Not long after Zheng Haizhu returned to Songjiang from Zhenjiang, Zheng Zhilong also returned from Yuegang when it was close to Qixi Festival.

Contrary to Zheng Haizhu's expectations, although Yan Siqi, under the early operation of Liu Gonggong, had already obtained the ship guide from Taiwan to Yuegang through Penghu, and also took away a large number of goods such as tobacco bags, embroidered fans, and two-toed socks openly, but in the end, the net profit of this batch of goods was only five or six hundred taels, far lower than Zheng Haizhu's estimate of two or three thousand taels.

Zheng Zhilong was obviously also very frustrated by this number: "Sister Azhu, it's not that Brother Yan undercounted you, it's that the taxes collected by the banknotes along the way are too ruthless." Brother Yan used to be smuggled at sea, and he was not clear about the exploitation of inland banknotes, so he promised Dongying's price to be low. However, he has already counted the good five-five points of profit as three or seven points of profit, and you have seven and three of him, but even so, you only have a few hundred taels. ”

When he said this, Zheng Haizhu understood.

Last year, Layue followed Liu Gonggong and Ma Xianglin to Yuegang, which was to sell the goods of the imperial court, and everyone took the big ship of the Weaving Bureau, and the sea route was smooth and majestic.

This trip is to sell your own goods, and now you are not a widow, how can there be a sea route for you to go without paying taxes.

You can only go south from Songjiang to inland shipping and land to Zhangzhou, along the way I don't know how many tax cards and money passes, layer by layer of skin and flesh are peeled down, naturally only bones are left.

Zheng Haizhu then comforted Zheng Zhilong: "Since it has been returned to the imperial court, you will always have to pay taxes when you pass the banknote customs." If Songjiang is opened and closed like Yuegang, how much more money can I make on the premise of spending money on the same money to buy a sea dealership. ”

Zheng Zhilong took out the second silver ticket again: "Sister Azhu, the eight hundred taels that Mao Chengbei gave you last time, you moved it to Brother Yan's Daishan Salt Farm to save the emergency, and this time, Big Brother will also return the eight hundred taels to you." But ......"

Zheng Haizhu took the silver ticket, curious about Zheng Zhilong's desire to speak: "But what? ”

"Well, Brother Yan said that he can't afford the principal of the new goods. Many of the brothers in the port of Hirado learned that he was in Taiwan to accept the imperial court's recruitment, and they left the Wa Kingdom one after another and went to the country, and there were twenty ships, counting six or seven hundred people. The Seraya people on the Wen side were at peace with them, but the cost of buying seeds, farm tools, spinning machines, and ploughing cattle from Zhangzhou suddenly became great......"

When Zheng Zhilong said this, Zheng Haizhu interrupted him with a smile: "It's a good thing that the soldiers are strong and the horses are strong, how can I blame Brother Yan for not continuing to stock up with me." ”

Zheng Zhilong scratched his head: "But the cash we have on hand is only more than this thousand taels." ”

Zheng Haizhu teased him: "You have followed your uncle since you were a child, and you are used to watching Li Dan and them do big business, and you think that a thousand taels of silver is a small amount." ”

After teasing, he asked Zheng Zhilong seriously: "Yiguan, you are so young, as long as you take any road seriously, it is a good road." Whether you want to stay in Jiangnan, or if you want to go to Taiwan to find Brother Yan, I support you. ”

"Sister Azhu," Zheng Zhilong said categorically, "Of course I want to stay here, the shop in Mao Chengbei in Hangzhou, the insurance company on your side, I want to work with you." Brother Yan has us laid a solid foundation in the mainland, and he is not alone overseas. ”

Zheng Haizhu said with a smile: "Okay, then let's fight for some anger, don't always think about palms up, and ask Brother Yan for money." This more than 1,000 taels of silver, let's not rush to redeem it for the goods, and then wait for the news of Songjiang switch. You came back at the right time, and I went with me to see Governor Zhuang and Master Huang in the past few days. ”

……

In the palace, the prefect Zhuang surveyed Zheng Zhilong's neatly bound banknotes and tariff silver, flipped over a few sheets, sighed, and handed them to Huang Zunsu: "Spicy hands, Miss Zheng and Zheng Gongzi have passed the banknote customs honestly, and they have earned a profit of seven or eight thousand taels of goods, and paid taxes for fifty or sixty percent." ”

Huang Zunsu sneered: "It's just a matter of entering the household department......"

Half of the words are left and half are left behind, and the listeners understand.

Zheng Haizhu said: "Zhuangfutai, Master Huang, Yuegang can pay 100,000 taels to the inner government just by selling ships every year, if Shanghai County switches, the ships that come will not be less than Haicheng County." And that's just going to the inner house. At that time, merchants will gather, and the silver collected by Songjiang Banknote will also increase a lot. ”

Zhuang Yumin rolled his eyes and calculated: "The gold and silver paid by this government to the inner government last year was 80,000 taels, the silver paid to the household department Taicang was 50,000 taels, and the apportionment payable to the Ministry of Rites was 1,500 taels. ”

Zheng Haizhu saw the opportunity and said: "If we can sell goods out of Shanghai County, the tax I paid in foreign banknotes this time can be offset by two or three apportionments by the Ministry of Rites, and this is just my own vendor." ”

Zhuang Yumin likes to hear this the most.

He still has expectations for his career, and his dream of entering the cabinet is not undone. I believe that Huang Zunsu, who is sitting next to him, is also the same as himself.

Give Banzai and the household department to get more money respectively, which is good for everyone's promotion.

"Lao Huang, you have a good pen, or make a plan for the old man, just rely on Gonggong Liu and his old man to blow the wind alone, I'm afraid it will be a little slower. The Huangpu River has been dug up, and the official does not believe it, and he can only open the sea in Zhangzhou, Fujian. ”

Huang Zunsu also wants to open the sea as soon as possible.

Over the past year or so, he has seen Zheng Haizhu, a little folk girl, who has done a lot of things, and as a proud elite of the Donglin School, he can't help but be amazed and sometimes amazed.

Sometimes he went to Yingtianfu for official business, and during officialdom entertainment, he even began to dislike those colleagues who were only keen to exchange court anecdotes, palace secrets, and even intrigue experience.

Including some people who are also members of the Donglin School.

In Huang Zunsu's cold bystanders, they only talk about factions and don't look at right and wrong.

The spittle stars sprayed with excitement and skyrockets, but they only added fuel to the fire of the current situation, and did not send charcoal to the common people.

Huang Zunsu didn't want to study hard for many years, and eventually become such a useless minister who was useless to the society.

At least, under such an opportunity, he can work hard to make the treasury more silver, make it easier for merchants to do business, and make Songjiang more prosperous.

Walking out of the duty room of Governor Zhuang's mansion, Huang Zunsu said to Zheng Haizhu warmly: "Miss Zheng, Zongxi didn't dare to tell me, but he told his mother several times that he wanted to go to your school. ”

Zheng Haizhu said with a smile: "Mr. Yao took him to see Lu Gongzi's class a few times, and he was fascinated. Recently, I often go to see Lu Gongzi to make iron and gun barrels. Master Huang rest assured, I have told Zongxi that it is better to read the Four Books and Five Classics well. In the future, Zhongjin Sergeant will become an official, which will not hinder the study of firearms, military art, geometry and arithmetic, and Xu Hanlin is a role model. ”

Huang Zunsu's eyebrows moved: "Neiko went to see the daughter-in-law of the Xu family before, and learned that Xu Hanlin was going back to his hometown in early autumn, did she inform you?" ”

Zheng Haizhu nodded knowingly: "Mr. Yao said it early in the morning, so in the past two days, we have asked General Qi to train several military masters of the family, and test shoot the combination gun made by Lu Gongzi and Zhenjiang blacksmith, and prepare to invite Xu Hanlin to come and see it at that time." ”

He pointed to Zheng Zhilong beside him and said, "Yiguan worked hard this time, and he also went to Haojing from Yuegang to get a blueprint of a spindle cannon. Master Ge is a native of Danyang, Zhenjiang, although he is a blacksmith, he has an ancestral copper and iron casting formula, which is just right to ponder and ponder the barrel. ”

Huang Zunsu looked at Zheng Zhilong and said approvingly: "Amazing, this can also be obtained." ”

"Master Xie Huang praised that the little one grew up in Haojing and knew that the Franky people had a gun factory there. This time it was also luck, it happened that one of the Ming craftsmen was oppressed by the Franky people, and on the fire, the small one spent some money, and he drew a rough picture of the small one. ”

Huang Zunsu patted Zheng Zhilong on the shoulder and said to Zheng Haizhu: "When Xu Hanlin arrives in Songjiang and I go to visit, I will talk about the Shanghai switch in detail, and I implore him to write a book after returning to Beijing to see if he can add a handful of firewood." In the conversation, I will first mention the matter of firearms for you, from the beginning, if Songjiang Mansion is switched on and off like Zhangzhou Yuegang, the responsibility of coastal defense will be heavier, and Jinshanwei and Wusong Port must be without guns. Then, you go and ask Xu Hanlin to talk in detail. ”

Zheng Haizhu likes Huang Zunsu's gradually obvious style of painting for officials, which is not slippery and greasy, but he is skilled in how to find people in the system and how to promote the completion of business.

She took advantage of this situation and mentioned a matter that she had been thinking about for a long time: "Master Huang, Mr. who teaches geometry in our school, said that Xu Hanlin has a disciple under him, surnamed Sun, whose name is Shangyuan and Xiahua, and he is also obsessed with Western learning, and he especially likes to participate in the study of fire attack methods in the war of the Westerners. If you can invite Songjiang, wouldn't it be good? Xiangsheng and Zhilong are both juniors, just getting started, Xiangsheng is going to the township test next year, after all, the imperial examination is his right path. ”

The last sentence made Huang Zunsu very comfortable to listen to.

This is the second time that Zheng Haizhu has shown his fancy for the imperial examination in front of him today, which is like praising Lu Ban for being a carpenter is the first decent thing in the world.

The corners of Huang Zunsu's mouth pouted: "Sun Yuanhua, this duke is very famous." He is a native of Shanghai County, talented Gao Sihui, five years ago he was promoted, but he had a close relationship with the missionaries, delayed the craft, and the Jinshi failed twice, and now he is indeed under Xu Hanlin. ”

Zheng Haizhu said in his heart, that's right, I didn't remember the timeline, I want this person too.

Sun Yuanhua, how many people in the late Ming Dynasty were second-class officials who raised people instead of Jinshi?

What's more, when he came as governor later, he was still good to the Liao generals, and it was not good to blame him too much for his misjudgment in the first infighting scandal of the late Ming Dynasty such as Guanning Tieqi beating the Dongjiang War Spirit.

Xu Guangqi's disciples, sympathizers in Dongjiang Town, and hawks who fight Jiannu, how can such a person not come to my bowl?

Zheng Haizhu then looked at Huang Zunsu earnestly: "Then please ask Master Huang, and also help ask Xu Hanlin, if Master Sun can come to give advice." ”

……

There's a hint of coolness in the wind.

Even close to the blacksmith, Lu Xiangsheng felt that his forehead and cheeks were under the light breeze of early autumn, and there was no sense of irritability.

Lu Xiangsheng waited at the door, and first saw two children appear and move in from the main house of Fuyuan.

Due to the promotion of his mother Yao, Huang Zongxi has become the fan brother of Lu Xiangsheng, who is both civil and military.

This seven-year-old boy is now eager to become Lu Gongzi's personal follower, and try all kinds of interesting experiments with him.

"Brother Lu, this is Xu Huizhen, the "Geometric Original" used by the school was written by her grandfather."

In Songjiang dialect, the grandfather is called "Grandpa", and "pen acceptance" is the meaning of translation.

Xu Guangqi's granddaughter, Xu Huizhen, bowed generously to Lu Xiangsheng, and her eyes were already glued to the machine in his hand.

"Master Lu, are you still lit by the arquebus?"

She has just turned nine years old this year, and her voice still has a distinctly childish tone.

Lu Xiangsheng was stunned by this doll voice, and asked curiously: "Miss Huizhen, is there still a ignition method next to it?" ”

"Hye-jin is talking about flintlocks."

Zheng Haizhu's voice rang out.

Behind her, Huang Zunsu and Zheng Zhilong accompanied an elderly man into the courtyard.

The old man was close to the age of six, his beard was black and white, and he was thin, not even as tall as Zheng Haizhu, but in his sunken eyes, his eyes were as bright as a torch, and his nose was slightly hooked, which made him look quite shrewd.

Fortunately, he had a kind smile on his face, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and lips were stretched upward, and he had the air of a fairy wind and bones, which covered the eagle harrier's old spicy sharpness.

Lu Xiangsheng touched it, this is Xu Guangqi and Xu Hanlin, and he hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

Xu Guangqi, who returned to Jiangnan Province from Beijing, met Zheng Haizhu and her partners for the first time today.

However, in the spring, through the mediation of his daughter-in-law Gu Lanjie, Xu Guangqi had sent an assistant who had translated "Geometric Originals" with him to Zheng Haizhu's school to be a gentleman.

After the assistant took up teaching, in a letter to Xu Guangqi, he praised Songjiang as a new-style school.

After the little granddaughter Xu Huizhen saw her grandfather, she was like a little yellow warbler chirping pleasantly, starting from Miss Zheng teaching her to paint the Virgin Mary as Guanyin Niangniang and the Exodus as the Queen Mother of the West ascending to the sea, and talked about Miss Zheng's various actions.

Xu Guangqi, a Wenchen who advocated "opening his eyes to the world" but did not tolerate his old colleagues, was quite surprised to learn that such open-minded young people had begun to appear among the people in Jiangnan.

Xu Guangqi is neither a party nor a group in the DPRK and China, and he is disgusted with party strife. The leader of the Zhejiang Party and the current first assistant Fang Congzhe, last year used the Jingcha method to crowd out and suppress a large number of Donglin Party Wenchen, which made Xu Guangqi very disgusted.

When Huang Zun came to visit him this time, he did not dwell on the grievances of the Donglin faction, but only frankly and pragmatically explained the urgency of the opening and closing of Shanghai Port like Yuegang.

Xu Guangqi was impressed by Huang Zunsu, a child of Donglin and a recruit in the eunuch field.

Therefore, Huang Zunsu gave a little introduction, and Xu Guangqi readily asked him to accompany him to see the research and development of firearms in the Zheng Academy.

At this moment, Xu Guangqi saw that Lu Xiangsheng, a junior, was also the same as Zheng Haizhu, with excellent temperament and even more love for talents.

He took the machine gun in Lu Xiangsheng's hand with great interest, pointed to the fire gate and said: "The old man's friend Matteo Ricci once mentioned that some people in the West have changed the fire rope to shoot the stone. He asked the parishioners in his hometown to search for drawings for him, but unfortunately there was no reply, and Matteo Ricci died. The old man had just mentioned this matter to Miss Zheng, and she said that it sounded like a flint man striking a stone to make fire, but she first gave her a name, called Suifa Gong. ”