Chapter 148                                                             

Zhou Mengchen sent the main force to Nan'ao, and there were not many troops around him, that is, three thousand cavalrymen.

However, Zhou Mengchen felt that three thousand cavalry was enough. To be honest, these three thousand cavalry could escort Zhou Mengchen out even among the thousands of troops. They stationed in Zhangzhou and recruited the people of Zhangzhou with these three thousand people as the backbone. Even if there were a million people, Zhangzhou City could be defended for a while.

Zhou Mengchen was not worried about his safety at all and said, "You don't have to worry about me. The better you fight in South Australia, the greater the help you will be."

Although he was preparing to have a good talk with Yuegang. Zhou Mengchen knew that any negotiation was based on strength. The battle in South Australia was a time to show strength. South Australia was more difficult to attack than Yuegang. If South Australia could be defeated, Yuegang could be defeated. The two sides were not far apart and they had acquaintances.

They may not know Wang Zhi's power, but they will never know the power in South Australia.

This is killing the monkey to scare the chicken.

Qi Jiguang didn't know if he was really worried about Zhou Mengchen or was showing his loyalty. After repeated persuasion, he left a cannon team. In Qi Jiguang's words, these cannons were not used at all at sea, so it would be better to stay here.

Zhou Mengchen agreed.

Send Qi Jiguang away.

Zhou Mengchen immediately ordered Xu Wei and said, "Two things are the first thing to do. I believe there must be people from Yuegang in Zhangzhou City. Let's contact you first and see how to talk about it."

The county of Zhangzhou Prefecture is Longxi, which means that the Longxi County Government is actually in the same city as the Zhangzhou Government Government. Yuegang is under the management of Longxi County Government. Although Yuegang is a remote place in Longxi County, no matter how remote it is, how far apart can a county two be.

If the people from Yuegang had not planted people in Zhangzhou Prefecture, Yuegang would not have made such a big noise. Zhou Mengchen even suspected that Yuegang's activities in Zhangzhou Prefecture were semi-public.

It's the kind of situation where everyone knows it but is tacit.

Xu Wei agreed and said, "I understand."

Zhou Mengchen said: "The second thing is to check me what kind of big clans are there in Zhangzhou, and whether other big clans in Fujian have sent people to Zhangzhou. If so, I will send people to find out. Some things I can't say, but you can take my place to see if you can talk openly and honestly."

Although Zhou Mengchen was not very good at Fujian gentry, he was a group of people who dared to do anything for their own benefit. Zhu Wan's death was their work.

Although Zhou Mengchen had never met Zhu Wan, they were all from the same camp. They were all under Xia Yan's command. Although Zhou Mengchen did not think he was, after a long time, everyone thought so that even if Zhou Mengchen did not admit it, it would be useless.

Politics is the art of compromise, and Zhou Mengchen had to admit that this sentence makes sense. Sometimes we still have to talk about consensus for those forces that cannot be eliminated. It is the same as talking to Yuegang, and it is the same as talking to Fujian gentry. Even if the Fujian gentry is settled here, Yuegang can be tougher, and Yuegang can be the same as talking to Yuegang, so it can be tougher.

This is a tripartite negotiation.

Xu Wei said: "Yes."

Then Xu Wei went down to do it.

Zhou Mengchen lay on the chair of the Grand Master, closed his eyes and rested, constantly thinking about the interests of both parties.

There are mixed fish and dragons in Yuegang. You can’t even call Yuegang a whole. Everyone runs to the sea and relies on Yuegang to do business. But apart from these two points, it is hard to say how many similarities they have.

The same problem was the gentry of Fujian.

The Fujian gentry who is near the sea naturally supports sea trade. The gentry who has power at the sea can monopolize the sea surface naturally supports the ban on the sea. The gentry who has no power at the sea but wants to get a share of the pie at the sea naturally supports the opening of the sea.

It can be said that the interests of everyone are not completely consistent.

"But, there is room for me to intervene," Zhou Mengchen said in his heart: "But where is this breakthrough?"

Zhou Mengchen was thinking, and heard the soft knock on the door outside.

Everyone's knocking on the door has their own habits. Therefore, Zhou Mengchen knew as soon as he heard it, that this was Xu Wei. He said, "Come in."

After Xu Wei came in, Zhou Mengchen asked, "Didn't I tell you two things? What's the matter?"

Xu Wei said: "It is these two things. Now there is progress."

Zhou Mengchen was slightly surprised and said, "So quickly?"

Xu Wei said, "They have come to the door." Then Xu Wei handed a post to Zhou Mengchen. Zhou Mengchen took it and saw it, but it was Xu Xichi's famous sect. Zhou Mengchen said, "It seems that I underestimated the influence of Yuegang."

He previously felt that there were probably half-public intelligence points in Yuegang. But now it seems that there is no semi-public request point for the request. It is clearly the Yuegang personnel who can openly operate in Zhangzhou. Zhangzhou Prefecture turns a blind eye to it and is used to it.

Even Zhou Mengchen was worried that how many people in Zhangzhou Prefecture had collusion with Yuegang.

For a moment, Zhou Mengchen felt like he was in an enemy country.

This is no longer a question of whether the sea is banned or not. It is based on the unspoken rules formed by sea trade, and even the rules on the Ming Dynasty have begun to be publicly invaded. This situation even made Zhou Mengchen think of banning the sea.

This is not a question of whether the maritime trade is good or bad, but a question of the foundation of the Ming Dynasty's rule. This is the instinctive reaction of a Ming official.

Fortunately, Zhou Mengchen knew that it was better to be relieved than to block it. But he understood more clearly the harm of the maritime ban policy to the Ming Dynasty's rule on Fujian. He also understood more and more why in the late Ming Dynasty, Zheng Zhilong became the uncrowned king of Fujian with a mere Fujian general.

It is not just Zheng Zhilong's strong army, but the sea trade is the key to Fujian. If you grasp this, you can control most of Fujian.

Zhou Mengchen said, "Since everyone has come, don't I dare to see you?"

Xu Xichi came soon.

After Xu Xichi saw Zhou Mengchen salute, Zhou Mengchen said, "Mr. Xu, are you safe?"

Xu Xichi said: "Only by the care of the Lord, I can protect this body. This time I came to see you from Yuegang on behalf of the representatives of Yuegang."

Zhou Mengchen said: "What is Mr. Xu's mission?"

Xu Xichi said: "We are following the court for the reason, and we only ask the adults to allow Yuegang to open the sea. In addition, everything from Yuegang to stay unmoved, because we follow the old system. We are willing to give the adults a filial piety."

Zhou Mengchen sneered and said, "Mr. Xu underestimated me too much. Do you think I, Mr. Zhou, have this kind of situation?"

Xu Xichi took out a gift list from his arms and handed it to Xu Wei. Xu Wei was shocked after seeing it, and then handed it to Zhou Mengchen.

Zhou Mengchen glanced at the eyes and saw that there were huge quantities of gold, silver and jewelry on it, and there were many famous calligraphy and paintings, and there were even some posts familiar to Zhou Mengchen. The characters of Mi Fu of the Song Dynasty, the paintings of Zhao Mengfu, etc. The value of the Song Dynasty is difficult to estimate. It is something that can be passed down from family.

Xu Xichi said: "One million taels, the total of one million taels on this gift list. Now it is in the city of Zhangzhou. As long as the adult nods, he will be sent to the mansion immediately."

Zhou Mengchen chuckled after hearing this, put the gift list aside and said, "What a big deal. But I'm too underestimating me, Mr. Zhou."

Xu Xichi said: "Of course I don't dare to underestimate adults. This is only for this year. As long as adults can make this happen, Yuegang will give adults a gift every year, so as to follow this specification."

Forgive Zhou Mengchen for being used to gold and silver, the silver he had endured in his hands also started with millions of taels. Now, he was shocked. What does the annual tribute of one million taels mean? As mentioned earlier, the Daming salt tax is only about one million taels per year. Although the salt tax is very serious, this is still an important national expenditure. The annual maintenance cost of the canal is only one million taels, and this million taels became the reason why Fang Dun privately supported the shipping.

What is wealth that can rival a country? The Yuegang Maritime Businessman in front of him proved this to Zhou Mengchen.
Chapter completed!