"Zirui, you've been talking to me for so long, I'm afraid you don't just want to talk to me about this luck, right?" Xia Yan put the teacup on the table and stared at Peng Yue expressionlessly. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Ahh In fact, there have been some problems with Caoyun's affairs recently..."Peng Yue said slowly.

"Which matter between the DPRK and China is not a problem in detail?" Xia Yan seemed to smile, "Let you be so spitting today, it must be very difficult to do this..."

"It's really... It's not easy..."Peng Yue's gaze fell, "but the reason why I talked about Cao Yun is because this matter is inextricably linked to Cao Yun. ”

"Don't sell it, just say it." Xia Yan raised his head at Peng Yue and picked up the cup of tea on the table again.

"Lord Xia, since I supervised the affairs of Caoyun, this has been quite a benefit, and you have also seen it..."Peng Yue looked up at Xia Yan, and immediately lowered it again, "These many benefits naturally come from the transportation of goods. To make up for less with more, to make up for the strange with the public, in the meantime, the benefits to the people are needless to say, and it also contributes a lot to the tax revenue of the imperial court, which Lord Xia does not deny, right? ”

"The many benefits of the Caoyun reform are naturally obvious to all, and I have always been very supportive of the Caoyun reform, so there is no need to ask more about this idea." Xia Yan took a sip of tea, "There are not many people who oppose the Caoyun reform recently, and Zirui doesn't object to this idea, right?" ”

"I understand that Lord Xia has helped me a lot in private, and I also admire this very much." Peng Yue swallowed his saliva and stared straight at Xia Yan, "I want to do something bigger recently, this thing is similar to Cao Yun, but there are more advantages than Cao Yun, and the resistance... Nature is also greater than Caoyun. ”

"Oh? I don't know what's going on? Xia Yan took a sip of tea and asked unhurriedly. Seeing Peng Yue's tone and demeanor so cautious, he knew that Peng Yue would definitely propose a major event this time, and at this time, he had to calm down first.

"Lord Xia, I don't know what you think of the imperial court's sea ban?" Ever since Peng Yue supervised Caoyun, he has been thinking about abolishing the sea ban. Since he decided to use his power as much as possible to change the evils of history, he absolutely could not avoid the fact that the sea was banned. And now that the Caoyun reform has achieved initial results, and Xia Yan is also in power, it is naturally a good time to abolish the maritime ban at this time.

"There are many reasons for the imperial court to impose a sea ban, and this matter has been going on for a long time..."Xia Yan lowered his head and straightened the folds of his clothes, "Could it be that Zirui has an opinion on the matter of the sea ban?" ”

"Don't hide it from Lord Xia, I really don't agree with the sea ban." Peng Yue knew that if he wanted to achieve his goal, convincing Xia Yan was a very important step, and it was also a very crucial step, "The implementation of the sea ban has imprisoned our exchanges and communication with other countries, and it has also invisibly cut off many ties between them. There are political, economic, cultural and so on..."

Peng Yue looked at Xia Yan, looking leisurely and complacent, as if he didn't care about his words, he couldn't help but feel a little angry and a little worried in his heart, "Today, just talking about this economic connection, if the maritime ban is abolished and exchanges and communication with other countries are carried out, the benefits in the meantime should not be needless to say, right?" Just like the current Cao Yun, the economic benefits generated by the economic and trade between each other are breathtaking. First of all, with the West's special products and materials, it is not lacking in our dynasty, whether it is for the people or for the imperial court, it is very beneficial, right? ”

"This... It's not too much, is it? Xia Yan frowned, "After all, my dynasty is relatively rich in products, and it is they who benefit more from trading with foreign countries." ”

"Lord Xia, you can't say that..."Peng Yue has always expressed his disgust at this kind of argument that "my Celestial Dynasty is rich in products and has everything", "Let's just talk about the Han Dynasty, how many rare species were introduced to the Central Plains by the Silk Road. If it weren't for the trade with foreign countries at that time, grapes, walnuts, courgettes, pomegranates and other things would certainly not have been seen by the people of that time. Now it is also true that there are many things in the Gentiles that are rare to us, such as some high-yielding grain crops, which, if brought in, would be of great benefit to the people and to the people..."

"Okay, I'll admit that..."Xia Yan turned his head, "Not only the people, but even some rare objects in the palace are also foreign things. ”

"Since Lord Xia knows this, why does he still have doubts about the sea ban?" Peng Yue saw that Xia Yan was relieved, and his heart also became excited, "You must know that once the sea ban is opened, only this tax income is uncountable, and the precedent of the Song Dynasty is there, you must know the commercial tax income of the Song Dynasty at that time..."

"I know this, and the ministers of the DPRK and China also understand this..."Xia Yan interrupted Peng Yue's somewhat excited emotions, "But I just told you that there are many reasons for the implementation of the sea ban, and each reason is very tricky to solve. ”

Peng Yue breathed a sigh of relief, sat down, restrained his emotions, and said slowly: "Then what are the reasons for this sea ban, please explain them one by one..."

Peng Yue now doesn't dare to believe the reasons summarized in the history books of later generations, because after several years of life experience in the Ming Dynasty, he found that some things are not as described in the history books, and the history books of later generations are also divided and there is no standard.

"Could it be that Zirui wants to solve these problems one by one?" Xia Yan looked at Peng Yue and smiled helplessly.

"That's exactly what it means!" Peng Yue said firmly.

"Okay, then I'll make it all clear to you today." Xia Yan smiled knowingly, but sighed to himself, "First, it is naturally the old system of Taizu and Chengzu." Although it is the old system, after all, it is a rule set by the ancestors, and it will be difficult to change it..."

"Lord Xia, this Taizu, the old system of Chengzu, I'm afraid it has already been changed, right?" Peng Yue said with a smile, "At the beginning, Taizu strictly ordered Pian Fan not to enter the sea, but he banned private ships, and the original intention of implementing it was also to stabilize the government and prevent the remnants of Fang Guozhen and the remnants of the previous dynasty from borrowing sea power to wait for an opportunity to counterattack, but this tributary trade was implemented intermittently. Not to mention the Chengzu period, Zheng He went to the West, and the trade feat at that time was impressive..."

"But at that time, private trade was still prohibited..."Xia Yan pointed to the table with his finger, as if to emphasize something.

"I know this..."Peng Yue said with a smile, "but Tai Rent and Cheng Zu are forbidden to be private trade, but now they are forbidden to all trade, including our imperial court's own trade, of course." The reality is even more outrageous, now, our court can't do anything, but this smuggling trade among the people is becoming more and more intense. Although the imperial court also explicitly forbade this, the relevant officials all turned a blind eye and closed one eye, and now the imperial court trade is banned, but the personal smuggling trade is booming... Lord Xia, do you say that the old system of Taizu and Chengzu has changed, or has it not changed? ”

"Haha... It seems that Zirui has studied this sea ban quite a bit. Xia Yan saw that Peng Yue said it so thoroughly, so it was not easy to be false anymore, "What you said is right, but this tributary trade has already been given a cold reception in the Hongzhi period. ”

"Burned? He dared, Liu Daxia just hid them, I'm afraid that kind of thing is inconvenient for the emperor to see..."Peng Yue said leisurely, "Lord Xia, you really don't know the reason why this tributary trade is being treated coldly now?" ”

"The reasons here are very complicated, the emperor has thoughts, and the ministers also have thoughts, and when these ideas are combined, it naturally becomes today's situation." Xia Yan sighed helplessly.

"But if you want me to say, the emperor's thoughts are all influenced by the ministers' thoughts, in fact, they are all the selfishness of some ministers!" Peng Yue said very firmly.

"It's not unreasonable to say that." Xia Yan was displeased, "Actually, those ministers are not necessarily selfish..."

"Of course, I believe that some officials are not selfish in their support for the sea ban. The deep-rooted ideas such as heavy agriculture and suppression of business, the heavenly kingdom, the presence of parents, and not traveling far are afraid that they can't get rid of them in their minds, so let's say that Liu Daxia, he is a loyal minister, and a person from Huguang, naturally he can't have any selfish intentions, he strongly opposes it, I'm afraid it's because of this deep-rooted thought, but some other ministers who oppose it, I'm afraid it's not this idea. Peng Yue calmly analyzed, obviously not noticing Xia Yan's expression.

"I also know this, it's just that some officials are afraid of the imperial court... It's just a matter of competing with the people..."Xia Yan closed his eyes and said slowly, "I am from Jiangxi, although I have no involvement in this, I have an understanding. Those officials in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, who don't expect their families to make more money. The coastal official families, their land in their hometown is already barren, and it is impossible to rely on agriculture to compare with those inland families. They are also not successful in corruption and bribery, so they naturally set their sights on this overseas trade. Overseas trade is hugely profitable, but private individuals can't compete with the imperial court. As long as the tributary trade existed, it would be difficult for them to make a profit on this overseas trade. As a result, too much damage has been done to the interests of the big landlords and businessmen in the south of the Yangtze River. And these people are closely related to those Jiangsu and Zhejiang officials in the court, and even some official eunuchs, these officials will naturally find all kinds of reasons, thinking that the gesture of asking for the people's life will attract and blind more courtiers to stop them, and the emperor will be moved and convinced by them, and this tributary trade will naturally fade down..."

"In this way, Lord Xia also knows that this tributary trade is hugely profitable, right?" Peng Yue originally thought that Xia Yan didn't know about this, but now that he heard that Xia Yan also knew the reason, he was even happier in his heart. For persuading Xia Yan, he is also more sure.

"Well, although many people know about this matter, but put it on the table, but..."Xia Yan paused and said slowly, "In fact, the tributary system is divided into tributary and tributary trade, and the tributary is naturally thick and thin. But this tributary trade is that the merchants of commodities trade with each other, and exchange what they have. For example, sumac, pepper, dipterocarp and other precious spices, after the tribute comes, the tariff is high and the profit is also large. And the porcelain we give back, the tea is not worth a few dollars. Let's just say that Su Mu, I have always bought it back, and I can sell it for fifty times. And with the massive influx of these goods, their market prices are also decreasing. For example, pepper, from the very beginning, the market price has fallen dozens of times, and the people are still benefiting. To tell the truth, without the support of the huge profits of this tributary trade, it would have been basically difficult for Chengzu to complete the five expeditions to Mongolia, the six voyages to the West, the repair of the Yongle Grand Ceremony, the relocation of the capital to Beijing, and the pacification of Vietnam. ”

"Huh? Is it such a big profit? Although Peng Yue knew that the tributary trade was profitable, he didn't expect it to be such a big profit, and it seemed that he was also deceived by the historical materials of later generations!

"So Liu Daxia hid all the historical materials that went to the West and didn't let Emperor Xiaozong see them?" Peng Yue asked with a sneer.

"This is nature..."Xia Yan smiled bitterly, "If Emperor Xiaozong knew about the many benefits of this, how could he not promote this tributary trade again?" Cheng Zu can't be fooled. In line with the concept of governing the country in a quiet and inaction, Xuanzong only sent Zheng He to the West once, and then he no longer had this thought, but this tributary trade was not interrupted, because Xuanzong knew the huge profit benefits. But then several emperors... I won't say that, and you know it. So when it came to Emperor Xiaozong, he was inspirational, but he didn't quite know what the tributary trade was all about. Those officials took the opportunity to deceive the emperor, saying that it would cost a lot of money and cost the people and money, so Emperor Xiaozong decided not to say anything about the tributary trade. ”

"I'm afraid that what Lord Xia said is not complete, the selfish officials are only a part, if they want to protect their own interests, they will definitely not be able to mobilize all the ministers in this court, I am afraid that before they deceive the emperor, they will also deceive some ministers, right?" Peng Yue said with a smile.

"In that regard, there are real political reasons. Chengzu carried out this tributary trade, but he sent Zheng He to the West, which must have his considerations. Xia Yan's eyes suddenly became deeper, "Chengzu relies on Gonggong Zheng, but he has not yet reached the level of preference for Gonggong Zheng, in fact, to a certain extent, Zheng He is favored by Chengzu, and it is also because of the beautiful feat of going to the West." But the reason why Cheng Zu chose Gonggong Zheng to go to the West was because he was afraid that the general would support the army and lose his tail. In this Western Ocean, it is necessary to establish strong sailors, and to give them extraordinary autonomy, but who can guarantee that they will not have different intentions? Thinking about it, only this eunuch can do it. Without a queen, they have less desire to be the emperor, and it is difficult for them to establish absolute authority in the army. The most important thing is that when Taizu opened the dynasty, he restrained the eunuchs from interfering in politics, and their status was still very low at that time. But then it didn't work, the status of this eunuch continued to improve, and he went to the West to provide them with a lot of money, if they were given the right to soldier, then they would have to do it! We will definitely not agree, this exotic small country is not to worry, but this eunuch interferes in politics, but it will damage my Ming Dynasty! Xia Yan said indignantly. He didn't have a good impression of eunuchs, so when he talked about this, he was also emotional. "So now that the Holy Lord does not open tributary trade, if the eunuch is allowed to go to the sea again, I will be the first to stand up and oppose it!"

Peng Yue secretly called himself stupid, it turned out that he ignored the fact that Xia Yan hated eunuchs interfering in politics. Peng Yue finally understood why Xia Yan was vague when he said about the sea ban at the beginning.

"Lord Xia, according to you, is there any other reason for the implementation of the sea ban?" Peng Yue asked cautiously.

"There shouldn't be any..."Xia Yan's brows were still furrowed, as if he hadn't come out of the emotions just now, "Just the reasons you just said, do you think it's not enough?" Could it be that you can resolve all these reasons one by one? ”

"These things are really tricky, but it's not impossible to solve." Peng Yue said with a smile, looking like he was in his chest.

He was indeed very excited now, because in the matter of the sea ban, there was no reason that he didn't know in advance, at least it was all expected by himself. It is naturally easier to solve it in this way, because I have thought about these things in my previous life. Now Peng Yue is beginning to be glad that he was a college student in the history department in his previous life, and he is glad that he has carefully studied these things that most people don't know.

"Zirui..."Xia Yan tapped his fingers on the table, pulling Peng Yue, who was smiling a little weirdly on the side, back from his contemplation, "I have always done things right and wrong, if you want to abolish the sea ban and let the eunuchs return to power and go to sea, I will never agree." ”

"Lord Xia, rest assured, Zirui is not a foolish person, and he will never do anything unfavorable to the imperial court..."Peng Yue stood up and bowed to Xia Yan, "I will give you a satisfactory answer." ”