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Chapter 145

"...Is there still hope?" The emperor's analysis left Yuan Keli speechless and extremely sad. Although some of the numbers may not be accurate, the general context is very clear and frustrating.

Cultivating oneself, managing one's family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world. I have basically achieved the first two things. I am about to launch an attack on the latter two. But the country is going to be destroyed. Isn't this just pulling the plug under the cauldron? No matter how great you are, you can't cast magic out of thin air.Fortunately, the young emperor has seen the shortcomings and is about to make up for it, but he just doesn't know if it will work.

"It is true that he is terminally ill, but it is not completely impossible to cure. It's just that many people may not be willing to scrape the bones to cure the poison, not to mention losing most of their vested interests. If you do it forcefully at this time, it will inevitably suffer backlash, which is very dangerous. I ask myself, can I do it for the sake of the country? Sheji has nothing to fear, how about you, Mr. Li?"

Yuan Keli's reaction was not beyond Hong Tao's expectation. The general analysis of the country's economy just mentioned is well-founded. Some of the information comes from later generations of professional scholars, and the other part relies on various official documents archived by the six contemporary departments.

If both sides are biased and untrue, after corroborating each other together, they will generally be able to reflect the actual situation.If Yuan Keli can't even accept this and continues to deceive himself and others, then he will declare that he has chosen the wrong person.

The governor of water transportation will soon be replaced, and this famous and capable minister in history will soon disappear from the world.As long as he didn't say the secret code, there would be at least three steel crossbows shooting at close range at the door.It's too easy to kill someone in the palace, let alone someone who comes in secret. You have to see the person alive but not dead!
"...For the sake of the people of the world and the country, I am willing to follow Your Majesty through swords, mountains, and seas of fire. But I want to know how to scrape the bones and cure the poison. It is absolutely impossible with more than 3000 soldiers of the Navy!"

Is Yuan Keli a loyal minister?Yes and no.He did not make a choice immediately, he hesitated for half a cup of tea before expressing his stance, and he put the people of the world before the country and the country, and had no intention of being loyal to anyone.Even so, there are still conditions. It is very philistine to want to hear the specific measures before placing a bet.

"Oh... there are already more than 3000 people! I heard that the navy recruitment is quite unfavorable. How can we get 1000 more people?"

But the more this happens, the more at ease Hong Tao becomes. In several lifetimes, he has never seen a sage who is not interested in benefiting others for himself. He can pursue his own interests without lowering his moral bottom line. He has some humanity and can take care of both. Dayi is a very good partner.

"Excuse me for not reporting truthfully. Tianjin Guards indeed has less than 1000 navy soldiers for training, but there are still more than [-] surrendered pirates on the islands near Shuangyu Port to be driven..."

Yuan Keli's answer made Hong Tao change his view again, and he also better understood why this capable minister in history was eventually ostracized by the imperial court.In addition to different ideas, the main reason is also the boldness and insistence on going one's own way.

In addition, this person was still a fool. He said he was sorry, but there was no trace of fear or fear in his expression.

As early as a year ago, Yuan Keli had established a relationship with this group of pirates entrenched near Shuangyu Port.They didn't know each other at first, but then they convinced each other with the ship's performance and superb navigation technology, and the two parties began a formal cooperative relationship.

Every time Tianjin Wei Shipyard goes south, it will sell some of the goods to them first, and then transport them to nearby cities to find connections to sell them.It doesn’t matter how much it’s sold for or who it’s sold to.Over time, the two parties became familiar with each other and established a basic relationship of trust. When the pirates heard that the Navy was recruiting troops, they offered to join them.

Yuan Keli originally wanted to accept it, but he was afraid of the emperor's objection, so he simply came to a trap.While telling the pirates that this matter must wait for the emperor's approval, he asked them to stay on the island first.While keeping silent, he wanted to find a suitable opportunity to mention this matter to the emperor again.

It has to be said that this imperial official who was born as a Jinshi has a strong sense of the world in his heart. He does not take vulgar etiquette such as status so seriously and can cooperate with anyone as long as it is useful.The little eunuchs of the Cuju team who were sent to navigate the sailing ship were much immature, loyal enough, and inexperienced. Even though they were watching the ship every day, they only reported on fighting pirates and colluding with smugglers to sell goods. They had no experience at all. It can be seen that the two parties already have a deep connection.

"Can you really trust me?" Hong Tao really doesn't know what kind of character the pirates of the Ming Dynasty were. He may not have the chance to interact with them for a long time, so he can only rely on others to judge them.

"I am willing to pledge my life and property! They are fishermen, refugees, villagers and escaped military households. They entered the sea and started a business without capital because they could not survive. They were not extremely evil, nor were they enemies of the Ming Dynasty. They were at sea. Walking on flat ground, as long as you are properly guided, you will be more than adequate as a naval soldier!"

Seeing that the emperor was not furious and did not blame him, Yuan Ke immediately climbed up and became the guarantor for the pirates with clear words.This kind of behavior is also taboo for officials, and it is easy to be impeached or get angry.

"I'm sure. I can make a discretionary decision when encountering such things in the future. It's too late to make a supplementary report afterwards. But they must be strictly restrained and they cannot be allowed to show up at will near Tianjin Wei."

But Hong Tao likes this kind of officials who can do things and dare to do things. They are steady and not easy to make mistakes, but they can't do anything.Instead of raising a bunch of rubbish, it's better to use mistakes in exchange for progress.Of course, you must be able to correct your mistakes when you recognize them, and you must also know which mistakes you can make and which mistakes you cannot make even once.

"I thank your Majesty for your kindness on their behalf!" Yuan Keli probably didn't expect that the emperor would agree so happily. This time it was indeed a surprise.

"Don't be busy thanking me for now. I still need help with something. The danger is not to be mentioned. I will only be slightly lacking in virtue and my grade will be lowered. Can you help me?"

I really didn't think of the method of recruiting pirates and training them to become sailors before, but now that I was reminded, my ideas suddenly became clearer.Pirates can not only become a source of soldiers, but also a very good excuse, which can be used to promote the new navy to break away from the jurisdiction of the navy and become more formally independent, paving the way for the future policy of opening up the sea.

Of course, the excuse of piracy alone cannot meet all the conditions. If you want the navy to be independent, one person will have to suffer a bit, and the first one to bear the brunt is Yuan Keli.

"Those who achieve great things do not stick to trivial details, and I am willing to hear the details." Yuan Keli did not let the emperor's warning scare him. He said it was even more dangerous when he took over as the governor of water transportation. In the past three years, except for being impeached occasionally, his life has been more miserable. It seems like nothing Nothing happened.

"Come here... get closer, get closer, come here!"

Perhaps because he felt that this matter needed to be kept secret, Hong Tao asked Yuan Keli to come closer, not even the eunuch who was accompanying him heard anything he shouldn't hear.However, Yuan Keli was not used to being too close to the emperor, and was eventually dragged over by his collar.

(End of this chapter)