I'm really not doing business

Chapter 949 Gao Qiyu really wants to make progress!

Even though Antonio became king and it was inconvenient for him to go out to sea, Marcus still brought seeds of various crops to Ming Dynasty to increase the diversity of Ming Dynasty's dining table.

Marcus hoped more than once that he could die on the battlefield in the future, dying in the name of loyalty and honor, which was the dignity of his sword master, but he died in a despicable assassination.

Zhu Yijun's impression of Philip II became extremely bad.

Spain, the empire on which the sun never sets, is undergoing an irreversible decline, from the guardian of maritime trade order to the destroyer of maritime order. This decline will also have some impact on the Ming Dynasty, because Ming Dynasty merchant ships will face more dangers when traveling to the West.

Felipe is old. The 64-year-old Felipe has become more and more suspicious due to the deterioration of his physical functions. His physical strength, energy and concentration are constantly weakening. This lack of control over his body makes him no longer trust anyone. He becomes withdrawn and irritable.

According to Pedro's description, Pedro went to the Ming Dynasty again with a very frightened mood.

In just three months, Philip killed six court secretaries simply because they expressed some different opinions on the expedition to England.

The gold bonds were collapsing, and stopping the expedition to England could prevent this collapse. A long expedition that consumed huge manpower, material resources and financial resources but did not have much practical significance made people generally lose confidence in Philip II.

The most important thing about gold bonds is confidence.

Pedro was also Felipe's court secretary. He did not dare to tell the truth. He even opposed increasing tariffs on the Ming Dynasty. Because he had been at sea for a long time, he knew clearly that the conflict of interests between the Governor's Office and the mainland was becoming more and more intense with the meaningless expedition.

On the day Pedro left Spain, Felipe did another big thing. He announced the dissolution of the Council of State, which was the most important legacy of Felipe II's father. The Council of State was the pillar of Felipe's management of the country.

The King served as President of the Parliament, and the nobles of the five regional councils served as members: Castile, Aragon, the Indies, Italy and the Netherlands.

And now, this Council of State has been dissolved.

This was not the first time that the Spanish Council of State had been dissolved. It was the third time. Everyone knew that Felipe intended to default on the gold bonds and to continue his expedition to England.

The military failure made Felipe angry and humiliated.

"Decisions made in anger will make people regret for life, and no one is an exception." Zhu Yijun knocked on the table with a frown on his face. For the Ming Dynasty, it would be the best outcome for the empire on which the sun never sets to die quietly and slowly decline.

The Ming Dynasty is replacing Spain's position in international trade. If the Governor of Peru can come to the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty can indirectly control the world's largest silver mine. This is extremely important for the Ming Dynasty and can allow the Ming Dynasty to complete the transition from precious metal currency to banknotes.

But Felipe just wants to make trouble.

The King of Portugal sent an envoy to the Ming Dynasty to ask for the Emperor's opinion.

Portugal intended to retaliate for the assassination.

The first was to take back the port city of Porto, which had been leased to Spain during the War of Independence. This northern port city was specially designated as a military port for the Spanish expedition to England.

Secondly, Portugal stopped supporting the Spanish expedition. The Spanish fleet was resupplied in Porto, and Portugal provided manpower, goods and food. Of course, Portugal also earned a lot of gold and silver in the expedition.
The final revenge was to sell all the gold bonds. Before the sailing ship set sail, Antonio had completed the sale of all the gold bonds. This was not to ask for opinions, but to inform the Ming Dynasty.

Felipe has dissolved the Council of State, which is a clear sign of defaulting on his debts. Before the gold bonds completely collapsed, Antonio completed the stop loss.

But Antonio has not done the first two things yet, because he is very worried that if he does so, Felipe will transfer his anger from England to Portugal. If he can't deal with England, how can he deal with Portugal?

If the Spanish phalanx advanced on the ground, there would be more casualties, but the result would be: Antonio would have to continue to be a pirate instead of a king.

The national strength and military power are there. The left and right crusader armies of the Great Light Church are no match for the Spanish phalanx.

Antonio was prepared to be a little weak, neither taking back the port nor stopping providing support, allowing Felipe to continue venting his anger into the Atlantic storm. This weakness was a helpless act, but this was the sadness of a small country.

Antonio himself is a very brave man, but he chooses to be weak.

Portugal’s national strength was not strong enough, and the fact that it was able to please both sides was due to the kindness of the Ming Emperor.

As the King of Portugal appointed by the Ming Dynasty, Antonio had flirtations with Spain but never incurred the wrath of the Emperor. His Majesty still chose Lisbon as the distribution center for goods and told Westerners that Portugal and the Ming Dynasty had an excellent relationship.

The relationship between Portugal, a vassal state, and the Ming Dynasty was more like a pure relationship of interests.

Portugal owed a war loan of 4 million silver coins, which was extended for years with an annual interest rate of only %. As long as the money was repaid on time, the Ming Dynasty seemed to rarely interfere with Portugal.

Of course, there was some interference. For example, the emperor scolded Antonio for making Lisbon too dirty, with feces, garbage, and sewers everywhere, which could easily lead to plague, so he asked Antonio to make Lisbon cleaner.

Since then, Lisbon has become the cleanest city in the whole of Thailand and is known as the City of Flowers.

This time, Antonio really didn't know what to do and hoped for a holy lesson.

Zhu Yijun tolerated Antonio's weakness. In fact, Antonio's inquiry across the ocean was itself a delay. His attitude was already very clear. Portugal really could not withstand the impact of the Spanish phalanx.

A rotten ship still has 3,000 nails. Spain is indeed declining, but it is still the invincible empire on which the sun never sets.

"Feng Daban, tell me, will I become a bastard like Felipe in my old age? Knowing that it is wrong, I insist on doing it?" Zhu Yijun sorted out the basic foreign affairs memorials and submitted them to the Honglu Temple. He suddenly asked a question.

"No! Your Majesty is wise and powerful, how can you be compared to the monarch of a small foreign country?" Feng Bao said immediately without any hesitation. From the moment the foreign affairs memorial was delivered to His Majesty, Feng Bao could accurately feel His Majesty's emotional changes.

"Spain's colonies are spread all over the world. It is the first empire on which the sun never sets. It is not small." Zhu Yijun looked at the geomancy map. Although these colonies are not actual counties, they can be considered part of the territory. Spain has gained enough benefits from these colonies.

Feng Bao said with great confidence: "Your Majesty is so magnanimous and resolute that Felipe cannot compare to him!"

The difficulty of overcoming death may be a problem that every emperor has to face. The decline of physical functions in old age and the fear of losing control of the body gradually evolve into distrust of everyone. Self-willedness is almost the ultimate fate of every monarch.

Qin Shihuang's search for immortality, Emperor Wu of Han's witchcraft disaster, Li Shimin's fickleness in his later years and his insistence on leading the army in person, Li Longji's laziness, and the Taoist's mystical practice, all seem unable to escape this fate.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang's choice of Zhu Yunwen was not a wise move.

"Benevolence, isn't Felipe also generous and resolute? In his hands, Spain became the empire on which the sun never sets. He said he would dissolve the Council of State left to him. This represents his magnanimity and his achievements."

"He was a very diligent king. He had to deal with more than 400 letters a day, and it is still the same today." Zhu Yijun stared at the World Fengshui Map and the Ming Fengshui Map in a daze.

Felipe was able to dissolve the Council of State, the pillar of the country's governance, three times, and Spain did not fall apart. This shows that his personal prestige is high enough for him to be so reckless and toss around like this.

Felipe has a broad mind and strong determination, but it is sad to see him becoming more and more foolish.

Zhu Yijun was still young, but he became an authoritarian figure in the Ming Dynasty. The older he got, the greater his authority became. If Zhang Juzheng was alive, he could still stop him, but what if Zhang Juzheng was gone?
The power of the Ming Emperor is much stronger than that of Felipe. Once he becomes insane and starts to make trouble, the noise he makes will be much bigger than that of Felipe.

Feng Bao took a deep breath and said clearly: "Felipe has no regard for the people, let alone the common people. Your Majesty cares about the people in his heart, not just in his mouth. This is the biggest difference between Your Majesty and Felipe, and it is also the reason why I firmly believe that Your Majesty will not be in trouble."

"Will Felipe cultivate the land himself for the sake of the people? He won't; will Felipe discuss the people's concerns in the imperial court or ask about the political code? He won't; will Felipe risk his life and reputation for the sake of the people? He won't."

"Felipe has never killed a noble who bullies the weak. He is even worse than Antonio. Antonio was able to endure the evil of assassination for the sake of the Portuguese civilians. Marcus died in front of Antonio, but he still chose to endure it."

"The reason why Felipe became stupid is that he never had the people in his heart, never."

As Feng Bao spoke, he looked towards Ye Xianggao's position. If Ye Xianggao dared to write a single word, Feng Bao would tear up the daily notes he wrote. The implication of his words was that he was cursing the Taoist priest as well.

In fact, the reason why Hai Rui's Security Memorial is famous throughout the world is not only because of his bravery, but also because Hai Rui's Security Memorial pointed out the fundamental reason why the Taoist priest was so lazy in his practice, that is, he had no regard for the people and the country.

Feng Bao is not a loyal minister, nor does he want a good reputation. He just wants to remind His Majesty that there is no need to think that he will be like Felipe in his later years.

Is Felipe worthy of being compared with His Majesty?

If it were Your Majesty, and the child died inexplicably, Your Majesty would definitely move Tonghe Palace to Beidaying, and then implement military control and rationing, and fight to the death!

Even the emperor is in danger of losing his throne, how cruel must these damn insects be to torment the people?

Feng Bao hesitated to speak and finally did not say what was really in his mind: Your Majesty is so stingy... and frugal!

Your Majesty, would you undertake a long, unprofitable expedition that consumes huge amounts of manpower, material resources and financial resources but has little practical significance?

Even the Pepsi lucky boxes had to be sent out in groups of three. If Concubine Gu Zhuang had not been due to give birth in May, Your Majesty would have dared to send out four lucky boxes together!

Moreover, Feng Bao knew very well that His Majesty's frugality was not caused by Zhang Juzheng's strict control when the emperor was young. Zhang Juzheng had encouraged the emperor to spend more money since the sixth year of Wanli, and the emperor had never been extravagant.

Frugality is one of Your Majesty's eight virtues.

"Feng Bao! Are you secretly criticizing me for being stingy? The little money I save is meant to build more roads and schools." Zhu Yijun looked at Feng Bao and immediately knew what he was thinking!

Feng Bao immediately said, "Your Majesty, isn't this exactly what I said about your Majesty caring about the people?"

"Get to work, there are still so many memorials to be submitted. Please prepare writing materials." Zhu Yijun waved his hand and did not argue with Feng Bao. He did not deal with the memorials and no one helped him to deal with them, nor did he allow others to help him deal with them.

Zhu Yijun also figured it out. He stopped competing with himself and decided to deal with things when he was old. At least for now, he would not do that.

"Shi Xingyan did not lie to the emperor. The Zhongshengliang potatoes really have a good harvest." Zhu Yijun was holding a memorial, which was a joint memorial from Xu Zhenming and Xu Guangqi of the Baoqi Division. The Zhongshengliang potatoes had already begun to be harvested in Nanyuan.

If the land is only irrigated by the weather and not fertilized, the dry weight of each mu of land is more than 420 kilograms. If fertilized and irrigated, it can reach an astonishing 800 kilograms! The dry weight is 50% of the original weight, and the wet weight is too high.

Two minutes of planting, three minutes of management, and five minutes of fertilizer. Obviously, Zhongshengliang potato breeding has been a great success, which means that the harm of natural disasters will be further reduced. As long as the population in arid areas such as Shaanxi, Gansu, Suiyuan and Shanxi does not explode violently, the possibility of Ming Dynasty successfully surviving natural disasters will increase by another 30%. "Your Majesty, who dares to deceive you in front of your Majesty?" Feng Bao said with a smile. Your Majesty always underestimates the bond between the nine clans!

Your Majesty is so murderous, how could Shi Xingyan possibly humiliate the king in person? Your Majesty is personally watching over Zhongshengliang potatoes. Your Majesty will go and check it out in person every ten days. No one dares to fool your Majesty in farming matters.

"Call the sir, and call Situ Wang Guoguang. Situ Wang has been worried ever since he learned about the natural disaster last year. Call General Qi as well. Call them all." Zhu Yijun stood up and asked Feng Bao to call people to go to the harvest site to take a look.

Zhongsheng sweet potatoes are potatoes. In an era when agricultural technology was not yet developed and people often starved to death, potatoes were undoubtedly easier to harvest than other crops to feed everyone.

Potatoes are very nutritious, and as long as they are added with dairy products, they can almost meet all of a person's nutritional needs.

It just so happens that places like Shaanxi, Gansu, Suiyuan and Shanxi have a large number of livestock and no shortage of dairy product production.

Of course, potatoes have a huge problem, which is viral degeneration, which manifests itself in reduced yields in the next generation. The more you plant, the lower the harvest. Zhu Yijun planted sweet potatoes for the first time. To solve this problem, the Ming Dynasty needed to build fire chambers in various places for breeding.

Zhu Yijun was not modest about the problem of sweet potato degradation. He had made contributions, and he had made great contributions! The fire chamber was an important product of his idle work, and he also invented the method of killing the whole fruit.

Wang Guoguang sat on a swivel chair. Beside him stood General Qi Jiguang and Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng. The imperial guards were on guard beside His Majesty. His Majesty was carrying baskets of potatoes and weighing them on the scale. Every time a plot of land was harvested, His Majesty would ask Feng Bao to record the yield.

His Majesty walked around, and the eldest prince Zhu Changzhi followed him running around, asking questions here and there. The joy of harvest filled the fields.

"I used to think that Your Majesty was farming as a means of winning over the hearts of the people taught by Zhang Juzheng, but look at your Majesty's smile, it seems like he really likes it." Wang Guoguang was very pleased to see the emperor. Wang Guoguang thought that farming was a means of winning over the hearts of the people taught by Zhang Juzheng, but your Majesty's sunny smile was obviously not for winning over the hearts of the people.

In your Majesty's eyes, farming is state affairs.

As a scholar-official, Wang Guoguang was well-versed in history books, and as the Grand Tutor, he held a high position of power.

He actually knew one thing very clearly: the land of China has never been afraid of natural disasters, but what it fears most is man-made disasters.

However, laws, disciplines, and morals often begin to be corrupted from the top. If the law is not enforced, it is violated from the top. Shang Yang's words, which have been around for nearly two thousand years, often shine through in reality.

Your Majesty has prevented this corruption with your own will. It is very important for a king to cultivate virtue, but if a king only cultivates virtue, he will become a puppet, at the mercy of etiquette and laws.

There is no doubt that Your Majesty is a man of virtue, but Your Majesty is by no means a puppet.

"Wang Situ, I don't know how to farm, so how can I teach your Majesty? Your Majesty didn't know how to farm at first, and he learned it bit by bit." Zhang Juzheng also said with emotion: "At first, I thought your Majesty was just a child, and he would forget it after a few days of fooling around."

When Zhang Juzheng promised the Emperor that he would marry into the farming family and practice martial arts, he was just kidding. These were all hard things, but Your Majesty persisted and did a great job.

"The land lacking water and fertilizer is still not good. We still need to develop water conservancy projects and increase the production of water, fertilizer and Jingjue salt." Zhu Yijun was sweating profusely. He talked to Feng Bao as he walked and asked Feng Bao to write it down.

In areas lacking water and fertilizer, potatoes are generally small and not round. The taste of these potatoes must be very bad. Potatoes are very unpalatable without meat, and the yield is not particularly high. Therefore, Zhu Yijun thinks that it is still necessary to irrigate and fertilize as much as possible, and water, fertilizer and water conservancy projects should not be stopped.

In an age when there was nothing to eat, it was good to have something to eat, but it would be even better if the food tasted better.

It was a good thing that the engineering corps dug wells for the people, but it would be bad if these wells were occupied by local gentry. As Zhu Yijun walked, he asked Feng Bao to write down what he was thinking.

"Your Majesty." Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang greeted him. Wang Guoguang wanted to stand up to salute, but was helped by the emperor to sit down.

"Sit down and rest. We will have a private audience. These rituals can be omitted." Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "Wang Situ, the harvest is good. God has left our Ming Dynasty with a glimmer of hope. Tomorrow, let Duke Dingguo Xu Wenbi go to the Temple of Heaven to offer sacrifices and thank God."

Since God has left the Ming Dynasty with a glimmer of hope, it is natural to fulfill our wish.

Wang Guoguang is 78 years old this year. His age is rare and he is considered a centenarian if he is still alive. At this age, Wang Guoguang is still obsessed with the Ming Dynasty. He is even willing to be the "traitorous minister" who deceives the emperor and takes the responsibility of issuing special national bonds. He is undoubtedly a loyal minister.

"I have seen it." Wang Guoguang looked at the emperor's hearty smile and suddenly said, "Your Majesty, those who are steady, smooth, balanced, and know the ways of the world may seem like they can do great things, but when they really get power, they can't do anything great. On the contrary, those who seem more radical, resolute, and decisive, and seem less stable, can do things."

"I am old, a bit of a teacher, and I am here to teach your Majesty how to do things. I hope your Majesty will forgive me."

There is a bit of contradiction in what Wang Guoguang said. People who seem to be able to do great things are actually unable to do anything; people who seem unstable are actually able to accomplish things.

In fact, Wang Guoguang’s words are easy to understand. He seems to be able to do great things and has all the abilities to do great things, but he will not do them. He will be humble and endure for the sake of the country.

"No problem, no problem. I understand what you said. Situ Wang was talking about me, asking me not to be so smooth." Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "I've made a note of it."

In fact, Wang Guoguang's words solved the doubts in Zhu Yijun's heart. Why did Wang Guoguang turn against the Jin Party in the first place?

The country was in decline, and if the Jin Party, who were willing to endure for the sake of the country, were to take power, they would accomplish nothing. On the contrary, Zhang Juzheng, who was quite radical, unstable and unorthodox, could have a chance of survival.

"Your Majesty, I have overstepped my authority." Wang Guoguang was apologizing. He glanced at His Majesty again. Although he couldn't see clearly, His Majesty should have understood everything.

There is another meaning in Wang Guoguang's words. He is actually very worried about something happening, a split between the emperor and Zhang Juzheng.

Disagreements are normal, but if a split occurs, it would be like the sky falling. The ministers who were promoted during the Wanli Reform would lose whether they supported Zhang Juzheng or the emperor.

Because the Wanli Reform could not continue, these ministers lost the possibility of further promotion. The situation had changed, and no matter how much they did, it would be in vain.

Time comes and the world has the same force, and it is not free to transport heroes.

The fate of the Ming Dynasty is in the hands of Your Majesty. The Ming Dynasty's bureaucratic system is very sophisticated, but also very fragile.

The death of Wang Chonggu broke the delicate balance in the court. The chief minister was Zhang Juzheng, the second chief minister was Ling Yunyi who had no obvious party affiliation, and the general was a disciple of Zhang Juzheng.

Once the emperor begins to doubt his prime minister, the country's situation will slide in an uncontrollable direction.

Everyone at the scene was a smart guy. Wang Guoguang suddenly said something so inexplicable that it could not be over-interpreted.

Zhu Yijun did not talk too much about this issue, because Wang Guoguang had retired for two years due to old age, and he was not particularly clear about the direction of the situation in the court. Zhu Yijun certainly would not blame Wang Guoguang for saying this, what he was worried about was the national situation of the Ming Dynasty.

The emperor went directly from the fields to the Beidaying to review the troops and horses, and taught Zhu Changzhi and Zhu Changchao martial arts. Zhu Changchao recovered from a serious illness, but he was weak and could not do the training that Zhu Changzhi could do.

When the emperor returned to Tonghe Palace, he received a memorial without a floating ticket from Zhang Juzheng.

There were no floating tickets or red ribbons. The eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department really did not understand the meaning of the memorial, so they presented it directly to the emperor.

The matter between the emperor and the gentleman should be handled by the emperor himself.

"Sir, you are worrying too much. But Sir is so competitive. Gao Gong has been dead for many years, and he still wants to defeat Gao Gong once." Zhu Yijun looked at the memorial in front of him and chose to keep it without sending it out. This is not common. It is common to keep memorials overnight.

Zhang Juzheng gave the emperor a memorial of retirement, which was full of clichés, such as he was old, lacked energy, and was unable to handle heavy responsibilities.

The reason why there were no floating tickets was that Zhang Juzheng did not show them to other court officials.

This is the card that the teacher gave to the emperor, which would determine the outcome of the battle. If the emperor was really dissatisfied with Zhang Juzheng's opinions and criticized them, Zhang Juzheng would be kicked out smoothly just like Gao Gong. We should at least pay attention to the friendship between teachers and students and not make things embarrassing for everyone.

He was more decent than Gao Gong. He left on his own initiative and was not driven away by the emperor. This was Zhang Juzheng's strange competitive spirit. Even the way his political career ended was better than Gao Gong's.

People are just weird, with some weird obsessions.

Zhu Yijun put the memorial in the corner. He didn't throw it away, but he was confident that he would not need it.

Wang Guoguang's worries were somewhat unnecessary. He had never worked with Ling Yunyi, so he didn't know. Ling Yunyi was not without a clear party affiliation. Ling Yunyi was a die-hard member of the imperial party. He was even more independent and lonely than Wang Chonggu.

A delicate balance can still be maintained in the court.

"What is Gao Qiyu going to do?" Zhu Yijun looked at the memorial in front of him, quite surprised.

Gao Qiyu really wanted to make progress! He really wanted to make achievements!
Gao Qiyu was the Left Vice Minister of Rites and Junior Imperial Clan Master. He was in charge of all matters of the Ministry of Rites. If he had not avoided the taboo back then, he would be the Minister of Rites now.

When he met with the Western envoys, he brought the criminal Lancilotte to the Honglu Temple and demanded compensation from Spain for the incident.

Gao Qiyu asked the Spanish envoy Pedro to sign an agreement including three important contents.

First: Ming ships can freely navigate the Strait of Magellan;
Second: Mexico, Peru, Chile, New Granada, and the Viceroyalty of Brazil were opened to free trade;
Third: Allow these governor-general offices to sign trade agreements with Ming Dynasty separately;

If Spain refuses to agree, Ming will begin to retaliate in kind starting next year by providing military support to England, including five-masted ocean-going ships, thirty-six-jin naval guns, granular gunpowder, arrowheads, etc.

Even Zhu Yijun felt that this treaty was a bit excessive. Spain was only weakening, not dead, and the British Empire had not yet declined. Gao Qiyu actually made such excessive demands.

The Ministry of Rites completely threw away the old customs and habits of the Rouyuan people and began to become more and more shameless.

"Gao Qiyu is indeed rude, but it was Spain that was rude first. The Ming Dynasty did help Portugal win the War of Independence. It would be fine if Spain supported Annan, but he actually smuggled saltpeter into Japan, which is unforgivable! He must pay compensation!" Zhu Yijun fully agreed with the conditions proposed by Gao Qiyu.

Annan is more similar to Portugal, and Japan is more similar to England. If Felipe were to trade gunpowder in Annan, it would be more in line with equal retaliation.

In fact, they are all the same and will anger the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)