Fenghou

Xu Xiantu bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I suggest that all the cavalry be gathered in Lin'an for a drill. We'd better see it with our own eyes. If it really doesn't work, we can keep the essence and abolish most of them."

Zhao Gou nodded, "I have approved this plan. The drill will be held next month. It should be sooner rather than later. It should be led by the Privy Council, with the cooperation of the Taipu Temple and the Ministry of Driving!"

Xu Xiantu bowed and said, "My minister obeys the order!"

Zhao Gou asked again: "Has Taifu Han finished?"

Han Shizhong shook his head, "The humble job is only half the story."

"Teacher, please continue!"

Han Shizhong continued: "In the battle of Xuzhou, the elite army of my ministers could not withstand the attack of the Western Army for an hour, and the whole army was defeated. Only then did I realize that it was not accidental that the Western Army was able to capture the Hedong Road and the Henan Road, let alone What kind of luck, but their strength is enough to fight with the Jinbing, fighting on land, our army is not as strong as the Western Army, and not as good as the Jinbing, but we also have our own advantages, that is, most of our soldiers can swim.

Weichen investigated the Huainan Army, and [-]% of the soldiers can swim, and the water quality is very good. Good water quality is not only reflected in the water, but also on the boat. No one gets seasick. They walk on the boat like walking on flat ground. The army is not good in this aspect. This is our advantage and an opportunity for us to defeat the Jinbing and Xijun in the future. We must take advantage of this advantage and seize this opportunity. "

Han Shizhong glanced at Zhu Shengfei and Qin Hui again and said: "I know that Zhu Xianggong and Qin Xianggong will definitely say that the finances are insufficient. In fact, they are abolishing the cavalry, changing the cavalry to the navy, selling the horses and the land for raising horses to the people, and gaining more money. Money can be used to build ships, and we can even go directly to buy the Wanshi Fuchuan of the Maritime Merchants. The Fuchuan itself is extremely strong, and it can be used as a warship with a little modification. The key is to save time."

……

Han Shizhong was very well prepared, and even solved the financial problem. It was justified and well-founded. It was much more cost-effective to raise the navy than to raise the cavalry. No one could object.

More importantly, everyone could see that it was the emperor who wanted to form a navy, so Han Shizhong was the first to introduce and persuade everyone. Qin Hui kept silent, and Zhu Shengfei also learned the lesson of negotiation and no longer opposed it.

Since no one objected, the emperor Zhao Gou immediately announced the establishment of a navy, with Han Shizhong as the governor of the navy and Wang Gui as the deputy governor. Generals are appointed by the Privy Council.

Zhao Gou has his own principles for employing people. Han Shizhong cut down the vassal, and it was the Han family army who was cut down. Once the Han family army disappeared, then Han Shizhong was loyal to him, and of course he could be appointed again.

More importantly, Zhao Gou restrained the conditions for the formation of the Han family army in terms of the system, that is, the right to appoint and remove personnel was brought back to the imperial court. All generals above the commander were appointed by the Privy Council. At the same time, Han Shizhong was not allowed to raise military expenses by himself. Under the burden of the court, Han Shizhong's own soldiers were also limited to 300 people, so that the Han family army would no longer form.

Zhao Gou attached great importance to Wang Gui. In fact, he realized that he had listened to Zhang Jun and Qin Hui's slander and transferred Wang Gui back, which led to the fall of Xiangyang.

Zhao Gou immediately appointed Wang Gui as the commander of the capital in front of the palace and general Yunhui.

Zhao Gou immediately summoned Han Shizhong in the imperial study.

The first thousand and 120 chapters and the third chapter

Zhao Gou was very interested in Han Shizhong's idea of ​​acquiring private ships. His only worry was that it would take too long to build a ship. It would take at least ten years to build an army. It couldn't be better.

"Han Aiqing, can sea ships really be used as warships?" Zhao Gou asked.

Han Shizhong bowed and said: "Returning to Your Majesty, when I was in command of the navy in Zhenjiang Prefecture, there was a Wanshifu ship in the army. It was huge and I used it to transport food. In the middle of the Yangtze River, a three-thousand-stone military ship collided violently. The military ship was hit and sunk, but the Fuchuan was safe and sound. Only then did I realize that the Fuchuan was very strong.

After thinking about it, since it can sail in the depths of the ocean and withstand the stormy waves, of course it must be very strong, so there is no problem in its sturdiness, even stronger than a warship, and it can collide with enemy ships head-on. It is lacking in function, after all, it is a cargo ship, which is why Beizhi said that it needs to be slightly modified. "

Zhao Gou nodded, and then asked Qin Hui, "I remember how many big merchants there are in Lin'an. Who has the most lucky boats?"

Qin Hui bowed and said: "At most it is Zheng Tongquan, but it seems that many of his lucky boats have been given to the Western Army. I don't know how many small officials still have in his hands, followed by Wang Zhenbang's family, with nearly a hundred lucky boats, and then Yu Wanfeng's family. There are about [-] lucky boats, and there are also some small sea merchants, I don’t know about it.”

Zhao Gou suddenly remembered something, "I remember that uncle Guo also has a lucky boat! I gave it to him."

Zhu Shengfei said from the side: "That's right, His Majesty gave Uncle Wei Guo twenty lucky boats in the eighth year of Shaoxing to transport tribute tea from Fujian Road."

Zhao Gou nodded, "Give him some land compensation, take back this batch of lucky boats, and take back the lucky boats of other maritime merchant families, first give gifts and then soldiers, and exchange land with them. If you want to be an official, I can also Give them official titles, let them honor their ancestors, if you insist on refusing, then don't blame me for not being considerate of people's feelings."

Speaking of this, he glanced at Xu Xiantu again, "Zheng Tongquan, Xu Xiangguo, go and talk to him! If he is obsessed with obsession, I can also go and talk to him in person."

"The minister obeys the order!"

Zhao Gou said to Han Shizhong again: "Preparing to build a water military is of great importance. I hope Han Aiqing will do her best. If you need anything, you can directly ask me."

Han Shizhong bowed and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, although Wang Gui is a strong general, he is not familiar with the navy and has no experience in the navy. I want to arrange for him to train soldiers on land. I want to recommend another person as the left deputy commander of the navy. Responsible for training the navy."

Zhao Gou didn't want Han Shizhong to recommend former generals again. This was one of the taboos Zhao Gou couldn't tolerate. He asked quietly, "Who does Han Aiqing want to recommend?"

"My minister recommends Zhang Gongyu, the defense envoy of Mingzhou."

Of course Zhao Gou knew about Zhang Gongyu. Back then, Wanyan Wushu searched the mountains and seas and drove Zhao Gou into the sea. The golden soldiers and warships were chasing after him. When it was extremely critical, it was Zhang Gongyu, the defense envoy of Mingzhou at that time, who led Mingzhou The navy defeated the Jinbing navy and saved Zhao Gou's life.

It was only later that Zhao Gou publicized his rescue as the protection of the gods, and Zhang Gongyu's credit was also obliterated, and he has been working in Mingzhou for ten years.

Zhao Gou remembered Zhang Gongyu's achievements back then, and he had nothing to do with Han Shizhong, so Zhao Gou immediately agreed to Han Shizhong's request, and made Zhang Gongyu the deputy governor of the navy and the capital to assist Han Shizhong in training the navy.

……

After arranging all the affairs of the navy, Zhao Gou left Xu Xiantu behind. He stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, and said for a while, "I shouldn't have accepted Mr. Qin's suggestion on negotiating with Chen Qing, so I'm quite passive now. , I have considered it again and again, and I would like to ask Xu Xiangguo to preside over the negotiation with Hu Yun."

"My minister is willing to share the worries for His Majesty!"

Zhao Gou nodded in relief, and said again: "I won't mention Jiangling Mansion and Ezhou, but if I want to keep Jinghu North Road, I must at least keep Suizhou, Yingzhou, Fuzhou and Hanyang Mansion, that is, the east of Han River. My bottom line, on the basis of the guaranteed bottom line, Aiqing strives to return to Xiangzhou, Fangzhou and Jingmen Army can give them, but I don't want to lose Xiangyang, and Aiqing from Bianliang should try to strive for some practical benefits."

Xu Xiantu sighed inwardly, Chen Qing had already swallowed such an important strategic place in Xiangyang, how could he give it up again, but he didn't want to spoil the emperor's happiness, so he had to vaguely agree, "I will definitely do my best!"

……

In the guest hall of the Zheng Mansion, the tea was already cold, and the maid served the second cup of tea. Zheng Tongquan was really under great pressure, and Xu Xiantu came to put pressure on him personally. If we can't talk today, the emperor will come to talk to him in person.

Xu Xiantu patiently persuaded again: "Actually, the Son of Heaven is already very tolerant. Use the method of acquisition. Otherwise, you will have no choice but to forcibly confiscate it for military use. Therefore, we should be grateful for the Son of Heaven's tolerance and give some face. Otherwise, Zheng Yuanwai only considers Jingzhao's interests, what will the emperor think?"

Zheng Tongquan was silent for a quarter of an hour, and finally sighed: "It's not that I don't understand the emperor's tolerance, it's just that Mr. Xu came late."

"What do you mean?" Xu Xiantu's face darkened slightly.

"I have decided not to do overseas trade anymore, so I sold the remaining [-] blessing boats to King Yong last year at a discount of [-] Guan. This is the price that King Yong asked, and I agreed, King Yong He has done me a great favor, and he wants to buy my sea-going ship, which I really can't refuse."

At this time, Zheng Tongquan's eldest grandson, Zheng Ming, came and handed a small sandalwood box to his grandfather. Zheng Tongquan took the box and said with a smile to his eldest grandson, "Go!"

Zheng Ming saluted and left, Zheng Tongquan opened the box, took out a contract and handed it to Xu Xiantu, "Xu Xianggong will know it after reading it."

Xu Xiantu took over the contract and opened it. It was indeed a transaction contract. He sold one hundred Wanshifu boats to Chen Qing. , and also stamped with the seal of King Yong. Looking at the ink and red seals, it is indeed about one or two years ago.

Xu Xiantu was greatly disappointed, and said for a while: "How can I explain to the emperor!"

"Otherwise, if I donate another 50 yuan, what does Mr. Xu think?"

Xu Xiantu shook his head, "It's not about money, it's about attitude. What the emperor wants is a boat, but Yuanwai Zheng gave all the boats to the Western Army. He didn't keep a single one. How can the emperor accept it? Old Zheng! You went a little too far this time."

Zheng Tongquan's face changed slightly, he hesitated and said: "I still have two inland river fleets, both of which are thousand-stone cargo ships. There are about [-] ships, or I can donate them all!"

"The Son of Heaven is preparing a navy, what's the use of having a thousand-stone cargo ship?"

"It's definitely useful. The navy also needs logistics and transports all kinds of supplies. You can't use warships as logistics ships!"

It made sense for Xu Xiantu to think about it, so he nodded and said: "Okay! In addition to your donation of 50 guan, I will persuade the emperor to hand over the boat and money to Lin'an Mansion as soon as possible."

He got up to leave, Zheng Tongquan wiped a cold sweat secretly, his hundred ships sailed from Mingzhou to Quanzhou ten days ago, this contract was also just made, please clever people to make the ink and seal old.

He thought about it, and he still had to tell Hu Yun about this matter, after all, it was a cargo ship of five hundred thousand stones!

He changed his clothes and hurried out.

……

Xu Xiantu left Zheng's mansion and immediately went to the palace to face the saint.

After listening to Xu Xiantu's report patiently, Zhao Gou was really dissatisfied and said, "Zheng Tongquan did a good job, even selling all the sea-going ships to Chen Qing. Didn't he think that I would also buy them?"

Although Xu Xiantu exerted all his pressure on Zheng Tongquan, he would still say good things to Zheng Tongquan in front of the emperor. After all, Zheng Tongquan still gave him [-] yuan of restaurant dividends on time every year, which was actually a protection fee.

"Your Majesty, I saw the contract with my own eyes. It was signed in August last year. It should be that Chen Qing helped Zheng Tongquan once last year. He owed a lot of favors. Chen Qing wanted a sea boat, so he used a sea boat to repay the favor."

Pausing for a while, Xu Xiantu saw the emperor's ugly face, and hurriedly said: "In order not to disappoint His Majesty, he is willing to donate 50 thousand stone cargo ships, which can be used for the logistics support and transportation of the navy, and then donate another [-] yuan, Your Majesty, Weichen felt that Zheng Tongquan was not easy, he was able to achieve this step, it is indeed very sincere."

It turned out to be a free donation, Zhao Gou finally calmed down, nodded and said: "Yes! Thank him for his generosity on my behalf."

Zhao Gou was stingy from the bottom of his heart. He said that he would exchange land for ships, but that was just his talk, and he would be foolish if he took it seriously.

The first thousand and 120 chapter four talk again

In the Changfeng Teahouse, Zheng Tongquan sighed and told the story of his being forced to donate 50 thousand stone cargo ships and [-] guan to the imperial court.

Hu Yun smiled slightly and said: "This kind of flat-bottomed cargo ship is easy to build, and it can be seen everywhere. There are at least tens of thousands of ships from the imperial court and civilians, and thousands of ships from Sichuan and Shaanxi. They are like sheep. The fate of being slaughtered, His Royal Highness King Yong valued the Wanshi sea ship, he said that the Wanshi sea ship is a strategic weapon, it is hard to come by, hundreds of thousands of stone cargo ships are nothing, Zheng Gong should not take it to heart."

Zheng Tongquan sighed and said, "That's right, the Wanshi Sea Ship is indeed hard-won. The material of the keel alone is very particular. It takes hundreds of years of dense trees, and it takes another five years to make it. Just one keel is worth the price." Two or three thousand guan, His Royal Highness Yong Wang is right, it is a strategic weapon."

"We have already sent people to various ports to promote it. I wonder if it will be effective?"

Zheng Tongquan shook his head, "There will be a little effect, but the effect will not be too great. As far as I know, almost all maritime merchants have old ships. They may avoid this disaster by dumping old ships and hiding new ones. It’s not that the whole family moved to Quanzhou as the special envoy said.”

"Why don't you want to move to Quanzhou?"

Zheng Tongquan explained: "I can move to Quanzhou, because my son is in charge of the capital on Sichuan Road. I know that the Western Army will not embarrass me, but other people don't think so. They will definitely worry. Is it a sheep to sail to Quanzhou?" Enter the tiger's mouth?

Moreover, a large amount of their wealth has been exchanged for real estate and land. If they run away, the real estate and land will definitely be confiscated by the government. If their ships and money are taken away by the Western Army, they will have nothing. "

"So they will take the initiative to cooperate with the government?"

"It must be like this. Hand over some of the old sea ships and keep new ships for yourself. Some sea merchants have earned enough. Hand over the ships and exchange them for honorary officers. They will enjoy the rest of their lives comfortably, as I know The Yu family, their family has fifty sea ships. Ever since Yu Wanfeng's second son died at the hands of the pirate Zheng Guang, Yu Wanfeng wanted to give up maritime business and turn to official career. He will definitely dedicate the ship."

It was only then that Hu Yun realized that his considerations were simple before, but Dong An's words "If you can run away, you can't run away from the temple" made sense. These maritime merchants are all worth millions. Would they abandon their property for a few ships? ?

Of course it was impossible. If the imperial court traded their official position for a ship, it would most likely succeed. They wanted fame and status, and the imperial court wanted a ship. This was indeed an exchange that both parties were satisfied with.

I think the sea merchants are too simple, I always feel that they regard the ship as their life, but in fact it may not be the case!

After Zheng Tongquan left, Dong An saw that Hu Yun was lost in thought, so he persuaded: "We not only have the front hand, but also the back hand. If the front hand is not successful, then we will use the back hand. In fact, it is the same."

Hu Yun sighed and said: "The front hand has a wide range. If it is successful, it can prevent more than [-]% of the ships. Although the back hand is effective, it is not wide enough. It is not bad to grab three achievements. I can't explain it to His Royal Highness King Yong. what!"

Dong An also persuaded: "Let's try our best! King Yong will understand us, after all, these maritime merchants are beyond our control."

At this time, the master Bo Yang Jingzhi came from outside and said: "Special envoy, Xu Xiantu, who knows the Privy Council, just sent someone to send a document!"

Yang Jingzhi handed the document to Hu Yun. Hu Yun took the letter and read it carefully. It was an official document issued by Zhengshitang, with the seal of Zhongshumen on it, requesting that the two parties continue to negotiate on the status of Bianliang, and the negotiation ended from the second round. As a starting point, restart the third round of negotiations.

The first two rounds of their negotiations were good, but from the third round, Qin Hui began to dominate and forcibly added the terms of returning Jiangling Mansion and Ezhou, making it impossible to continue the negotiations.

Now this official document vetoed Qin Hui's third round of conditions, and started from the end of the second round, making a big circle and returning to the original point.

Of course, Hu Yun couldn't make the decision, and immediately sent the news of the court's request to continue the negotiation to Jingzhao in the form of pigeon letters.

……

It has been ten days since Chen Qing returned to Jingzhao. During this time, he turned into a farmer for one hour every day, taking good care of his corn and pumpkins. The corn grew rapidly and reached five feet high, and the pumpkin seedlings also climbed up. On the wall, the melon leaves were swollen, and just this morning, the first golden pumpkin flower quietly bloomed, which really surprised Chen Qing.

"Remember, you two little ones, you must never pick this yellow flower. If you pick it off, you won't be able to grow melons, understand?"

Chen Qingsheng was afraid that the two naughty daughters would pick his pumpkin flowers, so he specially brought the two little guys to teach them on the spot.

The two little guys nodded together, Chen Qing sighed in his heart, knowing that they didn't listen, he simply lifted the leaves, revealing the small golden flowers under the leaves.

"Ah! It's so beautiful!" The two little guys exclaimed at the same time.

"Listen well, both of you. After the flower withers, a melon the size of a finger will form on the flower base, and then it will grow slowly. In autumn, it will grow into a big pumpkin. You can eat it later. It’s time to steam pumpkin, didn’t you like it last time? If you want to eat sweet pumpkin, you can’t pick the flowers.”

The two little ladies clapped their hands with joy, and now they really listened.

Aunt Wen smiled and said: "Master, there is actually more than one flower. I saw seven or eight flowers before dawn. This one should be a female flower, just like wax gourd."

"How do you know it's a female flower?" Chen Qing asked puzzled.

"There is a button under the female flower, and there is one under this flower. That is the female flower, which is easy to identify."

Chen Qing nodded, and asked again: "Is the aunt pollinating?"

"When it's not dawn, pick off the male flowers and pour the pollen into the female flowers. Last time the master said, I will. I wanted to find a box of bees to come back, but I don't need it at all."

Seeing that the two young ladies were serious, Chen Qing patted their cheeks and said with a smile, "Let's go! Daddy will take you to catch grasshoppers."

When the two little ladies heard about the grasshopper catch, they jumped up and down for joy and ran to the grassland by the lake.

……

After playing with the children for half an hour and catching five or six grasshoppers, Chen Qing set off for the official room. It was noon, and the officials could rest for half an hour. After chatting for a while, I will go back to work.

As soon as Chen Qing returned to the official room and sat down, the bell rang for the beginning of the afternoon, and the officials and civil servants began to get busy again.

At this time, Wei Ji brought in a document and presented it to Chen Qing, "His Royal Highness, this is an urgent pigeon letter from Lin'an just received at noon."

Chen Qing took the copy and read it briefly. There were two contents in the letter. One was that the imperial court requested renegotiation, gave up the unreasonable demands of Jiangling Mansion and Ezhou, and continued the initial negotiation. Way to admit.

The second content is that the emperor appointed Han Shizhong as the commander-in-chief of the water army, began to prepare for the construction of the water army, and began to comprehensively recruit sea ships. It was difficult for them to stop it, and they could only partially stop it.

Chen Qing nodded and said, "Reply!"

Wei Ji immediately took out the pen and paper, and stood at the recording table beside him. Chen Qing said slowly: "Add one more item to the negotiation, requiring that we recognize our ownership of Xiangzhou at the same time, and the concession of Bianliang remains unchanged. Second, the matter of the sea ship , do your best."

Chen Qing also knew the difficulty of stopping the sea-going ship, so he didn't force his subordinates to do things that he couldn't do by himself.

The first thousand and 120 chapters and five formations

Wei Ji left in a hurry, and not long after, Chao Qing reported outside the door, "His Royal Highness, Counselor Jiang and two officials have arrived."