(The second update, please vote for recommendation. Thanks to the book friend Rou Zhihu for his 500-coin reward~)

Even if the canal from Hangzhou to Linqing section is unobstructed, it is only half of the original Grand Canal.

Most of the canal workers who originally relied on the canal to make a living will inevitably change careers and make a living.

What's more, it's a chaotic time now, and even the canal in the Shandong section cannot be fully unobstructed, which means that the canal transport in the Jiashen year was basically paralyzed.

Fortunately, the imperial court now only has half of the country, so there is no need to worry about transporting materials to the north. What really needs to be troubled now is the Qing court that occupied most of the capital, Zhili, and Henan.

Of course, not having to worry now does not mean that you never need to worry.

If the court defeated the Donglu and regained the Shenjing, it would inevitably face the problem of material transfer from north to south.

Zheng Zhilong was not surprised that the emperor raised this question in advance.

"There was a debate during the Wanli period when using sea transportation to replace the canal transportation, but the court was concerned about many things that could not be done in the end. Now it is a good opportunity."

After calming down, Zheng Hongkui analyzed it carefully and felt that this was a rare opportunity for the Zheng family.

"Brother, it seems that the emperor really values ​​you. Why don't you agree?"

Zheng Zhilong shook his head and said, "Abandon the grain and change the sea, of course my Zheng family has the ability to undertake transportation from north to south. But then we have to wait until the court recovers Shenjing."

"That's true. Now the court has just painted a big cake and wants to calm down the elder brother first."

Zheng Hongkui was not stupid either, and he was quite contemptuous and ridiculed by the court in his words.

"It's not easy to eat this big cake." Zheng Zhilong sighed and said, "Fourth brother, do you know what Sen'er said in the letter?"

Zheng Hongkui was stunned and said, "What else did my nephew say?"

"It was not for nothing that the court gave me the burden of the shipping to Zheng Zhilong. The emperor understood the meaning of the emperor and asked me to take the lead in organizing the Huangming Trade Chamber of Commerce."

Zheng Zhilong's face was a little gloomy and his voice said, "The conditions are still the same as last time, and the money you earn is 255%."

"Hiss! Why is this court like a merchant, and he has a philistine face?"

Zheng Hongkui said helplessly: "What do you think about this?"

"The court wants to tie my Zheng family firmly to the large ship of the Huangming Chamber of Commerce." Zheng Zhilong narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "If I expected it well, the north-south sea transportation in the future must be carried out in the name of the Huangming Chamber of Commerce. If my Zheng family does not do it, there will inevitably be another family to do it. I am afraid that we will have no chance to intervene by then."

Zheng Zhilong has always had unique vision. Before the war with the Dutch, no one was optimistic about him, and they all thought he was a moth to the flames.

But facts proved that Zheng Zhilong's choice was correct. Since he defeated the Dutch, he had completely controlled the routes along the coast of Fujian. He had to pay tolls for merchant ships, regardless of whether it was the background of the South China Sea, the background of Fujian businessmen or the background of Japan. Zheng Zhilong also made a fortune by collecting taxes, and was rich enough to rival a country.

Now the opportunities before him are also hard to come by.

If he could take on the task of shipping north and south, Zheng Zhilong was the first imperial merchant in the Ming Dynasty. His annual income was conservatively estimated to be several million taels, which was no less than the silver he earned from collecting sea taxes.

Zheng Zhilong was very confused about how to make a decision.

Zheng Hongkui took all this into consideration.

He did not rush to force Zheng Zhilong to express his opinion, but stood quietly aside and waited for Zheng Zhilong to make a decision.

After about a cup of tea, Zheng Zhilong let out a long breath.

"Sen'er is right about this matter. The opportunity is rare. My Zheng family cannot let it go!"

"What should I do if my brother says, but in this way, we really have to run the Huangming Trading Chamber of Commerce?"

As soon as Zheng Hongkui finished speaking, Zheng Zhilong smiled and said, "Of course, we have to do it. The emperor said that the imperial court and my Zheng family earned 55% of the money. I thought about it carefully and it did not have much impact on my Zheng family's income."

Zheng Hongkui was a little confused.

"But my nephew said it clearly in the letter that as long as he joins the Huangming Trading Chamber of Commerce, he will no longer need to pay maritime taxes. Isn't it equivalent to digging out the rice from our Zheng family's pot in disguise?"

"Ke Sen'er also said in the letter that the power to decide who can join the Huangming Chamber of Commerce is in my Zheng family and the imperial court. I can't control other places. If the merchants on the coast of Fujian want to join the Huangming Chamber of Commerce, I would have to agree with my Zheng Zhilong. If they don't give enough money, can I let him join the association? As for those Dutch and Japanese, they don't even have the status of the people of the Ming Dynasty, so naturally they can't join the Huangming Chamber of Commerce. I can't find any fault if I collect the maritime tax."

Zheng Zhilong's words completely awakened Zheng Hongkui.

"It's amazing, it's amazing. Brother is really wise. Haha, it's like we're going to turn our left hand and we're going to collect taxes in another way."

"I'm wondering how to charge this membership fee. If it's a one-time charge, it's too much of a loss. It's better to collect it once a year. Estimate the amount of Jia Haimao in the congress, so that it won't be too much of a loss."

Of course, the more merchants join the association, the more dividends the Huangming Trade Chamber of Commerce needs to pay. Overall, the Zheng family still loses more than just collecting taxes, and the only thing that is sure to make a profit but not lose is the court.

Zheng Zhilong smiled and said, "I didn't expect that the emperor would really have a chance. He could only rely on the court's righteousness to take half of the profit."

Zheng Hongkui spread his hands and said, "There is nothing to do about this. Who says the world belongs to his Zhu family? I am fighting the country and my son is in the country. Haha, saying that, isn't my little nephew still given the surname of the emperor? Big brother, can we brothers win a vassal king?"

Zheng Zhilong didn't care about Zheng Hongkui's half-joking.

"Father King?" Zheng Zhilong shook his head and said, "Apart from the founding fathers, the Ming Dynasty has never been granted the King of the Different Clan. Besides, since ancient times, the King of the Different Clan has had a good ending? Our brothers are just living in wealth and honor, and they want to have a false reputation."

Zheng Hongkui nodded.

Yes, in this chaotic world, as long as you have soldiers in your hands, it is the kingly way.

The court repeatedly wooed the Zheng family, wasn’t it because the Zheng family had thousands of sea ships and tens of thousands of soldiers?

If the Zheng family is really annoyed, it will be too late to break up.

"The only thing I'm worried about now is Sen'er."

Zheng Zhilong's eyes became a little sinister: "I originally wanted to send him to the Imperial College to be a senator, but I never thought that he was transferred to the Imperial Ming Military Academy by the emperor and gave him a surname and name. I always felt that he had written letters these days, and his tone was more like being a lobbyist for the court."

Zheng Hongkui laughed and said, "Brother, you're probably thinking too much. Sen'er, we're growing up. Since he left Hirado's wife at the age of six, he was taken to Anping, Quanzhou Prefecture to study, he hasn't moved for eight years. He has been under your noses all day long, eating rice and noodles from our Zheng family and drinking water from our Zheng family. How could he turn his elbows out?"

"I hope I'm thinking too much." Zheng Zhilong said with slightest voice: "If Sen'er really stood opposite to my Zheng family for the sake of the court, I would never show mercy."

......
Chapter completed!