Yangzhou, on the canal, ships come and go.

On a passenger boat, Zheng Zhilong was standing on the bow of the boat looking at the scenery on both sides of the canal.

"In winter, the grass and trees are withered, what is there to see." Zheng Hongkui walked over and stood beside Zheng Zhilong.

"You look at the pavilions, this Yangzhou looks much more prosperous than Quanzhou." Zheng Zhilong sighed.

"Of course, Yangzhou is more prosperous than Quanzhou, and I heard that the richest people in Daming live here. Big brother, do we want to play here for two days, I heard that Yangzhou has a characteristic that cannot be compared with other places. Zheng Hongkui said with a smile.

"What's the specialty?" Zheng Zhilong was stunned for a moment.

"Yangzhou Skinny Horse!" Zheng Hongkui laughed.

"You!" Zheng Zhilong pointed at Zheng Hongkui, crying and laughing, "Don't think about these things all day long, the emperor summoned us, where do you dare to delay?" ”

"Big brother, why did you say the emperor wanted to see you? Is there an attempt against our Zheng family? After laughing for a while, Zheng Hongkui suddenly asked.

"Attempt?" Zheng Zhilong shook his head slightly, "What kind of identity do we have, how can we be in the eyes of the emperor." ”

In fact, after learning that the emperor was going to summon him, Zheng Zhilong was very confused and kept wondering why the emperor wanted to see him.

Although he is now the number one person at sea, with twenty or thirty thousand men, dozens of large sea ships, and nearly a thousand other ships combined. But in Zheng Zhilong's heart, he is just a pirate who has just been recruited, a mere coastal defense guerrilla, not as good as a magistrate in terms of status, and he is too far away from the emperor......

At this time, Zheng Zhilong was very young, and he had no ambition to divide one side, although he had some strength, he still had a heartfelt awe for the court and the emperor. Not to mention the emperor, even getting along with the civil officials of Quanzhou Mansion, Zheng Zhilong has a deep inferiority complex and never dares to get along with each other on an equal footing.

Therefore, although Zheng Zhilong was born as a pirate, he never thought that pirates were a serious profession, but he was forced to do it, so he accepted the court's recruitment at every opportunity.

So in Zheng Zhilong's heart, the emperor is a heavenly figure, how can he have any intentions for himself as a little person?

"I heard that the emperor is only eighteen years old, a young man, maybe he suddenly became interested in things at sea, so he summoned me to Beijing." Zheng Zhilong guessed.

"For a little thing, let us travel thousands of miles, the emperor is really idle." Zheng Hongkui muttered.

"Hugh is going to talk nonsense!" Zheng Zhilong's eyes widened, "Right now, we are not grass people or pirates, but military generals of the imperial court, we must remember our identity!" ”

"Yes, yes, big brother, I was wrong, don't be angry." Zheng Hongkui hurriedly said.

Zheng Zhilong looked around and said in a low voice: "Now it's not as good as the sea, you can't talk nonsense, especially after entering Beijing, you must be more cautious in your words and deeds, and don't want to cause trouble for the Zheng family." ”

Zheng Hongkui said with a calm expression: "Don't worry, big brother, I remember." ”

Looking at the scenery in the distance, Zheng Zhilong said lightly: "The emperor summoned it, this is a great thing, no matter how many people ask for it, maybe after this trip to Beijing, our Zheng family will soar from now on!" ”

The boat went north along the canal, and the road was calm, but when it came to Linqing, the canal was completely frozen, Zheng Zhilong and others had to abandon the boat and go ashore, hire a carriage to continue to move forward, and finally arrived at Beijing on November 28 in the first year of Chongzhen.

However, Zheng Zhilong did not see the emperor directly, but was called by the officials of the Ministry of Rites to train various etiquette rules for three days in a row.

In the past, the man who walked on the flat ground on the sea ship was at a loss, and he was extremely clumsy, and he learned the rules and regulations under the scolding of the officials, and did not dare to complain at all.

Compared with Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Hongkui and other subordinates, who did not need to see the emperor, were much more at ease. They are not short of silver, and they are nostalgic for the fireworks and willow alleys and taverns and gambling houses in Beijing all day long, and they are very happy. Compared with the remote place in Quanzhou, Beijing has too much fun.

Three days later, Zheng Zhilong was finally informed that the emperor was going to summon him.

Under the guidance of the eunuch, Zheng Zhilong walked on the palace road, and the towering palace and tall city walls overwhelmed him, making him deeply feel the royal majesty.

When he was introduced into the Qianqing Palace and bowed under the guidance of the eunuchs, Zheng Zhilong knelt in the hall and did not even dare to raise his head.

"Get up, give me a seat." A young, gentle voice rang out.

Zheng Zhilong looked up and saw a very young face, and couldn't help but be stunned, the emperor was really young, but his attitude was very easy-going.

A eunuch moved a brocade pier and placed it behind Zheng Zhilong, and Zheng Zhilong sat down in fear, waiting for the emperor to inquire.

"Zheng Zhilong, I heard that you used to beg for a living at sea?" Seeing Zheng Zhilong's nervousness, Zhu Youzhen asked casually, pulling a family routine.

Zheng Zhilong's face was a little shy: "Back to Your Majesty, Cao, Weichen used to be at sea and do some business. ”

Zhu Youzhen was dumbfounded, doing business, I'm afraid it's more of a business without capital.

"Are there many people in Fujian begging for a living at sea?" Zhu Youzhen continued to ask.

Zheng Zhilong nodded: "Many, many." The land in Fujian is barren, and the people are very poor, so they have no choice but to go to the sea to earn a living. ”

"Can you tell me a little bit about the sea?" Zhu Youzhen said with interest.

Zheng Zhilong scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and didn't know what to talk about.

"Let's start with how you go to sea." Zhu Youzhen said with a smile.

Zheng Zhilong smiled bitterly: "Then the words are long." ”

Zhu Youzhen smiled and said: "Don't be afraid of being longer, I have time." ”

Zheng Zhilong began when he went to Macao to join his uncle Huang Cheng when he was 17 years old, and picked and chose to talk about his experience at sea over the years. The talk is very general, and some of the evil deeds of killing people and overselling goods do not dare to talk about it at all.

Zhu Youzhen listened attentively, asking questions from time to time, and was very interested in the matter of the Franc Machine and the red-haired ghost. Zheng Zhilong focused on the affairs of the Francophone and the Dutch.

"Francos are actually two countries, one called Spain and the other called Portugal. The Portuguese currently occupy Macau, while the Spanish occupy Luzon.

The red-haired ghosts, on the other hand, were the Dutch, who now occupied the southern part of the island and built castles. At the moment, the Dutch are the strongest in the Daming Sea, and neither Portugal nor Spain are their opponents. ”

Zhu Youzhen naturally knew the difference between Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands, and there was a complete map of Kunyu Wanguo in his hall, and there were also many professors from Xiyi in the Academy of Sciences.

What Zhu Youzhen was really interested in was how strong these Xiyi were in the Ming Dynasty, so he asked Zheng Zhilong to focus on it.

Zheng Zhilong, who had been a sailor on a Portuguese ship, could speak Portuguese, and had dealt with the Spanish and Dutch, knew a lot about their situation, and told him what he knew at the moment:

"The Xiyi ship is strong and sharp, which is not comparable to my Ming ship. Its ship is called a plywood ship, which is much larger than the Daming Sea ship, with three or even four decks, which can carry hundreds of people, and a ship can carry dozens or even hundreds of Hongyi cannons.

As for the Ming Sea Ship, taking the Fu ship from Fujian as an example, the largest four-masted Fu ship is still one size smaller than the Xiyi plywood ship, and the Fu ship is loaded with several Hongyi cannons at most, and if there are more, the ship can be torn apart when the guns fire.

If it is a battle at sea, it often takes several or even dozens of Ming ships to compete with the Xiyi plywood boats. Fortunately, the population of Xiyi is good, and the ships along the coast of Daming are limited, so we don't have to be afraid of them! ”