Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 49 Naval Discussion
  In Wenyuan Pavilion, several cabinet members gathered together.

"Everyone, our cabinet team has just been set up, and we encountered this kind of thing. His Majesty directly bypassed the cabinet and went to communicate with the Sixth Department. It is not easy for us to meet with His Majesty. Now for such a big matter, our cabinet will not play some role. , then it will be hard to say. If we don’t do something, I’m afraid I won’t be able to see His Majesty for another year or so, and the ministers will probably take us as a joke.” Wang Jiaping, the new chief minister of the cabinet, sighed.

The two new cabinet members Zhang Wei and Zhao Zhigao remained silent.

"Yuan Yu, you and I are both old men in the cabinet. If you have any opinions, please tell me." Wang Jiaping looked at Wang Xijue.

"Chief Minister, there is no need to take the matter so seriously. Since His Majesty has personally handled the Chang'anmen Incident this time, he definitely does not want our cabinet to ask about it again. His Majesty also wants the matter to be settled as soon as possible. So I thought, A memorial should be sent to the emperor. The matters are more important and can be discussed by civil and military officials. Everyone starts talking and then forgets about Chang'anmen. From now on, daily official affairs will definitely have to go through the cabinet." Wang Xijue said.

"That's all we can do, but in such a hurry, where can we find such a memorial." Wang Jiaping sighed.

"I have it here. This is Zhang Xiao's memorial. As long as it is reported and discussed in the court, the debate will last for a long time. Chief Assistant, you can take a look at this memorial." Wang Xijue took out the memorial.

"Okay, I want to see what kind of masterpiece this is." Wang Jiaping took the memorial.

Wang Jiaping took the memorial and read it with no expression on his face. After reading it, Wang Jiaping handed the memorial to Zhang Wei and Zhao Zhigao. The two new cabinet members also looked at it carefully.

After the memorial was circulated, Wang Jiaping looked at Wang Xijue: "Yuan Yu, this memorial is probably the one you have read most carefully. What do you think of Zhang Xiao's memorial?"

"If nothing else, this memorial is at least a well-organized analysis. Regardless of whether what is said in it is accurate or not, there are many issues that we have never thought of, but they are indeed very important. For example, what he mentioned in it, If any country goes up the Yangtze River and cuts off the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, this is indeed a cruel move. Think about the war between the Later Zhou Dynasty and the Southern Tang Dynasty, and the fight was relatively smooth. As a result, after the navy of the Later Zhou Dynasty entered the Yangtze River, the Southern Tang Dynasty Tang Jun's army was demoralized and lost all the land north of the Yangtze River. The Southern Tang Dynasty has been in decline since then. If any country really has the strength to enter the Yangtze River, the threat here can even be greater than the 100,000 cavalry on the grassland." Wang Xijue said.

"Yuan Yu is overly worried. How could our Ming Navy allow ships from the Xiaoxiao Kingdom to demonstrate under the city of Nanjing? Besides, the city of Nanjing is impregnable, so what can a few small boats do. But it is also good to have some precautions. In recent years, Fo Lang Ji People are harassing our coast a lot and occupying Macau, so we still need to be on guard, and it is necessary to build several forts and forts in critical places," Wang Jiaping said.

"Thank you, Chief Assistant." Wang Xijue responded.

"Mingcheng (Zhang Wei's name), Rumai (Zhao Zhigao's name), how do you two feel after reading this memorial? What do you think?" Wang Xijue looked at Zhang Wei and Zhao Zhigao.

"I think Zhang Xiao's judgment on the Japanese country is somewhat interesting. This memorial uses the story of the Franco Kingdom and the British as examples. Since the founding of the country, there have been Japanese pirates intrusion, but after all, it was not the Japanese king and general who personally did it. . However, the British king was really shameless for the sake of wealth. He directly recruited pirates and let them plunder the ships of the Franco Kingdom, especially the treasure ships, forcing the Franco Kingdom to send a large army to cross the sea to go on an expedition to Britain. Being defeated by the British, the vitality of the Franji Kingdom was greatly reduced. According to Zhang Xiao's memorial, in addition to preventing the Japanese army from landing in North Korea to deter the Northeast, we also need to prevent the Japanese or Western barbarians from launching raids on our coast. The country There are too many places facing the coast, and careful defense will eventually lead to negligence. If you want to cure the root cause, you must do what Zhang Xiao said, which is to establish a navy that can go to the ocean, and wipe out all the pirate nests along the coast. Suppress Fo Langji and other barbarians. He said in it, in particular, to prevent the Japanese from approaching the water towers, to imitate the British and the whole country to become pirates, and the Ming Dynasty Navy to preemptively raid the Japanese ships. Zhang Xiao is quite a bit like the envoys of the former Han Dynasty. It's heroic." Zhang Wei analyzed.

"Zhang Xiao's talk about naval shipbuilding is also interesting. According to what he means, it is necessary to build a big ship, and the big ship must have cannons, and the biggest gun as possible should be used as the main gun. Although there is some truth in these words, this memorial Go up. I'm afraid that Shangshu Shi is going crazy. Where will the Ministry of War get the money to build warships now? But those warriors will be happy. I'm afraid they will take this opportunity to let the court throw more money into the army. Anyway, if they build artillery , the navy can use it, and the army can also use it." Zhao Zhigao also analyzed.

"Well, Yuan Yu, I'd like you to hand over the memorial. But is it really okay to hand it over like this? What if His Majesty is tempted by the depiction of this battleship and wants to sail to the West?" Wang Jiaping was a little confused. He hesitated. "Chief Assistant, don't worry too much about this matter. The border is currently unstable, and there is a possibility of Japanese land troops entering the country, so the navy's investment must not be very large. Your Majesty must still know the priorities." Wang Xijue said firmly.

……

Zhang Xiao didn't know that because the timing of the memorial he handed over was so coincidental, his memorial had become a prop for compromise between the civil servants and generals. It's as if he didn't know that the female reader he responded to was actually the princess of the dynasty. If he had known, he would have thrown the letter as far as he could.

Unfortunately, Zhang Xiao didn't know that Princess Yongning had already received a reply from Zhang Xiao.

"Xiao Qing, do you know this "The Tale of Genji"? This is really the first time I heard this name." The princess asked the maid Xiao Qing,

"Princess, why do you ask about this? This is a book written by a Japanese. It is normal that you have never heard of it, Princess. What's the matter? Zhang Xiao mentioned this book in his reply? I heard that Zhang Xiao wanted the emperor to find someone to translate this book. This book, Your Majesty feels that this book is all about love and love, without any of the Three Cardinal Guidelines and the Five Permanent Constitutions, just like..." Xiao Qing seemed to realize something and stopped talking.

"Like what?" the princess asked.

"Your Majesty means that this book is not even as good as "The Romance of the West Chamber", but similar to that "Jin Ping Mei"..." Xiao Qing's voice became smaller and smaller as he spoke.

"Brother Emperor really said that?" The princess was a little surprised.

"That's more or less what it means. Anyway, His Majesty was quite unhappy at the time. He said that the imperial court would not translate this book and asked Zhang Xiao not to waste time on this book. Princess, why did you bring this book?" Xiao Qing was curious. asked.

"Zhang Xiaoxin said in his letter that although it is difficult for women to do things, they can also be done. In ancient times, there was Hua Mulan who joined the army, and there was also a woman named Joan of Arc in the Western Yi who defended her family and country. Not counting martial arts, there are also poets like Li Qingzhao through the ages. He said in the letter He said that "The Tale of Genji" was written by a Japanese female official. It contains hundreds of thousands of words, and it can be regarded as leaving a name for future generations. It allows me to write something in my spare time." The princess explained.

"I think what Zhang Xiao said makes sense. If people have nothing to do, they will think about things. Not doing anything every day is very tiring. But princess, are you going to write poems or lyrics?" Xiao Qing asked.

"I want to translate The Tale of Genji into Chinese," the princess said.

"Ah?" Xiaoqing looked surprised.

(End of this chapter)