Chapter 359 Military and political events are inseparable from the Supreme Emperor
Shuangyu Island, a little-known island in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty, has become a distribution center and trade center for smuggling trade.
Many smugglers gather here, and there are even residents specializing in various professions living here. There are also a large number of Francois from the West and Japanese from the East.
In addition, there are countless merchants who live in Shuangyu Island and engage in smuggling trade. Many of these merchants are members of wealthy noble families on the southern coast or people who are secretly allied with them.
Min Zhou was the representative of the Minjia family, a large family on the eastern Zhejiang coast, stationed on Shuangyu Island. At this time, he had just brought a batch of raw silk to Shuangyu Island and sold it to the Folangji people to avoid customs duties.
The Folangji people are also very willing to purchase cheaper raw silk on Shuangyu Island, so they are also very active in smuggling raw silk business with these large coastal households on Shuangyu Island.
In fact, these Francois have settled on this island for a long time, built churches, spread Western culture, and even built a city hall to turn this place into Francois territory in a non-war way. to manage.
Of course, these Folangji people still don’t know that their Folangji country has been destroyed by the Ming Dynasty.
After Admiral Zhu Wan took charge of the Fujian and Zhejiang military affairs to combat smuggling, he was shocked to find that it was not civilians who were rampant in smuggling in the Ming Dynasty, because the Ming Dynasty had opened the sea, and civilians did not have enough connections and energy to dare to participate in smuggling or have the opportunity to smuggle, and there was no need to do it without Go smuggling when you are under pressure to survive.
Zhu Wan discovered that these rampant smugglers all had powerful local connections. For this reason, he did not hesitate to send his informants to investigate for a long time, and found out that Shuangyu Island was the gathering place for these smugglers.
Therefore, Zhu Wan wrote a memorial and decided to eliminate the smuggling pirates on Shuangyu Island.
On the surface, Shuangyu Island is just a gathering place for pirates to conduct smuggling trade, but in fact, it involves the interests of the gentry class along the southern coast.
Therefore, Zhu Wan's decision is bound to cause great shock to both the government and the public.
However, Zhu Houzhao did not know at this time that Zhu Wan would decide to clear Shuangyu Island, but he knew that Zhu Wan's crackdown on smuggling in the south would definitely offend many wealthy noble families in the south.
But there is nothing that can be done about it. The Ming Empire is not an empire that only covers the southern half, so naturally it cannot only look after the interests of the southern nobles.
In order to maintain the stability of the country, the most important thing the court should do is to crack down on the southern gentry and prevent them from excessively occupying social wealth.
According to the governor's system, such matters involving military operations must naturally be reported to the emperor for approval. Although Zhu Wan could prepare in advance, the necessary procedures still had to be followed.
Today's Ming Emperor has become Zhu Zailei, and this matter is naturally handled by Zhu Zailei. In fact, Zhu Zailei does not take the eradication of Shuangyu Island pirates as too important.
After all, with the current national strength of the Ming Dynasty, not to mention the pirates of one Shuangyu Island, even the pirates of ten Shuangyu Islands can be eliminated.
But after all, Zhu Zailei ascended the throne for the first time, and this matter involved military operations, so Zhu Zailei decided to summon the ministers to discuss the matter.
Zhu Zailei did not directly let the Guards make an internal decision like Zhu Houzhao, but placed it in the Political Affairs Office. Naturally, he wanted to consider whether the Shuangyu Island should be cleared militarily from the entire national level, not just the military level.
After all, the people on Shuangyu Island can be said to be pirates or a group of people doing business on the island. They are not the kind of pure military force that can really deter the empire.
Of course, what Zhu Zailei did was the first time that the Minister of Political Affairs was allowed to decide on military operations in addition to the appointment of important officials. This was considered to be an expansion of the decision-making authority of the Political Affairs Office.
In any case, these have nothing to do with Zhu Houzhao, who is currently visiting famous mountains and looking for ancient temples.
For Zhu Houzhao, he is happy and free now, and it seems that because he is not high above the clouds, he cannot see some of the hidden worries of the empire for the moment. What he can only see now is the prosperity of the empire after many years of peaceful development.
But for Emperor Zhu Zailei and the ministers who still govern the Ming Dynasty, how to better handle military and political affairs and be responsible for the Ming Dynasty and the country are their unshirkable responsibilities at this time.
Xia Yan, the chief minister of the cabinet, looked at Zhu Zailei sitting on the throne, and he would more or less compare him with Zhu Houzhao, but no matter what, as a courtier, he had to fulfill his duties no matter who the emperor was. express one's views freely.
"Your Majesty, I believe that these twin islands should be wiped out. Regardless of whether the people on these islands are people of the Ming Dynasty or barbarians, they are all pirates and smuggling pirates. In order to maintain law and order and protect the imperial customs, they should be wiped out. The Shuangyu Island pirates confiscated their smuggling proceeds to deter other smugglers! ”
Xia Yan is a staunch believer in enforcing the law strictly. In his true opinion, there is no need to hold a meeting of the Political Affairs Office for such matters. After all, this is a military matter. The General Staff of the Guards should provide decision-making suggestions to the emperor, and he himself There is no need for the chief minister of the cabinet and other non-military officials to participate in this issue.
Xia Yan even thought that if Emperor Zhengde had not abdicated, with Emperor Zhengde's decisiveness, he might have approved Zhu Wanqing's annihilation of Shuangyu Island, and even provided a series of instructions after the annihilation of Shuangyu Island.
"I believe that Shuangyu Island is not native to the mainland, and it is inappropriate to use the army without authorization. Moreover, smuggling along the coast is rampant, which is closely related to the wealthy gentry on the coast. They have deep roots in the local area, and there are many family members who hold important positions in the court. , once directly to pirate The clearing of Shuangyu Island may cause these southern nobles to take the opportunity to cause trouble. Now that His Majesty has just ascended the throne, it is not suitable to cause chaos. He can first order Zhu Wan to persuade the wealthy nobles in the mainland to stop smuggling. If they don't listen, it will not be too late to use weapons! ”
Wen Yuan, the official minister, first considered the interests of the emperor Zhu Zailei. After all, he had always supported Zhu Zailei as the prince.
Therefore, now, compared to the loss of profits caused to the Ming Dynasty by the southern nobles colluding with pirates to engage in smuggling, Wen Yuan believed that maintaining the new emperor Zhu Zailei's stable rule of the Ming Dynasty was less important.
After all, Emperor Zhu Zailei has just ascended the throne, and the world is still doubting Zhu Zailei's ability, and Zhu Zailei himself has little prestige in the world.
Therefore, Wen Yuan believed that if the new emperor directly adopted tough policies as soon as he ascended the throne, it would be easy to cause chaos, causing the southern nobles to take risks, and also allowing the recently abdicated Emperor Zhu Houzhao to regain the throne.
What's more, in Wen Yuan's view, with Ming's current financial resources and the gradually expanding scale of the commodity economy, even if the increase in tariffs decreases, it is at least still increasing.
In other words, the empire will not have a financial crisis in the short term, so there is no need to increase the instability of the new emperor's rule in the Ming Dynasty for possible crises in the future. "Your Majesty, I believe that the country should not take into account local forces and dare not engage in military affairs. In order to eliminate the evils of the reform, it has touched the interests of the southern gentry more than once, and even led to rebellions by the feudal lords. However, in the end, it has not harmed the country, and this reform It means letting the ministry Those who share the benefits are dissatisfied. Now the imperial army has not been deployed in the south for a long time. Even if the clearing of Shuangyu Island leads to chaos in the south, it is just the right time to train the southern army! Moreover, His Majesty has just ascended the throne, and this is the best time to establish his authority! .”
As a military minister, Yu Dayou was naturally more willing to directly use force to clear Shuangyu Island, and in his opinion, he did not think that the consequences of clearing Shuangyu Island would be so serious.
At this time, Xu Jie stood up. As a representative of the Jiangnan gentry and a confidant of Emperor Zhu Zailei, he was naturally unwilling to let the court directly use troops to clear Shuangyu Island at this time, so as to cause chaos. After all, The new emperor has just ascended the throne and his foundation is not yet stable.
"Your Majesty, I think it is not possible. After all, Shuangyu Island is located in the south of the Yangtze River, and Jiangnan is still an important financial and taxation center of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, I believe that Jiangnan should be stable rather than chaotic. Moreover, although the people on the island are smuggling illegally, they are not plundering pirates. Therefore, You should first send an official to Shuangyu Island to tell the people on the island to return to the government and pay the customs duties owed. If they don't listen, it won't be too late to clean them up!"
What Xu Jie said was pertinent, and it was not for the sake of his Jiangnan gentry. After all, he still advocated paying back tariffs.
Of course, it is unclear whether this is Xu Jie's wishful thinking as an official far away in the temple.
Zhu Zailei saw that Wen Yuan and Xu Jie were opposed to Zhu Wan clearing Shuangyu Island, while Xia Yan and Yu Dayou supported the clearing Shuangyu Island, which meant that the opponents and supporters each had two votes. He was unable to make a decision for a while, and couldn't help but feel Ask Zhang Rong:
"My Lord, please tell me your opinion. You are in charge of the Guards, and you should have your own opinions on this kind of military affairs."
"Your Majesty, I forgive you. I am stupid and don't know how to make a decision. But as long as the imperial court decides to fight and sends me, I am willing to go through fire and water for the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, I abstain from voting." Zhang Rong expressed his loyalty and then announced his abstention. He said: Although it is a bit of a waste of the power that a military minister has finally had the opportunity to participate in the court's decision-making, it is also an act of prudent self-protection.
After all, on one side, His Majesty the Emperor's cronies opposed the clearing of Shuangyu Island, and on the other hand, the chief ministers and military ministers of his own camp demanded the clearing of Shuangyu Island. Therefore, it was better to abstain and kick the ball to others.
When Zhu Zailei first came to the throne, he was thin-skinned and could not blame an old minister like Zhang Rong. He could only hold back his displeasure and continue to ask Yan Song. Yan Song, who was as cunning as Zhang Rong, also expressed his abstention.
For Yan Song, now that he is the second assistant, he no longer needs to follow Xia Yan's butt. Now he is just waiting for Xia Yan to step down to see if he has a chance to become the first assistant of the Ming Dynasty in his final years.
Zhu Zailei was depressed for a moment. He didn't expect that the meeting on clearing Shuangyu Island would not come to a result.
Seeing this, Xia Yan couldn't help but suggest: "Your Majesty, I think that in this case, we might as well ask the Supreme Emperor for advice, and since military matters are involved, we must ask the Supreme Emperor for all military matters."
Xia Yan's words didn't mean anything else in essence. It was just that after seeing the new emperor ascending the throne, he still didn't seem to dare to make a big decision. For a moment, he couldn't help but think of the former emperor Zhu Houzhao, so he suggested this, and in Xia Yan's view Come on, although Zhengde has abdicated, the father of the emperor cannot be too idle. He is supported by the people of the world and should continue to train a new emperor. After all, this is also responsible for the people of the world. Otherwise, what would the people of the world do? Make your son the emperor.
Moreover, the military power is still in your hands, the Supreme Emperor. If you don't hand over the Tiger Talisman, doesn't it mean that I need to ask for your instructions when encountering military matters.
But Zhu Zailei sounded a little unhappy. After all, this seemed to mean that Xia Yan, the chief minister of the cabinet, still valued his father more, and he did not seem to have enough prestige.
But now the real power of the army is indeed still in the hands of Zhu Houzhao, so Zhu Zailei cannot directly criticize Xia Yan for what he said is wrong. Moreover, now he does not dare to make a decision directly for fear that the Supreme Emperor Zhu Houzhao will say that his decision is not good. And ruined myself.
Therefore, Zhu Zailei nodded: "According to what Yuan Fu said, since all the ministers can't agree on the same opinion, they will rush to send the documents directly to the Supreme Emperor's case, and ask the Supreme Emperor to make up his mind and withdraw from the court."
Yan Song saw all this in his eyes. He seemed to have seen his chance to replace Xia Yan, but he just thought about it. He also knew that sometimes opportunities had to wait.
……
Zhu Houzhao was sitting at the home of an ordinary citizen in Ming Dynasty at this time. He did not know that there would be disagreements in the court about even a Shuangyu Island.
Although the local government had come to the people's home in advance to greet and deal with it, Zhu Houzhao could also see from the looks of these people that they still respected him, their smiles were bright, and their bodies were obviously relatively good. Tall, not skinny.
Zhu Houzhao could guess that ordinary people like Ming Dynasty had at least enough food and clothing and a good quality of life.
Zhu Houzhao now seems to be summarizing his achievements over the past decades. He can see the achievements from the mental outlook of the people, from the steam trains that stretch from the rapeseed fields to the horizon, from the steam trains that stretch across the rivers. The achievements can be seen on the steel bridge, and the achievements can be seen on the ironclad ship with the roar of the whistle.
In addition, Zhu Houzhao could still see the houses with small bridges and flowing water, the gardens with white walls and black tiles made of Taihu stones, and the clothes of the Han family in Luo Shang.
Zhu Houzhao himself did not expect that one day he would not only make the Ming Dynasty appear to be civilized and progressive, but also leave traces of Chinese civilization.
Of course, Zhu Houzhao also saw a cruel scene.
For example, at this time, when he was going to Chongqing Prefecture on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, he was traveling against the current, so he needed fiber workers. The indulgent and hedonistic Emperor Zhu Houzhao asked the Huguang local government to use 100,000 white slaves to work as fiber workers for him, just for the emperor Zhu Houzhao. Touring the Three Gorges, hundreds of white slaves died from exhaustion.
In some factories, he also saw poor, sick and helpless barbarian slaves, but now he can only turn a blind eye.
Because as the emperor of Ming Dynasty, although he knew that he brought all this, he knew that if he did not do this, in the future, it would be Han people who would become these people, and they would also be called "piglets".
Zhu Houzhao originally thought that he would be able to use the labor of the barbarians to complete a nationwide tour in such a leisurely manner and then extend his kindness to the people of the empire. However, he did not expect that the empire would still be unable to do without him in major military and political affairs. A double island He actually had to decide whether to fight or not.
"Shuangyu Island already has the city hall of Folangji and some Japanese pirate troops. This has shown that Shuangyu Island is not a non-military smuggling base. This is an invasion of the empire by the Japanese and Folangji. Therefore, it must be punished Clean up!
Send someone to tell Zhu Wan directly first, and then send the Guards to clear Shuangyu Island immediately! ”
Zhu Houzhao ordered.
(End of chapter)