Territory means resources, and resources are equal to wealth.
Ten years later, with the strength of the Ming Dynasty, it will be trivial to conquer these countries, but how to govern them?
But for today's Ming Dynasty, the territory is too big, and it may fall apart. At a certain day, all the countries will rise up and attack in groups.
This is not a conjecture, but it will definitely happen one day in the future.
Rather than letting the people of the Ming Dynasty fall into endless wars one day in the future, it is better to eat the surrounding areas step by step and stabilize the territory.
Having said that, although he is unlikely to take action against Iran and Iraq in the west of the Ming Dynasty, he may not necessarily take action against Rakshasa (Russia) in the north.
But it will definitely affect the countries such as Myanmar, Annan, Siam, Johor (Malaysia), and Java (Indonesia) in the southwest of the Ming Dynasty.
The first few vassal states that were originally the Ming Dynasty were taken back. This is not too much!
Secondly, there are Johor and Java, because this is the most prosperous waterway in the world in later generations - the Strait of Malacca, which is the shortest route connecting North and South America to Asia, Europe and Africa.
Whether in terms of trade or military, the Strait of Malacca has an extremely important strategic location.
According to statistics, there are 100,000 merchant ships passing through the Strait of Malacca a year in later generations, and each ship has to pay a toll of 100,000 U.S. dollars, which translates to 10 billion U.S. dollars. Perhaps the Strait of Malacca is more profitable than imagined.
This is just tolls, there are also stop expenses, supplies, etc., which is even more exaggerated.
It can be said that if you control this place, you can make money while lying down.
More importantly, only by controlling this place will Ming Dynasty not be stuck by the West, so no matter what, it must win here.
Chongzhen stared at the map of mountains and seas that Xu Guangqi took out, his eyes flashing, and he delineated the territory of the Ming Dynasty in a moment of thought.
When everyone saw the emperor staring at the southwest direction on the map with a thoughtful look on his face, they felt relieved. It seemed that the emperor had listened to their advice.
But before they could completely relax, the emperor's next words made them tense up again.
I only heard the emperor say: "Not fighting against them does not mean that I have no thoughts about them."
"Don't look at me with shocked eyes. Of course I have my reasons for saying this.
First, once we send people to neighboring countries such as Italy, it will inevitably attract their attention. Perhaps their people will follow the caravan to Daming.
Our Ming Dynasty has a vast land and abundant resources. This is endless wealth for Italy and other small countries. Can you guarantee that they will not be tempted?
In other words, what should we do if their local residents or rulers confiscate the goods of our caravan and even kill the students and compatriots we sent to study? "
"Your Majesty, if this really happens, I will lead my troops to destroy them even if I die in a foreign country!"
"Yes, blood for blood, tooth for tooth!"
"Just follow the rules. If you don't follow the rules and kill our compatriots, then we also let them know what it means to be a heavenly kingdom and what it means to be unpredictable in the power of God!"
"Your Majesty, when the time comes, I will bring a thousand flying thunder cannons and push them across. Kill one of us, and we will massacre their entire city."
…
The seven people in the meeting hall were all civil servants, but at this moment, they were filled with murderous intent.
Because they have the confidence.
Chongzhen was very satisfied with everyone's performance and continued: "Secondly, since all overseas countries have begun their great voyages, I, the Ming Dynasty, cannot miss it."
As soon as these words came out, everyone frowned again.
According to what Xu Guangqi said, those overseas countries that engaged in large-scale voyages directly relied on robbing and occupying other people's territory and enslaving others, which all resulted in war.
The emperor just said there would be no foreign war, but what does this mean now?
“The essence of overseas countries’ large-scale voyages is to obtain more trading partners and benefits. Territory is just an incidental product.
Zheng He's voyages to the West had already proved that all kinds of things from the Ming Dynasty were very popular overseas and could be sold at high prices.
Overseas countries have many mineral resources, such as large amounts of copper mines, gold mines, spices, etc., which we lack.
In this case, why can't we develop Ming Dynasty into the trade center of the entire world during the great voyage?
Money is pouring in from all over the world. Why does Ming Dynasty worry about not being rich?
As long as Ming Dynasty becomes the center of the world and the true celestial kingdom, then there is no need to invite talents from various countries. They will beg to join Ming Dynasty. Whether they are allowed to come or not depends on our mood.
Of course, if they are willing to deal fairly, then we will abide by it, but if they cause trouble and we are not used to it, then we will beat them until they give in.
If they don't have enough gold and silver to pay, they can use their special products, or even their minerals, to offset the payment;
At that time, in order to ensure the safety and supplies of our caravan and the normal mining of our mineral deposits, I will station several guard posts in various places. This is not too much! "
Is it too much?
This is really not too much!
Listening to the emperor's words, everyone's faces looked strange.
But most of them are excited. They are all people who are familiar with the history of this dynasty. According to records, the prices of Ming things in overseas countries.
"Your Majesty, according to the records of the Ming Dynasty, when Zheng He returned from his voyages to the West, he brought back many envoys. Chengzu ordered a banquet for the envoys. After the banquet, the tableware used for the banquet was missing 510 pieces of official kiln blue and white porcelain. After an investigation, Then, it turned out that the envoy left.
They also bought a large amount of porcelain on their return trip, which shows the popularity of porcelain in overseas countries. "
"Yes, according to records, the nutmeg from Nanyang was 500 guan per catty, and the maple seed was 100 guan per catty...and the blue and white flower porcelain plates of Ming Dynasty were 500 guan each, and the blue and white flower bowls were 300 guan each. But within the Ming Dynasty, it is not even half of it, the difference is twenty or thirty times."
"Your Majesty, the key to porcelain is materials, painters, etc. We can bring craftsmen to open kilns locally and ship them to surrounding countries. This way, the cost will be lower and the benefits will be higher!"
…
For a time, everyone was thinking about the future. The price difference of dozens of times was simply outrageous, and it was still priceless.
Listening to what everyone said, Chongzhen's eyes were full of doubts.
Historical records record that Zheng He's fleet did not occupy an inch of other people's land, did not develop colonization, and did not develop trade.
But based on his estimate and the discussion among the ministers just now, Zheng He could earn at least millions of taels of silver on one trip. But not only did he not make any, he even lost about one million taels on each trip. This is simply unbelievable.
Everyone was talking, but Yuan Keli and Sun Chengzong were shocked in their hearts, because they knew that the emperor had collected a caravan in Xuanfu, and now it was running around the entire Ming Dynasty, counting special products, etc.
Moreover, Zheng Zhilong's caravan was also incorporated into the Navy and the Marine Corps was established. Judging from the emperor's current thoughts, these were all prepared for overseas. It turned out that the emperor had the idea more than a year ago.
But what they didn't know was that the emperor was not only ready to go to sea, but also ready to sell.
That is the Ming Dynasty Royal Department Store. When the overseas shipments come back, there will be no need to worry about sales. The entire chain has been opened up.
