In fact, Zheng Zhilong had long wanted to meet the wise and powerful emperor. What kind of person was he?

As a man who started from scratch and climbed to the pirate king of the Ming Dynasty from the bottom, there were not many people who could admire him. Among them, Lu Xiangsheng was one.

Emperor Chongzhen, even if he removed his identity, still won the respect of Lu Xiangsheng, let alone Zheng Zhilong himself.

Therefore, Zheng Zhilong took a fast boat to Tianjin with the joy of reuniting with his son and his imagination of Emperor Chongzhen, and then rushed to the capital with a fast horse.

Needless to say, the first time he saw his son, he naturally asked Zheng Chenggong about his studies with the prince and told him to work hard. Then, he requested an interview through the Tongzheng Department.

In fact, when he arrived in the capital, the Jinyiwei had already reported the news.

Emperor Chongzhen had something to see Zheng Zhilong, but after receiving Zheng Zhilong's request, he met him in Wuying Hall.

The reason why he did not directly send an order to summon him, but asked Zheng Zhilong to ask for an audience. Among them, there is the meaning of giving him kindness.

Sure enough, the emperor immediately approved the request he had submitted. Of course, he was very happy. He felt that he was indeed valued by the emperor. Therefore, he was still a little excited when he first came to the Forbidden City to meet.

When Emperor Chongzhen was presenting him, he was also looking at the man who had been revered for a long time but had met for the first time. I have to say that even though Zheng Zhilong was wearing a military uniform, he looked more like a businessman.

After Zheng Zhilong finished the ceremony, Emperor Chongzhen asked with a smile: "But you have seen it successfully? I look really good at this kid, and I will definitely have a future!"

The emperor appointed his son's future, which made Zheng Zhilong feel overjoyed. After reciprocating his kindness, he immediately replied: "I will see that there is insufficient food in the north. I am willing to let my family purchase grain from Nanyang and go north to Tianjin for disaster relief in the court!"

He knew that the emperor must have figured out how much money he had, so he did not shy away from the emperor's side. The fact that money was not revealed was useless in front of the emperor.

In addition, he also vaguely felt that there was a possibility that the emperor looked at his son so differently and treated him well, and it was probably related to the wealth in his hands. Since that is the case, rather than waiting for the emperor to ask for it, it would be better to be a little bit easier by himself, but he could get more benefits instead.

From this point of view, Zheng Zhilong has indeed always been doing things with the mindset of a businessman.

Emperor Chongzhen was also happy when he heard this, and secretly praised him for dealing with smart people, which was so comfortable. He saw him nodding and said to Zheng Zhilong with a smile: "Zheng Qing is dedicated to his country, which is really rare in my Ming Dynasty. I can't let you pay this money for nothing. Then that's better..."

Speaking of this, Emperor Chongzhen seemed to think for a while, and then continued to say to Zheng Zhilong: "Let your brother Zheng Hongkui be the best for Fujian coastal defense guerrillas."

Although Zheng Hongkui was actually the controller of the Zheng family fleet during Zheng Zhilong's absence from Fujian, he was the leader of the Zheng family fleet. If he is now named as a coastal defense guerrilla, some of the Zheng family fleets can become official troops. Speaking of which, there is actually not much difference.

However, no matter what, Zheng Hongkui is now just a martial arts scholar, and he has obtained the guerrilla position for several levels. At least at the level of the government, Zheng Hongkui has officially entered the ranks of generals and has a status, which can be regarded as fulfilling his wish to change his name.

Zheng Zhilong was happy when he heard this, but on the surface, he still pretended to be a little scared and terrified, and quickly replied: "Your Majesty, Mo Jiang made a lot of money before, but he lost his fortune and did not bother with Mo Jiang. Mo Jiang was also very uneasy. Now he can do something for the court, which is a matter of course. I dare not ask for rewards again!"

"I have decided, so you don't have to refuse!" Emperor Chongzhen said happily about his perception, "It takes a lot of energy to buy food from Southeast Asia and then transport it north. This is also a matter of your brother who is worried about. With this, I will grant him a coastal defense guerrilla warfare, which is also a reward for him."

Speaking of this, he sighed and said, "Actually, I am very clear about the lack of food. If possible, I hope to buy as much grain as possible from Nanyang to transport it north. If this is the case, I will also issue an order to the governor of Fujian to see how much money Fujian can squeeze out, and give it to your Zheng family. How about buying Nanyang grain?"

After hearing this, Zheng Zhilong wanted to refuse, saying that he would not have to pay the Fujian Governor.

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen had to emphasize: "You may not understand what I mean. In the next few years, you will still need to buy food from Southeast Asia. If it is possible, you can buy all the food from Southeast Asia. With so much money, you can't keep paying for your Zheng family. Although I am short of money and need money everywhere, I will not always worry about your Zheng family's money. Of course, I will not think about other people's money. As long as you stick to yourself, there will be nothing wrong."

Zheng Zhilong felt relieved at first, but then he thought about it, but he thought that his family had been making more money by collecting protection fees for sea smuggling. The emperor knew this. If the emperor used this as an excuse to deal with him in the future, it should not have violated his promise. He was not abiding by himself, right?

Thinking of this, Zheng Zhilong's fear hidden in his heart aroused again.

After thinking for a while, gritted his teeth and replied to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, I did something that violated the laws of the Ming Dynasty before. I have repented now and will definitely go to my family to confess that I have eaten the king's fortune, so I should not do anything to blame me anymore. I should die!"

After saying that, he knelt down and apologized.

Although Zheng Zhilong's words were a bit obscure, Emperor Chongzhen understood it. After thinking about it, he stood up, walked around the imperial case, and helped Zheng Zhilong up in person, looked at him, and said with a smile: "Zheng Qing filtered it. Since Zheng Qing is not at ease, then this is better..."

Hearing the emperor's words, Zheng Zhilong wanted to apologize again, thinking that he dared not worry about the emperor. However, at this time, Emperor Chongzhen had already spoken first: "The court owed serious taxes. Although I have sent the inspector and censor to collect debts, it probably won't go so smoothly. However, the court does need money. Therefore, I have an idea..."

Hearing the emperor's words a little strange, Zheng Zhilong was curious and looked up at the emperor.

The emperor said to him earnestly: "The money you collected from the dictatorial flag before is actually a disguised collection of maritime taxes! It is impossible for you to receive so many maritime taxes when collecting maritime taxes seriously. Therefore, I thought that the Zheng family of yours will continue to remain unchanged and continue to collect the dictatorial flags of those maritime merchants. However, after receiving it, 30% of the dictatorial flags accounted for 70%, and the Zheng family of yourselves will receive 30%. I can give you an order. If someone questioned the Zheng family for this reason, you can give your decree to justify yourself!"

If Emperor Chongzhen made this request directly when he first came into contact with Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Zhilong would definitely feel that his interests were damaged and he would actually divide 70% of the income, and there is a very high probability that he would resist the emperor's request.

However, Emperor Chongzhen did not make this request from the beginning, but threatened him first. When Zheng Zhilong surrendered, he immediately gave him benefits. Not only did he promote him to become general, but he also gave his son a name and became a companion for the prince, and praised his son for being good. After his power, he showed his kindness and allowed Zheng Zhilong to reunite in Beijing. Even when he wanted to ask for a meeting, he felt that the emperor looked at him differently.

In addition, another important factor was that Zheng Zhilong felt the power of the court. There were officials like Lu Xiangsheng who were both civil and military, and his emperor was wise and powerful, and able to do things that the emperor could not do before.

These factors combined have greatly changed Zheng Zhilong's view of the imperial court and recognized his position.

Under such a premise, Emperor Chongzhen took advantage of the situation and made this request for money, which was not abrupt at all. At this time, Zheng Zhilong also felt that if the emperor endorsed it, he could legalize the protection fee, which would be of great benefit to the future.

However, he was obviously a little hesitant and did not answer immediately. After a while, he replied to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, it's not that the Ultimate Bargain, but that it's true. If it's only 30%, the Ultimate General will find it difficult to maintain the fleet's return. Some people may leave and do it themselves. Your Majesty, the Ultimate General is really not..."

Before he finished speaking, Emperor Chongzhen smiled and said, "I like to be honest and honest. Since Zheng Qing thinks there is a problem, it is a good thing to raise it. If you estimate it, how much do you have to maintain the current situation?"

He could understand that Zheng Zhilong could not have unified the pirates with his personal charm. It must have been a coercion and inducement, and all kinds of means were used to allow all the pirates on the southeast coast of the Ming Dynasty to be included under his command.

Zheng Zhilong was moved to understand the emperor so much and quickly said, "If there are 50% of them, they will be sure that they will not complain. Really, Your Majesty, all these 50% will be distributed to them, and it will cost a lot of money to repair the fleet."

"Well, I understand." Emperor Chongzhen heard this, nodded, and then said, "If this is better, it will be divided into 55% of the total. In addition, I feel that those subordinates are loyal to the court and can be promoted, and I can give me a list of officials to help me win their hearts. In addition, you don't have to worry about the maintenance of the fleet and the addition of new warships. I have told you that at the end of the sea, there must be a banner of the Ming Dynasty, which is definitely not something to say. Therefore, I will issue an order to expand the shipyards in various places, so I won't have to worry about the addition of warships in the future."

Hearing this, Zheng Zhilong was overjoyed. He provided the list and the emperor would give him an official position, which would definitely be beneficial for him to stabilize his subordinates. Moreover, the emperor once again reiterated his ambitions for the sea, which means that Zheng Zhilong will continue to be valued in the future.

Thinking of this, he immediately replied: "Your Majesty, since this is the case, it is enough to divide the six-fourth into pieces!"

Hearing that he took the initiative to pay 10% of the money, Emperor Chongzhen smiled and shook his head and said, "Just considering the court like this, if you can get 10% less, I cannot ignore the income of your Zheng family. Just divide it by 55%!"

Zheng Zhilong's fleet collected protection fees in the southeast, and earned about 10 million yuan a year. If it were divided by 50% or 50%, the court would have earned more than 5 million silver. He paid nothing but talked, and the saliva that had just been consumed was probably the most valuable saliva. It was equivalent to the court doing nothing, which would have increased the treasury income of more than twice the previous year.

Zheng Zhilong solved the future problems, and Emperor Chongzhen obtained a large amount of income. Both sides were happy. After the negotiations on this matter, even the relationship between the monarch and the minister seemed to have further progress.

Just as Emperor Chongzhen chatted, he said to Zheng Zhilong: "The income of the treasury is too low. The taxes of the court will be changed in the future. I still have a lot of things to do, all of which require money..."

Zheng Zhilong was a little surprised when he heard this and thought to himself, Your Majesty, you don’t need to explain anymore, I am willing to share the money!

In his opinion, the emperor was quite kind. He felt a little embarrassed to get so much money and wanted to explain it.

"... The Western barbarians are expanding everywhere, and I, the Ming Dynasty, cannot ignore the justice of the world, and the Ming Dynasty cannot. In this way, more ships, better ships, more cannons, and better cannons. To build ship cannons, they also need research and development and improvement, all of which cost money..."

Hearing this, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but agree immediately. It would be great if this money really needs to be used to make these things.

"...Everyone in the world has suffered disasters for many years. In the next few years, it is estimated that the disaster will not be very good. Disaster relief is needed to allow the people to survive. Only in this way can the country be stable, and these also require money..."

Zheng Zhilong nodded slightly when he heard this. It was indeed the case. Otherwise, as before, there would definitely be thieves again.

"...In addition to the construction of water conservancy, I also plan to rebuild all the roads, bridges, etc. of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty is a bit big, and it is from south to north, and I don't know how much time it takes to go on the road. Only when the roads are smooth and fast, can the transactions from all over the country prosper. In this way, with more people doing business, the lives of the people will be better, and the court can receive more money, and then use this money to continue to build roads and do infrastructure. In short, if you want to be rich, build roads first..."

If Emperor Chongzhen's words were said to other ministers, they would probably not have much effect. But the person in front of him was actually a businessman and had a greater understanding of business than ordinary officials. Therefore, when he heard the emperor's words, his eyes suddenly lit up.

The emperor is indeed different, and he actually said this: If you want to be rich, build roads first!

You should know that the emperors in the past never had such an idea. In fact, the previous emperors' actions were exactly the opposite.

They do not want the people to run around, which will cause great inconvenience to the court in managing the people. Therefore, of course, they do not want the merchants to run around.

Therefore, the construction of roads in the past was basically just for the purpose of delivering official documents and was used by the government.

But the emperor's statement in front of him was completely opposite to before. Although they were all building roads and bridges, their purpose was completely different. Zheng Zhilong could imagine that if the emperor really did this, the Ming Dynasty would definitely become more prosperous, and the money would definitely be worth it!

Listening to the emperor saying that the places where the court spends money in the future are all places that benefit the country and the people, and they did not say that they would use it in the palace or on themselves. Zheng Zhilong knew that the emperor in front of him had a comprehensive plan and was definitely a good emperor of the Ming Dynasty!

The emperor needs a lot of money, which is what he deserves!

As a result, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but admire the emperor even more in his heart.
Chapter completed!