softly.

took off his reading glasses, threw away the newspaper, picked up this year's new tea and took a sip comfortably, Di Zugong turned his head to the other side, and looked at Zhao Mingchuan, who came early in the morning, with a smile on his face, as if he had already known the purpose of the other party's visit.

"Teacher, at present, the Manchu Qing Dynasty is invading the south, and the enemy is currently the enemy, if the government is only for business, it will lose the hearts of the people in the east!"

For many years, Zhao Mingchuan has always regarded Di Zugong as his life teacher, and if he is confused, he will always think of the other party at the first time. In Zhao Mingchuan's eyes, Di Zugong not only led himself onto the road of "looking at the world from business", but also brought himself the opportunity to experience the problems of Daming with new eyes and new thinking. In a sense, Zhao Mingchuan took Di Zugong as the biggest incentive for his life to change.

"You see, the Ministry of Defense has just transferred a Foreign Legion brigade on the front foot, intending to help. The gun was in full swing without leaving the saddle. There was such a big commotion at this end. It seems that God doesn't plan to help Da Ming either......" Di Zugong picked up the teacup again, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Zhao Mingchuan, who do you think caused the current situation in Daming? Is it really us? ”

After a few gestures, the others retreated one after another, and only Zhao Mingchuan and Di Zugong were left under the parasol.

"Teacher, although there are internal strife in the Ming court, but the people's righteousness is especially there, if the Manchu Qing Dynasty goes south, the world is reversed, I am afraid that the group's sixteen years of operation in Guangzhou, Guangzhou, will also suffer......" Zhao Mingchuan knew that the other party also received the news that the Chinese and American diplomats had returned from Guangzhou in vain. I was also nervous.

"I admit that this is a disaster for the ordinary people of the Ming Dynasty, and it is also the biggest crisis for the South China Sea business, but it is also a historical opportunity, depending on how the Ming court treats it. As I thought, Zheng Zhilong's selfishness, coupled with the conflict of interests in Nanjing, has spread to the two Guangzhou, playing the trick of killing chickens and showing monkeys, and there is almost no bottom. ”

"Yu Gong. I am a senator in the American Congress of China; Privately, I am a member of the board of directors of OUCC Group. But on the whole, the interests involved in these two identities are identical. As he spoke, Di Zugong smiled and pointed to his heart. Zheng Zhilong has already planned to set us up in Liangguang and Fujian, and wants us to regress; Ding Chukui was insatiable, thinking that he was meeting his intentions and taking the opportunity to fill his pockets. ”

"You can also make a hypothesis. If we declare war on Johor or Sulu on a whim without saying hello, it is estimated that Lan Fong or Luzon will take the initiative to prepare the reward the next day. Then you say. Can Daming have this attitude? ”

"Teacher, there is a lot of importance...... If there is really some chaos in Qiongzhou, wouldn't it hurt Lord Zhao? Zhao Mingchuan probably heard a layer of meaning, and hurriedly replied, hoping to change the other party's position.

"Light and heavy? In this kind of thing, the country's losses are not as simple as hundreds of thousands or millions, right? If we need to take the initiative to intervene in the southward movement of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, it means that the initiative to save the Ming Dynasty must also belong to us. If we can't do that, then we can wait. We've been doing multiple-choice questions for twenty years, and now it's time for Daming to make a choice. Di Zugong interrupted Zhao Mingchuan's statement, and his expression gradually became stricter, "At this juncture, we don't stab Da Ming's knife in the back, we have already left a face." I believe that the domestic debate has not stopped, and they are re-evaluating the necessity of hot faces and cold butts. ”

"Liangguang is a good place, and Zhao Youheng is also a good official, but we are not so superficial as encouraging Zhao Youheng or Nanhai to make trouble. If Zhao Youheng's willingness to progress is stifled, that is the greatest sorrow of this Ming Dynasty. Whether it is the state or the Oriental Union Group, they will never allow a few broken bowls to be fished around in Liangguang at this time! ”

After speaking, Di Zugong stood up, narrowed his eyes towards the north, and his mind flew to the country.

"Teacher, is there no way out of this matter?" Zhao Mingchuan still didn't give up, and even if he knew that the entire Huamei Xingshi was moving in the Far East, he was by no means really standing by and watching the Ming Dynasty.

"It's not something you or I can decide by your or my unilateral will...... Zhao Mingchuan, OUCC Group has been operating the Far East for more than ten years, building the prosperity pattern of Qiongzhou today. The Nanhai firm has worked hard for so many years, Zhao Youheng has been conscientious for half his life, how can he be photographed so dead overnight? Di Zugong suddenly asked coldly.

"......" Zhao Mingchuan was stunned, and he didn't know how to answer for a long time.

"Don't know the answer? Then let me ask you again, who would dare to do this to us in Huamei? Di Zugong continued to ask.

"Huamei is a country founded by business, and a country is established by law. The government is based on the people's constitutionalism, how can it destroy the country's ......" Zhao Mingchuan lowered his head and gave his hand.

"...... Do you really think that the people-oriented constitution is our talisman? You are so naïve! Di Zugong looked at Zhao Mingchuan, who had grown up with a little hatred, with a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

"I also hope that the teacher will solve Mingchuan's doubts." Zhao Mingchuan raised his head suddenly.

"The answer is simple, because we hold the power! In other words, the class in which we live is the main body of power in this country. We have the power to make laws, wage wars, adjust tax rates, and define right and wrong. ”

"What kind of productive forces determines what kind of social class composition, and thus determines the class affiliation of power. Huamei is a capitalist country with heavy industry and commerce, and we are the bourgeoisie who control social production and industrial and commercial capital, and dominate the operation of this country, and all basic state policies must be in line with our class interests. ”

"To put it mildly, if you, Zhao Mingchuan, really wrote a report to complain that Luzon's trade tariffs are too heavy. Perhaps in a few days, the letter will lead Congress to convene a special session to consider whether to use military or diplomatic means to cut taxes in Luzon. In Daming, the Nanhai business in Qiongzhou does not have this ability, and Zhao Youheng does not have this ability. ”

"From ancient times to the present day in China, merchants have always lived a strange life. When the wind and waves are at the end of the storm, the rich world, the happy and happy, and the fish and meat country, you can buy a qiē with guò money, and it seems that everything is omnipotent. Even businessmen may have the illusion that this world is born for him, and all the officials and bigwigs are played with in the palm of their hands. But. When there are really people in the court who don't want to play according to the rules, banning and arresting them is easy, and they have to fall to the ground, raid their homes, and wither away piece by piece...... You should still remember the fate of Shen Wansan, a giant businessman of the Ming Dynasty, and the fate of Liu Yaoyu's family, right? ”

"The merchants of the world have one thing in common: they have the most omnipotent thing in the world. However, there is still a fundamental difference between the money in the hands of the merchants in the feudal small peasant economy and the money in the hands of the merchants in the capitalist society: the former can only buy his own destiny from the rulers. The latter is to dominate the fate of others. In other words, when the Ming court did not sell, the merchants of the Ming Dynasty would be desperate in an instant. ”

"Whether it's a businessman in Guangzhou, a factory owner in Qiongzhou, or a progressive bureaucrat like Zhao Youheng, who values industry and commerce. They are arguably an up-and-coming group of this ancient empire. Although he was essentially a landlord comprador, he had already revealed his advanced productive forces and social organization beyond the ordinary landlords of the old Ming Dynasty. But, in the end, they are only dependents of the empire, not dominant. There is no rule-making power. There is no real right to participate in politics, so he can only passively accept the rule of others and play cards according to the needs of others. Give others a way to live when they are happy. can live happily and proudly; When others don't like it, they will immediately be prisoners, sheared by others, and there is no way to resist. ”

"It is difficult to have a real sense of social responsibility and mission if you live in steal your life under the ruling order, except to make money with your life, and dream of one day getting rid of the identity of businessmen and returning to the ruling class of landlords and scholars. You say, can such a Chinese businessman, with someone else's power rope around his neck, only live for one family and one surname, and not be played to death? ”

"If you want to really change the Ming Dynasty, then you can start by helping Zhao Youheng or the South China Sea Merchant to gain the power of this empire. When do they have real power, they don't need to go to Huamei to act as a substitute, so that they can really decide their fate and decide the fate of the Ming Dynasty. ”

"This time, someone forced Zhao Youheng to show his head, not that we wanted to play tricks, in fact, it was to give Daming another chance to see how determined he Zhao Youheng was to change. If he has a heart, he can naturally continue to walk, otherwise he will ......"

As he spoke, an intriguing smile appeared on Di Zugong's face.

The feeling like electricity penetrated through his body from the top of his head, and when Di Zugong had already walked into the manor villa, Zhao Mingchuan was still standing motionless in the lawn area.

……

On Saturday, May 13, 1645, April 18 of the first year of the Ming Empire.

Just when the Congressional Far East Research Group led by Di Zugong was resting properly in Pearl City and preparing to leave for Manila, the capital of the Republic of Luzon, a fleet of ships flying the Zheng family flag swaggered to the shore on the Hong Kong wharf.

Under the jealous gaze of a group of anxious merchants from Guangzhou or Qiongzhou, the Cheng family bagged piles of gorgeous goods stranded in Hong Kong like a sweep. The staff of the Hong Kong Commodity Exchange of the Oriental Union Group, as always, were polite and enthusiastic, and handled a series of transaction procedures for the Zheng family trade representative, as if the business did not need to care about the identity of the other party at present.

"Without the permission of the government, one person and one goods are not allowed to enter the customs." The warrant of Ding Chukui, the governor of Liangguang, seemed to be a big mountain on the head of the Nanhai merchant in Qiongzhou at this time, and the Zheng family's behavior was detached.

This is probably a signal sent by Zheng Zhilong to the Huamei side, showing the real influence of the Zheng family in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty - Huamei will do business well, only the Zheng family has the power to dominate the trade in the southeast coast of the Ming Dynasty, and any excesses that want to challenge the core interests of the Zheng family are not a wise move.

Zheng Sen, who was staying in the city of Guangzhou, also received a letter from his father at this time: the imperial court promoted Zheng Sen to the guerrilla general of Tong'an, Fujian. Zheng Zhilong officially gave Zheng Sen the right to organize and train a battalion of new troops in Tong'an alone, and could use all the internal and external resources of the Zheng family.

Tong'an is the territory of the Zheng family's old nest in Fujian, close to Xiamen, dozens of miles to the east of Anhai Town, there is a private shipyard of the Zheng family, and several Zheng family warships are launched here every year in history.

Interestingly, it was this Tong'an, who was officially in charge of the establishment of the army, and built a "tomb of Zheng Chenggong" in later generations to commemorate this great national hero who was on the front line of the rejuvenation of the Ming Dynasty at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Zheng Sen, who was in an excited mood, hurriedly left Guangzhou City with Shi Lang and Liu Guoxuan, and just a few days later, thousands of miles away in Huguang, even if the time was slightly different, the general soldier Zuo Liangyu finally made the worst decision in the history of the late Ming Dynasty: the Qing monarch's side.

On May 16, the twenty-first day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, Zuo Liangyu ignored the main force of the Manchu Ying prince Azig who was gradually approaching in Jiangbei, issued a document to crusade against Ma Shiying, and led the main force of the Huguang Ming army to start from Wuchang and march down the river to Nanjing......

At the same time, Wang Duoduo of Yujun of the Manchu Qing Dynasty also led the main force of the East Road to advance rapidly. The four towns of Jiangbei that had fallen apart had long been in chaos under the pressure of internal friction and the Manchu Qing Dynasty: Liu Liangzuo and Liu Zeqing surrendered without a fight, the arrogant Gao Jie died at the hands of the rebels, and Huang Degong fought alone. After the main force of the Manchu Qing Dynasty took Xuzhou lightly, it continued to move south, and the troops pointed directly at Yangzhou, and the Jiangbei Theater was completely wiped out.

At the last moment, Shi Kefa, the governor of Jiangbei, who was still thinking of writing a letter to Duoduo to seek to "join forces to drive out the Kou", probably had no way to stop the deterioration of the situation at this time except for choosing to be a moral model.

"The death of the southern capital at the end of the Ming Dynasty was committed by Zuo Liangyu."

Although the evaluation is based on historical fait accompli, it is like the comment of the Wanli Emperor, and avoids the root cause of the fall of the Ming Dynasty. This strange civil strife, which cannot be sorted out with normal logic, made countless Ming Dynasty historians feel powerless to complain. But for half of the Ming court, it did accelerate the collapse of the Yangtze River defense line and make the Ming Dynasty slide into an even more irreparable abyss. (To be continued......)