Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 325 Liu Kongzhao wants to do business with Hongmaofan

"My lord, I have an unfeeling request, and I also ask my lord to help me perform a play. I wonder if my lord is willing?"

Zheng Zhilong bowed his hands to Liu Kongzhao. Although Zheng Zhilong's current wealth and armed forces are enough to compete with the imperial court, he still maintains the most basic respect for Liu Kongzhao, the sincere uncle.

After all, Liu Kongzhao represents Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjian, and now the Zheng Group and the Ming court are still in the honeymoon period.

Liu Kongzhao patted his stomach, stepped leisurely on the sea rocks slapped by the tide, made a look of indifference on the surface, and glanced at Zheng Zhilong:
"Um, acting? It's a great honor for me to act for Mr. Zheng. Why would you like to say it? You say yes."

Liu Kongzhao, who had wandered around the Zheng Group's control area for some days, gained a lot of new understanding of the Zheng Group. What he gained was not only a bellyful of fat, but also a bellyful of coastal defense knowledge.

Although he still pretended not to be very interested in naval battles on the surface, and only cared about drinking with others, eating meat, playing with women, and inquiring about profitable deals, but after hearing Zheng Zhilong's request to let him act as a dignified earl, he still couldn't help becoming a little sullen.

However, Liu Kongzhao's superficial words still had the meaning of flattering Zheng Zhilong.

"My lord misunderstood, I dare not let you be an actor;
The meaning of the officer is to ask you to help hold Van der Laan. This person is the commander of the "Stubborn John" of the East India Company of Hong Mao Fan. Out of the Eastern Islands, and appealed to their governor in Batavia for help;
This van der Laan and his "Stubborn John" are the governor's reinforcements;
But this Vanderlande didn't want to make a loss-making business, so he first came to Golden Harvest to inquire about the situation, and wanted to ask if we had any intention of regaining Dongfan;
Sir, you are the Chief of the Navy Department, you are the founding relative of Ming Dynasty, and you are also a popular person around His Majesty, so I wonder if the Sir can help you lie, saying that because of the uncertain opinion of the Ministry of the Navy, I have no intention of recovering Dongfan;
In this way, Van der Laan will leave, Kui Yi will have no rescue, and the battle to regain Dongfan will be easier to fight. After the matter is completed, the next official will give Sir Sir Dongfan Island a thousand hectares of fertile land. "

After hearing what Zheng Zhilong said, Liu Kongzhao understood what he meant, but he still couldn't help asking: "Who is this Vanderlan, so easy to deceive?"

"My lord doesn't know something. The key to doing business is not whether you can be deceived or not, but whether the deceived person is willing to believe. Although Vanderlan and Kuiyi are both red-haired and members of the East India Company, they His family is all shipbuilding in Amsterdam, and they are in competition with each other. Van der Laan does not want to lose his power to help Kuiyi, but now we have to give him a reason to believe that we will not send troops, so he can go back to their governor. Your Excellency explained that it is not."

When Zheng Zhilong said this, Liu Kongzhao nodded, and understood that Kui Yi and Fan Delan were the same as Zhejiang merchants and Huizhou merchants in Ming Dynasty. Although they are both from the same country, they may not have the same mind.

Liu Kongzhao sighed: "Forget it, Your Majesty is also very concerned about the recovery of Dongfan Island. Isn't it our duty as courtiers to share the worries of your father? Since it is conducive to the recovery of Dongfan Island, The lord will help you with this."

Zheng Zhilong hurriedly expressed his thanks to Liu Kongzhao, and Liu Kongzhao secretly laughed.

He has also learned a lot about the situation of Hong Mao Fan these days. He knows that these Hong Mao Fan are employees of a company called the East India Company. These people also have their own business.

To put it bluntly, in Liu Kongzhao's view, these Hongmaofans are a group of businessmen, which made Liu Kongzhao realize that he could take this opportunity to discuss business with Hongmaofans.

Early the next morning, with Zheng Zhilong's permission, Van der Laan's fleet entered Jiahe Qianhusuo, which is now Gulangyu Island.

Liu Kongzhao was also wearing the imperial boa robe, together with Zheng Zhilong and others, waiting for Fan der Lan's appearance at Qianhu House.

As a senior officer of the Dutch East India Company, Van der Laan is naturally familiar with Daming and can speak relatively fluent Fengyang Mandarin.

As soon as Fan Delan entered Qianhu and saw Liu Kongzhao's clothes, he also guessed that Liu Kongzhao's status was very noble in the Ming Empire, and he must be more authoritative than Zheng Zhilong, so he bowed to Liu Kongzhao before bowing to Zheng Zhilong.

"You have good eyesight, you are Van der Laan?
"Liu Kongzhao asked, then looked at the interpreter at the side, waiting for the interpreter to translate his words.

"Returning to your Excellency, I am the commander of the "Stubborn John" Van der Laan. I just want to ask Mr. Zheng if he really wants to fight Dongfan Island." mouth.

"It's outspoken, and I said the purpose in such a hurry, but fortunately, I can also talk to us. Although it sounds awkward, we can still communicate with each other."

Liu Kongzhao said a few words to Zheng Zhilong with a smile, and waved to Fan der Laan: "I am Liu Kongzhao, Chief of the Navy Department of China, Chengyi Bo, Admiral Cao Jiang, and I am in charge of the Chinese Navy. It's impossible, so don't worry."

Ming people in this era have already begun to call themselves China, and many documents have mentioned this, so it is not surprising that Liu Kongzhao called himself China at this time.

As Zheng Zhilong said, after listening to Liu Kongzhao's introduction, Fan Delan really believed Liu Kongzhao's words, and seeing that Zheng Zhilong was still smiling beside Liu Kongzhao, he naturally became more convinced, and quickly saluted:

"It turns out to be the noble Earl of your country, sorry for your disrespect! Since Your Excellency the Earl said so, I can rest assured that we have never thought of having any disputes with your country. Your Majesty the Emperor has opened many commercial ports now. Everyone is doing business, isn't it very good, so I hope that your Excellency will believe in our sincerity and not cause any disputes."

"You're right, everyone is a businessman," Liu Kongzhao laughed, and approached Vanderlan and asked, "I heard that you brought twelve warships this time?"

Van der Laan did bring twelve main warships this time. His main purpose was to rescue Kui Yi from Dongfan Island, but he also had other purposes. , he was going to occupy Macau under the order of his governor to make up for the loss of the Dutch East India Company in Dongfan Island.

Of course, Van der Laan couldn't tell his purpose, so he smiled awkwardly.

"I wonder if your Excellency the Commander will allow me to visit your country's warships. If the warships are available, we can spend a lot of money to buy them. It should not be less than a few million silver dollars. Everyone is a businessman. What's the point of fighting a war?" , why not just talk about business?"

When Liu Kongzhao said this, Fan der Laan was also a little stunned.

He didn't expect that the earl of the Ming Empire would purchase his own warship.

As a ship merchant, he was naturally willing to do business with a big money owner like Liu Kongzhao, especially after hearing that Liu Kongzhao wanted to do business with a scale of no less than several million silver dollars.

Van der Laan hurriedly saluted Liu Kongzhao again: "Of course, please move forward, Your Excellency the Earl, and I will give you a good introduction."

(End of this chapter)