Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 106 Bizarre Pirates and Chaotic Foreign Trade (Part 2)

The next morning, around 7 a.m., Zhu Jue had just arrived at the main hall of Yuxi Palace when an announcement was made: "Marquis of Nan'an, Zheng Zhilong, requests an audience."

This guy is really bold, completely unafraid of being placed under house arrest!
However, this house arrest cannot be explicitly stated; it must be phrased more tactfully.

Zhu Jue sat down and pondered for a while before announcing loudly, "Summon."

Soon, Zheng Zhilong strode in, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue was taken aback when he took a look.

This guy is so young, he looks to be in his early twenties, definitely not even thirty.

He had learned everything, except for Zheng Zhilong's age.

This guy was granted the title of marquis in his twenties; in history, perhaps only Huo Qubing, the Marquis of Champion, could compare to him.

He couldn't help but nod in approval, saying, "The Marquis of Nan'an is truly a young man of great talent."

The Emperor praised me!
Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong was overjoyed.

However, he dared not be arrogant in front of the current emperor.

He quickly replied modestly, "Your Majesty, I only wish to eliminate the barbarian bandits and quell the various thieves for the sake of Your Majesty and the Great Ming Dynasty. I dare not presume to have any great achievements."

You're quite the smooth talker.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "I heard that your father once served in the Nan'an County government. Did he have an official title?"

You already know this?

Zheng Zhilong nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, my father has the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the imperial examination at the county level) and once served as a clerk in the Nan'an County government office."

I'll first bestow an official title upon him as a test.

Zhu Jue pondered, "The inner court is currently short of personnel. How about having your father serve as the head of the inner court's Ministry of Commerce?"

Ministry of Commerce of the Inner Court?
In charge!

He had never heard of the Ministry of Commerce in the inner court, but the person in charge was a sixth-rank official, which was even higher than the rank of a county magistrate.

If my father knew he had become a sixth-rank official, he would probably be overjoyed.

Zheng Zhilong repeatedly clasped his hands and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Are you planning to leave your father in the capital?

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "I heard that your fifth brother, Zhipeng, intends to take the imperial examinations, is that right?"

Yes, all four of us older brothers are martial artists, and someone in the family has to carry on our father's legacy.

Zheng Zhilong said with some emotion, "Zhipeng is very dedicated, but he has failed the county examination several times. It seems that he will have a hard time obtaining official rank."

Can't even pass the county-level exam?

That's something even a scholar would find difficult to pass, right?

No problem, I guarantee he'll pass the imperial examination with flying colors.

Zhu Jue pondered, "Zhipeng probably doesn't have any famous teachers to guide him. How about this, let Zhipeng study at the Imperial Academy, where there are many famous teachers. If he studies for a few more years, he will surely pass the imperial examination with flying colors."

Students of the Imperial Academy were equivalent to those who passed the provincial examinations; they could directly participate in the metropolitan examinations!

Zheng Zhilong repeatedly clasped his hands and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

You don't care at all about leaving your father and brother in the capital, do you?

I'd like to know what you're really thinking.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "Is there anyone in your family who intends to pursue a career in officialdom?"

The current emperor is too good to me.

My family members were all granted official positions!

I can't miss this opportunity. If I'm too polite about this kind of thing, my family will definitely scold me.

Zheng Zhilong quickly replied, "Your Majesty, my third brother, Zhifeng, is quite talented. He has passed the provincial examination and become a military officer. He leads troops into battle and fights for the country. He is better than me."

You still want me to promote Zheng Hongkui, don't you?
You never imagined that I would use your family to blackmail you, did you?
Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Yes, Jian Dou is short of generals. Let him serve as a general under Jian Dou for now. As for the specific position, I will let Jian Dou arrange it later."

The moment he opened his mouth, he was clearly a general of the second rank!

Zheng Zhilong quickly cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

It seems you don't consider yourself a pirate captain anymore. Do you really think you're some kind of nobleman or high-ranking official of the Ming Dynasty?

Great, I'll trick your whole family into coming here; that's safer.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "I heard you have a son who is quite intelligent. Why didn't you bring him to the capital?"

My son is still in Japan. I don't just have one son, I have two sons, but one of them was adopted by my father-in-law's family.

Zheng Zhilong thought for a moment, then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, I have always been adrift at sea and have never built a residence in my hometown. Therefore, my wife and children are still overseas and have not been brought back." (You now have a vast marquisate, don't you?)
Zhu Jue coaxed, "Your Majesty has no children and must be quite lonely. You should bring your son here quickly, and I will have Your Majesty adopt him as your godson."

what?
You want Empress Zhang to adopt a godson!

Empress Zhang's status is extraordinary. If my son could become Empress Zhang's godson, his future would be limitless.

Zheng Zhilong nodded repeatedly and said, "Your humble servant obeys the decree."

It seems you never imagined you'd be placed under house arrest by me.

Alright, I'll put it another way.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then reminded him, "You should know that unless a duke or marquis is ordered to lead troops into battle, he or she is not allowed to leave the two capitals."

There are many taboos involved here, and I must make them clear to you first. You mustn't leave the capital without permission. Few of the dukes, marquises, and nobles enfeoffed during the Hongwu reign stayed because they violated certain taboos, do you understand?

I haven't thought about that yet.
However, it seems that the dukes, marquises, and nobles actually all lived in the two capitals when they went out to lead troops into battle by imperial decree, and none of them lived in other places.

There are indeed many taboos here. For example, having an army and being too powerful is a major taboo. If you accidentally break this taboo, your entire family will be executed!

During the Hongwu reign, dozens of dukes, marquises, and nobles were enfeoffed, but only a handful remained in the end—less than one in ten!

The capital city is actually quite nice; who wants to risk their life on the battlefield for no reason?

Zheng Zhilong thought for a moment, then quickly cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I understand. I will certainly stay in the capital and serve Your Majesty faithfully."

You weirdo, do you really think you're a pirate captain?
well.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Alright, I will bestow upon you a hereditary title, which will be passed down through generations. I hope that you, the first duke or nobleman I have conferred, will continue to be a part of this lineage."

Returning the scroll to the world!

From now on, our Zheng family will be a noble and aristocratic family.

Zheng Zhilong was so excited that he repeatedly clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

These are minor matters; now I can discuss important matters with you.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "I heard you also do overseas trade, is that right?"

This is something we have to do, otherwise how can we support so many brothers?

Zheng Zhilong did not hide anything and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I have tens of thousands of men under my command and thousands of ships of various sizes. If I don't do business to make money, I simply cannot support my men or repair the ships."

Are you now running a business that only supports your employees and incidentally maintains your ships?
Zhu Jue asked bluntly, "How big is your business now, and how much do you earn in a year?"

You're asking about this too?
Can I not tell you?
Not saying so would be deceiving the emperor.

Zheng Zhilong thought for a moment and then honestly replied, "Your Majesty, I can only do a few million taels of business a year. Although the profits from overseas business are high, after deducting expenses, I can only save four or five hundred thousand taels at most a year."

You only earn four or five hundred thousand taels a year?

Zhu Jue couldn't help but ask curiously, "The volume of overseas trade seems to be huge, how come you only earn so little in a year?"

How do you say this?

By the way, I can take this opportunity to explain that I don't intend to amass military power.

Zheng Zhilong thought for a moment before explaining in detail: "Your Majesty, I dare to say that there is no law at sea. European countries do business just like pirates. They will rob if they can, and they will never buy anything without paying."

Therefore, one must have a certain level of strength to engage in overseas trade, otherwise one will lose everything. Nowadays, the seas are just a chaotic mess of looting. I can rob the Dutch, and the Dutch can rob me.

Furthermore, Spain and Portugal had already established trade routes in the Far East. During the Wanli era, not only did the Dutch come to the Far East, but the British and French also came. Now, things in Southeast Asia are in complete chaos.

The southeastern seas of the Ming Dynasty, including the waters of Japan and Ryukyu, are also not peaceful. The Dutch and Spanish are fighting and robbing each other. The Dutch are also colluding with pirates and wealthy merchant families to steal business from me. Originally, they were allied with Xu Xinsu, but after I killed Xu Xinsu, they joined forces with Liu Xiang. Their strength should not be underestimated.

"Your Majesty, I have no choice but to strengthen my own capabilities as much as possible to ensure that our overseas business goes smoothly. With more men and ships under my command, expenses naturally increase, which is why I don't earn much money."

These colonial robbers were robbers to begin with, and it seems we need to find a way to deal with them in order to monopolize overseas trade.

And then there's the Zhejiang-based business tycoon family, who have surprisingly changed their agent again to Liu Xiang. These guys need to be dealt with too.

However, the most important thing right now is to make money.

Zhu Jue nodded slowly, then asked, "So what kind of goods do you mainly sell?"

I sell everything.

Zheng Zhilong said with some helplessness, "Your Majesty, I don't specialize in just one or a few businesses. I do whatever I can get the goods to."

Unfortunately, many goods are very difficult for me to import, such as silk, cloth, tea, and porcelain. These are highly sought-after goods overseas, and they are almost entirely controlled by wealthy maritime merchants. I have tried every possible means, but I cannot import much of them.”

So the powerful Zhejiang-based maritime merchants still control the supply of goods?

I can find a way to snatch it from you.

Perhaps, I don't need to force you to hand over control of overseas trade at all; I can simply let you cooperate with me to make money.

(End of this chapter)