Chapter 151 Seeds “Some foreign ships were also harmed…

"Some foreign ships were also damaged, but not many."

Xie Hanshan's answer made her unsure.

Qi Buchen frowned and said, "I see. You've been tired all the way. Go and rest first."

After sending Xie Hanshan away, Qi Buchen began to look at the account book he brought back. This time, she had lost a lot. Not to mention the goods, the main thing was the people. Pensions had to be paid. What made her even more sad was that these people were all seafaring talents that had been trained with great difficulty. It would take several years to train new ones after losing so many at one time.

In the evening, when Yinzhen came back from working overtime, Qi Buchen told him about this matter. Yinzhen frowned and said, "I haven't heard any news about this in the court."

If it is true as Xie Hanshan said, that pirates are causing such great harm, it is impossible that the court has no information at all.

Yinzhen summoned Xie Hanshan to question him again, and after sending him away, he said to Qi Buchen, "I'm afraid this matter is not simple. You deal with the aftermath first, while I gather information from the court."

"Do you think it might be those people from the East India Company?" Qi Buchen told him his speculation. "You've read the news I've brought back from my voyages over the years. Those European countries have always been fighting over the seas. Maybe they're behind this pirate incident."

"That's possible." Yinzhen agreed with her guess, "But first we need to understand why Guangdong and Guangxi didn't report the news."

Yinzhen became even busier after that. While dealing with the Ministry of Justice's autumn trial, he also had to squeeze out time to investigate this matter.

Qi Buchen arranged the aftermath and waited for his news. If he didn't deal with this group of pirates, he would not be able to go out to sea again in the short term.

Before Yinzhen could figure out what was going on, the matter suddenly broke out in the capital. You have to know that in this day and age, those who can engage in overseas trade have forces behind them that cannot be underestimated. Xie Hanshan returned quickly, and other families were not slow either. They all received the news one after another.

Some, like Yinzhen, sensed the lack of news from the court and suspected something was amiss, so they held their ground. Others, however, were less sceptical, their first concern being the loss of money. They then filed a petition impeaching the officials and navy in Guangdong and Guangxi, asking how they could be the governor of a region with such chaotic public security.

Kangxi was of course furious. He immediately issued an imperial decree to reprimand the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, and ordered the navy to deal with this group of pirates as quickly as possible.

Due to the long journey, the capital did not receive the expedited memorial from the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi until a month later.

At this time, the autumn trial of the Ministry of Justice had ended, and Yinzhen had returned to his normal office time. As soon as he returned, Qi Buchen chased him and asked, "I heard there is news from Guangdong and Guangxi. What is the result?"

Yinzhen looked strange. "The Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi submitted a memorial saying that the reason he didn't report it was because he had sent people to contact the pirates and they were willing to surrender. He wanted to report to the Emperor after they had completely surrendered."

"Surrender?" Qi Buchen was surprised. "They killed so many people, and you still want to surrender?"

Yinzhen: "The memorial from the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi states that many people survived and were captured by pirates."

Are they using prisoners as bargaining chips? Qi Buchen: "...What about the loot?"

"...It's all spent." Yinzhen said something he didn't even believe.

Qi Buchen was speechless: "Where did you spend the money?"

Yinzhen frowned and said, "This is very strange. The Emperor actually agreed to send someone to pacify them."

Qi Buchen also frowned. Kangxi's reaction was indeed strange: "Could it be that the Emperor knows that there is something going on behind this group of people?"

The two of them discussed it for a while, but still couldn't guess Kangxi's intention.

"Then this loss is in vain?" Qi Buchen was a little unwilling.

Yinzhen sighed, "The Emperor has never been very supportive of maritime trade. Those who jumped high in the face of losses this time were all reprimanded by the Emperor."

Qi Buchen certainly knew that the court had been arguing about the maritime ban since the Second Sino-Japanese War. As the older generation of naval talents gradually grew old, the entire Qing Dynasty could not find anyone to take over. Emperor Kangxi was even more strict in controlling maritime trade, and there were detailed regulations on the size of ships going out to sea, the number of people they could accommodate, and their armaments.

Qi Buchen has always been very low-key in handling the matter of going out to sea with others, and has always told others that he is just taking advantage of the situation to collect new things for himself.

Xie Hanshan was stationed in Guangzhou for a long time, nominally collecting various novel goods there.

Thinking of the increasingly weak coastal defenses in the future, Qi Buchen felt uneasy: "Why is the Emperor unwilling to develop the navy? There are so many abundant overseas resources. If those European countries didn't have the advantage, would they support such strong development and support for going to sea?"

Having been influenced by Qi Buchen from time to time over the years, Yinzhen certainly knew how much benefit there was in this: "The main generals in the navy now are all from the Zheng family. Although the Zheng family has surrendered, we still have to be on guard."

Rather than seeking profits at sea, Kangxi valued ruling the country more.

Qi Buchen was depressed, but he couldn't say anything. Although there was already a world map and there were many foreigners in the Qing Dynasty, the idea of ​​the Celestial Empire was still rooted in everyone's mind. They would never have thought that in just two hundred years, the foreigners, who were still barbarians in their eyes, would develop so rapidly.

Qi Buchen glanced at Yinzhen and recalled what he said when they met Kangxi. Later, she figured it out. On the one hand, Yinzhen's words at that time expressed that he would not take a concubine, but it also had a deeper meaning, which was to make his true feelings known to Kangxi. He was a contented man. A wife, children and a warm bed were enough for him. Unlike other brothers, he had no ambition to compete for that position.

It is not known whether Kangxi believed it or not, but Qi Buchen believed it. Up to now, Yinzhen had really never thought about competing for the throne. He was even very supportive of the prince. When there was no one around, he would occasionally complain to Qi Buchen that Yinzhen had no self-awareness and was only suitable to be a military general but not to govern the country. He would also say vaguely that Kangxi's thoughts were difficult to guess and he felt that the prince had done well enough.

Of course, these words were only whispered to Qi Buchen. He still maintained a neutral stance towards the outside world and would never allow himself to lean towards any faction. After all, he was not an ideal martyr.

But at this time Qi Buchen had an impulse to let Yinzhen embark on the path of history. If Yinzhen became emperor, could she change the weak future of the Qing Dynasty by influencing Yinzhen?

The possibility assaulted her sanity, leaving her mouth dry.

Yinzhen looked at her strangely: "What are you thinking about? Your expression is so complicated."

"..." Qi Buchen calmed down and said, "You said that in history, except for Emperor Xiaozong of Ming who only had one empress, all other emperors took in so many concubines. Was it really to balance the court?"

Yinzhen was at a loss for words: "Is that what you're thinking about? Of course it's true. Factional disputes have existed since ancient times."

"Then Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty didn't have this pressure?" Qi Buchen asked.

Yinzhen looked at her and said seriously, "Of course there are, but there are many ways to deal with this pressure. Emperor Xiaozong of Ming did not choose to take a concubine to balance it. Firstly, because Concubine Wan had a huge influence on him when he was young. Secondly, Emperor Xiaozong of Ming was very capable and could be called a wise ruler. He was confident that he could solve these problems through other means." He quite liked Emperor Xiaozong of Ming because he was a 'workaholic' like him.

Qi Buchen forced himself not to ask, "Kangxi and Ming Xiaozong had similar childhood experiences, so why did they choose two completely different paths? Was it because he wasn't confident that he was as capable as Ming Xiaozong?"

What about you? If you were to ascend to that position, would you make the same choice as Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty?

Yinzhen raised his hand and pinched her face: "Why do you suddenly think of such a thing?"

Qi Buchen sighed in his heart and smiled: "I just suddenly felt that Ming Xiaozong is such a good man, so rare."

Yinzhen looked at her sideways: "Why, are you complaining about me being useless?"

"No." Qi Buchen shook his head and kissed him on the chin. "In my heart, you are no worse than Emperor Xiaozong of Ming."

Yinzhen was visibly pleased and said proudly, "You have good taste."

Qi Buchen slumped in his arms, silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "Yinzhen, if you were Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, would you ban the sea or open it? Would you develop the navy?"

The maritime ban was implemented throughout the Ming Dynasty, including during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty.

Yinzhen pinched her nose and said, "You are really getting bolder and bolder. Is this really possible?"

"Just tell me whether you can do it or not." Qi Buchen said stubbornly.

Yinzhen frowned. "Why are you still being stubborn? Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty wasn't a tyrant. He didn't choose to open the sea because the internal and external circumstances at the time didn't allow it."

Although he didn't directly say what he would do, the meaning was self-evident.

Qi Buchen shut up and there was no need to ask any more questions. Could it be that Yinzhen still thought that Kangxi was a tyrant?

"What's wrong with you today? It's very strange." Yinzhen frowned.

Qi Buchen pursed his lips and whispered, "I just think we should develop our navy and exploit maritime resources."

Yinzhen sighed. "Some people in the court have mentioned this, but they mostly used it for personal gain. Not many people really thought about it. The lack of suitable generals is one thing, and the excessive risks at sea are another. More importantly, our Central Plains has been primarily agricultural since ancient times. While there are resources overseas, they are scattered and far away, making them unworthy. Do you know how much silver was collected last year? Twenty-seven million taels. A vast country requires money everywhere. Instead of gambling on the illusory sea, it's better to use it to improve people's livelihoods."

He lowered his voice. "Besides, the national treasury has been running at a deficit for years, and there have been calls from the Ministry of Revenue to cut military spending. If Tsewang Arabtan hadn't been making trouble in western Mosui these past two years, they might have succeeded long ago. This is the case on land, let alone at sea."

The navy was a bottomless pit in the early stages, with almost no visible returns. Unless the treasury had too much money to spend, no one would think of doing this thankless task.

Qi Buchen completely gave up the idea. Although Yinzhen was influenced by her and had a positive attitude towards maritime trade, he still did not have enough motivation for the navy.

The role of the army is, first, to defend the country, and second, to expand territory. In history, no other country has ever attacked from the sea (the Zheng family's rebellion was not considered an invasion), and the Qing Dynasty believed that overseas were all barbaric lands and had no interest in conquering them. Moreover, information exchange was difficult at that time, and even if overseas territories were conquered, they would be difficult to manage due to the long distance.

Based on these reasons, it is understandable that the Qing Dynasty had no interest in developing the navy.

Qi Buchen sighed quietly. It was not that she was selfish, but that reality was not fantasy. The country could not be developed by just a few words from her.

If the Qing Dynasty wants to participate in the naval competition, it must first solve various internal problems. She is not a genius in governing the country, and even if she spends her entire life, she is afraid that she will not be able to solve these problems.

Forget it, I'd better try my best to leave some seeds.