After negotiating the operation of the official position of Anhui Fu and reaching a "long-term strategic cooperation intention" with Zhou Yanru.

The atmosphere of communication between the two sides has finally become completely harmonious, which is also within Shen Shuren's plan.

Because after all, he still has to use Zhou Yanru for more than a year, or even nearly two years.

If you can talk about long-term sharing, don't talk about a one-shot deal for one thing and one price. In this way, the other party will be motivated to do things for you all the time.

Moreover, in order to help Zhou Yanru also subtly strengthen this cognition, feeling that the two sides are "prosperous joint stock partners", Shen Shuren quickly put forward a new, harmless supplementary demand.

I only heard him say without a trace: "Meng Ge Lao is loving, and he is willing to persuade His Majesty to entrust the official with a heavy responsibility." The lower officials should do their best to report to His Majesty's grace and reward the elders of the pavilion for their appreciation.

The lower official suddenly thought that there was another thing, the lower official could share the worries of the court and make contributions to the elders. And the elder of the pavilion does not have to pay any price, as long as he helps mediate and allows the subordinate father and son to act cheaply, he can do both public and private. ”

Zhou Yanru was nervous again in his heart, thinking that Shen Shuren had to make inches and wanted more official positions, so he hurriedly looked at him vigilantly, and asked cautiously: "What errand do you want to beg for?" ”

In his opinion, the so-called "sharing worries for the court" is not asking for a new official position!

As soon as Shen Shuren saw the other party's expression, he knew that he had misunderstood, and hurriedly smiled and said: "The elder is too worried, and he can't even talk about errands, it's like this-you should know that my Shen family has been authorized by His Majesty to restructure Caoyun and change Caoyun to the sea since two years ago."

In the past two years, my Shen family has built 1,200 Yellow Sea sand ships every year, and now they can carry half of the imperial court's grain. Originally, His Majesty said that it would take five years to gradually and completely realize the transformation of Cao Yun into the sea.

Although it has only been changed by half, this transportation capacity is enough for all the official and military rations needed by Liaodi to be directly transported to the Bohai coast by the Jiangnan sea route. If it is used to transport people, according to the capacity of my Shen family's existing four or five hundred large sea ships, each ship has more than 100 people, as long as the ships are entangled, it is more than enough for 50,000 troops to cross the sea......"

Zhou Yanru's brows furrowed more and more when he heard this, and he didn't know what conspiracy Shen Shuren had for a while, so he hurriedly raised his hand to stop Shen Shuren from laying the groundwork again: "You just get straight to the point, long story short!" What the hell is going to be done! ”

Shen Shuren took a deep breath: "Xiaguan is really worried about the imperial court - the elder should have heard that since September last year, Inspector Hong has been defeated in the field battle between Songshan and Huangtaiji, and four of the eight general soldiers under his command fled and one died.

The remaining three general soldiers were only in the three fortresses of Songshan, Xingshan, and Tashan, and they were stubbornly defending the city, and they were struggling to survive. With the imperial court unable to reinforce the siege, I am afraid that on the day when the food runs out, Inspector Hong will die heroically.

Although the lower officials and their fathers were favored by the country, although they were unable to fight with the Tartars, they also wanted to get a cheap authorization, and when transporting grain to Liaodong by sea, they often patrolled the coast to learn about the latest war situation and reported it to the imperial court.

If you can respond to it, if you encounter these three fortresses, the imperial court soldiers and horses are broken, or take advantage of the chaos to break through, and you can escape to the coast of Tashan and Bijia Mountain, my Shen Jiacao Ding will be rescued and withdrawn from the sea, so as to keep a few more elite warriors in Liaodong for the imperial court——

These soldiers are all able to defend the lonely city for more than half a year for Inspector Hong, and they are the most loyal and brave righteous men in the Ming Dynasty, and it is a pity that they died in the hands of the Tartars in vain.

It's just that this matter, after all, is not within the authority of my father, who only has the right to transport food for the officials and soldiers of Liaodong, and cannot participate in the war. Therefore, I am afraid that I need to help the operation after the elder returns to Beijing.

My Shen family doesn't need the imperial court to allocate food to people, as long as the title of 'protector' can be used, so that the guardians under my father's command can act cheaply.

And if you can gain something, it is also a political achievement that should not be underestimated for you. Hong Chengchou's mess was caused by himself, at that time, the elder had not been reinstated, but after you took office, you helped solve part of the mess, and Your Majesty will inevitably trust you more and more. ”

Zhou Yanru frowned, and then relaxed.

Indeed, this is purely a good thing. Anyway, if he didn't do anything, Hong Chengchou's little person would be a pure loss. Shen Jiaken paid out of his own pocket and rescued one by one.

He has just been reactivated by Chongzhen, and he really needs the new official to take office three fires and establish some achievements in all aspects to stabilize his position. And recovering some military losses on the Tartar battlefield can be regarded as a very important political achievement.

Zhou Yanru just couldn't believe it, and couldn't help but ask deeply: "Then what do you Shen family want?" Are you willing to spend that much money? ”

When Shen Shuren heard him ask about the specific details, he knew that there was a drama in this matter, and it was at least eighty percent accurate.

He hurriedly said: "For example, give some of my Shen family cronies the military titles such as deputy general and general of the navy, and be in charge of the shipping escort, so that my Shen family can be justified and change some of the family members and sailors to the imperial court soldiers." Finally, it is the authorization of this matter, when it is flexible, it is urgent.

After all, the situation of the battle is changing rapidly, and if we had planned in advance, and Your Majesty had expectations, and if we had to rescue any of the defenders of the three cities mentioned above, we would inevitably be tied hand and foot. Once the information is leaked, it is even more easy to be taken advantage of by the Tartars and suffer from it.

It's not that the lower officials can't trust the princes in the court, but within my Ming Dynasty, there are really too many greedy and traitorous people now. And Jiannu has been in the country since Nuer Hachi, and now Huangtaiji, all the departments in Beijing and Central China are afraid that they have received Tartar gold and silver and betrayed information to Tartar.

Your Majesty's decision-making on Liaodong, as long as there are more people who know, there is no one who does not leak secrets in the end. If this matter is to be accomplished, we must not press any task on my Shen family, don't let Your Majesty know from beginning to end, let us act when we have the opportunity, and give up if we don't have a chance. After the matter is completed, it is not too late to report it. ”

When Zhou Yanru heard the end, he was also quite ashamed, and pulled his beard twice.

He also knows the garbage of the intelligence secrecy of the Ming court, and the traitors of the Tartars can spy on them every time, and they can often use counter-tricks against the Ming Dynasty.

The Shen family wants to make their own decisions and act cheaply, and they really have no reason to refute it.

As for what benefits the Shen family wanted to win, Zhou Yanru didn't fully understand it for the time being. However, roughly deducing, he could also guess that the Shen family might want to collect some defeated soldiers and capture, and take advantage of the opportunity to serve the country and the people, and by the way, also slightly enhance their own strength.

But Zhou Yanru felt that it was nothing, people took risks to do things, and there was nothing wrong with making a little profit by the way.

At that time, the number and establishment of the rescued troops will be discounted, and some defeated soldiers who are unwilling to go to Liaodong to die will be absorbed by themselves, which can be concealed by the imperial court.

Even if Zhou Yanru wanted to break his head, he couldn't be bold enough to think that Shen Shuren wanted to be a warlord. At most, he thought that Shen Shuren was responsible for chasing and suppressing Zhang Xianzhong, and he was worried that he would not have enough elite troops and would not be able to defeat thieves on the battlefield in the future, so he would have to shake more people.

With that Majesty who is resolute and resolute, it is impossible for a real warlord to appear in the land of the Ming Dynasty! There's nothing to worry about at that!

Zhou Yanru finally made up his mind: "Okay, this matter is up to you, anyway, don't delay the transportation of military rations to Liaoxi." The rest of you want your own family and sea ships to do something, as long as you have merit, the old man will posthumously recognize you and ask for merit. ”

Shen Shuren struck while the iron was hot and deepened the other party's stereotype:

"Thank you, Ge Lao Yucheng. It seems that giving your mansion perennial dividends and monopolizing the new yarn machine in Changzhou is really the most fortunate decision made by my Shen family. In this way, my Shen family dared to be cheeky and ask you for errands again and again. ”

Zhou Yanru was stunned for a moment, and was finally encircled by this set of words.

It turned out that the Shen family was so concerned about giving money every year, instead of giving it away one by one, hoping to cooperate with him all year round and share the credit.

However, the Shen family does have the ability and can often make meritorious contributions, this kind of cooperation is a win-win situation, and there is nothing bad about it.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yanru was completely pulled onto Shen Shuren's warship.

……

"I didn't expect the virtuous nephew to study calligraphy and painting so much, looking at your knowledge, not under the old man, I am afraid that you also have the best talent. The year before last, he only hit the tail of the crane, and he must have been trapped by a sycophant. Next time I have time, I will definitely come back to explore appreciation. ”

When Zhou Yanru and Shen Shuren left Qiu Weizhen's study with a smile, they naturally talked about Tang Yinwen Zhengming's calligraphy and painting with such acting skills.

Outsiders can't see the slightest awkwardness at all, even if people who know how to get close and hear the details clearly, they will only sigh that Zhou Ge Lao and Shen Daotai are both elegant people, and the details of the comments and appreciation can be to the point.

It's a pity that everyone is a human spirit, Qiu Weizhen already knew what they were going to do, but he could only pretend not to know, give each other face, and get together to chat a few words about Tang Yin.

Qiu Weizhen was so supportive, not because the Shen family temporarily paid him a lot of money, but because the Shen family has always been very polite to him.

Since Shen Tingyang arrived as the head of the household department in Nanjing for more than half a year, he basically celebrated the New Year's holidays, and he would send gifts of thousands to tens of thousands of taels of silver to Qiu Weizhen if he had nothing to do.

This kind of friendship that has nothing to do first is more iron-clad than sending money temporarily, Shen Tingyang's mind is actually very clear, they are already famous brands, and I just hope that Shangguan will not trouble him in the last two years, and everyone will strive for a smooth transition.

Qiu Weizhen's age is there, and in the sixteenth year of Chongzhen's history, it is time to return to his hometown, and he will be sixty-seven by then. Shen Tingyang has merit, energy and silver to open the way, and when he was in the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, he was promoted to the next level and took over the Nanjing Hubu Shangshu, which was also a great joy.

The banquet had just been received, so after everyone returned to the hall, they chatted around the newly served tea fruit. A group of people who have their own interests, but there is no conflict of interest, just negotiated in such a vain and unjust way to divide the spoils.

At the end of the day, everyone unconsciously talked about Zhou Yanru's trip north to Beijing two days later.

Out of professional habits and goodwill, Shen Tingyang temporarily mentioned it, complaining that Zhou Yanru still chose to go north this time, which was quite inconvenient, and there were still small bands of thieves on the road.

“…… In fact, since the imperial court piloted the transformation of water transportation to the sea, I have made a lot of progress in the technology and size of the sand ship in the Ming Dynasty in the past three years. Now by taking a sea boat to the north and going directly to Tianjin, there is no bump at all, and you can avoid the thieves along the canal. ”

However, as soon as these words came out, Zhou Yanru was a little embarrassed, and had to forcibly say that he was old and frail, and he couldn't tolerate the slightest bump in his life, and exposed the topic.

Only Shen Shuren reacted quickly, and immediately kicked his father under the table again, signaling his father not to brag about this issue, and Shen Tingyang was disappointed.

It wasn't until the evening that everyone left the Qiu Mansion and dispersed, and on the carriage home, Shen Tingyang asked about what happened just now: "Lin'er, what did you mean just now?" As a father, it is just to blow the benefits of changing the sea to the sea whenever he meets people, Zhou Ge Lao entered Beijing to be the first assistant, so that the first assistant can understand the advantages of shipping, even if he knows that he will not take a sea ship, there is no harm. ”

Shen Shuren shook his head helplessly: "Of course there are disadvantages!" Although my father is talking about things, not about people, and just wants to emphasize the technical advantages of shipping, how will he interpret it in the ears of people who have a heart?

Wouldn't Zhou Yanru think that you were disgusting him, and sarcastically persuaded him to restrain and block his financial route? Even though it is good to take office by sea, there is one of the biggest disadvantages, which is destined for my Ming officials to go north to Beijing, and they will never choose-

After taking the sea route, I arrived in Tianjin as soon as I slipped through the smoke, and how could I find an excuse to stay for a few days every time I passed through the city and let others worship the dock to collect cash?

Zhou Yanru went to the capital, Huai'an, Linqing, every drop node on the canal is a place of great wealth, and the local guards are even more plundered and looted. Huai'an Liu Liangzuo, Linqing Liu Zeqing, they must not find an opportunity to honor Zhou Yanru? ”

Shen Tingyang was stunned for a moment, and immediately stopped in shame. With his experience in officialdom, of course, he won't be unable to see this clearly, so he can see through it at all.

In the final analysis, it is still the occupational disease who touts the sea transport. He started as a maritime businessman, and he has always been proud of it in his heart all his life, and he couldn't hold back for a while.