Chapter 140 Sea Power Thought! China's Opportunity to Become a World Empire!

At first, everyone thought Xu Jin was trying to refute Tang Hao's sending troops.

But the more they heard, the more they felt something was wrong!

How could it suddenly be about the navy?

The navy was corrupt, and His Majesty got angry and blamed the Yuanfu.

The Yuanfu was also angry, and he started to talk about His Majesty the Emperor.

Why was the navy corrupt?

It was because Renxuan contracted the defense line, and with the Tumu Incident, the court was lucky enough to be able to resist the barbarians from the north. Where was there any extra money and energy to develop the navy!

It's not that everyone wants to see the Japanese pirates becoming more and more rampant, nor is it that everyone wants to see the people along the coast being humiliated. The problem is that there is really no way!

The northern barbarians are the biggest concern!

The Japanese pirates are just a minor problem!

This concept is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, from the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, to the civil and military officials of the court, and to the common people and scholars.

After all, the Japanese pirates could not hit the capital of the Ming Dynasty, but the northern barbarians could, and they succeeded!

No one wants to experience the disastrous defeat of the Tumu Fortress Incident and the siege of the capital by foreign cavalry again.

Then, the court's resources will naturally be poured into the nine frontier military towns. This is the major policy of the country!

In addition, there is a force in the court that is spread across six departments and hundreds of departments, called the Jiangnan gentry!

They hold high the strict ban on the sea by Emperor Taizu Gao. They oppose Zheng He's voyages to the West and all sea trade!

Why?

Because they are also doing the same business!

For example, in the Kanko trade with Japan, where do the Central Plains specialties such as raw silk, medicinal materials, calligraphy and paintings, and books purchased by Japanese merchants come from?

Jiangnan gentry!

This Zhongshan Marquis is indeed ambitious, but he should never have the idea of ​​opening the sea and lifting the ban, and he should not even have the slightest idea, let alone expose it!

What do you want to do to support the navy's resurgence?

When the navy rises, it will go out to sea to wipe out the Japanese pirates. What if all the Japanese pirates are wiped out?

Do you want to lead the navy to go on an expedition again, just like Zheng He's voyage to the West, and directly monopolize the astonishing profits of marine trade?

So, this is a struggle for interests, no one will give in!

Cutting off someone's financial resources is like killing their parents!

The gentry in Jiangnan will not agree, let alone allow this Zhongshan Marquis to do whatever he wants!

As soon as Han Wen finished speaking, Zhang Sheng, the Minister of Rites, also stood up.

Han Wen, the Minister of Revenue, was the first to step out and said loudly: "Your Majesty, absolutely not!"

"So the fact is that the fiscal revenue of the country will inevitably decrease next year. Even if the military expenditure of the nine borders is reduced, it will not fill this gap. In addition, the Ming navy has been corrupt until now, and it is not something that can be changed by pouring a small amount of resources. Moreover, the soldiers of the coastal garrisons have fled, so will the soldiers of the inland garrisons not flee? The situation of conscription is not unique to the Beijing camp, but a common phenomenon in the garrisons of the world!"

Otherwise, why would these civil officials and gentry react so strongly when Tang Hao captured the Japanese envoys?

The Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas are the national raw silk production centers. Suzhou "every family spins and every household weaves silk", and weaves dozens of kinds of flowered silk, plain silk, satin, and silk. Hangzhou has become the base for "big merchants from all over the country who travel thousands of miles to seek silk, brocade, silk, and silk must go to Zhejiang East", Jiaxing "the skills of silkworms and embroidery are the food and clothing of the country"...

The words of the Minister of Agriculture are indeed the truth.

"Your Majesty, the threat of Japanese pirates is huge, but it is by no means fatal. The biggest threat to the country still comes from Mongolia, Tatar, and Wala. This is an indisputable fact!"

"If we rashly increase another military expenditure, whether the court's finances can bear it or not, we have to bear the military expenses of the nine border soldiers and civilians, and the military expenses of the navy officers and soldiers. How can the country develop people's livelihood and benefit the people?"

Now that the old system of paying silver and grain is restored, the corresponding salt administration income of the court will be greatly reduced. This is inevitable.

Therefore, as the Minister of Revenue, Han Wen is naturally qualified to say this and refuse to add new military expenditure items.

Tang Hao originally wanted to play a trick to replace the concept and tentatively let the court favor the navy, but now it seems that there are more smart people than him. The court officials are all old foxes, and it is not that simple!

The two of them see clearly and thoroughly.

"If Your Majesty gives preferential treatment to the coastal garrisons, it will certainly chill the hearts of other soldiers, so I beg Your Majesty to think twice!"

What Tang Hao wants to cut off is not just the financial resources of one person, but the financial resources of the gentry who control half of the taxes in the Ming Dynasty!

What's more, Tang Hao now wants to take the opportunity to ask the court for resources to support the re-emergence of the Ming Dynasty Navy!

How is this possible?

"It is true that the court will restore the old system of paying grain and opening the middle next year, which can indeed reduce the military expenditure of the nine borders, but the problem is that it will also transfer part of the benefits to the salt merchants who pay grain, and the court will not be able to receive a large amount of silver every year like paying silver and opening the middle!"

Tianguan Ma Wensheng also had a gleam in his eyes, and watched the situation leisurely.

The only advantage of paying silver and opening the middle is that it can quickly turn salt vouchers into silver, which can greatly increase the salt administration income of the court, which is equivalent to damaging the interests of the soldiers and civilians in the nine borders to enrich the court!

How can this be possible?

Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet, sighed secretly and stopped talking.

"The Ming Dynasty today is not the Ming Dynasty during the Hongwu period, nor is it the Ming Dynasty during the Yongle period. Your Majesty, please think twice!"

Grand Master Zhang Sheng directly pointed out the theme. The northern barbarians are a serious threat, and the Japanese pirates are just a minor problem. There is no need to spend money to support the navy just for the Japanese pirates!

Especially the last sentence, which directly pointed out the current situation.

The national strength of the Ming Dynasty has declined since the Tumu, and it is far from being comparable to the Hongwu Dynasty and the Yongle Dynasty!

Others support the navy because they have sufficient national strength to support it. You, the little emperor, are now poor and your people are now in dire straits. Do you still want to spend money to support the navy?

Dream about your Spring and Autumn Dream!

Then the Minister of Punishment Min Gui, the Minister of Tongzheng Zhang Jin, the Minister of Dali Temple Geng Ying and others all made suggestions and reported to the emperor. Except for the three true kings in the court who watched silently, the other nine ministers and all the court officials unanimously opposed Tang Hao's proposal.

Seeing this situation, Tang Hao just felt a little sad and a little ironic.

The Ming Navy, once invincible, has now fallen to this point, all thanks to the civil officials and gentry, and now they want to refute themselves and stop themselves from supporting the Ming Navy to rise again!

How sad and ridiculous!

In Zheng He's sixth maritime expedition, a Ming Navy squadron bypassed the Cape of Good Hope and entered the Atlantic Ocean as far as southwest Africa!

Another Ming Navy squadron entered the Pacific Ocean through the Solomon Islands and reached the east coast of Australia!

In the Strait of Malacca, Sri Lanka and Sumatra, challenges to the Ming maritime authority were crushed, and envoys from 36 countries surrendered to the Ming Empire, and China became the most powerful maritime country at the time!

As a result, Zheng He made seven voyages to the West, led the invincible navy, crushed all disloyalty, and formed a Ming overseas empire consisting of trade fortresses in the North Indian Ocean, the Malay Peninsula, the South Pacific Islands and the Ryukyu Islands. This is the greatest maritime hegemony empire in Chinese history!

However, this great hegemony began to decline in the middle of the fifteenth century. Since the two emperors Renzong and Xuanzong, who were praised for their merits, began to shrink the marine defense line, the Ming navy was destined to decline, and the maritime hegemony empire that Zheng He spent his life to create, the hegemony era of China's maritime power at its peak, also sounded the death knell!

In fact, the fact that the Ming Dynasty was able to complete Zheng He's historic feat of sailing to the West was just an accident.

Based on the geopolitical thinking of the dynasties of China, from emperors and generals to the common people, they all adhered to the concept of "Middle Earth in the center, Yinghai four rings", which was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people!

Not only the Ming Dynasty, but also the Chinese people of all dynasties have been influenced by the traditional geographical view of "Middle Earth in the center, Yinghai four rings", so that they instinctively believe that the Middle Earth is the center of the world.

Moreover, the Chinese emperors established the "Chinese patriarchal concept", that is to say, the "harmony between heaven and man" and "divine right of the emperor" created by Confucianism have become the ideological and public opinion basis of this concept!

The emperor, that is, the Son of Heaven, as the son of heaven, is appointed by heaven!

In addition to directly ruling the Central Plains, the rest of the world is also under the control and education of the Son of Heaven, who is the common ruler of the world.

They are all sons of God, can God give good places to others?

Of course not, so the Central Plains is the center of the world, the fertile land given to the Son of Heaven by God, and all places outside the Central Plains are wild, barren, and foreign!

In addition, under the baptism of Confucianism's thoughts and speeches such as "respecting the king and expelling the barbarians", "appeasement of distant people", and "advocating virtue and suppressing military power", the emperors of all dynasties in China have no ambition to dominate the world.

"Not governing the barbarians" is their traditional concept, and "ruling without governing" and "pacifying without governing" are their common methods!

To put it bluntly, I am stronger than you, but I will not bully or invade you with violence. Instead, I will use benevolence to influence you, let you take the initiative to recognize me as the boss, and let you bathe in my teachings and pay tribute to me!

Guarding the three acres of land in the Middle Earth, the emperors of all dynasties were so happy that they couldn't close their legs, and they had no time to fight east and west.

However, the most serious consequence of this idea is that the Chinese people have always lacked the concept of sea power and the lack of attention to the strategic value of the ocean. It is a typical continental geopolitical view.

Originally, China was not a country without a maritime tradition. At the latest in the Spring and Autumn Period, there was maritime transportation and navy. Unfortunately, due to the influence of this concept of the Middle Earth suzerain country, coupled with the series of thoughts and speeches made by Confucianism, the possibility of the birth of sea power thought was directly shattered!

Zheng He, the eunuch of the Three Treasures, was the first person to have a strategic vision for the ocean. Zheng He brought a group of comrades who also had the spirit of maritime exploration and sailed to the West seven times. They had penetrated into the seas that had never been set foot before. They were actually the first navigators to enter the South Pacific and South Atlantic. They were the pioneers of the ocean of that era!

However, Zheng He was a eunuch, and the deputy envoy Wang Jinghong was also a eunuch. This group of navigators rarely seen in ancient times were almost all eunuchs who were discriminated against, so their success could only increase the hostility of civil officials and gentry towards navigation.

After all, eunuchs are the hawks and dogs of the emperor, not the hawks and dogs of their civil officials and gentry.

The achievements and benefits of eunuchs have nothing to do with their civil officials and gentry!

So when Zheng He made his last voyage to the West during the Xuande period, civil officials and gentry continued to advise Emperor Xuande Zhu Zhanji, and finally made this good grandson of Emperor Yongle give up his attempt at overseas expansion and forcibly recall Zheng He. Zheng He also lost all his energy and died of illness on his way back to China.

After that, the invincible Ming Navy was idle, the advanced fleet soaked in the harbor and gradually rotted, and the precious navigation data obtained by Zheng He's fleet after decades of risking their lives was destroyed (hidden) by Liu Daxia. The Ming Dynasty stopped building ocean-going ships in all aspects, strictly prohibited the crackdown on overseas private trade, and handed over the sea control that was close at hand to others!

The Ming Navy, which was in its heyday, was directly beaten back to its original form, and was even more miserable than before!

However, this is far from enough. What the civil officials and gentry want is not only to let the Ming Navy rot, but to keep rotting!

Anyone who wants to rebuild the Ming Navy and want to open the sea to lift the ban is their enemy!

After the Ming Navy rotted, the most direct consequence was that China lost control of Southeast Asia, the Chinese tribute trade circle in the North Indian Ocean collapsed, and the Ming Navy's 30 years of painstaking management came to nothing. China not only lost the opportunity to become a world empire, but also lost the military barrier and trade channels at sea, and finally completely lost the sea power!

After several years, when the Western powers' strong ships and cannons landed on the coast of China, these emperors and generals who were immersed in the fantasy of the Celestial Empire finally understood how important sea power was!

Now that Tang Hao was here, he would never watch these emperors and generals still live in their dreams!

"Your Majesty, the eunuch Sanbao once said that if you want a country to be rich and strong, you can't ignore the ocean. Wealth comes from the sea, and danger also comes from the sea. Once the king of another country seizes the ocean, China will be in danger. Our fleet is invincible and can be used to expand trade and subdue foreign countries so that they dare not covet the ocean!"

"Sea power is equally important and must not be easily abandoned. Besides, the wealth on the ocean is probably well known to you all. Just this marquis knows that there is a giant silver mine in the territory of Japan, with a reserve of more than 100 million taels of silver!"

At first, the ministers just listened to Tang Hao's words as a joke.

After all, they also knew what Zheng He said, but the problem was that it had nothing to do with them.

Anyway, you want to support the navy, you want to open the sea and lift the ban, that is absolutely impossible!

However, when the ministers heard Tang Hao's last sentence, they suddenly widened their eyes and looked at each other in disbelief!

Wait!

A giant silver mine? !

Hundreds of millions of taels of silver? !

Are you sure you didn't use the wrong unit?

Han Wen, the Minister of Revenue, took a deep breath, and then asked with red eyes: "May I ask the Marquis of Zhongshan, how much silver is hidden in the giant silver mine in Japan that you just mentioned?"

"Hundreds of millions, that is, millions of silver!"

Tang Hao chuckled and said: "This matter is unbelievable to me, but... what if it is true?"

These light words, like the devil's low hum, are full of endless temptation!

Yes, what if it is true?