diskusbooks Chapter 648 Fuck him
Chapter 648 Fuck him
This was not the first time that Emperor Chongzhen said this in the court.
Zhang Shikang was in charge of maritime affairs, and the court officials present were accustomed to the emperor's reliance on the Duke of Zhenguo.
After all, he was really capable. Even though there were still many civil and military officials in the court who did not get along with Zhang Shikang, they only dared to criticize him in private.
But even so, the civil officials headed by Li Banghua and Hai Zhongqi remained silent.
It's good enough that they don't sabotage others. It's impossible for them to stand up for Zhang Shikang. Otherwise, it would be a denial of their original words and would be inconsistent in what they said.
But the group of old nobles didn't have so many concerns.
They were natural allies of the emperor and shared the same destiny with the country. Zhang Shikang not only helped their children achieve great things, but also took them to sea to make a lot of money.
Naturally, I would not miss such an opportunity.
Taining Marquis Chen Yanzuo happened to be present. Seeing that the civil officials hadn't said anything for a long time, he came out and said:
"Your Majesty, our nephew has always been very honest in his work.
When the imperial court gave Zheng Zhilong the title, Zheng Zhilong got whatever he wanted, but once the imperial court withdrew its decision, he immediately became a fence-sitter.
Our eldest nephew once said that if loyalty is not absolute, then it is absolutely disloyal.
"I believe that if Wuji were still alive, he would never compromise with Zheng Zhilong. The worst that could happen would be a fight to the death. Can Zheng Zhilong afford to waste time with the Ming Dynasty?"
Ever since Taining Hou and his companions started to organize the Liansheng Chamber of Commerce, they rarely attended court. Even if they did, they only did so to get the job done and acted as human pillars in the court. They were not very interested in government affairs.
Since the military heroes did not compete with them for power, the civil officials were naturally happy to see it happen.
But when it comes to their eldest nephew, these old guys are always unambiguous.
Seeing this, the Marquis of Xining took over and echoed:
"Brother Chen is right. Now our nephew has won another victory for the court. He defeated Huang Taiji and made him lose all his elite troops.
If Zheng Zhilong was not stupid, how could he cooperate with the defeated general?
I think this guy is just taking advantage of the situation.
"But Your Majesty, our nephew is very stubborn. Damn Zheng Zhilong, he is shameless even though he was given a chance. Just beat him up!"
"Yes, fuck him!" The other nobles also spoke one after another, their thoughts were extremely unified.
Emperor Chongzhen did not get angry when he heard those nobles calling him "nephew" left and right.
The nobles have always been like this.
However, Emperor Chongzhen changed his mind and thought that if that kid was really here, he might really say that, as it would be very consistent with his temperament.
At this time, Fang Zhenghua sent someone to report that Ma Tong, deputy admiral of the Ming Navy, had rushed from Tianjin and requested an audience.
Upon seeing this, Emperor Chongzhen immediately ordered Ma Tong to come into the palace.
Emperor Chongzhen was not familiar with who this deputy admiral was, he only knew that Zhang Shikang had poached him from the Zheng family.
In the past, Emperor Chongzhen would have distrusted such people who were recruited from hostile forces.
But this person was promoted by Zhang Shikang himself. Although this guy is lazy, the people he promoted have never disappointed the court.
As the saying goes, love the house and love the dog, Emperor Chongzhen also began to put on a filter.
Not long after, Ma Tong, looking dusty from the journey, entered the hall in armor and immediately bowed down in greeting.
Ma Tong was just a small leader of the Zheng family navy before. Now he was promoted by the Duke of Zhenguo and jumped from an unknown little man to the second-in-command of the Ming Dynasty navy. Naturally, he was grateful to Zhang Shikang for his recognition.
He looked a little nervous, as this was his first formal audience since becoming the Vice Admiral of the Navy.
Emperor Chongzhen called out to Ping behind him and said:
"Admiral Ma, what is the current situation at sea?"
At this juncture, without his permission, Ma Tong, as the current acting commander of the navy, would not be able to come to the capital.
Fortunately, Tianjin is very close to the capital and can be reached in one day by fast horse.
Ma Tongqiang took a deep breath and said calmly:
"Reporting to Your Majesty, although the Zheng family is domineering, they have never dared to fire a single shot. They appear fierce but are weak inside.
However, even if the Zheng family dares to take action, we are not afraid.
When the admiral left, he told me that he had informed the Netherlands and the Little France.
If the Zheng family dared to declare war on the imperial court, they would certainly not sit idly by.
Now, around Bohai and the East China Sea, there are not only the Zheng family's navy, but also ships from the French and the Dutch."
Upon hearing this, the emperor and his ministers in the court all frowned, wondering if this was like inviting a wolf into the house.
After all, the Duke of Zhenguo had said before that the maritime power of the Netherlands and the Little France were among the best in Europe.
No one knew what conditions the Duke of Zhenguo reached with these foreign vassals, but subconsciously they felt that this was courting disaster.
"What did Wuji say?"
Emperor Chongzhen did not make any accusations, but wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Ma Tong hesitated for a moment before realizing that Wuji was the Admiral's courtesy name. He immediately replied:
"Your Majesty, I only have a rough idea of what the Admiral discussed.
The Netherlands and the French both had grudges against the Zheng family and were eager to eliminate each other as soon as possible.
The admiral promised them benefits. If the Zheng family rebelled, they could share the Zheng family's overseas assets, including colonies, if they could participate in assisting the court.
Oh, it seems that they also said that once the Zheng family is eliminated, the Zheng family’s trade share will be determined based on the amount of effort they contribute.
The proportion of Ming Dynasty exports of hard currency such as porcelain, tea, and silk will also be determined based on their contributions.”
Ma Tong told Emperor Chongzhen everything he knew truthfully.
The ministers present were also thinking about it, as if they were considering what losses this would cause to the court.
However, these court officials had been screened several times by the Jinyiwei of the Eastern Depot. Those who had secretly participated in smuggling had already gone to see their grandmother.
Officials working in the mainland had no idea about the intricacies of maritime trade and smuggling. They just thought that the imperial court was going to sell porcelain, tea and other things anyway, so it didn't matter who they were sold to.
How can this be used as a bargaining chip? It seems that the court has not suffered any losses. After all, the Zheng family’s overseas industries did not originally belong to the court.
But this time, Emperor Chongzhen was obviously much more cautious than the court officials. He frowned slightly and asked:
"The Zheng family's assets are also the property of the imperial court. If the Zheng family really dared to rebel, how could those assets be given to foreign vassals?"
It is no wonder that Emperor Chongzhen was concerned about this. The court spent so much money on the navy, and Zhang Shikang kept brainwashing him, saying that the sea was full of gold and silver.
Although he didn't quite believe it, but from what he had learned about the Zheng family's financial situation over the past few days, he knew that the Zheng family must be very wealthy. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they were rich enough to rival a country.
"Your Majesty, the Admiral said that biting off more than you can chew.
The Ming Dynasty navy currently does not have the strength to control Southeast Asia. Even if it really comes to that, the Zheng family's overseas assets will only be divided up by foreign vassals.
It would be better to give the Netherlands and the little France a favor. The admiral said that in terms of maritime affairs, our Ming navy still has a lot to learn from them in the future.
However, the admiral also said that we should not only look at the present, but also that these foreigners came so far just to seek benefits.
The Netherlands and the French Empire are old enemies. If there is a conflict of interest in the future, my Ming Dynasty, which is close to the water, has plenty of ways to make them fight each other.
The most urgent task is to resolve the hidden danger posed by Zheng Zhilong."
After Ma Tong's explanation, Emperor Chongzhen and most of the civil and military officials in the court nodded.
After all, although Zhang Shikang is disliked by everyone, he never suffers any loss.
Emperor Chongzhen was still somewhat worried and asked again:
"Since the Netherlands and the Little France have a grudge against each other.
In this situation, will they really help?
If in the end it is still only the Ming navy that resists the Zheng family, how confident are you?"
Ma Tong grinned when he heard this:
"Your Majesty, don't worry. We don't need to urge Zheng Zhilong. The Netherlands and the French are taking the initiative and are eager for us to declare war on the Zheng family immediately.
Who knows, they might have already started fighting right now."
……