I dare not say that all the many local guard posts have been abandoned. At least 99% of the guard posts were soldiers who were supposed to protect their homes and the country, but now they have been reduced to thousands of officials and hundreds of officials.
The servants and even some of the guardsmen were far worse than ordinary people.
It is conceivable that the reform of the guards must touch the interests of a huge collective, which is also the middle and low-level generals group. If there are no elite soldiers and horses in the capital, to be honest, there really is no one.
Dare to disturb the health system.
Anyone who can stand on the court and govern the people is not a fool. Could it be said that those important officials in the court could not see the harm of the Weisuo system to the Ming Dynasty?
It's not that they can't see it, it's that they can't think of a solution. No one dares to touch this huge interest group without being completely sure.
However, under the personal supervision of Wang Yangming, the reform of the Ming Dynasty's military system was in full swing. No matter how much unwillingness and dissatisfaction the middle and low-level generals had in their hearts, they could only suppress it.
After Wang Yangming put down the Ningwang Rebellion and the Jiangnan Rebellion, and not long ago he completely put down the Rebellion outside the Pass, Wang Yangming's reputation in the military has been said to be the military god of the Ming Dynasty.
Under such circumstances, even a fool would not go against the general trend and challenge the court's bottom line.
Zhu Houzhao looked at Wang Yangming and said: "Dong An Guo, I want you to prepare a second fleet as you said. I said that no matter what the end of the world, I will find a great companion. If one is not enough, then two.
If two are not enough, then three or five."
The firmness in Zhu Houzhao's words made Yang Yiqing and others suppress the idea of persuasion. As ministers whom Zhu Houzhao trusted, they naturally knew what Zhu Houzhao's temper was.
It can be said that searching for Chu Yi has almost become an obsession in Zhu Houzhao's heart. If Chu Yi cannot be found, Zhu Houzhao's obsession will not dissipate. In this case, any move against Zhu Houzhao's search for Chu Yi will irritate the emperor.
In less than a month, the second fleet was successfully formed under the dispatch of Wang Yangming. This time Zhu Houzhao sent a capable general to lead more than a hundred ships to go to sea to find Chu Yi.
In the 13th year of the Zhengde reign of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhengde was already thirty years old. At this age, he could be said to be in his prime, especially since Zhu Houzhao followed Shao Yuanjie, Zhang Yanyi and several Taoist masters to practice Taoist health-preserving methods.
In addition, Zhu Houzhao kept Chu Yi's advice in mind and was very self-disciplined about female sex and did not indulge in female sex. Although there were many beauties in the harem, Zhu Houzhao only had a few concubines.
In the past few years, the royal family has finally blossomed, and several other concubines have given birth to dragon sons and dragon girls for the emperor. Even Queen Xia has given birth to a princess for Zhu Houzhao.
Originally, there was only one person in the Xiaozong lineage, Zhu Houzhao, but when it was passed down to Zhu Houzhao, within a few years, Zhu Houzhao had no heirs, which led to unfavorable rumors about Zhu Houzhao among the people.
Nowadays, the royal family has many heirs, which has calmed the hearts of many ministers and gave up the idea of some clan clans.
In the imperial study, Zhu Houzhao reviewed the memorial. After a while, Wang Zheng, who was serving beside him, presented a copy of the memorial to Zhu Houzhao and said: "Your Majesty, there is news from the West."
With a slight pause in his hand, Zhu Houzhao put down the ink pen, took the memorial, slowly unfolded it, and swept the memorial calmly. After a while, he heard Zhu Houzhao sigh softly as he put the memorial down and said: "It's been almost three years, Yu Dayou, Yue Buqun
They traveled all the way west, destroyed dozens of countries, and opened up thousands of miles of territory, but there is still no trace of Daban. Wang Zheng, do you think Daban wants to hide from me for the rest of his life?"
Wang Zheng, who was standing aside, had a bitter smile on his face. Looking at Zhu Houzhao's disappointed look, he couldn't help but comfort him: "Your Majesty, I thought that the Chief Manager might be busy practicing in seclusion and might not know that Your Majesty was sending people to look for him.
Otherwise, the Chief Manager will never ignore His Majesty."
Zhu Houzhao narrowed his eyes and said: "According to what you said, the noise caused by me is not big enough? So Daban doesn't even know that I am looking for him!"
Wang Zheng's words were just to comfort Zhu Houzhao, but he never thought that Zhu Houzhao would ask him this. Wang Zheng had no choice but to bite the bullet and nod: "Maybe it's really the chief manager who doesn't know!"
Zhu Houzhao nodded slowly and said: "What you said is not unreasonable. If so, then I will stir up the storm. I want everyone in the world to know that I am looking for him!"
On the second day, Yang Yiqing, Wang Shouren and other cabinet ministers looked stupidly at the decree issued by the emperor not long ago.
The emperor's decree to the cabinet shocked Yang Yiqing, Wang Shouren and others. If Yu Dayou and others had been destroying the country in the process of going to the West to find Chu Yi, then Zhu Houzhao's decree was
Ordered Yu Dayou and others to take the initiative to conquer other countries.
In a few years, 70 to 80% of the ships that Chu Yi and later Zhu Houzhao allocated huge funds to build have now been completed. It can be said that the Ming Dynasty built more than 2,000 new warships alone.
Even the formed naval fleet has already formed ten naval armies. Except for one stationed in Japan and one stationed in Ming Dynasty, the rest of the fleets were all sent overseas by the emperor to find Chu Yi.
.
If there are more than a thousand warships, plus auxiliary large and small ships, then there are thousands of Ming ships.
It can be imagined that with so many ships sailing on the sea, the sea may be big or small, and the originally huge sea will gradually fall into the hands of countries such as Spain, Portugal, and England, everywhere.
Lands rich in resources have become colonies of these countries.
But now, as the Ming Dynasty went on the wrong path, its attention turned to the sea. Relying on the Ming Dynasty's astonishing manpower and material resources and its efficient monarchy system, it took less than ten years to become the overlord of the sea.
power.
Nanyang, which was gradually controlled by Portugal and Spain, has now been occupied by the Ming Dynasty. As for the Portuguese and Spanish troops in Nanyang, they fled thousands of miles away when the opportunity came, and they did not dare to fight the Ming Dynasty navy.
After all, Portugal and Spain together can gather dozens of warships in Nanyang. It is good enough, but any navy of the Ming Dynasty has hundreds of warships and hundreds of auxiliary ships. Even if there are more
How brave, who dares to provoke such a huge fleet?
Within a few years, as several fleets were sent overseas by the emperor, countless small countries were destroyed, and the Ming Dynasty unknowingly occupied a huge territory overseas.
This was even when the emperor did not issue a decree to conquer those foreign countries. Those countries that were destroyed were only destroyed because they provoked the great power of tomorrow.
But this time, Zhu Houzhao actually issued an edict ordering Yu Dayou and other overseas fleets to take the initiative to destroy those large and small countries. It is conceivable that if this edict is carried out, it will definitely set off a bloody storm in Southeast Asia and the West.
In the few years since he took over as chief minister of the cabinet, Yang Yiqing has become more calm and sophisticated, but less aggressive in innovation.
Seeing the emperor's imperial edict, the first thing Yang Yiqing thought of was what kind of impact this imperial edict would have on the Ming Dynasty.
Will the Ming Dynasty just embark on the road of militarism? As the saying goes, the Ming Dynasty is now prosperous and its national power is booming. It can be said that it has created a prosperous era of righteousness. The world is peaceful, the weather is smooth, and all the people praise the emperor as the holy emperor.
Although I dare not say that there is no one before or after, what is certain is that as long as Zhu Houzhao does not suddenly become a mediocre person, otherwise, based on the current prosperous situation of the Ming Dynasty, they will definitely be able to be famous in the future.
The history of Qing Dynasty is praised by the world.
Seeing the hesitation on Yang Yiqing's face, Chen Ding, who had always been opposed to Zhu Houzhao's military expansion, couldn't help but said to Yang Yiqing: "Master Yang, this matter is of great importance. Your Majesty's move will most likely lead our Ming Dynasty to resort to militarism.
In the past, the Han Dynasty's military strength was not as strong as the people's. For decades, they used troops to barricade the land. They completely consumed the wealth accumulated by Emperor Wen and Jing for decades, causing the national power of the Han Dynasty to turn from prosperity to decline. This is a precedent and must be observed.
, we must learn from it!”
The white-haired Wang Hua had just handed the emperor a memorial begging for bones not long ago, and was already preparing to retire and return to his hometown. However, at this juncture, he also turned to Yang Yiqing and said: "Master Yang, as ministers, we are the so-called food."
Your Majesty's salary and worries are shared by you. Your Majesty's move is deeply inappropriate. You should be advised to think twice before acting."
Yang Yiqing nodded towards Chen Ding, Wang Hua and others, and finally looked at Wang Yangming.
Wang Yangming is much younger than Yang Yiqing. If after Yang Yiqing, who is the most suitable to succeed Yang Yiqing and become the new chief minister of the cabinet, then it is Wang Yangming.
Wang Yangming was in charge of the Ministry of War. It can be said that he had a high position in the cabinet, and his voice was not much worse than that of Yang Yiqing, the chief assistant. At least Zhu Houzhao had great trust in Wang Yangming, and was vaguely regarded by officials as equal to Yang Yiqing.
exist.
Wang Yangming noticed Yang Yiqing's gaze and said with a bit of solemnity: "Wang thinks that I will support His Majesty's move."
When Chen Ding heard this, he immediately became furious and said: "Wang Yangming, you are trying to harm His Majesty. Isn't it true that you are also a great sage of Confucianism and the founder of a line of Confucianism, and you don't know that you will only harm His Majesty in the end by allowing His Majesty to engage in military violence?"
Wang Yangming checked to see if Chen Ding pointed at him and scolded him, but he didn't take it seriously at all. Instead, he looked at Chen Ding solemnly and said: "Master Chen, please tell me how your majesty has resorted to militarism and has it affected the domestic situation.
People’s livelihood economy?”
As the Minister of Household Affairs, Chen Ding knows the economic situation of the Ming Dynasty better than anyone else. With the vigorous development of maritime trade in recent years, the economy of the Ming Dynasty has been extremely prosperous.
If there was no reform in the Ming Dynasty, the taxes and fees collected by the court were only a few million taels, but now the commercial tax alone has reached tens of millions of taels, not to mention the mining tax, salt tax, tea tax, etc.
taxes and other taxes
Until this year, the taxes and fees collected by the imperial court amounted to a total of thirty million taels. The national treasury was full, and the granary was filled with grain. It is not an exaggeration to call it a prosperous era for the ages.
Therefore, Chen Ding couldn't help but be startled when Wang Yangming asked him a rhetorical question. If the country's military strength was exhausted and people's livelihood became difficult due to excessive military force, then it was Zhu Houzhao who was really resorting to military aggression.
The key point is that the taxes and fees collected by the imperial court are increasing every year, and there are more and more grains in the granary. Chen Ding really doesn't know what to say.
Seeing Chen Ding's tangled look, Wang Yangming couldn't help but smile and said: "My Ming Dynasty is different from the past. Even if it raises foreign troops, it is definitely not considered a militancy. Not to mention that the Ming Dynasty is becoming more and more prosperous. In the past few years, those few
The loot that the fleet transfers back from overseas every year is worth tens of millions of taels of silver."
Chen Ding opened his mouth. Facing Wang Yangming, Chen Ding found that he didn't even have a reason to refute.
With a sudden wave of his sleeves, Chen Ding looked at Wang Yangming, then at Yang Yiqing and couldn't help but said: "You... just leave it to your majesty. Sooner or later, your majesty will be harmed."
Yang Yiqing stroked his beard, glanced at the other cabinet elders and said, "Everyone, in this case, let's vote first."
The results soon came out. Several pavilion elders supported the emperor's decree. Only Chen Ding expressed opposition. The rest actually agreed with the emperor's decree.
In recent years, the Ming Dynasty has opened up the sea. Although it has offended a group of old dignitaries, it has also created a group of new dignitaries.
Centered around these cabinet ministers and senior officials in the DPRK and China, a group of vested interest groups emerged that gained huge benefits from the opening of the sea.
Now that the emperor has decreed the destruction of overseas countries, the benefits naturally outweigh the disadvantages for those businessmen, so the cabinet ministers will not express any objection. Many people are even planning to spread the news, and then the families behind them
Is it possible to make a lot of money by taking advantage of this opportunity?
The emperor's decree was quickly reviewed by the cabinet, and then a seal was stamped to spread the decree to several fleets.
Among the several overseas fleets, the two combined fleets commanded by Yu Dayou and Lin Pingzhi should be regarded as the most respected. Now the fleet led by Yu Dayou and the others has even passed the Cape of Good Hope and truly entered the western boundary.
It took half a year for the imperial decree to reach the hands of Yu Dayou, Lin Pingzhi and others. At this time, the fleet had already entered the Atlantic Ocean and was traveling along the coastline of the African continent.
When the Ming fleet entered the Atlantic Ocean, it was like a ferocious beast breaking into a flock of sheep. It immediately alerted Portugal and Spain, the naval powers in Europe.
It can be said that all the ports along the Atlantic coast are occupied by naval powers such as Portugal and Spain. Since the First World War, Portugal and Spain can be said to have lost their troops in the east. The name of the Ming Dynasty has even spread to the west, and the Ming Dynasty can export to Europe.
In the eyes of Westerners, they are like demons, with both hostility and fear.
The Port of Boué is an important port occupied by Portugal. As the Ming fleet entered the west step by step, the fleets of Portugal, Spain and other countries stationed in various ports withdrew one after another, and now they are all gathered in the Port of Boué.
