First Prince of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 245
Zhu Biao couldn't help smiling, unknowingly his decision could influence the court situation. Since the Northern Expedition, his prestige foundation has been continuously consolidated, and his influence far exceeds that of the prince Zhu Biao in history.

Zhu Biao picked up the last letter from Yang Xian again. The words in it were a little desperate, and the words written were also very explicit, completely no longer the style of when the banquet was held.

Zhu Biao shook his head in disappointment. This was also one of the reasons why he did not return to Beijing immediately after dealing with the emigration. Yang Xian was a subject of the Eastern Palace no matter what he said, and he usually got along well with him. birthday banquet.

If Zhu Biao was in Beijing, Yang Xian would come crying for help, and Zhu Biao would not be able to refuse directly. After all, Hu Weiyong had not yet launched a general offensive, and Yang Xian’s criminal evidence had not yet been brought to the table. Take care of one or two.

Otherwise, let the other Eastern Palace officials think about it, and simply take the opportunity to inspect the coastal area. After the inspection, it is estimated that this matter will be over. After all, Yang Xian is not dead, and there will be no way to play the chess game in the future.

Zhu Biao got up and walked out. He could feel the obvious shaking when he stood up. After all, he was at sea. Liu Jin, who heard the voice, followed up with a pale face, and he was very listless.

Zhu Biao glanced at Liu Jin and said, "Go inside and rest."

Liu Jin squeezed out a forced smile and said, "It's windy outside, and this servant will put on your clothes for you."

Zhu Biao shook his head. This guy Liu Jin was actually seasick, but he has recovered a lot. He just started to vomit in the dark, and he slept for a long time before he recovered, but he still couldn't get used to it.

After walking outside, there were more people around Zhu Biao. They were all specially arranged by Hou Jinghai. These people grew up by the sea, and fishing alone in the sea is a trivial matter. Their existence is just in case Zhu Biao If you fall into the water, you can be rescued quickly.

Walking to the fence, the color of the sea water is much darker than expected. It is inexplicably scary to look at. The salty sea breeze is also very uncomfortable on the face, which makes people feel very insecure. Since ancient times, no one has been willing to go to sea for no reason. of.

The fleet also passed through many guards along the way, all of which were built by the imperial court to protect the people along the coast due to the harassment of Japanese pirates. They rely on the sea to eat the sea, but their lives are much better than other places.

After passing Lingshanwei, he headed towards Weihaiwei. Although he is not called this name yet, it doesn't matter. He will just change his name when he returns to court.

After approaching the coast, Zhu Biao realized that the name of the Yellow Sea is not for nothing. It may be because the Yellow River has flowed into the Yellow Sea for more than 800 years, and some small amounts of sediment carried in the river have dyed the water near the Yellow Sea from blue to yellow. .

Zhu Biao ate seafood all the way. He was a bit like those cute cows in Fengyang Mansion. He knew that he would have brought two of them before he set off. Seafood is not bad, but who can bear to eat it every day.

The fleet docked at Weihaiwei, and officials from nearby Laizhou and Dengzhou prefectures came to greet them early. Zhu Biao did not refuse this time, and had a good meal after disembarking. On land, no one dares to eat beef, but mutton is still available.

The next day Zhu Biao started to inspect. The situation here is not very good, whether it is the guard or the state capital, and the people's life is also very poor. They all came back to harass, and everything looked tattered.

At the beginning, Zhu Biao still wondered whether the local officials were not fulfilling their duties or even corrupted the Japanese. After all, there is a lot to do here whether it is selling materials to Korea or Japan.

However, after investigation, it was found that the situation was okay. Zhu Biao knew the truth that when the water was clear, there would be no fish, so he would not pursue some situations too much. After all, the imperial salary was indeed very low.

In the next few days, Marquis Jinghai stayed in the guard to arrange military affairs, while Zhu Biao went down to many villages and towns. Decades of Japanese pirate rebellion caused these people to suffer greatly, and almost every household had women abducted. , Their hatred and fear of Japanese pirates is beyond words.

Zhu Biao's first reaction was whether to move them inland, at least temporarily before Daming accumulated the power to completely wipe out the Japanese pirates, so that the Japanese pirates would not be able to plunder supplies along the coast, and coupled with the deterrence of the Daming Navy, they should be able to keep them away. The energy shifted to Goryeo next door.

But this matter is not realistic. They are different from the people in Shanxi. Relying on the sea to eat the sea has been their living habit for thousands of years. They are definitely unwilling. policy, but the response is very bad, and most people are unwilling to leave the seaside that they depend on for survival.

What’s more, it’s good to say that the pirates in the southern coast are not only because of the pirates. There are also many coastal people who collude with the pirates and become pirates themselves. After all, the south is rich and rich, and silk, tea and iron are not sold in China. You can make a lot of money going overseas.

The benefits are touching, and Zhu Yuanzhang was worried about this, so he strictly prohibited private business in the sea. The Ming Dynasty law stipulated harsh punishment methods: "If a treacherous person is as powerful as the army and the people, and builds an illegal large ship with three masts or more, he will bring prohibited goods. Go to the sea, go to Fanguo to trade, sneak in with pirates, conspire to gather together, and serve as a guide to rob good people, the principal offender will be executed according to the law of his own, and the head will still be shown to the public, and the whole family will send frontier guards to serve as soldiers."

It's a pity that it only treats the symptoms but not the root cause. However, since the direct target of the sea ban policy is the subjects rather than the anti-Ming forces at sea, it not only cannot become an effective means of coastal defense, but even intensifies some contradictions in the coastal areas.

People in the coastal areas live and live by the sea, either engaged in fishery production or maritime trade.Strictly prohibiting traffic to foreign vassals blocked the normal way of making a living for the people in the coastal areas.

The people on the seashore have no way out physically, and they also suffer from famine. The poor people often go to the sea to steal, flee for their lives, and the sea is strictly prohibited.

Zhu Biao was naturally aware of this, and the reason why he didn't object was because the time was not yet ripe. After all, it was useless to kill as many Japanese pirates as they would make a comeback if they took a breather in Japan.

Only Ming, Koryo, and Japan joined forces to encircle and suppress them, completely cut off the land where they could cultivate and live, and let them drift alone on the sea, and it would be completely resolved within a few years.

But now the Ming Dynasty can at most allow Koryo to cooperate. Japan is in endless wars, and they don’t even have anyone who can take charge. The third-generation general of the Ashikaga shogunate who unified Japan in history, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, hopes to eliminate the remaining forces of the Southern Dynasty and fight against sea thieves. , At the same time, I also want to develop trade with the Ming Dynasty and obtain huge benefits.

As a result, the relationship between the two countries was restored. During the Yongle period, the two sides established a Kanko trade relationship. The Ming Dynasty gave the Ashikaga shogunate a trade certificate, that is, Kanko. The Japanese side came to China to pay tribute and conduct trade.

The Ming Dynasty developed its relationship with Japan mainly to eliminate Japanese pirates’ invasion of China’s coastal areas. The Ashikaga Shogunate also actively suppressed Japanese pirates and achieved great results.

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(End of this chapter)