The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 365 The vast sea
Haijin Town... should now be called Haijin City - the provincial capital of Canghai Province.

There is actually nothing much to explain why the provincial government is placed here.

It is mainly land allocated to Canghai Province and there is nothing particularly prosperous about it.

Although Hejian has a long history, it was still in a state of disrepair in the early Ming Dynasty.

There is no special place, so things are easier. You just need to choose the most suitable geographical location.

Haijin Town is close to the sea and has direct access to the Grand Canal. As a transit station for water transport, various water transport channels are readily available.

Because it is relatively remote, there is no need to worry about demolition when building infrastructure.

And next to it is Zhigu, a major salt producer.

All things considered, there's really no reason not to put it here.

Since the establishment of Canghai Province, Haijin City has become a large construction site.

The imperial court relocated 50,000 people from all over the country, and the young and strong men and women among them were directly recruited as construction workers.

In the future, they will also be the first residents of Haijin City.

To put it in a roundabout way, they are building a house for their own family, so these people are working quite hard.

The outline of a city has emerged.

The city was planned by Chen Jingke and the master craftsmen of the Imperial Construction Department, and the first things they considered were commerce and residence.

The second is security.

In the words of Chen Jingke:

"With the current strength of the Ming Dynasty, if the enemy can still reach Haijin City, then no matter how strong the city defense is, it will be useless."

Of course, the reason he said this was because the age of firearms was about to arrive.

In the face of cannons, city defenses are indeed of little use.

Others didn't know this, so they naturally questioned his words.

In the end, considering the credibility he had accumulated in the past, everyone approved the plan.

Xu Chailao only found out about these things after arriving in Haijin City.

He agreed with Chen Jingke's idea.

Although he didn't know about the age of firearms, he knew that the Ming Dynasty's North Sea Fleet was docked in Bohai.

Even in this situation, the enemy could still attack Haijin City, which means that the Ming Dynasty was finished. No matter how strong the city defense was, it was useless.

It would be better to maximize the commercial nature and take city defense into consideration at the same time.

After leaving home, he strolled towards the trading market.

The first things built in the new urban area were residential areas and trading markets. As for the reasons, I won’t go into details here.

Walking in this new city, he really felt different.

He didn't know if it was a psychological effect, but he felt that this place was much more pleasing to the eye than other cities.

However, in fact, he is not welcome here and everyone is hostile to him.

He naturally knew what the reason was.

Although he failed in governing Temasek, Chen Bandu placed him in the new special zone.

It is said that I will be a think tank, but who knows if I can get a permanent position while doing this.

Every man has his own position, and no one wants to give up his position to him, so excluding him becomes inevitable.

Since he arrived, no one has ever come to ask him any questions.

Because he understood the reason, he did not force it, but instead let go of the burden in his heart.

I just walk around and take some time to write down my work experience at Temasek.

He went out today not to stroll around, but to go to the government office to pick up a letter.

Judging by the time, the letter from Chu should have arrived.

He accepted Cen Xintong's suggestion, and after settling down in Canghai Province, he took the initiative to write a letter to King Chu Zhu Zhen to exchange his views on the new policy.

The two sides communicated with each other at a frequency of almost one letter every five or six days.

In the letter, he helped Zhu Zhen solve many difficult problems and pointed out many hidden problems based on his experience.

Therefore, Zhu Zhen's tone in the letter was more sincere, and he always addressed him as "sir".

Feelings are indeed communicated.

At first, he was a little reluctant about going to the State of Chu.

It’s not that I think Chu, as a vassal state, has limited future or anything like that.

The main reason is that it is his sad place, and there are still many old friends there, so he really doesn’t know how to face it.

Now that Zhu Zhen was so respectful and courteous, it actually dispelled his doubts.

He also asked Zhu Zhen to find out the situation in the Nanyang countries, especially their attitudes towards the Nanyang clans.

After learning that Zhu Chong had left, rumors began to spread in Nanyang that the imperial court was dissatisfied with the wealthy families, causing various countries to begin coveting the wealth of the wealthy families.

He immediately understood the court's overall plan.

It can be said that it was reasonable and legal for the imperial court to induce the barbarians to attack the Nanyang tribes and then send troops on the pretext of protecting the people of the Ming Dynasty.

It’s a pity for the Nanyang clans who became victims of this game.

Was this plot also set up by Chen Bandu? I really can't tell.

Perhaps this is what is called a kind heart of a bodhisattva and swift action.

However...if the imperial court had used this tactic earlier, perhaps Temasek would not have...

Thinking of this, he suddenly stopped, his eyes first showed sudden realization, and then turned into pain.

He finally figured it all out.

The imperial court was not initially prepared to take action against the Nanyang clans, after all, they were also citizens of the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, the imperial court was preparing to assimilate the entire Nanyang. These big families had been deeply rooted in the local area for many years, and if they were willing to cooperate, a lot of time could be saved.

So what made the court change its mind?

The failure of Temasek.

There were many reasons for Temasek's failure, including his weakness as the governor and the rampant dominance of the powerful merchant caravans.

The main reason was that the Nanyang clans fanned the flames.

They refused to obey the king, colluded with the barbarians, and sold stolen goods for the rich and powerful...

If I am not mistaken, it was from that time that the imperial court decided to abandon the Nanyang clans and to turn everything upside down and reshuffle.

In other words, I am the culprit that caused all this.

After thinking it through, he felt a huge pressure coming over him, making it hard for him to breathe.

It took him a long while to recover, but there was no trace of relief on his face anymore.

He knew that the consequences of Temasek's failure would be serious, but he did not expect that they would be much more serious than he imagined.

It even directly affected the Ming Dynasty's entire South Seas strategy.

The number of people who died as a result of this may exceed one million.

The consequences of this were so huge that he could hardly bear it.

But this only strengthened his determination to go to Southeast Asia and make up for his mistakes.

Only after his emotions had completely calmed down did he continue to head towards the market.

There was a constant stream of people on the street, and the crowd became more crowded as you got closer to the market.

Various hawking sounds and shouting filled my ears, making the place extremely lively.

Although Haijin City had not yet been built, merchants who had smelled the potential had already flocked there.

Although they don’t fully understand what a special administrative region is, they know what Temasek is.

Just imagine, which businessman would not want to do business in a business-friendly place like Temasek?

What's more, the imperial court directly ordered that all salt from the Bohai Sea area be traded in Haijin City.

Even if the businessmen don’t want to come, they can’t.

But beneath the prosperity, Xu Chailao saw many disharmony.

For example, the streets are in a mess, with many vendors' stalls sticking out of the street, almost occupying half of the street. The ground is full of garbage, and pedestrians pass by while covering their noses and throwing the garbage in their hands on the ground without hesitation.

Walking on the right is a basic rule, and the busier the market, the more important this is.

Everyone walked to the right, moving a little bit with the crowd. Although the speed was not fast, they were always moving.

If you walk around without knowing left and right, it will only get more and more chaotic, and eventually it will become a dead end where no one can move.

There are relatively few people in Haijin City now, so it doesn’t matter if people walk around randomly.

It will be troublesome if there are too many people.

Some people may say, why not wait until there are more people and then set rules for everyone?
Xu Chai Lao used to think so too, but later he found that once a habit is formed, it is difficult to change.

This also involves a broken window effect, where bad habits in some details can lead to the destruction of the entire business environment.

Therefore, it is best to set the rules at the beginning.

He had noticed this problem a long time ago and had suggested it to officials in Canghai Province, but no one paid attention.

He didn't say much afterwards.

However, he was not going to ignore it. He first wanted to understand the situation here clearly and then tell Chen Bandu about it.

To repay his kindness in supporting me.

He walked all the way to the Canghai Provincial Government Office, which was not far from the market - this was also one of the places he thought had problems.

How can the government office be placed in the market?
It will make you seem full of materialism, annoy businessmen, and make it inconvenient for ordinary people to come and do business.

In some places it is not done enough, and in others it is too much.

This is caused by having only theory but no practice.

He made the same mistakes before, some of which he corrected later, but some were not corrected in time and led to bad consequences.

But even the mistakes that were corrected came at a greater cost.

Looking back now, if I had done it right from the beginning, I could have saved myself a lot of trouble later.

When he entered the government office, most people passing by pretended not to see him, with only a few smiling and waving their hands.

He didn't say anything and went to the relevant department to ask if any letters had arrived.

He basically writes a letter every week, so people already know him.

Seeing him coming, she took out a thick letter and said without waiting for him to speak:

"Mr. Xu, your letter is from the State of Chu."

Xu Chailao took the letter, thanked him and turned to leave.

As soon as he left, a man appeared and looked at his back with a thoughtful expression.

When the official in the room saw him, he quickly stood up and said, "Prefect."

This person was Mai Rongchang, the governor of Canghai Province. He nodded and asked casually:

"Mr. Xu is here to get the letter?"

The official replied: "Yes, there is a letter every five or six days, all sent from the State of Chu. I heard that..."

"What did you hear?"

"I heard that the King of Chu specially prepared a ship to send him a letter... I only heard it, I don't know if it's true or not."

Mai Rongchang smiled and said, "This is about the prince, so it's better to say less about such unconfirmed rumors."

The official was so frightened that he broke out in a sweat and said quickly:
"Yes, yes, I know I was wrong and I will never say such nonsense again."

Mai Rongchang nodded, turned around and left without saying anything else.

However, after returning to his office, he immediately called a trusted subordinate and made the arrangements.

Six days later, a merchant ship from Chu arrived again, and sure enough, another letter to Xu Chailao was delivered to the yamen.

The confidant also came back to report a piece of news to him. According to the information obtained from the Chu merchant ships, there was indeed a ship arranged by the King of Chu.

Moreover, the other party seemed to have no intention of concealing anything and said generously that this ship trip was specifically for delivering a letter to Mr. Xu.

Doing business is just a by-product.

The purpose of writing this letter is to ask Mr. Xu about the new policy.

In order to ensure the frequency of sending a letter every six or seven days, the King of Chu arranged four ships.

He also said that the King of Chu was respectful to the wise and humble, and had been inviting Mr. Xu to serve as Prime Minister of Chu.

Upon learning all this, Mai Rongchang looked thoughtful.

When they were working as ministers in the cabinet, the person they envied the most was Xu Chai Lao.

He gained the trust of Chen Bandu and became the Governor of Temasek despite his businessman background.

Some people may think that going to Temasek is like exile because it is located overseas.

As members of the cabinet, they all knew very well what that place meant to the Ming Dynasty.

If you make achievements there, you will have hope of joining the cabinet in the future.

The key point is that with Chen Bandu's high regard, it would be difficult not to enter the cabinet.

Then, such a great start was ruined by Xu Chai Lao.

Although they looked down on others, they were also grateful in their hearts.

Fortunately, he failed, so there is one less competitor.

The establishment of Canghai Province and the appointment to the cabinet were the result of fierce competition, and he finally stood out.

Gained recognition from Zhu Biao and Chen Jingke.

While he was excited, he also felt tremendous pressure.

After all, Xu Chai Lao’s previous experience is not far away.

However, when he actually arrived in Canghai Province and began to build this place according to the new policy plan, he found that things were more complicated than he had imagined.

Things are complicated and a mess.

He didn't know whether what he was doing was right or not, so he could only grit his teeth and grope his way forward bit by bit.

Later, Xu Chailao was sent here, and he was highly alert.

Could it be that Chen Bandu is not satisfied with my work, so he asked him to come over?

Although he knew that the mistake Xu Chai Lao had made could never be repeated.

However, as a party involved, he had to worry.

What if Chen Bandu insists on re-employing Xu Chailao against all odds?
Wouldn't it be reasonable to send him to Canghai Province first, and then promote him after he has made sufficient contributions?

No one can guess what Chen Bandu is thinking, so it's better to be safe than sorry.

Therefore, even though he knew that Xu Chai Lao had ready-made experience in his hands, he did not dare to use it at all.

Afraid of giving the other party a chance to make merit.

But now, things seem to be changing.

The King of Chu is so courteous to wise men, and it seems that Xu Chailao is not opposed to it. Could it be that he really intends to go to Chu to be the prime minister?

Moreover, Chen Bandu made it very clear why he came here: to serve as a think tank for consultation.

By the way, ask him to write down all his previous experiences.

After Xu Chai Lao came here, he has always been honest and has never done anything out of line.

Am I too suspicious?

How about sending someone to find out what he has to say?
It’s not that Mai Rongchang wants to give in, but he is really overwhelmed by so many things.

The key is that without any reference, he doesn’t know whether what he is doing is right or not. This is what is most worrying.

The more times like this happened, the more he admired Chen Jingke.

It is so difficult to build a province according to the plan.

Chen Bandu can influence a country's policies as if he had done it effortlessly. Such talent is truly enviable.

Being able to sit in this position, Mai Rongchang is not a indecisive person, and he made up his mind quickly.

Find someone who is friendly with Xu Chai Lao to find out the situation.

If he is interested in becoming prime minister of Chu, I will go to his house in person to ask for his advice.

(End of this chapter)