Zhang Ruifeng, the right young minister of Honglu Temple, was summoned by the emperor for no apparent reason.
He guessed that there might be a mission, perhaps to Korea, or to the Western Regions. He never dreamed that it would be Europe.
"Are you from Longyou?" Zhao Han asked.
Zhang Ruifeng replied: "Reporting to your Majesty, my hometown is indeed in Longyou County. However, when I was young, I went into business with my father and went as far as Yunnan. During the war in the southwest and the war, I and my father started doing business in Jiangxi. Thank you for your kindness.
, Jiangxi is stable and conducive to business, and there was no more stable place at that time. Because of this, my father asked me to serve His Majesty, saying that the one who conquers the world must be Your Majesty. "
"You have a good father," Zhao Han asked with a smile. "The Longyou Merchant Gang is famous all over the world. I heard that it has been particularly active in recent years."
Zhang Ruifeng said: "The Longyou merchants are not as wealthy as the Hui merchants, and the Ganxi merchants are not as wealthy as the Western merchants (merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi), and they are not as cliquey as the Western merchants (merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi), and they do not have the benefits of maritime trade of the Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang merchants. The Longyou merchant gang relies on
Because of hard work, other business gangs dare not go there, and other business gangs look down upon them, so Longyou merchants will take the lead."
"The Longyou merchants have made the greatest contribution to restoring people's livelihood in the north." Zhao Han nodded in approval.
In recent years, the imperial court has moved a large number of immigrants to the north, and business taxes have also been reduced. Businessmen in Anhui, Jiangsu, and Jiangxi have taken advantage of this trend, but they basically only go to the big cities in the north.
Longyou merchants, however, found a new way to do business in small counties in the north. In the backward areas of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, big businessmen from all over the country were unwilling to go, so Longyou merchants rushed out en masse. Shadows of the Longyou merchant gang can be seen everywhere on the southwest border, starting last year
He even went to Vietnam to do business.
Zhang Ruifeng said: "Not only can people's livelihood in the north be restored, but the merchants themselves can also make money. This is a matter of benefit to the country, the people and themselves, and the Longyou merchants have a duty to do so."
Zhao Han asked: "I heard that Longyou merchants have begun to develop overseas?"
Zhang Ruifeng said: "Taiwan and Luzon are mostly Fujian merchants, and they are grouped together to exclude foreigners. Longyou merchants can't get in, so they can only go to Ryukyu and Fangzhang counties to collect some local goods and timber. Now the imperial court has seized Malacca, Fujian
Cantonese merchants thought it was too far, so they basically only went to Banten and Palembang. When Longyou merchants encountered this gap, they were already organizing overseas trips and decided to go to Malacca."
Maritime merchants from Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang are of course willing to sail to Ryukyu and Malacca. However, they are engaged in maritime trade, while Longyou merchants have to stay and develop.
The Longyou merchant gang did not have a sea-going ship, so they went to Ryukyu and settled in Fangzhang County. They were responsible for collecting goods from the indigenous people and selling them to passing Fujian ships. In fact, the money they earned was just hard-earned scraps.
The imperial court was happy to see this situation, so when organizing immigrants, they basically did not recruit in Longyou County. It was mountainous and the land was barren, and young and strong men liked to travel far away to do business. As a result, most of the people who farmed at home were old, weak, women and children. In Longyou County
Recruiting immigrants will cause chaos.
In fact, men in Anhui and Shanxi are also used to doing business away from home, and most of them start from small businesses. But they don't go far, maybe to neighboring counties, or to neighboring provinces, while Longyou merchants directly cross several
province, and even spread to the Western Regions and Myanmar as early as the Ming Dynasty.
Zhao Han said with a smile: "You dared to go to Yunnan to do business when you were young. You must not be afraid of traveling far away, so I will give you an errand as an envoy to various countries."
"But according to His Majesty's orders!" Zhang Ruifeng quickly stood up and held his hands.
Zhao Han waved and said, "Come here."
Zhang Ruifeng stepped forward, stood cautiously, and looked at the world area shown by the emperor.
Zhao Han pointed to the map and said: "After passing Malacca, the fleet will move along the land. It will encounter a small country that has been taken over as a vassal. Further north, it is the territory of Siam. You can just negotiate with the local officials. There is no need to go there.
He met the king of Siam and then Taungoo (Myanmar), ordered him to surrender quickly, and ordered his envoy to go to Nanjing to present his credentials. "
"If Dongxu is unwilling to surrender, should we go ashore and teach him a lesson?" Zhang Ruifeng asked.
Zhao Han warned: "Remember, your mission is to send envoys to other countries, not to fight. If Toungoo does not accept the king's request, just write it down. Don't delay your trip."
"Please remember this!" Zhang Ruifeng accepted the order.
Zhao Han continued: "Further ahead is Arakan (the southwest coast of Myanmar and the eastern coast of Bangladesh). This country is a mortal enemy of Siam. Its citizens are not afraid of the sea. If there is damage along the way, additional sailors can be recruited in Arakan."
Chittagong, which later became Bangladesh, also belonged to the territory of Arakan at this time. This country was the maritime overlord in the Bay of Bengal.
A hundred years ago, Arakan was repeatedly plundered by the Portuguese, and occasionally cooperated with Portugal. It had already mastered Portuguese navigation and gunnery technology. Arakan had a close relationship with Taungoo (Myanmar), and they often joined forces to attack Siam. On one occasion, they even
Pull up Portugal.
Zhao Han said: "Further ahead is India, also known as Tianzhu. You can try to make friends with the southern kingdoms of Tianzhu. The north is the Mughal land, and there is a Mughal emperor of Mongolian descent. You should visit Mughal.
Emperor Wo'er, maybe we can cooperate in the future, I will write a letter for you to pass on."
"Further ahead is Persia. You should also visit the king. As for the coast of Africa, there are not many countries. They are just city-states and tribes. You should try to make friends with them. Of course, use force when you need to, so as not to be looked down upon by these natives. In
Countries in Europe, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal should all go and see it. The Netherlands is so arrogant that it has become a target of public criticism. It has tempted other countries to go to war with the Netherlands!"
The pile of place names and country names made Zhang Ruifeng's head spin.
Fortunately, he had understood it before and didn't know anything, otherwise he would have been blinded at this moment.
Zhang Ruifeng flattered him and said, "Your Majesty has a deep mind for the whole world, but he is very knowledgeable about overseas countries. I admire you so much!"
Zhao Han smiled and said: "Go and prepare, and go to sea when the trade wind comes. Remember, collect information about each country along the way. The name of the country, capital, monarchs and ministers, language, characters, geography, religion, special products, etc. must all be recorded."
"I obey!" Zhang Ruifeng bowed and stepped back.
Zhao Han took out a copy of the memorial and continued to review it.
This was a report from the Ministry of Household Affairs. It was a daily official document, but it made Zhao Han feel very good.
According to reports from various provinces and counties, the weather has been good across the country since last autumn. Only some areas have suffered from snowstorms in winter, and only a few counties have had spring drought since the beginning of spring. As long as there are no major floods, this year's summer and autumn grain harvests will be bumper.
Such a good year is the most honorable to God since Zhao Han regained the north.
"good!"
Zhao Han picked up the ink pen, approved only one word, then leaned on the chair and took a nap.
This official document made him relaxed and happy, and he had to enjoy a good mood.
Zhao Han had no choice but to deal with the issue of education funding. Three years of compulsory education for all the people was not something that an agricultural country could afford.
Moreover, in remote and backward areas, the quality of education is falling further and further behind.
There are not only problems with teachers, but also problems with textbooks.
Local governments are complaining because textbooks are provided free of charge. In order to save money, students must hand in their own books when they graduate or drop out, and the next class of students can reuse old books.
However, primary and secondary school textbooks have been supplemented and adjusted many times.
Schools with good educational conditions naturally use the latest version of textbooks. However, those remote and backward schools are still using old textbooks from a few years ago. When students take their graduation exams, they will find that some topics have not been learned at all.
The only good thing is that the number of middle school students in the country is far lower than the number of primary school students. Middle school textbooks happen to be the most frequently adjusted. New mathematics and physics content are included every two or three years. These two subjects are in the process of achieving results.
Outbreak period.
After a short break, Zhao Han reviewed the memorial again.
The good mood was soon ruined when a massive earthquake struck Chengdu Prefecture, destroying more than 3,000 houses and killing thousands of people (accurate statistics cannot be counted).
The cabinet has already approved the disaster relief, and also recommended tax reductions and exemptions as appropriate. Zhao Han casually approved it with the word "approved". The local officials must have already been working on the disaster relief matters, not to mention the Datong officials, even the Ming Dynasty officials would make arrangements quickly - during the Jiajing period
Although Emperor Jiajing turned a blind eye to the Guanzhong earthquake, local officials were very active in disaster relief.
Alas, if I had known earlier, I should have slept more, God cannot praise me enough.
As I continued reading, my somewhat bad mood suddenly became extremely bad.
The chief envoy of Yunnan reported to King Toungoo that he sent the envoy to Kunming and requested that it be annexed as a vassal state of China.
It was originally a good thing that Myanmar took the initiative to recognize his father. But when the chieftain of Mubang learned the news, he also secretly sent people to Kunming to report that Toungoo had invaded the Chinese border, and also requested that Mubang be granted the seal of consolation.
The northern Burmese areas of Mubang, Mengyang, and Mengmi originally belonged to the Ming Dynasty.
In the 32nd year of Wanli, Taungu (Myanmar) attacked Mengmi and asked Chief Meng Yang to send troops to help. Meng Yang chieftain Si Hong refused and killed Toungu's envoy. Toungu then turned to attack Meng Yang, but Si Hong was defeated and died.
.
In the 34th year of Wanli Dynasty, Dongyu attacked Mu State. Before the Yunnan reinforcements arrived, Mu State fell. Chen Yongbin, the governor of Yunnan, was imprisoned and threatened with death.
Everyone knows about the Three Great Conquests of Wanli, but during the Wanli Period, the Ming Dynasty also fought with Myanmar for decades. The Toungoo Dynasty of Myanmar continued to encroach on the Ming Dynasty's territory. The Yunnan army had to station tens of thousands of soldiers on the border. The mountain roads were rugged and it was difficult to transport military supplies.
, a large number of civilians lost their families and perished because of transporting grain.
Nowadays, Mubang, Mengyang, and Mengmi are all in the hands of Burma, and they have never returned the territory. Now they still have the nerve to attach it and ask for gold seals and documents.
Historically, the Toungoo Dynasty of Myanmar also requested canonization in this way after killing the Nanming Emperor. The Manchu and Qing Dynasties ignored it and gave all three areas of Mubang, Mengyang, and Mengmi to the Toungoo Dynasty. Later, the Qing-Burmese War
During this period, China regained its lost territory for a time, but Emperor Qianlong suddenly got mad and with a wave of his hand, he took the initiative to reward the territory.
The memorial is attached with Huang Yao's "sticker", which is the military's accompanying document.
Huang Yao, who was based in Yunnan, wrote the matter more clearly. Those who lost land were very poor, and the mountains were high and the forests were dense, so it was extremely difficult to transport military supplies. If the attack was possible, please give him two years to prepare, and he would have to use Yunnan's armed police force
Assistance. It is best not to mobilize troops and reinforcements from other places. The climate on the Yunnan border is complicated and the troops from other provinces may not be able to bear it.
Zhao Han replied: "The Yunnan patrol troops are at your disposal, and the prefectures and counties in Yunnan will also try their best to cooperate. Within three years, I will regain Mubang, Meng Yang,