Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 235: The picture is exhausted, where is the dagger?

"Today I am very happy to see that the three elders are in good health. I will drink this cup to the full!"

With Zhu Cilang's toast, the banquet hosted by the Guangzhou gentry to welcome His Royal Highness the Crown Prince finally kicked off.

It is worth mentioning that the Guangzhou gentry fully considered the taste of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so some "dishes" with local characteristics did not appear on the table.

There is nothing much to say about the banquet. It was just the local gentry and retired officials in Guangzhou praising the great achievements of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and the firm support of Guangdong Province for the central government.

It has to be said that this indeed exceeded Zhu Cilang's expectations.

In his opinion, although this banquet represented a gesture of goodwill from Guangdong's local forces, Ding Kuichu had naturally gained their support by daring to waver, so this gesture of goodwill would probably only amount to flattery of the Jiangnan War, but was unlikely to involve Guangdong's attitude towards the small court.

But who would have thought that not only were they involved, but they also openly expressed their support for the small imperial court of Yingtian, which could not help but make Zhu Cilang feel doubtful.

Leaving aside other things for now, the fact that Ding Kuichu transported away more than ten ships of wealth when the Qing army approached Guangzhou is enough to fully demonstrate that he had established a close interest group in the local area.

Otherwise, how could he have accumulated such a large amount of wealth?

The cause and effect here are not difficult to understand. The massive amount of wealth represents channels for the transfer of benefits, and these channels of benefits represent interest groups.

With the support of various interest groups, no matter how you look at it, Ding Kuichu should have considerable control over the local area. How could Zhu Cilang not be suspicious?
"I am very happy to see you all today, but this yamen is a little small and can't accommodate too many people. If anyone is missed, we can have another drink tomorrow."

"Your Highness, all the gentry and elders in the city have arrived. However, if Your Highness is willing to honor us, we can find a bigger place tomorrow."

Seeing that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was drinking happily, the master of the Chen family who hosted the banquet finally found an opportunity to show up. Although Zhu Cilang continued to toast with others after praising him a few words, he couldn't help but feel resentful in his heart.

Since they have all come, then there is no disagreement among the local forces, but if this is not the case
Ding Kuichu was abandoned?
Why?
Just because of five thousand soldiers?
It shouldn’t be.

After a few turns of thought, Zhu Cilang became even more confused.

He knew that the combat effectiveness of an army was determined by many factors, and number was only one of them, but he also knew that in the eyes of ordinary people, numbers determined everything.

With this understanding, he naturally understood that for the local forces that could mobilize tens of thousands of troops in a short period of time, the deterrent effect of his 5,000 soldiers would probably be limited.

Based on this, the statement made by the Guangzhou local forces could not possibly be because of their five thousand troops. Well, at least it couldn't be entirely because of their five thousand troops!
So the question is, what led them to make this decision?
Or is this statement just a pretense?
"Your Highness, I heard that Your Highness sent people to Champa and Siam to buy grain, but I don't know if it is true?"

"Ah, that's true."

It is indeed difficult to do two things at once.

Although Zhu Cilang was able to think about the situation in Guangzhou while responding to everyone's toasts, when He Wuzuo talked about business, his answers were inevitably a bit stiff.

Therefore, after realizing this, he said amiably, "I wonder why the old man asked this?"

It was not known whether it was Zhu Cilang's illusion or what, but although his attention was already on He Wuzuo, he felt that when he asked this question, the actions of everyone present could not help but pause.

"Your Highness, Guangdong is located on the coast, but we know more about the situation in Southeast Asia than Jiangsu and Zhejiang."

Having said this, He Wuzuo paused for a moment, and everyone present continued to drink and eat, seemingly not caring about what was happening in the hall.

"As far as I know, the seas around Champa and Siam are controlled by the Red Hairs and the French. These two countries have frequently attacked our Ming Dynasty merchants in recent years, and even slaughtered our Ming Dynasty people in their own land.

So I thought that if Your Highness wanted to buy grain from there, you had to be careful with your fleet and not let it fall into the hands of those Westerners. "

After finishing speaking, He Wuzuo bowed slightly and said no more, as if this sentence was just a reminder. However, as soon as he finished speaking, several people dressed as merchants knelt on the ground in the hall.

"Your Highness, what Elder He said is absolutely true. Those Westerners are extremely brutal. Once they encounter our Ming merchant ships, they will open fire without asking any questions. Our fleet of more than ten ships was completely destroyed in their hands."

"Your Highness, please be aware that the people of the Ming Dynasty have always been law-abiding when they are abroad, but those Westerners have repeatedly committed murderous acts against them. My brothers and sisters were murdered by Westerners in Luzon in the eleventh year."

"Your Highness."

The conversation started. Not only did the gentry in the hall kneel down one after another, but also waves of accusations were heard in the courtyard.

The picture is basically complete, but the dagger has not yet been truly revealed.

At this point, although Zhu Cilang was still unclear about where these Guangdong people would end up, he already knew in his heart that the bargaining chip in exchange for Guangdong abandoning Ding Kuichu would probably be related to maritime trade.

To be honest, he wanted to seize the opportunity of the Age of Discovery.

In later generations, those tiny countries in Western Europe were able to maintain high welfare while also maintaining considerable national strength. To put it bluntly, wasn't it because the wealth earned by their ancestors was enough for them to squander?

If the Ming Dynasty, a land-based empire, could fill in the puzzle of Shanghai power, then why should the descendants of China bear such huge pressure since they were young? Why should they exchange shirts for other people's products? Why should they do 996 and 007?

To put it more clearly, why do people in later generations have such a strong resentment towards the Qing Dynasty, a dynasty that stabilized China's territory?
This has nothing to do with ethnicity or who is in power. The root cause is that it bears the unshirkable responsibility for the misery of later generations, isn't it?
Zhu Cilang had a very clear understanding of this, and after gaining a firm foothold, he secretly made preparations in some seemingly unrelated areas.

In order to prevent future generations from being exhausted to death, he even spared no effort to mobilize the entire country to seize this good fortune.

As I said: Some battles, if we don’t fight them now, will have to be fought by future generations, who will then have to pay a heavy price a thousand times more.

but
not now.

With the Ming Dynasty facing internal and external troubles, Zhu Cilang could only try to gain a foothold in the south of the Yangtze River.

Under such circumstances, let alone participating in the battle for hegemony at sea, even the remaining provinces might not be easily settled, so how could he dare to create trouble?
"Today is a banquet, how can you spoil the fun like this? Moreover, there is a precedent for this during the reign of Emperor Shenzong. Are you asking Your Highness to violate the ancestral rules?"

Following Chen Zizhuang's scolding, the gentry, who were still in tears, immediately stopped their magical powers and returned to their positions.

He was obviously trying to rescue Zhu Cilang, and his words also avoided the reality of the court's lack of power by using ancestral rules.

In fact, he had expressed his dissatisfaction with the gentry during the afternoon communication. In his opinion, the situation was unclear before, and Ding Kuichu's doubts were understandable, but when the news came that the blood of the previous emperor was still alive and turned the tide in Jiangnan, no matter what position everyone held, they should obey the orders of the court wholeheartedly. How could they use this matter as a bargaining chip with His Highness?
But there were very few people who held the same position as him. Even though the other two old ministers also felt that this matter was inappropriate, they compromised under the temptation of winning Guangdong's support for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, which led to this scene.

"Why should Jisheng be angry? It is reasonable for the people to complain to Your Highness, but it is not good to violate the old rules of Emperor Shenzong." Huang Jin paused for a moment, and when he saw that Zhu Cilang did not show much resistance, he asked tentatively, "Why not send a letter in the name of the Guangzhou prefect first, and then decide based on the situation after the Westerners respond."

As things developed to this point, Zhu Cilang had already seen that there were differences among the three old ministers.

Like He Wuzuo and Huang Jin, although they spoke for the gentry and the wealthy families on the surface, their fundamental starting point was to use such compromise to exchange for Guangdong's support for the prince and the central government.

This is based on the compromising mindset that he developed over many years of official career.

But Chen Zizhuang is different from them.

He was a very upright person. According to the original history, after Longwu ascended the throne in Fujian, he promoted him to be the Grand Secretary of Dongke. However, Chen Zizhuang declined the offer because he had a grudge against him for discussing matters related to the royal family in the past.

After Longwu died, local forces in Guangdong intended to support Longwu's brother to ascend the throne. Although Chen Zizhuang was entrusted with an important task, he refused it. When Shaowu was arrested and died, he sold his family property to help the people, donated money to recruit soldiers, and raised the flag and swore an oath in Jiujiang.

Afterwards, facing the battle-hardened troops of Li Chengdong, the Guangdong volunteer army suffered repeated defeats. After persisting for nearly years, Chen Zizhuang was finally defeated and captured in Gaoming City.

At that time, the Qing court knew that Chen Zizhuang was a banner of resistance against the Qing Dynasty. After failing to coerce or bribe him, they threatened to kill his young son. However, Chen Zizhuang replied: "The power is not in Zizhuang's hands."

Chen Zizhuang was so upright that in his heart supporting the bloodline of the late emperor was a matter of course, so naturally he could not accept this deal.

In essence, the three of them were all thinking about the court and the Ming Dynasty, but different people ultimately made different choices based on their own cognition.

just
"Shepherd on behalf of the heaven."

Just when the originally bustling lobby seemed a little quiet because of this argument, Zhu Cilang's voice finally reached everyone's ears.

It had only been three or two breaths since Huang Jin uttered these words, but Zhu Cilang had already figured out the true intentions of the local forces in Guangdong through his words.

During the reign of Emperor Wanli (Shenzong), a large-scale massacre of Ming people took place in the Philippines.

Afterwards, the Spaniards were afraid that the Ming Dynasty would hold them accountable, so the Spanish government sent two envoys to China to explain their views and was prepared to pay a certain price in exchange for the Ming Dynasty's forgiveness.

However, when faced with the massacre of its own people by foreigners, the Wanli court actually said: "The culprit of the overseas fighting is unknown. Among the four classes of people in China, merchants are the lowest class. How can we use them as lowly people to start a war? Moreover, merchants abandon their homes and travel overseas, and do not return in the winter. Their fathers, brothers and relatives are all disgusted. There is no pity in abandoning them. Sending them to war will only tire the army."

At this point, the massacre of the Chinese in Southeast Asia changed from sporadic to a planned, regular and deliberate act, and it lasted for hundreds of years until it was curbed after the great powers truly rose in later generations.

Therefore, what these maritime merchants really wanted was "a letter sent in the name of the Guangzhou prefect."

In the eyes of others, what effect can a torn letter have?
But Zhu Cilang knew that the Guangzhou prefectural government also represented the Ming Dynasty court in the eyes of Westerners.

Don't think that the Ming Dynasty is nearing its end and this signboard will be of no use.

When the predatory Dutch East India Company first occupied Penghu, the Fujian government only needed some negotiations to make it retreat. Afterwards, the Netherlands intended to compete with Portugal and Spain for trade with the Ming Dynasty, and prepared to use force to open the Ming Dynasty's door.

But after several battles, the Dutch were finally defeated.

In addition, the other few did not gain the upper hand in the battle with the Ming navy. Therefore, even though the Ming Dynasty was caught in civil strife and unable to take care of itself, in the eyes of Westerners, the official "note" of the Ming Dynasty was not without weight.

"Although merchants are the last of the four classes of people, they are still the people of the Ming Dynasty. This palace..."

When the words were spoken again, all the gentry present showed joy on their faces, but Chen Zizhuang's face changed and he interrupted Zhu Cilang's unfinished words.

"Your Highness, be careful with your words! The Ming Dynasty does not interfere in overseas affairs. This was decided by Emperor Shenzong himself. You..."

"Mr. Chen only knows one side of the story, but not the other. I have read the Records of Emperor Shenzong. The Franks lied that the people of Ming Dynasty who were massacred were Japanese pirates. That's why Emperor Shenzong decided this matter."

After the words fell, everyone had various expressions on their faces, but Zhu Cilang, who had just avenged an arrow, took advantage of the victory and added: "Mr. Chen, do you think anyone in the room looks like a Japanese pirate?"

A gentleman deceives others.

If it were during the Jiajing period, Chen Zizhuang would probably just pick out a maritime merchant at random, but since the opening of the port during the Longqing period, this business became less and less profitable, and people rarely heard about the Japanese pirates.

In addition, Zhu Cilang brought out the Records of Emperor Shenzong. With the two combined, Chen Zizhuang could only respond, "So that's how it is. I am an old minister who is ignorant."

Seeing Chen Zizhuang admit it, Zhu Cilang stopped pestering him. Seeing everyone looking at him with hope, he stood up from his chair and said loudly, "The three old gentlemen all tried to cover up something, but everyone knows that my Ming Dynasty is in the midst of internal and external troubles."

As soon as the words fell, the Guangdong gentry, who had thought that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would follow what Mr. Huang said and send a letter to Southeast Asia, suddenly felt disappointed.

Although the area south of the Yangtze River was divided into two by the Qing army that penetrated deep into Jiangxi, it was not difficult for maritime merchants to communicate the news.

Therefore, after learning that some people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang were trying to help the court reopen the sea route, Guangdong, where many maritime merchants gathered, naturally became restless. However, Guangdong was far away from the central government after all, so it could only be restless.

What a pity!

Because of the incident of the Jingjiang Rebel King, Guangdong, which had been suppressed by Jiangsu and Zhejiang for nearly a hundred years, finally had the opportunity to face the decision-makers of the court. If it could seize the initiative, Guangdong would definitely be able to completely suppress Jiangsu and Zhejiang in matters of maritime trade.

The people who planned this knew very well that given the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, it was impossible for them to take any strong actions, so they just asked His Highness to write a letter to the Westerners in the name of the government.

As for other matters, it depends on how the situation changes.

But who would have thought that although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince rejected the ancestral system of Emperor Shenzong in an extremely clever way, he would still present difficulties in the end.

In this situation, how could they not know that His Highness did not want to cause any more trouble? How could they not feel disappointed?
“However, as the shepherd of the people on behalf of God, how can I sit back and watch my people being slaughtered?

Gu Yuanjing, tomorrow we will send a letter to Nanyang in the name of the Fantai Yamen!"

(End of this chapter)