I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 119 Found the Catfish and the Crowbar
After listening to Xu Wei's report on the preliminary negotiations with the Japanese envoys, Zhu Yijun nodded: "Mr. Wenchang, you have worked hard."

Zhu Yijun took a quick look and saw that those present today included Zhao Zhenji, Zheng Luo, Xiao Daheng, Wu Dui, and Li Zhi, all of whom were currently the backbone of the Taisun Party.

Zhu Yijun knew very well that the so-called Prince's Party was actually these people who were willing to board his ship only because he could bring benefits to them.

Some people get on the boat, and some people get off.

Zhu Yijun calmed down and continued, "I have told Li Gelao before that the east cannot be rushed. Why can't we rush? Mr. Wenchang, can you tell us?"

"Your Highness, I will obey your orders."

Xu Wei replied happily.

"Your Highness, what you said is far-sighted. I didn't quite understand it before, but after this initial conversation with the Japanese envoys, I finally realized how far-sighted Your Highness is."

Xu Wei glanced at Zhao Zhenji, Zheng Luo, Xiao Daheng, Wu Dui, and Li Zhi, and took in their expressions.

Some listened very carefully, while others did not take it seriously.

"The current ruler of Japan is incompetent and is nothing more than a clay Buddha.

The shogun Ashikaga clan, the leader of the country, lost power and could not protect himself.

Zheng Luo interrupted Xu Wei and said, "Wen Chang, you mentioned the Japanese ruler and the general. What's going on?"

Xu Wei was a little impatient. The Lifanyuan had the information and reported it to the Supervisory Office. Zheng Luo, the general manager of the Supervisory Office, had not reviewed it and had to ask on the spot?
Zhu Yijun gave Xu Wei a look, signaling him to stay calm.

Zheng Luo was sent here by the Emperor, so we have to give him some face.

It’s just that the person that the Emperor thinks is useful, I don’t necessarily think so.

Xu Wei took a deep breath, calmed down, and continued: "The ruler of Japan, who is more than an emperor, has long been called a puppet. The court and ministers headed by him are also in name only and rely on the local vassal states to survive.

Previously, the real power of Japan was in the hands of the Shogun Ashikaga clan, such as Cao Wuwei. Later, the various feudal lords rebelled and attacked each other, so the Ashikaga clan also lost power and was in danger of losing power.

Zheng Luo stroked his beard and sneered, "He is really a crude and barbaric man, who does not understand the saints and does not follow the rules of hierarchy."

Everyone was silent.

Zhu Yijun's heart moved. What Master Zheng said was quite interesting.

It seemed as if he was looking down on Japan from a superior position, but it also seemed as if he was making an excuse for asking the emperor to issue an edict to order the Zhejiang navy to sweep through all the ports in Mossa.

If one does not understand the saints and wise men, and does not follow the rules of hierarchy, then one can only rely on the power of heaven.

Xu Wei continued: "So it is a very troublesome matter to negotiate with Japan. No matter who you negotiate with, it is a very troublesome matter. Talk to the Japanese emperor and his court officials? Talk to the Ashikaga Shogun? None of them will work. If the government decree cannot leave Kyoto, it is useless to talk.

Negotiate with the various feudal domains? After much difficulty, the negotiations were completed, but before they were implemented, the feudal lord was attacked and destroyed, the flag on the city wall was changed, and a new feudal lord was replaced. The people we had negotiated with before refused to recognize the agreement, so we had to negotiate again.

So what His Royal Highness said is right. We can't rush the East. We should talk slowly and find out their situation while we talk. Besides, we should focus on talking to the merchants in various ports in Japan."

Xiao Daheng frowned slightly: "Talk to Japanese businessmen?"

Wu Dui was also a little puzzled: "Brother Wen, during the last meeting, it was obvious that the five representatives from the various fiefdoms were very rude to the merchant representatives.

What can we talk about? "

Xu Wei smiled, "Huanzhou doesn't know. Those representatives of the Japanese feudal lords are all poor and tyrannical. In recent years, Japan has been in constant war, with the feudal lords fighting each other. That is called war and aggression, and it has exhausted the people's strength.

In order to recruit troops and prepare for wars, many feudal lords owed a lot of debts to big merchants. Some big Japanese merchants were often creditors of several warring parties. "

Everyone was a little surprised. Li Zhi couldn't help asking, "Merchants have become creditors of the feudal lords? Aren't they worried that the feudal lords won't pay back the money?" "Of course they are worried. So those Japanese merchants will use various means to clamp down on these feudal lords. For example, they will unite to control food and food prices, control the mines under the feudal lords, and control the export of the territory's specialties.

If the feudal lord does not pay back the money, once he turns against the feudal lord and his reputation is ruined, all merchants will stop selling food, weapons, iron and copper to him, and the feudal lord may soon be swallowed up by the surrounding enemies.

Xu Wei's words shocked everyone.

as big as World, nothing is nonexistent.

The life and death of the various feudal lords in Japan were actually secretly in the hands of certain big businessmen.

Zhu Yijun swung his sleeves, walked to the middle, and asked everyone: "Do you have a chance to see my Ming Dynasty?"

"An opportunity for the Ming Dynasty?" Everyone looked at each other, somewhat confused about what Zhu Yijun meant.

"Now the control of the East China Sea is in the hands of our Great Ming Navy. The Great Ming sea merchants can freely enter and exit Japan, Korea, Annan, Siam, and Zhenla. The silk, cotton, porcelain, tea, and sugar in their hands are in short supply.

We can also transport spices and grain from the South China Sea to Korea and Japan. We can also transport Korea's iron ore and bronze, and Japan's sulfur, silver, silk, and swords back to Ming."

Xu Wei immediately echoed the words: "Your Highness is right. In the past two years, under the coordination of Yang Jinshui of the Coordination Bureau, the East China Sea merchants of our Ming Dynasty have flourished and almost monopolized the maritime trade with Korea and Japan.

Now, the Portuguese and other Westerners are no longer willing to go north to Korea and Japan, and would rather trade with our Ming Dynasty licensed merchants in Shanghai, Ningbo, Quanzhou and Guangzhou. There is no other reason, they cannot compete with our Ming Dynasty merchants. "

As the general manager of the Coordination Bureau, Zhao Zhenji was aware of the situation. He stroked his beard with a smug look on his face.

Since the establishment of the Coordination Office and the issuance of maritime merchant licenses in the 41st year of the Jiajing reign, relations have been straightened out, sea routes have been cleared, and the Ming Dynasty's maritime merchants have developed rapidly like a volcanic eruption, making huge profits.

If not, how could the Coordination Bureau afford the huge expenses of suppressing the Japanese in the southeast, the new military camp, the food and wages needed for the military and political reforms in the Beijing camp, and the emperor's spiritual practice of Jingtian?
Others are still thinking, what does this have to do with Ming Dynasty’s opportunities?
Do more business?

The Ming Dynasty's maritime merchants are already doing very well, so this is not really an opportunity.

Li Zhi suddenly had an idea and blurted out, "Your Highness, our Ming merchants can support a group of Japanese merchants, and then use these Japanese merchants to control the various vassal states in Japan."

Everyone was surprised, even Xu Wei was surprised by Li Zhi's idea.

Zhu Yijun's eyes lit up.

What a genius!
Li Zhi is truly a genius!
He was born in Quanzhou, Fujian, where the atmosphere of business and profit is strong.

At the age of twelve, he wrote "On the Old Farmer and the Old Gardener", which mocked Confucius's statement that farmers were "villains", causing a sensation in the village.

Many of his articles thereafter revealed independent thinking between the lines, were not bound by traditional Confucian concepts, and had strong anti-traditional ideas.

We can even see criticism of the emphasis on agriculture and suppression of commerce, praising the achievements of merchants, and advocating utilitarian values.

Although he was very talented, he failed the imperial examination only in the provincial examination.

This shows that Li Zhi's thoughts are not tolerated by mainstream Confucianism today.

But for me, it is a catfish and a pry rod.

A catfish that stirred up the stagnant waters of the Ming Dynasty's intellectual world.

In the era of prying, the pry bar turns to another direction.

Zhu Yijun said: "Mr. Zhuo Wu said this"

(End of this chapter)