Although Pan Boyong is an upright person, he is not without brains, otherwise he would not have been recommended to Xuzhou by the officials. In the past three years since he took office in Xuzhou, Pan Boyong has done a lot of things, but in summary, he did one thing:
Engage in construction.
First there was the Xuzhou Granary, and after the granary was built, there was the Xuzhou Wharf. Considering Xuzhou's location advantage, Pan Boyong built twenty wharves on both sides of the north and south banks in one go, and recruited more than 150,000 people.
After the dock is built, there will be cargo warehouses, inns, restaurants, and brothels. Of course, Magistrate Pan did not do this to develop and expand the brothel industry. He just wanted to learn from Grandpa Taizu and build several brothels so that he could collect rent and taxes...
Xuzhou's finances are now in a mess, and they even owe the Ministry of Household Affairs 200,000 taels on credit. However, Xia Yuanji is not anxious at all. He even sent an official document asking Pan Boyong if he had enough money to spend. If not, just ask.
Xia Yuanji is so grand just because the location of Xuzhou is so good. Once the dredging of the Huihe River is completed and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal connects the north and the south, Xuzhou will turn its losses into profits in less than five years.
In a sense, Xuzhou's location is even better than that of Yangzhou. Yangzhou mainly benefits from the Lianghuai Salt Administration, but it is too close to Nanjing. The goods shipped north only arrive in Yangzhou not long after departure, which is not at all It requires too many stops, but when we reach Xuzhou, we are already halfway through the journey. People always need to stop and rest, and Xuzhou is the best place to go.
With enough popularity, is it not easy to develop a business?
Zhu Yunwen was very satisfied with what Pan Boyong did. He accurately grasped that the key to Xuzhou's development was river transportation, and invested a lot of manpower and material resources. Now he is waiting for the Grand Canal to be unblocked.
Xia Yuanji pointed to the pier, where dozens of ships were moored: "I heard that Governor Pan went to Jining to consult Song Li for these piers. Song Li also taught him straightforwardly and thoroughly explained the emperor's performance management method. That’s how brilliant it is today.”
Zhu Yunwen nodded with satisfaction: "The method of performance, in the final analysis, is that everyone has benefits. But most of the people in the past dynasties wanted to monopolize the benefits, and even ate up the benefits of others, which led to countless disasters and bitter consequences. . If the Qian Yuan Dynasty had understood this truth, they would not have been in ruins for hundreds of years."
Yang Shiqi took a deep look at Zhu Yunwen and puffed up his chest. It was a great thing to follow such a monarch. He was wise, thoughtful, not impetuous, not radical, and did not lose the courage and determination of war. He was brave and decisive. This That's all, he also inherited Zhu Yuanzhang's advantages, which was to reflect on history and learn lessons.
However, unlike Zhu Yuanzhang, after identifying problems in history, Zhu Yuanzhang tended to use a big hammer, "overcorrecting" and taking too big actions. Zhu Yunwen, on the other hand, is better at using small hammers and "finding new ways" with smaller movements.
No matter what tool you use, it is good to solve the problem. From this point of view, Zhu Yunwen is not bad compared with Taizu.
Just as Zhu Yunwen was walking towards the ferry, preparing to cross the Yellow River to the north bank and enter Shandong, a horse galloped towards him. He dismounted, handed a secret letter to Liu Changge, muttered a few words and then rode away.
Liu Changge took the letter and quickly handed it to Zhu Yunwen: "Wu Ning, the king of Ryukyu Zhongshan, sent an envoy to Fujian and landed in Changle. He reported important information through Meihua Institute. Thousand households in Meihua Institute passed the news to the Security Bureau and rushed to deliver it."
Zhu Yunwen took the letter and opened it, his eyes became cold and stern. When Xia Yuanji and Yang Shiqi were puzzled, Zhu Yunwen handed the letter over without saying a word.
Xia Yuanji and Yang Shiqi quickly read the letter. The content was very simple. It could be summarized in only nine words:
Chen Zuyi appeared and cut down big trees to build a boat.
Xia Yuanji stared and his voice became cold and stern: "This Chen Zuyi actually escaped to the Ryukyu area and wanted to build a ship. He obviously has malicious intentions. The navy must guard against it, and the coast must guard against it."
Yang Shiqi was also a little worried: "At present, the shipping department has opened, and there are countless people going to the sea. It may be difficult to identify the enemy and ourselves. If Chen Zuyi pretends to be a civilian ship and suddenly attacks the shipping department or coastal areas, he will definitely suffer a lot of losses."
Zhu Yunwen put his hands behind his back, looked at the flowing Yellow River water, and said only two words: "Cross the river!"
The reason why Chen Zuyi is still alive is only because Zhu Yunwen did not make up his mind to kill him. At the beginning, if this person was still alive, the Ming Navy fleet would have every reason to travel to and from Nanyang. Even if it means losing some people and cargo, it doesn't matter. The overall situation is He needs to be a target.
But the current situation is different from the original situation. The Ming Dynasty already owns the old port and Jiaozhi. The existence of military power has become a solid reality and Chen Zuyi does not need to be used as a reason to travel to and from Nanyang.
Moreover, what Yang Shiqi said makes sense. With the opening of the Shipping Department and the opening of the sea, raising pirates at this time is not worth the gain. But the question is, is this the best time to kill Chen Zuyi?
Zhu Yunwen knew clearly that if he really wanted to issue an order to kill Chen Zuyi, the Ming Dynasty Navy would be able to find him even if they exhausted the sea and hang his head on the flagpole. But it was not easy to use the dead, so could the living be used once?
Xia Yuanji didn't know, and Yang Shiqi didn't know either. Zhu Yunwen had always wanted to conquer Da Liuqiu and Xiao Liuqiu and add them to Ming Dynasty's territory.
"Treading on the Stars"
But the problem is that Lao Zhu adopts a soft policy towards the outside world, and this policy is deeply popular. In order to show his true tenderness, Lao Zhu did not even fight back against Annan, who had beaten Ming Dynasty several times. He tried again and again to solve the problem through envoy diplomacy.
Zhu Yunwen's attack on Annan was not without resistance, and there were also objections from officials, such as cabinet minister Chen Di. However, Annan went too far and had no way to end it without fighting, so he used a large army.
But Liuqiu and Liuqiu are not Annan. They are honest and friendly people who are willing to be younger brothers. During the holidays, they always send envoys to say "big brother" and say "Happy holidays". If Zhu Yunqiu suddenly pulls out a knife and kills Liuqiu and Liuqiu, the pressure of public opinion will be too great. All the officials will inevitably scold Zhu Yunwen for being treacherous, unprincipled, and shameless...
Considering that officials should have integrity, the Ming Dynasty should also have integrity and not attack brothers. The only way Zhu Yunwen wanted to win the Ryukyu Islands was to use external forces, and there were three external forces:
The first external force is the pirates headed by Chen Zuyi;
The second external force is Japan.
The third external force was internal strife in Ryukyu.
Whether someone is taking action against Ryukyu or Ryukyu, or there is internal chaos in Ryukyu, Ming Dynasty has every reason to send troops. As for whether to build houses and garrison troops after driving away the enemies and pacifying the place, these small matters can be discussed slowly and negotiated for decades. Also acceptable.
Zhu Yunwen knew that Ryukyu would be in civil strife sooner or later. Although these people may not ask for help from Ming Dynasty, Ming Dynasty could be a good person for once and take the initiative to help them save some lives...
The problem lies in the word "sooner or later". Zhu Yunwen has no idea how late or how early it is. When later generations study history, the history of Ryukyu is brushed aside, and the only words are about when everyone went there... …
It would be a bit unreliable to wait for Japan to take action. Now Ashikaga Yoshimitsu probably has not learned how to dog paddle and cannot climb that far. If he really wants to take action, he will attack North Korea first. As for Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's son, he is a cowardly hermeticist. He will probably never leave the island until he dies. If the cycle continues again, he will die of old age.
The most suitable external force now is Chen Zuyi. It's just that although this person is a good chess piece, he is not easy to control. In addition, he was beaten so badly by Zheng He that he probably did not have the guts to directly attack the Ryukyu Islands to avoid being stuck on land and being dumped.
Zhu Yunwen pondered for a long time, and finally after crossing the Yellow River and landing on the shore, he said to Yang Shiqi and others: "I will arrange countermeasures after Zheng He returns."
Seeing that Zhu Yunwen had made up his mind, Yang Shiqi and Xia Yuanji said nothing more. Although Chen Zuyi was a dangerous person, to Daming, he was just a petty thief now. No matter how hard he tried, he would not cause unbearable losses.
After crossing the Yellow River, more than ten miles to the north is Weishan Lake. After passing Weishan Lake to the north, there are Teng County and Zouxian County. Further north, there are Yanzhou and Rencheng.
When Zhu Yunwen arrived in Rencheng, it was already the fifth day of October and the north wind was biting.
Here, Zhu Yunwen received good news:
Zheng He's fleet finally arrived in Taicang Prefecture.
Looking at this piece of news, Zhu Yunwen couldn't help but secretly rejoice that the time of return this time was a bit risky. Under the north wind, it was good that the fleet could return smoothly.
Although Zhu Yunwen did not go to greet Zheng He in person, in order to express the importance he attached to Zheng He's fleet and sergeants, he ordered Zhu Wenkui to take civil and military officials to the Yangtze River in person to commend the soldiers on behalf of the emperor.
Zhu Wenkui is still young and doesn't know how to handle things, but Chen Di is an old man, so he can still handle this situation. With the help of him and the officials of Zhan Shifu, it will be no problem.
Zheng He's return allowed Zhu Yunwen to put aside one of his worries. More and more court officials urged Zhu Yunwen to return with memorials, which were nothing more than: Many foreign envoys have come. Is it too disrespectful for you, the emperor, not to come back to preside? Are they losing face? As a large country like ours, we must understand etiquette and the master must show his face.
But after careful consideration, Zhu Yunwen decided not to return to Nanjing for the time being. Anyway, the envoy would not be able to go back for a while. The next voyage would be in September next year at the earliest. This group of people need to live in Ming Dynasty for nearly a year, so there is no rush to meet immediately.
The most important thing is that Zhu Yunwen must go to Peiping to propose the idea of moving the capital there and discuss the feasibility of moving the capital. We have already walked more than half way, and it is not appropriate to turn back now.
If anything happens to the capital, let your son handle it first...
Zhu Yunwen conveyed the decree, which roughly means that the northern tour has not yet ended, and it will take time to return to Beijing. You all should wait.
It was still early to meet up in Jining on October 20, so Zhu Yunwen decided to postpone going to Jining and went to Qufu instead. Kong Gongjian, the new generation of Yanshenggong, wrote to the court, hoping to mobilize the power of the Kong family to participate in social studies. , county school, Zhu Yunwen has been suppressing the approval, just want to meet this young man in person.
In Zhu Yunwen's view, the reputation of Duke Yansheng's Mansion is not good, and one needs to be careful whether to use it or not...
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