Hundreds of households in Liaodong, covering the light with one hand

When Qiu Tong received the summoning order from Wang Qi, he was a little flattered.

After all, a former Jinyi Guard officer with hundreds of households and now a secret guard with thousands of households, even if he also holds the position of supervising the production of Yamen, how valuable is his status? At Wang Qi's place, I'm afraid there's not even a tael on the scale.

Therefore, Qiu Tong didn't know how he could be summoned by Wang Qi personally.

Following the guards, Qiu Tong was led to the chief's residence with some anxiety.

When Qiu Tong got there, there was already a young-looking man waiting at the door - tall and tall, with dark skin. It was obvious that he had lived at sea for a long time, and his body was made of skin, especially his pair of deep black eyes. Incomparable, looking at it makes people dare not despise it.

Is he also here to see the chief?

Qiu Tong was a little curious.

"I'm going to report, please wait a moment." The guard did not have the arrogance of the general office in front of the prime minister's door, let alone the arrogance. He nodded and went to report inside.

"How do you call this brother?" Qiu Tong showed his badge intentionally or unintentionally.

In this Gyeonggi region, the status of secret guards has always been a golden sign.

Unlike the Jin Yiwei, who are notorious, the secret guards are more mysterious. They generally do not have contact with the people and are directly affiliated with the parliament. They have always performed the task of collecting secret intelligence.

Zheng Zhilong was just brought here.

He didn't expect that he could meet Wang Qi so smoothly.

After all, he was so famous and the leading figure in the entire Ming Dynasty. In fact, Zheng Zhilong did not expect Wang Qi to really remember him. However, when he heard the chief consul asked to see him by name, Zheng Zhilong knew that the most important opportunity in his life had come. , whether you can catch it or not depends on your breath.

Looking sideways at Qiu Tong, who was slightly chubby, Zheng Zhilong didn't want to pay attention to this man. He was sorting out his drafts and preparing for a formal meeting - as for the identity of the other party's secret guard?

Hey, I'm someone who once had a drink with the chief!

However, since the other party spoke first, Zheng Zhilong shouldn't be too aloof. After all, they are under the same roof. Maybe they will get to know each other again later?

"Zheng Zhilong, a Fujianese," Zheng Zhilong smiled and cupped his hands.

"Qiu Tong, a member of the Shuntian Prefecture, secret guard of thousands of households," Qiu Tong narrowed his eyes. Since he had no official status, he was not an enemy of the same trade, so everything was easy to talk about. He grinned and said, "Please give me your advice."

"Easy to say," Zheng Zhilong nodded slightly.

The two of them stood on one side with different thoughts and were speechless for a while.

"You two are coming with me," the waiter has already walked over: "The chief sir is waiting for you in Xiyuan."

The two of them followed the waiter one after another and arrived at the Xiyuan drawing room of the chief official residence.

Xiyuan is not a closed hall, but a place directly floating on the lotus pond and facing water on three sides.

Sitting here, the breeze is blowing, the water is rippling, and the view is excellent.

When the two people arrived, Wang Qi was already at the edge of the pool, admiring the sight of white cranes flying and lotus flowers behind his back.

"Little Qiu Tong pays homage to the chief!"

With a plop, Qiu Tong stepped forward with his front feet, already kneeling on the ground with his back feet, and bowed to Wang Qi.

And Zheng Zhilong did not hesitate to give in. He followed Qiu Tong and knelt on the ground to pay his respects.

"Get up," Wang Qi turned to look at the two of them: "You two happened to be here, so I called everyone over and sat down."

Qiu Tong and Zheng Zhilong didn't know each other, and when they heard Wang Qi's words, they understood what they meant.

There is one thing that requires two people to do together.

Qiu Tong and Zheng Zhilong sat on one side below Wang Qi.

"I heard from Li Dutong that you did a good job in the Manufacturing Supervision Department," Wang Qi first looked at Qiu Tong.

"Thank you, sir. I just did my job, no credit." Qiu Tong rubbed his hands, looking a little at a loss.

Of course, I don't know if he wants to be more submissive in front of Wang Qi, or if he has other ideas.

"There are plenty of opportunities." For some reason, there was a smile in Wang Qi's eyes, which made Qiu Tong a little nervous. Wang Qi turned to look at Zheng Zhilong again: "First officer, we meet again."

"When I came back from Japan, I wanted to visit you, and today I finally got what I wanted." Zheng Zhilong said, stood up, took out the letter from his waist, and handed it to Wang Qi: "Sir, this is Koji Matsuura, the famous name of the Matsuura clan of Hirado Domain in Japan. My personal letter, I will deliver it on my behalf."

The attendant on the side took the letter and handed it to Wang Qi.

"I don't like to deal with the Japanese directly." Wang Qi clasped the letter on the table without opening it. His eyes were dim and reflected the shadow of Zheng Zhilong. He pointed like a knife and pointed at Zheng Zhilong and said: "You Zheng Yiguan can be the agent."

Wang Qi's action immediately stunned Zheng Zhilong.

Subconsciously swallowing his saliva, Zheng Zhilong sensed an excellent opportunity the moment Wang Qi pointed at him, an opportunity to make contributions and even achieve extraordinary maritime hegemony!

Who is Wang Qi?

Weijia Ming!

Dominate the world!

With his endorsement, Zheng Zhilong can go to Japan and talk directly to the Tokugawa family.

As for the Matsuura family?

Wang Qi had just put the letter on the table to show that he looked down on the little magistrate of the Hirado clan.

"Sir, me!" Zheng Yiguan stood up and was about to kneel down to Wang Qi again.

"Sit down!" Wang Qi waved his hand and followed him away, leaving only three people sitting down in the hall.

"A few days ago, our army encountered some obstacles in the Korean War," Wang Qi gently fiddled with the teacup in his hand: "It had already reached Seoul and forced the Korean royal family to Jincheng. Then something happened. "

Qiu Tong, who was sitting next to him, had already heard about what Wang Qi said when he was in the capital.

At that time, Cao Wenzhao only led an army of more than 10,000 people and pushed North Korea to the point of almost annihilation.

The Japanese Ronin group, which had been paying attention to the war situation for a long time, landed from Silla at this time and helped Li Zong resist Cao Wenzhao's army.

The Japanese Ronin Group had fought against Cao Wenzhao when they were in Hetuala, Liaodong. When they met again, the enemies were naturally jealous of each other.

The two sides have fought several battles, almost dyeing the entire Yunluo Mountain red. The key point of the entire war situation is no longer North Korea, or even has nothing to do with North Korea.

It has turned into a war between Ming Dynasty and Japan.

Now, the Ming Dynasty occupied Goguryeo, and the Japanese occupied Baekje and Silla.

The war is currently stagnant. Although Wang Qi is not in a hurry, the number of Japanese is constantly increasing. If the situation worsens and the domestic war is uncertain, it is difficult to increase the number of troops again. Cao Wenzhao does not have enough troops, so it may be necessary to temporarily By retreating to the Liaodong region, the entire Korean region may be occupied by Japan.

Wang Qi is not willing to make wedding clothes for others. "What do you mean, your lord? Send me to Japan to lobby Japanese domestic forces and jointly attack the maritime ronin group?" Zheng Zhilong has been traveling between Japan and the Ming Dynasty for a long time, so he naturally knows about the Japanese ronin entrenched in the East China Sea and Huanghai Bay.

Even the Tokugawa shogunate could not control those people, as long as they did not cause harm to the Japanese mainland.

Qiu Tong on the side suddenly became excited when he heard Zheng Zhilong's words.

I, Qiu Tong, have not been famous in the capital for decades. I have moved dead trees and moved living things. If I can go to Japan, I may be able to take advantage of the situation. With the endorsement of the chief, what can't be done in the world?

To be honest, Qiu Tong always felt that his talents were not appreciated, but his current situation was just a lack of an opportunity!

A real opportunity to showcase your talents!

"It's okay to lobby, it's okay to cooperate." At this moment, Wang Qi is like a patient teacher, teaching his students. Wang Qi knows Zheng Zhilong's talent and also knows his ambition. He wants this ambition to become the starting point for dominating the sea: " In the short term, I want peace in North Korea, at least to maintain the current situation! As for the longer-term goals and plans, you can think about it slowly, and tell me when you think about it!"

"Sir," Zheng Zhilong's face turned rosy, and he cupped his fists and bowed deeply: "Zheng Zhilong, thank you for your trust!!!"

"Qiu Tong," Wang Qi stretched out his hand to make Zheng Zhilong sit down, and then looked at Qiu Tong: "You have been in the Construction Supervision Department for several months, so you should know a lot about ships. And when you work in the secret guard, you can choose dozens of people. , went to Japan with an official."

"Sir, the Construction Supervision Department now has three treasure ships that can be used to go to sea, and the younger ones also have dozens of brothers. They are absolutely loyal and reliable. They can be used when going to Japan!" Qiu Tong was overjoyed when he heard this.

This kind of opportunity to let yourself go out and take charge is absolutely rare!

If it succeeds, in the next few decades, Ming Dynasty will occupy an advantageous position in its foreign affairs!

"In addition to traveling on behalf of the parliament, you also have another task," Wang Qi sat back in his chair and tapped his fingers on the table. His voice had already faded: "The Ming Maritime Affairs has always been severely banned, but recently the parliament has passed a resolution. We want to relax the sea ban and open ports all along the coast. However, not all will be opened at the beginning. We decided to open Dengzhou, Weihai, Jiangsu Haizhouwei and other places first, so your trip to Japan can start from Dengzhou Prefecture. , how about setting an example for the world? Two envoys to open the sea."

"This kind of thing," Zheng Zhilong could hardly suppress the smile on his lips, it was tailor-made for him: "If I can't relieve your worries during this trip to Japan, Zheng Zhilong will never step into the sea again in his life!!"

"The same goes for little Qiu Tong!"

"Open up the maritime trade between Japan and Dengzhou Prefecture," Wang Qi slowly stood up, walked in the hall, walked to the spring pool, and murmured: "Lay the foundation for the upcoming trade market explosion."

Wang Qi's words have been made very clear.

Both a political identity and a mission as a maritime trader.

Moreover, with the development of production tools and productivity in the future, there will be a large number of excess products that need dumping grounds.

With the beginning of primary industrialization, a large amount of new land and producers are also needed.

These all require expansion through ocean trade or ocean plunder.

"Sir," Zheng Zhilong seemed to have thought of something: "As far as I know, Jiaozhi, Myanmar, can also be used as an option for trade dumping and population plunder."

When Zheng Zhilong was a child, he followed his uncle as a sea slave in the South China Sea, so he naturally knew that that was where the real plundering of slaves and wealth was.

"There's no rush," Wang Qi shook his head. He had to eat his food one bite at a time. The southern provinces had not yet been unified and their military strength was insufficient. If they crossed over via sea trade, the gains would outweigh the losses.

The three of them talked for about two hours, until it was dark and the moonlight on the lake was filled with silvery light, and then they slowly retreated.

Zheng Zhilong still needs to prepare a lot for his trip to sea this time, so he will live in Beijing for a while.

Wang Qi was not in a hurry to finish everything in one night.

"Come here, prepare the sedan." The night was already dark, and Wang Qi was still preparing to go home. Last time he slept in Xiyuan, and the next day Hai Lanzhu came to Wang Qi's house with red eyes to deliver food. The chief lord, who can make everyone tremble with fear with just one look from outside, will insist on going home no matter how late it is.

"Sir, the queen has sent someone over." Wang Qi had just stood up when a waiter came over with a little eunuch. The little eunuch was also carrying a dark red food box with a dragon and a phoenix in his hand.

"Huh?" An almost undetectable glint flashed in his eyes, and Wang Qi had a trace of doubt in his heart: "What is this?"

"When you return to the country, the young eunuch," the young eunuch chuckled, "The queen mother heard that the prince works hard every day, so she personally cooked and prepared these crabmeat silver cakes and yellow croaker stewed lotus seed soup for you. She ordered the slaves to give them to you. Send it!"

In the inner palace, all the maids and eunuchs followed the Queen Mother and still called Wang Qi Duke of Qi.

"Crab meat cake?" Wang Qi was even more confused.

"Don't blame me, my lord," the young eunuch seemed to know what Wang Qi was thinking, and hurriedly said, "When the lord's wife entered the palace as the concubine, when the queen mother was chatting with her, they mentioned the food of the adults. At that time, the queen mother gave her Note it down."

The corners of the lips of the attendants twitched slightly when they heard this.

Although the emperor no longer exists in name only, the queen mother is still the most noble person among the people, and she is the representative of the most noble woman.

Such a woman would cook herself at night and take the initiative to make supper for Wang Qi.

What does this mean?

The attendants on the side were afraid to think about it.

"If you are interested, thank the Queen Mother for me."

Wang Qi nodded expressionlessly.

Then the follower stepped forward to take the food box as if he had just woken up from a dream.

"Slave resigns"

The little eunuch left,

Wang Qi lowered his head and reached out to open the box. The crab cakes inside were still steaming, so he thought they had been carefully prepared.

"Take it home," Wang Qi casually closed the box again: "Let's go back home."

The attendant was carrying the food box, looking at his master's unconcerned look, he was really a little envious.

I had no choice but to lower my head and follow him quickly.

----

Inner Palace, Kunning Palace.

"Did he accept it?" After hearing the little eunuch's reply, Zhang Yan crossed her hands on her chest and patted it gently, looking particularly happy. She continued to ask with excitement, "Has he tasted it?"

Although she is the Queen Mother, Zhang Yan is only twenty-one years old this year.

A woman of this age, deep down in her heart, still longs for someone to rely on.

Especially those who are orphans and widowed and possess magical weapons.

"I've tasted it, and the Duke said it's delicious. Thank you, Queen Mother, for taking the trouble." The little eunuch lied, his face not red and his heart not beating.

It's impossible for the Queen Mother to ask Qi Guogong himself, right?

"It's good over there. As long as he likes it, I can send it to him every day." The Queen Mother pursed her lips and murmured to herself.

The nun on the side stepped forward, handed the little eunuch a piece of silver, waved it away, then turned back and walked to the Queen Mother: "Queen Mother, please rest first. In a few days, the crown prince's canonization ceremony will be held." ( End of this chapter)