Chapter 139: First Meeting with Zheng Sen
After returning home, Princess Kunxing changed Zhao Xiaofei into casual clothes. Kunxing asked, "My husband, what was discussed in the court today? When can we return to the capital?"
Zhao Xiaofei smiled helplessly and said, "Fight back to the capital? They want to negotiate peace with the Jianlu and recognize the Qing Dynasty. Let the Jianlu destroy Li Zicheng and retreat back to the Shanhai Pass, and give the land outside the pass to the Qing Dynasty! Naive!"
"Why do they all think like this? Have they forgotten the consequences of the Northern Song Dynasty allying with the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty?" Princess Kunxing said.
"They know better than you! But they think they can control everything! The Northern Song Dynasty also thought so! They are just talking about using history as a mirror!" Zhao Xiaofei said
"But now Zuo Liangyu is about to attack, and they also feel that the best outcome now is to recognize the Jianlu!" Princess Kunxing said.
"Zuo Liangyu seems to have an army of one million, but in fact, there are less than 200,000 soldiers who can fight. Our Kenan Army has more than 100,000 soldiers in total, and their weapons and armor are much more elite than Zuo Liangyu's army! We also have Huang Degong in Chuzhou and Qin Liangyu in the west. Together, there are no less than 300,000 soldiers who can fight. Zuo Liangyu can only be beaten!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"But we have few ships. Those big ships are fine on the sea, but they have trouble turning around in the Yangtze River!" said Princess Kunxing.
"Zheng Zhilong has agreed to send ships to help in the battle!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"How many did they send?" asked Princess Kunxing.
"There are three hundred warships of various sizes, and they will probably arrive the day after tomorrow!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"That's great! We are good at land combat, and with the help of the navy, we can wipe out Zuo Liangyu in one fell swoop!" Princess Kunxing said.
"It's not that easy! Zheng Zhilong is just a pirate leader and a businessman. This is all conditional!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"What are the conditions?" asked Princess Kunxing.
"He sent his son Zheng Sen to Nanjing, and he should come here to negotiate terms with us!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
Princess Kunxing was very confused. What exactly did Zheng Zhilong want? At this moment, Xiao Si said at the door: "Master! The Zheng family has arrived!"
"I understand. Let them wait in the living room!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Yes!" Xiao Si stepped back.
"Look! Speak of the devil, here he comes. Let's go meet Zheng Sen!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
Princess Kunxing, of course, would not show up in public. She followed behind and went directly to the next room. Zhao Xiaofei planned to let Kunxing get more involved in government affairs so that she could help him in the future.
When Zhao Xiaofei arrived at the living room, he saw two young men. One was gentle and refined, like a weak scholar. The other was tall and strong, and he looked like a martial artist.
The frail young man clasped his fists and saluted, saying, "I am Zheng Sen, meeting Lord Kenan!"
"Are you Zheng Sen? You are indeed a handsome man! How is Marquis Nan'an in good health recently?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"Thank you for your concern, sir! My father is in good health. When he came, he asked me to bring you some gifts, all of which are seafood!" Zheng Sen said.
"Okay! Thank Marquis Nan'an for me! Who is this person next to him?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"This is Shi Lang, the vanguard officer under my father, known as the Sea Thunderbolt!" Zheng Sen said.
"It seems that your vanguard officer is very good at naval combat?" Zhao Xiaofei said.
"I don't deserve it! Thank you for your praise, sir!" Shi Lang saluted with his fists clasped.
"Did your father have any instructions for asking you to come here this time?" Zhao Xiaofei asked directly.
"My father asked, can we delay the construction of the Maritime Customs Office by two years? Or can we get the imperial court to make concessions on the profit sharing?" Zheng Sen asked in a low voice. He had no confidence!
"It's impossible to do it later. How about the profit sharing? It was 40/60 before, but I can talk to the court about a 50/50 split," Zhao Xiaofei said. The Maritime Customs Office must be rebuilt, otherwise where will the court collect the money? As for the profit sharing, I don't have a navy now. Once I have one, what will your Zheng family have to do with it?
Princess Kunxing, who was standing behind them, was also furious. Zhao Xiaofei told her that the Zheng family collected tens of millions of taels of silver in protection fees annually from the sea, more than the national treasury. He promised them a 50-50 split on rebuilding the Maritime Customs Office, but they weren't satisfied. How could they be so greedy? This made Princess Kunxing realize the greed of these Ming officials.
Zheng Sen said, "I'll write a letter to tell my father when I get back!"
"Okay! Will General Shi Lang command the battle on the Yangtze River this time?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"Yes! My father asked him to follow you to fight against the rebels, and he will obey your orders in everything!" Zheng Sen said.
"I don't know anything about naval warfare, so let's not let an amateur command an expert! Everything is decided by the general. As long as you can defeat Zuo Liangyu, I don't care what other tactics you use!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Thank you for your trust, sir!" said Shi Lang.
"The fleet will arrive the day after tomorrow. Is there any problem with setting off immediately after three days of rest?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"No problem!" said Shi Lang.
"Okay! We will set off on time and defeat Zuo Liangyu's troops in one fell swoop!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"We'll follow your instructions, Master!" they both said at the same time.
Back at the rear quarters, Princess Kunxing pouted and said, "Zheng Zhilong is too greedy for money! 40% isn't enough! He wants to split it in half with the court! How ridiculous!"
Zhao Xiaofei laughed and said, "Zheng Zhilong might be thinking about giving the imperial court 40% and him 60%! After all, all the ships on the sea belong to him! He's the one who contributed the most!"
"Husband! We will also build warships at that time and let eunuch Sanbao's fleet reappear in the Ming Dynasty's sea borders!" Princess Kunxing said.
"Great! Let's go out to sea together and bring the whole world under the rule of the Ming Dynasty!" Zhao Xiaofei said. Haha! This idea is really crazy! Where did Zhao Xiaofei get the confidence?
After saying that, he wanted to do something that both men and women like to do with the princess. Just as he was about to kiss Princess Kunxing, Kunxing began to vomit, holding her stomach. Zhao Xiaofei was completely confused. He thought, could she be pregnant? Ever since leaving the capital, Zhao Xiaofei and Kunxing had never taken any further measures.
Seeing Princess Kunxing like this, Zhao Xiaofei shouted outside the door: "Call the imperial physician quickly!"
The doctor who came was Huang Jian. Doctor Hu was left in the capital. Because he was old, if he were brought to Nanjing, he would probably be dead before he even arrived! Furthermore, Hu Wen was also kept in the capital by Zhao Xiaofei, who falsely conveyed the imperial decree, so that he could pretend to surrender if necessary.
Huang Jian came in and saluted Zhao Xiaofei first. Zhao Xiaofei said, "Alright! No need to be so polite! The princess is always nauseous and vomiting. Can you tell me if she's pregnant?"
"Yes!" Huang Jian immediately took the princess's pulse. After a long moment, Huang Jian stood up and congratulated, "Congratulations, sir! Congratulations, princess! The princess is pregnant!"
"Really?" Zhao Xiaofei and Kunxing asked at the same time.
"Of course I can't be wrong after practicing medicine for decades!" said Huang Jian.
"Thank you, Doctor Huang! Xiao Si, give 200 taels to Doctor Huang!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Thank you very much, sir! Thank you very much, sir!" Huang Jian happily took the reward and left.
Princess Kunxing said happily, "Husband! I'm pregnant. I'm going to be a mother!"
Zhao Xiaofei was happy on the surface, but in his heart he said: "Okay? These kids are coming one by one! Only Kou Baimen is left! I think he has the potential to be a stud."
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