In the main hall, Xiao Ming and Wang Xuan stood opposite each other.
After receiving Xiao Ming's order, Wang Xuan said: "Your Highness, the secret guards have gone to Chu. If such a big event really happens, they will probably get the news soon."
Wang Xuan's tone was very confident. In the past two years, the government has The government invested a lot of money in the secret guards, which allowed the secret guards to expand rapidly. Now there are thousands of secret guards under his command.
These secret guards are distributed in key monitoring areas and have strict organization. It is they who deliver a steady stream of messages back.
Nodding, he said to Wang Xuan: "Yes, but the work of the secret guards needs to be strengthened. Your arrest of Shanxi merchants this time has been known to the emperor for a long time. It seems that the emperor also has an organization to spy on intelligence." "
Wang Xuan nodded, "We did neglect it. Later we found out that they were from Lijingmen."
"This is not bad. You finally have an opponent to compete with. Also, Chang'an and The monitoring of the barbarians cannot be relaxed. The dynamics in these two places are also very important."
Wang Xuan nodded and turned to leave.
Watching Wang Xuan leave, Xiao Ming fell into deep thought. The news that Cao Zhengtong brought this time really surprised him. He did not expect that the King of Chu would go to war with the Dutch.
I have to say that this shows that the Dutch really pushed the King of Chu into a panic. However, the emergence of such a domineering Dutch earl in this area is not good news for Xiao Ming.
Now that the maritime trade routes are completely blocked, this is also a huge problem for Xiao Ming. As Cao Zhengtong said, navigation routes are wealth.
He could not let such a huge wealth be in the hands of the Dutch.
The Silk Road on land has been cut off, and now the sea routes have also been cut off. Xiao Ming is really one of two people, and the country of Chongqing is really a mess.
Two days later, Wang Xuan brought news of the Qiantang naval battle in Chu. The King of Chu's fleet was destroyed by the Dutch. More than thirty ships were destroyed, and the crown prince Li Chuyuan was almost captured by the Dutch.
Lin'an Wharf was reduced to ruins by the Dutch. Finally, under the coercion of the Dutch, the King of Chu had to sign a new negotiation agreement on the Dutch warship.
This agreement recognized the Dutch's ownership of maritime trade. All ships passing through the trade routes must pay heavy taxes to the Dutch. At the same time, all goods sold by the Dutch to the Chu Land were exempted from taxes, etc.
"Is this news reliable?" Xiao Ming asked, taking the news from Wang Xuan.
"It's very reliable. It is said that in order to humiliate the King of Chu, the Dutch disclosed this agreement to the local maritime merchants. It was from these maritime merchants that the news came." Wang Xuan said.
Xiao Ming sneered twice and said: "I didn't expect it, I didn't expect that the King of Chu really set a precedent for the Chongqing Kingdom. He was the first to sign the first unfair treason treaty in history under the threat of force from the colonists. Agreement."
"The King of Chu has always been very ambitious. I am afraid he will cry to beg His Highness to purchase arms this time." Wang Xuan suddenly laughed.
"Hey, it's really hard to tell. I was taught a hard lesson by the Dutch this time. With the King of Chu's peeing, he will definitely purchase a large amount of arms. And because of this, the Dutch will definitely not sell arms to Chu again. King." Xiao Ming suddenly looked forward to it.
While the two were talking, suddenly the voice of a palace servant came from outside the door, "Your Highness, the envoy of the King of Chu is outside the door asking to see you."
"Your Highness, this is called Cao Cao, and Cao Cao will be here." Wang Xuan laughed.
Xiao Ming nodded, "It seems that the King of Chu is very angry this time. As the saying goes, the fisherman wins when the snipe and the clam fight. In the past, the King of Chu waited for me and the barbarians to fight and both sides would suffer. Now we can finally see him." It's a joke."
After saying that, Xiao Ming asked Wang Xuan to temporarily avoid it and let the Chu King's envoy come in.
"Li Wei, please see your highness." The person who came was an old man, about fifty years old.
Frowning, Xiao Ming said, "Excuse me. What's the purpose of this envoy?"
"Back to Your Highness, His Highness the King of Chu sent me here to purchase artillery and muskets. His Highness the King of Chu sent me here to purchase artillery and muskets. "
I would like to send a message to the King of Shu, please express your gratitude to the descendants of Yan and Huang, and please provide a thousand naval guns for Chu."
"A thousand naval guns?" Xiao Ming almost jumped up and said, "The King of Chu is crazy. Okay, where did I get so many naval guns? Hey, how did King Chu know about the naval guns?"
At the end of the sentence, Xiao Ming suddenly said in surprise.
Li Wei was not in a hurry, he said: "It was the Dutch who told His Highness the King of Chu about the naval guns. It was actually to show off. His Highness said that as long as they can get a thousand naval guns, His Highness the King of Qi's request He can consider it."
Xiao Ming rolled his eyes. A thousand naval guns is really a big deal. This is enough for King Chu to build a fleet with powerful artillery.
Moreover, these naval guns are generally heavy guns, and the price is much more expensive than ordinary city defense guns. A thousand guns are a lot of money.
Overall, this business is really tempting, but Xiao Ming doesn't have enough naval guns himself, let alone those for the King of Chu.
So he said: "I'm afraid there is nothing I can do to help. The number of artillery produced in Qingzhou is limited. One thousand is too many."
Li Wei still looked unhurried. He continued: "His Royal Highness King Qi, wait a moment. His Highness King Chu has said Qingzhou is short of ships, not cannons, and Chu is short of cannons, not ships. The complementarity of the two benefits everyone. His Highness the King of Chu is willing to exchange merchant ships and shipyard craftsmen for cannons. I hope His Highness will think twice."
"Merchant ships and craftsmen. ." Xiao Ming's heart beat unsatisfactorily.
This time King Chu was really right. What he was short of now was indeed ships. Both merchant ships and shipbuilders were in short supply, and they were in urgent need.
After pondering for a while, he said: "I can squeeze out some naval guns, but the number will not be large. There can only be more than thirty. The remaining naval guns will be delivered in the next few years. In addition, , I have no choice. "
This time King Chu was beaten by the Dutch. After all, the agreement has been signed. With each passing year, King Chu will lose more.
"His Highness said it can wait," Li Wei said.
Xiao Ming nodded, "That's okay, but the old rule is that the deposit must be in place, otherwise I won't be able to do this business. I need to meet the merchant ships and craftsmen first."
When such a large order came, Xiao Ming could only let the military workshop continue to expand. These thousand guns seemed like a lot, but in fact they were the size of ten Galen ships.
And the delivery divided into several years is not enough to pose a threat to him, because in three or four years, who knows how far the Qingzhou Navy will develop. By then, these naval guns will probably be obsolete.
"As Your Highness wishes." Li Wei nodded heavily.