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

So Matteo Ricci and Guo Jujing directly told the Ming Dynasty officials the true information, not only testifying to the information, but even filling in more details.

Only then did the officials of the Ministry of Rites finally find out what was going on through Matteo Ricci, and then they were filled with indignation, "The Netherlands or Spain, in order to monopolize trade with the Ming Dynasty, intercepted and killed the British envoys who paid tribute. How could the whole vassal state not care about this matter?" The principles of the country?"

Officials from the Ministry of Rites went directly to Shu to demand a strict investigation into the matter.

"Are the Spaniards so ambitious?"

Even Emperor Wanli was immediately surprised when he saw these memorials. The news from Fujian, the current situation of the Chinese in Luzon, the explanation of the Ministry of Rites, and the testimony of the foreign monk Matteo Ricci were all presented to Emperor Wanli at the same time. Complete the story.

Because there were so many sources of information, Wanli really believed it.

In his opinion, the situation was that an English country really came to pay tribute, but was inexplicably intercepted and killed by the Spanish or Dutch who tried to monopolize East Asian trade. The Spanish had treated the Ming Dynasty's maritime merchants very harshly.

"Your Majesty, this Fujian scholar is making a big fuss... do you want to clarify with me?" Tian Yi, the eunuch in charge of the ceremonial department, asked, with a worried tone in his tone: "Nowadays, the people in Fujian are in a turbulent situation, and they may start provocations. "

"Why bother to clarify?" Emperor Wanli said angrily: "Let the Fujian people make trouble, let them immigrate officials, go against the Spanish, and let Spain suffer."

Emperor Wanli's first reaction was that he was really angry. People in the Ming Dynasty had no idea about Spain. Spanish envoys had come to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute several times. King Philip II of Spain even wrote a letter to Emperor Wanli.

However, these guys deliberately concealed the fact that they colonized Luzon Island in their tributes and letters. Emperor Wanli had no idea that the rulers of Luzon Island were Spanish before reading "History of Portugal". Various history books of the Ming Dynasty Among them, the Spanish rulers of Luzon are recorded as "chiefs".

The incident of Xu Fuyuan sending Pan and Wu's accomplices to Spanish Governor Luis of Luzon was recorded in the "History of the Ming Dynasty" as "The chief of Luzon sued the merchant for attacking and killing his father." Xu Fuyuan helped the Spanish colonists capture Pan and Wu. The Tongdang was also regarded by the "History of the Ming Dynasty" as "slaying criminals and rewarding their envoys generously", which was a great deed to bring justice to the vassal state.

The Spaniards concealed their colonization of Luzon and were very courteous. Therefore, in the eyes of Emperor Wanli, these Spaniards occupied some small islands around Luzon as colonies. The area was not large. Even so, they still They also sent people to deliver gifts every now and then, which made Wanli always feel that these Spaniards were being very polite.

Only now did he know that this group of Spaniards colonized Luzon, took strict precautions against the Chinese in Luzon, and even killed the British tribute group. Before thinking about the fact that they came to the Ming Dynasty to ask for Pan and Wu - this group of Spaniards were purely Just treating him like a fool made Emperor Wanli feel angry instantly.

Emperor Wanli doesn't do anything if he doesn't do anything, but he is not a fool, and he still has his own opinions on military and national affairs.

He would not be stupid enough to attack the Spaniards - with the Ming Dynasty's national strength at this time, it would be a bit ridiculous to go to sea for an expedition, but there was no need to stop the spontaneous attacks from the people.

He had also read "History of Portugal" written by Wang Wenlong, and read it repeatedly. With Wang Wenlong's Changzhou Proclamation advocating the opening of the sea, Emperor Wanli already had some basic impressions of overseas situations.

He also wanted to colonize other countries, but he knew that he couldn't do it.

By the Wanli period, the imperial power of the Ming Dynasty emperor had been severely restricted by civil servants. He wanted to make Zhu Changxun the crown prince, but he couldn't do it. This matter would have been impossible in the early Ming Dynasty. If the name was unfair, the words would not go smoothly. Emperor Yongle raised an army After seizing the country, shouldn't the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty have to listen to him and continue to work? But will he try it when he gets to Wanli?

The only way Emperor Wanli could strengthen his foreign colonization was to use public opinion to influence civil officials.

Now that something like this happened, he just used the British tribute incident to incite public opposition to the colonists. Even if he could not get the civil servants to agree to foreign colonization, he could still cause trouble to the civil servants who advocated not to open the sea - -You asked the Ming Dynasty to stay within the fence and refuse to open the sea. Now that the Europeans are bullying you at your doorstep, you should bear the blame.

The public opinion in Fujian is fierce, and it does not interfere with the interests of any party in the DPRK. It is difficult for the cabinet that has just taken office to stop this kind of thing. The cabinet vote and the meeting of the Ministry of Rites are sent to the Supervisor of Rites. Emperor Wanli not only does not ask to stop the public opinion in Fujian , and directly issued an edict: "Strictly investigate the disputes between the Netherlands, Spain and England."

The Spanish envoys came to the Ming Dynasty in the name of paying tribute, and the British seemed to have also come to pay tribute. Now that the Spanish have killed the British, in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty, they can be classified as a typical "tribute dispute". The situation is similar to that of the Mongols. The competition among several tribes is similar to that of the Ming Dynasty for trade rights. With the direct instructions from the imperial court, the situation in Fujian, which had gradually calmed down, spread instantly. Even in Zhejiang, there were notices from scholars and merchants demanding a strict investigation of the matter.

"The new "Xun Bao" has been published. The Ming Dynasty heroically assassinated the Spanish governor, and the Spanish intercepted and killed the British tribute fleet!"

At Zhenjiang Wharf, the canal was already crowded with cargo ships just after daylight. The ship owners and cargo owners coming and going talked to each other, ate breakfast and read newspapers, and then some people started to curse.

"The Spaniards of this generation first invaded our vassal state of Luzon and harmed Ming merchants. Then they pretended to be loyal and came to pay tribute, defrauding our Ming righteous men. They also dared to rob and kill the British envoys who came to pay tribute... This kind of vassal state is really cunning. , and you’re not afraid of retribution?”

"What kind of retribution? Have you not read "History of Portugal"? It is clearly stated there that Spain is extremely powerful in Europe. They pretend to pay tribute, but in fact they want to annex the entire Luzon and occupy the trade routes between our Ming Dynasty and Europe. They Their ambitions are huge! If I, the Ming Dynasty, don’t go to sea, how can these villains control them?"

The "Xunbao" that can be transmitted to Zhenjiang is already a bound volume once a month, because these issues of "Xunbao" serialize events in Spain, and have attracted great attention in Fujian, and pirates are also smart. , directly put the Spanish serial articles into a collection, and read the previous one and continue to the next one, just like a novel.

Some people looked at the content in the newspaper and praised: "This hero with iron arms and golden swords, Pan and Wu Zhen, led his crew to resist the Spanish governor. He actually defeated the Spanish soldiers who fought in many countries, assassinated the governor, seized a large sum of treasure, and ran away. Living happily in Annan, isn't he like a Liangshan hero? Alas... It's a pity that the white-robed little fan Guo Weitai missed his family too much and brought more than 30 heroes back to the country, but was killed by the Spaniards. This Fujian governor was too disrespectful wise."

Wang Wenlong also published the story of Pan and Wu in the newspaper as an introduction to the Spanish colonies. Wang Wenlong asked Xu Zhonglin to write this report. As a result, Mr. Xu was so creative that he directly wrote a documentary report into a novel.

Pan Hewu, who was only in his early twenties at the time, was directly depicted as a young hero with outstanding martial arts, nicknamed "Iron Arm Golden Sword", who killed the Spanish Governor with a 45-pound golden ring sword. , I don’t know how to open it on a sea ship.

The leader of the Fujian sailors who were given to the Spanish by Xu Fuyuan was named Guo Weitai. Before he went to sea, he had passed the examination for merit. Although he failed, he was adapted by Xu Zhonglin and directly written as a military advisor like Xu Maogong and Liu Bowen. Known as "Little Fan in White", the reason why he returned to Fujian was also described as knowing that his mother was seriously ill, so he decided to return home - this is true.

Combining the two, plus a series of soy sauce characters, these two hundred people wrote sentimental and righteous stories, and they were simply heroes of Liangshan in the West. They were framed by the Spaniards, which directly aroused the sympathy of the people and made Baixin have a deep love for Fujian. The government was extremely dissatisfied with their handling of the matter.

Xu Fuyuan, the former governor of Fujian, had retired and returned to his hometown five years ago. During his tenure as governor, he had a good reputation for strengthening coastal defense and resolving civil unrest. When he saw the news in his hometown in Zhejiang, he felt very guilty. Although he had retired, so Not many people made trouble for him, but Xu Fuyuan still went to the court to confess his fault and strongly supported him. The court strictly investigated the Spanish country's bad behavior.

Pan and Wu, who were far away in Vietnam, also benefited directly. Someone dug up the story about the Spaniards' request to hand over Pan and Wu seven years ago. After debating it in detail, they suddenly realized that Pan and Wu robbed Spanish ships and killed Spanish sea owners. Traitor, this is a hero of the Ming Dynasty!

Many officials have asked for Pan Hewu's case to be reversed, and some even wanted to make him a military attache. Pan Hewu was very happy when he learned the news a few years later. He had already done great things in Vietnam. He didn't want to go back to Ming Dynasty at all, but he still spent a lot of money to actively return to Fujian to operate.

If you can get an official status, you can go anywhere among Western merchants. Just the fact that you can be buried in official uniform after death will make many businessmen envious.

The impact of this series of news was very terrifying, especially the Spanish entrapment of Ming merchants in Luzon, which directly caused alienation in Fujian.

Maritime merchants were also pushing behind the scenes and calling for a strict investigation into the matter. In fact, the purpose was to get the court to publicly support the development of maritime merchants.

With the immigration of big officials, many businessmen have now participated in the development. However, this matter does not have a legal status at the court level. The endorsement of the Fujian Yamen alone still does not give these businessmen the confidence. Now there is such a great opportunity. How could you let it go?

Not to mention, the fervent public sentiment among the people in Fujian was really influential. A few months later, the imperial court publicly praised the reclamation of the big officials. The businessmen who went to cultivate the big officials finally felt relieved and had the favor of the court. With encouragement, a large number of forces have joined the reclamation operation.

This can be regarded as the impact of Wang Wenlong's butterfly wings flapping.

(End of this chapter)