Chapter 209 There can only be one Sea King in the sea

Author: tx Cheng Zhi

Chapter 209 There can only be one Sea King in the sea

Chapter 208

Nowadays, what Cheng Shijie lacks most is time. Although the first batch of Sea Shark class has been completed, sea trials started last month because he felt the threat from the Zheng family.

Cheng Shijie not only shortened the sea trial time, but also incorporated these eight Sea Shark-class warships into the battle order of the Ning Navy, just like the first Sea Shark-class warship. The sea trials were full training, hoping to quickly form combat effectiveness.

However, the problem is that the current Ninghai Navy only has nine Sea Shark-class warships, and the second batch of eight ships is nearing completion. In early October, seventeen Sea Shark-class warships will be formed as the main battleships of the Ning Navy.

.

Then, the seventeen main Sea Shark-class battleships may not be able to fight against the Zheng family.

With Zheng Zhilong's strength, more than 3,000 warships, and more than 200,000 troops, he is not a quantitative opponent at all. This is just like Cheng Shijie landing in Liaonan at the end of the fourth year of Chongzhen. At that time, if Huang Taiji paid attention

Cheng Shijie, even if Ning Haijun was well-equipped, they still couldn't withstand Jian Nu's full blow.

However, the problem is that Huang Taiji did not pay attention to Cheng Shijie's opponent at that time, so Huang Taiji suffered a big loss. Now Zheng Zhilong has adopted the method of blocking Liaodong shipping transportation to force Cheng Shijie to fight an asymmetric war with him.

Cheng Shijie doesn't want to fight, he needs time. Soon, that is, nine days at most, in early October, the Jinzhou Donggang Shipyard will be put into use.

Cheng Shijie's plan is to build eight Sea Shark-class warships at the same time in Jinzhou Donggang. If the war can be delayed until April of the seventh year of Chongzhen, by that time, the Ning Navy will have thirty-seven main Sea Shark-class warships, as well as Jinzhou

The twelve Seawolf-class (two thousand materials) gunboats built by the West Shipyard, coupled with the original fifteen Galen ships of the Ning Navy, will form a fleet of sixty-four large ships.

By that time, although Cheng Shijie is far less powerful than Zheng Zhilong, he still wants to compete with Zheng Zhilong. Cheng Shijie can compare his shipbuilding capabilities with Zheng Zhilong. By then, he will have three shipyards and can produce 64 ships a year.

Sea Shark-class battleships, and forty-eight Sea Wolf-class ships.

It can also be said that Cheng Shijie can produce a powerful fleet in a year, and this raw material reserve is enough for Cheng Shijie to build three fleets of this size now without increasing it by a penny.

It is a pity that Zheng Zhilong did not give Cheng Shijie enough time.

"Gang Leader Shen, don't worry, I will definitely give you justice!"

Cheng Shijie has no better way now. He can only comfort his partner Shen Boyun with good words and then consider other ways.

Song Xiance was preparing to report the results of the autumn harvest to Cheng Shijie. Although he did not look at the data in Song Xiance's hands, Cheng Shijie also knew that Liaonan had a bumper harvest this year, just like last year.

Among them, nearly one-third of the farmland is collectively owned by Ning Haijun. For these reform-through-labor prisoners from the Central Plains or previous prisoners of war, Cheng Shijie only allowed them to eat and drink normally. The land they farmed all belonged to Ning Haijun, including more than 1,440

Millions of acres of land belong to immigrants, and Ning Haijun collects 30% of the grain tax from these military households who are stationed in the fields in accordance with regulations.

Of course, there is also a part of the fields, nearly one-third of which are tax-free grains. These fields basically belong to Ning Haijun's military personnel, who are in the tax-free welfare stage.

But the problem is that it is impossible to finish the food they harvest, and they need to sell it in large quantities to exchange for money to buy the necessities of life.

Because of what happened, the joy of the harvest could not affect Cheng Shijie's mood. He told Song Xiance about Zheng Zhilong's sending of pirates and asked: "Kangnian, what do you think about this?"

"My lord, if you want to be at peace with Zheng Zhilong, I'm afraid it's just wishful thinking. The Zheng family almost monopolizes maritime trade and makes tens of millions of profits every year. Even the Jiangnan consortium, which has the support of the ministers of the DPRK and China, depends on their appearance.

What a pleasure this is, how can they allow Ning Haijun to rise and threaten their status!"

Cheng Shijie nodded: "Yes, but how could the Zheng family be at odds with us for no reason? The time for Zheng Zhilong to take action was too early!"

Cheng Shijie built his own shipyard and built thirteen battleships, among which the Four King Kongs were experimental in nature. Now Zheng Zhilong actually noticed him so quickly.

Moreover, these new ships have not left Jinzhou (Dalian) Bay, which is simply unreasonable.

"I'm afraid it's not for no reason."

"tell me the story."

"My disciples believe that the reason why the Zheng family is having trouble with us is, firstly, because they want to suppress our Ning Haijun, and do not want Ning Haijun to develop and compete with them; secondly... I am afraid that the high-ranking officials behind the scenes will share the credit."

"What do you mean by the big boss in the DPRK?"

"pretty close!"

Cheng Shijie also figured out that although the Donglin Party did not form a monopoly in the cabinet at this stage, it did not prevent them from controlling the government, and the Jiangnan Consortium was the financial backer of the Donglin Party.

Cheng Shijie is now vigorously developing industries such as steel, flax, sea salt, farming and shipbuilding, and has achieved remarkable results. Although the people of Liaodong have benefited greatly, it has had a strong impact on the Jiangnan Consortium.

If Cheng Shijie were a member of the Jiangnan Consortium, he would not want Ning Haijun to continue to develop and continue to squeeze his own profit margins. When there is little chance of winning in head-to-head competition, playing dirty tricks has become an inevitable choice.

It should be noted that in addition to being a pirate, Zheng also has another identity, that is, the commander-in-chief of Fujian. The princes in power only need to give him a slight signal and he will understand.

Cheng Shijie sneered: "If the princes in power let him go to suppress Ning Haijun's sea routes and endorsed him, no one would refuse this kind of good thing that can suppress potential opponents without being blamed by the court! Okay, really

You treat me like a soft persimmon, you can pinch me at will."

Cheng Shijie knew that the war with Zheng Zhilong was unavoidable at this time. Although the navy of Ning Haijun could not confront the Zheng fleet head-on, Cheng Shijie was also a time traveler after all.

When he didn't.

However, Cheng Shijie's real purpose is to cultivate the industrial base of southern Liaoning, to avoid taking too big steps and getting into trouble. Cheng Shijie still has a way to deal with Zheng Zhilong temporarily.

Seeing that Cheng Shijie seemed like a hungry lion at this time, Song Xiance hurriedly advised: "My lord, don't be impulsive! The Zheng family has occupied the South China Sea for more than ten years and has a deep foundation. It has more than 3,000 sea-going ships and as many as 100,000 troops.

Two hundred thousand, even if the entire navy of the Ming Dynasty is transferred here, they may not be their match!"

"Are you doubting Ning Haijun's combat effectiveness?"

"I have no doubt that Ning Haijun can easily defeat the Zheng family on land, but it will be too difficult to defeat the Zheng family at sea! Maybe when the justices are looking forward to a big fight between the lord and the Zheng family, and both sides will lose in the fight, they

So you can benefit from it!"

Cheng Shijie nodded and said: "Your judgment is very accurate. I bet that those bastards in the DPRK had this idea."

"So, I suggest that my lord be patient for the time being, find an opportunity to talk to the Zheng family, and find a strategy for peaceful coexistence. It will take a few years, and when Ning Haijun becomes stronger at sea, we can destroy the Zheng family once and for all!"

Song Xiance smiled and said: "I was about to recommend a great talent to my lord, and it happened that he was sent to Fujian as an ambassador. It can be regarded as an assessment!"

Cheng Shijie tapped the coffee table quickly with his fingers and remained silent, anger and disdain flashing across his face.

Song Xiance saw Cheng Shijie's dissatisfaction and hurriedly said: "Although the Zheng family is hateful, they are not without merit. They have suppressed the Red Barbarian pirates for so many years. Without them, I am afraid that Guangdong and Fujian would have been overrun by the Red Barbarian pirates."

The pirates are in trouble, and rashly starting a war with the Zheng family will only allow the Hongyi pirates to take advantage of the situation, and the consequences will be more serious. My lord, please think twice!"

"Sanen, Kangnian, you have considered everything, but you have not considered the key!"

"The essential!"

Song Xiance said with some confusion: "What's the key?"

"The Jiannu are no longer a threat to the Ming Dynasty now. At least within three to five years, the Jiannu will be unable to move south or westward!"

This happened thanks to Gao Qiqian. In the past few months, Gao Qiqian obtained Wang Dengku, one of the eight Shanxi merchants who confiscated his property, from Emperor Chongzhen in the name of having an affair with a slave.

Earlier, Wang Zhixin ransacked Hou Xun's home and confiscated luxurious gold and silver vessels, precious furs, pearls, wild ginseng, ingenious furniture, etc. from Hou Xun's home.

The property that the Hou family had accumulated over several generations was confiscated by Wang Zhixin. But the problem is that Hou Xun is indeed not as rich as Fan Yongdou. Fan Yongdou is a businessman and his family has a lot of property, but Hou Xun's main industry is

Land, more than 700,000 acres of fertile land in Guide Prefecture. According to the land price in Guide Prefecture, these lands are worth six to seven million taels of silver.

However, the silver that Wang Zhixin turned over to the inner treasury was less than one million taels, only 800,000 taels. There was no way to cash out the large number of antiques, calligraphy and paintings.

At this time, Wang Zhixin had the impression that he was lining his own pockets in the eyes of Emperor Chongzhen, and was not of much use, so it was Gao Qiqian's turn to confiscate the house again.

Gao Qiqian was very experienced in the job of confiscating houses. He did not make a big fanfare, but borrowed more than 1,500 cavalry from the champion Hou Lu Xiangsheng. Gao Qiqian loved these simple Tianxiong Army cavalry so much that he asked Tian

The Xiongjun cavalry promised that as long as they make this trip, each person will receive fifty taels of silver. However, anyone who dares to report the news or has unclean hands and feet will be regarded as a member of Wang Dengku's party, who will have fornication, establish slaves, and have his or her family confiscated and exterminated.

As a result, the eyes of the soldiers of the Tianxiong Army turned red. Lu Xiangsheng was not as good at making money as Cheng Shijie. The soldiers of the Tianxiong Army were the same as the guardsmen. They usually did not receive military pay. Part of their income came from the allocated fields, which were tax-free, and everyone

Only between fifteen and twenty acres.

This has already made the soldiers of the Tianxiong Army fight the enemy with red eyes, but Gao Qiqian used them once and paid fifty taels of silver, which was equivalent to their income for three to five years.

Therefore, it only took the Tianxiong Army's cavalry stationed in Baoding Prefecture three days to arrive in Datong with light armor. Wang Dengku was very smart. He melted the gold and cast it into a square, large piece, then spread it on the ground, and then They covered it with floor tiles and carpets, and made it extremely secretive. If the guards hadn't been lurking in their house for a long time, they would have been fooled.

Gao Qiqian succeeded. He confiscated a total of more than 2.6 million taels of silver. Of course, Gao Qiqian also benefited a lot from it.

When Emperor Chongzhen saw a house raider stealing one-third of the treasury revenue, Emperor Chongzhen exploded at that time, "Those despicable merchants were so frantic, selling military and national weapons to the slaves, and putting the Ming Dynasty in a state of eternal disaster." ?I...I can't spare them! I will confiscate their homes, exterminate their clans, and destroy their bones and ashes!"

As a result, the six families of Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, Zhai Tang, and Huang Yunfa were also raided by Gao Qi. It can be said that none of the eight imperial merchants of the Qing Dynasty and the eight merchants of Shanxi merchants escaped. There were more emperors like Chongzhen. With more than 9.6 million taels of silver, it was considered a bumper harvest.

This news reached Shenyang. After Huang Taiji learned that all the eight major surnames had their homes confiscated and exterminated, Huang Taiji, who was deep in the city and showed no emotion or anger, shook his body a few times and spat out a mouthful of blood.

This blow can be regarded as a hit to Jiannu's seven inches and life gate. This blow was even more deadly than the Battle of Bali Bay, which cost Jiannu 50,000 to 60,000 troops. It meant that Jiannu lost the ability to sell stolen goods and obtain strategic supplies. channels, the noose wrapped around their necks by Ming Dynasty became tighter and tighter.

Under this circumstance, the number of Mongolian tribes expressing sincerity to Emperor Chongzhen was several times greater. So far, a total of thirty-four Mongolian tribes have expressed surrender.

Now Cheng Shijie's importance has been greatly reduced.

Cheng Shijie smiled bitterly and said: "The cunning rabbit is dead and the lackey is cooked. Now Jiannu has the idea of ​​​​negotiating peace with the Ming Dynasty, which means that our Ning Haijun's status is not as good as before. If I take this step back, the Zheng family and the imperial court will Those losers among us will only press forward step by step and will not give up until I and Ning Haijun are torn into pieces! I know those guys very well, and asking them to do something practical is even harder than reaching the sky, but let them drag me down. Each person's hind legs are stronger than the last! I can never give in, not even half a step!"

"Then my lord means... to start a war with the Zheng family?"

"Why not?"

Cheng Shijie laughed and said: "The Zheng family has a monopoly on maritime trade and collects protection fees from merchant ships that pass by. It makes more than tens of millions of profits every year. This is the country's wealth, how can he be allowed to monopolize it!"

Cheng Shijie knew that Chongzhen was short of money. Even if Gao Qiqian got nearly ten million taels of silver for Emperor Chongzhen, it was already a huge sum of money. But the problem was that the Ming Dynasty's fiscal deficiencies were too serious, and there were too many places that were short of money. The military pay of the lower army is enough to use this money to a large extent. In addition, Emperor Chongzhen also has all the vassals in the world to support.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the vassal princes became a huge burden on the court. Of course, Emperor Tianqi did the most extraordinary thing. He stipulated that the salary of all vassal princes in the country should be a fixed amount of 1,567,524 yuan. (Data source: Ming Dynasty Wangzhuang Income (Private Collection), Huang Renyu "Finance and Taxation in Ming Dynasty China in the Sixteenth Century")

To prove that the Ming Dynasty was dragged down by the clan, in fact the salary of the idle clan of the Manchu Qing Dynasty was 1.67 times that of the Ming Dynasty princes, and the extravagant expenses were more than 20 times.

Of course, this has a lot to do with the depreciation of prices. In the early stage of the Ming Dynasty, the clan farmland could still collect tenant rents. In the Chenghua period, the officials collected the land and returned it to the public. The land ownership belonged to the tenant farmers, and the tenant rents were collected by the government and then distributed.
To be continued...