ushernet Chapter 599 Joint Venture
Chapter 599 Joint Venture
Nan Juyi did not intend to kill Chen Er, although the salt merchant did have that idea.
But he works for the Ninth Prince, not as a lackey of the salt merchants. Nan Juyi envisioned that the best outcome would be to subdue the pirate named Chen Er and have him work for him in the future.
After all, that pirate was just Li Dan's nephew. It would be very bad if things got out of hand and ruined the Grand Prince's grand plan.
However, around noon, Nan Juyi's mood soured. According to reports, the pirates had recaptured Fengguiwei in a single battle, and the red-haired pirates had surrendered.
Upon hearing this news, Nan Juyi even had an absurd thought: could these two people have staged a play together, plotting something?
Chen Er rested for a while at noon, still feeling very nervous about the battle. Just as Chen Er woke up, Ma Kang came to report that the governor had invited him.
Chen Er had no interest in paying homage to the governor, since he dared to execute a high-ranking civil official like Mao Wenlong.
"Tell the messenger that I am seriously injured and unable to get up. If the governor really wants to see me, please ask him to come over."
It seems that Li Chengliang had used the rogue tactic to avoid going to the capital many times, and Chen Er also tried it once.
Ma Kang went out to deliver a message but returned shortly afterward, saying that a large amount of valuable goods had been discovered.
Chen Er thought about it and realized that the Dutch had robbed more than 200 ships in just over a year. Most of these ships should have been merchant ships and must have contained a lot of valuables.
Looking at the room full of gold and silver, Chen Er was a little stunned. Although he was already a very wealthy man, those were just numbers. Seeing a room full of gold and silver in person was a completely different feeling.
After a preliminary count, there are 165 million taels of silver in ingots and more than 4 taels of gold. The smaller ingots have not yet been counted, and the jewelry has not yet been appraised.
In addition, there were a large amount of goods. According to survivors, the Dutch also took a ship full of gold and silver, and the captured civilian ships were dismantled to build fortifications.
It means that even an 18-pound cannon shot couldn't break the city wall, so the city wall made of ship planks and rammed earth was not so easy to break.
Looking at the room full of gold and silver, Chen Er wondered who all this wealth had benefited from in the original timeline? The Dutch or Nan Juyi?
Historically, the Dutch were forced to retreat by Nan Juyi. There is no record of this property in the Ming Dynasty. The Dutch took it away.
Nan Juyi was furious upon hearing Chen Er's reply, and felt even more strongly that this was a charade orchestrated by the pirates and the red-haired men.
Do you want to get promoted by claiming such merit? But such a memorial cannot be submitted without the guarantee of both civil and eunuch officials.
The victory in recapturing Penghu was a significant achievement, as it involved the recovery of lost territory. Nan Juyi suppressed his anger and began plotting how to gain a share of the credit.
Of course, it would be even better if Chen Er's military achievements could be erased.
Once Nan Juyi was convinced that this was all an act, all the questions were answered: if the Fujiang navy couldn't defeat the Hongmao, how could the pirates have achieved a decisive victory in one battle?
When the Taiwanese blockaded Zhangzhou Bay, their navy did come out to fight, but after one of their warships was sunk, they quickly retreated.
Since he was going to get involved, he had to see Chen Er, but how could a third-rank deputy censor-in-chief like himself possibly see a fifth-rank guerrilla?
In the Ming Dynasty, the position of governor was that of an imperial envoy, specially appointed by the emperor. There was no official rank, and all governors were officials on temporary assignment.
Martial artists still need to deal with other martial artists; that's settled then.
Yu Zigao, the General of Fujiang, was sent by the Governor to negotiate with Chen Er. The General of Fujiang was a second-rank military officer.
Nan Juyi was unaware of Chen Er's power and influence in the Fujiang River, but Yu Zigao did, having also received news of Chen Er's decisive victory in recapturing Fengguiwei.
Chen Er claimed he was injured and could not see the governor, which Yu Zigao had heard about. Now Yu Zigao was very worried because he was a native of Liangshan.
How many soldiers should we bring? Too many won't do, or Chen Er might think it's a provocation; too few, and what if these pirates get angry?
But Yu Zigao thought about it and realized that Li Dan was, after all, a fellow townsman from Liangshan, and had never done anything bad to the people of Liangshan over the years. Besides, he had no grudge against Chen Er.
Ultimately, Yu Zigao was stopped, and he led over 200 personal guards to Fengguiwei.
Chen Er looked at Yu Zigao with great surprise. This was the son of Yu Dayou, a famous general of the Ming Dynasty? The son of Yu Dayou, the general who was mentioned alongside Qi Jiguang?
Previously, Xu Xinsu had been the one handling all the communications with Daming, and no one had told Chen Er about Yu Zigao's background. It was only when Ma Kang, who accompanied him in, whispered this in his ear.
This guy is clearly a wealthy landlord. He's round and chubby, less than 1.7 meters tall, and when he looks at Chen Er, he has a friendly smile on his face. You can't see a trace of a military general in him.
"General Yu?"
"Master Li."
Chen Er was several ranks lower than him. He didn't know whether Ming Dynasty military officers needed to kneel before each other, but Chen Er pretended not to know, and Yu Zigao didn't care either.
"General Yu, you must be joking. I am your subordinate, not someone you can address as 'sir'."
"Not at all, not at all. Lord Li is not my subordinate. We are from the same hometown, so let's not stand on ceremony."
Ah, Yu Dayou was from Liangshan? Liangshan is truly an amazing place.
One of the most famous anti-Japanese pirate generals in the Ming Dynasty was from Liangshan, and the two most famous pirates in the Ming Dynasty were also from Liangshan.
"Does the General know me? May I ask what brings you here, General?"
Chen Er knew that Nan Juyi would never come to see him. If he really came, would the Ming Dynasty still have the tradition of using civil officials to control military officials? Would the dignity and respectability of the Ming Dynasty's civil officials still be maintained?
"Haha, Li Dingzhi's name is very well-known in my Fu River area. Everyone says he is a young hero. It's a pity I only met him today. He is indeed a remarkable hero."
Is this the beginning of a pattern of mutual flattery in business?
"Not at all, General Yu's name is known throughout the land. Father and son are both generals, and Lord Yu is truly from a family with a long tradition of scholarship."
"I wonder where Lord Li used to reside? Why have I never heard of him in Liangshan before?"
Well, here comes the discussion.
Chen Er recounted his fabricated backstory again, though he guessed Yu Zigao was just making conversation, since his fabricated backstory had already spread throughout Zhangzhou and Quanzhou.
"Oh, I never imagined that Lord Li was such a filial son. How admirable and respectable!"
In the Ming Dynasty, if you couldn't think of a good way to praise someone, just compliment their filial piety; it was always a safe bet.
The two exchanged pleasantries, and Chen Er knew what Yu Zigao was there for, and Yu Zigao knew that Chen Er knew as well, but neither of them got to the point, each waiting for the other to speak first.
Chen Er didn't know much about this era, and he didn't have many topics to discuss.
"I wonder if Lord Yu's family has any seafaring business?" Chen Er couldn't keep up with other topics, so he could only bring up the topic he was most familiar with.
"Occasionally, occasionally, after all, the sea is dangerous."
Hmm, Yu Zigao is implying something.
"Has Lord Yu considered a joint venture?"
"Is this okay?"