Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Chapter 478: What does it have to do with you if I destroy you? The ocean was blue, and a few unknown seabirds were croaking and circling and playing over hundreds of warships.

Further away is a mysterious ocean that seems to have no boundaries.

The twelve-year-old Crown Prince Zhu Cilang saw the ocean for the first time. He stared at it blankly for a long time, looking at the ocean for a while, and then looking at the warships that seemed so huge to him.

“There are experienced sailors here who know how to judge by the weather whether there is a possibility of encountering strong winds and waves.

They use nautical charts and rich sailing experience to avoid reefs in the sea.

With their escort, more merchant ships could carry cargo out and then come back loaded with gold and silver.

Your father always says that you are wasting money. He seems to understand the current situation, but in fact he still holds outdated concepts.

I always think that the revival of the Ming Dynasty is to cultivate the land well, and that as long as more food is grown, the Ming Dynasty will be revived, haha."

While Zhang Shikang was fantasizing about the future, he talked about his brother Chongzhen, and he did not hide his contempt for Emperor Chongzhen in his words.

If it weren't for Zhang Shikang's strong intervention, even if the land could be redistributed, it would definitely not be as thorough as it is now.

The Ming Dynasty would not have formed a navy again, there would be no new and larger naval ports, there would be no opportunity for craftsmen to come to the fore, and there would be no time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly canal digging campaign.

If the above projects are to be completed with guaranteed quality and quantity, it would cost at least hundreds of millions of taels of silver. Even in the entire 270-year history of the Ming Dynasty, this is an absolute huge sum.

But no matter what, Zhang Shikang openly despised the current emperor. If other court officials were here, they would have cursed Zhang Shikang for being unfilial and unkind to his emperor.

But Zhu Cilang and his sister already knew that their master was the one most trusted by their father.

Even though Zhang Shikang's words were not malicious, Princess Kunyi still spoke angrily for her father:

"Master Zhang, my father is the emperor, you are not allowed to say that about him!

If we grow more food, the people won't have to go hungry, and that's not considered a revival, right?"

Zhu Cilang actually had the same question. When he saw his sister asking it, he tilted his head and looked at Zhang Shikang.

"If one day people no longer have to go hungry, compared with the past, it can certainly be considered a revival," Zhang Shikang said after thinking for a while.

"Then why do you say that about my father? My father is so nice!

He often said to Kunyi, you are the great hero who saved the Ming Dynasty, Kunyi likes great heroes the most!

Kunyi doesn't like you talking about the father like this."

Normally, when Princess Kunyi followed Zhang Shikang on patrols, she was almost like a little follower, and would not talk unless she could. This was especially true after the incident when Zhang Shikang forcibly hugged her.

For some reason, the little Princess Kunyi would blush and even stutter when she saw Zhang Shikang.

But this time she really couldn't stand it. The hero in her mind slandered her beloved father.

"You little girl, you know nothing. You know, if I don't say it, there are some things that no one will tell your father.

Besides, how can it be so easy to ensure that all the people have enough food to eat? "

Zhang Shikang remembers that until the 21st century, the country was still fighting a tough battle to lift people out of poverty in some remote areas.

Not to mention the current backward productivity, the so-called prosperous times merely mean that people do not starve to death.

The common people mentioned here are most likely those living under the emperor’s feet, and there is even more flattery and deliberate concealment by court officials.

Who would count the people in remote areas? But they are indeed the people of Ming Dynasty!

"I...how am I young? I'm already eleven years old!" Princess Kunyi puffed out her chest and said dissatisfiedly.

Princess Kunyi frowned as soon as she heard the first sentence. It was obvious that her attention was all on the first sentence.

However, Zhang Shikang was too lazy to pay attention to Princess Kunyi and looked at the sea again.

This made Princess Kunyi very angry. She was about to continue arguing, but Zhu Cilang said:

"Master Zhang, do you think that even if all the people of our Ming Dynasty farmed, they would not be able to have enough food to eat?

Then, through sea trade, we can earn more silver to make up for the food shortage?"

Zhang Shikang shook his head when he heard this.

"It's not just that."

After saying this, Zhang Shikang's expression was somewhat complicated, with anger and compassion.

“If the Ming Dynasty only cared about ensuring that the common people had enough food to eat, then the Ming Dynasty’s monarch could be considered a sage monarch, and the Ming Dynasty could be considered a prosperous era.

But let me ask you, what if one day, a group of robbers suddenly came from this ocean?

They have strong ships, powerful guns, and strong soldiers and horses.

They wanted to take away the food grown by the people and even abduct them to their own countries as slaves.

what would you do? "

Zhang Shikang once read a book which contained a sentence that was very thought-provoking.

What does destroying you have to do with you?

You grow crops and devote all your attention to them. You ensure that the people have enough food to eat. You are indeed a qualified emperor.

But the truly strong ones will not reason with you. Their fists are the truth.

They plunder you and don't care whether you are popular among the people or a good monarch. They only know that they need silver, markets, and everything they need.

From the Opium War to the Second Opium War, from the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 to the Eight-Nation Alliance's invasion of China.

Zhang Shikang never had any deep feelings about that series of humiliating treaties. He just felt that he had to recite so many boring treaties when he was in school.

But when he became the champion marquis, actually fought in the war, and truly witnessed how difficult people's lives were, that feeling of empathy became unforgettable.

As long as he is here, that will not be allowed to happen.

If you are poor, you can take care of yourself; if you are rich, you can help the world. No matter how much dregs Confucianism contains, it also has its essence.

Zhang Shikang's words were like a bolt from the blue, leaving Zhu Cilang stunned.

He originally admired his father and always took him as a role model.

My father's goal was to ensure that the people had enough food to eat, and so was his goal.

He studied Confucianism for this reason, and now he is following Master Zhang to broaden his horizons, in fact, it is also for this reason.

But now Master Zhang told him that there are tigers in this world.

A tiger will not reason with you. It doesn’t care whether you are a good person or not. If it is hungry, it will eat you.

Thus, the values that Zhu Cilang, who was only twelve years old, had just established were shattered in an instant.

After Zhang Shikang finished speaking, he paused for a long while before speaking in a somewhat dry voice:

“That’s why Master Zhang wanted to build the General Manufacturing Bureau and the military port, and Master Zhang also asked people to develop firearms.

And that fleet is all preparing for the enemy overseas."

"Young man, you are very smart." Zhang Shikang turned his head to look at Zhu Cilang and said with a smile.

Zhu Cilang felt a little embarrassed when he was praised, so he asked again:

“Master Zhang, you told me before that the purpose of building that porcelain workshop was to sell porcelain overseas through maritime trade.

I don't quite understand, does the overseas that Master Zhang mentioned include those bandits?"

"Yes, there are. They have already begun to plunder the areas surrounding the Ming Dynasty." Zhang Shikang thought for a while and said.

The Dutch base in Southeast Asia was in Batavia, which later became Java Island.

In addition to having a small base in Haojing, Guozi has also begun colonizing the western coast of India.

Most of the Spice Islands in the entire South Seas have begun to be invaded by Europeans.

This situation will intensify in the next two to three hundred years.

So Zhu Cilang began to frown again.

Then he boldly said to Zhang Shikang:

“Then…then Master Zhang, why should we still do business with them?

Can we just rob them?"

……