Early Ming Dynasty: Turning Clouds and Rains into New Learning Saints

Chapter 165 Do you want a small breaking ball?
After the eunuch on duty finished reading King Yan's memorial, there was a moment of silence in Wuying Hall.

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw it, he just asked lightly: "What do you think of King Yan's memorial?"

At this point, his voice suddenly became colder, and he added: "Could it be that King Yan and the Prince Consort are colluding to cause harm to Guangdong?"

Even a fool can tell that the emperor is mocking them!
Not to mention the prince-in-law, King Yan is the emperor's direct son, and what is said in the memorial is all reasonable and well-founded, and they are all within the scope of King Yan's responsibilities.After listening to the memorial, it was said that the King of Yan and the consort were working together, and they would only think so unless they wanted to die.

Therefore, for a while, no one dared to respond.

"How about this!" Emperor Hongwu saw that there was no movement, and said calmly, "As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, I naturally have to judge impartially. Guangdong is far away from the capital, and I accept all the complaints made by the ministers. But once it turns out that it was a false accusation, he will sit back. Isn’t this fair?”

Having said this, he stopped for a moment, glanced at the ministers, and shouted in a cold voice: "Starting now, we will formally file the complaint. I will never miss it and I will be punished by the court!"

In Wuying Hall, it continued to be quiet.All these officials who had just attacked the prince consort became mute one by one.

Emperor Hongwu meant what he said, and he was not lying.Unless the prince-in-law can really be beaten to death with a stick, otherwise, going out to file a complaint is seeking death, not to mention that there is a King of Yan standing majestically behind the prince-son-in-law.

One is the emperor's biological son, and the other is the emperor's son-in-law. This weight is already very heavy!

However, if the situation has been so silent, from another perspective, the officials who spoke actively just now are really false accusations.

King Yan's memorial involved Hu Weiyong. He wanted to avoid suspicion, but he couldn't speak, so he could only secretly signal others with his eyes.

Chen Ning, the censor doctor, saw it and finally stood up and said: "Censor Tai Feng heard about the incident. This is your majesty's order. I am just doing my duty faithfully. If you want to rebel because of this, I will resign."

The implication is that you must mean what you say!

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him, and said coldly: "I have given you the right to play rumors, but the things you play are of great importance, so you can't just talk about it. The Marquis of Yongjia seems to have a lot of problems, but you come here with the words of the Marquis of Yongjia." Is it appropriate to sue the consort?"

Just because the censor can be irresponsible when complaining, throughout the ages, the censor has generally become a tool of party struggle.

At this time, Chen Ning saw that the emperor did not veto the right to report the matter, so he felt confident and continued: "What your majesty said is absolutely true. If Yongjia Marquis himself has problems, then all the previous reports are biased. . But when King Yan just arrived in Guangdong, he uncovered traitors in such a big way. I think it is hard to believe that Marquis Yongjia, with his dignity, would collude with pirates! Marquis Yongjia may be targeted, and he may have grievances!"

When Emperor Hongwu heard this, he immediately sneered and said, "If Marquis Yongjia is really going to be targeted, how come his eldest son is fine?"

"..." When Chen Ning heard this, he was immediately speechless.

If Marquis Yongjia is really targeted, his eldest son will definitely not be spared. After all, even his second son is already on the list of guilty.

After being stunned for a while, Chen Ning replied with lack of confidence: "As a censor, it is your duty to raise the doubts in your mind!"

After he finished speaking, other officials did not dare to speak, and the Wuying Hall became quiet again.

When Emperor Hongwu saw this, he turned to look at the prime minister and said, "King Yan said that you and Marquis Yongjia were colluding. I don't believe it. It should be just official business?"

"Your Majesty has a clear warning!" Hu Weiyong quickly agreed upon hearing this.

Emperor Hongwu listened, looked at him, and said with a double entendre: "The Ming Dynasty has not been established for a long time, and a lot of waste is waiting to be rejuvenated. However, as the prime minister, you have indeed done a lot of things. I hope that you will do a good job as a prime minister. As for For other things, I’ll be there!”

This Hu Weiyong is indeed capable. Otherwise, Zhu Yuanzhang would have spared him long ago because of his private troubles.

This time, it happens to be an opportunity to give him a beating. If he can be obedient, that would be the best.

Therefore, after he said these words and knocked Hu Weiyong down, he said again: "The Yongjiahou case involves the prime minister of the dynasty, and is escorted to the three divisions of the capital for trial. The rest of the criminals are within the authority of the King of Yan, and he is ordered to deal with them on his own. Dear Sirs, Do you have any objections?"

After hearing this, Chen Ning wanted to ask, what about the son-in-law?

However, when he raised his head, he found Emperor Hongwu staring at him coldly. He felt guilty and did not dare to speak.

In the end, the matter was settled.

Some of the crimes that I thought of before were just because of a memorial made by King Yan, which can be regarded as a bottom line.

However, it is obvious that he is unwilling to do this.Hu Weiyong could not come forward, so he continued to hint to the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

When he came back to his senses, he played to Emperor Hongwu: "Your Majesty, the matter of salt administration has nothing to do with pirates. The law of son-in-law harms the salt tax of the entire Guangdong. Please make a decision!"

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him and asked, "The official monopoly was not created by the son-in-law, but has existed since the Tang Dynasty. When the son-in-law implemented this new policy, there was a memorial to me, and I agreed."

Having said this, he glanced at the others, and then continued: "The prince-in-law has something to say. Today's salt production system saves the government a lot of things on the surface, but in fact, it allows lawless people to take advantage of the court. Why has private salt been banned in all dynasties? Private salt is sold regardless of whether there is a salt guide or not. The government has a monopoly and sets the price of salt below the price of private salt. This will not only eliminate private salt, but also benefit the people. Why not? "

After hearing this, the Minister of Household Affairs raised the question again: "Your Majesty, if this is the case, what will happen to the food and grass at the border?"

At this time, the Ming Dynasty had begun to implement the Kaizhong method, which meant that border gates that were short of food could provide salt to merchants who transported grain to the border gates.

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang replied without hesitation: "The prince-in-law also analyzed the situation, and I deeply agree!"

"The Prince Consort has said that merchants transporting grain to the border and then exchanging it for salt is not out of kindness, but to make a profit. In this case, the border can also increase the price of grain. As long as the merchant thinks it is profitable, there will be merchants. Transport the grain there. Therefore, the essence of the Kaizhong method is to make the merchants profitable, not necessarily the salt guide!"

"..." Upon hearing this, Shangshu of the Ministry of Finance was speechless.

He was speechless, but Zhu Yuanzhang continued: "The prince-in-law also mentioned that it is best for the government to sell important materials related to people's livelihood, at least there must be. In this way, the court can take more measures to balance prices, so as not to Out of control. I thought so, so I asked the consort to try something within Xiangshan County."

"The new policy in Xiangshan County is very important to the imperial court. I have been paying attention to it. I am also watching what happens there. Don't think that I don't know anything when I am in the capital." Emperor Hongwu said this, The tone has become stern, "I want to find out that there are still people who dare to hinder the New Deal for their own selfish purposes. How is this behavior different from corrupt officials? I am watching here, don't say I didn't say it clearly!"

As soon as these words were spoken, many people immediately started to sweat.

It’s really hard to be an official under this emperor, it’s so difficult!

"As for the salt tax in Guangdong, don't you think it's inappropriate for the government to monopolize it? With the exception of Xiangshan County, everything will remain as it is. We will see how high the salt tax is at that time." Zhu Yuanzhang said in a gentle tone, "As for the method of producing salt , is the salt field method, which actually exists in Fujian, and is not the original creation of Prince Consort. The salt field method can also be adopted in other places in Guangdong."

Even so, if merchants want to make money by buying salt, the price will definitely not be lower than that produced and sold in Xiangshan County.This principle was mentioned in Zhang Yifan's memorial to Zhu Yuanzhang, and he also said that instead of letting businessmen make money, it would be better to benefit the people.

This proposal was very much to Zhu Yuanzhang's liking. Therefore, just for this reason, Zhu Yuanzhang would support Zhang Yifan, not to mention that the official sale had other benefits.

Zhang Yifan's approach also has disadvantages, that is, after selling in large quantities, you may make a lot of money in the early stage. However, after private demand is saturated, the money for selling salt will drop a lot, and eventually it will reach a certain level and keep fluctuating.

However, Zhang Yifan also has ideas for Zhu Yuanzhang. The first is to think of more places where salt is needed to develop the demand for salt. The second is to improve the quality of table salt, that is, the production of refined salt. In this way, even if the price of this part is higher, it will It's not that private salt can step in, and you can still maintain a certain amount of income from selling salt.

It was Zhang Yifan who considered all aspects of the reform of the salt policy more comprehensively than Zhu Yuanzhang himself expected. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang was firmly on his side from the beginning.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang saw that none of his ministers had any objections. He suddenly became more powerful and announced loudly, with a powerful look in his tiger eyes: "The decree is passed that Lan Yu, the coastal defense counselor, will temporarily take over the military post of Marquis Yongjia and guard Guangdong." There is no doubt that. , he expressed his attitude and supported the prince-in-law's implementation of the New Deal in Guangdong.Let Lan Yu guard Guangdong so that the prince-in-law can avoid having to worry about anything like Yong Jiahou happening again.

The secret fight in the court was directly suppressed by the memorial from Guangdong, and it was suppressed before it caused much trouble.

........................

On the Guangdong side, King Yan Zhu Di acted vigorously and swiftly, and in a very short period of time, those who tried to undermine the New Deal by taking advantage of the threat of pirates, including the Marquis of Yongjia, were arrested. , a clear signal to everyone.

That is, the Emperor Consort's implementation of the New Deal in Xiangshan County is unstoppable.If anyone objects, think about it yourself, can anyone be more powerful than Marquis Yongjia?But now, Yongjiahou is imprisoned!
Therefore, everyone is reassessing the impact of Xiangshan County’s new policies.

Most of those who can benefit from Xiangshan County's new policy are ordinary people, and they are the happiest.

The hidden danger of piracy has been eliminated, and those who oppose the New Deal have been arrested, so there is nothing to worry about.

Let's go, let's go to Xiangshan County.

For those who have labor, go to Xiangshan County to see if there are any opportunities to work and earn some money for the New Year!

If you have some money, go to Xiangshan County and see if there are any bargains you can pick up, maybe you can make a fortune!

In short, the new policies implemented by the Prince Consort in Xiangshan County are full of opportunities for ordinary people.In the past, even if there was the threat of pirates, the Prince Consort still hired many people to work and made a lot of money.

The reform of the salt policy attracted a large number of businessmen; the start of cement workshops also meant new business opportunities.There is also Xiangshan County Government's demand for sugar cane, which may also be an opportunity.

And so on, a large number of people from Guangdong flocked to Xiangshan County to look for opportunities.

Of course, those who did not want the Xiangshan New Deal to be good did not dare to oppose it publicly, but they were secretly praying that the situation could be reversed in the court.

Regardless of what others may have done, Zhu Di used the time he was waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang's reply to take a vacation in Xiangshan County.

Lan Yu is taking care of things on the shore, which is more than enough; Marquis Jinghai is keeping an eye on matters in the navy, so he doesn't need to worry.

He reunited with his eldest sister and brother-in-law.

No, Zhang Yifan tried his best to serve this fourth brother, and everything was properly arranged for his basic necessities of life.

It only took one day for Zhu Di to feel it, so he said to Zhang Yifan: "Tell me, what else is hidden in your heart, kid? Can you tell me?"

In the past, Zhang Yifan even dared to cheat the prime minister and implicated Hu Weiyong in the pirate case, and Zhu Di followed him; now, he was also a little puzzled, what is wrong with this brother-in-law to be so courteous to him?
When Zhang Yifan heard what he said, he smiled and said: "Fourth brother, you see, Xiangshan County is really a remote place. I have nothing to ask for, and I spend money like water. It's a sad life! Do you think this is good? These pirates After all, they were gathered to attack my Xiangshan County, so just hand them over to my Xiangshan County. As for the spoils of war, they are yours, I have no idea. What do you think?"

When Zhu Di heard this, he also smiled and said to him: "I know that if you show courtesy for nothing, there must be a reason for it!"

After hearing this, Zhang Yifan wanted to say more, so he went on to say, "Okay, I'll leave it all to you. Be careful, these are pirates, lazy and lazy. They only know how to rob houses. Whether they can farm or not is a problem!"

"It's okay, I know it." After hearing this, Zhang Yifan replied with a smile, and then continued, "Fourth brother, give me some of the captured small broken boats!"

"..." When Zhu Di heard this, he immediately laughed angrily, "Little broken boat? No, do you want a small broken ball?"

After hearing this, Zhang Yifan continued to smile, not caring about the thorn in his words at all, and said, "Xiangshan County is too poor. In order to entertain you, you have to go to Guangzhou to buy a lot of chicken, duck, fish and so on. If there is a boat, It will be a lot more convenient. But it takes too long to build a ship, don’t you think?"

"Fourth brother, why do you need so many boats?" Zhu Jingjing happened to come over with a plate of fruit. When she heard her husband's words, she interrupted and said, "Forget it!"

"I..." Upon hearing this, Zhu Di's chest rose and fell. He was obviously angry. He pointed at Zhu Jingjing and said, "Are you... still my eldest sister?"

He really felt that since the eldest sister married this kid, she seemed to be a different person.

No, not after marrying this boy, but from the moment I met this boy, he changed!
"Yes, can there be any falsehood?" Zhu Jingjing smiled, not taking it seriously, put down the fruit plate, sat aside, and continued, "Fourth brother has always been the best to me, I remember it all!"

After Zhu Di heard this, he said angrily: "It's good that you still remember!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Jingjing immediately said, "Then give me all the boats?"

Zhu Di: "..."

Then, he stood up and pretended to leave, and said at the same time: "It's too expensive for me to eat. I can't afford it. Goodbye!"

Zhang Yifan smiled and watched him put on airs, and just asked: "Fourth brother, do you want to know how to make the emperor more likely to agree to expand the navy, and then go to expand the territory?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di immediately turned to look at him.

Zhang Yifan looked at him, and seduced him: "Do you want to have an invincible navy at sea? The one that can really run rampant, no matter if it is the Japanese country or other countries!"

When Zhu Di heard this, he immediately sat down, looked at Zhang Yifan with a little excitement and said, "Say it, say it quickly!"

He had received a lot of benefits from Zhang Yifan and had experience. As soon as he heard this, he knew that Zhang Yifan had another good idea.

However, Zhang Yifan did not answer directly, but asked: "So do you have a small broken boat?"

Zhu Di: "..."

But he immediately patted his thigh and said to Zhang Yifan: "Yes, there must be, those are small broken boats, you have to give them all!"

Zhu Jingjing listened and rolled her eyes at him. She didn't want to pay attention to this fourth brother. She stood up and left. At the same time, she said, "I'm going to see if the grilled fish is ready?"

But obviously, her eyes were in vain, because Zhu Di's eyes were always staring at Zhang Yifan and never left.

Zhang Yifan was immediately happy when he heard that Zhu Di had given him all the ships, and said to Zhu Di: "I think your naval warship is not a warship specially used for naval battles. Your artillery is all on the deck. , and there are only a few of them, and their power is not very good. Real combat is still the same kind of jumping ship combat as before."

"No, I already have the ten thousand enemies and explosive packs you gave me, as well as the trebuchet. It's just that this time the opponent is too weak and I haven't had a chance to show it to you yet." Zhu Di said with some dissatisfaction upon hearing this.

After hearing this, Zhang Yifan said without thinking: "That's not enough when you encounter a truly powerful enemy!"

The real enemy in naval battles is still the imaginary enemy Xiyi.The military competition among European countries has led to the rapid development of their military technology.

From the Ming Dynasty to the Yongle period, and during Zheng He's voyages to the West, the idea of ​​jumping ship was always used.In this kind of fighting, one thousand enemies will be injured and oneself will suffer eight hundred losses.And later on, the navy was even more sluggish, which was really not conducive to fighting for hegemony at sea.

Zhang Yifan ignored Zhu Di's argument and continued: "There is another important factor in naval battles, which is that the speed of the ship must be fast enough. When it is favorable, you can chase the enemy and make it impossible for the enemy to escape; when it is not favorable, , you can quickly break away from the battlefield and escape without the enemy being able to catch up. I looked at your naval warships, and there is obviously no advantage in terms of speed."

(End of this chapter)