Sending people to the Ming Dynasty to establish a foundation in those harsh and desolate places, sacrificing these people to ensure some peace for future generations, seems to be the only way.
“There’s another advantage to doing this: those military officers would probably be quite happy about it.” Zhu Yunying thought carefully and suddenly laughed. “Not only the military officers, but also the aristocratic families would be very happy about this. They don’t care about the lives of the foreign races.”
Isn't this obvious? Even after experiencing invasions by the Khitan, Jurchen, or Mongols, the Central Plains culture still instinctively possesses pride and arrogance, and genuinely looks down on some other ethnic groups and countries.
Especially some of the smaller neighboring countries were essentially considered barbaric and ignorant of the king's ways. In some people's eyes, those people were even equated with wild beasts.
Zhu Yunying was well aware that if he were to introduce certain policies, some scholars would inevitably accuse him of being a tyrant and oppose such policies that were against the natural order. However, as long as he withstood the pressure and showed more people the benefits, he wouldn't need to worry too much.
It seems that this is still the right thing to do, and Joo Yoon-young really doesn't have any other choice.
Given the population shortage, Zhu Yunying truly has few options left, and he can't afford to wait any longer. Even if the population increases significantly over the next ten or twenty years, the development difficulties in some areas are simply too great, making it hard for him to accomplish certain things.
Then he could only be a bit brutal; a tyrant it was. In any case, Zhu Yunying was very clear from the beginning that, based on his and Old Zhu's actions, they didn't expect any scholars to give them particularly good reviews.
Now, at most, he has just accumulated a little more dark history. Zhu Yunying can be considered someone who doesn't care about having too many lice or too many debts. As long as he has a clear conscience, that's enough.
That's all there is to it. Joo Yoon-young felt he was ruthless enough, and he did indeed think he was cold-blooded enough. He probably didn't feel much pressure doing certain things.
“Now, by taking over people from some places, in addition to developing the Ming Dynasty’s territory, we are also weakening the surrounding areas.” Zhu Yunying suddenly chuckled and said, “I have always coveted some places in the South Seas. Now, by bringing over some people, we are strengthening ourselves while weakening them.”
With this in mind, Zhu Yunying felt even less burdened, and some things seemed to be handled more easily. This was the right thing to do!
Thinking about these things, it was indeed enough to give Zhu Yunying a headache, but he really needed to do them well.
Whether he was a villain for all time or a great emperor for all time, it wasn't a big deal for Zhu Yunying at this point. He was simply doing what he believed was right, and as long as he could leave more room for development and survival for his descendants, that was enough.
"The seagoing vessels, that's something we must do well." Zhu Yunying muttered to himself as he planned, "Over the years, even if we don't say how powerful the Ming Dynasty's navy is now, the foundation is solid and the groundwork is solid, so there's no problem with that. If we're talking about being the best in the world, I'm confident!"
The Ming Dynasty's navy was indeed formidable, a strength that began with the Battle of Poyang Lake before Zhu Yuanzhang founded the dynasty. However, while the navy had previously operated primarily in inland waters, it was now increasingly navigating the open ocean.
Going to the South Seas is no longer a challenge, and navigational techniques and experience are constantly improving. Although they often sail close to the coastline, their ocean-going skills and experience are indeed continuously advancing. Further progress is not particularly difficult for the Ming Dynasty.
"Regardless of his motives, Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean did indeed provide considerable assistance. The lesson I need to learn is that we cannot merely promote our power and virtue, nor can we be generous in giving but meager in return. Tribute is not acceptable; we must rely on maritime trade. We cannot allow it to become a waste of resources and manpower."
As for strengthening exchanges between Chinese and foreign civilizations and leaving behind geographical works and nautical charts introducing the countries and regions along the coast, those might be more important. However, for Zhu Yunying, what he needed was to see tangible benefits and to let the people of the Ming Dynasty see more possibilities.
Throughout history, people on this land have valued the land more than the ocean.
It's unrealistic to expect Joo Yoon-young to forcefully change everyone's views all at once. It's better to let everyone see the benefits in order to better motivate people.
Thinking about it this way, Zhu Yunying felt even more proud. After all, he had been quite persistent in the past. Whether it was Japan or Southeast Asia, the Ming Dynasty had a certain understanding of these places, and the Maritime Trade Office was quite familiar with trade in these areas.
This is undoubtedly a good thing, and the next step is probably to take it a step further. For example, the maritime trade during the Song Dynasty was a true maritime Silk Road, which had a significant impact on Africa and Europe.
“I originally thought we could wait a bit longer and not rush to discover the new continent of America,” Zhu Yunying suddenly laughed and said, “but we still have to consider these things. We need to bring back those high-yield crops, and those things also need to be continuously cultivated.”
To be honest, many people in Europe didn't eat tomatoes at first, thinking they were poisonous. Potatoes and corn, too, were cultivated for generations to achieve higher yields, and some were even initially inedible.
Although the indigenous peoples of the Americas were quite familiar with these crops and had indeed begun cultivating them long ago, it was not enough for Zhu Yunying for the time being.
In that case, Joo Yoon-young definitely needs to work harder and lay a more solid foundation.
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