When Wang Xi, Hua Yun and Kang Maocai entered the Prince of Liang's Mansion, they were not asked to remove their weapons.
Everyone knew that the three of them were civil officials. Civil officials' weapons were just fancy tricks and were not to be feared.
Moreover, Wang Xi refused to disarm when he first met the King of Liang, saying that Yunnan was either an enemy or a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, and no matter which status they were, they would not disarm.
King Liang was stunned by Wang Xi's preaching, and other officials supported Wang Xi and asked King Liang to be patient, so he gave this "honor" to the Ming envoy.
However, every time Wang Xi entered the palace hall, his entourage was kept in the courtyard and not allowed to enter, just in case. This time was no exception.
Wang Xi, Hua Yun and Kang Maocai were not afraid at all and resolutely walked into their death, which made the officials in Yunnan sigh in admiration.
When the three of them entered the palace, the envoy Tuotuo had already changed into luxurious clothes and was sitting in the main seat in a very arrogant manner. King Liang was willing to accompany him below.
Wang Xi glanced at King Liang, but King Liang didn't dare to meet Wang Xi's gaze.
As the King of Liang, he should not sit above the vassal kings even if he was an envoy sent by the Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty.
King Liang had already developed murderous intentions towards the Ming envoys and was paranoid that the Yuan Dynasty would return soon and that he could rely on the natural barriers in Yunnan to resist the Ming army.
However, the Ming Dynasty was powerful, and Wang Xi was a highly respected scholar. King Liang did not want to bear the responsibility of ordering the killing of the Ming envoy, so he gave the first place to the envoy Tuotuo, pretending that he was forced to do so.
Simply put, King Liang was both a powerful figure and a powerful official, and he really didn't have the bearing of a leader of a certain faction.
The officials under the King of Liang all looked embarrassed and aggrieved. Darima, the King of Liang's minister, had always been a staunch anti-Ming faction, advocating the expulsion of the Ming envoys . Now, even Darima's gaze towards the King of Liang was filled with a hint of dissatisfaction.
It was not known whether the envoy Tuotuo was in cahoots with the King of Liang or was simply being arrogant and brainless. He sat very comfortably in the main seat, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he acted on behalf of the King of Liang and called for the killing of Wang Xi.
"If you surrender to my Yuan Dynasty, I can spare your life!" The envoy Tuotuo said arrogantly in Chinese.
Wang Xi placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, sneered and scolded: "The Yuan Dynasty has run its course, and my Ming Dynasty has taken its place! How can a tiny ember of the Yuan Dynasty compete with the sun and the moon? It is time for you to surrender to my Ming Dynasty, and I will spare your life!"
Wang Xi's words only angered the envoy Tuotuo so much that he rushed down from his main seat with a knife in hand, intending to chop Wang Xi off with his own hands.
Darima, who had previously been at odds with Wang Xi, was the quickest to act. He immediately grabbed the envoy Tuotuo and said, "Even when two armies are fighting, envoys are not killed. Moreover, your Majesty is so righteous and virtuous. Please think twice!"
The envoy Tuotuo said arrogantly: "Even if he is the reincarnation of Confucius, I will kill him!"
King Liang threatened Darima several times, and Darima had no choice but to let go.
He bowed to Wang Xi and said, "I will give you a lavish burial."
King Liang also sighed and said, "Since the angel has decided this, I can do nothing about it. My Lord, please forgive me."
Wang Xi was completely unafraid: "If I die today, the Ming army will surely arrive tomorrow. I'm waiting to see what happens to you."
After saying this, Wang Xi drew his broad sword and pretended to commit suicide.
The envoy Tuotuo sneered and stepped forward, as if he wanted to see clearly the painful look on Wang Xi's face before his death.
Wang Xi held the broadsword in both hands and placed it on his shoulders. Then he twisted his wrist and swung his arm. The broadsword suddenly drew a bright silver crescent from Wang Xi's left shoulder forward.
With a "clang", the envoy's gorgeous clothes were cut, and blood spurted out of his chest. He was hit by the sword and hit the right wall, screaming in pain.
Kang Maocai, who was ready to rush out, said: "..." The prince is quite strong.
While Kang Maocai was stunned, Hua Yun had already rushed towards King Liang like a cannonball.
King Liang was so shocked by Wang Xi's broadsword that his mind went blank. Before he could come to his senses, his chest felt like it was being hit by an angry bull. He flew straight backwards and hit the wall with a "bang". His chest was dented.
Hua Yun kicked off at the same time as Liang Wang flew backwards, and "flew" out at the same time as Liang Wang. As Liang Wang slid down the wall, Hua Yun grabbed Liang Wang's hair, pulling on Liang Wang's bun, who was breathing in less than out, and unsheathed his scimitar, holding it against Liang Wang's neck.
Kang Maocai: "..." Why are you all so fast? !
Fortunately, the officials of King Liang finally came to their senses. Some of them rushed out in a hurry, some shouted "Come here", and some drew their weapons and ran towards Kang Maocai. Kang Maocai was not left without a fight.
When the officials and guards saw that Prince Liang was being held hostage by Hua Yun, they wanted to hold Wang Xi or Kang Maocai hostage in exchange for Prince Liang.
The broadsword in Wang Xi's hand looked very lethal. Kang Maocai was the oldest and usually the most silent, making him the easiest target.
The average age in the Ming Dynasty was in the 30s, but that was the opposite of the saying, "If we averaged the assets of the two Mas and me, we'd all be billionaires." Child mortality was extremely high, and life expectancy was short for ordinary people. For those above the gentry class, anyone under 50 was considered young and middle-aged, and those who died before 60 were considered premature. Many officials in the court lived into their 70s.
Wang Xi and Hua Yun were stuck at the border of young and middle-aged people. Kang Maocai was seven years older than Wang Xi and was already an "old man" at the age of 56. Of course, the officials and guards of the King of Liang would go after the old man.
Knowing that he was being treated as a soft persimmon, Kang Maocai's mouth twitched. He drew a big knife from his waist and instantly knocked down two fierce-looking guards. He walked from the side of Wang Xi to the front of Wang Xi with an expressionless face, protecting Wang Xi as he headed towards Hua Yun.
Although Kang Maocai is not as strong as he was in his prime, his swordsmanship is more sophisticated. If we ignore his endurance and only look at his short-term lethality, his fighting ability is even greater than when he was in his prime.
According to the original history, Kang Maocai should have died of illness on his way back from the expedition the next year. Before his death, Kang Maocai had been fighting wars all over the country.
He's not some old man, he's a formidable veteran.
Wang Xi was obediently protected by Kang Maocai behind him. From time to time, he would stretch out his broadsword and stab or hit Kang Maocai in the gaps between his sword flashes. His finishing moves were skillful and vulgar, which was completely inconsistent with his reputation.
Hua Yun discovered that King Liang was used to a life of luxury and lost his ability to move after being hit by him. There was no need to use a knife to hold him back. He dragged King Liang with one hand like a dead dog, and held the knife in his right hand, and could easily push away three or four swords from the opponent.
Hua Yun laughed heartily: "Grandpa, I'll let you use one hand, and I'll still beat you so hard that you'll run away in panic. Prince, keep going!"
Wang Xi, who had the weakest fighting ability, grabbed King Liang's hair and placed his broad sword on King Liang's body.
Hua Yun freed his hands and pulled out a scimitar from his waist. He swung the two swords with great force, and wherever the swords went, blood and flesh flew everywhere.
King Liang's officials had already retreated behind the guards, shouting and ordering them to kill the three people in front of them, and did not dare to confront them.
Wang Xi poked the King of Liang's thigh with the tip of his sword and threatened, "Hurry and tell your men to retreat! "
King Liang screamed miserably, and said in a stern but weak voice, "You, you must let me go immediately, or you will all die!"
Wang Xi laughed and said, "The Ming army is already at the gates of the city. Who do you think will die?"
After he finished speaking, there were "bang bang bang" sounds of gunfire coming from outside.
Wang Xi's entourage, namely Hua Yun and Kang Maocai's soldiers, took out their flintlock rifles. The fifty of them divided into five rows of ten men each and started shooting.
They started from the courtyard near the palace gate. The person in front fired, and the people behind took two steps forward and jumped over the body of the person in front. The people in the first row ran to the last row under the cover of firepower, and thus they advanced forward in an orderly manner and with uninterrupted firepower.
Compared to primitive firearms, flintlock rifles not only fired and reloaded faster, but were also more compact. Even the Yuan army had been repeatedly defeated by these new firearms, and Yunnan, located in a remote area, was even less familiar with them. Therefore, these fifty Ming soldiers were able to easily conceal the flintlock rifles, which were completely new to the Yunnan Yuan soldiers.
However, the Yunnan garrison had not fought in years, and Prince Liang looked down on the Ming envoys deep within enemy territory, so they dared not do anything excessive. They simply drove the entourage into the courtyard without searching them. Wang Xi, Kang Maocai, and Hua Yun were all extremely surprised, and then they arrogantly approached with their flintlock rifles.
The King of Liang's palace was staffed with five hundred armored guards, and when they heard the noise, they all gathered in the palace hall.
However, to prevent assassins, palace guards were not allowed to wear helmets or visors; for the convenience of patrolling, they only wore light armor such as leather and cloth armor.
In front of the flintlock rifle, which is much more powerful than the musket, such armor is almost like a decorative piece of clothing.
If they had horses now, they might be able to break through the fire blockade of only fifty people and directly engage the Ming soldiers in hand-to-hand combat, perhaps even annihilating them. But they couldn't afford horses in the palace, and facing the new fire musket soldiers armed with flintlock rifles and who had been trained for a long time by Chen Ying, it was like they were being driven to be shot.
Many of the guards serving in the palace had been away from the bloody battlefield for a long time, and some were even sons of noble families who were just trying to get by.
When faced with death, most of them fled in panic, their troops in disarray; only a few brave warriors were left to face the power of the Ming army's new firearms. This reckless and foolish bravery led to their quick death.
The musketeers quickly advanced to the gate of the palace where Wang Xi and the other three were, and stepped into the bloody palace.
Hua Yun asked, "What's the situation?"
The captain who led the fifty men said, "The palace guards have already fled in all directions, and no one is stopping them."
Hua Yun said: "Close the palace gate and send a signal!"
The captain took the order and led forty people away, leaving only ten people on standby.
The gunpowder signal flare named "Sky Monkey" by Zhu Biao rushed into the sky with a red tail of smoke.
A few minutes later, a rocket with a red smoke tail shot up into the sky from the main gate of Kunming City.
Hua Yun laughed loudly: "Old Kang, those young generals are really fast!"
Kang Maocai saw the signal flare and finally felt relieved: "After today, I'm afraid we can't call them young generals anymore."
Hua Yun wiped the blood off his face and said, "Let's not talk about the others. I can call Hua Wenxun a young general for the rest of his life."
Kang Maocai: "... whatever you want."
When Wang Xi saw the signal flare at the city gate, a smile finally appeared on his stern face.
He turned around and said to the Yunnan officials who were being held down by the three of them, "I told you that the Ming army will arrive soon. Do you believe it now?"
The officials were all stunned.
King Liang gasped in disbelief, "The Ming army is coming? How is that possible? I haven't even received any news!"
At this time, several officials who were hiding behind the few remaining guards in the palace took off their Yuan Dynasty official hats, straightened their appearance, smiled, walked past the guards, and walked towards Wang Xi and others.
"Welcome the heavenly soldiers." The officials bowed to Wang Xi and others.
King Liang was even more incredulous: "You, you..."
Liang Wang's councilor Yu Jinlu said, "The Ming Dynasty is destined to succeed the Yuan Dynasty. If you can surrender, you can continue to serve in the Ming Dynasty. Why would you share life and death with the already destroyed Yuan Dynasty?"
Another councilor, Gao Fuwei, also said, "The Ming Emperor is a heroic ruler, and he is the people's hope and support. For the sake of the people of Yunnan, you should not resist."
Darima was silent for a moment, then said in a hoarse voice, "Is what the newspaper said true? Did the Yuan Dynasty really fall?"
Wang Xi said in a deep voice, "It has been two years since the Yuan Dynasty was driven back to the grasslands."
Darima lowered his head, covered his face with his hands, and laughed, then committed suicide with a sword.
King Liang shrank his neck and shouted, "I surrender, I surrender, don't kill me!"
The officials threw away their swords.
Except for Darima, no one was buried alive with the long-dead Yuan.
Yunnan was already quite far from the Yuan court, and their loyalty was more to King Liang than to the Yuan. With King Liang surrendering, there was no need for them to resist.
Wang Xi, Kang Maocai, and Hua Yun then led a retinue of fifty men to annihilate Yunnan. Wang Xi personally collected the remains of Darima and later buried him with honor.
What about the fifty followers? They are opening the city gates to welcome the Ming army outside.
When the Ming army entered the city, Wang Xi, Kang Maocai and Hua Yun were embarrassed to find that there were only 5,000 Ming troops who had entered Yunnan in advance, and the main army had not arrived yet.
"There are still 5,000 people on the way." The general in charge was also puzzled. "We are scattered around Kunming and waiting. It has only been two days since we received the order."
Hua Yun waved his hand: "Never mind, five thousand is five thousand. Five thousand is enough to defend the city."
Kang Maocai was embarrassed for a moment, then nodded.
Both of them had experienced many difficult battles to defend the city, so it was not a big problem.
Wang Xi said, "Imprison the families of the King of Liang and the officials together and assign guards to prevent them from causing trouble. The garrison of Kunming has not seen battle in many years. You two brave generals leading 5,000 men is more than enough to defend the city."
Hua Yun flexed his wrist and smiled, "That's right. I've been waiting for this moment for a long time."
Who the hell wants to be a civil servant and look at paperwork with a frown every day!
Hua Yun finally understood Chang Yuchun's pain. While Chang Yuchun was still able to fight in battles while farming, he was imprisoned in Nanjing and could not even leave the house.
If he doesn't fight anymore, his skills will decline.
Hua Yun and Kang Maocai quickly put on their armor and went into battle to garrison Kunming City.
Wang Xi patrolled the city, calmed the people and punished those who took advantage of the chaos to do evil.
Chen Ying and others who learned the news halfway were shocked. Hua Wenxun led the team to Kunming for support, while Chen Ying and Lan Yu concentrated their forces to attack Dali.
Dali was soon captured, and upon hearing that Prince Liang had surrendered, the garrisons in other cities in Yunnan opened their gates and surrendered.
In August of the third year of Hongwu, before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the victory news from Yunnan was sent to Nanjing.
In October, when the victory report reached Nanjing, Zhu Yuanzhang burst into laughter and immediately conferred upon Lan Yu the title of Marquis of Yongchang, Chen Ying the title of Marquis of Diannan, and Wang Xi the title of Earl of Kang'an. Hua Yun and Kang Maocai, already marquisates, were not given any additional titles, but only rewards; Hua Wenxun was promoted to Viscount.
Lan Yu returned to Sichuan to continue farming, Chen Ying and Wang Xi stayed in Yunnan to farm, and Hua Yun, Kang Maocai and Hua Wenxun returned to Nanjing to report and receive rewards.
Liu Ji was so angry that he jumped up and down: "Wang Xi is not coming back?! My lord? He is not coming back?!"
Zhu Yuanzhang said with a guilty conscience: "Aren't you doing a good job? If he doesn't want to come back, then don't come back. Yunnan really needs him..."
Liu Ji was so angry that his feet left the ground: "Song Lian went to supervise the construction of the public school, Zhang Yi and Ye Chen were sent out, Ye Zheng semi-retired, and Wang Xi also ran away, and I am the only one left in Nanjing to work hard?!"
Zhu Yuanzhang sneered, "Your official position is higher than theirs. After Li Gong retires, the position of Prime Minister will be left to you. Aren't you better than them?"
Liu Ji raised his sleeves and said, "Very good. So let Wang Xi return as Prime Minister, and I will go to Yunnan in his place. Otherwise, I can go to Beijing to assist Biao'er."
Zhu Yuanzhang said dissatisfiedly: "Why, are you so unwilling to assist me?"
Liu Ji was not at all afraid of Zhu Yuanzhang's displeasure and said, "I have no regrets in assisting my lord. I simply do not want to deal with those fools in the court who lack even a modicum of common sense."
Zhu Yuanzhang: "...This is why you can't leave! Bowen, without you, who will help me scold them?"
Under Zhu Yuanzhang's coercion, Liu Ji stayed cursing.
Li Shanchang sighed to the sky. Why do you all want to be sent out? Can you please take over my heavy responsibilities? I want to retire!
Ye Zheng said slowly: "Mr. Li, His Majesty will definitely keep you for a few more years. Don't even think about retiring."
Li Shanchang cursed: "I think he wants me to die in office!"
Ye Zheng smiled and said, "Isn't this exactly what a minister hopes for? Devoting oneself to the Ming Dynasty until death, isn't that a blessing?"
Li Shanchang sighed and said, "I am not afraid of dying in office, but I am afraid that if I die too suddenly, there will be no one to take my place, which will delay Your Majesty's work."
Ye Zheng said, "Because Lord Li is here, Wang Zichong, Liu Bowen and others are so willful, and Your Majesty allows them to act so willfully. If Lord Li is gone, they will naturally come back."
Li Shanchang laughed and scolded, "You're all aiming to exploit me, right?"
Ye Zheng laughed heartily: "As the two older people, it's okay for us to pamper the younger ones a little and let them have more time to do what they like."
Li Shanchang was persuaded by Ye Zheng and finally gave up the urge to smash Liu Ji and others' heads with his crutch, and then resign and leave, leaving Zhu Yuanzhang to worry about his own headache.
However, he still recommended several hard-working young people to Zhu Yuanzhang to replace him.
When making the recommendation, Li Shanchang sighed again and again.
The young people he valued, such as Ye Zheng's three apprentices, all requested to be transferred to other places. Now the Secretariat was left with only a few misfits who valued power more than serving the country and the people.
"Forget it, as long as he can do his job, how can he compare to the dead Zhang Chang? Let Your Majesty worry about it."
Zhu Yuanzhang did have a headache, so he took a steamer to Beijing to complain to Zhu Biao.
Since the advent of steamships, Zhu Yuanzhang traveled frequently between Beijing and Nanjing. Coal accounted for the majority of the court's expenses. Because Zhu Yuanzhang brazenly used the pretext of the emperor personally touring the northern border, no one in the court remarked on this expense.
"Biao'er!"
Zhu Yuanzhang arrived before he even heard the noise. Zhu Biao, who was peeling crabs in the yard, was stunned for a moment and instinctively stuffed the crab meat and roe into his mouth.
Zhu Biao's younger brothers immediately did the same thing.
Obviously, Zhu Yuanzhang's food snatching incident left a deep psychological shadow on his sons.
Zhu Yuanzhang rushed into the courtyard and saw his sons happily eating crabs shipped from the south. He quickly ate the remaining crabs under the resentful gazes of his sons, except Zhu Biao, before saying the second half of his sentence: "Those idiots in Nanjing! Sooner or later, I will report to His Majesty and have them all dismissed from office!"
After the steamship was invented, every time Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly appeared without prior notice, it was most likely to say this sentence. Zhu Biao was used to it.
He wiped his mouth, washed his hands in chrysanthemum water, wiped his fingers carefully with a handkerchief, and said slowly: "Did they do something stupid again?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Biao'er, you may not know this in Beijing, but in the autumn of this year, Japanese pirates invaded Shandong... Biao'er?! What are you going to do?!"
Zhu Biao threw his handkerchief and jumped up in anger: "What?! The Japanese pirates are invading the border?! Bring my cannons here, I want to go to Shandong myself!"
Zhu Chong and Zhu Gang immediately hung on Zhu Biao's arms reflexively and tried to comfort him, "Brother, brother, don't be impulsive. Listen to what Dad says first. If anyone wants to hit him, it's not you who should do it."
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyelids twitched as he watched his second and third sons' skillful movements. Biao'er had been in Beijing for a few years, and it seemed his temper had gotten worse.
"Biao'er, who are you calling me Laozi in front of?" Zhu Yuanzhang gently pressed down Zhu Biao's head, which kept rising. "Are you really that angry? I don't think you were this angry even when the Mongols invaded the border."
Zhu Biao was so angry that he wanted to bite Zhu Yuanzhang twice, who was smiling so relaxedly.
Those were Japanese pirates, how could they be the same?! How could they be the same!!
"Dad! I don't want to be the prefect of Beijing or the governor of Northern Zhili anymore. I want to be the governor of Shandong!" Zhu Biao howled. "I'm going to write a memorial to the emperor right now!"
Although Zhu Yuanzhang didn't understand why Zhu Biao was so excited, he was amused by his son's impatience and laughed: "Your Majesty will definitely not agree, don't even think about it. The Mongols are much more important than the Japanese pirates. Don't be willful."
Zhu Di and Zhu Su also came over, squatted down and hugged Zhu Biao's empty legs: "Brother, don't get excited."
With four younger brothers hanging on his body and his head being pressed by his biological father, Zhu Biao's overheated brain finally calmed down.
Indeed, although the Japanese pirates were very disgusting, for the Ming Dynasty, they were just looting, while the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty were eyeing the return to the Central Plains. The threat from the north was far greater than that from the sea.
Now that the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty have not been destroyed and the Oirat Mongols are gradually rising, he really cannot abandon the northern defense line and go to Shandong to kill the Japanese pirates.
"I'm so angry!" Zhu Biao sat down and gulped down a small basin of chrysanthemum water.
Zhu Chong wanted to say something but stopped himself.
Zhu Gang: "Brother... forget it, alas."
Zhu Di hurriedly said: "Brother, that is... um..."
Zhu Su quickly covered his twin brother's mouth.
Zhu Yuanzhang was not like Zhu Biao's brothers. He did not give Zhu Biao any face at all and laughed heartily: "Biao'er, you drank handwashing water, and you just washed your hands!"
Zhu Biao wiped his mouth and said coldly, "I'm happy to do so."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao's cold expression, and his laughter quickly faded. "If you are happy, then so be it. Don't worry about the affairs of Shandong. His Majesty has already sent Tang He to build a garrison on the seashore."
Zhu Biao frowned. "Guards? Waiting for them to attack us? Stupid! How can they place the battlefield on our territory? Wouldn't that just make the people suffer?"
Zhu Yuanzhang finally got down to business: "That's exactly what I'm saying. Biao'er, you once said that we should keep the enemy thousands of miles away. Aren't our ships more powerful than the Japanese pirates? If the Japanese pirates attack us, we should hold their king accountable. But the court says we should ban the sea... Alas."
Zhu Biao's eyes widened. "What? What did they want?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Ban the sea!"
Before Zhu Biao could say anything, Zhu Chong couldn't help but say, "Father, are the officials in the court out of their minds? We don't fight back when others attack us, and we even close the sea? Is this any different from if thieves come to your house, and you don't kill them, but instead close the door and never go out again, and starve to death at home?"
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed: "The Ming Dynasty is vast and rich in resources, how could it starve to death?"
He elaborated on the suggestions of the court ministers.
The Japanese pirates invaded the border, aided and abetted by Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen, Chen Youding, deserters from the Yuan army who refused to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, and some pirates at sea. Therefore, the ministers in the court, especially those from the southern coastal areas, petitioned for a sea ban.
They demanded strict control over the people's ships, allowing them to fish near the coast but not to do business in the deep sea, so as to prevent the people from colluding with the Japanese pirates.
Moreover, after the merchants of the Ming Dynasty stopped going overseas to do business, the Japanese pirates no longer had any profit and would stop plundering.
The Ming Dynasty only needs to build garrisons on the coast to prevent them from coming ashore.
The group of people spoke very convincingly and they came from the southern coast. If Zhu Yuanzhang had not been a wealthy businessman or a big sea merchant, he would have been persuaded by them.
The Ming Dynasty is vast and rich in resources. We can live well by ourselves. Why go to sea? It is easier to manage the people if they stay on land.
There is nothing wrong with the logic.
But when Zhu Yuanzhang was Zhu Guorui, he was a wealthy businessman.
When Zhu Biao was young, he was only responsible for giving orders. When Zhu Yuanzhang was fighting wars and doing business at the same time, he knew very well that the families of those ministers controlled long-distance fleets, and even most of their income came from these fleets.
Zhu Yuanzhang was very confused. How could these people give up their interests so easily?
Although the doubts were not answered, Zhu Yuanzhang would definitely not agree to the sea ban.
Zhu Biao did the math for him: after a few decades of peace and prosperity, the grain produced by the land of the Ming Dynasty would not be enough to feed the people of the Ming Dynasty. If he did not trade with foreign countries, would the people starve to death?
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the world map every day and used his fingers as a ruler to mark it.
The world is so big and the Ming Dynasty is so small. Although Zhu Yuanzhang would not exploit the people of the time in order to expand his territory, he still felt uncomfortable.
I won't fight or occupy, I'll just go and take a look. Can't I do business with them?
If my family hadn't done business with Biao'er overseas, how could I have had so much food and weapons? How could I have conquered the world without excessively exploiting the people under my rule?
After listening to Zhu Yuanzhang's complaints, Zhu Biao became even angrier, but his mind calmed down completely.
He asked his brothers, "Can you guess why they banned the sea?"
Zhu Chong, Zhu Gang, Zhu Di and Zhu Su were all thinking hard.
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately said, "I can't think of it, how could they not think of it?"
Zhu Chong glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Brother, they have gained huge profits from ocean trade and will never give up those profits. They are definitely asking for a sea ban in order to gain even greater profits. It's just that I can't think of how this suggestion will help them gain even greater profits."
Zhu Gang pinched his chin, imitating Zhu Biao, and said, "Brother once said that things are valuable because they are rare. Is it true that since the Ming Dynasty has less foreign trade, their goods are more valuable?"
Zhu Su whispered, "But the sea is closed, so they can't go out to sea."
Zhu Di snorted coldly, "If you can't say it, then don't go out? The emperor is far away. They are powerful tyrants on the southern coast. They can go out to sea if they want. The emperor is in Nanjing. How can he stop them?"
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed: "Ji Ze is overthinking it. They don't have the guts."
Zhu Biao shook his head. "No, what they want is what Fourth Brother said. They want to ban official and private trade so that they can monopolize the smuggling trade."
Zhu Yuanzhang's laughter paused.
Zhu Di said proudly, "The profits from smuggling are enough to make them take such a risk. Moreover, when they smuggle in the future, they will definitely not send their own family members to do it, but rather send slaves who are seemingly unrelated to them!"
Zhu Biao shook his head again. "No. The emperor is far away, and transportation is difficult. It takes months to travel from south to north. Their servants will smuggle in the name of their family to get the guards to let them go. The officials' mutual protection is the shortcut to smuggling. Father, during the Han Dynasty, it was forbidden to sell salt and iron to the Xiongnu, but merchants who sold private salt and iron to the Xiongnu continued to do so. Do you remember what was said in the heavenly book? If the profit exceeds 100%..."
Zhu Yuanzhang gnashed his teeth and said, "They can trample on all the laws in the world!"
Zhu Biao said, "It's obvious that Your Majesty has benefited greatly from overseas trade due to our family's business dealings. Not only do you not want to ban it, you want to increase its influence. The political and economic center of the Ming Dynasty is in the Yangtze River Delta. If the government supports overseas trade, the Yangtze River Delta will immediately replace the southern seaports."
Zhu Chong didn't understand and said, "But you also said, brother, after the market opens, everyone will make money, and they will definitely make more."
Zhu Biao said, "But in the minds of many people, they don't calculate the benefits they gain, but rather their relative benefits compared to others. If everyone wears silk, then those who wear silk will have no status. So those who wear silk hope that everyone else will wear coarse cloth, or even nothing at all. Even if that means they have fewer silk clothes, they're happy with that."
Zhu Chong was speechless. How could this be possible?
The other brothers were all thoughtful, wondering whether they had seen similar phenomena in real life.
Zhu Yuanzhang's face had turned very dark.
Zhu Biao said, "Although this will offend several major families, Dad... never mind. I'll write a memorial to the Emperor. To protect the people, we should vigorously develop the navy and keep the enemy out of the country. Japan is just a tiny country. If it weren't for the lack of profit, it would have been conquered by the Chinese Empire long ago. Kublai Khan retreated due to the typhoon, but it was a weighing of the pros and cons, not because he was really afraid."
Zhu Biao took a deep breath and said, "Many people along the coast rely on overseas trade and distant-water fishing for their livelihoods. Cutting off the livelihoods of our own people for the sake of pirates from a tiny nation will be ridiculed by future generations. This is no different from when we confronted the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty, where we didn't consider attacking them, or even building the Great Wall, but instead retreated as the enemy advanced, relocating our people inland. One step back, every step back. The ocean occupies 70% of the Earth's...world surface. How can we give up the ocean?"
After hearing Zhu Biao's words, Zhu Yuanzhang's chaotic thoughts seemed to be straightened out one by one as if by a pair of hands.
He knew that the suggestions made by this group of people were definitely problematic, but he couldn't think of a way to refute them.
Even someone as eloquent as Liu Ji could only focus on the point of "not depriving the people of their benefits" and could not find a point to hit the other party hard.
Officials in the north, especially inland, have almost been convinced.
They didn't expect that there were so many traps and such great drawbacks in the suggestions offered by these people.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought of the world map again.
Biaoer said that the oceans accounted for 70% of the world. Although the Ming Dynasty could not fully explore the oceans at present, it did not mean that it could not in the future.
Just like Emperor Wu of Han conquered the Western Regions, which led to the Silk Road.
If the Ming Dynasty gave up the ocean, and the ocean outside China's vast coastline was occupied by other countries, wouldn't it be surrounded by enemies?
What's the difference between the Ming Dynasty, which lost the ocean, and the Song Dynasty, which lost most of China's territory?!
"Biao'er, I will talk to His Majesty and will never agree to their...proposal." Zhu Yuanzhang gritted his teeth and felt murderous.
Zhu Biao said, "In fact, with the advent of steamships, their delusions will not come true... Oh, they may also discover this. I think they will criticize steamships and steam engines next."
Zhu Yuanzhang clenched his fists and said, "The steam engine is a national treasure. How can they criticize it?!"
Zhu Biao said, "Simple. They can criticize from such esoteric sources as feng shui. Natural disasters happen every year in this world; they're unavoidable. Whenever a disaster strikes, they blame it on the steam engine, or even new firearms, or even... our family."
Zhu Biao rolled his eyes: "For example, if this terrible machine is plundering the power of the dragon vein and the destiny of China, our Zhu family will rebel against the Zhu family."
We, the Zhu family, are going to rebel against the Zhu family... Zhu Yuanzhang was in a very strange mood.
"Okay, I'll wait for them to report to the emperor that our Zhu family is going to rebel against the Zhu family." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "I'm going back to Nanjing now!"
Zhu Biao complained: "Dad, coal is still quite expensive. It's a waste for you to make such a trip."
Zhu Yuanzhang rubbed Zhu Biao's head vigorously, ruffling his hair. "Dad, it's not a waste to come to see Biao'er. Our Zhu family has saved so much money that we can't spend it all in a few lifetimes. How can it be a waste to use my own money to see my son? Isn't that what you said, Biao'er?"
Zhu Biao held his head and said, "Okay, okay, you've convinced me. Bring mother with you next time. You go back and I stay."
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed: "Okay. It's not that I don't want to bring your mother, but your mother has been a little busy recently. But when winter comes, she will come back to spend the winter. We will stay together until the beginning of next spring."
Zhu Biao said happily: "Okay, I'll wait for you to come back."
Zhu Yuanzhang rubbed Zhu Biao's head again and left with a stern face.
As soon as he returns to Nanjing, he will immediately launch a bloody purge.
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't like trouble. If killing could solve the problem, he would rather use the knife directly. Since these people dared to trample on all laws for the sake of profit, I hope they are not afraid of death.
On the boat back to Nanjing, Zhu Yuanzhang made his decision while turning the walnuts that Zhu Biao had specially given him.
If the powerful people think that they have a stronghold in the local area and that the emperor is far away and cannot be moved, then let them leave the place where they are entrenched.
How can a tree be so arrogant without roots? Zhu Yuanzhang sneered.
So at the end of the third year of Hongwu, the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang issued an imperial decree that caused complaints from Jiangnan and the southern coastal areas - to relocate wealthy families along the coast to Yunnan, Gansu, Shanxi and other places!
There was an uproar in the court, and many ministers banged their heads against the pillars and protested to the death, but Zhu Yuanzhang ignored them all.
The name of the tyrant Ming Taizu was first recorded from this time.