In the following days, Zhu Yuanzhang rarely appeared at the morning court sessions, and Zhu Yunwen took charge of the overall situation.
Although Zhu Yunwen had not yet sat on that throne, everyone regarded him as the emperor.
No one dared to underestimate him; in fact, Zhu Yunwen was sometimes more intimidating than the emperor in the eyes of these officials.
Zhu Yunwen stood next to the throne. After all, he was not the emperor, so even though Zhu Yuanzhang asked him to sit, he never did.
He was only allowed to look at the officials below and speak:
"The northern Goryeo region still needs to accelerate its development. Although many things have caught up with the pace, the lives of the people still require a cycle."
I hope this cycle can be accelerated as soon as possible, so that the people of Goryeo can enjoy the same level of security in all aspects as the people of our Ming Dynasty in the Central Plains.
At the same time, Annam is indeed difficult to keep up with in many aspects due to its remote geographical location and the high mountains and long distances.
Fortunately, the railway has now been completed. What I mean is that we can build a few more railways, since the main transportation routes rely on railways.
Furthermore, due to the great distance, business dealings with the Central Plains of the Ming Dynasty would be extremely difficult, and the imperial court would need to devise some subsidy measures based on the actual situation.
For example, various business exchanges between Annam and the Central Plains of the Ming Dynasty could appropriately reduce transportation costs, which could be considered a subsidy and welfare provided by the imperial court to Annam.
Zhu Yunwen's words were very eloquent and logical, clearly indicating that today's news was another very exciting story.
As the morning court session drew to a close, Ma Sanbao, who had returned from the sea, stepped forward and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"Your Highness, your subject Ma Sanbao has something to report."
Zhu Yunwen nodded and said:
"Speak if you have something to say."
Ma Sanbao nodded, then spoke:
"When I last went overseas, I passed through some countries. Although most of them were on good terms with our Great Ming, there were a few countries that, I don't know where they heard some rumors, started to smear us and damage the image of our Great Ming."
Even where my treasure ships have passed, some countries have dared to attack us. Although the weapons and soldiers on our ships are elite, we are, after all, in foreign lands. We can only deter and resist them, but we cannot effectively attack them.
Zhu Yunwen said:
"Indeed, being in a foreign land with such a large fleet, equipped with a well-trained army and weapons, it is inevitable that we will attract trouble and be attacked by some people, which is understandable."
Ma Sanbao continued:
"Not only that, the key point is that there are some armies that have shamelessly claimed to be the troops of our Great Ming Dynasty, and that they will attack us if we get too close to their own sea areas."
Their threatening attitude was very clear. Of course, if it were merely a threat, the soldiers and weapons on my treasure ship would be more than enough to resolve these issues.
But they not only threatened our team, but also some countries that traded with our Ming Dynasty at sea.
They said that anyone passing through their waters and trading with the Ming Dynasty would be detained, whether it be a person or goods.
Zhu Yunwen frowned:
"Isn't this tantamount to cutting off the trade between my Great Ming and foreign countries? Cutting off my source of wealth, no matter how far away, we will surely punish them."
Ma Sanbao, you don't need to worry at all. Next time you go to sea, you can bring a larger team and equip them with more advanced weapons.
If some countries along the way are indeed hostile to our Ming Dynasty team, or even threaten our Ming Dynasty's trade relations.
Not only would it cause conflict with our Great Ming, but it would also harm the interests of those countries that trade with our Great Ming.
Then let go and teach them directly. We don't mind; what harm is there in destroying a few small countries?
Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, Ma Sanbao immediately straightened his back and said:
"Your Highness the Crown Prince is mighty! With those words from Your Highness the Crown Prince, I have nothing to fear."
In any case, dealing with these troublemakers will also safeguard the interests of our Great Ming Dynasty and overseas countries.
If we don't punish them and teach them a lesson, their losses will only continue to grow.
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly and said:
"That makes perfect sense. By the way, speaking of overseas, I'm quite curious. How many fixed routes does your fleet follow, and what places have you visited?"
"Your Highness, we departed from the coastal ports, passing through Java, Sumatra, Ceylon, and the west coast of India to Calicut. This is the main route so far."
We're also taking some other routes, but they haven't been too troublesome. The route we're mainly taking now, however, is proving to be more problematic.
Hearing Ma Sanbao say this, Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly and then spoke:
"Since some countries along this route like to cause trouble, let's teach them a lesson and make them remember it."
By the way, when is your next sea voyage?
Ma Sanbao immediately said:
"Probably next month, this trip will take us overseas to have friendly talks with several other countries that are beneficial to trade with our Great Ming."
In addition, I've heard that there are many agricultural products from countries further overseas, and I'm thinking of seeing if I can go and bring some back.
However, such repeated voyages at sea will indeed increase the financial burden.
Zhu Yunwen waved his hand and said:
"You don't need to worry too much about money. Our Ming Dynasty is not short of money now. No matter how many times your team goes to sea, the amount of money spent by the Ming Dynasty is just a drop in the ocean."
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