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Chapter 939 The Emperor Helped to Lie
"Keep the ocean quiet and protect the vast sea borders of the Ming Dynasty!" Xiong Wencan gave the standard answer without even thinking.

"No, no! If it was just for the defense of the sea, I wouldn't have to spend a huge amount of money to build so many large warships and train tens of thousands of land guards.

"We only need to install cannons on small boats, make hundreds of them, and have only seven or eight people on each boat. When the enemy attacks, we will rush forward and fire hundreds of cannons at the same time, which will surely smash the enemy ship into pieces. This will not only protect the sea borders, but also save most of the investment. Isn't it wonderful!"

As for Xiong Wencan, a minister who has some fame in history, Hong Tao's attitude is the same as always, neither believing in loyalty nor treachery. Just like the Minister of Rites Yang Sichang, he has to take him out for a walk to see whether he is a mule or a horse.

After several years of observation, we have reached a preliminary conclusion: he is neither loyal nor treacherous, capable but not outstanding.

The two of them are traditional old officials. Needless to say, they are talented. Any Jinshi who can stand out from the imperial examination is not a complete fool, and they are all guaranteed to be smart.

But to say that he is capable of bringing disaster to the country and the people, he is not qualified. Being a big villain requires courage, boldness and wisdom. It is not something that an ordinary old-school official can do.

The tragedy of them in another time and space is that they did things beyond their capabilities, and they didn't do them well. As for whether they asked to do it voluntarily or did it reluctantly, it's unclear.

Anyway, in Hong Tao's mind, they are equal to Ye Xianggao, Fang Congzhe, Weng Zhengchun and others. They can all be used, but they need to be placed in appropriate positions and are not worthy of being entrusted with state affairs.

To put it bluntly, they are just ordinary officials who are capable of serving in the court but cannot take charge of things on their own. If they are used in the right place, they will complete their work in a disciplined and law-abiding manner. Don't expect them to exceed your quota or surprise you, nor do you need to be on guard against them as treacherous officials.

"...Does His Majesty have other reasons for advocating the navy?" Sure enough, after listening to the emperor's story, Xiong Wencan temporarily ignored the fact that Huang Nanping had violated the rules in delivering the memorial, and his train of thought was distracted.

"Of course. The navy has never been used as a shield for defense, but as a sharp spear, specifically for breaking through defenses. It is a huge waste to lock the navy in the port. Giving them a certain degree of autonomy and letting them stab around on the sea is the best use of them.

It can not only clear the pirates and protect the merchant ships, but also obtain resources to compensate for future construction costs, which is the best of both worlds. Of course, we must grasp the right degree, too much is as bad as too little. I will send the General Staff to verify this matter. If anyone dares to start a war lightly, he will be severely punished! "

"...I didn't know the navy had such a wonderful use...but where does the navy get resource compensation?" Xiong Wencan was almost confused. He could understand the shield and spear, but as for the others, he seemed to understand and yet didn't understand.

"Look, it's written here. This time the navy defeated a group of pirates in the West and returned the port they occupied to the local people. These pirates were very vicious and it is said that they killed many Portuguese and committed murder and robbery.

In order to thank the navy for its heroic help, local people provided thousands of large timbers that were abundant in the area for the navy to use in shipbuilding.

The navy found that the climate and soil there are very suitable for growing rice and sugarcane, but the Dandi people are not very good at farming, and the yield is too low. So they plan to recruit farmers from the Ming Dynasty through the Sun and Moon Bank to teach them, build some sugar factories and mills, and open schools in the local area to promote the education of the Ming Dynasty! "

It's right that you don't understand. If it was the new official Hong Tao, he couldn't have made up such a lie. There is a big map hanging on the wall. You can tell at a glance that Thanlyin Port is in Myanmar, not some unowned land. Unfortunately, most of the old officials only accepted the new policy on the surface, but they were still very resistant to new knowledge in their bones, and few of them took the initiative to learn. They couldn't even understand the map, so what were they waiting for?

"That's a good thing, but I don't know how much it will cost? Currently, the northwest and southwest are repairing post roads and tracks, which is extremely costly. The silver in the treasury may not be able to support the army's operations." Hearing that he could promote education, Xiong Wencan immediately became excited, but was afraid of spending too much money.

"The court does not need to spend a cent. All expenses will be paid in advance by Sun Moon Bank, and then repaid by local farmers and merchants year by year."

Not only were they deceived, but they also had to help count the money. This was why Hong Tao looked down on the imperial examination candidates. Their knowledge was extensive and profound, but they were all stuck in a dead end, clinging to the same thing and not letting go. They neither understood how to be compatible nor actively updated.

"This is very good! The merits and demerits offset each other, and Huang Nanping is lucky to have your Majesty's protection!"

Anyone who could flip through the books of the Sea House Department would not believe the emperor's nonsense. Sun Moon Bank is not a money-giving boy, so why should it advance payment to the people of Shalian Port? But Xiong Wencan believed it and stopped pursuing Huang Nanping.

"You are so lucky to have the emperor lie for you. I hope you won't cause any more trouble in the future. Otherwise, I will send you to guard the lighthouse at Enniao Port and die there!"

After finally tricking Xiong Wencan away, Hong Tao picked up his pen and began to review it. Since it was a memorial, the reply did not need to be recorded, so in addition to "approval", there was an extra line of words on it.

Although the tone was fierce, Huang Nanping's request for delayed retirement was finally approved. The reason was not his seniority or his experience in sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, but his outstanding achievements.

In Hong Tao's eyes, officials are judged by their political achievements. No matter how good their character or literary talent is, it is useless if they do not complete their work well. Soldiers are judged by their combat achievements. Just being obedient is useless.

Huang Nanping's self-initiated raid on the Arakan Kingdom Navy was the finishing touch. Not only should he be commended, but the entire army should also be informed and included in the textbooks as a typical example of fully understanding strategic intentions and flexibly applying tactics.

The military is a disciplined unit, and it is certainly right that orders must be strictly followed, and this is the first priority. However, under the premise of following orders, it is also very important to mobilize subjective initiative and dare to implement them according to the battlefield situation and strategic deployment.

If every general leading the troops becomes a chess piece driven purely by orders from his superiors, moving when pushed and not moving at all when not pushed, it sounds like there is nothing wrong with it, but in fact there is a big problem.

The centurions waited for the orders from the thousand households, the thousand households waited for the orders from the commander, the commander waited for the orders from the chief commander, the chief commander waited for the orders from the staff, the staff waited for the approval of the general staff, the general staff waited for the emperor's approval...

After a lot of twists and turns, the task of commanding the entire army fell on the emperor again. The officers were all afraid of taking responsibility and would rather do nothing than do more. Isn't this becoming the style of the old-school officials in the court? The efficiency will be extremely low.

(End of this chapter)