The Prosperous Era of Longwan

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“If the Mongols can really control Tibet, and our Ming Dynasty can suppress Mongolia, then the imperial court’s will will be brought to the snowy plateau along with the Mongols.

They used tribute to exert influence on the grasslands, and then sent officials to Tibet to stay permanently in the name of tea-horse trade.

Wei Guangde continued to tempt, "In this way, even if the imperial court's will truly enter Tibet, even if the Gelug sect has objections, they will have to carry out the imperial court's orders.

After all, their missionary work required the support of the Mongols, and the Mongols were controlled by the imperial court.

Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, the imperial edicts of the Central Plains dynasties have never been effective in that place. This is nothing less than another achievement in expanding territory. "

Although Wei Guangde's words were extremely tempting, Feng Bao was not stupid and he could still understand the key.

"Shandai, the premise for doing this is that the government troops can suppress the Mongols in terms of combat power, but can the government troops do that now?"

Feng Bao said worriedly.

Of course, he also wanted to achieve success and leave a good name for eternity, but the risks involved were too great.

The Ming court always regarded the Mongols as its biggest enemies, which was determined by historical experience.

Whenever the Central Plains dynasty weakened, the grassland people would ride their war horses in groups and drive their sheep south to herd sheep, and it seemed that they could not be stopped at all.

Wei Guangde said that the Ming Dynasty was already able to restrain the Mongols, but Feng Bao, who was familiar with the inside story, was not so easily fooled.

Qi Jiguang's new military camp did win several battles, proving that such an organization was not inferior to the grassland cavalry, but it was Qi Jiguang who trained them after all.

It is hard to predict whether the new military camps organized in other military towns can win victory after victory like Qi Jiguang did.

Feng Bao did not dare to gamble, because to build a new military camp, although most of the soldiers would be elite troops drawn from various towns, the imperial court would also have to spend a lot of money to supplement the weapons and equipment of the new military camp.

At the same time, the military pay of Qi Jiguang's new military camp was much higher than that of the garrison soldiers in the border towns, which was too costly.

The Ming Dynasty was so poor that he, as the chief steward of the inner court, could only think about how to get money from the Ministry of Revenue to subsidize the inner court's expenses.

Can the court afford such huge expenses?

The new military camp has not been trained yet, the court has run out of money and can no longer operate.

On the other side, Mongolia became stronger after gaining Tibet, and would be doomed if there was another Gengshi Rebellion.

He couldn't bear such consequences.

Wei Guangde really wanted to say "yes" at this time, but he also knew that even if he said so, Feng Bao would only sneer at him.

Everyone can speak empty words.

"We should be cautious about this matter. The two ladies are actually more worried about the Mongols becoming too powerful and threatening the imperial court.

As for the situation in Tibet, it would be fine if the status quo remained the same.

Now the imperial court is still conducting tea-horse trade with Zangba Khan, so he cannot completely ignore what the imperial court says.

On the contrary, if the imperial court supports Mongolia and confers the title of King Sonam Gyatso, it may offend them and affect their relationship with the Ming imperial court.”

Feng Bao said in a low voice.

This is actually the result of discussions in the inner court. Although the decree of the Ming Emperor is of no use there, it is more like a mascot.

However, at least on the surface, Tibetan officials and leaders still accepted the Ming Dynasty's enthronement and maintained a vassal relationship with the Ming Dynasty.

Although such a relationship is fragile, similar to the fact that Myanmar just fought a big war with the Ming Dynasty.

However, Tibet is not a suitable place for Han people to live, so they are not interested in that place at all.

"By the way, Shandai, I heard that Li Chengliang has sent troops to wipe out the remaining scum in Burma?"

Feng Bao didn't want to continue this topic. Conferring a title on a monk was not a big deal, but it involved too many things. And he happened to be thinking of the ongoing war in Myanmar.

After all, at the moment, this is what the court should focus on.

As for the arrangements for Mongolia and Tibet, it would be better to let Zhang Juzheng come back and discuss the matter with Wei Guangde.

Wei Guangde knew that Feng Bao was trying to change the subject, so he could not get angry, so he continued, "I have already sent a letter to the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of War has approved it.

I think the document has already reached Li Chengliang, and the government troops should have marched forward by now. I believe that victory news will be sent back soon."

"That's good, our business over there"

I have given them a license to search for valuable mineral deposits for development.

I think, whether it is Li Chengliang or Mu Changzuo, they have to give me some face.

At the latest next year, the revenue from Myanmar should be sent to the capital, Brother Shuanglin, just wait."

Wei Guangde had some confidence in saying this, as he was the second-in-command of the cabinet and also the minister in charge of the Ministry of War.

With Feng Bao, the chief steward of the inner court, behind him, such a combination can be said to be invincible in the Ming Dynasty, and they can even compete with the vassal kings.

"That's good. Haha, I feel relieved that Shandai is letting you do things."

Feng Bao was also happy to hear this, and Le Hehe said, "That's right."

"Brother Shuanglin, feel free to say whatever you want to say."

Wei Guangde saw that Feng Bao seemed to be hesitant to speak, and smiled hurriedly.

“This time the imperial court went south to the West, and you didn’t even let our inner court participate.

You know, the inner court is short of money, but it is not short of good things. "

Wei Guangde naturally understood what Feng Bao meant. He was planning to take the things in the inner court storehouse.

To be honest, those produced by the inner court are all tributes, so the quality is naturally impeccable.

Although there were fine products among the people, the quantity was small and the best ones were mostly sent to the palace.

However, the palace's consumption was limited after all, and many high-quality silks and porcelains were actually left to gather dust in the inner court storehouses.

And these things, let alone speaking out, without the signature or some marks, are still good things that nobles and wealthy businessmen flock to even among the common people in the Ming Dynasty.

When Feng Bao said this, he naturally wanted the inner court to participate in the voyage to the West.

However, this time it was the imperial court that took the lead, and Feng Bao did not think too much about it when it first started.

Just because he doesn't know doesn't mean others haven't thought of it.

Naturally, at this time, the eunuchs in the inner court gradually came to their senses.

The huge profits from voyages to the West have always belonged to the inner court, so the previous dynasty had nothing to do with it.

But the same thing applies, even if the two Empress Dowagers knew the trick, they couldn't intervene at this time.

Because what they need is the stability of the government, and they don't want this matter to cause fierce conflicts between the inner and outer courts.

By then, the outer court would see that it had gained nothing and would repeat what happened during the reign of Emperor Yingzong, directly denying the decision to go to the West, which seemed to affect the emperor's wedding in the end.

Therefore, at this point, even if the eunuchs in the palace were dissatisfied, the two Empress Dowagers forced them to suppress their dissatisfaction and did not allow them to use this matter to cause trouble for the previous dynasty.

However, at this time, it was natural for Feng Bao to complain to Wei Guangde after drinking.

"Brother Shuanglin, this is just a small matter, why do you have to make a fuss about it.

As long as the trip to the West goes smoothly, such events can happen every three to five years in the future, and there is no need to worry that the inner court will not have any income.

The palace only needs to set aside the inferior items in advance and make a list, and then take them out during the next trip to the West.

The things in the palace are good things that many people cannot see. Once these things leave the palace, the price will be very high. "

Wei Guangde smiled and explained, "If the court is not allowed to see the benefits of sailing to the West, how many officials do you think will care about the grandeur of the emperor's wedding?

For them, what does it matter whether the envoys from the vassal states come or not?

Once they arrived, the imperial court would have to provide them with food and lodging, which was truly a losing business.

Wasn't it because of this that all the ministers in the court were so upset and firmly opposed to the voyage to the West?

You are the chief steward of the palace, so you naturally have a long-term vision. It is necessary to give those short-sighted people under you a proper beating."

"Yes, I also want to make your Majesty's wedding more grand. Regardless of the money, the Ministry of Revenue will provide the financial support.

By the way, after I come back this time, will the court organize such activities again?"

Feng Bao didn't care about anything else, but when he heard Wei Guangde say that he would continue such voyages in the future, all the things gathering dust in the warehouses of the inner court would come in handy.

Feng Bao liked to hear that. Even if the things in the palace came out, the price would not be the same as the number in the palace account book. Someone would want it at at least double the price.

The difference will benefit all of them.

The downfall of eunuch Li Bin was due to one person taking all the spoils, selling the confiscated and seized items, and recording them in a double-account book, which resulted in the embezzlement of hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

It was done secretly, but was discovered by the Jinyiwei.

When the time comes, we can take advantage of sailing to the West to buy goods from far away places, so that no one can find any witnesses or evidence. Only then will we be able to get the money safely.

"Shan Dai, just don't forget the palace when the time comes."

Feng Bao said happily.

Wei Guangde went to see Feng Bao mainly because of Sonam Gyatso's matter, while Feng Bao went to the appointment because he was thinking about the inner court and his own position in Myanmar.

Now that Feng Bao's story has been told, only Wei Guangde's story remains uncertain.

Perhaps feeling a little embarrassed, Feng Bao continued, "Shandai, I understand your idea. It's all for the good of the court. It's just that the risk is a bit high. So after discussing it in the inner court, the queen decided to wait for Shuda to come back and listen to his opinion. It doesn't mean that she completely denies your plan.

Your plan this time is too risky. If you are not careful, it will cause a big mess.

The Queen Mother was indifferent to other things except the growth of Mongolia's power.

Wait half a month, and when Uncle Da comes back, I will ask for his opinion. I will speak for you in front of the Queen."

Well, I don’t know if this was Feng Bao’s way of giving him a sweet reward by slapping him in the face, but he didn’t take on too much responsibility and just said that he would speak for him.

"What about the enfeoffment of the princes of the Mongolian Altan Khan family?"

Wei Guangde asked in a low voice.

“That’s great, of course, but Your Majesty is worried that it’s just wishful thinking on our part.

After all, it is bitterly cold outside the Great Wall, and those people will never forget the beautiful land of our Ming Dynasty.

If they really have the strength, they will gather together and march south when they get the chance. They may not do as you think and fight on the grassland just for the empty title of "Khan".

Feng Bao replied.

Wei Guangde smiled and said, "But as long as the Ming army is strong, even if they want to look south, they have to have the strength to do so."

"Once we have the silver, we can train a new army camp according to Qi Jiguang's method, and then the ladies can rest assured."

Feng Bao knew that Wei Guangde was still a little uncomfortable, so he said.

"I know money is important, but it's not that easy to get."

Hearing the mention of silver again, Wei Guangde sighed in his heart. Everything in the Ming Dynasty was restricted by silver.

Well, let's wait for Zhang Juzheng, the old workhorse, to come back and urge him to survey the land as soon as possible and collect the taxes from the court.

"By the way, Shandai, there is something I have been thinking about, I don't know if it is feasible or not."

Feng Bao spoke at this time.

"What is it?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously.

"Don't you think there is gold and silver in Japan? There are gold and silver mountains that can be mined. Let the Denglai Navy make a trip and bring some clothes and daily necessities. As long as they are not ironware or firearms, they should be able to earn a lot of money."

Feng Bao said cautiously.

"Brother Shuanglin, be careful with your words. There is a ban on Japan, which prohibits the circulation of our Ming Dynasty products in Japan."

Although Wei Guangde was secretly managing the trade between the Ming Dynasty and Japan, he still righteously refused in front of Feng Bao.

Just kidding, this trade route does have huge profits, but that requires a lot of back and forth trading.

They sold Ming Dynasty silk cloth, tea and porcelain to Japan, and then bought paper fans, knives and even copper materials from Japan. The difference would be exchanged for gold and silver.

A round trip can bring in about seven or eight times the profit, so a ship can earn nearly one million taels a year.

This is a monopoly business, so Wei Guangde naturally doesn't want others to get involved.

The greater the profit, the greater the risk.

However, Wei Guangde believed that the inner court also knew about the entry of Ming Dynasty goods into Japan, but they just thought that it was only maritime merchants and foreign merchants who were reselling them. He did not expect that it was his chamber of commerce that was doing this business.

The profits used to be more than ten times, but now because of the increased competition, they are only seven or eight times.

If Feng Baozhen intervenes, it may be difficult to maintain the five-fold profit.

The most important thing is that by then, it is possible that there will be eunuchs sent by the inner court in charge of the Dengzhou Water Camp, which will make some things even more difficult to handle.

"I just wanted to sell off the worthless things and earn some money for the inner court and the Ministry of War, which would also help relieve the court's worries.

I am being rude. I should avoid associating with those Japanese bastards."

I don’t know if Feng Bao’s words had any hidden meaning, but he said this at the end.

Wei Guangde's expression remained unchanged. He picked up the wine glass and started drinking with Feng Bao, but he was still a little uneasy in his heart.

He was not sure whether it was the Jinyiwei spies who discovered the traces of maritime merchants in Japan and traced back to him, so Feng Bao said this tonight.

As long as it wasn't about selling armor and firearms to Japan, Wei Guangde didn't think it was a big deal.

Japan was actually more skilled in cold weapon manufacturing than the Ming Dynasty, and their muskets were also good, but they lacked iron, and the production of weapons was always restricted.

However, maritime merchants associated with Wei Guangde were strictly prohibited from selling ironware to Japan.

In the city of Ava in Myanmar, the caravan sent by Wei Guangde has also arrived. However, due to the complicated situation here, they still feel at a loss as to where to start.

Most of the mines that Wei Guangde had his eyes on had already been privately divided up between Li Chengliang and Mu Changzuo. If they intervened, they would be stealing someone else's cake.

Both of them are generals, and the caravan owner really doesn't know how to deal with this matter. (End of this chapter)

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