prosperous age

"I have a copy of the memorial here, please take a look at it first, uncle."

Before the afternoon court session ended, the three cabinet ministers came to the Prime Minister's duty room as per previous practice, bringing with them some memorials that were uncertain but not particularly important, and everyone discussed and came up with draft proposals or opinions.

What Wei Guangde took out was naturally the document sent by the Ministry of War, asking what to do with the Burmese king and other enemy chiefs after they were escorted to Beijing.

After deciding on the disposal strategy, we knew whether to hand it over to the Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of Rites to organize the prisoner surrender ceremony.

Zhang Juzheng took the document and quickly flipped through it, with no change in his expression.

After he finished reading it, his expression could not tell his attitude at the moment, and he just casually handed it to Zhang Siwei next to him and said, "Ziwei, take a look too and tell me what you think."

The document was passed to Zhang Siwei. He took a look at its contents and was not surprised at all.

It has long been known that the Ming army in the southwest had captured alive the enemy chief, the Burmese king Mang Yinglong and his son, as well as a large number of Burmese tribal leaders. These people were also the masterminds of this attack on the Ming. Now that they have fallen into the hands of the Ming army, they naturally cannot be let off easily.

However, Zhang Siwei had never considered how to punish them before.

After all, Wei Guangde had always been in charge of military affairs in the past, and it was rare that Wei Guangde brought the matter here for discussion.

After Zhang Siwei finished reading, he looked up at Wei Guangde and asked in a low voice: "Wei Ci Fu, what are you worried about?"

He understood that even though Mang Yinglong seemed very powerful in Southeast Asia, he was now in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, and his life and death depended on their decision.

Wei Guangde couldn't make up his mind, so he must have some concerns that made it difficult for him to make a choice.

Wei Guangde nodded and said, "Killing Mang Yinglong is easy, but I have to consider the reaction of Nanyang and the surrounding vassal states.

Although we in the Ming Dynasty regard Myanmar as a chieftain granted by the Ming Dynasty and not a country, they do not see it that way. They think Myanmar is an independent kingdom, just like them.

Otherwise, when Myanmar attacked Laos and Siam from the east, wasn't it our Ming Dynasty that attacked them?

Moreover, if the Burma Xuanweisi was the territory of the Ming Dynasty, what about Laos?

Is it that our Ming Dynasty is in a civil war? "

Wei Guangde gave a bitter smile when he said this, which only showed that the initial enthronement of those powerful chieftains in Myanmar was too hasty. Although it gave the Ming Dynasty the opportunity to manage the local area, it also left many disasters.

"Good loan, this matter"

Zhang Juzheng started to speak, but then fell silent.

Whatever the Ming Dynasty did, it had to be reasonable and legally justifiable.

Several chieftains from Myanmar were called "Three Xuans and Six Weis", but in fact they were paying "tribute". This can be seen from the title of the Ming Dynasty for the Myanmar Xuanwei envoys. In fact, everyone privately called him "King of Burma".

The Xuanwei Si and the Chengxuanzhengshi Si are different. During the Ming Dynasty, the Chengxuanzhengshi Si's jurisdiction was a local administrative region, abbreviated as "Buzhengshisi", "Buzhengsi" or "Fansi", not "province". In official documents, the term "province" of the Yuan Dynasty was also avoided.

The Xuanweisi of the Ming Dynasty was formed on the basis of abolishing the Xuanweishi and Xuanfushi in the interior of the country during the Yuan Dynasty, and it became a management agency specifically for ethnic minority areas.

It was subordinate to the local administrative agency at the next level below the Governor-General and had a certain degree of autonomy, but its administration, military and justice were under the strict supervision of the three governors and later governors-general and garrison generals in the region.

The succession of department heads must be appointed by the court, and they must obey the court's call-ups at any time, pay homage to the court regularly, and the local soldiers must obey the court's deployment.

However, the "Three Xuans and Six Weis" did not follow this rule. Although the succession of department heads still had to be appointed by the court, the others basically did not have to follow it.

Relatively speaking, the Laotian Xuanwei Office took the initiative to pay tribute dozens of times, while Myanmar only paid tribute a handful of times from beginning to end, completely staying outside the Ming Dynasty.

Although nominally it was under the jurisdiction of the Yunnan Provincial Administration, in reality it had no control over the other party at all.

"Shandai, do you think that severely punishing the Burmese king might affect the views of the Nanyang and Western countries on our Ming Dynasty?"

Zhang Juzheng suddenly interrupted.

"Yes, how to view Mang Yinglong's political status is really giving me a headache."

Wei Guangde said frankly.

“Since we regard Myanmar as the territory of the Ming Dynasty, we don’t need to care about other people’s opinions.

They have eyes, and they can see whatever they want."

Zhang Juzheng's words were imitating what Wei Guangde had said earlier, but he found it quite interesting when he said it himself.

"We only use the statements that are most beneficial to our Ming Dynasty. We use those that are beneficial to us and leave those that are not beneficial unmentioned. Should they continue to ask questions?"

Zhang Juzheng continued.

Perhaps, because of this "love seizure", Zhang Juzheng's heart finally hardened.

What is the use of things like face and dignity?

"Leaving them here will eventually be a nuisance, so it's better to get rid of them once and for all."

Zhang Juzheng directly expressed his views on this and prepared to deal with the people directly.

Wei Guangde and Zhang Siwei just looked at him deeply and nodded.

"Then let the Ministry of Rites prepare a grand ceremony to present captives, get rid of them, and let the vassal states see the consequences of betraying the Ming Dynasty."

Wei Guangde was previously only worried that the execution of the Burmese king and others would make other countries think that the Ming Dynasty was too brutal, which would be detrimental to the future diplomacy of the Ming Dynasty.

Just imagine, if others are on guard against you at every turn, even if you have no intention of having any bad intentions towards them, you will feel uncomfortable.

In fact, Wei Guangde had no intention of continuing to expand outward, but just wanted to manage the overseas vassal states of the Ming Dynasty well and prevent them from becoming colonies of Europeans.

Well, they can only be left to the Ming Dynasty.

"In addition to the vassal states, should we also invite the Spanish and Portuguese this time?"

Wei Guangde suddenly asked.

Speaking of this, Wei Guangde also remembered that when he was chatting with Tan Lun and others, he mentioned that the Ming Dynasty's voyages to the West might have touched the interests of the Portuguese.

Although they planned to take precautions and try not to have a direct conflict with the Europeans, they still had to inform the cabinet about this matter.

Therefore, before Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Siwei spoke, Wei Guangde recounted his previous conversation with Tan Lun and others, emphasizing the situation he had learned from overseas, especially that the Portuguese came from the West, while the Spanish fleet came from the East, and that there was a vast continent in the East that was countless times larger than the Ming Dynasty that had been conquered by the Spaniards.

"Is there really such a continent in the East?"

While Zhang Juzheng was still in shock, Zhang Siwei reacted first and asked back.

"Indeed, the Spanish brought ships full of silver coins from the eastern continent to trade with our Ming Dynasty and purchase spices from the South Seas. The gold and silver were actually mined from that continent.

The Jinyiwei and the Nanhai Navy have confirmed the existence of the Spanish "treasure ships", which come to Luzon once a year and bring a large amount of silver coins. "

Wei Guangde said.

"Can we go?"

Zhang Juzheng suddenly asked a question that Wei Guangde was not expecting.

"They can definitely go there. Given the size of Spain, how much control can they have?"

Wei Guangde replied disdainfully, then immediately shook his head and said, "It's just that the route of the treasure ship is strictly confidential, we can't find the nautical chart, everything is in vain.

You know, when sailing on the sea, you need to consider many factors, such as wind direction and ocean currents. If one factor is not right, it may cause the death of all the people on the ship at sea.

In other words, if the Ming Dynasty wants to reach the eastern continent, it must obtain the Spanish sea charts, sail according to the charts, and guard against being intercepted and plundered by their fleets at sea. On land, they are all merchants, but on the sea, merchants can also transform into pirates. "

"Inform the Royal Guards and try every possible means to obtain the sea chart."

Zhang Juzheng said firmly, "Shandai, Spain is a small country. According to what you said, they have tens or hundreds of times more territory overseas than they do, and they all got it by robbery. How do they rule these places?"

"Those places are relatively backward, like Xiaoliuqiu, where there are a few natives who don't know how to do practical things. It's easy to make them obey orders by using a big stick in one hand and a sweet treat in the other.

As for the fact that the territory is too large, it is because their king has given the governors of these overseas territories the highest authority. They have great power, and many actions only need to be reported afterwards.

Unless we encounter a very powerful opponent, like our Ming Dynasty, we need to inform the king of our country in advance and request to mobilize more soldiers and warships to be sure of winning. "

Wei Guangde explained.

"Did they have evil ambitions towards our Ming Dynasty?"

Zhang Siwei heard something and asked hurriedly.

"The Governor of Luzon once raised the issue, but he knew that the Portuguese had been defeated twice by our Ming navy, so he did not dare to act rashly."

Wei Guangde explained.

These were actually no secrets in Manila. Many Spaniards were also passing on such news, so they were naturally discovered by the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

It's just some information revealed in the chat, and there is no real evidence.

Come to think of it, the so-called real evidence can only be found by Ming Dynasty occupying the Governor's Palace in Manila, which is protecting the palace of the King of Spain, and searching the letters between them.

But how is this possible.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Juzheng lowered his head and began to think.

When Wei Guangde saw this, he was also thinking that Zhang Juzheng's proposal to kill Mang Yinglong seemed to be the best option now.

That is, the young Emperor Wanli had only been on the throne for a few years, and he killed two enemy chiefs. Would he be known as a tyrant?

But when Wei Guangde thought of this, he just smiled.

History books would not make up stories at random. The young emperor was very young at that time and had not yet ruled the country himself. Although the people killed during this period would be counted on him, any discerning person would understand that it was the ideas of the regent ministers and had nothing to do with the emperor.

Finally, Zhang Juzheng looked up, and Wei Guangde and Zhang Siwei perked up to look over, only to see Zhang Juzheng say, "None of Mang Yinglong and the traitor's followers should commit any crime, and they must be killed with great fanfare."

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister."

Zhang Siwei called out hurriedly.

Zhang Juzheng waved his hand and said, "As Shandai said, the world has changed. The Ming Dynasty is no longer the only powerful country around us. Two evil wolves have come.

Just based on what they did in the Eastern Continent, the Ming Dynasty has to be on guard.

In addition, with its strong ships and powerful guns, it is inevitable that no one in those vassal states would choose to cooperate with it for the sake of small profits.

Kill these people and show the vassal states what happens when they rebel against the Ming Dynasty."

What Zhang Juzheng said is actually very accurate.

The surrounding vassal states are definitely not a monolithic entity. Like the Ming Dynasty, they should be divided into two or even more forces to check and balance each other in order to maintain stability.

A single dominant power only occurs in the early stages of a kingdom's establishment, when the founder can intimidate everyone with his or her powerful strength.

After that, such an environment will gradually change and cannot be sustained.

Once these forces cooperate with the barbarians, the new kingdom may side with the barbarians and no longer be the Ming Dynasty.

As for the possibility of vassal states being invaded by barbarians, Zhang Juzheng no longer considered it, because Wei Guangde had already stationed troops in Luzon and Jiugang, and with the South China Sea navy, the court could know the situation in Southeast Asia at any time and would naturally respond.

At the very least, not allowing the barbarians to invade vassal states is the Ming Dynasty's minimum requirement.

Business can be done, but the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty cannot be touched.

"That's roughly what I think. Anyway, it's still early, so you can think about it over the next two days. If you have any objections, we can discuss it again tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

Zhang Juzheng said.

He said this to put an end to the matter and not to mention it again for the time being.

However, after the meeting was over, when Zhang Siwei stood up to say goodbye and Wei Guangde was also about to leave, Zhang Juzheng still stopped Wei Guangde.

"Shandai, I keep you here for two reasons."

After Zhang Siwei left, Zhang Juzheng spoke to Wei Guangde alone, holding up two fingers and saying, "One is the sea map of the eastern continent. We must get it at all costs. My Ming Dynasty is in great need of silver.

You said before that there are countless gold and silver mines in the eastern continent, which are urgently needed by our Ming Dynasty.

Since they don't know how to pick it, it's better for me, the Ming people, to take it instead of letting the barbarians take it."

Wei Guangde nodded slightly, and then reminded: "Uncle, in fact, Japan has a lot of gold and silver."

"The situation over there isn't chaotic enough yet. It's not appropriate for the Ming Dynasty to send troops rashly. Besides, we don't have that much money to support the war for the time being.

Unless the Changying Treasury is used, but that can only be used when the country is facing the threat of a major war.

If we use the silver from the Changying Treasury to attack Japan, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, and the Censorate will not support us. Even if we tell them that Japan has mountains of gold and silver, they will turn a blind eye and only organize a fleet to go there for trade in private."

Zhang Juzheng shook his head.

"You need to inform the Ministry of Industry that in the next few years, the Ministry of Industry's main focus will be shifted to shipbuilding. The Ming Dynasty needs a larger fleet to complete the development of the East China Sea and West China Sea navies.

To conquer Japan and the eastern continent, the East China Sea Navy must be able to perform well.

Of course, the South China Sea Navy must also provide assistance.

The West Sea Navy was mainly responsible for dealing with the foreign fleets from the West and ensuring the maritime transportation between the Ming Dynasty and Western countries.

Surveying the land was to consolidate the foundation, and vigorously developing overseas trade to obtain sufficient profits would allow the court to have the financial resources to develop a naval fleet.

I can't see as far as you do on this point, but I can also feel that the threat from the sea is indeed too great.

We can no longer ban sea voyages, and we can no longer directly abandon the decision to sail to the West like the Zhengtong Dynasty did.

Otherwise, there would be absolutely no possibility for the Western Yi countries to develop."

Wei Guangde just nodded slightly. In fact, whether the Ming navy went to the Western Ocean or not, it could not stop the Europeans' sea voyages. After all, they were so poor that they were fearless.

"The second thing is what I told you about before, the rectification of the school administration. I think it cannot be delayed."

Then Zhang Juzheng changed the subject and continued. (End of this chapter)