The tribute convoy from Binhai City finally arrived in the capital.
There were a lot of people watching the excitement that day. It was originally the slack season for farming. Although this expedition was not a victory against the foreign tribes in the north, it was still an external victory and a large amount of loot was seized. Although most of the things were nothing to ordinary people. relationship, but the people are still willing to enjoy this sense of pride in being a sovereign state.
The civil servant who led the team back to Beijing was Lin Ting, a member of the Ministry of Rites.
Wu Xun was Yingcheng’s uncle Sun Jixian.
Lin Ting, who had only entered the DPRK for less than four years and had not made any meritorious military and political achievements, suddenly became a figure that attracted everyone's attention in both the government and the public.
As the tributes were delivered to the palace, Zhu Youtang personally met with Lin Ting and Sun Jixian, accompanied by Li Dongyang, the cabinet representative, Wang Qiong, the auditor representative, and Lin Lin, the six ministers representative. Han.
In addition, there are Wang Hua, Zhang Yuanzhen and others sent by the Hanlin Academy, as well as many officials from Honglu Temple, and officials from the Sixth Section.
Zhu Youtang did not hold a banquet in the palace.
He just accepted the list of tributes presented by Lin Ting on behalf of him in the Fengtian Hall. Later, Zhu Youtang promoted Lin Ting to an official rank, making Lin Ting the doctor of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and then asked the Secretary to The eunuch Yang Peng, the eunuch Bingbi, went to inspect and compare the tributes in person.
"Master Lin, congratulations."
Yang Peng accompanied Lin Ting and Sun Jixian out of Fengtian Hall.
At this time, Jin Yiwei was carrying things into the palace of the Ming Dynasty. These were to be sent to the inner palace for storage. Many heavy things would be scattered and sent to various parts of the capital, and some would even be left directly. It's in Binhai City, or it will be sent to Xishan in the next few days.
Because it contains not only silver, but also many industrial raw materials, which is what Zhang Zhou has always been thinking about.
Lin Ting is still looking back for his father, and he is also eager to get his father's approval.
But after all, Lin Han entered the palace as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. This time he will be surrounded by people when he leaves the palace. Although his son has achieved success, his official position is not enough to compete with his father. In parallel, his errands did not include accompanying officials out of the palace.
Sun Jixian hurriedly came over and said: "Eunuch Yang, this time we went to sea to fight, it can be said that it was full of dangers. The combat experience, especially the naval battle experience, and the humble position have been detailed in the memorial. Submit it."
Yang Peng said with a smile: "Uncle, you don't have to worry, your Majesty will see it sooner or later. Even if you achieve military success overseas, it will be different from the success in the north."
"This... I understand the humble position." Sun Jixian said hurriedly, "They are just a group of grass bandits, and they are not enough to threaten the Ming Dynasty. If our soldiers and horses had not taken the initiative to leave, I am afraid that those grass bandits would have given them a few It will take a hundred years to build a ship and reach the Ming Dynasty's maritime territory."
Yang Peng asked curiously: "So, they are all a group of savages who drink blood from raw materials? Then they... can still complete a naval battle with you? "
"This..." Sun Jixian didn't expect that Yang Peng was very difficult to fool..
Lin Ting said: "That's right. This time we arrived in that vast land. In the mountains and rivers there, we also found people who were different from the local savages. They were more like Westerners. We The naval battles also took place with them. After several battles, their manpower was very small, only hundreds or dozens of people at a time."
"Oh?" Yang Peng said, "You are. Are the Westerners also eyeing that area? Are they the Folangji people?" Lin Ting shook his head and said: "There is no direct contact with them. They will also use firecrackers and artillery. , and the power of their artillery is not small. In order to prevent some coastal ports from being taken away by them after we withdraw our troops, we have left some troops behind so that we will not have to take them back when we send troops next year. "< /p>
Yang Peng said: "What Mr. Lin said, it sounds really dangerous. The Ming Dynasty is really lucky to have you go to sea. I wonder if this time I go to sea, will I go to Nanyang?"
"Never." Lin Ting didn't understand why Yang Peng wanted to mention Nanyang.
Yang Peng said with a smile: "Actually, what the government and the public are most concerned about now is the money you brought back. Is the amount enough to count?"
"It's just too much. "Master," Lin Ting said, "In order to appease the morale of the army, some of the silver was left to reward the three armies. This matter was not reported in advance to ensure that the morale of the army was stable. I have to apologize to His Majesty for this matter."
Yang Peng waved his hand with a smile and said: "Soldiers sacrificed their lives for their lives. What kind of crime do you want to ask? Can I ask, how much silver can the least one of the soldiers who went to sea get?"
Lin Ting seemed to He didn't really want to answer this question, but Sun Jixian was more realistic and said: "One person is said to have two hundred taels of silver."
"Tsk, tsk." After hearing this, Yang Peng seemed to be very envious and said, "This There are thousands of people going to sea at one time, and each person has two hundred taels of silver, so it will cost at least two to three hundred thousand taels of silver, right?"
Lin Ting quickly explained: "Soldiers have no money to go overseas. Where silver was spent, the soldiers also experienced plagues and other events. Fortunately, they were well prepared and did not cause great losses. However, many soldiers would never be able to return to the Ming Dynasty if it were not for the reward of silver. I'm afraid something will happen."
Yang Peng said with a smile: "Why did Mr. Lin explain it to me? It's not necessary. I believe everyone can understand that he brought back tens of millions of silver. It doesn't matter if you give out rewards, but I would like to remind you that it is best to keep all accounts clear, and your majesty will not pursue it, just because of those officials...you should understand, right?"
"Understand, Understood." Sun Jixian was the first to agree.
......
......
After Yang Peng roughly counted the tributes sent to the palace, he went to Qianqing Palace to report to the emperor. .
When he arrived at the gate of Qianqing Palace, he was blocked by Wei Bin.
"Your Majesty is summoning Cai Guogong, you'd better wait first." Wei Bin means that no matter how great your face is, it's not as good as that of Cai Guogong.
Yang Peng said: "You really don't know until you look at it. One look at it... makes you dizzy."
"A lot of money?" Wei Bin asked.
"It's not just silver, but also all kinds of rare treasures. Just say that there are hundreds of thousands of taels of red gold. I can't imagine that I can harvest so much in just one trip to the sea. Next year Going to sea is not like..." Yang Peng said, feeling envious himself.
Wei Bin said: "Why don't you see Guo Ang, the envoy of Fusi Town in Beizhen?"
Yang Peng sighed: "It is said that he stayed there with more than a thousand people. We have soldiers and horses to guard the two ports, and there are many warships left. I heard that there are Westerners involved." Wei Bin asked curiously: "Westerners? That's Fo Langji. "Who are they?"
"Yes." Yang Peng said, "If Cai Guogong had not had the foresight to send ships there first, I am afraid that after a few years, they would have been plundered by the Westerners. I went early, and now the ground is full of treasures."
Wei Bin nodded and said: "The treasure mountain is so big, and it seems that whoever grabs it will get it."
……
……
Not long after, Yang Peng and Wei Bin were ordered to go inside to pay homage.
At this time, Zhu Youtang was sitting side by side with Zhang Zhou, Chen Kuan was standing beside him, and Zhang Yong was also standing there.
Yang Peng stepped forward, but before he could salute, he heard the emperor ask: "Have you roughly calculated everything? Is there any problem?"
Yang Peng said: "Reply Your Majesty, there are just a lot of things. In terms of numbers, some... are difficult to display in detail. Maybe some things were lost during transportation. I heard that every ship is full."
Zhu. Youtang smiled and said: "Bingkuan, there are so many things that we can't hold them. I have also seen their presentation, and I also said that we should send the fleet to sea again immediately, and we should send more people this time, otherwise we won't be able to bring anything back." ."
Zhang Yong said with a smile: "Thanks to Cai Guogong. If he hadn't been in the lead, he would have been able to escape."
"Bing Kuan. , what do you think?" Zhu Youtang asked.
Zhang Zhou said: "As far as I know, that place is vast. In just one gathering place, there are millions of overseas people. If it can be managed for a long time, they may become the sons of the Ming Dynasty." People."
"A few million people?" Zhu Youtang asked, "Are there really that many people?"
Yang Peng said hurriedly: "Yilin Langzhong and Yingcheng. What Bo and others said is that there are indeed many people, but they cannot be counted specifically. After all, they can only move along the coast this time and cannot go deep into the inland."
Zhu Youtang said. : "There are millions of people. How many people need to be sent to control them?"
Obviously, in Zhu Youtang's view, these uncivilized savages are too dangerous.
The Tatars only have a few hundred thousand people, and they have caused a lot of trouble in the northern frontier of the Ming Dynasty. If there is another group of savages with millions of people, it is best to keep a distance from them.
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, as I see it,, as long as there are artillery and muskets, those overseas people are not a concern. ”
Yang Peng also said hurriedly: “My servant also asked Ying Chengbo about the fighting situation, and then he knew that those savages had no fighting ability, and the weapons they used were not even iron weapons. Some were still using stones and copper. Even the armor of the Ming Dynasty soldiers could not be broken. "
"What? This is too..."
Zhu Youtang wanted to say, this is too child's play.
I thought they were sending troops to fight the Tatars, and I thought they were sending troops to fight with the Tatars. There was a battle on the battlefield, but it turned out to be a one-sided crushing?
Yang Peng said: "It is said that only Westerners have the strength to fight against the Ming Dynasty, but their weapons are far behind the Ming Dynasty soldiers, and the Westerners only have one weapon at a time. One or two ships can send no more than a hundred troops at most, but even such a Western team can run rampant in that place. "
Zhu Youtang said: "Bingkuan, it seems that it is not too difficult to completely conquer that place. "
Zhang Zhou said: "Returning to Your Majesty, I believe that plantations can be developed there and a large amount of grain can be transported back, as well as necessary minerals such as coal and iron. In addition, we should also plant grass, cotton and other materials there, and use the numerical advantage of manpower to carry out extensive planting and processing there..."
"It's just too far. Zhu Youtang said, "If we train them and they have iron tools or even better weapons in the future, will there be... backlash?" "
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "In my opinion, their weapons are unlikely to be qualitatively improved. Even if they want to have a certain combat capability, I am afraid it will take dozens or hundreds of years. In this way, Ming's military front will be more powerful, enough to suppress them. ”
“Very good, very good. ”
Zhu Youtang seems to be very satisfied with this.
Decades or hundreds of years later, even he will be gone, so why bother to think about it so much?
It is better to focus on the present and transport back a large amount of food and supplies, and even a large amount of silver that makes him excited just thinking about it. With this, the emperor no longer has to look at the faces of his courtiers.
You can spend the money however you want.
“Your Majesty, there is one more thing. Yang Peng immediately said, "As far as I know, the soldiers who went to sea this time were rewarded a lot. At least two hundred taels of very fine silver were rewarded. Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were spent on the rewards." "
Zhu Youtang nodded and said: "I brought back so much, so I should give more rewards. ”
Although he said this, his expression was still a bit unbearable.
Because Zhu Youtang is famous for being frugal. I heard that he had hundreds of thousands of taels of silver just like this. After sending it out, he would still feel a little distressed.
Zhang Yong said with a smile: "That's good, at least when we send people out to sea next year, they will definitely rush to go. With this amount of money, it will be easier to build ships... There are many big ships in Binhai City. In the future, we may be able to completely occupy that area. "
"Okay. "Zhu Youtang looked againAsked Zhang Zhou, "Bingkuan, how much silver do you think we can bring back next year?"
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "It should be no less than this year's number. And overseas silver mines have begun operations, and they are relatively large. We already have three silver mines, and we can add three or five more in the coming year. At that time, I will use the secrets to do calculations, hoping to find more silver mines."
Zhu Youtang heard this. , I felt no pain in an instant.
He said excitedly: "With Bingkuan here, I will try to get back 20 million taels of silver in the next year. Then I don't have to stick to spending the silver in the Ming Dynasty. I can even go to Western countries to buy it." A batch of supplies came back, even going to Nanyang..."
...
...
After Zhu Youtang had lunch with Zhang Zhou, Yang Peng was sent to escort Zhang Zhou out of the palace.
"Sir, the money this time is really quite a lot and of good quality." Yang Peng seemed to lack confidence in front of Zhang Zhou.
Because he had done something in front of the emperor before, he somewhat meant not to give Zhang Zhou face.
He even secretly arranged for Lin Ting, Sun Jixian and others to join forces.
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty should also have a reward for Eunuch Yang, right?"
"No... yes, it's a bit... but not much..."
Of course Yang Peng has a reward.
Everyone in the palace is happy recently. In addition to the salary and bonuses, the emperor will also send money to various families according to their proximity.
Because Yang Peng is currently considered favored, he can receive no less than two thousand taels of silver reward at a time, not counting the main and miscellaneous income.
Zhang Zhou sighed: "Overseas places are too far away. It takes two or three months for a ship to go there one way. It also has smooth winds and smooth currents. It is not easy to stabilize."
< p>"What do you mean..."Yang Peng suddenly felt a chill running down his spine.
From what you hear, you don’t mean to send me there as the leader and make me responsible for overseas affairs, right?
In a place where the sky is high and the emperor is far away, so what if you have more money?
Whoever wants to go can go, but I won’t go anyway.
Zhang Zhou said: "I plan to propose to His Majesty that we should set up a general manager and other posts there to be fully responsible for overseas affairs. But the candidate for the chief officer... alas! It is really difficult to find." Recently, there has been a serious shift in coding. , let us be more motivated and update faster. Please use your little hands to exit the reading mode. Thank you