My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

However, upon hearing this, Xue Guoguan sneered and said:

"I didn't say that. As for how to deal with them, that's entirely up to His Majesty. What I'm talking about today is the opening of the seas. Minister Ni, don't go too far afield. Our focus now is on how to solve the problem of maritime smuggling and promote national economic development through the opening of the seas, rather than getting bogged down in how to deal with those involved."

Not far away, seeing that Ni Yuanlu had started arguing with Xue Guoguan again after only a few words, Zhu Cilang felt a little helpless.

Despite his frustration, he felt that the two men's argument was actually quite reasonable, as they were both acting from the perspective of the imperial court, only their positions and viewpoints differed.

Xue Guoguan advocated opening up the seas in order to break the economic predicament caused by the sea ban, increase national wealth through overseas trade, and at the same time safeguard national security by developing a navy.

He believed that opening the seas could bring many benefits if managed properly. Ni Yuanlu, however, worried that opening the seas would cause unrest in the south. Considering the threat of Japanese pirates and other pirates, as well as the connection between southern officials and nobles and smuggling, he feared that mishandling the situation could lead to an even greater crisis.

So Zhu Cilang let the two argue as long as they didn't get angry, because he didn't want anything to happen to these two old ministers.

After all, these two are both very talented!
In the complex court of the Ming Dynasty, ministers as experienced, capable, and devoted to the country as they were were rare.

So Zhu Cilang remained quietly seated to the side, listening to the two's argument.

Fortunately, Ni Yuanlu gradually calmed down.

In his view, although Xue Guoguan was a member of the Emperor's faction, as the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty, his position and responsibilities were of great importance.

Everything he did was related to the stability of the Ming Dynasty. It was impossible for him to recklessly turn the Ming court upside down in order to achieve a certain goal.

If this were to happen, Xue Guoguan's hard-earned reputation, built up over many years, would be ruined, and he would become a laughingstock in history.

Since Xue Guoguan dared to say so confidently that he had a way to solve the problem of opening the sea, could it be that he really came up with a good solution to this matter?

Thinking of this, Ni Yuanlu's body, which had been trembling slightly due to emotional excitement, gradually calmed down, and he slowly sat down in the chair again.

Seeing that Ni Yuanlu had calmed down, Xue Guoguan's tense nerves also relaxed a little.

He had no intention of arguing pointlessly with Ni Yuanlu, and seeing that she had quieted down, he was too lazy to start another argument.

Then, his gaze slowly turned to Zhu Cilang. Although he did not speak, the meaning behind his words was all too clear.

She was asking Zhu Cilang if he would allow her to continue.

Zhu Cilang sat upright in the main seat without speaking, only nodding slightly.

Xue Guoguan immediately understood Zhu Cilang's meaning and felt reassured. He then cleared his throat and continued speaking.

"Before I reveal my solution, there is something I need to inform Your Highness the Crown Prince about, which is closely related to the opening of the sea."

As Xue Guoguan spoke, he slowly recounted the ins and outs of the matter.

It turns out that Xue Guoguan had a disciple who served as an imperial censor in Nanjing. This man was named Liang Youdai.

Liang Youdai was a northerner, with a straightforward and honest personality; he was a complete hothead.

He was an upright and incorruptible man who could not tolerate the slightest injustice. During his tenure in the area, he offended many people, from high-ranking nobles to wealthy merchants, all of whom had complaints about him and harbored resentment.

One day, several local nobles and merchants secretly found Liang Youdai. They were in a hurry, with a hint of fear and unease on their faces. As soon as they saw Liang Youdai, they knelt down and said that they had an important request and were willing to donate half of their family property to the court, only asking that the court forgive their previous smuggling crimes.

Liang Youdai was completely bewildered when he heard this, and felt that these people were trying to deceive him.

Although he had heard that maritime smuggling was serious in the Nanjing area, he never expected that these people would actually come to him on their own initiative.

Therefore, he was very vigilant at the time, his eyes full of suspicion, thinking that these people wanted to set him up and try to frame him.

However, after some in-depth communication, Liang Youdai gradually realized that these people were actually sincere.

The reason is actually quite simple: the imperial court's methods of collecting taxes in the south were simply too ruthless.

Those who resisted taxes were basically all exterminated and their families wiped out. In the Zhejiang area alone, more than 8,000 people died because of tax resistance.

Although the imperial court had not explicitly mentioned cracking down on maritime smuggling at that time, these people knew that, given the current situation, the court would inevitably take action against maritime affairs again soon.

In order to save their family's lives and property, they ultimately decided to surrender to the imperial court and hand over half of their family fortune in exchange for peace.

However, they also knew that this matter was of great importance. If word got out, it would not only threaten their own safety, but also implicate other local nobles and merchants.

One wrong move and you could be wiped out completely, ending up dead and your entire clan wiped out.

So they inquired everywhere, hoping to find a reliable official from the north to help them make the connection and bring the matter to fruition.

After some searching, they found Liang Youdai. Liang Youdai was a northerner, upright and incorruptible, and a protégé of Xue Guoguan, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. Xue Guoguan was a core figure in the Emperor's faction, so they felt that finding him was the right thing to do.

So he found Liang Youdai and told him his ideas, hoping that Liang would report the matter directly to Grand Secretary Xue Guoguan, and then Xue Guoguan would report it to His Majesty.

When Liang Youdai heard this, he was somewhat puzzled, so he frowned and asked:

"Why don't you just report this matter to the local Imperial Guards? After all, the Imperial Guards are His Majesty's personal retainers; wouldn't they be more direct in handling such matters?"

However, upon hearing this, the merchants and nobles immediately began to complain bitterly, because they simply did not trust the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) in Nanjing.

Because most of the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) in Nanjing were hereditary, they had long been entangled with local nobles and officials, forming a complex and intertwined network of relationships.

If this matter were reported to the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) in Nanjing, they would all be killed in retaliation before tomorrow, without even a complete corpse.

Upon hearing this, Liang Youdai immediately understood the importance of the matter.

Although the imperial court currently has no plans to lift the sea ban, he knows in his heart that the court has finally reformed the tax system that has lasted for thousands of years. These measures show that the court is determined to reform and strengthen itself, and lifting the sea ban is probably inevitable.

To truly lift the maritime ban, the first problem to solve is these smuggling nobles and merchants. Otherwise, even if the ban is lifted, chaos will ensue due to their presence.

Therefore, without saying a word, he immediately spread out paper and pen and wrote a secret letter.

After writing the secret letter, he entrusted it to a trusted confidant, who then quickly delivered it to Grand Secretary Xue Guoguan.

Xue Guoguan was overjoyed upon receiving the secret letter.

Because he is in a high position, he can naturally perceive things that ordinary people cannot.

He knew that the imperial court would soon lift the maritime ban, since overseas grain was indeed cheap and plentiful, and the court could obtain as much as it needed. Once the maritime ban was lifted, the court could purchase more grain from overseas to alleviate the increasingly severe famine within the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, they can earn a lot of money through overseas trade, increasing the country's tax revenue.

Almost no emperor could refuse such a win-win situation.

Of course, in the past, Xue Guoguan wouldn't have dared to have any thoughts about this.

After all, Emperor Chongzhen was too incompetent before. Faced with the complex political situation and the constraints of various forces, he often hesitated and looked back.

Given this environment, how could Xue Guoguan dare to violate the maritime ban?

One wrong move could lead to your death and bring ruin to your family.

But things are clearly different now; the Crown Prince is now in charge.

Xue Guoguan admired the Crown Prince's methods, and therefore firmly believed that lifting the maritime ban was inevitable.

So, after thinking for a moment about how to report to the Crown Prince, he hurriedly went to the East Palace.

And then, that's what's happening now.

After saying these words, Xue Guoguan carefully took out a memorial from his robes and said:
"Your Highness, please take a look. This is a secret letter written to me by my disciple Liang Youdai."

The young eunuch beside him quickly took the letter with both hands, then respectfully walked up to Zhu Cilang and handed it over.

Zhu Cilang took the secret letter, slowly opened it, and then read through its contents word by word.

Sure enough, the above content was almost identical to what Xue Guoguan had said. Indeed, many merchants and nobles approached Liang Youdai, hoping to donate half of their family fortune to the imperial court in exchange for the court's protection and pardon.

However, Zhu Cilang did not recognize any of the people on the list.

Just then, Xue Guoguan continued:

“Your Highness, in fact, not all maritime merchants and nobles want to evade taxes. Some of them are actually willing to pay taxes and do business legitimately.”

"But the imperial court has always banned maritime trade, so even if they are willing to pay taxes, they have no way to do legitimate business."

"Besides, these people may also be coerced by other large sea merchants and nobles. Those people are greedy and unwilling to pay taxes, so these people are also forced to evade taxes. I think that if we start with these people, we might be able to solve this problem."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang nodded and said solemnly:

"Although it is said that people die for wealth and birds die for food, I also believe that there must be some people among these people who are afraid. If the court can formulate a sound trade law, I believe they will be willing to pay taxes and do legitimate business."

After all, according to the provisions of the "Great Ming Code - Household Law - Merchants' Concealment of Goods":
Maritime trade required permission from the imperial court; any private overseas transactions without permission were considered smuggling.

Anyone who privately takes goods out to sea for trade shall be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane.

Goods and ships were not brought into custody.

This undoubtedly cut off the livelihoods of those who depended on maritime trade, and years of hard work vanished in an instant.

In addition, if the smuggled goods are military supplies, such as ironware, horses, and silk, the penalties will be more severe, and the offender may face exile or death.

In addition, the "Great Ming Code - Military Law - Private Exit from Borders and Prohibited Sea Voyages" also contains the following provisions:
That is, it strictly prohibits private trade between civilians and "foreigners," and those who violate this rule will be severely punished. This regulation aims to safeguard national security and stability and prevent infiltration and interference from external forces.

Furthermore, anyone who builds a ship with two or more masts and sails out to sea without authorization will be considered to have committed treason, and the ringleader will be executed while his family members will be exiled.

Treason is an unforgivable crime. Once someone is branded with this charge, not only will their own life be in danger, but their entire family will also be implicated.

See? If this regulation is really implemented, at least half of those nobles and maritime merchants will have their property confiscated, and the other half will be beheaded.

Those who wanted to donate half of their family property to the imperial court were aware that the court might target them in the future, so they thought it was better to make amends and surrender to the court as soon as possible in order to gain its forgiveness.

As for those still stubborn nobles and maritime merchants, they probably thought that the court had just stabilized the north and would not dare to attack the south again.

Moreover, they have been engaged in smuggling for over two hundred years and have long had a complete system in place, with every step from the procurement and transportation of goods to their sale arranged in an orderly manner.

They believed that with this system, they could continue smuggling without leaving a trace, and they were not worried that the imperial court would take action against them.

After all, people have a tendency to take chances. Before the knife is on their heads, they will still have a sense of luck and always feel that disaster will not befall them.

After regaining his senses, Zhu Cilang handed the memorial in his hand to the eunuch and said:

"Go and let Minister Ni take a look as well."

Xiao Tai overheard this and quickly took the secret letter, then handed it to Ni Yuanlu, who was standing next to him.

In fact, whether Ni Yuanlu looked or not was no longer important at this point, since he wasn't deaf and had already heard what Xue Guoguan had said.

He knew that if that were the case, then there might be another way to resolve the matter.

That is, the imperial court should first issue an order requiring those maritime merchants or nobles involved in smuggling to hand over part of their family property to offset previous tax evasion, and then strictly pay taxes in accordance with the imperial court's regulations. In that case, the matter can be resolved.

Of course, this is the most ideal solution.

However, Ni Yuanlu also knew that some people were always greedy and unwilling to hand over their family property.

They only care about their own interests, willing to take risks to protect their meager assets. These people will likely only face death; it's their own fault.

After quickly reading through the contents of the secret letter, Ni Yuanlu looked at Zhu Cilang and said solemnly:
"Your Highness, I have no objection to Grand Secretary Xue's method. I believe it is feasible."

"However, I still want to say that the South must not be allowed to descend into chaos under any circumstances. As I have said before, the South's tax revenue is the foundation of the country, providing a huge amount of tax revenue to the nation every year. If the South were to descend into chaos, it would certainly affect the stability of the country. Once the country is in turmoil, the people will be displaced, and social order will fall into chaos. Under this premise, I absolutely support this matter."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang smiled and nodded repeatedly, saying:
"Don't worry, I understand everything you're saying. No matter what, I will not let the South descend into chaos. I promise to handle this matter carefully and ensure that while resolving the issue of opening the sea, I will also maintain stability in the South."

Upon hearing this, Ni Yuanlu stopped speaking and simply cupped her hands in a respectful gesture towards Zhu Cilang.

Now that things have come to this, he really has nothing more to say. (End of Chapter)