I'm really not doing business

Chapter 415: The path of kingship with characteristics of Wanli Dynasty

The great victory of Kaipingwei, the death of Su Bahai, and the enemy's imminent collapse all represent that the resistance consciousness of the Beibei has completely collapsed. This is the fundamental purpose of the war, to completely eliminate the opponent's will to resist, submit to one's own will, and allow the Ming Dynasty to impose its will. for.

The rule of Tuman Khan, Bo'er Jijin·Tumen is in danger, and his golden bloodline can no longer suppress the hearts of those who are ready to move.

Kaipingwei, Yingchang, Quaningwei, Daningwei and other places were originally affiliated to the Beipingxing Dusi, and the headquarters of the Beipingxingdusi was in Daningwei.

Since the palace of Prince Ning of the North Ping Dynasty was moved inward during the Yongle period, the guards of the North Ping Dusi gradually moved in and were eventually completely abandoned.

This is the general trend of promoting civil and military forces. Since Zhu Di personally conquered and controlled Shangbin on the way to his personal expedition, the general trend of promoting civil and military forces has been established. As early as the move of the capital in the 19th year of Yongle, the Ming Dynasty had already begun to respond to the hardships caused by the continuous Northern Expedition. met with great opposition.

In the 19th year of Yongle, Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Household Affairs, Fang Bin, the Minister of War, and Wu Zhong, the Minister of Industry, opposed Ming Chengzu's continued northern expedition on the grounds that the frontier reserves were empty, internal and external exhaustion, and the holy body was unsafe.

Xia Yuanji has been the Minister of the Ministry of Finance since the first year of Yongle. He served as the Minister of the Ministry of Finance for 19 years. After Zheng He's voyages to the West, the Northern Expedition of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, the establishment of the capital in Beiya, and the Yongle ceremony, Xia Yuanji became the Minister of the Ministry of Finance. , has been busy supporting Emperor Chengzu's great hegemony, while Xia Yuanji firmly opposed the Fifth Northern Expedition. In addition to several internal and external difficulties in the Northern Expedition, Ming Chengzu's own body was also at stake.

Emperor Chengzu, who spent his military life, suffered from many health problems in his later years, and old injuries recurred repeatedly.

The power of promoting culture and military power became the general trend after Ming Chengzu left. Under the power of calculation, Ming Dynasty continued to abandon its territory, and finally the capital became the first line of conflict.

The reason why he is so eager is because of the doubts in his heart. He has found a way out for their Wang family, and he needs His Majesty's support.

Wang Rulong suppressed the Japanese in the south and resisted the captives in the north. In terms of military achievements, this was completely sufficient.

On behalf of the Shanxi merchants, he sent His Majesty 10 million silver, tens of thousands of hectares of pasture, and actively subscribed for shipping tickets. After cutting off the flesh several times, the flesh on his body became more and more. The eighth year of Wanli was only the first half of the year, and he The family has an income of 320,000 taels. In the second half of the year, there will be sea investment, shipping ticket dividends, and woolen official factory dividends. This year's expected income will exceed 1 million silver.

"Sent her to the Huanxi Bureau as a maidservant." Zhu Yijun accepted Xindi into the palace, but he didn't ask her to come to the palace, and he didn't send her to a nunnery. That was Zhu Yijun's mercy.

Zhang Juzheng, Wang Chonggu, and Tan Lun all came to the palace at the same time. Obviously, they had important matters to discuss. They held general meetings for small things, small meetings for big things, and closed-door meetings for big things. Obviously, this great victory made the leaders happy. The auxiliary, secondary auxiliary, and minister of the Ministry of War paid special attention to it.

Wang Chonggu, the second assistant of the Ming Dynasty, sent away his son Wang Qian. Wang Qian was like a cub hiding behind the jackals, tigers and leopards. When he started hunting around, without the chickens and dogs caused by Wang Qian, the Wang family The house became completely quiet. This kind of quietness combined with the old man's old age made it look somewhat desolate.

But now, Zhu Yijun is getting back what Ming Dynasty lost little by little, and getting it back is just the beginning. How to stabilize its rule is the problem that Ming Dynasty must face. Zhu Yijun thought for a long time before he found the key, one word, profit.

In other words, continue to push the upper limit of what the current political and social environment of Ming Dynasty can accommodate, and then let His Majesty and the court allow the existence of the behemoth Wang family.

"I will see your Majesty. Your Majesty bows in peace." Zhang Juzheng led the two of them to bow their heads in greeting.

Wang Chonggu was worried. There was a crisis hidden under the bright surface of the situation. After thoroughly studying Zhang Juzheng's "On Class", Wang Chonggu fully understood why Zhang Juzheng had to take him with him when he first became an official.

The great victory of Kaipingwei was a reflection of the offensive capabilities of the frontier army. This was a good news that was beyond the expectations of the imperial court. The thousands of households in speculation were quickly shot to death, and the family members and prisoners of Hai were returned to the capital. It was obviously not something out of thin air. great victory.

It is okay for young people to like to pursue novels. There are many beauties from all over the world in the Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty will choose one. Zhang Juzheng is not the kind of stubborn person. He does not object to the fact that Fanyi is not allowed to enter the palace. The three previous Wan Shihe and Hai Rui were also the ones who objected to the wife's matter, while Zhang Juzheng remained silent.

"Wang Cifu, the prisoner has not yet entered the capital. What is the reason for this visit?" Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Chonggu.

But this Cindy's identity made Zhang Juzheng extremely disgusted.

"Making meritorious service." Wang Chonggu said with great certainty. There is another way to increase His Majesty's kill line, and that is to stack Holy Family members. What Wang Chonggu is going to talk about next is to use a two-pronged approach, stacking Holy Family members and increasing the upper limit of the Ming Dynasty. , kill two birds with one stone.

In the first year of Wanli, when Wang Chonggu returned to Xuanfu to block the holes in the Great Wall, Wang Chonggu went bankrupt and spent more than 200 million silver to block the holes. His current annual income is half of what he had accumulated in the past twenty years.

Wang Chonggu pushed up his reading glasses and sighed again when he looked at the accounts in front of him. It was not too little, but too much.

What frightens Wang Chonggu even more is that compared to the Songjiang Sun family, Wang Chonggu has no escape route at all. He is the second assistant. If Zhang Juzheng doesn't leave, he can't leave. He is the ruling class who selects officials. Look at his status. As the second assistant, Grand Bachelor of Dongge, the crown prince's Taibao, the Minister of Punishment, and the leader of the Jin Party, the Sun family can appeal to the Yuanxu Islands, the promised land, but Wang Chonggu's identity is destined to have only one way for him to go.

The difference between a full meal and a full meal is that this meal is really too full and will make you stuffed to death.

Wang Chonggu hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, I came here because I had an idea, mainly for meritorious service."

It's not that Zhu Yijun dislikes Fan Yi, it's actually the red-haired and golden-haired Fans from the West, and their body odor is a bit strong.

"Meritorious service?"

After Zhang Juzheng and Tan Lun reported, they both received satisfactory answers. The Ming Emperor was never stingy in rewarding military merit.

"Your Majesty, I think this wool business has great potential!" Wang Chonggu got straight to the point and got to the point.

Accepting Cindy into the palace is mainly about attitude. I accepted your gift, but I am very dissatisfied with your gift. Letting Cindy into the palace is to tell Felipe that Antonio's problem is not undiscussable, but you Things are not enough to see.

"Sir, the cabinet has sent word that Kaiping Guards was captured by General Wang Rulong in one fell swoop." The chief steward walked to Wang Chonggu's side and reported the news he had just received.

"Your Majesty is right, the Zheshe households are really short-sighted as they stare at the small money of the poor coolies all day long." Wang Chonggu leaned on the back of his chair, thinking about where the Wang family should go. The family, like people, always has the first need. It's survival.

"Your Majesty, I heard that Xindi entered the palace? It is said that she is a Nestorian saint in Western Thailand. Your Majesty, in the past, Emperor Wu had great achievements in conquering the vast lands of the barbarians. However, in his later years, the disaster of witchcraft caused endless harm. Use history as a mirror. , you can know the ups and downs; using people as a mirror, you can know the gains and losses." As the chief assistant of the Ming Dynasty and the emperor's master, Zhang Juzheng finally couldn't help but talk about the entry of the Taixi Saint into the palace.

Tan Lun came to determine the reward for Wang Rulong's military merit. According to the merit reward system, the Ministry of War requested the canonization of Wang Rulong as Ying Changbo to reward his bravery.

Increase the emperor's kill line.

Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "Let's talk about it."

"No gift."

Now the Wang family's annual income is as high as one million silver, while the Ming Emperor's gold flowers and silver are only 1.2 million silver a year.

Wang Chonggu was not afraid that Wang Qian would become a corrupt official when he was away from home. Luo Yao, the former governor of Sichuan, received 340,000 silver in three years. Wang Qian really looked down upon that little money.

Saint? It's clearly a heresy.

"Huanyi maid?" Zhang Juzheng smiled, bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Zhang Juzheng came to confirm this military merit reward. The Ming Dynasty's current merit reward, Kaiping Wei Jieyin, was awarded third-class merit according to merit. However, because the border army defeated the enemy, Zhang Juzheng requested an additional favor as a second-class merit reward. Zhang Juzheng The only auxiliary minister to accept the respect of the general Bing Jingtan, and the only chief auxiliary to Zhenwu. He had advocated Zhenwu since the first year of Wanli. Zhang Juzheng's request now is in line with his consistent political views.

This speed of wealth growth made Wang Chonggu very worried.

Wang Chonggu stood up suddenly and said quickly: "Quick, quick, go to the palace!"

Today, when his own assets are gradually growing, Wang Chonggu suddenly feels that money is just floating wealth, and the most important thing is assets. Assets will continuously generate production surplus, and these production surpluses can be realized.

Wang Chonggu's eyes narrowed and he immediately picked up the good news sent by the cabinet. He opened it and read it for a long time. The military guards under Wang Rulong's jurisdiction were one of the border troops. The border troops had no offensive capabilities. This was Qi Jiguang's original assertion. Even after full pay, The Ming Dynasty's requirements for the border troops were only to be able to defend the city and repel the invading enemies.

Why did the Ming Dynasty abandon Kaiping Guard, Yingchang, Quaning Guard, and Daning Guard? The reason is that the supply of food and salary is huge. Kaipingwei has to travel a long way to deliver military food, which is a huge burden for the court. The road is desolate and there are many horse bandits along the way. Moreover, the city wall is not strong and the city is made of adobe. Building the city consumes a lot of money. It is the Rehe Military Fortress. Originally, everyone in the court thought of building a big city, but in the end they could only build a military fortress.

In the final analysis, I just can't afford it.

After Wang Chonggu made his thoughts clear, the main idea was to follow his plan to resettle gangsters, suppress bandits and train troops, build roads and bridges, build cities, resettle refugees, herd horses and sheep, etc. These things have already been done in Daningwei and Quan Ningwei has done it once.

The difference is that the interests of Daningwei and Quaningwei are mainly in Taotu Mountain, while the eastern foot of Daxianbei Mountain is mainly in raising horses and farming, rather than herding sheep.

In short, it is the path of kingship characteristic of the Wanli Dynasty.

Zhang Juzheng was also impressed. There were already several private woolen factories in the Ming Dynasty. The price of raw materials had increased due to competition. Raising sheep outside the Great Wall became a way. Between Kaipingwei and Yingchang, there were tens of thousands of hectares of pasture. Can be used as a wool base.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, during the Hongwu and Yongle years, there was no such condition because of the population. At that time, the chaos of the late Yuan Dynasty had just ended. It took time for the population to recover, and there was also the Jing Dynasty. At that time, there were still pastures in the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty where horses could graze. Shepherd, now the main contradiction of the Ming Dynasty has become the contradiction between man and land, with more people and less land.

"Beyond the Great Wall is not a barbaric land, it is profitable." Wang Chonggu said with confidence. The Shanxi merchants dumping goods outside the Great Wall were not doing charity. Wang Chonggu said that there was profit outside the Great Wall based on facts.

Zhu Yijun and Wang Chonggu communicated the details, and then handed the matter over to Wang Chonggu.

Leave professional matters to professional people. Under the operation of Wang Chonggu, if Kaiping Guard can be upgraded from Guard to Mansion, it will be a great achievement.

"Your Majesty, can the 10% of the dividend from the official woolen factory this year be turned into a fixed share of 10,000 taels?" Wang Chonggu brought up the old matter again. If His Majesty does not agree today, he, Wang Chonggu, will have no choice but to become an official.

The woolen official factory's dividend this year is expected to exceed 300,000 taels, and Wang Chonggu really can't grasp it. "Okay, but you have to make an agreement. This woolen official factory involves northern border security, so you have to do your best." Zhu Yijun chose Enzhun. At first, he had a pair of wool, a pair of wool shears, and a fermented urine cleaning machine. The woolen official factory, which started producing wool, was finally fully affiliated with the imperial court.

"I will do my best." Wang Chonggu breathed a sigh of relief and promised. He would have done well without any dividends.

When leaving the palace for a closed-door meeting, Spanish envoy Legas met Cindy Celia.

“Almighty and merciful God, please listen to the prayer of the Virgin Martyr Cindy Celia, hear my pleas, forgive my sins, and I will still maintain the peace of mind under your omnipresent radiance. Purity, bring holiness to this faithless land." Cindy prayed to the Holy Cross before meeting Legaz.

Legas did not look like a believer at all. His dirty soul could only go to hell after death, or even to the Palace of Hell.

Legas understood what Cindy meant, she actually wanted to preach! In this land of saints and good faith, how dare you preach in the Ming Dynasty without the permission of the Ming Emperor.

"Holy girl, today's prayer is your last prayer." Legaz looked at Cindy and said with compassion: "As soon as you enter the palace gate, it seems like the depth of the sea. You entered the palace as a gift. This kind of Just don’t pray. If someone in the palace sees you, you will be guilty of witchcraft and will be punished by death."

Legas had to tell this saint that the more devout she was to the Lord, the more the Ming Palace would reject her. Prayers and ritual utensils were never allowed to appear in the palace. Anything that was not certified by the Ming Court was considered obscene. , is the scope of anti-witchcraft, which is the same behavior as pricking a scarecrow with a needle.

"This..." Cindy was shocked. She felt that she had been martyred. When she prayed, she had to do the next best thing and keep her soul pure. As a result, she couldn't even pray and worship now?

"The palace rules are strict, and according to the information from the Minister of Rites Honglu Temple, you may not enter the palace as a sleeping attendant, but as a maid in clothes. This is very cruel, but you must survive first." Legas will know for himself. The news was told to Cindy.

Naturally, someone taught her the rules when she entered the palace. The old ladies in the palace were not only good at postpartum recovery, but also good at rules.

Legaz was worried that Cindy wouldn't survive.

"Can I go back to Taixi? I ​​feel the rejection of me by this land of unbelievers." Cindy's face turned pale. She had thought about the difficulties of this trip, but she never expected that it would be so difficult.

Sure enough, the place of unbelief is more terrifying than hell.

"You can't go back. The imperial edict of the Ming Emperor is no less important than the oracle in this land, especially in the capital." Legas shook his head. The emperor had already issued the edict, so there was no possibility of any change.

Cindy couldn't go back, and she had to struggle to survive in the palace. It was a hell-like survival. The Emperor of Ming Dynasty lived in the palace, not in the palace. Cindy wanted to reach the sky with her beauty, but it was no longer possible.

"This is not a place for the unbelievers. While the people of Ming Dynasty worship the saints, they will also believe in themselves." Legas put a travel diary on the table. This is a travel diary he wrote in Latin. Can Cindy understand it? , it depends on her own destiny.

You can imagine Cindy's life in the palace. Because of the language barrier, she couldn't understand what the palace maids were saying. The life of luxury in the past would become self-reliance, and she would need to work to obtain the necessities of life. The main theme of life is to wash clothes with a stick instead of chanting sutras. Her Lord cannot help her do anything. Good looks are no longer a gift, but a sin that is envied by others.

Suffering would accompany Cindy for the rest of her life.

But what ability does Cindy, a specific individual, have to resist the conflict of interests between two world powers? He could only go with the flow, or maybe it was just Felipe's whim that he chose a saint to test the Eastern Emperor's determination.

Legas couldn't help Cindy, and today was also the last time he met her, the last time she warned her.

"You have only one way to survive. Turn the object of your faith into His Majesty." Ligas stood up and said this. Only she can go down the road in the future.

"Become His Majesty?" Cindy murmured to herself. She already knew clearly that Taixi was different from Daming. She needed to rely on herself to survive, and her expression gradually became resolute.

Cindy entered the palace, and the old nanny took her through the necessary procedures for entering the palace, including a physical examination. The physical examination in the Ming Dynasty Palace was extremely strict. In addition to checking her chastity, she also had to check whether there was any stench. This is Inevitably, a woman with a strong smell cannot even enter the cleaning bureau, so she can only go to the clean room to pour night incense. To put it more bluntly, it is to pour out the food for the reincarnation of grains.

Cindy was lucky enough to pass the body test. Zhu Yijun had a stereotype in this matter. Taixi adults have body odor and need to use perfume to cover it up, but Cindy did not. She carefully selected the gift from Daming. If it smells bad, it's not a gift, it's an offense.

In Legas's travel notes, he recorded some embarrassing things about the Ming Emperor. In addition to being stingy, he also recorded that the Ming Emperor created an extremely luxurious perfume, but its sales in the Ming Dynasty were extremely poor.

The uneasy Cindy, after going through the body examination process, already understood the horror of the strict palace rules. She was scrubbed several times by several patron women until she was rubbed until she was reflected, and then she was taken to the palace to face the saint.

Cindy is a woman who entered the palace by decree of the emperor. After the examination, she will naturally have to face the Holy One and ask His Majesty to decide where to go.

Cindy was ready to transform into His Majesty from the inside out, mind and body, but before she could meet the Emperor, she was assigned to the Clothing Bureau. Unfortunately, the Emperor's kindness and mercy have not yet arrived. On her body.

Zhu Yijun was very busy. He was busy with the affairs of Kaiping Guard. The prisoners of Kaiping Guard had not arrived in the capital, but a rubbing was sent to the imperial court. The rubbing was a stone carving of Kaiping Guard. It was reset by Emperor Chengzu in February of the fourth year of Yongle. Kaipingwei, stone carvings sent to Kaipingwei.

Above are four lines of poetry written by Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, and the inscriptions were also written by Zhu Yuanzhang himself.

I have a thousand lines of pig iron juice, and I will never cry for my children in my life. Suddenly I heard that the public passed away yesterday, and the grass and trees were wet with tears.

In addition to the Qijue poem, there is another line of small words: [I wish I could never serve you again].

Chang Yuchun captured Yuan Shangdu and changed Yuan Shangdu to Kaiping Prefecture. He passed away only a month later. The Ming Dynasty could not retreat. He wished he could serve the emperor again. These were Chang Yuchun's last words, and these four lines of poems are Zhu Yuanzhang's response.

Kaipingwei, the glory of the early Ming Dynasty, has spanned two hundred years of history and is vividly reflected on the page.

"The king ordered this monument to be erected in the government hall and a pavilion at the yamen gate, and another large monument to be erected in the city." Zhu Yijun decided to keep the monument in Kaiping Guards.

In July of the eighth year of Wanli, Paulino and Legas met with the Ming Emperor.

Legaz did not talk about Cindy's whereabouts, not even mentioning it. That was not something he could care about. He took Felipe II's credentials and said a lot of pretentious words. Legaz was not worried. After the conflict between the Ming Dynasty and Spain, he had already made his choice as to where he would go. Felipe dismissed him from his position as special envoy. He was also one of the general ministers of Honglu Temple in the Ming Dynasty and was responsible for translating Thai and Spanish works.

"Your Majesty, the king has never been to the Ming Dynasty, so there will definitely be offense. But it's okay, the contradictions have become reasonable one after another. If the contradictions have not intensified, how can we get along with each other." Legas expressed his attitude towards the conflict between them, He is a ruthless messenger.

There is a running-in period between countries and between people. They need to figure out each other's bottom line and temperament. The power of the Ming Dynasty cannot be bullied. Over in Legaz, the helmsman of the empire where the sun never sets will not accept anyone. Once you touch it and hit it enough, you will be convinced.

"Paulino, this is the third time we have met." Zhu Yijun looked at the strong man next to him. Paulino was muscular and nearly seven feet tall. His skin was tanned by the sun and he looked extremely bold.

The galleon trade entered its eighth year. Paulino visited Beijing three times in total. Zhu Yijun liked Paulino's sailing notes very much.

There are always many novel stories on it, such as the Bigfoot tribe they encountered in the Strait of Magellan, and the countless redwood forests on the coast of Brazil. This kind of redwood is an extremely precious red dye that can only be used in expensive silk fabrics. dyes.

Every year, large sailing ships can carry 52,000 mahogany trees to the Ming Dynasty, and this number has increased year by year. However, the Portuguese and Spanish colonists were frantically competing for the mahogany trees, illegally quarrying, smuggling, merging, and setting fires. Extremely.

"Dear Your Majesty, His Highness Antonio has become the King of Portugal with the help of Advisor Xu. According to the original promise of His Highness, this is the letter of credence for the return of the Malacca Strait." Paulino first presented an official document, which was Antonio In the capacity of the King, a formal letter of credence is drawn up.

The return represented that Antonio, as the king, recognized the Ming Dynasty's legal principles on the Strait of Malacca.

Feng Bao took the credentials in his hand and then handed back another one. Paulino opened the credentials and compared them in detail. The bilingual credentials in Latin and Chinese confirmed the legal ownership of the Strait of Malacca. .

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, forgive your incompetence. The shadow of war in the mainland has prevented Your Highness from providing substantial help in the ownership of the colony. Your Majesty can only go and get it in person." Paulino looked helpless. The Portuguese King expressed his gratitude to the colonial governor. Control is almost zero.

The West was the first to open sea, and it was Portugal that explored the oceans and continents. It was also Portugal that was the first to establish a maritime university, and it was Portugal that had the most advanced navigation technology. However, it was Spain that first sailed around the world, and it was also Spain that created the first empire on which the sun never sets. Portugal's control over the viceroyalties was extremely weak, which also led to Portugal's internal hesitation on whether to open or close the sea.

"Antonio's situation seems to be very bad. I can sympathize with him. Do you still need to borrow money this time?" Zhu Yijun nodded. In the Strait of Malacca, with or without this letter of credence, Ming Dynasty will take it back. With this letter of credence, Ming Dynasty will take it back. , more importantly, the teacher is famous and upright.

"That's true. We need a war loan of 2.5 million silver." Paulino did not hesitate. He needed more five-masted transoceanic ships to form a free fleet. He had to make Felipe II feel that it was not worth it. It’s a plan from start to finish.

Zhu Yijun motioned to Feng Bao to bring over another deed, and said, "Sign it, and you will get ten five-masted transoceanic ships to return home."

"Thank you to your generous and kind majesty." After Paulino checked the deed, he wrote his name.

"I hope Antonio can stand firm and end this damn war as soon as possible. The huge interest on war loans is shocking even to me. But as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, I need to properly explain such a huge figure to my subjects, even if It is money from internal funds, but this money is also taken from the people." Zhu Yijun said beautifully, but he couldn't wait to fight for the Portuguese throne, beat him hard, and beat him for ten or eight years!

The war treasure, the interest on war loans, and the long-term profits from extension are all exciting!

Felipe has only purchased five ships this year, mainly because the fleet has repaid last year's loan and there is not enough money to pay for the ships. This long-term order requires Spain to pay the final payment before it can be delivered.

Felipe dismantled a five-masted transoceanic ship, hoping to imitate it. After dismantling it, it was not installed. Even if it was not installed, the ship design still has reference significance. Spain designed a new three-masted Galen. Although the craftsmanship of the ships did not meet the standards of the Ming Dynasty, they were far ahead in the West. The three new Galen ships that were trial-produced defeated English pirates and made them cry for their fathers.

After Legaz and Paulino left, Zhu Yijun met the third envoy, an envoy from the Queen of England named George Weymouth, a yellow-haired fan from the Cross family, a shipbuilding family.

There were four copies of the letter, in English, Latin, Spanish and Italian colloquialism. Zhu Yijun opened the original English copy, read it for a long time, and chose to give up. He could only understand roughly. There is still a huge difference between ancient English and later English. of.

(End of this chapter)