Chapter 163: Special Exception Opening of the Sea

Zheng Zhilong's face flushed red. If it was smuggling, he would dare to do it openly! But once he changed to an official identity, Zheng Zhilong didn't dare to do it.

Chongzhen continued to laugh and said, "Do you not believe me, or do you not believe yourself?"

Zheng Zhilong was looked down upon by Chongzhen, and he could not help but feel a little angry. He immediately defended himself, "I already have a bad reputation because of maritime affairs. If I go out to sea again, wouldn't it be..."

Zheng Zhilong said nothing more, but Chongzhen understood and said, "I asked you to do this. If anything goes wrong, I will be there to take care of it. What are you afraid of?"

Without waiting for Zheng Zhilong to answer, Chongzhen said with a smile: "Are you worried that I can't stand the pressure from the government and the people, and that if I can't hold on or change my mind, I will use you as a scapegoat?"

Chongzhen snorted again, saying, "You are such a jerk. You are a pirate leader. Even if I really use you as a scapegoat, what does it matter?"

"If you run to the sea, who can do anything to you? Didn't you defeat Yu Zigao (son of Yu Dayou)?"

Chongzhen was already full of disgust for Zheng Zhilong, and now seeing that he was a cowardly bandit who was making excuses and was not happy with his words, he immediately stopped being polite.

This humiliation made Zheng Zhilong furious, but he did not dare to show it.

But Zheng Zhilong was a man who could bend and stretch himself. After thinking about it carefully, he felt that what Chongzhen said made sense.

At that time, the Ming Dynasty had almost no naval power to show for itself. The only one was Yu Dayou, a famous anti-Japanese general of the same period as Qi Jiguang... and his son Yu Zigao, who was defeated by him.

It is indeed as Chongzhen said, the worst that can happen is that I can just run away to the sea, and who can do anything to me?
As for being criticized by thousands of people?
Just point it out, the pirate leader’s reputation isn’t that good anyway, right?
Once this thought came to his mind, Zheng Zhilong no longer worried about it. Instead, he felt a sense of unwillingness and excitement about making a lot of money.

Didn’t your damn dog emperor say that my dog ​​meat can’t be served at the banquet?
Then I'll show you, we Fujianese are really good at doing business.

As long as I can make money, I would even sell your throne!
Damn it! Zheng Zhilong raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, I will take over this business!"

This sentence was said in an extremely domineering manner, giving a feeling of being the king over the world!
But I regretted it as soon as I said it. It wasn't because I was scared, but simply because I agreed to it before we even agreed on the price. It would be difficult to ask for a higher price later...

Seeing that Zheng Zhilong was just as Wang An said, and would do anything as long as the benefits were in place, Chongzhen couldn't help but reveal a triumphant smile.

Next, Chongzhen discussed some specific plans with Zheng Zhilong, including how much food and fodder would be needed each month, the price per stone, where to deliver it, and how much it would cost.

Although Chongzhen successfully persuaded Zheng Zhilong, he was at a loss when it came to the specific details.

After thinking about it, he asked Wang Chengen to take Zheng Zhilong down to rest first, and then found the Minister of Revenue Bi Ziyan, intending to let the Ming Dynasty's financial director go to bargain with Zheng Zhilong.

When Chongzhen mentioned that he had asked the pirate leader Zheng Zhilong to purchase grain overseas for the Ming Dynasty, Bi Ziyan's eyes almost popped out of his head in surprise.

Fortunately, Bi Ziyan was not a corrupt scholar but a down-to-earth pragmatist. Otherwise, he would not have served as the Minister of Revenue for ten years in the original history, and even slightly improved the financial situation of the Ming Dynasty in the early Chongzhen period.

After Chongzhen's extensive citations, presentation of facts and reasoning, Bi Ziyan finally accepted Chongzhen's special exception to open the sea and agreed to fight a life-and-death bargain with Zheng Zhilong!

In fact, when it comes down to it, the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of not only money but also food. In addition to a portion of silver, the military pay that the imperial court issues to various military garrisons also needs to be allocated food.

The Ming Dynasty was also extremely short of food, so once the sea transportation of grain was opened, Bi Ziyan, the Minister of Revenue, would have an easier life. However, the moment he walked out of the Wenhua Hall, Bi Ziyan couldn't help but look back at Chongzhen who was back at his desk, reviewing the memorials, and couldn't help but sigh that his young emperor had done many shocking things.

He doesn't look at all like a young and ignorant idle prince who has lived in the deep palace for a long time.

It seems more like the heir apparent who has been trained by a famous and historic leader for a long time is succeeding to the throne.

…………

As the news spread that Chongzhen had made an exception to open the sea and appointed Zheng Zhilong, a coastal defense guerrilla in Fujian, to go overseas to purchase food and fodder, almost all the civil and military officials in the court were furious.

Memorials of opposition floated onto Chongzhen's desk like snowflakes. Chongzhen was too lazy to read them. After flipping through them casually, he instructed Shi Fenglai that from now on, any memorials opposing going out to sea would not have to be sent to the Wenhua Hall.

Since the last time Shi Feng had a heart-to-heart talk with Chongzhen, he had already determined to be Chongzhen's loyal subject, so he naturally agreed unconditionally.

In addition, he himself was not a moral gentleman like the Donglin Party, and he was even more dismissive of the so-called violation of ancestral rules.

What's more, Chongzhen only opened the sea as a special case to purchase grain to resolve the domestic crisis, not a full opening of the sea. Is it worth making a fuss about it?

If you really want to be so serious, you can go and dig up the tomb of Emperor Longqing!
He was the first person to open up the sea in the Ming Dynasty, and there are still ships entering and leaving Yuegang port.

As a result, while there was an uproar outside about opening the sea, Chongzhen remained as calm as a mountain.

Of course, there were also some short-sighted people who openly raised this matter at the morning court session, and even accused Chongzhen of violating ancestral rules and possibly becoming a tyrant.

Chongzhen looked carefully and found that it was Cheng Jiming whom he had not seen for a long time.

Ever since the imperial edict announcing Man Gui's appointment as governor of Datong was issued, he, who was originally a temporary military supervisor, returned to the capital to report.

But Chongzhen didn't expect that this guy was so unwilling to be lonely. After being punished by him, he still dared to make trouble.

It just so happened that Chongzhen wanted to kill the chicken to scare the monkey and solve the problem once and for all, so when Shi Fenglai was about to teach Cheng Jiming a lesson on behalf of Chongzhen, Chongzhen immediately stopped him with his eyes and listened quietly to Cheng Jiming's rebuttal.

To sum up, there is nothing new, it is nothing more than the same old tune, that it is against the ancestral system, will lead to rampant Japanese pirates, and easily lead to the emergence of big businessmen and landlords, who will exploit the people.

Chongzhen waited for him to speak and even stopped Shi Fenglai from stepping forward to stop him. No one else stood up to refute him.

As a result, Cheng Jiming was very happy to speak. He spoke eloquently for about a quarter of an hour, and almost made all the officials fall asleep.

However, when he swallowed his saliva to moisten his throat, he found that Chongzhen on the dragon throne had no expression on his face, just a sneer.

Cheng Jiming was stunned for a moment.

Before he could react, Chongzhen said, "Since Minister Cheng is so opposed to shipping grain and grass by sea, then you will be responsible for providing rice and beans to the Ministry of Revenue. As long as you can supply them, I will immediately stop opening the sea!"

(End of this chapter)