Wei Zaode really worked hard to become famous with his blood book.
Based on the current situation in the court, he deduced that the emperor and Duke Xing actually wanted to go overseas. If he could create a situation with blood letters that would allow the emperor and Duke Xing to get their wish, and any one of them could catch their eye, they would all be prosperous in the future, instead of having to go to a place where birds can't shit like they are now. Be an official!
For this reason, Wei Zaode thought about it for a while, and then used everything he could to make arrangements from public opinion and official colleagues. When he felt that it was almost done, he took out the blood letter and started to submit the letter with great fanfare.
Of course, Emperor Chongzhen would definitely not make an immediate decision on this kind of matter. It would take time to weigh all aspects before making a decision.
During this period, it has to be said that Wei Zaode's efforts were not in vain.
Regardless of whether it is in the officialdom or among the people, although some people do not even know where the Ryukyu Kingdom is, this does not prevent them from feeling how much bullying a king must have suffered if he was bullied by the Japanese to the point of writing a letter in blood to the Ming Dynasty to complain. That’s why!
Naturally, in terms of public opinion, most people feel that the Ming Dynasty should take care of this matter. After all, it is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty!
However, some people take North Korea as an example, saying that when the Ming Dynasty helped North Korea so much, it ended up just helping the white-eyed wolf. After the Jianlu rebellion, they first stood on the wall, and then turned to Jianlu.
There are even some people who believe that the disasters that plagued the Ming Dynasty were attributed to the fact that fighting the Japanese and aiding the DPRK consumed the military and financial resources of the imperial court, and that was why they were like this!
However, now the Ming Dynasty has become strong again, and it has also destroyed the Jianlu, the Xiyi in Luzon, etc., giving the people of the Ming Dynasty and those in the official circles great confidence. They don’t think that Ming Dynasty will make the same mistake again!
As the founder, Wei Zaode paid great attention to the movements in the officialdom and among the people, and even went to the plainclothes in person to listen to the movements of public opinion.
Unexpectedly, as a caring person, he soon discovered that there were others who were also promoting this matter. They were promoting the previous hatred between the Japanese and the Ming Dynasty, which further increased the Ming Dynasty's resentment against the Japanese. Public opinion demanded that the court crack down on the Japanese and become the king of Ryukyu. The call for decision-making is getting louder and louder.
When Wei Zaode was wondering, Emperor Chongzhen made a decision and decided to comply with public opinion. Not only would he make the decision for the Ryukyu King, but he would also hold the Japanese accountable for their previous offenses against the Ming Dynasty.
However, relatively speaking, Japan is a large country among small countries and an island country. The court must be fully prepared to do this.
As a result, the subsequent decrees were announced to the world one after another.
First, the name of the Navy was changed to the Navy, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army was changed to the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and Army. That is to say, from now on, the Governor's Office will no longer be designated as the Central Army Governor's Office, the Left Army Governor's Office, the Right Army Governor's Office, the Former Army Governor's Mansion, and the Rear Army Governor's Office; instead, it will be changed to the Navy Governor's Office and the Army Governor's Office, under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of War.
Second, to expand the navy, the Fujian Navy was renamed the Southern Navy, the Denglai Navy was renamed the Central Navy, and the Shanhaiguan Navy was renamed the Korean Busan Navy and renamed the Eastern Navy.
Among them, the main responsibility of the Southern Navy is to protect the southern coast of the Ming Dynasty, including guarding the Nanyang; the main responsibility of the Central Navy is to protect the waters from the Bohai Sea in the north to Fujian in the south, and protect the security of the homeland. The responsibility of the Eastern Navy is to protect the Korean waters and assume the important task of conquering the Japanese country.
Third, the Municipal Shipping Department was restructured and the post of Director of the Municipal Shipping Department was established, which was held by the Eunuch Bingbi, the Supervisor of Ceremonies. His main responsibility was to verify the collection of import and export maritime trade taxes.
There are also two deputy directors, one of which is served by the right minister of the Ministry of Revenue. His main responsibility is to transfer sea tax to the national treasury. Another deputy director-general is served by the right minister of the Ministry of War, who is mainly responsible for dispatching the army and navy to fight against smuggling. The Municipal Shipping Department is under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Ceremony and coordinated by the Cabinet. In this way, the Municipal Shipping Department became a government office directly under the imperial court, no longer related to the local government, and its level was quite high.
Of course, the Metropolitan Procuratorate will also dispatch a supervisory censor to sit in the Municipal Shipping Department to supervise the operation of the Municipal Shipping Department in accordance with the law, and report impeachment if there is any dereliction of duty. As for the factory guard, it was not stated clearly.
Also, in this edict, it is clear that sea tax revenue is 10% for the palace and 90% for the treasury. At least half of the revenue from the treasury is guaranteed to be used for naval expansion and maintenance.
When these decrees came out, Ming Pao immediately cooperated and published large-scale reports explaining the contents of these decrees and explaining the relationship between them.
Basically, making money from sea trade cannot be separated from a strong navy, and a strong navy must have sufficient tax support. These are mutually reinforcing. It even goes a step further. If sea trade makes money, the Ming Dynasty's goods will not be overstocked or prices will be reduced too much, which will lead to the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty people.
In simple words, even if the court did this, all classes in the Ming Dynasty actually benefited. This is not an exaggeration!
For example, there are many types of maritime trade commodities, and the upstream and downstream of each type will benefit. Just take the example of silk to understand.
For example, the shipbuilding industry will definitely benefit, and the corresponding upstream and downstream industries will definitely benefit!
In addition, military industry, steel, mining, etc. will also benefit.
All walks of life can be promoted, and the people of Ming Dynasty will not have to worry about having no work to do during their spare time! If you have work, you will have money, and your life will be easier!
This kind of thing is easy to understand as long as the cause and effect relationship is explained clearly.
If it is difficult for the people of the Ming Dynasty to understand the content of the imperial decree, they will understand it all after listening to the explanation in "Ming Pao".
After years of operation, "Ming Pao" has not only opened branches in major provincial capitals, but also opened branches in major cities. According to the spread speed of "Ming Pao", in just half a month, most places in Ming Dynasty were spread.
Suddenly, in the last few days of the year, almost everyone across the country was talking about this matter.
For maritime merchants, the imperial court had established a powerful navy, and there were previous examples to ensure that maritime merchants would not be bullied by outsiders after they went to sea. Of course, they welcomed this restructuring.
As for paying taxes, they were actually paying taxes before. It was either given to Yaxing or to pirates. Now it's even more formal to give to the imperial court, isn't it delicious?
It can even be said that the court's latest restructuring decree has greatly promoted their enthusiasm to make money overseas.
"You don't have to worry anymore. As long as Sea Dragon King doesn't lose his temper, life will be easy in the future!"
"That's for sure. I plan to buy more goods so that I can eat them for several years at a time!"
"With your courage, I'm going to prepare an extra sea ship and form a fleet myself!"
"Haha, you guys should be busy going to sea. I'm wondering if I should build a shipyard. I guess business will be good!"
"..."
For people with a keen sense of smell, under the latest decree of the imperial court, it is basically an opportunity to make money, and everyone is very happy.
Naturally, those upstream people who were originally popular commodities in sea trade were also happy and thought about expanding their scale to make more money. They have similar ideas to the maritime merchants and are full of expectations for the future.
It is undeniable that those gangs and pirates, for now, belong to the Zheng family, and they are the ones whose interests have been harmed.
Their income was originally invisible. And it didn't push them to death, so naturally it was impossible to defeat them to death.
For example, Yahang, they know sea trade, they can also go to sea, or do other business related to sea trade, which can also make more money.
As for the Zheng family, Zheng Zhilong was in the capital. After the establishment of the Navy Commander's Office, Zheng Zhilong served as the first Navy Commander-in-Chief, which was the first rank. There are also left and right governors on it, which are vacant.
In addition, Zheng Chenggong was appointed as the Chief of the Southern Navy, and Zheng Hongkui was transferred to the Chief of the Eastern Navy, which was also a kind of appeasement. As for the Zheng family's subordinates, because the imperial court vigorously developed the navy, they also benefited, and their prospects in the military were broader.
The most important point is that the Denglai Navy before Zheng Hongkui installed Jinyiwei supervisors at all levels. When the troops were transferred south to fight the Dutch, Jinyiwei supervisors at all levels began to be implemented in Zheng Chenggong's army. This means that there are actually quite a few Imperial Guards in the Southern Navy today.
The commander-in-chief of the Central Navy, the navy responsible for local security, is Gu Sanmazi. The advanced warships from Denglai and Nanjing Shipyards will definitely be given priority to the Central Navy, which will have a check on the other two navies.
Of course, the most important thing is that the current imperial court is strong enough. It has not only put down the chaos in the pass, but also eliminated the rebels. The country is peaceful and the people are prosperous. This is the greatest confidence.
Just like that, this series of innovations related to sea taxation began.
However, since the New Year is approaching, I still have to wait until after the New Year to really start doing things.
The 19th year of Chongzhen passed soon. Within this year, the Ming Dynasty liberated Liaodong and destroyed the Jianlu. The navy also made achievements, defeating the Dutch in Dajuan and annihilating the Spanish in Luzon.
At the same time, in Britain far away in Europe, on May 5 of this year, King Charles I surrendered to the Scottish army in Newward, ending the first civil war.
Also in this year, the famous German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was born. His most famous achievement in original history is the invention of calculus.
The Swedish artillery genius Thorsteyson died, but he led the Swedish army to victory in the Thirty Years' War in Europe and obtained large tracts of land and compensation. If it hadn't been for him, the Thirty Years' War in Europe would not have ended so quickly.
Tsarist Russia began to impose a new salt tax this year, paving the way for the subsequent Moscow riots.
Also in this year, on the North American continent, Opecanno, the leader of the Indian Powhatan League, was killed in prison by the colonists. The Powhatan League became history, and the British colonists won the final victory.
When the Ming Dynasty celebrated the New Year, the Japanese country at this time actually celebrated the New Year in the same way as the Ming Dynasty.
Among them, the Satsuma feudal lord Shimazu Mitsuhisa is in a very good mood, even better than in previous years!
