prosperous age

"Good loans."

"Sunqing, come in and sit down."

In the cabinet duty room, Wei Guangde welcomed Jiang Zhi in and asked him to sit down before asking, "I wonder why you came to the cabinet today?"

"Good loan, the Right Governor of Fujian Pang Deguang came to the Ministry of Industry again to ask for that batch of tools."

After Jiang Zhi sat down, he began to explain his purpose.

"Oh."

Wei Guangde answered without denying it.

"They have a note from the Prime Minister."

Then, Jiang Zhi told another story.

Hearing this, Wei Guangde smiled and said, "More than half a month has passed. Calculating the time, Uncle should return to the Cabinet in the next two days.

Don't delay any longer on your side. Since you've already got the note, just deliver the things according to the Prime Minister's wishes."

"it is good."

When Jiang Zhi heard Wei Guangde's answer, he immediately responded.

"By the way, last time you mentioned the double-decker warships in Zhejiang, has the Ministry of Industry ordered them to continue building them?

As for Nanjing, since many firearms were built in Nanjing, we might as well let the shipyard in Nanjing arrange to build some as well.

The demand for grain ships will eventually decrease in the future. What the Ming Dynasty wants is ships that can sail on the four oceans."

Wei Guangde said.

"Although Zhejiang has already completed the construction of the double-decker gunboats ordered by the South China Sea Navy, they themselves have not slowed down the construction of that type of gunboat. The Ministry of Industry has already ordered them to continue construction.

But, they built ten ships at once, so Ming Dynasty already has more than 20 ships like that, isn't that a bit too much?"

Jiang Zhi said, “Also, that kind of warship is actually a bird ship. The shipyard has built more than ten gunboats before, but they are single-layer.

According to the report below, this single-deck gunboat is easier to build and faster."

What Jiang Zhi meant by saying this was actually to tell Wei Guangde that it was not necessary to build double-decker gunboats, but that single-decker gunboats could also be built in large quantities. Although the firepower of a single ship was insufficient, they could be very useful in large numbers.

"A double-decker gunboat is more complicated to build?"

Wei Guangde asked with a frown.

"Yes, the hull needs to be reinforced. It's not as simple as just building a deck."

Jiang Zhi explained.

In fact, he didn't understand it at first, and he just heard it from the officials in the department who were familiar with shipping.

Although the Ming Dynasty had already planned navies for the South China Sea, East China Sea and West China Sea, and still needed to build a large number of warships and equipment, since Yu Dayou chose to build a large number of double-decker warships, there must be a reason for it.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde immediately shook his head and said, "Let's let the shipyards in Jiangnan build a large number of double-decker gunboats first. If we need single-decker gunboats, you said that they are easy to build, and I think they will be fast.

Wait for Yu Dayou to return to the court and then discuss and decide whether to build a large number of single-decker gunboats.

Let them build as many double-decker gunboats as possible. The South China Sea Fleet will have more than enough, and we still have the Denglai and West China Sea Fleets. Don't worry about building too many. I will only complain about not having enough."

"it is good."

Jiang Zhi agreed immediately.

"By the way, after the warship is built, ask the Denglai Navy Commander Xu Qiaoan to select strong sailors to take over the ship and familiarize themselves with its operation.

I will send a note to the Ministry of War regarding this matter later.

Today, the Ming Dynasty only has an established South China Sea navy, which is obviously not enough, otherwise it will be looked down upon by the invited vassal states.

Those newly built warships that could arrive in time were sent south to Jiugang with the transport fleet to serve as escorts, and gathered around Yu Dayou to strengthen their momentum.

After the construction is completed, it will be handed over to the Denglai Navy."

At this point, Wei Guangde paused for a moment, thought for a moment and finally made up his mind, "For the time being, let Xu Qiaoan take charge of the daily life of the Donghai Navy. We must quickly separate the Denglai Navy from the Shandong Dusi and still have it directly managed by the Ministry of War."

"That's great. Otherwise, in the eyes of outsiders, our great Ming Dynasty only has one fleet, the South China Sea Navy, which is really not good for the reputation of the court."

Jiang Zhi agreed with a smile.

"Give the shipyard in Jiangnan a heads-up as soon as possible and have them start building. Don't just sit there doing nothing.

When Uncle Da returns to the Cabinet in two days, I will discuss it with him and then contact the Ministry of War to finalize the matter."

Wei Guangde said firmly.

Two days later, Zhang Juzheng appeared in the cabinet in mourning clothes, still in the same duty room.

Upon hearing the voice, Wei Guangde went over to sit down and comfort her.

Not long after, Zhang Siwei also came over and sat down, still concerned about Zhang Juzheng's health.

When I saw Zhang Juzheng again this time, he had lost a lot of weight. However, perhaps because he was resting in his mansion without being disturbed by the endless state affairs, he seemed to be in much better spirits than before.

"I've been away for these days, but I've made you tired."

Zhang Juzheng said with a wry smile.

"As a minister, you should do your duty."

Wei Guangde said calmly.

"Nothing big has happened these days."

In fact, nothing big happened during this period of time.

Even if it really existed, Zhang Juzheng would not know about it.

However, Wei Guangde still told the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War about what he was arranging to do to send the navy to the West, and invited the rulers of Western countries to attend the wedding ceremony of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Juzheng nodded continuously when he heard this, and when Wei Guangde finished speaking, he smiled and said, "This is a great thing to promote the country's prestige overseas. This method is very good, and it also solves the problem of your majesty's insufficient age for marriage."

Zhang Siwei also agreed: "Yes, when I first heard about it, I also thought this method was very good."

"There is one more thing, I'd like to take this opportunity to talk about it.

Previously, I had asked the Ministry of Industry to arrange for several shipyards in Jiangnan to build double-decker gunboats for the South China Sea Navy. Some of them will be delivered to the South China Sea Navy, and the rest will be delivered to the Denglai Navy.

I intend to separate it from the Shandong Military Region and use it as the backbone to form the East China Sea Navy, whose jurisdiction will still be the Penglai Water Camp, responsible for the sea areas north of the Yangtze River estuary from Nanzhili to Shandong and Liaodong, and directly managed by the Ministry of War.

Wei Guangde took the opportunity to talk about upgrading the Denglai navy to see the attitudes of Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Siwei.

Zhang Juzheng did not express his opinion, so Zhang Siwei spoke first: "The Japanese invasion in the north is not serious, so the coastal prefectures and counties may not be willing to spend money on shipbuilding.

If the court bears all the responsibility, would the burden be too heavy? "

The South China Sea Navy had no shortage of money because it was supported by the money from the major provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, and Zhejiang used to suppress the Japanese pirates, so the burden on the imperial court was relatively light.

However, if the Denglai Navy is upgraded, Nanzhili, Shandong and Liaodong may not be willing to afford the money.

Wei Guangde just shook his head and said softly, "This matter cannot be delayed. Two years later, the rulers and envoys of the countries in Southeast Asia and the West will arrive. If they only see that our Ming Dynasty has only one fleet, the South China Sea Navy, how will they view our Ming Dynasty?"

Wei Guangde just said a few words lightly, and Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Siwei fell into deep thought.

This concerns the country's face and is certainly not a trivial matter.

Even if they cannot afford it, they have to wait until the emperor gets married and then stop building a big one.

But this is the time to save face and we cannot fall behind.

As a result, Zhang Juzheng quickly expressed his support for this matter, and Zhang Siwei naturally no longer held his previous attitude and nodded in agreement.

"Since this is the case, the land survey in Fujian must be accelerated to collect all the taxes that should be collected for the court as soon as possible. Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Huguang and other places must also make preparations early.

Once Fujian is completed, the results will be summarized and implemented as soon as possible.

To do these things, the court needs sufficient supply of silver.

If the silver supply is insufficient and the work is only half-done, it will be the court that will be embarrassed. " Zhang Juzheng said.

Wei Guangde took the opportunity to bring up the Ministry of War's affairs, and Zhang Juzheng also took the opportunity to bring up the Fujian land survey issue.

Wei Guangde naturally agreed to this.

“Let Fujian start as soon as possible. It’s only one province. We’ll know if it works or not once we give it a try.

If it is really good, I have no objection to rolling it out nationwide."

In fact, these words are nothing but clichés and have no nutritional value.

Just as the three men finished talking and Wei Guangde was about to say goodbye and leave, someone outside came to report that the carriage of the new Minister of Revenue, Mr. Zhang Xueyan, had entered the city.

"He's finally here."

Zhang Juzheng said.

Zhang Xueyan never submitted a memorial to the emperor regarding this "love-stealing" incident, but Zhang Juzheng seemed to be very confident in him.

After all, they were so shameless as to frame others at will. Zhang Xueyan's reputation among the civil servants and the literati was completely ruined. It seemed that there was no way back and he could only cling to Zhang Juzheng's thigh and go all the way.

"Has the memorial been submitted?"

Zhang Juzheng asked.

"He has been sent to the Ministry of Public Administration. He is now returning to his residence to rest."

The clerk replied.

“Once it is delivered, it should be sent to the palace as soon as possible.

The Ministry of Revenue has a lot of responsibilities now, and he has to shoulder them."

Zhang Juzheng looked at Wei Guangde and said.

It doesn’t matter to Wei Guangde who becomes the Minister of Revenue.

The imperial court had already decided on this matter. No matter what Zhang Xueyan's attitude was, he had to follow the cabinet's orders and transport the goods to Zhejiang as soon as possible to prepare for shipment to sea.

This cannot be changed.

"By the way, I heard that the Ministry of War has reported that it intends to transfer the Sichuan governor back to Beijing to serve as the Minister of War?"

Zhang Juzheng suddenly asked when the meeting was about to end.

"Zi Li has been looking for a suitable person to take charge of military affairs, and Zeng Shengwu has done a good job in Sichuan.

Although there are occasional rebellions by the barbarians, he can quickly put down the rebellion with proper command, which shows that he has the ability to command the army, so he is transferred to the military department for a trial."

Wei Guangde replied with a smile.

Zeng Shengwu's relationship was also very delicate. He had a good relationship with him, but his relationship with Zhang Juzheng was even more difficult to say.

Wei Guangde still remembered what Zeng Xingwu himself said, that in front of Zhang Juzheng, he treated him with the respect of a teacher and a student.

As for whether Zeng Xingwu would help Zhang Juzheng to deal with him if the Ministry of War was really handed over to him, although Wei Guangde was cautious, he felt that based on his understanding of Zeng Xingwu, he would definitely not be unable to distinguish between good and bad.

This person can distinguish right from wrong and will not do anything against his conscience just because of his hometown relationship.

Besides, it's just a try.

If he really wants to replace Tan Lun, he will have to wait for two years. During these two years, Wei Guangde will not give up observing other candidates.

As for Zhang Juzheng, he just nodded slightly and didn't say much.

"By the way, Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Wei, the King of Sulu arrived in Tongzhou yesterday and will come to Beijing tomorrow."

Zhang Siwei suddenly spoke.

"The Ministry of Rites should be ready."

Wei Guangde glanced at Zhang Siwei and asked with a smile.

"Let the Ministry of Rites handle it. You've been traveling so long, so you might as well take a couple of days off.

I will take some time off from work these two days to speak to His Majesty."

Zhang Juzheng said, "As for the relevant ceremonies, Shandai will be responsible for it. I am not in a good condition to attend these activities."

Zhang Juzheng was still in mourning at this time. He stayed in Beijing to observe the mourning period. "Duqing" did not mean he did not observe the mourning period, but he continued to do his job. However, he did not participate in various ceremonial activities and only went back and forth between the mansion and the cabinet.

"it is good."

Wei Guangde was not modest and agreed directly.

He's just the ruler of a small country, it's not a big deal.

This time, you have helped the Ming Dynasty in the war in Luzon, which is indeed a meritorious service, so you should just reward you with more things.

In fact, what the Sulu Kingdom really wanted was the Ming Dynasty’s guarantee of its security, to protect it from threats from other countries and forces.

This meeting with cabinet ministers can be regarded as Zhang Juzheng's official return to the court.

However, after Wei Guangde returned to the duty room, he looked through the two memorials and saw one from the Ministry of Rites, which was a list of officials recommended by the Ministry of Rites to go to the West.

Wei Guangde was also very curious about who the Ministry of Rites thought was most suitable for this position.

You know, there are not many officials in the Ming Dynasty today who can open their eyes and see the world.

Soon, Wei Guangde's doubts were resolved. The official recommended by the Ministry of Rites turned out to be Yin Zhengmao, the Minister of Revenue in Nanjing.

The reason given by the Ministry of Rites was that Yin Zhengmao was familiar with military affairs and economics. He was originally a military civil servant selected by the court and made great contributions in suppressing rebellions in the southwest and southeast.

He was familiar with economic affairs and made many contributions to local economic development and taxation when he served as Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

Of course, as far as Wei Guangde knew, in fact, it was Guangdong that used the Maritime Customs to smuggle Ming Dynasty goods overseas on a large scale.

It is true that although the Ming Dynasty banned maritime trade in all places, the three Maritime Customs Offices still engaged in maritime trade on a large scale. Of course, it was called Maritime Customs Office and tribute at that time.

Yin Zhengmao promoted the maritime trade in Guangdong and Guangxi, which enabled him to make money while avoiding the taboos of the imperial court.

In fact, most officials who go to Guangdong have a significant change in their views on foreign trade. Even if they do not support it, they will not openly oppose it, probably because foreign trade plays a great role in the people's livelihood and happiness in Guangdong.

Wei Guangde appreciated the Ministry of Rites' proposal.

Indeed, Yin Zhengmao is very familiar with the economy, and wherever he goes, he will definitely introduce policies that are beneficial to the local development.

You know, he actually had the nickname of a fire-fighting official in the Ming Dynasty, and these officials were all from extremely unstable prefectures and counties.

But as long as Yin Zhengmao was there, he wielded the big stick to suppress the rebel forces by force on the one hand, and on the other hand tried every means to improve people's livelihood and stabilize the situation. His contribution was really great.

As for the rumors in the court and the public that he loves money and is greedy, in fact, it is just the middle and lower-level officials who like to gossip. The top officials only care about his ability.

If someone can do his job well, he is a capable minister and can be used with confidence.

They may be a little greedy, but their policies can stabilize the local area, which is a hundred or a thousand times better than those officials who only know how to be greedy and mess up the local area.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde picked up his pen and made a draft, "Yes, Yangshi is good at cultivation, and is a model for the country."

Although there was a lot of controversy about Yin Zhengmao in the court and the public, Wei Guangde was still willing to believe that he was a gentleman, and those who slandered him were probably mostly out of jealousy of his talent.

You know, if Yin Zhengmao was corrupt and committed lawlessness, he would have been impeached and executed by the Censorate long ago.

He is still working in the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing. Of course, there is no evidence, or the case was handled cleanly.

With such a person cooperating with Yu Dayou in his voyage to the West, the two should be able to work together happily.

Wei Guangde guessed that he should keep the draft memorial and show it to Zhang Juzheng later so that it could be finalized.

Before the court was dismissed, Wei Guangde took out the memorial from the Ministry of Rites, and Zhang Juzheng indeed did not object.

"Yang Shi, Lao Chen, you can arrange for him to go on a diplomatic mission."

Zhang Juzheng read Wei Guangde's proposal and said nothing, but only sighed. (End of this chapter)