Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 173 The Tatar Envoy

In the blink of an eye, it has entered the twelfth lunar month again, and a heavy snowfall has fallen on Shuntian Mansion, and the entire capital has been covered in snow.

Li Banghua, the governor of coastal defense, was summoned to Beijing to see the saint, and was taken to the Qianqing Palace by Wang Yuanbao.

After Li Banghua entered the palace, he saw the emperor sitting behind the desk opposite the palace door, writing something at the desk. He quickly walked forward two steps, saluted and knelt down: "Li Guanghua, the governor of coastal defense, comes to see the emperor. Your Majesty bows golden install!"

"No gift!" As Zhu Tianqi spoke, he sped up the movements of his hand. After writing the last line, he put down the pen and looked up at Li Banghua in front of the desk. He looked up and down first, and then looked at Li Banghua. Wang Yuanbao ordered: "Give me a seat!"

Li Banghuadun felt flattered and hurriedly saluted and thanked him: "My lord, thank you, Your Majesty, for giving me a seat!"

After Li Banghua sat on the edge of the chair in fear, Zhu Tianqi asked: "Ai Qing has been the governor of coastal defense for many years. How much does Aiqing know about shipbuilding?"

Li Banghua never expected that the emperor would ask him this kind of question when he came up. He couldn't help being surprised, but he still answered truthfully: "Returning to the emperor, although I have been the governor of coastal defense for many years and often deal with ships, but when it comes to shipbuilding, Come to think of it, I'm really an outsider, so it's not an exaggeration to say I don't know anything about it!"

Zhu Tianqi was not disappointed after hearing this. After all, what Li Banghua said was true. How could he, a coastal defense governor, know about shipbuilding? Therefore, Zhu Tianqi felt that this person was very sincere. He couldn't help but smile and continued to ask: "Then How much does Aiqing know about various ships?"

After hearing this, Li Banghua was able to answer confidently immediately: "When it comes to various large and small ships on the sea, I still know a thing or two. After all, as the governor of coastal defense, I have to know myself and the enemy. Only then can you win every battle.

Familiarity with the characteristics of various ships is also the job of the minister. Otherwise, if the enemy ships attack and our army does not know how to parry them, wouldn't we just let the enemy ships wreak havoc in our sea? "

Zhu Tianqi was very satisfied with Li Banghua's answer. He nodded, and then asked Wang Yuanbao to give Li Banghua a pile of books and materials on his desk, "You can be familiar with the characteristics of various types of ships and see the advantages and disadvantages of the ships." If you come here, you are considered an expert. As for the shipbuilding, it will be done by the shipbuilding craftsmen. I will leave this job to you, so you can rest assured!"

Li Banghua obviously hadn't figured out the situation yet. He took the pile of books and materials from Wang Yuanbao with a blank look on his face. After listening carefully to the emperor's words, he confirmed his guess and couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty, Are you planning to send your ministers to build ships for the imperial court?"

"Yes, the ship I want you to build is a warship, and it is a warship that can rival the European and Western warships!" Zhu Tianqi nodded and replied.

When Li Banghua heard this, he lost his mind in an instant, and hurriedly stood up and saluted: "Your Majesty, I don't know anything about shipbuilding, so I really dare not take on such a heavy responsibility. I'm afraid I will disappoint the Emperor. Therefore, I also ask the emperor to select another wise minister to supervise the shipbuilding!"

Zhu Tianqi waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, I just said, it doesn't matter if you don't know how to build ships, there will be craftsmen who can do it. You just need to know what kind of warships are more powerful.

As the governor of coastal defense, you naturally know what kind of warships are more difficult for you to deal with, so in a sense, you know how to build warships better than an expert in shipbuilding.

As for the design and manufacture of ships, you don't have to worry about them at all. The information I have given you is very complete. You only need to supervise the shipbuilding matters according to my requirements! "

After listening to Zhu Tianqi's words, Li Banghua secretly breathed a sigh of relief. In this way, he naturally had no reason to refuse. He immediately saluted and accepted the order and retreated to go on errands.

Last year, Zhu Tianqi thought that he had completed the drawing of the Galen warship and the Karak warship. At the same time, he also consulted a lot of information, including the site selection of the shipyard, and the budget list of required manpower, materials and funds, etc. Wait, he has already made a plan in advance, he only needs a reliable person to execute it according to the plan he made.

And Li Banghua is a very suitable candidate.

After arranging the shipbuilding matters, Zhu Tianqi flipped through his notebook. He could push other things back a little. The New Year was coming soon, and it was time to give himself a holiday and take a good rest. .

Since meeting Li Banghua, Zhu Tianqi has not summoned anyone again. During this period, except for looking at this year's tax report handed over by Xu Guangqi, he has not dealt with other political affairs. He concentrates on Nuan Pavilion in Qianqing Palace every day. I am here with my wife and children, which is very harmonious.

In a blink of an eye, the Zhengdan Festival has arrived. This year's Zhengdan Festival is different from the past. A rare guest came unexpectedly - the Tatar envoy.

When the Ming Dynasty was strong and powerful, there were more than a dozen vassal states in the Ming Dynasty alone, and countless envoys from the vassal states came to pay tribute every year during the Zhengdan Festival. However, by the end of the Ming Dynasty, few foreign envoys came to pay tribute, let alone The Tatars, the former enemies of the Ming Dynasty, sent envoys to pay tribute.

Zhu Tianqi thought about this matter and felt that it might have something to do with his previous defeat of Jiannu. After all, in the past year, the Tatars were bullied by Jiannu. Now that Jiannu was defeated by him, the Tatar faction It was normal for an envoy to come to pay tribute and express his surrender, so Zhu Tianqi specially summoned the Tatar envoy in person.

This person claimed that he was the envoy of Lin Dan Khan, and he came to pay tribute to the Emperor Daming in the hope that he could unite with Daming to fight against Jin, and hoped that with the help of Daming, he could recover most of the territory of the Chahar tribe that had been occupied by Jiannu.

After hearing this, Zhu Tianqi couldn't help laughing. He couldn't help but ask the envoy: "Back then, my Ming Dynasty sent envoys many times to invite Lin Dan to join our army in the crusade against the slaves, but Lin Dan always went against the will and led me year after year. The Ming Dynasty sent tens of thousands of taels of silver as rewards, but he never acted honestly. At this time, he defrauded the Ming Dynasty of millions of taels of silver, right?
I haven't asked him about this yet, so how can he have the nerve to send you to ask me to join you and others in conquering the slaves? "

The envoy was also taken aback when he heard this, but he should have thought that he would be questioned by the Emperor of Ming before he came, so he reacted fairly quickly, and immediately replied with a salute: "Your Majesty, we are sweating all the time. The warriors who are all leading our army, fighting with that Jiannu in the Chahar area, never dare to slack off for a moment!
Moreover, we, the Great Khan, have spent all the money you rewarded us on fighting the Jiannu slaves. How can this be said to be a lie? "

Zhu Tianqi sneered, and said: "Yes, Lin Dan has been fighting with Jiannu in Chahar, but it's not that he is attacking Jiannu, but Jiannu is attacking him. As far as I know, You have now lost control of the Chahar tribe and have been defeated and moved westward, right?"

The envoy was stunned when he heard this, and didn't know how to answer for a moment. He didn't expect that the news from the Ming Dynasty was so well-informed.

But thinking about it, it would be strange for Daming not to know about such a big change on his side!

Zhu Tianqi couldn't help but shook his head and smiled, and asked the envoy: "Now you can't defeat Jiannu, and you are beaten by Jiannu all over the place. Tell me, what's the point of me joining forces with you?" The envoy was really speechless about this. Yes, I can only bow my head and remain silent.

Zhu Tianqi then waved to him and said: "That's all, that's all, I can't do anything for you. When you go back, tell Lin Dan that if he is willing to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, I may be able to send troops to help him recover the lost land occupied by the slaves." , as for the alliance, don’t mention it again in the future, you are no longer qualified to unite with me, the Ming Dynasty!”

After hearing this, the messenger could only grit his teeth and retreat!

If it were in the past, with the strength of the Tatars, there would be no need to fear the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Emperor dared to say such humiliating words, maybe as an envoy he would dare to refute a few words. The Ming Dynasty would not dare to rashly turn against the Tatars and start a war. of!

But things are different now. The Ming Dynasty has a strong military, and the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty uses his troops like a god. The [-] Eight Banners army that established the slaves was completely annihilated before they could hold out for a month. How can their Tatar army be better than the Eight Banners who established the slaves? Is the army stronger?How long can they hold out in front of the Ming army?
Therefore, the Tatar envoy could only swallow his anger, return to Tatar in disgrace, and take back the Ming Emperor's words to Lin Danhan.

Zhu Tianqi spoke happily, but the ministers who were watching on the sidelines were frightened. They didn't know whether they were obsessed with the authorities or had been cowarded for too long. When the war was mentioned, they felt terrified in their hearts.

After the Tatar envoy had just exited the palace, Qian Longxi couldn't help but come out and salute: "Your Majesty, is it inappropriate to treat the Tatar envoy like this?"

Zhu Tianqi didn't expect someone to stand up and speak for the Tatars, so he couldn't help looking at Qian Longxi with great interest, wanting to hear what he had to say: "What's wrong?"

Qian Longxi said: "Although Lin Dan Khan was defeated by Jian Nu and forced to move westward, his strength is still strong, with nearly 40 troops under his command. Now that the emperor is so humiliating the Tatar envoy, I am worried. If Lin Dan Khan turns against our Ming Dynasty because of this, and instead joins forces with the founding slaves to attack our Ming Dynasty, wouldn’t it be worth the loss?

In my opinion, it is better to send officials from the Ministry of Rites to appease the Tatar envoy, give him good advice, and give him some gifts to take back to Lin Dan Khan. If we have a good relationship with each other, we can ensure that our border with the Ming Dynasty is safe! "

Zhu Tianqi laughed out loud when he heard this, and asked Qian Longxi, "Then according to your opinion, I have to continue to use money to support these wolf cubs?"

Qian Longxi was stunned, but did not dare to refute.

Zhu Tianqi then waved his hand and said proudly: "If Lin Dan is willing to surrender to me, the Ming Dynasty, then that's all. If he dares to invade the border again, I will definitely lead my army to wipe out Mobei and let him know the consequences of daring to offend Tianwei!"

As soon as these words came out, Qian Longxi, Qian Qianyi and others beside him couldn't help but shrink their necks in fear.

Although they really felt that the emperor had been "expanded" too much recently. After the battle to encircle and suppress the slave establishment, the emperor seemed to be arrogant and no longer paid attention to any force in the world.

But they also had to admit that the emperor still had the capital to "inflate". After all, no matter who it was, it would be difficult to wipe out all [-] slaves in just one month!

Now that the emperor's prestige is at its peak and he has military power, who in the civil and military dynasties would dare to make a mistake?

This matter was revealed, Zhu Tianqi didn't take it seriously at all, and then ordered a banquet to be held in the palace to entertain all the officials. At the same time, he also gave a rare reward to all the officials.

Originally, according to custom, after the great court meeting on the Zhengdan Festival, the emperor would entertain all officials and then give red envelopes to them. However, in recent years, the government's finances have been tight. Let alone giving out red envelopes, even the banquet is sometimes omitted. .

However, since the imperial court implemented tax reform and promoted the "New Tax Law", fiscal revenue has increased significantly. The total tax revenue in the ninth year of Tianqi reached a new high, with a total tax revenue of 5000 million taels. Of course, the big head is still in the industrial and commercial tax. .

I don’t know whether it was because of the shock caused by Zhu Tianqi’s defeat of the slaves, or because the destruction of the slaves made the merchants of the Ming Dynasty feel proud and proud. Their national self-confidence was unprecedentedly high. In short, their enthusiasm for paying taxes was much higher than in the first year. Taxes have also been further increased.

The imperial court has now not only made up for the previous holes, but also the treasury has become full. Zhu Tianqi naturally does not have to live as tightly as before. When it is time to hold banquets, when it is time to give out rewards, he can also give out rewards. Officials send a message - only when the country is strong and wealthy can everyone live a good life!

After the Zhengdan Festival, Zhu Tianqi continued to be busy. In the tenth year of the Apocalypse, he will further increase the country's fiscal revenue during this year, and also make certain breakthroughs in shipbuilding and navigation, so that Ming Dynasty can enter the "Ming Dynasty" as soon as possible. "The Age of Great Navigation", recreating the glory of the "Sea Overlord" during the Yongle Dynasty!

There was no need to rush into shipbuilding. Although it was convenient enough that he had given Li Banghua considerable financial support, this was the first time that the Ming Dynasty had built large Western-style warships such as the Galen ship and the Karak ship. Even if there were ready-made drawings and shipbuilding information also require a certain amount of time to study and try.

Therefore, Zhu Tianqi still had plenty of patience when it came to shipbuilding. He was not impatient, and he never sent anyone to urge Li Banghua. Every time, he just quietly waited for Li Banghua to send back a report on the progress of the work.

However, although this ship cannot be built for a while, it does not hinder the development of the Ming Dynasty's navigation industry. Although the ships currently used by the Ming Dynasty for navigation are not as advanced as the ships of the Westerners, they are not too backward. Some large Fu Chuan, Guang Chuan and Sha Chuan can still be used.

Therefore, Zhu Tianqi planned to use the existing ships to develop the Ming Dynasty's navigation industry. When Li Banghua built the ships, they could be put into use immediately.

Zhu Tianqi never procrastinates in doing things. He must make a decision immediately after thinking about something. Zhu Tianqi directly found Zhang Guoji and asked him to bring him the guide who had been his guide in Annan, and then helped him with ideas to transport grain and rice back. The maritime merchant Zhang Shili.

Zhu Tianqi remembered that Zhang Guoji had a very high opinion of Zhang Shili, so he planned to meet him to see if he was a useful talent.

(End of this chapter)