Seeing that most of the matters discussed by the cabinet this time have been completed, everyone felt relieved.
The candidate to be in charge of the Maritime Trade Department that will be discussed next has been finalized before, so it only needs to be a formality.
Yan Song squinted his eyes and glanced at Gao Gong without any trace.
He was keenly aware that since His Majesty gave Gao Gong the responsibility for the Maritime Trade Department, Gao Gong has changed from his usual reserved nature! He gradually became bolder in his actions and began to vigorously expand his party members.
At this moment, Lu Fang's voice came, interrupting Yan Song's thoughts.
"The next thing is the last thing of this cabinet meeting, which is to formally appoint the candidate for the Maritime Trade Department!"
As soon as Lu Fang finished speaking, Gao Gong, Yan Shifan, and Zhang Juzheng stood up from their seats, bowed slightly, and waited for Jiajing's formal appointment.
"The newly built Maritime Trade Department of the imperial court has the post of Minister of Maritime Trade, which is held by Gao Gong, the Minister of Household Affairs! Under the Minister of Maritime Trade, there are two positions, namely the Left Supervisor of Maritime Trade and the Right Supervisor of Maritime Trade. Their responsibilities It is to assist the Minister of Maritime Trade and maintain the daily operations of the Maritime Trade Department.”
"The Left Supervisor of Sea Trade is responsible for the accounts, finance, and taxation of the Sea Trade Department. He can transfer the navy at will without reporting! The Right Supervisor of Sea Trade is responsible for the personnel, promotion, assessment, etc. of the Sea Trade Department."
"The left governor of sea trade is appointed by Zhang Juzheng, the minister of the Ministry of War, and the right governor of sea trade is appointed by Yan Shifan, the minister of civil affairs!"
After Jiajing announced the formal appointment, the three of them knelt on the ground and said respectfully.
"I thank you, Your Majesty, long live my emperor!"
With a slight smile on his face, Jiajing glanced at the three of them and said softly: "Without courtesy, everyone, please get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After receiving the emperor's permission, the three people immediately stood up and sat back to their seats.
Seeing that the three matters at this cabinet meeting had been discussed, Yan Song immediately stood up, took out the edict that the cabinet had drafted in advance, and raised it high above his head.
"Your Majesty, here is the edict drafted by the cabinet in advance!"
Lu Fang immediately stepped forward, took the edict from Yan Song's hand, and handed it to Jiajing.
Jiajing opened the edict and browsed the contents, only to see what was written above.
"The Emperor of Heaven has issued an edict: Since the battle for tribute in the second year of Jiajing, the Japanese pirates have become more and more rampant along the southeast coast, and they are in danger of losing their tail! In order to protect the safety of the people along the coast, the imperial court had no choice but to evacuate the cities of Fujian and Zhejiang. The Shipping Department is abolished."
"Right now, all the Japanese pirates along the southeast coast have been wiped out! In order to make a living for the coastal residents, the imperial court will reopen Quanzhou Port and conduct trade with foreign merchants."
"Specific trade matters will be fully handed over to the newly established Maritime Trade Department of the imperial court. I appreciate this!"
After Jiajing read the contents of the edict, he seemed not too satisfied and shook his head.
"Yan Song, please change this paragraph for me and say that more ports will be opened in the future."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey!"
After hearing Jiajing's instructions, Yan Song responded with a look of sincerity and fear on his face.
"Let's stop here for the matters discussed by the cabinet today! I have an extremely important matter to explain to you next."
After hearing the emperor's words, everyone at the scene couldn't help but become nervous and secretly said.
"Could it be that your Majesty has discovered something else?"
Jiajing glanced at Lu Fang, and then ordered: "Lu Fang, go and get the map of Japan for me!"
"Yes, slave, I obey."
After Lu Fang finished speaking, he called the clerk and gave instructions.
After a while, a map of Japan was placed in front of everyone.
When Yan Song saw this, he couldn't help but have a bad premonition in his heart. Is His Majesty going to go to war with Japan?
After Jiajing coughed twice, he picked up a thin wooden stick, pointed at the side of the Japanese map, and said loudly: "Previously, the Japanese pirate leader Wang Zhi confessed in his confession that there is a huge silver mine here. It’s called Iwami Silver Mine!”
"According to estimates, the silver production here is extremely rich! Japan is currently in the Warring States Period. If Ming Dynasty can take advantage of this opportunity, we can capture it."
"Then within a hundred years, my Ming Dynasty will no longer have to worry about silver!"
After hearing the emperor's words, everyone present began to breathe quickly.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being bold. Is this news true?"
Yan Song immediately stood up and confirmed to Jiajing.
"I have sent someone to confirm it. This news is absolutely true!"
Jiajing glanced at Yan Song casually and replied.
After hearing Jiajing's words, everyone's expressions remained unchanged, but their hearts were already filled with horror.
"What? Your Majesty actually has an unknown information network, and even the intelligence from Japan can be found!"
Jiajing didn't care what they were thinking, but pointed the thin wooden stick in his hand at the Kyushu region on the Japanese map and continued.
"In addition, there are also many silver mines stored here! And the local daimyo, Dayou Zonglin, once supported the Japanese pirate leader Wang Zhi to invade the coastal areas of our country."
"It can be said that Dayou Zonglin is one of the culprits responsible for the serious Japanese invasion in the Ming Dynasty!"
"Before this, the navy led by Hu Zongxian launched a naval battle with the Dayou family's fleet."
"The result is that our navy of the Ming Dynasty won a great victory!"
After Jiajing finished speaking, he put down the thin wooden stick in his hand, turned his eyes to everyone, and asked.
"My dear friends, do you have any good ideas?"
As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Zhang Juzheng stood up and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I feel that now is not the time to start a war with Japan. We should wait for the Navy to finish building the warships, and then proceed slowly." .”
Jiajing glanced at Zhang Juzheng and said slowly: "Who told you that I will start a war now!"
"Before that, corresponding preparations must be made, at least until the two newly built naval divisions are launched into the water."
Then Yan Song stood up and put forward his own suggestions to Jiajing: "Your Majesty, I think that now that Quanzhou Port has been opened! We can seize this opportunity and send special personnel to carry out trade with Japan."
"And in the process, collect local intelligence as much as possible, understand local customs and habits, and draw corresponding maps. The right way is to know yourself and the enemy, and you will never be in danger in a hundred battles!"
Jiajing was quite satisfied with the suggestions put forward by Yan Song, nodded and said: "Well, what Mr. Yan Ge said makes sense. In that case, let's start from this place!"
After Jiajing finished speaking, he picked up the thin wooden stick and pointed it at the Kyushu region of Japan.
"Your Majesty really holds a grudge!"
When the ministers saw Jiajing's first goal, they couldn't help but sigh.
"Your Majesty, Wei Chen has an idea!"
After everyone had expressed their opinions, Xu Jie, who had been silent, stood up and spoke loudly.
"Oh, Mr. Xu Ge, please tell me?"
Jiajing raised his eyebrows and asked immediately.
"Your Majesty, this is what I think. Since the Quanzhou Port is now open! And it is under the responsibility of the Maritime Trade Department, we can take this opportunity to issue the corresponding vouchers. Only after receiving the vouchers issued by the Maritime Trade Department, the private Ships have just been able to go out to sea for trade.”
"We can divide the vouchers issued by the Maritime Trade Department into two types, one needs to be purchased with money, and the other is issued for free."
"And this part of the vouchers issued for free, outside of normal trade, must follow the relevant instructions of the court."
"In this way, we can not only enrich the national treasury," but also allow these people to contribute to our Ming Dynasty! "
Ps: The author seems to have been infected. He had a fever and couldn't sleep all night. His throat felt like needles pricking him. Please pay more attention to your health. This chapter was coded out with force. The quality may not be very good. Please forgive me. O_o
(End of chapter)
