Chapter 1261 The old rogue in the high pavilion

I have said this many times before. There was no free trade on the oceans during the Age of Exploration.

The existence of competitors will seriously reduce trade profits, making the routes protected by giant ships and cannons unprofitable or even causing serious losses.

How did the Dutch East India Company come about? Because the competition between the sea coachmen was too fierce, they successively established 14 trading companies in distant Asian countries. These companies each sent fleets to the Indian Ocean to purchase pepper and spices, which led to the continuous increase in the purchase price of these goods in Asia, while the selling price in Europe fell sharply. As a result, all companies faced bankruptcy crisis, and the East India trade route that the Netherlands had built with great difficulty was about to collapse.

It was only then that 14 trading companies formed a company under the mediation of political strongman Johann van Oldenbarnevelt to monopolize trade with the East.

Why did the Netherlands and Britain fight for 150 years? It was because the British East India Company also emerged and engaged in ocean trade from the Far East to Europe. The competition between the two companies made the Far East trade unprofitable. Negotiations failed and they had to fight to the death.

Taking history as a mirror, Mr. Zhao firmly believed that the maritime trade in the East must be monopolized by his own company! No matter whether you are Portuguese, Japanese, Fujian and Guangdong merchants... or the Ming Dynasty, whoever wants to have a piece of the pie must first defeat the Coast Guard Fleet that he built at all costs.

Be submissive on land but strike hard at sea; this is the general policy that Mr. Zhao has set for himself.

~~

The next day, all the officials reluctantly bid farewell to Lord Li at Jishuitan.

Seeing the official ship with flags of "The Minister Retires" and "The Prime Minister Retires" slowly sailing out of the water gate beside Deshengmen and disappearing from everyone's sight, Gao Gong suddenly sighed with feeling and said, "This may not be a bad ending. Maybe in the future, we will be worse than him."

"Haha, no, with Brother Suqing's royal favor, I guarantee you will be a hundred times more glorious when you retire..." Zhang Juzheng said with a smile. But he was also horrified in his heart, because in recent decades, the prime ministers of the cabinet rarely died well. In order not to repeat the mistakes of his predecessors, the teacher retired a few years earlier, but he didn't expect that he would still lose his integrity in his later years.

Perhaps it was because he realized the high risks of this line of work that Li Chunfang insisted on quitting while he was ahead?

In this case, what is the point of going to great lengths to become the Prime Minister?

He suddenly laughed at himself. Was it too early to worry about this? Gao Gong was the successor to the position of Prime Minister. He didn't know when he would have to wait...

"Uncle, let's go back!" The sun was warm, the spring breeze was blowing, and Gao Gong was in a good mood.

Not only did he become the Prime Minister, but also yesterday he resigned from the post of Minister of Personnel to the Emperor as per custom, and proposed that the former official Yang Bo be reinstated and take charge of the Ministry of Personnel again.

Longqing meant that he should still be in charge of the Ministry of Personnel for the time being, so that he would have fewer constraints in his work. As for Yang Bo, he would come back after he recovered from his illness, and he would be allowed to take charge of the Ministry of War as the Minister of Personnel.

This meant that Gao Gong would be the first cabinet minister and the minister of the Ministry of Personnel for the first time, and his power would even exceed that of the prime ministers of the previous dynasty. No one in the court could compete with him. No one was qualified to be his equal ally, and the only one who rebelled was Shunchang.

Although Gao Gong knew that this was inappropriate - firstly, it violated precedent and would definitely attract criticism; secondly, with Yang Bo's unrivaled qualifications and abilities, if he were to take charge of the Ministry of War, Zhang Juzheng would no longer be able to take care of military affairs and would only be able to take charge of the less important Ministry of Works... This would undoubtedly weaken his uncle's power, and even his promotion to the position of Second Assistant to the Cabinet would not be able to make up for it.

But Gao Gong still reluctantly agreed. Extraordinary people do extraordinary things, and common sense cannot judge them. He wants to overcome difficulties and implement reforms, so the more power he has, the better. The opportunity is in front of him, but he hesitates and dares not accept it. What is the difference between him and Li Chunfang?

And now he only believes in himself, and no one else, including his uncle and brother...

Feng Bao's attack on Chen Hong was quick and accurate, and it was fatal, which made Gao Gong suspect his uncle. He thought that he was dishonest, colluding with the eunuchs, undermining his own cause, and beating the dog to bully the master!

This person is afraid of making random associations. Gao Gong thought about how he was stunned for a moment when Zhang Siwei's two letters were exposed. He was completely led by his uncle... Oh no, Zhang Juzheng! Could it be that the Jing people were using a knife to kill someone in order to eliminate the competitor who threatened his position?

Thinking back to the time when Zhang Juzheng dared to stab his teacher in the back, Gao Gong felt that there was no reason for him to be soft on him. So he felt it was necessary to warn this dishonest Jing man!

In fact, Zhang Xianggong was really wronged. Feng Bao was messing with Chen Hong because of the kid surnamed Zhao. He was completely in the dark. But the son-in-law is half the father-in-law, so it is not wrong to hit him with the high stick...

~~

Zhang Juzheng, who didn't know that he had been deprived of power at this time, smiled and got on the sedan chair carried by eight people with Gao Gong, as all the officials saw him off...of course, they rode in two sedan chairs.

After a cup of tea, the sedan returned to the palace and landed in front of Wenyuan Pavilion.

Zhang Juzheng got off the sedan chair first and walked to the tall and arched sedan chair to wait.

Gao Gong, with the help of Shen Yingkui, slowly got off the sedan chair, stretched his body and said casually: "By the way, uncle, I have thought about it carefully, and it is better to talk to your son-in-law about what I said last time. If he is willing to cooperate, it will be a great help."

Then he asked Zhang Juzheng with a smile, "Where do you think we should meet, your home or mine?"

"Well, I haven't had time to report to Brother Su Qing..." Zhang Juzheng smiled bitterly and said, "That killer sent someone to my house this morning, saying that something happened at sea and he was in a hurry to leave Beijing. He should have passed Tongzhou by now."

"Ah?" Gao Gong opened his mouth in surprise and asked, "When did he say he would be back?"

"You never know, but it definitely won't delay the wedding." Zhang Juzheng said stiffly.

"Damn it, it's obvious that he heard the news and hid away from me!" Gao Gong stamped his feet fiercely and said angrily: "Hurry up and chase that kid back!"

"Isn't this inappropriate?" Zhang Juzheng couldn't help but frown. Why did Zhao Hao hide away? It was obvious that he was not cooperating with the shipping department. What would he do if he was brought back? Force him to agree to share the maritime trade? Is that a human thing to do? Besides, is that guy a soft persimmon that he can squeeze?

If he was really a soft persimmon, Gao Huzi would have squeezed him to death long ago. Why would he bother inviting him to dinner to discuss things?

"Since Taiyue thinks so, let's just forget it." Gao Gong's smile gradually turned cold. "It's just that this kid is well-informed. I was having a drink at Li's house the night before last when I first proposed that the court also run sea transportation. He fled early this morning as if his butt was on fire. I don't know who tipped him off."

"This..." Zhang Juzheng heard the gunpowder in his words and quickly guessed, "The son of Li Gelao was there that day, and he seemed to be the boy's apprentice as well."

"Oh, it's Mr. Li, not you?" Gao Gong glanced at Zhang Juzheng and said with a fake smile, "In fact, Lord Zhang loves his son-in-law very much, so it's understandable that he told him in advance."

"I can distinguish between public and private affairs." Zhang Juzheng's forehead was throbbing with veins, and he couldn't figure out whether Gao Gong was crazy or had eaten explosives today. As for such a small matter, was he going to embarrass himself in public?

"Hahaha, it's just a joke, uncle, don't take it so seriously." Seeing his sullen face, Gao Gong laughed and said, "Let the boy go. He can still be with you. He will have to come back to marry you before the New Year. We'll talk about it then."

"I thought the minister was really angry." Zhang Juzheng also forced a smile.

"How can I argue with a brat? Besides, I should give him face, he is my uncle's son-in-law, I should treat him differently." Gao Gong smiled and patted Zhang Juzheng's shoulder and said, "I really envy you, uncle, you have such a good son-in-law and a bunch of sons."

As he spoke, he sighed and said, "Alas, I don't have a son, and I only have a daughter who is still a widow. What a tragedy..."

Zhang Juzheng's heart softened when he heard this, and he couldn't help but look at Gao Gong with some sympathy. No matter how powerful this old man in his sixties was, it was indeed tragic to have no son in this era.

He comforted Gao Gong, saying, "It's not good to have too many sons. They will eat me to death. This little salary is not enough to cover my expenses."

Unexpectedly, Gao Gong suddenly said in a low voice: "With such a rich son-in-law, are you still worried that you can't support your sons?"

Zhang Juzheng suddenly realized as if he had eaten a fly, and realized that Gao Gong was not acting on impulse at all, but had a deep prejudice against him and Zhao Hao.

You probably think you are that guy's protector!

As soon as he thought of this, he suddenly felt a chill on his back - if Gao Gong regarded Xiao Jing's marriage to that boy as a sign that he had chosen Zhao Hao and wanted to use his daughter to keep him for his own use, then it would be a big problem!

If that happened, it would mean that Zhao Hao was in cahoots with Xishan Group and even Jiangnan Group. Even Zhang Siwei's mess would be blamed on him!

Now, he has gone from being a harmless uncle to an ambitious man who must be strictly guarded against. The days ahead will be very difficult.

This is really an injustice that will last for thousands of years! Bu Gu never thought about taking over, he just wanted to do something good with Brother He Suqing!

He pointed to the sky and swore that he had agreed to this marriage out of helplessness, that he had no feelings for the boy at all, and that he would never ask for a penny from the boy! In the future, he would never treat him with any politeness...

Seeing Zhang Juzheng so frightened, Gao Gong laughed heartily and said, "Look at you, you are taking it seriously again? If you continue like this, I won't dare to joke anymore in the future."

"Really? Did I misunderstand again? It seems that I am not in the right state today." Zhang Juzheng smiled awkwardly, took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his face and said, "I am sorry to have embarrassed you, Brother Suqing."

"Go back and have a good rest." Gao Gong smiled and nodded. In his opinion, it was enough to give Zhang Juzheng a beating and make him accept it. After all, Guan Gong still needs the Red Hare... Cross it out and change it to Zhou Cang carrying the sword.

(End of this chapter)