"Did you hear that?"

"What?"

"There are gold mines in Kunlunzhou, and you can find golden sands by digging in the river."

"Fooling people, huh?"

"Really, the fireworks were brilliant in the Imperial City last night, just to celebrate the good news that the Western Boat Master brought back."

"Even if there is golden sand, it is very difficult to mine it at such a long distance."

"That's the reason, but you can't stand the fluctuation of people's hearts, you go to Jiangdong Gate and Dinghuai Gate to see, there are a bunch of people recruiting sailors on the dock, I heard that the wages of sailors are forty wen a day."

"So tall?!"

On the second day after the Western fleet returned to Nanjing, with the help of Zhu Gaoxu, the news of a gold mine in Kunlun began to spread.

Regardless of whether the people regard it as an after-dinner conversation, or whether they are genuinely moved and trying to make profits overseas, in short, Zhu Gaoxu's public opinion environment has emerged.

"You have done a good job in this matter, now we just need to wait for the news of Kunlun Jiao Wang Ren with peace of mind, and at the same time see how Japan's Ashikaga Yoshinori is ready to clean up the situation."

In the Chunhe Palace, when the news of the Kunlun Zhou gold mine spread to the entire Jiangnan at a very fast speed, Zhu Gaoxu calmly reviewed it.

Standing in front of him, Hu Lun, the commander of the West Factory, returned the salute when he heard it, and at the same time asked:

"Your Highness, let the news go to the merchants, the minister can understand, but why should you release the news to Korea, Japan, and Siam?"

"If they gain a foothold in Kunlun Continent, then the imperial court ......"

"It would be nice if they could really stand on their feet." Zhu Gaoxu interrupted Hu Lun's words and explained to him:

"The situation in Kunlun is even more complicated than in the South Seas, and without enough cinchona bark, they can only pan for placer gold in the rivers on the periphery."

"Only with enough cinchona bark can they penetrate deep into Kunlun and mine the gold in the dense forest."

"Tell me, how much should the imperial court sell for this cinchona bark?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked Hu Lun rhetorically, but did not wait for his answer, but continued: "What's more, the imperial court controls the two important straits of Ceylon and Manchuria, but if the fleet wants to pass through, it must be paid according to the commercial tax of ten taxes of the imperial court. ”

"The more gold they mine, the more the court will earn, and the deeper they go, the more cinchona bark they need, and no matter which direction you look at, the court will not be able to lose money."

Zhu Gaoxu is indeed very interested in the resources of Kunlun Continent, which can be compared with Indochina, Nanzhou (Australia), and North and East Continents...... Kunlun Continent is too far away for the Ming Dynasty.

From Daming to Beizhou, it can be reached in three months at most, and you can make two round-trips a year, but it takes a whole year to go to Kunlunzhou.

This kind of efficiency is not suitable for today's Daming.

Such a distance is not suitable for the current Ming Dynasty to occupy.

Instead of coveting Kunlunzhou, it is better to honestly manage Yunnan, Jiaozhi, Luzon, Jiugang, and Ceylon, and strive to further control the three propaganda and six comforts.

"This time, more than 26,000 people of the navy went to the Western Ocean, even if they did not go deep into the hinterland of the rainforest, they all lost more than 1,600 people in terms of disease, and more than 700 people were lost because of disease in helping the Great Gula Propaganda Division to clear out the Tukou."

"Without cinchona bark, the imperial court wants to use troops against Sanxuan and Liuwei, and the price is not something that the current treasury can bear."

Zhu Gaoxu said the unknown side behind the naval scenery, which also made Hu Lun can't help but agree.

On this trip to the West, the Ming army did not die many people on the battlefield, but more people were killed by diseases.

Because of this, Wang Ren and them have become the troops that Zhu Gaoxu cares about the most now.

If they fail, it means that the imperial court has to organize a trip to the West, and the cost of organizing a trip to the West is more than 100,000 yuan.

Compared with the benefits brought back by the fleet, this is not much, but now the financial situation of the Ming Dynasty is not optimistic, and more than 100,000 yuan is already a huge expenditure.

Beijing, the canal, the Yellow River, Wusong, Huangpu, Dabao'en Temple and other projects were all ordered by Zhu Gaoxu to be carried out slowly, after all, what he was most concerned about at the moment was the implementation of the new policy in Jiangnan.

"Let's take a look at the actions of these merchants, as long as they look beyond the land to the sea, the implementation of the new deal will be much simpler."

Zhu Gaoxu said, but Hu Lun said: "What if you don't want to? ”

When he said this, Zhu Gaoxu's pen in his hand stagnated, and after a while, he continued to review the music, and said in a flat tone: "Then I will open their old bottom." ”

"Recently, as the construction of Beijing City has gradually come to an end, there have been a lot of impeachments on the relocation of the capital among the people and temples......"

Hu Lun reported an incident, and this incident made Zhu Gaoxu put down the pen in his hand.

"Find out who's fueling the trouble?" He asked Hu Lun calmly, but Hu Lun shook his head:

"It's not so much who it is, it's all involved."

"It's kind of interesting." Zhu Gaoxu's face was disdainful.

Historically, the Ming Dynasty took so much effort to shift the political center to the north, but because there were not enough resources to develop the north, the right to speak was always in the south, or in the south of the Yangtze River.

This phenomenon is intolerable to Zhu Gaoxu, and once the political center is coerced by capital to develop towards Jiangnan, then after Jiangnan becomes the political center, its development direction will definitely be towards the Indochina Peninsula and the Nanyang region, and the north will not be valued by them at all.

Zhu Gaoxu knew very well that the strength of the state could be used to the south, but the north could not shrink or cede its strength.

He can not pursue actual control of Mobei, but he must actually control the Northeast and Western Regions, because he does not control it, and the subsequent kings will definitely not have his strength to control these two places.

If he can only do the bondage, then whether it is a strong bond or a weak bond, the subsequent king who ascends the throne will not have enough capital and strength to maintain these two fetters territory.

Only by actually controlling the local area and allowing the local area to develop its own capital and fight in the south of the Yangtze River can the territory of the north be stabilized, and this is the reason why Zhu Gaoxu vigorously promoted official education and vigorously built factories in the north.

At present, Jiangnan has completely lagged behind the north in resource-based handicrafts such as coal, iron ore, gold and silver ore.

Even if the north cannot continue to expand its capital territory, it can rely on these resource-based handicrafts to protect itself.

At that time, if you want to abandon the Northeast and Western Regions, it will not be as simple as migrating population.

After all, the population can migrate, but the mines can not be moved, and the food and clothing of millions of workers are important, and the food and clothing of millions of miners are equally important.

It's just that pure mineral resources are still not enough to support the self-protection of the north, after all, the development of mineral resources in this era is too slow, but once you have a steam engine, all this is different.

Thinking of this, everyone's affairs returned to the original point, that is, whether Wang Yiyi and his party arrived in Dongzhou and whether they searched for the things that the imperial court needed.

Rubber and cinchona bark are the resources that Daming now has the greatest external expansion and internal demand.

The difference between finding it a year earlier and finding it a year later is too big, Zhu Gaoxu is already thirty years old, and he is not sure how many years he can live.

All things must be carried out by him at the moment, and all classes of the entire Ming Dynasty can benefit.

The current Ming Dynasty has an advantage, that is, "small population".

Compared with the world, the population of the Ming Dynasty is naturally large, but compared with the territory of the Ming Dynasty, the population of more than 80 million is not much.

In addition, there is no country in the world that can compete with the Ming Dynasty, even if it is the Ming Dynasty that has not undergone Zhu Gaoxu's demon reform, there is no opponent in the world.

A fleet of less than 30,000 people in the Western Ocean could fight back and forth with the Timurid Empire in the Persian region, not to mention the Mamluks and other countries.

As long as the naval deterrent of the Ming is guaranteed, the Ming can dump its own goods in any coastal place, and harvest all countries with tea, porcelain, silk, and brown sugar.

As for the problems that will be encountered in this, that is not something that Zhu Gaoxu should be worried about.

As long as the overseas interests are sufficient, those business gangs in Jiangnan will find their own way to solve it, and the drama of the integration of bureaucracy and capital, which appeared in the two Song Dynasty, will also appear in the Ming Dynasty, which Zhu Gaoxu cannot stop.

Capital is certainly a beast, but as long as the primitive accumulation is completed, the subsequent pressure will be much reduced.

However, in terms of the size of the Ming Dynasty, once the Ming Dynasty completes capitalization, it may be difficult for the global market to give birth to a second country of the size of the Ming Dynasty, but that is not known how many years later.

Gathering his mind, Zhu Gaoxu refocused his mind on the mountain of notes.

At the same time, Zhu Di, who was in the West Corner Gate, also heard the reports of Ji Gang, Chen Ying and others.

"After returning from the Western Ocean this time, the tone of the temple has indeed changed, from the initial resistance to the West, to today's support, all because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince looked at the mountains and mines, so that Zheng He sent someone to lead the group of merchants to find the gold mines in Kunlunzhou."

"Your Majesty, the ministers think that the whole world is not the king's land, and the shores of the land are all the concubines of the Ming Dynasty."

"The gold mines in Kunlun Continent should be taken over by the imperial court, not handed over to these merchants."

In the gatehouse of the west corner, Ji Gang gave up all his thoughts, but now he didn't know that he had become a chess piece in Zhu Di who could be discarded at any time.

When he was full of joy and expressed his thoughts, Zhu Di asked rhetorically: "You said that the imperial court took over, who will you send?" ”

"Uh... The minister ......" Ji Gang was choked by Zhu Di's words, but he still reacted: "There are also trustworthy slaves and maids under the ministers. ”

"No need." Zhu Di interrupted: "The treasury is currently struggling to make ends meet, and it is thanks to the gold, silver and spices that Zheng He brought back this time that it can be alleviated. ”

"The matter of Kunlun Continent is beyond the reach of the imperial court, and it is extremely easy to divide one side, and it will not end well at that time."

"According to what the East Palace said, the imperial court sits in Ceylon and Manraka and collects taxes from these merchants."

"But Your Majesty ......" Ji Gang wanted to say something, but Zhu Di waved his hand: "Go down." ”

"Yes......"

Seeing Zhu Di like this, Ji Gang could only turn around and leave unwillingly, as for Chen Ying, who was standing on the side, he said after Ji Gang left:

"Your Majesty, although the temple has changed now, Xie Jin and other people in Jiangzuo are still unruly, and the minister thinks that they still need to be rectified."

"It is really needed, but not now, let's wait for the implementation of the new policy in Jiangxi." Zhu Di also interrupted Chen Ying and waved his hand to let him go down.

Seeing this, Chen Ying hurriedly returned the salute, and then slowly withdrew from the West Corner Gatehouse.

After they left, Zhu Di walked out of Wang Yan, Zheng He, and Yao Guangxiao, who had not appeared for a long time.

Although he is 75 years old, Yao Guangxiao is still deaf and clear-sighted, and his behavior is no different from that of ten years ago.

Coming to Zhu Di, the three of them saluted respectfully, and then Zhu Di took the lead in speaking: "These two people, I thought they did not know about the tricks. ”

He complained first, and then his eyes fell on Zheng He: "The second brother really means this, to give up the gold mine in Kunlun Continent to those people?" ”

"Your Highness does mean that." Zheng He bowed his head, and Yao Guangxiao next to him also thought about his Buddha beads when he heard this:

"If you are greedy, you can't chew it, Your Highness's past methods were all steady and steady, step by step, and it is the same now."

"From the perspective of poor monks, compared with the gold mines in Kunlunzhou, His Royal Highness is more concerned about the implementation of the new policy in Jiangnan, as well as the land reform and return to the southwest of the river, as well as how to crack down on the three warats in Mobei."

"If these three things are successful, they can solve the problems in the north, southwest, and southeast of the Ming Dynasty."

Facing Zhu Di, Yao Guangxiao was not so clumsy, but he would tell Zhu Di any information that could be guessed.

On the contrary, it was Zhu Gaoxu, because he never saw through him, Yao Guangxiao mostly showed his clumsiness when facing Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaoxu could also see his thoughts, and he usually didn't bother him.

"The second child is indeed steady and steady, and he is a master of talents, just like me."

Zhu Di stroked his beard and responded to everyone with great satisfaction.

Since the last time the father and son were open and honest in the palace, he didn't have too much resentment and worry about Zhu Gaoxu.

After all, his age has come up after all, once a person is old, he instinctively wants to be cared for by everyone, and he needs merit to prove himself.

It just so happened that Zhu Gaoxu could give him these two points, so he naturally put his mind on Zhu Gaoxu.

At least judging from the current situation, if Zhu Gaoxu really wants to be the emperor, then he, the old man, may not be able to beat him in Jiangnan.

In Beijing, the Bohai faction occupies fifty percent, and the Yan faction occupies fifty percent, but three percent of the Yan Mansion favors Zhu Gaoxu, and the remaining two percent will not be enemies of Zhu Gaoxu.

In this way, he, the old man, has long been unknowingly set aside by this second child.

In such a situation, the second child is still willing to let himself be the emperor, and his filial piety can already be seen.

Although he was still reluctant to give up the throne in his heart, when he thought of his age, Zhu Di still put away the idea of continuing to occupy the position.

"How is the situation of Xie Jin's group of people repairing books?"

Zhu Di looked at Yao Guangxiao, Yao Guangxiao also thought about Buddha beads and said: "Pointing but not suggesting, most of the books they repair are copied, and there are not many taboo things." ”

"As long as Your Majesty wants to, these problems left by Xie Jin can be used as a handle."

"Well......" Zhu Di bowed his head, but he still had some regrets in his heart, and he didn't want to kill Xie Jin like this.

After thinking about it for a long time, Zhu Di hesitated and said: "When the book revision is over, find an opportunity to demote him to Yunnan and Guangxi as an official, let him suffer and then see the situation." ”

"The minister commands." Yao Guangxiao nodded in response, but when he heard this, he sighed in his heart.

He knew Xie Jin's temperament too well, if it weren't for Zhu Di's talent, he would have died several times.

At present, Zhu Di is already a little wavering, and Xie Jin's temperament is impossible to change, so his death is estimated to be not far away.

Thinking of this, Yao Guangxiao stopped speaking, and Zhu Di also looked at Zheng He:

"How long do the treasure ships and warships of the Western Fleet need to be overhauled before they can continue sailing?"

"Probably by the winter months, they will all be in the water." Zheng He replied later: "In addition, the Ministry of Industry has also built more than a dozen treasure ships, more than 30 warships, and more than 50 horse ships. ”

"According to the meaning of His Royal Highness yesterday, it should be that he wants to order us to set sail before the lunar month, and Yang Zhan, the Duke of Yueguo, has already started recruiting troops in Lianghuai and Jiangdong."

"Judging from the training progress, it is probably around the month of Layue that you can participate in the mission of going to the West."

"The scale of this trip to the Western Ocean is about 70 treasure ships, 120 3,000 Daifuku warships, 3,000 horse ships of 5,000 and 3,000 horses, and more than 30,000 soldiers."

Zheng He explained the situation and progress of the third trip to the West, and Zhu Di was very satisfied after listening to it.

After all, if this trip to the West was carried out during his reign, it would naturally be counted as his merit.

It's just that he doesn't know why the second child is so persistent in going to Dongzhou and Beizhou.

Thinking of this, Zhu Di couldn't help but ask Zheng He: "Although the second child told me that there are things that can treat malaria in Dongzhou, and there are many crops that the Ming Dynasty does not have, it shouldn't take so much manpower and material resources to find some things." ”

"You said yesterday that the second child is going to set up the Dongzhou Propaganda Division, so there will be more manpower and material resources used, why is this?"

"Blame the slave for not making it clear to Your Majesty." Zheng He reacted at this time, and Zhu Gaoxu seemed to have forgotten to tell Zhu Di many things, so Zheng He hurriedly added;

"There are tens of millions of natives of similar skin color to us in Dongzhou and Beizhou, they have their own countries, and there are many mountain ranges in Dongzhou and Beizhou, especially Dongzhou produces gold and silver."

"His Royal Highness set up the Dongzhou Xuanwei Division, which means that he wants to trade with the local people, after all, the imperial court is currently increasing its population every year, and the gold and silver mining speed in the southwest, Japan, Luzon and other places has not improved, and it has obviously reached the limit."

"In such an environment, only by obtaining gold and silver from Dongzhou can we continue to mint new money and avoid the recurrence of the money shortage during the Hongwu period."

After Zheng He finished speaking, everyone only felt suddenly enlightened.

"I see!" Zhu Di stroked his beard with a smile: "I said that the second brother who picked the brick joints, how could he be willing to hand over the gold mines in Kunlun Continent to some businessmen, it turned out that he had found more gold and silver mines." ”

"Well, not bad......" Zhu Di looked at Zheng He with satisfaction: "You have to behave well in the West this time." ”

"Slave and maid command!" Zheng He responded, and Zhu Di also waved his hand to signal them to retreat.

Not long after, Yao Guangxiao and the others withdrew from the West Corner Gatehouse, and Zheng He also returned to the Chunhe Hall a moment later.

When he arrived at the Chunhe Palace, it was already dusk, and Zhu Gaoxu had dealt with all the music, and he happened to see him indirectly sometimes.

"Why did you come to me?"

Zhu Gaoxu got up with a smile, and Zheng He also chuckled: "I got some news from the West Corner Gate just now, so I passed it back to His Highness." ”

"Tell me about it." Zhu Gaoxu asked curiously, and Zheng He explained everything about the West Corner Gate just now without thinking.

From the dialogue between Ji Gang and Chen Ying, to Zhu Di's decision to demote the official and Xie Jin, and Zheng He's introduction of Dongzhou to Zhu Di, all of them were told by Zheng He.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't have much emotional fluctuation after hearing this, but just commented: "Ji Gang and Chen Ying, you can clean up Jiang Zuo together." ”

"It's that Xie Jin, he should have killed him directly, but my father was reluctant to kill him."

"But it doesn't matter, with Xie Jin's character, it is estimated that he will not be able to score too much on his way to demotion officials, and in the end, he will also kill himself, and he can still make Jiangzuo officials unable to find fault."

"As for the affairs of Dongzhou......"

Zhu Gaoxu paused, and after thinking about it, he continued: "This time, the fleet that goes to the Western Ocean and the East Ocean will no longer escort merchant ships, and the affairs of Dongzhou will at least be before the imperial court sets up the Dongzhou Propaganda Division, and don't let anyone know." ”

"Yes!" Zheng He responded, and Zhu Gaoxu smiled when he heard this: "I haven't eaten yet, since that's the case, I'll eat it with you." ”

"Yes......" Zheng He showed a smile on his face, which can act as a lubricant for Zhu Di's father and son, which is a great favor in his opinion.

After a while, the two sat together and began to talk and laugh and drink

It's just that while they were talking, laughing, and drinking, the island nation across the sea from Nanjing City began to be restless.

In the dark night, in the Sanjobo Gate Mansion in Kyoto Castle, Ashikaga Yoshinori kneeling on the couch was a little mature.

At this moment, he was holding his katana and looking at it, and the clothes on his body were the usual clothes of the samurai, not the clothes worn by his father before his death.

Since the death of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, he has moved back to the Sanjobo Mansion, and the former center of power in Japan, Kitayamadi, has been left out in the cold.

In the dim environment, Ashikaga Yoshinori shifted his gaze from the katana to his face.

On the long case in front of him, a small gold seal was placed on the table.

This is the golden seal of the Japanese king given by Zhu Di to Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, for Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, this is a representative of his strong support from the outside world, but for Ashikaga Yoshinori, this is his shame.

A day earlier, Emperor Go-Kameyama had gone to Yoshino to protest against the shogunate and the imperial court's violation of the provisions of the Treaty of Meitoku to establish Prince Minoru as crown prince, and to declare the Ashikaga shogunate a lackey of the Ming dynasty in Japan.

This sentence deeply pierced Ashikaga Yoshitoshi's heart, and he didn't want to be a vassal to the Ming Dynasty, but now he has made a decision in his heart.

"According to the plan, clean up those who support the vassals in the city, and then send envoys to Yingtian to tell the emperor of the Ming Dynasty that Japan can accept trade, but refuse to be vassals."

"Hey!"

In the dimly lit room, several voices rang out at the same time, and then they slowly got up and walked outside.

A moment later, the sound of rustling nails sounded in Kyoto City, and tonight was destined to be a sleepless night......

(End of chapter)