At the Xiaochao meeting the next day, Jiajing announced the plan to build the Daming Navy. Pan Huang wanted to express his opposition, but when Jiajing said it was Xiao Feng's suggestion, Pan Huang shut up.
Money is indeed tight, but it depends on how you spend it. Judging from historical experience, every money Xiao Feng spent could bring great benefits to the court, and Pan Huang knew this well.
But Yan Song immediately expressed his opposition for three reasons: First shipbuilding was the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry, and the person in charge of the Ministry of Industry was no longer his godson.
The second built navy was under the control of the Ministry of War, and Ding Rukui wished he could wear the same trousers as Xiao Feng. The third and most important thing is that this is what Xiao Feng suggested. I will naturally object to anything Xiao Feng suggests!
Of course, none of these three reasons can be mentioned on the table, but this is not a problem for Yan Song. He naturally has reasons that can be made public.
"Long live Mr. Xiao, after all, he is young and eager to achieve success. This intention is naturally good, but the imperial court has banned the sea since becoming an ancestor. There is naturally a reason. The foundation of the Ming Dynasty is the land, and the foundation of the Ming Dynasty is in the Central Plains. Jianshui The navy cost a lot of money, but it was useless when the country was in crisis. The navy of the Song Dynasty once roamed the waterways and beat the Mongols until they were unable to do anything. However, when the land was in flames, they could only end up floating on the sea. In the end, the emperor and his ministers threw themselves into the sea. Ah! I am not saying that the navy is useless, but the cavalry of the imperial court is not yet full. It is far from being safe on land, and the Miao border is full of rebellion. How can we waste money to build a navy?" To be fair, Yan Song's words are indeed true. It was reasonable and reasonable, and the outcome of the Song Dynasty navy was also a very powerful argument. All the officials looked at Xiao Feng to see how he would respond.
Xiao Feng solemnly handed over his hands: "What Mr. Yan said is indeed true, but it is difficult to see the whole picture. Since ancient times, a strong army is better than a hard battle. The Ming Dynasty has been fighting against Japanese pirates for many years. The reason is that the Ming Dynasty's coastal defense is almost blank . In order to exterminate Japanese pirates, how much money did the imperial court spend every year and how many soldiers were raised along the Jiangnan coast? People on the coast were killed and robbed, and county towns were burned and destroyed. How much loss was it?" Yan Song insisted: "The Japanese pirates are nothing more than clowns. , it is only a matter of time before the imperial court eliminates them!" Xiao Feng shook his head: "Master Yan said this because he did not know the source of the Japanese pirates at all. Even if I killed many Japanese pirates some time ago, even if Hu Zongxian and Yu Dayou could kill those who had already landed What's the use of killing all the Japanese pirates? As long as there is war in the Japanese country, a large number of Japanese pirates will still swarm in, and we have to continue to fight against them forever! This is not the most terrifying thing. The coastal areas have always been There is a saying of "five pirates and one Japanese". Among the five Japanese pirates, only one is a Japanese! Among the remaining four, most of them were coastal people. It is because they cannot fish safely along the coast and cannot be protected. We have no choice but to compromise and collude with the Japanese pirates. If the Ming Dynasty does not have naval forces, it can only defend, not attack, and can only passively wait for others to attack. In this way, the coastal areas will always be the source of trouble for the Ming Dynasty and the land that swallows gold!" When Xiao Feng said this, he saw that Jiajing and the ministers all raised their heads and opened their mouths slightly. It was obvious that the atmosphere was in place.
Immediately, he waved his arms vigorously, separated his hands, and made a posture of looking up to the sky and embracing the moon.
"Why wasn't there a sea ban when Emperor Chengzu was established? The Ming Navy was so majestic at that time. We were the only ones attacking others, and no one else was attacking us, so there was no need for a sea ban. Later, the Ming Navy gradually weakened and could not be defeated at sea, so it had to retreat to the shore for defense. In order to prevent a large number of enemies from mixing in, the sea has to be banned! But if the Ming Dynasty Navy regains its glory, it will not only block the way of Japanese pirates, but also open up trade routes and make money for the Ming Dynasty! By then, the national power of the Ming Dynasty will soar. If the national fortune is prosperous and all nations come to court, Ming Dynasty can absorb the fortune of all nations as its own national destiny!" Because it was a small court meeting, Xiao Feng could not explain clearly the significance of this matter to Jiajing's Taoism, but Jiajing understood in an instant and slapped the book on the table.
"Junior brother's words are reasonable. It is imperative to rebuild the Ming Dynasty Navy. What are your opinions, dear friends?" Yan Song was extremely frustrated and reluctantly handed over his hands. Since Jiajing said so, he certainly could not object openly anymore.
But frustration made him move a little slower...
"My lord, I second the proposal!" Yan Song turned around in surprise and looked at Xu Fuyi. Xu Fuyi had a humble look on his face and didn't even change his lines, but he had never spoken before Yan Song before!
In an instant, a cool breeze blew into Yan Song's back, and the Yan Party officials felt a little uncomfortable on their faces.
Zhang Juzheng followed immediately.
"I second the proposal!" Ding Rukui didn't expect that he would instantly turn from a die-hard fan to a third-party fan, so he quickly expressed his stance.
"I second my opinion!" Pan Huang waited for a moment, and when he saw that no one else seconded his opinion, he made his position clear.
"I second my proposal." That was enough. Jiajing nodded with satisfaction and looked at Yan Song, who quickly expressed his belated love.
"Long live the far-sightedness, the veteran minister is not as good as him. The veteran minister should lead the cabinet and the six ministries and fully support Mr. Xiao." I thought the matter was over, but Xiao Feng immediately raised a new question.
"Long live, rebuilding the navy requires a lot of craftsmen. Today there are only a few dozen people in the Craftsman Hall of the Ministry of Industry, and there are only a hundred craftsmen in the World View. Moreover, the imperial court needs to smelt steel and build better weapons, armor, muskets, ships and cannons. It requires a lot of skilled craftsmen. Without craftsmen, everything is just talk on paper." Yan Song snorted dissatisfied: "Master Xiao, there are many craftsmen in the world. As long as the Ministry of Household Affairs can afford it, you can recruit them at will. What's the point of this kind of thing? Negotiable?" Xiao Feng shook his head and said: "Although there are many craftsmen in the world, they are all just for a living. How many skilled craftsmen are there? Aren't the truly skilled craftsmen recruited by the imperial court with huge sums of money? Just like the soldiers in the guard. , most of them disperse when encountering the enemy, and when the enemy leaves and returns, how can they have any combat effectiveness? If a war really breaks out, shouldn’t the camp troops be the main force?” These words touched Ding Rukui’s pain point. He shook his head and sighed, saying that it was too damn difficult. .
This is a fact that has been verified repeatedly. Yan Song cannot deny it categorically, but is just digging a hole for Xiao Feng insidiously.
"This matter is indeed true. I wonder what Mr. Xiao can do to solve this situation? If Mr. Xiao has a way, he might as well manage the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War himself." This is a hint to Jiajing, Xiao Feng is likely to use Under the pretext of rebuilding the Ming Dynasty Navy, he sought control of the Six Ministries, which was very heartbreaking.
Jiajing nodded: "Junior brother, if you have any suggestions, feel free to speak up and let us discuss it." Xiao Feng took a deep breath, knowing that at the critical moment, these words would be shocking.
"Brother, the household registration system established by Taizu was modified after the Yuan Dynasty. Among them, military households, civilian households and craftsman households belong to good registration. This method of relying on forced classification to ensure the source of employment has been greatly improved during the post-war reconstruction process. , which has indeed ensured social stability and played a great role. However, times have changed, and after a hundred years, relying solely on forced classification will only deplete talents and reduce combat effectiveness. The lack of skilled craftsmen and the exhausted guardsmen are evidence of this." There was silence in the court, and after a while, Yan Song was overjoyed.
I originally just wanted to dig a hole for Xiao Feng, but this guy thought it was not deep enough and climbed to the top of the mountain and jumped down!
"Xiao Feng, you are bold, you are arrogant, you are crazy! The household registration classification system is the foundation of the Ming Dynasty and the wise decision of Taizu. How dare you attack this system?" Jiajing also frowned a little. What do you mean, junior brother, you want to cancel the household registration? Classification?
Is this possible without causing chaos in the world?
"Junior brother, if the household registration classification is cancelled, no one will be willing to be a soldier or a craftsman. When the Ming Dynasty needs an army and craftsmen, what should we do?" Xiao Feng smiled: "Long live my lords, may I ask? Why didn't the Ming Dynasty set up a civil household? That is, a separate household for scholars?" Huh?
This question sounds like nonsense, but everyone really doesn’t think about it seriously. As the main debater, Yan Song must of course take the lead.
At the same time, Yan Song also felt a sense of sadness: when his two sons were officials in the court, why did he go into battle shirtless?
Now that the father and son soldiers are gone, the other strict party officials are all fucking useless and just outsiders!
"You deserve to be slapped! Everything is of inferior quality, but reading is the only one that is high! Scholars are noble and everyone aspires to them, so why is there a need to force classification and household registration?" Xiao Feng continued to ask with a smile: "Then why didn't the Ming Dynasty set up merchants? Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, merchants are always Aren't you of noble status?" In fact, there were merchants in the Ming Dynasty, but only salt merchants. Anyone other than salt merchants, no matter how big the business was, was still a private household and not an independent household.
Yan Song felt that Xiao Feng was a little slow-minded today: "Although a businessman is not noble, he can have a beautiful wife and concubine, a large house and beautiful clothes. There is no need to force people to flock to him!" Xiao Feng nodded: "According to Master Yan, if you need anything, Those who are forced to register a household by classification are all occupations with little benefit, right?" Yan Song was speechless.
This is absolutely true, but it cannot be said. Similar to low-level status, such as beggars and happy households, they are all guilty and forced.
But military households and craftsmen households belong to good families and come from good people. Many ministers in the court came from military families and craftsmen's families, and they changed their destiny through reading.
Yan Song would offend people if he said that these two professions were not good. Xiao Feng looked at Yan Song who was speechless, turned to the ministers, and said loudly.
"Military households and craftsman households are good people, just like scholars, they are the pillars of the imperial court. In this case, why is it necessary to force classification and expropriation?" Yes, why?
Everyone looked at each other, knowing clearly, but no one dared to say anything. Because it’s no good! Just wearing the hat of a good citizen, in fact, life is not even as good as that of a lowly citizen!
If you have to work for a lifetime and see no future, who can still make progress?
"It is not impossible to classify household registrations, and there is nothing wrong with classifying guilty people into low-level registrations, but it must give people hope! The key to the problem is that if a person has lost his future and hope as soon as he is born, then this person will not Have the motivation to work hard!" Yan Song coughed: "Mr. Xiao, anyone with good status is allowed to study for the imperial examination. If you win the imperial examination, you can change your own household registration. If you reach the third rank, you can change the household registration of your whole family. How can you say that? No hope?" Xiao Feng said with a smile: "Children of military households and craftsmen households are almost destined to have an identity as soon as they are born. Do they study more when they are young, or learn more about fighting and crafts? They hope that studying will change their destiny. For them, It's much unfairer than the children of civilian households. Zhang Shilang, don't you think so?" Zhang Juzheng was born in a military household and felt the same way. Xiao Feng's words aroused sadness and almost shed tears.
"What Mr. Xiao said is absolutely true. Xiaguan's family is a military household, and most of his relatives and friends are military households. Among his peers, almost no one is taking the road of studying and taking the imperial examination. Xiaguan's grandfather served as a first-class bodyguard under the king of Liao. , the income is higher than that of ordinary military households, so they have enough money for my father to study for the imperial examination. My father was selected as a scholar, but never passed the examination, so he pinned his hopes on Xiaguan. Xiaguan had a reputation for being smart since he was a child, so he was able to Studying in the imperial examination. When Xiaguan was twelve years old, he was selected as a scholar, and when he was fifteen years old, he was selected as a civil servant and was released from the military. The whole family was overjoyed and hoped that Xiaguan could continue his efforts and free the whole family. My grandfather drank a few more glasses of wine and chatted with the guards and friends. He boasted that his grandson was promising and that the whole family would be expelled from the country in the future, but it was spread to the ears of the Crown Prince of Liao. The Crown Prince of Liao summoned his grandfather and asked someone to bring him wine to drink in the name of congratulating him. A jar, my grandfather later drank until he vomited blood, but the prince of Liao still ordered him to continue drinking. My grandfather was carried home and died that night. The lower official was appreciated by the court, long live God's grace, now he lives in the third rank, this year is The whole family got rid of their military status. But my grandfather can't wait any longer..." Everyone in the court bowed their heads. The King of Liao was still here. Although he had no real power, he still had the power to dominate the fiefdom.
Zhang Juzheng thought it was because he was in so much pain that he could tell such past events. Jiajing was silent, and Yan Song asked: "Military households also have a way to be promoted. As long as they fight bravely, they will have no worries about their future. And there are also martial arts exams to take. Do you have to study and take the liberal arts exam?" Yan Song The martial arts exam I'm talking about is the martial arts examination.
The martial arts examination has always existed, but from the Song Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, the status of the martial arts examination has been extremely low, and it was even cancelled.
It wasn't until the Tumu Fort Incident that the God of War Ming Yingzong destroyed almost all the military elites of the Ming Dynasty in a battle. There was really no one available, so the martial arts examination had to be restarted.
However, in the mood of emphasizing literature over martial arts, the selection method of martial arts is still very strange. First of all, it is necessary to talk about military affairs on paper, and strategy and strategy account for the majority. As for martial arts, it does not account for a high score.
The key is that even if you win the election, your social status will not improve much. Even if you get in the top few, you will be a middle-lower officer at best.
There is a real case of a child who likes to dance with guns and sticks since he was a child, and also likes to read military books. The grandfather felt that his grandson was versatile in both civil and military affairs and had high hopes for him.
This child also worked very hard and passed the imperial examination, but failed to pass the imperial examination many times. In desperation, he took the martial arts exam and won the top prize!
He happily went home to announce the good news, but was scolded by his grandfather: "You are a worthless thing. What is there to be happy about as a military champion? At most, you can become a junior officer! You can study at home and continue to take the imperial examination! Remember, When you go out, you are not allowed to tell others about your taking the martial arts exam. You are a civil servant, and people respect you very much. But once you say that you took the martial arts exam, your whole family will be embarrassed by you!" This case reflects the situation at that time very realistically: Wu The number one scholar is not as good as the civil scholar!
Under such circumstances, it is sheer fantasy to expect the military department to select generals. So Xiao Feng smiled and said, "Is there any military household who became a high official without passing the civil service examination? Are there any here today?" Everyone looked at each other, but no one spoke.
In fact, among the senior officials present today, there is another military household, Gao Gong. But like Zhang Juzheng, he became a high-ranking official only after passing the imperial examination and passing the imperial examination.
Those who can become high-ranking officials without passing the imperial examination are usually like Qi Jiguang, who rely on the kindness of their ancestors to directly become generals, and then make great achievements.
But most of these benevolences were granted by Zhu Di when he was fighting for the throne. Today's military households don't have such a good opportunity. After fighting for a lifetime, the only thing they can do is become a guerrilla general.
As for those who can truly serve as commander-in-chief, governor, or even minister of the Ministry of War, no one was born in the army. Almost all of them came from the imperial examination or Enyin.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Xiao Feng asked again: "Do you know any craftsmen who have become high officials without passing the imperial examination?" Everyone shook their heads even more, and this was even more obvious without asking.
Although military households have slim chances, they can still earn fame by risking their lives. Craftsman? What kind of official position can I become without passing the imperial examination?
No matter how well you make your armor, or how sharp your swords and guns are, you are just a craftsman. You can just give me a few more wages, and at most you can go to the Craftsman Hall and eat royal food. Do you still want to be an official?
Isn't this a dream? Jiajing finally spoke: "Junior brother, the people of Li each perform their duties. The court has rules to follow. Isn't it a good thing for the court?" What Jiajing cares about is not individuals like Zhang Juzheng. Whether individuals are treated fairly is not a good thing for the emperor. It doesn't matter what nonsense you say.
The ultimate issue Jiajing was concerned about was still the fate of the Ming Dynasty. Xiao Feng naturally knew this: "Long live, people in this world are all different. For example, Zhang Juzheng, although he was born in a craftsman's family, is a genius in reading. There may also be military or civilian families who are not good at fighting or reading, but are clever and handy. , can become a generation of Lu Ban. But because of his origin, it is unlikely that he will grow up. Instead, he will become a poor soldier with no fighting ability. There is no better mismatch of talents than this. It is like the Ming Dynasty sending 10,000 craftsmen to fight against the enemy. In a war, if 10,000 soldiers are sent to make weapons, the same 20,000 soldiers will be completely defeated. Doesn't this weaken the Ming Dynasty's combat power and harm the Ming Dynasty's national destiny?" This truth is very clear, and Jiajing can't help but agree: "Then Junior brother, do you mean to cancel the household registration classification? I'm afraid..." Xiao Feng also knew that if he wanted to cancel the household registration classification all at once, taking too big a move and using too much force would definitely arouse fierce resistance, so he decided to be gentle first. A little, then slowly advance.
"It doesn't have to be like this, it just needs to be more flexible and relaxed. Mr. Yan said before that civil servants and merchants do not need to be established separately because it is beneficial to be famous. As long as military households and craftsmen households can also see the future and see I hope that even if the restrictions are relaxed, there will still be no worries about having no one available." Yan Song said coldly: "Does Master Xiao want military households and craftsmen to become officials directly?" Xiao Feng shook his head: "Master Yan, please ask about the imperial examination System, why is it here?”
