After driving away the Dutch, Nanyang was completely free of foreign forces. It can be said that it was included in the sphere of influence of the Ming Dynasty.
However, it is not that simple, there is still a lot to do.
In Nanyang, there are many island countries with indigenous countries, certain civilizations, and even different religions from the Ming Dynasty.
For these countries, the principle is to treat them with courtesy first and then attack with force.
If these countries were friendly to the Ming Dynasty, allowed the Ming Dynasty to do business, and were fair and just, then the Ming Dynasty would recognize this vassal country and even help the vassal country.
For example, if they can't afford to buy Ming's advantageous products, or they don't have anything that Ming likes, then Daming can teach them to mine or plant rubber trees.
Mines and rubber are definitely needed by Ming Dynasty.
If you don’t have start-up capital, it doesn’t matter. You can cooperate with businessmen from the Ming Dynasty to jointly invest in mining or growing rubber, and everyone can get rich together.
If these Southeast Asian countries are unwilling to cooperate even in such matters, they can be considered to be against the Ming Dynasty and are the enemies of the Ming Dynasty. Then they have no choice but to send troops to conquer.
Hearing his introduction, in the Wenhua Hall, the chief minister of the cabinet, Du Yinxi, couldn't help but asked a little doubtfully: "My lord, if you do this, will it be too easy for them?"
He finally understood Zhang Mingwei. He felt that Zhang Mingwei always put the interests of Ming Dynasty first. Why was he so easy to talk to the indigenous countries in Southeast Asia? He couldn't figure it out.
Emperor Chongzhen, who was sitting on the throne, also frowned and asked Zhang Mingwei: "Sir, you know the location of those big minerals. Why don't we just send troops to occupy them? Why should we take advantage of them?"
Listening to their questions and seeing them all staring at him, Zhang Mingwei couldn't help but shake his head and smile, what a bunch of greedy people!
Seeing his smile, Emperor Chongzhen knew that Zhang Mingwei must have something to say, so he urged him: "Sir, what's the point of this?"
Zhang Mingwei did not delay any longer, but smiled and asked Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, don't you want to take over the entire earth?"
It was just a joke, but unexpectedly, Emperor Chongzhen nodded seriously and said: "If it's possible, I don't care if I take them all!"
"..." When Zhang Mingwei heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned and speechless.
Emperor Chongzhen was so big-hearted that he even wanted to be the leader of the earth!
Seeing him like this, Emperor Chongzhen smiled instead, because it was rare for him to see Zhang Mingwei with such an expression.
Zhang Mingwei came back to his senses, stared at Emperor Chongzhen and asked: "How many hungry people are there in the world, floods, droughts, typhoons, ice and snow disasters, etc. Once they become His Majesty's subjects, can Your Majesty be busy? There are still many places. , they are all like primitive tribes, without any knowledge or morals. Will Your Majesty spend your energy to educate these people? And..."
"Definitely..." Emperor Chongzhen was confused and immediately interrupted, "I'm just saying this, sir, don't worry about it. No matter what, we just occupy a good place for convenience!"
"That's right!" Zhang Mingwei heard this and immediately said with a smile, "If we want to occupy all these places in Nanyang, we don't know how much manpower, material, financial and energy it will cost us. But, Your Majesty, you and I also In our lifetime, if we want to accumulate more wealth for future generations, our energy cannot be limited to Nanyang."
Although both of them are in their thirties and in their prime, life really only lasts a few decades. Coupled with the backward transportation in this era, you don’t know how long it will take on the road. If you want to conquer the world, time is really tight.
Emperor Chongzhen nodded immediately after hearing this, deeply agreeing with this.
The reason why we can conquer the surrounding areas now is that the first is the close proximity, and the second is the large population of the Ming Dynasty. Driven by the steam engine, the national power has grown strongly. The army is all elites who have fought in hundreds of battles, and the generals are all very good. Achieved in such a short period of time.
Moreover, for the Japanese country, they were actually forced to surrender. Otherwise, if they really had to resist to the end, the men and horses led by Li Dingguo would not be enough at all, or even ten times more. When I entered the several islands of the Japanese country, there was no sign of anyone at all.
When Zhang Mingwei said this, he turned to look at Du Yinxi and others, smiled and answered his doubts: "Besides, what we do is not to benefit them, but to squeeze them. Of course, in this case, we can only This is something you can talk about inside the Wenhua Palace, but not outside. Everyone knows that this is the preferential treatment given to them by His Majesty’s magnanimity and mercy!”
"..." When Du Yinxi and others heard this, they were immediately dumbfounded. Is there such a thing?
For them, they have never heard of economic plunder. It is normal for them to be a little confused at first.
Looking at their looks, Zhang Mingwei explained to them: "Let's put it this way, the most important pricing power must be in our hands. You see, exquisite Ming products, such as silk, porcelain, glass, etc., must be Is it expensive? But it’s actually only a few dollars. And how much are those minerals worth? If we exchange them, who will lose? At this point, we can briefly talk about the next theory..."
Vaguely, Du Yinxi and others grasped the meaning of Zhang Mingwei's words. When I heard that he was trying to reason, I couldn't help but prick up my ears to listen. Because they know that the truth they heard from Duke Xingguo will definitely arouse the exclaim of others: So that’s it!
Just listen to Zhang Mingwei say to them: "Forget it, it's too profound and I can't finish it in a while. Let me just give you the simplest example. We buy their iron ore for one tael of silver, and then make it into an iron product and change hands." Just sell it to them for ten taels of silver. You see, we didn’t produce anything, or we just produced technology and earned ninety taels of silver. Do you think it’s a good deal or not?”
Hearing this, Li Xiangzhong, the Minister of Household Affairs, blinked, but still had a problem, and immediately asked: "My lord, aren't they stupid? Don't they know how to use iron ore to make iron products?"
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he immediately smiled and said: "I can decree that they are not allowed to build it privately!"
In his opinion, it's okay not to take advantage of it, but to take a step back and issue an imperial edict, right?
"..." Zhang Mingwei was speechless after hearing this. Emperor Chongzhen was afraid of being short of money in his previous life. Whenever it came to money, he was full of possessiveness!
After coming back to his senses, he quickly reminded Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, we are civilized people and a country of etiquette. We must pay attention to the appearance of food!"
"..." This time, it was Emperor Chongzhen's turn to be stunned for a moment, then he pointed at Zhang Mingwei with a smile and said, "Yes, sir, you say it!"
Then, the eyes of the people in the Wenhua Hall returned to Duke Xingguo.
Zhang Mingwei reminded them with a smile: "What they built themselves, just with their two strokes, is not as good as what we built in Ming Dynasty? At the beginning, we can promote it at a low price and use normal buying and selling behavior to crowd out their locals." Yes. As long as we master the technology, the cost will be lower than theirs. Even if the price is lower than theirs, we will still make money. When they can no longer do it, we can raise the price."
Having said this, he added: "All commodities can be treated similarly. If this continues, they will have no choice but to mine, and this mining is tantamount to mining for our Ming Dynasty. Squeezing their labor , to kidnap their economy, they can only rely on our Ming Dynasty, which is a very effective means of control for most places. As long as this continues, they will not be able to resist our Ming Dynasty in another hundred years!"
"..."
After Zhang Mingwei finished speaking, the Wenhua Hall was very quiet, and everyone looked at him speechlessly.
After a while, Li Xiangzhong was the first to break the silence and said to Zhang Mingwei: "My lord, please tell your subordinates more about this. Otherwise, when you are sold, you will still be counting happily." money!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help laughing.
He can imagine that when Daming goes to deal with those countries in Nanyang, tell them what mines they have, and let them mine in exchange for Daming's goods. If they don't have money, they can also partner with Daming. It is estimated that they will be happy to count the money. , had no idea it was sold.
After hearing this, everyone else laughed, and at the same time they were very emotional. They didn't expect that there was also a principle of governing the country in this business. If you don't know the secret, you may end up being sold for money.
Thinking like this, they looked at Zhang Mingwei with even more admiration.
Zhang Mingwei saw their expressions, but he didn't feel much satisfaction in his heart. After all, the principles just mentioned are basically common sense to future generations. Anyone who cares about history or politics will know that this is the most commonly used method by Western colonists.
This theory of exploitation had matured by the twentieth century. By the time we reach the 21st century, everything will be online.
Zhang Mingwei quickly put these thoughts aside, turned to look at Emperor Chongzhen and said: "Of course, it is not ruled out that there are some Nanyang countries that cannot get oil and salt. Therefore, it is necessary to send troops to destroy them and divide them into feudal kings. Then... …You can also use this set.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Du Yinxi and others saw the familiar Duke Xingguo: in Duke Xingguo's eyes, everything was focused on the Ming Dynasty.
While they were thinking about it, Zhang Mingwei was still thinking about Nanyang affairs, and suggested to Emperor Chongzhen: "The geographical location of the Malacca Strait is very important, so it must be in the hands of the court and must be under direct jurisdiction. It can be combined with Batavia and other countries An important area, establish the seventeenth province of the Ming Dynasty, Nanyang Province!"
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he immediately nodded and said: "This is a must, so let's make it Nanyang Province!"
In the past, there were countless officials queuing up in the Ming Dynasty's official department, waiting for vacancies. If you want to become an official early, you have to stuff money.
However, with the continuous establishment of provinces in recent years, the staff department has been depleted.
