The Rise of Ming Dynasty 1646

Chapter 607 Eager and Helan People

After Ku Zhe finished speaking, he kept silent, did not urge Meng Zhengfa, and just lowered his head and closed his eyes to rest his mind.

Meng Zhengfa stared at the paper of oath, and couldn't help but feel the turmoil in his heart.It is undeniable that the method mentioned by the thief in front of him is very likely to be successful.I have several competent internal supporters in the palace, if I lie to the Fujian party again, saying that I want to send the emperor back to Tianxing Mansion, they will definitely help, and there is a [-]% certainty that the emperor will be taken out of the Forbidden City.

Afterwards, as long as Ku Zhe had a way to get the emperor to board a boat on the Yangtze River, with the speed of the big navy ships sailing in the river, they would not be able to catch up with the centipede boats that were paddling desperately.On the other side, the Huguang Navy sent boats to meet them, even if some of the navy's small boats caught up, they couldn't help themselves.

As soon as the little emperor arrived in Wuchang, He Dutang "took the emperor to order the princes" and gave power to the world, and as the number one hero, he was bound to be a high-ranking official, so he didn't have to worry about Li Guo seeking revenge.

But he is also very clear that this move is already a crime, and one mistake will cause ten thousand years of infamy.And this Jianlu came to find him with no good intentions, most likely because of Wu Sangui's death, the Qing army in Jiangbei had no idea, and wanted to stir up internal struggles in Ming Dynasty, so they could take a breather and regain their strength.

One step forward, he is a sinner who aids captives in abuse, disloyalty and unrighteousness.

But if he took a step back, he might be killed by Li Guo, and even the whole family...

He hesitated again and again, and finally ruthlessly recited in his heart, "Better teach me to betray the people of the world than let the people of the world betray me", first to save his family and life before we talk!When I gain power in the future and make the historian's brilliant pen come alive, who will know the filth of today?

Having made up his mind, he bowed his hands to Ku Zhe, "I will cooperate with you this time. It's just that everyone is their own master. After the matter is completed, you and I will have nothing to do with each other."

"Okay!" Ku Zhe clapped his hands and praised, "Master Meng is indeed the one who has accomplished great things! We have never known each other since then, and maybe one day, I will lead an army with your lord to compete in the Central Plains!"

Meng Zhengfa was flattered by his words, he only felt that he was already an extremely powerful minister with great power, and discussed the details with him carefully, until it was getting dark, he sent the three of them out of the mansion.

Ku Zhe got into the carriage and drove for more than two miles. Then he said to the servant who had been following him all the time: "Aruna, my luck has been declining recently in the Qing Dynasty. I have been invincible in foreign wars, and internal strife broke out again. If this time If you can't cause civil strife in the southern barbarians, if you want to win the world in the future, I'm afraid it will become more and more difficult...

"Therefore, in accordance with the order of the Holy Mother and the Empress Dowager, we will not hesitate to use all the hidden threads in the south of the Yangtze River, and there must be no mistakes in this matter!
"Last time we spent a lot of effort to find a good opportunity that was missed by you, and Zhu Linmi escaped unharmed. This time you have to work harder and make up for the mistakes."

He patted Aruna's shoulder again, "Your clansmen all hope that you will return there with success."

The woman hurriedly clasped her hands and replied: "I must do my best and dare not make mistakes." Judging by her figure, she was the one who assassinated Zhu Linmei at the Shenwu Gate in the Forbidden City that day.

……

The conversation was divided into two parts. At the same time that Meng Zhengfa was conspiring with the enemy to start a civil war, Li Guangchun, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, was reporting to the assistant king in Yingtianfu Yamen.

"Your Highness, those red barbarians have prepared a lot of gifts, and they look very eager. They also said that they have brought a letter of authorization from the highest administrative officer of Dongfan, and they have an extremely important matter to discuss with His Highness." Li Guangchun glanced at the assistant government. Wang, "Look, when are you going to summon them..."

Very important?Zhu Linming couldn't help laughing secretly, it's no wonder the Helan people are so anxious. After Zheng Zhilong's fleet was completely burned in Laizhou, they must have felt the challenge of the Ming Navy in East Asia, and began to worry about Helan's trade monopoly in East Asia. status.This time, seven people came at once, and they gave gifts and authorization letters, which was completely different from the previous arrogant attitude.

Really a weak country without diplomacy, truth emerges from the cannon!
He picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, and said unhurriedly: "What's the rush? I'm going to prepare for the Xiaoling Mausoleum soon, and I'm afraid I won't have time to see these barbarians. Ah, first let them stay at the posthouse of the Ministry of Rites for three days." Let’s talk about it in five days.”

In the current situation, Daming has gradually established an advantage in the surrounding waters. Naturally, he has the patience to deal with the Helan people, and the longer the delay, the greater the advantage will be with Daming's shipbuilding capabilities.Therefore, Zhu Linming intentionally left the Helan people alone. The more anxious they were, the easier it would be for them to make concessions at the negotiating table.

"This..." Li Guangchun saw that the assistant king didn't intend to discuss any further, so he could only bow down and say, "I will follow orders."

After the officials from the Ministry of Rituals left, Zhu Linming ordered Shi Lin to summon Huang Zongxi, the business manager, to go back and prepare to negotiate with the Helan people on maritime trade and other matters, and explained the key points in detail.

At first Huang Zongxi only memorized it in his head, but soon realized that there were too many details, so he pleaded guilty and begged for a pen and paper, and copied down all the orders from the assistant king before rushing back to the office to arrange negotiations.

The reason why Zhu Linmi didn't meet the Helan people in person was to hint to them that the strength of Daming is different from the past now, and it is no longer just a representative or special envoy of the East India Company who can meet the auxiliary king of the Ming Dynasty, so that they should recognize the current situation. situation.

Secondly, there will be more and more things in Ming Dynasty in the future, and he, the assistant king, cannot do everything himself.As the business affairs department in charge of overseas trade and colonies in the future, it is also necessary to familiarize yourself with foreign negotiations as soon as possible.It should be relatively easy to negotiate with the Helan people, and Huang Zongxi and the others can use this to exercise.

Two days later.

After the Helan people went up and down repeatedly and urged them several times, they were finally able to meet Huang Zongxi at the yamen of the Lishang Department, accompanied by several officials from the Lishang Department and the Ministry of Rites.

A group of Helan officials headed by special envoy Bertman first bowed hypocritically to Huang Zongxi and others and said, "Congratulations to your country for defeating the northern barbarian fleet! The battle of the Ming Navy in Laizhou can be used as a naval teaching material!"

Huang Zongxi smiled and cupped his hands to return the gift, "The special envoy is honored. But you are very concerned about the Ming Dynasty's war. In just a few days, you have already found out the details of the Laizhou Battle."

Bertman froze, and he almost leaked the fact that the senior officer was spying on the intelligence of the Ming Dynasty Navy. He hurriedly said with a smile: "I also heard from the maritime merchants who passed by Shandong. How can I know the details..."

After the two parties were seated, he hurriedly asked again: "Ah, Mr. Huang, the Council of Members attaches great importance to trade with your country. I wonder what arrangements your country will have for maritime trade in the future?"

"Da Ming's trade policy remains the same as before." Huang Zongxi still smiled kindly, "Fair trade, full tax payment, strict suppression of pirates, that's all."

Bertman didn't hear any valuable information from his words, so he had to follow his established plan and said: "Master Huang, there are a lot of pirates in the waters around Daming, and only the East India Company has the most complete information about them and has enough strength against pirates.

"Therefore, the Grand Council suggested that your country can hand over all the goods that need to be traded to us, and we will resell them overseas."

(End of this chapter)