My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 350 Making Dumplings for Vinegar
——[Simulation Start]——

The memorial requesting the establishment of a public-private consultation system was submitted to the Cabinet.

The cabinet ministers generally approve of your proposal and agree to establish the Oriental Maritime Consultative Council to discuss Oriental maritime affairs jointly by the public and private sectors.

The Longqing Emperor agreed to the memorial in principle, but he wanted to attend the meeting in person.

The emperor has partially approved your memorial.

——[Simulation End]——

[Remaining Prestige: 910.]

[To approve your memorial, you need to pay 100 prestige points. Do you wish to pay?]

Su Ze used the system just to be on the safe side.

Who would have thought that the Emperor and Crown Prince, father and son, would be so interesting, vying to attend events?

Having already promised Little Fatty Jun, Su Ze reluctantly chose "yes".

[Prestige points have been deducted, leaving 810. Please complete the memorial in real life and wait for it to take effect.]

Su Ze put down the [Portable Ming Dynasty Imperial Court] device.

Sending a naval force to patrol the East was not the real purpose of Su Ze's memorial to the throne.

The navy's establishment of a base on Jeju Island would inevitably involve undertaking the task of suppressing bandits.

The important thing is this consultation mechanism.

Organizations like the Woyin Trading Company actually go beyond the scope of ordinary commercial companies.

Having been granted a franchise and tasked with collecting gold and silver for the Ming Dynasty, it was, in a sense, already a "state-owned enterprise."

If a company like this is only accountable to its shareholders, that would be terrifying.

However, if the authorities manage it directly, it will lead to a situation where the government stifles the industry.

The imperial court needs to intervene, but it cannot intervene entirely.

The imperial court had to supervise the major decisions of the Japanese silver trading company, but it could not be fully responsible for the company's operation.

Therefore, Su Ze suggested setting up this consultation mechanism.

In this way, the imperial court could learn about the major decisions of the Japanese Silver Company through consultation mechanisms, and could also coordinate with the Japanese Silver Company through policy means.

As for licensed companies like the Wagyu Company, they naturally had many needs beyond the scope of commerce, which also required coordination with the imperial court.

Su Ze also has even longer-term plans.

This consultation mechanism is not limited to the Japanese Silver Company; it can be extended to many other places.

This mechanism also allows the imperial court to listen to the ideas of more social strata when making decisions, and to formulate more practical policies.

In other words, Su Ze only took on the task of arranging the "dumplings" of the Eastern Pacific expedition because of the "jealousy" of the consultation mechanism.
-
As expected, the memorial requesting the establishment of a public-private consultation system was sent to the cabinet, and the cabinet members quickly reached a consensus this time.

The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs also agreed with this opinion, and Su Ze did not forget to include the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs in the negotiations, which can be regarded as taking into account the opinions of the inner court.

When the memorial was delivered to the emperor, the Longqing Emperor also became interested in the consultation meeting.

Seeing the emperor's enthusiastic expression, Feng Bao felt a bit overwhelmed.

Today, the Crown Prince came to pay his respects, and before leaving, he excitedly told Feng Bao about Su Ze's memorial to the throne.

In order to please the Crown Prince, Feng Bao naturally agreed.

But now the emperor wants me to attend the meeting myself. Does that mean I'm breaking my promise to the crown prince?
Feng Bao was already the head of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

However, the seal of office does not signify the end of Feng Bao's professional career.

Maintaining a good relationship with the Crown Prince is crucial to Feng Bao's future.

Feng Bao was not cursing the Longqing Emperor to die young, but laying the groundwork for the future emperor was a necessary lesson for any eunuch.

For the sake of the Crown Prince, Feng Bao was seized by a surge of strength and recklessly declared:
"Your Majesty, I believe it is inappropriate for Your Majesty to personally attend."

The Longqing Emperor frowned, and said with some displeasure:

"What's wrong with me coming in person?"

Feng Bao was certainly not the kind of loyal and outspoken eunuch. In the past, he would have kowtowed and confessed his guilt, but today he insisted on saying:
"Your Majesty! This system of negotiation was originally a new law established by Hanlin Su to reconcile the relationship between officials and merchants."

"His Majesty's presence is awe-inspiring, and the officials are naturally holding their breath and trembling with fear, not daring to speak recklessly. Even those merchant representatives, those uncouth people from the countryside, would probably be so frightened by the sudden appearance of the Emperor that they wouldn't even be able to speak properly. How could they possibly speak freely? I'm afraid that this would go against the original intention of this 'negotiation'!"

After hearing this, the Longqing Emperor's brows relaxed somewhat.

Feng Bao's words do make some sense.

Seeing the emperor's brow relax, Feng Bao continued:

"This meeting is merely a practical discussion between merchants and mid- to low-level officials. It is not a grand state assembly. Perhaps Your Highness could listen and observe on behalf of His Majesty. This would satisfy Your Highness's thirst for knowledge, and it would not show that the court looks down on merchants. It would also demonstrate the court's concern as the Crown Prince. This would be more in line with the atmosphere of 'discussing both public and private matters'?"

After hearing Feng Bao's words, the Longqing Emperor's brows completely relaxed, and he said:
“Feng Bao’s words make sense. In that case, let’s follow Su Qing’s suggestion and have the Crown Prince attend.”

The emperor added:
"It's time to involve the Crown Prince in state affairs. This matter concerning the Japanese silver company can be big or small, so let's start with this."

Feng Bao immediately said:

"Your Majesty is wise!"
-
Su Ze's memorial was approved and promulgated. The court set August 10th as the date for negotiations, and the dispute over the Japanese silver company and the navy's patrol of the Eastern Ocean was finally settled.

The Six Ministries and the Censorate were also satisfied, as they were granted seats to attend the consultation meeting.

The results of this negotiation were to be reported to the Emperor and the Cabinet, so this was a great opportunity to make a name for themselves. The censor in charge of asking questions was also preparing various materials, ready to "checkmate" the Japanese silver company at the meeting.

The remaining departments to attend have also been determined. Since it concerns the national treasury, the Ministry of Revenue will send two assistant ministers to attend.

The Ministry of War dispatched an official in charge of naval affairs to attend.

In addition, this matter also involved dock construction, shipbuilding orders, and the Japanese silver trading company also applied to the court to purchase arms, so the Ministry of Works also sent an assistant minister to participate.

The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs also dispatched a eunuch to oversee the Inner Treasury.

In addition, Li Wenquan also petitioned to discuss judicial issues and requested the Ministry of Justice to send officials. Finally, the Japanese Silver Company also wanted to invest in leasing the post road system of the Office of Transmission, and the Office of Transmission also sent officials.

Meanwhile, the Woyin Company sent all the directors of the preparatory committee, including Li Wenquan, totaling seven people.

The preparatory committee was an organization temporarily elected by the Japanese Silver Company, and its term of office would end before the establishment of the board of directors.

However, the shareholding structure of the Woyin Company is complex, with many shareholders unwilling to appear in public. Therefore, the qualifications of the directors are still being confirmed, which is why the preparatory committee is conducting this negotiation first. Su Ze has no intention of participating in this negotiation. Regardless of the outcome, as long as this negotiation mechanism exists, it is a step forward.

Xiao Pangjun was also notified that he would represent the emperor at the meeting, but he could not speak; he was only responsible for listening to the consultation meeting and would have to write down the meeting process in a memorial to the emperor later.

Su Ze felt something was off, like a child who went out to play but still had to write a diary entry.

However, Little Fatty Jun was very happy. Clearly, for him, being able to leave the East Palace to attend the negotiation meeting was exciting enough.

Since that's the case, Su Ze is no longer worried. Letting the Crown Prince participate in political practice is a good thing.

Su Ze returned to his room in the Imperial Household Department, and the system popped up a settlement report.

The petition requesting the establishment of a public-private consultation system was passed, and the first East Asian Maritime Consultative Conference was convened.

[This meeting discussed matters concerning naval patrols. The final agreement stipulated that the Woyin Trading Company would donate some equipment to the Ming Dynasty navy and provide intelligence on Japanese pirates in the Eastern Seas to assist the Ming Dynasty navy in patrolling the Eastern Seas.]

Senior managers of the Japanese silver trading companies were also subject to the jurisdiction of the Six Ministries and the Censorate, and censors could investigate and impeach these personnel.

[Employees of the Japanese Silver Trading Company who violated Ming Dynasty laws overseas were also to be sent back to Ming for trial. A special circuit court was established in Laizhou specifically to handle such cases.]

The Japanese silver company was granted trading privileges, allowing it to purchase some of the Ming Dynasty navy's obsolete equipment at market prices; this revenue also went to the Ming Dynasty navy.

The Ming Dynasty navy set sail to clear the northern waterways, eliminating more than fifty pirate groups near Jeju Island and ensuring the safety of the Ming Dynasty's northern seas.

The Oriental Maritime Consultative Conference became the origin of the public-private consultation system, providing a new voice for the imperial court's decision-making.

[National fortune +1.]

[Remaining Prestige: 850]

Goodness, they've even come up with extraterritoriality.

Su Ze could only sigh that Japan's good days were just around the corner.
-
Laizhou, Penglai Island.

To focus on learning and training, the Ming Dynasty Naval Academy was located on Penglai Island.

The Ming Dynasty navy treasured its naval academy. Admiral Li Chao petitioned the court to build a cement plant in Laizhou, and the academy dormitories were built according to the standards of modern earthen buildings.

Besides these, the food at the Naval Academy was also the best.

Because Su Ze once wrote an article explaining the effects of meat, eggs, and dairy products on physical health, encouraging people to eat more meat, eggs, and dairy products.

The Naval Academy specially imported dairy cows and raised them on Penglai Island to provide dairy products for the students.

In addition to dairy products, the Naval Academy also established its own farm to provide meat for the students of the Naval Academy on Penglai Island.

Such a high standard of living even made some sailors in the Ming Dynasty's navy envious.

However, they either did not meet the educational requirements or were too old to enroll. Nevertheless, these sailors of the navy were determined to send their next generation to the naval academy.

Those whose children have already met the preparatory course standards will have their children directly enrolled in the preparatory course.

Zhang Jingxiu was busy preparing for the naval academy, working day and night, and almost single-handedly set up the entire teaching system of the naval academy.

Zhang Jingxiu's approach to the construction of the naval academy can be summed up in one sentence: "Copy the Military Academy verbatim."

Zhang Jingxiu set up two departments at the naval academy: navigation and artillery. He also managed the classes in the same way as the military supervisors.

Zhang Jingxiu also basically copied the teaching syllabus of the Military Academy in the printed textbooks. The moral education content was basically copied from the Military Academy's textbooks, while the artillery content was copied from the Military Academy's artillery textbooks, except that some parts on naval artillery were added.

The navigation textbook was quite tricky. Fortunately, Zhang Jingxiu's father, Zhang Juzheng, stepped in and wrote the navigation section of the textbook, which was then handed over to Huang Ji, the Junior Secretary of the Imperial Academy.

I heard that Huang Ji has made some new breakthroughs in star map surveying, and this content will be used in the navigation textbooks.

In addition, there were also mathematics, military strategy manuals, and military law and discipline, which were compiled by personnel organized by the navy.

Of course, the naval academy is still just an empty shell. Some instructors haven't even finished reading the textbooks themselves, especially the courses on astrological navigation. There's a lot of content that the instructors don't understand, so they can only recite from the book.

Thanks to the advanced education system of the Military Supervisory Commission, Zhang Jingxiu managed to get the naval academy up and running.

Anyway, with all the assessments and graduation standards in place, students will always strive to improve. Some problems can be solved by learning while being taught.

For this reason, both Admiral Li Chao and Pacification Commissioner Chen Hao gave Zhang Jingxiu high praise and submitted memorials to the court, requesting that Zhang Jingxiu be rewarded.

The Ministry of War naturally could not refuse such merit, and Shen Shixing, the Military Selection Officer, wrote a stroke of his pen, adding Zhang Jingxiu to the list of those to be promoted to centurion in the Navy.

In this way, Zhang Jingxiu's military rank jumped from deputy fire chief, which was equivalent to a squad leader, to a centurion, a rank on par with the ship's captain.

Today was finally a day off, and Zhang Jingxiu had some free time now that the naval academy's affairs were finished.

Zhang Jingxiu's former subordinate, Zhang Si, a lookout on the Zhigu, has also enrolled in the training program. However, as an active-duty officer, he is participating in a short-term training course lasting two months.

Zhang Si's course has been completed, and there is news from the navy that the imperial court is going to send them to patrol the borders and the Eastern Ocean.

So Zhang Si approached Zhang Jingxiu and took him for a stroll around Laizhou City.

Zhang Jingxiu also felt that he had been too stressed these days because of the naval academy, so he readily agreed to go off the island with Zhang Si.

The two boarded a ferry from the Naval Academy and departed from Penglai Island, quickly arriving at Laizhou Wharf.

Looking at the bustling scene of thousands of sails passing by on the dock, Zhang Jingxiu recalled his early days in Laizhou and couldn't help but sigh:

"In just a few years, Laizhou has become so prosperous."

Zhang Si also chimed in:

"Chief, the Commercial Daily did a ranking last time, and now Laizhou Port is the largest port in the Ming Dynasty."

Zhang Jingxiu was slightly surprised. The location of Laizhou Port was not as good as that of ports in the south, and its conditions were not as good as those of natural deep-water ports like Ningbo and Quanzhou.

However, Laizhou Port has three advantages.

First, there was the Laizhou Mint, which was the center for issuing Ming Dynasty silver dollars. The port of Laizhou had the most abundant currency.

Secondly, Laizhou Port was a hub for goods from the north, including wool, soap, whale oil products, glass, dyed fabrics, and soy sauce. These new products were not only popular throughout the Ming Dynasty but were also sought-after by foreign merchants.

Finally, there's the Laizhou Shipyard.

Laizhou Shipyard was the first large-scale shipyard in the Ming Dynasty. It was directly controlled by the Ministry of Works and underwent multiple technological upgrades, possessing the most advanced shipbuilding technology.

I heard that the craftsmen adopted a so-called "standardized" shipbuilding method, using a unified blueprint to build the main structure of the ship. This way, multiple shipyards can collaborate on shipbuilding, and each shipyard only needs to build its own part.

Once the ships are completed, they are modified by specialized shipyards. For example, warships may have additional gun emplacements added, while merchant ships may have additional cargo holds added.

No sooner had the two stepped ashore than the bugle call sounded from the naval port.

(End of this chapter)