After listening to Liu Xiang's defense for himself, Zhu Youzhen said in disbelief: "Since you and the lord of Guangnan have their own opinions, I will let this lawsuit go first."

But if you want the court to send troops, I won't agree. If the lord of Guangnan did not make a mistake, but the imperial court sent troops to attack him, wouldn't everyone in the overseas vassal states of the Ming Dynasty be in danger?

Besides, my Ming Dynasty has been forbidden to the sea for a long time, although the maritime trade has become more and more prosperous after the opening of the sea, but the maritime force of my Ming Dynasty has not developed so quickly. The reason why these overseas vassal states were able to maintain the courtesy of their vassals to our country was not because they were afraid of our country's force, but because they continued the customs of the past.

Until the restoration of our maritime armed forces, it is not only necessary but also necessary to maintain the existing system of suzerainty for the benefit of the majority of maritime merchants. ”

Regarding the emperor's words, all the representatives of the maritime merchants nodded in agreement. They still gained a lot of benefits overseas by virtue of their status as the Ming Dynasty, whether it was ordinary maritime merchants or officials and businessmen like Zheng Zhilong, they still received a lot of help from the local natives when they competed with European merchants in Nanyang.

For Liu Xiang, Chongzhen's words were undoubtedly a bolt from the blue, although he knew that the purpose of going to Beijing this time would be difficult to achieve, but he never thought that he would be rejected by the emperor so easily.

However, even so, Liu Xiang did not feel as angry as before, but felt involuntary panic. Although Liu Xiang never thought that he would have a timid day, he also felt nervous in such an isolated environment.

Because he was not sure whether the emperor would take this opportunity to imprison him in the capital, he regretted it a little at this moment, and he should not have entered the capital so rashly.

However, what Chongzhen said afterwards finally alleviated his uneasiness a lot, and Zhu Youzhen continued: "However, the recitation of the lord of Quang Nam did not mention the capture of my Ming immigrants in Saigon City, which obviously meant to deceive me.

But no matter what Liu Zhenshou makes you do, I, the people of the Ming Dynasty, can't let people bully you. I will ask Prime Minister Yamen to send people to Quang Nam to ask the Lord of Quang Nam to protect the safety of our Ming people. For the affairs of these Ming people, the court will pay attention to the end, so you don't have to worry about it anymore.

But as the envoy of Saigon, you have to find a way to solve the problem of Saigon's loss, and I don't care what method you use, I will find Saigon back by myself. The loss of Saigon's Saigon town guard is really a miracle in the world.

Of course, if you feel that you are not able to find Saigon enough, you can also ask the court to resign, and I will naturally send someone else to retrieve Saigon. You should step back first, and think carefully before you come back to talk to me. ”

Liu Xiang resignedly, and the other delegates didn't care what he thought at all, and they rushed to the emperor one by one to ask for a speech, hoping to make Chongzhen listen to their request.

The establishment of the maritime association is still too short, many rules and regulations are in the run-in, and the trade activities of the maritime merchants are often out of the inherent social order of the Ming Dynasty, so although this organization has a variety of imperfections, but it is a rare vigorous and rapidly developing social organization in the Ming Dynasty.

This organization, which is composed of representatives recommended by maritime merchants and is responsible for managing the overseas trade of the Ming Dynasty, has not yet formed a fixed class, even Zheng Zhilong and other pioneers have never thought of monopolizing the number of maritime representatives to control this organization, of course, Chongzhen's acquiescence and protection also have some credit.

Behind these maritime representatives, most of them stand dozens or even hundreds of maritime businessmen whose interests may not be completely aligned. They elected their representatives to Beijing to attend the meeting, hoping to get a share of their own interests from the association.

However, the meeting over the past half month or so has made these delegates realize that without a decisive leader, the remarks they make at the meeting often become meaningless.

Chongzhen's swift decision on Liu Xiang's request not only did not disappoint the delegates, but made them feel that they finally had someone who counted. Therefore, everyone wanted to be able to articulate their request in front of the emperor, so as to get a real answer, so that they would not feel that they had come in vain.

Compared with last year's maritime representative meeting, the number of maritime representatives attending the meeting this year is as high as 156, almost double that of last year, and it is obviously impossible to listen to the wishes of each representative one by one.

So Zhu Youzhen grabbed the gavel and struck it violently on the table, waiting for everyone to calm down before he spoke: "I only need a pair of ears, if you open your mouth together, I won't hear anything." I don't mean it as well, we will nominate 16 from among the delegates in a ratio of 10 to 1... No, there are still 15 delegates and a presidium.

What does the presidium of the 15 delegates do? It is to review the demands put forward by the deputies, merge the same demands, reject some unreasonable demands, and finally organize them into a record of motions that need to be voted on.

In order to prevent the deputies of the Presidium from favoring their own demands, all deputies elected to the Presidium must swear to them to renounce the right to put forward motions at the current meeting. In the future, the presidium must be elected for each annual session, and representatives who have already served as representatives of the prefectural bureau in the previous year may renounce this obligation in advance before the election, while others may not waive this obligation.

Of course, today I will still listen directly to your demands, but not all of them, but a selection of people to tell them. After today, we will meet according to the new rules..."

The Emperor's impatience finally restored order to the chaotic hall, and the delegates sat back in their places at the Emperor's request. Looking at the quiet venue, Zhu Youzhen was very satisfied and began the roll call.

When it was close to noon, Chongzhen listened to the demands of the twelve or thirteen deputies one after another, and seeing that the time was almost up, he stopped the roll call and said: "I have almost understood the propositions of more than ten deputies just now, so from the afternoon, the deputies will begin to write their own demands and submit them to the presidium for review, and then I will check them one by one, and then arrange time to discuss these demands with you."

But before I wrap up the morning meeting, I want to say a few words. From the appeals of the delegates just now, I think that most of what they are talking about is the same issue, which is free trade and fair trade.

With the rapid development of China's overseas trade, the number of merchants going to sea to do business is increasing, and the trade disputes between Chinese businessmen, between Chinese businessmen and businessmen from overseas countries, and between Chinese businessmen and the government of the place where they trade are also rising.

Most of the problems described by the delegates just now are concerned about the losses you have suffered in this kind of trade dispute, and I hope that the imperial court can help you.

In my opinion, it was only natural for a Chinese merchant to ask the imperial court for help when he was in trouble overseas. After all, the overseas trade you participated in had already paid taxes and contributed to the imperial court, so you have the right to ask the imperial court for protection.

However, I still hope that all the delegates will remember that with today's maritime navigation technology, the scale of the Ming Dynasty's overseas trade, and the Ming Dynasty's meager maritime force, if there is any problem and the imperial court has to come forward, the daylily will be cold.

Therefore, I hope that all the delegates will strengthen the contact with the Maritime Association, the Ming Dynasty's overseas patrol offices, and town guard offices, so as to nip the problem in the bud as much as possible. While you are engaged in overseas trade, you should also cooperate with each other to safeguard the interests of the Ming Dynasty and your compatriots, and not to tear each other down and give those foreign businessmen or forces a plan to instigate discord.

Of course, I am not saying that the imperial court will turn a blind eye to your proposals, and it seems that if I want to solve the problems you have raised fundamentally, the most fundamental thing is to formulate the rules of free trade.

Only when we first establish a set of norms for free trade can we establish an order of maritime trade in East Asia, in Asia, and in the world as a whole.

When we grasp the order of maritime trade, the Ming Dynasty can rely on this maritime order to safeguard your overall rights and interests. Instead of treating headaches and foot pains, engage in some small favors.

Therefore, I suggest that the Maritime Association should negotiate a set of rules on free trade itself, and then submit it to the Prime Minister's Yamen for review and promulgation, and then extend it to all parties interested in our overseas trade, so that they can follow it. ”

As the Emperor's words fell, a representative inquired, "But Your Majesty, is it really useful for us to make rules for free trade here?"

The kings of the overseas feudal states may pretend to obey, but the officials and merchants below them may not really accept the trade rules we have established. Especially the merchants from Europe, who relied on the strength of their ships and guns, and did not even pay attention to the local indigenous chieftains. ”

Zhu Youzhen immediately replied: "To let others accept the trade rules we formulated, first, it depends on you not to be unfair when formulating the rules; The second is that the imperial court should also form a maritime force capable of maintaining free trade. Only by doing these two things, can a new order of free trade be established in the places where our Ming merchants passed.

And if you want to do these two, you need to work together with the imperial court. Therefore, I hope you will remember that your interests and the interests of the imperial court are two sides of the same coin. If we can't unite into a whole, then the interests of the imperial court will certainly be damaged, and the interests of all of you may not be able to be preserved..."

Chongzhen's meeting and conversation with the representatives of the Maritime Merchants Association this morning really shook many deputies, and also made some deputies begin to rethink the real relationship between themselves and the imperial court.