Feng Sheng would never have thought that he would receive a secret letter from the Emperor of Japan.
Of course, the secret letter is not the key; the key lies in its content.
According to the Emperor of Japan, as long as the Ming Dynasty is willing to cooperate in borrowing troops, the two sides can join forces to bring down the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and Japan is willing to pay a huge price.
"Cheng'er, what price does the Japanese emperor want us to pay to cooperate with him? Is he going to put Kyushu Island under the jurisdiction of our Ming Dynasty?"
"Do they still expect us to keep all the power in the hands of this emperor in the future?"
Feng Sheng asked his nephew Feng Cheng next to him.
It seems like a very ridiculous thing. I have already called your house, but you suddenly responded with a strong sense of hostility.
After all, for the emperor, the current Japan is completely under the control of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and he can do whatever he wants.
Emperor Go-Komatsu was already clear that once the construction of the retired emperor's residence, which symbolized power, was completed, the next step would be to force himself to abdicate.
Emperor Go-Komatsu knew clearly that Japan was no different from a place of exile for the Ming Dynasty. It was desolate everywhere, not to mention that war was about to break out.
The Ming Dynasty looked down upon Japan. If it were to be forcibly taken in, it would add a huge burden to the Ming Dynasty.
"Uncle, I don't think there is any trick. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu is very powerful in the court, and it is normal for the emperor to seek help from the outside world."
"Anyway, no matter what, as long as we are careful and cautious, nothing will go wrong." Feng Cheng analyzed.
Feng Sheng nodded after listening.
The Emperor of Japan pays homage to the Japanese people, so it is unlikely that this is a fraud.
"Just have some fun with them, and you'll know when the time comes."
…
Yao Guangxiao also suffered heavy losses after experiencing the hurricane.
The loss of more than 20,000 people was a number that no one had ever thought of.
The Goryeo army was weak to begin with, and after this incident, their morale was completely dissipated.
"Wei Guang, do you think we should also gather our forces and start the expedition like the King of Yan and his men?"
Listening to Yao Guangxiao's words, Wei Guang frowned and said, "I think now is not a good time."
"After the hurricane, many farmlands have been completely destroyed. Food is the next big problem we will face."
"If there is not enough food, even if there is a lot of land, it will only be a burden and cannot support people."
Yao Guangxiao nodded, indeed he had no intention of fighting for territory now.
How to find reliable food is the key now.
"There is not enough food now, and it is difficult to get money. I still remember that there seemed to be some merchants traveling on the sea who wanted to trade." Yao Guangxiao asked.
Wei Guang nodded: "Indeed, many people wanted to buy our goods at a low price before, but I drove them away."
Yao Guangxiao said: "Gather them all back, and then inform all the soldiers to take out all their spoils of war, and see if there is a way to transport some food over."
Wei Guang was stunned for a moment, and then he reacted: "Master, that's a good idea."
Businessmen are the most selfish, most of them are like this.
This kind of selfishness knows no national boundaries, whether it is the Ming Dynasty or Japan.
Therefore, Yao Guangxiao prepared to contact Japanese merchants. As long as the money was enough, there would be no need to worry about a lack of food. For the current Goryeo army, money and property should be put aside for the time being, and filling their stomachs is the most important thing.
…
Ming Dynasty, Kunning Palace.
Seeing Zhu Gaochi in front of him, Zhu Ying smiled and said, "It's been a long time since we last met. Brother Chi seems to have gained a lot of weight recently."
Zhu Gaochi was originally a little nervous, wondering whether there had been any changes on Zhu Ying's side.
After all, his father had gone to Japan, and some things were far from as simple as they seemed on the surface, which made Zhu Gaochi himself feel very uneasy.
But just this simple sentence quickly brought the two closer together.
"Thank you for your concern, brother. I have been eating and sleeping well in the palace recently. I have gained weight without realizing it." Zhu Gaochi said with a self-deprecating smile.
He didn't even know how fat he would become.
After some pleasantries, Zhu Ying got down to business.
Because of the war between Ming Dynasty and Japan, the power of the surrounding countries is now also undergoing great fluctuations.
I won’t say much about the grassland. Although there are signs that the chaos is ending, it doesn’t mean that it can be completely quelled in a short time.
It is mainly manifested in countries in Southeast Asia and other regions.
The information transmitted from Annan is now beginning to become confusing.
This is mainly manifested in the mutual suspicion and competition among countries in Southeast Asia.
Now the two largest countries in Southeast Asia, Java and Siam, are becoming increasingly powerful. After they have sufficient military forces, they will naturally expand outward.
They oppressed some neighboring countries, threatened Malacca, Sumatra, Champa, and Zhenla, and even in Srivijaya, they killed Ming envoys and intercepted delegations that came to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty.
In a sense, they are no longer a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.
Although they had already submitted to the Ming Dynasty long ago, there was no trust between countries when it came to contracts.
Another problem is that pirates are rampant and run rampant in the seas of Southeast Asia and South Asia. They are very arrogant and the safety of sea transportation lines cannot be guaranteed.
Zhu Ying is now vigorously developing shipbuilding, basically to start eliminating these restless forces.
On the one hand, these unstable factors directly affected the security of the southern part of the Ming Dynasty. On the other hand, they greatly affected the image of the Ming Dynasty as a great power and were not conducive to the stability and development of the Ming Dynasty.
Under this situation, the Ming Dynasty currently adopts the foreign policy of "ensuring peace in China, appeasing the four barbarians, treating everyone equally, and sharing peace."
Build a powerful fleet, just like Zheng He's voyages to the West in history, and use various means to mediate and ease conflicts between countries and maintain maritime traffic safety.
This would link the stability and development of the Ming Dynasty with its surrounding areas, establish a long-term stable trading environment, and enhance the prestige of the Ming Dynasty.
In history, Zheng He's voyages to the West also had a strong purpose: to develop overseas trade and spread Chinese civilization.
Like Zheng He's voyages to the West, the current mission is mainly for political purposes, but it also has certain economic purposes. When a country implements such a large strategic action, it takes many aspects into consideration.
Historically, Zheng He's fleet carried out many trade activities during its voyages to the West, mainly in three forms:
The first type is tribute trade, which was the basic form of Zheng He's voyages to the West and had the nature of a feudal suzerain state.
In this way, it gained recognition from these small countries of the Ming Dynasty's suzerainty, which was the political purpose of tribute trade.
At present, all countries are actively paying tribute to the Ming Dynasty. On the one hand, they are receiving protection from the Ming Dynasty, and on the other hand, they are receiving generous rewards.
According to statistics, during the 22 years of Yongle's reign, envoys from Asian and African countries related to Zheng He's voyages came to China a total of 318 times, an average of 15 times a year, which was an unprecedented occasion.
In addition, seven kings from four countries, namely Brunei, Malacca, Sulu and Kumalan, led delegations to China in person. At one time, tribute delegations from eighteen countries came to China at the same time. Three kings died of illness in the Ming Dynasty during their visit, and they left a will to be buried in China.
In the Ming Dynasty, kings were given lavish funerals.
The second type of official trade was an important part of Zheng He's voyages to the West. It was a transaction with local merchants under the official auspices of both parties and was an important way for the Ming Dynasty to expand overseas trade.
In addition to gifts for rewards, Zheng He's fleet also carried goods from the Ming Dynasty, such as copper coins, silk, porcelain, ironware, etc.
This kind of trade could be done using Ming Dynasty copper coins, and most of the time it was done on a barter basis.
The most influential pricing method is the high-five pricing method.
In Calicut, India, after the Ming fleet arrived, the local agent was responsible for the transaction and brought the goods to the trading place. The two sides negotiated and determined the price face to face under the chairmanship of the officials. Once the price was decided, there would be no regrets.
The two parties high-fived each other to signal the deal.
This friendly way of trading has become a legend in the local area.
During Zheng He's voyages to the West, especially the last few voyages, the scale of trade expanded, and the principles of equality, voluntariness, and equal exchange were followed, which possessed some basic principles of international trade.
The third type is private trade, which to a certain extent emerged under the impetus of Zheng He's voyages to the West.
It was not carried out through official channels, but was carried out spontaneously by businessmen or the public.
Zheng He's voyages to the West eliminated pirates, maintained maritime security, opened up shipping routes, and promoted and stimulated private trade.
These are all essential and the simplest and quickest.
Therefore, Zhu Ying’s current plan is to build Zheng He’s fleet in advance and start to travel around the countries to influence them.
The Ming Dynasty is now on the verge of going to war on both sides if small countries in Southeast Asia and many small countries in the Western Regions are involved.
This is very unfriendly to the current Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, developing business is a major direction now.
In this process, it is not enough to just think about it casually. The key is that someone has to put it into practice.
"Brother, do you want me to be responsible for the logistics of Liaodong and shipbuilding?"
"No, this won't work. With my ability, I can't handle just one of these tasks, let alone both at the same time. This is absolutely not possible."
Zhu Gaochi guessed that his elder brother might summon him to important posts this time.
This was too much of a blow. After listening to his elder brother's thoughts, Zhu Gaochi suddenly felt a mountain of pressure and shook his head like a rattle.
"I naturally believe in Brother Chi. In my heart, Brother Chi has the ability to handle these two matters."
"Of course, it doesn't mean that it can be done all at once. There is a process involved, and Brother Chi needs to learn while implementing it."
Zhu Ying said with a smile.
He was able to serve as regent since the beginning of the Jingnan Campaign, and he was also able to support Zhu Di in several military campaigns. This shows that Zhu Gaochi had a strong talent in management.
Now we have only peeled off two small pieces. Compared with the Regent, they are not on the same level at all. What can't be done?
"Brother, please don't make fun of me." Zhu Gaochi bowed and said with a wry smile.
Zhu Ying said seriously: "I am not kidding you. Others may not know your talent, but how can I not know it?"
"In my opinion, Brother Chi can be absolutely trusted in these two matters. Could it be that Brother Chi doesn't want to help me share my worries?"
Having said this, there was no way Zhu Gaochi would refuse.
I could only agree with a wry smile.
After Zhu Gaochi left, Zhu Ying felt more and more that he lacked capable ministers around him.
It is difficult to control everything by yourself.
But for now, Zhu Ying's time is indeed too short.
It has only been a year since I entered the palace.
Looking back on the events of this year, Zhu Ying discovered that there were actually very few things he could truly control.
In many cases, suggestions were provided directly to the old man, who would arrange for people to implement them.
As for the officials in the court, except for a few Shangshu, even the Shilang were somewhat unfamiliar to him.
However, the one who truly exercises the power to govern the world is not the emperor himself, but the ministers who tremble in fear under the old man's majesty in the Fengtian Hall during the morning court sessions every day.
This is the point that Zhu Ying has always overlooked.
This is a subconscious neglect, because Zhu Ying herself does not like this kind of tedious communication, and her main idea is to achieve efficiency.
Due to the limitation of the speed of information dissemination, Zhu Ying's idea is obviously difficult to achieve.
After looking at the sky and thinking it over, Zhu Ying decided to go and have a talk with the Minister of Personnel, Zhan Hui.
As the person in charge of a series of important personnel changes such as appointment and dismissal of officials, promotion, demotion, etc., Zhan Hui has been doing this for so many years that he should have been familiar with these matters.
It was already time for the officials to get off work, so Zhu Ying called for a carriage and went directly to the home of the Minister of Personnel, Zhan Hui.
…
The Office of the Minister of Personnel.
This is a large mansion with five courtyards. In today's capital, every inch of land is worth a lot of money.
However, the Shangshu Mansion is not fixed, but is only provided for the Shangshu of the current dynasty. Once he retires, it means that he no longer has the right to live there.
"Master, why are you so sad?"
A beautiful young woman walked up to Zhan Hui, who was drinking alone in the pavilion, and asked.
Zhan Hui picked up the wine glass, then put it down again: "Now that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has returned, according to His Majesty's wishes, he will go to Liaodong, a place of bitter cold, to gain some experience."
"Today I checked the files and found that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not seem to have any officials of his own. Going to Liaodong would naturally require a large number of officials to go."
"I am the Minister of Personnel. If His Royal Highness wants to know some details about the officials, he will naturally come to me."
"This is an offensive assignment. It's no different from being exiled to such a bitter and cold place. No official is willing to go there. They all evade it as fast as rabbits."
The young woman was Zhan Hui's concubine. After hearing this, she thought for a while and said, "Master, I think this is a good opportunity."
"This is the best time for the Master to contact His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Zhan Hui shook his head: "His Royal Highness is not like an ordinary person. He has a pair of sharp eyes and can easily see the flaws."
"Besides, it may not be a good thing to surrender to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince too early."
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