Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 297 The dispute over maritime trade

"Your Majesty, are you angry?"

In the Zen room of Jiming Temple, Yao Guangxiao did not expect that his meeting with Zhu Di would be like this.

"The second child is the one who picks out the cracks between bricks. He adjusts grains for Liaodong with just a few million shi, but he feeds me 500,000 shi and he is poor."

"I see now that he just wants to evade me and make me his puppet."

"No, I have to find a way to get back the military power, the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Works."

In the meditation hall, Zhu Di walked left and right, obviously very angry with Zhu Gaoxu.

"Ha ha……"

Hearing laughter, Zhu Di stopped and looked at Yao Guangxiao with anger and surprise: "Old monk, why are you laughing?"

"I laugh at you for having a precious jade but treating it as dregs."

Yao Guangxiao smiled kindly and never stopped counting the beads in his hands.

After what he said, Zhu Di slowly calmed down and sat directly on the futon in front of Yao Guangxiao, staring directly at him.

"Old monk, we have been friends for almost twenty years. Could it be that you took advantage of the second brother and spoke up for him everywhere."

"A monk, no matter how much benefit you get, what can you do with it?" Yao Guangxiao chuckled and shook his head, but Zhu Di didn't believe it after hearing this.

"You said that boy is Baoyu, but I feel that he is one step ahead of me at every turn, which makes me seem to be always being suppressed."

Zhu Di is a very confident and proud person. He has always felt that he has outstanding talents, and this is actually the case.

Whether fighting or running the army, he was the most outstanding among Zhu Yuanzhang's twenty-six sons.

Now that he has begun to manage politics, he also has his own set of ideas, but Zhu Gaoxu is one step ahead of him in every aspect, and his ideas are even more perfect than his.

Although his son is excellent and he is very proud as a father, once such things happen too often, Zhu Di will inevitably become a little unbalanced.

It is a kind of enjoyment to squat behind and watch the show, but the result must fall on him and let the world know his talents as a king.

Now, I am following my second son everywhere, just like his puppet.

He, Zhu Di, is not someone who is willing to be used as a puppet. He wants to realize his ambitions.

"Your Majesty, don't you think it's not good to have the same ideas?"

Yao Guangxiao made a pot of tea for Zhu Di. Listening to the sound of tea, Zhu Di felt a little calmer.

“It’s good to have the same philosophy, but if it’s too consistent, I’ll feel like there’s something fishy.”

Picking up the tea cup, Zhu Di expressed his thoughts and said: "Old monk, if I ask you to be an official to help me, would you be willing?"

"You have a prince, why do you still need a poor monk?" Yao Guangxiao seemed to say this on purpose, and immediately aroused Zhu Di's anger again.

"Did you do it on purpose?" There was a bit of anger in Zhu Di's eyes, but Yao Guangxiao stretched out his hand and continued to pour tea for him, and at the same time said slowly:

"The First Emperor of Qin, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty..."

"This group of people are dissatisfied with their favorite children, because the powerful king always feels that his son is inferior to him."

"They can see the excellence of their ministers, but they can't see the excellence of their own children. All they can think about is going further."

"You have a child like the prince, and he is filial enough. What else do you have to be dissatisfied about?"

Yao Guangxiao seemed to be praising Zhu Gaoxu, but Zhu Di sensed something was wrong, because the emperors and princes he mentioned seemed to have bad endings, and this kind of ending could have been avoided.

"Old monk, there is something in your words."

Zhu Di lifted the veil of story that Yao Guangxiao had covered. Yao Guangxiao didn't feel anything after being lifted, but he still had a kind smile on his face.

"The Ming Dynasty is extremely powerful now, and the prince has his own intentions in addition to money and food. The only problem is your relationship with the prince."

"Before His Majesty and the Crown Prince, there was rarely a situation where the Crown Prince could compete with the Emperor."

"Even if there is, it's just a fight between the prince and the emperor, and it ends up being a joke."

"In today's world, there are many people who want to see you and the prince laughing."

After Yao Guangxiao said that, Zhu Di also remembered the news leaked today and couldn't help but calm down.

"You actually don't have to be in a hurry for success." Yao Guangxiao said, but Zhu Di retorted:

"I am forty-two this year, but my body is still healthy, but my second child is already twenty-two. What if he is eager for success?"

The "success" Zhu Di mentioned was the throne, and he was obviously still worried about Zhu Gaoxu.

"If you were really eager for success, you wouldn't be able to sit on the throne this time last year."

"Besides, judging from what the prince has done this year, he is walking a straight path and it is impossible to force you to abdicate."

"If he really wants the throne, I don't need to remind you. I think you can think of it yourself."

"Besides, the poor monk has one last thing to say."

Yao Guangxiao looked at Zhu Di and calculated with the Buddhist beads in his hand: "Everything the prince has done and achieved will undoubtedly be attributed to you by the historian. Later generations will only know that you and your son have a harmonious relationship. You know people well and make good use of them. The world is at peace."

"As for the prince's achievements, he will not be known to the world until he ascends the throne."

"Using good people is the best way to show that your achievements outweigh Jianwen and are not inferior to Emperor Taizu Gao."

"How many people did you think of when Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and Emperor Taizu Gao ascended the throne and proclaimed themselves emperors?"

"But in the end, the credit still goes to them."

"Your Majesty's obsession is too deep. Sometimes what the Crown Prince says is not problematic."

Yao Guangxiao clearly stated the issue of the quarrel between Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di. After hearing this, Zhu Di immediately stood up and walked left and right.

"I asked you to inquire about the information, but I didn't let you inquire about me."

"The news I want now is..."

"Censor Cheshu." Yao Guangxiao counted the Buddhist beads in his hand and casually told the news that Hu Lun and Ji Gang had not yet found out.

Zhu Di was stunned, obviously not expecting Yao Guangxiao to be so fast.

But before he could speak, Yao Guangxiao said: "He is just a small person who was pushed out. Your Majesty can kill him or not. The key is to resolve the dissatisfaction of the officials in Jiangdong and Zhejiang."

"Coastal merchant gangs have existed since the Yuan Dynasty, and now there are hundreds of complicated branches. Each branch supports its own children in their hometown, and they also start to help after the children become officials."

"Not only civil servants, but also many military attachés and honorable ministers also received money, food and treasures."

"Once the voyages to the East and West are successful, it will completely cut off the retreat of the coastal merchant gangs. There are too many people involved in this matter, so it is better for you to handle it carefully."

Yao Guangxiao not only unveiled today's events for Zhu Di, but also explained the matter clearly from beginning to end in one fell swoop.

He did not name a specific person, or he was very clear that power can be top-down, but it can also be bottom-up.

Killing one person would not solve the problem very well, but if he wanted to kill them all, Daming did not have the confidence.

Therefore, if we want to deal with this matter, we can only fudge it.

"The second brother told me about the coastal merchant gang..."

Zhu Di sat down again and told Zhu Gaoxu that he wanted to set up Nanyang and Dongyang as government-run trade zones, set Xiaoxiyang as a private trade zone, and centralize tax collection and inspection in the old port.

After hearing this, Yao Guangxiao slowed down his calculations, and after a moment he said, "If we do this, there will probably be a split within the coastal merchant gang."

"Among the coastal merchant gangs, Jiangdong and Zhejiang are mainly engaged in Eastern trade, and secondarily Nanyang trade, while Fujian and Guangdong are mainly engaged in Nanyang trade, and secondarily Western and Eastern trade."

"If the imperial court wipes out all the trade in these three places, then the coastal merchant gangs will inevitably die. But if the Western trade is left, it will give the coastal merchant gangs hope."

"Even if there are many restrictions on this life path, as long as they can survive, they will not dare to be so determined to confront the imperial court."

"That's what you said." Zhu Di touched his beard and said with a flash of inspiration:

"What do you think they would do if they were allowed to sail to the West with Zheng He?"

"I don't know much about overseas affairs, so you can ask the prince." Yao Guangxiao responded with a slight smile, but Zhu Di felt a little deflated after hearing this.

He just told Zhu Gaoxu to get lost, and now he has to go find Zhu Gaoxu. So where is his majesty as an old man?

"There's no need to rush this matter. It will take a few months for Zheng He to come back anyway."

As Zhu Di said that, he stood up and looked around: "If you need anything, just tell me."

Yao Guangxiao smiled and closed his eyes when he heard this, and continued to count the beads and read Buddhist scriptures silently.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Di left the Zen room and walked out of Jiming Temple under the protection of soldiers.

He also glanced at the place where Zhu Gaoxu's golden chariot was parked, only to find that he was gone, and he couldn't help but feel even more depressed.

"Ask Ji Gang to check Yushi Cheshu as much as possible. After finding out, find a reliable person to make things clean."

"This slave accepts the order..."

After getting on the carriage, the depression in Zhu Di's heart was released within a moment. After Wang Yan agreed, he sent someone to notify Ji Gang, who was investigating the case.

After a while, the big train returned to the palace city, but Zhu Gaoxu, who was yelled by Zhu Di to get away, really got away.

He went from the inner city to the large teaching ground in the south of the outer city, and here he saw the soldiers and horses in Beijing... the Eight Jurchen Guards.

"Prepare...release!"

"Bang bang bang!" After a year of training in the cathedral, the Eight Jurchen Guards have mastered the coordination of firearms, spears, and cavalry.

Under the operation of the gunner, the artillery first conducted long-distance shelling with solid shells, and then changed to shelling with explosive shells. Then the buckles of the artillery carriage and the buckles of the draft horses were fixed, and the artillery position began to move.

After they left, the musketeers lined up in a skilled line. After the whistle blew, they fired in three stages, and then quickly retreated behind the pike formation.

During this process, the cavalry on the left and right wings were ready to go, waiting for orders to charge at any time to cover the two wings of the formation.

The whole process lasted for a quarter of an hour. This quarter of an hour is certainly a long time on the battlefield, but this is basic training, and it doesn't matter if it takes longer.

The battlefield is always full of emergencies, which tests the general's adaptability.

If a cavalry raid occurs, the baggage vehicles will be formed into a vehicle formation, and then the use of artillery and muskets to defend against the enemy will become an emergency response method.

In addition, there are many coping methods, all of which were invented by Zhu Gaoxu based on the background of this era.

These rigid methods are not suitable for geniuses, but they are suitable for most mediocre generals.

For example, in the Battle of Changshan in the Battle of Dalinghe in the late Ming Dynasty, the mediocre reward Song Wei led his chariot camp. Even though he was besieged by the Qing army with several times the strength and firearm superiority, he was still able to rely on the chariot camp and the Qing army. After a fierce battle for half a day, the Qing army was defeated after causing considerable losses.

If Wu Xiang, who was originally sent to reinforce the Daling River with Song Wei's chariot camp, refused to cooperate with the command and coordination and abandoned the battle with thousands of cavalry, leaving Song Wei's flank completely exposed to the Qing army, then maybe Song Wei would have had more time to perfect the chariot. The camp is well defended and can withstand for a longer period of time.

The Mongols do not have the advantage of firearms, so a well-trained car camp and mediocre generals can completely block them for several days or even ten days.

Of course, this method can only be applied in the north, and it will not work in the south. Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu also has corresponding methods for fighting in the south, and the Jurchen Eight Guards also added it to the basic training.

Standing on the school platform, Zhu Gaoxu was followed by more than ten Jurchen generals including Ta Shi, Nimacha, Dole and Qi.

But now we can't call them by their previous names, because since they were knighted, they have been given surnames.

Names such as Li Shi, Richard, Li Qi, and Li Chi became their current names.

"How many soldiers and horses does the Eight Guards have now?"

Zhu Gaoxu looked at the Jurchen soldiers and horses that almost occupied the entire square, turned around and asked everyone.

As the person who controlled the Eighth Guards, Li Shi stood up and bowed: "Back to Your Highness, the Eighth Guards have a total of 40,000 people, with each guard having 5,000. In addition, there are 7,000 Bohai cavalry in Beijing."

"Do all 40,000 people ride horses?" Zhu Gaoxu asked. What he cared about most was the mobility of the army.

"There is a shortage of more than 13,000 riding horses, but the Duke of Liao (Meng Zhang) on ​​the other side of the Bohai Sea has written a letter, saying that it can be made up in two years at most."

After Li Shi answered, Zhu Gaoxu also came off the stage to personally inspect the training of the Jurchen Eighth Guards.

He was very worried that the Eight Jurchen Guards would not be able to stand the colorful world of Nanjing, but the facts proved that his worries were unnecessary.

The training of the Jurchen Eight Guards did not fall behind because of the literacy class. On the contrary, they became more united and sensible after studying.

Of course, all this must be attributed to Zhu Gaoxu's request for direct troops in Beijing.

In order to prevent Shangzhi's soldiers and horses from falling in Beijing, Zhu Gaoxu gave Shangzhi a quota of sixteen guards and two cavalry.

The Jurchen Eight Guards accounted for half of the sixteen guards, and the rest were the mixed Eight Guards of the Yan Mansion and the old Shangzhi after reorganization.

The two cavalry are the Yanzhao Jingqi who listens to the cavalry in Beijing, and the Bohai Jingqi who listens to the cavalry in the capital.

There are 100,000 soldiers and horses in Beijing, but the actual number is only 97,000, including 80,000 horse infantry and 17,000 cavalry.

The number of soldiers and horses in Beijing is fixed, and a elimination system is adopted. The soldiers and horses of whichever guard has the worst effect in training will be transferred to local border guards.

Of course, how to evaluate the training effect depends on the opinions of Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu.

Generally speaking, this sharp sword hanging above the heads of the soldiers and horses is always vigilant to them, so that they dare not relax now.

What's more, they have also recently received news that the emperor is preparing to conduct a northern expedition, so he will definitely select soldiers and horses from among those above to accompany him.

No one wants to miss such an opportunity to make meritorious deeds, so they will naturally train harder.

"Your Highness, are the remaining three thousand people given to us or to the people from Beijiaochang?"

Li Shi asked Zhu Gaoxu. The North Teaching Field he mentioned was another teaching field opened by Zhu Di in Zijin Mountain. Because the big teaching field was in the south, the Purple Mountain Teaching Field was also called the North Teaching Field.

The soldiers and horses stationed in the North Teaching Field were a mixture of old Shangzhi and Yan Mansion soldiers and horses, and the number was three thousand more than the Bohai Soldiers and Horses in the large teaching field they called the South Teaching Field.

It was precisely because there were still vacancies for three thousand personnel that Li Shi asked Zhu Gaoxu.

Facing his inquiry, Zhu Gaoxu nodded, but after a moment he shook his head: "These three thousand establishments are indeed from the teaching center, but I am not going to select the soldiers from Nanjing. I am going to recruit them from the people in Xining."

Zhu Gaoxu wanted to control Qinghai-Tibet, so he naturally needed people who could overcome altitude sickness. Therefore, the Xifanhe Prefecture Guards Cavalry left behind by Zhu Yuanzhang became his focus.

"Then we are also here to train this army, right?"

Li Shi asked subconsciously when he heard the words, but Zhu Gaoxu shook his head: "Li Ying, the commander of the Xining Guard, is an old friend of mine. His father, Li Nange, has been fighting in Qinghai for many years, and he has been fighting with his father for more than eight years. He can adapt to the changes on the plateau. , so I am going to let you instruct him in training this Spanish firearms and horse infantry."

Li Ying, a person who had disappeared for several years, was mentioned by Zhu Gaoxu. Except for Wang Xuan and Yang Zhan, no one around Zhu Gaoxu knew that Zhu Gaoxu actually knew him.

He had been punished by Zhu Gaoxu for many years in the university, and his unruly temper was suppressed to the point of being out of shape.

In order to see if he had really changed his temper, Zhu Gaoxu also sent people from Xichang to Xiningwei to inquire about his reputation in the local area.

If Li Ying really changes his temper, then Zhu Gaoxu will have a candidate to seize Qinghai.

Three thousand firearms and horse infantry plus Xining's 3,000 Hezhou Guard cavalry and 4,000 infantry. These 10,000 troops were enough for the Ming Dynasty to forcibly control the Qinghai-Tibet region.

Zhu Gaoxu had his own ideas, and Li Shi didn't say much after hearing this. He just asked: "I heard that His Majesty will send troops to Wuliangha next year. Do we have the quota for the soldiers and horses in Beijing to accompany the army?"

"I will fight for this. Judging from the situation, there should be two guards in Beijing, two in Peking, and two in Bohai."

Zhu Gaoxu made a promise, which made Li Shi and others feel at ease.

Seeing their appearance, Zhu Gaoxu also smiled and patted Li Shi on the shoulder: "I know what you are worried about, but these worries are unnecessary."

"The imperial court still has many battles to fight. Uliangha is just the appetizer, while Tatar and Wala are the main meal."

"After Wuliangha is captured this time, the Modong area will be assigned to Daning Dusi, and at least three guards will be established in the area."

"Many of you are familiar with it. I want to send you to garrison there, but I'm worried that you won't be willing to go to Modong to endure hardship..."

"Your Highness, what are you talking about!" After hearing what Zhu Gaoxu said, Li Shi and others immediately bowed:

"You just say a word and we will set off immediately. Besides, fighting is a common occurrence for us. Compared with training troops in the capital, guarding the border is more suitable for us."

Li Shi was right. Most of the Jurchen Eight Guards were in their twenties and thirties. Although they were nostalgic for the prosperity of Nanjing, they yearned even more for making contributions.

During this year in the capital, many people said that they just followed the right person, so they were able to obtain the title, and did not evaluate their abilities at all.

This made them all hold a breath in their hearts, wanting to prove themselves on the battlefield and prove the Jurchen Eight Guards.

This youthful vigor made Zhu Gaoxu happy, so he smiled and said: "To deal with Wu Liangha, you are overqualified, but in the future, you will be needed to deal with Tatar and Oara."

After appeasing everyone, Zhu Gaoxu inspected the teaching grounds again, and after confirming that the eight Jurchen guards were not slacking off, he bid farewell to Li Shi and others, and returned to the palace in a golden chariot under the escort of Bohai Jingqi.

But as soon as he returned to the inner city, he saw Hu Lun waiting at the city gate.

Seeing him appear, Zhu Gaoxu also asked someone to stop the golden carriage. After he got in the car, he asked: "How was the investigation?"

"We haven't found out yet, but Jin Yiwei has already started collecting charges." Hu Lunzuo bowed and continued:

"According to the news from Jinyiwei, it is a rumor spread by Cheshu, the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. However, judging from his official position, he does not have the ability to obtain this news. Therefore, I checked the officials who have communicated with him recently and found that Most of them are officials from eastern Zhejiang."

"If nothing else, Zhedong should have asked him to spread this news."

After Hu Lun said this, he did not speak again, but waited for Zhu Gaoxu to express his position.

"Don't dare to take the lead, and introduce a scapegoat."

Zhu Gaoxu sneered, but he didn't take it to heart.

Through this incident, he has solved the problem of the feudal king. As for the coastal merchant gang, he is also ready to release the news about the government-run trade zone and the private trade zone.

The coastal merchant gangs could not be wiped out in one fell swoop, Zhu Gaoxu had to use them to check and balance the government-operated maritime trade to prevent himself from being blindfolded and unaware of overseas news.

Therefore, he planned to use the news about the government-run and private trade zones to create conflicts among the coastal business gangs.

Their interests were originally inconsistent, let alone united, otherwise Zhu Di would not have been able to implement the overseas policy so easily in history.

Now Zhu Gaoxu wants to take advantage of their contradictions to draw out maritime merchants who can go with the imperial court, divide them into maritime merchants who do not support the imperial court's policies, and then use these merchants who do not support the imperial court to follow the clues to see if he can replenish the national treasury. .

Thinking of this, he asked Yishiha to stop the carriage, and after thinking about it, he wrote down the matters about the government-run trade zone and the private trade zone.

A quarter of an hour later, after he finished writing this article of several hundred words, he dried the ink and handed it to Hu Lun in front of him.

"Spread this news, I want the entire Jiangnan and Fujian and Guangdong regions to know about it."

"After the news spreads, you take Xichang to check for me how many smuggler gangs there are in these places."

Zhu Gaoxu looked at Hu Lun indifferently. Hu Lun took the article with his hands tightly in his heart. After reading the article at a glance, he knew what his Highness wanted to do.

"I accept your order!"

Hu Lun bowed in return and then stepped off the golden chariot.

After he left, at Zhu Gaoxu's signal, the golden chariot team continued to rush towards the palace...

(End of this chapter)