Chapter 185
No permanent friends, only permanent interests.
This is true between people, and it is also true between countries.
Just like the Ming Dynasty, which spared no effort to support the Korean War, the Korean War, one of Emperor Wanli's three major campaigns, emptied the treasury and indirectly left a mess for Emperor Tianqi and Chongzhen.
But the question is, is Ming really selfless?
To put it bluntly, it is also for the national interest.
Once Xiaori occupied North Korea, it would be like putting a knife on the waist of Ming Dynasty. Xiaori snored while sleeping in North Korea, and the emperors in Beijing could not sleep.
Therefore, Emperor Wanli could only fight. No matter whether he could not fight or could not afford to fight, he had to fight. This principle was the same as Yang Guang's three expeditions to Goguryeo and the Tang Dynasty's attack on Goguryeo.
How can you allow others to sleep soundly on the side of the couch?
The seven-year Wanli Korean War emptied the Ming Dynasty's treasury and lost tens of thousands of elite troops, but it had to be fought for the sake of the national interest.
In fact, there is no pure friendship between countries, there are only interests.
As the second-in-line heir to the Contarini family, Catherine considers issues from a politically logical perspective and hits the nail on the head, directly pointing out the key point: "Show our value!"
Giovanni was an outstanding member of the Corona family, so he naturally understood what Catherine meant: "You mean, let us betray Venice's interests?"
"What did you say?"
Catherine said seriously: "We are just cooperating. In the words of His Excellency Duke Cheng, this is called win-win cooperation."
"win-win?"
Catherine smiled lightly and said: "Our Venetian city-state republic in Europe can be said to be the enemy of the whole world. The Holy Roman Empire attacks us, the Ottoman Empire attacks us, the French Empire, the Netherlands, and the Spanish Empire all attack us. Is it because of us Venetians? Are you disobeying God?"
"Actually, we all know that they attacked our Venice because they were targeting the wealth that our Venice has accumulated for hundreds of years!"
"That's the problem!"
Catherine pointed to the steel ingots loaded on the big ship: "We have no friends in Europe. Even if we have money, we can't buy what we want. But the territory under the rule of a governor in the Ming Dynasty can far exceed what all the countries in Europe produce. Steel, with steel we can build more artillery, well-made armors, sharp swords, and we can better guard our Venice!"
Giovanni suddenly realized: "You mean we want to open a maritime trade route with the Ming Dynasty? This can be done. The Ming Dynasty's products are so rich, their tea, tea, white sugar, silk, porcelain..."
Venice is a country of commerce. As long as business is mentioned, Giovanni becomes interested.
"These things are very precious, but they are not of much help to our city-state. What we need most is something that can make our Venice stronger!"
When Catherine said this, Giovanni said excitedly: "I understand, do you want their artillery?"
Giovanni worked as a skilled worker in a factory affiliated to the Gun Bureau for more than six months, and his hands were covered with blood blisters. During this time, he first saw the flying thunder cannons and three-inch cannons cast by Ning Haijun. , the power of that blooming shell left a deep impression on him.
Catherine said: "Yes, it is their extremely powerful artillery!"
"This is the Ming Empire's powerful weapon to control the country!"
Catherine smiled and said: "There is nothing that cannot be sold. The only reason is that the price is not enough!"
As Luo Yonghao said in a speech: "In the eyes of prostitutes, there is no woman in the world who is not for sale. The upper limit of their understanding of a rumor that a woman is not for sale is, is it because the price cannot be negotiated? This This is the upper limit of their understanding of not selling.
Catherine is a noble from a merchant country and a typical businessman. Catherine, who has a business mind, absolutely does not believe that Ming Dynasty will not sell artillery. The only possibility is that the money given is too little. If the money is given enough, it will definitely be done. Sell.
Catherine has seen too many chaste women who will become shameless in the face of money, but in the same way, greedy officials will sell everything they can sell.
"Duke Cheng seems...very rich and not easy to bribe!"
"That's not enough money!"
Catherine smiled and said: "For money, he is willing to sell grain to their hostile merchants, and for money, he will also sell artillery to us Venice. Our Venice poses no threat to them!"
Catherine is very confident, but it is a pity that she will definitely be disappointed. Cheng Shijie is not a businessman at heart. He is just a civilian, a civilian with bottom lines and principles. There are some things that he will definitely do, whether making money or losing money, some He will definitely not do it.
When Cheng Shijie led Ning Haijun's triumphant army to Tianjin Port, he was truly shocked. The Tianjin Three Guards, thousands of "elites" who could be considered Cheng Shijie's old acquaintances, and tens of thousands of ordinary people gathered at the Tianjin Port Pier.
The cheers soared into the sky.
What Cheng Shijie didn't expect was that there was Huang Luogai Umbrella in the crowd.
The umbrella is a symbol of the power of emperors, generals, and dignitaries. In ancient China, where hierarchy was strict, the material, color, and size of an umbrella were just like the black gauze on the head and the court clothes on the body. They were also a sign of distinguishing official positions and status. Yellow represents the royal family. Could it be that Emperor Chongzhen is here...
In fact, not only the emperor, but also all the civil and military officials came.
While Cheng Shijie was stunned, Fu Zonglong, Fan Jingwen, Sun Chengzong and others had already run away, especially Sun Chengzong, who was so sincere when he knelt down that his knees hurt from the sound.
Cheng Shijie thought to himself: "When did you no longer have to kneel when you meet the emperor?"
Cheng Shijie was about to salute. Emperor Chongzhen seemed to be like an agile monkey, taking three steps and two steps at a time, bypassing Fu Zonglong, Fan Jingwen and other officials, and came to Cheng Shijie. He held Cheng Shijie's arm with both hands and said, "Cheng Qing is exempt from the ceremony! "
"How virtuous and capable I am, that your Majesty is allowed to..."
At this point, Cheng Shijie's eyes turned red. He shed more tears and his tear glands became more developed. He could cry whenever he wanted and stop whenever he wanted. He could send and receive it freely.
Emperor Chongzhen said with a smile: "I originally wanted to go to Liaoyang to see what the former slave capital was like and what it is like now in Shengjing, but... it was just that the civil and military ministers strongly opposed it and had to use it. I came to Tianjin. Going out to greet him in person can be considered as compensation for Cheng Qing, right?"
"It's a shame for a minor minister, it's a shame for a minor minister!"
Emperor Chongzhen smiled and said: "I owe you, I owe you so much!"
Cheng Shijie didn't have any reaction to this matter. He thought it was natural. But the problem was that the civil servants were so unhappy. Since the Jingnan period, no military generals could be granted the title of marquis, not to mention military generals, and there were no civil servants either!
Since the Jingnan period, no military general in the Ming Dynasty has been able to become a marquis, not one! Isn’t Qi Shaobao’s contribution great enough? No seal; Li Chengliang's military exploits were much more prominent than Qi Shaobao's, but he just sealed Ning Yuanbo!
The pattern of civil servants controlling military officers has lasted for nearly two hundred years. You suddenly emerged a duke from among the military generals, overwhelming all civilian officials at once. The pattern of civilian officials suppressing military generals has been completely destroyed.
No, absolutely not!
The civil servants collectively opposed it, but the problem was that Emperor Chongzhen was surprisingly stubborn this time, and Cheng Shijie's military exploits were too outstanding. A title of duke was more than enough. If they insisted on using the ancestral teachings as an argument, the people in the capital would be slobbering. Can drown them!
The clever civil servant had an idea and suggested that he should either not be granted a title or be granted a title, and Lu Xiangsheng should also be granted a title of marquis. Anyway, the general family cannot be allowed to dominate! Although Lu Xiangsheng was invincible when charging into battle, he was still essentially a civil servant. If he was also granted the title of marquis, it would be a check and balance on the growing power of generals.
So, Lu Xiangsheng picked up a marquis, and he was a champion marquis.
Well, Lu Xiangsheng is indeed worthy of the Marquis of Champion. He is indeed a brave champion of the three armies. At least he will not have a problem in defeating seven or eight people like Cheng Shijie. Cheng Shijie is really no match for Lu Xiangsheng without using his gun.
Emperor Chongzhen smiled and said, "Cheng Qing, what are you thinking about?"
"I am wondering if Your Majesty is tired of staying in the palace and wants to go out for a walk!"
"Why does Cheng Qing have such thoughts?"
"Since ancient times, there has been no example of an emperor going out of the capital to meet his ministers for more than 200 miles. If you weren't in a hurry, you wouldn't have left the capital!"
"Do you really think so?"
"Other than that, I really can't think of any other reason."
Of course, Chongzhen didn't just run out to play by himself. He couldn't handle the daily state affairs. He was not the Zhengde Emperor. Emperor Chongzhen actually didn't like to play. He wanted to inspire the martial spirit of the Ming Dynasty.
This time, after traveling more than 200 miles from the capital, I finally saw clearly what the 200,000 elite troops in the capital camp were like.
This time, Chongzhen was not wearing a dragon robe, but a golden armor. In order to take care of Emperor Chongzhen's small body, although his armor looked glittering, in fact, it was just a piece of paper armor, painted gold. .
Of course, Ming Dynasty did need a martial spirit.
The Ming Dynasty's economic downturn in recent years was not only affected by the Little Glacier weather, but also mainly due to military expenditures. In fact, if it were not for the rebellion of the slaves and the rebellion of the rogue bandits, the Ming Dynasty would have been able to recover in three to five years at most.
It's just a pity that in order to defeat the slave establishment, we can only increase taxes on the common people. Because of the tax increase, countless common people cannot survive and have no choice but to rebel.
Since then, a vicious cycle has been formed. For the sake of Liaodong, the only option is to expand the army, but the army costs money. The more troops are expanded, the more battles are fought, the more we lose, and there are more and more places where there are rebellions.
As Ning Haijun began to disembark slowly, the sound of neat footsteps drowned out the chatter of the crowd on the pier. As more and more Ning Haijun soldiers disembarked, they felt that they were in a neat formation.
Different from the troops in the Liaoyang period, the equipment of the Ning Navy has returned to its original appearance, with pikemen as the main force. The sword and shield soldiers and artillery have also been replaced by Folang machine-type two-wheeled artillery. When the more than two thousand cavalry of the Ning Navy, More than a thousand artillery and seven to eight thousand infantry began to complete the formation, and the entire dock of Tianjin Port became audible.
Watching Ning Haijun lined up in silence, Cheng Shijie did not issue a single order during this period. Ning Haijun completed everything under the command of their respective officers.
Emperor Chongzhen was very envious when he saw this scene. He smiled and said: "Cheng Qing, I really should learn from you how to run an army!"
"No, Your Majesty, you have always been our role model and do not need to learn from anyone else!"
Cheng Shijie smiled lightly and said: "As the king of a country, you don't need to learn how to run an army, you only need to learn how to run a commander!"
"Maybe, but Premier Wen should learn from you how to govern a country."
Emperor Chongzhen was somewhat self-destructive, and his dissatisfaction with Wen Tiren was evident.
These words are very disrespectful to Wen Tiren, the chief minister of the cabinet. Because Wen Tiren did almost nothing during his tenure, except for occasionally impeaching a minister, his role was to pretend to be deaf and dumb.
It's not that Wen Tiren doesn't have the ability, but he knows that the more he does, the more mistakes he will make.
Although the Ming Dynasty has been in decline over the years, and domestic party disputes and conflicts have become more and more serious, Cheng Shijie was unable to do anything if he was replaced by Cheng Shijie as the chief minister of the cabinet.
Cheng Shijie smiled and said: "Master Wen is already sitting very well. If it were someone else, he might not be able to do better than Master Wen."
Cheng Shijie naturally knew that Wen Tiren's eyes and ears were definitely there at the moment, and the dock was not the place to really talk about things. No matter how much Cheng Shijie hated Wen Tiren, in this situation, Cheng Shi would still say something fair to Wen Tiren and replace him with someone other than Wen Tiren. It would be even worse for a person to be the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty.
Emperor Chongzhen looked up to the sky and sighed, looking over Cheng Shijie's head towards the distant sky with a melancholy look on his face.
Cheng Shijie wanted to remind Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, now is not the time to be sad for spring and autumn, with so many people watching!"
Fortunately, Emperor Chongzhen was accompanied by Cao Huachun and Gao Qiqian, who hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, it's time to return!"
"Cheng Qing, get in my car!"
"It's a shame for a humble minister!"
Cheng Shijie didn't want to ride in Emperor Chongzhen's jade chariot. Although the name sounded very nice, was it not an old-fashioned two-wheeled chariot?
More than two hundred miles, but your butt is still not broken?
Cheng Shijie walked towards his carriage: "I have a carriage!"
"Then I'll take Cheng Qing's car!"
Emperor Chongzhen got into Cheng Shijie's four-wheeled carriage. Originally, Cheng Shijie's carriage was only a two-horse carriage, which was in line with Cheng Shijie's status.
Now that he has been granted the title of Duke, Cheng Shijie can ride on a troika. In ancient times, troikas were the standard carriages for generals, prime ministers, and princes.
Seeing Emperor Chongzhen get on Cheng Shijie's carriage, Emperor Chongzhen and Cheng Shijie began to return to the capital.
The ministers outside were sour again.
Sitting in Cheng Shijie's carriage, Emperor Chongzhen felt sleepy as soon as the carriage moved forward and fell asleep unknowingly. When Emperor Chongzhen woke up, Cheng Shijie was already grilling meat skewers in the carriage.
Emperor Chongzhen was awakened by the fragrance.
After eating five or six skewers of meat, Emperor Chongzhen said seriously: "Cheng Qing is not the original method of organizing people to reclaim wasteland. Many people have already done it. Why did they all fail and only Cheng Qing succeeded?"
"It's actually very simple!"
Cheng Shijie smiled and said: "That's southern Liaoning!"
"What is the difference between southern Liaoning and the mainland of the Central Plains?"
"The difference is huge!"
Cheng Shijie smiled faintly and said: "There are no gentry there, and there is no exploitation by the gentry. I can naturally manage it. If it is really in the prefectures and counties of the Central Plains, I can't do anything!"
"Gentleman?"
Cheng Shijie looked at Emperor Chongzhen and said: "Yes, no matter in the original Ning Haijun or in southern Liaoning, there were no gentry there. Otherwise, no matter how much wasteland is reclaimed, they will only be able to feed those greedy bastards!"
Emperor Chongzhen was a little disappointed: "Can't we cultivate wasteland in the interior?"
“It’s not that we can’t reclaim wasteland, we need investment!”
Cheng Shijie said with a smile: "Unless the government takes the lead, invests in wealthy businessmen, and organizes people to set up large farms, the current refugees or ordinary people are too poor. They have no overnight food, no seeds, cattle, farming tools, and fertilizers, so they have to cultivate wasteland There’s basically no way out!”
"Businessmen are greedy..."
Emperor Chongzhen was puzzled: "What is the businessman willing to do?"
"If you can make money, they will definitely be willing to do it!"
Emperor Chongzhen heard Bi Ziyan, the former Minister of Household Affairs, talk about similar issues.
"The gentry has lost its tail...how to solve this problem!"
"unless!"
"Unless what?"
"Unless they are allowed to do business and run factories and let them understand that the profits from running factories and doing business are far greater than the profits from farming, they will not invest in factories!"
Cheng Shijie set up collective farms in southern Liaoning, and did not distribute land to individuals in order to avoid that the refugees did not have the seeds, agricultural tools and fertilizers to cultivate the wasteland. Because the refugees had no money, he only provided cattle, seeds and fertilizers for collective farming. , it was actually a collective farm.
Because Cheng Shijie has money and can invest and let the people reclaim the wasteland by themselves, what will they use to reclaim the wasteland?
It's not that Cheng Shijie is stingy and unwilling to allocate land to the refugees and let them cultivate the wasteland on their own, but because the refugees are unable to cultivate the wasteland.
In this case, only collective farms can be handled.
Emperor Chongzhen was still a little embarrassed: "No one has ever done anything like setting up a factory. It goes against the ancestral system..."
For thousands of years, Chinese people have been working on more than a dozen acres of farmland at sunrise and resting at sunset. This has been passed down from generation to generation. The small-scale peasant economy has long been ingrained in the souls of the Chinese people. It is indeed a bit embarrassing for them to set up factories.
Cheng Shijie smiled and said: "But you can make a lot of money by running a factory. A landowner with a thousand acres of land can make less than a small shoe and socks workshop in a year!"
(End of chapter)
