Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 547 Chen Qiyu's Cruel Move
"Hehe, the Dutch are quite discerning. They actually spotted these two places. As expected of a maritime power, they really have a unique vision for the choice of ports!"

In the Hall of Zhaoren, Zhu Youjian held the initialed agreement between Daming and the Netherlands and browsed carefully, and exchanged opinions with Wen Tiren, Chen Qiyu, Yang Sichang, Zou Weilian and others in the hall from time to time.

In this agreement, the Dutch not only hoped to conduct comprehensive trade with Ming and allow the Netherlands to sell goods from their own country and other European countries to Ming, but also solemnly requested the Ming court to add more ports in order to expand the transaction volume and types of goods between the two parties. .

The enthusiastic Dutch even clearly proposed the location of the new port in the agreement, including the world-famous Shanghai Port in later generations, Ningbo in later generations, and Mingzhou Port today.

And these two ports are the key targets of Zhu Youjian's plan to open the sea in an all-round way.

Shanghai County belongs to Songjiang Prefecture, and Mingzhou Port radiates to Hangzhou Prefecture. These two large prefectures are the most prosperous places in Daming today.

Every day, a large amount of silk, tea, porcelain, lacquerware and other exquisite handicrafts are transported to these two ports by merchants from various prefectures and counties south of the Yangtze River, and then purchased by sea merchants. Shipped to all over the world.

Although the Ming Dynasty banned the sea for many years, Shanghai and Mingzhou, as the most important private ports of the Jiangnan interest group, have existed for many years. Over time, these two places have become a cornucopia and cash cow for the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River, while the fundamental interests of the Ming court have been greatly damaged.

Those merchants who are making money every day, did not pay a penny of tax to the Ming court, but enjoyed a stable and luxurious life, regardless of the long-term suffering in the northern border of the Ming Dynasty, and even ignored the countless fresh roads in the northern region. Living beings are struggling on the brink of death.

What's even more chilling is that, in addition to extravagance and lust, these so-called gentry also use various channels to dictate various strategies of the Ming emperor and the imperial court, and use various means to punish important officials outside the interest groups. Personal attacks and abuse, directly accusing the emperor of failing to put them in the cabinet position is the biggest harm to the country, this kind of behavior is so similar to the keyboard warriors of later generations, it is really disgusting to most people.

"Inspired by the Holy Majesty, the addition of ports, the expansion of trade, and the opening of customs are more beneficial than harmful to our Emperor Ming, but if Xiyi has the heart to covet our Ming Dynasty's prosperity, in the future with strong ships and guns, then Jiangnan The prosperous scene may be destroyed, what should we do if this happens?"

Following Zhu Youjian's topic, the first assistant Wen Tiren got up and saluted and expressed his concerns in a solemn voice.

As the first chief assistant of the Ming Dynasty to be promoted as a scholar of the Wenhua Palace in more than a hundred years, and also the first important minister of the Ming Dynasty to ride an imperial carriage, the recent month can be said to be the pinnacle of Wen Tiren's life in the past 60 years. It also made him even more devoted to Zhu Youjian.

What he said was not to oppose the emperor Kaihai, but to analyze and judge the hidden dangers that major issues may cause in the future from the perspective of the chief minister and the overall situation.

"Wen Qing, don't worry, I have my own concerns about this matter.

From what I know, although there are several countries in Xiyi with strong military strength, these countries are constantly fighting with their neighbors because of their own interests, and they have no time to distract themselves.As for the Nanyang countries, they are all vassals of my Ming Dynasty, and they are weak and difficult to protect themselves, let alone look north.

The reason why I ordered Chen and Zou Erqing to negotiate and reach an agreement with the Netherlands, is to use the power of the Western Barbarians to build a powerful navy for our Emperor Ming, and to keep away possible threats from the sea.

Now that the future gold is destroyed, Mongolia has long been in decline, and our Emperor Ming's northern border is no longer a serious problem. The only possible threat is the sea. Opening the sea ban and collecting tariffs will benefit the next step. The establishment of a navy will be the next national policy. Anyone who hinders this policy Everyone will be regarded as a person who must be executed! "

Zhu Youjian did not deny Wen Tiren's worries.Practice has proved that it is the enemy from the sea that tore off China's last fig leaf after more than 200 years.

And in order not to let Huanghuang China suffer such shame and humiliation, the only way to be stronger than potential enemies is to stifle the ambitions and attempts of the petty people towards China.

"Revelation to Your Majesty, I wonder if Your Majesty will be satisfied with the various requests of the Netherlands? If Jing Haibo has any objections, how should he deal with it?

The minister thought that the Holy Majesty made a decree to move Huang Degong's Ministry to Fuzhou to deter those who disagreed, and to kill all those who violated the holy will if necessary! "

After Zhu Youjian finished speaking, Chen Qiyu got up and saluted, and gave his own suggestions.

During the negotiations with the Dutch envoy, Van Bronhorst hinted several times about Zheng Zhilong's resistance and threat to the Dutch merchant ships, hoping that the Ming court could take effective measures to resolve this key issue.

The Zheng family controls the southeast coast of Daming, and imposes heavy taxes on merchant ships from various countries. If they want to trade with Daming in an all-round way, then Zheng Zhilong is a hurdle that cannot be avoided.

If Zhu Youjian wants to open the sea ban and collect tariffs, he will face double resistance from the Zheng family and the Jiangnan gentry group, especially the powerful Zheng family. Hai's strategy is likely to encounter huge resistance and risks.

Chen Qiyu originally looked down upon Zheng Zhilong, who was born as a pirate, and after foreseeing the danger, he simply proposed the most direct solution: kill Zheng and the leader and backbone of the entire gang, and completely disintegrate Zheng's interest group.

"I seconded Xueshi Chen's policy! If you want to carry out the matter of opening the sea, it is imperative to send a strong army to the southeast!"

As soon as Chen Qiyu finished speaking, Yang Sichang immediately stood up to express his support and approval, Wen Tiren was noncommittal, and Zou Weilian frowned.

"Invitation to the Holy Majesty, Chen Xueshi's strategy seems to be feasible, but if he acts according to it, it may cause turmoil or even disaster in the southeast. The old minister does not agree with this matter, and I hope the Holy Majesty will think carefully about it!"

Seeing that Zhu Youjian did not express his opinion immediately, Zou Weilian got up slowly and clearly put forward his objection.

"What does Zou Butang mean by this? Although the Zheng family was conferred the honor of a lord, it is actually a separatist regime! The Holy Majesty wants to open the sea, how can the Zheng family allow the court to seize the property from him?

If tough measures are not taken in this matter, the strategy of opening the sea will come to nothing, and the strategy of the Holy One will also be aborted.

In particular, it can be seen that the Zheng family is indeed the one who must be punished!
Zou Butang has been the governor of Fujian for several years. Could it be that he has some connection with the Zheng family, so he blatantly speaks out for him? "

Yang Sichang first magnified the consequences of the matter infinitely, and then alluded to Zou Weilian and Zheng Zhilong's communication, so he stood up to oppose this matter.

"Let's discuss the matter as it is, don't get involved in the rest! This is a matter of discussion, and you can express any point of view, but you must have sufficient reasons afterwards!
Since Zou Qing objected to Chen Qing's suggestion, it must be based on a theory, and I and you should just listen patiently! "

Seeing that Zou Weilian's face was flushed by Yang Sichang's words, Zhu Youjian immediately stopped the veteran's counterattack, and at the same time felt very dissatisfied with Yang Sichang's words.

He is most disgusted by the mutual attacks between courtiers, especially this kind of baseless and subjective personal attacks, which he absolutely does not allow.

As for how to deal with the conflict of interests between Zheng Zhilong and the imperial court, he believed that Zou Weilian had more say. After all, he had governed Fujian for several years and knew more about the various forces under the Zheng family.

"Qi Zou Shengshang, the reason why the old minister thinks that the advice of the two scholars just now is inappropriate is also because he has been in Fujian for a long time, and he knows that the affairs at sea are complicated and cannot be solved simply by force. , you have to act both hard and soft in order to achieve what your majesty expects!"

(End of this chapter)