The rise of the poor

Chapter 2168 Let Us Suffocate for Our Dreams (4)

Although Wang Zhi's blood boiled after hearing this, he was an old fox who had been through a lot, so how could he be so easily bewitched? He took a deep breath, calmed down his passion, looked up at Zhu Ping'an, and slowly asked, "What does Mr. Zhu's dream of the Age of Exploration have to do with me?"

"My Age of Discovery is not only related to Chief Wang, but also to the Emperor, to all civil and military officials, and to every citizen of the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Ping'an answered without hesitation when Wang Zhi asked the question.

"I'd like to hear the details." Wang Zhi asked curiously.

"For Your Majesty, the Age of Exploration will bring tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of silver to the Ming Dynasty, filling the national treasury. With money in the national treasury, there is nothing to worry about, whether it is to keep the people safe or to pacify the borders. All the land under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people are his subjects. If Your Majesty has the ambition to expand the territory, the Age of Exploration will also have great potential."

"For the common people, the Age of Exploration brought them more jobs and livelihoods. In addition, overseas there were high-yield sweet potatoes, corn, spices and other food crops or cash crops, which could enrich the common people's tables and granaries."

Zhu Pingan listed them one by one, and after talking about the emperor and the people, he looked at Wang Zhi with a smile and said slowly, "For Chief Wang, this is the best opportunity for Chief Wang to abandon his dark side and join the light side, get rid of his identity as a Japanese pirate, and become a frontier official."

"Please tell me more, Master Zhu."

Wang Zhi had already been moved, and his body leaned forward unconsciously, attracted by Zhu Ping'an's words.

"The Age of Exploration requires experienced and capable seafarers. They must be able to command, trade, fight, and govern the people. Only in this way can they be responsible for the great task of governing overseas territories. In the Ming Dynasty court, how many people know more about navigation and overseas barbarians than Chief Wang? This is a godsend opportunity for Chief Wang." Zhu Ping'an painted a pie in the sky for Wang Zhi, outlining a bright future. "This is Japan, this is Luzon, and this is India and Sindhu. The combined land area of ​​these countries is larger than that of our Ming Dynasty. The power and status held by the governor of one or several of these places is far beyond the reach of a governor like me. Even the current Governor-General Zhang of Jiangnan cannot compare to him. He is called a governor, but he is actually the uncrowned king of the local area."

"He is called the Governor-General, but he is actually the uncrowned emperor."

After hearing what Zhu Ping'an said, Wang Zhi couldn't help but close his eyes and repeated it in a low voice. Although he looked calm, his blood vessels were actually about to burst.

If he were appointed as the governor-general of Japan, Luzon and other places by the emperor, he would become the local emperor in a legitimate way.

Although his title is governor, in the local area, he is no different from the emperor. What's the difference?

Just a name.

After the excitement subsided, Wang Zhi picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea to cool down the excitement in his body. He asked another question, "Master Zhu, let me ask another straightforward question. Can our martial virtues convince them?"

"Can you convince them? Doesn't Leader Wang have an answer in his mind?" Zhu Ping'an asked with a smile.

"I would like to hear Lord Zhu's answer." Wang Zhi was like an old fox.

"Let's not talk about Luzon. The natives of this place don't have a unified and powerful government. The fleet under Chief Wang can easily razed the place. As for Japan, Chief Wang knows it better than me. There are many warlords here. A county dares to call itself a country. There are countless princes who are fighting each other. Chief Wang occupies an island in their territory and becomes the king. They can't stop him. How can they stop the royal army?! Chief Wang has also seen our army's firearms. If the Ming army, which has increased several times in number, comes to Japan with firearms, I believe surrender is their only choice. They are very good at this."

Zhu Ping'an pointed at Luzon and Japan and spoke as if he was pointing out a vast country.

"Yes, Luzon is vulnerable, and Japan is only unified in name. Both the Emperor and the Shogun are just verbal seals. Its homeland is divided into 66 countries, each fighting against each other. Moreover, Japan is also under maritime ban, and it is only in name only. If our Ming Dynasty can open the seaports and restore trade between the two countries, the 'Japanese threat' along the coast will be resolved. And with the support of the court, I can lead the men under my command to conquer the various Japanese tribes and present them to His Majesty without spending a single soldier from the court." Wang Zhi nodded and said confidently.

If it weren't for the lack of a stable base and stable supplies, Wang Zhi would have really thought about getting involved in Japan.

But, unfortunately, he was a Japanese pirate, and the Ming court wanted to kill him, so it was impossible to provide him with support. Without a stable source of troops and supplies, he could only watch the Japanese warlords fighting in chaos, and could not join in to share the spoils. On the contrary, he still needed Japan to provide him with troops and supplies, so he could not join in to share the spoils.

However, if he really became the governor appointed by the Ming court as Zhu Ping'an said, then supply would not be a problem. He was confident of leading his troops to conquer Japan.

There are wars everywhere in Japan now, and they dare to call themselves a country just by occupying a few villages and towns. Wouldn't it be a piece of cake for Wang Zhi to destroy their country?

"I believe that Leader Wang has the ability." Zhu Pinganhao praised him without any hesitation.

"What about these places?" Wang asked directly.

"Haha, Chief Wang has a big appetite. This is India and Sindhu. This place is similar to Japan. This place has never been unified. There are many local states in the territory, and they attack each other. The largest state is called Mughal, which was established by the descendants of Mongolia. The combined area of ​​the various states in India and Sindhu is not much smaller than that of our Ming Dynasty, and the population is not much less. It is difficult to conquer this place in one battle, after all, there are many states in the territory. But it is not a problem to defeat them one by one and work slowly."

Zhu Ping'an saw Wang pointing at India and analyzed it.

Wang Zhi nodded.

"As for the Western barbarian countries, they are even more difficult to gnaw. They have advantages in firearms and shipbuilding, and Chief Wang should be more aware of this. These places must be conquered in two steps. First, we must compete with them in the great voyages, catch up with them, surpass them, and weaken them step by step, and then we can conquer them. This process may take dozens or even hundreds of years."

Then, Zhu Ping'an pointed at the European countries on the map, shrugged his shoulders slightly, and made a brief analysis.

"It seems that Lord Zhu does understand the Portuguese and other barbarians. Their firearms are superior to those of the Ming Dynasty. If Lord Zhu also says that they are easy to conquer, it would be a joke. Lord Zhu's century-long plan of competing with them first and then conquering them is the only practical one."

Wang Zhi couldn't help but smile and nodded. This question and answer was also a test for Zhu Ping'an, and Zhu Ping'an's answer passed his test. (End of this chapter)