I'm really not doing business

Chapter 896: Using visible military boots to step on the invisible big hand

The struggle volume has an extremely high threshold. At least one must be very proficient in the theory of contradictions and have a deep enough understanding of the classes in the first volume of class theory and the distribution in the second volume, in order to understand what the struggle volume is talking about.

When Westerners read this kind of thing, they will only read the word "war".

The Ming Dynasty did not export wars to other countries. The Ming Dynasty itself also used the Struggle Scroll, which was one of the principles of governing the country. All Ming emperors used it and praised it.

The Ming Dynasty is the Ming Dynasty, and there is only one Ming Dynasty in the world. The barbarians who think that if the Ming Dynasty can do it, so can they, too, will only become a laughing stock.

The last time Marion came to the Ming Dynasty, the struggle volume that Zhu Yijun gave Marion was in Chinese, not Latin. Marion was also very clear about what consequences would arise if the Latin text of this struggle volume was transmitted back to the West.

Marion took only the Chinese text with him, claiming that the Chinese text was more accurate, just as Felipe always kept some of the books translated by Legazpi on the shelf, unwilling to spread them to his subordinates because it was not conducive to his rule.

"I know very well that the dilemma you are facing is not just the lack of means to fight, but the lack of tools to fight. I can't help you much, but I can provide you with some gunpowder and firearms." Zhu Yijun did not just talk big, but gave more help.

For example, the Ming Dynasty had a serious overcapacity in gunpowder products.

The profit from weapons is not high, but when war breaks out, the arms business becomes the most profitable and monopolistic business in the world.

The fundamental reason why Felipe was able to dominate the West was that he monopolized the saltpeter mines in Chile. Felipe relied on his monopoly on gunpowder to achieve military victory.

The only countries in the world that have the ability to manufacture gunpowder on a large scale are Ming Dynasty and Spain.

Before the Ming Dynasty, the outflow of gunpowder was strictly prohibited, and saltpeter was even brought back to the Ming Dynasty from Bengal under the name of saltpeter.

High-quality gunpowder is extremely scarce no matter what era.

Of course, all of this requires payment. Zhu Yijun will not do business that will lose money. No matter what, he will not provide free assistance.

"Your Majesty once said: When goods cannot pass freely, the army will pass through. Felipe was extremely clear-headed when he was young, but now he has become confused. Enough firearms can give people the courage to resist." João understood the emperor's words, and his title changed from prophet to His Majesty the Emperor.

Calling him prophet is a religious identity, and calling him His Majesty is a diplomatic relationship. João obviously understood the emperor's hidden "evil intentions", but he did not intend to expose them, and even cooperated very well.

Because the Great Light Church is facing huge difficulties in survival, the route of the Great Light Church is very clear. The Free Knights who have seized the Great Light City have no way back.

France is currently engaged in a religious war that has been going on for nearly twenty years. The Protestants, mainly the followers of the Geneva Reformation, and the great feudal aristocracy, headed by the French royal family, are in conflict.

There are more than one million Protestant believers, 270,000 churches and courts, eight universities, and 32 colleges.

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Guise betrayed France and defected to Philip II. After gaining the support of the tyrant, cities such as Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Marseille, and Dijon all submitted to the Duke of Guise, and the two amnesty orders for the Great Light Church and the Protestant Church were revoked." Joao explained why he accepted the help.

Because the situation has become very dangerous.

The Protestants and Great Light Christians, who were originally legal, immediately became illegal as the Duke of Guise gained the support of Felipe.

The Duke of Guise opened the door to welcome the thieves, which attracted Philip II. For the French, it meant that the Inquisition was back!

"Wait a minute, João, your full name is João de Lorraine, right? I know this Duke of Guise, his full name is Henri de Lorraine. What is the relationship between you two?" Zhu Yijun asked puzzledly.

Henry, Duke of Guise, was probably the regent of France. Ming Dynasty had some understanding of such key figures when dealing with the West.

Zhu Yijun noticed that the envoy sent by the Great Light Church had the same surname as the Duke of Guise.

Joao said with a complicated expression, "He is my elder brother. I am a devout Catholic and a former cardinal. My father and elder brother were seeking the throne of France. My father preferred Henry. After my father died, my elder brother inherited the title of Duke of Guise."

"I don't agree with their approach of supporting the church and chose another path."

"Your Majesty is the Emperor of Ming. It is difficult for you to understand that the suffering brought by the Inquisition is nothing but disaster."

The biggest difference between the Great Light Church and the Western Church is that the Great Light believers believe in wisdom rather than God. In the teachings of the Great Light Church, the prophet is a human being and is not omniscient and omnipotent.

A prophet gains wisdom through practice, not from God.

The Ming Dynasty was a secular country that used Ming laws and had a complete bureaucratic system, but France is still a religious country. The atrocities of the Inquisition are too numerous to list. Even the churches, which are supposed to save all living beings, are places of filth and corruption.

Joao betrayed his God, his faith, his father, and took another path.

Joao continued, "The Patriarch's father, French Marshal Anne de Montmorency, was driven out of the court by the Duke of Guise because he sympathized with the common people. My father did not approve of common people's politics."

"I once had a heated argument with my father. He asked me: Where are the civilians you mentioned? I can't see them at all. They can't influence any decision!"

"After the Grand Marshal was driven out of the palace, I followed him and converted to the Great Light Church. We believers came together to find a path to salvation, a path to save France from the sea of ​​suffering."

"If I, the Patriarch, die on the battlefield, the flame of freedom ignited by my life will not be extinguished, but will illuminate the path of those who come after me."

“This is the sacrifice of one of the eight virtues of the Prophet.”

"We firmly believe that the French can live like the people of the Ming Dynasty."

The people of the Ming Dynasty certainly had their own sufferings, but compared to the French who are still struggling in religious hell, they lived more like human beings.

People should live like human beings.

"I see." Zhu Yijun sorted out the interpersonal relationships here. This was basically an Avengers alliance.

The French Marshal was defeated in a brutal political struggle, and his daughter Marion took advantage of the spread of the Great Light Cult and successfully found new forces to intervene.

João was the loser in the family struggle, and the title of Duke of Guise was inherited by Henry. After João's failure, he got together with Marion.

As for finding a new path for France, perhaps they really think so now, but the story of the dragon slayer turning into a dragon has been repeated in history, and Zhu Yijun does not have too many expectations.

"If you want civilians to rebel, there is a big difference between giving them a stick and a musket. The musket can arouse their courage." Joao said with his head down.

He was eager to obtain weapons from the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yijun personally approved the export of a batch of weapons, and unlike the large sailing ships, the Ming Dynasty would transport them to the West from the West and the Atlantic Ocean, not through the Strait of Magellan.

Zhu Yijun gave a batch of firearms that could arm two thousand people. They were all bird guns that were eliminated by the Ming army. These bird guns were of poor quality, poor accuracy, easy to explode, and difficult to load with gunpowder.

In the era when the Ming Dynasty had already begun to equip itself with flintlock muskets, these bird guns were considered to be recycled.

After Joao left, Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng and said, "Jia Yi said in his "On the Qin Dynasty" that even if there are no weapons, there is still resistance. Joao is wrong."

The Qin Dynasty's Theory says: Because of the Qin Dynasty's tyranny, people cut down trees as weapons, raised bamboo poles as flags, and began to resist.

But when successive dynasties cursed the Qin Dynasty, were they saying that the Qin king lost the world due to his tyranny, or were they using the concept of "Qin King's Tyranny" to satirize the brutality of rulers of successive dynasties?
Zhu Yijun personally feels that many people use the past to illustrate the present, and he is just using the Qin Dynasty as an example.

If people really opposed the Qin Dynasty, why did all dynasties follow Qin's political and legal systems?

"The Westerners, who are harming their neighbors, will probably only point their guns at the homeless on the street once they get weapons. Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Juzheng did not refute the emperor's words.

Because Zhang Juzheng actually felt that even if firearms fell into the hands of Westerners, they would not know who to target.

To harm one's neighbors is Zhang Juzheng's description of Western society. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was a prime minister in the State of Wei named Bai Gui. He was good at flood control. He treated neighboring countries as big puddles and drained the floods of his own country to them.

Western society is a vertically divided society. Under this social system, it is more likely that guns are pointed at people of the same class.

The emperor's instigation was effective. From the envoys' reports, it could be seen that the probability of a local war turning into a full-scale war was very high, because the Protestants had gradually grown stronger and were no longer willing to continue to be oppressed.

The full-scale religious war in the West was on the verge of breaking out, and the emergence of the Great Light Church only accelerated the process.

The envoys from England and Spain were both left in the Wanguo City of Songjiang Prefecture. After meeting with the envoys from France, Zhu Yijun met with envoys from the Hanseatic League, Russia, and the Mongol Empire at the Mochou Lake Palace.

The Hanseatic League was a federation of Nordic cities, a commercial and political alliance with its own armed forces and treasury. At its peak, the King of England had to mortgage his crown to the Hanseatic League in exchange for war loans.

However, with the rise of Spain and Portugal in maritime trade, the status of the Hanseatic League gradually declined and eventually died out.

The Hanseatic League hoped that the Ming Dynasty's global trade fleet could reach Cologne and other places, but Zhu Yijun did not agree. The West was a stop for the Ming Dynasty's global trade. Lisbon and Daguanming City were already used to distribute goods, so there was no need for the Ming Dynasty to go too deep into the West.

In order to raise lackeys and train compradors, some money must always slip through the cracks in one's fingers. The long-distance animal husbandry of the Ming Dynasty also needs to be developed.

At this time, the Ming Dynasty is still the kingdom of God on earth in the hearts of Westerners. Antonio, Marcus, Marion and other envoys regard the glazed tower of the Nan Ya Da Baoen Temple as the torch of world civilization.

The Russian envoy expressed his anger towards the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty's expeditions on the Xianbei Plains had helped the Xianbei people defeat the Russian expeditions countless times, and all the furs on the Xianbei Plains went to the Ming Dynasty, not to the Russian State.

The Russians, who were unable to obtain furs from the Xianbei Plains, were naturally extremely angry.

What the Russian Empire could not tolerate the most was that the Ming Dynasty got a group of people from somewhere, and they built roads in the freezing Xianbei Plain!
The people who were building the road were naturally the Japanese. As long as they had a little potatoes, they could build the road safely.

Building the road meant that the Ming Dynasty would not leave, and the connection between the Ming Dynasty and the Xianbei Plain was becoming closer.

For the tribes on the Xianbei Plain, the Ming expedition was a door-to-door purchase, while the Russians were robbery.

Although the Ming Dynasty's governors and marquises felt that their purchases were no different from robbery, the expensive furs could actually be exchanged for a few pounds of salt, an iron pot, and a little tea.

The Russian Empire is expanding eastward across the Ural Mountains. The Ming Dynasty now has the ability to intervene and will naturally not let them do as they please.

Zhu Yijun said that the tribes on the Xianbei Plain were also one of the tributary states during the Yongle period!

One hundred and seventy years have passed, and this is the reason, the fundamental contradiction, it's still for those furs.

After expressing some anger, the Russian envoy hoped to put aside the dispute and jointly develop the Xianbei Plain, but Zhu Yijun said there was no point in discussing it.

He has worked so hard for so many years to strengthen the military. He has endured the pain of stretching and the hardships in the military camp. At this time, he still puts aside the dispute. Why did he work so hard? Put aside a bullshit, there is no dispute!
Doctor of Agronomy Ke Yanchang is the top doctor of agronomy in the Ming Dynasty. Ke Yanchang successfully cultivated the purple root grass sent by the Russian Kingdom and planted it all over Suiyuan. This high-quality forage grass has grown all over Suiyuan.

The friendship boat capsized at any time, and Zhu Yijun changed his attitude faster than turning the pages of a book. He ordered the Ti cavalry to carry the envoy of the Russian Kingdom and send it back to Wanguo City in Songjiang Prefecture.

There is only interest, no friendship in international politics.

The envoy of the Mughal Empire told the Ming Dynasty a piece of news that Emperor Akbar the Great was preparing to expand to the Deccan Plateau in the south in order to restore the glory of his ancestors. The Deccan Plateau in southern India had been separated from the rule of the Mughal Empire after the death of Babur, the founding king of the Mughal Empire.

The Mongol envoys hoped that the Ming fleet would not interfere with this process.

Zhu Yijun was a little surprised. After asking in detail, he found out that it was the fleet of the Governor's Office of Old Port that was doing business with some tribes in South India, mainly for cotton.

Akbar promised that even if the Deccan Plateau was conquered, the Ming Dynasty could still obtain sufficient cotton and saltpeter from the Mughal Empire. After all, cotton and saltpeter were the few goods that could impress the Ming Dynasty when doing business with it.

The Ming Dynasty did not interfere with Akbar's intention to go south. In the Ming Dynasty's perception, that place was an absolute cesspool. Anyone who was involved in the caste system would become unfortunate.

The temptation of the caste system to the ruling class is so strong that any meat-eater who comes into contact with the caste system will inevitably become Sanskritized. The caste system is the most stable social system of all the systems that the Ming Dynasty has ever seen.

In addition to envoys from Western countries, Zhu Yijun also received a group of envoys from the Governor-General's Office.

Envoys from the Governor's Offices of Mexico, Peru, La Plata, Brazil, Mozambique, etc. Most of these envoys were sent to the Ming Dynasty because Felipe wanted to impose tariffs.

There is only one purpose for coming here, and that is to do business as usual and ensure that the Ming Dynasty's global trade fleet can operate smoothly.

Felipe can be ridiculous, but the Governor's Office still has to do business with the Ming people, otherwise it won't even have an iron pot.

Wan Shi and Wan Zongbo described the Wanli Reform as the Ming Dynasty's national history taking a magnificent turn towards world history.

This transformation process is not a metaphysical abstract behavior such as so-called self-consciousness, Yangming's philosophy of mind, or cosmic spirit, but a completely material action that can be proven through experience.

This transformation is made up of every individual who lives a real life and needs to eat, drink and wear clothes.

Wan Zongbo's original words were: The changes in the world and the history of the universe are not caused by the delusion of the mind, nor are they driven by the spirit of the mysterious sky. How can it be caused by the mysterious shadows and illusions? They are real things that can be verified in practice.

Anyone who eats, lives, and practices what they do can prove it!

A more concise and clear statement is: the world is material.

These governor-general's offices specially sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty to express their position. Felipe's orders must be obeyed, but the Ming Dynasty does not have to worry about it. The Ming Dynasty's merchant ships have their own ways to transport the goods over.

In fact, the method is simple and clear. Smuggling is nothing more than smuggling by the governors-general to bypass local supervision.

Zhu Yijun spent the busiest day in the Mochou Lake Palace, and the envoys finally met the emperor himself.

His Majesty the Emperor is not the ruthless demon as the legend says. On the contrary, he is quite approachable. His Majesty himself is proficient in Latin and can communicate effectively and quickly.

"The situation is not as bad as we thought." Zhu Yijun's expression relaxed a little after meeting these envoys.

Zhu Yijun said to his ministers: "The imperial court is nothing more than a few palaces and houses, and meals still need to be eaten from separate pots."

"The Ming Dynasty is in decline and in turmoil. At this point, there are only two choices: either distribute the wealth of the rich to the poor, or let the poor die of poverty, starvation, or hardship. There is no other way."

"How can we give the money to the poor? The poor are unwilling to die of poverty, starvation and hardship. They will rise up in rebellion."

"The country is in decline, and it's difficult for everyone. We can't do it reluctantly. We can't eat from the separate pots. No matter who we are or what class we belong to, we will make a fuss. If we can't let me eat, then no one will eat."

"You can't get it outside. I'm afraid the wealthy businessmen along the coast will eat us again. But at the moment, it seems that you can still get it outside, but it's not as good as before where you can just lie down and eat it."

It's not that money can't be made, it's just a little harder to make than in the past. So the narrative of the Ming Dynasty's Wanli Reform, which suffered a lot from the overseas barbarians, can continue.

"Your Majesty is wise. As long as the Beijing camp is still there, who dares to eat people openly?" Wang Chonggu immediately flattered the emperor.

The powerful and wealthy people in the Southern Court reconciled themselves, compared the tribute selection case with the North and South list cases, and gave a thumbs up, saying: Your Majesty is still merciful.

"They don't dare to do it openly, but they still dare to commit crimes. Why is it so difficult to make them abide by the law?"

"Among the remaining more than 300 wealthy families to be executed, there are actually people who pretend to be crazy and stupid to evade punishment. Since they insist on resisting the investigation, you can't blame me for being ruthless. After seven days, these people who pretend to be stupid will be used together." Zhu Yijun talked about the tribute selection case and planned to use another batch.

There were more than 300 families waiting to be hired, and among this group of people, more than 100 people were pretending to be crazy.

"I obey your order." Wang Chonggu is an old criminal lawyer who has been working in the field for seventeen years.

Wang Chonggu had seen too many people pretending to be crazy to resist censorship. The emperor did not give them more chances and chose to kill those who pretended to be crazy first. The rest of the people did not dare to go crazy.

Zhu Yijun used his visible military boots to step on the invisible big hand. Since he came to the Southern Court in person, he had no intention of forgiveness. He would die even if he pretended to be crazy. If he confessed the problem honestly, he could die more easily.

"Ke Yanchang, a doctor of agronomy from Suiyuan, submitted a memorial. He believed that the only way to solve the drought problem in Suiyuan and Shaanxi in the long run was to find ways to plant trees." Zhang Juzheng took out a memorial.

Ke Yanchang's memorial was very professional, and Zhang Juzheng took a long time to study it before he could understand it.

When fallen leaves in the forest corrode, a humus layer is formed. The deposition of each layer of soil and rock is the annual ring of the earth.

In Suiyuan, Ke Yanchang demarcated the entire area with a boundary of ten miles. He used a Luoyang round shovel to take soil from every place and studied the corrosion layer. If there was a corrosion layer one to two inches below the surface, it meant that the place was once covered with green plants.

After five years of research, Ke Yanchang came to a conclusion that since the first year of the Yongle period, the forest and grassland coverage in Suiyuan area has dropped from the original 47% to 27%. The rapid decrease in vegetation coverage has led to the intensification of soil erosion.

The drought in Shaanxi, Gansu and Suiyuan is not caused by a particularly obvious change in precipitation, but by the inability to retain water.

Even children can learn about the water cycle in nature through the "Brief Edition of the Yongle Encyclopedia".

Water falls from the sky, but as the surface vegetation coverage decreases, the water cannot be retained, and the widespread drought in the Loess Plateau is likely to intensify.

This process is also very simple. The poverty of Shaanxi, Gansu and Suiyuan is due to drought and the deterioration of natural endowments. However, the poorer people are, the more they demand from nature. Trees are constantly cut down and soil and water loss begins to intensify.

Why are Shaanxi, Gansu and Suiyuan poor? Because of drought. Why is there drought? Because of poverty.

This vicious cycle will quickly worsen if the Ming court does not intervene. Guanlong, once the birthplace of the Ming Dynasty, will become a remote and impoverished area, or even the burial place of the Ming Dynasty.

There is no obvious change in precipitation, but the available water resources have decreased, so it will definitely become no longer habitable. The small glacier climate is a natural force and cannot be changed by human will. However, Ke Yanchang obviously does not think so. He believes that man can conquer nature.

As long as Suiyuan turns green, the Ming Dynasty will be forever stable.

"So, how much silver is needed?" Zhu Yijun finished reading the memorial. Ke Yanchang's memorial successfully convinced Zhu Yijun, a stingy man, and he planned to transfer the money.

Make Ming Great Again includes all the people in Ming Dynasty. Shaanxi, Gansu and Suiyuan are all Ming people. These places are really poor.

"Doctor Ke knows that the Ming Dynasty is implementing the Dinghai school system and that the court has a limited amount of money. Doctor Ke does not intend to take the money and does not want to make things too difficult for the court, but he still wants to solve the problem." Wang Chonggu took out another memorial and handed it to His Majesty the Emperor.

Zhu Yijun opened it and read it for a long time. Looking at the ministers, he said sincerely: "Dr. Ke, you are loyal to the emperor and the country, loyal to the emperor's work, and understand the difficulty of revitalizing the country."

Ke Yanchang had no intention of making empty promises to the emperor, saying that the Yellow River would be clear and the saints would come up with such a big promise: the desert would be pacified in three years and the peace would be restored in five years.

Based on the current situation, Ke Yanchang proposed that the most important task of windbreak and sand control in Shaanxi-Gansu-Suiyuan is not to control the sand, but to prevent the further reduction of vegetation cover, that is, to reduce the felling of trees.

The Ming Dynasty had an extremely high demand for wood. Building materials, papermaking, fuel, furniture, everyone's life was closely related to firewood.

Among the numerous gifts Antonio gave to the Ming Dynasty, Ke Yanchang found a poplar seed. After hybridizing it with the Ming Dynasty's Bozhou poplar, he bred a fast-growing poplar that is easy to propagate by cuttings, has a high survival rate for seedlings, is highly adaptable, grows extremely fast, and is not picky about the soil.

Antonio traveled between the Ming Dynasty and the West for many years, catering to the emperor's tastes and sending countless seeds to the emperor, many of which he exchanged for his kidneys.

Antonio had no idea what these seeds were used for, so he simply sent all the seeds he could to Ming Dynasty.

After Antonio became king and stopped sailing, Marcus took over this task. Paying tribute was to please the emperor, and not giving the emperor something he liked would seem very tactless.

"Five years for a tree" is the simplest and clearest expression. In five years, the fast-growing poplar can mature, and in eight years it will reach the best harvesting period. Planting trees can also make money.

If the harvest is to be carried out every eight years, 110 trees can be planted per acre of land. If the harvest is to be carried out every five years, 167 trees can be planted per acre of land.

The quality of this wood is a bit poor and it is not a good material for building pillars, but it is sufficient for making paper, fuel and furniture.

"Dr. Ke has opened up 37 government-run forests in Wuyuan Prefecture. Starting the year after next, we will be able to harvest the first batch of fast-growing poplar wood." Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "Not only does he not want money, he also makes money for the court."

Ke Yanchang was from Zhuzhuang, Chengguan Town, Lanyang County, Kaifeng City, Henan Province. He was a farmer's son, and all his ancestors were farmers. His original name was Ke Zhu. Because he was a good farmer, when the Baoqisi was established, he was sent to the court by Kaifeng Prefecture, and studied under the Grand Minister of Agriculture Xu Zhenming together with the emperor.

The nations are responsible for the ascent, and the meat-eaters are responsible for the spiral.

The fast-growing poplar cultivated by Ke Yanchang solved the problem of whether it is more important to have food or to protect the mountains and forests.

In fact, some people in Suiyuan were very dissatisfied with the imperial court's decree restricting the logging seasons in the mountains, but due to the strength of the Ming Dynasty's Beijing camp, they dared not speak out. However, if anger was suppressed for too long, problems would always arise, and the imperial court also provided new solutions.

We need to eat and protect the forests. Going into the mountains to cut wood is tiring and hard. In fact, it doesn't make much money. Cutting wood is very tiring.

It is better to plant it yourself than to steal it from nature.

Ke Yanchang actively exerted his subjective initiative and prevented the further reduction of vegetation in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Suiyuan area while minimizing the need for special appropriations from the court.

Zhu Yijun said with some emotion: "Humans are like ants in front of nature. Dr. Ke seems to be overestimating his own abilities, trying to stop the further deterioration of the natural endowment in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Suiyuan region."

"He was a great man, no doubt about it."

(End of this chapter)