Chapter 201 Take the initiative! The Ming Dynasty fought against the Western colonists for the first time
As for Ya San, the translator of Huo, Zhu Houzhao specially summoned this person alone. After learning that he was originally a Han from Huguang, he was even more delighted and said:
"I am thinking that those who do not understand Fo Lang Ji's language and do not know Fo Lang Ji's situation, Huo Zhe Ya San, are you also a Han Chinese, are you willing to join the court as an official and handle Fo Lang Ji's affairs for me?"
Ya San, the Fire Man, did not expect that His Majesty the Emperor of Ming Dynasty would not only appoint Pires as an official, but also appoint himself as an official. How could he refuse? So he knelt down and kowtowed. Zhu Houzhao quickly ordered Gu Dayong to help him up. He also said: "The Ming Dynasty has already established the outline of the constitution. You may not know it after being overseas for a long time. People and ministers are not formal, and they no longer kneel down easily. You just stand and answer."
"My lord, I obey your decree. My lord, Guo Zhao, thanks you!" Ya San, the fireman, hurriedly called himself by his original Han name.
Zhu Houzhao nodded: "Since you have returned to your homeland, you don't need to call me by your name anymore. From now on, you can call me Guo Zhao. Please tell me what is the current situation of Folangji in Xiyi and how should the Ming Dynasty deal with it." Anyway, tell me what you think, I won’t punish you for your blunder!”
Although Zhu Houzhao, as a time traveler, knew something about Folangji, which was also known as Folangji in later generations, and knew that in this era, Folangji was the first great power in the West to rise in the Age of Discovery.
However, Zhu Houzhao did not know the specific situation of Fo Langji in this era, and the specific views of Fo Langji by the Ming Dynasty people in this era. Zhu Houzhao did know the views of the sergeants, officials and local officials on Fo Langji.
However, these scholar-bureaucrats and local officials all had a contemptuous and hostile attitude towards the emergence of Fo Langji.
Lin Tingxuan of Guangdong and Guangxi directly asked in the memorial whether to expel the Fo Langji people. Cabinet ministers and other ministers in the court also believed that Fo Langji's visit was not in line with the tribute system and occupied the land belonging to the Ming vassal, and should also be expelled.
Zhu Houzhao was indeed dissatisfied with Fo Lang Ji's occupation of Manchuria and Tuenmen, but he did not underestimate Fo Lang Ji. He knew that seizing the opportunity to communicate with Fo Lang Ji now would be conducive to the development of maritime trade in the Ming Dynasty, and he rushed to the Netherlands and before the UK.
As Guo Zhao was the first Chinese to understand the East and the West, it was naturally necessary for Zhu Houzhao to understand his current views on Fo Langji.
"Report to Your Majesty! Although Fo Langji's territory is not as large as that of the Ming Dynasty, the islands it occupies are spread all over the world, and its routes are all over the universe. It has plundered countless properties in the country. Both its warships and firearms are very sharp! The Ming Dynasty may not be able to match it. His ship has strong guns and powerful guns;
However, the Folangji Kingdom only wants trade, and I think that I can agree to trade with it, learn its skills, and improve our warships and firearms of the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, we can also make profits from porcelain, silk, etc. to benefit the court. As far as I know, porcelain Silk is as valuable as gold in Western Yi! ”
Guo Zhao was very excited that he could get the attention of Emperor Zhu Houzhao. In order to be reused and the fact that the Folangji Kingdom was indeed colonizing the sea crazily, he naturally told the truth in front of Zhu Houzhao at this moment.
"Your Majesty! I believe that Mr. Guo's statement that the Folangji people were occupying islands everywhere and that their routes were all over the world may be credible. Even porcelain and silk in the Western Yi are as valuable as gold. However, their firearms and warships are better than those of the Ming Dynasty. strong, minister I don’t agree. I am also in charge of the Ministry of War. The Ming Dynasty’s muskets can now be loaded and fired, and the artillery can fire continuously to defeat the enemy. It has a copper tire and an iron core. If the Ming Dynasty’s firearms are not as good as a Yifulang machine, then I will resign! ! ”
Xia Yan, who has been promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of War and is still in charge of the Ordnance Bureau, is now meeting Guo Zhao with Zhu Houzhao in the palace along with officials from the Cabinet, Ministry of War, and Ministry of Rites. However, he hears that Guo Zhao's Daming firearms are not as good as the Fo Lang machine. The manager of the bureau was naturally very angry and hurriedly stood up.
Guo Zhao saw the fierce-looking red-robed official in front of him speaking very mercilessly, so he could only smile awkwardly. At the same time, he was also very confused, secretly thinking about the breech-loaded firing of the big open fire gun? What's the meaning? Could it be that Ming Dynasty’s current muskets can now be loaded with ammunition at the back? Cannons with copper tires and iron cores have many advantages.
Guo Zhao didn't understand or think about it. As a person who only knew foreign languages and business, he didn't understand much about ordnance. His impression of the Ming Dynasty firearms was still in the era of traditional early match ropes and muskets, so he instinctively thought that the Ming Dynasty firearms were Firearms were no longer as good as the Folangji, and like most Han people who were better than him and directly learned to improve them, he only suggested that the court learn to make Folangji firearms at this moment.
Now that he saw this red-robed official, he was quite unhappy. Guo Zhao also hurriedly walked down the slope and said:
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. Please calm down, my lord. I have not returned to China for a long time. I know very little and am biased!"
When Guo Zhao said this, Xia Yan stopped getting angry and just waved his wide sleeves.
Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but smile when he saw this. Only he, the emperor, knew that if it hadn't been for the appearance of himself as a time traveler, the Ming Dynasty's firearms would have lagged behind the Fulangji as Guo Zhao said.
However, because of the emergence of himself as a time traveler, he first liberated the craftsmen and used the new incentive system to stimulate the enthusiasm of craftsmen to invent and create, and then used his understanding of later generations of firearms to guide them, making the Ming Dynasty's current firearms and artillery advanced and manufacturing levels It is already far ahead of Folangji. Because of this, although Zhu Houzhao knew that Ming Dynasty was no weaker than Fo Langji in terms of firearms, artillery and even battleships, he knew that what Guo Zhao said was not alarmist. Fo Langji was Ming's biggest challenger in the fight for global interests. While his cabinet ministers were still feeling complacent about getting a few more good horses and goats from Mongolia, they had already started plundering all over the world, and all they were plundering was real money and silver.
"I have said that you are allowed to speak as you wish, so naturally I will not blame you. However, as you said, this country of Franco cannot be taken lightly, and cannot be regarded as a friendly country or a despised barbarian. I have decided to establish the Western The Yi Pavilion is managed by you, Wai Lang, the Minister of Rites, and is responsible for studying the Western Yi countries and even for receiving envoys from the Western Yi countries, as well as cultivating talents who understand Folangji language and even other Western Yi languages!”
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When Zhu Houzhao said this, Guo Zhao knelt down on the ground excitedly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"
After all, he himself did not expect that he would become a member of the Ministry of Etiquette, a fifth-grade Beijing official! He knew that such an official position could only be held by an official with a Jinshi background and a high ranking, and it usually took many years to get it. Now he can directly become a member of the Ministry of Rites and be in charge of the Xiyi Pavilion. It can be said that I can not only show my talents but also honor my ancestors, so I am naturally excited!
No matter what, at this moment, in Guo Zhao's eyes, the Emperor in front of him is really his bole! He secretly vowed to create extraordinary achievements under the rule of His Majesty the Emperor!
At this time, Fu Gui, the Minister of Rites, stood up. As a traditional scholar-bureaucrat, he had no good impressions of the Kingdom of Folangji, which did not abide by the tribute system and attempted to trade directly with the Ming Dynasty, and the communication method was very unfriendly. think folang How much the country of Ji deserves attention, and he despises the Han Chinese who is willing to be the interpreter of the envoy of Fo Lang Ji, especially the Han Chinese named Guo Zhao who even changed his Chinese name to Huo Zhe Ya San at the beginning, and even more It made him feel that Guo Zhao was a man who had forgotten his ancestors.
Therefore, now that His Majesty the Emperor wanted to appoint Guo Zhao as the Minister of Rites, he naturally could not accept it. Considering that he was the Minister of Rites, he naturally wanted to interfere, so he hurriedly said:
"Your Majesty! All the official positions in the imperial court are prestigious. Only virtuous ministers and talented people cannot get them, and only those with meritorious service cannot be appointed. Now, Guo Zhao is just a man in white clothes. He hastily awarded it to a foreign minister in the Ministry of Rites. I think it is unacceptable. If your Majesty wants It’s better to use it than to give it to an official!”
"If Fu Qing can find someone among the scholars in the world who knows the language of Buddha and can manage the Xiyi Pavilion for me, I will naturally not use Guo Zhao! If not, I must use him!"
When Zhu Houzhao said this, Fu Gui, the Minister of Rites, was speechless and could only retreat.
In addition, Pires was also appointed by Zhu Houzhao as the head of the Ministry of Etiquette.
Zhu Houzhao knew that now was the beginning of the Age of Discovery. If the Ming Empire wanted not to lose to the West, it would have to compete in all aspects, not only for the world's resources and territory, but also for navigation talents.
Zhu Houzhao knew that in this era, not only the East but also the West did not have strong national concepts. In the contract-based West, as in the Warring States Period, it was not uncommon to be ministers in other countries.
As a modern person, Zhu Houzhao will naturally not discriminate against other races. As long as they can benefit the Ming Dynasty, he can accept them to become the bureaucrats of his Ming Dynasty. As an emperor, he wants to attract talents from all over the world to his country. .
Pires became the head of the Host and Guest Department of the Ministry of Rites, and returned to Guangzhou again as the special envoy of Emperor Zhu Houzhao, and was preparing to return to Folangji to hand the credential of Ming Emperor Zhu Houzhao to King Folangji.
At this time, Wang, the deputy envoy of Guangdong, was ordered to lead the Guangdong Navy to attack Tuen Mun.
For the Ming Dynasty, it was natural to trade with Fo Langji, but it had to take back its territory if it was invaded. Therefore, the Tuen Mun naval battle was naturally necessary, otherwise it would not be enough to declare the integrity of the Ming Dynasty's sovereignty.
At the same time, it is also to show its fist to the Western forces. Peaceful trade must also be based on strong force.
The current steel smelting technology of the Ming Dynasty has been very developed. Steel smelting has developed to the stage of open-hearth steelmaking, and shipbuilding technology has begun to recover. Therefore, it is not difficult to create a sail warship that uses smoothbore guns as ship-borne weapons. The Guangdong Deputy Ambassador This time Wang Hong took five sail warships to Tuen Mun Island to fight against the colonists of Fo Langji.
Today's Folangji colonists have just occupied Manraka and caused a massacre in Manraka. They are very proud of themselves. Although they admire the Ming Empire very much, they have no fear.
In their view, Tuen Mun Island is just a small island occupied by themselves in the process of colonizing the world. Based on their smooth experience in colonizing other areas, they do not think they will colonize Tuen Mun Island. What dangers did you encounter when you were there?
But what the colonists of Folangji didn't understand was that the place they were colonizing now belonged to the Ming Dynasty, and they were challenging the dignity of a powerful empire.
(End of chapter)