Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 323: The second Zhu Wan appears, thanks to Zhu Yuanzhang!
Zhu Houcong was very happy after Lin Jun said this.

Because the maritime ban has been strictly enforced until now, some ministers have finally begun to advocate opening the sea.

However, before the voices for opening the sea completely outweigh those for banning the sea, Zhu Houcong still has to be cautious and not easily express his opinions, which would give villains the opportunity to cause trouble.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong asked at this time: "Is that so? But I remember that the elder advocated a maritime ban before, saying that the maritime ban was an ancestral system that could not be changed. He also said that the maritime ban itself was not a system that harmed the people, but the cruel officials and arrogant soldiers who enforced the maritime ban would harm the people."

Lin Jun knew that by saying this, he was slapping himself in the face.

But he couldn't say it clearly that it was because Your Majesty was unwilling to let the imperial power become a mere formality and insisted on strictly enforcing the ancestral precept of banning the sea that I had to follow the trend and start advocating the opening of the sea.

Therefore, Lin Jun had to show a guilty look and said: "I did say this in the past! But at that time, I said that because I mistakenly thought that the ban on sea transportation caused the boiling public resentment in coastal areas, which was really related to the misbehavior of Zhu Wan, Wang Hong and other coastal defense officers and soldiers. But later, after the imperial envoy found out that the two were not misbehaving, I realized that the root cause of the boiling public resentment was not the two people, but the original system of the ban on sea transportation itself was no longer appropriate and needed to be changed."

Zhu Houcong then spoke up again: "But as far as I know, you were not the only one who blamed Zhu Wan and Wang Hong at the time. For example, the censor Liang Shibiao, they all mistakenly believed that the public outrage was only related to the possible misconduct of Zhu Wan and Wang Hong during the maritime ban?"

"His Majesty!"

"I am Liang Shibiao, the Imperial Censor of Henan Province. Although I have wrongly blamed Zhu Wan, I do not think that the maritime ban is out of date. I only think that the public resentment in coastal areas due to the maritime ban is still related to the excessiveness of Zhu Wan and Wang Hong. Although they did not do anything wrong, they did have some radical actions, which led to many misunderstandings among the people and thus public resentment."

At this time, the censor Liang Shibiao also stepped forward directly because Zhu Houcong mentioned him and expressed his own views. He still insisted on advocating a maritime ban and advocated that the current problems caused by the maritime ban should be blamed on Zhu Wan and Wang Hong personally.

Lin Jun continued to argue, "Your Majesty! I don't think it's Zhu Wan and Wang Hong's fault for banning the sea, but the ban itself is inappropriate. The reason why some people still advocate banning the sea and blame Zhu Wan and Wang Hong for this mistake is that they still hope that the court will ban the sea, but not strictly, and only ban the sea for the common people, but not for the officials and gentry, so that the coastal big families and officials and gentry can collude to continue to monopolize the sea benefits, and at the same time restrict the common people from going out to sea to rob the sea benefits and escape their control more easily."

Liang Shibiao couldn't help but frown and glanced at Lin Jun.

Because Lin Jun's words were too much, it was equivalent to exposing the thoughts of those officials from wealthy families along the coast who advocated a ban on the sea in public. They would rather let the sea benefit the common people than confront the court again.

"Your Majesty, I, the Dali Temple Secretary Lin Xiyuan, second the motion!"

"Master Lin is right. Those who still advocate a sea ban either do not understand the hardships of our coastal people and are only afraid of threats from the sea, or they have a rebellious heart!"

"Especially officials from coastal areas, who clearly know that their fellow countrymen rely on the sea for their livelihood, also advocate a ban on the sea. It is obvious that they have no sympathy for the hardships of the common people in their hometowns, and only want to conceal the people's sentiments, deceive the emperor, kill loyal officials, and confuse right and wrong, in order to achieve the purpose of undermining the emperor's prestige and enriching themselves while impoverishing the common people!"

"This kind of people have no moral integrity and should be executed!"

Dali Temple Secretary Lin Xiyuan echoed this.

Liang Shibiao knelt down immediately after hearing this: "Your Majesty, please understand. I advocate a maritime ban and I definitely don't have such intentions. His words are just to deceive Your Majesty!"

"What do the other ministers think?"

Zhu Houcong did not express his opinion directly, but only asked other court officials.

Xie Qian stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I think what Lin Xiyuan said is possible. There must be people who advocate a maritime ban out of selfish motives! But people's minds are hard to predict, and the court cannot punish people out of suspicion, making everyone afraid to speak out. So it is naturally difficult to tell whether the motives of those who advocate a maritime ban are for the public or for private! But I still insist on advocating a maritime ban, and I advocate a strict maritime ban!"

After Xie Qian said this, everyone looked at him with a look of astonishment.

"Sir, why don't you tell me the reason?"

Zhu Houcong also asked a question at this time.

After Xie Qian made a promise, he replied, "Your Majesty, I think the ancestral precept of banning the sea is not out of date yet. What Lord Lin said is absurd!"

When Lin Jun heard this, he frowned. He realized that Xie Qian had gone to the other extreme and became the second Zhu Wan!
Xie Qian continued to elaborate: "Although most of the common people along the coast rely on the sea for their livelihood, most of the so-called common people who rely on the sea for their livelihood are actually powerful and unruly people. It is impossible for the real common people to make money from the sea! First, the court banned the sea, so if they dared to go out to sea, they would be blackmailed by officials until their families were broken up; second, going out to sea is dangerous, and the common people cannot afford the loss; therefore, the only ones who can go out to sea are the powerful and unruly people who rely on the protection of the gentry; and such powerful and unruly people should be suppressed, otherwise, they will ruin the peace of the country!"

"Your Majesty, continuing the sea ban will only harm the peace of the country!"

Lin Jun argued with reason and said, "Those who dare to go out to sea are certainly the rich and the brave, but if we really prohibit them, I'm afraid they will really plunder and become thieves. After all, they are lawless!"

"Your Majesty, the key to comforting the people is to keep them law-abiding and good, rather than to give in to the wishes of the powerful and the unruly. Doing so will only encourage their arrogance and will only be detrimental to maintaining the majesty of the imperial system and national laws!"

Xie Qian also argued.

Lin Jun wanted to argue again, but Zhu Houcong raised his hand to stop him and asked, "What other opinions do you have?"

At this time, the Left Censor-in-Chief Wang Shizhong followed up and said, "Your Majesty, I also support the maritime ban. The maritime ban is an ancestral rule and it should not be violated!"

"Your Majesty, I also think that we should follow the established system of our ancestors and not open the sea."

At this time, Yang Bingzhong, the official in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, also stepped out and spoke.

"Your Majesty, I also think that the ancestral system is unacceptable and we should insist on the sea ban!"

"Your Majesty, I advocate a sea ban!"

……

For a time, ministers in the court came out one after another to advocate a maritime ban.

Not only do officials in the interior naturally hope to ban the sea to prevent foreign threats, but many officials from coastal areas also continue to hope for a sea ban and are still unwilling to compromise and ask the court to open the sea to benefit the real common people.

Zhu Houcong also confirmed that only a small number of people like Lin Jun were advocating the opening of the sea.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong said: "If you listen to both sides, you will be enlightened, but if you only believe in one side, you will be in the dark. I have made it clear now that the world still advocates a maritime ban, so in order to comply with the will of the people, I will continue to make a maritime ban my national policy! And I will accept Xie Gong's advice, and still order Zhu Wan, Wang Hong and other officials along the coast, such as the deputy envoy of coastal defense, to strictly enforce the maritime ban!" Although Zhu Houcong followed the mainstream view, he still made a maritime ban his national policy.

But when Zhu Houcong talked about following Xie Qianzhi's suggestion and continuing the strict ban on maritime trade, many officials who came from wealthy families along the coastal areas could not help but change color.

After all, although they wanted a maritime ban, they did not want the court to strictly enforce it.

But they couldn't oppose it openly, and would only slap themselves in the face, so they had to hide their conflicting thoughts in their hearts.

Bang!
More than a month later.

Bungo Province in Wa.

After learning from the pirate leader Xu Zhen that the imperial court still strictly prohibited sea voyages and arrested Tao Xie, Tao Huai, Liu Jing, Xiong Yiqi and nine other clans, the Japanese daimyo Otomo Yoshiaki slammed his fist on the table in his residence and said, "It seems that the Ming emperor is unwilling to compromise!"

Xu Zhen said: "He will not give up until he reaches the Yellow River, so we think we need to teach him a lesson until the southeast is in complete chaos!"

"So how do you plan to teach him a lesson?"

Otomo Yoshiaki asked.

Xu Zhen said: "Last time we wiped out the entire Xie family, but that was not enough for him to see our determination. This time we plan to capture his most trusted scholar from Liangzhe - Wang Yangming!"

"Wang Yangming?"

"I've heard of him. He seems to be a very learned person in your Ming country?"

Otomo Yoshiaki asked.

Xu Zhen nodded: "That's right. He is not only very knowledgeable, but also very meritorious. He was named the Earl of Xinjian, and also became the Minister of Personnel. He has been in the imperial study. Whether it is for the emperor himself or for the entire Ming Dynasty, if he is arrested, it will cause a great shock! No less than Zhuge Liang being captured by the Wei people in the Three Kingdoms!"

Xu Zhen knew that the Japanese daimyo were very familiar with the Three Kingdoms, so he made this comparison.

Otomo Yoshiaki immediately understood after hearing this: "Why are you targeting him? Is it easy to catch such a person?"

"Because this man is now in mourning in Yuyao, and during this period, he is giving lectures all over the coastal areas of Liangzhe. It is very convenient for us to send troops to capture him. However, this time is different from the last time. We have to act in broad daylight, which makes it easy for the government troops to discover us. Therefore, we need to continue to borrow more soldiers from you!"

Xu Zhen replied.

Otomo Yoshiaki looked at his long-trusted retainer, Irita Chikomasa, and asked, "What do you think?"

"I think it's feasible, and it's also an opportunity to test the strength of the southeastern part of the Ming Dynasty!"

"If we can capture this man and find that the Ming army is vulnerable, we can naturally cooperate with their coastal tycoons and southern barbarians to plunder the Ming country! And use the wealth of the southeast of the Ming country to help protect the early unification of Kyushu!"

Shugo is the official title of Otomo Yoshiaki, and Kyushu refers to the Kyushu Island of Wa.

Ever since seeing the prosperity of Yuyao, Irita Yoshimasa had developed the desire to plunder the southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty, and he kept urging Otomo Yoshiaki to help the Ming Dynasty pirates and the wealthy families along the coast.

"Will the Emperor of Ming send troops to retaliate against our Bungo Kingdom?"

Otomo Yoshiaki asked at this time. He was still a little worried that the Ming emperor would directly retaliate against his homeland.

Irita Chikamari smiled and said, "Don't worry, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty has left behind a precept that Japan should not be conquered. If the Ming Dynasty emperor conquers us, it would be against the ancestral system! First of all, there will be a lot of people in his country who oppose it. Moreover, there are many conservatives in his country who advocate abiding by the ancestral system, even the majority. Otherwise, the Ming Dynasty emperor would not have strengthened the navy this time in the name of strengthening the sea ban!"

"That's right!"

"Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang did have such ancestral precepts. He was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, a foreign vassal who succeeded to the throne, so naturally he would not dare to go against the ancestral system!"

Xu Zhen followed with a smile.

Otomo Yoshiaki had just taken over the position of family head not long ago, so he didn't know much about the situation in Ming Dynasty.

But after hearing what Irita Chikamichi and Xu Zhen said, he naturally laughed with joy: "Hahaha! Doesn't this mean that my country Bungo can invade and harass his country Ming at will, and we don't have to worry about his Ming emperor retaliating against my homeland?"

"Yes!"

Irita Shinma and Xu Zhen replied with a smile at the same time.

Otomo Yoshiaki also became more and more excited, and clapped his hands and said: "I should thank your Ming Dynasty's founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. It was he who gave me the opportunity to use your Ming Dynasty's wealth to help me achieve my hegemony!"

"I will lend you 500 Kokumin-shou (samurai) and 1,000 Ashigaru (peasant infantry). In addition, you can recruit ronin in my Bungo!"

Otomo Yoshiaki then spoke to Xu Zhen with a serious face, and then looked at Irita Chikamane: "You will still lead these people to help Mr. Xu do his work! When the time comes, you must plunder more wealth from the southeast of Ming. After capturing Wang Yangming, ask the emperor of Ming for a large sum of ransom! Tell him that if he refuses, I will capture his favorite ministers and confidants and bring them back to my Bungo Province to help me dominate!"

Irita Chikamaru immediately said hi.

And Xu Zhen also thanked him very happily.

Otomo Yoshiaki said with anticipation, "I can already imagine the Emperor of Ming who is furious that we caused a disturbance in his southeast and captured his favorite ministers, but is helpless against us, Bungo, because of the ancestral system!"

(End of this chapter)