Jiajing looked around and saw that no one dared to raise objections anymore, so he nodded with satisfaction.
"In that case, then this matter is settled! Soon the imperial court will issue an edict to reopen Quanzhou Port as a trading port with merchants from other countries."
Seeing that the emperor had already made his decision, everyone could only agree.
"Your Majesty is wise, I obey your orders!"
Unexpectedly, Jiajing had no intention of stopping, but glanced at the ministers and continued.
"Now that Quanzhou Port has reopened, I want to build a new department on this basis, called the Maritime Trade Department! It will be in charge of the country's maritime trade. What do you think?"
Hearing Jiajing's words, everyone present's breathing became rapid. His Majesty is going to form a new department, and it will be a department related to maritime trade.
The oil and water in this must be extremely rich. If you can place your own people in this department, the power under your command will also expand rapidly!
Immediately afterwards, Yan Song forcibly suppressed his inner excitement and summoned up the courage to ask Jiajing: "Your Majesty, what are the responsibilities of this Maritime Trade Department?"
Jiajing glanced at Yan Song and then explained to him: "The duties of the Maritime Trade Department, in addition to being in charge of the country's maritime trade, are also responsible for inspecting goods entering and leaving the port for prohibited items, taxing, adjudicating trade disputes, and other matters. "
"In addition, if necessary, our Ming navy can also provide corresponding escort services. Of course, this will be charged! We can't let the navy lie in the port all the time, right? It is also very necessary to be more familiar with the sea conditions. of."
After Jiajing finished his explanation, everyone present was able to confirm that this was a very powerful department! Not to mention anything else, just being in charge of the country's maritime trade is enough.
"Your Majesty, I feel that the Navy can cope with the opening of only Quanzhou Port at the moment. If more ports are opened in the future, or even the sea ban is completely lifted, the Navy's current strength alone will be far from adequate. The mission of escorting merchant ships!”
"After all, the current navy of the imperial court, including the warships that are being built, only has about a hundred ships at full count."
"Therefore, I implore Your Majesty to order the construction of more warships!"
At this moment, Zhang Juzheng stood up and asked Jiajing.
"Well, I'm sure!"
After hearing Zhang Juzheng's proposal, Jiajing nodded and agreed.
"I dare to ask Your Majesty, how many more warships will be built?"
Xu Jie stood up with a pained face and asked Jiajing.
"Well, according to my estimation, based on the current scale, two more naval divisions will be enough!"
Jiajing pondered for a moment and gave the answer.
"Weichen obeys the order. After he comes down, Weichen will ask the Ministry of Household Affairs to allocate all the money for the two new naval divisions."
After Xu Jie said that, he returned to the queue.
At present, most of the problems have been solved, and only the issue that the ministers are most concerned about is who will be in charge of the Maritime Trade Department.
Immediately, Jiajing coughed twice and slowly said to everyone: "In that case, who do you think is worthy of such an important task?"
As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Gao Gong stood up and asked Jiajing: "Your Majesty, I would like to share your worries with you!"
After Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng also stood up immediately: "Your Majesty, I am willing to share your worries with you!"
Seeing that Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng started so quickly, the remaining people were very surprised, and then they knelt down on the ground and begged Jiajing one after another.
"It's very difficult to handle now. All of you, my dear friends, want to share my worries. It doesn't matter whether I choose or not. It's really difficult to handle!"
When Jiajing saw this, an expression of difficulty appeared on his face and he spoke.
"Your Majesty, as the chief minister of the cabinet, Wei Chen is undoubtedly the most suitable person for this position!"
Seeing the hesitation on Jiajing's face, Yan Song immediately stood up and made a decisive move.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Yan Ge is the chief minister of the cabinet and has many affairs! I may not be able to allocate too much energy to manage the affairs of the Maritime Trade Department."
"Therefore, Wei Chen is the best candidate to take charge of the Maritime Trade Department!"
Xu Jie glanced at Yan Song, gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, although I have a lot of affairs, I have never made any mistakes! It is said that those who are capable work hard, so please put more burdens on me."
After Yan Song heard Xu Jie's words criticizing him, he felt secretly resentful. For him, the Maritime Trade Department was a piece of fat that he must win.
"Your Majesty, the two pavilion elders are burdened with too many affairs! It's time to lighten their burdens."
"Therefore, Wei Chen boldly recommends himself to His Majesty."
After a moment of pause, Gao Gong continued.
"This high arch is really a pot that cannot be lifted!"
After hearing Gao Gong's words, Yan Song and Xu Jie gritted their teeth and muttered to themselves silently.
Jiajing saw that if this continued, a few people would start fighting, so he waved his hand and said casually.
"Okay, okay, don't fight anymore! I have accepted your dear friends' intention to share your worries for me."
Seeing the emperor speaking, everyone gradually calmed down.
"Well, what Gao Gong said just now really resonates with me. The burden on you two is really too heavy! It would be great to lighten some of your burden appropriately."
"Let Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, and Yan Shifan take charge of the Maritime Trade Department for the time being!"
Jiajing glanced at everyone, and then gave his appointment lightly.
"I obey your orders!"
Seeing that the emperor entrusted such an important department to their management, the three of them had a look of surprise on their faces, and they immediately knelt on the ground and thanked Jiajing.
"Well, let's all get up, but before that, I have to remind you that I am personally in charge of the Maritime Trade Department! If you encounter any problems, you can report them directly to me without going through the cabinet or the Supervisor of Ceremonies."
After Jiajing asked everyone to stand up, he followed up with another instruction.
"Wei Chen knows!"
Seeing the emperor speak, everyone quickly responded respectfully.
Then Jiajing changed the subject, turned his gaze to Yan Song, raised his eyebrows, and asked.
"Yan Song, before this, I heard that you gave a task to Zhejiang, saying that half of the fields in Zhejiang must be replanted with mulberry seedlings by the end of this year. Is this true?"
"Your Majesty, it is indeed true. I am just eager for success and want to see the results as soon as possible! Please punish me, Your Majesty!"
Seeing Jiajing asking questions, Yan Song did not dare to hide anything and responded respectfully.
"What a nonsense! Who told you to act so recklessly? Changing rice to mulberry cannot be done overnight. It must be done slowly. When the people see the profits, they will plant mulberry seedlings themselves without the guidance of the government. "
"After this year's raw silk is produced, the government is not allowed to purchase it at half price! Instead, it must be based on the market price, and even a slight premium is not unreasonable."
"Yan Song, do you understand what I said?"
After Jiajing finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Yan Song and asked.
"What Your Majesty has just said is so inspiring to me! Wei Chen, I have learned from it."
After Yan Song listened to Jiajing's words, he responded respectfully.
"In that case, let's do this for today, I'm a little tired too!"
"Your Majesty, please leave!"
Upon seeing this, all the ministers quickly bowed to Jiajing.
"By the way, don't think that this matter is over. I have appointed Zhao Zhenji as the imperial envoy to investigate the matter thoroughly!"
"When the time comes, I hope you can give me a satisfactory answer."
When everyone was about to leave the Yangxin Hall, Jiajing chuckled and gave a few words.
"Your Majesty is wise, I obey your orders!"
When several people heard this, their footsteps suddenly stopped, and then they suppressed the horror in their hearts and responded calmly.
When several people came out of the Yangxin Hall, they suddenly realized that their clothes had been soaked with cold sweat at some point!
"What do you mean, Your Majesty? Do you want me to wait..."
Gao Gong hesitated for a moment and said slowly.
"That's right, Your Majesty will never let this matter go easily! His Majesty just hinted to us that we want to make the court look good."
"That means a lot of people will die!"
Yan Song looked at the scenery in the distance and spoke word by word.
(End of chapter)
