15. Chapter 15

"Layout in Innocence"

After defeating Zheng Jing, Kangxi and the imperial court saw the huge profits from maritime trade and planned to reopen the maritime ban.

The Manchus conquered the world on horseback and had a natural fear of the sea. When Huang Taiji crossed the Yalu River to Korea, it was only during the Little Ice Age that the river was covered with thick ice, allowing him to cross the river.

In fact, Kangxi was more worried about fighting Zheng Jing than the Three Feudatories, and all the naval commanders he recruited were from the former Ming Dynasty.

None of the Bannerman generals understood naval warfare, and he was very nervous at the time. Even though he won in the end, he still feels scared.

Regarding maritime trade, everyone in the court had their own concerns, and the root cause was their unfamiliarity with it.

Kangxi understood the benefits of maritime trade, but his biggest concern was whether it would impact his current rule.

Qi You's words made Kangxi feel even more complicated. He was young and what he said was simple and logical, even a child could understand it. How could Kangxi not have thought of it?

The pros and cons depend on whose perspective you are measuring it from.

From Kangxi's perspective, for the sake of his country and his people, he would rather take the same approach as the previous Ming emperor and ban the sea trade.

Precisely because of the country and the people, he stands on the shoulders of the world and has to bite the bullet and look further.

Since the conversation had come to this, Kangxi treated it as a casual chat and said with a smile, "Your idea is quite novel. The court has been discussing the issue of a maritime ban recently. Do you know what a maritime ban is?"

Qi You's heart moved, and he blinked his eyes and replied, "But other countries are not allowed to come to the Qing Dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty is not allowed to go to other countries? Khan, why can Westerners come, and the vassal states can also come? I heard that the envoys from Korea came to pay tribute, and it was quite a lively scene. There were dozens of them, and they would stay in the Qing Dynasty for a long time, send some tribute, and then take away a lot of rewards."

Kangxi's expression froze. The Korean envoys were the largest among the vassal states, numbering around thirty. If they stayed for half a year, the Ministry of Rites would have to worry about the expenses.

"You're partially right. Tribute from vassal states is not subject to maritime prohibitions. For example, vassal states like Siam, Ryukyu, and Annan pay tribute. For convenience, they don't need to go to the capital. Local officials in Fujian, Guangxi, and other places will handle the matter. The tribute will be received and inspected by local officials and stored locally."

Kangxi became interested and explained to Qi You in detail the situation of tribute paid by vassal states.

When Qi You heard Kangxi say that the Japanese shogunate had submitted a letter requesting to send students to study in the Qing Dynasty, he roughly calculated that Japan should be in the Tokugawa shogunate period at that time.

The Tokugawa shogunate also closed its borders, interacting only with the Ryukyu Islands, which were still under the rule of the Qing Dynasty. Qi You was unable to understand what would happen in the future from a God's perspective.

The hesitation in Kangxi's words revealed their fundamental difference. Qi You was able to go further only because he had access to cheats, which, to put it bluntly, was knowledge from later generations.

Qi You knew about the tragic history of later generations, but Kangxi could not see it. Even if Qi You told him, he would just think that Qi You was crazy.

Since he had such an advantage, Qi You was not polite and immediately thought of the resources in Japan. As for rare earth minerals, the Tokugawa shogunate couldn't mine them now. Even if they did, they wouldn't be so stupid as to give them away. Even if the Qing Dynasty went to rob them, they wouldn't be able to use them.

What can be used, of course, are rice seeds.

The fertile black soil in the Northeast is now sparsely populated due to the cold weather and constant harassment from Tsarist Russia, and was mostly used by the Qing Dynasty to exile criminals.

Hokkaido's latitude is the same as that of Northeast China. Even North Korea, which has a climate similar to that of Northeast China, has not been successful in growing rice there.

Later, japonica rice cultivated by farmers in Hokkaido was used. After a long period of continuous improvement in cultivation, the black soil in the Northeast finally became a major granary.

Qi You estimated that farmers in Hokkaido have not yet cultivated japonica rice seeds, but it doesn’t matter. He can first introduce rice seeds from Hokkaido and take them to the Northeast for trial planting as soon as possible.

Since the Tang Dynasty, Japan has relied on the technology passed down from the Tang Dynasty to develop itself, and this is still the case today.

There is no reason why the people in this land of China would be dumber than them and unable to develop rice seeds suitable for growing in the Northeast.

Qi Youtian asked innocently, "Khan Ama, what are Dongying and Dongying? Are they the same as here? What do they eat?"

When Kangxi heard Qi You mention eating, he burst out laughing and said, "It turns out that you are not only vain but also greedy. The first thing you think about is eating. Come, let me explain it to you in detail."

Qi You lay beside Kangxi and listened to him talk about the general situation of Ryukyu and Dongying. "They can't be compared with the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty has a rich diet, with rice and flour. They basically only eat rice."

"Is their rice delicious? They don't have wheat, so they need a lot of rice to be full. Where do they grow rice? Is the rice harvest good?" Qi You looked at Kangxi and asked curiously.

This question left Kangxi speechless. He didn't care about it. The climate in Japan was similar to that in the Qing Dynasty, hot in some places and cold in others. He said vaguely, "I haven't tried their rice. It's just so-so. How can it be delicious?"

"Of course, our rice is still delicious, and our steamed buns are also very delicious." Qi You sincerely flattered Kangxi, and quickly changed the subject: "Khan Ama, can Ryukyu send in some rice from all over the country as tribute? If not, you can ask the students from Ryukyu to bring some from other places. We can grow some and change our taste occasionally."

Kangxi was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up. He stroked Qi You's head and said with a smile, "You little glutton! Well, the tribute has become a fixed rule and it's not easy to change it at will. The matter of sending students to study here is still under discussion. When the time comes, I will order them to bring some."

Qi You's face was full of smiles, and he said loudly: "Khan Ama is so nice! I like Khan Ama the most. Khan Ama, please tell me more about the maritime ban."

Kangxi was very pleased with Qi You's praise. He cleared his throat and carefully told Qi You the origin of the maritime ban, the Qing Dynasty's plans, and its concerns.

Qi You listened attentively. Kangxi saw his childish face, which was as serious as an old man. He laughed and said, "What have you thought of now?"

"Khan Ama, I've been thinking, the Qing Dynasty's territory is so vast, even if the court doesn't open up to maritime trade, the people along the coast will still secretly trade with Westerners. If the court is kept in the dark, it's like a certain place not submitting memorials. Who knows what they are doing behind the scenes? The court is in the dark and knows nothing. It's better to let them come openly. Knowing ourselves and the enemy, we will win every battle."

Qi You frowned, sighed with an air of old age, and said, "Khan Ama's concerns are correct. We Manchus don't know how to fight naval battles and are not familiar with maritime trade. Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangnan are all sea-based. Why don't we establish a few more navies? If Westerners can come, we can also go to the Western Ocean. If they don't obey, we will fight them. If they obey, we will trade with them. Hehe, we can sell the tribute we collect to Westerners. Anyway, the Qing Dynasty has too much cloth and silk to wear. It's better to sell them to Westerners than to let them get moldy."

Kangxi didn't really care about the little amount of tribute from the vassal states.

What excited him most was Qi You's words: If they are obedient, do business with them. If they are disobedient, beat them.

Kangxi felt so happy just thinking about it that he laughed so hard that he couldn't stop saying, "Good! Good! Good!"

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