I'm really not doing business

Chapter 624 This sounds bold, but it is not wise at all

The political line of militarism is extremely dangerous, and the Ming Dynasty is rushing down this path.

The Ming Dynasty is old. The more than 200-year-old Ming Dynasty is so old that even its bones have begun to decay. If it wants to restore its vitality, it must take drastic measures to rectify the situation.

The Ming Dynasty fell during the reign of Emperor Wanli, but the centipede was still alive and struggled a few more times.

A corrupt dynasty means that the means of production are highly concentrated, that political forces are intertwined and interdependent, that production relations are so solid that they are almost impossible to change, and that the court, as a "transcendent" power, has lost all regulatory capabilities.

At this point, there is no other choice: either to be reborn from the ashes or to slide into the abyss in endless internal strife.

Zhu Yijun's alias when he traveled among the people was Master Huang from the General's Mansion. Even though countless court officials guessed that Master Huang was the emperor, they still acquiesced in this relationship because both Master Huang and the emperor were indeed relying on the power of Duke Fengguo Qi Jiguang to do whatever they wanted.

One hundred thousand troops in the capital and one hundred thousand navy are enough to keep the world at peace.

The Beijing Camp was like a sharp blade, hovering over everyone's head, including the emperor.

And every time he solved a social problem, Zhu Yijun would create a major case and kill people like flies. Zhang of Puzhou, Kong of Yanzhou, Yang of Xindu, and Xu of Songjiang were all major cases in which their entire families were executed. The case of Kong of Yanzhou was even brought to the point of being executed by a dog.

All beings are equal under this sharp blade, including the emperor.

If Qi Jiguang had raised his arm like Sima Yi, could he have allowed the emperor to become a rich man without any descendants?

The reason why Qi Jiguang couldn't do it was that Qi Jiguang himself didn't allow himself to do it, not because there was no historical process.

It was a big gamble, and the Ming Emperor Zhu Yijun won. People's hearts will change. In history, Qi Jiguang chose loyalty. But if the elite soldiers of the Beijing camp who directly threatened the safety of the capital were handed over to Qi Jiguang, would he really not change?
Zhang Juzheng used Yang Bo’s bloody example to tell Zhu Yijun: Those who have great power will be destroyed, and those who have made great achievements will fall.

When the emperor's prestige had not yet been established, Qi Jiguang's Beijing camp had Ma Fang, Ma Gui, and Li Rusong. The generals from the northeast, northwest, and southeast directions restrained each other. Only when the emperor's prestige was established did Qi Jiguang become the Duke of Fengguo.

The Templar Warriors were loyal to their beliefs, and their loyalty to their beliefs was higher than their loyalty to the king. Once the emperor's personal moral character was very limited, the Templar Warriors became a burden, redundant and useless. They needed to be expelled, slandered and denied. For example, Qi Jiguang in the torrent of history was impeached and exiled for a random reason, and then dismissed and persecuted.

This is the final chapter of the Paladins that Legazpi knows, and it may also be the final chapter of the Templars.

The reason why Qi Jiguang did not have to turn himself into a warrior who violated the law with force was also related to the fact that the Ming emperor maintained a high moral standard. Qi Jiguang had never met Zhu Yuanzhang or Zhu Di. But Qi Jiguang had really met Daoye and the late emperor. Your Majesty was the most virtuous saint emperor that Qi Jiguang had ever met.

Because of your noble morals, Your Majesty has integrated yourself with your beliefs, so the elite soldiers in the capital who are loyal to their beliefs also have their own place to settle down.

Your Majesty has always maintained this noble character.

Gao Qiyu met Payne De. From the surname De, he knew that this Governor of Brazil was a noble with fiefdoms, unlike those commoners who forcibly changed their surnames to De by establishing kinship.

Gao Qiyu and Payne had a very pleasant conversation, but Gao Qiyu did not make any substantive promises. All affairs of the vassal states were decided by His Majesty the Emperor. Even Emperor Renzong Zhu Gaochi, who had served as the executive vice emperor for nearly 20 years, had no right to deal with the affairs of the vassal states.

In the sixth year of Yongle, when Zhu Di was on the Northern Expedition, he clearly stipulated what matters had to be delivered to the army via letters thousands of miles away and handled personally by Zhu Di, including the affairs of the vassal states.

"Your Majesty, Marcus and Payne de are waiting outside the palace, awaiting an audience." Feng Bao reported in a low voice after His Majesty returned to the imperial study in Tonghe Palace.

There are differences in closeness and distance. As the only vassal state of the Ming Dynasty in the West, Portugal always receives some special privileges. Everyone is an envoy, but only the Portuguese envoy can meet the emperor alone in the Tonghe Palace.

"I already know the origin of this Payne De. Let our sword master meet him alone." Zhu Yijun sat up straight and began to receive foreign envoys.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, is greeted by your servant Marcus. Long live your Majesty, long live your Majesty." Marcus paid the audience a grand ceremony, was extremely respectful, and was extremely polite.

"No need to be polite." Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "Sit down and talk."

"Marcus, will it be more beneficial to Antonio to kill this Payne de?" Zhu Yijun asked calmly, leaning sideways.

"Ah? No, please think slowly." Marcus was stunned, he couldn't figure it out.

In the eyes of an outsider like Legazpi, the biggest problems of the Ming Dynasty were its high moral inferiority and face. When Rui De, the special envoy of the Governor's Office of Goa, roared in the Wenhua Hall, His Majesty let Rui De go to show his magnanimity and save face. Later, when Rui De was buried with the city of Malacca in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, His Majesty specially sent people to build a tomb and erect a stele.

In short, he did a good job of saving face, and even the extremely picky Confucian scholars could not say that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty did not have a heart to appease the foreign people. However, the foreign barbarians always took advantage of him, forcing His Majesty to fight back with thundering means.

Rui De's surname "De" is a way of flattering himself. He doesn't even have a fiefdom, so he is not considered a nobleman. But Payne De is indeed a nobleman.

The Ming Dynasty is indeed a face-saving place, and Marcus agrees with that very much. But what His Majesty means now is to kill Payne de in the Ming Dynasty so that Antonio, as the king, can be more secure. This is to exchange the Ming Emperor's face for Antonio's.

Marcus's computer crashed immediately.

"The King of Portugal has done a great job, and I am very satisfied. What I am most satisfied with him for is that after he sat firmly on the throne, he still did not forget why he set out and built a large number of workshops to find living things for the civilians. I am very pleased." Zhu Yijun explained why he did this.

Antonio, the King of Portugal, did not forget why he set out, and this is worthy of recognition.

In this age when morality is generally collapsing due to the increase of silver and the advent of the great voyages of discovery, the Ming Dynasty can provide more help to people like Antonio.

"Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful." Marcus shook his head and said, "According to the theory of contradiction, the contradiction between Your Highness and the Governor-General of Brazil has not intensified to the point where the Governor-General of Brazil needs to be eliminated. Payne De's surrender is more beneficial to Your Highness."

"Your Majesty, not everyone can be a king like you. This requires great courage and perseverance. His Highness Antonio does not intend to concentrate too much power because it is really impossible. Portugal is not the Ming Dynasty and does not have the conditions for that."

Portugal's national conditions did not support Antonio's unitary despotism, and Antonio's personal abilities did not support it either. If it were not for the help of Secretary of State Xu Fan, Antonio would not even be able to govern Portugal well.

Solon was right. Antonio's ability was only that of a captain, not a king. This was also the reason why Antonio was generally doubted. Felipe II won everyone's recognition by ruling for many years.

"Okay." Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "If you need help, just ask. Last year, the sweet potato harvest was good again. In my imperial farm alone, there are 780,000 mu of land planted with sweet potatoes, and more than 170,000 hectares of land planted with sweet potatoes in the whole country. Sweet potatoes are indeed not delicious. Eating too much will cause bloating and stomach acid, but eating too much is a luxury in itself."

Sweet potatoes don’t taste good, Guojiao doesn’t taste good either, so how can a sweet potato stew taste good? But it’s because they don’t taste good that sweet potatoes have become a real famine relief food. The promotion of sweet potato cultivation in the Ming Dynasty benefited tens of thousands of people.
Ten acres of sweet potato fields can feed a family.

Zhu Yijun was very grateful for the various plant seeds that Antonio sent every year. Antonio didn't know what the emperor needed, but he was looking for it every year.

To please the people is to bribe them and the government will be accomplished.

Marcus said quickly, "I brought 12 more kinds of grass seeds this time. Four of them were smuggled from England and Spain. The Shepherds' Mesta Association controls livestock and woolen cloth in Spain, as well as grass and pastures. I have 40 kilograms of seeds for each of these 12 kinds of grass."

"Your Highness heard that the Ming envoys were looking for the seeds of these forage grasses, which would be very helpful for the Ming's operations on the grasslands. Your Highness, who is far away, can't help much, so you can only search for some forage grass seeds."

"I have handed it over to the Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple, who passed it on to the Baoqi Division."

"It's not plundering, it's collecting." Zhu Yijun corrected some mistakes made by Marcus, a Westerner, in Chinese expression.

The twelve kinds of forage grass seeds were indeed, indeed, what the Ming Dynasty urgently needed. Among the Ming Dynasty's means of ruling Suiyuan, fixed grazing was the most important way to change the production and lifestyle, and fixed grazing required a large amount of high-quality forage grass.

"Try the coffee from Yunnan. I asked someone to add a little sugar and milk. I prefer tea." Zhu Yijun asked Zhang Hong to serve a cup of Yunnan coffee beans. Refreshing drinks are a lucrative market, and the cultivation of local coffee beans in Yunnan has been successful.

It’s not that there is something wrong with the coffee grown by farmers in Yunnan, but that Zhu Yijun is more accustomed to drinking tea, and once a habit is formed, it is difficult to change.

"I don't like the taste very much either. Thanks to Your Highness being canonized by His Majesty, I have tea to drink." Marcus took a sip and found that even with the addition of sugar and milk, the taste was still a little different.

"Does the King of Portugal need silver? I have a lot here and can lend him some at a low interest rate." Zhu Yijun asked with a smile and decided to lend money to Antonio.

Lending money to Antonio at a low interest rate was a kind of help, a reward for Antonio's hard work in collecting crop seeds.

"Your Highness does need some silver. I wonder how much Your Majesty can lend? What is the interest rate? Thank you for your generosity." Marcus is not a person who cannot distinguish between good and evil. Antonio became king and invested in many workshops. Now he really doesn't have much silver. Lending money to Portugal at this time is kindness and help. We should be grateful, even if we have to pay a lot of interest.

"I now have 3.3 million silver coins in the treasury, and the interest is calculated at an annual rate of %. How much can Portugal take?" Zhu Yijun asked with a smile.

"Twenty-seven million silver?!" Marcus said in a daze, "I knew your Majesty was rich, but I didn't expect your Majesty to be so rich."

"I am under a lot of pressure. When currency is not in circulation, no matter how much silver there is, it is not currency, right? So much silver is piled up in the treasury." Zhu Yijun said helplessly, "It is very painful to have no money, and it is also painful to have too much money."

Marcus said hastily: "This is really a happy trouble, but Portugal is a small and weak country, and it would be more than enough to lend your Majesty two million silvers."

Antonio asked Marcus to tactfully express his request for a loan to the emperor. If His Majesty did not respond, it would be fine. But if His Majesty was still willing to lend him money, Antonio and the princess thought that one million and five hundred thousand silver would be enough.

Marcus borrowed 500,000 silver coins in order to purchase more goods and distribute them in the West in order to plunder silver and repay His Majesty's war loan.

Zhu Yijun and Marcus confirmed all the details of the loan before finally establishing the loan agreement.

"Summon the Governor-General of Brazil to meet you." Zhu Yijun summoned Payne de to meet him after he and Marcus had discussed many local issues.

When Payne de first came to Tonghe Palace, he looked around and was curious about everything. His coming to Daming in person was actually a gesture of reconciliation with Antonio. Who would have a problem with silver? When Antonio became king, Daming immediately stopped the 30% tariff penalty on Portugal. This was the benefit. At that time, Payne de had already planned to recognize Antonio.

When Antonio was able to distribute the goods of the Ming Dynasty, Payne finally sided with Antonio. It turned out that Payne and Ranuccio Farnese both firmly supported Felipe II as the King of Portugal, but now Payne supports Antonio.

People's minds change, and there is no position that cannot be changed. The reason why changes are not made is simply because there are not enough chips.

"Meet the supreme, God-crowned, guardian of greatness and peace, God's walker and spokesperson on earth, the glorious victor, the continuous pioneer of the empire, the Qin emperor with a mind as broad as the ocean." Payne used a long list of almost exaggerated words to pay his respects.

The Minister of Rites trained Payne De in etiquette, but Payne De felt that the Ministry of Rites of the Ming Dynasty was really disrespectful to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty!

With such a vast and prosperous territory and such a powerful army, the Ministry of Rites of the Ming Dynasty actually fooled the emperor with "Long live the emperor" all day long. There is absolutely no loyalty at all!

"No need to be so polite. I was not crowned by God, nor am I God's walker or spokesperson on earth. There are many differences between the Ming Dynasty and the West. You said that I was God's messenger, and the Ministry of Rites found out. They would find fault with you and think that you were insulting the emperor. There is a special crime called criticizing the imperial carriage, and the penalty is death. Don't say that in the future." Zhu Yijun corrected the obvious mistakes in Payne's words in Latin.

To criticize the imperial carriage means to curse at the emperor's carriage, which is a crime of disrespect punishable by death.

"Huh?" Payne was a little confused.

There are cultural differences here. If you say that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was crowned by God, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty will only give you a big fuss, because in the Ming Dynasty, God was canonized by the emperor. But in Payne de's mind, God's walker on earth is the most supreme word that Payne de can think of.

The Ming Dynasty canonized gods. For example, Yue Fei's title was "The Great Emperor of the Three Realms, the Great Emperor of Loyalty and Filial Piety, the Heavenly Lord of Law, the Holy Emperor Yue."

There was no temple for civil and military affairs in the Ming Dynasty. However, during the Hongwu period, Zhu Yuanzhang believed that Yue Fei was pure and uncorrupted, and that his calligraphy was like his personality, so he posthumously conferred the title of Martial Saint on Yue Fei and established official sacrifices. At that time, Yue Fei's deity title was only 'Emperor Jingmo', followed by a long string of titles that were bestowed during the Ming Dynasty. For example, Emperor Jingtai added the words 'Three Realms' and 'Loyal and Filial Piety'. During the Wanli period, Emperor Wanli added the title 'Yuesheng Emperor'.

"Listen to me, Payne, His Majesty is God in the Ming Dynasty." Marcus thought for a moment and explained Payne's mistake in a concise manner.

It is very troublesome to explain cultural differences clearly, and it requires long-term understanding, so Marcus chose a simpler and more direct approach. What Marcus said was wrong, but it was not wrong.

The Ming Dynasty never played any tricks about divine right of kings. The power your majesty possesses is the god himself in the Western context.

The emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in the West needed to be canonized by the Holy See, and the Holy See was God's servant on earth. This was the cultural difference, and Payne had no intention of blaspheming the emperor.

Zhu Yijun and Payne de discussed the issue of the distribution of Brazilian goods, mainly confirming the import of Brazilian rosewood, also known as Dracaena fragrans. Dracaena fragrans is a perennial rosewood that is difficult to grow. Spain and Portugal have waged a protracted war over rosewood, and Payne de's biggest demand is to get a five-masted ocean-going ship from the Ming Dynasty.

"If you want a five-masted ocean-going ship, you can only get it from the King of Portugal. If he gives it to you, you can have it. If he refuses to give it to you, I will not sell it to you." Zhu Yijun explicitly rejected Payne de. He further said: "Antonio is the King of Portugal appointed by me. Even according to the rules of the West, my vassal's vassal is not my vassal. There is no direct relationship between you and me."

Payne de came to the Ming Dynasty in person, and Antonio agreed, which actually meant that he approved that Payne de should treat the Governor-General's Office of Brazil, the Governor-General's Office of Goa and the Governor-General's Office of Diu equally in front of His Majesty, and regard them as independent governor-general's offices.

Antonio, the native Portuguese king, did not interfere with the diplomatic rights of the major governorates.

But Zhu Yijun refused. From the perspective of safeguarding the interests of the Ming Dynasty, he made the decision that the British Empire was still Spain, not the Ming Dynasty or Portugal. The Ming Dynasty needed to unite with Portugal to fight against Spain's maritime hegemony.

Penn de still belongs to Portugal, and this ownership remains unchanged.

"Excessive morals always lead to less flexibility and more limitations when colonizing and plundering. This is self-imposed." Marcus said sincerely, "Your Highness will definitely be grateful for your Majesty's kindness."

Zhu Yijun smiled, chatted with the sword master Marcus for a few words, and asked Feng Bao to send the two away.

Is it a high moral disadvantage? According to Marcus, it is true, that is Western culture.

In Ming culture, Portugal is a vassal state of Ming, and the Governor-General's Office of Brazil also belongs to Ming. This is the legal principle. In the future, it will also belong to Ming. Since ancient times, high morality has never been a disadvantage. In the long run, it is always an advantage.

"Is the Queen Mother of France sick? Is she sick?" Zhu Yijun opened the memorial from the Ministry of Rites, read two lines, and his anger bar was immediately filled up!

When Zhu Yijun rejected Catherine's daughter, Catherine thought that the emperor did not like women, so she sent the French king's favorite handsome male lover to the Ming Dynasty.

It's outrageous that he opened the door for his mother, it's outrageous that he got home!
If the beauty trap fails, then try the beauty trap. As a natural noble, the emotional threshold is high. It is not surprising that it likes some strange and unconventional things.

But as a male emperor who loved women, Zhu Yijun felt extremely humiliated.

"The Queen Mother is so resourceful, why doesn't she do it herself!" Zhu Yijun said angrily.

"Your Majesty, do you want her to come? Given the current situation in France, the Queen Mother might really travel across the ocean to seek a comeback." Feng Bao was stunned. If His Majesty really asked, Catherine might really come.

"Bullshit! It's just words spoken in anger!" Zhu Yijun rejected the memorial from the Ministry of Rites and sent the French king's male favorite back to the ship, forbidding him to meet the king.

The status of the French royal family is precarious. In order to survive, they are willing to think of and use any tricks. This is the end of the road.

Zhu Yijun calmed down. France was now a cesspool, a cesspool that even England, its old enemy, was unwilling to get involved in.

"The English still refuse to give up the privateering license." Zhu Yijun finished reading the letter from Philip II and said with a frown, "Give more cotton cloth to the West this year to continue to impact England's handicraft industry. If they still refuse to give up the privateering license, then we will increase the price until they give up and stop dumping."

"There are too many unstable factors in the ocean. We can't have any more legal pirates."

Felipe II has been living a very anxious life in recent years. Even though he has tried his best to conceal it in his letters, his exhaustion can be seen between the lines. If he had not rented the Portuguese port during the peace talks and deployed the navy in the Atlantic Ocean, the Strait of Gibraltar, the lifeline of Spain, would probably no longer belong to Spain.

Of course, it does not belong to England, but to the no-man's land of pirates.

When pirates were rampant, Philip II was able to attack from two fronts, thus preventing the pirates in Gibraltar from becoming so rampant that it became impassable.

Philip II purchased a total of fifty five-masted ocean-going ships from the Ming Dynasty, and all of these fifty five-masted ocean-going ships have been delivered. Now Philip wants another twenty five-masted ocean-going ships, not to attack Portugal again, but to launch a full-scale attack on England.

The dumping of cotton cloth was effective, but it was too slow. Felipe II could not wait any longer and wanted to solve the problem once and for all.

"This sounds bold, but it's not a wise choice. Felipe II is gambling on the fate of the country." Zhu Yijun's fingers kept tapping on the table, and he frowned and said, "This battle is bound to be lost."

Spain can obtain 14.7 taels of gold and 64 million taels of silver from overseas every year. In the current world's precious metal mining, % is obtained by Spain. This is why silver can become the cornerstone of the Spanish nation.

In order to protect sea transportation lines and overseas interests, Spain formed an invincible fleet, which consisted of more than one hundred large warships, more than a thousand warships, more than three thousand cannons, and tens of thousands of naval forces. The invincible fleet was invincible in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.

Zhu Yijun was not optimistic about Philip II's conquest of England because it would be a long journey and he was unfamiliar with the local hydrology, so it was bound to fail.

In the original history, Philip II made a total of five expeditions to England, none of which was successful. The first, fourth, and fifth expeditions all encountered severe storms and suffered heavy damage before landing. The second and third expeditions encountered severe storms in the Bay of Biscay (the Atlantic bay on the west side of France).

The five unsuccessful expeditions ultimately brought all of Philip II's plans to naught. Time and again, he put all his chips on the line, but was defeated by astronomical phenomena. In the end, Spain suffered all the consequences and was forced to carry out a strategic contraction. Until the new century, the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain's doorstep, was still under the actual control of the British.

To be successful, a long-distance expedition involving tens of thousands of troops requires an in-depth understanding of hydrology.

It is extremely irrational that we haven't even figured out the hydrological and astronomical phenomena of the Bay of Biscay, let alone the English Channel.

The Mediterranean is a calm bathtub, while England's maritime climate is the stormy Atlantic.

Zhu Yijun thought about it again and again and wrote a reply letter personally, advising Philip II to focus on suppressing bandits and not to attack the English mainland easily. He hoped that he could fully consider the threat of weather and further study the hydrology and geographical advantages before making plans. Regardless of whether he would listen to the advice or not, Zhu Yijun had given it to him.

In the letter, Zhu Yijun once again made it clear that the Ming Dynasty's policy of dumping cotton cloth on England remained unchanged. The letter did not involve the treatment of Sauron. If Spain really wanted to break up with the Ming Dynasty because of a criminal, Zhu Yijun didn't care. If he didn't come, the Ming Dynasty could go.

When dealing with diplomatic affairs, Zhu Yijun always put the interests of the Ming Dynasty first.

“When Antonio came to me like a lost dog, he never expected that he would become the visible hand that helps the Ming Dynasty exert influence in the West.” Zhu Yijun’s investment in Antonio was just a casual move, but this casual move worked hard and became one of the important overseas fulcrums of the Ming Dynasty.

Sometimes, personal efforts are important, but we must also consider the importance of the historical process. When the time comes, heaven and earth will be on your side, and when the luck is gone, even heroes cannot be free.

When good luck comes, even God is helping you. When bad luck goes, even your closest people will stay away from you.

Zhu Yijun was happily handling the memorials. The memorials from the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office were once again sent to the capital. Oda Nobunaga reluctantly agreed to the "Silver and Sulfur Treaty" and its ancillary clauses. The compensation of more than 15 million taels of silver made the already deficit-ridden Japan even worse.

Oda Nobunaga had no choice but to agree. The Ming navy had already blocked the Nagasaki Gyodosu and the Osaka Bay Defense Thousand Households. As long as Oda Nobunaga said no, the Ming navy might not be able to destroy the Japanese now, but it would be more than enough to destroy his Azuchi shogunate.

"He also wants me to promise not to attack Japan. He is really like an old lady hiding in bed. I am amused by him." Zhu Yijun looked at the memorial and rejected Oda Nobunaga's request. The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is as good as a promise. It is impossible for Oda Nobunaga to bargain with the Ming Dynasty.

Destroying the Japanese is the ultimate strategy. Although the conditions are not mature enough due to hydrological reasons, there will definitely be no promises.

"Submit a memorial to the Ministry of War to establish a thousand-household garrison on Tsushima Island. It doesn't need to be too many, a garrison of more than a thousand people will be enough to blockade Japan." Zhu Yijun approved the memorial and sent it to the Ministry of War.

(End of this chapter)