There is a good example of this.
Spain was one of the first countries to colonize the world. It owned many colonies overseas, and a steady stream of silver, gold and other items was sent back to Spain from all over the world every year. As for the title of Spanish treasure ship, it attracted Western pirates to target it. The robbery of the Spanish treasure ship.
However, the wealth that Spain plundered from its colonies was not used on the entire country, but was mostly squandered by the Spanish royal family.
Therefore, although Spain was one of the earliest countries to colonize and had more overseas wealth than other countries, it was eventually overtaken by other Western colonial countries.
I have to say that Ming Dynasty is lucky. With Zhang Mingwei as a time traveler, it can avoid many mistakes that have been made in history.
At this time, seeing Emperor Chongzhen following his advice, Zhang Mingwei smiled again and said: "Over the Japanese country, the compensation of 20 million taels of silver, the first installment of 50 million taels, has been pieced together. , the later ones will probably be even harder to get together.”
Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall nodded. Twenty million taels of silver was really a big deal. When Emperor Chongzhen gave ten million taels, he thought it was a lot.
Although the treaty stated 20,000 taels, if the Japanese really couldn't get it, what would they do?
Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but feel less excited.
Seeing this, Zhang Mingwei smiled and said: "But your Majesty, don't worry, we can help the Japanese country!"
"What should I do?" Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen immediately became interested and asked.
Others were also curious and looked at Duke Xingguo without saying anything.
Zhang Mingwei looked at Emperor Chongzhen and said: "I know that the Japanese country has a very large copper mine, which has not been discovered yet. You can tell the Japanese country and let them go mining to repay the debt."
"..." Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but be speechless after hearing this. When he came back to his senses, he quickly said, "Sir, if that's the case, why don't you take over?"
"When Zhang Mingwei heard this, he immediately laughed and asked: "Your Majesty, if we take over, we will not have to spend a lot of manpower and material resources to mine. Why not let the Japanese country mine it, and we can enjoy the benefits? Otherwise, the compensation of 20 million taels of silver from the Japanese country has not been paid out, and it is not equal to nothing! "
Upon hearing this, the Minister of Revenue immediately nodded in agreement. Emperor Chongzhen thought about it, agreed, and finally decided this way.
The copper mine proposed by Zhang Mingwei is the Besshi copper mine in the Japanese state. It was originally discovered in 1687, and mining began in 1691 until it was closed in 1973. It was mined for a total of 283 years, and a total of 650,000 tons were mined. copper.
After he briefly introduced the mineral, he decided to let Emperor Chongzhen inform him when he met with the Japanese and his party.
After saying this, Zhang Mingwei said to Emperor Chongzhen: "The Japanese side has come to an end. The King of Ryukyu has two boats. Once the Ming Dynasty is at a disadvantage, there is no need to exist as a vassal state that wants to stab the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, I suggest that Ryukyu and Kyushu Island be merged to form the sixteenth province of the Ming Dynasty, which can also be connected with the Korean province!"
Having said this, he paused and then added: "The gold mines of Satsuma Domain can officially start mining. And with this province, we have another base leading to the Americas, which can also be regarded as a good preparation for our future trips to the Americas. prepare for."
One more province and one more provincial official are naturally welcome to the civil service system.
But for Emperor Chongzhen, he liked the way of repairing the Japanese country, so he asked Zhang Mingwei: "Sir, can't we deal with the Japanese country like Ryukyu?"
Zhang Mingwei smiled after hearing this and said: "Your Majesty, Ryukyu is only a small area. No Japanese country is rich. If you ask them to pay compensation, how much money can they pay? In addition, the most important point of Ryukyu being under the direct jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty is actually its geographical location. . The island chain surrounding the coast of Ming Dynasty must be in the hands of Ming Dynasty to ensure the safety of Ming Dynasty itself and to become Ming Dynasty’s most advanced base for the outside world. There is no room for loss.”
As soon as he heard that it still had this function, Emperor Chongzhen had no objection and immediately said with a smile: "Then this province must be established. What should it be called?"
The previous provinces of Korea and Liaodong were just names that came naturally, so there was no need to bother. However, it is not appropriate to call the province of Ryukyu and Kyushu the province of Ryukyu or Kyushu.
Ryukyu is the name of a country, but its territory is small. The name Kyushu has special meaning in China.
When Zhang Mingwei heard this, he immediately replied without thinking: "These are islands. Fishing is convenient, so we call it fishing to save money."
"..." Upon hearing his words, Emperor Chongzhen, Du Yinxi and other officials were speechless.
Fishing province, this is too weird!
However, Emperor Chongzhen immediately came to his senses. He estimated that the fishing name must have some story behind it, so he immediately said with a smile: "Henan, Hebei, Hunan and Hubei are all handed down according to their geographical characteristics, so the provinces that are all islands are called Diaoyu Province. It seems possible, so let’s do it!”
While talking, he decided to ask Zhang Mingwei privately what the story behind this fishing name was.
At this time, no one expected that just because of this name, many people in Ming Dynasty would go to the fishing province for vacation and fishing. Of course, this was a story later.
Du Yinxi, the chief assistant of the cabinet, suddenly asked: "By the way, as far as I know, there is a place called Tsushima Island between North Korea and Diao...Diao Diao. This island is also a bit big, lying between them. How should we deal with this?"
As the chief minister of the cabinet, now that the national affairs of the Ming Dynasty have begun to unfold, he naturally began to pay attention to the entire world, so he asked this question.
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he said without thinking: "It's an island, isn't it? Then it belongs to Diaoyu Province."
There is no need to consider Ma Fan's opinions. Once the Ming Emperor made the decision, the matter was settled.
After casually saying this, Emperor Chongzhen returned to the Japanese affairs and said: "I can see everything in the treaty, so let's do it like this. I will go back to meet this Japanese king and that general!"
What he was referring to was that Japan would continue its existing political system. The king of Japan was the apparent king, and the real power was in the hands of the hereditary generals, the Tokugawa family. Moreover, the various regions were still divided and governed by the famous names, which was the most worry-free for the Ming Dynasty.
Naturally, Zhang Mingwei would have no objection to this. It means that these people exploited the Japanese and gave the money they obtained to Ming Dynasty.
Afterwards, the discussion in the Wenhua Hall focused on how to arrange the fishing province.
They had to worry about selecting officials and how to govern Kyushu and Ryukyu since they were called territories directly under the Ming Dynasty.
……………………
As soon as the affairs of the Japanese country were dealt with, news from Sun Chuanting arrived.
Although the telephone line from Beijing to Yunnan is divided into many sections, in many places, after receiving the call, the message transmission method is to rush to the next phone point quickly and then make a call. The message delivery method, but I don’t know how many times faster it is.
It was also because of this that the news about Sun Chuanting reached the capital so quickly.
According to the previous transmission speed, it is estimated that the messenger angel has just arrived in Kunming now, but thanks to the use of telephones, the war there has been completed and the news has been reported to the capital.
I have to say that improvements in communications have been of great help to the Ming Dynasty in this era!
After receiving this news, Zhang Mingwei provided the location of Dongwu's gem mine to Emperor Chongzhen and said to him: "Dongwu is going to become the seventeenth province of the Ming Dynasty. If we want long-term peace and stability, we must make great efforts. This The mining of gemstones can provide a source of funds for the construction of Dongwu."
Compared with the mainland of Ming Dynasty, the transportation in Dongwu is even more backward. Especially in the future, it is planned that the inland provinces of Ming Dynasty will reach the Indian Ocean directly through Dongwu, so transportation is particularly important. For this reason, I don’t know how much money I will spend on transportation to Togo.
Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but feel very emotional while listening to Zhang Mingwei's explanation.
He realized that without Zhang Mingwei from later generations, it would be very difficult for the Central Plains Dynasty to truly occupy these remote areas and become part of its territory.
But with Zhang Mingwei by his side, he can clearly understand how important the border areas of the Ming Dynasty are, whether they are worthy of his efforts to manage them, how to manage them, etc.
It can be said that even if the world is peaceful now, Zhang Mingwei's role to him is still greater than that of anyone else.
While he was thinking this, Zhang Mingwei continued to say to him over there: "Don't rush to capture the south of Dongwu. And for the south of Dongwu, I think we can attack from the north and the south, which may be safer."
"A north-south pincer attack?" After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen subconsciously asked the key point.
Zhang Mingwei listened, nodded and replied: "Send the Ming Dynasty's Southern Navy to occupy the main population gathering place along the Dongwu coast from the sea, further compressing the space of the Dongwu Toungu dynasty, and facilitating the final war. But before that, we have to solve the problem The Dutch in the South Seas.”
Having said this, he paused and began to explain the situation in Southeast Asia: "The current Dutch stronghold is in Batavia, occupying the Strait of Malacca, and the rebels in southern Annan are also supported by the Dutch. Chapter The second and third steam-armored warships have just been completed and can be sent to the Southern Navy together with the latest batch of warships to conquer the Dutch in Southeast Asia. For this purpose, the armies of Fujian and Guangdong will also be mobilized. Because the Strait of Malacca, a major transportation channel, must be under the direct jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty!"
"Ah, these wars must cost money!" Emperor Chongzhen listened, and although he nodded, he still said with emotion.
Zhang Mingwei couldn't help but shake his head when he saw it. Emperor Chongzhen was affected by the war in Japan, and he thought that every war could make money just like the war in Japan.
