"Our Zheng family really suffered heavy losses this time. We originally wanted to take advantage of the winter to repair the boat, but we didn't expect that when the English came, they were ruined." Walking on the beach, Zheng Zhilong looked at the waves.

The incoming sea sighed. It could be seen that this sneak attack by the English really hurt the Zheng family's vitality.

"There is nothing you can do about calculations in your head but not in your mind." Li Xiao turned his ear and listened to the chirping of seagulls.

The two people were walking on the beach, followed dozens of steps behind by two guards on each side. A little further away, followed by a hundred fully armed soldiers.

"They didn't go through the strait, they seemed to have come from the sea off Java. They killed fishing boats along the way. We didn't receive any news beforehand. In fact, I have been worried about it. The English East India Company sent representatives several times

Come. I hope we can open up the duck fillet trade! For the most favorable terms, give me 30% of the shares.

But thinking about what you said, I still rejected them. I never thought it would bring such a disaster to the Zheng family. The clan elders are secretly brewing, hoping to remove me from my position as the head of the Zheng family."

Zheng Zhilong sighed.

Zheng Zhilong has changed a lot in the past two years. All the hair on his temples has turned white. His back is as straight as a javelin and has become hunched. His eyes are full of wrinkles and there are a few more folds on his neck. It can be seen that he is under great pressure.

"Those foreigners are still smuggling duck slices to our Ming Dynasty?" Li Xiao asked with a frown.

"Of course! Our Ming Dynasty can export porcelain, tea, silk...! These things are what they like, but they have nothing to sell to us. We finally found out about duck slices, and we can get them to the Ming Dynasty.

In exchange for silver, why don't you go to Daming to get it?

According to your opinion, every duck fillet boat will be burned every time you see one. If you catch one, kill each one. Some days, there are more than a dozen human heads hanging outside the shipping department in Quanzhou and Guangzhou all year round. They are all duck fillets trafficked.

dealer!

I'll catch you hard and kill you hard. Naturally, they will send troops over, and this time it's probably the English's revenge on me."

"Regret it?" Seeing Zheng Zhilong's melancholy face, Li Xiao asked.

"A bit!" Zheng Zhilong nodded honestly.

Li Xiao also nodded to express his understanding. The duck fillet trade was hugely profitable. Zheng Zhilong was determined not to sell it just because of his own words. The pressure was indeed great.

"Duck slices not only destroy a country's financial and material resources. The most important thing is that they destroy people's spirit. No matter how fierce a man is, he only needs to smoke duck slices. In order to get duck slices, he will smoke them.

, they can do anything. Let these things come in, and the Ming Dynasty will really fall. And not only will the country fall, but the descendants of the Chinese people will never stand up again.

Your grievance today is borne on behalf of the entire Chinese nation. Now the country has legislated to include the death penalty for smugglers of duck fillets in the "Da Ming Law". In the future, if these duck fillet dealers are executed, there is national law to follow, and others will not

It’s hard to chew your tongue.”

"It's a good thing. We used to do this. After all, there are no laws and regulations from the court. It's all semi-public and semi-private affairs. When people sue us, we feel a little unjust." Zheng Zhilong nodded, showing little interest in anti-smoking legislation.

Li Xiao took out the Great China and gave one to Zheng Zhilong. He struck a match and the two of them lit it.

"This time, we not only have to ban smoking, but we also have to export cigarettes overseas. I don't believe those raw duck slices. My spiced cigarettes are easier to smoke."

"Now tobacco has spread in the Ming Dynasty. Our Quanzhou Shipping Department alone ships no less than a hundred ships of cigarettes every month. The destinations are all Southeast Asia, and some are resold to India. I heard that some cigarette ships,

The cigarettes have been sold to Europa somewhere. It is said that the profits are very huge!" Zheng Zhilong took a puff of cigarette, but still lacked interest.

"Are you still worried about the clan elders?" Li Xiao also took a puff of cigarette.

"Can you not be worried? They are all members of the Zheng family, and some are even elders. When they see the benefits, they rush to grab them, and when they encounter difficulties, they shirk them one by one. Including the third child in my family, no one is responsible. What a pity!

If Zhihu is still there...!" The country was in crisis and thinking of good generals, Zheng Zhilong thought of Zheng Zhihu who died in the battle off the coast of Macau.

"Brother Zhihu died heroically, and I, Li Xiao, admire him very much. This time, I would like to invite you to Beijing." Li Xiao looked at Zheng Zhilong and said the reason for his visit.

"Coming to Beijing?" Zheng Zhilong looked at Li Xiao in surprise.

"Yes! Go to Beijing! In the long run, it is impossible for the imperial court to allow you, the Zheng family, to occupy the South China Sea. You have also seen that the imperial court now has unparalleled giant ships. Only such ships can roam freely in the South China Sea."

"You want to drive my Zheng family out of the South China Sea?" Zheng Zhilong's eyes shrunk to the size of a needle's nose. The Zheng family is a maritime merchant at best, a pirate at worst. After killing Chen Hailong, Li Xiulao

He firmly controls the East China Sea, Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea. The remaining largest South China Sea is controlled by the Zheng family, and the Zheng family will distribute dividends to the Li family every year.

Unexpectedly, Li Xiao had just taken over the world. He brought two giant ships to take away the Zheng family's Nanhai.

"Why does your Zheng family control the South China Sea?" Li Xiao asked Zheng Zhilong.

Zheng Zhilong didn't speak, but looked straight at Li Xiao, the fierce light in his eyes getting hotter.

"Let me put it bluntly, your Zheng family occupied the South China Sea just for money. The government and the army pretended to be pirates and robbed, collected protection fees, participated in business and bought shares to get dividends. It's just these methods, tell me which one can be put on the table.

.Does it mean that all the descendants of your Zheng family will have to live with the name of a thief?"

"So, if you take back all these rights and change them to be taken over by the imperial court, is it fucking reasonable and legal?" Zheng Zhilong stared. If looks could kill, Li Xiao's body was already covered with bullet holes.

"That's right! The imperial court's acceptance is really reasonable and legal. There is no other way, the imperial court has absolute force."

"Aren't you afraid that you won't be able to leave Quanzhou?" Zheng Zhilong looked at Li Xiao fiercely.

"Don't be afraid! Because I have prepared a big pie. Do you want to eat it with beef filling?" Li Xiao looked at Zheng Zhilong with a smile, not afraid of Zheng Zhilong's fierce eyes at all.

"What's the meaning?"

"If the imperial court wants to establish a Ministry of Water Resources, it means building dams in suitable places. Then use the dams to generate electricity!"

"Electricity?" Zheng Zhilong didn't understand what electricity meant. He only knew that Li Xiao was deceiving him.

"This is Zheng Sen's letter to you. It details how much profit this business will bring in the future. Let's get on the boat in a while and I'll show you what lighting up is all about. If you don't believe me, you have to believe it too.

Your son." Li Xiao took out a letter and handed it to Zheng Zhilong, who was on the verge of going berserk.

Zheng Zhilong took the letter with confusion. After opening it, he saw that it was indeed his son's handwriting. He read it twice carefully and looked at Li Xiao in confusion: "Will there really be such a big profit?"

"How do you say this? You can't tell now. It is estimated that in a hundred years, people's demand for electricity may be at the same level as food. Even without electricity, people will not even be able to eat." Li Xiao looked at Zheng Zhilong and said seriously.

.

"Can it reach this point?"

"certainly!

The friendship between your Zheng family and my Li family over the years, will I attack you in vain? Building water conservancy can not only suppress flood disasters, but also generate electricity to benefit people. At the same time, this is also an industry with huge profits. Although it seems inconspicuous today

, but in a few decades or a hundred years, it will be something that no one can do without.

Now that I have given this business to your family, it is a token of my gratitude to the Zheng family and my Li family for sharing weal and woe over the years. Moreover, all the money spent by your children and grandchildren of the Zheng family is clean and can withstand any inspection. No.

Like you now, even though you are the admiral of Fujian, you still have the name of a thief on your head."

"Okay, I will go on the boat with you and take a look. If it is like what Sen'er said, I, Zheng Zhilong, swear to God that my Zheng family will never be in conflict with your Li family. Even if one day, the whole world turns against your Li family,

I, the Zheng family, will also choose to live and die with you, Li Xiao."

"Zheng Sen is in the Ministry of Industry. He is busy with this matter all day long. You can ask the third master to go to the capital to see what Zheng Sen means and then make a judgment. After your Zheng family withdraws from the South China Sea, the imperial navy will

Wipe down all the forces in the South China Sea that are unwilling to surrender.

From now on, if the elders of the Zheng family dare to embarrass you, you can cut off their money and food. Anyway, the court only recognizes you, Zheng Zhilong, and no other Zheng XX! In the future, the money to buy electricity will only be given to you, Zheng Zhilong.

Dominate.”

Zheng Zhilong's eyes suddenly lit up. Li Xiao made it very clear. The South China Sea must be handed over to the court, and the elders of the Zheng family will have no choice but to live their lives from Zheng Zhilong. If you dare to disobey me, I will not follow you.

I'm not arguing with you, I'm just cutting off your money and food to see if you can eat the wind and smoke.

"Stop talking, let's go to your boat now to see what is called a light and what is called an electric fan." Zheng Zhilong couldn't help it. He eagerly wanted to see what the electric light and electric fan were.

.

Li Xiao didn't waste any time and took Zheng Zhilong back to the dock and boarded the boat. The two of them came to the bridge of the Zhenyuan.

"Look, this is the electric light." Li Xiao pointed to the bright light bulbs on the huge slipway of Jianqiao Bridge.

Zheng Zhilong just glanced at it, and then he lowered his head because of the bright light. These things were so damn bright, each one looked like a little sun. The rows of things illuminated the entire slipway brightly. This was the first time Zheng Zhilong saw it.

When he saw this thing, he swore he didn't see any flames, not even any flames at all.

Ships have always been subject to the strictest fireworks regulations. Once a wooden ship catches fire, it will definitely be a nightmare.

"You can't see it from here yet, let's go down to the bottom warehouse." Li Xiao said, taking the lead in climbing down the stairs.

Zheng Zhilong is a seafarer, so he naturally knows what the bottom warehouse is like. Humidity, heat, and darkness are the standard conditions there. Because of the fear of catching fire, there are usually no oil lamps inside. When people enter the bottom warehouse, everything must be sensed and touched by hand.

You can smell with your nose and hear with your ears, but you can’t see with your eyes anyway.

Entering the bottom position, people will feel like a worm.

The bottom warehouse of the Zhenyuan is completely different. There is a light bulb not far away in the corridor along the way. The inside of the corridor is no different from the outside. Although there are blind spots for lighting, it is much better than the dark cabin.

Coming to the crew cabins, each cabin has an electric light. Under the light, the crew can not only see things clearly, but they can even read and write under the light! This is simply unimaginable on Zheng Zhilong's ship.

"Is this an electric light?" Zheng Zhilong wanted to touch the bright light bulb, but Li Xiao pulled him back.

"Electricity is very dangerous, and it will be very painful if you get shocked. I advise you not to try it!

The lights on the ship are driven by the ship's boiler. If you have a steam engine, you can also generate electricity by burning coal, but it is more expensive to generate electricity this way. The cheapest and most economical way to generate electricity is to build a dam." Li Xiao said and pointed again.

Click on the electric fan on the wall that keeps shaking its head.

"This thing is called an electric fan. As long as you turn on the power and press the switch, this thing will rotate by itself."

Zheng Zhilong glanced at the electric fan and suddenly realized that this place was far less humid and stuffy than the one in his basement. The ventilation here was very good, and the most amazing thing was that this thing called an electric fan could rotate on its own, and it could rotate very fast, almost as fast as his eyes.

It’s almost hard to see clearly!

"If it's too hot inside the cabin, some ice will be placed in front of the electric fan. The wind blown out in this way will be a cool breeze, which will quickly drop the temperature inside the cabin." Li Xiao's words surprised Zheng Zhilong.

Having traveled through the South China Sea, he knows how difficult the weather in the South China Sea is. Many ships can't see land for more than a month, and they stay in the dark, humid and hot bottom of the cabin. The feeling can drive a good person crazy!

It's okay to say that it's dark, but hot and humid weather can make people suffer from skin diseases. Little red spots appear all over the body, and then blisters appear. After the blisters burst, wherever the yellow water inside flows, they will fester and pus will appear.

Especially areas with wrinkles on the human body are more prone to ulcers. Sailors on long voyages call this disease crotch rot. If this disease is serious, even men are not allowed to have it.

Therefore, the people in the bilge of the ship were all naked.

Now that we have electric fans, we can not only ventilate, but also cool down after putting a basin of ice. This is amazing and makes the crew much more comfortable. There is not a naked crew member here, everyone is wearing good-looking clothes

In uniform, the person on duty actually wore a hat.

"A comfortable life is actually a kind of combat effectiveness. All the soldiers are very sick. Do you expect them to win the battle?" There are only a few electrical appliances on the ship. In the future, with the research on the application of electricity, there will be more and more applications.

As more electrical appliances appear in front of you, electricity will become the number one need of mankind. For some people, the need for electricity is even greater than food.

"Amazing! It's so amazing. I didn't expect that the imperial navy was not only big in ships, but also had these things. Zheng admired it!" Zheng Zhilong bowed his hands in salute, and his eyes had long lost the previous murderous aura.
Chapter completed!