The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Chapter 161 Opportunities for Ocean Trade

Jin Xuezeng thought for a long time after hearing about the operation methods of the Dutch Charter Company, and then grabbed Wang Wenlong to ask. In the end, both he and Xu Xueju fell silent.

In the previous ten years, Jin Xuezeng had been driving away the Japanese pirates for the Ming Dynasty. He always thought that being able to repel the Japanese pirates was to protect the sea. However, according to Wang Wenlong, the European colonial actions seemed to be more of a threat to the Ming Dynasty than the Japanese pirates.

But after asking about the method of European colonization, Jin Xuezeng found that this method was absolutely impossible to implement in today's Ming Dynasty.

It shows that it is actually wrong for North Korea not to engage in territorial expansion.

The Ming Dynasty did not participate deeply in the competition for overseas colonies, but as a Central Plains dynasty, the Ming Dynasty's real expansion direction was in the southwest and northeast.

Throughout Chinese history, although the maps of the Tang Dynasty were large, in fact the Tang Dynasty's rule over Yunnan, Guizhou and the Outer Northeast was limited, and the rights it could exercise were relatively limited.

After the Tang Dynasty, the Liao, Song, and Jin Dynasties were even more divided. Needless to say, the Song people were not interested in the north, but also in the south, allowing Nanzhao and Dali to become independent.

It was only from the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty that the forces in the core area of ​​the Central Plains Dynasty truly began to manage the northeast and southwest.

Whether it is Yunnan or Liaodong, the geopolitical significance for the Central Plains Dynasty is far more important than operating overseas. The Ariake Dynasty invested countless resources to turn the southwest and northeast into stable ruling areas for the Central Plains Dynasty.

Those who cannot understand this historical undercurrent only need to think about where the three major campaigns of Wanli were fought? Where was Zheng He from and why did he become a eunuch? Through these historical details, we can know how deeply the Ming Dynasty worked on this matter.

Even Wang Wenlong, who traveled through time in later generations, must admit that from a practical perspective, managing the northeast and southwest was of greater value to the Central Plains dynasty than developing overseas colonies.

The geographical location of these two places is too important, and the results gained from the continuous investment of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties are valuable assets to the entire Chinese civilization.

For example, when the Japanese invaded China in later generations, they first attacked the northeast. After Nanjing was occupied, the government retreated to the southwest to preserve its rule. When the new China was rejuvenated, the northeast was the eldest industrial son. During the third-line construction, the southwest invested the most.

——If Chinese civilization wants to firmly occupy the vast land, it cannot just rely on the Central Plains and Jiangnan, the two lakes and Guangxi, and the mountains, Shaanxi, and Sichuan.

The Northeast and Southwest are capable of fighting and carrying. The mountains and rivers determine that this area can be used as a retreat location for the main force of Chinese civilization in times of crisis. If occupied by the enemy, it will become a fortress for attacking the core area of ​​the Central Plains.

From the perspective of future generations, Ming Dynasty did not launch large-scale overseas colonization in time, which was a missed opportunity. However, if the two aspects are weighed, losing control of the northeast and southwest is obviously an intolerable price.

But watching the Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and other European countries compete for routes overseas for the Ming Dynasty, and they all got great sailing profits. With such a big piece of fat in front of them, the Ming Dynasty could see it but couldn't eat much. Who wouldn't feel uncomfortable watching it?

Wang Wenlong was thoughtful, but couldn't find a way for the moment.

Jin Xuezeng was already tired at this time. When Xu Xueju saw this, he pulled Wang Wenlong away.

Wang Wenlong was silent on the way back. Xu Xuezhu saw that he was worried and knew that he was thinking about what he had said to Jin Xuezeng today.

He didn't bother him, but asked Wang Wenlong to go to Haitan to see Shen Yourong tomorrow.

Wang Wenlong nodded and was still thinking about the matter on the way home, but still couldn't figure out the solution.

As soon as Wang Wenlong entered the room, he saw Li Guoxian sitting in the room. After that day's banquet, Li Dan no longer prohibited Li Guoxian from coming to play with Wang Wenlong, and he also did not require Li Guoxian to wear men's clothes when he came to play with Wang Wenlong. The relationship between the two also changed. It's just the last step to clarify things.

"Brother Wang, let's eat." Li Guoxian packed the rice and handed it to Wang Wenlong.

Wang Wenlong nodded, but while he was sitting at the table, he was still thinking about how to bring Ming Dynasty into the Age of Discovery. He always felt that he was about to think of a key point, and he shouldn't even talk to him when the people next to him talked to him.

After eating, Wang Wenlong felt bored. He felt that he couldn't think of any results even if he thought like this. He might as well go to bed early because he had something to do tomorrow.

He threw the bowl away and said to Wang Pingbao: "Call me early tomorrow. We are going to Haitan Island."

After saying this, Wang Wenlong walked directly into the inner room. Li Guoxian and Wang Pingbao looked at each other, wondering what happened to Wang Wenlong.

Wang Wenlong got up early the next day and rushed to Si Yamen, the chief envoy. Shen Yourong was stationed at Hai Tan outside Fuqing. The journey alone took a day.

After Jin Xuezeng fell ill, many matters in Fuzhou had to be handled by Xu Xueju. It was obviously impossible for Xu Xueju to put down his official duties and go to Haitan, so the matter of contacting Shen Yourong and Laojun could only be handled by Wang Wenlong.

Wang Wenlong went to the Yamen to receive Xu Xueju's handwritten letter for Shen Yourong, and asked the porter in the Yamen to pick up the prepared gifts, and more than a dozen people left Fuzhou City together.

Arriving in Pingtan in the afternoon, Wang Wenlong sent officials to contact the Haitan Inspection Department. After waiting for less than half an hour, he finally saw a large ship coming from the sea.

Shen Yourong personally stood at the bow of the ship to greet him. Wang Wenlong walked onto the gangplank and handed him Xu Xueju's letter. Then he smiled and said to Shen Yourong:

"General Shen has worked hard to train the troops. Today I am here to work on the troops on behalf of Lord Fantai."

Wang Wenlong thought about how to call Shen Yourong for a long time - the Ming Dynasty's military ranking system was a bit long-winded at this time. Later, he asked Xu Xueju and the other party told him: If you want to make Shen Yourong happy, it is always good to call him general directly.

Shen Yourong is a famous general. He became famous in Ji Town more than [-] years ago. In the [-]th year of Wanli, he followed Li Chengliang to fight against the Mongols. He had outstanding military exploits and was rewarded by thousands of families. His official position had been achieved long before the Korean War. When he was promoted to Du Si Qian Shu, according to the military system of the Ming Dynasty, Du Si was under the jurisdiction of the guard station, and the guard station was under the jurisdiction of thousands and hundreds of households. Shen Yourong was already a military attache at the level of Du Si.

However, after Shen Yourong was recruited to Fujian by Jin Xuezeng, he only served as the commander-in-chief of Haitan. In the military officer system of the Ming Dynasty, the governor-general was under the jurisdiction of the generals, the generals were under the jurisdiction of the guerrillas, and the guerrillas were under the commander-in-chief.

Shen Yourong was immediately appointed from the capital's Qianshi position to the commander-in-chief. People who are not familiar with the military officer system in the Ming Dynasty would probably think that Shen Yourong had been demoted when they saw this.

Wang Wenlong was confused before, but after understanding it, he realized: It turned out that this misunderstanding was only because the Ming Dynasty implemented a military system.

The army and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were different.

"Military" specifically refers to military households with military status, which belong to the Weisuo system. Supervisors, Thousand Households, and Hundreds of Households are all official positions under the Weisuo system.

The "soldiers" refer to the camp soldiers, which are troops recruited from outside the garrison. They are recruiting soldiers and do not have military status. The camp soldiers serve as soldiers and eat food. They participate in generals, guerrillas, garrison, and generals are all the system of the camp soldiers.

For example, the famous Qi Jiabing was Qi Jiguang who recruited good family members to serve as soldiers in Yiwu. Those good family members were not military households themselves, so Qi Jiajun was also a standard camp soldier.

Officers from the two systems are mixed together, and those who are not familiar with the history of the Ming Dynasty will naturally feel dizzy at the sight.

(End of this chapter)