The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty

In fact, Zhu Houzhao was not opposed to colonizing Japan.

He was just hindered by the strong opposition from the civil officials and gentry, so the emperor had to think carefully about this matter.

However, after listening to Tang Hao's sea power theory, Zhu Houzhao had only one idea.

That is, Japan must be colonized, and it must be built into the base of the Ming Navy, and then the East China Sea power will be completely controlled!

In fact, the complete colonization of Japan by the Ming Dynasty has many advantages for the Ming Dynasty.

First, the Ming Dynasty can frantically plunder Japan's resources, gold, silver, minerals, money, grain, and even population resources, which is equivalent to using the resources of Japan to drive the development of the Ming Dynasty!

Second, it is the East China Sea power mentioned by Tang Hao. Completely colonizing Japan and controlling Japan will naturally eliminate the Japanese pirates. The southern Japanese and northern barbarians that troubled the Ming Dynasty in the past will be eliminated, and the Ming Dynasty and Japan can clamp down on Korea, so that this vassal state, which is already honest and peaceful, will continue to be honest and peaceful!

Third, and this is what Tang Hao is talking about right now, some of Japan's minerals, such as the Iwami Silver Mine, which has long been reported, can be used as an exchange of interests to exchange for the rise of military generals and nobles, or even for Emperor Zhu Houzhao to completely control the court!

"Your Majesty, we have to consider a problem, that is, how to develop Japan's mineral resources!"

Tang Hao circled Japan heavily, and then explained: "Admittedly, there are many Japanese slaves in Japan. The Ming Dynasty does not need to care about the life and death of these Japanese slaves. They are the cheapest labor force and can help my Ming Dynasty to mine Japan's minerals."

"But even so, relying solely on the power of the royal family and military merits, it is simply unrealistic to want to mine all the resources of Japan!"

"Why is it impossible?" Zhu Houzhao asked closely: "Isn't it just some minerals? Send troops to guard them, and then preside over the excavation of these minerals, and then use those Japanese as laborers. We can completely swallow this Japan!"

In the final analysis, Zhu Houzhao was unwilling.

Obviously, they can swallow up the resources of the entire Japanese country, so why do they have to give up some of the benefits to the gentry, or even the royal family members?

If they can swallow up the resources of the Japanese country, then money and food will naturally no longer be a problem. Zhu Houzhao can immediately start to clarify the administration, train soldiers, and then go to the northern barbarians... and completely create a true revival of prosperity!

Tang Hao did not answer Zhu Houzhao, but smiled and asked: "Your Majesty, what is our ultimate goal?"

"The ultimate goal... is naturally... to revive the Ming Dynasty!"

Revitalizing the Ming Dynasty has always been the ultimate goal of Tang Hao and Zhu Houzhao, the monarch and minister, and Zhu Houzhao has never forgotten it.

"That's right, our goal is to revive the Ming Dynasty, not to make a profit!"

Tang Hao said in a deep voice: "If it is for profit, we can completely monopolize the resources of Japan, but what's the point of doing so?"

"Let alone other mineral resources in Japan, the Iwami Silver Mine alone is enough for us to develop for dozens or hundreds of years. In this way, Japan is just a silver mine for the Ming Dynasty, and we lose the real meaning of colonizing Japan!"

Hearing this, Zhu Houzhao looked a little ugly, staring at Tang Hao unhappily.

This damn savage actually accused him of forgetting his original intention and only caring about profit!

What a bastard!

But Zhu Houzhao didn't mind these little things.

"Then even if we give up part of the profits and use the power of the entire Ming Dynasty to mine the mineral resources of Japan, what difference does it make?"

"Of course!" Tang Hao smiled: "Scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans, each has its own duties."

"Scholars are responsible for the management of these resources, while farmers go to Japan to open up wasteland and cultivate land, and artisans go to major mines in Japan to provide technical support. Merchants are undoubtedly the most important. They need to sell these Japanese resources and transform them into what we need."

"Giving up part of the profits can speed up our progress in mining Japan's mineral resources. Why not do it?"

"For example, we can give the Iwami Silver Mine to these gentry in exchange for what we want. Even if the gentry get the Iwami Silver Mine, your majesty can collect mining taxes from them when they go to mine. In addition, the silver mined by these gentry will naturally return to the Ming Dynasty. It's nothing more than in the hands of these gentry. When we need silver, wouldn't it be nice to just cut a batch of leeks?"

As soon as these words came out, even Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.

What the hell is "giving up" part of the benefits? This damn savage is really cruel!

He clearly calculated the gentry and gentry to death. He first used the Iwami Silver Mine to exchange what he wanted from the gentry and gentry, and then used the power of the gentry and gentry to dig the Iwami Silver Mine. Anyway, the silver will eventually return to the Ming Dynasty. In the end, if there is a lack of silver, he will directly kill people and confiscate their families.

If he really did that, the gentry and gentry would be a big victim.

Not only did he give up part of his rights and interests, but he also spent a lot of resources to dig the Iwami Silver Mine. In the end, he was targeted by the emperor and Zhongshan Hou. I don’t know when he will be liquidated!

"Savage, savage, you are really black-hearted!"

Zhu Houzhao sighed sincerely, which attracted Tang Hao’s chuckle.

"Not only the Iwami Silver Mine, but also the gold and silver mines in Japan can be ceded to these gentry and nobles. With the help of their power, we can mine them in exchange for what we want!"

"But one thing is that the iron ore must be in our hands, not only from the Japanese country, but also from the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Houzhao perked up after hearing this and asked: "Savage, what do you mean..."

"Your Majesty should know about the Laiwu Iron Works, right?"

"Facts have proved that workers among scholars, farmers, industry and commerce are also a class worthy of attention. If they had not developed the Rumi Gun and the Three-Eyed Gun, it would not have been so easy to defeat the Japanese country this time, and there would have been a lot of casualties among the soldiers! "

"And if we extend the model of Laiwu Iron Works to all iron works, not only can we greatly increase the steel output of our Ming Dynasty, but we can also ensure the quality of firearms needed by our soldiers. In addition, we can continue to encourage those craftsmen to develop new types of iron works. firearm!"

"The quality of the firearms is in place, and the soldiers will naturally not continue to resist. When high-quality firearms become the standard equipment of the army, that will be the best time for us to send troops to the North!"

"Of course, before that, it is also urgent to equip Jiubian soldiers and naval officers with firearms first!"

Send troops to the North!

These four words successfully touched Zhu Houzhao's heartstrings.

His biggest dream in this life is to send troops to the North, defeat these arrogant Mongolian Tatars, and wash away the shame left by his great-grandfather Zhu Qizhen!

"Then do it!"

His Majesty the Emperor stood up and immediately made up his mind.

"Savage, I am issuing an order to order the Ministry of Household Affairs to reform the major iron factories according to the model of the Laiwu Iron Factory..."

"No!" Tang Hao directly rejected the proposal. "The iron factory must send troops to garrison and let the military take over directly to ensure the quality of the firearms!"

"There is no discussion on this, it must be done. The previous actions of these gentry have proven that they are deliberately weakening the military. I don't know how many soldiers in Jiubian Army Town died in vain because of these inferior firearms. This must not be done. This happens again!”

The military takes over major iron factories!

There are so many issues involved.

After all, the iron factory, like the salt farm, is a place where interests converge, where a large number of forces compete for profit!

If Tang Hao really does this, he will undoubtedly encounter a lot of resistance!

However, recalling the four words "sending troops to the northern captives", Zhu Houzhao still found it difficult to refuse.

"Your Majesty, have you ever paid attention to the news from Beilu?"

Zhu Houzhao was stunned when he heard this and shook his head subconsciously.

The current Ming Dynasty is no better than the Ming Dynasty back then. It has long lost the initiative and can only hide in the Great Wall to defend passively. Therefore, it naturally loses the source of news from the grassland. Unless the Jinyiwei sends scouts to risk their lives and go deep into the grassland to investigate, otherwise the Ming Dynasty will As far as the grassland is concerned, the people are blind and deaf, waiting for others to knock on the door and plunder and harass them.

"On the grassland, a real master of the ZTE has appeared in Mongolia, the "little prince of Mongolia" that the court has always called contemptuously!"

"He is about to personally lead an army to conquer the right wing of Mongolia. Once he succeeds, he will unify all Mongolian tribes, and a unified and powerful force will once again appear on the grassland!"

"Your Majesty, do you understand what this means?"

what does that mean?

It means that the Ming Dynasty is about to usher in a new Mongol Empire!

"damn it!"

Zhu Houzhao's face instantly darkened.

how so?

As both the masters of ZTE, why is the Ming Dynasty getting weaker and weaker, while Mongolia is so strong?

This question is a bit disrespectful, but Zhu Houzhao just can’t figure it out!

But time didn't give him a chance to think too much.

Zhu Houzhao immediately made a series of arrangements.

"Zhang Yong, send an order to the Ministry of War to find a way to detect the movements of the little Mongolian prince. In addition, send an order to Tishuai to send elite Jinyiwei out to the fortress to detect the situation in Mongolia at all costs. I want to know who this little Mongolian prince is. figure!"

Zhang Yong immediately bowed and accepted the order and left.

Then Zhu Houzhao looked at Tang Hao and said in a deep voice: "Then as you said, the military took over the major iron factories and immediately began to reform the iron factories. A batch of firearms must be produced as soon as possible and sent to the Nine Border Army. In the hands of the generals!"

This is Zhu Houzhao!

He never lacks the imperial courage he deserves!

When it comes to facing Beilu, Zhu Houzhao is as caring as ever!

Immediately afterwards, the monarch and his ministers exchanged information with each other. When Tang Hao mentioned Yang Shen, the son of Yang Tinghe, Zhu Houzhao was obviously still a little angry.

"To be honest, I still like Yang Shen very much."

"Talented, upright and outspoken. When Master Yang taught me in the past, he would occasionally bring Yang Shen to study with me..."

Having said this, a flash of reminiscence flashed across Zhu Houzhao's face.

"But the biggest problem with Yang Shen is that he is a descendant of the Jin gentry!"

Zhu Houzhao punched the desk in anger!

"Precisely because he is a son of the Jin gentry, he is very aware of what the Jin gentry does. He has watched it since he was a child, so he does not think there is anything wrong with these behaviors."

"That Cui Xian called him "little master", and he, Yang Shen, actually accepted it with peace of mind. Has he ever thought about how I, the emperor, feel?"

Have you ever thought about it?

of course not!

As Zhu Houzhao said, being the chief disciple has become an unspoken rule of the imperial examination system. When the gentry and gentry all took it for granted, and even spoke out to defend the chief disciple system, then the next generation of scholars will naturally take this as well. It is a matter of course, for example, Yang Shen is like this!

Cui Mian was grateful for Yang Shen's recommendation to him. He respectfully addressed Yang Tinghe as "Master" and Yang Shen as "little Master". He regarded himself as Yang Tinghe's disciple. Yang Tinghe and Yang Shen and his son did not have the slightest objection to this. On the contrary, they thought it was Of course, this is the saddest thing!

Just as the gentry and gentry believed that the preferential treatment given to them by the imperial court was also a matter of course!

"Haha, the master's disciple!"

Zhu Houzhao sneered: "Do you really think that I am still the emperor who doesn't understand anything?"

"Why can these damn gentry and gentry control the government? It's not because they monopolize the imperial examinations. It's the so-called disciples who allow these bastards to control the government for a long time and cultivate party members for a long time!"

To put it simply, the scholars who participated in the examinations were naturally awarded the title of Juren. Most of these candidates were children of officials and gentry, a small number were children of poor families, and a few here and there were the children of real poor peasants.

And because of the hidden rules of the imperial examination for the main disciples, as long as they pass the exam, no matter they are the children of the gentry, the children of the poor, or even the children of the poor peasants, they are no longer just cats and dogs, but new scholars in the court, and they also win resources and background.

For example, if Yang Tinghe presides over this examination, then all the new scholars, including the children of poor families and poor peasants, will regard Yang Tinghe as the host and regard themselves as Yang Tinghe's disciples.

Then when these new scholars have completed the palace examination process and are selected as Hanlin concubines, Yang Tinghe can operate from the side; when these new scholars enter the official career and determine whether to stay in the central court or be sent to local officials, Yang Tinghe can also operate in secret; when he, Yang Tinghe, is old and ready to retire, he can select the most outstanding and outstanding among these younger generations to inherit his political mantle and ensure that his interests after becoming an official are not Will be damaged!

This is what the zuzhu-disciple system is all about!

As long as you become the examiner of the joint examination, it is equivalent to having a group of potential forces and a group of disciples who support him and can run for him at any time!

You know, after the palace examination, these new scholars are known as the "Emperor's Disciples"!

As a result, because of this master-disciple system, no one cares about the false name of "Emperor's Disciple". On the contrary, they are more interested in who their master is!

"Your Majesty, there is no way around this unspoken rule of the court."

"Unless we can break the monopoly of the imperial examination system by the gentry, there is nothing we can do against them!"

"The former Song Dynasty also banned this matter, but what's the final result? It's not the same as before, without any changes!"

At this point, Zhu Houzhao suddenly cursed.

"Li Dongyang, this damn old guy!"

"When I think about this bitch openly expressing his support for the master-disciple system, I want to cut him to pieces with a thousand knives!"

"Otherwise, why would Li Dongyang become the leader of the gentry?" Tang Hao sneered.

"But having said that, last time His Majesty asked Li Dongyang to take up a position in the palace, which palace did he go to?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao turned from anger to joy and laughed again inexplicably.

The absurd emperor is moody, nothing more than this.

Tang Hao looked at Zhu Houzhao with a blank face, not understanding what this ridiculous emperor was doing.

Zhu Houzhao's face was full of pride and he smiled narrowly.

"Savage, guess what?"

Seeing his appearance, Tang Hao also became interested.

Obviously, the Dog Emperor has tricked others!

But the question is, among these vassal kings, which lineage is...

etc!

No way?

Wouldn't it be so cruel?

Tang Hao tentatively said: "Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao?"

"Of course... that's right!" Zhu Houzhao said with a triumphant smile: "Isn't Zhu Chenhao an official in Beijing? As the emperor, I am worried that the Ning Fan family members are disobedient and have no one to restrain them. It happens that Li Dongyang is the most powerful person in the world. A famous scholar, so he immediately went to Nanchang, Jiangxi, to take up the post of Chief Historian of Prince Ning’s Palace!”

Hearing this, even Tang Hao couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.

This kid Zhu Houzhao is really ruthless!

Zhu Chenhao's rebellious intentions were clearly exposed, and Li Dongyang had always been shrewd, so he could naturally see it.

So once Zhu Chenhao really conspired to rebel, then Li Dongyang, the chief minister of Prince Ning's palace, would also have an unshirkable responsibility. Even if Zhu Houzhao was cruel enough to treat Li Dongyang as a traitor, it would be a capital crime for the Nine Clan!

However, Li Dongyang still had no way to break the situation.

What can he do?

Either he tried his best to stop Zhu Chenhao's rebellion, which would undoubtedly result in Zhu Chenhao's revenge, and he might even be killed by Zhu Chenhao directly. After all, Prince Ning was ruthless in eradicating dissidents.

Either he will rebel together with Zhu Chenhao and give advice to Prince Ning. It is best if he can successfully take over the power of the central government. Finally, he, Li Dongyang, will sit as the minister of Conglong!

Of course, this possibility is very low. After all, even without Tang Hao, Zhu Chenhao failed to rebel successfully in history. It was just a farce.

Then Li Dongyang will still be executed by the Nine Clan!

So no matter how you look at it, Li Dongyang is facing a desperate situation this time, and he is doomed to die!

No wonder Zhu Houzhao is laughing so happily. He personally sent the world's famous scholar whom he hated the most into a desperate situation. He is indeed qualified to be happy.

"Okay, okay, you haven't returned home since you entered Beijing today, right?"

"Hurry back to the mansion to see your precious son. I heard that he weighs six catties and eight taels. He looks blessed!"

Zhu Houzhao said with envy on his face, and took the initiative to sympathize with his ministers and ended the meeting.

Tang Hao didn't waste any words. He bowed and said goodbye without any hesitation.

But he didn't notice that Zhu Houzhao had a look of unwillingness to admit defeat on his face at this moment.

"Six catties and eight taels?"

"Hehehe, my dragon son must weigh seven catties!"