prosperous age

Both Zhang Ke and Jiang Zhi intended to move the Ming Dynasty south to Mughu, and Wei Guangde could already imagine the final outcome of their discussions.

After a moment's thought, Wei Guangde finally spoke up, saying, "This matter should not be rushed."

Gentlemen, think about it. Once this is settled, countless Ming Dynasty merchants will inevitably transport their goods there.

At that time, the city's commerce will be booming.

If the imperial court cannot firmly grasp this, it will be like doing all the work for someone else's benefit.

At this point, Zhang Ke and Jiang Zhi both fell silent.

That place would eventually become a fortress for the Ming people in the West, and it certainly couldn't be left to a place already inhabited.

Now, perhaps they will agree to your request.

But once the city develops and sees a surge in taxes, it's hard to guarantee that those vassal states won't have other ideas.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty was not the only one active on the seas.

Although the Ming Dynasty was powerful, even a small force can be overwhelming. If Western countries got involved, it would make things very difficult for the Ming Dynasty.

The key point is that even those poor, pedantic scholars in China will cause trouble.

They don't think about the country; they just interpret things according to the ways of sages.

It makes sense to borrow someone else's property and then try to take it back or collect taxes from it later.

Although they are not used to reasoning with people, they still have to stand on the side of reason.

Therefore, by finding unclaimed land to build a city, that place would become an enclave of the Ming Dynasty in the Western Ocean, forming a support.

"Lu Bu, send someone to invite Commander Liu of the Embroidered Uniform Guard over."

Now that we've come to this point, Wei Guangde naturally wants to settle things.

"Ministry of Works, select a few skilled men and have them follow the Embroidered Uniform Guard to explore the area and take a look around."

I think I can always find a suitable place.

Although Wei Guangde said this, he didn't really have much hope in his heart.

After all, if there were truly habitable places, they should have been occupied long ago.

Jiang Zhi nodded. Anyway, it wasn't him going to sea; he was just selecting a few younger men to go. It didn't matter.

"Ministry of War, have the Western Navy dispatch several warships to accompany and protect them."

Wei Guangde looked at Zhang Ke and gave the same instructions.

With naval patrols, the Ming Dynasty's seas have become the safest area on the ocean.

However, once outside the Ming Sea, the maritime order is quite different. Merchants are very wary of each other, fearing that one of them might double-cross them.

If you are not very familiar with someone, you will avoid them if you meet them at sea, and you will not approach them to say hello.

If you really encounter such a situation, then you should be careful, as it might be a pirate encounter.

Therefore, Ming Dynasty merchants who traded with the West often traveled in groups, forming connections between familiar merchant guilds and setting off together.

There is strength in numbers, which is especially evident at sea.

The Ming government had received reports from maritime merchants about attacks by foreign ships.

It could be said that they replicated the methods used in the Atlantic and Mediterranean in the Indian Ocean.

In earlier years, the same was true at sea during the Ming Dynasty.

However, as the Ming Dynasty's navy grew larger and larger, such situations decreased significantly.

They chose to trade in the waters of the Ming Dynasty, and dared not commit crimes.

Soon, the officials from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War took their leave. Wei Guangde waited for a while, and then Liu Shouyou arrived.

"It's still about Zheng Jun and his group. I've already heard the Ministry of Works' detailed report."

After Wei Guangde asked Liu Shouyou to sit down, he began to say, "The original location is definitely not going to work."

However, the imperial court needed to establish a permanent port city in the Western Ocean.

It not only provides a trading venue for our Ming Dynasty merchants, but also a safe haven.

Furthermore, intelligence gathering on the West was also crucial.

After Wei Guangde finished speaking, Liu Shouyou stood up and said, "I will follow Grand Secretary Wei's instructions."

"Sit down and talk."

After gesturing for him to sit down again, Wei Guangde continued, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard sent people, and the Ministry of Works continued to search for a place nearby to build a city."

If it doesn't work in one year, try again in two; if it doesn't work in two years, try again in three, but we must find it.

Otherwise, it would be too troublesome for my Great Ming to learn about things in Europe.

Relying on maritime merchants to transmit information is too slow; we must establish channels that we can control ourselves.

In addition, there is a place called Adan to the south of Tianfang, located between the Ottomans and Oman.

It was originally under the control of the Persian Kingdom, but now the Persian Kingdom is no longer able to control it, and it has been taken over by local indigenous tribes.

I want the Embroidered Uniform Guard to gather information there so that it can inform the Ministry of War's decision-making.

Wei Guangde's words were quite straightforward; he had designs on Adan.

Well, coming from a later era, it would be impossible for Wei Guangde not to envy the Middle Eastern tycoons.

If he could establish a few enclaves in the Middle East early on, and find oil just by digging a couple of times, then his time-traveling journey would have been absolutely worthwhile.

In this era, if no one is the owner of a certain piece of land, the international order that everyone agrees on is one of the strong bullying the weak.

The bigger your fist, the more land you can get.

The only pity was that Wei Guangde did not know the distribution of oil fields in the Middle East, otherwise he could have made more precise attempts to obtain information on some locations.

However, this is not a major problem. First, support the Persian Kingdom in resisting the Ottoman Empire's invasion, and then raise territorial claims to the Arabian Gulf.

That area seems to be home to the major oil-producing countries in the Middle East.

Build a city and acquire a large area.

It's all sand there, and it doesn't seem to be a change caused by locals cutting down trees for firewood.

Desert regions were of little importance to the local rulers; what they valued were rivers and oases.

Therefore, it shouldn't be difficult for the Ming Dynasty to acquire that land.

On the contrary, while the Ming Dynasty might easily gain the approval of those natives, the voices of opposition would likely be much louder in the imperial court.

The Middle East was so poor in the early 20th century that if it hadn't been for the discovery of oil, it would probably have been one of the poorest places in the world.

Wei Guangde estimated that it would be poor for at least another three or four hundred years, or that "China" would have to pay them for several hundred years. He wondered if the court would accept it then.

He wasn't sure if the Ming Dynasty would still exist hundreds of years later. According to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, once something was incorporated into the Ming territory, it could not be abandoned.

Even though the Ming Dynasty withdrew from Nurgan, it did not relinquish its sovereignty over the area; it simply stopped sending troops to garrison it.

As long as we plant the sign marking the territory of the Ming Dynasty in that desert, and the Ming Dynasty still exists, that place will still belong to the Ming Dynasty hundreds of years from now.

However, if there is a change of dynasty, then they will definitely give up.

But these things have nothing to do with Wei Guangde; as long as he has a clear conscience, that's enough.

Therefore, establishing a foothold in the Arabian Peninsula is a necessary step.

As for other parts of Africa, such as diamond and gold mines in South Africa, and other places, Wei Guangde had no interest in them at all.

As long as China can safeguard the vast Siberian region in the north, it will have no shortage of mineral resources.

With the land near the Arabian Gulf, oil and gas resources are no longer a problem.

Oh, and the Eastern Continent too.

It's enough to feed over a billion Chinese people.

After giving his instructions, Wei Guangde went through everything he could do.

It seems that I've already stretched my hand out far enough and can't go any further.

As long as China controls these visible territories, it will not fall from its position as the dominant suzerain state in the East.

Numerous overseas enclaves require a massive naval force for protection. Forget about maritime bans, to hell with them.

Without the maritime ban, and with the exchange of cultures between East and West, the Chinese people, with their intelligence and ingenuity, would absolutely not have fallen behind the Westerners.

But for themselves, the key is still the Confucian system.

He couldn't overturn it; it was the achievement of the May Fourth Movement.

Although it did not completely eradicate Confucianism, it greatly undermined its influence in China.

It was precisely because the influence of Confucianism was shaken that China was subsequently exposed to Western culture in a comprehensive manner.

Wei Guangde rose to power by relying on Confucianism. Could he shake the foundations of the regime?

Of course not, so he chose to let his more intelligent descendants solve this problem.

Since I couldn't handle it myself, I let the younger generation deal with it.

Anyway, we're still far from that era, so he can't possibly see it.

A few days later, the cabinet became lively again, because it was the day Wang Xijue joined the cabinet.

Two days ago, Emperor Wanli issued an edict summoning Wang Xijue to the cabinet and appointing him as Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion.

Now, the Ming Dynasty's cabinet is suddenly overflowing with people.

Besides Wei Guangde and Shen Shixing, there are four other cabinet ministers.

After that, under Wei Guangde's direction, they were assigned some tasks.

In essence, it was simply a matter of assigning the functions of the Six Ministries and Five Courts of the imperial court, and sending the memorials from each ministry to the corresponding duty rooms for processing.

Shen Shixing remained in charge of overall coordination, but in reality, he was responsible for reviewing important memorials to the throne.

Of course, it was Wei Guangde who made the final decision.

All the memorials submitted to the cabinet would be reviewed by him.

You don't necessarily have to review it, but you should at least have a general idea of ​​what's going on.

Amidst the cheerful atmosphere in the capital, Deng Zilong led his men at breakneck speed back to Hangzhou on the official road.

He had already sent out the troop mobilization order from the Naval Commander's Office using the fastest possible courier service.

Instead of taking the waterway, we rode horses directly south, which saved time.

To outsiders, the court appeared to be extremely anxious about the situation in Manila.

However, only those who truly know the inside story understand that it was all just for show.

The government was certainly concerned about the lives of the Chinese in Manila, but not as much as outsiders imagined.

Most importantly, this is actually a bargaining chip.

The Ming Dynasty was simply looking for a pretext to put pressure on the Spanish in Manila, in order to pursue its interests in the eastern continent.

After more than ten days of galloping on horseback, the insides of both legs were chafed, but I finally made it back to Hangzhou.

At this time, most of the naval forces in various regions had received orders, and the naval camps in the vicinity had gathered at Hangzhou Bay.

Most of the grain and supplies have already been loaded onto the Fujian ships. They are just waiting for the last batch of supplies to be loaded before they can sail south to Luzon.

Upon his arrival, Deng Zilong immediately summoned all the generals and briefed them on the current situation in Luzon.

"How dare these barbarians threaten the imperial court by using the Chinese as a pretext?"

"This is outrageous and reckless; they're courting death."

The generals here all knew about the urgent report from Daimao City and the fact that the Western Barbarian navy had opened fire on the Ming warships.

Of course, they had no complaints about the patrol boats in Luzon at the time.

Back then, they would have been very wary of the sudden appearance of Ming Dynasty ships, fearing they might be defecting naval warships.

Therefore, they had no time to deal with the provocations from the Western barbarians, and their main task was to bring back ships from the Ming Dynasty.

This matter was handled well.

But now it's a different story. Although news from the Eastern Continent is still kept secret from the outside world, it's no longer a secret within the navy, especially the South China Sea Navy.

The vast continent to the east, still unclaimed land, is enough to fuel everyone's imagination.

The reason the imperial court sent people there to explore must be because they had the idea of ​​expansion.

In fact, news of the Americas had already circulated in the South China Sea Fleet, but since it was all hearsay from foreign merchants, no one took it seriously.

But when naval ships returned from there, the situation changed.

Moreover, the news that Yu Dayou had been granted the title of Marquis in the capital and that his son Yu Zigao had inherited the title of Earl had already spread throughout the navy.

The reason is still because the South China Sea Navy helped to conquer Burma.

The news that expanding territory could lead to being ennobled had long been circulating among naval commanders.

So, what the generals were discussing privately these past two days was whether they could participate in the development of the Eastern Continent and secure a better future for themselves.

Once you are granted a title, even if it's just a minor one, you will at least have a hereditary military rank as a commander.

This is a guarantee that the family will prosper forever; who wouldn't be tempted?

Being a common soldier offers no future, but a hereditary military post is a different story.

Although all professions are inferior, having a hereditary military position is much better than being a commoner.

However, the discussion took a turn for the worse after news of the Manila incident reached them.

At this moment, the generals standing in front of Deng Zilong all had red eyes and were shouting that they wanted to go south and teach the Western barbarians a lesson.

We'll start fighting, deal with the Westerners of Luzon, and then head east to that continent to plunder them.

It must be admitted that perhaps two hundred years of peace and succession system made the Ming army, from top to bottom, have a bit of a roguish flavor.

This is also why Qi Jiguang felt that Ming soldiers were difficult to lead and preferred to recruit and train his own troops.

Soldiers who are either too honest or too slick will make even the most prudent generals uneasy when they are sent to war.

"The situation has been made clear. This time, we are traveling south with dignitaries from the capital. They have all told their men to behave themselves."

Once the Manila issue is resolved, everyone will have plenty of opportunities to make a contribution.

When Deng Zilong returned, he asked his confidants to report on the recent situation.

Both were eager to make a name for themselves, and Deng Zilong could understand that.

However, he dared not indulge himself.

Moreover, the imperial court had no intention of completely eliminating the Western barbarians of Luzon; it was merely meant to scare them.

Immediately, Deng Zilong urged that all supplies be loaded onto ships today so that the naval fleet could set sail south to Luzon tomorrow.

After the military order was issued, officers and soldiers from all units boarded the ships and waited to leave the port early the next morning.

Because of its special nature, the navy has long had its own rules.

Unlike the garrison, where troops are given a large sum of money before setting out, they receive their pay upon returning.

If anyone is killed or injured, they will be sent back by designated personnel.

In this respect, the South China Sea Fleet's system is particularly harsh.

After all, it involves the concerns of officers and soldiers, and if something goes wrong, it could shake morale.

Yu Dayou's regulations were strict, and Deng Zilong implemented them swiftly and decisively after taking office, without any compromise.

This is the foundation of the South China Sea Navy's combat strength. So when they hear about fighting, the soldiers are apprehensive, but no one runs away out of fear.

The day after Deng Zilong returned to Hangzhou, the naval fleet set sail, heading menacingly towards Luzon.

A few days later, the news spread throughout Songjiang Prefecture and Yuegang Wharf.

Merchant ships passing through Hangzhou Bay witnessed the grand scene of the naval fleet setting sail.

That wasn't just a few patrol boats going out to sea, but over a hundred warships.

New fleets will join them on their southward journey. (End of Chapter)