The money for expanding the navy was paid by Zheng Zhilong, and the soldiers were trained by Zheng Zhilong, and even the construction of ordnance required Zheng Zhilong to pay out of his own pocket.

After the training of the navy, Lao Zhu wanted to pick peaches, put people in the navy, and attribute the navy to the name of the imperial court.

Judging from the results, it seems that Lao Zhu didn't pay anything and picked up ready-made, but in fact, it was not the case.

Although Zheng Zhilong is the overlord of the Ming Sea, for the Ming Dynasty, he is just a Fujian general soldier.

Since he is the chief soldier, he has to abide by the rules of the imperial court, although he is strong, even the current governor of Fujian has to respect him for three points, but it is limited to this.

Unless he wanted to rebel, he basically couldn't do anything without the permission of the imperial court.

As for doing it secretly, that's not realistic either.

After all, the navy is different from the army, and the most important thing in the navy is the ship.

And if you want to build a big ship, especially a big ship that surpasses the Dutch, you have to have money, people, and materials for shipbuilding.

Now he has the money, but he can't do it with the people and the materials for shipbuilding.

Because if you want to build a large number of ships, the number of craftsmen needed must not be a small number, and in the Ming Dynasty, craftsmen with this kind of craftsmanship are all reported to the government, and no matter where they go, the government can find out.

If it is in terms of quantity, ten or eight, or even dozens or hundreds, Zheng Zhilong can still think of a way to cover it up.

But if it is thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of craftsmen, no one can cover him.

After all, he already has a certain number of shipbuilders under his command now, and if he still recruits a large number of craftsmen, there are even not only shipbuilders, but also craftsmen who build artillery.

This has to make others think about it, what are you trying to do? Is it trying to rebel?

I'm afraid that before the start of work will begin, the imperial court will have to call first.

If the craftsman is still just a problem, and some are difficult to solve, then the material is simply an unsolvable problem.

Today's big ships are huge, take the big ships in which the Dutch East India Company participated in the Battle of Liuluo Bay.

It has a length of 100 meters and a width of 20 meters, with a total of three floors.

For a large ship like this, the wood needed must be a giant tree that is hundreds or thousands of years old.

This kind of thing, not to mention that Zheng Zhilong can't get it, even if he can get it, he can't transport this thing to Fujian under the nose of the imperial court.

But now it's different, with the support of the imperial court, what he couldn't do before can be done openly.

There is even Lao Zhu behind him to support him, and some wood that he can't get, the rest of the Ming Dynasty can find a way to get it for him, which is the advantage of being backed by an empire.

With this support, Zheng Zhilong is confident that he can double the strength of his navy within three years, or even more.

Although he is completely under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, as long as his strength is enough, what can he do if he is not under the control of the imperial court.

What's more, Lao Zhu promised Zheng Zhilong a King of the Minhai Sea, and from Lao Zhu's words, he could feel that this King of the Minhai Sea, Lao Zhu, was really ready to give him, instead of promising him an ethereal cake.

So at this moment, Zheng Zhilong's blood is surging and he is full of energy, not to mention that he has contributed money and efforts, let him take his life.

"Oh, yes."

Lao Zhu looked at Zheng Zhilong, who was patting his chest and packing tickets for himself, and also bowed slightly, showing a satisfied smile, and then he threw out something that moved Zheng Zhilong, "Although the imperial court has no money, it can still support you in other places." ”

"Let's let Wang Chengen find out the drawings of Zheng He's treasure ship, although I don't know if it's useful at this time, but how much can I make a reference, you can go back and bring a copy back."

"Zheng He's treasure ship?"

Zheng Zhilong's eyes widened, and he almost suffocated himself without taking a breath.

This thing is not only useful, it is simply so useful!

！

You must know that in the legend, the largest of Zheng He's treasure ships is one hundred and fifty meters long, which is fifty meters longer than the strongest warship of the Dutch now.

Zheng Zhilong couldn't imagine how such a large ship could have been built at that time.

Even for this thing, he sent people to Nanjing Longjiang Shipyard many times to investigate, wanting to find a little information about Zheng He's treasure ship.

As a result, because the imperial court did not build large ships for many years, the level dropped seriously, and nothing could be found at all.

Even those master-level craftsmen with a true inheritance don't know much about Zheng He's treasure ship, and the most important thing is that those master-level craftsmen don't have a low status in the Ming Dynasty, so they don't look down on him as a pirate leader at all, even if he gives money, it's not easy to make it.

So Zheng He's treasure boat can be said to be Zheng Zhilong's most desirable thing, he even thought that he would never see this thing again in his life, but now Lao Zhu actually said that he wanted to give him the drawings, he simply thought that he was living in a dream.

"Really...... True...... Is it really Zheng He's treasure ship? ”

Zheng Zhilong's face turned red, he looked at Zhu Yuanzhang who didn't have the slightest intention of laughing, and after hesitating for a moment, he knelt down again with a pop.

"Minister Zheng Zhilong, I am willing to drive for His Majesty."

"I am willing to serve the power of my life, open up territory for my Ming Dynasty, raise the prestige of my Ming Dynasty, and die a hundred times...... No regrets! ”

From this moment on, Zheng Zhilong can be regarded as completely returning to Daming.

Although he is the overlord of the sea and controls the entire maritime trade, for Da Ming, he said that he is just a pirate leader, at best, he is more powerful and more capable of fighting.

Although he tried his best to climb to the position of the Fujian General Army, he couldn't change his background as a pirate leader, the orthodox official of the real Ming officialdom, although he was respectful to him because of his official position and his strength, but how many people could really put him in his eyes.

Zheng Zhilong, who had always wanted to integrate into the officialdom, although he could feel the rejection and contempt of those orthodox officials for him, but for the sake of stability and wealth for future generations, he could only hold back the unhappiness in his heart and comfort himself that it would be good for another generation or two, and after another generation or two of his children and grandchildren would also be orthodox eunuchs, and he would naturally be able to blend in when the time came.

And now, feeling the emperor's importance to himself, Zheng Zhilong just wants to say a word to those people.

"you!"

Lao Tzu started from scratch and fought this huge force with his bare hands, you only know what is it to be protected by the ancestors of the family, and you deserve to look down on Lao Tzu?

Since their circle can't be integrated, then it won't melt, and now that the emperor threw an olive branch to him, and even Zheng He's treasure ship can be taken out, it is enough to prove that the emperor really attaches importance to him, rather than simply appeasing him or using him.

Since this is the case, then he might as well gamble on a big one and go directly to the past.

Isn't life in the world to pursue a king to worship the prime minister, at this time there is a chance to be a king, who would be willing to be a pirate leader.

Now take refuge in the past, if there is a chance in the future, he can really be crowned the king of the Min Sea, and his name is enough to appear in the most conspicuous position in his Zheng family tree.

As for those officialdom wastes, melt a fart circle, and let them kneel to meet themselves when the time comes.

Lao Zhu didn't know that Zheng He's treasure boat would be so stimulating to Zheng Zhilong, but Zheng Zhilong's complete return to his heart was a good thing for him.

"Okay, it's good to have a heart."

Lao Zhu bowed slightly, helped Zheng Zhilong up again, and then said: "You also know the current situation in Daming, since you have expressed your position, then we will not be polite to you." ”

"Your Majesty, but it doesn't matter, whether you need money, food, materials, or manpower, the minister will never shirk it."

Zheng Zhilong is extremely resolute, and he will not change what will happen after deciding what will happen.

Now that Daming is in turmoil, since he has been tied up with Daming, he will not refuse Lao Zhu's request.

And for the outside world to say that Chongzhen is a mediocre master, Zheng Zhilong is now completely scoffing.

This kind of courage, this kind of determination, you especially say that he is a mediocre master, who can be called a male master in the world?

With such an emperor here, he believed that the Ming Dynasty would inevitably prosper and even become stronger, and this was the main reason why he finally took refuge in Lao Zhu.

"If there are continuous disasters today, and the people are struggling to make a living, we can find a way to find a way to fight against the thieves, but the food is not easy to solve."

Lao Zhu looked a little worried, and said: "The natural disasters in these years have been too fierce, and the food grown by the people is simply not enough to feed the entire Ming Dynasty. ”

"And if there is not enough food, it means that there will definitely be people starving to death, and even we don't have a good way to do this kind of thing."

Successive years of natural disasters, the grain output is not much, plus there are large households hoarding grain, more occupy and more hidden, even if he kills these large households, it will take time to divide the grain, not to mention the situation of the Ming Dynasty, even if he kills those large households, it is difficult to say whether the food is enough to feed all the people of the Ming Dynasty.

Lao Zhu can solve the war and the emptiness of the imperial treasury, but he is not a god, and he can't solve the problem of insufficient food.

Zheng Zhilong was silent for a long time when he heard this, he had experienced the drought in southern Fujian, and he could be said to have a deep understanding of natural disasters.

At that time, the red land of southern Fujian was thousands of miles, and as far as the eye could see, even the bark of the grass roots and trees was eaten by the victims, and as for the people who starved to death, there were countless people, and it could be said that there were corpses everywhere.

In order to solve the livelihood of those disaster victims, Zheng Zhilong recruited refugees from southern Fujian to go to Dayuan (Taiwan) to open up wasteland, and sent tens of thousands of people back and forth.

But his method is okay to alleviate the famine in southern Fujian, but it is not applicable to the entire Ming Dynasty.

After all, the territory of the Ming Dynasty is vast, and there are many places that have been affected, not to mention that there is no way to immigrate, even if there is a way to immigrate, there is no place to put down so many refugees.

Therefore, after hearing the problem raised by Lao Zhu, he was also a little at a loss and didn't know how to solve it.

However, Lao Zhu was not asking him how to solve this matter, but telling him how to deal with it, so he couldn't think of a way, Zheng Zhilong didn't want to think of it, and asked directly: "What is Your Majesty going to do?" ”

"Is it okay to buy food?"

Lao Zhu looked at Zheng Zhilong and asked, "There are many foreign clans overseas, so they can't all be affected." ”

"If you buy food from them to alleviate the disaster of my Ming Dynasty, I wonder if it is feasible?"

"Buying food from overseas?"

Zheng Zhilong frowned when he heard this, he pondered for a long time before he spoke: "Your Majesty, this matter is a bit troublesome, you Rong Chen think about it." ”

He has been at sea for half his life, and Lao Zhu wants to buy food from outside, so it is understandable to ask him.

But the problem is that this matter is also a problem for him.

Those who can do shipping business are tied to their belts, and if they encounter any risk if they are not careful, they will sink both men and ships.

People take such a big risk for what, not just for money.

So most of these people transported priceless spices, tea, silk, and other priceless things.

To put it mildly, if you sell a boat of these things, you can get rich immediately, and if you don't have any big pursuits, the profit of running a boat can even make those people live directly for a lifetime.

It is precisely because of this that maritime trade is so prosperous, and so many people have come to sea one after another.

But what kind of stuff is food, it occupies a lot of land, the profit is low, and there are these things in the sea, but unless those people are sick in the brain, they will never transport these things on a large scale.

And even if the imperial court raised the purchase price higher, the profit of grain would never be comparable to that of spices and tea.

Therefore, if you want to buy food from outside, it is extremely difficult to operate.

After all, those people are here to do business and make money, not to do charity to help Daming rescue victims.

Therefore, Zheng Zhilong thought about it for a long time before he raised his head, looking at Lao Zhu with a very hesitant expression, knowing whether he should say his thoughts or not.

"What, what's the problem?"

Lao Zhu saw Zheng Zhilong's hesitation, and said: "Let's talk about it first, let's see if it works, if it doesn't work, it doesn't hurt to think of other ways." ”

"Your Majesty, the minister does have some ideas, but ......"

Zheng Zhilong paused for a moment, and finally turned his heart sideways, and said directly: "Your Majesty, if you want to buy grain in large quantities, the minister has a way. ”

"That is, to completely open the sea ban, and even sell some treasures that are not open to the outside world, such as silk, cloth, porcelain and other high-quality goods for the imperial use."

"When the time comes, use the share of these goods as a lure to force those overseas merchants to transport grain to the Ming Dynasty, and then we can establish something similar to the merit system, the more grain is transported, the greater the amount of treasures open to them."

Zheng Zhilong knows very well that those overseas businessmen, even if they are behind the country, their essence is businessmen.

If you want to drive the merchants, the only way to make them profitable, since you want them to transport grain to Daming, and they don't make money when they come, then find a way to let them earn more when they ship back.

Only in this way will those businessmen have infinite motivation and will continue to transport grain to Daming.

After saying this, Zheng Zhilong continued to speak: "But there is a premise for doing this, that is, the trade power must be firmly in the hands of the imperial court. ”

"Don't hide it from Your Majesty, although there is a sea ban in the Ming Dynasty now, there are many smugglers, and if you want to control the right to trade, you must defeat these smugglers."

"Otherwise, for their own interests, they bypass the imperial court to trade with foreign races, then no matter what the imperial court does, it is meaningless."

After saying this, Zheng Zhilong didn't say anything, and directly lowered his head, waiting for Lao Zhu's decision.