Being able to learn something from other time and space that is beneficial to one's own time and space was originally Zhu Yuanzhang's original intention of forming the Ming Alliance. Although there are many things from later generations that the Ming Dynasty can learn from, the gap between the Ming Dynasty and later generations is too big. If you want to catch up with later generations in one go, many policies cannot be directly applied, so we can learn from them from other times and places in the Ming Dynasty. Good policies are then optimized and turned into policies suitable for one's own time and space. This is the purpose of everyone getting together to discuss every time.
Zhao Changge waited for everyone to finish the discussion before continuing: "In addition to some reforms during the Longqing period, water conservancy projects were also built. This has two main purposes. One is to alleviate the floods that have been suffered for many years. The second is to solve the problem of transporting grain from the south to the north. Serious blockage problem. In terms of alleviating floods, when Hai Rui was the governor of Yingtian, he organized manpower to vigorously dredge the Wusong River and Baimao River. The project of diverting water into the sea was very important. Moreover, he said that the combination of hunger relief and water conservancy repair would be of great importance to It has a good effect in stabilizing the social order in the southeast region."
Hai Rui was not only incorruptible, but also talented and capable. As long as he was an aspiring emperor, his ministers generally liked him very much.
"During the Jiajing period, the right minister of the Ministry of War and others repeatedly suggested reopening shipping while dredging the river. However, they were rejected by Zhu Houcong every time. After Zhu Zaijing came to the throne, he accepted the suggestion given to Song Liangzuo during the incident. The short-distance shipping from Zheyangzong to Jizhou was resumed, and then the entire voyage from Jianghuai to Beijing, Tongzhou and Liaodong was gradually resumed. Then, under Gao Gong's advice, Zhu Zaijing resumed shipping, repaired ships, and organized The fleet, equipped with officials and sailors, sails regularly. The imperial censor's grain and groceries can be sent to Beijing."
"The combined use of sea and river transportation not only ensured the reserve needs of Beijing and Central for nearly a hundred years from Longqing to the end of the Ming Dynasty, but also met the material requirements of various places. With the regular sailing of the official fleet, private maritime trade also expanded rapidly, and Southeast Asia The development of the coastal commodity economy has been injected with new vitality and has a far-reaching impact."
Zhu Yuanzhang and others did not like Zhu Zaijing very much. They felt that this guy was corrupt and his own abilities were insufficient. However, Zhu Zaijing had a very important advantage, that is, he listened to advice. Although he rarely interferes in government affairs, he is willing to delegate power to his trusted ministers and give them room to display. In this way, as long as he does not favor treacherous ministers, his country and the country will not be shaken.
"The opening of sea trade has greatly stimulated the economy. Zhu Zaijing accepted the suggestion of Tu Zemin, the governor of Fujian, approved the opening of sea trade, and allowed trade in the East and West oceans. This gave private overseas trade a legal status and was regarded as The Longqing Switch. The Ming Dynasty set up a governor's rate office in Yuegang, Zhangzhou, Fujian, and levied taxes on maritime merchants. The Longqing Switch is considered to be the first real opening to the outside world in the Ming Dynasty, breaking through the two hundred years of tributary trade, and also It mitigates piracy to a certain extent.”
"Since then, Ming's overseas trade has developed vigorously. The annual import and export trade volume is about 16 million silver, and the trade profit is as high as about 9 million taels of silver. However, the Longqing switch also has great limitations. First of all That is, the Ming Dynasty only opened Yuegang as a legal sea port. Secondly, there are great restrictions on where merchants can go to sea for trade, and many overseas countries are not allowed to trade. Thirdly, there are restrictions on the types of maritime business. Fourthly, there are restrictions on the types of maritime business. There are also restrictions on the number of merchants who can go to sea, and the "Youyin" or so-called sea-going license issued by the Coastal Defense Museum only totals 100."
Nowadays, everyone knows that there are countless wealth and minerals overseas, so the capable time and space have already launched foreign trade, and organized fleets to go to sea. A series of trade, robbery, and conquest operations have made their respective time and space prosperous. The dynasties have become much stronger.
But they only do this because they have role models for future generations. However, the abolition of the maritime ban during the Longqing period did require a lot of pressure.
Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little embarrassed when he thought that he was the one who advocated banning the sea. Because he was Taizu, the rules he set often did not dare to be changed easily by future generations.
"In addition to these, Longqing also made some achievements in the military. In the early days of Longqing, faced with Anda's invasion of the north and Jurchens and barbarians harassing the northeast, the border defense situation was very tense. In February of Longqing, Zhu Zaijing was determined to In order to rectify the border defense, he accepted Zhang Juzheng's request, held military parades in person every year, and learned riding and archery. He appointed Gao Gong to preside over military reforms, increased the number of ministers in the Ministry of War from two to four, and allowed the governor to be sent abroad at any time, and arranged for officers who were good at military affairs. People serve as commanders of the Ministry of War.”
"At the same time, Zhu Zaijing promoted and re-appointed Tan Lun, Qi Jiguang, and Wang Chonggu as northern generals, and the Hell Mongolian Anda, Tuman and other tribes, and strengthened the assessment and selection of officers. After some rectification, the Ming Dynasty's border defense improved Improvement, by the fourth year of Longqing, the Ming Dynasty had gradually reversed the situation of being passively beaten and losing every battle, and sometimes it could even take the initiative."
In terms of military affairs, the Longqing Dynasty had indeed improved a lot compared to the Jiajing Dynasty. This made Jiajing, the father-in-law, very ashamed. He had always looked down on Zhu Zaijing, but this son was even better than himself in the military. , which made Zhu Houcong a little embarrassed, and determined to reform the Ministry of War after returning to change the current decadence.
"Although Zhu Zaijing was not in power for a long time, he had many shortcomings, such as lust, laziness, and neglect of government. But because he knew people well and made good use of them, he was trustworthy in employing people. Therefore, historians have a pretty good evaluation of him, saying that he Although his intelligence is mediocre, he can also be called a "wise king". In the short six years of the Long Qing Dynasty, there were many talents and outstanding political achievements. Although he had a mediocre side, he also had outstanding advantages from different perspectives. Different evaluations, I’m afraid everyone has a different opinion on whether he is a good emperor.”
After Zhao Changge finished introducing Zhu Zaijing's life, everyone was silent for a moment. Finally, Zhu Yuanzhang said: "He is not worthy of being a Mingjun, but as an emperor, personal ethics aside, it depends on whether the court is stable and the people are stable during his reign. In terms of whether the people are living a prosperous life, Zhu Zaijing will definitely not be a foolish king."
Zhu Zaijing looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with some excitement. This was Taizu's evaluation of himself. Although it was not very good, it was still fair.
"Thank you Taizu for your comment. After listening to my own life, I have a lot of insights. Although I am not sure how long I can live, I have decided that as long as I reign for one day, I will not let Longqing stop his reforms. pace, now that we have the Ming Dynasty as our goal, I will definitely work hard to catch up with everyone..."
