Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 337 Maybe We Have to Discuss This
he knows!
He knows everything!

Looking at the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty's half-smile, Du Chen suddenly felt his scalp tingling.

At this point, he suddenly realized that the Ming Dynasty had always called them the French, but the emperor made a clear distinction between Spain and Portugal.

How to do?
What if he demands the return of Macau?
As the thought came to his mind, Du Chen's eyes couldn't help but show a hint of despair.

For the purpose of becoming the Governor of Macau, he risked almost all of his family fortune, but who would have thought that he would encounter such a thing just three or two months after taking office.

Damn the Dutch!

Greedy! Don't know when to stop!

They actually had the guts to provoke such a huge empire thousands of miles away. Did they think the French could send their army here?
"Your Majesty, the All-Knowing Emperor, this is the first time since I arrived in the East that I have seen someone separate Spain and Portugal."

After cursing a few words in anger in his heart, Du Chen made his final struggle in his own way.

But since Zhu Cilang had already brought the conversation to this point, how could he let him get away with it so easily?
silence.

After Du Chen finished speaking, the huge hall fell into silence.

The Ming officials present at the scene probably did not understand the reason for the silence, but Du Chen could no longer withstand such pressure after a drop of cold sweat slid down his forehead.

"As you know, Your Majesty, Spain and Portugal are already two countries. Sending troops to support them is probably impossible at this stage."

After he finished speaking, Du Chen felt bitter.

I'm afraid I can't stay in Macau any longer.
He had only been here for a few months, so naturally he didn't have any feelings for this place. However, due to the poor sea routes, Ming merchant ships sailing from Guangzhou could only sell their goods in Macau.

Under such circumstances, although Macau's annual trade volume is not as high as Taiwan's, it can still be ranked among the top in the world.

But now, Du Chen is going to say goodbye to this golden mountain forever.
"In this case, the safety of Macau will be the responsibility of the Ming Dynasty."

Sure enough
The words of the Ming Emperor reached Du Chen's ears smoothly, but he just listened numbly without any reaction.

But when he was thinking about his future life, he heard the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty change the subject.

"Oh, yes, maritime trade brings huge profits, but the people of the Ming Dynasty can only get a small profit."

Having said this, Zhu Cilang paused, and the hearts of some people in the hall suddenly became hot.

The Ming Dynasty was rich in resources, and its annual trade volume was more than 100 billion yuan. However, due to its weak maritime strength, most of the profits were earned by middlemen such as the Dutch and the French, and not much actually reached the production stage.

The maritime merchants in Guangzhou were well aware of this, but the Zheng family, which had once allowed them to travel to Java and other Southeast Asian regions, had already been defeated by the Dutch. Once they left the coast of the Ming Dynasty, they could not move an inch.

Now that Your Majesty has mentioned these things to the Portuguese, does it mean that he wants to send out the navy to escort the merchants?

Thinking of this, the local gentry crowded in the corner of the lobby suddenly became excited.

"Now that we have this opportunity, I have decided to impose tariffs on merchant ships entering and leaving the Ming Dynasty in Taiwan and Macau. Du Chen will be responsible for the specific matters."

As soon as the words fell, the local gentry, who were full of enthusiasm, were immediately disappointed, but Du Chen, who had been in grief just a moment ago, opened his eyes wide and looked at a loss.

"Your Majesty, are you kidding me?"

"You have no joke."

"Your Majesty! Du Chen, thank you for your grace!"

Compared with the previous kneeling, Du Chen's actions and tone this time were no different from those of ordinary Ming officials, but Zhu Cilang's attention was not on this newly accepted foreigner. Instead, he kept glancing at the local officials and gentry.

At this moment, the local gentry who made their fortunes from maritime trade were all flushed with embarrassment, and it seemed as if they had endless words to say to His Majesty, and the officials who had close ties with them also sensed something.

But no one knew whether it was because of the thousands of enemy soldiers who were skinned alive or because of the huge fleet parked at the port, in the end they just huddled quietly in the corner, not daring to move even a little.

Those who can appear here are naturally smart people.

His Majesty has said so much, and except for those confused generals, everyone knows that the protagonist this time is not Du Chen standing in the middle, but the local gentry hiding in the corner and there is no foreign merchant at all.

Since the beginning of recorded history, the main source of income for the Chinese imperial court has been agricultural taxes. When the Ming Dynasty was founded, commercial trade was unprecedentedly prosperous, but due to various factors the central government could only get a small share of the profits.

All people who have reached a certain level are well aware of this situation and know that the harm it causes is far greater than that caused by the Tartars.

But how many people would do such a stupid thing as cutting their own flesh to heal the court's wounds?

Eventually, the situation became more and more serious. In the past few decades, the emperors either had to take advantage of corrupt officials or eunuchs to get some. Some emperors, like the previous emperor, were so ignorant of the seriousness of the matter that they could not even collect commercial taxes, let alone fill the national treasury with maritime trade.

Originally, everyone thought that this situation would continue until the end of the Ming Dynasty.

But now, Your Majesty is taking advantage of the great victory to impose tariffs on merchant ships entering and leaving Ming Dynasty.

From a superficial point of view, this blow fell on the foreign businessmen, but anyone who has been doing business for a few years will know that this blow will definitely fall on the Ming Dynasty businessmen through the value channel.

What a plan!
After understanding this, Gu Yuanjing couldn't help but praise in his heart.

He worked in Guangzhou for many years. Although he had never been personally involved in trade, he understood the principles behind it.

If Your Majesty directly imposes commercial taxes, local forces in various places will inevitably find reasons to cause trouble.

By then, with the power of the court, there will naturally be no big chaos, but if a group of people pop up here and there, it will definitely be an extremely annoying thing in the end.

But now.

Not to mention whether there will be anyone who ignores Your Majesty's military might, even if someone really wants to cause trouble, they can't find a suitable reason.

A problem that had troubled several dynasties was solved just like that.

When it comes down to it, you still have to be tough.

After thinking for several rounds, Gu Yuanjing finally sighed in his heart. When he collected his thoughts, this welcoming ceremony had already come to an end.

After the whole process, he was about to leave the hall, but before he had taken a few steps, a soldier came up to him and whispered something.

"Gu Zhongcheng, His Majesty asked you to stay for a while."

Big meetings talk about small things, small meetings talk about big things.

Zhu Cilang deeply agreed with this.

So after sending away the irrelevant people, the real meeting began.

In the opinion of all the ministers, the revenge has been taken, the anger has been vented, and His Majesty even has the mind to give the merchants a blow.

Although this situation does not mean that the world will be at peace and there will be no major incidents, it can at least keep things quiet for a while in the short term.

But who would have thought that when the ministers and generals arrived at the back hall, they saw that the Majesty, who had been so amiable before, now had a gloomy face.

"You guys are here? Sit down first."

After the words fell, everyone found their seats according to their status. After sitting down, Shen Tingyang looked towards the main seat. It had only been eight or nine months since he first met Zhu Cilang, but within this period of time, the young man had become the majestic emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

He knew that His Majesty was not being pretentious.

On the surface, it seemed that the endangered Ming Dynasty had regained stability through a few victories, but as a high-ranking official in the court, he knew that these victories did not come out of thin air.

Your Majesty needs to balance the forces of all parties, and your Majesty needs to judge all disputes.

Now even Westerners have interfered. If Your Majesty had not made preparations early on, I don't know how this would have ended.

Thinking of this, Shen Tingyang's eyes fell on the long scar, and he couldn't help feeling a pang of sadness in his heart.

At such a young age, he has already shouldered the responsibility of the world. No one would be able to laugh if they were in this position.

"This is an express train from Yingtian that has traveled 800 miles. Please take a look."

As soon as he finished speaking, a servant handed the letter over. When Shen Tingyang looked at it carefully, he saw a long paragraph written densely.

A few days ago, the Qing court sent envoys to Yingtian. Their purpose was simple, which was to divide the country by dividing the river with the Ming Dynasty.

The letter did not say much about the cabinet ministers' views on the matter.

The reason why I wrote so much is that the majority of the rest is about the internal affairs of the court:

The silver I had seized was running out;
Refugees everywhere need resettlement;
Food overseas is nearly exhausted;
The Tartars in Jiangbei seem to be making unusual movements.

It is obvious that although this letter did not state the opinions of the court officials on the Tartars' request for peace talks, their attitudes were clearly expressed between the lines.

Of course, anyone who opposes the Northern Expedition would be considered Qin Hui, but no one can find fault with speaking the facts and pointing out the difficulties.

just
Your Majesty is not Zhao Gou.

"What do you think?"

"Your Majesty, Dorgon is dreaming. Does he really think it's up to him to decide whether to fight or not?"

To everyone's surprise, the first person who jumped out after His Majesty asked the question was Hao Yaoqi.

He understood clearly that the Ming Dynasty had won victory after victory, and even Prince Ajige was defeated in Jiangxi.

Under such circumstances, the Tartars actually dream of seeking peace?
Do you really think that your Majesty's army of hundreds of thousands is under their control?
After all, Hao Yaoqi was just an ordinary general in the Chuang army three or two months ago.

Needless to say, even Li Zicheng, who stood at the highest point of the rebel army, knew nothing about political struggles and general trends, otherwise how could he have ended up being hit to death by a hoe?

On the surface, the decision to fight or not fell into Zhu Cilang's hands.

But the attitudes of the court officials represent the attitudes of the forces behind them.

Under such circumstances, even if Zhu Cilang was determined to launch a northern expedition, he would still be constrained by various parties.

It is hard to say how the battle will turn out by then.

Having said this, some people may think that this is alarmist and hurtful.

However, throughout the history of China, it is not uncommon for famous generals who have won countless battles to be inexplicably defeated somewhere. Apart from tactical factors, whether the war has harmed the interests of others must also be taken into consideration.

Take the Southern Song Dynasty for example. Some people attributed the failure to recover lost territory entirely to Qin, while others attributed it all to Zhao.

But if their actions were not in line with the interests of a certain group, how could there be no waves in the process?

"Gu Aiqing, what do you think?"

After Hao Yaoqi finished speaking, he returned to his seat, but the other ministers remained silent. It was not until Zhu Cilang directly called out their names that Gu Yuanjing had to stand up.

"Your Majesty, I am your humble servant."

"Just say whatever you want to say. I have never blamed anyone for what they said."

Honestly speaking, with Gu Yuanjing's level, he couldn't have imagined it to be that deep.

He just felt that the noble families who had been involved in maritime trade were all looking forward to Your Majesty's pacification of the sea routes because of their victory over the Dutch.

If war really breaks out again with the Tartars, these people will probably be very disappointed, and their local duties will naturally become a little more difficult.

"Your Majesty, the Tartars are claiming to be seeking revenge for the late emperor, but in reality they have evil intentions. Such beastly behavior is certainly infuriating to both humans and gods, and will be punished by heaven and earth. However, we are really in a dilemma as to the grain, fodder, and money."

After saying this, Gu Yuanjing couldn't help but look up. When he saw that His Majesty showed no signs of anger, he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Zhu Cilang had anticipated this.

In the final analysis, everything is subject to the word "interest".

The Northern Expedition would allow the emperor and important officials of the time to go down in history, but what could the southern clans who actually paid for it get from it?
Basically, people tend to seek benefits and avoid harm.

With visible benefits, Europe will time and again look for a route to the East across the turbulent sea.

But if there is no profit, it is not just one person who has watched his ancestors' territory being invaded by foreign enemies.

To be honest, the difficulties mentioned in the letter are real situations.

As the saying goes, a cannon shot is worth a thousand ounces of gold. In this war, the number of soldiers directly participating in the battle alone reached 300,000 to 400,000, not to mention the civilians who provided logistical support and the sailors on the ships.

If it were just that, it would be fine. After all, Zhu Cilang had already confiscated a lot of silver and money before. But the expenses of such a huge court would be much more than that.

The dozen or so double-decker galleons, the heavy artillery on board, plus the equipment of the imperial guards, all these miscellaneous items would be enough to collect even a mountain of gold, let alone other places to spend the money.

Fortunately. Haha.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang did not feel much negative emotion in his heart. After asking a few more people, he sat back in his chair.

"Restoring and recuperating is indeed a priority, but recovering lost territory as soon as possible is also urgent." Zhu Cilang paused here, as if he was in a dilemma because of the difficulties mentioned in the letter: "Alas~~~~, let the Tartars wait first, and we will talk about this matter after I respond to the heaven."

When these words came out, Shen Tingyang felt that Your Majesty was working on this project from scratch.

A penny can make a hero fall.

What's more, war is an extremely expensive thing.

After all, Jiangbei had been devastated by years of war. If the imperial court wanted to recover the lost territory, it would not only have to prepare a large amount of military expenditure, but the subsequent appeasement would also be a huge expense.

Alas~~~If the imperial court could collect more silver, Your Majesty wouldn't have to be so difficult.

Thinking of this, Shen Tingyang felt a pang of sadness in his heart again, but suddenly a voice came and he was so shocked that he opened his mouth wide.

"Now let's talk about how to beat the Dutch next."

(End of this chapter)