plumnovel Chapter 28 Anyone who dares to stop me from making money, I will make sure they don't get their
Chapter 28 Anyone who dares to stop me from making money, I will make sure they don't get their
After returning to the capital, Emperor Chongzhen had made ample mental preparations, but as soon as he proposed to pilot the policy of opening up the seas, he was overwhelmed by the surging opposition from the officials in the court.
Looking at the sanctimonious faces of the officials before him, who outwardly advised him not to compete with the people for profit and not to repeat the mistakes of the Jiajing and Wanli emperors who were deeply mired in the scourge of Japanese pirates, while inwardly they were all seeking personal gain for the powerful and wealthy groups behind them.
Emperor Chongzhen was not immune to losing his temper and vented his anger by shouting in court.
Finally, the relationship between the emperor and his ministers soured again, and Chongzhen once again suspended court sessions, leaving Yang Sichang and the cabinet ministers to preside over the administration of state affairs.
The officials in the capital were overjoyed, believing that they had once again prevented the emperor from making mistakes and causing chaos in the government, and had fulfilled their duty as remonstrating officials.
But Emperor Chongzhen, who was deep in the palace at this moment, was not as frustrated and irritable as they had imagined. Instead, he calmly issued an edict.
"Since all the officials say that the pilot program of opening the sea will bring no benefits and is likely to cause disaster, I will grant their wish. Starting today, the Beiyang waters will be blockaded, and the ports of Tianjin and Dengzhou and Laizhou will be closed to all ships. No sailing is permitted. Anyone who disobeys will be executed without exception."
While seated in the warm pavilion, Emperor Chongzhen announced his decision to the officials of the capital through Yang Sichang.
Officials in Tianjin and Dengzhou and Laizhou soon followed Emperor Chongzhen's orders with the "assistance" of the Imperial Guards who suddenly appeared at their residences.
The naval commanders of the two regions, who had initially complained and thought the court's move was absurd and would increase their inspection burden, also became loyal and hardworking under the lure of boxes of cash.
As for the attitudes and interests of local officials, gentry, and princes?
What does that matter compared to one's own life and a pile of hard-earned money!
Furthermore, this was an imperial decree personally issued by the emperor ordering the closure of the seas and oceans. Who would dare disobey? Do you really think the Embroidered Uniform Guard wouldn't dare to execute officials first and report later?
The imperial navy, which now controlled the Beiyang Fleet, quickly mobilized and cooperated to blockade several important seaports and trade routes in the north.
There are always some fearless individuals who still use small private ports to stock up on goods for sea voyages, but without exception, these ships are intercepted and seized by the patrolling navy that controls the Beiyang waters.
At first, seizing one or two smuggling ships didn't cause much of a stir, but as the number of smuggling ships seized by the imperial navy increased, officials, gentry, and merchants in the entire northern region who were involved in maritime trade became restless.
Unlike the noble and powerful families of Jiangnan, they could not cooperate with Zheng Zhilong to smuggle goods and make a fortune along overseas routes.
The smuggling routes that these officials, gentry, and local tyrants in the north relied on involved shipping goods from several major ports in the north and taking the familiar and safe Northern Sea Route to Japan for trade.
With the northern shipping routes blocked and major northern seaports severed, the central government, which already earned little from maritime trade, naturally suffered no loss.
But these parasites who had previously made a fortune from maritime smuggling couldn't bear the pain of their money slipping through their fingers.
The officials in the capital who had previously represented their local interests and vehemently opposed Emperor Chongzhen's pilot program of opening up the sea were also dumbfounded.
Because their financial backers were furious, they accused them of angering the emperor and causing trouble for no reason. Now that their maritime trade route had been cut off, each family had suffered heavy losses!
The most urgent task is to humbly persuade the emperor to lift the blockade on the sea and restore the maritime trade routes for the people.
The logic is simple, but the officials in the capital who had just resisted the emperor and thought they had won are finding it difficult to admit their mistakes. Wouldn't that mean they were compromising with the imperial power?
But the northern gentry and relatives, who were already in a desperate situation, didn't care about anything else. They just kept urging the officials in the capital to admit their mistakes and get the emperor to lift the port blockade.
However, Emperor Chongzhen, who had previously been resisted and hampered by his ministers, was not so easy to talk to.
He still refused to attend court or show his face, leaving the anxious officials with no opportunity to back down.
Yang Sichang was also extremely cunning, outwardly appearing as if he dared not offend the emperor, and refusing to speak up to anyone who advised him to plead with the emperor on his behalf.
After enduring this for several more days, the officials in the capital could no longer hold back and bowed their heads in apology, using the clumsy excuse that coastal residents still needed to go out to sea to fish to appease Emperor Chongzhen.
Emperor Chongzhen was thoroughly annoyed by them, seeing that even when they bowed their heads, they still talked about the people's livelihood and always pretended to be concerned about the country and its people.
He still did not attend court, but instead had Yang Sichang raise the new policy proposal that the court would pilot the opening of the sea to several ports in the north one morning during the routine court session.
The officials understood perfectly well that this was the "peace negotiation" condition given by Emperor Chongzhen.
They had previously opposed opening the sea to the sea, citing the old system and the greater good of the people, and urged Emperor Chongzhen not to compete with the people for profit and to guard against Japanese pirates.
As a result, Emperor Chongzhen retaliated by using the pretext to ban maritime trade, effectively cutting off their supply lines and ultimately forcing them to admit their mistake and comply.
They certainly couldn't swallow this insult. After all, in the past, they were the ones who restrained and pressured the emperor, making him irritable and frustrated. When had they ever collectively submitted to the emperor?
But now the situation is pressing. They want to stand firm, but their financial backers are getting restless because their interests are being continuously damaged.
Now that things have come to this, they can only swallow their pride and reluctantly agree with the emperor's decision to pilot the opening of the sea.
Emperor Chongzhen, who had forced his ministers to back down, did not hold a grand celebration in the palace. Instead, he quietly left the capital and moved into the Fengtai New Army Camp.
Under the guise of inspecting military affairs, he was actually worried about those scoundrels' audacious retaliation.
Cleansing the entire palace was no easy task, given the large number of people involved, and Emperor Chongzhen was now focused on seizing power and expanding his influence.
Therefore, rather than putting one's safety in an uncertain environment, it is better to avoid the enemy's sharp edge, develop in a low-key manner, remotely control the government from within the army, and never give any villains an opportunity to take advantage.
Tianjin Port and Penglai Port in Dengzhou Prefecture were selected by Emperor Chongzhen as the two major seaports in the northern region for this pilot opening of the sea route.
The naval systems in these two regions needed to be reformed, and the ports needed to be expanded. But the most important thing was to establish a "Royal Caravan" to build high-level trade channels with Japan.
Intervening in maritime affairs and collecting taxes would certainly be more profitable, but the current imperial court cannot do that.
Putting aside everything else, the Zheng family's control over the Ming Dynasty's coastline alone was enough to make the court back down.
However, it is still feasible to take a step back and have the emperor himself fund the formation of merchant fleets, thereby profiting from maritime trade.
After all, everyone is doing their own thing, and Zheng Zhilong is still the local tyrant of the East China Sea and the South China Sea. They can keep to themselves and live in peace.
However, Chongzhen also used this opportunity of court infighting to silently send a warning to the outside world:
I won't disturb your money-making, but if anyone tries to stop me from making money, I'll make sure they don't get to make money!