The Prosperous Era of Longwan

“Of course it’s possible.

When Wei Guangde heard that Zhu Heng and Liang Menglong were considering using sea transportation instead of water transportation, he naturally supported it in his heart.

Although their purpose is not to save transportation costs, but just to avoid the Yellow River.

He originally wrote a memorial to Emperor Longqing, but in the end there was no follow-up.

Among them, Wei Guangde could guess some of them, that is, the impact was too great, and it was difficult for the emperor to make a choice.

After all, Emperor Longqing would not just listen to him alone when considering this matter, but would also summon other ministers to inquire and understand the situation.

However, this time it seems that the situation is different from the previous ones. In the past, it was just a discussion among the high-level officials of the imperial court. But this time, the governor of Shandong came forward to support it. It seems that there are people in the local area who can promote it, and at least some attempts can be made, instead of just in the court in the past. Rhetoric.

"Liang Menglong is from Beizhili?"

Wei Guangde thought about it and found that Liang Menglong was not very impressed. He had met him several times in court, and it was when he was in Shuntian Mansion.

At that time, Wei Guangde was still in the Hanlin Academy and had little power, so everyone would just give him a hand when they met.

"Zhendingren, who was a Jinshi in the 32nd year of Jiajing, can be regarded as your senior."

Tan Lun smiled.

Speaking of which, Wei Guangde was promoted very quickly, and it was impossible not to be jealous.

Who is lucky enough to have caught the Yuwang route a long time ago?

At that time, there were many people who were optimistic about King Jing.

"Nowadays, the Yellow River floods every year, blocking water transportation, and restarting sea transportation has become a must."

Wei Guangde looked at Tan Lun and said with a troubled face: "Actually, I discussed the matter of shipping with His Majesty when I was in exile. It was not until I entered the cabinet that I reported the matter twice."

"Huh? How come I haven't heard of this?"

Hearing Wei Guangde say that he had already told Emperor Longqing about restarting shipping, Tan Lun was naturally surprised and asked.

"This is such a big deal. I wrote it and handed it over in person during the Holy Day. It didn't go through the ceremonial supervisor or the clerk's office, so of course the outside world didn't know about it."

Wei Guangde sighed, and then continued: "Every time His Majesty reads my memorial and discusses it with me for a long time, he seems very moved, but then nothing happens."

"Why?"

Tan Lun asked immediately.

"Your Majesty must have consulted other important ministers. Everyone had different opinions, so His Majesty hesitated."

Wei Guangde looked at Tan Lun, "I remember when there was a great disaster in Liaodong, the imperial court chose sea transportation to help Liao. At that time, the water transportation forces were strongly opposed.

Fortunately, the late Emperor Qiangang was arbitrary at that time. Although the sea transportation to Liao was only carried out for a few years and he was immediately dismissed after the disaster in Liaodong eased, the environment in the court at that time is still fresh in my memory.

There are too many people in the imperial court who have interests in water transportation. Among other things, during the years I have been in the capital, Jiujiang businessmen have often used my name to travel on the canal. "

Wei Guangde just clicked this sentence, and he believed that Tan Lun understood the truth.

For a high-ranking man like Wei Guangde, perhaps this amount of money is nothing, and it doesn't matter if he takes it or not, but there are countless lower-ranking officials in the capital, and they often rely on this thing to earn money to support their families.

Living in the capital is not easy.

As for inciting Beijing officials to oppose shipping, the reason is naturally the same.

Once the water transport fails, the officials in the capital have to consider whether their wallets will be damaged, because the merchant ships will switch to the sea route, and without the banknotes on the canal, their name cards will naturally lose their meaning.

Of course, perhaps the seaport will also need to build a banknote checkpoint, but it is uncertain whether the name card can still be used. They will not be willing to gamble on this matter.

Therefore, among the ranks of Beijing officials, opposition to shipping has a broad mass base. With a little incitement, many people will join in.

"Then what do you think should be done about this matter?"

Tan Lun has no obvious prejudice against water transportation and sea transportation, because he has not been involved in this aspect at all.

However, he was based in Jiliao, and his soldiers relied partly on water transportation for their food, so Zhu Heng mentioned it to him when he was in the capital, and that's when he got interested.

Thinking of Zhu Heng asking him to ask Ji Wei Guangde if it worked or not and how to operate it, he asked directly.

Wei Guangde thought for a while and then said: "I think it is best not to report this matter to the Ministry of Industry, but to report it directly to Shandong. Brother Shinan is helping in the capital, and the key point is to convince Gao Gong.

As long as Gao Gong knows that to ensure the safety of grain transportation from the south to the north, it is imperative to resume sea transportation, and this matter will be feasible. "

At this point, Wei Guangde suddenly realized that after discussing this matter with Emperor Longqing, Gao Gong had already left the country and returned to Xinzheng.

If Gao Gong had been in the court, perhaps the result of the emperor's consultation would have been different. Now that the canal boats might have changed to the sea route, there was no need for the court to throw away a lot of money on the Grand Canal.

Of course, water control in the Yellow River is necessary, but when it comes to water control, there is no need to overestimate the safety of the canal.

In fact, the Yellow River water control effect in the Ming Dynasty was not good, and a very important reason was that the canal was required to be protected first, and then the river was safe.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde then said to Tan Lun: "This matter should be feasible. I remember that when Yu Zhuan discussed using sea transportation to help Liao, Gao Xinzheng chose to support it.

In fact, at that time, the only people in Prince Yu's Mansion who could speak in the court were him and Jia Yingchun, the Hubushan at that time. It was Jia Yingchun who raised the matter, and Gao Gong persuaded Yan Shoufu.

I still remember the reason at that time, which was that this was an emergency measure and could be stopped after the disaster in Liaodong eased. "

Speaking of this, Wei Guangde smiled bitterly and said: "Actually, at that time, I still had a little fantasy, hoping to break the Ming Dynasty's policy of banning the sea.

I just didn’t expect that due to the influx of Liao people in Shandong, they would stop after the disaster in Liaodong eased, alas.”

"Isn't the sea ban bad?"

Tan Lun couldn't help but frown when he heard Wei Guangde talk about breaking the Ming Dynasty's sea ban policy.

He had been dealing with Japanese pirates for half his life, and he hated them very much. In his mind, it was because the Japanese pirates were greedy for Ming Dynasty property that they attacked them in large numbers.

Therefore, Tan Lun actually supported Emperor Jiajing's policy of banning the sea.

If there is no business, there is no harm. This was also true in the Ming Dynasty, but no one said it out loud, but the meaning is actually the same.

At this time, if we don’t do business with foreigners or interact with each other, I don’t want your things, and you don’t want my things, then the world will be peaceful.

This kind of thinking is actually the mainstream. Most people can accept this view and just want to be safe and sound.

If there hadn't been the tragic history hundreds of years later, Wei Guangde might have felt that he was right to think so.

But he knew better that times had changed.

If you don't want others to dare to mess with your stuff, then you have to be stronger than your opponents so that they don't dare to make mistakes easily.

Unfortunately, China has remained stagnant for hundreds of years, while Western countries have been booming. China has strong output value but lacks the foundation of a powerful country. It looks strong but is actually weak on the outside.

Porcelain breaks when touched.

When Wei Guangde faced Tan Lun's question, he thought for a while and then said: "Brother Zili, what is your weapon for killing Japanese pirates?"

Wei Guangde did not explain directly, but asked Tan Lundao.

"A weapon to kill Japanese pirates?"

Tan Lun was slightly startled when he heard this, lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying: "My Ming army soldiers fought with the Japanese pirates in close combat. Due to some reasons, the results were indeed not good. That is to say, Yuan Jing's soldiers must receive strict training before close combat can be beneficial.

When it comes to fighting Japanese pirates, my Ming Dynasty mostly used firearms to kill enemies from a distance, even Qi Yuanjing did the same. Close combat mainly occurred during market sieges. "

"When fighting Japanese pirates remotely, what kind of firearms did Ming use?"

Wei Guangde continued to ask.

"Guns and guns."

When talking about the Franco machine gun, Tan Lunruo realized something and couldn't help but soften his tone.

"I understand. In fact, blunderbuss and Franco cannons are imitations of Western firearms. If we don't interact with them, our Daming firearms will lag behind them."

Tan Lun already understood the meaning of Wei Guangde's continuous questions and couldn't help but speak.

"If the policy of banning the sea is not lifted, we will have no contact with the Yi people, and we will not know about their advanced skills.

Once other people's technology advances by leaps and bounds, we will definitely suffer a big loss when fighting with me. "

Wei Guangde said this, looked at Tan Lun and said: "Brother Zili should know where those firearms came from. Whether they are blunderbuss or cannons, they were fought against the Yi people. My soldiers of the Ming Dynasty suffered heavy losses. I found that their firearms were much sharper than mine.

From this, the border generals would pay attention and try their best to obtain the firearms used by the barbarians and return them to the Ministry of Industry for imitation.

Moreover, as far as I know, the Yi people are good at many tools and skills. If you don't interact with them, how can you know the strengths of their skills? "

“It makes sense and proper contact is indeed very necessary.

Nowadays, when the border troops are fighting with the Tatars, they often rely on the sharpness of the firearms made by the barbarians to kill the enemy.

If these things were not obtained, the casualties among the border troops and the Tatars would increase a lot. "

Tan Lun had been convinced by Wei Guangde and couldn't help but nodded.

“Forbidden sea, only knowledge is forbidden.

What's more, the imperial court banned the sea and never stopped it, otherwise how could there be any Japanese rebellion?

Brother Zili, don't tell me, you have no idea what those so-called Japanese pirates are, but the court didn't say it clearly for the sake of face.

They are actually the pirates of the Ming Dynasty, they just kidnapped some Japanese rogues.

Those Japanese rogues had to live overseas because of the civil war and the defeat of their masters in the civil war, where they mixed with pirates and caused misfortune to our Ming Dynasty. "

Wei Guangde continued to talk, but when he said this, his heart couldn't help but move.

He remembered that there were records that Japan at this time seemed to be rich in gold and silver, and there were mountains of gold and silver in Japan.

Tan Lun is a military civilian, but I don't know if he is interested in opening up new territories.

Therefore, Wei Guangde continued tentatively: "Brother Zili may not know, but I have heard people say that the king of Japan, a country with a small territory and as big as a palm, dared to proclaim himself the emperor, haha."

Having said this, Wei Guangde showed a contemptuous smile.

His expression is actually in line with the Ming Dynasty's impression of Japan in this era. If it was a disapproving attitude, Tan Lun might be surprised.

"Yelang is arrogant, even a small country dares to be like this."

Tan Lun frowned when he heard this.

The Ming Dynasty's impression of the so-called emperor of Japan was actually a king.

The Ming Dynasty sent envoys to visit the Japanese country, and they also brought the gold seal for canonization. Therefore, in the subsequent exchanges between the Japanese country and the Ming Dynasty, they never mentioned that the king they believed in was the emperor. Instead, according to the Ming Dynasty, the "king" came to them. Make a salutation.

Although the people of Ming Dynasty knew more or less the inside story after they went to Japan, it was only spread among the people and not in the court.

Just kidding, there is only one day in the world that the Emperor of Ming Dynasty dares to call him "Emperor", but he will never accept the kings of neighboring countries using this word.

"Not only do they claim to be emperor, but even though Japan is a small country, its domestic products are rich. It is said that there are many mountains of gold and silver, and huge amounts of gold and silver can be mined. There is no problem with a million taels per year.

Many of those Yi people who came to our country in the Ming Dynasty actually went to the Japanese country, that is, to do business with the Japanese people. They brought the products of the southern countries and our country in the Ming Dynasty and sold them to the Japanese people, and what they got was a huge amount of gold and silver.

Think of our Ming Dynasty, which is rich all over the world. Now His Majesty the Emperor has only opened a few mines, and the ministers below are constantly objecting, saying that he is competing for profits with the people.

There is mining in the Japanese country, and millions of taels of gold and silver are mined every year. It is incomparable, incomparable. "

Speaking of this, Wei Guangde said to Tan Lun with a yearning look: "If our Ming Dynasty can conquer the Japanese country, these millions of taels of gold and silver will be enough to solve the financial crisis that the court is currently unable to cope with."

"That won't work. The Japanese country is a country that Taizu has decided not to conquer.

At the beginning, the Meng Yuan Dynasty tried to conquer the country several times but failed. It can be seen that the existence of the Japanese country was blessed by heaven, and Taizu issued this edict.

With this edict, the Ming Dynasty cannot send troops to attack. "

When Tan Lun heard Wei Guangde talking about Japan's amazing gold and silver output, he still had a surprised expression on his face. But when Wei Guangde said attack and conquest, his expression immediately changed and he directly used Taizu's edict to deal with Wei Guangde. .

Seeing Tan Lun's attitude, Wei Guangde knew that it was useless to continue to encourage him. Tan Lun did not have that kind of spirit in his bones.

He could risk his own life and fight the invading enemies to the end, but if he was asked to attack others just to get the massive gold and silver treasures in other people's homes, Tan Lun simply refused.

This is actually not surprising.

If it had not come from later generations, Wei Guangde would not have had the idea of ​​taking action against the Japanese state. After all, compared to the Ming Dynasty, the existence of the Japanese state was really not enough.

Liaodong alone made everyone in the Ming Dynasty feel that they had made a loss-making business, let alone the Japanese country that was isolated overseas.

As long as Wei Guangde dares to make this idea public, everyone in the court will say that he wants to destroy the Ming family and is a complete treacherous person.

For the sake of Liaodong, in the early Ming Dynasty, the government relied on financial aid to survive.

A hundred years have passed, and Liaodong can only be self-sufficient, and has to reach out to the court in case of disasters.

If you occupy the territory, many people will die, and you won't get any benefits, so why bother?

As for Wei Guangde, he dared to say that the purpose of attacking the Japanese country was to steal other people's gold and silver mountains, and he was afraid that he would be scolded to death by the great Confucian scholars in the court with their Confucian principles.

By the way, there is also the ancestral system established by Taizu, which is enough to make Wei Guangde doomed.

Seeing that Tan Lun was not interested, Wei Guangde gave up his thoughts and said, "In this way, Brother Zili will rest here today. After dinner, you and I will discuss the shipping plan and write a letter to Brother Shinan." Letter, let them try to promote this matter, what do you think?"

"Okay, shipping and opening sea bans are beneficial to the court, so we should contribute."

Tan Lun nodded in response.