How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 202 Zheng Zhilong, I want to take your "futures daughter" as my concubine, bring me the dowry!
It wasn't even February of the third year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, and Beijing was still experiencing a late-spring chill, with a howling wind outside. But inside the West Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace in the Forbidden City, the scene was quite different. The underfloor heating was burning brightly, and the charcoal braziers were also burning, making it warm and cozy, almost to the point of being stuffy.

As soon as Zheng Zhilong followed the eunuch in, sweat began to bead on his forehead. However, even this "Sea King" was restrained in the palace. He dared not even wipe his sweat, let alone take off his clothes! He could only secretly peek around while sweating. This place was not like the Hall of Supreme Harmony; it was not as spacious and majestic. Instead, it resembled the study or living room of a wealthy family, only the furnishings were more elaborate and the atmosphere was more somber.

The Chongzhen Emperor was not wearing court robes, but only a plain crimson gauze robe, sitting on a heated couch. On the low table were several dishes of delicate side dishes and a pot of wine that was being warmed.

"An official has arrived, please sit down." Chongzhen smiled and pointed to the embroidered stool opposite the heated couch. "It's cold, have a drink to warm yourself up."

Zheng Zhilong hurriedly bowed to express his gratitude and sat down, half of his buttocks resting on the embroidered stool. His heart was pounding; the emperor's private summons and such politeness must mean that there was something extremely important and difficult to handle.

Xu Yingyuan poured Zheng Zhilong a cup of wine, then stepped aside and stood with his hands at his sides.

Emperor Chongzhen picked up the wine cup in front of him, but did not drink it. Instead, he rubbed the warm cup with his fingers. "Yi Guan," he said gently, "I know you have concerns about the matter of crossing the sea to attack Liaodong."

Zheng Zhilong's heart tightened, and he quickly put down the wine cup he had just picked up, stood up and replied, "Your Majesty, please understand! It is not that I am afraid of war, but that... crossing the sea to launch an expedition is unpredictable, and the outcome of the battle... moreover, the loss of provisions and ships is a huge amount."

He was telling the truth. Although the Later Jin lacked a navy capable of directly confronting the Zheng family's fleet at sea, transporting troops ashore and penetrating deep into enemy territory was far too risky. A misstep could result in total loss—if ships were attacked while docking, escape would be extremely difficult!

Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down. "I understand your thoughts." He looked at Zheng Zhilong, his gaze calm. "The so-called Beiyang Fleet is actually your family's private property. I will not let it be wasted, nor will I let you, Zheng Yiguan, do a losing business."

Zheng Zhilong smiled, but his heart was still in suspense.

When he spent money to buy the island's annexation, he made up his mind to avoid getting involved in the Liaodong, Liaoxi, and Liaonan battlefields as much as possible.
Emperor Chongzhen changed the subject, his tone becoming solemn: "I have thought this through. In order to ensure that your Zheng family does not work in vain, and to be fair to all, I have decided to also take one of your Zheng family's daughters as a concubine."

Zheng Zhilong's mind was buzzing; he was completely stunned. What was going on? Where could he find a daughter to send to the palace? He was only twenty-eight this year, his eldest son Zheng Sen was only seven, and his younger brothers were even younger. There wasn't a single unmarried woman in his family! He couldn't possibly have the Emperor's money to feed him!

He knelt down with a thud, his voice filled with helplessness: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty's grace is boundless! I...I am moved to tears, and wish I could repay Your Majesty's kindness with my life! But...but I..."

He raised his head, his face filled with difficulty and fear: "In my family... I am still young, and my son Zheng Sen is only seven years old. There is really... really no suitable woman in my family who can be sent to the palace to serve Your Majesty! I... I deserve to die!"

After he finished speaking, he bowed his head deeply, his heart pounding with anxiety, wondering how the emperor would react.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at Zheng Zhilong, who was lying prostrate on the ground. Instead of anger, a meaningful smile appeared on his face. He softly said "Oh," in a calm tone.

"Official, stand up and speak."

Zheng Zhilong stood up nervously, stood with his hands at his sides, and dared not raise his head.

Emperor Chongzhen tapped the edge of the low table lightly with his fingers and said slowly, "No daughter? Of course I know you don't have any adult daughters right now."

Zheng Zhilong was taken aback, looked up at the emperor, and looked puzzled.

Chongzhen's smile widened, carrying an almost roguish certainty: "Just because you don't have it doesn't mean I can't accept the dowry from your Zheng family."

"Huh?" Zheng Zhilong was completely dumbfounded; this sounded incredibly awkward no matter how he looked at it.

Emperor Chongzhen leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice, and spoke in a gentle tone:

"My lord, you're not even thirty yet, are you? You're in the prime of your life. I've heard you have many concubines, not only Han Chinese, but also Japanese, Frankish, foreigners, and Russians."

Zheng Zhilong blushed slightly and stammered, not daring to answer. How did the emperor even know this?

Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand and said, "Then hurry up and go back to work hard! Quickly give birth to a daughter!"

He looked at the dumbfounded Zheng Zhilong and spoke casually, as if he were arranging a routine household matter: "I can collect the dowry first! The military expenses for this expedition to Liaodong and the risks taken by the Zheng family navy can be considered as an advance dowry from you, the future 'father-in-law of the emperor.' As for the daughter... I can wait! It's not too late to send her to the palace after you give birth to her and raise her to adulthood!"

Zheng Zhilong's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he listened, his mouth opening and closing but no sound came out. In his twenty-eight years of life, he had traveled all over the world and seen countless strange people and events, but he had never seen anyone like the current emperor who could "eat a woman's rice" so confidently and elegantly, no, he could "eat it ahead of time" in such a way!
Seeing his stunned expression, Chongzhen couldn't help but burst into laughter and patted him on the shoulder:

"What? I'm not worried, why are you? Could it be that you lack confidence in yourself and can't produce a daughter?" Zheng Zhilong was provoked by these words and subconsciously straightened his back, blurting out, "Your Majesty, what are you saying! Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I will certainly try my best!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized something was wrong. What was all this about? But looking at the emperor's unwavering gaze, he suddenly understood: the emperor was determined to live off Zheng Zhilong! And he would be left speechless and even grateful!
He took a deep breath, smiled wryly, and bowed again: "Your Majesty... is wise! Your subject obeys! This 'dowry'... Your subject will pay it in advance!"

Emperor Chongzhen smiled and nodded, then winked at Xu Yingyuan, who was standing to the side.

Xu Yingyuan understood and quietly withdrew. A moment later, he returned with a long, narrow brocade box wrapped in yellow silk, which he gently placed on the low table.

Emperor Chongzhen opened the brocade box and took out a yellowed scroll. It looked like a piece of parchment, and it was obviously quite old; it was definitely not a newly drawn scroll.

Chongzhen slowly spread the parchment on the kang table.

Zheng Zhilong looked over curiously. It was a nautical chart, drawn with great detail, and with some strange "foreign" markings on it—all in beautiful cursive English! Zheng Zhilong didn't recognize them, but he could recognize the coastlines of the Ming Dynasty, Korea, and Japan, as well as the vast Pacific Ocean and the blurry coastline of the New World on the eastern shore of the Pacific.

"This picture," Chongzhen pointed to the picture with his finger, lowering his voice, "was secretly presented to the late emperor by the British envoy in order to establish trade relations with the Ming Dynasty."

Zheng Zhilong's heart skipped a beat. England? A type of red-haired barbarian? Their nautical charts?
Emperor Chongzhen traced a dotted line, starting from somewhere east of Japan, drawing a huge arc northeastward, finally landing on the west coast of that unfamiliar continent. "According to the British envoy, this continent is called 'America.' Its western coast is rich in gold and silver mines, but the natives are ignorant and do not recognize treasures. They often exchange gold nuggets for porcelain, silk, or even a few glass beads from our Great Ming Dynasty."

Zheng Zhilong's eyes lit up instantly. As a maritime merchant leader, he naturally craved "mountains of gold and silver." But having been at sea for many years, he wasn't a child and wasn't so easily fooled. He leaned closer, carefully examining the route, and hesitated before saying, "Your Majesty, to be honest, I've also heard the Portuguese (referring to the Spanish) mention 'America'. They say there are indeed mountains of gold on its east coast, called 'New Spain.' But to get there from the west, the Portuguese's large sailing ships would take two years to make the round trip! And the ocean is extremely treacherous with its storms!"

His implication was that the British were probably just making empty promises to fool the emperor.
Emperor Chongzhen thought to himself: Even an old pirate like you can be fooled! The Spanish are spreading this propaganda to discourage people like you.
Emperor Chongzhen smiled and said, "Your Excellency is indeed an expert. However, look closely here." His fingertip pointed precisely to a spot on the nautical chart marked with strange symbols and foreign script. "The British say that by taking advantage of a warm current called the 'Kuroshio Current' from here, and then the summer southwest trade winds, ships can sail downstream and head straight for northeastern Japan. In the northeastern waters of Japan, there is an area known as the 'Prevailing Westerlies,' where ships can sail eastward with the winds. If all goes smoothly, the journey from Japan to the west coast of the New World will take only about two months."

In fact, the Portuguese also used this route when returning to the New World from Luzon. As for their journey from the New World, they traveled along the North Equatorial Current and the Northeast Trade Winds, reaching Luzon in about a hundred days. The claim of a two-year round trip is a deceptive fabrication used by Westerners to mislead people!

Zheng Zhilong gasped! Two months to go, about a hundred days to return?! If such a convenient shipping route truly existed… his heart pounded. He was an old hand at sea, he knew all too well what a new shipping route, especially one that might lead to wealthy lands, meant! It was a treasure trove! A foundation that could sustain generations to come!

Seeing the burning passion in his eyes, Chongzhen knew the time was right. He stopped looking at the nautical chart and looked directly at Zheng Zhilong: "Even if we can't find the legendary Gold Mountain for the time being, Yi Guan, think about it, isn't this vast and fertile land, sparsely populated, a divinely bestowed foundation?"

He leaned forward slightly, his tone full of seductive power: "Your 'Great Ming-Japan Licensed Trading Company' should broaden its horizons a bit more. Once the Liaodong affair is over and the coastal regions are at peace, I will grant your Zheng family permission to use this map to build a fleet and head east! To explore new frontiers! Give it a try. If you fail, it's just a ship full of lives. But what if you succeed?"

"Wherever your ships can go and your flags can fly, I will grant the Zheng family autonomy! I only desire the title of tribute mission and the profits from trade. We will split the profits 30/70! You get 70%, and I get 30%!"

The idea of ​​carving out territory, granting autonomy, and reaping huge profits through trade sounds increasingly believable!
Putting aside these empty promises, if the nautical chart provided by the Emperor is genuine, the potential profits alone would be enough to persuade Zheng Zhilong to invest hundreds of thousands of taels of silver and take on the risk of a naval expedition to Liaodong.
Thinking of this, Zheng Zhilong knelt down with a thud. This time, it wasn't just a perfunctory gesture, but a genuine expression of his feelings.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty's grace! Your kindness in recognizing my talent and your magnanimity are something I, your subject Zheng Zhilong, could never repay even with my life!"

He kowtowed heavily: "Your Majesty, rest assured about the matter of Liaodong! I will personally lead the fleet, select the best soldiers, and ensure that the elite royal army is delivered to Liaodong unscathed! Furthermore, we will spread misinformation to keep Huang Taiji's stronghold in constant fear!"

Emperor Chongzhen looked at him, a genuine smile on his face. He rose and personally helped Zheng Zhilong up: "Good! Rise, Yiguan! Today, you and I are not only related by marriage, but also comrades-in-law who will work together to achieve great things!"

He patted Zheng Zhilong's arm hard: "This vast sea frontier, and even the boundless new land to the east, is the place where your Zheng family, for the Ming Dynasty and for yourself, will create unparalleled achievements!"

Zheng Zhilong was so excited that his face turned red, and he repeatedly said yes.

After drinking a few more cups of wine and carefully putting away the "precious" nautical chart, Zheng Zhilong left the West Warm Pavilion with profuse thanks. His steps were a little unsteady, and he felt as if a golden road stretched straight to the sky before him.

Inside the warm pavilion, Emperor Chongzhen stood alone by the window, gazing at the gray sky outside. Xu Yingyuan quietly entered, intending to tidy up the low table.

"Let's leave it for now," Chongzhen said calmly. "Mao Wenlong is coming later! He has a daughter in hand!"

(End of this chapter)