On this day, many Jianlu in Shengjing City were very curious and started talking about it.
"What is going on? His Royal Highness Prince Li seems to be taking someone out of the city to greet someone?"
"It is true that I went to greet him, but I don't know who it is? His Royal Highness, Prince Li, was actually able to welcome him in person. This background is definitely not small!"
"Could he be an envoy from Japan?"
"The Japanese envoy is here? Haha, they are so arrogant and arrogant that they dare to challenge their little dwarfs with me, the warriors of the Qing Dynasty. I don't think Prince Li will personally welcome them!"
"That's true, but it's also possible that we adults don't remember the faults of villains. Since they are asking for humiliation, we have to do it. Maybe Prince Dingli is ready to watch the show!"
"..."
The captives in Shengjing City were talking a lot, and they generally wanted to go to the Japanese country. No one knew that the people Daishan greeted were not from the Japanese country at all.
As of now, Zheng Zhilong's pirate group, at least Jianlu thinks so, is secretly allied with them, so it's not time to publicize it yet.
Under normal circumstances, when Zheng Zhilong sends someone over, Shengjing will not greet them with great fanfare.
However, the news received from Zhenjiang Fort was that Zheng Zhilong had come in person. This time, no matter what, it was necessary to give Zheng Zhilong some face, otherwise it would not be good to neglect the pirate king.
As for confidentiality, just don’t say who comes!
Based on this idea, Daishan and Hong Chengchou, who had dealings with Zheng Zhilong, came together to greet him.
As the regent, Dorgon represented the face of the Qing Empire. If he came out to greet him, it would shock everyone. To give Zheng Zhilong face while maintaining confidentiality, it was most appropriate for Prince He Shuoli to come out to greet him.
In the distance, Zheng Zhilong and his party have appeared.
At the beginning, Zheng Zhilong actually rode in a carriage. After all, his identity was secret and he was exposed in public. Although the possibility of being recognized was very low, it was better to hide in the carriage.
However, I was used to the smoothness of the Ming Dynasty cement official road. After riding a carriage in Liaodong for a day, I decided to ride a horse.
Another advantage of riding a horse is that the field of vision is not restricted. Along the way, he was observing the situation in Liaodong.
When they reached Shenyang, Zheng Zhilong could clearly draw a conclusion: the people's livelihood here in Jianlu was poor and the population was very small. Not to mention compared with the Ming Dynasty, even compared with the Japanese country, it was far inferior.
It’s no wonder that after two defeats, Jianlu had to look for allies. With this little strength, they couldn’t find allies even if they didn’t want to.
Thinking about this, Zheng Zhilong felt a little puzzled again.
Why were the imperial officers and soldiers unable to defeat the Jianlu in the past? If nothing else, over the years, not only winning all of them, but just winning a few battles would be enough. If some of the Jianlu were eliminated, the Jianlu would not be able to defeat them.
As for being able to enter the bandits multiple times, right?
Although Zheng Zhilong is the pirate king, in essence, he is just a businessman and a maritime trader.
For him, the most instinctive thing is to calculate the gains and losses.
Just after seeing the situation on Jianlu's side, he was convinced that even without him as a hidden chess piece, it would be basically impossible for the combined forces of Japan and Jianlu to defeat the imperial army.
Thinking like this, Zheng Zhilong secretly reminded himself that he must complete the errands assigned by the emperor.
After getting closer to Shenyang, he naturally saw people greeting him, so he gathered his thoughts and started performing his trip to Shenyang.
Before Zheng Zhilong arrived at Shenyang City, a horse came back and reported the situation.
So, Zheng Zhilong started to say hello from afar, with a very low attitude: "I, Zheng Zhilong, am so virtuous and capable that I trouble His Royal Highness Prince Li to come out to greet me in person. It's really a sin."
Of course, Dai Shan knew Zheng Zhilong's true strength from the Japanese country. Therefore, seeing the pirate king in such a low profile, he felt happy and said with a smile: "The distinguished guest from far away has made my Qing Dynasty shine brightly. Naturally, I have to come to welcome you, so that I can show that I am a hospitable Qing Dynasty, hahaha!"
After saying this with a smile, he explained: "The Emperor of the Qing Dynasty and the regent are already waiting in the palace. As soon as Brother Zheng Xian arrives, they will open a banquet to welcome Brother Zheng Xian!"
"How dare you, how dare you, you are really embarrassing me!" After hearing this, Zheng Zhilong hurriedly replied, "I have prepared a small gift to express my gratitude. I will give you a big gift another day to make up for today's mistake!"
When it comes to polite words, he can say them casually, no matter what, and even the ten Daishans are no match for him.
At this time, Dai Shan felt very comfortable, and the things he had to do later would be more convenient.
Sure enough, Daishan burst out laughing after hearing this.
So Zheng Zhilong turned to look at Hong Chengchou who was behind Daishan, and said with a smile: "I said, Lao Hong, we are all fellow villagers! You didn't even say anything, otherwise we would have had a good drink the last time we met. ."
Hong Chengchou was from Yingdu, Nan'an, Quanzhou, Fujian, which was also on the seaside and within Zheng Zhilong's sphere of influence.
It is absolutely false to say that Zheng Zhilong did not know about Hong Chengchou before. Hong Chengchou was not an illiterate, but he passed the Jinshi examination and had a prosperous official career. He served as a feudal official in the Ming Dynasty for many years.
The purpose of mentioning the relationship between fellow villagers at this time is to narrow the distance between the two parties and facilitate future dealings.
At least he specifically pointed out this relationship at this time. No, Daishan's eyes clearly lit up.
As for Hong Chengchou himself, of course he knew that Zheng Zhilong must have known that he was his fellow countryman before, so he mentioned it now just to build relationships.
In this regard, he is happy to see the success.
Although Hong Chengchou's status in the Qing Dynasty has obviously improved after he went on a mission to Japan. However, how could he mind having an additional relationship with fellow Zheng Zhilong! Of course, he wanted to make the Qing regents and others pay more attention to him. Yes.
As for Zheng Zhilong bringing up this relationship at this time, he didn't have the slightest doubt. As a businessman, in order to make money, he will use any means and have any connections, no matter how shabby he is!
However, in front of Dai Shan, Hong Chengchou still wanted to maintain the demeanor of a counselor like Zhuge Liang, so he just smiled slightly, cupped his fists and saluted: "I don't dare to compare myself to Brother Zheng!"
"Hahaha..." Zheng Zhilong laughed immediately after hearing this, stepped forward and patted Hong Chengchou and said, "Whether you admit it or not, I am in a foreign country anyway, so I have to hug you, a fellow countryman, tightly. This No, I also brought you a small gift to express my feelings for my fellow countryman. You should take more care of me, a fellow countryman!"
It was a foreshadowing, so it wouldn't be awkward to give out the wine set later.
Daishan and Hong Chengchou laughed when they heard his naked words.
Afterwards, the group entered Shenyang City and headed to the imperial palace.
Along the way, Jianlu, who had heard the news and came to watch, was surprised when he saw that the people entering the city were wearing Ming people's clothes.
"Who is this person? He dares to bother the old prince to greet him?"
"Don't be like those Shanxi merchants in the past, right? It is said that when Xian Khan was here, he also personally welcomed him!"
"Don't mention those Shanxi merchants, okay? We can inform the Ming Dynasty, so that our Qing Dynasty will be defeated in Jizhou!"
"Yes, that's right, I hate it when I mention it! We in the Qing Dynasty have always won battles in the past, but since the defeat in Jizhou, bad luck has come!"
"Where did these Ming people come from? Anyway, they can't be the same as those Shanxi merchants. After learning from the past, how can we contact the merchants of the Ming Dynasty again!"
"No, businessmen only care about money. No matter how much money we have in the Qing Dynasty, can we have more money than the Ming Dynasty? If these Ming people are businessmen, they may be bribed by the Ming Dynasty to harm the Qing Dynasty!"
"Then who are they? They can't be our allies in the Ming Dynasty like the Japanese country, right?"
"..."
Under their aimless speculation, Zheng Zhilong and his party finally arrived at the Shenyang Palace.
Fulin, the real Qing emperor, was greeted at the palace gate.
Of course, half a step behind him stood the regent Dorgon.
Needless to say, Fulin knew something. According to Dorgon's prior explanation, after saying hello to Zheng Zhilong, he made an excuse and left. Then, Dorgon solemnly welcomed Zheng Zhilong in.
We agreed to catch up with the wind and wash away the dust, so naturally we started talking over the wine table.
Dorgon had never met Zheng Zhilong beforehand, and he wanted to have a good relationship with Zheng Zhilong; and Zheng Zhilong was a good person, talking to people and talking to ghosts. On the premise that both parties were interested in building a good relationship, this person was able to clean up the dust. The banquet was a very lively one.
In the corner of the main hall, someone was peeping, and everyone who saw it pretended not to see it.
This person is none other than Bumu Butai, the Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty and the biological mother of the current young emperor.
As for Zheng Zhilong's situation, she had been listening to politics behind the curtain, so of course she knew about it.
Therefore, she immediately realized that Zheng Zhilong was a very important figure. Not only did he possess an invincible naval force at sea, but he was also extremely wealthy.
If anyone had a good relationship with him, the material shortage problem of the Qing Dynasty would be solved, which would greatly improve the lives of the Qing Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, thus attracting the support of the Qing Dynasty.
Bumubutai's biggest concern was not how the war between the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty would go, nor the military competition after forming an alliance with the Japanese country, but the issue of whether the emperor's power could be taken back when her son Fulin came of age!
Therefore, she was racking her brains to think about how many people she could win over on the day when she would win the pro-government for her son. That was absolutely how many people she had to win over.
At this time, she was secretly spying on Zheng Zhilong.
After drinking for three rounds, Jianlu finally couldn't bear it anymore and started talking about business with Zheng Zhilong.
No, Dorgon glanced at Daishan, and Daishan understood and immediately said to Zheng Zhilong: "I wonder if the commander-in-chief suddenly came to Qing Dynasty at this time, but for the purpose of trading?"