prosperous age

Chapter 1044 1135 Capital

Wei Guangde brought Tan Lun into Zhang Juzheng's office. After exchanging greetings, Wei handed the victory report to him and said with a smile, "The matter of Luzon has been accomplished. This is the victory report from Yu Dayou."

Hearing this, Zhang Juzheng snatched the victory report from Wei Guangde and quickly flipped through it.

Soon, a smile appeared on Zhang Juzheng's face.

Yes, the main content of Yu Dayou's report was that through his negotiations with the Spaniards, he had obtained all the land in the northern part of Luzon Island and incorporated it into the Ming Dynasty, making it another overseas territory of the Ming Dynasty.

"I never expected that the Yi people would agree to it."

After Zhang Juzheng quickly read it, he looked up at Wei Guangde and Tan Lun and exclaimed in admiration.

Before, Zhang Juzheng had considered the Luzon issue, but he thought that since the land had already been swallowed by the barbarians, he would never agree to give it up and hand it over to the Ming Dynasty.

After saying this, Zhang Juzheng seemed to suddenly wake up, picked up the memorial and read it again, muttering, "So, the barbarians' military strength in Luzon is probably seriously insufficient, so they are afraid of fighting with the Ming Dynasty."

After hearing Zhang Juzheng's words, although Wei Guangde was not sure whether Zhang Juzheng also planned to monopolize Luzon, he also knew that if he did so now, it would be detrimental to the Ming Dynasty.

Because Spain is not without strength, but their armed forces are still confined to America, and they are temporarily unable to gather on a large scale in the Far East.

At this time, Spain's strength was comparable to that of the United States in later generations.

Although there were many difficulties in large-scale troop transportation during this period due to the limitations of navigation technology, it was still possible to do it if we only gathered a few thousand or tens of thousands of troops.

Therefore, Wei Guangde had no intention of fighting the Spaniards head-on from the beginning.

The Ming Dynasty had no routes to America, so the gold and silver in America could only wait for the Spanish to mine them and then transport them to the Ming Dynasty for trade.

Just like the galleon trade, the Ming Dynasty did not have the ability to send ships to America without the help of trade winds and ocean currents.

"They just seized a vast continent in the east, which is countless times larger than our Ming Dynasty. This is why Luzon does not have many troops."

Wei Guangde chose to remind Zhang Juzheng at this time to prevent him from getting hot-headed and doing something unwise.

"The eastern continent is countless times larger than our Ming Dynasty?"

Zhang Juzheng, who was reading the memorial for the second time, looked up at Wei Guangde in shock and asked.

"Brother, you forgot. The Jinyiwei intelligence mentioned earlier that every year, the barbarians' large sea ships come from the east, transporting the gold and silver they plundered and various materials, and also transporting the spices on Luzon Island."

Wei Guangde said.

"Ah."

After being reminded, Zhang Juzheng naturally remembered that this happened. The intelligence also said that the country of these barbarians seemed to be in the west.

"hiss."

Thinking of this, an idea came to Zhang Juzheng's mind, but he didn't dare to say it out loud, so he just kept it in his mind.

Although the Ming Dynasty made voyages to the West, it did not complete a circumnavigation of the world, so naturally it did not know that the earth was round.

Although some domestic Yin-Yang masters or astronomers have made similar speculations before, they have not been widely recognized.

As for Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and Yangming School of Mind, they naturally did not pay attention to this, and they did not even take it to heart.

"Shan Dai, you see, here the barbarians in Haojing are called Portuguese, and the barbarians in Luzon are called Spanish. What's the reason?"

When Zhang Juzheng read the memorial for the second time, he naturally noticed some things that he had not paid attention to before.

“From what I know, although the barbarians in the two places are similar and speak similarly, they belong to two different countries.

One is Portugal, and the other is Spain, let’s call them that.”

Wei Guangde opened his mouth to explain.

Coming from later generations, he was naturally very clear about this matter, but it was very troublesome to explain it in detail at this time. The most important thing was that it was difficult for him to explain the source of this information.

"Do you know what this sixteen degrees north latitude means?"

Zhang Juzheng also noticed the method adopted by Yu Dayou and the Spaniards to divide Luzon, so he asked further questions.

When Tan Lun heard this, he looked at Wei Guangde with a puzzled look. He noticed the wording, but didn't understand what it meant.

However, the content of the memorial was about expanding territory, and he grasped this point, so it was good news, and he sent it to the cabinet eagerly.

This is Wei Guangde's achievement. As for the rest, he plans to ask people from the Ministry of War later.

But what he didn't know was that at this time in the capital, perhaps except Wei Guangde, no one else knew the meaning of this word.

Wei Guangde thought about it and realized that he actually didn't understand the specific method of drawing longitude and latitude lines.

However, the knowledge learned in elementary school was mentioned, so I still know the basics.

Although it was just the most basic stuff, it was enough for him to show off at this time, and he could also find the source.

So, Wei Guangde smiled and said to Zhang Juzheng and Tan Lun, who looked puzzled: "I have actually heard of this matter.

But if it's a little hard to explain, I'll draw a picture so it's easier to understand.'

After Wei Guangde finished speaking, he stood up and walked to Zhang Juzheng's desk.

Zhang Juzheng and Tan Lun also followed and stood behind him, wanting to see what Wei Guangde was going to draw for them to see.

After spreading out the rice paper and finding the smallest brush from the brush mountain, Wei Guangde roughly outlined an oval island.

Well, the Ming Dynasty had no coins at the time, and the Western dip pens did not conform to the writing habits of the Ming Dynasty, so scholars would not be interested in that thing at all.

In fact, the early foreigners also wanted to sell dip pens to the Ming Dynasty, but they were rejected everywhere, and no one shipped that thing to the Ming Dynasty anymore.

Most of the merchants in the Ming Dynasty were scholars who had great respect for Chinese civilization. Naturally, they looked down on the barbaric things of the West and even considered them disgusting.

If you don't have a fine brush, you can only use a small one instead.

However, Wei Guangde was thinking at this time whether he should find a craftsman to try to make a pencil using graphite.

Although it is said that the ancients used natural ink to make ink pens very early, Wei Guangde had never seen such a pen. Instead, some people used graphite powder as a pigment for painting.

At this time, Wei Guangde said as he was drawing, "This is the island, surrounded by seawater. When our ancients went on a long voyage, they determined their position by looking at the sun during the day and the positions of the stars at night, and then used a compass to determine the correct course so as not to get lost.

The methods used by the barbarians for navigation are actually similar to those we use, except that they seem to be more specialized.

They divided the sea surface from east to west and from south to north into several numbers, such as the sixteen degrees in the memorial. He should have also had 1 degree and other degrees.

The way they determined the degrees was that they used a small instrument to directly measure the angles, also determined by the sun or stars.

In this way, they can use this instrument to determine their approximate latitude and longitude on the vast ocean and mark their position on the map. "

At this time, Wei Guangde had already divided several grids of equal distance around the rice paper and marked some numbers.

He marked the two points on the left and right sides of the middle of the oval island as "sixteen", and above and below this number were "fifteen" and "seventeen".

However, Wei Guangde was not very familiar with this geographical knowledge. If the way he marked it was marked according to later maps, it should be the latitude of the southern hemisphere.

Because he had forgotten whether zero degrees was at the North Pole or the equator, he just wrote the numbers from top to bottom out of habit.

Then he connected the two sixteen-degree points with a dotted line, passed through the so-called island and said, "This line is the boundary drawn by Yu Dayou and the Spaniards."

"I see."

Tan Lun understood and saw clearly, and Zhang Juzheng nodded slightly.

“No wonder the barbarians were able to travel thousands of miles to trade with our Ming Dynasty; their navigation technology is incredible.

It is said that the sea is vast and dangerous, but with this method, ships can sail peacefully on the sea. "

Zhang Juzheng was still amazed. As long as the direction can be determined, there is naturally not much risk in traveling.

The ancients were afraid of the ocean, in fact, more because there were no reference points on the sea, and they could only rely on the experience of old sailors to judge the approximate location.

As for the wind and waves at sea, traveling by land is also dangerous because of the presence of wolves, insects, tigers, leopards, bandits and robbers.

"I think the South China Sea Navy should have mastered the navigation technology of the barbarians. In the future, our Ming Navy will also be able to sail on the sea with ease."

What Tan Lun was more concerned about was the application of this navigation technology in the military field. The Ming Dynasty now had the South China Sea Navy in the south and the Denglai Navy in the north, but both needed this direction-determining technology to ensure navigation safety.

Otherwise, we can only sail along the coastline, where the risk of running aground is relatively high.

"Well, now that the victory report has come, let's find He Qing to discuss it together, and then go to the palace together to report the victory to His Majesty and the Queen Mother."

At this time, Zhang Juzheng suddenly remembered that the Ming army had won a victory, and they could not be happy about it, but had to report the victory to the emperor first.

"The palace should know about this."

Tan Lun smiled and said, "When I entered the palace, I met the Tongzhengshi in front of the palace gate. He was the one who delivered the victory report to the Silijian."

"hehe."

Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard and smiled. He also understood that Feng Bao would definitely not miss this good opportunity to ask for a reward. He was probably already in Ciqing Palace with the victory report.

"Come here, please invite He Qing to come over to discuss matters with me."

Following Zhang Juzheng's instructions, a clerk hurriedly went to invite Lu Diaoyang over.

Naturally, Yu Dayou's memorial was also handed over to him.

Therefore, Wei Guangde had to explain the question raised by Lu Diaoyang, which was actually not much different from what Zhang Juzheng asked.

As for the picture, Wei Guangde took it out again to introduce it.

"Shan Dai, how do you know all this? It's not in the book."

Lu Diaoyang was in a good mood at the moment and asked cheerfully.

"I learned this from some sea merchants. They were doing business with the barbarians and thought their method was great, so they paid money to learn it.

I don't mainly do this, so I just listened to it and roughly understood what it meant.

If I hadn’t seen what was said in the memorial today, I would have almost forgotten about it.”

Wei Guangde's love for investing in businesses has actually been a rumor in Beijing for a long time.

There are not many Beijing officials who do not participate in the shares.

In the past, everyone was too embarrassed to talk about it, but since Wei Guangde, a cabinet minister, had done it, no one felt it was shameful anymore.

There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with doing honest business to make money and support your family in Beijing. It's better than being surrounded by corrupt officials.

It is really impossible for officials in Beijing to survive in the capital relying solely on the salary from the court.

In the past, everyone let their servants run various businesses, and everyone knew it.

In fact, officials in the capital and nobles were all troubled by money.

Many people may think that nobles have a lot of land and should have a life without worries about food and clothing.

But don't forget the productivity in ancient times. The income from land rent could ensure that they had enough food and drink, but it was really difficult to live a luxurious life.

So, everyone is actually doing business to make money.

As for the family’s houses and land, it is impossible to convert them into cash, as that would only give people the impression that you are a spendthrift.

Face is also important.

"Pack up, the palace will summon you soon."

Several people were chatting happily, and at this time Zhang Juzheng spoke.

Wei Guangde and Lu Diaoyang both nodded slightly, and then said to Tan Lun, "The palace will summon you later, let's go together.

You are the Minister of War, and this matter is within your jurisdiction."

Sure enough, in less than half a cup of tea, a young eunuch from Ciqing Palace came and conveyed the order for the two Empress Dowagers and the Emperor to summon all the cabinet ministers.

"Is Eunuch Feng in the palace?"

Wei Guangde asked casually.

"Lord Wei, godfather just went over there. It seems like there's some big happy event. I heard the ladies and His Majesty in the palace were all laughing and talking happily."

Wei Guangde and Feng Bao had a somewhat unfriendly relationship, but only the two of them knew it, and no one else knew it.

Feng Bao's godsons and grandsons were also very respectful to Wei Guangde.

Of course, we should be more respectful to Zhang Juzheng.

The Ming Dynasty at this time was no longer the Jiajing period, and the news of the suppression of the big pirate Lin Feng did not cause any waves in the officialdom of the capital.

At this time, the officials in the outer court were talking about the matter of gaining half of Luzon as mentioned in the memorial.

Among them, there are supporters, but there are also many opponents.

  The reason for opposition is naturally that Luzon is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, so we should not covet its territory, but should find the descendants of the King of Luzon and help them restore their country.

Only in this way can the Ming Dynasty demonstrate its magnanimity and spread its power in Southeast Asia.

Most of those who hold this reason are respected Confucian scholars in the court, and their influence is still very large.

Their remarks had a certain influence on those newly-appointed scholars who had just entered the officialdom, especially in the Hanlin Academy, where many people were discussing submitting a memorial requesting the return of the Luzon territory.

However, these people were only discussing in private, while those old-timers in officialdom remained calm and waited for the attitude of the cabinet and the palace.

They all understand one thing: right or wrong depends mainly on the attitude of those in power.

Taking sides is the most important thing, as it affects one's career.

After entering the Ciqing Palace, the little emperor Zhu Yijun, who was supposed to be attending classes in the Wenhua Hall, had already been brought here. Feng Bao was standing next to him with a happy face.

Feng Bao knew a thing or two about the strategy for conquering Luzon, and there was no way he could hide it.

Therefore, when submitting the memorial, Feng Baoke did not fail to flatter himself, saying that the matter was the result of discussions between him, the internal minister, and the external ministers.

In terms of expanding territory, Luzon failed to gain an advantage in Dongfan Island last time, so it will certainly not miss the opportunity this time.

The discussion was actually very quick. The two empresses dowager mentioned the ancestral rules regarding Luzon. However, given the example of Dongfan Island, there was nothing wrong with the Ming Dynasty annexing Luzon.

However, no one noticed that the memorial mentioned at the end that the King of Sulu wanted to come to Beijing for an audience.

Although others didn't notice it, Wei Guangde had to bring it up.

Everyone was happy at that time, so naturally no one would object, so they agreed happily.

Even though he is still young, it is not appropriate for him to receive foreign ministers.

However, the Ming Dynasty had just demonstrated its power in Southeast Asia, so it was naturally not afraid of any intentions of the King of Sulu.

Yu Dayou also wrote clearly in the memorial that the Sulu Kingdom has been worried about the Spanish's greed for them.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty met with the King of Sulu, which was also a way of standing up for Sulu. When the news spread to Southeast Asia, I think the countries in Southeast Asia should also know how to take sides.