The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 331 Your Majesty, times have changed

Everyone looked at where his finger was.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked in confusion: "Egypt? Is there anything special here?"

Others have similar doubts.

It's not that this place is unimportant, but they really don't see how it has the qualifications to be praised as one of the lifeblood of the world.

Chen Jingke did not answer directly, but said: "Trade between the East and the West has been a huge profit since ancient times."

"However, the sea was rough and rough, and due to limited shipbuilding and navigation technology, the ancients could only communicate between the East and the West by land."

His finger drew a line from Chang'an to the West:

"It's this line that we call the Silk Road."

"It can be said that this has been the most valuable trade route in the world from ancient times to the present."

“You don’t have to do anything, just sit at home and collect tolls, and you’ll be full of food.”

"If a grand canal is dug to connect the north and south seas, merchant ships will no longer have to detour through Lyrea."

Chen Jingke smiled and said, "Your Majesty, times have changed."

"In the future, this proportion will increase."

Everyone was not fools. After his analysis, they immediately understood the importance of this place.

This is the geographical advantage.

Chen Jingke said: "That's why we need the Persians to be the vanguard. We sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight."

Seeing the confused expressions of her grandparents and grandson, she explained:
"When those powerful people have money, they will not use it to build the country, but to annex more land."

Zhu Xiongying stared at the map and said: "This place is not easy to fight. I have studied the information there."

"Egypt is now ruled by a country from the Mamluk Kingdom, and this country is not weak."

Zhu Xiongying objected very much and said: "What if we sell the goods to them at a low price and they resell them? Wouldn't that increase their strength?"

"And now that the Mamluk Kingdom has entered the end of its dynasty, the Turkic dignitaries are annexing land wantonly and extravagantly, leaving the people with no place to stand."

After all, the Ming Dynasty had already left, and Zhu Fan had already begun planning his feudal kingdom.

Not only the commercial value, but the military value is also ridiculously high.

"Ocean transportation volume is larger, hundreds and thousands of times that of land transportation."

Queen Mother Ma, who had been silent until now, spoke:
"The best thing is to make them rich."

"According to the information I have found, the Mamluk ruling class are Turks, and most of the ruled are cannibals."

"It was through entrepot trade that we became one of the richest countries at that time."

Zhu Yuanzhang and others kept nodding. In fact, they already knew about this.

"The decadent rich and powerful like nothing more than enjoyment and luxury goods. I, the Ming Dynasty, can just provide them with these things."

"But sailing from the east to the west requires a detour through Lyrea. The journey is extremely long."

Having said this, he placed his finger on Egypt again: "Your Majesty, please look here... This land is only less than four hundred miles long."

Lao Zhu said firmly: "This place must be captured."

Zhu Biao said: "If you master this canal, you will master the lifeline of east-west transportation. It must not fall into the hands of outsiders."

"We can even sell them luxury goods at slightly lower than market prices and accelerate their corruption."

Lyrea was the name given to Africa in the Ming Dynasty, and at that time there were already names such as Europa and Asia Minor.

His finger traced a line starting from Quanzhou, passing through the Strait of Malacca, crossing the Little Western Ocean (Indian Ocean), and then around Africa to reach Europa.

At that time, Central Asia relied on this coercive method to engage in entrepot trade, grabbing massive wealth and supporting their empire.

"There is an irreparable rift between the two parties."

"Sea transport will become the main mode of transportation for world trade."

"In the future, when King Jin's feudal kingdom is established, he will be able to make a lot of money just by relying on trade between China and the West."

Forcibly purchasing goods shipped from the East and selling them to Western countries at ten times the price can really be said to be making money sitting at home.

"It's just that this trade route is often cut off by countries in the middle."

If you don't know this, you'd be stupid.

"But..." Lao Zhu became even more confused: "What does this have to do with Egypt?"

"With the improvement of shipbuilding technology and navigation technology, sea-going ships can now sail thousands of miles away."

“The distance on the ocean route between east and west can be shortened by 20,000 miles.”

"The Parthian Empire, Kushan Empire, Sasanian Dynasty, Arab Empire, etc. back then."

"You can imagine how huge the profits are... Whoever controls this place controls the lifeline of transportation between the East and the West."

Even with the advent of the Age of Discovery and the rise of maritime trade, Central Asia was still a place that could not be bypassed.

Asia Minor specifically referred to the Arabian Peninsula in the Ming Dynasty.

"...Isn't that what we were like in China in the past? Being an official made money, and we made money to buy land."

"Then official governance deteriorated and land annexation intensified, eventually leading to the collapse of the dynasty."

"This rule is not just for us, but for all countries in the world."

"We have Jing Ke to guide us and we are trying to break out of this periodic law..."

"They don't have a wise man like Jing Ke, and they are still repeating the old rules."

"When the powerful Mamluks have money, they will only intensify their efforts to exploit the people."

"If we give them a little more push, it won't be hard to topple them."

The three of them suddenly realized that offering you money to hasten your death was actually something that could be done.

Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled and said, "My sister is still as smart as before. She is indeed our good wife."

Chen Jingke was also greatly impressed. This truth is simple to say.

But being able to figure it out on your own without anyone giving you advice requires a lot of wisdom.

Queen Mother Ma ignored him and continued: "Are you going to dig this canal yourself?"

Lao Zhu said doubtfully: "What else? Do you have any better way?"

Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying were also very confused. It seemed that they could only wait until the Ming Dynasty occupied Egypt before organizing excavations, right?

Is it possible to grow a canal out of thin air?
Chen Jingke was also a little confused. Could it be that Madam Ma really thought of a better way?
Queen Mother Ma smiled and said, "If you are nobles of the Mamluk Kingdom, you now have a lot of money in your hands and nowhere to spend it."

"Someone tells you that you can dig a canal here and you can sit and collect money. What will you do?"

The four grown men all showed shocked expressions.

Chen Jingke was the first to react, giving a thumbs up and saying:

"High, this move is really high."

Zhu Xiongying also said excitedly: "The dignitaries of the Mamluk Kingdom will definitely recruit civilians to dig the canal."

"The domestic conflicts will then intensify, and it only takes a little push to overthrow their regime."

"We can still get a canal for free..."

"The Imperial Grandmother is so amazing. She kills two birds with one stone."

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned: "Hey, now you know how powerful your imperial grandmother is."

Queen Mother Ma was very proud of herself, but she said humbly:

"It's just a little trick, not worth mentioning."

Everyone ignored her modesty and praised her mercilessly.

Then he continued to talk about Western strategy.

Finally, a rough strategy was agreed upon.

First build a marine supply line from Daming to Asia Minor (Arabian Peninsula).

This supply line serves both military and civilian purposes, and it also serves as a preparation for subsequent immigration.

On the Persian side, first occupy an island, or occupy a piece of land in an uninhabited area.

Build a fortress and garrison on it.

Spend several years hoarding troops and waiting for the situation to change.

To support Persia, just follow Chen Jingke's plan.

As long as the Persians chose a small religious sect as their state religion, the rest was easy. When the treasure money circulates, they will no longer be able to escape Ming's control.

"It will take at least five years to gather strength to conquer Anxi, and the Persians will also need at least five years to prepare."

"It also takes time to corrupt the Mamluks..."

"It just so happens that Ming Dynasty is going to rest for five years..."

"So, I suggest starting the Anxi strategy in five years."

"The King of Jin attacked the Timur Khanate from the Western Regions, and Persia came from Anxi to hold them back."

Everyone also agrees that at this time point, five years is not a long time.

"Jing Ke is a mature and prudent person. It is not too late to complete the Anxi strategy in ten years, not to mention five years."

Chen Jingke added: "In these five years, we cannot do nothing. We can provoke conflicts between the Aries Kingdom and the Timur Khanate."

"It would be better if the two countries could be locked in a protracted tug-of-war that constantly consumes their power."

"There is also the direction of Tianzhu. The Timur Khanate occupies a lot of land in Tianzhu, and it has great intentions of embezzling the entire Tianzhu."

"We can encourage all the countries in Tianzhu to unite against Timur."

"In this way, they are engaged in a two-front war, which makes it easier for us to act."

Everyone still had no objection, this strategy was indeed a good one.

Regardless of whether it can provoke conflicts between enemy countries, there is nothing wrong with giving it a try.

What if it happens.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the map and said: "In this case, one person needs to go and take command."

Such a huge plan definitely requires someone with enough ability to coordinate and direct it.

Who to send?
Zhu Biao currently has no talents in this field, so he still has to rely on Lao Zhu's old team.

Chen Jingke thought for a while and said, "Tianzhu and Anxi should each send one person there..."

"There is no need to look for someone else in Tianzhu. Master Daoyan, King Yan's adviser, is very suitable."

Daoyan? Yao Guangxiao?

This name is naturally familiar to everyone. Zhu Di mentioned him several times before.

Even the plan to establish a country in Tianzhu was made with the help of this person.

Just making a plan and executing the plan are completely different.

Chen Jingke is the most typical example. If you let him decide the general direction, he will be better than anyone else.

If you really want to do something practical... don't mention it.

So everyone was a little surprised when he recommended Yao Guangxiao.

Lao Zhu said in confusion: "You are so optimistic about Dao Yan?"

Chen Jingke thought to himself, then I am too optimistic about the great monk. Anyone who knows what he has done is not optimistic about him.

"I once had a relationship with Master Daoyan. This man is a man who seeks the country."

Lao Zhu was very surprised: "You think so highly of him? Haha... We really have the ability to know people."

Such a good talent was sent to his son by himself, Lao Zhu.

Queen Mother Ma rolled her eyes and complained: "Stop putting gold on your face."

"If you hadn't made a mistake, would you have given such a good talent to the fourth child?"

Lao Zhu just laughed and did not argue.

At that time, there was no plan to establish a kingship. His positioning of the vassal king was to serve as a barrier to protect the Ming Dynasty.

The best talents must be reserved for Zhu Biao and cannot be sent to the vassal king.

Not to mention taking the initiative to give it away, if he knew which vassal king had a talented person next to him, he would immediately come over and hand it over to Zhu Biao.

Dao Yan simply looked away.

Of course, part of the reason is that the great monk is too good at hiding.

In his previous life, before Zhu Biao's death, he had never been outspoken.

In this life, it was only after the kingship system was established that he began to show his talent.

Moreover, he had previously requested to go to Tianzhu for Zhu Di, which was the most appropriate thing.

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately made the decision: "Then let Dao Yan go. Anyway, Gao Chi will leave the army in two years, so he will go over and look after the stall for the fourth child."

Then who will go to the land of Anxi next?

Now everyone was a little worried.

This person should not only understand military affairs, but also understand politics, and be the kind of person with flexible thinking.

And you have to be ruthless enough, otherwise you won't be able to do the dirty work.

The key is to reassure Lao Zhu.

There are also such talents...

Such as Xu Da.

However, these people have more important tasks in Ming Dynasty and cannot be sent overseas for a long time.

Others are either incompetent, or only know how to fight, or are not capable of intrigues, or are not ruthless enough.

Or he couldn't reassure Lao Zhu.

King Jin is quite suitable, but the Hexi side is equally important, and he simply can't leave it.

The other vassal kings either lacked ability, or were too young and inexperienced...

This is troublesome.

At this moment, Zhu Xiongying glanced around the crowd and suddenly said:

"I think the second uncle is quite suitable."

Deposed Qin Wang Zhu Cang.

Hearing this name, everyone present could not help but feel shocked.

I didn't expect that he would mention this person at this time.

In the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Ping was a taboo-like person.

Everyone chose to ignore him, as if he didn't exist.

Not because of his brutality, nor because he was deposed.

It was because Zhu Biao was so angry that he developed high blood pressure - this was no longer a secret.

In this case, who would dare to mention him without opening their eyes?

Even Lao Zhu and Ma Niangniang never mentioned their son in front of others.

In the eyes of the world, he is no different than death.

Zhu Biao cares about his brothers and sisters.

But when he thought about his body, he really couldn't say anything like forgiveness against his will.

Chen Jingke never mentioned this matter. He really didn't want to mention this scumbag.

If Zhu Xiongying hadn't suddenly mentioned it, he would have almost forgotten about this person.

However, if you think about it carefully, he is really suitable for this job.

Despite his shortcomings, absolutely no one would doubt his loyalty and his abilities have been proven.

As for doing the dirty work... wasn't that what he loved most?

only……

Everyone fell silent when they thought of Zhu Biao's body.

If you look carefully, you will find the hope deep in the expressions of Lao Zhu and Ma Niangniang.

Even if Zhu Xi is no longer a thing, he is still their son.

But...due to Zhu Biao's physical condition, they couldn't say anything.

The ball was kicked to Zhu Biao's feet silently.

(End of this chapter)