The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Supporters on both sides had already made their stance clear. At this time, there were not many people standing around. Only Zhang Juzheng was left in the cabinet. He turned slightly sideways and frowned slightly as he looked at the current situation.

To be honest, it was a bit beyond his imagination.

Judging from the memorials of the past two days, the voices of North Korea and China opposing the opening of the sea are far louder than those of supporters. Although this is still the case now, the ratio between the two sides is very close.

After thinking about it for a while, he realized that many of the people who later came out to support the opening of the sea actually had no immediate interests. These officials also did not participate in the previous memorial movement.

Looking at Chen Yiqin, Gao Gong and others who were kneeling next to him, Zhang Juzheng felt that he was truly opposed to them.

Yu Zhuan was an old man, so was he, but he couldn't stand up to support him.

It was obvious that Emperor Longqing supported the opening of the sea, otherwise they would not all come forward.

Gao Gong, you must go down, otherwise you and your teacher may have to leave the court. Today, I will let you be arrogant for the time being.

Zhang Juzheng thought in his mind, but he did not express his support or objection, he just stood there quietly.

He is from Huguang, and the gentlemen along the coast have no influence on him.

As for the teacher Xu Jie, it is true that many people have come to him during this period. As the first assistant, Xu Jie knows what things can be done and what things cannot be done.

His every move is of great importance, and he will never disregard the stability of the court for a small gain.

The overall situation, this is what the first assistant must consider.

At this time, Emperor Longqing seemed to be in a dilemma. He looked at the supporters and the opponents, and seemed to be comparing which side had more people.

Considering the current situation, there are definitely more important ministers who support the opening of the sea. However, these are all high-level officials in the court. If the people outside the palace are included, it is estimated that there will be more officials who support the ban on the sea.

Fortunately, although there were many people outside, they were unable to participate in this debate.

Emperor Longqing first glanced to the right, where the nobles and military ministers were.

They have no interest in getting involved in the current situation. It is a dog-eat-dog fight between civil servants. Opening and banning seas has little benefit to them.

At least at this moment, that's what Xungui and Wuchen thought.

Opening up the sea may be of interest to those who stay in Nanjing, but for those in Beijing, what they value more is land and salt.

The embezzlement of military pay, which was regarded by later generations as an important reason for the demise of the Ming Dynasty, was actually something that was regarded as a treasure by the clansmen who had little status in the palace to the people standing in the palace.

To them, that little bit of military pay was worth tens of thousands of taels of silver a month, and there were countless families to share it with.

The Duke of Cheng, Zhu Xizhong, and the British Duke, Zhang Rong, were all watching the scene happening in the palace coldly. The Duke of Ding, Xu Yande, was old and looked trembling as he stood there.

It is said that Duke Dingguo has been in poor health since he participated in the funeral of Emperor Sejong. It is estimated that he is too lazy to care about such matters at this time, even if he saw his niece-in-law Wei Guangde also expressed his stance.

For nobles like them, there is no need to grab any merit from the dragon. It is risky, and their own level has already reached the top.

It also needs to be faithfully implemented after the emperor issues the order. The royal family will not be able to find any mistakes. If it is done well, it will be enough to be favored.

Therefore, the nobles are now waiting for Emperor Longqing to make a decision. Once the emperor speaks, they will support it as soon as possible.

Emperor Longqing shifted his gaze to the left, where the ministers were standing. Standing alone in front of him was Zhang Juzheng, who was very conspicuous.

Of the next six ministers, only Yang Bo, the minister of official affairs, and Gao Yao, the minister of household affairs, have not moved. The others have already chosen their supporters.

After that, there are the five temples and the first level of minister. To be honest, Emperor Longqing has an impression of some of them, while there are others who have little contact with them and the impression is not deep. He just knows their names.

"Uncle, Xu Aiqing did not arrive at the court meeting today due to health reasons. I wonder if I told you anything yesterday?"

Xu Jie was present during the cabinet discussion yesterday. After that, the emperor did not approve Shangshu's begging return, so now he said to Zhang Juzheng, let's see how their master and apprentice discussed this matter.

"His Majesty."

At this time, Zhang Juzheng also walked out of the train and knelt down and said: "After the cabinet meeting yesterday, Mr. Xu Ge was also thinking about the livelihood of the people in Fujian, but the ancestral system cannot be violated. As the chief minister, he cannot make such an opening, so he is worried about becoming ill."

Zhang Juzheng didn't speak much, but Xu Jie's attitude was still expressed clearly. He was still opposed to the opening of the sea, but he also missed the Fujian people in his heart, so he became ill.

"Your Majesty, the ancestral system cannot be violated."

Grohe shouted at the right time.

"His Majesty."

As Gao Yi shouted, the supporters behind him also cried like this.

It can only be said that Zhu Yuanzhang was really too lenient. Before his death, he added a lock to the system he formulated, and the standard was modified by his descendants. Little did he know that the rule he added became the legal basis for future generations of officials to restrict imperial power.

The Ming Dynasty classic "Huang Ming Ancestral Instructions" compiled by Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, contains Zhu Yuanzhang's instructions to his descendants in order to consolidate Zhu Ming's imperial power.

There are thirteen chapters in the book. The first four chapters respectively describe the strict regulations on the ban on torture and the ban on the appointment of the prime minister. The following chapters discuss in detail the treatment of the criminal relatives of the emperor and the policies for the four countries. Finally, It is about rules on issues such as respecting heaven and ancestors, and talks about rules and regulations.

He also made strict regulations in this regard. Not a word of this classic is allowed to be changed, and all must be implemented.

It is a pity that when Zhu Yuanzhang died, none of his descendants took his words seriously.

From the time he passed the throne to his grandson Zhu Yunwen, he began to reduce the vassal status after he came to power. First, he overturned the system established by Zhu Yuanzhang and forced King Zhu Di of Yan to choose the path of rebellion.

After the success of Zhu Di's rebellion, he ignored the provisions of the "Ancestor Instructions of the Emperor Ming Dynasty" and executed a large number of civil servants and generals loyal to the Jianwen court, such as Qitai, Huang Zicheng, and Fang Xiaoru, to death. This seriously violated the stipulations of the "Ancestral Instructions of the Emperor Ming Dynasty" that "torture is prohibited" set by Zhu Yuanzhang. .

Zhu Yuanzhang set strict ancestral precepts, but few of his descendants followed them. The root cause is that Zhu Yuanzhang's upper beam was not straight, and the lower beam was crooked.

Zhu Yuanzhang himself was a typical example of decisive killing. Hu Weiyong, who was executed late, and Lan Yu, who peeled daylilies, also had achievements during their lifetimes, but he did not follow the system he established.

Especially when it comes to choosing Zhu Yunwen, the grandson of the emperor, to inherit the throne, there is a complete lack of consideration, because if Zhu Yunwen followed the inheritance system established in the ancestral precepts, he would not be able to take this position anyway.

It was such a thing that was reduced to waste paper from the beginning, but it has always been a shackle on the head of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Officials often used the "Emperor Ming Ancestor Instructions" to guide the emperor's actions.

The emperors of the Ming Dynasty also knew this very well, but they were unable to refute it.

Of course, for a strong king, the ancestral system is just that, and if it needs to be changed, he will try his best to modify it. For example, Emperor Jiajing took a curveball to save the country and secretly changed some systems.

After that, he turned a blind eye to the advice of hundreds of officials. In the end, even the court meeting was not held, and everyone was out of sight.

When it came to Emperor Longqing, the only way to change the ancestral system of the "forbidden sea" was to negotiate with the officials and find a way to pass it.

It is difficult to push forcibly, and it is easy to provoke a stronger counterattack from officials, and even the decree is rejected by the cabinet, because the most important first and second ministers of the cabinet do not dare to publicly express their support for Kaihai.

What he said was as if he didn't say it, and it gave Xu Jie a reputation as a person who sympathized with the people. This was certainly not what Emperor Longqing wanted.

Frowning, Emperor Longqing continued to ask: "Does the Chief Minister have a way to resolve this issue?"

Now the two factions supporting and opposing factions have come to blows, and a large group of them have knelt down in the Huangji Palace.

What the cabinet does is to provide the emperor with ideas to solve problems.

Now that the problem has arisen, as the chief assistant, should we also come up with solutions, instead of simply supporting and opposing, and having a clear attitude?

According to Wei Guangde's previous opinion, that's enough for today. The emperor will not make a decision at the court meeting, but will let everyone come up with their own ideas.

Afterwards, some people will naturally mention that the sea ban remains the same, but giving Fujian the privilege of selling to both the east and west oceans will solve the livelihood problems of Fujian people.

In this way, the sea ban system in most coastal prefectures and counties across the country remains unchanged, but it is just to solve practical difficulties for the people of Fujian and open a sea, and everyone will easily accept it.

If you take this memorandum to discuss with someone inside, you should be able to pass it. Even if you still object, you still have to go ahead with it.

Emperor Longqing didn't care whether the people of Fujian really couldn't survive, or how much revenue the opening of the sea in Fujian could increase for the internal treasury, but he cared about whether the opening of the sea could weaken the power of Japanese pirates and free the Ming Dynasty from Japanese troubles.

"Your Majesty, the Chief Assistant has indeed been worried about this matter during this period. He has a preliminary idea, but it is not mature yet."

Zhang Juzheng replied.

"tell me the story."

Emperor Longqing became interested and wanted to know what Xu Jie would think.

"The First Assistant believes that the livelihood of the people in Fujian must be taken care of and the ancestral precepts cannot be violated. The policy of 'sea ban' can be continued. Only one port in Fujian is allowed to be developed, and the government imposes strict restrictions on ships coming and going.

If Governor Tu allowed private merchants to sell goods to the East and West oceans, restrictions should be placed on them, and transactions with Japanese people should be prohibited.

All merchant ships carrying foreign trade along the coast must go to Yuegang to go through the formalities, load goods out of the port, and enter the port for inspection.

All ships must apply for a "route of ship" or "business introduction" certificate before they can go to sea. There are strict limits on the time they can go to sea. If they fail to return home after the time limit, they will be punished as "traveling to Japan".

It is strictly prohibited to carry saltpeter, copper, iron and other items out to sea."

As soon as Zhang Juzheng opened his mouth, he and Xu Jie discussed and stated all the terms that should be restricted.

At this time, materials such as saltpeter and copper were extremely scarce in the Ming Dynasty. Saltpeter can be used to refine gunpowder and is a strategic material. Copper is a material for making weapons and copper coins. The Ming Dynasty has been plagued by a shortage of copper mines.

As for iron, although its output is huge, it is also a controlled strategic material.

From the very beginning, the Ming Dynasty had a clear understanding of these strategic materials. Knowing that the domestic supply was insufficient, trafficking out of them should be prohibited.

However, after all, the officials of the imperial court lacked the vision. They did not know that such resources, which were insufficient in reserves in the Ming Dynasty, were inexhaustible overseas and could be exchanged for large quantities of exquisite handicrafts from the Ming Dynasty. These raw materials are in short supply.

Maritime merchants who are privately engaged in foreign trade naturally know this, but they regard this information as a way to make a fortune, and they cover it up very tightly, and they will not leak any information at all.

The people in the court who knew about these things were all members of their own families engaged in maritime trade, and of course they would not be stupid enough to spread the news.

And those officials who were paid to do things were kept in the dark.

In later generations, many people only focused on the millions of taels of silver that the "Longqing Switch" was rumored to have brought back to China, while few considered allowing the Ming Dynasty to use sea trade to massively smuggle back in-demand materials from overseas to solve the problem of domestic development. Insufficient resources encountered.

This is not just a few ships, but dozens of ships. Only when the Chinese people truly realize that there are endless resources overseas, will the awareness of sea power have the opportunity to rise, giving them the idea of ​​​​going out to grab resources.

Wei Guangde came to the Ming Dynasty, read a lot of books, and had his own views on the prosperous age.

The so-called official administration of Qingming is a joke. Many wise kings in the past dynasties have been unable to solve the problem. Even in later generations, the system will continue to improve and it will not be able to put an end to it.

For the common people, it has nothing to do with the prosperity of the dynasty and the status of the officials. They only care about the money in their pockets.

As long as the people are rich and don't have enough to eat, it will be a prosperous time for them.

For a dynasty, it is not enough for the people to live and work in peace and contentment to support the name of a "prosperous age". You must also have sufficient external influence.

The Ming Dynasty was originally the eastern suzerainty, and all foreign vassals could only be vassals. Therefore, we had to have a stronger voice externally. The will of the Ming Emperor and the policies of the Ming court could affect the surrounding vassals and all the vassals related to the Ming Dynasty.

Only when it reaches this level both internally and externally can it be called a "prosperous age".

In Wei Guangde's view, since land annexation is inevitable, let landless farmers move into cities.

Enter the factory, enter the handicraft workshop, and promote the urbanization construction of Ming Dynasty.

Let them no longer continue to dig food from the land, but use their hands to work and solve their livelihood problems with labor.

The Ming Dynasty had the best handicrafts in the world and was not afraid of being unable to monopolize global trade.

Equalizing land was what the founding emperor did.

Use force to seize the resources left over from the previous dynasty to win over people's hearts so that they can secure their position.

Long Qing was just a Shoucheng emperor, and he did not need to carry out a so-called reform to stabilize his throne.

Because once the land ownership is changed again, it will indeed extend the life of the dynasty, but it will affect the interests of all vested interests, including Wei Guangde's interests.

His family is no longer one of the hundreds of households in the collapse of the Ming Dynasty, but a large landowner with vast fertile land in Jiangxi.

Zhang Juzheng was still kneeling in front and kept talking about the decision he had made after discussing it with Xu Jie. Emperor Longqing, who was sitting on the dragon throne, had already sat upright and stared at him with wide eyes, his heart trembling.

Wei Guangde had been studying something for several years, and Xu Jie figured it out in such a short period of time.

Yes, these things Xu Jie proposed covered almost everything Wei Guangde could think of, and he even thought of many things that Wei Guangde had not thought of.

For example, Wei Guangde never proposed banning trade with Japan.