Sky Curtain: My Great Qin must have an aircraft carrier!

During the Jiajing era.

Zhu Houcong sat cross-legged on the futon, staring at the sky with his mouth agape, not even noticing that his whisk had fallen to the ground.

Ship after ship of gleaming silver was being transported to Spain.

These red-haired, blue-eyed barbarians could exchange a few pieces of trash for mountains of wealth.

He's seen it all, but today he really couldn't hold back anymore.

The world's wealth was right overseas, yet the Ming Dynasty maintained a broken maritime ban, pushing its wealth outwards.

"Money, all of this is my money!"

Zhu Houcong stood up and berated Xu Jie and the others below, saying, "Look at this! They can turn some garbage into real gold and silver!"

"The Ministry of Revenue keeps complaining about being poor, but the money is all outside the country, ending up in the pockets of those red-haired barbarians!"

"Anyone else who opposes opening the seas, step forward!"

The ministers kneeling below the stage were already eyeing him with greed.

The reason they opposed lifting the maritime ban in the past was because their smuggling ships could make money, so they collectively opposed it.

But now that they've seen the sky, everyone has finally woken up from their daze.

Smuggling is nothing!

Not only were they living in constant fear, but their profits were also being squeezed at every level by various pirates and maritime trade offices.

If going overseas can bring in mountains of gold and silver, why would anyone bother with the arduous task of smuggling domestically?

We must go to sea!

Rather than sneaking around, it's better to join the emperor and rob him legitimately.

"Lu Bing, I'm leaving this matter to you. Call Qi Jiguang and Hu Zongxian as well."

"As quickly as possible, draft a plan for me, outlining how to rob money."

Zhu Houcong sat back down on the prayer mat, his voice regaining its imperial majesty.

"I can let bygones be bygones for those petty thefts and thieves of the past, but let's get the money back first."

"Of the profits earned from maritime transport, 30% goes to the Imperial Treasury, 30% to the National Treasury, and the remaining 40% is to be divided among you each according to your abilities."

Zhu Houcong spoke frankly, saying that everyone was a seasoned fox, and there was no point in playing the ghost story.

With this money, any resistance will vanish, whether it's conducting a land survey or implementing performance evaluation or the Single Whip Law.

"We, your humble servants, would gladly die a thousand deaths!"

Lu Bing led the way by kneeling down, followed closely by Xu Jie, and then all the civil and military officials knelt down.

Faced with the allure of money, all notions of factional strife and moral integrity are cast to the winds.

Let's make the money first!

-

The Hall of Mental Cultivation in the Forbidden City.

As Emperor Qianlong gazed at the sky, his expression grew increasingly grim.

He finally understood how those massive fleets in the sky had come about.

Westerners made huge profits through seafaring, and the money was used to build stronger warships and more powerful cannons in shipyards.

If this cycle continues, how long will it take to surpass the Qing Dynasty? A hundred years? Two hundred years?

But what should we do?

Emperor Qianlong stood up, walked around the hall a few times, and finally stopped in front of the window.

Outside the window, the rooftops of palaces stretched out in layers, their glazed tiles gleaming golden in the setting sun.

The maritime ban lasted for over a century, and the coastal layout had long been fixed.

Salt merchants, grain transport, Eight Banners garrisons, Green Standard Army naval forces... these interests formed a vast network.

Pull one branch and the whole net will shake.

A twenty-year-old Emperor Qianlong might actually dare to overturn the table and start over.

But now he is old, and he no longer has the ambition he had when he first ascended the throne. He only wants to maintain the prosperous era peacefully.

"The sea ban... cannot be lifted."

"This is the law of our ancestors, the foundation upon which the world is established, and it cannot be easily changed."

These words were squeezed out of Emperor Qianlong's throat as if he had used all his strength.

The Grand Councilors kneeling below looked at each other, none of them saying a word.

They could understand Qianlong's concerns; the maritime ban had been in place for too long, and any change in it would have far-reaching consequences.

But the heavens have already foretold that if nothing is changed, the future of the Qing Dynasty will be...

In the silence, Qianlong sat up straight, and his eyes regained their luster.

He's a perfect old man!

Having fought in the north and south, pacified the Dzungars, and subdued the Khoja brothers, how could he be defeated by such a small difficulty?

He cannot lift the maritime ban, as that would shake the foundation of the nation, but he can find another way!

"deliver an imperial order."

The Grand Councilors were invigorated and agreed in unison.

"The Imperial Household Department took the lead in establishing the Great Qing Ocean Trading Company."

"This company is spearheaded by the imperial court, and all registered merchants, nobles of the Eight Banners, and officials appointed by the imperial court can purchase shares from the Trade Department."

"You can contribute money, manpower, or ships; profits will be distributed according to your investment ratio."

As Qianlong spoke, his voice became more and more fluent and his strength returned.

Since they feared a Han rebellion, they decided to tie everyone to warships.

Now everyone shares the benefits, and anyone who dares to disrupt them will have to bear the wrath of everyone!

"Your humble servants, on behalf of all the people, kowtow in gratitude to Your Majesty for your divine grace! This act will surely fill the Qing Dynasty's treasury and bring lasting peace!"

Heshen reacted the fastest, immediately kowtowing to express his gratitude, his voice filled with undisguised excitement.

The Emperor is going to personally get involved in business, with the court taking the lead – that's like being ordered to make money!

This isn't just starting a company, it's like opening a gold mine!

The other ministers also seemed to awaken from their daze, and knelt down to express their gratitude with joy on their faces.

Looking at the group of gloating servants below, Qianlong let out a cold laugh.

"Don't be too happy yet."

"This matter concerns the fate of the Qing Dynasty, and I will personally oversee every account and every ship."

"If anyone dares to infiltrate my sights or enrich themselves..."

Emperor Qianlong drew the sword from the waist of the guard beside him; the blade gleamed with a chilling light in the candlelight.

"My sword has never been dull!"

With a clang, the sword was thrown in front of Heshen, startling the high-ranking official who trembled all over.

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat, a chill creeping up their spines, and they kowtowed repeatedly.

They were then struck by a realization: the man before them was none other than the Qianlong Emperor!

Anyone who actually thinks he's senile should have their entire family wiped out.

Emperor Qianlong merely watched coldly, which reassured him somewhat.

"Fukang'an, you will train the escort naval force of the Trade Bureau."

"I'm giving you two years. If you can't master it, you'll have to give me your head."

"Yes, sir!"

Fukang'an knelt on one knee, his eyes full of eagerness.

He was already tired of hearing the praise of Westerners on the screen, and he was most eager to see what made Western ships and cannons so powerful.

-

The images on the sky began to look increasingly dilapidated.

Inside the magnificent palace, long tables were piled high with delicacies, and nobles and royalty toasted each other, indulging in a life of pleasure under the crystal chandeliers.

On the muddy battlefield, the Spanish army is fighting against the multinational coalition forces, pouring into the bottomless pit of war like a flowing river.

Under the blood-red sunset, the once invincible fleet that had dominated the seas now lay rusted and decaying silently in the harbor.

The once glorious empire is sinking below the sea level as the sun sets.

The celestial melody turned melancholic, offering its final assessment of the two maritime empires.

This is the initial stage of a great power's rise, a nouveau riche's frenzy.

Spain and Portugal amassed great wealth through plunder, but they did not use the money to develop their industrial base or carry out any effective institutional reforms.

All the silver was spent on luxury goods and wars, and its former glory gradually faded away.

With the rise of the Netherlands, the maritime power, its wealth eventually vanished like water.

Because of the rise of the ocean, and because of its decline.

"It's often said that people can't earn money beyond their understanding, and it seems the same applies to countries."

Upon seeing this, Lu Li felt a mix of emotions.

They held 80% of the world's wealth in their hands, yet they failed to spark an industrial revolution. These nobles were truly incompetent.

They played such a good hand terribly; they deserved to be taught a lesson by the Netherlands and England.

Ding Dong!

A WeChat notification popped up at the top of the screen.

[Ding! You have finished watching the video and have received a cash reward of 200 yuan!]

Lu Li's initial sentimentality vanished instantly, and he rolled over with a broad grin.

Spanish money is a thing of the past, but my own red envelopes are in the present!

Earning money beyond one's understanding is too difficult; eating what you have right now is the most practical approach.

Scroll down to watch the video; the comment section is always full of talented people.

(What a pity, if the Ming Dynasty had intervened back then, even if the Spanish and Portuguese were all tied together, they wouldn't have been enough to defeat them.)

(That's right, firearms hadn't been developed yet, and the Ming Dynasty was so powerful that it dominated the whole world.)

(If you want to blame someone for this, you can only blame Zhu Yuanzhang. It would have been one thing to impose a maritime ban when the country was founded, but he also insisted on writing it into the ancestral precepts, making it difficult for later emperors to change it.)

(Old Zhu was, after all, a cowherd by birth, with typical small-farmer mentality. He only wanted to protect his own three acres of land and knew nothing about maritime hegemony.)

"No, what did I do to you? We don't have third eyes, how would we know what happened next?!"

Upon seeing the comments, Lao Zhu immediately became furious.

Those brats of later generations, they're just bored and have nothing better to do than blame us for this?