Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 162 Jiangnan Smuggling Group!

Zhu Youtang was somewhat surprised to see Liu Daxia cooperate so well in handing over the ancient documents from Annan.

"Okay, you two go back and take care of this."

After making the appointment arrangements, Zhu Youtang asked Xu Pu and Liu Daxia to step down.

"Wei Chen resigns!"

Fortunately, these two ministers did not suffer any punishment in the Dongchang prison, so they can go back and start working immediately without having to spend time recuperating.

Zhu Youtang looked at Liu Jin only after the two ministers left.

"Liu Jin."

"The slave is here."

Liu Jin took two steps forward cautiously, feeling a little nervous.

It took only a few days for Zhu Youtang to imprison Xu Pu and Liu Daxia and then release them.

The East Factory's investigation of officials from the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Soldiers has not made any substantial progress, and Liu Jin is somewhat afraid that Zhu Youtang will blame him for his poor performance.

But fortunately, Zhu Youtang had no intention of holding him accountable.

"Tell the Dongchang thugs to stop investigating the officials of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue."

"Right now, the war between the imperial court and Annan is the most important. Let them focus on serving me first."

"The matter of collusion with the border generals will be investigated later."

Liu Jin heaved a sigh of relief and quickly bowed his hands to accept the order: "Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhu Youtang waved his hand, and after Liu Jin paid his respects, he quietly left Hongde Hall.

Zhu Youtang looked at the memorials on the table, sighed, and rubbed his temples.

The war in Annan started in a somewhat strange way, and there is no guarantee that there is no trick behind it.

But it doesn’t matter. Zhu Youtang is determined to take back Annan. This move gave Zhu Youtang an excuse to send troops.

During the Xuande period, the Ming Dynasty had been abandoning land.

In the first year of Hongxi, Le Loi of Jiaozhi rebelled. In the first year of Xuande, Zhu Zhanji ordered Wang Tong, Marquis of Chengshan, to lead an army of 100,000 in an attempt to put down the rebellion of Jiaozhi in one fell swoop.

However, the Ming army suffered repeated defeats in Jiaozhi. Zhu Zhanji subsequently sent another 70,000 to 80,000 troops, but the entire army was destroyed.

Later, under the strong advice of Yang Shiqi and Yang Rong, Zhu Zhanji had to agree to Jiaozhi's request for independence and reluctantly appointed Le Loi as the King of Annan.

Only twenty years later, the Ming army went from a great victory to a great defeat in Annan, and Yang Shiqi could not be blamed for this.

In addition to Annan in the south, the Ming Dynasty also suffered a devastating defeat in the Liaodong region, which greatly weakened the Ming Dynasty's control over the areas outside the Great Wall.

Even so, the Three Yangs in the cabinet praised it as the Renxuan Reign.

There is a small thing that can show the relationship between Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji and the Three Yangs in the cabinet.

In the first year of Hongxi, as soon as Zhu Gaochi ascended the throne, the Three Yangs of the Cabinet changed the name of the capital from the capital to the temporary imperial court.

Jingshi means the capital, and Xingzai means the emperor's temporary palace. The cabinet changed Jingcheng to Xingzai, so where is the capital?

The answer is self-evident.

The capital city was called this name for sixteen years, from the first year of Hongxi to the sixth year of Zhengtong, the entire Renxuan Reign.

The status of Beijing as the capital was determined by Zhu Di himself in the 19th year of Yongle.

As soon as Zhu Di passed away, the Three Yangs of the Cabinet couldn't wait to change the capital into a temporary residence. This was blatantly shitting on Zhu Di's grave!

Even so, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji endured it.

But Zhu Zhanji gritted his teeth and refused to move the capital.

It was not until Zhu Qizhen came to power that in the sixth year of Zhengtong, the capital was changed from the temporary residence to the capital.

It was not until the sixth year of Zhengtong that Beijing became the official capital of the Ming Dynasty.

In the sixth year of Zhengtong, Zhu Qizhen was only fourteen years old, but he had already begun to control the court.

In addition to officially designating Beijing as the capital, the Battle of Luchuan also began in this year.

Zhu Qizhen directly bypassed the Ministry of War controlled by Yang Shiqi and drew troops from Dianzhou, Qianzhou, Shuzhou, and Xiangzhou, fighting from the sixth year of Zhengtong to the fourteenth year.

The result was that the barbarians were terrified, and areas such as Myanmar and Thailand under the control of the Ming Dynasty remained peaceful for more than 150 years.

In the same year, Zhu Qizhen also sent eunuch Hong Bao to Southeast Asia to prepare for his next trip to the West.

Within a year, Zhu Qizhen officially established the capital of the Ming Dynasty, sent troops to conquer the various barbarians, and sent eunuchs to sea to Southeast Asia. He did three things that angered the civil service group in Jiangnan.

These three things can be said to be the Achilles' heel of the Jiangnan civil service group.

When Zhu Qizhen was only fourteen years old, he had already removed all the weak spots of the Jiangnan civil service group.

The hostility between Zhu Qizhen and the cabinet began in the sixth year of Zhengtong.

At the same time, it also laid the groundwork for the Tumu Incident in the 14th year of Zhengtong.

……

After Xu Pu and Liu Daxia left the palace, they returned to Xu Pu's home together.

At this time, all the high-ranking officials in the capital city knew that Xu Pu and Liu Daxia had been released safely from prison.

So at this moment, many officials had come to Xu Pu's home, waiting for his return and congratulating him in person.

The most prominent among them were Xie Qian, the Grand Secretary of the Dongge, and Yu Shen, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

After Xu Pu and Liu Daxia exchanged greetings with the officials who came to congratulate them, they saw them off from the Xu residence.

Afterwards, Xu Pu brought a few people to his study. At this moment, all the people sitting in Xu Pu's study were from Jiangnan.

Xu Pu, a native of Yixing County, Changzhou Prefecture, Nanzhili, was the chief minister of the cabinet and the minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

Xie Qian, a native of Yuyao County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, was a member of the Dongke Academy.

Yu Shen, a native of Qiantang County, Hangzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, was the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

Liu Daxia was originally from Huarong County, Huguang, but he was born and raised in Ruichang County, Jiujiang Prefecture, Ganzhou. He was the Minister of War.

It is worth mentioning that Liu Daxia’s wife was a member of the Yang Pu clan, one of the Three Yangs.

In addition, there were several other civil servants from Jiangnan in the room. They were all powerful and had considerable influence in the court.

Xie Qian was excited: "Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission. The two adults have returned safely."

Xu Pu smiled, but there was a hint of worry between his brows: "I don't know if using Annan's connections so early will cause trouble."

Xie Qian also sighed: "When Zhang Peng told me about this, I was also shocked."

"But there is really no better way."

Liu Daxia said with emotion: "This time, everyone really paid a great price to save me and Xu Shoufu."

Yu Shen smiled and said, "When Minister Liu was still a doctor in the Ministry of War several years ago, he helped us a lot. We all remember it."

Liu Daxia also laughed and said, "It's just a small matter, not worth mentioning."

"This is no small matter. If the late emperor gets hold of Zheng He's navigation chart, our business will be in danger."

"Minister Liu, there is no need to be modest about this matter."

Liu Daxia smiled but said nothing.

Xu Pu suddenly looked at Liu Daxia and said, "Minister Liu, will your handing over of the Annan documents to Your Majesty affect our decades of cultivation in Annan?"

"In the past, Lord Yang Shiqi spent a lot of effort to ensure the safety of our shipping routes and finally got Annan out of the control of the Ming Dynasty."

If this sentence were to spread, it would surely shock the entire Ming Dynasty.

The Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty, one of the famous Three Yangs, actually single-handedly led the independence of Annan? !

If you say this, no one would believe it!
But Xu Pu just said it casually, and everyone present looked as if they were used to it, without any surprise.

To understand this matter, we must first understand the Jiangnan smuggling group and the geographical location of Annan.

The Jiangnan smuggling group has a very complex structure, with numerous conflicts of interest, and it is very difficult to fully understand it.

To put it simply, it is a group of people in the Jiangnan region who are connected by the profit chain of smuggling.

This group of people mainly came from Jiangnan, including officials, nobles, landlords, gentry, etc.

The Jiangnan Civil Service Group is the representative of the Jiangnan Smuggling Group’s interests in the imperial court.

The Jiangnan place of origin includes Nanzhili, Zhejiang and Ganzhou.

Nanzhili and Zhejiangzhou are easy to understand, but why is there a place called Ganzhou?

Because of the Ming Dynasty's smuggling abroad, its main products were porcelain, silk and tea.

Nanzhili and Zhejiang are rich in silk and tea, while the porcelain of Jingdezhen, Ganzhou, is world-famous.

Therefore, people from Ganzhou not only have a place in the Jiangnan smuggling group, but also occupy a dominant position.

Yang Shiqi was a native of Taihe County, Ji'an Prefecture, Ganzhou. He was born in Yichun County, Yuanzhou Prefecture, Ganzhou, and grew up in De'an County, Jiujiang Prefecture, Ganzhou. He was a true Ganzhou native!
Annan's geographical location, located at the junction of the Ming Dynasty mainland and the Indochina Peninsula, can serve as a springboard for the Ming Dynasty to expand its influence in the West. Its geographical location is extremely important.

When Zhu Di established Annan as a county, his actual purpose was to cooperate with Zheng He's strategy of sailing to the West.

The Ming Dynasty's military presence in Indochina echoed Zheng He's fleet, consolidating the Western tribute system by land and sea.

After establishing Annan as a county, the Ming Dynasty could more easily control the Indochina Peninsula. It could control Champa, Siam, and Cambodia nearby, and Manchuria and other countries near the peninsula such as Sumatra, Kuala Lumpur, Java, and Nakhon Si Alam in the distance.

At the same time, it also firmly controlled the shipping routes to the West and South Pacific.

No matter whose ships passed through the Western Ocean and the South China Sea, they were exposed to the eyes of the Ming Dynasty without any cover.

After Zhu Di established Annan as a county, he once said: All the Li bandits in Annan have been captured, and the land of South China Sea is now clear and clean.

In other words, starting from Zhu Di, the Ming Dynasty had begun to attach importance to the South China Sea and had complete control over all shipping routes in the South China Sea.

It was not until the second year of Xuande that Le Loi of Annan rebelled. With the help of Yang Shiqi, Annan once again broke away from the control of the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, it was less than three years since Zhu Di's death.

If the Ming Dynasty lost Annan, it would also mean losing the West.

The Ming Dynasty had no idea which ships had sailed in the Western and South China Oceans after that.

And this is Yang Shiqi’s purpose.

The independence of Annan was not for the sake of Annan, but to free the Western shipping routes from the control of the Ming Dynasty.

This is also the reason why Liu Daxia hid the Annan documents together with Zheng He's navigation maps.

The Annan and Western Ocean routes complement each other and are inseparable.

This time, Zhu Youtang only asked for the ancient documents of Annan and did not mention Zheng He's navigation map.

Liu Daxia judged that Zhu Youtang would not dare to go to the West.

As long as the emperor doesn't mention sailing to the West, everything can be discussed.

That's why Liu Daxia agreed so readily this time.

(End of this chapter)