My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 142 There are bad guys in the organization
At the beginning of the 16th year of Hongwu, shortly after the Chinese New Year, an event occurred that shocked the court and the public: His Majesty the Emperor decided to lift the maritime ban!
Since the third year of Hongwu, Your Majesty first abolished the Taicang Huangdu Maritime Customs, and later abolished the Maritime Customs in Quanzhou, Ningbo and Guangzhou. As a result, private maritime trade in the Ming Dynasty was cut off.

Until the 14th year of the Hongwu reign, the Ming Dynasty issued an order to ban coastal residents from secretly communicating with overseas countries on the grounds that the Japanese pirates were still not stopping their tracks. From then on, all exchanges between the Ming Dynasty and overseas countries came to an end.

Once the decree to reopen the maritime ban was publicized in newspapers, the news quickly spread across the country and people were talking about it. Some were in favor, while others were against.

Most of those who support this are factory workers and private factory owners. The workers' idea is actually very simple: the more things they make are sold and the better they sell, the higher their salary will naturally be. No one can resist money.

In addition, as early as the beginning of the factory construction, the Ministry of Industry had already begun to promote that the products of the Ming Dynasty should be sold to every corner of the world, so that foreign countries could use the products of the Ming Dynasty, feel the civilization and advancement of the Ming Dynasty, and educate them.

With such a noble mission as a blessing, the workers naturally agreed with both hands.

In addition to the state-owned factories built by the Industrial Bureau, many wealthy private merchants also built factories. Lifting the sea ban and developing maritime trade were naturally beneficial to them, so they had no reason to object.

In addition, fishermen along the coast and various merchants who make a living from the sea are even more happy to see this. Since the implementation of the maritime ban, fishermen's fishing has been subject to many restrictions, and those merchants who rely on reselling with foreign countries have no choice but to find other ways out.

For them, lifting the maritime ban meant finding a way to survive again, so they were even more grateful to Zhu Yuanzhang's decree.

Those who opposed it, except for some old-fashioned people, were mostly from the Jiangnan gentry. The reason for their opposition was simple: the maritime ban was the foundation of the Ming Dynasty and could not be shaken.

It sounded high-sounding, but Zhu Yuanzhang knew very well in his mind that after the implementation of the maritime ban, the only ones who could trade with foreign countries were the Jiangnan gentry!
Even in the 14th year of Hongwu when the maritime ban was the strictest, they still had channels to secretly sell precious goods such as raw silk, silk, porcelain, tea, etc. to Japan, Luzon and other places, making huge profits.

Lifting the maritime ban touches upon their core interests!

In the past, due to the unstable political situation and the fact that the north had not yet been pacified, Zhu Yuanzhang could only turn a blind eye to the actions of the Jiangnan gentry.

But now that the Northern Expedition army has returned victoriously, the Goryeo in the desert has been incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty, the general trend of the world has been determined, and with the strong help of Li Han, it is time to move the gentry class in the south of the Yangtze River.

What’s interesting is that, as the backbone of the Ming Dynasty’s public opinion field, Confucian scholars were clearly divided into two factions.

The opposing faction was naturally composed of students from academies across Jiangnan. They represented the interests of Jiangnan and naturally spoke for the gentry.

Jiangnan has been home to many scholars since ancient times. This group is very powerful, but there are also many great scholars who praised the lifting of the maritime ban.

Among the literati who supported the idea, many were great scholars who had participated in academic conferences and witnessed the spectacle of hot air balloons. Their ideas were relatively more open-minded.

Throughout the Ming Dynasty, officials, scholars, merchants, craftsmen, landlords and farmers were discussing this issue. Amidst the controversy, Zhu Yuanzhang quietly did another major thing.

Daming Maritime Trade Co., Ltd. was officially established!

The imperial court, led by the Ministry of Revenue, invested 1.2 million strings of cash, accounting for 60% of the shares, and the remaining 40% of the shares were divided among the noble princes.

Xu Da was the first to respond actively and took out a huge sum of 50,000 strings of cash. Although his annual salary was only 5,000 dan of rice, which was just over 4,000 taels of silver, he was the first in merit and received the most generous reward, so it was normal for him to take out 100,000 strings of cash.

Li Wenzhong, Tang He and other nobles also enthusiastically contributed funds, with the amount of money they contributed ranging from 50,000 to 20,000 strings of cash.

The princes were a little poor, but Zhu Di gritted his teeth and took out 20,000 strings of cash, which, together with the money Xu Miaoyun took out from her dowry, made up a total of 30,000 strings of cash.

With the court's endorsement, the nobles and princes who had originally lacked interest in joint ventures in overseas trade also became interested. Even Zhu Funing took out 5,000 strings of cash from his regular money and made a small investment.

This made Zhu Yuanzhang sigh that the tactic of having the court's endorsement was truly brilliant.

With the funds in place, they were ready to officially start sea trade. As for the goods, it was the sugar that had been ordered long ago.

As the shipyard worked overtime overnight, the Ming Dynasty now has four 5,000-ton steamships and eight 3,000-ton ships. The first fleet consisted of all 5,000-ton steamships and six 3,000-ton ships. Three of the 5,000-ton ships were fully loaded with sugar, and three of the 3,000-ton steamships were fully loaded with fully armed musketeers. The remaining ships were filled with coal, fresh water, food, ammunition and other supplies.

The route was not peaceful. In addition to the cruel Japanese pirates, there were also elusive pirates. After reaching the destination, the use of force was also an important basis for ensuring "free trade".

The first trade route started from Yingtianfu Port, entered the sea via the Yangtze River, and the first destination was Ryukyu. After completing the trade and replenishing fresh water and other supplies, it went south from Ryukyu, passed through the Penghu Islands, and then reached Luzon, Johor and other countries, then resupplied via South Vietnam, and then returned to Yingtianfu.

In February of the sixteenth year of Hongwu, it was the season when all things came back to life. Zhu Yuanzhang led civil and military officials to hold a grand launching ceremony for the fleet at the port.

Under the watchful eyes of the public, this largest fleet in history, carrying the Ming Dynasty's dream of becoming a maritime power, slowly left the port and headed for the distant ocean.

After returning to the palace, Zhu Yuanzhang continued to write letters to Li Han, detailing that the Ming Dynasty had officially opened up maritime trade. In addition, he also wrote about the possibility of using mobile phones as enemy reconnaissance equipment.

Of course, he also had the idea of ​​keeping a mobile phone for his own use. After all, it was fun to take photos and videos there.

Of course, even if he didn't say it, I believe Li Han could understand this little thought.

Soon, Li Han wrote back, wishing Daming a smooth maiden voyage and also sending thirty mobile phones.

One of them was specially prepared for Zhu Yuanzhang. After receiving it, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled so hard that he couldn't close his mouth. He knew that the person who understood him best was Lao Li.

Just as he was fiddling with his phone, suddenly, he heard the feminine voice of the eunuch.

"Your Majesty, Jinyiwei Commander Mao Xiang requests to see you!"

"Xuan!"

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately gathered his thoughts. Mao Xiang would not come to him for no reason. He must have important news to report.

I put my phone away, but saw Mao Xiang hurriedly walk in, then saluted and said:

"Your Majesty, I have something important to report!"

"Commander Mao, you are in a hurry. It seems that this matter is not simple. Please tell me quickly."

"Your Majesty, I just received a tip from the Jinyiwei's special radio hand-held line. About 2,000 Japanese pirates rushed into Shaoxing Prefecture a day ago, burning, killing and looting along the way, causing countless casualties!"

"Assholes! How dare these damned Japanese pirates invade the territory of the Ming Dynasty!"

Upon hearing about the invasion of Japanese pirates, Zhu Yuanzhang flew into a rage, "What is the Hangzhou Right Guard Commander doing? How can they allow the Japanese pirates to do whatever they want?"

Mao Xiang said, "This is what makes me feel strange. After the Japanese pirates entered Shaoxing Prefecture, Shaoxing Prefecture immediately contacted the Hangzhou Right Guard Command via radio, and the Hangzhou Guard also sent troops to suppress the bandits immediately. But when the guards arrived in Shaoxing, the Japanese pirates had already retreated, leaving the Hangzhou Guard empty-handed!"

"Is this true?" Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned. After pondering for a moment, a heart-pounding cold light suddenly flashed in his eyes.

"There is a traitor among the local officials!"

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(End of this chapter)