Looking at the leaving figures of the two kings, Zhu Qiyu couldn't help but gently lean on the couch, his mind a little far away.
Therefore, the easiest thing for people to pick on Dai Wang is his cowardly character. The scare just now, if applied to others, would never be enough to make a final decision. After all, with Jianwen Yinjian at the front, the court could not use many means to deal with the vassal king. A lighter reprimand would Summoning, banning, more serious reduction of salary, transfer of titles, as long as it is not a crime of treason, that's it.
Theoretically speaking, as long as he keeps to himself, Zhu Qiyu can't actually do anything to him. In sharp contrast to him, the late king Zhu Gui.
This descendant of Taizu has committed many evil deeds. He has been domineering and prosperous in the feudal dynasty. He is good at serving the army and the people and stealing property. Even his princess, the daughter of Zhongshan King Xu Da and the sister of Empress Taizong, did not let go. In his eyes, Taizong had just passed away, so he drove all the concubines, grandparents, and grandchildren to other courtyards without providing them with food and clothing, leaving them to fend for themselves.
Such behavior attracted countless rebuke from the court. The late emperor even personally issued an order, ordering Zhu Gui not to treat the concubine and his grandson harshly, and ordered him to allocate 300 dan from the royal palace to the son of his late son every year. The officials of the royal family were sent to teach the grandson how to read.
However, in the face of the imperial edict, Zhu Gui accepted it and put it away as if nothing had happened. He blatantly defied the imperial edict. However, the imperial court had no way to punish him. It was useless to reprimand and cut him. He is not afraid of being punished. He doesn't listen at all. Disobeying the imperial edict is a serious crime, but after all, it is not enough to be a treason, and it is impossible to impose a heavier punishment. Therefore, he can only turn a blind eye. Eyesight.
To put it bluntly, as a vassal king, as long as he is shameless, he can really do whatever he wants. Of course, this is related to Zhu Gui's status and seniority. Other vassal kings probably would not dare to completely ignore the imperial edict like him. However, it is not easy to say that it is deliberately embarrassing.
This is also one of the most important reasons why Zhu Qiyu chose to be the king. His personality is the most suitable for Zhangzhou Prefecture.
As for the concerns of King Dai and others, Zhu Qiyu naturally considered it. The first is the issue of Japanese invasion. With his past life experience, Zhu Qiyu is very clear that the root cause of Japanese invasion is actually the maritime ban.
The initial chaos in the southeast area originated from Zhang Shicheng's old tribe Caowei bandits, who colluded with Japanese pirates, forming the initial Japanese trouble.
In order to solve this problem, Taizu decided to establish a ban, which was essentially to clean up Zhang Shicheng's influence. However, the stricter the ban, the more stringent the sea ban was, which affected the local people living near the sea. There were not many arable fields in the southeast area, and it was not possible to rely on fishing. It is a long-term solution, so most people do business to make profits.
Along with the maritime ban, many people who relied on trade were unable to survive, and then they became pirates, disguised as Japanese pirates, and engaged in smuggling. Therefore, these people are actually the source of the Japanese troubles. As for the real ronin from the Japanese country, The number is not much.
Therefore, if we want to eradicate the Japanese plague, opening the sea is the best way. However, there are two big problems with opening the sea. First, once the sea is opened, it will shake the concept of focusing on agriculture and suppressing business, causing many people to tend to trade, which will affect the court's annual income. Second, the sea ban policy was decided by Taizu. , if you think it will be easier, it is actually difficult.
What Zhu Qiyu is doing now is actually to make changes as much as possible under this situation.
This is not the time of the Hongwu period, when the world was first settled, all industries were in decline, and the number of people was low. It was natural for the people to return to their own industries and practice production vigorously.
Although the civil engineering battle has gone through, the impact in various places is not too great, especially after the disasters in various places in the past two years, the large number of refugees who have appeared has made Zhu Qiyu always thinking about a problem.
That is, on the one hand, the imperial court is worried about the resettlement of the refugees, but on the other hand, it is worried about the people leaving their jobs. How to solve the contradiction in between.
To put it bluntly, it's not that there aren't enough people to farm, it's just that the people can't get their own land to farm, so on this basis, he came up with the idea of setting up an imperial village.
If this approach is feasible, then a large number of refugees will be reunited and return to their own business. The original suppression of businessmen due to concerns about the prevailing folk business culture and affecting their own business can be relaxed. This is The premise of everything.
On this basis, the second thing to consider is how to open the sea. It is definitely not possible to open it directly. To be honest, although the Japanese plague in the Ming Dynasty is already a long-term problem in the southeast, it is still far from enough compared with the Jiajing period.
The imperial court's policy direction towards the southeast began to shift, which was marked by the Jiajing Japanese Rebellion. At that time, due to the long-term maritime ban and the relaxation of various places, dozens of Japanese pirates were able to march straight in and roam for dozens of days until they reached Nanjing. They were surrounded and annihilated. It was because of this incident that the imperial court really began to pay attention to the Japanese invasion.
After that, on the one hand, the Japanese army was reorganized and the Japanese pirates were hunted and killed. On the other hand, some officials in the court began to propose
The view that "if the city is open, the bandits will turn into merchants, and if the city is closed, merchants will turn into bandits", this ultimately led to the Longqing Switch.
So in fact, Zhu Qiyu knew very well that the ancestral system is not irreversible, but it is often only when serious consequences occur that most people can wake up. Before that, it is indeed very difficult to change.
Of course, now that Zhu Qiyu knows it, he cannot sit idly by and ignore it. It is difficult to open the sea, but it is easy to open a small opening.
King Yi Dai was right. As long as the so-called geographical survey and map improvement were used as a reason, there would be a lot of businessmen who would use this reason to go to sea for smuggling.
But this is actually what Zhu Qiyu wants. You know, even if there is no reason, there are a lot of businessmen pretending to be Japanese pirates and engaging in smuggling. This is simply difficult to stop.
Therefore, it is better to give a relatively normal reason and transfer the smugglers to the semi-clear side. In this way, without touching the maritime ban, the merchants and Japanese pirates can be gradually separated and the Japanese troubles can be suppressed.
This is why he insisted on letting a vassal king sit in the past. No one other than the vassal king could have such a privilege.
Previously, the King of Yi was so bold that he ordered people to attack the imperial officials, and then sheltered him in the palace openly. The local officials were unable to do anything about it. It was not until Yu Qian went there in person that the matter was settled. This can be seen from this.
The feudal king had almost infinite judicial immunity at the local level. With the feudal king sitting behind his back, those merchants would confidently and boldly abandon their identity as Japanese pirates and put the private traders in the semi-open public.
That's why Zhu Qiyu said that the acting king only needs to take care of his own affairs, and the local officials will take care of everything else. He knew that this was not realistic at all.
These merchants were acting on behalf of the king. If the local officials wanted to take action, they either had to have irrefutable evidence of being caught on the spot, or they had to pass the test of acting as the king first.
However, in order to pass the test of acting as king, you have to report to the imperial court. With this process, when the matter reaches the imperial court, it is natural that it will change from a government affair to a religious affair.
Since it is a matter of clan affairs, Zhu Qiyu has more reasons to use. There are a lot of reasons such as the way of kissing. Anyway, these things are trivial to the vassal king. It is a symbolic reprimand. Just one session and that's it.
In the imperial court, at most, this was attributed to the king's misdeeds. Even if it was more serious and really involved the sea ban, it was because the king was allowing merchants to go to sea for personal gain.
However, this involves another problem, that is, King Dai asked these people to explore the geography and improve the map out of curiosity.
Yes, it’s Dai Wang who wants to perfect the map. It’s just out of curiosity. It has nothing to do with others. Of course, it’s not important... What’s important is that with this sign, as long as Dai Wang refuses to admit it, it will be difficult for others to accuse him of it. Kicked to death on his head.
Even if it is really buckled, as the saying goes, when it comes to the clan and vassal kings, the power of disposal is ultimately in the hands of Zhu Qiyu.
If the courtiers press too hard and the news spreads, the lack of protection will turn into civil servants targeting the clan. When the time comes, the kings from all over the country will have no choice but to settle the matter as soon as the memorials for mercy are published.
This is a flexible method. When the map is really perfected and the routes are mature, preparations can be made for the re-establishment of the shipping department.
However, this is not something that can be accomplished in one or two years. We still have to work on it slowly... Thinking like this, Wynn quietly stepped forward and reported.
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Shu Liang has arrived."
"Call in." Zhu Qiyu came back to his senses and casually ordered. Now that King Dai has made the move, the secret he laid before should be put to use.
"This servant is here to greet you, Your Majesty." Shu Liang walked into the hall respectfully as usual and knelt down.
Without his courtesy, Zhu Qiyu said straightforwardly without any nonsense.
"I have just left the palace on behalf of Uncle Wang. I have already discussed with him to move Dai Fan to Zhangzhou Mansion. The other kings of Dai Fan will follow their wishes. However, I estimate that the only one who wants to transfer the title is Uncle Dai Wang himself. , you go back and pass this news over, it’s time to step up the work on Zhangzhou Prefecture." After Yao heard this, Shu Liang said.
"My slave obeys the order." So, Zhu Qiyu nodded and continued to ask.
"Has there been any new news recently?" Since we have already planned the voyage, we naturally have to be prepared. As for this preparation, it is...
"Back to your Majesty, the news just came back that Mr. Ren has established himself in Zhangzhou Prefecture. According to your instructions, basically all the local gentry and wealthy households in Zhangzhou Prefecture have made friends, and the details of most of them are also known. Understand something.”
"However, these people are very cunning, and it is really not easy to catch evidence. Young Master Ren went there for too short a time, so he did not fully gain his trust, and it is even harder to join in. However, as of now, if the emperor As I expected, more than 70% of the Japanese pirates currently operating in the southeast area are related to these wealthy households, and there are dozens of households where traces have been caught."
"This is only Zhangzhou Prefecture. The situation in Quanzhou Prefecture, Xinghua Prefecture, and Fuzhou Prefecture is even more serious. Among them, Quanzhou Prefecture and Fuzhou Prefecture are the most rampant. Mr. Ren suspects that these wealthy households have secretly formed an alliance. They colluded with overseas Shin-Japanese and not only engaged in smuggling, but some Shin-Japanese even got firearms from their hands, which were also leaked from their hands."
"What a courage!" Zhu Qiyu's expression turned cold, which immediately made the atmosphere in the hall tense. He had already understood the situation in the southeast area, but he did not expect that in addition to smuggling, there would be people who dared to smuggle weapons.
You know, this is something that is strictly prohibited by the imperial court. It seems that the wealthy families in these places have been comfortable for so long that they have forgotten the majesty of the imperial court.
After frowning and thinking for a moment, Zhu Qiyu slowly spoke.
"Check, check carefully, smuggling weapons is a serious crime, be sure to find the person behind it!" However, after a moment of pause, Zhu Qiyu shook his head again and said.
"Let Ren Hong investigate this matter secretly, and be sure not to reveal his whereabouts. I will send other court officials to investigate and handle the matter."
"Yes, I will take your orders." Yes, the so-called preparation actually refers to Ren Hong. At the beginning, Zhu Qiyu personally went to Ren Mansion to see him for this matter.
Speaking of which, in Zhu Qiyu's opinion, this young man was the best choice for his mental and physical abilities, but his body was a little weaker.
If the Ren family survives, he will be able to achieve something on his own, whether it is studying or becoming a nobleman.
But it is a pity that Ren Li acted recklessly and ruined his future. To be honest, Zhu Qiyu was hesitant to send him to the southeast area. After all, Ren Hong was excellent in all aspects, but he had a shortcoming, that is, he was a little weak and had not practiced martial arts much.
However, the tenacity and ruthlessness in him are very suitable for surviving in such a chaotic place.
In order to eradicate the Japanese pirates, in addition to separating the fake Japanese from the real Japanese, we also need to separate ordinary private traders from the real thieves.
In the southeast area, there are many merchants who use the name of Japanese pirates, but there are differences among them. Some people just use this name to avoid the government and just do business in private, but some people are real merchants and thieves.
Among them, the former can give them a chance to find their way back. As for the latter, how to deal with it depends on their situation. Of course, those who smuggle weapons will definitely be charged with treason with the Japanese. Destroyed.
However, the premise is that someone must be able to find out the situation of the various forces in the southeast area. This is what Ren Hong has to do.
In addition, Zhu Qiyu also gave him a lot of Jinyiwei manpower. If possible, if Ren Hong's ability is outstanding enough, with this force, he may be able to become a fake Japanese branch first, and then gradually To grow stronger, before the imperial court opens the sea, control the sea routes, and through bloody internal fighting, clear the obstacles for the imperial court to eradicate Japanese invasion.
Of course, this is very difficult, and there is a risk that once the power expands, it may become uncontrollable.
However, the reason why Zhu Qiyu chose Ren Hong in the first place was because of his sincerity and filial piety. The Ren family is still in the capital, and with them here, the chance of Ren Hong's betrayal is very small, not to mention that there are people hidden around him. A lonely team.
At first, considering that Ren Hong did not know martial arts and that what he had to do was very difficult, Zhu Qiyu sent a small team to go with him. However, only two of them were known to Ren Hong, and the rest were all Hiding among the ordinary Jin Yiwei, they only take action at critical moments. Even Ren Hong will not know their identities...
