Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 249 How to deal with Da Gama
Agriculture is the foundation of industry.

As an agricultural empire, when most of the population of the Ming Dynasty engaged in industrial production activities, a food crisis naturally arose.

Fortunately, industrial progress also drives the improvement of agricultural productivity.

Yan Song, the governor of Southern Zhili, promoted chemical fertilizers in the Jiangnan region, which significantly increased grain production.

In addition, with the large-scale dredging of canals and rivers, better irrigation conditions have been provided for crops, further stimulating food production.

The emergence of the food crisis further accelerated the Ming Dynasty's pace of external expansion.

However, to date, the expansion is mainly based on commercial expansion and the migration of civilians, and military expansion is not the main means.

In the north, a large number of commercial settlements continued to appear, and the cultivated land area in Liaodong area increased sharply.

At the same time, Zhu Houzhao also issued an edict to encourage the people to leave the country.

As long as the people are willing to go out of the country, they can buy large amounts of land from the court at low prices.

In the south, a large number of local gentry, especially those from Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Guangxi, began to migrate to Taiwan, Malacca, Luzon, Champa and other places to establish farms and export grain to the Ming Dynasty for sale.

Now the Ming Dynasty central court and local governments have begun purchasing grain through grain shops to store disaster relief grain.

When Ming merchants established farmlands in Southeast Asia, they naturally hired local indigenous people to do the farming.

Of course, this also exacerbated the conflict between the Han people and the local indigenous people, because although it was not a military measure, when the Han people exported a large amount of local grain to the Ming Dynasty, it also harmed the interests of the indigenous people.

Let’s not talk about this matter.

The Ming Dynasty is now in the transition period from a small peasant economy to a commodity economy. The country's doors have not yet been fully opened, foreign colonial expansion has not yet begun on a large scale, and many contradictions have not yet completely erupted.

So, as if on the eve of a volcanic eruption, in this era when the Age of Discovery had just begun, the Ming Dynasty and even the entire world still seemed very calm.

As calm as the Atlantic Ocean that Xia Yan saw at this moment.

It has been more than a year, and Xia Yan never expected that he would be drifting on the sea for so long.

Along the way, he found the footprints of the Ming fleet based on the information left by Zheng He, and re-erected a monument. Because they refused to acknowledge their control over the sailing route, they had fought with pirates and even Western colonists, and even lost many Ming navy soldiers who followed him on the western tour. Many also died of illness because there were no antibiotics in that era.

So much so that when Xia Yan and his fleet arrived at the Portuguese-controlled North African port of Ceuta, the number of Ming naval officers and soldiers and other civil and military officials accompanying him had been reduced by more than a thousand.

At this time, the Portuguese also knew that the Eastern Empire of Ming had sent their envoys.

If the Ming Empire had not previously destroyed the Portuguese fleet in the East, that is, the fleet that first established colonies in India and then captured Malacca, a fleet that the Portuguese had always been proud of, the Portuguese would have been very willing to establish trade relations with the Ming Empire. Because as Western countries at that time, they dreamed of doing business with the Ming, the ancient Eastern empire, so that they could sell the Eastern Empire's tea and silk to the West and make huge profits from it. Of course, it would be even better if they could plunder directly.

Westerners of this era were not just businessmen, but often businessmen and robbers, and even more often they played the role of robbers.

However, now the Ming Dynasty has destroyed the Portuguese fleet that was engaged in overseas expansion, and even seized the Portuguese shipping routes east of the Indian Peninsula. It has even used force to pass through the shipping routes controlled by the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. This has caused great damage to the Portuguese's ocean-going interests. Naturally, the Portuguese did not welcome the appearance of Xia Yan, the envoy of the Ming Empire.

But Xia Yan was not a peace envoy, but an armed envoy, which could be more accurately understood as an armed patrol.

Just like Zheng He's voyages to the West back then, he brought not only goods and his own pair of scrutinizing eyes, but also guns and warships, so the Portuguese did not dare to drive Xia Yan away.

Xia Yan even took the opportunity to capture Ceuta and captured Governor Vasco da Gama, who had just been appointed by the Portuguese King Manuel I half a year ago.

At this time, the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were frantically plundering the gold and gems left by the Portuguese in and outside the city of Ceuta. Of course, there were also officers and soldiers who had been trapped at sea for a long time and could not help but forcibly possess the Portuguese women and frantically inject them into the genes of the Ming people.

Xia Yan did not stop them, because this was the condition he promised to the Ming navy officers and soldiers. The Ming navy officers and soldiers escorted Xia Yan to the West with their lives, and Xia Yan, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War, had to allow them to plunder at will in any place they occupied, otherwise no one would be willing to follow him Xia Yan across the ocean.

What Zhu Houzhao taught Xia Yan at the Imperial University of Peking was nationalism. Xia Yan, who was deeply influenced by the traditional idea that family is the country, believed in this very much and did not care how much money he could make.

This is different from Da Gama's original purpose of opening the Eastern Route, which was just to make himself rich.

Xia Yan hoped that these Ming officers and soldiers accompanying him could make a fortune through overseas plundering, and attract more people in the Ming Dynasty to go to sea instead of relying on the weather and the ten acres of land at home for food, and also prevent the people from rebelling due to natural disasters and land annexation.

Therefore, Xia Yan allowed these Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers to engage in plundering activities with the nature of primitive capital accumulation.

"This is overseas. The laws of the Ming Dynasty do not apply here. You are the people of the Ming Dynasty, the people of the Celestial Empire. Your behavior can only be controlled by the Ming Dynasty's government. Therefore, no one can control you here. I am the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War and the Western Patrol Officer. I am only responsible for commanding your military operations. Therefore, go ahead and increase your family's wealth. Remember to take a share for your dead brothers!"

Xia Yan's seemingly logical words still seemed to ring in the ears of the Ming Navy officers and soldiers, and also gave them enough motivation to participate in the sometimes crazy primitive capital accumulation behavior of the Ming Empire.

Of course, Xia Yan's tour to the West was not just to bring a group of naval officers and soldiers to act as robbers. He had another purpose in coming to the West, which was to investigate why the civilization of the West was different from that of China, what the Greece and Florence mentioned by His Majesty were like, as well as the so-called Christ and the Pope here, etc.

"Be honest with me!"

At this time, Da Gama was brought over by a military officer, who said to Xia Yan, "Sir, this is the Governor of Ceuta, Da Gama, that Pires mentioned. He has been captured by me. Please decide, sir. Should he be beheaded or fed to the fish?"

"Da Gama, is this the Da Gama your majesty was talking about?"

At this time, Zhang Yanling, Marquis of Jianchang, who had traveled west to Ceuta with Xia Yan and was preparing to continue westward for a global voyage, couldn't help but ask a question after hearing the name of Da Gama.

"Replying to Marquis Jianchang, it is him. He is the famous hero of Portugal now. He was the first person to discover the new route to the East. He made a lot of money from it and was conferred a title by the Portuguese king."

Pires was now truly enjoying the benefits of being a citizen of the Ming Dynasty. Like other Ming officers and soldiers, he had looted a lot of property during the journey to the west. Therefore, he was now accustomed to considering himself a citizen of the Ming Dynasty. So, when Zhang Yanling asked a question, he immediately answered.

"What kind of hero is that? He's nothing but a robber! Of course, to the Portuguese, he might really be a hero," Xia Yan said, then looked at Da Gama and asked, "You Portuguese have always robbed others, but how does it feel to be robbed by the people of the Ming Dynasty? Did you ever think that revenge would come so quickly?"

"Dear Orientals, I have to admit that you are very powerful, but I hope you can see our sincerity. I apologize for the previous conflict. At the same time, I have paid the price for my stupidity. Now I only hope that you can guarantee my life safety. I can provide compensation!"

Da Gama now knew that he was not able to defeat the fleet and guns of the Eastern Empire, so he did not behave in an arrogant manner. Westerners have always cared more about personal life and did not attach much importance to national interests. Therefore, after being captured by Xia Yan, the first thing he hoped for was that Xia Yan would forgive him.

Of course, this is also the bandit mentality of Vasco da Gama, a veteran Western colonial bandit. In his view, he should naturally pay compensation for being captured. It seems that people in the East only care about making money like him.

Xia Yan did not intend to make a fortune by relying on Da Gama. As mentioned earlier, he went to the West mainly to inspect the West. He may have used some force during the inspection, which made the inspection process seem a little too bloody, but it did not affect his original intention of a peaceful visit.

Therefore, Xia Yan felt that there was no need for him to keep Da Gama, lest he become a threat to Ming's maritime interests in the future, so he waved his hand and said:

"Although His Majesty said that you are a great hero who opened up new routes in your country, it is not a good thing for our Ming Dynasty. To the people of the whole world, you are a robber. It is you who started the evil plunder and massacre, so I have decided to behead you!"

"Wait! Minister Xia, I suddenly feel that he can still be used. After all, he is the most familiar with the route from Portugal to India, and he has experience at sea. You may as well leave him to me. However, he can escape the death penalty, but he cannot escape the punishment of life. This Da Gama is not a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, and he is not eligible to enjoy the protection of the laws of the Ming Dynasty. As the Celestial Empire, the Ming Dynasty will naturally be in favor of justice for those foreign people who died at the hands of Da Gama. Therefore, it is better to castrate him and leave him to me. I will let him help me continue my journey west to see if this world is a ball!"

Zhang Yanling, Marquis of Jianchang, asked with a smile.

Xia Yan thought about it and nodded: "Okay! But there is no one to be executed."

"Our family can!"

At this time, the accompanying eunuch Zhang Zhong stood up and said with a smile: "I used to be in charge of this in the palace, and I am well-known for my skills in this area. Now His Majesty has trained me to be a doctor in the Imperial Hospital, and said that I am a rare surgeon in the Ming Dynasty. However, my surgical operations are mainly to cut off people's skin. Although the purpose is different, I have not forgotten the techniques."

Special statement: Any unjust behavior of the people of the Ming Dynasty overseas does not represent the will of the protagonist. The protagonist is helpless about this. If you want to blame someone, blame the ancients for not being civilized enough. As a time traveler, the protagonist should not be responsible for the behavior of these ancient people in history.

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(End of this chapter)