Chapter six hundred and eighty seventh not on the same level
As the first assistant, Xia Yan had to express his position. After thinking about it for a while, Xia first assistant said: "If there is a special person to take charge of overseas barbarian affairs, it is not impossible. Just choose a special official from the outer court."
This sentence has two meanings. The first meaning is that there are so many yamen in the outer dynasty. It is not impossible to add a yamen responsible for barbarian affairs. Just find an official from the outer dynasty to take charge.
The second meaning is that if Qin Dewei wants to take charge of overseas barbarian affairs, then you should first quit Wenyuan Pavilion and go to the outer court to be the chief official!
Wenyuan Pavilion is the central location. Although you, Qin Dewei, do not participate in the maintenance of the machine, you cannot use your position as Wenyuan Pavilion as the official chief official of the foreign dynasty at the same time.
If this is possible, then the old bachelor of Ge can also serve as the six ministers and monopolize decision-making and execution!
What Xia Shoufu said can be said to be reasonable and reasonable, but Qin Dewei cannot make an exception anyway.
Although Qin Zhongtang often complains about parallel imports, he still cares about the words "enter Zhi Wenyuan Pavilion", so why is he willing to withdraw from Wenyuan Pavilion?
Even if he is halfway into the cabinet, he is obviously different from ordinary foreign officials, especially under the general political trend of increasing cabinet power.
So Qin Dewei immediately argued: "The affairs of the barbarians often involve secrets and are not easy for the outside world to know. It is just right to handle them in Wenyuan Pavilion!"
Xia Yan said with a bit of disdain: "In the end, Yiqing is nothing more than a trivial matter. How much secret can it have? It's not worth keeping in the inner court!"
In fact, in the eyes of the senior officials of the imperial court, the Yi people and pirates were probably similar to the Yao people in Guangxi in the early years.
The Yao Rebellion had been going on for decades, but it finally subsided. I didn't hear that in order to quell the Yao Rebellion, a yamen and special officials were set up in the imperial court.
This kind of concept of the people at that time was all expected by Qin Dewei, and he could only say in a shocking voice:
"Mr. Ge, times have changed! Time has changed and the world has changed. The foreign sentiments overseas are completely different from those in the past. In the future Ming Dynasty, coastal defense and fortification defense must be given equal emphasis!"
Since Qin Dewei entered the court, in the eyes of ordinary people, his words and deeds seemed to be very extreme, but in fact he did so out of necessity.
He has been purposefully strengthening his right to speak in order to be able to say these things that sound like fantasy and still have people listen to him.
If he didn't have the right to speak, if he wasn't the Wenkui champion, if he wasn't a Jiajing man, if he wasn't someone who could discover the "way of heaven", if he didn't accurately predict the Annan incident thousands of miles away, he wouldn't even have the chance to say these words.
Even if you say it reluctantly, no one will listen, and you will only be regarded as a madman.
Even so, when Qin Dewei told the true "historical trend", everyone in the palace still didn't believe it.
Qin Dewei sighed and said: "First, it's silver! Silver! Silver! Which barbarians around here have so much silver?
The Japanese barbarians plus the French people could spend millions or even millions of taels of silver each year to trade with the Ming Dynasty. How many years would it take? How many decades would it take?
Even if the sea is banned and tribute is banned, there is still smuggling that is constantly prohibited! If hundreds of millions of taels of silver flow into the Ming Dynasty in a few decades, what kind of impact will it have on our Ming Dynasty? Maybe the princes of the court have expected it?
I dare to ask the elders, can such an unprecedented barbarian attack be handled with the old rules? You have looked through the history books, have you ever seen such a barbarian attack that imported huge amounts of money into the Ming Dynasty? "
Several cabinet elders didn't know how to respond. They felt that what Qin Dewei was thinking was completely different from what he was thinking. They didn't understand what Qin Dewei was thinking at all.
Also, I don’t know if Qin Dewei made up these words and deliberately made them alarmist.
Qin Dewei ignored other people's thoughts and continued: "Secondly, everything has both good and bad sides. Money can make all the difference. Silver is enough to move people's hearts!
If the Yi people who can afford huge sums of money have evil intentions, recruit troops and bribe traitors, they will probably not be as easy to deal with as the Northern captives!
What's more, the Folangji's men, ships, and artillery are powerful, and they are attacking and plundering overseas. We, the Ming Dynasty, must also guard against it!
Twenty years ago, when Wang Hong, the former Minister of War, was appointed as the inspector-general of Guangdong, he had a battle with the Folangji. At that time, he was able to defeat ten Folangji warships with several times the waterway attack!
Even if the imperial court has so many skilled craftsmen, it has no choice but to imitate the Fo Lang machine cannon! You gentlemen, please read the history books, have you ever seen the barbarians who have better ships and more powerful guns than those in the Central Plains?"
This question also stopped several bachelors. Firstly, they were not familiar with this field, and secondly, they did not dare to predict and express their opinions with certainty like Qin Dewei did.
In front of the emperor, you have to speak responsibly. If something happens to disagree with you in the future, then your statement today will become your own black history.
Seeing that the elders were silent, Qin Dewei once again told Emperor Jiajing: "Overseas barbarian affairs may be a trivial matter today, but in ten years or decades it will definitely not be a trivial matter!
The ancient King Wuling of Zhao knew how to ride and shoot in Hufu, so don’t we, the Ming Dynasty, know how to adapt?"
Emperor Jiajing's mind had actually deviated. He just felt that too many troubles would affect his cultivation of immortality.
Why did the ancestors and sects just follow the steps and stick to the rules, but after the country was in their own hands, so many new troubles appeared that were completely incomprehensible!
How could a small matter like whether Japan should be allowed to pay tribute become so controversial and controversial?
In fact, the Ming Dynasty's treasury was not in deficit at this time, Emperor Jiajing was not that sensitive to money, and he had just confiscated two Zhang families, so he was not short of money for the time being.
So after hearing Qin Dewei's description, Emperor Jiajing only felt that the matter was too troublesome, and he had not thought of making money from it. After all, Emperor Jiajing was also a literary young man, and talking about money was too vulgar.
Of course, it will be different in two years. Xiyuan was built into a fairyland on earth. It was done day and night. All the green poems burned were written with gold powder. How could it be done without money?
The second assistant, Gu Dingchen, secretly caught a glimpse of Emperor Jiajing's frown, and suddenly stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry! It's time for a Jiajing man to come into being to relieve your Majesty's worries!"
Wucao! Xia Yan and Yan Song glared at Gu Dingchen. There was a traitor in their cabinet!
Qin Dewei was also surprised. Academician Gu was indeed the first minister of Qingci in the Jiajing Dynasty. If you are so good at talking, just say more!
It's a pity that Bachelor Gu's life is short. According to the original historical trajectory, Gu Dingchen will die a good death in office next year.
Gu Dingchen secretly smiled bitterly. In terms of age, he was more than ten years older than Xia Yan and Yan Song. However, he knew his own health best and felt that he did not have much time left.
The sudden support for Qin Dewei is just focusing on the future.
After all, Qin Dewei had always had a good relationship with many Suzhou scholars, and some posthumous matters could be entrusted to Qin Dewei.
After hearing Gu Dingchen's words, Emperor Jiajing's anxiety was relieved slightly.
When it comes to the ability to understand the emperor's mood, Gu Dingchen can be regarded as the best among people, and Yan Song is slightly inferior.
Qin Dewei also had to be convinced. A recognized official scoundrel, after more than ten years of bloody turmoil in the ceremony, he was not criticized by public opinion, and he was able to become a bachelor in the hands of Jiajing, and he had never been punished. He could not do anything.
Unique skill?
Emperor Jiajing looked at Qin Dewei again, whoever found the trouble would be responsible for solving it! If you can't solve it, come to see him!
After pondering for a moment, the emperor issued an edict: "Allow Qin Dewei's request to add a Japanese pavilion to the Siyi Pavilion!"
Qin Dewei waited and waited with great expectation, but then he heard Emperor Jiajing say this.
What’s next? Why is it gone? Why don’t we continue to talk about who will be in charge of barbarian affairs? Who really cares whether there is a Japan pavilion?
The eunuch next to him reminded: "Qin Dewei still doesn't thank you!"
Qin Dewei came to his senses and could only reluctantly accept the order and thank him.
Then Emperor Jiajing continued to speak: "Since we talked about the Japanese barbarians today, how should we treat the tribute envoys sent by Japan? Are they allowed to come to Beijing to pay tribute, or should they be expelled back?"
Xia Yan, the first assistant, said: "Since Chenghua, Japan's tribute envoys have been full of misdeeds. They often drink alcohol, act cruelly and hurt others, which shows their character.
Moreover, the Japanese barbarians often carried out plunder across the sea. If they were stopped by the government and army, they would claim to be tributes. If nothing happened, they would be bandits. It is really difficult to identify them.
Moreover, Japan's tribute only included a sword and a fan, which were not rare items that our Ming Dynasty lacked. Apart from these, there was nothing special and nothing good to say.
The total of the above three places can continue to cut off their tribute to show that the Ming Dynasty is inaccessible to the country without justice!"
After Xia Yan finished speaking, Yan Song continued: "Japan's barbarians have been punished with justice for more than ten years. However, they have been convinced and surrendered. Now they will be reconsidered and eliminated. It seems that they have no name.
Moreover, when the king controls the foreign barbarians, he will levy them if they don't have a court. If he comes to pay tribute now, he may not be able to inspire the foreign barbarians to submit to him. Besides, the tribute from foreign barbarians is of great significance and should not be prohibited."
Neither of them mentioned the matter of silver. They probably didn't realize subconsciously the potential of sea trade, and they didn't know much about the power of smuggling in Fujian and Zhejiang.
Qin Dewei looked at Xia Yan, then at Yan Song, and couldn't help but said: "One of the two elders said yes, and the other said yes, so you have finished talking.
If you take a closer look, one has a white face and the other has a red face. Could it be that they were agreed upon?"
Yan Song glanced at the golden melon in the hands of the palace warrior again, and couldn't help but think of a poem by Du Gongbu, "The boys in the south village bullied me into being old and weak."
Emperor Jiajing couldn't stand it anymore and scolded Qin Dewei: "If you have something to say, just let it go. Don't talk too much anymore!"
Qin Dewei then said: "As for the Japanese tribute envoys, since they are all here, let them come to Beijing to pay tribute!
This is what I think about it. As the saying goes, if you know yourself and the enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger. You can learn more about Japan's internal news from the mission, which will at least help clean up the pirates in the East China Sea.
Secondly, Japan’s national tribute envoy will definitely request to resume regular tribute, and may even make a request to shorten the tribute cycle.”
According to the ancestral system, Japan only allows one tribute every ten years, which obviously cannot meet the needs of the nouveau riche in Silver Mountain.
Qin Dewei did not wait for others to ask, and took the initiative to continue to express his opinion: "They will probably propose a tribute every three years to test the court.
Your Majesty can be more generous and allow Japan to pay tribute once a year to the three guards of Wuliangha!"
Emperor Jiajing was surprised and said with a heartache out of habit: "Isn't once a year too much?"
For the Ming Dynasty, which regarded itself as the suzerain state, those who came to pay tribute would be rewarded.
Too much tribute means too much reward expenditure, so the tribute cycle is mandatory, otherwise those vassals would like to pay tribute once a month.
So now among the vassals, only the three guards of Wuliangha with unique status enjoy the annual tribute and mutual trade, and the mutual trade takes place at the Guangning Guard in Liaodong where Qin Dewei once fought.
Qin Dewei reminded: "Japan now has money, not those foreign countries as poor as beggars, and what they seek is not rewards, but trade!"
According to the system of the Ming Dynasty, it was said to be tribute, but in fact it was official trade. The tribute envoy definitely did not come alone.
There are hundreds of people accompanying the tribute envoys each time, many of them are businessmen. This is the officially recognized foreign trade channel.
From one tribute every ten years to one tribute a year, does it mean that the trade volume through official channels has expanded tenfold?
With Emperor Jiajing's intelligence, he also vaguely realized that there was a lot that could be done here.
Qin Dewei also said vaguely: "There are still many things that are not clear yet. We will wait until the Japanese envoy arrives in the capital and conducts tests before deciding!"
Then Qin Dewei remembered something and told Emperor Jiajing: "Don't worry too much about everything, as worrying too much will inevitably lead to bad things!
The private maritime ban policy has been implemented for a hundred years, and it is still the consensus of the majority of people in the DPRK. It must not be changed arbitrarily easily to avoid causing an uproar.
Therefore, allowing Japan to pay tribute once a year is actually a flexible method that is gradually changing slowly and subtly. On the surface, it still maintains the private maritime ban."
Emperor Jiajing knew in his heart that although Qin Dewei did not say it explicitly, the people he was guarding against were actually the big smuggling clans along the southeast coast.
It was Qin Dewei's words that really surprised others. He was so steady that he didn't look like a 21-year-old young man.
Then the cabinet bachelors sadly discovered that they seemed to have become bystanders without knowing it.
I can't keep up with Qin Dewei's thinking at all. I don't understand many parts but I can't get in the conversation at all.
After Qin Dewei's painstaking suggestions and fully demonstrated his professionalism in foreign affairs, he once again reminded Emperor Jiajing:
"Your Majesty! Yi affairs are different from ordinary affairs. They will become more and more important in the future. They must be managed by ministers who are proficient in this matter!"
Emperor Jiajing ignored Qin Dewei, but asked the trio of elders: "Is it necessary for the imperial court to have a minister in charge of foreign affairs?"
"No!" Yan Song suddenly stopped him.
Then Yan Song explained: "The word "Yi" is too broad. From the northern barbarians to Korea, from the Nanyang barbarians to the southwestern chieftains, they are all barbarians, and the authority to manage barbarian affairs is too large."
The simplest example is that Beibei is also a foreign barbarian. Is it possible that the general manager of barbarian affairs can even interfere in the affairs of Jiubian Soldier Town?
"I think it's enough to just call it maritime!" Finally, Mr. Yan Ge also made a suggestion.
It feels like Qin Dewei is already unstoppable today. Since he can't stop him, he can only do his best to weaken him.
From being in charge of barbarians to being in charge of maritime affairs, there is not a slight difference. Just forget about not being as good as others. The fight for power cannot be defeated again!
"No!" This time it was Qin Dewei who spoke up.
Qin Dewei also had his own explanation, "If it is clearly named Maritime Affairs, then everyone in the world will guess that the imperial court suddenly appointed this official specifically, which means that it will make big moves towards the sea!
Isn’t this a clear leak of secrets? How could Mr. Yan Ge be so confused that he can’t even think clearly about this!”
Listening to the serious talk on both sides, Emperor Jiajing also had a headache.
It is certainly worrying to have a harmonious atmosphere among ministers, but it is equally troublesome to point at each other to the point of picking each other's words.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
I thought about it for a day, but I couldn't think of a name for the newly added official position. Everyone also helped me give advice. It's a pity that the protagonist is not a military attache, otherwise he could wear the seal of General Zhengyi and go to Ningbo Kaikai Mansion!
