Inviting Western missionaries to the capital to spread Western scientific knowledge is a major event related to the future of the country. Su Hao naturally needs to report it to Wanli and Wang Xijue. According to normal procedures, he should raise the matter at the court meeting and then ask
The ministers discussed it. However, Su Hao knew in his heart that if this matter was brought to the court, it would be rejected 100%. He had seen the stubborn ideas of the civil servants in the court.
The way Su Hao considered it was to discuss it privately with Wanli and Wang Xijue. As long as they agreed, Su Hao could do it quietly first, and then make it public after achieving certain results. By then, the West
The value of science and technology can already be seen by some people, and the opposition in the court will not be so strong.
After careful consideration, Su Hao came to the palace and asked eunuch Li Long to inform Wanli and request an audience.
"In other words, what else do you want to tell me today? I have told you that you can always come and chat with me if you have nothing to do. I am alone in this palace and there is no one I can talk to.
I feel extremely depressed." As soon as Wan Li saw Su Hao, he said to him with a smile.
Wanli is a very smart man with an extremely active mind. Since he was suppressed by Zhang Juzheng in his childhood, he has some rebellious elements in his character, which makes it difficult for him to communicate with the ministers who follow the rules in the court. Su Hao is a
People with modern ideas are quite disdainful of the rules and regulations of scholars in the Ming Dynasty, which resonates with Wanli.
When Su Hao first came to Beijing, Wanli disguised himself and met with Su Hao. At that time, Su Hao recognized him as the emperor. He deliberately refused to reveal it and talked to Wanli about the strategy of governing the country. Wanli appreciated it.
Since then, Wanli has been paying attention to Su Hao, watching this young man running rampant in the backwaters of the Ming Dynasty officialdom, and he was stunned to find a way.
In the past few years, Su Hao has been traveling abroad and rarely met with Wanli. It was not until the end of the Ningxia campaign that Su Hao returned to the capital that Wanli had the opportunity to often summon Su Hao to the palace to chat with him. Su Hao came from
Later generations did not have much respect for the imperial power, but they dared to speak out in front of Wanli. In addition, they had accumulated knowledge that was hundreds of years ahead of the times. When chatting with Wanli, Wanli often felt enlightened. The relationship between the two
The relationship is getting closer and closer.
In Su Hao's view, Wanli was actually a very good leader. He was not as incompetent as later historians said. Wanli's neglect of government was largely caused by the anger of the ministers. Just think about it,
An emperor is pointed at the nose by ministers all day long in the court and asks which son he plans to make the prince. Apart from that, there is no other serious business to talk about. Whoever puts it on him can only protest by withdrawing from the court.
Hearing Wanli greet him cordially, Su Hao did not get carried away. He first knelt down and bowed to Wanli according to the rules, and then sat down according to Wanli's instructions and said: "Your Majesty, I am entering the palace this time. The main reason is to get something.
It’s a novel thing, I’d like to ask your Majesty to take a look at it.”
"What thing? Let's say something novel. That must be very interesting." Wan Li said with great interest.
Su Hao took out the Chinese version of the world map drawn by Matteo Ricci from his arms, spread it out in front of Wanli, and said: "Please take a look, Your Majesty, this is what I said."
"Is this a map?" Wanli frowned and looked at it for a while, then hesitantly said: "This is not a map of the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Could it be a map of the entire world?"
"Exactly." Su Hao replied, "This is the map of all nations drawn by the Francois through their great voyages. The places on the map are called Asia, Europe, Africa, North America and South America. I
The location of the Ming Dynasty is in the east of Asia, and what we usually call Folangji is in the west of the Eurasian continent, which includes dozens of countries."
"This world is so big." Wanli said to himself, "So, do these countries have people as powerful as the Ming Dynasty?"
Su Hao said: "Our Ming Dynasty is currently the most powerful country in the world. European countries are all small countries, and their current strength cannot be compared with our Ming Dynasty. However, these countries have expanded many colonies overseas through great navigation, and their strength has continued
Rising. If our Ming Dynasty continues to close itself off to the country, I am afraid that it will soon be surpassed by these small countries."
"Isolate the country?" Wan Li looked at Su Hao and asked in confusion.
Su Hao was also quick to speak, and brought the concept of future generations to the present. However, the Ming Dynasty had a sea ban, prohibiting private shipbuilding from going to sea, and economic and trade relations with overseas countries were very sluggish. It would not be out of line to say that the country was closed to the outside world. He thought
After thinking about it, he said to Wanli:
"Your Majesty, although our Ming Dynasty has a vast territory and rich resources, compared to the entire world, the Ming Dynasty is only a very small piece of land. Your Majesty, please see, this continent is called America. It is four or five times the size of the Ming Dynasty. It is rich in products and almost ownerless.
The land. The natives there are called Indians. They are ignorant and cannot protect their land. The Europeans discovered this land 100 years ago, and then they immigrated to this land crazily, hoping to make it their own.
As the most powerful country in the world today, our Ming Dynasty remains indifferent in the face of such a territory. What is this but seclusion? The territory in the world is limited. Once it is divided up by others, we will have no chance."
Then, Su Hao gave Wanli a detailed introduction to the European voyages and overseas colonization. Some of these situations he had seen from movies and books in his previous life, and some were from chatting with Matteo Ricci these days.
Wanli learned about it at that time. Wanli listened very carefully and lamented the difficulties and dangers of European voyages.
"You came to the palace today just to tell me about this matter?" Wan Li asked after hearing what Su Hao had said.
Su Hao said: "Actually, I have been thinking about this matter. It was only this time that I obtained this map of the world from a Buddhist missionary that made me feel that this matter cannot be delayed."
Wanli shook his head and said: "Change that, you think too simplistically. No matter how good the America you mentioned is, it is still a barbaric overseas land after all. The Europeans are small and poor, so they go to the Americas to develop. I, the Ming Dynasty, have a vast land and rich resources, and I want these
What is the use of land? Besides, if I proposed to expand overseas territory, the officials in the court would not scold me bloody and say that I am an unscrupulous and militaristic king."
"Those officials know nothing!" Su Hao couldn't help but uttered foul language. If his words were heard by outsiders, he would have to commit another act of disgrace. However, fortunately, this was only between him and Wanli.
In a private conversation, Wanli would not care about his remarks.
"Your Majesty, the promising kings praised by people since ancient times are all kings who can expand the territory. Before the Qin Dynasty, our country of China was limited to the Central Plains. After the expansion of the Ming Dynasty, we have the Ming Dynasty.
Heshan. If your Majesty wants to be a wise monarch like Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han, he should make a difference in this aspect. Those officials are just short-sighted people. Listen to their words, how can our Ming Dynasty carry forward and dominate the world forever?" Su Hao said impassionedly.
.
"But... what use is it to our Ming Dynasty to open up these wild lands? Also, to open up these places, we must use the navy, and the cost of the navy to fight is immeasurable."
Wanli was still hesitating. Su Hao's words were not untouched by him. For a restless king like him, there was no doubt that things like opening up new territories and expanding territories had a strong appeal. However, he also had many worries.
Yanguan's obstruction was only part of it, and the worry that national strength would be unsupportable was also an important reason for his hesitation.
Su Hao said: "Your Majesty, I have said that these places are not barbaric lands, but places with extremely rich products. There are thousands of miles of fertile fields in America that can be cultivated. There are also a lot of mineral deposits in these places. Just the gold mines everywhere.
It is much more than all the gold in the Ming Dynasty."
"Is that true?" When he heard the word gold, sparks flashed in Wanli's eyes.
Wanli has no doubts about Su Hao's prospecting skills. Since Su Hao said that America has rich gold resources, it is probably true. Wanli can only imagine how much gold the Ming Dynasty had.
, if that America has more gold resources than all the gold of the Ming Dynasty, then it seems to be very valuable to open up such a land.
Su Hao continued: "The population of our Ming Dynasty is increasing day by day, but the number of fields is fixed. How can we feed so many people without land? If we can open the country, we can allow farmers who lack land to develop overseas.
There, every household can enclose thousands of hectares of fertile land at will, but then I’m afraid there won’t be that many people to cultivate it.”
"It makes sense." Wan Li was moved by Su Hao, "Change it. In your opinion, what should we do?"
Su Hao said: "Opening up overseas is not something that can be achieved overnight. It requires generations of continuous inheritance. However, we must start building our navy from now on, and we must also actively learn European technology to improve our firearms and improve navigation.
Ability.
In fact, I went to the palace to see His Majesty today because I wanted to ask Your Majesty to issue an imperial edict, allowing me to summon the Buddhist missionaries of the Ming Dynasty and bring them to the capital to open schools and teach various techniques of the Buddha. If
If possible, I also request that your majesty can issue another decree to recruit shipbuilders and sailors with sailing experience from Folangji to improve the level of navigation technology of our Ming Dynasty."
"Well, I can agree to this, but we still need to discuss it with the cabinet. Let's change it. You write a statement and state clearly what you want to say. I will approve your statement to the cabinet.
Let them come up with a charter on this matter," Wan Li said.
Su Hao reached into his sleeve, took out a folding book, and said, "Your Majesty, I have already written the terms and conditions, and I am just waiting for your Majesty's words."