Chapter 586: The Prodigy Zheng Jiangong

"Imperial Father, this is the Tagawa Shichizaemon I mentioned to you before. He is the second son of the Duke of Quan, a young talent skilled at naval warfare!"

Zhu Cilang solemnly introduced Tagawa Shichizaemon to the Chongzhen Retired Emperor, who was looking thoroughly displeased — how could Kou Baimen have just left like that? So beautiful, and so multi-talented, and now she was the top courtesan of the Music Bureau. She had finally come all the way to the Xuanhu Palace, and had only played a few tunes — he hadn't had nearly enough!

Only when his son mentioned Tagawa Shichizaemon did the Chongzhen Retired Emperor pull his thoughts away from Kou Baimen and size up the young man who had come in together with Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Sen. He was rather handsome and presentable, though a bit dark (sun-darkened), and he wore a sour, bitter-melon expression.

"Isn't the Duke of Quan surnamed Zheng?" the Chongzhen Retired Emperor asked, a little puzzled. "How is it his son is surnamed Tian? What's going on here? Is he his own flesh and blood?"

Zheng Zhilong felt rather awkward at the question — how could he not be his own flesh and blood? Look how much they resembled each other! Both so dark.

"Imperial Father, his surname is Tagawa," Zhu Cilang explained. "It is his mother's surname."

"Why follow the mother's surname?" the Chongzhen Retired Emperor asked again. "Do people in Japan all take their mother's family name when they're born?"

"Not at all," Zheng Zhilong explained. "Because my father-in-law, Tagawa Yuhuang, had no son, he had my second son take the surname Tagawa to carry on the family line."

"Oh." The Chongzhen Retired Emperor nodded. "Then what now? Should he change it back to Zheng?"

Zhu Cilang took over the conversation and said, "Of course he must change it back to Zheng. Otherwise he sounds like a Japanese — how could he marry Princess Kunxing?"

What? Marry a princess?

The moment the Hongxing Emperor's words left his mouth, Chongzhen, Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Sen, and Tagawa Shichizaemon all froze.

What was going on?

How had this Shichizaemon boy suddenly stumbled into such luck with women — just back in the country and he'd picked up a princess for free?

Zhu Cilang said to Chongzhen with a smile, "Meichuo is already nineteen. Her marriage cannot be delayed any longer, but a good match is hard to find. I think the Duke of Quan's second son is excellent — a fine, presentable figure, and well-versed in naval warfare. He is a pillar of the state!"

Chongzhen thought to himself: This Zheng the Second looks perfectly ordinary! Where is this fine, presentable figure? You unfilial wretch have your eye on the Zheng family's money and want to sell your sister. No, wait — if he had his eye on the Zheng family's money, he should be taking a few more Zheng daughters as consorts instead. The betrothal gifts wouldn't exceed the dowry! And besides, the unfilial wretch is now extremely wealthy; he has no need to sell his sister for money.

It turned out that after the Hongxing Emperor ascended the throne, the work of surveying and registering military fields had been pushed forward with redoubled vigor in all territories firmly controlled by the Southern Ming court. By the end of the third month of the twentieth year of Chongzhen, the registered amount of military farmland had broken through seventy million mu — double the thirty-five million mu from before the Huguang war.

Moreover, the survey and registration work was still ongoing in every province. Once the lands of the eight directly administered provinces — Jiangbei, Jiangnan, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong — were fully sorted out, it was entirely possible for the military farmland total to exceed one hundred million mu!

One hundred million mu of military farmland! The land rent alone that could enter the treasury would probably be over thirty million, close to forty million shi of white rice.

The rent actually collectible in the twentieth year of Chongzhen would of course not be that much, but the seventy million mu currently on the registers was certain — no matter what, there would be twenty-five million shi of white rice entering the treasury.

In addition, the rice from land redemption in Hubei would bring at least fifteen million shi into the treasury, which together with the military field rent made forty million shi! And the commercial tax and customs revenue would certainly be no less than twelve or thirteen million taels of silver, plus two or three million shi of customs grain.

Back when Zhu Yuanzhang was emperor, he could only collect thirty-three million shi of rice (of course, back then the three hundred-odd guard units across the realm could each be sent out to annihilate a country and slaughter a clan), and the commercial and customs taxes were too trivial to mention.

Now this Hongxing Emperor Zhu Cilang has surpassed even the Hongwu Emperor in the matter of raising revenue!

What the Chongzhen Retired Emperor did not know, however, was that his great filial son, the Hongxing Emperor, spent money with a free hand that his ancestor the Hongwu Emperor could never have matched — truly, money flowed like water!

And the single largest item of expenditure was the resettlement and relief of refugees from the north and disaster relief in the eight southern provinces. The northern refugees now scattered across the southeast numbered well over ten million no matter how you counted them, of whom roughly three or four million needed relief and resettlement by the Ming court — that was exactly what the sixteen General's Offices were for! A great deal had already been spent in the nineteenth year of Chongzhen, and spending in this area in the twentieth year of Chongzhen was even greater! After all, they could no longer go on expropriating the rich households!

In addition, over the past two years quite a few places in the eight southern provinces had been struck by disasters, mostly floods and droughts. For three years — the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth — they had gritted their teeth and not provided relief, suppressing any unrest wherever it flared up. This year the finances had finally loosened a bit, so naturally some money and grain had to be released for relief.

Another major expense was the great public works projects everywhere!

One key project was the river works to control the Yellow and Huai Rivers (the lower Yellow River and the Huai River) — the Yellow River had changed course and seized the Huai's channel several hundred years ago. Due to silt accumulation, the riverbed's rise, and other causes, the lower Yellow River (the Xuzhou–Haizhou section) and the middle and lower Huai had become elevated rivers above the surrounding land. As long as there was no drought, eight or nine times out of ten there would be some flooding. A small flood was called an overflow; a big one — that would be a deluge.

And since the early years of Chongzhen, because the state was beset by internal and external troubles, there had never been money to manage it, and the risk of a great Yellow–Huai flood had grown with each passing day. By the twentieth year of Chongzhen, the court had finally become a bit more comfortable, so naturally a water-control budget had to be arranged.

Another key item was the expense of building city walls and fortifications in various places. These fortifications fell roughly into two categories: first, garrison towns, used to settle northern refugees and the dependents of the Northern Army; second, defensive bastions, built mainly along both banks of the Huai River to prevent the Qing army from marching south again.

And the third great expenditure was, of course, military spending! The Ming army was growing ever larger. Not counting the princely troops, the forces under the Grand Marshal's Office and the Ministry of War alone were about to reach four hundred thousand!

Pay and provisions together were an astonishing outlay, and on top of that there was equipment and training! And there was also a massive Northern Expedition to prepare for.

So according to the budget drawn up by Wei Zaode, Chen Rui, and Wu Xiang together, eight or nine tenths of the revenue of over forty million shi of rice and twelve or thirteen million taels of silver already had destinations assigned. Still, at least there was no deficit — there truly was no need to trade Zhu Meichuo for silver.

Zhu Cilang then continued, "We shall also bestow a name upon Shichizaemon. Let it be Jiangong — 'building merit.' A good omen: from now on, go build more merits for our Great Ming upon the seas!"

Zheng Chenggong — 'Zheng the Successful' — was already taken! So Tagawa Shichizaemon could only be a different kind of 'gong.' At present Zhu Cilang had quite a few military men under him called 'Degong' — 'attaining merit' — so he bestowed upon 'Tian Qi' the name 'Jiangong' — 'building merit' — hoping he would go build achievements and establish a career upon the great ocean!

Although 'Tian Qi's' first battle had ended in an ugly defeat, that did not matter — failure is the mother of building merit!

Besides, 'Tian Qi's' defeat had actually been arranged by his good elder brother Zheng Sen. The Toyotomi loyalists on Jeju Island still had great use! They could not be carelessly wiped out.

"This subject thanks Your Majesty for the bestowed name!" Tagawa Shichizaemon — oh, he should now be called Zheng Jiangong — was of course deeply moved, and hurriedly kowtowed to Zhu Cilang in gratitude.

"And there is also the bestowed marriage!" Zhu Cilang said with a smile. "Jiangong, you are about to become our Great Ming's Imperial Son-in-law, the husband of Princess Kunxing! Why not hurry and thank Us?"

Zheng Jiangong shot a sidelong glance at his father Zheng Zhilong. Seeing the old man's stunned expression, he knew the old fellow was overjoyed, and hurriedly kowtowed, saying, "This subject kowtows in gratitude for the imperial grace!"

With his son already kowtowing in thanks for the imperial grace, Zheng Zhilong had no time to think further and could only follow suit, prostrating himself before the great Emperor Zhu. Zhu Cilang waved a hand, signaling him to rise quickly, then said with a smile, "This time it is doubly close — kin upon kin. Jiangong is a prodigy of naval warfare, and now he is Our brother-in-law, the Great Ming's Imperial Son-in-law. Henceforth he shall remain in Jiangnan and take up the post of Chancellor of the Shanghai Naval Academy! Jiangong, you must do well — the Great Ming's navy rests entirely on you!"

Zheng Jiangong's face flushed. What did he know about naval warfare! The campaign against the Toyotomi loyalists on Jeju Island had ended in utter humiliation for him. Had he not known that the warriors of the Great Ming all bravely accepted defeat — that no matter how many losses they suffered, they would never take it to heart — he would have cut his belly open and killed himself. And yet at this level of skill, he was actually being treated as a prodigy of naval warfare. It was truly mortifying!

(End of Chapter)