Chapter 203 The national self-confidence of the scholar-bureaucrats in the Ming Dynasty
After Wang Hong regained Tuen Mun Island, he did not destroy the facilities and firearms manufacturing base built by the Fo Langji people on Tuen Mun Island. Instead, he directly established Tuen Mun as a Ming Dynasty naval base in accordance with Zhu Houzhao's order.
The Ming Dynasty stationed a hundred households in Tuen Mun, where the fourth-class sailing battleship "Baoding" was anchored.
At the same time, all the craftsmen who made firearms for the Folangji people were re-employed by the Ming government and continued to make firearms for the Ming Dynasty.
It can be said that the occupation of Tuen Mun Island by the Folangji people was a wedding dress for the Ming Dynasty, allowing the Ming Navy to easily add a naval base at the Pearl River Estuary.
Not only that, the Jinyiwei has now been ordered to successfully receive the envoy of Prince Bintang of Manlajia, Mu Hanmode, who has entered the capital, making it clear that the Ming Dynasty wants to interfere in the destruction of Manlajia by Fo Langji.
And this time, the Ming Dynasty will take the initiative to intervene in the destruction of Manlajia, and take this opportunity to regain Ming Dynasty's maritime control over Nanyang!
Since Zheng He's voyages to the West, Ming Dynasty implemented a strict maritime ban policy and voluntarily gave up its control of shipping in Southeast Asia. This was also when the civil servant group began to take power. It can be said that it was the stupid scholar-bureaucrats who turned Ming Dynasty into a The closed empire caused the Ming Dynasty to lose control of the previously opened sea routes from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean and even the Red Sea.
If this were not the case, Manlajia would not be easily destroyed by Fo Langji.
Of course, although the destruction of Manlajia affected the interests of the Ming Dynasty, it was not worthy of pity.
Because after establishing Manlajia, Sultan Barimi of Malaka has been trying to get rid of the control of the Ming Dynasty. He did not even choose the Confucian model of founding a country. He was called king instead of sultan, and he was more respectful to the Persians. This was one of the reasons why Ming merchants helped Franji occupy Manraka.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao decided to let the Ming Dynasty intervene in the destruction of Manchuria this time. The purpose was not only to regain control of maritime shipping in Southeast Asia, but also to re-establish the order of Eastern civilization. He wanted to sell Confucian Neo-Confucianism domestically. Re-export.
"Dear His Majesty the Ming Emperor! The Fo Langji from the West are a group of bandits. They ignore the dignity of the Celestial Empire and only know how to burn, kill, loot and slaughter countless people in our country. We sincerely ask His Majesty the Ming Emperor to make the decision for us!"
At this time, when Han Mo De saw Zhu Houzhao in the main hall, he started to cry and cried out word by word the atrocities committed by Fo Langji in Manlajia.
Naturally, Zhu Houzhao had already known about Fo Langji's atrocities in Manlajia through the Jinyiwei system, so he was not very excited when he heard what Mu Hanmede said. However, it was extremely shocking to the courtiers present. Because this was the first time they knew about the atrocities committed by Western colonists, in the eyes of this group of scholar-bureaucrats who lived in the prosperous Ming Dynasty, Fo Langji's behavior was simply intolerable cruelty.
Therefore, at this time, Liu Yu, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, who had joined the cabinet, could not help but express his position first: "Your Majesty! This Buddha is no match for the Kingdom of Mustard, but it has repeatedly challenged the majesty of our Celestial Empire, and now it has destroyed our Ming vassal. It can be said to be a snake and a scorpion. Failure to punish them will not be enough to show the majesty of our great country!”
"I also believe that Fo Langji should be punished. These barbarian countries have no strict etiquette and only know how to kill people and set fires. Moreover, they are not paying tribute to the Ming Dynasty, so they should not be respectful! However, Your Majesty deliberately punished him. The king's envoys are officials of the Ming Dynasty, but I think it is impossible. Now they are full of people. In addition, it has been shown that the envoys sent by Folangji State should be cut off from diplomatic relations with them, and the envoys sent by it should also be detained as hostages to force Folangji State to return Manlajia territory. Otherwise, the Ming Dynasty, as the suzerain state, should replace Manlajia State. Execute these Falangji bandits”
Hong Zhong, the Minister of Punishment, said at this time.
Zhu Houzhao could see that many of the scholar-bureaucrats in the Ming Dynasty today have raised eyebrows. They have no experience of a century of humiliation and have a disdainful attitude towards foreign countries, and they are disdainful to the core!
So much so that after hearing the atrocities committed by Folangji in Manlajia, what comes to mind is not how Folangji, as a Western country, could expedition to Manlajia and also destroy Manlajia, and thus develop a sense of crisis and pay attention to Folangji. , but disdain for Fo Langji’s original capital plundering behavior, and even directly clamored to punish Fo Langji.
"Report! Lin Tingxuan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, urgently reported eight hundred miles away. The deputy envoy of the Guangdong Advocate has been ordered to lead the first unit of the Guangdong and Guangxi Navy to recapture Tuenmen and captured 231 Fo Langji men! There were no casualties in the navy! And he has been ordered It was incorporated into the service of Daming Maritime Trading Company, and the captured warships and firearms and artillery were shipped back to Beijing. ”
At this time, the battle report from Guangdong and Guangxi came, and Zhu Houzhao couldn't help being very happy and ordered: "Official official, please record this moment. The Ming Dynasty did not lose in the first battle against the Western colonists, and it was a great victory! So! , in the face of the invasion of Western civilization, Ming Dynasty is not vulnerable! ”
Zhu Houzhao was very happy, because although the military significance of the Tuen Mun naval battle was not great, its political and historical significance was actually very great. He had to record this, and he had to record it in a way that the central court attached great importance to, so as to tell the story For those who came later, Ming Dynasty did not lag behind this world!
However, the scholar-bureaucrats at this time obviously did not understand why His Majesty the Emperor valued this victory so much. In their view, the victory of regaining Tuen Mun was not worth mentioning at all.
"Your Majesty, although the Folangji Kingdom can destroy Manlajia, it is no more than a pirate. I think that the victory of our Chinese navy is just like suppressing bandits, and it is not a big event to remember!"
Bian Gong, the head of the Hanlin Academy, stood up and played.
"I think that the Folangji Kingdom is nothing more than a barbarian. How can its military strength be compared with that of the Ming Dynasty? The restoration of Tuenmen is not a big deal. Why bother to report it in a hurry of 800 miles!" Li Kedu also reported to Tang Ren during the incident. arrive.
Zhu Houzhao knew that these civil servants in the Ming Dynasty had their own selfish motives for not promoting martial arts, but he had to admit that this was also related to the fact that these civil servants did not know what kind of situation they were facing. These civil servants were not time travellers, and they did not The memory of later generations naturally does not know what kind of existence the Western colonists will be in the next few hundred years. Therefore, these civil servants are confident at this moment and are still immersed in the dream of being a heavenly country.
Therefore, when the victory of reviving Tuen Mun reached their ears, these civil servants were not very happy, nor did they realize the significance of it.
Zhu Houzhao also felt that the civil servants of this era were very happy. They were so happy that they had no idea how stupid they were. Instead, they felt that they were the wisest and most contributors to the empire.
"Many suffered losses, but Qian benefited. Although the Ming Dynasty was stronger than the four seas and dominated the universe, it was only a corner of the earth. Although his country of Folangji was just a small mustard country and was far to the west of the ocean, it could destroy a whole country. Lajia can even attack our Ming Dynasty. How can such a barbarian be underestimated? Does our Ming Dynasty have this ability?”
Zhu Houzhao had the feeling that he was a clown who admired foreign things and the civil servants in front of him were the real patriots at this moment, because it was he who had always been responsible for the ambition of Fo Lang Ji to destroy the Ming Dynasty, and these civil servants happened to be destroying the Ming Dynasty. Fo Langji's majesty grew up with Ming's ambition.
Although, Zhu Houzhao's purpose was just to remind people of this era that Western colonists were not external forces that could be despised.
"Your Majesty! The Ming Dynasty traveled far across the ocean to destroy more than one country. Back then, Father Sanbao made seven voyages to the Western Ocean and quelled the chaos along the coast. Now the Zhijiang Shipyard of the Ming Dynasty has been rebuilt, and there are countless skilled shipwrights. Just another Western one!”
At this time, Ye Heng, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, stood up and replied in a very ignorant manner.
"Moreover, I, the Ming Dynasty, went to the West to follow benevolence and practice morality, and all the countries admired me! But now these Folangji people are nothing more than bandits, massacring, looting, and destroying other countries' political affairs. They are hateful and extremely barbaric! How can they go to heaven with me? Compared with the teacher of national benevolence and righteousness!”
Zhu Houzhao was speechless for a moment. He found that he could not use any argument to dispel the cultural confidence and national confidence of the Ming Dynasty people in this era. Even if they throw out the most powerful maritime achievements in the West, these scholar-bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty can still come up with it. The glorious achievements of this dynasty to refute.
"Although the Ming Dynasty can do this, can it be done if it is replaced by the Great Yuan? If in the future a tribe that knows how to fish, hunt, ride, and shoot takes over the world, will they be able to sail all over the world like the Ming Dynasty? By then, such as Fo Langji will have already Occupying the entire land through the advantage of the sea, will we, the Ming Dynasty, be its opponent? ”
Zhu Houzhao asked. He couldn't directly say that if the Manchu Qing Dynasty destroyed the Ming Dynasty in the future, he only made an analogy.
"Your Majesty, please don't be so worried. How could our Ming Dynasty fall at the hands of foreigners! The remaining Yuan Dynasty is weak and has surrendered to our Ming Dynasty! The heroes of the surrounding countries dare not be disobedient!"
Because Jiao Fang and Xu Jin had already served, Wang Hua took over as the chief minister of the cabinet. When Wang Hua saw that Zhu Houzhao was involved in the disaster of foreign tribes, he was deeply afraid that his majesty would raise troops in Mobei again, so he hurriedly took over the words and tried to dispel Zhu Houzhao's suggestion. thought.
Zhu Houzhao also understood the purpose of Wang Hua's words, but he did not mean to personally conquer Mobei and kill all the foreigners. That would be unrealistic and consume national power. Zhu Houzhao would not start a war that would not benefit. But what he said today was actually to use the rise of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties in history to give some warning to the meat-eaters of the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao said again: "Suppose that the world is at a time when the people are in dire straits. There are rebels inside, killing officials and gentry to plunder people's wealth, and foreign races rising outside. Confucian scholars and Han ministers help to establish kingly rule, and even claim to be the destiny of heaven. In other words, at that time, how should you, as scholar-bureaucrats, make a decision: to help the thieves to destroy the Ming Dynasty, or to help the captors to destroy the Ming Dynasty? "
As soon as Zhu Houzhao said these words, all the ministers were shocked. They did not expect that His Majesty the Emperor would suddenly say such a hypothesis, but they had to answer His Majesty the Emperor's question, and they instinctively began to think about it, if it really happened. That step is how to choose.
"Your Majesty! How can a great Ming emperor and his ministers be destroyed? Even if the country is destroyed, I will boldly speak out. Only those who respect the nobles and officials can get the destiny, because the herdsmen are scholars. Those who win the hearts and minds of the people will win the destiny. If you want to win the hearts of the people, you must first win them. The heart of a scholar! ”
At this time, Bian Gong, a student of the Hanlin Academy, stood up boldly and answered Zhu Houzhao's questions truthfully. Moreover, the implication was that he was admonishing Emperor Zhu Houzhao to ensure that the Ming Dynasty survived and respected the gentry.
(End of chapter)