Chapter 23 Chapter 129 Li character pendulum center

Xia Xun nodded seriously, and said: "What your lords said is all the truth. If you just bully the postmen and harass the local area, you can strictly control them through the law, but hundreds of people occupy the key points of the posthouse at every turn." It is indeed a problem to eat and drink, drive many people to serve and transport, and use many worthless sundries as tributes, forcing my court to accept them! When Xia Xun said this, Manchao Wenwu and Huang Yanjing were a little confused, not knowing what kind of medicine Xia Xun was selling in the gourd. However, even though he didn't understand his intentions, these words were of great benefit to opposing the voyages to the West. University scholar Jin Youzi seized the opportunity and remonstrated: "Your Majesty, the tribute from all countries is tens of millions from my Ming Dynasty. You can't take one or two things, consume China, and demean the people, so that the barbarians take advantage of it one by one, and the thick and thin, but the villain thinks that he can count on himself, and look down on our celestial dynasty, which is really not advisable!

Xia Xun immediately followed his words and said: Yes, he is a tribute envoy, can I, Daming, not receive him?It is a matter of course to arrange the posthouse.The use of corvee is a matter of course, and even the so-called tribute they offered, knowing that the Fanyi were seeking profit, they had to accept it.But this is not the crime of my Ming Dynasty's transportation to all countries, its disadvantages are actually caused by the tribute trade!Therefore, I beg your majesty to stop the tribute and restart the city ship! Xia Xun's words shocked Shi Potian, and everyone in the hall was shocked for a while.

The city ship system has existed since ancient times. The Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties all implemented the city ship system, and the system became more and more perfect with each passing dynasty. The city ship system is jointly led by the local chief executive and the local finance chief. The imperial court assigns people to manage specific affairs. The main responsibility is to issue seagoing permits and board inspections according to the goods declared by the merchants, the people on board and the destinations they are going to. , to prevent entrainment of items prohibited by the imperial court and fugitives, verify the fact that the ship returns to Hong Kong, and levy the same tax on imported and exported goods.

It can be said that this is a relatively mature way of trade between countries. It no longer undertakes the political task of Huaiyuan Fuyi. Merchants from various countries come and buy and sell goods on their own. The court doesn’t care how high your price is, as long as the market accepts it. your price. The imperial court is also not responsible for the reception tasks. It doesn’t have to entertain you for free, and it doesn’t have to provide free labor to help you transport the goods. Because it is free trade, the visitor is not a tribute status, and the local officials do not need to receive it for free, nor do they have to deal with any crimes committed by diplomatic envoys, and they can only report to the court layer by layer.More importantly, if it is a city ship trade, both the local government and the imperial court will benefit, and the current tribute trade

The ministers communicated quickly and in a very secret way. Suddenly, like frogs waking up from hibernation, they jumped out one by one, and soon covered the entire golden palace. According to the discussion of the Duke of Fuguo, His Majesty will stop paying tribute and promote the prosperity of the ship! Wenxuan, civil and military officials, controlled by one word!You are amazing! After Zhu Di said something, he discussed and sent all the civil servants out, leaving only him and Xia Xun in the hall. Zhu Di took a deep look at Xia Xun, and couldn't help but let out a sigh of emotion.

Xia Xun didn't seem to understand how cruel Zhu Di's words were, and he replied seriously: Your Majesty, officials are not ruled by ministers, but by profit! Zhu Di frowned, and asked, "Be controlled by profit?" Xia Xun said: Exactly!Tai Shigong said that when the world is prosperous, it is all for profit; when the world is crowded, it is all for profit.The king of a thousand chariots, the lord of ten thousand families, and the king of a hundred families still suffer from poverty, how about the people who live in households?The opposition and approval of all the officials, in the final analysis, is just a word of profit!

Zhu Di said: Where is the benefit? Xia Xun said: Your majesty knows that the current tribute trade has one disadvantage and three contradictions, which cannot be reconciled! The anger on Zhu Di's face faded away, showing a look of surprise, and said: Tell me! Xia Xun said: "The disadvantages of paying tribute, the ministers have already made it very clear just now, so there is no need for ministers to repeat it?" Zhu Di nodded and said: Well, tell me, what are the three contradictions? Xia Xun said: These three contradictions are the contradictions between civil servants and eunuchs;

Zhu Di leaned forward slightly, and said in a deep voice: "Why do you explain this, please explain it in detail!" Xia Xun said: "The minister will be outspoken."Let me talk about the first contradiction first, that is, the contradiction between civil servants and eunuchs.During the voyage to the West, Ouchi was responsible for the construction of ships and the purchase of various commodities, and the eunuchs were responsible for the purchases, and the civil servants had no hand at all. Civil officials not only can't get in their hands, they also have to assist from the side and obey the orders of the eunuchs.The eunuchs not only financed money, but also led troops, not only led troops, but also arranged posts, dispatched corvees, and intervened in government affairs.How can the civil servants who take the world as their own responsibility bear it?

What's more, because the eunuchs were a disaster to the world in the Han and Tang Dynasties, since then, all civil servants have always been suspicious, wary, hostile, and contemptuous of the eunuchs. Seeing that the eunuchs are getting more and more powerful, how can they rest assured? Zhu Di's eyes flickered slightly, but he said nothing. Xia Xun dared to raise this point because he knew that the so-called statement that the emperor was worried about sending his ministers to sea would rebel and stand on his own feet was simply the imagination of ignorant people!If you want to worry about this, since ancient times, the eunuchs have committed crimes, and there are no one who wants to be the emperor.Besides, civil servants have families and businesses, and their families, wives and children are all in the country. Isn't it easier to restrain them than eunuchs?

Among other things, although the leader who led the boat to the sea was an eunuch, the tens of thousands of soldiers he brought were accompanied by the commander-in-chief. Military generals are more likely to develop ambitions than civilian officials. If someone really wants to escape overseas and become emperor on his own , as long as the leading eunuch is killed, aren't those generals still self-reliant? Furthermore, the consumption and supplies of such a huge fleet are also astonishing. Without the support of the country, without the supplement of personnel and armaments, it is not easy to gain independence in a distant foreign land. This is not a reason at all.

The reason why Zhu Di used eunuchs was because when he was in Jingnan, many eunuchs were loyal and contributed to him, and he reused all the civil servants and generals who were loyal to him. Naturally, he had to arrange a way out for these meritorious eunuchs.What's more, such missions, promulgations, and visits are all temporary duties. Even Zhu Yuanzhang, who hates eunuchs intervening in politics the most, has not only sent eunuchs to missions and prospered once, because in Zhu Yuanzhang's view, these things Although it looks majestic, it cannot hold power for a long time and will not cause any harm. Therefore, the reasons why Zhu Di used eunuchs as envoys are actually very simple. One is the favor and trust of eunuchs, and the other is to follow the old rules of the country. Because of Zhu Di's own strength, he is confident that he can deter all officials. In fact, he did. So he has no idea of ​​establishing a eunuch group to fight against the civil official group, which is also the basis for Xia Xun to raise this question. Otherwise, he would not have raised this point at all, because for the higher purpose of maintaining imperial power, economic interests can be decisively given up, and this will remain the case until hundreds of years later, and he would never expect an emperor to do what he wants s Choice. Zhu Di tasted it for a while, his face gradually softened, and asked in a deep voice: "The second point, what is the conflict between the court and the local government?" Xia Xun said: "Your Majesty, all officials hope to serve as an official and benefit one party. At the top, they can serve the king, have a good political performance, and at the bottom, they can be popular and loved by the people, so as to gain a good reputation."Some officials in the past insisted on stopping sea transportation and promoting river transportation. What is the reason?Isn't it because the river transportation is good for the people they manage or the people along the canal in their hometown? But what good does the tribute trade do to them now?When imperial ships go to sea, everything is provided by the local government as a matter of course, and even a lot of corvée is allocated for free. When foreign envoys visit, they are responsible for receiving them. When public resentment boils over, they will be scolded and suffer.Not at all, these foreign envoys deal directly with the imperial court! Including our treasure ships going to sea, the same is true. Most of the profits go to the inner government, and a small half go to the national treasury, completely bypassing the local government.Local officials have only responsibilities and no interests, how can they not hate it to the bone, and report to them layer by layer to oppose it? Zhu Di's face became a little ugly, and he said: "What about the third one?" Xia Xun said solemnly: Thirdly, what I am most worried about is the conflict between the royal family and local wealthy families, landlords, and rich merchants.Your Majesty, every time the imperial court goes to sea, there are countless huge ships, all of which are like floating cities, and the goods they transport are extremely profitable.Just now Eunuch Zheng had already said that that boatload of spices, with tens of times and hundreds of times of profits, is priceless! But where did all the profits go?The inner government and the treasury!Not to mention that the imperial court does not allow them to conduct such a large-scale trade, even if it is allowed, can their procurement scale and transportation scale be compared with the imperial family's ocean-going fleet?The smaller the purchase, the higher their purchase cost, and the smaller the transport, the less goods they have. When it comes to transportation costs, they have to bear it all by themselves. The price of the goods shipped back to the country must be higher than that of Zheng Gonggong's goods. In this way, no one will buy their goods. Royal Rivalry?The emperor has issued an edict more than once to prohibit officials from doing business and compete for profits with the people, but in this tribute trade, the royal family has become the largest official businessman, competing for profits with the wealthy families, landlords and merchants all over the world! Zhu Di's body shook, but he still didn't speak. Xia Xun's words were carefully considered. Since he made that important decision, he has thought about many funeral arrangements that need to be arranged. This is an important issue he wants to say to the emperor. Historically, Zhu Di had just passed away, and Zhu Gaochi, who succeeded him, ordered all treasure ships to be stopped, the tribute envoys of various countries to be repatriated, and the repair and construction of seagoing ships to be stopped everywhere.This is the first counterattack by Zhu Gaochi, who relies heavily on and trusts the civil official group, against the maritime trade advocated by Zhu Di. He even wants to move the capital back to Nanjing. Zhu Gaochi is a benevolent emperor, but his entire foreign policy They are all introverted and Confucian. Fortunately, Zhu Gaochi died early, and the plan to move the capital was not implemented in time. After Zhu Zhanji, who was more like his grandfather, succeeded to the throne, the proposal to move the capital became completely impossible.Zhu Zhanji allowed Zheng He to go to the West again, but under the pressure of the civil official group, the scale and frequency were greatly reduced. After the death of Zhu Zhanji and the enthronement of the young emperor Zhu Qizhen, the entire imperial court was at the mercy of the civil servants. The civil servant group that had endured for a long time broke out completely. They stopped all possibilities of ocean trade. In a series of imperial edicts, the first was the prohibition of overseas trade and navigation. Can you imagine?In such a huge empire, the first important decree of the new monarch is to prohibit overseas trade, which has been regarded by the civil official group as a thorn in the eye and a thorn in the heart that can no longer be tolerated for a day! Some merchants who tried to engage in foreign trade were executed. For a time, even learning foreign languages ​​or teaching Chinese to foreigners was prohibited. The plans for building huge treasure ships and Zheng He's voyage records were deliberately destroyed, so that later generations even lost Zheng He's fleet. It is not entirely clear where they have been. In the tenth year of Tianbao in the Tang Dynasty, Tang and the countries of the Western Regions were defeated in the Battle of Talas. Since then, the Chinese have lost the ability to interfere with foreign countries.Seven hundred years later, the Chinese returned to the world's political stage by sea, and the Ming Empire became the world's hegemon again. However, in just thirty years, it stagnated and withdrew its iron fist, and its harm has continued to this day. The benefits of sailing to the West are huge. Even if its income comes from the inner government and the treasury, it has also brought great benefits to the country. As Xia Xun said just now, the impact on coastal cities and various commodity production areas will be huge. In particular, the impact of purchasing a large number of handicrafts on the majority of handicraftsmen, the inner government's need to sell and spend, and the impact on the entire market Zheng He's seven voyages to the West did not empty the treasury and impoverish the country. On the contrary, during the Yongle period when the voyages were most frequent, various large-scale constructions in the Ming Dynasty continued to be launched, such as the Yanjing City, the Forbidden City, the Changping Royal Cemetery, the Wudang Mountains, and the University. The Baoen Temple, the five expeditions to the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the repair of the Great Wall, and the dredging of the North-South Grand Canal are all major national projects. What is the result? The people are enriched, and the house is overflowing!After the voyages to the West were stopped, there were almost no major projects in the country. Instead, the country's finances were stretched and difficult.In the third year of Emperor Yingzong Tianshun of the Ming Dynasty, the internal officials said: "Yonglejian has enough national expenses."The treasury is now empty.The inner and outer yamen have been built for many years, and the treasure books and ceremonial guards of each Yufu have a large amount of gold, and the official treasury is short of storage. According to Yongle and Xuande, the internal and external officials go to Western places to buy. During the Xuande period, Huang Fu, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, said: In the Yongle period, although Yanjing was built, Jiaozhi was explored in the south, and deserts were conquered in the north, the funds were not lacking.Now there is no big expense than the country, but only for the yearly use.That is to say, unfortunately there are floods and droughts, how will the collection be helped? During the Jiajing period, the Criminal Division gave a strict and concise statement: Since Yongle was changed to the Yuan Dynasty, envoys were sent four times to instruct. Get rich, and the country is also envious of being rich. The so-called voyages to the West caused the country's financial difficulties, but some people elaborately fabricated lies and myths. Why are there such criticisms?Because this is a trading method monopolized by the royal family, it is of no benefit to the wealthy, landlords, and wealthy businessmen, the middle class that has cultivated a large number of civil servants.Cutting off people's wealth, such as killing their parents, as their representatives, the civil official group naturally strongly opposes it. Later, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was surrounded by the civil official group from birth, and all the information he received was provided by the civil official group. Under the continuous bombardment of information accumulated by the civil official group for many years, how could he know the truth.Only a few civil officials leaked a few words of the truth, but unfortunately they couldn't listen to it at all. Even if the emperor heard it, he didn't believe it at all. Xia Xun is well aware that, in addition to its own disadvantages, the tribute trade runs counter to the interests of the most powerful force in the entire ruling class: the civil service group.Instead of desperately fighting against the civil servants, it is better to pull them on board and share the benefits.In this way, through exchanges with countries around the world, their horizons can also be broadened, and new ideas will be born from them. They used to be the heroes of history, and they were also the sinners of history. The hope of the future is also in their hands. Zhu Di was shaken by Xia Xun's words, but his thinking was still somewhat limited by the glory of the Siyi tribute. From the time of his father Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Dynasty had implemented a tribute trade policy.Now his voyages to the West are just to maximize the tributary trade, there is no difference in essence, but what Xia Xun said Xia Xun saw that he was a little moved, so he said sincerely: Your Majesty, the benefits of opening the sea have already been mentioned by the minister and Eunuch Zheng, and the disadvantages of paying tribute have also been mentioned by all civil and military officials.Is it necessary to pay tribute to open the sea?If you open the sea without paying tribute, wouldn't it be possible to gain benefits and eliminate disadvantages, and everyone will be happy?Through paying tribute, can the barbarians really be conquered? From the tribute they contributed and from their bravado in the posthouse, has the emperor ever seen any trace of sincerity and obedience?Occupy their markets and take away their wealth through market transactions. When the clothes they wear, the utensils they use, and the books they read all come from my Ming Dynasty, are you afraid that he will not sincerely admire the heaven and serve the emperor? Zhu Di was still hesitant, Xia Xun saw it, and spoke out again: Could it be that the emperor has no confidence at all to convince Siyi Fanuo sincerely, so he would rather exchange favors for a false name? Zhu Di was shocked, and stared at Xia Xun with a pair of tiger eyes, which shot out a stern light! Xia Xun showed no signs of fear, and immediately said: "I'm just afraid that such a policy is not in line with the will of heaven, and the result is that the government is in the people's hands, and the government is dead and the people are dead!" Finally Zhu Di couldn't hold back his anger, stood up all of a sudden, slapped Yu An hard, and shouted sharply: Yang Xu, you are bold! Xia Xun was unafraid, and said in a deep voice: "The emperor is inquiring, and I know everything, and I can't stop talking!" Damn!Get out! The minister resigns! Xia Xun patted his ass and left. Zhu Di stood behind the imperial case, his chest heaving and furious. When Xia Xun's figure completely disappeared at the entrance of the hall, Zhu Di's anger was swept away and he became calm. He sat down slowly, and said, "What do you think of what Yang Xu said?" Every sentence comes from the heart! Following the sound, the Sanbao eunuch flashed out from behind the screen.