prosperous age

"Has Your Majesty given this much further thought? Why is there a traitor?"

The drawbacks of the garrison system are a fact, and Wei Guangde does not excuse them.

However, the emergence of numerous spies, seemingly continuing into later generations, compels us to take this seriously.

"Why would they willingly associate with Japanese pirates and forget their ancestors?"

Wei Guangde began to speak eloquently, but he avoided mentioning the word "profit," leaving the young emperor to figure it out himself.

Once he understands the importance of interests and learns to balance the interests of all parties, he will have mastered the art of being an emperor.

Originally, the lecture system was merely a supplementary form of imperial education, and the lecturers' main responsibility was to explain Confucian classics rather than imperial power tactics.

However, after communicating with Zhang Juzheng, he would often supplement his teachings with knowledge of imperial history and classics.

After all, the textbooks compiled by Zhang Juzheng, which the young emperor studied from childhood, had already thoroughly mastered Confucianism, but lacked the fundamentals of imperial education.

Soon, the hour-long lesson ended, but it was clear that the young emperor did not intend for it to end there.

When Wei Guangde asked him to go back and continue to ponder and rewrite the document, the young emperor gladly accepted. At the same time, he took out a memorial from his sleeve, which was the same one that Wei Guangde had copied earlier.

So, the two of them discussed the matter again in the following time.

"With the rapid development of firearms technology, some old-style firearms, which were cast during the transition between old and new firearms, were already outdated when they were cast and no garrison would use them. They were directly melted down and reforged, which was actually a loss for the court."

If they can sell it for more than the cost, it would be a good way to make up for the losses. Not only would they not lose money, but they could also make money for the imperial court.

Moreover, the sale of such firearms abroad would not pose a threat to our Ming Dynasty, because the firearms in the hands of the government troops are far more powerful.

Moreover, even if you have firearms, they are useless without gunpowder.

In order to obtain gunpowder, they will only become more respectful to my Great Ming.

After all, a large sum of money had already been spent on firearms, and if the gunpowder could not be used to unleash the full power of the firearms, the losses would only be greater.

In this way, the imperial court could initially sell gunpowder at a low price, and then gradually increase the price to increase profits.

Wei Guangde wasn't embarrassed to discuss profits with others. In the end, firearms were just sticks for burning, and the real bulk of the profits, in Wei Guangde's view, came from gunpowder.

Of course, the Yi people could also sell gunpowder. They traveled far and wide and acquired more abundant mineral resources, which enabled them to manufacture high-performance gunpowder.

But it doesn't matter. There are only two sellers. The three parties only need to communicate a little. In order to ensure the safety of their merchant ships sailing in the Ming Dynasty's waters, they must take into account the Ming Dynasty's demands.

Once Emperor Wanli was completely at ease, he immediately wrote his own comments on the memorial. Wei Guangde looked at the eunuchs standing solemnly around him, and then looked at the young emperor.

The young emperor was only slightly taken aback, but then he began to understand what Wei Guangde meant.

He immediately ordered, "You may all leave the hall first. I have something to ask Master Wei."

Several eunuchs and Hanlin Academy students dared not disobey the imperial decree. After paying their respects, they all left the palace, completely emptying it.

Wei Guangde glanced at the closed palace door, then took out the official documents and reports that Liu Shouyou had sent yesterday from his sleeve, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty should have read the reports that the Embroidered Uniform Guard sent into the palace yesterday, right?"

The young emperor Zhu Yijun did not have a deep impression of this and did not answer. He reached out and took the official document from Wei Guangde and glanced at it. Only then did he realize what it was about, so he nodded.

What does Your Majesty see in this?

Wei Guangde pressed for more information.

"The Prince of Shunyi is dying; it should be within the next few days."

The young emperor spoke frankly, then suddenly stiffened, leaning forward involuntarily, and asked in a low voice, "Master Wei, does the imperial court/cabinet intend to take action against the grasslands?"

If he's gone, we could seize the opportunity and catch him off guard by taking advantage of the leaderless situation.

Perhaps it was because Wei Guangde taught him military strategy so well, but Emperor Wanli's first reaction was that the court planned to take advantage of the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the Mongolian grasslands and use the funeral of Altan Khan to wipe out all the Mongolian princes and ministers.

It has to be said that this is indeed an opportunity. If the Ming Dynasty and the Mongols were still in a state of hostility, there would be nothing wrong with doing this.

If successful, the steppes will be in chaos for a long time, with the various Mongol tribes fighting each other until a new genius emerges to stabilize the situation.

The Ming Dynasty could also take this opportunity to expand outwards, occupy important pastures such as the Hetao region, and drive the Mongols northwards.

Unfortunately not.

If the Ming Dynasty were to launch a surprise attack on the Mongols now, wouldn't the upright officials in the court be furious and the common people also have a lot of criticism of the court?

There's no other reason than that the common people are not unaware of the grievances between the Ming Dynasty and the Mongols, but in recent years both sides have been at peace. Since being granted a fiefdom, the Mongols have been wreaking havoc on the borders. If the court takes the initiative to provoke war, the common people will definitely blame the court, not the Mongols.

Moreover, the common people seem to have gotten used to their current life. Every year, they receive cattle, sheep and wool from Mongolia, and the Ming Dynasty only needs to provide some iron pots, tea bags, and a few other things.

If this confrontation can be completely resolved, the people are actually willing to accept it.

Nobody wants to face war all the time; it kills people.

Even if it greatly weakens the Mongol forces, what about ten or twenty years from now?

They'll definitely retaliate; it'll be a fight to the death.

Wei Guangde stared at Zhu Yijun for a long while, and seeing that he was too embarrassed to lower his head, he finally said, "Yesterday, after seeing the document sent by Commander Liu, I discussed it with the Grand Secretary, and that is..."

Wei Guangde directly recounted the results of his communication with Zhang Juzheng the previous day, including his promise to support the plan for Butashiri, the son of the Third Lady, to succeed Huang Taiji as the next Great Khan of Mongolia after he comes of age, and the reasons for doing so.

The cabinet had been plotting to weaken the Mongol power, and the young emperor knew this. However, he did not expect that the death of Altan Khan would cause the cabinet to slightly modify its plans and instead set out to create internal strife in the Mongol Empire.

"But why not create internal strife now, such as by supporting the replacement of Huang Taiji with Hannaji?"
"I remember him. Two years ago, he even contacted the Tuman tribes and others with the intention of attacking our Ming Dynasty's Liaodong border towns."

The young emperor frowned.

"Bahannaji is the hearthkeeper. He inherited the main force of Anda Khan, so he certainly has the opportunity to become the new Great Khan."

However, the fact that Third Sister left Guihua City indicates that Anda Khan's designated successor was definitely Huang Taiji, and he had no chance.

He can force his way in, but he will inevitably be besieged by his uncles.

It may appear to have weakened the Mongol forces, but in reality, it could have the opposite effect, actually strengthening their cohesion.

"If we're really going to do that, it would be better to follow His Majesty's previous suggestion and launch a surprise attack on Guihua City, which would be more effective in directly eliminating the leaders of the various Mongol tribes."

Wei Guangde explained, "If you want to conquer the grasslands without bloodshed, it's better to gamble on San Niangzi or Butashiri."

Occupying that area was not the real goal; the real objective was to win over the people, to make the Mongols truly submit to the Ming Dynasty and serve as herders for the Ming.

Therefore, only by winning over the Mongol nobles and making them sincerely serve our Great Ming can we ensure lasting peace on the border.

Does Huang Taiji have a son?

The Wanli Emperor suddenly asked a question.

"Of course."

Wei Guangde nodded. "Since Anda Khan has decided to pass the Khanate to his son, Huang Taiji will naturally do the same."

The imperial court's plan will likely be difficult to implement.

The young emperor began to ponder the possible flaws in the matter, such as why Huang Taiji would willingly pass the Khanate to his brother instead of his son.

Although Butashiri nominally became a son after San Niangzi and Huang Taiji got married.

"Then it depends on Third Sister, whether she can persuade Huang Taiji not to designate Chelik as his successor."

Wei Guangde laughed.

Sometimes, you have to push people so they have no way out and will follow the Ming Dynasty's intentions without hesitation.

"At that time, with Third Sister controlling Huang Taiji's main force and Altan Khan's main force inherited by Hannaji, our Great Ming can almost make the Mongol Khan submit without bloodshed, and the threat from the north will no longer exist."

Wei Guangde said.

The Ming Dynasty had already planted the thorn in the side of Bahannaji within Mongolia, and now it was the second one, San Niangzi.

Once these two nails are driven in, Mongolia will be unable to escape the fate of being controlled by the Ming Dynasty.

This was actually the best outcome for both the Ming Dynasty and the Mongols.

For a long time to come, the grasslands will face an extremely harsh environment, and the Ming Dynasty will have to pay the price.

Later cabinet ministers might be dissatisfied with Wei Guangde's efforts to subdue the grasslands, since it required them to spend real money on relief.

Although the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty were ashamed to talk about money, they were all skilled at calculation.

Wei Guangde had a good plan. The biggest power on the grassland now, besides Huang Taiji, was Bahannaji, who had inherited Altan Khan's troops. It has to be said that Altan Khan treated his grandson, whom he had always raised by his side, very well.

That was really good; it left him with enough wealth.

As for whether Wei Guangde's scheme to harm Han Naji and San Niangzi was somewhat immoral.

That's not the case. Their best option would be to join the Ming Dynasty or China, to have a powerful backer so that they could stand firm in the great reshuffling of the world order a hundred years from now.

In any case, so-called ancient civilizations all became colonies of foreign powers, while China persevered, even though it was also bullied terribly.

If the Ming Dynasty, after being educated, could continue to develop according to Wei Guangde's plan, even if it could not become a great power, it would not be bullied by the great powers, and it would still be able to maintain its basic position in East Asia.

After that, the young emperor set off to return to the palace, and Wei Guangde returned to the Wenhua Hall after seeing the young emperor off.

This was the daily reward the royal lecturers received: a banquet at the Wenhua Hall before they left.

In the end, the young emperor said nothing. He was now nominally in power, but the real power still resided in the cabinet, and the Empress Dowager was still in charge. In reality, there was not much difference between when he was not in power and when he was not in power.

However, some court officials seem to have changed their attitude towards him now.

For example, Liu Shouyou became much more respectful when he saw him.

However, the young emperor was also unhappy. After leaving the Wenhua Hall, he did not go directly back to the Qianqing Palace, but reluctantly ordered his carriage to be taken to the Cining Palace.

It wasn't that the young emperor didn't want to see his mother, but rather that the Empress Dowager had summoned him, actually because of the palace servant living there.

The young emperor is still delaying issuing an edict to appoint a palace woman as a concubine, although he knows it won't be long before it happens.

At the very least, the imperial decree conferring the title of imperial concubine must be issued before the birth of the child.

Although the matter had not been publicized in the outer court, those who needed to know already knew.

After all, it was a scandal within the palace. If the emperor didn't bring it up, Wei Guangde couldn't bring it up himself, lest it backfire.

Wei Guangde didn't know how to describe the Guangzong who was in the womb of the palace maid; perhaps he really didn't have the fate of an emperor.

In the afternoon, after having lunch, Wei Guangde returned to the cabinet and first spoke with Zhang Juzheng. His Majesty did not object, so the plan was officially registered with the young emperor.

Then all that was left was to wait for news from the grasslands before the imperial court could take any action.

"Oh, by the way, a document from Songjiang Prefecture arrived this morning. The mission set sail a few days ago and should arrive in Tianjin in the next couple of days."

Zhang Juzheng handed Wei Guangde a document from Songjiang Prefecture, detailing the westward mission's itinerary.

"They're finally back. I heard they brought back a lot of things from there. I'm quite interested, so I've asked the Ministry of Works to prepare a group of artisans so I can see the craftsmanship of these foreigners."

After reading the document, Wei Guangde smiled and said something.

"Last time you said you planned to build a building in the capital using Western techniques, were you serious?"

When Wei Guangde returned to the capital, he mentioned the memorial sent back by the mission while in the Qianqing Palace. He was interested in the mention of Europeans building castles and palaces with stone and planned to replicate one. He then asked the craftsmen to judge whether the traditional architecture of the Ming Dynasty was better or the architecture of the foreigners was more advantageous.

The biggest advantage of stone architecture is that it can be built to be more magnificent and grand, with high ceilings and multi-story structures.

Unlike traditional Chinese buildings, which are mainly made of wood and are destined to be only two or three stories high.

Although there are a few wooden pagodas that are more than ten stories high, this is not common and requires special conditions, such as having suitable wood as the frame.

Wei Guangde was pragmatic and had his own agenda.

Western architecture, primarily constructed of stone, has distinct characteristics and could actually be promoted in the Ming Dynasty.

And that's what he planned to do.

He has already instructed Zhang Ji to acquire a prime piece of land in the inner city of the capital, intending to build a Western-style building and open a grand hotel.

As long as Wei Gelao's business has something unique, he won't have to worry about people coming to eat and stay here.

Imagine, in a landscape of mostly two- or three-story wooden houses, the appearance of a six- or seven-story brick and stone building would definitely attract attention and draw all the merchants who come to the capital.

This can be considered Wei Guangde's contribution to promoting the use of foreign goods in China. In fact, when he made up his mind, he was quite proud of himself.

They not only made money, but also promoted the development of science and technology in China, and made contributions to history and left their mark.

Xu Guangqi is remembered in history for promoting Western learning, but now Wei Guangde has taken that credit.

Whether tradition or Western learning is better, Wei Guangde didn't care about determining which was superior.

The traditional doctrine of the mean includes the idea of ​​inclusiveness and harmony, so we can retain all of these elements, integrate them, and develop modern architecture with Chinese characteristics.

Neither denying nor affirming, Wei Guangde intends to incorporate the first Western-style building in Beijing into his own business.

The Wei family owns a restaurant in the capital, so this is a good opportunity to further enhance their reputation.

"I've already had someone find a location in a prime area of ​​the inner city, but not too close to the imperial city. I've heard that Western buildings are all very tall."

Wei Guangde was talking with Zhang Juzheng in the Grand Secretary's office when a clerk brought him a bowl of medicine. Wei Guangde asked in surprise, "Uncle, are you unwell?" (End of Chapter)