Xu Shiqi admired the emperor's tough attitude just now and felt that it would enhance the prestige of our country.
However, some people felt that it was too tough. Zheng Zhilong believed that the Dutch should not be pushed too hastily.
Zhu Yihai knew very well why Zheng Zhilong objected. Zheng Zhilong had cooperated with the Dutch for many years. Although the two sides initially fought against each other and even fought against each other, after the Liaoluo Bay naval battle, the two families even believed in each other and started trade cooperation for many years.
Profit will be plentiful.
The Dutch could only trade with the Ming Dynasty through Zheng Zhilong, and Zheng Zhilong further monopolized the power of foreign maritime trade with the help of the Dutch as an ally.
In fact, what the Dutch didn't know was that they had always wanted to trade with the Ming Dynasty, but they couldn't. In fact, the Zheng family had done some mischief in secret before, because the Zheng family didn't want the Dutch to trade directly with the Ming Dynasty, so that their comprador status would be lost.
useless.
Zhu Yihai knew this, but he would not listen to Zheng Zhilong's advice unless he pointed it out.
Why did Zheng He make seven voyages to the oceans during the reign of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, possessing a powerful fleet, demonstrating his great maritime prestige, and even bringing back huge profits for the Ming Dynasty, but then later destroyed the plans and fleets, and never put any plans into the sea again?
Because no matter how much money the Zheng fleet made from sailing to the West, the money was mainly in the hands of the emperor, and even greatly affected the interests of the scholar-bureaucrat group who colluded with officials and businessmen.
Therefore, they attacked the Western Ocean for various reasons. One was that building large ships cost a lot of money and wasted people and money. The other was this and that, and finally they succeeded in making this matter obscene.
Then these people immediately organized their own ships, put the goods into the sea, and made a lot of money.
You can make money by yourself, but not by the court and the emperor. That means wasting money and wasting money by competing with the people for profit.
During the Song Dynasty, especially the Southern Song Dynasty, maritime trade was highly valued, and some special policies were even formulated. For example, when a Hu merchant ship came to Hong Kong, one out of ten ships had to be drawn first, and one-tenth of the tax was handed over to the Municipal Shipping Department as a customs duty.
The Song Dynasty took this batch of sea goods and resold them at a profit.
They even implemented a monopoly on pepper and other spices brought by Hu merchants at that time, making huge profits.
The Song Dynasty made a lot of money every year from this tariff, gambling, etc.
But in the Ming Dynasty, except for the Yongle Dynasty, the sea trade of other dynasties did not bring any revenue to the court, and even caused a great Japanese rebellion that harmed half of the country in the southeast.
Many people know very well what the great Japanese chaos is. It is not really all about Japanese pirates. The real essence is actually maritime trade and smuggling.
In order to compete for maritime trade rights and break the monopoly of those powerful bureaucratic groups, these smugglers and merchants started to cause chaos. Even because of the imperial court's policy of banning seas, some powerful people deliberately colluded with pirates to cause chaos.
Anyway, this is also a characteristic of Ming Dynasty.
Would Zhu Yihai not know this?
Doesn’t he know what Zheng Zhilong did to make his fortune?
Could it be that he didn’t know about his relationship with the Dutch and their agreement?
So no matter what his reasons were, Zhu Yihai just listened and then smiled at him.
The emperor looked at Zheng Zhilong with a smile.
He laughed so hard that he finally couldn't speak anymore.
He understood that the emperor had seen through him, but he just didn't point it out.
Facing this powerful emperor, Zheng Zhilong did not dare to say anything more. In the final analysis, Zheng Zhilong was the overlord in the Southeast Sea, but he came from a humble background and was born with a sense of inferiority.
And he is not the kind of pirate who is single-minded. He has a ruthless side, but also a cautious side. These allow him to get ahead among pirates, but they also put some restrictions on him.
As the saying goes, when you are afraid of something, you will not be so liberal in doing things.
Even though he is now the Minister of the Prime Minister's Office and the Duke of Pingguo, when facing the emperor, he is still the fisherman boy from a humble background.
"In the final analysis, the Dutch East India Company was just a big chamber of commerce. Merchants, in pursuit of profit and wealth, were no different from Shanxi merchants in Shanxi. I think at the beginning, Qin merchants and Shanxi merchants all benefited from Jiubian's opening up method and became big.
, Qin merchants mainly went to Hetao Monan and other places to sell goods to Mongolians, while Shanxi merchants went out of Zhangjiakou to sell and operate Mongolian tribes in the west of Monan, and even Houjin.
For the sake of profit, Shanxi merchants could openly sell grain, resell arms, etc. to them regardless of the laws and regulations of the court.
The Tatars robbed a lot of gold, silver and silk in the bitter cold land of Liaodong, but they could not be eaten or drunk. When there was a disaster or famine, they would pay eight coins of silver for a fight of rice, and the hungry would eat each other.
In order to make money from the bloody silver stolen from the Tatars, those Shanxi merchants secretly smuggled grain and salt, and even smuggled iron materials, without caring about anything else, and forcefully kept these Tatars alive."
"So in the years of Chongzhen, the Tatars invaded and plundered again and again, and each time they robbed millions of gold and silver, hundreds of thousands of people, cattle and sheep. Then these things were transferred to Shanxi merchants, who sold the stolen goods for them.
, used the robbed money for them to buy grain and salt within the customs, and then transported it back to the outside of the customs to supply the Tatars.
What a ridiculous scene, how sad?
But Shanxi merchants have no shame and only care about making money. They only care about profits. They dare to make any money.
After the Tatars entered the customs, they awarded meritorious officials in Beijing. Didn't they also confer special titles on the eight imperial merchants? Aren't the so-called eight imperial merchants all Shanxi merchants?
The Dutch East India Company is essentially no different from these Shanxi merchants. They pursue capital for profit. As long as the profit is sufficient, they will even sell the rope that hangs them!"
How big is the market in Ming Dynasty?
That was what the Dutch longed for but could not reach. They had always dreamed of obtaining direct trade rights with the Ming Dynasty. To this end, they had used various methods, including sending envoys to request tribute, and even forcing them to use force. However, the Ming Dynasty refused to give in.
.
In essence, the failure of the Dutch was not because they were not strong, but because they arrived late.
The Jesuit Catholic Church in Macau penetrated deeply into the Ming Dynasty. From the local governors to the ministers, elders, and even eunuchs in the palace, they had people in all aspects. These people naturally defended the Portuguese and resolutely opposed them.
The Dutch came in to trade.
The Dutch didn't understand this, so no matter what they did, they would never succeed.
Zhu Yihai is also very aware of the Portuguese and Jesuit Catholics in Macau, but he is silent now because they can be used.
In the same way, the Dutch can also take advantage.
When he started his army, he took the initiative to contact the Portuguese in Macau and bought arms and mercenaries. Then he took the initiative to contact the Spanish in Manila, using the Spanish to balance the Portuguese.
Then he used the Portuguese and Spanish to threaten the Dutch and force the Dutch to form an alliance with him.
Therefore, from the very beginning, Zhu Yihai was determined to win over the Dutch for cooperation, whether it was attacking Taiwan or intercepting trade lines, but he was only using war to promote peace, and he even initially used the Portuguese and Spanish to suppress the Zheng family in Fujian.
Step by step, we finally brought these people together.
Whether it is buying arms, opening up trade or allowing them to preach, they are actually just some means, step by step.
The Portuguese finally thought they could continue to monopolize the Ming Dynasty market, but who knew that Zhu Yihai later introduced the Spanish from Manila and now forced the Dutch to join.
They didn't even know that Zhu Yihai had even taken the initiative to send people to find the British.
The British colonists also entered Nanyang before, established commercial offices, etc., and also established commercial offices in Japan. However, they later lost the battle with the Dutch and others, so they simply closed the Japanese commercial offices and settled down to run the Indian colony.
Zhu Yihai took the initiative to recruit them, so naturally it was better to use barbarians to control barbarians. Only when barbarians from all sides gather together can they better check and balance each other.
This is essentially the same as when an emperor likes to have his ministers strike a balance. He will never trust only one minister or one party of ministers. He must create several parties of ministers to restrain each other, so that the imperial power can be stable.
"Those Shanxi merchants are all traitors and can be killed!" Shen Chenquan said.
Shanxi merchants used to be very famous and were the first merchants in the world. However, starting from the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the limelight of Shanxi merchants was robbed by Huizhou merchants. Because Huizhou merchants were near the water and had the first-come-first-served position, they controlled the Huaiyang salt industry.
The Shanxi merchants were unwilling to accept this, so they took a different approach and began to hook up with Hou Jin and betray the national interests.
Who in the world today doesn’t know that Shanxi merchants are a bunch of traitors?
Especially those eight Shanxi merchants?
The Tatars granted him the title of the eight imperial merchants of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
"Last year, the Tatars sent their clan general Yue Le to lead an army to conquer Datong Jiangwan. They fought for more than half a year. Jianggan was almost unable to hold on. Now only Datong City is left trapped, and there is not much food and grass." Speaking of Shanxi, now There were also many controversies in the Shaotian court.
Jiang Quan raised an army because of his resentment against the Tatars and because of Shao Tianchao's desire to recruit people to rebel. After he raised his army, the Emperor of Heaven granted him the title of Admiral of Shanxi Province and the title of Duke of Dai.
However, although Jiang Quan raised his troops with great momentum, and Wang Yongqiang of northern Shaanxi, Milayin of Gansu and others raised troops to respond, and troops were also raised in various parts of Shanxi, the Tatars also quickly mobilized their troops to fight Jiang Quan.
Although Jiang Quan served as the Datong general of the Ming Dynasty, Dashun Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, he was still beaten back by the Qing court and did not harden up well.
Now we are trapped in Datong City, and the city may be destroyed at any time.
"Of the other rebel armies in Shanxi, only two are still holding on. They are Gao Ding, a generation of guerrillas who retreated to Mount Wutai, and Zhang Wugui's tribe in the south."
Zhang Ding was originally a bandit in the late Ming Dynasty. After the uprising, he called himself a general soldier. The Ming Dynasty also awarded him the rank of Shanxi general soldier. He captured some cities, but when the main force of the Qing army arrived, they were defeated and finally retreated to the Wutai Mountain area. , the mountains here are high and the forests are dense, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
"Is Tu Guobao still active in the Baiyangdian area near Baoding? I think we can let Zhang Ding first cross Taihang, enter the Beizhi area, and go to Zhending for guerrilla warfare. Since the Tatars have taken the initiative to enter Shanxi, they can invade Hebei. This way It can not only avoid being surrounded and annihilated, but also mobilize and contain some Tatar forces, reducing some pressure on Datong."
"Zhang Wugui's troops have no base and are fighting on the move. They have a lot of soldiers and horses, but they lack a foothold. The Tatars begin to encircle them, which is also very dangerous."
"Other tribes such as Liu Qian and Yu Yin have been defeated by the Tatars one after another and scattered everywhere."
The wave of uprisings in Shanxi was like a flash in the pan.
Even Wang Yongqiang's brothers in Guanzhong have been retreating steadily due to the counterattacks of the Qing army in Guanzhong, losing cities and territory, and their morale has plummeted.
"Should we launch an offensive in Henan, Shandong and other places to coordinate the rescue of Jiang Yu, Wang Yongqiang and others?"
Zhu Yihai looked at the map. In fact, he didn't have much hope for the capricious Jiang Yu and others. Being able to instigate them to revolt did have a big effect. Last year, it gave the Ming army a rare opportunity to rest and reorganize, and even allowed them to regroup.
Detour to Liaodong and attack the Tatar lair.
Moreover, the uprising of Wang Yongqiang and others forced the Tatars to withdraw their troops from Hanzhong, and allowed He Hongqi Milayin and others to successfully seize and stabilize the Longyou and Hexi areas.
But now the uprisings in Shanxi and northern Shaanxi are about to be extinguished, and the court cannot ignore them.
"Li Jiyu besieged Luoyang and Xu Dingguo besieged Kaifeng. They have been besieging Kaifeng for more than half a year. Should we send troops to reinforce? Or should we directly mobilize the Huainan imperial camp to capture Yingzhou or Xuzhou?"
"Should we attack Jinan directly?" Several ministers proposed to surround Wei and rescue Zhao. They could not let the Qin and Jin rebels be wiped out by the Tatars.
Zhu Yihai looked at the snowflakes falling outside the palace. It was the New Year and it was freezing cold. It was not a good time to send troops to fight, and it was even more difficult to besiege the city.
But it is true that the Qin and Jin rebel armies cannot be destroyed by the Tatars like this.
"You can let Zhu Zhongyi lead troops and horses from Guide Town to the north to reinforce Xu Dingguo, and then transfer Li Jiyu to withdraw from the siege of Luoyang first, and use the main force to siege Kaifeng. If Kaifeng can be captured, then you can take advantage of the situation to attack Zhengzhou and Luoyang, and cross the Yellow River to capture Hanoi.
, troops arrive at the foot of Wangwu Taihang Mountain to meet Zhang Wugui's troops, or Zhang Ding and Tu Guobao's troops can go south to join together, and then attack Zelu and Lu Prefectures, seize the Shangdang Highlands, and use this dangerous location to establish a base to connect Shanxi and Henan.
Threaten Taiyuan and support Datong."
"Use the troops from Huainan to contain the Yingzhou and Xuzhou Tatars and prevent them from going north for reinforcements.
Our troops in Denglai can be as powerful as those in Jinan."
Zhu Yihai looked at the map and put forward a battle plan. Xu Dingguo, Li Jiyu, Zhu Zhongyi, Liang Min Renqi of the Yuyuan Army, and Li Huajing and other troops would attack Kaifeng and fight all the way to Shanxi Shangdang to support Zhang Wugui and Zhang Ding.
Waiting for the rebels, even the Tuguobao Department in Hebei was sent to join forces.
They are the main attack force.
The imperial camp is responsible for surrounding the main Tatar armies in Henan and Shandong, and holding down the Qing armies of Ru, Ying, Xu, and Jinan, but not attacking them.
If they dare to come out, fight them, and don't let them go to reinforce them. If they don't leave the city, then form a stronghold outside the city to surround them.
The main reason for encircling rather than attacking is that the Tatars in these cities are quite tough now. Each city has at least tens of thousands of Manchus and Han troops, and they are all fortified and important towns. If they were to attack by force, Zhu Yihai felt that the casualties would be huge.
, beyond his acceptance range.
So I decided to surround them first and form a stronghold to fight.
It's okay to fight, unless the Tatars come out of the city to fight, and then they will fight outside.
Although the Ming army got a rare opportunity last year and rested and trained for half a year, and its strength increased a lot, especially with a lot of new equipment such as cotton armor, muskets, etc., Zhu Yihai was still very cautious.
"Over in Hanzhong, Zhang Xianzhong's Western Camp has been almost exhausted and has been abandoned. We have sent an order to Wen An to look for fighters according to the situation, pull up the Western Camp, and attack Hanzhong together. We must put some pressure on Guanzhong."
"In addition, Zhongkai, Zhongyi, Zhongzhen and other villages and towns can also gather some troops before spring plowing to launch another attack on Yunyang and Jingxiang. Huguang and Jiangxi camps can also send troops to Wuchang and Qihuang."
In a game of chess across the country, there must be coordination.
True and false, waiting for the opportunity to move, and as soon as the Tatars reveal their flaws, they will bite them hard.
Whether to fight or not depends on the situation, but at least the Tatars cannot be easily mobilized from various places. The Tatars must continue to nail their troops on the battlefields everywhere.
"I suggest that Wu Sangui, Wu Shunhua, Ma Ke, Bai Guang'en and other generals who surrendered to the Han Dynasty be recruited to continue to recruit and instigate rebellion."
Zhu Yihai pondered this suggestion for a moment and nodded, "Yes, as long as they are willing to return from their lost ways, lead an uprising and surrender, fight against the Qing Dynasty and resist the Qing Dynasty, I will grant them the title of Duke and Marquis."
"If you persist in your stubbornness and resist to the end, don't blame me for being ruthless in the future. At that time, the whole family will be executed, all nine tribes will be implicated, all the men will be killed, and all the women will not become prostitutes!" The emperor issued a shocking threat.
