Chapter 206 Huge Interest Group 【Seeking Monthly Ticket】
Before American silver and Japanese silver flowed into China in large quantities, gold and silver were really scarce for China. Otherwise, why copper coins were the main currency in circulation before the Ming Dynasty was because the Ming Dynasty did not have a large amount of silver storage.
Of course, even for copper mines and iron mines, China is considered a barren land.
On the contrary, on that continent, all kinds of mineral resources are so abundant that it is simply greedy.
Zhu Houzhao opened his mouth wide and his eyes were full of horror. Since Zheng He's voyages to the West, although there was no complete world map for the Ming Dynasty, he could still piece together a map of most of the world.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao was not surprised that Chu Yi mentioned other overseas continents, because after Zheng He returned from his voyages to the West, he introduced many overseas countries, large and small, huge islands, etc.
When Zhu Houzhao was studying at the beginning, under the influence of Chu Yi, he had dabbled in these miscellaneous books, so compared to some emperors, Zhu Houzhao could at least understand what Chu Yi was referring to.
It's just that in the past, I only had a vague idea of the world outside the Ming Dynasty, but now I heard Chu Yi mention the Shi Jian Yin Mountain in the Japanese island country, and also heard Chu Yi mention the rich resources on the American continent.
Even Zhu Houzhao's eyes couldn't help but turn red, and his breathing became a little rapid.
Chu Yi did not disturb Zhu Houzhao, but allowed Zhu Houzhao to slowly calm down and calm down.
After taking a deep breath, Zhu Houzhao nodded to Chu Yi for a while and said, "But it made my companion laugh."
Chu Yi shook his head and said: "Your Majesty's reaction is normal. Anyone who hears this will act like your Majesty."
Zhu Houzhao let out a long sigh and said: "I never thought that there would be such a rich land overseas. If I hadn't mentioned it to my great companion, I would never have thought of it."
Chu Yi nodded slightly and said: "Yes, not to mention us. Since ancient times, our ancestors have always boasted that the Central Plains is the supreme kingdom of China, and that everything is rich and precious. Outside the Central Plains, all are barbarian lands, but they don't know that barbarian lands also contain rare treasures.
A rare treasure."
After pondering for a while, Zhu Hou looked at Chu Yi and said, "Do you want to open the sea and develop maritime trade? What about the Japanese pirates along the coast..."
Japanese pirates have been around since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. It was only during the Jiajing period that the power of maritime merchants grew, and many maritime merchants used the banner of Japanese pirates to harm coastal areas. There were actually not many real Japanese pirates.
Chu Yi sneered and said: "A mere barbarian dares to mess up our sea area, just send a large army to suppress them!"
Seeing that Zhu Houzhao still had a hesitant look on his face, Chu Yi said solemnly: "Your Majesty, you should know that our Ming Dynasty has reached the point where we must change. If we don't make changes, if things go on like this, our Ming Dynasty will be in danger!"
People in later generations say that Zhang Juzheng's reforms prolonged the Ming Dynasty for a hundred years. This may be a bit exaggerated, but it also shows that the Ming Dynasty was already terminally ill at this period. If no changes were made, it would really enter the end of the dynasty.
Especially since the Little Ice Age is coming soon, if Ming Dynasty does not accumulate enough vitality, it may not be able to survive the Little Ice Age, and everything will happen again.
Zhu Houzhao's body shook slightly, and he slowly raised his head to look at Chu Yi and said, "Daban, what are you going to do?"
Obviously Zhu Houzhao said this, indicating that Zhu Houzhao was already leaning towards Chu Yi in his heart. Of course, it was not that Zhu Houzhao distrusted Chu Yi, but he was forced by the ancestral precepts and the influence of the historical ministers of civil and military affairs who firmly opposed the opening of the sea.
Chu Yi never thought of reaching the sky and directly opening the sea in one step. That was unrealistic. If he took too big a step, he would sometimes really hurt himself.
Chu Yi's eyes flashed and he said confidently: "Your Majesty, I am going to choose a location on the coast to set up a pair of foreign trade ports to allow merchants from the Ming Dynasty to go out to sea for maritime trade through this port. At the same time, I will also choose a location.
We are here to build a huge maritime fleet for our Ming Dynasty."
Now is the rise of the Age of Discovery. Maritime powers such as Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands have just emerged. At this time, as long as the Ming Dynasty is willing, it can definitely participate in the Age of Discovery and get a share of the pie.
Not to mention other crops, such as corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes from the Americas. Once they were successfully brought back to the Ming Dynasty and then slowly spread, there would be nothing to fear even if the Little Ice Age came.
As long as there is a glimmer of hope for survival, the people will not be incited to rebel, so even for these reasons, Chu Yi must send people to sea.
Of course, America is astonishingly rich in various mineral resources. It’s okay if you don’t know about it. Compared with small countries like Portugal and the Netherlands, the Ming Dynasty, the oldest empire in the East, occupies enough time and place. If you want, you can do it.
Easily crush these small Western countries.
Small countries like the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal are small countries with only a few million citizens, but the Ming Dynasty has a population of hundreds of millions. What a terrifying number.
Although these Western maritime powers have thousands of warships and tens of thousands of merchant ships, this is the result of decades of accumulation by these countries.
Not to mention anything else, the Ming Dynasty had a huge population advantage. As long as the central dynasty made up its mind and focused its efforts, it could easily build a maritime fleet with thousands of warships in a few years. As for merchant ships,
The number of private merchant ships is not large at all. If the imperial court establishes a legal sea trade port, it will definitely set off a sea trade boom. During the period, a large number of powerful people will be kept under custody, and wealthy merchants will build ships like crazy.
Seeing Chu Yi's determined look, Zhu Houzhao knew that Chu Yi had made up his mind, and even he might not be able to change Chu Yi's mind.
He knew in his heart that Chu Yi was doing all this for his sake and for the stability of the Ming Dynasty. Taking a deep breath, Zhu Houzhao nodded heavily towards Chu Yi and said, "Just let me go and do it. I will give my full support."
Chu Yi chuckled and said: "Your Majesty will definitely not regret today's decision in the future!"
Zhu Houzhao laughed loudly and said: "I believe that my companion will not let me down."
Chu Yi said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you might as well take a look at the ship models that I have prepared for you. You must know that these are all made by skilled craftsmen after reducing the size of real ships. They are almost the same as real ships. Even on the Great Lakes
, it can also float on water."
"Oh, then I must experience it!"
Previously, Zhu Houzhao only thought that those ship models were very exquisite, but he never thought that these exquisite models could float on the water like real ships.
There is an artificially dug lake in the Leopard Room, which is much larger than the small lake Chu Yi dug in the East Factory.
When the treasure ship models were put into the lake one after another, hundreds of ship models were soon floating on the lake. The ship models were arranged neatly and floating on the lake.
In the afterglow of the setting sun, golden light covered the lake. At first glance, each of these ships looked like a real big ship. Zhu Houzhao looked at it and felt an inexplicable momentum coming from this fleet.
emerge.
After being in a trance, when he came back to his senses, it seemed that it was just an illusion, but looking at these ship models again, Zhu Houzhao's eyes were full of hope.
After returning from the Leopard Room, Chu Yi directly invited Jiao Fang from the mansion.
It was already getting late now, but after receiving the news, Jiao Fang still came in a sedan to see Chu Yi.
In the living room, Jiao Fang saluted Chu Yi and said, "The governor summoned me, but what's the matter?"
Chu Yi motioned Jiao Fang to sit down and talk. Jiao Fang was not polite to Chu Yi and looked at Chu Yi after sitting down.
Chu Yi put down the tea cup in his hand, looked up at Jiao Fang and said: "Jiao Fang, the governor came out of the leopard room not long ago, but he asked for your majesty's instructions to choose a place along the coast to be used as a foreign trade port and to set up a market.
Boss..."
Jiao Fang, who was drinking tea, couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of tea when she heard this. She looked at Chu Yi with a look of astonishment on her face and said: "Lord Governor, are you preparing to open the sea ban?"
Just by looking at Jiao Fang's reaction, we can tell that Jiao Fang was stunned by Chu Yi's words.
No wonder Jiao Fang wasn't shocked. All the civil and military officials in the DPRK and China didn't know the huge interests involved behind the maritime ban.
It has always been like there are invisible forces at play between the Ming Sea Forbidden Sea and the Open Sea, but it is obvious that the power of the Forbidden Sea is very strong, and even the emperor cannot resist this force.
As for the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty who were able to sit in high positions, there were very few fools, and it was impossible for fools to reach this stage in the great waves.
Therefore, everyone is well aware of the benefits of opening the sea to the Ming Dynasty, but once the sea is opened, it will do great harm to the interests of those behind them.
Those maritime merchants, dignitaries, and gentry relied on their own strength to carry out overseas trade. They relied on the sea ban to restrict countless people from sea trade and restricted overseas trade to a circle. This circle was the beneficiary of the sea ban.
Over time, these beneficiaries of the sea ban have become obstacles to the opening of the sea, staunch supporters of the sea ban, and anyone who attempts to open the sea is their mortal enemy.
Once the sea is opened, the interests of these people will inevitably be affected, and the interests are very huge. This is the biggest reason why so many people in the court are firmly opposed to the sea.
It is precisely because Jiao Fang is so aware of all aspects involved that it is simply a giant-like force. Compared with it, Lu Wenyang's little power is simply a small matter.
Even Jiao Fang couldn't help but sweat for Chu Yi when she thought of Chu Yi colliding with such a force.
Seeing Jiao Fang's reaction in his eyes, Chu Yi sighed in his heart. Just as he had obtained the information through Dongchang and Jinyiwei, maritime merchants, powerful people, and wealthy gentry had intertwined a large network and completely monopolized the maritime trade.
Terrible interests. Anyone who wants to touch this taboo is a provocation to these huge vested interests.
