The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"I have a memorial here, please take a look first, brother."

In the afternoon, in front of the yamen, in the chief minister's room, three cabinet ministers came here according to the previous practice and brought some memorials that were not accurate but not particularly important. Everyone discussed giving a plan or opinion.

What Wei Guangde took out was naturally the document sent by the Ministry of War, asking the Burmese King and other enemy chiefs how to deal with it after being escorted to Beijing.

After deciding the handling strategy, I realized whether to hand it over to the Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of Rites to organize the ceremony of prisoner offering.

Zhang Juzheng took the document and looked it over quickly, but his expression on his face did not change.

After he finished reading it, he could not tell his attitude at this moment from his expression, and he just handed it to Zhang Siwei next to him and said, "Ziwei, take a look, let's talk about it."

The document was passed to Zhang Siwei, and he looked at the contents, and was not surprised at all.

I had known that the Southwest Ming army captured the enemy chief Mang Yinglong and his son alive, as well as a large number of leaders of the Burmese tribe. These people were also the masterminds who were strongly attacking the Ming Dynasty this time. Now that they fell into the hands of the Ming army, they naturally could not be spared easily. of.

However, Zhang Siwei did not consider how to punish them before.

After all, Wei Guangde was the leader in military affairs before, and this rare time Wei Guangde brought the matter here to discuss.

After Zhang Siwei finished watching, he looked at Wei Guangde and asked in a low voice: "Wei Cifu, I wonder what are your concerns?"

He understood that although the Rang Yinglong seemed to be very awesome in Nanyang, now that he fell into the hands of the Ming Dynasty, life and death are not just in their thoughts.

Wei Guangde was unsure of his mind, so he must have some concerns, which made it difficult for him to make a choice.

Wei Guangde nodded when he heard this and said, "Killing Mang Yinglong is very simple, but I have to consider the reactions of Nanyang and surrounding vassal states.

Although our Ming Dynasty regards Myanmar as the chieftains who were enfeoffed by our Ming Dynasty, they do not think so. Myanmar is an independent kingdom, just like them.

Otherwise, when Myanmar attacked Laos and Siam in the east, was it because I, the Ming Dynasty, was attacking them?

Moreover, if the Myanmar Xuanwei Department was a territory of the Ming Dynasty, what about Laos?

Is it because I, the Ming Dynasty, was in the civil war? ”

Wei Guangde smiled bitterly when he said this, which only shows that the enthronement of those real power chieftains in Myanmar was too hasty. Although it gave the Ming Dynasty the opportunity to manage the local area, it also left many disasters.

"Good loan, this matter"

Zhang Juzheng started, but he was also silly.

Everything in the Ming Dynasty must first be rational, and the legal principles make sense.

Several chieftains in Myanmar are actually doing "tributary" under the name of "Three Propagandas and Six Comforts", which is actually a "tributary". It can also be seen from the Ming Dynasty's title of Myanmar's Comforts. In fact, everyone calls them privately You can see it by the "Burma King".

Xuanwei Department and Chengxuan Zhengzhi Department are different. During the Ming Dynasty, Chengxuan announced that the jurisdiction of the Zhengzhi Department was a local administrative region, referred to as "Presidential Office", "Presidential Office" and "Father Office", and not called "Presidential Office". ”, in formal documents, the word "province" of the Yuan Dynasty was also avoided.

The Xuanwei Office in the Ming Dynasty was formed on the basis of the cancellation of the Xuanwei and Xuanfu envoys in the mainland during the Yuan Dynasty, and then became a management agency specifically for ethnic minority areas.

Its affiliation is the local administrative agency at the next level of the General Secretary and has certain autonomy, but its administration, military and judicial system is under the strict supervision of the three departments in the region and later the governor and generals of the governor.

The succession of the chief officer must be appointed by the court, obey the court's orders at any time, and regularly pay tribute to the court. The local soldiers must obey the imperial orders.

However, the "Three Propagandas and Six Condolences" did not follow this rule. Although the substitution of the chief officer still had to be appointed by the court, nothing else had to be followed.

Relatively speaking, Lao Xuanwei Department also took the initiative to pay tribute dozens of times, while Myanmar has only a handful of tributes from beginning to end, and has traveled outside the Ming Dynasty.

Although it is nominally under the jurisdiction of the Yunnan Provincial Administrative Office, it is actually impossible to manage the other party at all.

"Shan Loan, do you think severe punishment of the Burmese king may affect the views of the South and Western countries on our Ming Dynasty?"

Zhang Juzheng suddenly interrupted.

"Yes, how should I view Mang Yinglong's political status really makes me feel a headache."

Wei Guangde admitted.

"Since we regard Myanmar as the territory of our Ming Dynasty, we don't have to worry about other people's opinions.

The eyes are on them, and you can see whatever you want. ”

Zhang Juzheng's words were learned from what Wei Guangde said earlier, and he thought it was very interesting to say it himself.

"We only use it according to the most beneficial words for our Ming Dynasty. If we are good for us, we will use it. If we don't say what is bad, should they ask?"

Zhang Juzheng continued.

Perhaps, because of this "snatching love", Zhang Juzheng's heart finally became hard.

What are you going to do with skin and face?

"It is a disaster after all, it is better to end all the time and eliminate them first and then quickly."

Zhang Juzheng directly expressed his opinion on this and was ready to deal with everyone directly.

Wei Guangde and Zhang Siwei just looked at him deeply and nodded one after another.

"Then let the Ministry of Rites prepare to offer a ceremony to prisoners, get rid of them, and let the vassal states see the consequences of betraying our Ming Dynasty."

Wei Guangde had previously only worried that the execution of the Burmese King and others would make other countries think that the Ming Dynasty was too cruel and would be detrimental to the future Ming Dynasty diplomacy.

Just imagine, if others are guarding against you everywhere, even if you have no intention of having bad intentions about it, you will feel uncomfortable.

In fact, Wei Guangde really had no intention of continuing to expand outward, but just wanted to manage the overseas vassal states of the Ming Dynasty well to prevent them from becoming European colonies.

Well, they can only be left to the Ming Dynasty.

"This time, in addition to the vassal states, will the Spaniards and the Portuguese also invite them?"

Wei Guangde suddenly asked.

Speaking of this, Wei Guangde also remembered that when he talked with Tan Lun and others before, he mentioned that the Ming Dynasty's voyage to the West may have touched the interests of the Portuguese.

Although they plan to be on guard against one's own advantage and try not to have a head-on conflict with the Europeans, they still have to inform the cabinet of this matter.

So, before Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Siwei talked, Wei Guangde talked about the previous chat with Tan Lun and others, focusing on emphasizing what he learned overseas, especially the Portuguese came from the West, while the Spanish fleet came from the East. Come on, there is also a vast continent in the east that is countless times wider than the Ming Dynasty and is conquered by the Spanish.

"There is such a continent in the East?"

Zhang Juzheng was still shocked, and Zhang Siwei reacted first and asked back.

"It is true that the Spanish came from the east to trade with our Ming Dynasty with silver coins, purchasing spices from Nanyang. The gold and silver were actually mined by that continent.

Both the Jinyiwei and the Nanhai Navy have confirmed the existence of the Spaniards' "Treasure Ship". They come to Luzon once a year to transport a large amount of silver coins. ”

Wei Guangde spoke.

"Can we go?"

Zhang Juzheng suddenly asked a question that Wei Guangde had unexpectedly expected.

"You can definitely go there. Just as the size of the Spanish country, how large can they control?"

Wei Guangde replied disdainfully, then shook his head and said, "It's just that the navigation route of the treasure ship is strictly confidential. We can't find the navigation chart, everything is in a daze.

You should know that sailing on the sea requires considering many factors, wind direction and current. If a bad one, it will cause the entire ship to die at sea.

In other words, if we want to reach the eastern continent in Ming Dynasty, we must obtain the Spanish charts, and sail according to the charts, and we must also beware of being intercepted and looted by their fleet at sea.

When they go to land, they are all merchants, but on the sea, merchants can also transform into pirates. ”

"I inform the Jinyiwei and try my best to obtain the chart."

Zhang Juzheng said firmly, "Shancai, Spain's small country. As you said, they own dozens and hundreds of times their territory overseas, and they are all stolen. How do they rely on to rule these places?"

"Those places are relatively backward, like Xiao Liuqiu, there are some natives on them, who are not practical, and they are both big sticks and sweet dates. It is easy for them to obey their orders.

As for the large territory, their king gave the highest authority to the governors of these overseas territories. They had great power and many actions only needed to be reported later.

Unless you encounter a very powerful opponent, such as the Ming Dynasty, you need to inform your king in advance and request to mobilize more soldiers and warships to be sure to take it down. ”

Wei Guangde explained.

"They have had wolf ambitions for me, Daming?"

Zhang Siwei heard something and hurriedly asked.

"The Governor of Luzon has aroused, but he knows that the Portuguese were defeated by our Ming Navy twice, so he dare not act rashly."

Wei Guangde explained.

These are actually not a secret in Manila. Many Spaniards are also passing such news, so they are naturally discovered by the Jinyiwei.

It's just the information revealed in some chats and there is no real evidence.

Think about it, the so-called truth-based evidence can only be found unless the Ming Dynasty can occupy the Governor's Manila's Governor's Palace to protect the palace of the Spanish king and search the letters between them.

But how is this possible?

When Zhang Juzheng heard this, he lowered his head and began to think.

Wei Guangde was also thinking when he saw this. Zhang Juzheng advocated killing Mang Yinglong, which now seems to be the best choice.

That is, if the little emperor Wanli succeeded to the throne for only a few years, he would have been known as a tyrant even after killing two enemy chiefs?

But when Wei Guangde thought of this, he smiled casually.

History books will not be compiled randomly. No matter how old the young emperor is, he has not taken charge of the rule. Although the people killed during this period will be counted on him, anyone with discerning eyes will understand that it is the idea of ​​these ministers, such as the regents. Actually, it has nothing to do with the emperor.

Finally, Zhang Juzheng held his head, Wei Guangde and Zhang Siwei both cheered up and looked over, only to see Zhang Juzheng saying, "The followers of Mang Yinglong and the thief must not be violated, they must kill them with great fanfare."

"Sir, Master."

Zhang Siwei hurriedly called out.

Zhang Juzheng waved his hand and said, "As Shandai said, as if there is any change today, I will no longer be the dominant family in the Ming Dynasty, and two evil wolves have come.

As for what they did in the eastern continent, I had to be on guard against the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, the ship is strong and the cannon is powerful, and no one in those vassal states will choose to cooperate with them for small profits.

Kill these people and show the consequences of the vassal states' rebellion against our Ming Dynasty. ”

Zhang Juzheng's words are actually very accurate.

The surrounding vassal states are definitely not a monolithic piece. They should be divided into two or even more forces to check and balance each other in order to maintain stability.

The only one who dominates the country will only appear in the early stages of the establishment of the kingdom. The founder uses his powerful strength to intimidate everyone.

After that, such an environment will definitely change gradually and cannot be maintained.

Once these forces cooperate with the barbarians, the new kingdom may turn to the barbarians and no longer be my Ming Dynasty.

As for the invasion of the vassal states by the barbarians, Zhang Juzheng no longer considered it because Wei Guangde had already stationed troops in Luzon and the old port, and with the South China Sea navy, the court could know the situation in the South China Sea at any time, so naturally he would deal with it.

At the very least, it was the minimum requirement of the Ming Dynasty to prevent the barbarians from invading vassal states.

Business can be done, but the vassals of the Ming Dynasty cannot be touched.

"I roughly have this view. Anyway, it's still early. You can think about it again in the next two days. If you have any objections, you can discuss it again tomorrow and the next two days."

Zhang Juzheng spoke.

He said this, as if he had put an end to this matter and would not mention it for the time being.

However, after the meeting was over, Zhang Siwei stood up and said goodbye, and Wei Guangde was about to leave, Zhang Juzheng still called Wei Guangde.

"Shan Dao, keeping you there is two things."

When Zhang Siwei left, Zhang Juzheng talked to Wei Guangde alone, stretched out two fingers and said, "One is the chart of the eastern continent. If you have to get it at all costs, my Ming Dynasty is too short of silver.

You said before that there are countless gold and silver deposits in the eastern continent, which are all urgently lacking in the Ming Dynasty.

Since they don’t know how to pick them, it’s better to let me take them instead of taking advantage of them. ”

Wei Guangde nodded slightly, and then reminded: "Brother, in fact, there are many mountains of gold and silver in Japan."

"It's not chaotic enough there, and it's not appropriate for our Ming Dynasty to send troops rashly. Besides, we don't have that much war supported by money for the time being.

Unless Changyingku is used, it can only be used when the country faces the threat of a war.

When attacking Japan, they use the silver from Changyingku. The Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Rites, and Censorate will not support it. Even if they are told that Japan has mountains of gold and silver, they will turn a blind eye and will only organize fleets to trade privately. ”

Zhang Juzheng shook his head and said.

"You need to know the Ministry of Works that in the next few years, the Ministry of Works will shift its main energy to shipbuilding. The Ming Dynasty needs a larger fleet to complete the development of the East China Sea and West China Navy.

To take over Japan and the Eastern Mainland, the East China Sea Navy needs to be able to take action.

Of course, the South China Sea Navy also needs to provide assistance.

The West Sea Navy mainly deals with the fleet of barbarians from the West and is sure to ensure maritime transportation between the Ming Dynasty and the Western countries.

To clear the fields of Zhangzhang, we must consolidate the foundation and vigorously develop overseas trade to obtain sufficient profits so that the court can have the financial resources to develop the navy fleet.

I might as well see this, but I can also feel that the threat from the sea is really too great.

We can no longer ban the sea, and we can no longer have a resolution to directly abandon the voyage to the West like the Orthodox dynasty.

Otherwise, there is absolutely no possibility of Western barbarian countries developing. ”

Wei Guangde just nodded slightly. In fact, the Ming Navy could not stop the Europeans from sailing in the West. After all, he was crazy and fearless.

"The second thing is the matter of rectifying the academic and political affairs I told you before. I don't think it's delayed."

Then Zhang Juzheng turned the chore back and continued. (End of this chapter)