It was getting late, and the setting sun illuminated the street where the Fujian Governor's Mansion was located in a fiery red. As the day was about to pass, a rapid sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the end of the street.
You can see from a distance that this group of knights are wearing bright helmets and armor, reflecting the light of the setting sun, making them look a bit dazzling.
When they approached the gate of the governor's office, the Ming army began to slow down. The leader of the soldiers standing guard at the gate of the governor's office recognized the person and hurriedly greeted him: "General, are you here to find Mr. Zhongcheng?"
The leader was Zheng Zhilong, a frequent visitor to the Governor's Mansion, a confidant of Governor Xiong Wencan, and a coastal defense guerrilla Zheng Zhilong. He jumped off his horse, nodded slightly and asked, "Where is Zhongcheng?"
"You should be in the houya study at this time. The general can go there himself." The leader of the soldiers guarding the gate said this. He obviously knew about his master's relationship with the coastal defense guerrillas.
Zheng Zhilong nodded and hurried through the door. His entourage would be entertained by the soldiers of the Governor's Mansion, so he didn't need to worry about it.
As expected, Xiong Wencan was in the study, concentrating on practicing calligraphy. When he heard someone push the door open without knocking, he just asked, without raising his head, "Is it Fei Huang?"
Zheng Zhilong responded, then walked to Xiong Wencan's desk, and without even looking at his handwriting, he praised: "Zhongcheng's handwriting is very good."
Xiong Wencan just finished writing, threw the pen on the shelf, then raised his head and smiled and said to Zheng Zhilong: "Won't Fei Huang come here in a hurry just to praise my handwriting?"
Zheng Zhilong frowned slightly and replied in a slightly serious tone: "There are other important matters. Has Zhong Cheng heard that the imperial court has begun building sea-going ships in Nanjing, and many of them are warships?"
Hearing Zheng Zhilong talk about this, Xiong Wencan also stopped smiling. He first asked Zheng Zhilong to sit down at the coffee table and shook the bell on the table.
Immediately at the door, a servant came in, bowed to Xiong Wencan and said, "What are your orders, sir?"
"A pot of Dahongpao, move quickly." After Xiong Wencan ordered, he approached Zheng Zhilong and sat down across the coffee table.
"Fei Huang, I have just received the news and am planning to send you a message tomorrow to talk about this matter."
Regarding this matter, Zheng Zhilong was much more sensitive than Xiong Wencan, so he was more urgent. As soon as he got the news, he hurried over.
"Zhongcheng, you said that the imperial court has not built ships on such a large scale for many years, so why did it suddenly start again?" Zheng Zhilong couldn't figure it out, and his brows were almost raised.
Xiong Wencan shook his head and revealed a bigger piece of information to Zheng Zhilong: "In fact, not only Nanjing has begun to build warships, but also several abandoned shipyards in the north have also begun construction again, and many shipwrights have even been transferred from the south.
Past. Also..."
When he said this, he leaned slightly towards Zheng Zhilong and stretched his head a little.
Zheng Zhilong was shocked again. Seeing Xiong Wencan like this, he also leaned over, ready to hear what news he had to say.
"The imperial court attaches great importance to matters at the shipyard and has ordered all local governments to cooperate, otherwise it will be deemed as dereliction of duty." Xiong Wencan finally told what he knew.
Zheng Zhilong was stunned for a moment, and after a while he asked confusedly: "This..., what exactly does the court want to do?"
At present, only officials at or above the level of minister of various ministries in the capital know about the vassal clan's feudal overseas affairs, so Xiong Wencan does not know the truth.
He also shook his head in confusion and said: "I don't know, logically speaking, the north does not need so many warships. Now the enemies of the Ming Dynasty, the Liaodong captives do not have a navy!"
Zheng Zhilong suddenly thought of something and asked in surprise: "Does the imperial court want to reopen the sea? Why did those people in the imperial court from Southeast Maritime Business agree?"
Xiong Wencan glanced at Zheng Zhilong and said with a little dissatisfaction: "People in the imperial court should be careful what they say. Haven't you seen the fate of Zhou Yanru, the assistant cabinet minister?"
Zheng Zhilong was startled and did not understand what Xiong Wencan meant.
"Dongchang secretly found out that Zhou Yanru was promoted secretly by the big Jianghuai salt merchant. The result will be dismissal from office. Although the crime has not been determined, it will not end well. There are some things that you just know and don't say out loud.
Lest the walls have ears." Xiong Wencan had no choice but to explain to Zheng Zhilong.
The reason why he was a little dissatisfied was because he felt that he was an agent of Zheng Zhilong and other pirates. If something happened one day, he would not end well, so he was sensitive to the way Zheng Zhilong spoke before.
Zheng Zhilong also came from the world of martial arts and was an elite individual. Although he didn't know much about officialdom, he could understand it quickly. He immediately apologized to Xiong Wencan with clasped fists and said: "I made a mistake, and I hope Zhongcheng will forgive me.
"
In fact, Xiong Wencan and Zheng Zhilong have a community of interests, so he will not blame Zheng Zhilong for this.
I saw Xiong Wencan shake his head, and then continued to explain: "Wen Tiren is in charge of the court now, and this person has nothing to do with those maritime merchants. He got the help of Marquis Zhongxing, and now he is in full swing, and no one in the court dares to look for him
Trouble. Don’t forget, the censor’s power to make reports after hearing the news is no longer there. As long as Wen Tiren does what is right, it will be difficult for others to shake him."
When Xiong Wencan mentioned Zhongxing Hou, he remembered it and asked Zheng Zhilong: "How is Yan Yingyuan doing lately?"
When Zheng Zhilong heard this, his head hurt again. He said with a grimace: "Zhongcheng, this Yan Yingyuan is really a freak! I have never seen such a person in the world for so many years."
When Xiong Wencan heard that Zheng Zhilong made such a comment, he was very surprised and asked quickly: "What's wrong? Is there any obstruction?"
Zheng Zhilong nodded, then shook his head, and said with a wry smile: "I can't even tell the difference."
At this time, there was a knock on the door, and it was the servant who had brought Dahongpao tea. The two stopped talking for a while, waiting for the servant to arrange everything before they left.
Zheng Zhilong didn't wait for Xiong Wencan to ask again, and explained: "The general gave him gold and silver, and he accepted them with a smile. But in a blink of an eye, he found various names to distribute them to the Shuiying soldiers. Regardless of whether he was a close associate of the general or not, as long as he did
Whatever he asked for, he would be rewarded. Moreover, he would be fed and housed with the Shuiying soldiers, either in the camp or on the warship."
Xiong Wencan said in surprise: "This... is he buying people's hearts and poaching you?"
Zheng Zhilong was slightly confused and said: "The general thought so at first, he was afraid that he would come against the general. But he also respected the general very much, and often asked him for advice on naval battles. Regarding what the general did
He must have heard about those things, but he ignored them. According to the general's private understanding, Yan Yingyuan never said anything bad about the general, nor did he say anything to win over people. It seemed...as if he came to Fujian
Purely learn the method of leading troops in water camp to fight."
Xiong Wencan was taken aback, and referring to the previous topic, he couldn't help but said: "Could it be that the North is doing something and needs to rebuild the navy, so let him come here to learn first?"
After he finished speaking, he thought about it and thought it was impossible, so he added: "Whether it is the court's shipbuilding or Yan Yingyuan's measures, we will wait and see what happens. They will always reveal their purpose, and we will discuss it then."
They didn't know that Yan Yingyuan had a purpose, and it wasn't as simple as learning naval warfare.