Wen Tiren was several rounds older than Emperor Chongzhen and Zhong Jinwei, and had much more experience than them, so he thought more.
"Your Majesty, I think it is very necessary to send people to investigate the situation in North America in advance. However, how will the people sent out go? Can they arrive? What will happen after they arrive? Will they stay there and not come back?
?These things must be considered in detail. Only then can we officially establish feudal overseas countries. This is a prudent move and we must not act too hastily."
Wen Tiren looked at Emperor Chongzhen and asked several questions in succession, making several audience members look solemn.
Zhong Jinwei felt that he was still thinking too simply. To successfully implement the feudal overseas affairs of feudal kings and clans, it may take many years of hard work to achieve results.
Wen Tiren saw that Emperor Chongzhen looked thoughtful after hearing his words, and explained one by one: "Your Majesty, looking at this world map, there are two ways to go to North America. One is to take a boat directly from the coast of Daming.
, go up along the coastline, and then reach the narrowest point of the two continents and cross the ocean. Once you reach the other end, you are successful. The second route is from the land route through Liaodong to the Far East, and then choose a port to take a boat.
Heading to the other side of the ocean.”
When Wen Tiren said this, he was afraid that Emperor Chongzhen had never been out of the capital and would not know the advantages and disadvantages of these two routes, so he continued to explain: "Your Majesty, a ship traveling on the ocean depends on the wind and the direction of the ocean current. If you go with it, you will travel thousands of miles a day, if you go against it, it will make a thousand miles.
It is difficult to walk even an inch. Moreover, in the event of violent storms, the ship is also in danger of capsizing. Therefore, relatively speaking, if you can travel by land, you can reduce a lot of dangers. However, Liaodong is still in the hands of Jianlu, but it is impossible to move, and Jianyu still needs to be destroyed.
Only after we are captured."
Emperor Chongzhen really didn't know this. When he heard that there was such a danger in the ocean, he couldn't help frowning. According to what Wen Shoufu said, if he wants to send people to North America at the moment, he can only take the risk and take the sea route.
Wen Tiren noticed Emperor Chongzhen's expression and feared that he might be too serious, so Emperor Chongzhen backed down.
This is not his original intention. It is what he wants to do to feudalize all the clans overseas. How can he not do this!
The reason why he said this was just to let the two young men, Emperor Chongzhen and Marquis Zhongxing, know that this matter was not easy, and that everything should focus on stability and implement it step by step.
Therefore, Wen Tiren changed his tone and said in a relaxed tone: "Your Majesty, although there is still a sea ban, there are still many people who make a living in the sea. They are familiar with the ocean, although it may be a sea route they have never traveled before.
, as long as you are careful, there should be no problem. On the other hand, during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, the Sanbao eunuchs went to the Western Ocean and also traveled to the far west. Compared with going to North America, it was only far away."
Emperor Chongzhen naturally knew about Zheng He's voyages to the West. With such a precedent, he couldn't help but feel relieved, and his frown slowly relaxed.
Zhong Jinwei heard Wen Tiren's attitude from his words, and he felt happy, knowing that the Chief Minister of the Ming Dynasty supported this. Now he said that the specific difficulties were nothing serious. Anyway, if there are difficulties, we will solve them. If there are no difficulties, we will solve them.
All difficulties must be faced.
Wen Tiren then turned to look at Zhong Jinwei, and then asked: "Zhongxing Hou, do you know the situation along the coast of North America, such as terrain, climate, ocean currents, and the situation of the local indigenous people?"
When Zhong Jinwei heard this, he was blinded. He thought that he would be just a wage earner in the future, so he would have the opportunity to travel to the West Coast of North America. Besides, the future and the present were already different, and it would be useless even if he went to the West Coast. And the Indians
In later generations, most people have been massacred by white people.
He shook his head and replied to Wen Tiren: "After more than four hundred years, they have changed beyond recognition. The local Indians were also killed by white people from Europe, that is, Westerners. Only one out of a hundred was left. But I know that the Indians
They are the same race as us, with yellow skin and dark eyes. According to research in my hometown, the ancestors of the Indians are the Yin people, or earlier people."
Wen Tiren nodded, understanding the situation. He turned back to look at Emperor Chongzhen and said: "Your Majesty, the number of people sent out to explore the road cannot be too small. There are many natives over there, and it is difficult to distinguish between friends and foes. If
There are fewer people sent there, and if the local indigenous people are still hostile, they may not be able to come back."
Emperor Chongzhen nodded, this is understandable.
"However, if more people are sent out, the fleet will become larger and the logistics will be much heavier. Moreover, if more people are sent to North America, if they start a business on their own there, it will no longer be possible.
Return, how should we deal with this?" Wen Tiren immediately asked another question.
There are so many problems! Emperor Chongzhen thought and frowned again.
Zhong Jinwei came up with a solution to Wen Tiren's problem: "Mr. Wen, this should be solved. All the people sent out must have families and stay in the country. In this way, a few can occasionally abandon their families and children.
Most people would not agree to stay in North America. In this way, the situation you mentioned should not happen."
Hearing this, Wen Tiren looked at Zhong Jinwei, nodded and said, "Okay, this is the only method for the time being."
Emperor Chongzhen looked at Zhong Jinwei, his eyes flashing. Master Zhong proposed this method. It seemed that at least he thought this method was effective. In other words, Master Zhong was not a person who would abandon his family and his children.
Wen Tiren turned to Emperor Chongzhen and said: "Your Majesty, there is another difficulty. Due to the ban on sea transportation, there are few sea ships. If there is a large-scale feudal overseas expansion in the future, we must have a very large fleet. Who should pay for this?
Is it the feudal clan or the imperial court?"
Emperor Chongzhen had a slight headache when he heard Wen Tiren mentioning money. This was good. In the past, Emperor Chongzhen would have gone crazy when he mentioned money, but now he has some money on hand and is confident.
Regarding this point, Zhong Jinwei did not take it seriously and said to Wen Tiren: "Master Wen, this is nothing. The principle is that whoever uses the ship will pay for it. If the vassal king comes out, the ship will belong to the vassal king from now on. For
For them, the ship is still indispensable. If it is provided by the imperial court, it is no problem. The first time it can be used by the feudal king for free, but if you use it again, you will have to rent it. "
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he asked Zhong Jinwei strangely: "After the vassal royal family went to North America, will they still come to ask for ships?"
Upon hearing this, Zhong Jinwei replied with a smile: "Your Majesty, after the vassal kings arrived in North America, supplies were scarce and they will need Ming support for a long time. By the time they really gain a foothold in North America, they will need
Ships were used to continuously transport supplies. Of course, if they wanted to create their own from scratch from a primitive society, that was also possible."
Emperor Chongzhen also laughed after hearing this. He was used to the days of the Ming Dynasty, and it was obviously impossible for anyone to be willing to live in those days of drinking hair and blood.
"If all the necessary supplies have to be transported from the Ming Dynasty, the fleet will be even larger. Does the imperial court have the money to build so many ocean-going ships?" Wen Tiren reminded at the side.
Zhong Jinwei looked back at Wen Tiren. After thinking about it, he smiled and said to Wen Tiren: "It doesn't matter. There is a way to solve it."