Back to the end of Ming Dynasty to be a warlord

Chapter 306 Yang Chao's Consideration
"You have considerations, what considerations do you have?"

Shi Kefa didn't care about Yang Chao's casualness, he waved his hands and blamed him.

Yang Chao said with a smile: "Master Shi, don't be in a hurry, just listen to the official speak slowly."

Shi Kefa said: "Don't be too tight-lipped, just say it."

Yang Chao asked: "Dare to ask Mr. Shi, is it important to do maritime trade for the imperial court in the end?"

Shi Kefa nodded: "Of course it's important."

Yang Chao asked again: "If you don't have a boat in hand, can you do it?"

Shi Kefa nodded again: "Of course I can't do it."

At this time, Shi Kefa's expression improved a little, but he still blamed him: "Then you shouldn't be robbing the warship for quarrying."

Yang Chao shook his head: "No, the warship for quarrying really has to be snatched."

Shi Kefa's expression turned sour just after he recovered: "Absurd! Quarrying is an important place for defense against the river. If Shangjiang (Anhui Waterway) is lost and thieves go eastward along the river, only quarrying can defend against it. How dare you take the battle of quarrying away?" The boat was stolen."

Yang Chao said with a smile: "Forgive me, I will be bold, I will dare to speak out, if the thieves go east, quarrying will not be able to stop the thieves!"

Shi Kefa didn't realize that he was already a little flustered by Yang Chao's incident, and he was always influenced by Yang Chao when talking with Yang Chao, sometimes happy and sometimes angry.

Hearing Yang Chao say that quarrying can't stop thieves, Shi Kefa's thoughts were immediately involved in the more important Jiangfang matters, and he forgot Liu Kongzhao's question.

Immediately asked: "Why do you know this matter, tell me quickly."

For civil servants from the south of the Yangtze River, and even for the entire imperial court, Zhang Xianzhong's eastward march along the Yangtze River was not unfounded worry, but a real threat. Zhang Xianzhong once burned the Fengyang imperial tomb, captured Luzhou and Hezhou, and approached Nanjing, all the way to Jiangpu, Jiangbei, Nanjing.

Moreover, he has been tossing back and forth in Henan and Huguang in the past few years, and now occupies Wuchang. If Zuo Liangyu really goes east, Zuo Liangyu can't stop him in Jiujiang, and Anqing and Wuhu behind him must not be able to stop him. It has become the last river defense barrier in the west of Nanjing. If Zhang Xianzhong can't be stopped here, then Nanjing will be invaded by bandits again.

Yang Chao sighed: "Isn't this obvious enough? The last general sent a mere thousand men, and one of them was uninjured and easily captured twenty warships. What if it was Zhang Thief instead?"

Shi Kefa was stunned immediately: "This, this!"

He didn't know what to say. Yang Chao sent 1000 people to snatch twenty warships guarded by heavily guarded quarries. If Zhang Xianzhong sent people to do this, wouldn't they be able to seize the ships and enter Nanjing directly?

Yang Chao continued: "These boats are in Uncle Liu's hands, so they can only be prepared for Zhang Xianzhong. Don't you know that since Uncle Liu took office, he has stayed in Nanjing every day, singing and singing every night, playing music every day, mining stones in the river to prevent It’s been a waste for a long time. It’s not that the general is boasting, these boats are left in the hands of the general, such as Zhang thief and Li thief, come and kill one by one. If they stay in Liu Kongzhao’s hands, they can only be enemies!”

Shi Kefa panicked when he was threatened by Yang Chao's words. He is not a strong-willed person, and he is easily led by the words of his subordinates. This was the case in Huai'an in the past, and it is still the same in Nanjing now.

"But you have to guard against quarrying."

Shi Kefa sighed, even if what Yang Chao said was true, if he really didn't send troops to fortify places like quarrying, Shi Kefa really couldn't rest assured.

Yang Chao continued: "From the point of view of the general, the defense of the Caishi River is not based on ships, but on guns. Moreover, Caishi has always defended the north but not the west. With the addition of heavy artillery on Niuzhu Mountain, no one can cross the river. Attacking from west to east, ships are useless, only artillery can be used.”

Shi Kefa frowned and said, "But having a boat is better than not having one."

Yang Chao said again: "My lord, don't worry, as long as these ships are in the hands of the last general, no one will be able to come from the river to attack Nanjing. Not Zhang thief, Li thief, nor captive thief!"

Yang Chao spoke confidently, making Shi Kefa less worried, and sat down gently, thinking slowly.

Yang Chao didn't give him time to think, and continued quickly: "Dare to ask Mr. Shi, if these boats are returned to Uncle Liu, will he use them to grab the last general again. Last time he was the last general, but Snatching some goods, these goods are just from merchants, it’s not a big deal, if these goods belong to the emperor, and they are going to sell goods for sea trade, so what?”

Shi Kefa was taken aback again: "This, this!"

Yang Chao can't tell anyone about helping the emperor to earn money by doing sea trade, and neither can Liu Kongzhao. Therefore, if Liu Kongzhao has a ship in his hand and has an affair with Yang Chao, it is certain to rob Yang Chao. Last time he could rob anyone. I can't guarantee that it won't be robbed next time. If Yang Chao is robbed of the emperor's private goods, it will be really difficult to deal with at that time. If it doesn't work out, the emperor will have to pinch his nose to recognize it, and it's not just the emperor's The money is the military salary for Liaodong and the disaster relief money for the Northwest.

Yang Chao said again: "So these ships must not be given to other people, but to the last general, otherwise this sea trade will not be possible. Even if Uncle Liu doesn't snatch them, as long as these ships are in the hands of other water camps, there will be those officers Looting for personal gain, this kind of thing has happened a lot in the past few years, not to mention anything else, even Cui Wei, the old admiral Gu Zhaoji's in-law, once robbed the ship of the last general."

Shi Kefa had heard about Gu Zhaoji's incident. Zhang Xianzhong made a fuss, Gu Zhaoji stayed in the quarry and did not dare to attack, so he was dismissed by the emperor and replaced by this Liu Kongzhao, but he also did nothing.

Shi Kefa couldn't help sighing: "These nobles are not enough to succeed, but more than fail!"

Yang Chao stood up at this time: "Master Shi, please listen to the last general's words."

Shi Kefa nodded: "You say."

Yang Chao said: "Caishi Jiangfang, as long as the land camp is rectified and the artillery is added, it is enough to stop the bandits from the east. And the general can rush to help at any time. The general dares to ask Mr. Shi to leave this batch of warships in the general's camp as a backup." .”

Yang Chao is begging for his life, and at the same time insists on refusing to return the boats to Liu Kongzhao. At the same time, he tells Shi Kefa that these boats are only useful in his own hands, and Yang Chao is willing to be the only backup. Willing to strike.

Shi Kefa couldn't make up his mind.

But there are still other worries: "I'm afraid Bo Chengyi won't let it go, and I'm afraid he will sue the Holy One."

Yang Chao said: "The general thinks that His Majesty can make the decision."

Shi Kefa sighed: "I'm afraid that the Holy Majesty will not be able to judge."

This is indeed a difficult problem, and the emperor is probably also very difficult to deal with. One side is a nobleman who has been in the country for 300 years, and the other side is a rapidly rising military general. Neither side is easy for the emperor to suppress.

Yang Chao said with a smile: "This is going to trouble your lord to write a letter to His Majesty to explain the inside story. The last general is not an unreasonable person, but because Uncle Liu snatched the last general's boat first, and the last general retaliated. Doing maritime trade on the Yangtze River, if you can’t deter all forces on the river, you’re afraid that there will be endless troubles, if you can give Chengyi Bo Liu Kongzhao a warning this time, it will also give others a warning.”

Kill the chicken and the monkey!
Yang Chao wanted Shi Kefa to explain this truth to the emperor. He had to deter the forces along the Yangtze River, big and small, whether it was the various water camps or local tyrants, so that they would not dare to move Yang Chao's boat, so that they could feel at ease. Do sea trade.

Yang Chao also pointed out that it was Liu Kongzhao who provoked him first, and then he used his color to scare others. This also gave the emperor the impression that this was a personal grievance between the two parties, and it was due to personal disputes rather than other reasons, which made the emperor feel at ease.

Shi Kefa nodded: "This official will tell the Holy Majesty, and let the Holy Majesty decide."

In fact, Shi Kefa also found that he didn't know how to judge, so he had better hand it over to the emperor to deal with it.

Tell the emperor that Liu Kongzhao robbed Yang Chao's ship and cargo, and Yang Chao went to grab Liu Kongzhao's warship. Liu Kongzhao did not return the cargo to Yang Chao, and Yang Chao refused to return the warship to Liu Kongzhao. Liu Kongzhao used these Warships can only plunder merchants, but cannot prevent thieves. Yang Chao uses these ships for maritime trade, and it is guaranteed to stop thieves.

But is this really Yang Chao's consideration? Is it true that Yang Chao snatched Liu Kongzhao's boat out of revenge and deterring outsiders, and then refused to return the boat to Liu Kongzhao because he was greedy for these big ships and doing maritime trade?
Of course not, at least not entirely, or not the main purpose.

These ships were indeed important, but without them, Yang Chao could still build them himself.It is indeed important to deter the forces along the river, but without Liu Kongzhao, Yang Chao would have found other ways to deter outsiders.But Liu Kongzhao jumped out, so Yang Chao didn't need to be polite, he just took advantage of his strength, borrowed Liu Kongzhao's chicken, and made a warning to other monkeys.

But hidden in it, there are deeper considerations, which are directly aimed at the emperor.

Emperor Chongzhen.

In Yang Chao's impression, Emperor Chongzhen was not a responsible emperor. This emperor was good at everything, tough enough, diligent enough, and simple enough, but he was unwilling to take responsibility.

Yang Chao wants to help the emperor smuggle money, the emperor doesn’t pay a single penny, he doesn’t even give short-term policies, and he has to do it privately and secretly. Only people like Yang Chao who want to change the general trend of history are willing to do this kind of thing. It would be of no benefit to me to switch to any other general for such a thankless task, only ghosts would do it.

The most important thing is that doing this will offend many people and infringe the interests of many people.

Among them are the wealthy families in the south of the Yangtze River, the civil official group, and even these nobles. It can be said that they will offend all the three major forces of the Ming Dynasty at once. When these people unite, it will be an overwhelming wave. The aristocrats, civil servants, and nobles who violated their interests will definitely impeach Yang Chao endlessly, and it is not difficult for them to find evidence, because such things cannot be concealed in order to do maritime trade.

At that time, if the emperor does not show affection, refuses to bear the crime of being a coward, and pushes the responsibility to Yang Chao, just like killing Chen Xinjia, if he wants to kill Yang Chao to level the public anger, Yang Chao can only cry without tears up.

So Yang Chao simply asked the emperor a difficult problem first, telling the emperor that to do maritime trade, he must have ships, and he snatched these ships for the purpose of doing sea trade, but the purpose was not ships at all, but to see the emperor's attitude Let's see if the emperor will protect Yang Chao and suppress Liu Kongzhao because he wants to use Yang Chao to make money.

If the emperor did this, even if he didn't give Yang Chao the right to officially open the sea, it would be enough for Yang Chao to prove his strength to the Zheng family and make the Zheng family believe in Yang Chao, so he had to cooperate with Yang Chao. With the power, Yang Chao is strong enough to insert into the sea trade.

If the emperor doesn't do this, if he chooses to stand with nobles like Liu Kongzhao this time and put pressure on Yang Chao, Yang Chao will not sit still. With the [-] strong soldiers in his hand, Yang Chao believes that the emperor will at least not question the crime Myself, the big deal is to force myself to hand over those boats, so that Yang Chao doesn't have to think about it. It's your emperor who doesn't give the boats, and you can't do maritime trade without boats. You can find someone else to do this kind of offending work, Yang Chao He will only continue to follow his own pace step by step, slowly develop his power, and rely on his own strength to change the general trend.

It can be said that this is a gamble. If Yang Chao wins the gamble, the situation will be different immediately. He can enter the sea trade and obtain huge profits. It is like providing life-saving money to the struggling Ming court, just like giving a blood transfusion to a dying patient. Let him survive the weakest moment, and only after taking a breath can he have a chance to recover slowly.

It is also of great benefit to Yang Chao himself. Yang Chao has mastered the power on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River at once. No one dares to provoke him. Commercial profits belong to Yang Chao. Yang Chao can even take the opportunity to expand his current financial resources by ten or a hundred times. If he has money, he can raise soldiers, and the strength of his troops can be increased by ten or a hundred times. If Yang Chao has a hundred thousand soldiers in his hands, Then what are you afraid of?
Even if he loses the bet in the end, it's just the same as in the past, and he just completely offended Liu Kongzhao's forces.

So how to change it depends on how the emperor chooses.

(End of this chapter)