Shortly after Jiajing finished teasing Lu Fang, he saw Yan Song and Xu Jie entering the Qianqing Palace.
As soon as the two of them entered the Qianqing Palace, they all knelt on the ground, and then respectfully saluted Jiajing, who was sitting on the dragon chair.
"I bow to your majesty, long live my emperor!"
After Jiajing looked at the two of them up and down, he immediately gave instructions softly.
"Well, get up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After getting Jiajing's permission, the two slowly stood up from the ground. After that, Jiajing looked away from the two of them and turned to ask.
"Yan Song, Xu Jie, you two came to see me at this time. Do you have anything to report to me?"
Facing Jiajing's inquiry, Yan Song on the side immediately took out the memorial letter submitted to the cabinet by Tan Lun from his sleeve.
Immediately, Yan Song leaned down and raised it high above his head. After a slight hesitation, he spoke in response.
"Your Majesty, here is the memorial submitted by Tan Lun, the governor of Fujian. He said that he recently received a report from Yang Zongtai, the prefect of Quanzhou, saying that there is a group of Rakshasa people who want to carry out long-term trade with our Ming Dynasty and buy our Ming Dynasty's silk, Tea, porcelain and more!”
After hearing Yan Song's report, Jiajing's face suddenly showed hesitation, and he spoke immediately.
"Wouldn't it be better if you just let Honglu Temple and the Host and Guest Department take responsibility for things like this? There is no need to come here to report it to me!"
As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Lu Fang, who had been waiting beside Jiajing, immediately came to Yan Song, took the memorial from his hand, and handed it to Jiajing's hand.
When Yan Song heard this, a look of embarrassment flashed across his face. After sorting out the words in his mind, he answered carefully.
"Your Majesty, to be honest, those Rakshasa people have another request besides starting long-term trade with our Ming Dynasty!"
"Oh, what request?"
Jiajing couldn't help but become interested in Yan Song's words, and asked closely.
"Your Majesty, those Rakshasa people want to meet you in person!"
Seeing this situation, Yan Song no longer hesitated and had to tell everything he knew. After that, Yan Song lowered his head and anxiously waited for Jiajing's response.
"Oh, interesting, these Rakshasa people actually want to see me!"
Jiajing said this, and immediately opened the memorial in his hand and began to browse the contents.
Yan Song on the side heard this and thought it was because Jiajing was unwilling, so he quickly added: "If your Majesty is unwilling, I will tell Honglu Temple and the Host and Guest Department to let them..."
When Jiajing heard this, he glanced at Yan Song, put the memorial in his hand aside, and spoke unhurriedly.
"Who said I don't want to?"
"Since those Rakshasa people threatened to start long-term trade with the Ming Dynasty, it means that the purpose of their trip is not simple. I speculate that they are mostly following orders from their royal family!"
"On the one hand, these Rakshasa people want to start trade with my Ming Dynasty and buy my Ming Dynasty's silk, tea, porcelain, etc., on the other hand, I am afraid that this group of Rakshasa people who came this time are still tempted. , I want to take this opportunity to explore the reality of my Ming Dynasty!"
Jiajing's memories from his previous life told him that Spain at this moment was in the midst of rapid expansion.
Their king, Philip II, had just been on the throne for five years. Under his rule, Spain was extremely powerful at the moment. It had an extremely large fleet, known as the Invincible Fleet, and Spain would also defeat France in the religious war in the coming year. , establishing his dominance.
And all of this was based on the colonial rule of the Americas and Africa. Jiajing vaguely remembered that he had seen in history books that in the fifteen years from 1545 to 1560 AD, the gold shipped back from overseas by the Spanish navy, Up to 5,500 kilograms, and up to 246,000 kilograms of silver.
Thinking of this, Jiajing's breathing became extremely rapid, because if the long-term trade between the two parties was reached, Daming would be able to obtain huge benefits from it in the future.
At present, Spain sent envoys to start trade with the Ming Dynasty, which was exactly what Jiajing wanted, because the Ming Dynasty only needed to transport silk, porcelain, tea and other luxury goods to Spain, and then it could easily obtain them from Spain. Constant gold and silver.
In short, through the trade between the two sides, the gold and silver plundered by Spain in the Americas and Africa will eventually flow into the pockets of Ming Dynasty in disguised form!
Immediately, Jiajing came back to his senses, turned his gaze to Yan Song and Xu Jie aside, and then spoke.
"Do you still remember that I said before that these Rakshasa people are actually from a country called Spain, and this Spain, like England and France, is in Europe!"
When Jiajing said this, he paused for a moment, then turned his eyes to Lu Fang who was aside, and then spoke.
"Lu Fang, ask someone to bring me the world map!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
After receiving Jiajing's instructions, Lu Fang immediately turned around and left. Not long after, he saw two eunuchs walking in, carrying a huge screen with great difficulty, and what was drawn on the screen was a map of the world.
"His Majesty!"
"Um."
After Jiajing took a wooden stick from Lu Fang's hand, he coughed twice, came to the world map, and pointed to the location of Spain on the map with the wooden stick.
"Yan Song, Xu Jie, you two come and take a look!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
Facing Jiajing's order, Yan Song and Xu Jie did not dare to neglect at all, and immediately followed Jiajing's order and came to the world map.
"Look, the place my stick is pointing to is Spain, and the country next to Spain, only separated by a strait, is England, and this is France!"
"Currently, there is a hostile relationship between England and Spain, and Spain is a country that massacres local indigenous people in America, Africa and other regions, not only using them as slaves, but also taking away a large amount of gold from their hands. And silver!”
After Jiajing pointed the wooden stick at the above-mentioned areas one by one, Xu Jie's face showed disdain and he spoke immediately.
"Huh, barbarians are barbarians. They only know how to kill people. Haven't they thought about adopting some gentle policies to truly bring these places under their rule and become part of their country?"
When Xu Jie finished his words, Yan Song on the side shook his head and added immediately.
"What Mr. Xu Ge said is wrong. His Majesty said before that Spain treats the local indigenous people as slaves. I would like to ask, will you treat the slaves as one of your own?"
When Jiajing heard Yan Song's words, he nodded and immediately spoke.
"Well, Mr. Yan Ge is right. These Rakshasa people do not treat the local indigenous residents as equals to themselves. In their view, those people are barbarians who need themselves. Went to rescue!”
"And all they brought was endless disasters and massacres. Not only that, these people are very keen on preaching!"
After Jiajing finished speaking, Yan Songsi stood aside for a moment and then added.
"By the way, Your Majesty, I suddenly remembered that there is a group of Rakshasa people living in the Haojing area (Note: Macau) under the rule of Guangdong. Do you think they were sent by Spain..."
Hearing this, Jiajing shook his head and immediately responded: "The group of Rakshasa people living in the Haojing area have nothing to do with the country of Spain, but they are not good people either!"
"The reason why they are so peaceful and defensive at present is simply because of the strong national power of our Ming Dynasty!"
At this moment, Xu Jie stood up and suggested to Jiajing after thinking about it for a moment.
"Your Majesty, should we expel all the Rakshasa people living in the Haojing area?"
When Jiajing heard this, he glanced at Xu Jie and then gave instructions.
"Well, notify the local government and expel them all from my Ming Dynasty land!"
Seeing that the topic was getting more and more skewed, Jiajing coughed twice and immediately chose to bring the topic back on track.
"Ahem, the reason why I say so much is to express, how much benefit can I, the Ming Dynasty, get from it?"
"I just said that in addition to wanting to start long-term trade with our Ming Dynasty, these Rakshasa people may also have temptations in mind and want to take this opportunity to test the reality of our Ming Dynasty!"
Yan Song on the side heard what Jiajing said, and after thinking about it for a moment, he tentatively asked Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, do you mean that we can use this opportunity to show the Ming Dynasty's national power to these Rakshasa people?"
When Jiajing heard this, he glanced at Yan Song quite indifferently and spoke unhurriedly.
"There is no need. Just the navy anchored near Quanzhou Port is enough to make these Rakshasa people understand that I, the Ming Dynasty, are not easy to mess with!"
"Your next task is to prevent them from getting any more information besides the necessary information. Do you understand?"
After Jiajing finished speaking, Yan Song and Xu Jie on the side immediately looked stern and responded in a deep voice.
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
Seeing that the matter had been settled, Jiajing glanced at Yan Song and Xu Jie, then withdrew his gaze and followed up with instructions.
"In this way, when the time comes, you will issue a notice in the name of the cabinet and tell Tan Lun that I am correct and let those Rakshasa people come to the capital to see me!"
"In addition, let Honglu Temple and the Host and Guest Department prepare as soon as possible!"
"If nothing happens next, you can leave!"
When Jiajing's words fell, Yan Song and Xu Jie on the side did not hesitate at all. After bowing to Jiajing, they responded immediately.
"As ordered, Your Majesty, I will retire now!"
The two of them had just taken a few steps, when Jiajing seemed to suddenly remember something and stopped them with words.
"By the way, I have approved the budget report on the construction and reinforcement of dams that you submitted not long ago. Xu Jie, your Ministry of Revenue, please allocate the money as soon as possible!"
When Yan Song and Xu Jie heard this, they suppressed their excitement, turned around, and responded respectfully.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will definitely live up to Your Majesty's great trust!"
"Um."
Jiajing did not comment on what Yan Song and Xu Jie said, but waved his hand quite casually, indicating that they could leave.
When Yan Song and Xu Jie saw this, they couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately stepped away from Qianqing Palace.
…
On the other side, the Ministry of Rites.
Ever since Li Chunfang had boasted to Lu Fang earlier in order to buy more time and promised that she would come up with a plan that would satisfy both parties, Li Chunfang had devoted herself wholeheartedly to this matter.
But everything is easier said than done. Since then, nearly a week has passed, and Li Chunfang still has not made any progress.
At this moment, in the room, Li Chunfang was discussing countermeasures with Xu Xuemo, the Minister of Rites.
"Alas, Shu Ming, I have no clue about holding a separate examination for the clan and nobles. The ministers in the court and His Majesty are all watching us!"
"If something goes wrong by then, I won't be able to explain it to His Majesty!"
Xu Xuemo on the side heard the words and after thinking about it for a long time, he finally plucked up the courage and spoke cautiously.
"Master Shangshu, I think there is no need for you to be so anxious. You just need to write the proposition as usual."
"In the final analysis, His Majesty, the clan, and the nobles just want to use the exam to legitimately allow the clan and the nobles to enter the official career."
"Therefore, from my official point of view, this is nothing more than a formality. Your Excellency, you can complete the proposition as usual. After the proposition is completed, you can delineate the examination scope for the clan and nobles on the grounds that they are low in level. .”
"In this way, not only will the clan and nobles be able to pass the exam and enter official careers, but it will also allow the ministers in the court to straighten out the anger in their hearts!"
After listening to Xu Xuemo's analysis, Li Chunfang tapped her fingers on the table very rhythmically, making a 'ta-da' sound.
At this moment, an expression of vague understanding appeared on Li Chunfang's face. She turned her gaze to Xu Xuemo and gave instructions.
"Keep talking!"
Xu Xuemo naturally did not dare to neglect the request of his immediate boss, Li Chunfang. After organizing the words in his mind, he continued.
"Master Shangshu, you are the number one scholar in the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing, and you are also a commoner. You may not understand how difficult it is to enter an official career in our Ming Dynasty!"
"Those ministers in the court have not had such smooth sailing as you. Some of them have gone through all kinds of hardships that ordinary people can't imagine to get to where they are today!"
"But now, those clans and nobles can easily obtain what they have gone through countless hardships just by relying on their own background. Who can accept it easily?"
"Therefore, the current situation between North Korea and China is absolutely normal!"
After hearing what Xu Xuemo said, Li Chunfang slapped her thigh suddenly and said in a deep voice.
"I know what to do next. In the final analysis, what they are fighting for is nothing more than the word "reason." Only by letting them get rid of the resentment in their hearts can this matter continue."
"You might as well admit your mistakes and do things accordingly. This way, everything will be foolproof!"
Li Chunfang said this, looking at Xu Xuemo with gratitude.
"Haha, Shu Ming, you have helped me a lot this time. Without you, I would never have thought of this level!"
When Xu Xuemo heard this, he looked humble, lowered his head, and responded respectfully.
"Your Majesty, your words are serious, I just did some trivial things!"
(End of chapter)
