Chapter Thirty-Five The Most Crucial Person

  As expected by the two, a follower of Li Guozhu came before dinner and did not enter the house. He let the maid quietly come in to invite Chen Xin and Song Wenxian, but Song Wenxian did not expect that he was also invited together. The two went out separately and followed the follower back to the courtyard at noon.

  This time Li Guozhu waited at the door, saw them coming, and came up with a fist from afar, while Xin Youweimen still followed behind like a tail.

  Li Guozhu politely welcomed the two into a smaller room, where a maid poured clear tea. After dismissing the maid, Li Guozhu said to the two: "I'm disturbing your rest, which I shouldn't do, but what Brother Chen said today has left me restless. As Brother Chen is involved in financial matters and we are currently in the middle of a transaction, I couldn't help but bring him here, causing him to be suspicious. And especially since I asked Brother Song to accompany us, please forgive my impertinence."

  After finishing speaking, he bowed to the two of them and Song Wenxian hastily said: "Li Gongzi is being polite, you and I have cooperated many times, we both understand each other. Chen Cai's character was also highly praised by Zhao Dangjia in the past, whether I'm here or not makes no difference."

  Li Guozhu finished his courtesy and eagerly asked Chen Xin: "Brother Chen, regarding the matter of Zheng Yiguan's surrender that you mentioned this afternoon, I have thought about it according to your logic, and indeed, there is a great possibility. This time, the slave lord attacked Jinzhou, although the outcome is still unknown, but after Korea was conquered this year, the slave lord can indeed use more troops against the Ming dynasty. The Jiangnan region of the Ming dynasty is rich and prosperous, with heavy taxes, it is definitely not allowed to be chaotic, once Zheng Yiguan makes trouble in the southeast, the court may indeed consider surrendering, just as Brother Chen said, having money, soldiers, and official status, it will be even more difficult to deal with him. Thinking of this, I would like to ask Brother Chen, is there any way to solve this?"

  Chen Xin knew what was behind Zheng Zhi Long, and he had already grasped the opportunity. At this moment, he most wanted to maintain a good relationship with Li Guo Zhu in front of him, because he only knew this person and did not know Zheng Zhi Long. If the one sitting in front of him was Zheng Yi Guan, and he asked him to deal with Li Guo Zhu, he would also agree, as long as it was beneficial to himself.

  Chen Xin smiled calmly and said lightly: "Is it that Young Master Li is thinking of doing his best to stop Zheng Zhilong's surrender at this time?"

  Li Guozhu nodded slightly: "Yes."

  "That young brother suggested to Li Gongzi, now what should be done is to see it happen successfully."

  Li Guozhu suddenly stood up and sat down again, thinking for a moment before saying: "Brother Chen means that surrendering may not be as good as we said?"

  Chen Xindian nodded: "Zheng Yiguan's amnesty can be life or death, but it must fall on another person. First ask, what does Mr. Li think is Zheng Yiguan's greatest disadvantage?"

  Li Guozhu said decisively: "The foundation is not solid."

  "It's true, Zheng Yiguan's biggest weakness is that his foundation is not solid. He became rich overnight and famous at a young age, attracting a large number of bandits around him. However, these pirates are all unruly characters, would they submit to someone who rose to power through male favoritism? No, they only came together for profit. Once Zheng Yiguan surrenders, they will rebel again one after another. At that time, Zheng Zhilong's strength will be greatly weakened in the internal struggle. Once he loses his strength, the Ming dynasty's attitude towards him will also change. Then, Li Gongzi, your opportunity will come."

  Li Guozhu's eyes flashed with cold light, and the leader of this group of pirates was indeed such a person. Chen Xin said it was very possible. Zheng Yiguan was too young, and not many people really obeyed him. He asked again: "So I really don't do anything? And who is that other person?"

  Chen Xin shook his head: "It must be done, but not by you, Li Gongzi. It's that most important person who should do it. As long as this person is around, Zheng Yiguan's surrender will be a crisis, and if he's not here, Zheng Zhilong will be completely safe." Li Guozhu showed a serious expression: "Please, Chen brother, point the way." "You, Li Gongzi, should have an inside line or someone with great influence among the officials in Fujian. He is the most important person. You are far away in Japan, and no matter what happens in Fujian, you can't react in time. But this person can understand the information in the shortest time possible, and if he's capable, he can even seize the opportunity to take action directly. I don't know if you have such a person. If you do, no matter what, you must protect him and not let Zheng Yiguan secretly harm him. If necessary, you can let him retreat to Fuzhou or other places, as long as he stays alive. Once Zheng Yiguan reveals his weakness, you can give him a fatal blow. He's just an ordinary person, how can he be invincible?"

  Li Guozhu's mouth corner revealed a smile, and he said lightly: "Brother Chen is indeed highly talented. If there weren't people like him, how could my late father have become the greatest merchant at sea?"

  Chen Xindao said: "Li Gongzi, please inform this person that for now it is absolutely not possible to have a head-on confrontation with Zheng Yiguan. It's better to retreat slightly and wait for the right moment to arrive. When the time comes, Li Gongzi can summon me, and I will rush over from afar to help Li Gongzi eliminate this treacherous villain."

  The most important person mentioned by Chen Xin is actually Xu Xinsu, who was Li Dan's agent and ally in the Ming dynasty. He had bought a position as a provincial governor in Fujian, but his influence extended far beyond that. During Li Dan's lifetime, Xu Xinsu wielded considerable power and often served as a mediator between the Ming government and the Dutch. He also frequently smuggled goods to the Dutch and had good relations with officials of all levels in Fujian. Moreover, he had his own network for sourcing and selling foreign goods. In 1629, he successfully orchestrated the surrender of Yang Liu and Yang Qi, causing them to turn against Zheng Zhilong. Therefore, when it came to dealing with Zheng Zhilong, Xu Xinsu was actually more effective than Li Kuo-hua. While Li Kuo-hua operated in secret, Xu Xinsu worked openly, and the two had long been working together to counter Zheng Zhilong.

  In the original history, in October of Tianqi 7th year, Zheng Zhilong killed Xu Xinsu when he attacked the middle left guard (Xiamen), and then successfully surrendered and expanded. As long as Xu Xinsu was kept safe, with his many years of operation, even if Zheng Zhilong surrendered, this person could still cause him a lot of trouble. If Zheng Zhilong suffered a slight loss, he could even make a big deal out of it.

  The Fujian offshore forces were complex, and later developments proved that Yang Liu, Zhong Bin, Li Kuiqi, Liu Xiang and others were not willing to be inferior, regardless of whether Zheng Zhilong was recruited or not, they would eventually have to fight.

  So Chen Xin emphasized the key to this person, is to give Zheng Zhilong a nail, let him not fully obtain official support, and thus unify the pirates of the southeastern seas. As long as Li Guozhu can survive, he will have a relatively stable trade route, and Zheng Zhilong cannot monopolize Japanese trade. Otherwise, he would still have to pay him tolls, which is recorded in history as 3,000 taels of silver, and two trips would be 6,000. Chen Xin wanted to protect Xu Xinsu for another very important reason, that is Xu Xinsu's goods network. This is not something that can be established overnight, if he can establish a relationship with this person, the sugar and tea from the southeast can also be done by himself. Now as long as he gets along well with Li Guozhu, there will naturally be opportunities to cooperate with Xu Xinsu in the future.

  Chen Xin gave Li Guozhu a clever idea, feeling very pleased with himself. After thinking for a while, Li Guozhu's face broke into a smile and he lavishly praised Chen Xin. Song Wenxian narrowed his eyes and chimed in: "Brother Chen is indeed talented, and also highly valued by Master Zhao. Master Zhao has mentioned to me many times that he wants Brother Chen to take charge of the ship in the future, but considering that Brother Chen had just arrived and was too inexperienced, and also left suddenly without being appointed as the captain."

  Li Guozhu listened quietly without interrupting, knowing that Song Wenxian would definitely have more to say. These literary people were like this, laying out a lot of groundwork, and you wouldn't know what they really wanted to say until the end.

  Song Wenxian continued to say, "At present, the second master of the ship is still in charge. You know, Li Gongzi, that most of the goods on the Fushun are not Zhao's. I also can't make decisions. Chen brothers think that after selling the money from the Japanese ship, they can give more to Zhao Dongjia's family, after all, it's a widow and orphan..."

  Chen Xin stood up and interrupted him: "Mr. Song, you can't do this, don't make it difficult for Li Gongzi. I'll think of another way."

  Li Guozhu hastily pulled Chen Xin back and asked the two of them: "Is it that Han Bin who is deliberately blocking us?"

  Song Wenxian didn't say anything, he just shook his head and said: "I didn't expect that as soon as Zhao's master left, people's faces could change so quickly."

  Li Guozhu angrily said: "He is so ungrateful and disloyal, just wait and see how I'll deal with him in the future."

  "Let's not make a big deal out of this, the people on the ship are already anxious and it's not suitable to stir up more trouble. So, Mr. Song and I have thought of a plan, hoping to quietly get some extra rations for Zhao Dongjia and the dozen or so injured brothers. It's just that we need to trouble you, Li Gongzi, this matter is done with good intentions, but the method can't be seen in public, afraid it will tarnish your reputation."

  Li Guozhu walked south and north, already knowing what the two were up to. Today's performance by Chen Xin was quite impressive to him. Moreover, Song Wenxian was an important helper on his northern route. He accompanied the two in their act, discussing the plan. The cargo of the Japanese ship would be sold at a 10% profit, but Li Guozhu only paid 90% of the price. However, on the surface, there were only 60% of the accounts, and the remaining 30% went to Chen Xin and Song Wenxian. These two also used the banner of fighting for Zhao Dongjia's family dependents. The three had their own interests: Li Guozhu got 10%, Chen Xin and Song Wenxian got 30%.

  The total value of the Japanese ship was estimated by Chen Xin to be around 80,000 to 100,000 taels. The three men would each get around 10,000 taels. After discussing it further, they decided on a time and method for unloading the cargo.

  A few people's hearts were mutually understood without needing to be said, and after discussing business, Li Guozhu personally saw them off at the door. Today, he not only earned a lot of silver but also gained some good ideas. His mood was extremely good. After this time, the relationship between the three people became much closer. Chen Xin valued their resources and connections. From the current situation, it seemed that he would likely get their support and replace Zhao Dongjia's position. An income of over 10,000 taels would be even better. Once this transaction was completed, Han Bin's ambitions would also come to nothing.

  Li Guozhu sent a follower to send the two back to another courtyard. It was still early, and Song Wenxian invited Chen Xin to sit in his house for a while. Chen Xin had been thinking about what Song Wenxian said about joining the official army. After crossing over, he also had thoughts of joining the military, but none of the nine borders were willing to go. Shaanxi and Ningxia would soon be fighting against the bandits, and there weren't many ways to get rich either. Shanxi's Xuanfu would face the Later Jin in a few years, and it wouldn't be worth it for him to run over alone and become cannon fodder. So he had dismissed this idea. Now that Song Wenxian mentioned it, he felt that being an official army in Shandong or Tianjin, with a half-official position, would bring many benefits and be relatively safe. Zheng Zhilong was a very good example.

  He sat down and asked Song Wenxian: "The matter of the official army that Mr. Song mentioned, I have thought about it repeatedly, and indeed there are benefits, but I don't know how to implement it."

  Song Wenxian brought over a pot of tea and poured Chen Xin a cup, saying: "Brother Chen has a long-term vision, in a short period of time, he has gained the respect of Li Gongzi and the other brothers. Today, hearing you mention Zheng Yiguan's affairs, I suddenly had this idea - if we can get an official position, it will be greatly beneficial to both of us."

  Chen Xin listened attentively, and Song Wenxian continued: "The advantages have already been mentioned by Brother Chen today. Although the northern maritime trade cannot be compared to Jiangnan and Fujian, the annual profits are not small either. Now that you and I are friends, I won't hide it from you anymore. Among the goods on Zhao's ship, there are two big shots from Dengzhou and one big shot from Tianjin."

  "Is this official going to land on several big shots?"

  "However, when Zhao was in charge, although he did things for several big shots, he wasn't very willing to do so. Lord Zhong had thought of sending his own people to engage in maritime trade several times, but there were no connections with the Japanese side. Li Guozhu also made it clear that he only recognized Zhao as the head."

  Chen Xin bowed his head in thought, these few adults are just providing convenience for the Great Ming, Li Guozhu provides convenience for Japan, if they get an official position under these adults, maybe they will become someone else's pawn, and even the current three-tenths of goods will be gone. He also felt that this matter was not feasible.

  Song Wenxian was extremely astute and could tell what Chen was thinking just by looking at his expression. He then advised, "Brother Chen doesn't need to worry either, the conditions are all negotiable. Now that Zhao is not around, Li Guozhu is clearly inclined towards you. As long as I mediate in front of the other seniors, you can become the new master of the house and still have control over the sea. The conditions will always be negotiable."

  Chen Xin's face had a faint smile, it seemed that Li Guozhu was crucial to himself, fortunately he had already gained his favor, as long as the Japanese route was in his own hands, he could negotiate terms with several adults, and doing so would also benefit Song Wenxian, who was a bookworm, and might not be able to handle this group of pirates over time, Chen Xin had at least killed people before.

  "Mr. Song, if I want to get an official position, what path should I take?"

  "It's easy to become an official these days, if you want to be a civil officer, you can start by donating to become a monitor student, if you want to be a military officer, you can join the army or become a soldier, it depends on how Brother Chen decides."

  Chen Xing thought of a flaw in pretending to be a scholar and decided: "A military officer is fine, isn't this soldier and the army the same?"

  "The soldiers are recruited, the army is a military household registration. Those battle-hardened battalions on the nine borders are soldiers, and the guards stationed everywhere are the army. Brother Chen, you haven't registered yet, both options are possible. If you become a soldier, you can go to the governor's camp, spend some silver to grease the wheels, and it won't be hard to get promoted to battalion commander or regimental commander. If you become a military household registration, with even less silver, you can go to the guards in Dengzhou or Tianjin nearby, I can also help with connections. However, if you want an official position, that will require spending more silver and buying a rank."

  "Jun Hu?" Chen Xin felt a headache at the mention of this name, the hereditary military household system of the Ming Dynasty was probably one of the stupidest systems. "If you are recruited as a soldier, do you have to live in the barracks every day?"

  "It's uncertain, let's wait and see what the adults have arranged. If you have an official position, you can buy a house yourself or live in the barracks."

  "Do you have your own barracks?"

  "No, just three battalion heads under the governor's command, namely the Left and Right Wing Battalions and the Central Battalion, unless Brother Chen becomes a lieutenant general, then he will have his own troops."

  "What about the military household?"

  "Military households are stationed separately, like villages. With some fields and dwellings."

  "Ah, farmland..."