Compared with Huguang and Liangjiang, which relied on taxes, Deng Ming attached more importance to the Yamen of Premier Deng under the control of Zhou Peigong, because Zhou Peigong's yamen relied on the Yangtze River trade to obtain income, which was an easier resource to mobilize. Although there are many inventories in various prefectures and counties, it takes a lot of effort and a long time for the governor's yamen to use them in a centralized manner; Unlike Zhou Peigong, he was able to come up with a large sum of money to recruit soldiers at any time, and he did not keep a certain reserve to deal with such a need as a famine.

After entering Deng Ming's tent, Zhou Peigong and him looked at each other and smiled, and without waiting for Deng Ming to speak, Zhou Peigong preemptively thanked him: "Baoguo Gong reacted quickly, and this time he helped the officials a lot." ”

"Political envoy Zhou Bu is polite, I'm just saving myself, and Brother Zhou don't use this title, it sounds too raw, don't use any subordinates, I feel uncomfortable." Deng Ming said with a smile.

"Okay, then I'll call Admiral Deng." Zhou Peigong sat down with a smile, he now knew very clearly that the basis of his power came from Deng Ming and not anyone else, the stronger Deng Ming, the more important Zhou Peigong became; If the situation in the southeast changes abruptly, and Huguang and Liangjiang begin to break away from Deng Ming's control, then the usefulness of suppressing Premier Deng's yamen will be greatly reduced, and as for the various privileges enjoyed by Zhou Peigong, the yamen, such as the exemption of local taxes for cargo ships holding Premier Deng's yamen license, it is very likely that they will be abolished by the four provinces for the purpose of collecting money.

This time, Deng Ming acted resolutely, nibbling the ambitions of the four provinces in the bud, and also dealt a heavy blow to their war mobilization ability. Therefore, Zhou Peigong thanked Deng Ming when he entered the door, and the two of them didn't need to speak very thoroughly, just one click was enough, and Deng Ming would understand that Zhou Peigong was not hot-headed, and still had a clear understanding of his situation.

"I gave Admiral Deng's account book, I don't know if it helped?" Although Deng Ming and the southeastern governors had already reached an agreement that Chongming would send someone to check the accounts of Prime Minister Deng's yamen, all the governors instructed Zhou Peigong to make false accounts to fool Deng Ming. However, Zhou Peigong, who was also the political envoy of the four provinces, made a fake account book to show to people from Chongming, but copied a secret copy of the real account book and sent it to western Sichuan.

"It's so useful!" Without Zhou Peigong's help, Deng Ming would not have been able to understand the treasury of the southeastern governor clearly. The supplies they transported along the river were all Zhou Peigong's boats. In addition to these first-hand information, Zhou Peigong also spared no effort to help Deng Ming secretly investigate the tax payment situation in various places: "Without the account books of Zhou Bu's political envoy, I will sell at least 30% less bonds." ”

"Admiral Deng is polite, I'm also self-helping." Zhou Peigong smiled and returned Deng Ming's words: "Admiral Deng won't let me buy bonds, right?" ”

"Of course not." Deng Ming laughed: "Unless Brother Zhou is willing." ”

"Then I'll buy a little bit willingly, and save the old guys from suspicion." Zhou Peigong said lightly: "But I have the conditions. ”

"I want to hear about it."

"I plan to buy a Ming War bond, in exchange, I need Admiral Deng to help me build an army, just call the Yangtze River Suppression Deng Corps, and the Yamen, Prime Minister Deng, will provide military salaries, training funds, and weapons from the Admiral." Zhou Peigong said that the southeastern governors would most likely welcome this suggestion, and that a coalition army of four provinces could be used both to defend against Deng Ming and to deal with the Manchus, and that this army was still brand new, which was simpler and safer than purging the existing Green Battalion army.

"Of course this army is in the hands of Brother Zhou, right?" Deng Ming confirmed.

"Foolproof." Zhou Peigong's smile was still the same.

"No problem." The two wise men immediately began to discuss the details of the army, and the conversation continued until the sun was sinking.

"It's a pity that the governors of the four provinces are pretentious, but they don't know that Brother Zhou is the yellow bird." When inviting Zhou Pei to dinner, Deng Ming complimented.

"The Admiral is too modest, with the Admiral here, how can this yellow finch get my turn?" After Zhou Peigong finished speaking, the two laughed in unison again.

……

"China is so rich." Kotaku Shengshun's Japanese mission followed Deng Ming's army along the river, and when he was stationed in Jiujiang, he couldn't help but let out such feelings.

After learning of Zheng Chenggong's death, although the Japanese envoy was shocked, he did not hesitate too obviously, and still said that he would continue to support the Ming army in the war against the Qing court without threatening Japan's security, in short, to continue to maintain a friendly and neutral attitude - now except Siam, no neighboring country was willing to side with the Ming army in this war. However, Deng Ming did not dare to lead Thai soldiers into the country, because the Siamese soldiers were not necessarily stronger than the Qing army on Chinese soil.

However, after learning of the specific contradiction between Zheng Chenggong and Zheng Jing, Kotaku Shengshun told Deng Ming that when the news reached Edo, he was afraid that the Tokugawa shogunate would change its attitude towards the Ming army, because Zheng Jing's behavior was not quite in line with the Japanese family concept. Deng Ming had heard Kotaku Shengshun sigh that China was too rich before, and when he heard it again today, he couldn't help but ask carefully about the reason.

The last time Deng Ming asked, Kotaku was vague, saying only that Zheng Chenggong was the pillar of the South China Sea in the Tokugawa shogunate, and his death would make the shogunate completely lose confidence in the future of the Ming army. At present, the Tokugawa shogunate still lacked understanding of the Sichuan army, so Otaku said that if Deng Ming wanted trade with Japan to go smoothly, he needed to help them return to Japan as soon as possible, so as to strengthen the shogunate's confidence in the continued resistance of the Ming army.

And today, when Deng Ming's old words were brought up again, Kotaku thought about it for a while and decided to tell the truth: "The death of the national surname is actually not an irreparable thing, and even Zheng Jing's seizure of the position of the lord of the domain is not a great thing in our opinion, well, as long as the heir is better than the predecessors, the family is likely to embark on a more glorious road." ”

"It's like Takeda Shingen seized the position of Shinto?" Deng Ming asked, "Right, his father is a Xinhu, right?" ”

"Guogong also knows the history of our country?" Seeing that the Chinese dignitaries who have always regarded themselves as the Celestial Empire would be interested in studying Japanese history, Kotaku Shengshun's eyes suddenly lit up, when Wanli, the Ming army was at war with Japan for several years, and the Ming Dynasty cabinet also thought that Toyotomi Hideyoshi wanted to be the king of Japan.

"A little." Deng Ming said with a smile, in this era of East Asia, China is quite contemptuous of the surrounding feudal states, of course, there are also transportation problems, such as the more lonely Burmese, who actually thought that Shunzhi was a side of the Zhu Ming royal family before Yongli avoided disaster, and the Ming and Qing wars were fought for the throne by their own families.

"Exactly, the example given by the national government is very good." Kotaku nodded Shun: "Our country is very barren, and it was a small daimyo during the Warring States period...... Well, it's the princes. ”

"I know what the daimyo means." Deng Ming hurriedly stopped the other party and said that there was no need to explain carefully.

"Some of the little daimyo have to farm their own land, and in the early years of Ieyasu, the elders of the family under his command had to grow radishes to subsidize the family, so many things that seem unreasonable to your country are very normal in our country. For example, the father is mediocre, the retainers support the young master to seize the family business, the Yue family declines, and the son-in-law does not go to help the eldest brother, but immediately tries to annex it. ”

"It's like Oda Nobunaga." Deng Ming smiled, and he found that it was easy to win the favor of the Japanese envoy by using this knowledge.

"Yes, yes, Guogong is well-informed, and he is really a smart and intelligent person." Kotaku Shengshun was obviously even happier: "Because everyone is poor, if the monarch is old and can't support the family business, he must let the young and powerful people control it, otherwise the family will perish; If the Yue family fails, the son-in-law will be taken away by others if he doesn't snatch it, at least this is still the grandson's property. There is a saying in China that is full of etiquette. Our country is not as rich as China, and it cannot withstand the toss of the mixed lord, and the lord has to make room for it when he is old, and even if the retainers are crying in their hearts, they must exile him without hesitation. The surname of the country is a great hero, but if this time it is because the surname of the country is mediocre, it is not a big deal that the ministry will support Zheng Jing to seize the throne, which is also the reason why the people around the prince scolded the rebel son at the beginning, but the people of our country did not react. ”

"Well, but then you changed your mind."

"Yes, the people of the country think that there is nothing wrong with the practice of the national surname, it is not easy to cultivate an heir, but what Zheng Jing did this time is really a big mistake, it is an unforgivable sin to let the retainers centrifuge and split the family for the sake of a woman. The surname of the country categorically let him cut himself, presumably the pain in his heart cannot be described in words, but this is the best way for the family. Daming is already in danger, and compared with the survival of the country, a son is not enough to worry about. Kotaku Shengshun felt that it was because China was too rich that it was more tolerant of people, so the people around Zheng Jing put loyalty, past kindness, feelings, and perhaps some personal selfishness above the interests of the country: "Too many people in the Zheng family have not realized that they have stood on the edge of the cliff, and maybe they still think that they are doing the right thing, but the gap with the concept of our country is too big." The important ministers of the shogunate would surely conclude that the demise of the Zheng family was a foregone conclusion, and it was best to withdraw quickly in order not to anger the Tartars. ”

Deng Ming sighed lightly.

"But this may not be good, now that our country is peaceful, our general intends to vigorously promote Confucianism and teach the Japanese to respect teachers, love and compassion." Seeing that Deng Ming seemed a little unhappy, Kotaku Sheng hurriedly added: "It's just the Zheng family, it doesn't seem to be the time for peace yet." ”

"Thank you for the advice." Deng Ming hugged his fists and saluted: "I just don't know why your envoy has this feeling today, and he decided to tell him bluntly." ”

"When I came, I felt that China was boundless, and I followed Guogong from Sichuan to Jiangxi on the way, which was smooth, but I haven't reached the sea for so long. This time, I was able to observe the scenery carefully along the way, and sure enough, the land is fertile and has everything. These enemies of the Kokuko, the things they gave to the Kokuko were enough to destroy the daimyo of the kingdom a hundred times, but they still felt that they had chips in their hands, and they really did, so they couldn't muster the courage to fight to the death. If it was placed in our country, the barren daimyo would definitely not dare to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, and expect the neighbor to go and Guogong first and try their best to pick up the cheap in the back, because he handed over so many things, no matter what happened later, he would have starved to death, so at the beginning, most of them would grit their teeth and fight with Guogong to the end. As for the frank talk to Kokuko-" Kootaku and his colleagues around him glanced at each other, and replied solemnly: "Kokuko is tenacious, cautiously uses the force in his hands, understands when he should understand, and is confused when he should be confused, although the surname of Kokuko is gone, but we all believe that Kokuko can maintain the Ming Dynasty, and we will let the shogunate understand this, so there is no need to hide it from Kokuko." ”