The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 336 Zhu Changxun Becomes Crown Prince
The third prince had already been named Zhu Changxun.

Zhu Changxun will be the crown prince?
This is really a bit weird.

Somehow, this battle for the foundation of the country seems to transcend time and space.

Wasn’t the dispute over the throne of the country in history about whether the eldest son Zhu Changluo or the third son Zhu Changxun should be the crown prince?

At that time, Wanli lost and the eldest son Zhu Changluo became the crown prince.

At this time, Wanli won, history had been rewritten, and the third son Zhu Changxun was going to become the crown prince.

However, the third prince was not born to Concubine Zheng, but to Queen Wang.

Of course, no matter what, this is a great joy for Wanli.

He immediately issued an edict, granting amnesty to the entire world, and everyone celebrated!

The people of the Ming Dynasty were extremely happy.

Because the Ming army is becoming more and more powerful, they don’t have to worry about the northern barbarians and the southern Japanese at all.

Moreover, with the construction of asphalt roads, it became easier and easier to make money, and they made more and more money.

This is the sign of entering a peaceful and prosperous era.

Once the emperor's legitimate son is born, the country's foundation will be stable. The days to come will definitely get better and better. How can they not be happy?

At this moment, the clean officials in the court also seemed very happy.

Because during this period of time they caught the Zhejiang Party and scolded them so much that they scolded away two of the six ministers of the Zhejiang Party. Now almost all the six ministries and seven officials in the court are their people.

Moreover, their excuse for scolding the Zhejiang Party this time was that the Zhejiang Party was planning to use the evil book case to stir up a dispute over the foundation of the country and disrupt the government.

The birth of the emperor's legitimate son was also a good thing for them, and they felt more justified in criticizing the Zhejiang Party.

The only ones who are unhappy at this moment may be the Zhejiang Party in the court.

They have been scolded so badly during this period that anyone with a bit of dignity can't stand it.

Lu Guangzu and Sun Yu were scolded so much that they resigned, and they lost all their positions in the six ministries and the Inspectorate.

Fortunately, the young emperor did not want to kill them all, otherwise, they would probably have been purged from the court by now.

Moreover, they have terrifying profits from overseas trade, and can win over corrupt officials in the court, so they can make a comeback!
At this time, they can only comfort themselves in this way.

They probably never dreamed that the Kapitan had secretly surrendered to Wanli!
This guy is in the capital right now, and he lives in the imperial city!
Li Yuansheng was so happy at this moment.

He is no longer a pirate leader. Now he is the lieutenant general of the Ming Dynasty Navy. Moreover, the Emperor is very good to him. Whenever he comes to the capital, he lives in the small courtyard of the Wanshou Palace in the imperial city, so it is very convenient for him to enter the palace for an audience.

Early in the morning at about noon, he followed the deputy commander of the navy into the palace to meet the emperor.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli asked, "How is it going? What do the Japanese say? How much do they want in soybeans, smoked fish, deerskin, etc.?"

Li Yuansheng said carefully: "Your Majesty, they still say the same thing, take as many as you can. It seems that Toyotomi Hideyoshi should be preparing for war."

It is now the end of the 18th year of the Wanli reign. After another year of preparation, Toyotomi Hideyoshi will invade his vassal state of Korea.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "How many trips do you lead your fleet to Japan and Southeast Asia in a year?"

How many more trips do I have to make?
Li Yuansheng explained in detail: "Your Majesty, I usually make this trip once a year.

For example, now the north wind is strong, and I can lead my fleet directly to Srivijaya with smooth sailing, and goods from Annan, Luzon and Siam along the way can be delivered.

I usually spend a few months there buying precious timber, spices, and other Southeast Asian specialties. When the south wind picks up in the summer, I'll take advantage of the favorable conditions and return to Fujian and Zhejiang to ship the goods directly to Japan. Then, I'll wait there until the weather cools down and the north wind picks up before heading south again."

Can I only go once a year?

Upon hearing this, Wanli frowned slightly and said, "Can't a sailboat make two trips a year?"

This is not impossible.

But it's a bit dangerous.

Li Yuansheng said cautiously, "Your Majesty, it's possible to make two trips a year, but it's a bit dangerous. Because after following the north wind and current to circle the South China Sea, if you want to return at the beginning of the year, you have to catch the Kuroshio.

The Kuroshio Current is also a current in the ocean, but this current is quite special. It is not sky blue, but dark black, which looks very scary.

Moreover, the direction of the Kuroshio Current does not change with the seasons. It always flows northward. If you want to go north in winter, you can only lower the sails and catch the Kuroshio Current.

The Kuroshio Current is at its strongest in February in the waters east of Luzon Island. A fleet can travel about 200 miles a day along the Kuroshio Current to the north.

However, wherever the Kuroshio passes is the vast ocean, and it can only reach the shore when it reaches the eastern part of Dongfan, and then go to Japan via the Ryukyu Kingdom. If you are in a hurry, you can return to the South Pacific again in March while the north wind is still blowing.

The Ryukyu Kingdom's fleet often rode the Kuroshio Current because it passed through the Ryukyu Kingdom.

The problem is, we don’t have any ports or docks where the Kuroshio Current flows, so we can’t load or unload cargo.”

This is not a problem.

Upon hearing this, Wanli said without hesitation: "Kemai, go and tell Yunqing to prepare the materials for building the port wharf warehouse, and then let Wuyang take the navy centipede ship to the northeast of Dongfan to build the port wharf.

It must be completed before February next year, and all the goods Japan needs must be shipped over."

Upon hearing this, Yu Zigao bowed repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Wanli said solemnly: "Yuansheng, I have another very important matter for calling you here this time.

You should know very well how Lin Feng died. He fled overseas, but someone was able to kill him. This proves that the Zhejiang Party had already planted spies around him. In all likelihood, the Zhejiang Party also planted spies around you.

You haven't joined the navy yet, so the Zhejiang Party doesn't know about your relationship with me. Once the navy ships join your fleet, this matter will be unconcealed."

Oops, I really didn't consider this.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuansheng's face turned serious as he said, "Your Majesty, we have to find a way to get rid of those spies. Otherwise, if I sail the fleet to the Navy Harbor this time, it will be exposed, and we won't be able to extort their goods."

They must extort as much as they can, because they only started preparing the goods this year and some of the goods cannot be prepared in full at the moment, while the Zhejiang Party has them ready-made.

That's a no-cost business, so it's a waste not to extort money. Moreover, the Zhejiang Party has made money from overseas trade for so many years, and they must give some of it back.

The key now is to get rid of the Zhejiang Party spies around Li Yuansheng, otherwise, there will be no way to blackmail him once he is exposed.

Wanli nodded slowly and said, "Yes, we have to find a way to get rid of these spies.

In fact, your going to the navy harbor terminal is an opportunity. You can go there slowly, while Kemai takes the navy express ship to rush back to Jinling quickly, and then mobilize thousands of navy express ships to wait near the mouth of the Yangtze River.

After your fleet passes the Yangtze River estuary, it will enter the navy port terminal. At that time, as long as you stay there for a few days, those spies will definitely find a way to go ashore and report the news.

At this time, the navy's speedboats were patrolling back and forth west of the harbor. If they secretly rowed out of the navy harbor to report the news, they would be caught."

What a brilliant idea!
Li Yuansheng repeatedly bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Wanli pondered again and said, "Didn't you say that Shen Weijing often goes to Japan? We have to be careful of their spies in Japan.

After you return to Japan in March this time, the spies there will definitely find something wrong. If they want to report back to Zhejiang, it will be difficult to guard against them.

Kemai, you still have to tell Yunqing that after the New Year, Zhejiang and Zhili will be closed to the sea. The navy's express ships will block the waters of Zhejiang and Zhili, blocking the route to Japan.

All ships without a permit from the Maritime Customs will be confiscated, and all officers on board will be arrested and taken to the Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan Customs, where they will be placed under guard by General Qin Liangyu, the Eastern Frontier Commander.

Yu Zigao bowed repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Do you have any other questions?

Wanli thought about it carefully and then instructed: "Yuansheng, this time when you return to Japan in March, you should not stop at Zhejiang and Fujian when you go to Southeast Asia. You should directly pick up the goods at the overseas navy port terminal in Songjiang Prefecture and go to Southeast Asia.

This way, maybe we can extort two more batches of goods, and by next year, we'll be almost done with it, and Zhang Guozhang should be able to get all the goods ready."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuansheng quickly bowed and said, "I understand."

I wonder what the Zhejiang Party would think if they knew that Li Yuansheng was discussing with Wanli how to extort their goods.

(End of this chapter)