The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

The tribute convoy from Binhai City finally arrived in the capital.

There were a lot of people watching the excitement that day, as it was the slack season for farming. Although this expedition was not a victory over the northern barbarians, it was also a victory over foreign enemies, and a large amount of spoils were seized. Although most of the things had nothing to do with ordinary people, people were still willing to enjoy this sense of pride of being the Celestial Empire.

The civil servant who led the team back to the capital was Lin Ting, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Rites.

The military merit was won by Yingcheng Bosun Jixian.

Lin Ting, who had only been in the court for less than four years and had not made any military or political achievements, suddenly became a figure that attracted attention from all walks of life.

As the tribute was delivered to the palace, Zhu Youtang personally met with Lin Ting and Sun Jixian. Accompanying him were Li Dongyang, representative of the cabinet, Wang Qiong, representative of the Supreme Court, and Lin Han, representative of the six ministries.

In addition, there were Wang Hua, Zhang Yuanzhen and others sent by the Hanlin Academy, as well as many officials from the Honglu Temple and censors from the six departments.

Zhu Youtang did not hold a banquet in the palace.

He just accepted the list of tribute presented by Lin Ting in the Fengtian Hall. Then Zhu Youtang promoted Lin Ting to a higher rank and made him a Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue. Then he asked Yang Peng, the eunuch in charge of the Silijian, to personally check and compare the tribute.

"Master Lin, congratulations."

Yang Peng accompanied Lin Ting and Sun Jixian out of the Fengtian Hall.

At this time, the Jinyiwei were carrying things into the Daming Palace. These were to be sent to the inner palace for storage. Many heavy things would be dispersed and sent to various places in the capital, and some would even be left directly in Binhai City, or would be sent to Xishan in the next few days.

Because there is not only silver, but also a lot of industrial raw materials, which is what Zhang Zhou has always been thinking about.

Lin Ting was still looking back for his father, and he also eagerly hoped to get his father's affirmation.

But Lin Han entered the palace as the Minister of Personnel after all, and he will be surrounded by people when he leaves the palace this time. Although his son has done well, his official position is not enough to be on par with his father, and his job does not include accompanying officials out of the palace.

Sun Jixian hurried over and said, "Eunuch Yang, this sea battle was full of dangers. I have listed my combat experience, especially the naval experience, in a memorial and submitted it."

Yang Peng smiled and said, "My Lord, you don't have to worry. His Majesty will see the memorial sooner or later. Even if we have made military achievements overseas, they are still different from the victory reports from the north."

"I understand this." Sun Jixian said hurriedly, "They are just a bunch of bandits, not enough to threaten the Ming Dynasty. If our troops hadn't taken the initiative to go there, I'm afraid that even if we gave them hundreds of years, it would be difficult for those bandits to build ships and reach the Ming Dynasty's sea borders."

Yang Peng asked curiously, "So, they are all a group of barbarians who eat raw meat and drink blood? Then... can they still complete a naval battle with you?"

"This..." Sun Jixian didn't expect that Yang Peng was so difficult to fool.

Lin Ting said, "It's like this. This time we arrived at that vast land. In the mountains and rivers over there, we found people who were different from the local savages. They looked more like Westerners. Our naval battles also took place with them. After several battles, they had very few people, only hundreds or dozens of people at a time."

"Oh?" Yang Peng asked, "You mean, Westerners have also set their sights on that place? Are they Portuguese?"

Lin Ting shook his head and said, "There is no direct contact in the battle with them. They also use muskets and cannons, and their cannons are quite powerful. In order to prevent them from taking away some coastal ports after we withdraw our troops, we left some troops behind so that we don't have to take them back from them when we go out next year."

Yang Peng said, "What Lord Lin said really sounds like a dangerous situation. It is a blessing for the Ming Dynasty to have you go to sea. I wonder if you are going to Southeast Asia this time?"

"No." Lin Ting didn't understand why Yang Peng mentioned Nanyang.

Yang Peng smiled and said, "Actually, what everyone in the government and the public is most concerned about right now is the silver you brought back. Is the amount enough?"

"No more, no less." Lin Ting said, "In order to appease the military, some silver was reserved to reward the three armies. This matter was not reported in advance, also to ensure the stability of the military. I have to apologize to Your Majesty for this matter."

Yang Peng smiled and waved his hands, saying, "The soldiers exchanged their lives for this, why should I ask for punishment? Can I ask, how much silver can a soldier who went out to sea get at least?"

Lin Ting didn't seem to want to answer this question, but Sun Jixian was more realistic and said, "At least two hundred taels of silver per person."

"Tsk tsk." Yang Peng seemed very envious after hearing this, and said, "There are thousands of people going out to sea this time, and each person gets 200 taels of silver. That means at least 200,000 or 300,000 taels of silver will be spent, right?"

Lin Ting quickly explained: "The soldiers went overseas and had no money to spend. They also experienced plagues and other things. Fortunately, they were well prepared, so there was no great loss. However, many soldiers could never return to the Ming Dynasty. If it weren't for the reward silver, I'm afraid something unexpected would happen."

Yang Peng smiled and said, "Master Lin, why are you still explaining to me? It's unnecessary. I believe everyone can understand that it's not a big deal to bring back tens of millions of taels of silver at one time and give out rewards. But I would like to kindly remind you that it's best to keep all the accounts clear. His Majesty will not pursue it. He is just afraid of those censors... You should understand, right?"

"I understand, I understand." Sun Jixian was the first to agree.

……

……

After Yang Peng roughly counted the tributes sent to the palace, he went to the Qianqing Palace to report to the emperor.

When he reached the gate of the Qianqing Palace, he was blocked by Wei Bin.

"His Majesty is summoning Duke Cai, so you'd better wait a moment." Wei Bin meant that no matter how prestigious you are, you are not as prestigious as Duke Cai.

Yang Peng said: "You really don't know until you see it. Once you see it...it makes you stare."

"A lot of silver?" Wei Bin asked.

"It's not just silver, there are all kinds of rare treasures. Just take the red gold, there are hundreds of thousands of taels, I can't imagine that we can harvest so much in just one trip to the sea. Next year, won't we get so much when we go out to sea..." Yang Peng said, he was very envious.

Wei Bin asked, "Why haven't I seen Guo Ang, the governor of the Northern Pacification Division?"

Yang Peng sighed, "It is said that they stayed there, with more than a thousand soldiers and horses to guard two ports. They also left a lot of warships. I heard that there are Westerners involved."

Wei Bin asked curiously: "Westerners? Are they the Portuguese?"

"Yes." Yang Peng said, "If Duke Cai hadn't had the foresight to send ships there first, I'm afraid that in a few years, the place would have been plundered by Westerners. It's precisely because they went there first that the place is now full of treasures."

Wei Bin nodded and said, "It's like draining the pond to catch all the fish. The treasure mountain is so small. It's like going to rob something. Whoever grabs it first gets it."

……

……

Soon, Yang Peng and Wei Bin were summoned to come in and pay their respects.

At this time, Zhu Youtang was sitting side by side with Zhang Zhou, Chen Kuan was standing beside them, and there was also Zhang Yong standing there.

Yang Peng walked forward, and before he could salute, he heard the emperor ask, "Have you roughly counted the things? Are there any problems?"

Yang Peng said, "Your Majesty, there are more than enough things. It's just that the numbers are... hard to list specifically. Perhaps some things were lost during transportation. I heard that every ship is full." Zhu Youtang smiled and said, "Bingkuan, there are too many things to fit. I have also read their memorials, and they said that we should send another fleet out to sea immediately, and this time we should send more people, otherwise we won't be able to bring anything back."

Zhang Yong smiled and said, "This is all thanks to Duke Cai. If I hadn't been the first to get there, I would have been in trouble if someone else had gotten there first."

"Bingkuan, what do you think?" Zhu Youtang asked.

Zhang Zhou said: "As far as I know, that place is vast. There are millions of overseas people in just one gathering place. If we can manage it for a long time, we may be able to make them become citizens of the Ming Dynasty."

"Millions of people?" Zhu Youtang asked, "Are there really that many people?"

Yang Peng said hurriedly: "According to what Doctor Lin and the Earl of Yingcheng said, there are indeed many civilians, but it is impossible to count them specifically. After all, this time we can only go to the coast and other places, and we can't go deep into the inland."

Zhu Youtang asked, "How many troops are needed to govern millions of people?"

Obviously, in Zhu Youtang's view, these uncivilized savages were too dangerous.

The Tatars only numbered a few hundred thousand, but they caused great trouble to the northern border of the Ming Dynasty. If there were another group of millions of savages, it would be best to keep a distance from them.

Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, as long as we have artillery and muskets, we don't need to worry about those overseas people."

Yang Peng also hurriedly said: "I also asked Yingcheng Bo about the battle situation, and I learned that those barbarians have no combat capability. They don't even use iron tools. Some are still using stones and copper. They can't even break the armor of the Ming soldiers."

"What? This is too..."

Zhu Youtang wanted to say that this was too much of a joke.

I thought they were sending troops to fight the Tatars, and I thought it would be a back-and-forth fight on the battlefield, but it turns out to be a one-sided crushing?

Yang Peng said: "It is said that only Westerners have the strength to fight against the Ming Dynasty, but their weapons are far inferior to those of the Ming soldiers, and the Westerners only have one or two ships at a time, and at most no more than a hundred soldiers. But even such a Western team can run rampant in that place."

Zhu Youtang said: "Bingkuan, it seems that it is not too difficult to completely conquer that place."

Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, I think we can develop plantations there and transport a large amount of food back, as well as necessary minerals such as coal and iron. In addition, we should also plant cotton and other crops there, and use their advantage in manpower to carry out extensive planting and processing there..."

"It's just too far." Zhu Youtang said, "If we train them, and they have iron tools or even better weapons in the future, will there be... a backlash?"

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "In my opinion, it is impossible for their weapons to be improved qualitatively. Even if they want to have a certain combat capability, it will probably take dozens or even hundreds of years. In this case, the Ming army will be even stronger and more powerful, enough to suppress them."

"Very good, very good."

Zhu Youtang seemed very satisfied with this.

Dozens or hundreds of years later, even he will be gone, so why think so much?
It would be better for him to focus on the present and transport back large quantities of food and supplies, and even large amounts of silver that made him excited just thinking about it. With these things, he, the emperor, would no longer have to look at the faces of his courtiers.

You can spend the money however you want.

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing." Yang Peng said immediately, "As far as I know, the soldiers who went out to sea this time received a lot of rewards, at least two hundred taels of very good silver. The rewards cost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver."

Zhu Youtang nodded and said, "Since you brought back so much, it's only right that you give me more rewards."

Although he said so, his face still showed some reluctance.

Because Zhu Youtang was famous for his frugality, he still felt a little distressed when he heard that hundreds of thousands of taels of silver had been spent just like that.

Zhang Yong smiled and said, "That's great. At least next year when we send people out to sea, everyone will be eager to go. With this batch of silver, it will be easier to build ships... There are many large ships in Binhai City. Maybe we can occupy that place completely in the future."

"Okay." Zhu Youtang looked at Zhang Zhou and said, "Bingkuan, how much silver do you think we can bring back next year?"

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "It should be no less than this year's number. Moreover, the overseas silver mines have begun to operate. There are already three relatively large silver mines. We can add three or five more next year. By then, I will use the help of Tianji to calculate and hope to find more silver veins."

When Zhu Youtang heard this, he instantly felt less distressed.

He said excitedly: "With Bingkuan here, we can try to get back 20 million taels of silver next year. By then, we don't have to stick to spending this money in Ming Dynasty. We can even go to Western countries to buy some supplies, or even go to Southeast Asia..."

……

……

After Zhu Youtang had lunch with Zhang Zhou, he sent Yang Peng to escort Zhang Zhou out of the palace.

"Sir, this time there is quite a lot of silver, and it is of high quality." Yang Peng seemed to lack confidence in front of Zhang Zhou.

Because when he reported things to the emperor before, he was somewhat disrespectful to Zhang Zhou.

He even secretly plotted against Lin Ting, Sun Jixian and others.

Zhang Zhou said, "Your Majesty should also give a reward to Eunuch Yang, right?"

"No...yes, a little...but not much..."

Of course Yang Peng was rewarded.

Everyone in the palace is happy recently. In addition to paying out salaries and bonuses, the emperor will also send silver to each family based on their relationship with the emperor.

Because Yang Peng is currently in favor, the reward he receives is no less than two thousand taels of silver, not including the regular and miscellaneous income.

Zhang Zhou sighed, "Overseas places are too far away. It takes two or three months for a ship to go there one way. It also requires favorable winds and favorable seas. It is not easy to settle down there."

"what do you mean……"

Yang Peng suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

From the sound of it, they are not planning to send me over there to be the leader and let me be in charge of overseas affairs, right?

What good is it to have a lot of money in a place like that where the emperor is far away?
Whoever wants to go can go, but I’m not going.

Zhang Zhou said: "I intend to propose to His Majesty that we should set up a general officer there to take full charge of overseas affairs. But the candidate for the chief officer... Alas! It is really hard to find one." (End of this chapter)