Although there were many people who opened their eyes to the world at the end of the Ming Dynasty and paid attention to the eastward movement of Western learning, such as Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao and others, because of frequent contact with Western missionaries, they knew a lot about European countries at that time, but most of these people knew the West academically, especially in Western mathematics, astronomy, religion, etc., but they were not vigilant enough against the colonial ambitions of Westerners, until the Portuguese cheated and rented Macao, the Dutch forcibly occupied the southern tip of Dongfan Island, and even Nanjuyi had a naval battle with the Dutch near Penghu, still haven't really woken up, or haven't realized that times have changed. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Thinking of this, now this Chongzhen Emperor said to Nan Juyi: "Qing and my monarch and ministers get along, there is nothing that should be said or not, and Aiqing can say anything to me." ”

Hearing this, Nan Juyi bowed down and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!" ”

Then he continued: "In the opinion of the ministers, looking around the world today, the situation that I encountered in the Ming Dynasty is really unprecedented in the thousands of years of Chinese history. Taixi Zhuyi, who came across the ocean for tens of thousands of miles, must have a plan that is not small. And Taixi Zhuyi are all overseas aliens, and the ships are strong and the guns are sharp, the utensils are advanced, and the Yijiao solidifies their minds, and can no longer be treated like the ancient Quartet barbarians, with culture, change the raze into summer.

"His people and his country invade with my great Ming righteousness and interests, and my China will not be compatible, today his people can occupy Java, Luzon, Macao, Dongfan, he may not seek my southeast, map my China.

"These are all ministers' heartfelt words, not alarmist words to confuse Your Majesty. Please think carefully and discern it, Your Majesty. ”

After listening to this, Emperor Chongzhen nodded silently, of course he knew that this was by no means alarmist, but this kind of change of the times was not something that ordinary people could observe, even the scholars and doctors who opened their eyes to the world earlier in the Ming Dynasty were not recognized by everyone.

The Ming Dynasty did not do a good job and was eventually replaced by the Manchu Qing, but the Manchu Qing approach was even more unsuccessful, not only closing the country, but also abandoning wisdom, adopting a completely evasive method, closing the eyes and treating the whole world as if it did not exist, which is also the worst way to treat, so that the Chinese completely lost the opportunity to go hand in hand with the Western powers and compete for strengths and weaknesses.

As a result, less than 200 years, the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which replaced the Ming Dynasty and closed off the country and abandoned wisdom, could not escape the fate of being colonized and plundered, and after being bombarded by the strong ships of the Western powers, the humiliation suffered by all Chinese was even more unprecedented.

And the cause and effect of all this has been deeply planted as early as the day the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs.

Of course, Emperor Chongzhen in this life would not let this worst ending happen again, so after listening to Nan Juyi's words, after a little silence, he said to him: "What Aiqing said, I deeply agree. Although I live in the palace, I am not ignorant of foreign affairs. Taixi Zhuyi not only has strong ships and advanced utensils, but also has a prosperous science, which is still better than my Ming Dynasty. At the same time, there are restrictions on Yijiao, and the whole is united, but the colonial sea trade and foreign development are the only things. In time, it will be a great calamity for me. ”

"The vicissitudes of life, the wind and clouds are changing, today's world is no longer the world of two hundred years ago, and today's era is not the era of Emperor Taizu Gao, nor is it the era of Emperor Yongle. The situation that my Ming family is so dominant that it is greater than all the countries has now completely changed.

"If I, the Ming monarch, can't see the changes of this era and can't keep up with the evolution of this era, it will be like a blind man riding a blind horse, approaching a deep pool in the middle of the night. If this is the case, then I am in danger, and my China is also in danger. ”

Speaking of this, Emperor Chongzhen looked at the important ministers present, saw that they listened thoughtfully, and then said to Nan Juyi: "Among the courtiers, there are not many people who know about maritime affairs, and Qing can be said to be the best among them. In this regard, can you teach me? ”

"Your Majesty said so, the ministers dare not be!" Nan Juyi first said this, and then continued: "In the opinion of the minister, if you want to resist Xiyi, you must consolidate coastal defense, and if you want to consolidate coastal defense, you must raise a naval division." ”

Hearing Nan Juyi say this, Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said noncommittally: "I also know this. I think that during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, the prosperity of the sailor fleet was second to none in the world, but in just a few decades, everything was like a passing cloud and dissipated. If I am a great sailor, how can I ensure that I will not repeat the mistakes of the past in a few decades? ”

Nan Juyi heard the emperor say this, knowing that the emperor in front of him was not comparable to ordinary people, just talking big and empty words, not only was it completely useless, but I was afraid that it would also cause the emperor to be dissatisfied with himself, so he thought about it and simply said: "The minister thinks that the Ming Dynasty will plummet within a few years after the death of the Three Treasure Eunuchs, not because my Ming Dynasty does not value the Water Master, but because I Ming Dynasty cannot profit from the Water Master's prosperity."

"The world is bustling, all for profit, the world is bustling, all for profit. If he can't make a profit for the country and consume gold and silver in vain, even if he is as wise as His Majesty, I am afraid it will not last long. ”

Speaking of this, Nan Juyi looked at the emperor, sighed slightly, and then said: "The minister has a strategy, or he can count it in one fell swoop, which can not only expand my sea territory, expand my territory, but also prosper commerce and trade, increase taxes, and at the same time, it can also provide a steady stream of strong soldiers and fierce generals for the Daxing Water Division." ”

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen's face softened slightly, smiled slightly, and said to Nan Juyi: "What is Qing's plan, just say it!" ”

I saw Nan Juyi solemnly said: "The minister is not the governor of Liangguang, Fujian and Zhejiang, and there is a sense of overstepping the need to talk about this matter.

"The rise and fall of my Ming sailors is in rotation, it is difficult to ensure long-term prosperity, and the sea robbers are constantly harassing and difficult to cut the grass and eradicate the roots, and the root cause lies in the sea ban of the imperial court."

After Nan Juyi said this, he saw that the emperor was not angry, but kept nodding his head, so he continued: "Although since Longqing, the sea ban has been opened, but the southeast sea frontier of my Ming Dynasty is thousands of miles long, and only one month of port is open for maritime merchants to trade, which is not much different from not being opened.

"If Your Majesty can open the sea ban and encourage maritime trade, and open ports, set up markets, and pump tariffs in the places where sea ships dock on the southeast coast, where maritime merchants gather, then not only will the people in Fujian and Guangzhou have a way to make a living, but the imperial court will also be able to profit from it and greatly prosper the sailors. In this way, the Holy Lord is only a will, and the chess game of the southeastern coastal provinces is all alive. The minister dared to speak out, please Your Majesty Mingjian! ”

After Nan Juyi said this, he got up and left his seat, knelt on the ground, and bowed his head silently.

After listening to what Nan Juyi said, Emperor Chongzhen looked around at the ministers present, and then asked, "What do you think?" ”

Li Guowei, Xu Guangqi, Sun Chengzong, and Li Banghua looked at each other, and finally Li Guowei said first: "The ministers heard that the southeast Fujian and Guangzhou coasts, the imperial court did not ban the sea trade, and the people gave their families enough, even if they were scoundrels, they were also driven by the benefits of sea trade, and they all entered the Nanyang Island, and there were few disasters of hunger, cold, and robbery at home.

After the sea ban, Nanyang Department Store was closed, and the livelihood of Fujian and Guangzhou gradually deteriorated. The people's hard work is useless, and the walkers sigh that there is no way to go far. Wang Zhichen, the governor of Liangguang, also mentioned this matter in a previous letter, saying that since last year, there was a drought in northern Guangdong, and the people had no way to make a living, so they went to sea in groups and went to Nanyang to make a living. Between the lines, the governor of Yue is inclined to relax the ban, but His Majesty left it in the middle, and the ministers did not know how to reply. ”

What Li Guowei said, of course Emperor Chongzhen knew. After Wang Zhichen took office, he constantly reported the situation of Liangguang to the emperor, and the emperor instructed him to pay attention to the iron smelting of Foshan, which was to promote new crops in the Liangguang land.

However, even the drought-tolerant crops can not withstand the drought that lasts for many years, and in the autumn of this year, there are still many prefectures and counties in northern Guangdong that have suffered from famine.

As soon as Wang Zhichen's performance was announced, Emperor Chongzhen used a secret fold to make him don't need to be deliberately controlled, and let the hungry people immigrate to the East or go to Nanyang to make a living.

Among them, there will definitely be some people who will become pirates, after all, there are many pirates along the coast of Fujian and Guangdong, but even so, they can no longer be choked and continue to ban the sea.