The eunuch beside him was still reading. Zhu Qiyu sat on the throne and had a panoramic view of the expressions of the ministers below.
The memorial from the Ministry of Revenue had naturally been submitted to him a long time ago, but the one that was brought out now had been deleted and revised several times.
I have to say, Shen Yi is really a talent!
To open up the sea, the ancestral system is a hurdle that cannot be bypassed. For the emperor, if he denies the sea ban, it will inevitably cause an uproar in the court.
At that time, it is open to question whether the sea ban can be implemented, but Zhu Qiyu will definitely be scolded as an unfilial person who does not follow the wishes of his ancestors.
Therefore, we can open the sea, but we cannot negate the policy of sea ban!
This sounds like a joke, but it is the truth, so it is basically a deadlock.
But sometimes, people just need to be forced. At least now, under the pressure of the emperor, Shen Yi came up with an effective method.
First of all, the imperial court has a Shipping Department, which is responsible for the trade and tribute of overseas countries. This means that sea trade is not completely prohibited, but private trade is not allowed.
With this premise, there is room for maneuver. To put it bluntly, it is to cover the private trade in the open sea with a layer of official trade.
Specifically, it is roughly divided into three steps. The first step is to return the Municipal Shipping Department to the management of the Ministry of Revenue. This is not only to protect the future interests of the Ministry of Revenue, but also to reduce the resistance to opening the sea. On this basis , the second part is the model of recruiting Huangdian, who will come forward to conduct 'official' trade.
For Shen Shangshu, this was thanks to the emperor setting up such a semi-official and semi-private imperial store. On the one hand, the imperial store was not under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, so it avoided the government's involvement in trade. On the other hand, as a private property of the royal family, in the concept of "I am the world", the imperial store cannot be applied to the status of ordinary private merchants, and has a status similar to the official.
To put it bluntly, the emperor represented by Huangdian represents the imperial power, and the power of the court comes from the imperial power. Therefore, in a sense, these items are equal, but in another sense, they are not complete. The same, what kind of effect can be achieved depends entirely on the user's means.
There is a precedent for mutual trade. Huangdian has full authority to take charge of maritime trade matters, which can perfectly circumvent the maritime ban policy and carry out maritime trade without touching the ancestral system.
However, this alone cannot achieve the goal of opening up the sea. Moreover, even if it is just the official trade hosted by the imperial shop, it is not easy to pass it in the court.
Because in this way, the interests of maritime trade will be completely monopolized by the imperial shop, which is unacceptable to many ministers in the DPRK.
When mutual trading occurred, firstly, because there were relatively few yamen involved, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of War directly intervened, and not many yamen were involved. Secondly, because the ministers of the DPRK and China did not have much experience in this, and could not predict the implications of the mutual trading. How much potential there is, by the time we react, the situation will already be a done deal.
But sea trade is different. With the experience of mutual trading, it is impossible for the ministers of the DPRK and China to accept this situation where most of the benefits are captured by the imperial shop.
More importantly, the mutual trade between Huangdian and the grassland tribes was based on the premise that each tribe surrendered to the Ming Dynasty. Although this surrender was only nominal, from an official point of view, it was still a tribute and reward.
relation.
However, sea trade is a private transaction. Once sea trade is opened, those who come to trade must be ordinary foreign merchants. They do not have the status of tribute envoys, so there is no tribute relationship. This is the most critical issue.
In addition, because the location and frequency of mutual trade are controlled by the government, they are relatively fixed and require less cooperation. However, because sea trade involves private trade, the frequency must be very frequent and it is difficult to control the time.
The transportation, sales, and management of goods all require the assistance and cooperation of many yamen, and cover a wide range of areas. To put it bluntly, the problem of mutual trade only needs to be solved by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War, and most of the business can be completed. However, sea trade must be multi-faceted.
This can only be achieved through collaboration. If any party deliberately imposes restrictions, sea trade will be greatly affected.
Therefore, the interests of the imperial court must be taken into consideration. This is also the biggest reason why Shen Yi, in the first step, requested that the Shipping Department be returned to the control of the imperial court.
Moreover, Huangdian also has a problem, that is, the cost of long-distance transportation is too high. Therefore, letting Huangdian take charge of the sea trade is actually just a cover. The third step is for Huangdian to select some private businessmen and grant them the title of Huangshang.
points, and its representative Huangdian will carry out the specific operations of sea trade.
After these three steps, we have not only circumvented the ancestral system of maritime ban, but also achieved the purpose of opening the sea in disguise. The only difficult problem is how to deal with the imperial store as a semi-official organization and foreign private merchants from the status quo.
The problem explained above.
As for this problem, Shen Shangshu racked his brains and could not come up with a good solution. Therefore, he could only leave it to the emperor to solve it.
However, this matter has too much to do, and it is already almost the end of the morning session. Everyone is hungry. Although they are very concerned about this matter, even the officials of the Ministry of Science and Technology who like to play around most
, and also a little listless.
Fortunately, the emperor obviously didn't think about such a big thing and was able to pass it directly. After the chamberlain finished reading the memorial, he didn't say anything else on the spot. He just ordered the General Secretary to send the memorial to all yamen, and then
Ordering the court meeting fifteen days later gave the ministers time to consider.
Unsurprisingly, as the Ministry of Revenue submitted this memorandum, clearly revealing the opening of the sea, the level of discussion about the matter in the government and the public became even more heated. Above the court, civil servants
Your Excellency, all forces have begun to work endlessly for this...
Night, Nangong.
Under the flickering lights, Zhu Qizhen sat on the couch, holding a copy of the book in his hand and frowning.
Seeing this situation, Qimuge, who was serving beside him, brought a cup of warm tea and asked.
"Your Majesty, what happened?"
Today, Qimuge is just a female official in Nangong, but it is no exaggeration to say that her status is second only to Queen Qian and Concubine Zhou. Even if it were not for her lack of status, maybe this Nangong
The top and bottom will not be controlled by Zhou Guifei.
And, more importantly, there are some things that Zhu Qizhen cannot talk to Queen Qian, but he can talk to Qimuge.
If not for anything else, it's just because there are not many people in Nangong that he can truly trust completely. Among them, the only ones with some fighting power who can protect him are the Mongolians brought by Qi Muge.
Guarded.
As for the Yulin Guards, this team that nominally protects Nangong, although it seems to be controlled by Meng Jun, in fact, there are countless informants inside.
As a member of the Royal Guards, although Meng Jun commanded the Yulin Guards, the appointment and promotion of all officers must be submitted to the emperor for personal approval. Therefore, all Meng Jun could do was to gather a group of trustworthy personal guards to completely
It is almost impossible to master the Yulin defender.
Under this premise, the people around Qimuge are more trustworthy. After all, it is impossible for Qimuge to betray him, and these people will only obey Qimuge's orders, and naturally they will also protect his safety.
.
So in a sense, only Qimuge can help him with the things he has to do now...
Zhu Qizhen, who had come back to his senses, put down the secret book in his hand and said.
"Zhu Yi said that the matter of opening the sea went smoothly. Many distinguished families are interested in participating in it and are willing to help in the court, but..."
Zhu Qizhen raised his head, looked across the deep darkness, and spoke without knowing where he was going.
"The emperor has also begun to fight for honors. Li Xian, Duke of Fengguo, and Fan Guang, Bo of Jing'an, are also moving around in the capital during these days. Wuxing and the Dingguo Duke's family behind him have already
Many of them have been won over."
After hearing this, Qi Muge's eyes showed a trace of worry as he asked.
"Then what are your plans, Your Majesty?"
The noble camp has always been Zhu Qizhen's base. Although there are very few people who have clearly stated that they are on his side, through the British government and the Chengguo government, Zhu Qizhen can barely make these nobles
Help with some things.
After all, nobles and civil servants are different. Many of them had a relationship with Zhu Qizhen before. Moreover, nobles have a long family. For them, although self-preservation is very important, long-term interests are also important.
This is also the reason why Zhu Qizhen regards the East Palace as the bottom line. Most of the nobles are not helping each other now. The biggest reason is that Zhu Jianshen still has the position of crown prince. After Zhu Qiyu dies, the throne will still return to Zhu Qizhen
This vein.
Therefore, if they clearly stand in line at this time and help the emperor deal with Zhu Qizhen, they will definitely be retaliated against if Zhu Jianshen ascends the throne, so neutrality is the best.
However, this situation cannot last too long. As time goes by, the emperor's control over the court will become stronger and stronger. Even if he wants to encourage Zhu Qizhen to rebel and then eliminate it in one fell swoop, it will not always be possible.
Just leave Xungui alone.
However, things have priorities. From the emperor's point of view, he must first secure the basic foundation of civil servants before talking about honorable matters.
So now is the time!
On the civil servants' side, from the Hanlin Academy to the Cabinet, the Six Ministries, the Ministry of Education, and even the local officialdom, they have all undergone rectification to varying degrees. Today, no one in the court can block the emperor's edge. This has been a series of changes since last year.
It can be seen from the major cases.
If it were before, such a case involving many people would definitely be suppressed by the civil servants, but now, they no longer have this power.
Because of this, the emperor freed up his hands and began to focus on the nobles. Of course, this did not start recently.
The affairs of the imperial court are extremely complex and are not a simple sequence. In fact, the recruitment and rectification of civil servants and nobles have always been carried out at the same time. It is just a matter of the speed of progress.
Now it seems that Zhu Yi took advantage of the opening of the sea to win over nobles, which has aroused the emperor's vigilance, so the current situation has arisen.
The current situation is no longer the same as before. When the War of Oara had just ended, the situation in the DPRK was unclear. Moreover, many of the nobles still remembered Zhu Qizhen's grace. In addition, at that time, the emperor placed heavy emphasis on civil servants.
, and even handed over the capital camp to Yu Qian to take charge, so they were wary of and scrutinized the emperor.
But now, a series of things have caused Zhu Qizhen's authority to almost fall to the bottom. To put it bluntly, the current situation where the imperial edict does not leave Nangong is not forcibly suppressed by the emperor, but a consensus formed by the tacit understanding of the government and the public. As time goes by,
, even if there is kindness, it will be slowly worn away.
In addition, Fan Guang returned to the capital and regained control of the capital camp on behalf of the nobles. Yu Qian, who had always suppressed the nobles on behalf of the civil servants, was demoted from the capital. The emperor also deliberately let the military government take charge of the series of things that had been done to rectify the military government.
Most of the civil servants are excluded. These changes have established basic trust between the nobles and the emperor, so...
"There is nothing we can do. Now I am trapped in Nangong, out of reach of the outside world. Zhang Xi has not returned to Zhangzhou. All matters in the capital can only be handled by Zhu Yi. Although he is loyal, he is young and does not have enough prestige. At this time, the emperor takes action. We
We can only rely on our own methods!"
Zhu Qizhen sighed, helpless, but at the same time, a burst of unknown anger surged in his heart again. If his good brother hadn't occupied his throne, why would he have to plot for a few nobles?
Seeing this situation, Qi Muge's expression was a little complicated. After hesitating for a moment, she spoke.
"Your Majesty, Qi Muge has something to say, I don't know whether I should say it..."
Zhu Qizhen turned his head and looked at Qimuge who was biting his lower lip. He felt a little strange. This was the first time he saw Qimuge talking like this after so long. He frowned and took Qimuge's hand.
She sat down and said.
"In Nangong today, apart from the Queen and you, there are not many people I can trust. You can just say whatever you want. If you say something wrong, I won't blame you!"
When Qi Muge saw this, he opened his mouth and said.
"Your Majesty, I feel that we cannot rely solely on Duke Cheng for external matters!"
As soon as these words came out, Zhu Qizhen's face suddenly turned ugly and he said.
"What do you mean?"
Seeing this situation, Qimuge stood up and said quickly.
"Your Majesty, I don't think there is anything wrong with Duke Cheng Guo. I just feel that it is difficult for me to support myself with one arm. If your Majesty wants to plan big things, you should have more manpower that can be used directly. Take this matter as an example, Governor Zhang
After leaving the capital, Your Majesty will have no choice but to ask Duke Cheng to take action if something happens. As Your Majesty said, Duke Cheng is young after all and there are some things that are beyond his power."
"What's more, Governor Zhang can be sent to the capital. If one day, Duke Cheng Guo is also sent out of the capital by the emperor, your Majesty will have no one to use."
After the words fell, Zhu Qizhen frowned, but did not deny it.
After thinking for a moment, he nodded slowly and said.
"You are right. I have been negligent on this point. However, I still have to think carefully about what to do. After all, this is not a trivial matter. The current situation depends on Zhu Yi and Zhang Xi to maintain it. If we want to win them over,
Other people also need to consider their ideas..."
"Your Majesty is Holy Ming."
Qi Muge bowed and saluted, with an inexplicable light flashing in his expression. He didn't know what he was thinking...