As soon as Lao Zhu's words came out, Zheng Zhilong was instantly scared into a cold sweat.

He had only asked the porter in the morning, and the emperor knew about it in the afternoon, and he knew all about how much silver he had given.

This shows that the emperor paid special attention to him, and maybe even the emperor knew about it as soon as he entered Beijing.

Although he didn't know why the emperor paid so much attention to him, judging from the emperor's title for his uncrowned king, he always felt that something was wrong.

"Your Majesty forgives me, the minister is just new to the capital, and he doesn't know much about the capital, so he wants to visit his colleagues in the court, and he has no other intentions."

After all, Zheng Zhilong had experienced a big scene, so although he was a little panicked in his heart, he didn't show it, and he said in a somewhat dry voice: "As for the uncrowned king, Zhilong is just a courtier of the Ming Dynasty, and this title must not be taken!" ”

The Ming Dynasty has never had a king with a different surname for more than two hundred years, and he didn't dare to admit that he was the uncrowned king in front of the emperor when he was killed.

"Why don't you dare to do this, your position as the king of the Min Sea was created by yourself, and we don't mean to blame you."

Looking at Zheng Zhilong, who was a little frightened, Lao Zhu laughed, and then said: "As for finding other people to find out the news, there is no need, if you want to know something, there is no need to bother with it, you might as well come and ask us directly." ”

After saying this, Lao Zhu didn't care about Zheng Zhilong's reaction, and said directly to Wang Chengen: "Come, give Zheng Zhilong a seat, we also have a lot of things I want to ask this King of the Minhai Sea." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zheng Zhilong was a little frightened in his heart, and he didn't know what Lao Zhu wanted to do.

After Wang Chengen moved the chair over, he sat on the chair, pinching the armrests tightly with both hands, and didn't even dare to do his buttocks, for fear that Lao Zhu's next sentence would be to check him directly.

"Don't be so nervous, we're not going to do anything to you."

Looking at the nervous Zheng Zhilong, Lao Zhu couldn't help but shake his head.

To be honest, he let Zheng Zhilong enter Beijing, and there was indeed no malice.

After experiencing the history of the Ming Dynasty in the history books, Lao Zhu thought about it and felt that there were two most wrong policies during his reign.

The first is that the treatment given to the clan relatives of the vassal kings is too good, causing these vassal kings to drag down the entire Ming Dynasty.

And the second is the implementation of the sea ban.

To tell the truth, it was not wrong to implement the sea ban at that time, because at that time, the country had just stabilized, and it was the time when it was necessary to recuperate, so the ban on commerce and persuasion of agriculture was the most important thing at that time.

In addition, at that time, there was a lot of trouble in the coastal areas, so in order to settle it once and for all, he directly implemented the sea ban.

But it turned out that the forbidden sea was simple at that time, saving a lot of trouble, but it brought a lot of hidden dangers to future generations.

For example, the maritime trade is hugely profitable, and after many wealthy families control the smuggling routes, they bribe officials to prevent the opening of the sea, resulting in the implementation of the maritime ban policy.

Another example is the weak strength of the navy after the ban on the sea, once there is an invasion by foreign enemies, the weak Daming navy will only be passively beaten.

And this is not Lao Zhu's prediction, but what has happened, after Chongzhen succeeded to the throne, because Chongzhen's also forbidden the sea, resulting in the dissatisfaction of the Dutch East India Company, and finally they decided to attack the Ming Dynasty, hoping to open up trade with the Ming Dynasty by force.

It was also this battle that allowed Zheng Zhilong, who was only 29 years old, to overthrow the Dutch East India Company, known as the coachman of the sea, and completely established his dominance over the coastal waters of the Ming Dynasty.

In this battle, Zheng Zhilong's navy can be said to be the absolute main force, if it were without him, it is really hard to say what the situation of the Ming Dynasty would become.

It is precisely because of this that Lao Zhu's attitude towards Zheng Zhilong is so tolerant.

Although Zheng Zhilong is largely for his own interests, he has retained the dignity of Daming after all, and even if he is really guilty, he will not die.

Of course, this may also have something to do with Lao Zhu's lack of soldiers and his difficulty in dealing with Zheng Zhilong.

If this was left at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, when he had a lot of talents in his hands and strong soldiers, would he be so good at talking, it would not be necessarily.

"We came this time, mainly to ask about those red hairs overseas...... In the case of those countries, by the way, the rules for future seaborne trade will be determined. ”

Lao Zhu wanted to use the barbarian name to refer to those forces, but when he thought of the simple description of those countries he saw in the history books, he knew that those countries were not weaker than the Ming Dynasty, and it was a little inappropriate to use a contemptuous name.

From the very beginning, when he saw the description of those countries in the history books, Lao Zhu had already set these people as opponents in his heart, he didn't just want to revive the Ming Dynasty, in his opinion, he just had a hand to revive the Ming Dynasty.

What he really wants to do is to let Da Ming return to the peak, and it is not the peak of the past, but to truly dominate the whole world and become the strongest overlord in the world!

It is precisely for this reason that he will summon Zheng Zhilong to Beijing as soon as possible.

And Zheng Zhilong obviously didn't know what Lao Zhu was thinking, although he was a little surprised that Lao Zhu wanted to know about overseas forces.

But when he heard Lao Zhu say that the trade rules should be reset, his face couldn't help but feel a little bitter.

Now the rules of the sea are his Zheng Zhilong's rules, Lao Zhu has reformulated the rules, in his opinion, this is the cake that wants to move him.

It's just that Zheng Zhilong is not in a hurry, after all, he dominates the sea area, relying on his own strength, not the official position given by the imperial court.

As long as he doesn't agree, even if the emperor speaks, it's not easy to make it.

So he plans to get the lake over first, and then talk about it after he goes back, anyway, he has the final say on the one acre and three points of land in Fujian, he supports it on the surface and then works behind his back, what can the emperor do with him.

Thinking of this, Zheng Zhilong, who had made up his mind, roughly introduced the overseas situation to Lao Zhu, and after finishing speaking, he emphasized that shipping is risky, and once something happens, the ship will be destroyed and people will die, and it is easy to lose all his money, and even put his life into it.

What he meant was that it was difficult to ship by sea, it was not easy to make money, and he himself was very poor, and if there was anything in the court, don't look for him, he couldn't do it.

Anyway, Chongzhen attaches great importance to shipping and doesn't know about it, so even if he does, he won't know.

"Haha, Zheng Zhilong, don't you know how to ship by sea?"

Unexpectedly, after Zheng Zhilong finished speaking, Lao Zhu laughed directly twice, then looked at Zheng Zhilong with a playful expression, and said: "If you want to say that others are difficult to do shipping, don't make money, don't have money, we won't say anything." ”

"But you Zheng Zhilong actually came to cry with us, which is a bit inappropriate."

After saying this, Lao Zhu didn't wait for Zheng Zhilong to distinguish it, and said directly: "Now the sea is completely under the control of you, Zheng Zhilong, and the news we received says that you are on the sea, and you are not allowed to pass without your Zheng family's order flag." ”

"And if you want to get your Zheng clan's order flag, a big ship will cost at least 3,000 gold, someone has counted it for you, and you Zheng Zhilong can earn 10 million years a year just for this one."

"This income, the imperial court's annual tax is just that."

Hearing Lao Zhu's words, Zheng Zhilong's hands and feet were cold in an instant, and there was only one sentence in his mind, that is, he couldn't get out of the capital.

is just a Fujian general soldier, making the emperor think that your income is even higher than the Ming Dynasty's taxes, isn't this looking for death.

And the most important thing is that this thing is still true, although this money will be divided a lot in his hands, but the total income is so much is indeed true.

Zheng Zhilong, who was originally sitting on the chair with half his buttocks, had completely left the chair and stood up at this moment, he wanted to defend a little, but he didn't know where to start.

After all, Lao Zhu has been eyeing him since he first entered Beijing, which shows that Lao Zhu attaches great importance to him and is sure that he has so much money.

Even, let yourself come this time, maybe it was for your own property.

If he opens his mouth to defend himself, if he doesn't say well, he may go directly to prison.

Lao Zhu glanced at Zheng Zhilong, who was so frightened that he had no master, and knew that the beating was enough, so he said with a smile on his face: "We all said, let you come this time, I didn't plan to find you, don't be so nervous, sit down and say." ”

"You monopolize shipping and collect wealth, and we don't plan to pursue you for this."

In fact, when he first saw Zheng Zhilong's annual income of 10 million, Lao Zhu did not have this attitude, and the only thought in his mind at that time was how to slaughter Zheng Zhilong and then confiscate his wealth.

It's just that when I think about it later, the sea has been open for so many years, except that the imperial court can still see a lot of money at the beginning, and then I can't see where the money is at all.

Even if there is no Zheng Zhilong, this money will definitely not reach the hands of the people, so Lao Zhu who wants to open it will not be so resentful.

In addition, after Lao Zhu saw that the history books said that those barbarians still had such strong strength, Lao Zhu's mind changed suddenly.

Zheng Zhilong started from scratch, became a giant on the sea at the age of 22, defeated the Dutch East India Company, the strongest overlord on the sea, at the age of 29, and controlled all the seas near Daming, this is definitely a rare talent.

If this person is used well, the Ming Dynasty will be easy to handle.

Seeing that the beating was almost over, Lao Zhu put away his smile and said in a deep voice: "Let's just say it directly, Daming is now worried about internal and external troubles, and the maritime affairs have no time to take care of it, and they can't manage it." ”

"As the chief soldier of Fujian, since you can pacify the pirates and ensure the safety of the people of the Ming Dynasty, no matter how much profit you make from it, we will not care."

"As for your family property, you can put your heart in your stomach, if we really want to do something to you, we will definitely not summon you to Beijing, let alone let you know in advance."

"This ......"

Zheng Zhilong is a little confused, he has a lot of experience in this life, and it is not too much to say that he has read countless people, but at the moment, he completely doesn't understand what Lao Zhu wants to do.

But since Lao Zhu said it, Zheng Zhilong didn't have so much worry in his heart, anyway, it was a knife to stretch out his head, and it was also a knife to shrink his head, so he simply went with him.

Thinking of this, Zheng Zhilong relaxed a lot, sat his ass completely on the chair for the first time, and then asked curiously: "Your Majesty, the minister is a little puzzled, I don't know what you specially summoned the minister to Beijing this time, what is the matter?" ”

Now that the war in the Ming Dynasty is tense and money is needed everywhere, Zheng Zhilong originally thought that Lao Zhu summoned him, either for his money or to help him.

Especially after Lao Zhu reported his income just now, he was even more convinced of this idea, he felt that Lao Zhu asked him to come, he must have taken a fancy to his family property, and even at that moment, he was ready to go out of the capital.

However, he didn't expect that the result turned around, and the emperor didn't plan to ask for anything, which made him very puzzled.

Don't you want me to come to the picture, just to let me come all the way to the capital to visit?

Of course, that's what he said, but Zheng Zhilong also understands one thing after so many years.

That is, when others say nothing to you and don't want you, it can only mean that the other party has bigger plans for you.

So Zheng Zhilong watched coldly at the moment, waiting to see what Lao Zhu was going to say next, but he didn't expect that Lao Zhu would completely disrupt his mind with just one sentence.

"Do you want to be the real King of the Min Sea? The king of Minhai canonized by the Ming court. ”

After hearing this, Zheng Zhi Longtong Kong contracted instantly, and even his breathing became short.

In his opinion, being a pirate is unstable and too risky, and it is not a long-term job at all.

That's why he tried his best to let the court recruit him, and he didn't even know how much money he spent for the position of the chief soldier, what it was for, in addition to wanting to leave a stable wealth for future generations, didn't he just want the vast lintel.

And now, the king with a different surname that he didn't even dare to dream of was in front of him, how could he not be excited.

But in the end, he was the overlord of the sea, and in the face of the temptation of a king with a different surname, he only lost his mind for a moment before coming back to his senses.

"Your Majesty said with a smile, how can the minister be virtuous, how can he be qualified to be a king with a different surname."

Zheng Zhilong swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty, trying his best to control himself from thinking about the king with a different surname, but this matter was not something he could control if he wanted to.

So after finishing speaking, he couldn't help but subconsciously add a sentence, wanting to test it, "Besides, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, I have never been crowned a king with a different surname, even if Your Majesty really wants to be a vassal with a different surname, the ministers of the court will definitely not agree." ”

After saying this, Zheng Zhilong immediately regretted it, and even hated to slap himself.

The king with a different surname is something you can worry about, and you even open your mouth to test it, if the emperor thinks that he has a bad intention, then he will really be finished.

But then again, it was a king with a different surname, a king with a different surname one level lower than the emperor......

Who can resist the temptation of the king with a different surname, at least Zheng Zhilong feels that he can't do it himself, so even though he regrets it in his heart now, he still has a trace of expectation when he looks at Lao Zhu's eyes.

"You don't have to worry about the affairs of the court, since we promised you, we will definitely be able to do it."

Lao Zhu looked at Zheng Zhilong, who was suffering from gains and losses, a slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and then he said: "Let's ask you a question now, and you can answer it." ”

"This King of the Minhai Sea, do you want to do it?"