Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 216 If You Want Me to Blame Me Again, I'll Kill a Chicken (Part 2)
The spring chill lingered; it was already late March, and the capital was still covered in ice and snow.

Fortunately, heating had been installed in Yuxi Palace long ago, so no matter how cold it was outside, it was always warm and cozy inside.

Inside the main hall, Zhu Jue was staring intently at the Wanli-era painted "Complete Map of the World" and pondering its contents.

Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Hongkui, Lu Xiangsheng, and the others all looked completely bewildered, wondering what the young emperor was thinking.

Zhu Jue stared at the map for a while before asking, "Hong Kui, have you found out how many troops Spain has stationed in the Viceroyalty of Peru?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Hongkui cautiously replied, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, this humble general has not yet had time to investigate this matter."

However, judging from the array displayed at their docks and what our artisans observed, the Spanish garrison in the Viceroyalty of Peru should not be large.

This is because they only had a few hundred men on their docks, and the craftsmen we sent said that the largest number of Spanish troops they saw was a few hundred, and in some places there were only a few dozen.

"I estimate that their garrison in the Viceroyalty of Peru is at most two or three thousand. After all, they sent tens of millions of taels of gold and silver and goods to the docks, and this is our first time there. They should at least show some strength. If they had more troops, they shouldn't have only sent a few hundred."

Does the Viceroyalty of Peru only have two or three thousand troops stationed there at most?

very good!

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "How much copper did you bring back this time? And how much refined copper ore did you bring back?"

Uh, how do I put this?

Zheng Hongkui explained in detail: "Your Majesty, this time I only brought back five million catties of copper. As for refined copper ore, there was none."

Their governor said that the large furnace for smelting copper ore hadn't been built yet and would be available on their next visit. But this time, there really wasn't one; not even a pound. I had no choice but to have them load all the mined copper ore onto the ship.

Fortunately, they had already gathered manpower to collect a considerable amount of copper ore for refining. I loaded over a hundred ships with it, totaling more than 20 million catties. I calculated the cost of the raw copper ore at one tael of silver per thousand catties, so it only cost me 20,000 taels of silver in total.

Hmm, you do know how to be flexible.

South American copper ore has the highest copper content, and it's definitely not a problem to smelt five to ten kilograms of copper from a thousand kilograms of raw copper ore.

The key point is that a new copper smelter is being built in the outer city of the northwest this year, and these two thousand kilograms of raw copper ore are perfect for testing the furnace.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and then asked, "How much gold and silver did you bring back this time?"

You've finally asked about the payment.

Zheng Hongkui said cautiously, "Your Majesty, this time I brought back about 3.5 million taels of gold and about 2 million taels of silver. However, I did not bring them to Lingshan Guard because I was worried about the safety of land transportation."

Now we finally have enough money. We can acquire all the land in the capital at once, and the development of the entire capital can begin in full swing.

It seems that people are driven by necessity. The Spanish are not incapable of improving their efficiency; at least, these guys have nearly doubled their gold production.

However, it's not good to keep pushing them like this. If they actually develop, it would be quite detrimental to the Ming Dynasty.

"Cooperative development" is still the best approach. Let the Ming Dynasty do all the work, while the Spanish can just sit back and make money.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully for a moment, then asked, "So, have you figured out the North Pacific Gyre shipping route yet?"

Zheng Hongkui nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, we have thoroughly understood the ocean currents. In fact, the Kuroshio Current, which runs from the eastern waters of the South China Sea to the waters of Japan, is part of the North Pacific Circulation Channel."

The ocean currents are similar to the Kuroshio Current, and there is a clear boundary between them and the surrounding sea surface. Sometimes the water is murky, and sometimes it even looks black like the Kuroshio Current. Sometimes there are things moving in the water.

It's sometimes a bit difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, but with telescopes, staring at the water's surface, it's very easy to tell. We wouldn't deviate from the ocean current's course at all. Therefore, our voyage went quite smoothly this time, without any delays.

Well, it's good that the circulation channel is easy to find. Now the conditions for "cooperative development" are almost in place. We just need to wait for those eighty small Weiyuan warships to be built in July, and then we can force Spain to engage in "cooperative development".

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully again, and then asked, "When can you set off?"

Zheng Hongkui estimated, "The cargo is already being unloaded and loaded in Dongfan. I've been here for several days now, so the cargo should be almost loaded. I can set off as soon as I get back."

Yes, Not Bad.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then carefully instructed, "After you go there, buy some saltpeter from that Peruvian governor. They also need to make gunpowder, and there are many saltpeter mines there. They should have found the saltpeter mines there a long time ago."

You can tell him that you need to use water to dissolve saltpeter to make ice, and that you need a lot of saltpeter. You can buy as much as he has in stock. That guy is probably just pretending to be confused. As long as you pay him, he will definitely sell it.

You can also charge him one tael of silver and a thousand catties for saltpeter. Anyway, all you need to do is send more local strongmen to mine it. There's no need to process it or invest any costs. That guy will definitely be as enthusiastic as when selling rubber tree seeds, and he'll send local strongmen to mine it like crazy.

Also, have Zhibao arrange for a fast ship to deliver those rubber tree seeds to Qiongzhou Prefecture. After you return, lead your fleet and try to return by July of this year.

Zheng Hongkui nodded repeatedly and said, "This subordinate understands."

As they were talking, Fang Zhenghua suddenly strode in, carrying a memorial, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, an urgent report from Henan Prefecture."

If this guy can report again, then it proves that he was definitely arranged by Gao Yingxiang or one of the three powerful families and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou.

Zhu Jue took the memorial, glanced at it, and couldn't help but sneer.

Sure enough, it was that unfamiliar minor official again. This fellow reported that the rebels Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong had really taken action, and nearly 20,000 princes and members of the royal family from the six vassal states in the Central Plains had all been beheaded and their heads displayed to the public!
Furthermore, hundreds of officials, including the Henan governor Huang Daozhou, who remained loyal and refused to associate with the rebels, were all beheaded by the rebel Gao Yingxiang.

The cabinet also submitted a draft bill, stating that the princes and royal families had suffered such an unprecedented catastrophe, with hundreds of loyal and unyielding officials killed, causing divine wrath and public resentment. Yet these guys were still asking him to issue an edict of self-reproach in order to appease the people.

This means he has to take all the blame!
Can he take the blame?
Just kidding.

He wasn't as foolish as Emperor Chongzhen, who was tricked for seventeen years, taking all the blame, and only realized it on his deathbed, "It was all my ministers who misled me."

He could never issue an edict of self-reproach, nor could he possibly take the blame for this.

He's already prepared to make someone take the blame.

You even issued an edict to repent? Well, I'll just kill a chicken to scare you bunch of monkeys.

If you are not afraid, then I will continue killing!

He handed the memorial directly to Liu Ruoyu and said coldly, "Reply: The reason why the rebels have become so arrogant is because Hong Chengchou failed to suppress them effectively. Order that Hong Chengchou and his entire family be escorted back to the capital immediately and executed."

You really do want to deal with Hong Chengchou.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong's expression changed slightly.

Fortunately, he had no connection whatsoever with Hong Chengchou, a fellow townsman.

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruoyu immediately began writing without hesitation.

Zhu Jue coldly said, "Zhilong, there's no need to wait for the cabinet's document. Immediately send someone to inform Zhibao and Li Chaoqin to arrest people and confiscate their property. Hong Chengchou and his family should be escorted to the capital by the navy's centipede ships."

Is this in accordance with the rules?
I don't care about rules or regulations; His Majesty's word is law!

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

(End of this chapter)