"There is no way for the time being," Zhu Youzhen also thought about using gunpowder to blow up these islands and destroy the environment, not to mention how much gunpowder would be needed to eradicate the islands? "However, there is still a trade route for the Ming Dynasty."

"One more?" Li Chunye searched everywhere on the "Ming Territory Map", but unfortunately, it was not marked on the map, "Your Majesty is saying, the east of this Ryukyu Island?" ”

"This time the candidate is right," Zhu Youzhen said that Li Chunye is not young, his brain is not confused, and the president of the National Defense Academy can still be the president for a few years, "There is also a trade route, just east of Ryukyu Island, in this huge ocean." ”

Li Chunye's gaze was directed to the east of the Ryukyus, where was it really broader, "Your Majesty, where will this trade route lead?" ”

"If you go all the way to the east, you will reach a continent called America, which is also a huge land like Asia where we live," Zhu Youzhen's thoughts have gone to that mysterious place that people yearn for, "Beyond this continent, it is what we often call Xiyi." ”

Of course Li Chunye didn't know such a long path, and he probably wouldn't have time to follow this path in his life, "Your Majesty, because the earth is round, so these two routes will meet together?" ”

"Hou Zhi said well," Zhu You showed an appreciative look, it seems that the sentence 'the earth is round' has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, "Did Hou Zhi find any problems?" ”

"Questions?" Li Chunye searched east of the Ryukyus again, but really didn't find anything, "Your Majesty is saying that this sea is too wide, and there is no land and islands nearby, so it is difficult for ships to sail here?" ”

"No!" Zhu Youzhen shook his head, "This problem will come from someone who will solve it, this is not the trade route of the Ming family." ”

"Family?" Li Chunye's gaze came to Ryukyu again, his eyes suddenly shone, and his shoulders shook: "Your Majesty, but Ryukyu is blocking this route?" ”

"Waiting for quality is really meticulous!" Zhu Youjian saw that Li Chunye had finally found the place of the disease, and he was immediately relieved, "Hou Zhen should have seen that the sea route to the east of the Ming Dynasty was completely blocked by the Ryukyu Islands, although there are some passages between these islands, but these passages are too narrow, if our enemy lays down an army here, or as in the Jiajing period, there are some pirates, this 『dǐng『diǎn『小『say,.2∞3.o+s_(); The trade routes will all be sealed. ”

"That majesty xià means ......" Li Chunye had some thoughts, but did not say them.

"Haha, Hou Zhen should understand what I mean." Zhu Youzhen haha, "Let's go back to the original question, Hou Zhen now understands, why did I want to establish a province in Taiwan?" ”

"Your Majesty, the future Taiwan Province, also includes the Ryukyus?"

"Of course, this trade route is safe only if the Ming Dynasty controls the Ryukyus."

Li Chunye narrowed his eyes, and the distance between his upper and lower eyelids was greatly reduced, but the essence was still exposed, and it took a long time before he made a voice: "Your Majesty, Ryukyu is a country that Taizu has set for not to conquer, if Your Majesty rashly raises troops, the resistance in the court will ......"

"At this time, at that time," Zhu Youzhen hates those who talk about the law of their ancestors at every turn, but there are many such officials in the Ming court, "The government military system was set during the Taizu period, and it is not the same now?" ”

Li Chunye knows Zhu Youzhen's temperament, what he wants to accomplish, he will definitely accomplish, no matter what methods and means are used, "His Majesty is seeking development for the Ming Dynasty, but there are many people in the imperial court who do not understand His Majesty's approach." ”

Any person with advanced thinking is lonely, Zhu Youzhen is no exception, he is ready, I am afraid that there will be no real comrades in this life, "Waiting for the question, in addition to the conquest, there is also a way, which can also make Ryukyu return to the Ming Dynasty." ”

"What's the method?"

"It was Ryukyu who took the initiative to ask for submission to the Ming Dynasty."

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid this is not easy, right? Ryukyu has not come to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute for many years," Li Chunye did not have much hope for Ryukyu to take the initiative to surrender, "Besides, Ryukyu is independent, the king is supreme, if he submits to the Ming Dynasty, at most he can be crowned a prince, compared with the two, the king of the Ryukyus is afraid that he is unwilling to submit to the Ming Dynasty." ”

"There is no need to rush this matter for a while, just wait for the times to change, now we need to understand the political situation in the Ryukyus, since they do not come to pay tribute, we can send people over, regardless of the envoys, merchants, scholars, monks, and must bring their situation back."

"Your Majesty, between Ryukyu and the Ming Dynasty, across the sea, you must have the South China Sea Fleet to cross over." After Li Chunye finished speaking, he felt that it was wrong, east of the Ryukyus, that is the real sea.

"No, the target of the South China Sea Fleet is the South Seas, and now the situation in the South China Sea is complicated, don't let them have distractions."

"But across such a wide body of water...... Daming doesn't have any merchant ships here......"

"Don't we still have the North Sea Fleet?"

"North Sea Fleet?" Li Chunye's eyes lit up, how could he forget about the North Sea Fleet? Could it be that Zhu Youzhen formed these two fleets for the sake of these two trade routes of the Ming Dynasty?

"Yes, the North Sea Fleet, since the Northern Expedition, they have not had a specific mission until now, they are just looking for their home port nearby, and now is the time for them to make contributions."

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid the South Sea War is not over, is the North Sea Fleet going out again?" What Li Chunye is most worried about is that the Ming Dynasty is trapped in a two-front battle.

"Meritorious deeds do not necessarily require war, anyway, the North Sea Fleet is idle, so let them go to Ryukyu to promote the national prestige of the Ming Dynasty, lest the Ryukyus forget our Ming Dynasty." Zhu Youzhen continued: "By the way, take a look at the Ryukyus, where are the good ports. ”

"Your Majesty, the minister understands." Li Chunye cast an admiring look at Zhu Youzhen, why can he always see farther than others? Not only himself, but also in the DPRK and China, I am afraid that no one can keep up with his thinking.

"Now it's just to make some preparations, mainly to collect information about the Ryukyus, and then talk about the Ryukyus in the future," Zhu Youzhen returned to the Taiwan issue, "I originally prepared that the capital of Taiwan Province was located in the southern part of Dayuan, which is an important trading port, and the people's wisdom was initially civilized, but now that there is Ryukyu, the capital must be placed in the north, so that Taiwan can radiate to the entire Ryukyus. ”

"Your Majesty, the old minister is in charge of the military, this civil affairs matter, let's ask the prime minister!"

"Oh, too," Zhu Youzhen smiled, this is his own rules, the three courts of civil affairs, justice, and military are independent of each other and contain each other, "Then talk about the waiting, Zheng Zhilong asked to send the army to Taiwan, what do you think of the waiting?" ”

"His Majesty, Zheng Zhilong's Jianyì, the minister thinks it is feasible and necessary."

"Then let's talk about it, how is it feasible? And why is it necessary? ”

"Your Majesty, the target of the South China Sea Fleet should be the South Seas, not Taiwan, which is close to the land of the Ming Dynasty," Li Chunye kept looking at Zhu Youzhen's face, "Although the Netherlands and Spain have been expelled from #Taiwan, there are still their ships in the South Seas, in fact, their main forces are still in the South Seas, and the South China Sea Fleet must be ready for a decisive battle with Xiyi at any time." ”

"So, Zheng Zhilong# can't focus on the garrison of Taiwan at all, including stabilizing the situation in Taiwan?"

"That's how it should be."

"Then tell me about it, why is it feasible for the army to be stationed in Taiwan?"

"This is Zheng Zhilong's problem," Li Chunye said cautiously: "In view of his previous status, he does not want His Majesty to suspect that he supports the army and respects himself, so he asked the imperial court to send civilian officials to Taiwan and send the army to Taiwan, and he wants to send Taiwan to the imperial court in its entirety." ”

"Haha, this Zheng Zhilong," Zhu Youzhen asked Li Chunye with a smile: "Hou Qian, you say, in the future, Zheng Zhilong will be full-fledged, will he support his own troops in Nanyang?" ”

"This ......" Li Chunye looked at Zhu Youzhen blankly, he didn't understand Zhu Youzhen's thoughts, maybe his unconscious words could deprive Zhu Youzhen of his trust in Zheng Zhilong, but what if he was wrong? The South China Sea Fleet is now in Taiwan, and if the commander of the fleet is changed, who knows what will happen? "Your Majesty, the old minister really can't say."

"Haha, Hou Zhi has also learned to slip his head," Zhu You is like a roundworm in Li Chunye's stomach, "If Hou Zhi thinks that Zheng Zhilong may support the army and respect himself, it will make me suspect Zheng Zhilong, if the Hou Zhi says that Zheng Zhilong will not support the army and respect himself, in case Zheng Zhilong supports the army and respects himself in the future, it is the fault of the Hou Zheng, at least today's Hou Zheng is a misjudgment." ”

"Your Majesty xià ......" Li Chunye was speechless for a while.

"If I can't fully trust him, I will never let him have so much military power," Zhu Youzhen took a sip of tea, "If you can't fully trust the generals outside, when they fight, they will be constrained, the battlefield is changing rapidly, and the generals must adopt a possible means according to the situation on the battlefield, if I am only a victory." ”

is a wise and martial emperor, with the pride of a Ming monarch, but Li Chunye still doesn't understand: "Your Majesty, if the generals support their own troops......"

"I don't want to suspect that the generals support the army and respect themselves, I don't let them have the opportunity to support the army and respect themselves - this is the best, in my opinion, there is no need to be suspicious, and these generals who have made meritorious contributions to the Ming Dynasty are always on the embankment, for these generals, they do not have the opportunity to support the army and respect themselves, and they will not walk on the wrong road, bringing disaster to themselves and the country."

"Your Majesty ......" Li Chunye still didn't believe it, Zhu Youzhen's thinking was worthy of his admiration, but such a thing was easier said than Shu Dao.

"Don't you believe it?" Zhu Youzhen chuckled, if he believed it, it would be blind obedience, "If Zheng Zhilong conquers Nanyang, he has a military force in Nanyang and is self-respecting, he wants a navy to have a navy, a territory to have a territory, and a population to have a population, I really can't do anything about him." ”

"Your Majesty, so the Ming Dynasty has always forbidden the sea, not only to prevent overseas Han people from threatening the imperial court, in fact, overseas Han people, compared with the Han people on land, the number is negligible, how can it threaten the stability of the imperial court? In the final analysis, I am still afraid that the admirals will support their own troops, that is, there was a huge fleet during the Chengzu period, but the leader Zheng He was a eunuch. ”

"In other words, if Zheng Zhilong is replaced by someone else, it is still possible to support the army and respect himself?"