The next day, as soon as it got dark, the officials filed in from Jinshui Bridge.
Although today is not an ordinary day, it is a day for court meetings and exchanges. To show solemnity, the emperor specially opened the Fengtian Hall.
The morning sun shone on the Forbidden City. The elders climbed up the steps and stood in the spacious Fengtian Hall. The emperor's figure had already appeared on the throne.
After saluting, Zhu Qiyu opened his mouth and said.
"A few days ago, the Mongolian mission came to Beijing and wrote to me, requesting the implementation of the agreement reached between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia during the War of Oara, which included the opening of mutual trade and other matters. The memorials to Honglu Temple and the Ministry of Revenue have been published. All the yamen are discussing this matter today, and all the ministers can speak freely."
After the words fell, there was a burst of discussion below, and several censors stood up one after another. Just as they were about to speak, they saw a person standing at the front, none other than Shen Yi, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
Shen Shangshu stood in the hall, took out a memorial from his sleeve, and said.
"Your Majesty, for the past few days, the government and the public have been discussing the issue of mutual trading. The opponents have several reasons."
"One is the fear that the Mongols will gain power and invade the Ming Dynasty again; the second is the fear that the bandits will be cunning and take the opportunity to invade the border and plunder; the third is the fear that mutual trade will open up and smuggling will be difficult to stop; the fourth is the fear that it will cost the people and money and be unprofitable."
"The Ministry of Household Affairs has formulated regulations on mutual trading in response to the above four items. Your Majesty is requested to review them."
Several ministers who had already stood up below looked at each other in confusion, with an old blood clot stuck in their throats.
This was originally their line, why was it snatched away by the Ministry of Finance?
However, even though he lost the first move, what Shen Yi said was probably not wrong.
Therefore, several ministers below unanimously looked at the memorial in Chen Yi's hand, wanting to see how the Ministry of Revenue would respond.
The memorial was handed to the emperor's case. The emperor glanced at it hurriedly and waved his hand. Then, the chamberlain on the side took the memorial and read it out in front of everyone.
This regulation is written in great detail, but in summary, it is actually just a few points, all of which Zhu Qiyu and Shen Yi discussed before.
Based on the imperial store, private transactions were prohibited, and the imperial court sent troops to protect the entire process. Smuggling was strictly investigated at fixed points and at regular intervals.
At the same time, every item involved in the transaction is subject to heavy tax at the rate of one out of ten taxes or one out of eight taxes.
After reading it, there was a loud "buzz" at the bottom, and many ministers who had originally planned to oppose it were a little confused for a while.
No one expected that the Ministry of Revenue had prepared such detailed regulations in advance.
At the same time, answers have been given to questions that have always puzzled the elders.
That's why the Ministry of Finance is so active in mutual trading, but it turns out that there is such a big piece of fat waiting for it.
Before they could react, they heard the emperor's voice on the throne lowering his voice again.
"The issue of mutual trading involves the war between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia. Among the mutual trading regulations just issued by the Ministry of Revenue, there are many areas that require the cooperation of the border troops. They are all under the control of the Ministry of War. What do you think of Shangshu?"
Yu Qian moved out of the queue and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that if a mutual trade can be achieved, it will be beneficial to the country and the people."
???
what's the situation?
The elders thought that Yu Qian might support this matter, but they did not expect that he would have such a clear attitude. This tone sounded more positive than that of the Ministry of Finance.
At that moment, a censor stood up immediately and said.
"Your Majesty, I impeach Yu Qian, the Minister of War, for obeying the holy will, flattering, and treating state affairs like a joke. I beg your Majesty to convict him."
The Metropolitan Procuratorate has never been short of strong censors.
These words were spoken mercilessly. Not only did he scold Yu Qian, but he even scolded the emperor. He only pointed out the issue of mutual trading, which was secretly promoted by the emperor.
Otherwise, how can we submit to the holy will?
Zhu Qiyu touched his nose, but he was not angry. Instead, he focused his eyes on Yu Qian and asked, "Why did Yu Shangshu say this?"
Yu Qian glanced at the censor who jumped out and said immediately.
"Your Majesty, our Ming Dynasty has been at war with Mongolia for a long time. Taizu, Taizong, and Xuanzong all went to the north to conquer Mongolia and fought for years, which led to the loss of national power. Now that Oara has been defeated, the Ming Dynasty has become more powerful. It is now the opportunity to negotiate peace."
"Nowadays, the various Mongolian tribes are divided and are rising rapidly. If left unchecked, the Mongolian tribes will be reunited again, which will threaten our Ming Dynasty. The Ministry of War has already planned to report to Your Majesty to use the policy of restraint to win over the weak Mongolian tribes and cause them to continue civil strife to protect the Ming Dynasty.
Peace on the border.”
"Therefore, I believe that now is the time to open trade to each other."
It must be said that Yu Qian's prestige among the ministers is still very high.
After he finished speaking, many ministers below fell into deep thought.
However, a moment later, a minister stood up and spoke.
"What Yu Shangshu said is not unreasonable, but this time the Mongolian envoys came to Beijing with arrogance and no intention of surrendering to the Ming Dynasty. Although I have the intention to negotiate for peace, I am afraid that the other party has no intention of making peace."
This is actually the key. The memorial submitted by Honglu Temple contained many conditions and sounded condescending. This is what made the elders most angry.
However, Yu Qian was obviously prepared for this. He pondered for a moment and said.
"There is no need to worry about this matter. The letter submitted to Honglu Temple was written by Tuotuo Buhua. It is often arrogant. However, there are many tribes in Mongolia and it does not need to be limited to the Khan's court."
"These days, I, following His Majesty's holy orders, went to Honglu Temple to receive special envoys. Many of them came from various tribes. They relayed the respect of the leaders of each tribe to the Ming Dynasty and expressed their willingness to surrender and accept the canonization of the Ming Dynasty."
This is another bomb.
No one thought that Yu Qian not only thought so, but actually went to Honglu Temple to meet the envoys.
After recalling the memorials from Honglu Temple, it seems that the only letter written by Tuo Tuo Bu Hua was arrogant, while the other letters from the leaders of various ministries were quite respectful.
This is not over yet, Yu Qian continued to speak.
"As we all know, in the battle of Oara, Totuo Buhua took the lead in withdrawing his troops. Our army was able to obtain the fighter opportunity and won a complete victory. After this battle, we also had a battle with Toutuo Buhua first. Now we are also strong first.
If we defeat Totuo Buhua and unify Mongolia, it will definitely become a big problem for me."
"Once the mutual trade is opened, the strength of both sides is balanced, and the civil strife in the grassland will not stop, and the Ming Dynasty will be able to maintain long-term peace and stability. This will naturally benefit the country and the people."
Normally, when facing foreign enemies, civil servants tend to have dark hearts.
Some smart people soon thought that this trick could be played all the time, and if Ye Xian failed, then Ming Dynasty could change the object of the mutual trade and create another Ye Xian, so that all the grassland tribes would be trapped in the flames of war forever.
This can move the hearts of the elders better than heavy taxes or the like.
After all, if more taxes are collected, the Ministry of Revenue will benefit, but if the border can be peaceful, it will be a good thing for the entire court.
There was a burst of discussion in the hall, and many ministers who were originally opposed gradually became supportive.
Of course, it was not just the debate just now, but more importantly, Yu Qian's firm attitude played a large role.
Since the former Tianguan Wang Zhi became an official, the most prestigious people in the court were Hu Hui from the Ministry of Rites and Yu Qian from the Ministry of War.
Mr. Hu rarely wakes up from his sleep, so if we talk about prestige alone, Yu Qian can be said to be unrivaled in the court.
After all, this term of Lord Tianguan has received a lot of criticism, and he can't hold up the title of the leader of hundreds of officials.
In addition, as soon as Yu Qian stepped forward, the two key departments of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War took action together, and their weight was indeed not light.
Speaking of which, this incident is really surprising. Obviously, the Ministry of Revenue should have benefited the most from this matter, but now, the one with the most determined attitude is the Ministry of War, which needs to send troops but has no benefit.
This can't help but make the elders' admiration for Qian even deeper.
As the discussion gradually subsided, another person stood out among the courtiers, but it was Pei Lun, the editor of Hanlin Xiuzhan, who stepped forward and said.
"Your Majesty, Tuo Tuo Bu Hua and Ye Xian are currently hostile. If we agree to trade with each other, and you hurt the Emperor in anger, wouldn't we be eternal sinners?"
