prosperous age

Chapter 632 Chapter 631 Xu Jie's Suggestion

The supporters on both sides have already made their attitudes clear. At this time, there are not many people standing by the side. Only Zhang Juzheng is left in the cabinet. He turned sideways slightly, frowning slightly at the current situation.

To be honest, it was a bit beyond his imagination.

Judging from the memorials of the past two days, the voices of the DPRK and China opposing the opening of the sea are far louder than the supporters. Although it is still the case at present, the ratio of the two sides is very close.

After thinking about it for a while, he realized that many of those who came out to support Kaihai later were actually people with no personal interests, and these officials also did not participate in the previous memorial movement.

Looking at Chen Yiqin, Gao Gong and others who were kneeling next to him, Zhang Juzheng felt that he was in real opposition to them.

Yu Yu's old man, he too, but he couldn't stand up and support.

Obviously, Emperor Longqing supported Kaihai, otherwise they wouldn't all stand up.

Gao Gong, you must go down, otherwise you and your teacher will probably leave the court, today, let you be arrogant for the time being.

Zhang Juzheng thought about it in his heart, but he didn't express his support or opposition, just stood there quietly.

He is from Huguang, and those gentlemen along the coast can't influence him yet.

As for the teacher Xu Jie, it is true that during this period of time, many people have come to him, but as the first assistant, Xu Jie knows what can be done and what can't be done.

His every move is of great importance, and he will never disregard the stability of the court for a little profit.

The overall situation, this is what Shoufu must consider.

At this time, Emperor Longqing seemed to be in a dilemma. He looked at the supporters and the opponents, and seemed to be comparing the number of people on the other side.

As far as the current situation is concerned, there must be more important officials who support Kaihai, but these are all high-ranking officials in the middle and middle courts. If the people who stand outside the palace are counted, it is estimated that there will be more officials who support Banhai.

Fortunately, although there are many people outside, they cannot participate in this debate.

Emperor Longqing first glanced to the right, which was where the nobles and military officials were.

They have no interest in meddling with the current situation. It is dog-eat-dog among civil officials, and opening the sea and banning the sea has no benefit to them.

At least at this moment, Xungui and Wu Chen thought so.

Kaihai might be of interest to those who stayed in Nanjing, but for those of them in Beijing, what they valued more was land and salt.

The embezzlement of ink military pay, which was regarded by later generations as an important reason for the demise of the Ming Dynasty, was actually a treasure for those who stood in the palace and were regarded as treasures by the clansmen with no status in the mansion.

For them, how much is that bit of military pay worth, tens of thousands of taels of silver a month, and there are countless others to share.

Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of Cheng, and Zhang Rong, the Duke of England, were all watching the scene in the palace coldly at the moment, while Xu Yande, the Duke of Ding, was old and stood there trembling at the moment.

The Duke of Dingguo was said to have been in poor health after participating in the funeral of Emperor Sejong. He probably didn't bother to care about these things at this time, even if he saw his niece-in-law Wei Guangde also came off the stage to express his opinion.

For these nobles, there is no need to grab the merits of the dragon, it is risky, and their own level has reached the peak.

It also needs to be faithfully executed after the emperor issued an order, so that the royal family will not be able to pick out any mistakes, and it is enough to do well and be favored.

Therefore, the present nobles are all waiting for Emperor Longqing to make a decision, and they will support the emperor as soon as he speaks.

Emperor Longqing shifted his gaze to the left, where the ministers stood, and Zhang Juzheng stood alone in front of him, very conspicuous.

Of the following six ministers, only Yang Bo, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and Gao Yao, Minister of the Household Department, did not move, and the others had already chosen objects of support.

After that, there are five temples and ministers. To be honest, Emperor Longqing has an impression of some of them, and some of them have little contact and are not deeply impressed. They just know their names.

"Uncle, Xu Aiqing did not come to the court meeting today because of her health, so I wonder if I have explained anything to you yesterday?"

Xu Jie was present when the cabinet was deliberating yesterday, and the emperor did not approve it afterward, so now he said to Zhang Juzheng, let's see how their master and apprentice discussed this matter.

"His Majesty."

Zhang Juzheng also walked out of the train at this time and knelt down and said: "After the cabinet meeting yesterday, Mr. Xu Ge was also thinking about the livelihood of the people in Fujian, but the ancestral system cannot be violated. As the chief assistant, he can't open this hole, so he became sick with worry."

Zhang Juzheng didn't talk much, but Xu Jie's attitude was still very clear, he still opposed Kaihai, but he was also concerned about the Fujian people, so he fell ill.

"Your Majesty, the ancestral system cannot be violated."

Grohe yelled at the right time.

"His Majesty."

As Gao Yi shouted, the supporters behind him also cried like this.

It can only be said that Zhu Yuanzhang really managed too leniently. Before he died, he added a lock to the system he formulated, and the standards were modified by his descendants. Little did he know that the system he added became the legal basis for future officials to restrict imperial power.

Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang presided over the compilation of the Ming Dynasty classic "Emperor Ming Zu Xun", the content is to consolidate Zhu Ming's imperial power, and Zhu Yuanzhang's admonition to future generations.

The book has thirteen chapters in total. The first four chapters respectively describe the strict regulations on prohibiting torture and the establishment of a prime minister. It is about the rules about respecting the heavens and the ancestors, etc., and it talks about the rules and regulations.

He also made strict regulations on this, that no word in this classic book should be changed, and all must be implemented.

It is a pity that when Zhu Yuanzhang passed away, none of his descendants took his words seriously.

Since Zhu Yunqi, the grandson of the emperor, began to cut down the vassal when he came to power, he overthrew the system established by Zhu Yuanzhang first, forcing Zhu Di, the king of Yan, to choose a path of rebellion.

After Zhu Di successfully rebelled, regardless of the regulations in the "Emperor Ming Zu Xun", Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, Fang Xiaoru and other civil servants and generals who were loyal to the Jianwen court used capital punishment, which seriously violated Zhu Yuanzhang's ancestral motto "prohibition of torture" .

Zhu Yuanzhang set strict ancestral precepts, but few of his descendants abide by them. The root cause is that Zhu Yuanzhang's upper beam is not straight, and his lower beam is crooked.

Zhu Yuanzhang himself is a typical example of decisive killing. Hu Weiyong who was executed Ling Chi, and Sapphire who peeled day lilies also had meritorious deeds during their lifetime, but he did not follow the system he formulated.

Especially in the matter of choosing the emperor's grandson Zhu Yunqi to inherit the throne, he was completely lacking in consideration, because if Zhu Yunqi followed the inheritance system formulated in the ancestral precepts, he would never be able to take this position anyway.

It is such a thing that was reduced to waste paper at the beginning, but it has always been a shackle on the head of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Officials always use the "Emperor Ming Zu Xun" to guide the emperor's actions.

The emperors of the Ming Dynasty knew this well, but they were powerless to refute it.
Of course, for a powerful king, the ancestral system is the same thing, and they will try their best to modify it if they want to change it. For example, Emperor Jiajing secretly changed some systems in order to save the country.

Afterwards, he even turned a blind eye to the admonitions of the officials, and in the end even the court meeting was closed, and everyone saw nothing.

When it came to Emperor Longqing, the only way to change the ancestral system of the "Forbidden Sea" was to negotiate with all the officials and find a way to pass it.

It is very difficult to forcefully promote it, and it is easy to provoke a stronger counterattack from officials, and even the cabinet rejects the order, because the most important chief and second assistants in the cabinet dare not publicly express their support for Kaihai.

Saying it is tantamount to not saying it, and it also gave Xu Jie a reputation for sympathizing with the common people, which of course was not what Emperor Longqing wanted.

Frowning, Emperor Longqing continued to ask: "Is there any way to resolve this issue?"

Now the two factions of support and opposition have clashed, and a large group of them knelt down on the Huangji Hall.

What the cabinet does is to give the emperor ideas to solve problems.

Now that the problem has arisen, as the chief assistant, should I also come up with a solution, instead of simply supporting and opposing it, and showing my attitude.

According to Wei Guangde's previous opinion, this is the end of the day, the emperor will not make a decision at the court meeting, but let everyone go to the book to express their own methods.

Afterwards, some people will naturally mention that the forbidden sea remains, but the privilege of giving Fujian a place can be sold to the east and west to solve the livelihood problems of Fujian people.

In this way, most coastal prefectures and counties in the country have kept the sea ban system unchanged, but only solved practical difficulties for the people of Fujian. Opening the sea will be easy for everyone to accept.

With such a memorandum to discuss with someone else, it should be able to pass, even if you still object, you have to force it.

Emperor Longqing didn't care whether the people in Fujian really couldn't survive, and didn't care how much Fujian Kaihai could increase the income of the internal treasury, but he cared whether Kaihai could weaken the power of Japanese pirates and free the Ming Dynasty from the Japanese invasion.

"Your Majesty Qizuo, Mr. Shoufu has indeed been troubled by this matter these days. He has a preliminary idea, but it is not yet mature."

Zhang Juzheng replied.

"tell me the story."

Emperor Longqing was interested, and he wanted to know what Xu Jie would think.

"Lord Shoufu believes that the livelihood of the people in Fujian must be taken care of, and the ancestral precepts cannot be violated. We can continue the policy of 'maritime ban'. Only one port in Fujian is allowed to be developed, and the government imposes strict restrictions on ships passing through.

If Governor Tu allowed private merchants to sell far to the east and west, it should be restricted and trade with Japanese people should be prohibited.

All merchant ships for foreign trade along the coast must go through the formalities at Yuegang, where they load and leave the port, and enter the port for inspection.

All ships must apply for a certificate such as "Ship Yu" or "Shang Yin" before they can go to sea. The time for going to sea is strictly limited.

It is strictly forbidden to carry nitrate, copper, iron and other items out to sea."

As soon as Zhang Juzheng opened his mouth, he and Xu Jie discussed all the terms that he felt should be restricted.

At this time, materials such as yellow nitrate and copper were extremely scarce in the Ming Dynasty. Yellow nitrate can be used to refine gunpowder, which is a strategic material, while copper is a material for making weapons and copper coins. The Ming Dynasty has always been troubled by the shortage of copper mines.

As for iron, although the output is huge, it is also a controlled strategic material.

From the very beginning, the Ming Dynasty had a clear understanding of these strategic materials, knowing that under the premise of insufficient domestic supply, trafficking should be prohibited.

It's just that, after all, the eyesight of the officials of the imperial court is lacking. They don't know that such resources, which were insufficient in the Ming Dynasty, are inexhaustible overseas, and they can be exchanged for large quantities of exquisite handicrafts from the Ming Dynasty. these scarce raw materials.

As for the maritime merchants who are engaged in foreign trade in private, they naturally know about it, but they regard this information as a trick to making a fortune, and they keep it under strict control, and they will not leak it at all.

Those in the imperial court who knew about these things were all members of their own families engaged in maritime trade, so of course they would not be stupid enough to spread the news.

And those officials who received money to do things were kept in the dark by them.

In later generations, many people only focused on how many billions of taels of silver the "Longqing Switch" reportedly brought back to China, but few people considered letting the Ming Dynasty use maritime trade to smuggle back scarce supplies from overseas to solve the problem of domestic development. Insufficient resources encountered.

This is not a few ships, dozens of ships. Only when the Chinese people truly realize that there are endless resources overseas, will the awareness of sea power rise and give them the idea to fight out to grab resources.

Wei Guangde came to the Ming Dynasty, read a lot of books, and had his own views on the prosperous age.

The so-called clean government is just a joke. It is something that no number of wise kings in the past dynasties can solve. Even in later generations, the continuous improvement of the system cannot prevent it.

For the common people, the prosperity of the dynasty has nothing to do with how the officials are. They only count the money in their own pockets.

As long as the people are rich, they will not be hungry, and it will be a prosperous age for them.

As far as the dynasty is concerned, it is not enough for the people to live and work in peace and contentment to support the name of "prosperous age". You also need to have enough external influence.

The Ming Dynasty was originally the suzerain state of the East, and all foreign vassals can only be vassals, so there must be a stronger voice to the outside world. The will of the Ming Emperor and the policies of the Ming court can affect the surroundings and all the vassal states related to the Ming Dynasty.

Only when both internally and externally have reached such a level can it be called a "prosperous age".

In Wei Guangde's view, since land annexation is inevitable, let the landless peasants enter the city.

Enter the factory, enter the handicraft workshop, and promote the urbanization of Daming.

Let them no longer continue to plan food from the land, but use their hands to work and use labor to solve their livelihood problems.

The Ming Dynasty had the best handmade products in the world, and it was not afraid that it could not monopolize global trade.

Equalizing the land is what the founding emperor did.

Use force to snatch the resources left over from the previous dynasty to win people's hearts so that you can stabilize your country.

Long Qing was just a conservative emperor, he didn't need a so-called reform to stabilize his throne.

Because once the land ownership is changed again, it can indeed prolong the life of the dynasty, but it will touch the interests of all vested interests, including his Wei Guangde's interests.

His family is no longer a hundred households in the Bengshan Hundred Households of the Ming Dynasty, but a big landlord with vast fertile land in Jiangxi.

Zhang Juzheng was still kneeling in front of him and kept talking about his decision after discussing with Xu Jie. Emperor Longqing on the dragon chair had already sat up straight, staring at him with wide eyes, his heart was overwhelmed.

Wei Guangde studied something for several years, and Xu Jie figured it out in such a short period of time.

Yes, the things Xu Jie proposed covered almost everything that Wei Guangde could think of, and he even thought of many things that Wei Guangde didn't think of.

For example, Wei Guangde never brought up the prohibition of doing business with Japan.
(End of this chapter)