Daming: I, Yang Xian, really govern Yang!

Chapter 218 Put down the harpoon and pick up the butcher knife
  small fishing village.

Because of the maritime ban, the people in the village lived in poverty.

All of them had hungry faces, and they were all wearing patched linen clothes.

This is why some of them choose to provide cover for pirates like Zhang Shicheng's old group.

The law does not allow it, and it is difficult to accept it emotionally, but it is understandable.

For hundreds of years since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, maritime trade has become the most important way of survival for residents along the southeast coast.

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, a sea ban was suddenly imposed. However, it was difficult for coastal residents to change this way of life for a while, because the court only prohibited them from going to sea, but did not provide them with new means of livelihood.

The sea ban is equivalent to cutting off their livelihood.

Therefore, as long as these coastal people see a loophole to exploit, they will participate in overseas smuggling trade even if they take huge risks.

In serious villages, almost every household is involved in the smuggling trade, which is directly or indirectly related to fake "Japanese pirates" such as Zhang Shicheng's old group, and it is not impossible that there are direct transactions with real Japanese pirates.

In the eyes of some people, although these profits are not in line with the laws of the heaven, they are by no means harmful to heaven and earth.

Masandao's men were all experienced veterans. After disguising their identities, they began to enter the village to investigate.

But no matter how experienced they are, once they enter the village, sometimes they can't tell the difference between a human and a ghost.

While Ma Sandao and the others were carrying out the rescue operation, Yang Xian was not idle either.

While Zhu Biao came to Yangzhou to check out the new batch of military telescopes, Yang Xian and Zhu Biao discussed opening the sea ban.

"Yang Qing, is there anything wrong with the sea ban?" Zhu Biao asked.

Yang Xian did not directly answer Zhu Biao's question. Instead, he asked: "Your Highness, what is the purpose of enacting the maritime ban?"

"Set up a coastal defense line to attack the remnants of Zhang Shicheng's forces and the Japanese pirates who raid the border and disturb the people." Zhu Biao said directly without thinking.

Yang Xian nodded slightly.

The maritime ban was a national policy established by Zhu Yuanzhang after the founding of the country. Its original purpose was to eliminate rebel forces such as Zhang Shicheng, crack down on piracy and smuggling groups, and thereby ensure social stability and the stability of the Zhu family.

But in fact, the maritime ban not only failed to have the expected effect, but also directly affected the country's foreign trade and fishery production. At the same time, pirates and smugglers took the opportunity to grow bigger.

Yang Xian said: "So the sea ban has been implemented for many years. Has it achieved the effect your Majesty wants?"

Yang Xian shook his head, asked and answered: "No, Your Highness, the people on the seaside have no physical way out, and are suffering from hunger. Poor people often go to the sea to steal, and they gather to die."

"The maritime ban has actually exacerbated the surge of piracy to a certain extent."

When Zhu Biao heard Yang Xian's words for the first time, he didn't feel very strongly. But after careful reflection, he can understand that the short words "people on the coast have no physical way out" clearly illustrate the personal sadness of the people on the coast.

A clear picture emerged in Zhu Biao's mind.

Those coastal people who had been fishermen and farmers for generations were able to have enough food and clothing by going out to sea to fish. However, after the sea ban, these fishermen completely lost their previous way of self-reliance. This is embarrassing for the fishermen and farmers who have been fishing for generations. Called a disaster.

So this group of people rebelled and joined pirates one after another. After all, they could no longer make a normal living, not because of natural disasters such as tsunamis, but simply because of the force majeure imposed by the court. When they were desperate and even about to starve to death, these fishermen You can only choose to be a pirate in order to survive.

"This is one of the drawbacks of the sea ban. It is precisely because of the strict sea ban policy that the development of coastal fisheries has been cut off. As a result, a large number of fishermen have lost their means of survival, and social conflicts have increased sharply, resulting in frequent fishermen's riots in coastal areas, which ultimately resulted in The soaring crime rate caused by starvation and poverty has added new uneasy factors to the security of the region, which is already plagued by Japanese pirates."

Yang Xian thought for a moment, then used a very vivid metaphor and said: "In order to survive, these fishermen put down their harpoons and picked up butcher knives."     A small fishing village thousands of miles away.

Veteran Zhao was chatting with a fisherman.

The fisherman said: "The guest is not from the south, right? There are still fish weighing 2 pounds. Now the boat cannot go to sea, so we can only fish offshore."

The fisherman pointed to a wooden barrel beside him and said, "All the fish caught for the day are there. If the customer wants it, I can sell it to you cheaper."

Old Zhao glanced in the direction pointed by the fisherman.

I saw only three or two pitiful fish in the barrel, and they were all very small.

"It's too young. I'll go to another house and ask." Old Zhao shook his head with a smile and continued to walk forward.

Lao Zhao came to the village to find out.

Before he was discharged from the army, he worked as a scout in the Northern Frontier Army. He could mentally draw the terrain distribution map just by looking at it.

Under the pretext of harvesting fish, he went into the village to investigate the situation.

It would be best to find out the news about Shen Ruinan.

Little did he know that the moment he entered the village, someone had already told Zhang Shicheng's old subordinate Lei Heng about him.

Deep in the small village, in a courtyard.

"Boss Lei, the fishermen came to report that a strange face with a northern accent has entered the village." A follower reported.

"What did he do in the village?" Mr. Lei put down the pearl necklace in his hand, raised his head and asked. There was an open bag next to him, which was full of women's gold and silver jewelry, which looked very valuable at a glance.

"It seems that they are here to harvest the fish." The minion said.

"Come to such a remote fishing village to harvest fish?" Mr. Lei snorted coldly. This is a lie.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

At this moment, Boss Lei had a flash of inspiration and suddenly thought of something. He turned around and glared at the woman in front of him, and said, "Did you just say that Shen Wansan went to Yangzhou to find someone to help save your son?!"

Sun Qing'er was startled by Boss Lei's glare, and flinched and said: "Yes, yes, that group of people have been here for more than half a month, but there is no news at all, which is completely unreliable. I just came here to find you. them."

Boss Lei's expression suddenly changed and he looked at an old boatman next to the woman.

This old boatman is none other than Boatman Li.

Captain Li looked at Boss Lei, who was exuding murderous aura, and waved his hands repeatedly: "I don't know about this, and Shen Rong has never mentioned it to me."

"I brought Mrs. Shen here. I was very careful along the way to ensure that I was not followed."

Boss Lei turned one eye, his gaze moving back and forth from Sun Qing'er and Captain Li.

Captain Li and Sun Qing'er were so shocked that they felt terrified.

"Bring this stranger back first!" Boss Lei finally said in a deep voice.

(End of this chapter)