After the Longqing switch (1567) in history, tens of millions of taels of silver flowed into the Ming Dynasty from all over the world. An adequate money supply will promote economic prosperity and business activity for a certain period of time.

In the decades that followed, the 'germ of capitalism' that we learn from textbooks appeared at the end of the Ming Dynasty, because silver had been imported from overseas, which gave rise to more merchants and even merchant gangs in the Ming Dynasty.

Raw silk, porcelain, medicinal herbs, and tea were all overwhelming trade advantages of the Ming Dynasty.

More merchants will promote the development of handicrafts, which will lead to employment and consumption. In the process, the smallholder economy in the coastal areas will shift to a market economy, and the economy will also make great strides towards monetization.

The economy is something at the bottom, and the bottom begins to change, and the impact on the whole society is huge.

For the upper-class people, they can live a luxurious life with their financial resources, and they can have a good life without being an official, so there are a group of 'thinkers', who themselves live without worry, and the society and people they observe are also beginning to be different from the past, which leads to the limited ideological enlightenment in the late Ming Dynasty.

For the people at the bottom, with the unified payment of silver in all state taxes (1581), then the people can only exchange grain for silver, but silver has been imported, and the price of silver has been reduced, so the burden on the people has been increasing.

For the Ming Dynasty, there is one thing that needs to be noted, that is, a large amount of currency is imported from overseas, so it is a disguised loss of the right to issue currency.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was a Thirty Years War (1618~1648) in the West, which led to a surge in their own demand for silver, and the war lasted too long and caused an economic crisis, the original trade routes were also destroyed, and all kinds of demand were reduced.

In 1633, the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan began to fully switch to a policy of closing the country, and the silver flowing into China from Japan plummeted - and the east was not bright!

This set of logical relationships such as currency, trade, and geography is still very complex.

Zhu Houzhao has been thinking about this for a long time. One of the concepts is that there must be economic incentives behind these types of reforms and state actions.

It would be unwise to oppose the interests of millions of people with a single order if there is no economic motive.

Now, on this occasion, Cheng Guogong must raise the water division to prepare for the construction.

The message to Zhu Houzhao from this sentence is not just as simple as building a water fleet, but further confirms this idea in his heart.

In addition, the country is strong and militarily strong, of course, it is an indispensable aspect, but the real Celestial Empire must stand at the pinnacle of the economy. No matter how powerful he is in later generations, he will not be able to lead an army to sweep the world, and he will end up scarring himself, but economic rule is another concept.

So there are some issues that deserve to be investigated.

For example...... He asked a long-thinking sentence at the request of Cheng Guogong, "Cheng Guogong, what do you think is the purpose of the imperial court's preparation for the establishment of a sailor?" ”

The four ministers all lowered their heads, but they were thinking about the emperor's intentions.

The Son of Heaven has an unusual mind, and with the adaptability of Cheng Guogong, I don't know if I can say it accurately.

However, the four of them were also worried about it, Cheng Guogong was so anxious, he must have a purpose, and he immediately replied: "The old minister thinks that he should ensure that Luzon, a sea station, is not controlled by the Francophile!" ”

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but smile, the sea station, the people of the Ming Dynasty began to understand maritime trade, would they use this statement to make an analogy? I don't know which one said it, but there is indeed a bit of charm in it.

"You mean the Francs will capture Luzon."

"The husband is not guilty, but he is guilty. According to Ping Haibo, after the opening of the sea, the Ming Dynasty obtained tens of millions of taels of silver, and the wolf of the Franc machine is ambitious, enthusiastic and greedy, and will definitely take risks. ”

Zhu Houzhao asked again: "The silk and porcelain of the Ming Dynasty were mainly sold to the extreme west through the Franc machine. If they attack Luzon, let's intervene and fight them again, so that the two sides will fight, just like the Ming and the Tatars, and who will sell the silk and porcelain to at this time? Sell to those who are at war with us? ”

"Eh......" Cheng Guogong just listened to Ping Haibo exaggerate the danger, but he had never been in contact with maritime affairs, so he was confused by such a question, "Please make it clear to Your Majesty." ”

Zhu Houzhao smiled lightly, raised his eyebrows and said, "If you want to start a war with someone, you must first prepare that we can do without him." Otherwise, once the war is scorched, after three or five years, the trade between the two sides will be cut off, who will say to those Sannong, ah, we can't sell the silk this year, you can keep it for yourself, right? ”

"yes,"

"Not bad, not bad."

……

The five people under the throne nodded one after another, and the emperor's consideration was indeed more comprehensive.

"Soldiers, the great affairs of the country. It should be used with caution, and His Majesty's teachings will be taught by the ministers. ”

If you talk like this, Wang Bing said the most.

Cheng Guogong didn't understand, what does this mean? The sailor didn't build it, wow? Don't you want the silver? When the Francophile really controlled Luzon and pushed the price of a piece of silk from sixteen taels to ten taels, what should I do at that time?

People, they are afraid to care. has its own interests in it, Cheng Guogong has long had a careful understanding with Mei Kejia, what commodity unit price, trade joints, what methods the other party uses to block them, and so on.

Thinking about it like this, he was even more anxious.

This matter has been tossed since Mei Kejia entered Beijing, and everyone originally had a bottom line, that is, they felt that the court meeting would be held in March anyway, and it could be discussed at the court meeting. But today is closed, if you go out with this result...... How can that work?

"Your Majesty! The silver of the sea trade earns millions a year, this is another southeast, the imperial court revitalizes the horse government, and trains the cavalry, half of which depends on the sea trade silver, if the water division is not built, but there is a storm on the sea, I am afraid that it will be too late to regret! ”

"When did I say I wouldn't build a water master? What are you panicking about? ”

"Huh?"

The four members of the cabinet were also pondering the emperor's holy will, and Yang Tinghe on the edge seemed to think of something at once.

"I, I want you all to figure out, what is the purpose of Daming's preparation for the establishment of the water division? Is it because the Franc machine people are ready to move, so they build a fleet to defeat them? That's all? ”

At this point, the mystery is finally coming out.

Yang Tinghe arched his hand, "There are also pirates, there are also pirates, and there are others who have defeated the Francos. The most important thing is that the trade route of the Ming Dynasty cannot be controlled by the Francophiles, but should be mastered by themselves, otherwise there will be a thief today, a thief tomorrow, and a thief every day. ”

It is extremely difficult to say these words. Even Yang Yiqing and Wang Wei also had a sudden look.

"Only then did I agree to build this sailor." Zhu Houzhao answered the conversation, and at the same time murmured: "How powerful was the fleet of the Three Treasure Eunuchs back then? In the end, it just disappeared. If I can't find a reason to rebuild the Sailor today, I will surely cease to exist in a hundred years.

Back to the question just now if the Franc machine man does not do business with the Ming Dynasty, what should I do, I mean, the caravan of the Ming Dynasty should be able to go west by itself, one is to find someone who can replace the Franc machine man, and if there is no replacement, it must find a place where so many goods can be bought, and the other is to open up westward by oneself and sell the goods to Luzon, Mangara and even further. And the significance of the sailor is that wherever the caravan of the Ming Dynasty goes, the sailor will go. Those who are willing to do business with us, get along with each other friendly, Qiu is not guilty, and he is unwilling to even infringe on the ...... of the Ming caravan You have to use the four words that Chen Tang said back then - although it is far away, it will be punished!

In this way, it makes sense for this Daming Sailor to be built, and Haimao Silver can be stable year after year, even if we are gone, future generations will know what is good for themselves, and they will not easily let the tragedy of the Three Treasures Eunuch repeat again! ! ! ”

The Emperor did not speak impassionedly.

But the truth is profound.

It's just that...... The four members of the cabinet didn't know if they had heard it wrong, 'If you are unwilling to even infringe on the Ming caravan, you will be punished even if you are far away', the infringement can be understood, and if you are not willing to trade, you must also be punished?

This kind of thing is not always the emperor who said it wrong.

Cheng Guogong didn't pay attention, he was excited after listening to the emperor's words, and couldn't help shouting: "Your Majesty knows thousands of miles!" With the posture of my heavenly kingdom, it should be so! ”

"Well, I have four scholars here, you think of a slogan for the sailors, starting from the fifth year of Zhengde, every ship built by the Daming Navy, every soldier raised, and every step forward is for this goal, and this goal must be conveyed from top to bottom, layer by layer, especially the officers and soldiers of the sailor division, but also why they have to fight with people on the sea with high winds and waves.

According to this meaning, prepare for the establishment of the water division, Yang Ge Lao, what do you think? Is there anything I'm missing? And also...... Spend two silver taels to expand the army, maybe someone will put on a hat for me. ”

Cheng Guogong rushed to speak, "This move of the imperial court, where is the reckless force?" If you don't expand your army, you will lose more silver! ”

Yang Yiqing sighed, the Son of Heaven's methods are too clever.

In this situation, the two sides of the sea trade and silver are concerned with the abundance of the treasury at the top, the dividends of most of the lords and ministers in Beijing, and the business income of the coastal people and merchants at the bottom.

This will of the Son of Heaven is only in line with this general trend.

Of course, the emotion in his heart was not that he disagreed, and the discord between him and Liu Daxia at the beginning was also because he insisted on supporting the imperial court to send troops. Soldiers are a major matter of the country, but it is not a bottomless truce.

"Your Majesty wants to build a sailor to protect the Ming caravan and the people, which is the responsibility of the Son of Heaven, and it is indeed not a reckless force. The old minister thought that it was better to use the name of 'protecting the country and the people and serving the court'. ”

The corners of Zhu Houzhao's mouth twitched, in fact, it was not wrong, serving the court in the feudal era was the No. 1 political correctness, but it always felt weird.

"What about the others?"

Wang Wei is a great talent, he frowned and said, "Your Majesty, how about replacing it with defending my sea frontier?" ”

"Which one to replace?"

"Instead of protecting the country and the people. Protecting the country and the people cannot reflect the sailors, that is, the soldiers on land, and they can also be used to protect the country and the people. ”

Zhu Houzhao: "......"

Why does this great talent have to leave four words to serve the court?

"Yang Tinghe, what do you think?" The emperor looked at him for help.

"The minister thinks that most of the people who serve in the army are illiterate, so the simpler the better, so it is better to call it the merchant army."

Zhu Houzhao: ???

He quickly decided, "Don't fight, let's use our sea frontier." Take the word 'Xinjiang'. ”

"Xinjiang characters?"

"Yes, from now on, tell the world that the sea frontier is also a territory!"

In a few hundred years, let them use this as a basis for ancient times. He can also occupy more space to see which unfilial children and grandchildren have missed the place since ancient times.