, Chapter 1001 Sharp Words Placed in the Center

Xia Xun nodded very seriously, and said: "What your lords say is true, if it is only to bully the post guards and harass the place, you can also strictly control them through the law, but it is indeed a problem that hundreds of people occupy the post house to eat and drink, drive many people to serve and transport, and use many worthless sundries as tribute, forcing our court to have to collect, it is indeed a problem!" ”

Xia Xun said this, the Manchu Dynasty civil and military and the emperor were a little confused, and they didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in Xia Xun's gourd.

However, although he did not understand his intentions, these words were greatly beneficial to the opposition to the West, and the scholar Jin Youzi seized the opportunity and admonished: "Your Majesty, the tributes of all countries, I have often made tens of millions of dollars in the Ming Dynasty, and what I have taken cannot be as good as one or two, which consumes China and the people, so that Fanyi has taken advantage of it once, and it is not advisable to make the villain think that he has a plan and look down on my Heavenly Empire!" ”

Xia Xun immediately followed his words and said: "Yes, people are tribute envoys, can I not accept it?" It is a matter of course to settle the pavilion. It is a matter of course to drive forced labor, and even the so-called tribute they give, knowing that it is a mercenary plan, cannot but accept it. But this is not the sin of my Ming Dynasty to communicate with all nations, and its disadvantages are actually caused by tributary trade! Therefore, I beg your Majesty, strike the tribute, and restart the market! ”

Xia Xun's words shocked the earth, and everyone in the hall was shocked for a while.

The city ship system has existed in ancient times, and the Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties are all implemented in the city ship system, and its system is more perfect than the previous one.

The main responsibility is to issue a sea permit according to the goods declared by the merchants, the people on board and the places to go, and to inspect the ships, to prevent the entrainment of goods prohibited by the imperial court from being exported and fugitives, to "read the facts" of the ships returning to the port, and to levy taxes on the imported and exported goods.

It can be said that this is a relatively mature way of trade between countries, it no longer bears the political task of Huaiyuan Fuyi, merchants from all countries come, buy and sell goods on their own, how high your price is, the court does not care, as long as the market accepts your price.

The imperial court is not responsible for the reception task, it does not have to entertain you free of charge, it does not have to provide labor for you to transport goods without compensation, and it will not take whatever tatters you take, under the guise of tribute, you have to take it hard.

Because it is free trade, the person who comes is not a tribute envoy, and the magistrate does not have to receive it for free, nor does he have to deal with it because he is a diplomatic envoy, and he has no right to deal with any crime, so he can only report to the court layer by layer. What's more, if it was a city trade, the local government and the imperial court benefited from it, and now the tributary trade ......

The ministers communicated very quickly and in a very secret way, and suddenly like frogs waking up from hibernation, they jumped out one by one, and soon spread all over the Golden Palace, and they all spoke in unison, and said loudly: "Ministers, attached to the Auxiliary State Princess, may Your Majesty strike the tribute and prosper the city!" ”

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"Wen Xuan, a hundred civil and military officials, can be controlled by one word! You're amazing! ”

Zhu Di sent the civil and military officers out with a sentence of "Let's discuss it later", and only he and Xia Xun were left in the palace.

Zhu Di glanced at Xia Xun deeply, and couldn't help but let out a sigh of emotion.

Xia Xun didn't seem to hear how Zhu Di's words were, and he replied with a straight face: "Your Majesty, the hundred officials are not controlled by the ministers, but by the profits!" ”

Zhu Di raised his eyebrows and asked, "Driven by profit?" ”

Xia Xun said: "Exactly! Taishi Gong said that the world is bustling, and it is all for profit; The soil in the world is all for profit. The king of a thousand times, the prince of ten thousand families, and the king of a hundred rooms, are still poor, and the people of the family are still poor? The opposition and approval of hundreds of officials, in fact, in the final analysis, is a good word at work! ”

Zhu Di said: "Where is the benefit? ”

Xia Xun said: "The emperor can know that now this tributary trade has one disadvantage and three contradictions, which cannot be reconciled!" ”

Zhu Di's face was full of anger, showing a surprised look, and said, "You speak!" ”

Xia Xun said: "The disadvantages of tribute, the ministers have already said it very clearly, so there is no need for the ministers to repeat it, right?" ”

Zhu Di bowed his head and said: "Well, you say, what are the three contradictions?" ”

Xia Xun said: "These three contradictions are the contradictions between civil officials and eunuchs; the contradictions between the imperial court and the locality; The contradiction between the royal family and the wealthy, the landlord, and the tycoon! ”

Zhu Di leaned forward slightly, and said in a deep voice: "What do you mean by this, you can talk about it carefully!" ”

Xia Xun said: "That minister is blunt. Let's talk about the first contradiction first, that is, the contradiction between civil officials and eunuchs. In the Western Ocean, the construction of ships and the purchase of various commodities were all handled by Ouchi, and the eunuchs procured them, and the civil officials could not interfere at all.

Not only did the civil officials not intervene, but they also had to assist and obey the eunuchs. The eunuchs not only managed their finances, but also led the troops, not only led the troops, but also arranged the pavilions, allocated the conscripts, and meddled in government affairs. How can the civil officials who take the world as their own responsibility endure this?

What's more, because the eunuchs in the Han and Tang dynasties were a disaster to the world, since then, all civil officials have always been suspicious, wary, hostile, and contemptuous of eunuchs, and seeing that the eunuchs' authority is getting heavier and heavier, how can they rest assured? ”

Zhu Di's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't speak.

Xia Xun dared to bring this up because he knew that the so-called statement that the emperor was worried that he would send his ministers to the sea and would rebel and stand on his own feet was simply the imagination of the ignorant! If you want to worry about this, since ancient times, the eunuchs have been in the power of the prisoners, and there is no one who wants to be the emperor, and the civil officials will not go, and they will be relieved to change to a eunuch? Besides, civil officials have families and businesses, and their families, wives and children are all in the country, so aren't they easier to restrain than eunuchs?

Not to mention anything else, although the leader who led the ship to sea was a eunuch, but the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses he brought were followed by the chief military officer, and the generals were more likely to have ambitions than civilian officials.

Moreover, it is not at all a reason that such a large fleet, whose consumption and supplies are also staggering, has lost the support of the state, and without the replenishment of personnel and armaments, it is not easy to occupy a position of self-reliance in a distant foreign land.

The reason why Zhu Di used eunuchs was because when he was in trouble, there were many eunuchs who were loyal to him and contributed to him, and he reused the civil and military generals who were loyal to him, so naturally he had to arrange a way out for these meritorious eunuchs. What's more, this kind of envoy, Xuanfu, and patrol are all temporary positions, even Zhu Yuanzhang, who hates eunuchs the most, has sent eunuchs to envoys and Xuanfu more than once, because in Zhu Yuanzhang's view, although these things look majestic, they can't hold power for a long time and won't cause any harm.

Therefore, Zhu Di used eunuchs to send envoys, in fact, the reason is very simple, one is the favor of the eunuchs, and the other is to follow the old practice of the national dynasty, because of Zhu Di's own strength, he has the confidence to deter hundreds of officials, in fact, he did it, so he has not yet established the idea of a eunuch group to fight against the civil official group, which is also the basis for Xia Xun to raise this issue.

Otherwise, he would not have raised this point at all, because economic interests could be decisively abandoned for the higher purpose of preserving imperial power, and he would not have expected an emperor to make the choice he hoped for.

Zhu Di tasted for a while, his face gradually softened, and he asked in a deep voice: "What about the second point, what is the contradiction between the court and the locality?" ”

Xia Xun said: "The emperor, who is an official, all hope to serve as an official, benefit one party, serve the king, have a good political achievement, and be able to win popularity, be loved by the people, and have a good reputation." What is the reason why some officials insisted on boycotting shipping and promoting river transportation? Isn't it because the river transport is good for the people of the canal-side cities they govern or their hometowns?

But what good is the tributary trade for them now? When the imperial court ships go to sea, everything supplied by the local government is taken for granted, and even the allocation of many conscripts is also free of charge, and foreign envoys are in charge of reception, and when the people's resentment boils, they will be scolded and punished, what are the benefits? No, these foreign envoys deal directly with the imperial court!

Including our treasure ships going to sea, it is the same, most of the profits go to the inner government, and the small half goes to the treasury, completely bypassing the localities. Local officials only have responsibilities and no interests, so how can they not be disgusted and oppose them at every level? ”

Zhu Di's face began to look a little ugly, and he said, "What about the third?" ”

Xia Xun said heavily: "The third, and what the minister is most worried about, is the contradiction between the royal family and the local tycoons, landlords, and tycoons. Your Majesty, every time the imperial court goes to sea, there are countless huge ships, all of which are like floating cities, and the goods transported are extremely profitable. Father-in-law Zheng has already said that the shipload of spices, dozens of times hundreds of times the profit, is worth a fortune!

But where did all the big profits go? Inner House and Treasury! Not to mention that the imperial court did not allow them to conduct such large-scale trade, even if they were allowed, with the scale of their procurement and transportation, could they compare with the imperial family's ocean-going fleet? The small scale of the purchase, the higher the cost of their purchase, and the smaller the scale of transportation, the less goods they have.

When it comes to transportation costs, they have to bear them completely, and the goods shipped back to China must be sold at a higher price than the goods shipped back by Zheng Gonggong, so that no one buys their goods at all, how can they compete with the royal family? The emperor has issued edicts more than once, prohibiting officials from doing business and competing with the people for profit, but in this tributary trade, the royal family has become the largest official businessman, competing with the wealthy, landlords, and businessmen all over the world! ”

Zhu Di's body shook, but he still didn't speak.

Xia Xun's words were well thought out, since he made that major decision, he had thought about many things that needed to be arranged, and this matter was an important question he wanted to say to the emperor.

Historically, as soon as Zhu Di died, Zhu Gaochi, who succeeded to the throne, ordered all treasure ships to be stopped, all the tribute envoys of all countries to be repatriated, and the construction of sea ships everywhere was stopped. This was the first counterattack by Zhu Gaochi, who relied on and trusted the civil official group, to the maritime trade advocated by Zhu Di, and he even wanted to move the capital back to Nanjing.

Fortunately, Zhu Gaochi died early, and the plan to move the capital was not implemented, and after Zhu Zhanji, who was more similar to his grandfather, succeeded to the throne, the proposal to move the capital became completely impossible. Zhu Zhanji allowed Zheng He to go to the West again, but under pressure from the civilian clique, the scale and frequency were greatly reduced.

When Zhu Zhanji died and the young emperor Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne, the entire imperial court was at the mercy of the civil officials, and the civil official group that had been enduring for a long time broke out completely, and they stopped all possibilities of ocean trade, and the first of the series of edicts issued by the little emperor after he ascended the throne was to prohibit overseas trade and navigation.

Can you imagine? With such a huge empire, the first important decree of the new monarch on the throne was the prohibition of overseas trade, and it has been regarded by the civilian clique as a thorn in the eye and heart that can no longer tolerate a day!

Some merchants who tried to engage in foreign trade were executed, for a period of time, even learning foreign languages or teaching Chinese to foreigners were forbidden, and the blueprints for the construction of huge treasure ships and Zheng He's navigation records were deliberately destroyed, so that posterity could not even fully understand where Zheng He's fleet had been.

In the tenth year of the Tang Dynasty, Tang and the Western Regions failed in the Battle of Talas, and since then the Chinese have lost the ability to interfere with foreign countries. Seven hundred years later, the Chinese returned to the world's political arena by sea, and the Ming Empire re-emerged as the world hegemon, but after only thirty years, it rested on its laurels and retracted its iron fist, the harm of which continues to this day.

The interests of going to the West are huge, even if its income is from the inner government and the national treasury, it also has great benefits to the country, as Xia Xun said, the impact on the coastal cities, the impact on the production of various commodities, especially the impact of purchasing a large number of handicrafts on the majority of handicraftsmen, the inner government to sell, to spend, the impact on the entire market......

Zheng He's seven trips to the West did not make the treasury empty and the country poor, on the contrary, in the Yongle period, which was the most frequent in the West, various large-scale constructions in the Ming Dynasty continued to be launched, such as the construction of Beijing City, the Forbidden City, the construction of the Changping Imperial Mausoleum, the construction of Wudang Mountain, the construction of the Great Bao'en Temple, the five times to send troops to the Northern Yuan, the repair of the Great Wall, and the dredging of the North-South Grand Canal, all of which were national projects, and the result?

The people are full, and the house is overflowing! After the cessation of going to the West, the country had almost no major projects, and the country's finances were stretched thin and in difficulties everywhere. Ming Yingzong Tianshun for three years, the internal officials played: Yongle is sufficient. The treasury is empty. The internal and external yamen, many years into the jade treasure book ceremonial guard with a large number of gold, the official treasury storage is lacking, begging Yongle, Xuande Nian to send internal and external officials to the West and other places to buy ....... ”

Huang Fuyan, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry during the Xuande period: "Yonglejian, although Beijing was built, Jiaozhi in the south and desert in the north, there was no shortage of resources. Nowadays, there is no big expense for the country, and the year is only given. That is, if there is unfortunately a flood and drought, how will the requisition help? ”

During the Jiajing period, the criminal department gave a strict and concise statement: "Since Yongle changed the yuan, sent four envoys to make an edict, the contribution of Haifan was complete, the strange goods and heavy treasures, the previous generations were hopeful, overflowing the reservoir city, the poor people promised to buy bo, or get rich more, and the state is also envious." ”

The so-called going to the West to cause the country's financial difficulties is nothing but a lie and myth carefully fabricated by some people. Because this was a royal monopoly of trade, it did no good for the middle class of wealthy families, landlords, and tycoons, who had cultivated a large number of civil officials. As their representatives, the civilian-bureaucratic clique naturally vigorously opposes cutting off people's financial means, such as killing their parents.

The later emperors of the Ming Dynasty were surrounded by the civil official group from birth, and all the information they received was provided by the civilian official group. Only a few civil officials leaked a few words of truth, but unfortunately they couldn't reach heaven at all, and even if the Son of Heaven heard it, he didn't believe it at all.

Xia Xun knew that in addition to its own drawbacks, the tributary trade was also contrary to the interests of the most powerful force in the entire ruling class: the civilian-bureaucratic clique. Instead of fighting desperately with the civilian clique, it is better to pull them on board and share interests. In this way, through exchanges with countries around the world, their horizons can be broadened, and new ideas can be born from them.

They were once heroes of history, but they were also sinners of history, and the hope of the future is also in their hands.

Xia Xun's words made Zhu Di a little shaken, but his thinking was still a little confined to the glory of "Siyi tributary", since his father Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Dynasty implemented the tributary trade policy. Now that he has gone to the West, he has only taken the tributary trade to the extreme, and there is no difference in essence, but what Xia Xun said......

Xia Xun saw that he was a little moved, so he said sincerely: "Your Majesty, the benefits of opening the sea, the ministers and Gonggong Zheng have already said, and the disadvantages of tribute have also been said by civil and military officials." Is there a tribute to open the sea? If the sea is opened and no tribute is paid, will not the benefits be gained, and the disadvantages can be removed, and everyone will be happy? Through the tribute, can you really be able to serve the four guests?

From the tributes they contributed, from their bravado in the post house, did the emperor see any traces of sincerity? Through market transactions, occupy their markets, take away their wealth, when the clothes they wear, the utensils they use, and the books they read are all from my Ming Dynasty, are you still afraid that he will not sincerely admire the Heavenly Dynasty and serve the Son of Heaven? ”

Zhu Di still hesitated, Xia Xun saw it, and said again: "Could it be that the emperor has no confidence at all to make Siyi Fanguo sincerely obey, so he would rather exchange a false name in the way of thick and thin?" ”

Zhu Di's body was shocked, and a pair of tiger eyes glared at Xia Xun, and a fierce light shot out of his eyes!

Xia Xun was not afraid, and then said again: "I'm just afraid, such a policy is not in line with the will of the people, and the result is ...... The government is in the people, and the government is dead! ”

Zhu Di finally couldn't help but be angry, stood up suddenly, slapped the royal case fiercely, and shouted: "Yang Xu, you are bold!" ”

Xia Xun was not afraid, and said in a deep voice: "The emperor inquired, the ministers know everything, and the words are endless!" ”

"Bastard! Get out! ”

"Retire!"

Xia Xun patted his ass and left, and Zhu Di stood behind the imperial case, his chest heaving and heaving, angry and angry.

When Xia Xun's figure completely disappeared at the door of the hall, Zhu Di's anger was swept away and he became calm.

He sat down slowly and said, "What do you think, what Yang Xu said?" ”

"Every sentence comes from the bottom of my heart!"

With the sound, the Three Treasure Eunuchs flashed out from behind the screen.

P: A thousand chapters and a congratulator, ask for a monthly pass, a recommended ticket!

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