The question raised by Liu Zongmin is still very critical!
Although the Dashun Kingdom had already opened its eyes to seize India, it did not manage diplomacy as a major national affairs like the Ming Dynasty and established a specialized Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Before Li Jicheng ascended the throne and became the emperor, the exchanges between Dashun and Westerners and the business of going to Tianzhu to rob the rich and help the poor were all managed by the prince Li Jicheng, which was more like Li Jicheng's private work. Now that Li Jicheng has become the emperor, he can no longer treat diplomacy as a personal relationship as in the past. He must set up a special department to deal with Westerners.
Li Jicheng smiled and nodded: "What the King of Han said is very true. I think there should be an yamen that is responsible for Western affairs. What do you think this yamen should be called?"
"Your Majesty, why not call it the Foreign Affairs Office!" Gu Junen has been in charge of intelligence work for a long time and knows the situation of the Ming Dynasty very well, so he proposed to establish a Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Take the Canming Ministry of Foreign Affairs as your teacher and use its essence for your own use."
"No, no," Grand Military Advisor Song Xiance shook his head repeatedly, "Your Majesty is talking about Western affairs, not foreign affairs. It's different."
"Why is it different?" Gu Junen asked, "Aren't they all dealing with Westerners?"
Song Xiance's son, Song Yaowen, was a close minister of Li Jicheng and had participated in the "Western Affairs", so Song's military advisor was no stranger to Dashun's Westernization. He immediately said: "Can Ming's diplomacy mainly dealt with dealings with foreign courts, and also They have some control over the entry and exit of foreigners. However, they do not directly manage the business with foreigners. They do not suppress business there. Except for some areas that are not open to the public, foreign merchants can come and go freely in other areas, and they can do whatever they want. Basically no one cares.
As for the introduction of Western knowledge and skills, Can Ming's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not interfere, but was in charge of the yamen or official schools such as the Ministry of Rites, Taixue, and Jingxue... In fact, the management was not strict and very lax.
In addition, there is the matter of foreign religion. Westerners like to spread their Christianity. Can Ming is very strict in this aspect, and it is managed by Yanshenggong Mansion. We cannot relax in this regard, lest people's hearts be deceived. "
The Ming Dynasty is now very open to the outside world, especially the core eight southeastern provinces, which are almost completely open except for a few restricted areas and religious affairs. Foreigners and people from the vassal state can freely work, study and do business in the eight southeastern provinces after receiving their passports at the customs.
As for the management of import and export, it is so lax that it only collects taxes and does not care about anything else... The handicraft industry in the eight southeastern provinces of the Ming Dynasty was already very strong. After being promoted by Zhu Cixiang's industrial and commercial policy for more than 20 years, it has grown beyond Entering the threshold of capitalism. Although it has not yet reached the level of industrialization, it has developed to the peak of handicraft industry and does not need trade protection at all. The same free trade policy is certainly not applicable to Dashun, which has only two underdeveloped areas, Myanmar and Yunnan.
Moreover, Dashun is not a country that values industry and commerce... After losing the densely populated Sichuan, it is impossible for the Dashun Empire to develop industry and commerce even if it wants to.
Li Jicheng nodded: "The military advisor is still thoughtful. We can't follow Can Ming's example of splitting Western affairs into pieces and setting up a bunch of yamen to take care of them. It would be nice if there was one yamen general manager for these things. This is a mistake. It’s also easy to ask questions!”
"Your Majesty is wise," Song Xiance, who had scored one point in front of Li Jicheng, was greatly encouraged and continued to offer advice, "Your Majesty, I suggest that this yamen in charge of Western affairs be called the Western Affairs Office, and the chief official is also a minister, which is equal to the ministers of the six governments. Level, from now on there will be seven governments.”
"It's not seven governments, but eight governments!" Li Jicheng said, "We also plan to set up a naval office...to take charge of shipbuilding and naval military affairs! If we want to go to Tianzhu to rob the rich and help the poor, we must take the sea route. It wouldn’t be possible without the navy!”
Now there are two ministerial-level yamen, and they are yamen with great wealth and power! The princes, generals and ministers who have not yet been dispatched in the main hall are all very excited!
Dashun lost so much territory and lost so many military households. Of course, many high-ranking officials at the first level of Jiedushi lost their jobs. These people are now in Kunming. They have nothing to do except go to court every day, and their income has plummeted. If it weren't for the fact that most of Dashun's senior officials own estates in Yunnan, these senior officials might not be able to survive. But how long can these manors in Yunnan last? Once the Ming army enters Yunnan and everyone goes to Burma, they will really be left empty-handed...
Li Jicheng glanced at the faces eager to be appointed, and then said with a smile: "The ministers and ministers of the Western Affairs Office must be familiar with Western affairs, right? If you want to be familiar with Western affairs, you have to go to the West, right? The officials of the Haibing Palace It's the same thing. To run a navy, you have to learn from the West... There are currently three stronger navies in the world: the Netherlands, England, and Can Ming. It's impossible for them to send people to study in Can Ming, right?"
Of course you can't go! If you go there, your head will be chopped off...
"Everyone," Li Jicheng smiled, "anyone who has served as a military envoy, a governor (the officials of the two capitals are called governors), a minister of the six governments, or a minister can recommend themselves to go abroad. When they return from abroad, we will select the ones who can." Officials served as ministers, ministers, lieutenants, Yuanwailang and principals of the Western Affairs Office and the Haibing Office.
In addition, the navy also needs to establish yamen such as the Western Fleet, shipyards, garrison offices, and naval military lecture halls. Under the Westernization Prefecture, there are also yamen such as port commerce, customs, and Westernization workshops. The principal and secondary officials of these yamen must also be Have qualifications for overseas inspections.
Everyone, is there anyone willing to travel across the ocean now? "
Li Jicheng is really capable of tormenting people!
A group of old bandits who have never been on a boat since they were young are now asked to sign up for an overseas expedition... Once they go out, they will face tens of thousands of miles of high winds and dangerous waves. Can they still come back alive?
Not going? Then continue to stay home and eat old rice!
In fact, Li Jicheng didn't want to reuse these old people left over from Li Zicheng's era. It was said that once the emperor had one courtier, there were already four emperors. Why don't the ministers change?
"Your Majesty! I am willing to go to sea for a while!"
There really was an old minister who didn't want to be replaced, so he took the lead and stepped forward. Li Jicheng took a look and saw that it was Song Xiance. The old man is over sixty, and it is not easy to be reluctant to retire.
"Military advisor, you are so old," Li Jicheng asked, "can you travel across the ocean for tens of thousands of miles?"
Song Xiance smiled and said: "Although I am old, my body and bones are not bad... and I am proficient in magic. I am going to the West to inspect the feng shui of the royal tombs of Western countries, and then give King Louis and the Grand Chancellor of the West , the Lord Protector, the Sultan, and the Pope of Rome. Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle!"
When Li Jicheng heard this, he felt that it made sense, so he asked: "Are this Westerner's fortune-telling and Feng Shui techniques the same as ours?"
Song Xiance said: "As long as you are a human being, you can read faces. As for Feng Shui... the mountains, rivers and terrains in the world are all the same, and it should be possible to see them. I will know the future fortune of those countries after reading Feng Shui. , it would be nice to have a reference when we intersect with it.
It's just that the birth dates of Westerners are different from ours, so it's not easy to criticize. "
Li Jicheng nodded: "The calendar used by Westerners is different from ours. They use the birth anniversary of Christ. They have to convert it to the Jiazi calendar before they can approve it, right?"
"Your Majesty, Shengming," Song Xiance said with a smile, "Calendar conversion is troublesome. If it's one or two days off, it's not accurate."
Li Jicheng said: "That's true...but the great military advisor still has to do his best to calculate! Especially the horoscopes of King Louis of France and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire must be carefully approved."
"Old minister, I must work hard for it!"
Li Jicheng nodded and said with a smile: "The military advisor can go to the West for a trip! Who else is willing to go with the military advisor?"
