Good morning Daming

Chapter 1014 Breaking the Cage
The Ming Dynasty implemented the dual capital system. The name of the secondary capital sounds nice, but the price of being away from the political and power center is being marginalized.

This was the case with the small court in Nanjing, which eventually became a shelter for officials who had failed in their struggles.

Or a place to increase the qualifications of certain officials.

Since they were marginalized, many disillusioned officials lingered along the Qinhuai River, leaving behind countless complaints.

Prince Jing and Chen Zheng were right behind Jiang Qingzhi. Chen Zheng looked at the eunuchs with complicated eyes and said, "They are all a bunch of pitiful people."

While the officials could still enjoy themselves, these eunuchs and palace maids could only sweep and clean day after day, year after year... just like the workers on the screw-making assembly line in later generations, spending day after day numbly.

The crowd parted to make way for a path, and an old eunuch walked out slowly with unsteady steps.

"Your servant Ye Song greets the Lord."

Jiang Qingzhi suppressed his joy and asked, "Where is the blueprint?"

"It's in the palace." Ye Song looked up. "Back then, Eunuch Sanbao was recuperating in Nanjing. He was constantly criticized by the capital, saying that the treasure ships were extremely costly and did not benefit the country or the people. Zheng He was trying to curry favor with the emperor..."

King Jing was shocked. "Choosing yourself up to attract attention?"

Chen Zheng said: "After Emperor Chengzu passed away, Zheng He insisted on going to sea, just like today's Changwei Bo, who insisted on the New Deal. The difference is that Zheng He became the second Di Qing, while Changwei Bo overcame all difficulties along the way..."

Di Qing!

These are the souls killed by the scholars and officials.

In the early Song Dynasty, civil officials controlled military officials. Emperor Renzong wanted to make an exception and let Di Qing take charge of the Privy Council, which triggered a backlash from the literati. After a wave of attacks, they hinted that Di Qing should get out.

Di Qing naturally would not leave, so the tragedy happened.

"The criticism from the capital made Eunuch Zheng quite anxious. He was worried that the fleet would never have the chance to go out to sea again. His condition became more serious. People in the capital even said that he had a rebellious heart and wanted to be king overseas..."

Ye Song coughed dryly and gasped for a few times. "Eunuch Zheng said to the eunuch beside him, it seems that we are blocking the way of those people. If we don't give way, we will surely die without a burial place. It doesn't matter if we die, the fleet cannot stop at sea. Once it stops, the sea will no longer belong to the Ming Dynasty."

"Why can't we stop?" King Jing finally couldn't help asking, "Can't we stop for a while, pretend to be nice, and then find an opportunity to go out to sea again?"

Ye Song didn't understand, "I don't know either."

Xu Chengzong said: "Maybe they are worried about changes in overseas forces!"

Jiang Qingzhi sighed, "Ten years for the army, a hundred years for the navy. Fists are always in hand, songs are always on the lips. Just stop for a few years, and the invincible navy... will become a weakling."

King Jing murmured, "No wonder Zheng He set sail every once in a while. Is that the reason?"

"The Ming dragon flag must always fly over the sea and appear in those seaports." Jiang Qingzhi said: "Authority comes from existence. When the Ming navy disappears, other forces will fill the power gap. When the Ming goes out to sea again, it will encounter these powerful enemies."

"You are stagnant or even taking a big step backwards, while others are making positive progress. One is gaining while the other is losing!" said Jiang Qingzhi.

"The Portuguese!" King Jing said, "The Ming Dynasty has withdrawn, and a power gap has appeared on the sea. The Portuguese came from the west and quickly filled this gap. Now if the Ming Dynasty wants to dominate the world and control the sea, it must first defeat this powerful enemy."

Wang Yan understood everything and sighed, "If the treasure ship had continued to sail out to show its power, the Portuguese would have no chance."

In the two battles off the coast of Guangzhou, if it had been Zheng He's invincible fleet, the Portuguese would have been beaten to a pulp.

This was a decision-making mistake made by the Ming Dynasty, which led to the decline of the maritime power of the Central Plains dynasty in the following hundreds of years.

In the end, the enemy that destroyed this feudal dynasty also came from the sea.

"Benefits come from the sea, and dangers also come from the sea." Jiang Qingzhi said what Zheng He said, "There is still time for everything."

The Portuguese had planned to march eastward in a big way, sail their invincible fleet to the eastern coastline and conquer this rich and mouth-watering silk country.

However, two naval battles off the coast of Guangzhou made the Portuguese monarch and his ministers hesitate and eventually abandon the plan.

Otherwise... Jiang Qingzhi didn't dare to think about it, really didn't dare to think about it.

Given the nature of the Ming officers and soldiers at that time, what would have happened if they had encountered the experienced Portuguese army?
Even the fucking Japanese pirates could beat them to a pulp, what could be the result?
Jiang Qingzhi shuddered, thinking that it was the last chance God gave to the Ming Dynasty.

If the rulers and ministers of the Ming Dynasty at that time had seen the crisis from those two naval battles and initiated reforms, this central country would still be able to stand proudly in the world.

Unfortunately, the Ming emperor and his ministers were busy fighting among themselves and vying for power, with the emperor's power and the ministers' power intertwined. The two sides seemed to be talking and laughing, very harmonious, but secretly they wanted to slap their opponents to death.

It can be said that the Ming Dynasty was the period with the most tense relations between the monarch and his subjects since historical records began.

Since the founding of the country, the power struggle between the monarch and his subjects has never stopped.

The ministers wanted to restore the situation of the former Song Dynasty, that is, a figurehead monarch.

——Share the world with the scholars and officials!

This was the Zhao family's promise. From then on, for the first time in history, the power of ministers overwhelmed the power of the emperor.

Until the cowherd boy walked into the palace, looked down at the world, and said contemptuously: "A group of monkeys dare to despise the king?"

So he raised his long knife and used killing, skinning and strawing to firmly suppress those scholars and officials who were ready to make trouble.

Unfortunately, Confucianism had grown strong at this moment, and the emperor seemed powerful, but outside the capital, the scholars and officials were still the masters of the world.

The seemingly brutal skinning and straw feeding was actually the product of the emperor's inability to control, and more like an outburst of impotent rage.

Jiang Qingzhi understood.

He even felt some of Zhu Yuanzhang's anger back then.

A founding leader, ambitious and confident, thought it would be easy to rule the country. However, when he punched, it was like hitting a pile of cotton, extremely uncomfortable.

This world!
A complete overhaul is necessary.

The drawings are hidden in a side hall.

"Back then, Eunuch Zheng gave the blueprint to a eunuch beside him, and that eunuch stayed in the Nanjing Palace. He adopted a son, and the son adopted an apprentice. That apprentice is my adoptive father."

A wooden box that looked a bit worn out. When it was opened, there were several rolls of nautical charts inside and dozens of books piled underneath.

Jiang Qingzhi picked up a scroll, opened it, his eyes narrowed, and his breathing tightened.

"It's a sea chart!" King Jing stood beside him, overjoyed. The route and track were clearly marked on the chart.

Jiang Qingzhi put down the scroll, picked up a book, and opened it.

"It's the logbook."

These logs record the fleet's trajectory and what it saw along the way...

“This is a priceless treasure!”

Jiang Qingzhi's eyes sparkled with surprise. "With this, the fleet can continue to expand its exploration in all directions..."

"Where will the exploration end?" Chen Zheng asked.

Jiang Qingzhi glanced at him and said, "Until the end of the sky!"

Jiang Qingzhi closed his eyes and found that the speed of the cauldron had actually increased.

Is it a reward?
Jiang Qingzhi was secretly happy, but the big tripod returned to its original speed.

It was as if there was just a little excitement just now.

What the hell!

This is almost the same as a human.

Jiang Qingzhi was surprised, and suddenly an idea came to his mind.

Could it be that my words just now aroused Mr. Ding’s emotions?

Don't blame Jiang Qingzhi for using people to describe the big tripod. From the moment the big tripod appeared in his mind, this old man Ding has been showing everywhere that he is a thing with emotions.

Like a steady old man.

I get a little tantrum occasionally.

Which sentence is it?

Jiang Qingzhi thought about it.

The end of the sky!
Let the Ming navy’s tracks spread throughout the world.

Uncle Ding!

Jiang Qingzhi's mind moved, and he tried to ask: "What do you think if I lead my fleet to the coastline of Western countries and use naval guns to blast open their borders?"

The big tripod remained the same. Jiang Qingzhi sighed, "Isn't it?"

His divine consciousness immediately went out.

Just as his spiritual consciousness disappeared from this space, the cauldron suddenly accelerated.

It was only for a moment, and soon returned to normal.

But the speed was so fast at that moment that if Jiang Qingzhi had been able to see it, he would have been stunned.

This is more than just personification!
This is clearly a person!
……

Jiang Qingzhi carefully checked all the drawings and roughly flipped through the logbook. "Mo Zhan."

"Uncle!"

"You look at these drawings yourself," Jiang Qingzhi said. "Remember, these things are more important than your life."

Mo Zhan pressed the hilt of the knife, "I understand."

The number one swordsman in Xuanfu glanced at everyone present and ordered the two guards to take the wooden box away.

"Also, Old Xu." Jiang Qingzhi called Xu Wei over and thought for a moment, "Go find a few reliable writers."

Xu Wei didn't know what he was going to do, so he said, "How about I do it?"

Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "Okay."

Xu Wei felt an inexplicable chill down his spine.

Jiang Qingzhi walked up to Ye Song and said in a gentle voice, "Please pack up, and someone will send you to the capital later."

Wang Yan smiled and said, "I am finally relieved now."

"No." Ye Song shook his head. Jiang Qingzhi was stunned. "Why?"

Ye Song said, "I get up early every morning, sweep, eat, daydream, eat, sleep... Over the past few decades, I have gotten used to everything here and am a little afraid of the outside world."

"How can you be so ungrateful?" Wang Yan said dissatisfiedly.

Jiang Qingzhi waved his hands and sighed, "I understand."

He thought of the movie, the prison called Shawshank, and the old prisoner who had been in prison for decades...

——We are institutionalized.

This is the case with Ye Song. He is used to the institutionalization within the Nanjing Imperial Palace. Even though it seems like torture to outsiders, he enjoys it.

The only person in Shawshank Prison who is not institutionalized is the protagonist.

Jiang Qingzhi watched Ye Song staggering towards the deep palace and whispered, "This Ming Dynasty is just like that prison, and I am the only one who has not been institutionalized!"

And he!
Will break this cage!

This cage imprisoned the Central Plains dynasty for thousands of years.

(End of this chapter)