The sound of the piano is melodious, melodious and continuous, like the tinkling of spring water, the sound of a pendant ring, and the occasional glide. Although it passes by briefly, the lingering sound lingers around the ears for several breaths. It is truly an endless aftertaste.
Outside the window, the grass is green, the flowers are red, and the blue waves are rippling. Several men in casual Taoist robes were sitting in an octagonal pavilion in Xuanhu Palace near Xuanwu Lake, smiling and quietly listening to Kou Baimen playing the piano in the pavilion.
After the song was finished, Kou Baimen, Zuo Shaowu (official position) of the Jiaofang, looked indifferent. He stood up, made a blessing ceremony, and then retreated.
This time, those who came to Xuanhu Palace to pay homage to the "Fairy Emperor" Chongzhen, in addition to the filial son Hongxing Emperor Zhu Cixiang, were also Chongzhen's two in-laws Wu Xiang and Zheng Zhilong, as well as Zheng Zhilong's two sons, Zheng Sen and Zheng Zhilong, who looked very proud of themselves. .
Zheng Sen's trip to Japan finally came to a successful conclusion. He brought a copy of the "Da Ming-Japan Covenant" and the Japanese envoy Tokugawa Mitsuaki, as well as his mother, the Tagawa clan, and his younger brother, Tagawa Shichizaemon. I returned to Nanjing happily.
The results of his trip to Japan can be said to have changed the historical process of the Eastern world!
After Tokugawa Iemitsu approved six Ming Dynasty merchant ships to dock at Izu Shimoda Port every year with the shogunate's seal, and to carry out restricted trade (no gold and silver were allowed to be exported, and Japanese were not allowed to go to sea without the approval of the shogunate), one by Starting from Shanghai, stopping at Shimoda Port in Japan, then going directly to North America, and finally going south along the west coast of North America to New Spain, the trans-Pacific trade route was established.
Don’t underestimate this route, which can only run five ships a year. That’s from zero to five! Moreover, there are currently no Han captains and sailors who can run the Pacific route. In order to start the business of five ships this year, it is necessary to hire a group of Western captains and sailors from Macao and let them take the Han sailors with them.
For Emperor Hongxing, this was an excellent opportunity to cultivate naval talents. In order to make good use of this opportunity, Zhu Cixiang also planned to give the Macau Council the status of a vassal of the Ming Dynasty!
This is very beneficial to the Portuguese in Macau. After becoming a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, their original autonomous status will not change, and the special relationship with the Kingdom of Portugal can still be maintained - Zhu Cixiang will not require all members of the Council to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty, but Ask the Council to fulfill its duties as a vassal.
At the same time, the Portuguese in Macau would be regarded as the "own people" of the Ming Dynasty, making it easier for them to serve the Ming Dynasty and obtain benefits.
In addition, once the Macau Council becomes a listed vassal of the Ming Dynasty, the Dutch East India Company, which is hostile to Portugal, cannot go to war against Macau, which means going to war against the Ming Dynasty!
For the Ming Dynasty, allowing the Portuguese in Macau to claim vassal status in the name of the Council was also conducive to the controlled introduction of Western knowledge and technology - in the mid-seventeenth century, if China wanted to "climb the technological tree", it had to introduce the West first technology and natural philosophy (philosophy and natural science in this era have not yet been separated), even if we no longer like the West, there is nothing we can do.
Because China’s own Confucian philosophy has a fixed world view system on the universe and nature, which is the two major systems of Neo-Confucianism and Xinxue. Although Neo-Confucianism emphasizes "the investigation of things and the exhaustion of principles," it also elevates the theory of "natural principles and human desires" to the highest position - everything must be governed by natural principles, and everyone must eliminate human desires. In fact, it is to absolutely worship the "natural principles" considered by Neo-Confucianism as the "Lord of Creation".
At the same time, they linked the "natural principles" that must be absolutely worshiped with Confucian ethical dogma, equated ethical principles with natural principles, and regarded anything that did not conform to Confucian ethical principles as "human desires."
Relying on this "traditional way of thinking" to climb the technological tree... is indeed a bit difficult! This technology tree is full of strange technologies and ingenuity. They are all driven by human desires and must be destroyed!
As for the philosophy of mind, which has been highly praised by later generations, it cannot actually be used to guide the advancement of science and technology, but it is conducive to the introduction of Western natural philosophy. Because Xinxue pays attention to "the conscience of my heart, which is the so-called principle of heaven", it actually empties the Confucian worldview created by Neo-Confucianism - that is, Confucian explanations of the ultimate issues such as the origin of all things in the universe.
To put it easier to understand, Tianli is the God of Confucianism (a more accurate term for God should be the Lord or the Creator), and Xinxue overthrows this God.
From the perspective of maintaining traditional Confucian culture, Xinxue is very harmful!
Because the source of Confucian heavenly principles is not revelation (that is, conveyed by Christ or a prophet), but speculation, the foundation is not solid and cannot be investigated by the mind!
After overturning the theory of natural principles and human desires, Xinxue was unable to come up with its own ultimate truth. Therefore, at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the end of the Tokugawa period in Japan when Xinxue was flourishing, the Western set of things quickly became popular.
In the late Qing Dynasty and the Korean Li Dynasty when Neo-Confucianism was strong, the resistance of traditional cultural ideas was much more tenacious...
Therefore, as the Hongxing Emperor, Zhu Cixiang faced a situation different from that of the Westernizers and Reformers in the late Qing Dynasty. There were a lot of "heart is reason" Confucian scholars in the southeast, and their desires were bigger than the last. Without waiting for Zhu Cixiang to vigorously promote it, they began to introduce Western techniques and techniques to study and study.
Therefore, Zhu Cixiang’s top priority is not to promote the spread of Western science, technology and philosophy eastward, but to absorb it in a controlled manner - God cannot be allowed to come and usurp the position of heavenly principles!
The special vassal minister of the Macao Council could help Emperor Hongxing control the rhythm and direction of the spread of Western learning to the east.
Of course, Western navigation technology must be introduced with emphasis. The introduction of navigation technology is not just a matter of hiring a few foreign captains to open a school, but also opening up profitable routes. Only profitable routes can provide enough practical opportunities for graduates of navigation schools. Only a large enough ocean trade can support enough sailors, and enough sailors who can travel across the ocean are the key to maritime hegemony in the 17th century...
Zheng Sen's trip to Japan opened up an ocean route that could make a lot of money!
In addition, the return route from New Spain takes a waterway near the equator (due to wind direction and ocean currents), and this waterway is close to the route to Australia - the significance of this cannot be overemphasized, right?
On the contrary to the proud Zheng Sen, his brother Tagawa Nanzaemon, this young man who looks very similar to Zheng Sen, now has a look of shame on his face and can hardly hold his head up - it turns out that this young man Before returning to the country with his brother, he also conducted his first battle, commanding ten bird ships of the Zheng family, transporting two thousand shogunate troops led by Matsudaira Nobutsuna on an expedition to Jeju Island to defeat the Toyotomi relics entrenched there.
It was originally a must-win war, but it was complicated by Tagawa Nanzaemon's "incompetence"!
The fleet he led arrived at Jeju Island in a mighty manner that day. Before landing, he discovered that two Western-style soft sailing ships under the "Wu Qitong" flag were sailing away from Jeju Island!
Apparently Toyotomi's remnants are trying to escape!
Of course, Tagawa Nanzaemon refused to let go of the bandits. No matter how he was persuaded by Zheng Shifu, the commander of the Zheng clan who followed him, he was not willing to "give up when he saw the opportunity" and had to lead ten bird boats to pursue them all the way.
However, the Zheng family's bird boats were not as fast as the Westerners' soft sailing ships. They chased them from Jeju Island to the vicinity of the Ryukyu Kingdom, but failed to catch up. In the end, they lost the enemy among the Ryukyu Kingdom's islands.
On the way back, due to wind and waves, two bird boats sank, and Japanese General Nobutsuna Matsudaira almost drowned.
As for Jeju Island, it was not taken, but was controlled by the "North Koreans" who arrived later. Matsudaira Nobutsuna, who drank a lot of seawater, did not want to cause trouble, so he returned empty-handed with Tagawa Nanaemon. Nagasaki!
Toyotomi's remaining party failed to catch up, failed to capture Jeju Island, lost two bird ships, and drowned two to three hundred people. This battle was certainly defeated.
So Tagawa Nanzaemon could only return to the Ming Dynasty as a defeated general. It was really embarrassing... Contrary to his expectations, his brother-in-law, Emperor Hongxing of the Ming Dynasty, didn't care about him at all. After his failure, he was even prepared to give him a huge benefit - let him be the Prince Consort of the Ming Dynasty!
