I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 442 But I don’t agree!
"Everyone is watching now. No matter whether he is promoted or retained, some people will be happy and some will be sad."

Zhu Guozhen laughed when he heard this. He naturally knew that the attitude of everyone in the court towards Bi Ziyan was polarized.

Liu Yishui, Sun Chengzong and other Donglin hard-working people are naturally very capable. They have achieved such results in just one year. Naturally, they hope that the emperor will promote them more in the future.

However, the Zhejiang Party, Kunming Party and others hated him deeply, and often impeached Bi Ziyan, saying that he was corrupt and cruel, which was not the style of a high official in the frontier.

But the reason for these people's opposition is also very clear to them. It is simply that most of the Zhejiang Party and Kunming Party are from the local gentry in Southern Zhili.What Bi Ziyan is moving is the interests of these people from the Zhejiang Party and the Kunming Party. How can these people not hate them?

Fortunately, the Wenhua Palace issued an edict at the beginning of the year, and Shen Guan broke with the Zhejiang Party, causing the two parties to decline and lose their say in the court.

Thinking of this, he turned aside Ye Xianggao, who was silent.

When the Wenhua Palace issued an edict against him, Ye repeatedly wrote to Gao Wenhua Palace to criticize Bi Ziyan. In the end, he was reprimanded by the emperor and almost dismissed from office and returned home.

Now that Bi Ziyan has returned to Beijing and has such achievements, he really wants to know what Ye Xianggao feels in his heart now.

But Liu Yishen didn't give him the chance to see Ye Xianggao's reaction.

When he heard Zhu Guozhen's words, he knew that he had a hidden meaning, so he did not answer his words and just said casually:

"There is no wiser person than Your Majesty. Whether Bi Ziyan will be promoted or retained is all decided by Your Majesty. All we have to do is obey your orders.

Okay, it's getting late. We have to discuss water transportation in the Wenhua Hall in the afternoon. This matter is of great importance and must be discussed carefully.Let’s finish lunch for now and take a short break. "

After Liu Yishuo finished speaking, he got up and went to the side room. Upon seeing this, Sun Chengzong stood up and cupped his hands, then followed Liu Yishuo out.

Only Zhu Guozhen and Ye Xianggao were left looking at each other, but Ye Xianggao was like a clay sculpture and didn't know what he was thinking.

Zhu Guozhen looked at Liu Yishui leaving and couldn't help but shake his head.

I secretly thought that Liu Yishen was really cautious. I wonder if he was afraid of discord in the cabinet or Ye Xianggao's displeasure. He acted like this, but he didn't know that Ye Xianggao did not admit this sentiment.
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"His Majesty is here!"

The time at noon always passes quickly. When noon passed, Zhu Youxiao rushed to the Wenhua Hall in a dragon boat.

The five cabinet members, Bi Ziyan, Wang Yingjiao and others had been waiting for a long time. When they saw the emperor descending into the hall, they quickly bowed and said:
"Your Majesty, Wan An!"

"Free gift!"

Zhu Youxiao immediately waved his hand and asked them to get up. Wenhua Palace was the palace where he stayed the second longest in the Forbidden City.

The longest one was naturally the Qianqing Palace, but the Qianqing Palace belonged to the back hall and was where he lived and reviewed memorials. It didn't matter if he summoned a few courtiers on weekdays.It is very inconvenient once you have to convene multiple people for discussion.

The Wenhua Hall is different. This is where Zhu Youxue lectures (classes) every day, and it is also very close to Wenyuan Pavilion.

Therefore, every time when ministers need to be summoned to discuss matters, they will always choose to attend the Wenhua Hall, such as today.

"Yesterday, I sent the title book of Sun Yuanhua, the minister of Honglu Temple, to the cabinet. You must have read it. In the title book, he strongly advocated the benefits of sea transportation, saying that sea transportation is not only fast, but also has a lower cost than water transportation. It's [-]%, which really surprises me." Zhu Youxiao said while looking at the people standing below with their hands folded. He believed that everyone here was extremely smart, and they would naturally understand the benefits of sea transportation.

"So he suggested that the canal should be replaced by sea, and that grain should be transported northward by sea. This would save costs. In fact, Liu Aiqing is no stranger to this matter, and I have discussed this issue with him before.

It’s just that there are a lot of wars this year, so we can only put it on hold.Now the southwest rebellion is about to be quelled, and the drought in Liaodong and Shandong has also been alleviated.Therefore, I want to take this opportunity to discuss this matter carefully to see if it is feasible, and if possible, what should be done. "

Liu Yishen and others were silent when they heard this. How could they not know what the emperor meant.The question book sent yesterday contained the emperor's approval. It clearly stated that this matter was feasible and could be piloted first.

"Your Majesty, water transport is the lifeblood of millions of water workers. Abolition of water transport and reform of maritime transport is of great importance and should not be touched lightly."

As soon as Zhu Youxiao finished speaking, Zhu Guozhen stood up first.Yesterday, Sun Yuanhua's question book arrived at the cabinet. Everyone in the cabinet had mixed reactions to it. Ye Xianggao thought it was okay to give it a try. It was just a pilot project anyway, and there was nothing wrong with transporting it in small quantities.

However, Zhu Guozhen clearly opposed Ye Xianggao, feeling that the emperor was too hasty in doing things. In the past, equalizing land and labor was beneficial to the people, and it did not matter if it could reduce the burden on the people.

But what are the benefits of abolishing the canal system and converting it to the sea? What if the canal workers have no livelihood and no way to survive?

It was not only Zhu Guozhen who was opposed. Sun Chengzong also felt that the emperor was too impatient. Seeing Zhu Guozhen's objection, he quickly stood up to support him.

"Your Majesty, what Mr. Zhu Ge said is true. There are three disadvantages to converting the canal to the sea. First, there are many canal workers. What will happen to the canal workers' livelihood once it is changed to maritime transport? What will happen when people gather to cause trouble?

Second, although shipping by sea is faster and cheaper, it is also risky.The sea is elusive and uncertain, and it is easy to lose your way. It is common to hit a reef and encounter an undercurrent.

As long as one of them is encountered, the whole ship will be destroyed. Even if a person is lucky enough to survive, there will be no ship to rescue him in the vast ocean, and he will only be buried in the belly of the fish, and his body and wealth will be lost.The supply of grain is closely related to the safety of the imperial court's food and grass. Once something bad happens, there is no way to remedy it. "

Sun Chengzong's analysis was reasonable and well-founded. As soon as he said two things, Zhu Guozhen on the side felt that it was very reasonable and nodded repeatedly.

"Third, shipping by sea is extremely unsafe. The important thing about transporting grain is not speed, but safety.

In order to preserve the grain, the imperial court stipulated that the workers lived with the ships and were not allowed to get off the ships at will. Therefore, it was difficult for them to escape or enrich themselves.

If sea transportation is implemented, if the owner of the ship transporting grain has ulterior motives and escapes privately with the ship, how should he pursue it in the vast sea.

Besides, there are many pirates at sea now. Transporting grain and tax money northward by sea is like holding gold in a busy city. If someone takes the risk and robs the ship, it will be troublesome. "

Zhu Youxiao never expected that he just asked for his opinion, and Zhu Guozhen, Sun Chengzong and others immediately stood up to oppose it.

Thinking of this, he looked at the other people present. When he saw that the others were silent and did not continue to stand up to support Zhu and Sun, he knew that the cabinet had great differences on this matter.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao sighed secretly, looked at Sun Chengzong and said solemnly:

"Sun Aiqing's analysis is indeed reasonable and well-founded. Others may think it makes sense, but I don't agree with it at all!"

(End of this chapter)