According to Zhang Fu and other military cabinet members, the Ming Dynasty first had to eliminate the Japanese Invaders entrenched on Xiaoliuqiu Island and Qiongzhou Island, which were the largest offshore islands in the Ming Dynasty and the largest and most active strongholds.

Since Li Yuntian had already formed the three major fleets of the Daming Naval Division, this operation against the Japanese Invaders was just right for the Naval Division to conduct training.

According to the geographical location, the Sea Eagle Fleet stationed in Ningbo Port in Zhejiang Province will be responsible for clearing Xiaoliuqiu Island, and the Sea Wolf Fleet stationed in Jiaozhi Port will be responsible for clearing Qiongzhou Island.

"Zhenguo Gong, can the sailor clear out the Japanese in Xiaoliuqiu and Qiongzhou?" Emperor Xuande saw Li Yuntian sitting there silently, so he asked quietly, in fact, what he wanted to hear most in this court meeting was Li Yuntian's construction.

"Your Majesty, the Wakou are a rabble, and they are definitely the opponents of my Great Ming Water Division." Li Yuntian bowed to Emperor Xuande when he heard this, and said in a deep voice, "However, at the beginning of the establishment of the Naval Division, they are now practicing their tactics, and Xiaoliuqiu and Qiongzhou are far away from the land and need to prepare for many matters, so the minister thinks that it is appropriate to go to sea to clear them when the Japanese are rampant in the summer of next year, and they can be wiped out." ”

"Next summer?" Emperor Xuande knew that freezing three feet was not a day's cold, and it was impossible to completely eliminate the plague overnight, so he felt that Li Yuntian was reasonable, and nodded thoughtfully, "According to what Qing said, next summer will send troops to encircle and suppress Xiaoliuqiu and Qiongzhou Wokou!" ”

Zhang Fu, Yang Shiqi, Jian Yi and others also nodded secretly, and at the same time felt a burst of emotion in their hearts, Emperor Xuande, who was furious, would actually agree with Li Yuntian's proposal to eliminate the Japanese Invaders next year, which shows that he trusts Li Yuntian, and there is probably no one on the right side of Li Yuntian among the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, the minister feels that the cause of the problem is complicated, and in the long run, it should be mainly taken care of, supplemented by suppression, and eliminate the Japanese from the root." Seeing that Emperor Xuande agreed to send troops next summer, Li Yuntian pondered for a while and then spoke.

"Oh?" When Emperor Xuande heard this, he couldn't help but look at Li Yuntian with interest and asked, "How to caress him?" ”

Zhang Fu, Yang Shiqi and others also looked at Li Yuntian suspiciously, feeling a little curious about Li Yuntian's "focusing on caressing", and wanted to see what countermeasures he had to solve.

"Your Majesty, as far as the ministers know, seventy percent of the people in the coastal area are my Ming people, they were originally coastal sea people, and as the saying goes, the coastal people rely on the mountains to eat the mountains and the sea to eat the sea, and the coastal people rely on limited means to survive, so they have no way to make a living after the sea ban, and they have started to rob and smuggle under the bewitchment of people's hearts."

Under the gaze of everyone at the scene, Li Yuntian's expression gradually became stern, and he said to Emperor Xuande in an orderly manner:

"The reason why Emperor Taizu forbade the sea is that my Ming Dynasty is prosperous and rich, and I don't need to get the necessary goods from overseas, but I must guard against the outflow of scarce goods on the market, and the low commercial tax of the Ming Dynasty and the low treasury are not profitable. The second is that the remnants of Zhang Reverse and Fang Rebellion colluded with domestic rebels to cause trouble on the sea, coupled with the attack of the Japanese invaders, and endangered the Ming Sea Frontier, which finally made Emperor Taizu decide to ban the sea. ”

"Your Majesty, now that time has passed, my Ming Dynasty can obtain a profit of more than 10 million taels of silver from the maritime trade between Guò and the Nanyang countries, and the remnants of Zhang Yi and Fang Wei have moved to the Nanyang countries to settle down after being forbidden by Emperor Taizu, and they can no longer attack the Ming Dynasty, so now the only ones who are in danger to our Daming Sea Frontier are the Japanese Kou."

As he spoke, Li Yuntian bowed his hand to Emperor Xuande and said in a deep voice, "The minister thinks that the sea ban can be lifted, so as to calm the people of the sea and calm the troubles!" ”

As soon as Li Yuntian's words fell, the ministers of the Dongnuan Pavilion were in a commotion, and they whispered to each other, and they all felt that what Li Yuntian said was very true.

There were two main reasons for the implementation of the maritime ban in the early Ming Dynasty:

First, the Ming Dynasty was rich in materials, and the rapid social and economic development after the founding of the country could meet the needs of the Ming Dynasty itself, so there was no need for foreign trade, because Ming Taizu not only set an ultra-low commercial tax of 30 taxes and 1, but also usually did not levy tariffs or imposed symbolic tariffs on overseas trade.

According to historical records, "at the beginning of Yongle, the Western mud country returned to Ha Ma Ha Wuqi and other dynasties, with pepper and the people in the market. There is a company to ask for its tax. The emperor said: "The merchant tax collector, the state suppresses the people of the end, how can it be profitable." Today, the Yi people have come from afar, but they have encroached on their profits, and they have gained a lot of money, and the losses and humiliations are generally many. ”

Therefore, when the Ming Dynasty traded with overseas countries, it could not obtain due tax benefits from it, and naturally the imperial court was not interested in overseas countries.

In addition, due to the lack of important military materials such as nitrate, copper and iron in overseas countries, the maritime merchants of the Ming Dynasty usually smuggled these materials that were strictly ordered by the Ming Dynasty to obtain the greatest benefits.

Second, at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Licheng and Fang Guozhen, who were defeated by Ming Taizu, were forced to flee to the sea at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and established many strongholds in the Nanyang area, echoing the anti-Ming forces within the Ming Dynasty, making Ming Taizu very vigilant.

However, although the imperial court still "strictly forbade the private affairs of Fanguo" several times during the Yongle period, its momentum was not as severe as that of the Hongwu period, and the scope of the ban gradually narrowed, and a tolerant attitude was adopted towards the prohibited events in the tributary trade.

Although the sea ban policy implemented by Emperor Hongwu in the early Ming Dynasty solved the stubborn problem of the outflow of prohibited materials, and cut off the connection between Zhang Licheng and Fang Guozhen and other remnants and the interior of the Ming Dynasty, it caused a surge in the number of Japanese and gradually became a plague that plagued the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty.

According to the Ming Dynasty's ban on "no sea", all industries related to going to sea along the coast were cut off, and the greed of local officials forced the hungry and cold coastal residents to join the ranks of pirates.

After all, since ancient times, the people have relied on the mountains to eat the mountains, rely on the sea to eat the sea, the population of the southeast coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty increased rapidly, but the growth of land was limited, once unable to go to the sea to make a living, their lives will be in trouble.

Since the Song Dynasty, the inhabitants of the southeast coast have always regarded the sea trade as a source of food and clothing, and maritime merchants, sailors, shipbuilders, repairs, porters, etc., have fed millions of people.

There is a saying in Fujian: "The sea is the land of the Fujian people", and the ban on the sea in the Ming Dynasty undoubtedly deprived the local residents of their "fields".

Therefore, for the local people, there are only two ways to go, one is to live a difficult life of hunger and cold, and the other is to take risks to become a widow, engage in sea smuggling or plunder the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty.

After listening to Li Yuntian's words, Emperor Xuande's brows furrowed slightly, although the coastal local government had never reported that the people in the area under their jurisdiction had become widows because of poverty, but he knew very well that Li Yuntian was not alarmist.

Obviously, the local governments along the coast were afraid of responsibility for their political achievements, and naturally it was impossible for them to report the fact that the people had become widows because of their poverty, and they would not be able to escape the blame.

Therefore, in the report that Emperor Xuande received, at most, there were people along the coast who were motivated by their desire for profit to join the Japanese invaders, and as for the embarrassing life of the people, they did not mention it, otherwise it would be asking for their own hardships.

Emperor Xuande had already heard of the deception of local officials, but he did not expect that so many coastal residents would become widows.

It is no wonder that the coastal defense line of the Ming Dynasty has become an ornament, and the sergeants of the coastal defense post under the cooperation of the locals cannot know the whereabouts of the Japanese at all.

Besides, with the lax training and low morale of the coastal defense, I am afraid that no one will be willing to fight with those Japanese bandits, and they wish not to know the news of the attack of the Japanese bandits, and wait until the Japanese have finished plundering and then go to the end and pretend to hunt down and kill them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, should I let go of the sea ban?" After pondering for a while, Emperor Xuande looked at the ministers present, after all, the matter of the sea ban was the top military matter of the Daming, so he needed to consult the opinions of the Chinese military ministers.

"Your Majesty, the minister has also heard that the coastal people have joined the Japanese Kou, and now the reason for Emperor Taizu's ban on the sea is only one of the Japanese Kou, and the minister feels that the sea ban can be opened."

Zhang Fu looked up at the people around him, and saw that no one had the intention of speaking, so he quietly said to Emperor Xuande that when encountering this kind of thing, he needed to show his attitude to Emperor Xuande in the order of official position from high to low.

"The ban on the Japanese has not stopped, and the minister thought that the sea ban could be lifted, which would not only enable the coastal residents to recuperate, but also mobilize the coastal residents to jointly resist the Japanese invaders, so that the Japanese would have nothing to hide." Yang Shiqi glanced at Jian Yi and saw Jian Yi leisurely holding a cup of fragrant tea there, so he said solemnly to Emperor Xuande.

As Li Yuntian's mentor, Yang Shiqi naturally wanted to support Li Yuntian in the court discussion, not to mention that he also thought that the sea ban was too harsh, and it was time to make adjustments.

"Your Majesty, the minister is deeply guilty that the coastal government has failed to govern the civil affairs and caused the people's lives to fall into difficulties, if the lifting of the sea ban can enable the coastal people to live and work in peace and contentment, the minister thinks it is feasible." At this time, Jian Yi put down the teacup in his hand and said to Emperor Xuande with a regretful face.

"The minister seconded the proposal!" The rest of the people saw that Zhang Fu, Yang Shiqi and Jian Yi had already expressed their attitude, so they all expressed their approval of the opening of the sea ban.

As important civil and military ministers who have been floating in the sea for decades, the ministers present have long been keenly aware that Emperor Xuande has the intention of opening the sea ban after Li Yuntian's persuasion, and if Li Yuntian proposes to open the sea ban, if something goes wrong, Li Yuntian will take care of it, so everyone will naturally not object.

The current Emperor Xuande is no better than when he ascended the throne, he has already controlled the situation in the court, and he has reproduced the demeanor of Emperor Yongle, so the important ministers in the court will not anger him.

When Emperor Hongwu wanted to ban the sea, although many ministers in the court opposed it, there were very few who dared to admonish him in person, which made the sea ban implemented smoothly.

Moreover, with the development of maritime trade between the Ming Dynasty and the Nanyang and even the Xiyi countries, pirates, including the Ming Dynasty, will become the focus of the Ming Dynasty's purge, and the ministers naturally hope to eliminate the plague that has plagued the Ming Dynasty for a long time.

"Since this is the case, then spread my will, lift the ban on the sea, and allow the people of the sea to go to the sea to make a living, but they must not trade with overseas countries without permission, and those who violate the order will be beheaded!" Emperor Xuande saw that all the ministers present agreed to open the sea ban, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but show a smile, and after a deep groan, he said to Jin Ying, who was standing aside.