prosperous age

Chapter 622 Chapter 621 Please open the market

"The so-called pirates are actually people who can't survive along the coast."

Wei Guangde pretended to be very sad and said.

"Not to mention anything else, in Fujian, there are many people and little land. In the past, the common people relied on sea transportation and fishing for their livelihood. The sea ban and internal relocation have caused many families to lose food and clothing.

You also know that although the imperial court has been banning the sea, the sea trade has been secretly carried out along the coast, otherwise the whole family would starve to death.

That is to say, when the first emperor was in power, the sea ban was stricter. If they couldn't survive, they could only take risks and engage in the activities of Japanese pirates. "

What Wei Guangde said, in fact, many officials knew more or less that the so-called Japanese pirates were mostly Han Chinese, mainly boat people who could not survive.

The means by which these people make a living began since the Yuan Dynasty.

There was no sea ban in the Yuan Dynasty, so many landless people along the coast became boat people, making a living by sea transportation and fishing.

But in the Ming Dynasty, in order to limit the development of some powers, the sea ban was imposed from Zhu Yuanzhang, and the ban was not lifted until those forces completely collapsed.

"You want to lift the sea ban?"

Chen Yiqin frowned, then shook his head and said: "It's difficult, it's very difficult. As long as you dare to mention it, countless people will use the ancestral system to stop it."

Yin Shizhen thought for a moment before asking: "Will opening the sea ban relieve the Japanese plague?"

Chen Yiqin glanced at Yin Shizhen, and finally his eyes fell on Wei Guangde.

"Although I'm not sure, in my opinion, if the sea ban is lifted, there will be no more good people to do such evil things. There will be no new Japanese pirates to join. As long as the current Japanese pirates are wiped out, the coast will be peaceful."

Wei Guangde explained that he analyzed Emperor Longqing in the same way at the beginning, "The Japanese pirates have been suppressed repeatedly, isn't it just that people are constantly joining? With a way to survive at sea, who will join the Japanese pirates?"

"It's a good idea, but it's difficult."

Chen Yiqin still shook his head, but he also analyzed in his heart, if Wei Guangde's words just now were told in the cabinet, how many people in the cabinet would choose to support him.

"Actually, I didn't intend to let go all at once at the beginning. It would be easy to mess up, and brother Yifu also said that the opposition from the court and China will not be weak."

"Then what are you going to do?"

Hearing that Wei Guangde seemed to have other ways to bypass the opposition from the DPRK and China, Chen Yiqin also became a little interested.

He has just entered the cabinet and is a new dynasty, so he naturally hopes to bring about some positive changes in the world in his hands, so now he does not object to any voice, anyway, it is right to listen to and believe in one side.

"Look for a port in Fujian, try to open the sea, and allow maritime merchants to trade here, so that the coastal boat people will have a place to go, so they don't have to be Japanese pirates."

Wei Guangde said, "If it doesn't work, it will be closed immediately, and it won't do any serious harm to the imperial court. But if it's feasible, it can be extended to coastal prefectures and counties."

"Why is it in Fujian, not Zhejiang and Guangdong?"

Yin Shizhen asked bluntly.

"There are many Japanese pirates in Fujian, and the handicraft industry there is relatively developed. The most important thing is that there are not many officials in Fujian, unlike those places in Zhejiang and Guangdong, which have so much influence on the court."

Wei Guangde said lightly.

At this moment, what he wants to show is that he chose Fujian, not because only Fujian local officials support his idea.

In fact, only Zhejiang people had greater influence in the imperial court, and Guangdong officials could not compare with Zhejiang people at all.

Because it involves some unspoken rules of the Ming Dynasty, and these unspoken rules were passed down from the period of Zhu Yuanzhang.

For example, officials from Susong Erfu, Jiangxi and other places cannot join the head of the household department, and most officials from Fujian and Guangdong will not stay as Beijing officials.

If you can't be a Beijing official, although the officials of the two places can also be promoted to a higher level, and even become a big official in one side of the frontier, they still have little influence in the court.

It can be said that only the important ministers in the court can affect the court, and there are a few local officials who can influence the government.

Of course, these "regional discrimination" more show the emperor's cleverness, but it has to be said that there is a certain truth.

Susong Erfu, Jiangxi and other places were all economically developed areas in the early Ming Dynasty. People in those places were more accommodating, and if they were good at managing money, the emperor worried that they would be manipulated by them and embezzle the money from the treasury. Therefore, people in these places should not be in charge. household department.

As for Fujian and Guangdong officials, let’s talk about speaking first. If Beijing movies can play tricks, it’s not impossible to stay in Beijing and get promoted.

Can you imagine the scene of officials speaking authentic Cantonese or Hokkien talking and laughing with the emperor?

Therefore, in Wei Guangde's view, even if Fujian's maritime merchants are controlled by powerful forces like Zhejiang and Guangdong, they are not afraid, because they have a low voice in the court and are easier to suppress.

As for Zhejiang, it can almost reach the sky, so forget it, you can't afford to offend the people there.

"Can the cabinet pass?"

Yin Shizhen looked at Chen Yiqin and asked.

These words were actually testing Chen Yiqin's attitude for Wei Guangde, whether he supported or opposed it.

But looking at Yin Shizhen's attitude, he seemed to be moved by Wei Guangde's persuasion, but he just took one place to try the effect and see if he could weaken the Japanese invasion.

At this time, as long as the Japanese problem can be solved, it will undoubtedly be the primary achievement of the current cabinet ministers.

Thinking about the last nearly 20 years of the Jiajing Dynasty, the Japanese invasion was always a hurdle that the court could not get around. If only one port was opened for trade, it could be solved. This is also a new trend and a good start.

"Uncle, have you mentioned this?"

Chen Yiqin didn't answer Yin Shizhen's question directly, but asked first.

"I've talked a little bit, but it's not deep. Based on what I know about Brother Shu, he will support the attempt."

Wei Guangde replied.

"Your Majesty also supports it?"

Chen Yiqin asked the key question again, if the emperor had supported it when he was in Yuqi, then he was [-]% sure.

Their Emperor Longqing was not someone who would express his opinion easily.

Not because of prudence, but because of fear of doing the wrong thing.

"Yes, His Majesty is very interested."

Wei Guangde smiled, "Actually, two months ago, His Majesty asked Eunuch Li to come to my house to urge him to ask about this matter, saying why he hasn't been playing."

"How do you plan? How to play?"

Chen Yiqin continued to ask.

After hesitating for a moment, Wei Guangde still opened his mouth and said: "I have already contacted Tu Zemin, governor of Fujian, and he will report on this matter in the near future."

"Open the sea, or just open a port?"

Chen Yiqin nodded slightly, but continued to ask questions.

The way of playing directly affects the strategy of the cabinet.

"Open the sea, please Your Majesty's Holy Order to try it out in one port later."

Wei Guangde replied.

At this point, there is no need to hide anything. He needs Chen Yiqin's help in speaking in the cabinet. Whether it is a cabinet meeting or a ministerial meeting, there must be a representative to speak.

Chen Yiqin had already stood up at this time, walked back and forth in the room, stopped suddenly, and then said: "If Kaihai is mentioned, I expect the chief minister and the second minister will choose to object, not because they don't know how to adapt, but because Due to the general situation, they had to stand on the side of maintaining the ancestral system.

In this case, Gao Suqing will definitely choose to support it, because the first assistant is against this matter, and Guo Pu will follow him.

Uncle's attitude is hard to say, after all, he has the affection of his teacher.

In this way, there will be a three-on-three situation in the cabinet, and His Majesty's Holy Judgment can only be hoped for by His Majesty's Holy Judgment. "

In just a short while, Chen Yiqin made a general analysis of the attitudes of the various forces in the cabinet.

"Your Majesty takes a step back and rejects the proposal to open the sea, and only mentions opening a port in Fujian to try to disintegrate the Japanese pirates. Lord Shoufu and Cifu will not continue to oppose His Majesty's decision. This matter is feasible."

Chen Yiqin continued.

"I think we should try it too. It might not be effective, but at least it won't be wrong if we analyze it."

Yin Shizhen also became excited when he heard Chen Yiqin's words.

Although he did not join the cabinet, it was a policy that he felt was feasible after all. If it was really effective, there was no doubt that Long Qingchao had a good situation from the beginning.

"Moreover, the proposal to open the sea this time is different from before. In the past, there was no support from His Majesty, and the courtiers themselves proposed it. Therefore, after the failure, the person who proposed it was often demoted.

This time, no matter whether it is Shandai Shangzuo or Tu Zemin Shangzuo, with the approval of the palace, at least there is no obstacle to his official career. "

Chen Yiqin continued.

"Before, I had a letter with Tan Lun, the new governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and I hope he can also support this matter. I think he actually had this intention in his memorial when he was the governor of Fujian, but it was more reserved. Haimao's attitude is very clear, and no one dares to disobey it."

Wei Guangde said again.

Chen Yiqin's previous analysis has shown that he supports his plan, and there is a lot to be done in this matter.

"Then I'll wait in the cabinet for Governor Tu's memorial."

Chen Yiqin smiled, walked back to his seat and sat down and said.

After that, the three talked and laughed for a long time, set up a banquet, and sat down to chat about Gao Gong.

Yin Shizhen still did not believe that Gao Gong would be forced to leave by Xu Jie. You must know that even if Gao Gong was afraid, or if he insisted on leaving in consideration of the overall situation, Emperor Longqing might not agree to let him go.

He has been in Prince Yu's mansion for a long time, so he naturally knows the degree of trust that King Yu has in Gao Gong.

"It's just a guess. Mr. Shoufu always makes a decision before making a move. If he doesn't make a move, he will use it. If he makes a move, it must be a killer move. Su Qing may not be able to withstand it."

Chen Yiqin replied hesitantly.

Xu Jie's character has been discussed by the government and the public. He used to think that he flattered Emperor Jiajing and Yan Song, but he was not relentless when he defeated Yan Song. Moreover, the government and the public have secretly spread the news. Most of the memorials to impeach the Yan Party were inspired by him, so Saved a lot of image.

But what Wei Guangde thinks at this moment is that maybe this is the reason why Gao Gong is not so famous in later generations, at least not as famous as Zhang Juzheng.

After serving as a cabinet minister for more than a year, he fell down and had no chance to retaliate. Naturally, history would not pay attention to such a hasty passerby.

I thought he died suddenly, but I didn't expect that he was brought down by Xu Jie.

Thinking of Xu Jie, Wei Guangde is also worried, this old boy is a tiger with a smiling face, he is really powerful.

He is not as worried as Yin Shizhen, Xu Jie is a real politician, who knows how to hide and look for opportunities, this is the real hunter.

As for how he was greedy for money in the impression of later generations, Wei Guangde can only say that if he achieves the throne of the first assistant but cannot accumulate a wealth of wealth, then the first assistant is really in vain.

In the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, there really was no soil for honest officials to survive.

Of course, Hai Rui, who has been released for several months, is an exception. He is a role model for the imperial court, not a typical official.

Moreover, even if Hai Rui wanted to covet him, he wouldn't dare, because he was already a role model. Countless people looked at him, and they would be caught if they stretched out their hands a little.

Thinking of Emperor Jiajing's evaluation of him, Hai Rui was afraid that he would really be the last one.

In the next few days, the government and the public were still calm, and Xu Jie didn't see any intention of taking action.

But Wei Guangde knew that Mr. Xu Ge was probably waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity to make Gao Gong lose the hearts of the government and the opposition again.

Officials are not fools if they don't look at the monk's face and look at the Buddha's face, so they naturally know Emperor Longqing's attitude towards Gao Gong.

It's just that Wei Guangde never imagined that the conditions that contributed to Gao Gong's downfall would have something to do with him.

"Please open the market ship, the smugglers are public peddlers."

This day, Zhang Juzheng frowned when he saw the memorabilia assigned to him on duty.

The memorial came from Fujian, and it was played by Tu Zemin, the governor of Fujian, and passed to him through the Secretary of the General Administration.

After simply reading this memorial, he was a little overwhelmed, because the content of the memorial is really a little bit.
It violates the ancestral system.

Yes, it is against the ancestral system.

However, when Zhang Juzheng recalled the things listed in the memorial, he felt that it seemed very reasonable.

Some of these things, he still has a feeling of deja vu, as if he heard someone say it somewhere before.

After careful recollection, he still didn't think of it after all. After all, it had happened for several years. Although he was interested in it at the time, he didn't delve into it, and naturally he forgot it after a long time.

How to vote?

He really didn't dare to write casually, since the matter was too big, he didn't dare to make decisions on his own, so he naturally put the memorial aside first, and looked at other things.

However, he also kept an eye out and called a trusted scribe to ask him to go outside to find out if there was any discussion about the Fujian governor's memorandum.

Yes, Zhang Juzheng is not sure about the attitude of the government and the public towards this memorial, let's see how the officials outside look at it.

It was handed over by the Tongzheng Envoy, and naturally the scribes of the Tongzheng Envoy saw it immediately.

At first, I thought Tu Zemin was bold, but after transcribing it, I found that there was something in what he said, and naturally it spread quietly among the yamen in the capital.

However, after it was spread to the outside world, for most people who had not seen the memorial, they instinctively opposed it, and even dismissed the memorial.

This kind of petition is always brought up every one or two dynasties, and then it is rejected, and some even cut off their careers because of it.

As for the reason, well, the previous memorials are actually very detailed, there is really no need to inquire, let alone send someone to the Tongzheng envoy to transcribe.

Of course, all the officials think so, but a few people don't think so.

When Wei Guangde and Yin Shixuan heard the news, they sent someone to the Tongzheng Envoy. He wanted to see how Tu Zemin played it, and whether he wrote the memorial according to his intention.

"You mean, all the yamen are laughing at Governor Tu's self-destruction?"

At this time, the cabinet Zhang Ju was in the room, and he was listening to his subordinates report the news they had inquired outside.

"Many people dismissed it, saying that there were similar memorials earlier, and all of them were rejected. There is really nothing new, it's just sensationalism."

The scribe also answered seriously, and told Zhang Juzheng everything he heard.

"Go down."

Zhang Juzheng waved his hands to let his subordinates back out, but he was a little dazed looking at the memorial in front of him.

Instinctively, he felt that it should be rejected, but in his heart he had a slight expectation for the expression mentioned in the memorandum to alleviate the Japanese plague.

(End of this chapter)