In the Ming Dynasty, the sea was forbidden, and it was ordinary commerce and trade that were forbidden. www.biquge.info Foreign trade between countries is not prohibited.

On the contrary, Daming also set up a special agency responsible for maritime trade with various countries.

There are three places in the Ming Dynasty.

One is located in Guangzhou, Guangdong, the second is in Ningbo, Zhejiang, and the third is in Quanzhou, Fujian.

The city of Bosi in Guangdong is specially set up for Siam, Champang, Manraka, Chenla and other countries to pay tribute, the most important. In Zhejiang, it was specially designed for Japanese tribute, and was later abolished because of the Japanese problem. In Fujian, it was specially set up for the Ryukyu tribute, and although the Francis also wanted to go ashore through this, it would not be allowed to go ashore unless it was in the name of tribute.

The city division set up to promote one person, from the five products. The deputy lifted two people, and they were six products. It is under the jurisdiction of the Chief Minister, and the amount of tax paid naturally flows into the Yamen of the Chief Minister.

Before entering the palace to face the saint, Xie Shen went through these background information in his mind again to ensure that there would be no problems.

As a person who studied Ming history, these things have naturally been imprinted in my mind for a long time, but through repeated verification, these things can be made more solid.

The Son of Heaven summoned Xie Shen in the Qianqing Palace, so when Lord Xie passed through the entire outer court and came to the inner court, he was already sweating profusely. Fortunately, the official robe is crimson, and it is not obvious after fainting. It's embarrassing enough if it's light-colored.

After Xie Shen was summoned into the hall, he found that all the cabinet scholars were there, and he was a little shocked.

Is this a summons to the Imperial Council of the Cabinet?

Xu Pu, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian are all influential figures.

I have to say that Hongzhi Zhongxing still has its reasons. With so many ministers to assist, it is difficult not to make some political achievements.

Emperor Hongzhi's face was full of sadness, and when he saw Xie Shen enter the palace, there was a slight hint of joy between his eyebrows.

"Xie Qing, I announced that you came to open the sea and ban it."

After Xie Shen bowed to the courtiers, he bowed his hand and replied, "The ministers respectfully listen to the hadith." ”

Emperor Hongzhi nodded with satisfaction and said, "The matter of opening the sea ban has caused a lot of disagreement between the court and China. The various ministries and temples debated on this matter, with some supporting the opening of the sea and others insisting that the sea must be banned. Even the scholars disagreed. Xie Qing, let's talk about your reasons for advocating the opening of the sea. ”

After speaking, Emperor Hongzhi deliberately paused and set his eyes on Shoufu Xu Pu.

As the first assistant appointed by Emperor Hongzhi, Xu Ge Lao has been in the position of cabinet cabinet for five years.

In the past five years, the cabinet has been united in sharing a lot of worries for Emperor Hongzhi, which is satisfactory.

But it was this favored minister of the Son of Heaven who spoke fiercely on the matter of the ban on the opening of the sea, opposing the opening of the sea, and the second assistant Liu Jian also had an opposing attitude, which made Emperor Hongzhi's attitude hesitate.

Emperor Hongzhi himself was also inclined to open the sea.

However, he is a typical good old man, and does not want to see the courtiers, especially the cabinet, split, so he tends to come out and thin the mud at such times until one side is persuaded.

This time, he wanted to stand up and thin the mud naturally, it was Xie Shen.

Xie Shen had a perfect grasp of the emperor's thoughts, and immediately replied: "The minister advocates opening the sea ban because it can increase the tax of the imperial court and reduce smuggling. Third, it can promote the prestige of our Ming Dynasty. ”

He had already written these three articles in the recital, but it was a different flavor to say it in front of the emperor and the old scholars of the cabinet.

He noticed that Xu Pu's complexion changed greatly as soon as he said this, but it was not easy to attack because the emperor was next to him.

Emperor Hongzhi nodded and said, "I understand the last two things that Xie Qing said. But how can the ban on the sea increase taxes? ”

In the impression of Emperor Hongzhi, the commercial tax levied by the imperial court on merchants was uniformly one out of ten, which means that no matter how the tax rate was collected, it was unchanged. In addition, the number of tributes presented by the city on weekdays was extremely limited, which gave Emperor Hongzhi the impression that the sea trade was not profitable.

Although Xie Shen wrote in the note that the opening of the sea ban could greatly increase the tax of the imperial court, Emperor Hongzhi was still skeptical.

"Your Majesty, maritime trade is different from ordinary commerce. You don't have to follow the tax rate of 10 taxes, you can pay 2 taxes out of 10 and 3 taxes out of 10. This can be done on a case-by-case basis. And most of the tributes presented by the city are selected gifts from Fanguo, and the number is naturally not comparable with ordinary sea trade. ”

Xie Shen paused and continued: "As far as the minister knows, the spices of the South Seas and the carpets of Persia are extremely valuable items. These maritime merchants can make several times the profits by trafficking them to the Ming Dynasty, and they can make a lot of money by transporting the porcelain and silk of our Ming Dynasty back to China. Therefore, even ten taxes and three are not high. ”

Xie Shen's words obviously moved Emperor Hongzhi.

The Son of Heaven's eyes rolled slightly, and said in a deep voice: "What does Xu Qing think?" ”

Xu Pu's face was already suffocated, and he was finally relieved when he heard the emperor take the initiative to ask him.

"The minister thought that the sea must not be opened."

Xu Pu really jumped out and sang the opposite tune unexpectedly.

He had already read the contents of Xie Shen's recital several times in the Di newspaper, and finally found a breakthrough.

Xie Yushi said that the ban on opening the sea can curb smuggling. Those who did business with the Maritime Merchants of Fanguo turned to trade through the yamen under the imperial court. Kechen believes that once this opening is opened, it is difficult to control. If the officials of the Bureau of Maritime Economic Affairs collude with maritime merchants, the harm caused by enriching their own pockets is even worse than smuggling. ”

The problem of ink greed has always been a stubborn disease that plagues the Ming Dynasty.

Although Emperor Taizu's determination to fight corruption was very strong, corruption was not curbed.

If the maritime trade is really opened, the maritime economic bureau proposed by Xie Shen will bear the brunt and will have to face the bribes of many maritime merchants.

If the inside is rotten, in the end, the sea trade will not bring much tax to the imperial court, on the contrary, many high-quality goods of the Ming Dynasty such as silk and porcelain will flow overseas.

Xu Pu's point of view is that since corruption cannot be avoided, it is better to simply ban the opening of the sea. Although this will reduce the tax a little, it can ensure the clean and honest atmosphere of the officialdom of the Hongzhi Dynasty, and its hidden benefits will be higher.

His remarks obviously spoke to the heart of Emperor Hongzhi.

You must know that Emperor Hongzhi has always demanded himself according to the standards of the ancient Mingjun.

If he wants to prosper the Ming Dynasty, he is naturally inseparable from the group of civil officials. If the civil service is corrupted internally, what is there to talk about?

Xie Shen said in his heart that Xu Pu is really an old stubborn, and it seems that it will not work if he doesn't use his trump card.

He took a deep breath and said to Xu Pu: "Elder Ge's words are wrong. Whether officials are corrupt or not has nothing to do with the ban on opening the sea. Moreover, the purpose of setting up the Maritime Economic Bureau is to not have anything to do with the Municipal Bureau, so that the Maritime Economic Bureau is controlled by the governor and is directly responsible to the imperial court, so it does not have to have anything to do with the local government, so how can there be greed for ink? Even if there is really greed for ink, the imperial court will strictly investigate, but this does not become a reason for refusing to open the sea. ”

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