Chapter 303: The Imperial Merchants of the Ming Dynasty
On the other hand, Gu Yanwu spoke up.
"You can't say Neo-Confucianism is wrong!"
"Zhu Xi's knowledge is excellent, but it is a pity that it has been over-interpreted by later generations..."
Wang Fuzhi said the same while stroking his beard.
"Knowledge cannot be miscalculated, but it is not suitable for the present moment!"
"It is not advisable to rest on one's laurels, and knowledge must keep pace with the times."
"The current situation is a critical period for our Han family and the Hu barbarians to fight for the world. It is not suitable for the current culture, so it must be changed!"
"..."
Several people were talking about something.
Huang Zongxi asked Zhao Erhu for a dagger, and took off his turban in front of everyone, revealing his ugly money rat tail.
He put the braid on the dagger, and with a little force, the braid was cut.
Huang Zongxi shook his head and said.
"Although the old saying goes that the body's hair and skin are inherited from the parents and should not be easily damaged, but if you keep this money rat tail, you will really have no face to see your ancestors after death!"
"It's nothing more than wearing your hair with your left skirt!"
"Now that I have cut off my braids, I feel a lot more relieved!"
“I’ll just grow my hair again later!”
When Wang Fuzhi and Gu Yanwu saw this, they also cut off their braids and shaved off a small amount of hair on the back of their heads.
The three of them now look more like monks than scholars.
Zhao Erhu said from the side.
"Gentlemen, don't feel uncomfortable because of your hairstyle. Most of the entire Liberation Army is bald!"
Gu Yanwu put on his headscarf again and asked.
"Why is that?"
Zhao Erhu touched his bald head and then said.
"His Royal Highness Jian Guo once cut his hair and swore in public that he would never return to the Central Plains and never grow his hair!"
"Most of the soldiers and generals in the army have imitated the same, and have taken an oath to separate themselves!"
The three of them looked at each other and saw the novelty in each other's eyes.
After experiencing the chaos of the late Ming Dynasty, and seeing the emperors in Nanming run faster than the others when they encountered danger.
Looking at Zhu Hongyu who had cut off his ambition, they really felt a different atmosphere!
…
After the Chinese New Year, the atmosphere in Luzon suddenly became tense.
There were military drills every day, and a large amount of supplies and ordnance were transported to the port and then loaded onto transport ships.
The recruit camps were overloaded, and the trained recruits were added to various units to make up for the shortages in the units.
Zhu Hongyu's knighthood for military generals further confirms this point.
The war is coming!
The busier ones were actually the navy of the Liberation Army.
They are busy training and preparing for the expedition.
The Army is only expanding its forces, but the Navy has already received orders to prepare for the expedition.
Zheng Chenggong’s reply was also sent to Zhu Hongyu!
Before the reply letter was delivered to Zhu Hongyu, Zheng Jun's naval fleet had already begun to pull anchor from Taiyuan Port and sail south across the Bashi Strait.
Zhu Hongyu was sitting behind his desk. Opposite him, there was a middle-aged businessman wearing brocade clothes and an upright appearance.
A middle-aged businessman named Li Weiliang owned a wide range of properties in Batavia. After the Ming Dynasty regained Luzon, he moved his family to Luzon.
But his properties in Batavia are still preserved!
Now that he heard the news that the Liberation Army was going to conquer Batavia, Li Weiliang stepped forward and recommended himself.
He was going to Batavia to plan and instigate a Chinese uprising in Batavia to resist the tyranny of the Dutch and facilitate the Liberation Army's attack on Batavia.
Zhu Hongyu tapped his fingers lightly on the table and spoke in a lukewarm voice.
"Tell me, what do you want?"
Zhu Hongyu didn't believe that there was love without reason in this world. This man stood up and volunteered to be the leader of the Liberation Army. He must have something to ask for.
Zhu Hongyu must figure out what he wants before he can decide whether to use him or not!
Li Weiliang took a deep breath and then spoke.
"Students want to take on the task of reselling and realizing the spoils of this army's expedition, and ensure the army's logistical supply of food and grass!"
"Contribute to the army's recovery of Batavia and drive away the Dutch colonists!"
Zhu Hongyu narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but praise in his heart, Li Weiliang is a smart man, he wants to be an imperial merchant of the Ming Dynasty!
How did the Imperial Merchants of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and the Eight Great Traitors of Shanxi Province make their fortunes?
In the final analysis, it was to help the Manchus resell the loot obtained from previous plunders.
And convert all the money obtained from resale into corresponding materials, and then supply them to the Manchus?
There is almost no difference between what Li Weiliang wants to do.
The Eight Traitors resold their spoils of war to the Qing Dynasty, and Li Weiliang prepared to resell their spoils of war to the Ming Dynasty.
The Eight Traitors provided grain, grass, weapons and other supplies to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, so Li Weiliang was prepared to take care of the transportation of supplies for the Ming army.
The Eight Traitors sold all kinds of military intelligence about the Ming Dynasty to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and helped the Manchu Qing Dynasty instigate rebel spies and capture cities and territories.
Li Weiliang is also planning to go to Batavia to serve as a guide for the Ming Dynasty...
It can only be said that their operation is not very similar, but exactly the same.
Perhaps, this is the essence of a businessman!
Zhu Hongyu nodded slightly and expressed his approval, thus agreeing to Li Weiliang's request.
Someone offered to help him share logistics, so what reason did Zhu Hongyu have to refuse?
As if he remembered something, Zhu Hongyu asked again.
"Can you, the Li family, realize the loot and provide food and logistics for the army?"
Li Weiliang said.
"Report to His Royal Highness the Supervisor!"
"It's not just my Li family!"
"The entire Han merchants in Batavia, as well as the merchants in Luzon and Qiongzhou, all care about the Ming Dynasty and are willing to make some contributions to the revival of the Ming Dynasty!"
Zhu Hongyu understood clearly.
It seems that this matter is another group incident, and Li Weiliang is just a representative who was pushed out to discuss this matter with him on behalf of certain people.
"It's very good that the gentry and common people under the Ming Dynasty can be so devoted to the Ming Dynasty. It's so comforting to be lonely!"
Li Weiliang resigned and left, while Zhu Hongyu continued to handle official duties.
The two arsenals of the Liberation Army are operating at full capacity, producing more ordnance supplies for the army.
Batavia and Malacca are both strong cities, and the Dutch fleet is not a display!
Naturally, you need to prepare as many consumable supplies as possible, such as cannonballs and gunpowder!
At this time, Wang Ruxian handed a document to Zhu Hongyu.
"Your Highness, this is a report from the army. It is reported that the first batch of artillery equipped by our army has almost all reached the limit of its service life!"
"The Fifth Army Governor's Office would like to seek His Highness's opinion on how to handle this matter!"
Zhu Hongyu flipped through the report casually.
The first batch of field artillery and naval guns commissioned by the Liberation Army, combined with combat and training, have almost all reached the end of their service life.
If it is used again, the chamber will not explode.
The Guangfu Army's cannons mostly used copper, and copper has very good ductility, so it is not easy to explode the barrel.
However, as the use time and the number of firings increase, the performance of the artillery will be greatly affected.
Range, accuracy, etc. will all become worse!
According to the standards of the Liberation Army, it is time for replacement!
However, the number that needed to be replaced this time reached an astonishing more than 170 doors.
This is not a small number, and Zhu Hongyu needs to make his own decision.
Zhu Hongyu pondered for a while, and then spoke.
"What is the opinion of the Fifth Army Governor's Office on this?"