Emperor Chongzhen once again guessed his son's mind wrong-this is normal, how bad Zhu Cihong's mind is, how can he, an honest emperor, guess?

Zhu Cihong took Chongzhen and the princes and ministers in Beijing to this filial piety palace to think about it, not to force the palace, nor to think about it, not to ask Zhu Yuanzhang for guilt, but to convene a meeting related to the reform and opening up of the Ming Dynasty!

Reform and opening up, of course, have to be deployed and promoted by a "Council of Princes and Ministers." At the same time, Zhu Cihong also had to unify the thinking of the cabinet, the generalissimo's office, and the princes and ministers.

Only when we unify our thinking can we advance reform and opening up with great fanfare!

Moreover, only by taking the road of reform and opening up can the military and economy of the Ming Dynasty embark on the fast track of development.

Otherwise, Emperor Lao Zhu's fifteen non-conscriptive countries, the tributary system of the clan and the national policy of banning the sea will become a stumbling block for the Ming Dynasty to go to the sea and gain strength from the sea.

Among other things, there is no way to even set up a "Shanghai Special Economic Zone" and establish formal and equal diplomatic relations with the Netherlands, Portugal, and Japan. Not to mention the sending of missions and students to various European countries......

If there is no formal and equal diplomatic relations, the Ming Dynasty wants to systematically introduce Western science and military technology, not to mention that it cannot be done, it will also be difficult.

In addition, if the Ming Dynasty wanted to expand at sea, then the restrictions of the fifteen non-conscripted countries must be broken. Otherwise, this will not be levied, and that will not be levied, where will we expand?

The first person to echo Zhu Cihong is, of course, the "official reformer of Zhang Ju" Wei Zaode, who is a figure who will go down in history! In the future, "The Biography of Wei Zaode" was written according to "The Biography of Zhuge Liang......

He said: "Chitose Ye is right, the ancestral system was an old method more than 200 years ago, and now it is out of date, so don't you have to change it?" At that time, Emperor Taizu Gao didn't know that the earth was round, and he didn't know that there would be Western merchant ships on the sea, and ships of silver would come in! Since there are great profits at sea, how can we ban it? Besides, the sea ban can't be stopped at all! The ban on coming and going is nothing more than blocking the sea route of the imperial court, making smuggling rampant and the sea frontier out of control. ”

"But Mu Zong has already ordered the sea to be opened." Emperor Chongzhen interjected in a whisper.

"Father," Zhu Cihong smiled, "Longqing's steps to open the sea are still small, this time we have to make great strides to open the sea...... Huang Weishuai, tell me about it. ”

Huang Binqing is the commander of the navy, and he has the right to speak on the matter of opening the sea.

"What Longqing opened is not for foreign merchant ships to come to the port, but for allowing Daming merchant ships to leave the port." Huang Binqing explained, "In the early years, the three ports of Guangzhou, Ningbo and Quanzhou were opened, and they were connected to Nanyang, Japan and Ryukyu respectively. Later, the sea ban was implemented, and only one port in Guangzhou was opened, and the Yuepu port in Zhangzhou was added during the Longqing period.

However, the two ports of Guangzhou and Yuepu have long been unable to meet the needs of trade between the east and the west, and the two ports are too far away from Nanjing to be difficult to manage. Therefore, many maritime merchants suggested opening another port at the mouth of the Yangtze River! ”

"Open at the mouth of the Yangtze River?" Emperor Chongzhen frowned, "Aren't you afraid that the Japanese will find out the truth and invade along the Yangtze River?" ”

Zhu Cihong smiled: "My father is too worried, and the Japanese people closed the country in the early years of Chongzhen. Moreover, the country's sailors have been in a slump since the defeat of the Renchen War, and now they are not the opponents of the Zheng family's naval army at all, how can they come across the sea? ”

In the era of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's rule, Japan had no weak naval force, otherwise it would not have been possible to invade Korea. However, after the Battle of Sekigahara, many daimyo of the Western Army, who paid more attention to the navy, suffered heavy losses, and the strength of the navy collapsed. And on the Ming side, because of Zheng Zhilong, the One Piece who absorbed a lot of Western navigation technology, he suddenly had the first naval strength in East Asia - he could compete with the fleet of the Dutch East India Company in the coastal waters! The Japanese shogunate navy and the navy of the southwestern Zhubo are simply a piece of cake for the Zheng family sailors!

Moreover, because of the Tokugawa shogunate's policy of seclusion, and the fact that Japan was located at the end of the trade route between the East and the West, there was no maritime merchant in the first place, let alone after the seclusion. How can there be a navy without maritime merchants in these years? The navy needs a developed shipbuilding industry and a large number of sailors who can carry out long-distance voyages, and the shipbuilding industry and the training of sailors need to have a large maritime merchant group.

"Now it's not the Japanese who are coming, but we are going!" Zhu Cihong smiled, "And if you want to go to Japan, you have to change the ancestral system of the tributary of the clan and the fifteen non-conscripted countries...... Otherwise, what are we going to do? Send money to the Wakos? ”

The tributary system of the Ming Dynasty and the fifteen non-levying countries have the consequence of losing money and making money - if you don't beat people, why should people pay you tribute? Isn't it a thin deal? Zhu Cihong is not interested in posting it upside down.

Zhu Cihong said again: "Even from the consideration of coastal defense, the imperial court should also open a port at the mouth of the Yangtze River that can be firmly controlled!" Only when the port is opened, will there be a gathering of maritime merchants from all over the world. The gathering of maritime merchants will promote the prosperity of the shipbuilding industry in the Yangtze River estuary, and at the same time, it will also be conducive to recruiting sailors and forming sailors.

This Yangtze River port should not only allow maritime merchants to come and go, but also allow merchants from the East and the West to live ashore and set up industries and Western schools.

Therefore, the Yangtze River port should occupy as wide an area as possible, and a special system should be adopted to encourage industrial and commercial trade, and it should also be isolated from areas outside the port, or surrounded by long walls. Within the long wall, you can re-engage in business and heavy industry, and be trade-oriented. ”

This is clearly a Shanghai Special Economic Zone that is open to the outside world!

No, not only the Special Zone, but much more important! The navy of the Ming Dynasty also has to rely on this special zone - the real maritime power in these years, not relying on pirates but relying on maritime merchants, in the final analysis, it must be supported by a developed industrial and commercial trade city, otherwise how to develop shipbuilding, how to cultivate a huge group of sailors?

Zhu Cihong paused, and then said: "In addition, a foreign transportation and trade department can also be set up in this port at the mouth of the Yangtze River to manage the affairs of the port and the exchanges with the countries of the East and the West. ”

This is the existence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Trade, and at the same time, it is also the government of Shanghai. The establishment of such a yamen in Shanghai was, of course, also well thought out.

After all, the Ming Dynasty has been closed to the capital for more than 200 years, and the conservative forces should not be underestimated. I'm afraid it's hard to accept that there are scenes of foreign devils wandering around in Nanjing.

Therefore, it is easier for people to accept the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Trade in the enclosed Shanghai port.

"Chitose Lord, you have the final say on the matter of setting up the port." King Heng, who followed Zhu Cihong from Shandong to Nanjing, was also one of the thirty-three kings, and he interjected at this time, "The minister only knows something, after the opening of this port, should import and export taxes and commercial taxes be levied?" ”

"Hehehe," Zhu Cihong smiled, "Do you think you should accept it?" ”