I'm really not doing business

Chapter 917: Armored Camps Strengthen Heaven's Might, Nations Gather for a Feast

Spears and spears reach the clouds, and flags shine like the sun.

The soldiers were divided into four square formations with 3,000 men in each battalion, waiting for His Majesty to appear in the imperial tent. When he gave the signal to the soldiers, cheers from all directions spread throughout Shanghai County, Songjiang Prefecture.

The purpose of the Ming Dynasty's grand military review was only one, which was to boost the morale of the weak, inspire the hearts of the soldiers, review the results of military training, and at the same time, to inspire people and show power in the most direct way.

In addition to the emperor and his ministers, those who attended the Wanshou Festival review were mainly the powerful and wealthy people in Songjiang Prefecture. They sat on the viewing platform and intuitively felt the power in the hands of the emperor.

After three shouts of "Mighty", the Ming army stood on both sides of the Chengtian Gate Imperial Road. Amid the sounds of trumpets, drums and salutes, the grand review officially began.

Qi Jiguang led the Ming cavalry battalion to the end of the Imperial Road. The brave cavalry battalion made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty in the Battle of Daningwei, the Battle of Quanningwei, the Battle of Bansheng, the Battle of Pyongyang, the Battle of Incheon, and the Battle of Changmen.

The Yongwu Cavalry Battalion was a common name in the Ming Dynasty. Its full name was the Red Helmets of the Five Armies Holding the Dajiayong Flag.

Qi Jiguang was wearing full armor and carrying a large dragon flag. This meant he was in charge of the imperial procession. The wind from Songjiang Prefecture made the dragon flag flutter, making it flutter continuously. Twenty riders on each side carried a flag with the word "brave" on it and a flag with the word "martial" on it respectively. Each soldier wore a red helmet. The red helmet refers to the red tassel on the helmet, not that the entire helmet is red.

The "Zhiguanjun" actually means the garrison troops, which means they are directly under the emperor himself.

The Three Thousand Heavy Cavalry Battalion was the only heavy cavalry in the Ming Dynasty. On the battlefield, it often played a decisive role. This scale was already large enough. The Three Thousand Battalion during the Yongle period, that is, the scale of three thousand people, was not too large.

To put it bluntly, with just these 3,000 cavalry battalions, with sufficient logistical supplies, they can easily conquer the Ming Dynasty again.

Even with the wealth of the Ming Dynasty, it could only support 3,000 of this kind of heavy cavalry, mainly because the pressure of logistical supply was too great. Moreover, as the power of firearms became increasingly stronger, the withdrawal of heavy cavalry from the stage of history was almost a foregone conclusion.

But at the moment, heavy cavalry can still play a vital role on the battlefield.

When the cavalry battalion passed through Chengtian Gate in full armor, the entire Chengtian Gate viewing platform seemed to have pressed the still button. There was only the sound of the wind and the music of the musicians from Changle Temple, and nothing else. The people on the viewing platform didn't even want to discuss it.

This was also the first time that the wealthy businessmen, powerful people and the emerging bourgeoisie in Songjiang Prefecture faced violence so directly.

This is an army whose swords are stained with the blood of the enemy.

Behind the cavalry battalion was the infantry battalion of 3,000 led by Ma Fang's second son, Ma Lin. This infantry battalion was the Yaowu Infantry Battalion. Like the 3,000 heavy cavalry, they were all red-helmeted government troops, the most elite fully armored heavy infantry of the Ming Dynasty.

Ma Fang was born a slave. He was abducted by Aldan Khan and taken to the grassland to be a horse slave. Later, Ma Fang escaped back to the Ming Dynasty and became an unforgettable nightmare for Aldan Khan throughout his life.

When the Ming Dynasty's border troops were causing complaints on the grasslands, Altan Khan gathered his 90,000 cavalry and marched south to Datong to teach the Ming Dynasty a lesson and force it to recall these border troops that were causing trouble.

Altan Khan led 90,000 cavalrymen to fight against Ma Fang's 10,000 cavalrymen. Altan Khan fought seven battles and suffered heavy defeats every time.

At this point, Altan Khan no longer had any way to deal with the issue of destroying the nests and driving away the horses, and the balance of the battlefield completely tilted towards the Ming Dynasty.

After his father's death, Ma Lin took up the banner of the Yangcheng Earl's Mansion and fought bravely. He won nine victories in the anti-Japanese war and was promoted to the Yangcheng Marquis. He walked in the front carrying the dragon flag, and on Ma Lin's left was Zhao Ji, the seventh son of the Zhao family, who was broad-shouldered and strong, and looked extremely oppressive.

Zhao Jicai was born in Huying and became the hereditary Qianhu of Yaowuying due to his military merits. The hereditary Qianhu was a salary-earning official who only received salary but did no work. If he wanted to lead troops into battle, he had to pass the assessment of the Military Academy and be promoted step by step from the grassroots level.

Every soldier of the Yaowu Infantry Battalion carried a flintlock musket. Because it was a military parade, not a war, the battalion's tiger squat cannons and side chariots were not displayed. But even so, people couldn't help but hold their breath.

"Everyone! Stand still!" Marin's steps became smaller and smaller, and he shouted orders and stopped right in front of Chengtian Gate.

The Yaowu Infantry Battalion wanted to demonstrate the line formation to His Majesty. Most Ming people had only heard of the line formation but had never seen it. Under the command of Ma Lin, the 3,000 soldiers of the infantry battalion soon formed three horizontal rows. What surprised everyone on the viewing stand was that their guns were actually aimed at the viewing stand!

It would be fine if they aimed at the viewing platform, which is right under Chengtian Gate. Isn't this pointing the musket at Your Majesty? Is this a rebellion?
"Release!" Marin waved the small flag in his hand and dropped it.

Some people on the viewing platform had even stood up and wanted to escape, but there was no sound of gunpowder explosion, because Marin was only demonstrating the three-stage attack and line formation, why 3,000 people could suppress 30,000 Japanese pirates.

There was no gunpowder in the muskets, and the barrels of the flintlock muskets were blocked with wooden plugs.

Even though it was just a show, it still scared the people in the viewing stand and made them break out in cold sweats!
"A bunch of cowards." Zhu Yijun naturally saw the unusual movements on the viewing platform. He, the emperor, did not move a muscle, and he had no idea what these wealthy businessmen were afraid of. It was obvious that they had done something wrong.

After the Yaowu Infantry Battalion demonstrated the horizontal formation, it also demonstrated the square formation and the vertical formation. The square formation was for defense against the enemy cavalry, while the vertical formation was mainly used for marching and advancing on the battlefield.

Following the Yaowu Infantry Battalion was the Fenwu Cavalry Battalion. Unlike the Yongwu Cavalry Battalion's heavy cavalry, the Fenwu Cavalry Battalion was light cavalry without armor. All of them appeared in formal attire and marched through the Chengtian Gate in uniform without displaying any tactics.

The last to appear was the Xianwu Artillery Battalion, which displayed all the field artillery of the Ming Dynasty, including the Tiger Crouching Cannon, the Six-jin Copper Cannon, the Nine-jin Zhenwu Cannon Carriage, the Mother-and-child Cannon, etc. The Nine-jin Zhenwu Cannon Carriage had a canopy for shooting, making it easy to maneuver and fight in rainy days.

All four battalions are part of the Zhenwu Regiment. This military parade directly demonstrated the combat units of the Ming Dynasty's full firearms combat system. The Ming Dynasty has formed a substantial upgrade of the "line-up shooting" tactics and entered a new system in the firearms era.

After the four battalions passed through Chengtian Gate one after another, the grand review did not end. What followed was a performance-like exercise.

Within an hour, the Ming army displayed nine formations:偃月,鱼级,鹤翼,锋箭,长蛇,雁行,车挂,方圈, and衡钩. These nine formations could almost cope with all battlefield situations. Twelve thousand soldiers changed their formations rapidly in the square in front of Chengtian Gate, which was a feast for the eyes.

The reason why these formations are called performance formations is that with the current combination of Ming artillery, light cavalry, line infantry battalions, and heavy cavalry, the line formation has become the most efficient formation for killing the enemy.

Although these nine formations have become history and the past, the Ming Dynasty’s capital camp has not completely abandoned them.

This kind of exercise is more about demonstrating the coordination and organization among the various camps of the Ming Dynasty’s Beijing Camp.

Qi Jiguang said that what determines victory or defeat outside the battlefield is logistics, but on the battlefield, what determines victory or defeat is always people and organization.

No matter how good a weapon is, if it is given to a waste, the waste will not be able to use it effectively and will only bring shame.

After the display of the nine formations, Zhu Yijun ordered rewards. What made Zhu Yijun a little regretful was that the display of Ming Dynasty artillery was insufficient. The city defense guns and naval guns were not pulled out, and their power was not demonstrated. The main reason was that this was in the Huangpu River Palace. If it was in the Northern Yamen, they would definitely be pulled out to let the onlookers feast their eyes.

Humans have a natural desire for violence, and weapons always resonate with the deepest parts of people's hearts.

Zhu Yijun left the imperial tent and took the imperial carriage to the new port, Jinshanwei Port in Songjiang Prefecture. Jinshanwei is in Hangzhou Bay. It is the base of the Songjiang Navy and is only four miles away from the Jinzeyuan Navy Office.

Zhu Yijun's jade carriage was lifted onto the road and pulled by Shengping No. 7, heading towards Jinshan Port.

The fleet review began at 2:00 p.m. and lasted for an hour and a half. The viewing platform was set up at the estuary, and the first ship to leave the port was the Youlong.

The Youlong did not raise its sails but was towed out of the port by a barge. Although the Youlong began to lag behind other fast sailing ships as soon as it left the factory, as the first fast sailing ship and a sealed boat, it had a strong political symbolic significance.

"Woo--!" A long whistle suddenly sounded in the port, attracting everyone's attention.

A huge ship, about thirty feet in length, was moving slowly forward, being towed by a barge.

Two huge chimneys on the hull spewed out thick white smoke. The function of the barge was no longer to pull, but to ensure direction. The power for the giant ship to move forward came from the ship itself. This ship was powered by twelve Shengping No. 7 iron horses.

The intermediate horsepower of Shengping No. 7 Iron Horse is exactly the same as Shengping No. 6, which is 150 horsepower, and the maximum horsepower is 180 horsepower. The main upgrade direction of Shengping No. 7 is miniaturization.

The Institute of Gewu has always had a dream to let the steam engine carry the glider into the sky. This is destined to be an unattainable ambition, but in the process of pursuing the dream, the steam engine gradually miniaturized the glider, just like chasing a perpetual motion machine. The perpetual motion machine is naturally out of reach, but reducing energy consumption is always meaningful.

Songjiang Governor Li Le, along with Songjiang Shipyard General Managers Guo Rulin and Zhao Shizhen, stood beside Your Majesty.

Zhao Shizhen watched the huge ship pass by the viewing platform, then bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, the new ship that was launched from the Songjiang Shipyard is called Yuyuan."

"It is a wooden fast sailing ship, which is the culmination of Ming Dynasty shipbuilding. It abandoned the paddle wheel in the past and replaced it with a propeller at the tail. The whole ship is made of copper-clad wood, which greatly increases its service life. With proper maintenance, it can be used for 50 years."

"It uses twelve Shengping No. 7 horsepower engines, with a maximum horsepower of 2,100 horsepower, and can travel 1,500 miles in a day and night."

"The ship is designed with three decks, with a total of 80 guns, including -jin guns, -jin guns, -jin guns, -jin guns, and -jin guns. The design drawings were revised nine times, and the layout and design were fully combined with the needs of the navy."

"This is also the largest ship that Songjiang Shipyard is going to build at present. The size of the ship will not be increased, and the number of artillery will not be increased."

Zhu Yijun looked at the huge ship and asked in confusion: "Why?"

Zhao Shizhen gave a detailed explanation of why this decision was made.

Yu Dayou once said: "Naval warfare is nothing more than using big ships to defeat small ships, using big guns to defeat small guns, using many ships to defeat few ships, and using many guns to defeat few guns." Based on this demand, Ming Dynasty shipbuilding fell into a dilemma of thinking that bigger is better and more is beautiful, and they wanted to build bigger and bigger ships, with more and more guns.

However, the navy continued to provide feedback and found that the idea of ​​using giant ships and heavy artillery was not wrong, but it could not cover all scenarios. Sometimes, some small boats were needed as supplements to avoid passivity caused by lack of flexibility.

And the most important thing is that Songjiang Shipyard hopes to build a batch of small sailless steamships, which Songjiang Prefecture named the Fireship Project.

The maximum horsepower of Yuyuan has reached 2000, but it still cannot get rid of the sails. The iron horse drive is still not the main power, the sails are, which creates a design contradiction.

The idea of ​​Songjiang Shipyard was to first build some small fireships, accumulate enough experience, wait for further improvements to the iron cavalry, and finally complete the manufacture of steam battleships, which was the overall picture of the fireship plan.

"If the size of the iron horse can be reduced by two times and the horsepower can be doubled, so that the total power reaches 5000 to 6000 horsepower, the main function of the sail will be to save fuel." Zhao Shizhen certainly likes big ships. He is a loyal supporter of "bigger is better, more is beautiful."

However, the horsepower of current steam engines is not enough to achieve this.

After the two representative fast sailing ships passed by, the next one to pass by was the main warship of the Ming Dynasty, a five-masted ocean-going ship.

This type of ship laid the foundation for the security of the Ming Dynasty's maritime borders and was the main force of the Ming Dynasty's navy. To this day, Felipe has not been able to successfully imitate it.

Generally speaking, it takes a great country to build a five-masted ocean-going ship.

A three-masted frigate was already a fourth-tier small ship in the Ming Dynasty, but for most foreign small countries, a three-masted frigate could be used as a flagship, including England.

The English always told people that the secret of their victory over the Invincible Armada was the wolf pack tactics, where small ships defeated large ships, but the truth was that it was the storms in the Atlantic that defeated the Invincible Armada. English envoys visited the Ming Dynasty several times, hoping to buy a batch of three-masted plywood ships, but were rejected by the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty even stopped allowing English envoys to meet with the emperor, mainly because the Queen of England's "Privateer License" was still in effect.

During the one and a half hour long naval review, the emperor and his subjects witnessed the might of the Ming navy. In the fleet reviewed alone, there were more than 200 ships on the three-masted frigates, and the 400-ton warships were not included in the statistics.

Zhu Yijun stood in the sea breeze, searching every ship on the sea with a telescope. He suddenly frowned, put the telescope aside, pointed at a dismantled ship in the harbor, and asked blankly, "Is that the Feiyun?"

There were models of the Youlong and Feiyun, and Zhu Yijun often disassembled and assembled them to play with them. He was quite familiar with the Feiyun.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhao Shizhen looked in the direction His Majesty pointed and said with his head bowed.

"Does it have to be completely dismantled?" Zhu Yijun asked with some emotion, because the deck had been completely dismantled, even half of the hull had been dismantled.

"Your Majesty, it is going to be completely demolished." Zhao Shizhen answered His Majesty affirmatively that the Feiyun had completed its historical mission.

The Feiyun is an experimental ship, and all kinds of extreme tests are carried out on it. Moreover, it has been dismantled and rebuilt so many times that the whole ship can no longer withstand extreme tests.

The Feiyun has been completely destroyed.

"Let's call the next experimental ship Feiyun, and pass this ship name on." Zhu Yijun issued an order, and from today on, the Ming Dynasty navy also had a legacy.

The ship can be dismantled or sunk, but the ship number must be passed down.

Zhu Yijun liked the naval review very much because it represented that the Ming Dynasty had found a new way out and future.

During the first year of the Wanli reign, the Ming Dynasty was already 205 years old. It was aging, and the country was troubled by annexations, slack military preparations, and the Japanese invasion made the Ming Dynasty even weaker. But in comparison, the Ming Dynasty was already doing very well.

The year 205 in the Western Han Dynasty was the second year of Yuanshi. At that time, Wang Mang was already preparing to usurp the throne.

The combined reign of the Western Jin Dynasty and the Eastern Jin Dynasty was only 155 years, 50 years short.
When the Tang Dynasty was 205 years old, it was the eighth year of Taihe reign of Emperor Wenzong of Tang. The following year, the Ganlu Incident occurred. Emperor Wenzong of Tang failed to eliminate the power of the eunuchs and was placed under house arrest. Not long after, he was killed by the eunuchs. At that time, the Tang Dynasty had already entered an era of separatist regimes.

As for the Song Dynasty when it was 205 years old, it had already been destroyed once, in the first year of Qiandao reign of Emperor Xiaozong of Song. That year, the heading of the letters from the envoys of the Jin Dynasty was "Nephew Emperor Song". The letters from the Jin Dynasty to the Song Dynasty did not use honorific titles, nor did they address themselves as Your Majesty. Instead, they were addressed as "Nephew Emperor Song".

The reason why Song Xiaozong was humiliated in such a way was entirely due to the capitulationism of Song Gaozong Zhao Gou.

As for the Qing Dynasty, when it entered the Pass and established a national regime, it was 205 years old. It was already the th year of Daoguang's reign. The First Opium War had ended and the Treaty of Nanjing had been signed for six years.

When the Ming Dynasty was 205 years old, its political structure was basically stable, foreign threats were basically quelled, and there were no large-scale peasant uprisings. Although there were many problems, it was still considered the Celestial Empire.

Zhu Yijun looked at the ships passing by on the sea and said to Zhang Juzheng, "The ruling class, including the powerful and wealthy, the local gentry, the wealthy merchants, the gentry and bureaucrats, are pessimistic about the Wanli Reform. I can understand that. After all, the Ming Dynasty is old, and the possibility of the Wanli Reform succeeding is very small."

"But today, if you still cling to the past and still want to oppose the Wanli Reform, it can only be said that you cannot see the general trend of the times. You deserve to die under the mighty wave of the Wanli Reform, or to be more precise, die in my hands."

"The road ahead is still bumpy, and we must be self-reliant."

The success of the Wanli Reform was a self-rebirth that came from the efforts within the Ming Dynasty. It was a miracle created bit by bit by the hands of the people of the Ming Dynasty. It was also achieved by riding on the first wave of globalization.

The sea is the Ming Dynasty’s way out.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Juzheng led his ministers in singing praises.

Zhang Juzheng actually wanted to advise His Majesty that enough was enough, and it was enough for now. The new policies after the 15th year of Wanli, such as the Dinghai school system, the civil servant examination system, the land return order, labor protection, health workers, etc., were a bit radical.

But Zhang Juzheng finally held back. His Majesty was no longer a child. He knew exactly what he was doing and was even more aware of the consequences of doing so than he, Zhang Juzheng.

The second day of the Longevity Festival ended with the gunfire of a naval review.

The third day’s itinerary is the International Congress.

As the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yijun attended the International Congress.

Although it is called the World Congress, there are only about twenty countries participating in it, including Western pavilions such as Hormuz, Aden, Calicut, Cochin, Ceylon, Manbasa, and the Mongol Empire, Western pavilions such as England, France, the Hanseatic League, Portugal, and Spain, and Governor-General's Pavilions such as Diu, Mozambique, and Brazil.

As the emperor, Zhu Yijun took his ministers on a tour. The exhibition halls were all very ordinary, at least they did not arouse Zhu Yijun's desire to buy anything.

"Your Majesty, this is the residence of the four major governor-generals of the Ming Dynasty, the Governor-General's Office of Nagasaki, Luzon, Jiugang, Jinchi, and Jifu." Yao Guangqi, the magistrate of Shanghai, led the emperor and his entourage to the last stop of the International Congress.

As we all know, there are five of the four governor-general's offices.

After Zhu Yijun entered, he immediately felt something different. There were all kinds of goods in the five governor's offices, and each place had specialties that made Zhu Yijun's eyes light up.

The gold jewelry in Jinchi Governor's Mansion is magnificent because the gold producing area, Dajinchi City, gathers a large number of gold craftsmen. Zhu Yijun bought many accessories in Jinchi Governor's Mansion and rewarded them to his concubines.

The specialty of the Governor's Office of Old Port is gems. There are so many kinds of gems that it is dazzling. Zhu Yijun also purchased some of these shining objects for rewards.

The exhibition hall of the Luzon Governor's Office is the place with the largest variety of goods, including various copper products. What surprised Zhu Yijun most was the high quality of Luzon abaca paper. Luzon paper is whiter and tougher than the Goryeo tribute paper used in the court. It is a top-grade product.

What surprised Zhu Yijun the most was the Ji Fu Governor-General's Mansion. The Ji Fu Governor-General's Mansion was in name only, and the Ming Dynasty had never even appointed a governor. It was just a territory on the map. There were no naval patrols and no Ming Dynasty government offices. However, a large number of porcelains were exhibited in the exhibition hall of the Ji Fu Governor-General's Mansion.

The quality is far inferior to that of the Ming Dynasty, but it is quite unique.

After touring the entire World Congress, Zhu Yijun returned to the imperial study in the palace, leaving Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu behind.

"Judging from the situation at the International Conference, the main direction of Ming Dynasty's maritime trade is still in the near-shore trade, that is, the triangular trade in Southeast Asia, and the overseas productivity is too weak." Zhu Yijun's intuitive feeling after returning from the International Conference was that in the current era, overseas productivity is weak.

What the Ming Dynasty can produce, overseas cannot produce; and what overseas can produce, the Ming Dynasty can be self-sufficient.

Wang Chonggu paused with his cane and said with some emotion: "Your Majesty, Li Yashi is right. The Ming Dynasty even took away the farming jobs. But this cannot be blamed on the Ming Dynasty. It is the barbarians themselves who are not motivated and cannot produce enough and high-quality goods to meet the needs of the Ming Dynasty."

"The Ming Dynasty can only do it by itself. It will be too late to wait for them to plant it. The Viceroyalty of Peru also produces cocoa and cinchona, but the quality is really too poor."

"Lin Fucheng went to Southeast Asia to research the ecology of plantations. I think his idea of ​​efficiency first is right. Barbarians are too slow in doing things. Industries always gather in places with higher efficiency."

The cinchona in the Peruvian Pavilion is made from ground bark, while the cinchona produced in the Governor's Palace in Old Port is made from ground bark and mixed with soda lime, then quenched with light oil and finally crystallized with green vitriol oil (sulfuric acid). Both are quinine, but there is a world of difference between them.

Coffee was originally a specialty of Hormuz, but the coffee produced in Yunnan in the Ming Dynasty is better than that of its place of origin in terms of taste and appearance.

In addition, the sugar cubes from the Diu Governor's Office are more than one level lower than the white sugar produced in the Ming Dynasty in terms of color and sweetness. If the sugar cubes from the Diu Governor's Office were brought to the Ming Dynasty and sold to the people, the people would curse them as heartless.

Zhang Juzheng also frowned and said, "The peppers from the Mexican Governor's Office are really not as good as the peppers from Huguang."

Zhang Juzheng loved spicy food. In his eyes, the peppers in the Mexican pavilion were very bad. They had a weird color, were round and short, and they looked not spicy at first glance. The best peppers were those that were long and thin and pointed.

If he is asked to eat Mexican peppers, he would rather eat some green peppers produced in the Ming Dynasty.

"Therefore, offshore trade is still dominated by triangular trade, and overseas goods can be regarded as a supplement." Zhang Juzheng approved of the emperor's decision. The International Congress was successfully held, but not completely successful. The basic pattern of the Ming Dynasty swallowing up the world's silver, gold and other precious metals will not change.

The world is material. Even if the Ming Dynasty hosted the International Congress, it would not be able to solve the impact of the Ming Dynasty’s huge trade surplus on the world.

"Your Majesty, at the International Congress, I saw one thing: money is a coward and will never go to dangerous places." Zhang Juzheng said with a strange expression: "Although the old saying always says that wealth and honor are sought in danger, I have seen that money always flows to safe and stable places."

"Oh?" Zhu Yijun was stunned, sat up straight and said, "Sir, please tell me in detail."

Zhang Juzheng said very seriously: "Your Majesty, no industry is created out of thin air. It is all real money invested, and there is no guarantee of gain."

“And the goods in these Western Pavilions, the Western Pavilion, and the Governor’s Mansion are not as good as those in the four major governor’s mansions of the Ming Dynasty, and are not even as good as those in the Governor’s Mansion of Jifu.”

"In the Thai and Western Pavilion, the products with the most variety and the best quality are in Portugal, because Portugal fought a desperate battle and defeated Felipe II. In the short term, it will be very safe."

“And the best variety and quality of goods in the Western Pavilion are in the Diu Governor’s House, because Akbar lost to the Diu Governor and has not been able to win it back to this day.”

“Money will not go to dangerous places, and industries will not be created in these unsafe places.”

Zhang Juzheng discovered an interesting phenomenon: in each exhibition hall, the industries represented by the goods were concentrated in safe and stable places.

France is a vast country with abundant resources, but due to recent political instability, it has not even participated deeply in the great maritime trade. Even France's goods were brought back to the Ming Dynasty by the Ming Dynasty's global merchant fleets, and they are not even as good as Portugal's.

"In the tenth year of Wanli's reign, because the slave system was abolished, a group of wealthy families left the Ming Dynasty and went to Southeast Asia. Over the years, they have come back intermittently." Wang Chonggu's eyes lit up and he added the evidence for this view.

Those wealthy families who felt that the Ming Dynasty was too controlling went to Southeast Asia, but found it unsafe and unstable, and eventually returned to the heartland of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Juzheng's point of view was confirmed. The most important thing is that the uneven development of the two capitals and fifteen provinces in the Ming Dynasty actually also showed this characteristic.

When the Japanese invasion was raging, Huguang, Jiangxi, Guangxi and other places prospered and developed for a period of time. When the Japanese invasion was quelled, the southern provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangzhou prospered again.

Money is indeed a coward.

"Interesting." Zhu Yijun pondered for a while. This conclusion seemed useless, but it was actually very useful. It was just not convenient to express it directly. If he wanted to drive the silver to Ming Dynasty, he had to make Ming Dynasty safe enough and make other places dangerous enough.

For example, Japan is now in turmoil, and Japan's silver will flow to the Ming Dynasty at an accelerated pace.

(End of this chapter)