Late Ming Dynasty: Conquering the world starting from riding and cutting

"Zheng's family affairs are difficult to handle!"

In the Keelung City Government Affairs Office, several high-level figures from the military and government, led by Qin Hao, sat around a stove while turning over the potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn and other crops that had just been shipped from Hsinchu, so that these crops could be heated Junjun, while discussing how to deal with the Zheng family's envoys.

Zheng Zhilong's navy was repulsed by the navy led by Amorim. His family members stationed in Xiamen City were also invited to Keelung City by Zhao Chang. The Zheng family's ten-year foundation in Taiwan was also destroyed by Chen Hu in one fell swoop. Zheng Zhihu was captured alive.

These captured soldiers of the Zheng family can bring huge profits to Keelung City every day, especially high-intensity work such as mines and coal mountains, without this group of labor, they would never be able to achieve the scale they are today.

Faced with such a huge advantage, Qin Hao would be lying if he said he was not tempted.

He really didn't want to let him go.

"Except for Zheng Zhilong's relatives, we will not let anyone else go!" Qin Hao put down the half-eaten corn and looked at the civil and military officials present.

Han Xian, Zhao Chang, Chen Hu, Li Yi and other military attachés did not have any objections. They would do whatever the lord said.

As for the civil servant group headed by Zhuge Xuan, they also remained silent this time and did not make any remarks.

This time, the advantages of the army and navy were really huge. If he didn't make a big profit, he would be betraying his country. Zhuge Xuan did not dare to risk the disapproval of the world and go against the interests of everyone.

"Since everyone has no other intentions, let's leave this matter to Zhuge Xuan." Qin Hao naturally became the hands-off shopkeeper again, wanting to hand over all follow-up matters to him.

Hearing this, Zhuge Xuan shook his head and gave a reason why Qin Hao must attend.

Wenwu, headed by Qin Hao, is no longer a small-time maritime businessman, but an overlord with an area of ​​thousands of miles and a population of 200,000. It is time to declare his birth.

While listening, Qin Hao gnawed the remaining half of the corn. After pondering for a moment, he only said: "Yes! I just want to let them dry for a few days before meeting them again."

Because of Qin Hao's words, Zheng Zhilong had to stay in the inn in Keelung City. Fortunately, Qin Hao did not restrict their travel, and the group could still collect scenery inside and outside the city.

People strolled along the streets and observed the scenes in the streets and the city.

Because of the victory in the war, everyone in the city seemed to be on the streets, and the bustling crowds were walking along the wide and flat ashes roads towards their destinations.

Out of military instinct, Zheng Zhilong and his personal guards and entourage used military eyes to observe these various people who were rarely seen at close range.

The farmers on the outskirts of the city, the craftsmen in the nearby factories, the merchants and employees of the "Qin and Han merchants", and what interests them even more are the soldiers wearing military uniforms made of bamboo cloth and wearing bamboo armor outside.

What is surprising is that the army and the people march side by side. As long as the people do not mix into the ranks of the soldiers, they are in peace. The people will not be frightened by the soldiers wearing armor and holding weapons beside them, while the soldiers see the soldiers beside them. The common people would pass by with a smile, and occasionally they would nod and say hello to someone they knew well. Due to military regulations, in the team, it was just a nod.

The neat and orderly pace, the momentum of thousands of people acting like one person, coupled with the clean and tidy red narrow-sleeved button-down military uniform, makes the march full of enthusiasm.

The vigorous and heroic posture of looking forward to one's own glory is in sharp contrast to the sluggishness of the Ming army elsewhere.

After Zheng Zhilong asked carefully, he found out that these people were "policemen". Like the patrol battalions of the Ming Dynasty, they were responsible for patrolling, public security, fire-fighting, vigilance and other matters in the city. They were not considered to be the elite field divisions of the Keelung Army.

Most of them are new recruits who have not been trained recently. They are soldiers and horses drawn from various places to serve in various cities according to the standard of one armor and one soldier.

Compared with the pirates on the sea and the soldiers and horses of the Ming Dynasty, it is already much more powerful in terms of appearance and momentum.

"The real elites are the soldiers of the Double Battalion!" Men, women, and children in Keelung City often say this when they mention their own army. That tone and expression made people feel as if they were praising their own children.

This aroused Zheng Zhilong's surprise even more.

"The bandits are like a comb, the soldiers are like a grate, and the government officials are like a knife." This is an extremely correct truth from south to north.

The people of the Ming Dynasty always stayed away from those who held swords and guns, no matter what kind of armor or uniforms they wore, so how could they praise them?

The so-called double camps are the Shuntian and Qijia camps, which are stationed at key locations in Keelung and Hsinchu respectively, and serve as the sea-suppressing needles.

The soldiers and horses responsible for security patrols were all so elite. Zheng Zhilong could not imagine how far the elite soldiers and horses of the two major battalions, known as the main force, could fight.

never mind!

If you can't think of it, don't think about him. Now when you are in Keelung City, you always have the opportunity to see how elite the soldiers and horses of these two camps are. Which of the golden trumpet soldiers is stronger or weaker will be known at a glance.

After making up his mind, he carefully watched the scenery on the roadside.

Due to many years of doing business at sea, Zheng Zhilong has developed a professional habit. Whenever he visits a city, Zheng Zhilong always first observes the local prices, such as rice prices, cloth prices, oil prices, salt prices, and meat prices, to infer the vitality of a city.

"Taste of the north and the south, rich and frugal, everyone can arrange a banquet, big pots and small stir-fries, rice and noodles are all available!"

A burst of lively shouting awoke Zheng Zhilong from his thoughts. The guards around him looked at him asking for permission, "Master, how about we have dinner here?"

Looking at the plaque hanging high at the entrance of the restaurant, "Fengtai Tower, what a mouthful!"

There was a bustle of people having dinner inside, with cups and plates mingling and guessing and playing.

The aroma of pasta wafted out from the kitchen of the dining room, making these men who had not eaten delicious food since childhood unable to move their legs.

Several white table masters are skillfully kneading the dough in their hands. The dough is constantly changing shape in people's hands, and then it is pulled into individual dough balls. Oil and water are sprinkled into the dough balls at intervals, and then rolled out flat. Mix in sesame seeds, sprinkle with salt and other spices, and bake it in the oven. After a while, a fragrant and shiny sesame cake will come out of the oven.

"Let's go! Go in and take a look!" Zheng Zhilong was also aroused by the aroma.

The group of people entered the restaurant and found a booth to sit down. The restaurant waiter, who was already alert, ran over with a water sign to greet them.

"Are these guests from the mainland coming from the mainland? What kind of food and drinks are you going to have?"

"How many of the famous dishes from Fengtai Restaurant can you name?"

"Are we here? In addition to the ordinary dishes, the specialty dishes are squirrel mandarin fish, fish-flavored shredded pork, Kung Pao chicken, spicy chicken, and boiled pork slices. This dish also includes mutton slices, pork slices, twice-cooked pork, Boiled fish, Mapo tofu, Wensi tofu, etc. If you are not sure about these dishes, you might as well look at the names of the dishes on the water sign." The waiter responded in a nonchalant manner.

"What's with the wine?"

"We only sell soju here. If you plan to drink rice wine, we have to go out and buy it for you. However, I have a suggestion for you. The food here is extremely spicy, and paired with soju, that is what a man should drink. !”

“What’s with the pasta?”

"Pasta?!" Hearing several customers asking about pasta, the waiter looked at the guests in front of him.

"Our city of Keelung only produces rice, not wheat. White flour is ground from wheat shipped from other places. It is not cheap. If you want to eat corn flour, or two types of flour, it will be much more cost-effective. "

"Okay, little brother, I'll leave this money to you. Please help us to adjust. We need to eat mutton, chicken, duck, and fish. We need to eat noodles. We also need to eat those dishes and two kinds of noodles you mentioned. Soju Have a jar."

Zheng Zhilong handed a few broken pieces of silver to the waiter's hand with a pleasant look.

The waiter put a handkerchief on his hand, took Zheng Zhilong's money, looked at it carefully, and said: "Masters, if you have time, go and exchange some silver coins, that thing will be useful!"

Zheng Zhilong was stunned. He didn't expect that Keelung City actually used silver coins. Before he could ask more questions, the waiter raised his voice and shouted loudly.

"The guest of Ren brand has ten taels of silver in his locker!"

After this shout, the waiter turned around and left, depositing the silver coins with the accountant at the door.

After a while, the same dishes were served by the waiter at a reasonable price. "Although it is not the New Year's Day and you cannot drink alcohol, I will make an exception today. Everyone has worked hard these days, so you can drink a little. Don't get drunk and get in trouble." that is!"

Looking at the small jar of soju brought by the waiter and smelling the faint aroma of wine coming out of the mud seal, Zheng Zhilong greeted his guards with gentle words.

"Thank you for your consideration, uncle!"

"Slowly turn around, your dish! Braised beef brisket with potatoes!"

"Boiled meat slices!"

“Kung Pao Chicken!”

"Squirrel mandarin fish!"

One after another, the waiter brought out the dishes with their names.

What made everyone stunned was that the pot of boiled meat slices was called Shuizhuo, but the huge porcelain pot was full of oil!

"Brother, is the dish served wrong? We want boiled pork slices, why is this basin full of vegetable oil?" Zheng Zhilong motioned to the guard to ask the waiter who served the dish.

The waiter's mouth moved slightly, as if he was a little disdainful, but out of professional habits, he politely explained to Zheng Zhilong and the others: "You don't know, but this so-called boiled dish is called Boiled fish is actually made of oil. If you don’t believe it, look at the table next door. The boiled fish is made of vegetable oil!

"Uncle, this potato was promoted in the north by the Lunxiang State of Anhui Prefecture, but the yield was too low and farmers were unwilling to plant it. I didn't expect it to be so delicious here in Keelung City."

A few people drank and ate, constantly appraising the food and wine, which was quite pleasant.

While he was talking, there was a burst of laughter at the door, and a group of people came in.

Seeing this group of people coming in, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but let out a "huh" sound, and the color on his face changed.

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