prosperous age

Seeing that Li Youzi did not respond, the Minister of Personnel Wang Guoguang became anxious and said immediately: "Mr. Wei, this matter is of great importance. If we do it, I am afraid that the Ministry of Revenue will not have enough financial resources to cope with it."

He had just retired from the Ministry of Revenue and was very familiar with its situation.

"The Ministry of Revenue had previously reserved a large amount of silver for the emperor's wedding. Let's not talk about whether this amount of silver is enough. Just inviting the surrounding vassal states to watch the ceremony and giving them rewards is not something the Ministry of Revenue can afford.

The imperial court had money during the Yongle era, but it doesn’t have it now.”

Wang Guoguang was very anxious and secretly hated Li Youzi for not being able to distinguish right from wrong. It was obviously a burden that the Ministry of Revenue could not bear, but he did not even speak out against it.

"Don't worry, the cabinet has already taken care of this matter."

At the critical moment, it was Zhang Siwei who spoke out to dissuade him.

"Ziwei, you don't know the difficulty.

Those kings and envoys who came to our Ming Dynasty, their board and lodging were all borne by our Ming Dynasty. They paid tribute to Your Majesty, but the Ministry of Revenue wanted the silver to be rewarded to them.

Wang Guoguang immediately continued, fearing that Zhang Siwei didn't know the trick.

“Those rewards cannot be eaten or drunk, and most of them are just strange and ingenious things. The rewards given by Your Majesty are several times their value in their own country, which is really a huge loss.

Therefore, during the Xuande period, all the officials in the court opposed continuing to sail to the West, which was really a waste of money and manpower. "

"hehe."

Upon hearing this, Wei Guangde chuckled, and before Wang Guoguang could get angry, Wei Guangde put away his smile and said seriously: "Minister Wang knows a lot about what happened back then, so he should know the reason why all the officials in the court opposed it.

This time, we will go to the Western Ocean and bring the goods from the treasuries of various places with us and sell them to other countries. How about exchanging what we have for what we need?"

When Wei Guangde said that the fleet sailing to the West would carry things from the treasury with them and would also go there to do business, Wang Guoguang was slightly stunned.

Not to mention whether Ming Dynasty’s products can be sold, but the fact that Western merchants would occasionally bring their permits to Ming Dynasty to do business shows that Ming Dynasty’s products would definitely have no trouble selling and there would be profits to be made.

Otherwise, people would travel all the way to Ming Dynasty to do business after they have enough food and take huge risks.

"What Elder Wei means is to make some money first and then give back as rewards?"

Wang Guoguang gradually calmed down his anger and asked.

"Exactly."

Wei Guangde nodded, "The reason why the Xuande Dynasty opposed it was nothing more than that it was a loss for the court, but what if the court did not lose money on this trip to the West?"

"Then I have no objection."

Wang Guoguang understood what happened back then. It was that the emperor was enriched but the Ministry of Revenue was at a loss, so all the civil and military officials in the court opposed the voyage to the West.

But if the initiative is handed over to the imperial court, the situation will be different. The profits from the voyage to the West will flow into the imperial court, although it will mainly go to the Ministry of Revenue, but it will also greatly improve the financial situation of the imperial court.

"The Ministry of Revenue does not object to this policy and has reported to the Cabinet the goods and quantities in the treasuries of various regions that are suitable for participating in this trade."

At this point, Li Youzi had no choice but to express his stance. The former minister had publicly expressed his support, so what else could he do?

In fact, he didn't understand the benefits at all, otherwise he wouldn't have seemed hesitant before.

Wang Guoguang and Li Youzi's performance really shocked Ma Ziqiang and others, and they couldn't understand the reason.

After all, it had been more than a hundred years since Zheng He's voyages to the West, and they only knew that it was a huge expense. So when all the officials in the court opposed it, they finally forced Emperor Xuande to suspend his voyages.

Note that Emperor Xuande only suspended his voyages to the West, which is why Emperor Yingzong wanted to resume them later.

However, he still wanted to maintain the old system of Yongle and let the inner court lead this activity, so he encountered opposition from the whole court. There were also rebellions along the coast and Mongolian unrest, and finally nothing came of it.

At this time, Chen Zan of the Censorate could not help but ask, "What is going on? When the officials of the court opposed it, they must have had their reasons for opposing it.

Now that you two support it, there must be convincing reasons, otherwise the Censorate would definitely not agree to it.'

In response to Chen Zan's objection, the Minister of Rites Ma Ziqiang immediately closed his slightly opened mouth. He wanted to wait for Wang Guoguang to explain.

After all, he used to be the Minister of Revenue, so there must be a reason why he knew this period of history.

However, at this time, Ma Ziqiang had already taken the lead among the six ministries and nine officials in thinking of what would happen after the voyage to the West. That is, there might be rulers and envoys from Western and Southeast Asian countries coming to the Ming Dynasty to watch the wedding ceremony of Emperor Wanli.

what is this?

All nations come to court.

A word appeared in his mind, and he felt a little excited when he thought about it.

If such a grand event could take place, it would be of great significance to the current Ming Dynasty.

So, he looked at Wang Guoguang with burning eyes. As long as he could give a relatively acceptable reason, the Ministry of Rites would choose to fully support this decision.

Wang Guoguang did not answer directly at this time, but looked around the room, then subconsciously looked outside the hall, and then said: "I have said before that the result of the voyage to the West was that the court lost money.

But in fact, the profits from the voyages to the West were also huge, but this part of the profits did not make up for the deficit of the court, but most of it flowed into the inner court.

With the current financial situation of the Ministry of Revenue, it is definitely not possible to support such a grand ceremony.

But if the proceeds from the voyages could flow into the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Revenue would not only be able to support this expenditure, but it might even have a surplus, greatly improving the Ministry of Revenue’s financial situation.”

Wang Guoguang did not emphasize too much on the fundamental reasons for opposing the decision to sail to the West, but he did say that if the court took the lead in sailing to the West, it would be beneficial to the finances.

That alone was enough to change a room full of people’s stance.

Although no one cares about the Ministry of Revenue, it is related to the court's purse. Even though the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Rites and other ministries have their own income channels, they still have to ask the Ministry of Revenue for compensation when there is an imbalance between income and expenditure.

While others were still pondering the meaning of Wang Guoguang's words, Ma Ziqiang had already taken the lead and said, "The Ministry of Rites has no objection."

Although he was most likely no longer in the position of Minister of Rites two years later, such a grand event as the visit of all nations was still presided over by the Ministry of Rites.

Well, when we get back we should ask the Ceremonial Department and the Four Barbarians Hall to make preparations, and the Huitong Hall should also be renovated.

"The Ministry of War has no objection."

Tan Lun followed up decisively and expressed his opinion. It was obvious that Wei Guangde was the one who strongly promoted the voyage to the West, and he had no reason to object.

With Ma Ziqiang and Tan Lun's statements, Jiang Zhi immediately said, "The Ministry of Industry has no objection."

Wei Guangde looked at everyone with a smile, and his gaze soon fell on the Minister of Justice Wu Baipeng, the Censorate Chen Zan, the Supreme Court Minister and others.

"Minister Wu, Deputy Minister Chen, what do you think?"

Now, the only two yamen still have power. As for the Dali Temple and the Tongzhengshisi, they are actually just there to do the supporting work, and their power is almost negligible.

However, at the Nine Ministers' meeting, the officials in charge of the two yamen still had to be present, otherwise they would lack credibility.

Wu Baipeng took over Wang Zhigao's position as the Minister of Justice last year. He has been working diligently this year.

Moreover, the Ministry of Justice has never had much say in the court and is a relatively unknown institution.

At the very least, the Ming Dynasty court was relatively stable in the past few years, and no major purges had taken place, so naturally it was taken less seriously.

At this time, Wei Guangde looked over, and Wu Baipeng also looked at the others, then nodded and smiled, "Since you all have no objection, the Ministry of Justice will naturally have no objection."

He had come to his senses. Wang Guoguang had actually made it clear in his words that it would be beneficial for the voyage to the West if the imperial court took the lead, but it would be disadvantageous for the imperial court if someone else took the lead.

It now seems that the cabinet is pushing this matter strongly and it is very likely that it is led by the court, so there is naturally no reason to oppose it.

Wei Guangde then turned his gaze to Chen Zan, waiting for the reply from the Censorate.

Chen Zan hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded and said, "The Censorate has no objection."

"Dali Temple has no objection."

"The Ministry of Public Security has no objection." Everyone was happy and everyone chose to support it. Nothing was more important than alleviating the financial crisis of the court.

"Lord Wei, since everyone supports this proposal, please advise us on how to arrange it next."

Wang Guoguang looked at Wei Guangde and spoke.

"Minister Tan, has the Ministry of War completed the count of the sea vessels?"

At this point, it’s time to implement the general direction, Wei Guangde looked at Tan Lun and asked.

"The Ministry of War has already calculated that more than 70 ships can be mobilized now, but we don't know how much shipping capacity is needed this time, and whether we need to transfer the South China Sea Navy back to the southeast."

Tan Lun spoke immediately.

At that time, Zheng He's fleet had more than 200 ships of various sizes and carried more than 30,000 soldiers. It was an unprecedented scale, and such power was enough to destroy a country.

In fact, strictly speaking, Zheng He's voyages to the West actually destroyed two countries, but he did not bring their lands under the Meiji rule.

The first one was the Kingdom of Ceylon, which is Sri Lanka in later generations. Its ruler, Arikunaru, was "disrespectful and plotted to murder his navy."

Zheng He took advantage of the opportunity when the country was empty and led more than 2,000 followers to raid the city of Alegunner by surprise. After breaking into the city, he captured the king Alegunner and his family alive.

The second time was when he participated in suppressing a rebellion in Sumatra. At that time, the fake prince Sukansa, who had failed in his bid for the throne, saw that Zheng He was not rewarded after his arrival, and he became evil-minded, so he led his navy to intercept Zheng He's fleet.

Zheng He immediately ordered all ships to disperse and form a battle formation to engage in battle. The Su Ganci navy was completely vulnerable, and Su Ganci and his men were quickly captured and executed by the Ming Dynasty.

After such a huge display of military power, no other country dared to challenge the authority of the Ming Dynasty.

“How many ships are needed?”

Wei Guangde hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'm not sure about this, but if we ship according to this list, if there are not enough ships, we will mobilize the ships from Yuegang and the southeastern provinces to transport the goods to Jiugang as soon as possible.

The Ministry of War sent a letter to Yu Dayou's Ministry.

At this point, Wei Guangde paused for a moment, and suddenly asked, "Where is the main force of the South China Sea Navy now?"

"According to previous battle reports, they should still be staying in Pegu, Myanmar."

Hearing the question, Tan Lun answered after thinking for a while.

"The Ministry of War ordered him to move to Jiugang to receive the goods, and the Ministry of Rites sent a fleet to Jiugang to visit Western countries with him."

Wei Guangde nodded and spoke immediately.

"I'll arrange this when I get back."

Ma Ziqiang spoke immediately.

"The Censorate and the Ministry of Revenue, go down and arrange for the goods to be transported to Yuegang as soon as possible for loading.

The Ministry of Revenue must ensure the quantity and quality of the goods on the list, and the Censorate will send personnel to strictly supervise. "

Wei Guangde was actually most worried that the officials below would mess around and pass off inferior goods as good ones, so this time he asked the Censorate to supervise the Ministry of Revenue and local treasuries.

Chen Zan did not object when he heard this. This was the responsibility of the Censorate, so he agreed immediately.

"Who should be sent as an envoy this time?"

Ma Ziqiang asked again.

"The Ministry of Rites selects and recommends them, and after the cabinet deliberates, they are reported to the palace for approval."

Wei Guangde said, "The chief envoy is recommended by the Ministry of Rites, and the deputy envoy will be Yu Dayou. He will also lead the navy to escort the delegation. Does the Ministry of War have any objection?"

"No, Admiral Yu himself is the best choice."

Tan Lun nodded immediately.

"That's about it. Please see if there is anything missing."

Wei Guangde nodded, then asked again.

Everyone looked at each other, and finally Li Youzi spoke up, "The Ministry of Revenue has no objection. We will go back and send orders to local government warehouses to transfer the goods."

"Is there nothing else you need to add?"

Wei Guangde asked again.

Seeing that everyone was shaking their heads, he continued, "That's it. The Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Censorate will go back and immediately start arranging the relevant matters.

I will report this to the palace right away and request that they issue an imperial decree to decide this matter.

This is a matter of great importance. The fleet going out to sea is only one of the things involved. When it returns, there will surely be many envoys from all over the world. Some people should make plans early and should not delay. "

The matter was settled, and everyone said goodbye and left the cabinet and returned to their departments, each doing their own things.

Wang Guoguang and Li Youzi were walking together, and whispered, "The Ministry of Revenue should hurry up and handle this matter. The instructions sent down must repeatedly emphasize the importance of this matter. The Censorate should also send people to intervene. No mistakes should be made with the goods."

When Wei Guangde mentioned it just now, he also mentioned the list of goods drawn up by the Ministry of Revenue and the official-made textiles, and no one objected.

"Don't worry, Lord Shangshu. I received a note from Lord Prime Minister earlier, asking me to make every effort to make this happen."

Li Youzi said in a low voice.

“The Prime Minister also knows?

That’s right, even if Lord Wei didn’t say anything about this, the palace would still contact him.”

Wang Guoguang nodded when he heard this.

Among the cabinet members, Tan Lun was the last to leave. After the others left, Tan Lun whispered to Wei Guangde, "Will they be unwilling to requisition civilian ships from Jiangnan?"

"Whether they are willing or not, they have to hand over their ships. If they don't, it means they should forget about going out to sea. The South China Sea Navy will keep an eye on their fleet at all times."

Wei Guangde answered straightforwardly that if the imperial court did not issue orders, he would find ways to embarrass them.

"This"

Tan Lun hesitated, but Wei Guangde smiled and said, "Didn't Chen Zan say that we should let Lao Kan take charge of the trip south this time and be responsible for supervising the local areas?

I told him that the role of the Censorate is stronger than that of the Ministry of War at this time."

"That's fine too."

Tan Lun nodded, and then said, "There is one more thing. Zeng Shengwu and you are old acquaintances. He did quite well in Sichuan before. I plan to transfer him back to the Ministry of War to see if he is suitable to take over the position of the Ministry of War."

"Zeng Shengwu?"

When he heard this name, Wei Guangde remembered the person he met in Pengze Restaurant that year.

"More than sixty camps were conquered, four thousand six hundred people were captured and killed, the territory was expanded by more than four hundred miles, and ninety-three Zhuge bronze drums were obtained."

Wei Guangde said softly.

"Yes, this is his achievement in Sichuan. Liu Xian played well under him, so I plan to transfer him back and give it a try."

Tan Lun answered.

"Try to transfer back to the capital. Be patient for the next two years and consider retiring after His Majesty's wedding."

Wei Guangde looked at Tan Lun and said.

Tan Lun nodded slightly upon hearing this. (End of this chapter)