My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 296 Let's debate to our hearts' content!

Su Ze had not expected that the Ministry of Rites would actually implement a policy of sending monks and Taoist priests to Southeast Asia to counter the missionary activities of the Spanish in Southeast Asia.

Have those people in the Ministry of Rites finally figured it out?

Su Ze didn't know whether these monks and Taoists could compete with the missionaries.

However, Su Ze would not object if monks or Taoist priests were willing to go to Southeast Asia to preach.

These topics quickly faded from being the focus of attention in the capital, as the news of the Ming navy's return to Dengzhou and Laizhou became the headline of major newspapers.

This time, the Ming Dynasty navy patrolled Ryukyu, Penghu, and Luzon, and the entire fleet returned intact, bringing back rare treasures from the three places.

The delegation from Luzon in Manila also returned with the Ming Dynasty navy, greatly enhancing the prestige of the Ming Dynasty.

When the Ming Dynasty navy docked, the entire port erupted in cheers.

Although unwilling, Zhang Jingxiu was forcibly pulled by the captain to stand on the deck and receive the welcome from the port residents.

After the Zhigu ship docked, Zhang Si, the ship's assistant, carried the two men's luggage and urged Zhang Jingxiu to disembark.

Zhang Jingxiu glanced longingly at his cabin before leaving the Zhigu Ship at Zhang Si's urging.

Just as the two were about to leave the ship, Captain Li Jing said to Zhang Jingxiu:
"The Admiral has ordered that we rest for three days after arriving in port. Zhang Huochang, you come with me."

Zhang Jingxiu didn't know what mission Li Jing had, so he had no choice but to carry his own box and follow Li Jing.

The two boarded a carriage, and Zhang Jingxiu then asked:
"Captain, where are we going?"

Li Jing said:

"Naval Commandery".

Zhang Jingxiu stopped asking questions and assumed that Admiral Li Chao of the Navy must have convened a meeting of officers and key personnel.

As the fire captain of the Zhigu, I am considered a mid-level officer in the fleet, so it is normal for me to be called to a meeting.

Zhang Jingxiu was relieved. He had concealed his identity when he came to Dengzhou and Laizhou, and even the captain did not know that he was the son of a Grand Secretary.

Zhang Jingxiu followed the captain to the naval headquarters of Dengzhou and Laizhou, where he met Admiral Li Chao and Pacification Commissioner Chen Hao. Also present were the captains and officers of various ships; this was the core lineup of the Ming Dynasty's navy.

Zhang Jingxiu discreetly blended into the crowd. Admiral Li Chao had gathered everyone to discuss important matters, and it was not his place as a mere fire captain to interrupt.

As expected, after everyone had gathered, Admiral Li Chao spoke first:
"Gather everyone here, the Governor and the Pacification Commissioner are about to return to the capital to report."

“Li is a rough man, and he needs everyone’s help with the memorial.”

This tough-minded naval admiral spoke softly for once, but everyone frowned upon hearing Li Chao's words.

These naval officers were not afraid of fighting the enemy, but writing official documents was a real pain in the neck.

Unfortunately, most of the high-ranking officers of the first generation of naval officers were former officers of the Ming Dynasty's coastal defense. Most of them were not highly educated and had only received short-term training at the naval training institute, so writing memorials was still too difficult for them.

While Xuanwei Envoy Chenhao was able to write memorials, he served as a military supervisor in the navy and did not have any practical experience in navigation. This time, the memorial summarizing navigation experience was a very important part, and he was unable to write it himself.

So after much deliberation, Li Chao could only gather all the officers of the navy and work together to produce a memorial.

The captains of several ships stepped back half a step, making way for Zhang Jingxiu and his group of young officers to move to the front.

Zhang Jingxiu finally realized that these captains were indeed cunning and shrewd!
As expected, upon seeing these young officers, Admiral Li Chao smiled and said:
"The future of our navy depends on you young people! When you command a region in the future, you will inevitably have to write memorials. Now, I, the admiral, am giving you a chance to train in advance!"

The young officers could only exchange wry smiles.

Admiral Li Chao continued:

"You can stay here and discuss how to write the memorial. This admiral and the captains will not disturb you any longer!"

After saying this, Admiral Li Chao led a group of captains away.

The Pacification Commissioner Chen Hao also left with the eunuchs, leaving only the group of young officers.

Zhang Jingxiu sighed. Everyone present was a student from the Maritime Training Institute. It seemed the Admiral had planned this all along. He wouldn't be able to leave the room until he finished writing his report.

Everyone sighed, and Zhang Jingxiu finally said:
"Brothers, let's get to work."

With Zhang Jingxiu taking the lead, everyone felt they had a pillar of support.

"Scholar Zhang! The fate of intellectuals rests on your shoulders!"

"Yes, yes, you're the best writer, Scholar Zhang! Everyone will have to cooperate with you this time!"

Zhang Juren was Zhang Jingxiu's nickname at the Maritime Training Institute, because he was the only one among all the students at the institute who had achieved the rank of Juren.

Since they were all classmates, the atmosphere became more lively. Of course, not everyone could let Zhang Jingxiu write the main text, so they gradually started to discuss it.

However, these people had never written any memorials before, and their discussions were chaotic. Zhang Jingxiu couldn't help but interrupt them.

"This memorial is the governor's report to the court. We must distinguish between primary and secondary matters. Let's start by writing about the most important things."

“Scholar Zhang is right. What is the purpose of our navy setting sail?”

Zhang Jingxiu, holding his forehead, said:

"Of course, it's to test the new ship and accumulate sailing experience."

Zhang Jingxiu spread out the paper and began to draft a draft.

Once Zhang Jingxiu had laid out the framework, it was time to fill in the technical details, and that's when the professionalism of the Maritime Training Institute became apparent.

These young officers may not be as experienced as the veteran officers, and they may lack experience in dealing with the enemy, but through systematic training, they are more professional.

Everyone shared their thoughts, summarizing the problems encountered during the voyage.

Some problems are quite significant, such as the fleet's sails not being strong enough and requiring frequent repairs, necessitating the use of more durable materials.

For example, naval artillery is prone to moisture damage, often resulting in duds.

There are also some minor problems, such as the lack of means of communication between ships at night, and the ability to determine location by the sound of cannons when encountering pirate night attacks.

Zhang Jingxiu recorded all the problems he encountered during the voyage.

Next, it's time to summarize the experience.

This voyage verified the nautical charts for the Dengzhou-Laizhou-Ryukyu-Penghu-Luzon route, confirming the accuracy of the "Minhai Zhenjing". The voyage also re-surveyed the hydrological data of the ports of Ryukyu, Penghu, and Luzon, and marked several reefs on the nautical charts.

He then summarized the navy's tactics for dealing with pirates.

As expected, with everyone's efforts, the memorial was almost completed.

When Admiral Li Chao and the captains returned drunk, their eyes lit up when they saw the memorial that Zhang Jingxiu had finished drafting!

Talent!
But Captain Li Jing of the Zhigu grabbed Zhang Jingxiu and said:
"Don't even think about it! Zhang Lang is the fire chief of my Zhigu ship, and the ship will be handed over to him in the future!" Li Chao temporarily gave up the idea of ​​poaching people, but there was a hint of approval in his eyes when he looked at these young officers.

He was initially resistant to the idea of ​​a maritime training school; what use was studying if you were going to fight the enemy at sea?

Moreover, most of the books that naval instructors read were not military texts.

Therefore, when the Ming Dynasty Navy was first established, Li Chao jokingly referred to these officers who came from the naval training institute as "scholars".

However, during this voyage, Li Chao discovered that the most reliable people were these "scholars".

Experience in sailing can be accumulated, and experience in combat can be accumulated, but some things you either know or you don't.

Officers trained at naval training institutes are proficient in navigation, artillery, and other essential skills for maritime operations.

In fact, experienced sailors who frequently go to sea usually possess some of these skills, and some of them are even more proficient than these armchair strategists.

But importantly, the Maritime Training Institute made everyone understand that these skills could be trained on a large scale.

The naval officers trained may not have the same potential as some talented veteran sailors, but their minimum potential will exceed that of most sailors. Moreover, their skills are well-rounded, making them very suitable for use on board and allowing them to be assigned to various officer positions.

Upon returning from this voyage, Li Chao saw the newly built ships in the dock, indicating that the Ming Dynasty navy was already facing a shortage of crew members.

This trip to the capital is a must to petition the court to resolve this issue!
On November 5th, Shen Yiguan dragged his weary body to the newspaper office, and his first words were:
"Brother Zilin, please help me!"

Luo Wanhua knew that Shen Yiguan had been busy with matters concerning the Court of State Ceremonial, and it seemed that he had encountered some difficulties again.

“Brother Jianwu, shouldn’t you have gone to the Grand Herald first? Is it possible that even the Grand Herald can’t solve this problem?”

The Court of State Ceremonial had just been reorganized, and Wang Shizhen had just taken over the reins. Su Ze was not willing to get too involved.

After all, he and Wang Shizhen had no real relationship.

However, Shen Yiguan said:
"It was the Grand Herald who sent me to beg Brother Zilin. You must help me this time!"

Su Ze said helplessly:
"Brother Jianwu, please tell me what it is."

Shen Yiguan said, "It's about the Manila Luzon mission."

“This Manila Luzon is not the old state of Luzon. If that were all, it would be fine, but this Manila Luzon does not even have a ruler. Instead, it is governed by a municipal council composed of thirty-three entities.”

"The court had much discussion about this, believing that Manila and Luzon could not be considered a country and that their tribute should not be accepted."

Su Ze asked again:
"What does the Grand Herald mean?"

Shen Yiguan said:
“Wang Honglu naturally supports the tribute mission of Manila and Luzon. Manila is an important foothold in Southeast Asia. If our Great Ming wants to recapture the Western Ocean, it must control Manila.”

"The Grand Herald said that in the ancient times of our Chinese civilization, Yao and Shun were also chosen by the tribes. Manila and Luzon cannot be considered barbarians outside the realm of civilization. More than half of them are Chinese merchant families."

Luo Wanhua nodded and said, "The Grand Herald's statement makes a lot of sense."

Shen Yiguan said with a bitter face:
"The Grand Herald was severely criticized."

"what?"

"Officials from the Ministry of Rites said that the Grand Herald had actually compared barbarians from beyond the borders with ancient sages, and they wanted to submit a memorial to impeach the Grand Herald."

"Some officials even used the identity of Chinese merchants to say that these Chinese merchants in Luzon were actually bandits who betrayed the Ming Dynasty. Such disloyal and unjust people could not be regarded as citizens of the Ming Dynasty. They said that Manila and Luzon were a country of pirates and Japanese pirates."

Luo Wanhua fell silent after that.

Su Ze frowned. He hadn't expected that the issue of Manila's tribute mission to Luzon would turn into a political issue.

The political issue is not about the pros and cons of Manila-Luzon's tributary system, but rather whether Manila-Luzon's political system is legitimate and the political status of overseas Chinese.

These are all very complex issues, and once you get into a debate, it can go on and on.

When it comes to politics, Wang Shizhen, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, is no longer enough, so it's no wonder that he would ask Shen Yiguan for help.

Su Ze also had a headache.

The issue of Manila's political system is related to the future absorption of tributary states by the Ming Dynasty.

You can't just forbid a tributary state from paying tribute if it doesn't have a king, can you?

The issue of overseas Chinese was a sensitive topic in the original timeline, where people could fight it out online, let alone in the Ming Dynasty, which was very particular about the distinction between Chinese and non-Chinese.

“Brother Jianwu, I know, but I need to discuss this matter with Master Xiang.”

"Grand Secretary Gao? Can Grand Secretary Gao intervene?"

Su Ze nodded and said:

"The Prime Minister advocates practical learning. The attitude of practical learning towards these issues is to proceed from reality and put the issues aside for the time being. The issue of the South Seas is related to the great cause of our Ming Dynasty to sail to the West again. As long as we can persuade the Prime Minister, we can suppress the opposing voices in the court."

Shen Yiguan nodded repeatedly. He felt much more at ease knowing that Su Ze had asked Grand Secretary Gao for help.
-
November 7th, the capital city.

This time, Su Ze's prediction was wrong.

Gao Gong supported his opinion and submitted a memorial advocating "pragmatism as the foundation and granting tribute to Luzon," which immediately sparked a wave of opposition from both the court and the public.

Moreover, this time the controversy between the government and the public has escalated from opposition to Manila's tribute mission to Luzon to opposition to the practical learning approach.

The New Gentleman's Daily took the lead in criticizing Gao Gong's ambiguous attitude and emphasized the strict separation between Chinese and foreigners.

The article in this issue of the *New Gentleman's Gazette* is quite insightful, pointing out that the imperial court's intention in sending troops to the Western Ocean again was to "promote the emperor's rule."

If, in the process of promoting the king's rule, we abandon the principle of distinguishing between Chinese and barbarians, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?

The New Gentleman's Gazette even put forward the slogan "Destroy the barbarians and honor the king's rule," demanding the attack on these countries that "do not honor the king's rule."

The Business Daily took a more moderate stance, suggesting that if Manila Luzon wanted to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, it could select a ruler from the former royal family of Luzon to personally apologize to the Ming Dynasty and pay tribute.

The Chinese merchants in Manila are merchants from Luzon, Manila, and they only need to pay taxes according to the standards for foreign merchants.

But the most radical was the New Lefu newspaper, which compared Manila's municipal council to the ancient system of electing Yao and Shun.

The newspapers were filled with uproar, and the imperial court was also in an uproar.

Su Ze had no choice but to put aside his other affairs and focus on dealing with the tribute mission from the Kingdom of Luzon in Manila.

According to news from Den Lai, the Manila delegation is already on its way to Beijing. If their tributary status is not clarified soon, the Manila tribute mission will be ruined.

It seems we can't escape this debate after all.

Su Ze gave a helpless bitter smile and began drafting a memorial to the throne.

It's just a debate about scriptures, isn't it? If we're going to debate, let's debate to our hearts' content!

(End of this chapter)