Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 78 Ye Xianggao

"You're right, but is it so easy to actually do it?"

Zhu Youjian did not believe that Jiangnan officials and merchants were fools.

To put it bluntly, trade with Japan began in the Tang Dynasty and reached its peak in the Song Dynasty. After the route was determined, a large number of maritime merchants in the late Ming Dynasty began to follow this trade route.

Otherwise, there would not be so many sea merchants who hired Japanese ronin, and then triggered the Japanese riots along the southeast coast.

If you want to intervene in Japan's trade, you must make enemies of the merchants in the Jiangnan area.

Unless he can afford more money and support more officials to form an exclusive interest group, otherwise what Lu Jianxing said will not be realized.

"Your Highness, please give me a year. If I can't alleviate the food shortage in Liaodong, and can't earn military salary for the Imperial Horse Supervisor, I am willing to be sent to prison!"

Lu Jianxing gritted his teeth, and simply said the poisonous oath of going to prison.

This scene made Lu Wenzhao frowned, and Wang Chengen sighed from the bottom of his heart, saying that Lu Jianxing was ignoring life and death for the sake of prosperity.

Zhu Youjian, on the other hand, was taken aback by his poisonous oath, but the next second he smiled and said:

"Lu Wenzhao, the people under your command are quite courageous..."

"It's just a vulgar person with a bit of courage. I offended His Highness, please forgive me." Lu Wenzhao hurriedly apologized. It sounded like he was belittling Lu Jianxing, but he was actually protecting him.

No one can be sure that doing business in the south will definitely make money. If you say something like going to prison, if you really fail, Lu Jianxing will be ruined for the rest of his life.

Lu Wenzhao was reluctant to part with Lu Jianxing, but Zhu Youjian was not angry when he heard it, but smiled and said:

"Promote Lu Jianxing, Chief Banner Officer of the Fusi Division of Jinyiwei South Town, to be the official of the Hundred Households!"

"When the [-] taels of silver from the internal funds are escorted and handed over to him to go south to do business, I want to see if you can do something!"

Zhu Youjian sincerely admired Lu Jianxing's character of risking his life for the sake of his future, and he was not afraid at all that Lu Jianxing would flee overseas with [-] taels of silver.

Once the [-] taels of silver were lost, it was not he who should be worried, but Lu Wenzhao.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your cooperation!"

When Lu Jianxing heard the words, he quickly fell to the ground and kowtowed.

"Get back!" Zhu Youjian waved his hand, and when Lu Wenzhao saw this, he also signaled Lu Jianxing to back down.

Lu Jianxing saluted again and again, then got up and slowly exited Xuqin Palace.

After he withdrew, Zhu Youjian opened his mouth and said:

"Cheng En, a handwritten letter, asking Qi Yuanfu to send people to Fujian and Guangxi to search for three kinds of crops when he was recruiting soldiers in Zhejiang."

"One is called corn, maize, the other is called sweet potato, water potato, and the other is called potato, Dutch potato."

"These three must be found. Once found, they will be sent to Yanshan Daying immediately. Send as many as you have."

"In addition to these three, let people look for a crop called pepper, sea pepper, and Qin pepper."

"The servants take orders..." Wang Chengen didn't understand why Zhu Youjian asked someone to get these things, but this did not prevent him from responding.

Perhaps only Zhu Youjian knows the specific planting methods and yields of these things.

Corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, although they have been discovered for two hundred years, their output is not as much as later generations think.

Even in the Qing Dynasty, their planting area was not large, but this did not affect their use by Zhu Youjian.

These three crops can be mixed with rice to cook porridge for disaster relief, and can also be used to raise livestock.

The most important thing is that corn and sweet potatoes are very drought-tolerant, and the wasteland at the foot of Yanshan Mountain can be used to plant them.

Growing them on the plains is a gamble given the climate.

Once a large-scale drought like the Great Drought of the Little Ice Age occurs, the rivers will dry up one after another. Even if they are drought-tolerant, they will not be able to survive without water.

But planted at the foot of the mountains, not to mention the water source provided by the melting wind and snow in the north, the small mountain streams in the Yanshan area alone can feed them.

In Zhu Youjian's memory, although drought broke out in Changping area at the end of Ming Dynasty, the water source of Yanshan Mountain was not cut off.

So it is best to plant here, as long as the scale is reached, then go to the Great Liuqiu to plant.

In the late Ming Dynasty, besides money, there was also people's hearts, but to sum up, there was only one problem, and that was food!
As long as the food is well grasped, Zhu Youjian will have the strength to turn the tables on various parties together with the good emperor brother.

Thinking of this, he felt much happier, and at this time a young eunuch also walked into Xuqin Palace and said:
"Your Highness, long live the morning class is over. Ask Your Highness if you have eaten breakfast. If you have, go to the rear left door to ride the horse."

"Okay!" Hearing that he finally had time to learn how to ride a horse, Zhu Youjian also became interested, and quickly arranged for someone to go out.

But when Xiang Ren walked out of the East Palace, Zhu Youjian encountered a group of officials withdrawing from the Wenhua Palace.

"This way, it doesn't look like you're going back to court early, but it seems to be something big."

Zhu Youjian was suspicious, and then said to Wang Chengen: "Chengen, send someone to ask what is it?"

"Yes..." Wen Yan, Wang Chengen sent a Jin Yiwei to inquire, and then Jin Yiwei came back to report:

"Return to Your Highness, the cabinet discusses to ask the young master Ye Xianggao to join the cabinet again, and ask all the officials to listen."

"Ye Xianggao?" Hearing this name, Zhu Youjian frowned.

In his memory, Ye Xianggao was able to push Fang Congzhe, Sun Ruyou and others out of the center of power because the Donglin Party won the support in the case of moving the palace.

After the two were excluded, the Donglin Party welcomed Ye Xianggao back into the cabinet as the first assistant, but although the Donglin Party welcomed Ye Xianggao back, later generations also believed that Ye Xianggao was the Donglin Party.

But in fact, Ye Xianggao is a person without party affiliation. Like many people in the court who are considered by later generations to be from the Donglin Party, they are actually officials who claim to be Qingliu.

The reason why people call them the Donglin Party is because during Wei Zhongxian's period, anyone who disobeyed Wei Zhongxian and offended the Eunuch Party was the Donglin Party.

Ye Xianggao was a slightly talented chief assistant in the late Wanli period.

However, his personal ability is not outstanding, and he cannot manage the court in an orderly manner while holding power like Gao Gong, Xu Jie, Zhang Juzheng, and Shen Shixing.

However, his only advantage is that he is very good at mixing with mud.

As an official of the Qingliu, he did not show favoritism to the Donglin Party, which is also Qingliu, but worked hard to quell the disputes between the various parties.

From the perspective of the political situation, Ye Xianggao's situation is relatively large.

However, in the late Ming Dynasty, in which the law would lead to death, Ye Xianggao's disguised form of muddy mud accelerated the demise of the Ming Dynasty.

Joining the cabinet as the chief assistant, he neither helped the Donglin Party to crush the Qichuzhe Party with Yang Lian and others, nor helped the Qichuzhe Party to crush the Donglin Party.

To maintain the situation of party struggle is to continue this meaningless internal friction in disguise.

Politically, the entry of every cabinet minister is the result of compromises between various forces.

Therefore, when Zhu Youjian heard that Ye Xianggao was going to join the cabinet, he immediately understood what the parties wanted to do.

The Donglin Party thought that when Ye Xianggao came back, he would occupy the cabinet position for them and suppress the Qichuzhe Party.

But the Qi, Chu, and Zhejiang parties can see that the Donglin party is powerful in the current situation, and it is a good way to find someone who can fight with each other to minimize the struggle between the various parties.

The reason why they are looking for Ye Xianggao is firstly that Ye Xianggao has a hand with Xi Ni, and secondly, it is to deal with Jingcha three years later...

(End of this chapter)