GBP Chapter 312 Zheng Zhifeng
Chapter 312 Zheng Zhifeng
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Since arriving in Lingao, Zheng Hongkui has been in a state of high tension. First, as an "accomplice" in the Zheng family massacre, his conscience is tormented; second, he is uneasy about how the Qiongzhou camp will deal with him and his family; and third, Fusong, whom he saved out of momentary pity, has disappeared!
It's obvious to anyone with common sense that the Qiongzhou Camp massacred the Zheng family to eliminate any potential threat. The Zheng family had operated in Fujian for many years; if any descendants survived, they could rally their old troops to fight against the Qiongzhou Camp, causing trouble for them as well. At the time, Zheng Hongkui showed mercy by preserving his elder brother's only remaining bloodline. In truth, Zheng Hongkui hadn't figured out how to settle his nephew. Under the Qiongzhou Camp's surveillance, he could barely protect himself, let alone Fusong.
However, what troubled him most was not these things, but that Fusong had disappeared on the way from Fujian to Qiongzhou. If he had fallen into the sea or committed suicide, that would be fine, but if he had been discovered and kidnapped by the Qiongzhou camp, then he would be in dire straits, and his family would be implicated. In that case, bearing the infamy of being a traitor to the Zheng family would have been a futile effort, and in the end, he still could not protect his family's safety.
Lost in thought, a soldier from the Qiongzhou camp, ostensibly there for protection but actually for surveillance, came to summon him, saying the general wanted to see him. Zheng Hongkui was filled with dread; had his scheme been exposed?
Before leaving, he bid a reluctant farewell to his wife and children, and made a decision in his heart that if things went to the worst possible point, he would take on all the responsibility alone to protect his family.
Upon arriving at the South Garden Council Hall, he learned that this was not the case at all. Liu Ye told him with a smile, "Brother Zheng, I'll give you a lucrative position. Go to Zeelandia and replace Putmans as a tax official for the Qiongzhou Camp."
It turned out that it wasn't Fu Song's affair that had been exposed; Zheng Hongkui breathed a sigh of relief. With his burden lifted, his mind immediately sharpened, and he asked with renewed vigor, "May I ask, General, what are the regulations for this tax official? Aren't high-ranking officials supposed to be the domain of the red-haired devils?"
Liu Ye briefly explained the whole story and then told him, "In short, it is imperative to drive the red-haired man out of the capital. And the only port in Fujian that is suitable is Zeelandia Port. You are the only one who is suitable to be in charge. It just depends on whether you are willing or not."
As a "traitor" to the Zheng family, with his family's lives in the hands of the other party, Zheng Hongkui had no choice but to bow and say, "I dare not disobey."
Liu Ye nodded in satisfaction: "How to get merchant ships into port is my business. You just need to collect taxes. As for how to classify the goods and how much to tax different categories, I will have my people draft a list for you. Once you get there, you can give me feedback and make adjustments based on the actual situation. In any case, stick to one principle: tax high-profit goods more heavily and low-profit goods less heavily, but the minimum tax rate should not be lower than one-tenth of the total tax rate."
"Where did the manpower responsible for counting goods and collecting taxes come from?"
“You can poach people from businesses in Fujian, offering double or triple the wages, as long as you can recruit enough people.”
Zheng Hongkui tentatively asked, "Then may my family members accompany me?"
Liu Ye shook his head repeatedly: "Qiongzhou Prefecture is not like Dayuan. Apart from Zeelandia Castle, it is all wilderness, inhabited by insects and beasts or natives. How can your wife and son condescend to go to such a poor and desolate place? You should stay in Qiongzhou Prefecture. I will send people to take good care of you, so you can rest assured."
With his family at the mercy of others, Zheng Hongkui had no choice but to accept Liu Ye's "good intentions." However, this arrangement was within his expectations. How could Liu Ye entrust such an important task to a surrendered general if he didn't leave his family members as hostages in Lingao? In any case, his family's lives were saved, and he could deal with the rest later.
He bowed and said, "I will follow the general's orders and do my best to fulfill my duties. I only have one small request."
Liu Ye waved his hand generously: "Just ask, I'll do whatever I can to help you." He thought to himself, as long as you don't bring your family to your new post, everything else is negotiable.
With a miserable expression, Zheng Hongkui said, "General and my elder brother fought like two tigers; the victor is king and the loser is villain. I have nothing to say about my elder brother's fate. But I am the only one left in the Zheng family. I want to restore my original name with the character 'Zhi' in it, as a memento. I beg the general to grant my request."
Liu Ye asked curiously, "Zheng Hongkui isn't your real name? Then what is your real name?"
"Hongkui's original name was Zhifeng. Because he was proud and arrogant in his youth and did not want to rely on his elder brother's influence, he changed his name to Hongkui after passing the imperial examination to become a military officer..."
Liu Ye suddenly realized why Zheng Zhilong's brothers all had the character "Zhi" in their names, except for Zheng Hongkui, whose name sounded out of place with names like Zheng Zhihu and Zheng Zhibao. It must have sounded awkward; apparently, this guy was a rebellious teenager in his youth. Dragon, Tiger, Leopard, Phoenix—that's more in line with Chinese naming conventions!
What was said in jest was taken seriously by Liu Ye. He gleaned a lot of information from Zheng Hongkui's words: Zheng Hongkui, or rather Zheng Zhifeng, was unwilling to serve his elder brother for the rest of his life and wanted to make a name for himself, which was the reason for his name change; and passing the imperial examination for military officers not only showed that Zheng Zhifeng was quite capable—although the military examination in the Ming Dynasty was not as difficult as the imperial examination, it was still not easy to pass—but also showed that he was very keen on fame and fortune, which made him easy to control.
Liu Ye had no objection to the name change. After all, they had killed the family, and it would be unreasonable to prevent them from changing their names back to their original names to commemorate their family. He nodded and said, "It's a trivial matter, approved."
"Thank you, General."
With the port locations and managers selected in Fujian, the next step was to arrange for the "driving the ships." This involved forcibly driving all merchant ships to the ports of Zeelandia and Bovo to pay taxes.
In terms of naval combat power, the Qiongzhou Battalion is unmatched. However, to control such a wide sea area from the Taiwan Strait to the Qiongzhou Strait, the existing number of ships is far from enough. It is necessary to increase the number of small and medium-sized warships, especially the Wuxiang-class patrol ships used for coastal patrol.
Liu Ye asked Sun Yuanhua, "Mr. Sun, is it possible to expand the shipyard's production capacity?"
Sun Yuanhua, responsible for all military industrial production and resource allocation, had a thorough understanding of the shipyards, steel mills, arsenals, and clothing factories after a year. Without hesitation, he replied, "With the existing shipyards, production capacity cannot be expanded further. We can stop building large ships and switch to smaller ones. If we want to increase the number of ships being built, the only way is to expand the shipyards. However, this will have far-reaching consequences; we won't have enough shipwrights, and since we plan to use Bofu as a tax-collecting commercial port, it's not advisable to dig more shipyards..."
Liu Ye lowered his head in deep thought. Sun Yuanhua's words made sense. Simply expanding the dock and recruiting new shipwrights wasn't a big problem. However, Bofu Port would be used for both military and commercial purposes in the future. More and more merchant ships would be docked in the port, and merchants and sailors would need to go ashore for accommodation, supplies, and consumption. Institutions for inspecting goods and collecting taxes would also need to be established. These future shops and facilities would require more land, and digging a dock would conflict with this development trend—after all, docks must be near water and cannot extend inland.