The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Yun Ji stood up and saluted, clearing his throat: "I have a different opinion."

Zheng Tuo glanced at Yun Ji and said, "Lord Yun, please tell me." His tone was obviously unfriendly. It was obvious that his subordinate had no tact and was actually going against him.

Yun Ji ignored the hint in the other party's tone and continued, "The risks of going to sea are not just pirates. Before I entered the government, my family was also a businessman. I have personally gone to sea and visited Southeast Asia. I encountered a storm at sea, and the ship was destroyed and people died. I was lucky enough to be rescued by the Fulangji merchant ship, and Lord Min and I survived. So the risks of going to Southeast Asia to pan for gold are not just pirates, but also storms, getting lost, diseases, and mining accidents. The risks are very high. If the benefits are too low, private ships will not take the risk of going to Southeast Asia to pan for gold."

Zheng Tuo snorted in dissatisfaction: "If the private ship won't go, then send the official ship."

Yun Ji asked in return: "May I ask, Lord, who should be sent to dig for gold? Recruit workers or let the Ming soldiers go? How can we ensure that the gold we dig out will not be embezzled and the workers will not abscond?"

Minister of War Weng Ji said: "It is already the limit to draw some troops from the navy to escort. It is impossible to draw personnel from the Ming soldiers to go to Southeast Asia to dig for gold."

Several other people also joined in the conversation, discussing whether to let the government ship or the private ship go to dig for gold, and the argument lasted for a while.

Min Xi waited until they were exhausted from arguing before interrupting, "In fact, I have a way to have the best of both worlds. So far, we have discovered four gold mines in the Nanyang continent, and we have marked them all. So far, only one has been mined, and the other three have not yet been mined. If the court does not want to share the profits with the people, it can send official ships to mine the remaining gold mines. Then we can compare the pros and cons of mining with private ships and official ships, and then decide whether to use official or private mining."

As soon as these words were spoken, several ministers thought that this method was feasible.

Pan Sheng concluded his speech: "This is related to the revenue of the court. The Ministry of Revenue should be responsible for this matter. Let's hand it over to Lord Zheng."

Zheng Tuo looked at his subordinates and said, "Master Yun, you are familiar with Nanyang, so I'll leave this matter to you."

Yun Ji, who had little influence, had no choice but to agree: "I obey your command! But I will need the assistance of my colleagues from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War."

"This is easy. You just go and prepare and get all the details done," said Pan Sheng.

The meeting ended here, and Min Xi and Yun Ji left Wenyuan Pavilion.

After leaving the palace, Min Xicai said, "In fact, I think it's a good idea to encourage private ships to explore. The court doesn't have to bear the risk, and private ships are more motivated than official ships, and it's easier to develop the South Sea continent."

"That's a few gold mines. The elders will definitely not be willing to hand over such a large fortune to merchants. I need my ninth brother's help in this matter."

"Don't worry, I will give you some advice." After many twists and turns, the decision to develop Nanyang finally fell into Yun Ji's hands. Min Xi naturally would not stand idly by.

"We can't use Ming soldiers to mine gold, so we can only recruit gold diggers. I'm afraid I have to go south again." Yun Ji said.

“You have to go to the south. Northerners are not good at sailing, and few can take a boat. There is no environment for making a fortune by going to sea, so going to Southeast Asia to seek gold is not very attractive to them. You still have to go to Fujian and Guangdong. You can also try the Jiangnan area.” Min Jiu was from Jiangnan. He heard that being a sailor could make a lot of money, so he went there. Then his fate changed drastically.

Yun Ji nodded: "I will draw up a detailed plan first, and then ask the Yunxiang branch in the south to help recruit gold diggers."

"Make a plan and show it to me."

"it is good."

The carriage took Min Xi to the Censorate first, and then Yun Ji returned to the Ministry of Revenue.

Min Xi entered the Censorate and told his roommates about what happened in the court this morning. After hearing this, several colleagues started to discuss it. Everyone seemed not surprised by this kind of thing, and there were a lot of gossips from all sides. Min Xi then realized that Dai Liang was just a small pawn used by the conservative party to attack the reformists.

Min Xi thought that the Censorate was against the reformists, but at the next court meeting, he heard the censors attacking the conservatives in sharp and merciless words.

Min Xi finally understood that no matter which faction they belonged to, they were all targets of attack by the Censorate. Therefore, the Censor had been the enemy of all officials since ancient times.