bookrandom Chapter 1026: The Ming Dynasty is still not strong enough
Chapter 1026: The Ming Dynasty is still not strong enough
Chapter 1026: The Ming Dynasty is still not strong enough
"We have heard about this matter." Yang Shiqi was a little ashamed, but he still said with spirit. "Since Your Highness and Your Highness the Prince of Yan defeated the Timurid Empire, the West has shown signs of strengthening its maritime affairs."
"After defeating Timur?" This time it was Zhu Su who was surprised. "So early?"
Regarding the situation after defeating the Timurid Empire, Zhu Su only knew that under Zhu Di's deliberate management, the situation in Central Asia had become very different from that in his previous life.
First of all, there was Tokhtamysh, the Khan of the Golden Horde, who was Timur's former rival and had been "loving father and filial son" with him several times in history. After hearing that his father Timur was destroyed by the Ming Dynasty, this good son shamelessly regained the title of Timur's adopted son and claimed to be a revenger for Timur, as if his betrayal of Timur in the past and the long-term killing between the two countries had never happened.
The magical thing is that, relying on this banner, Toghtomir actually won over many of Timur's remaining troops and started looting the cities of Samarkand.
So the three legitimate descendants of Timur, the three puppet sultans affiliated with the Ming Dynasty, jointly asked the Ming Dynasty for help. Prince of Yan Zhu Di would not tolerate Toghtomixis, and the Yan cavalry swept westward. Zhu Di led his elite troops to penetrate into the rear hinterland of Toghtomixis and destroyed countless tribes.
Then the Shenji Camp slowly pressed forward and defeated Tuotuo Mishi's army, causing it to collapse.
Tokhtamysh had no choice but to flee westward with the remaining troops, and the Golden Horde fell apart. Zhu Di knew that the most important thing for the Ming Dynasty now was to digest the land that had been acquired, so he did not pursue them further. However, the collapse of the remaining troops of Tokhtamysh triggered a series of chain reactions. They fled to the territory of the Ottoman Empire and stirred up chaos in the Ottoman Empire.
The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire was Bayezid I, a famous general known as "Lightning". This general had made great military achievements in history, but it was a pity that he was born at the wrong time and met Timur, who was known as a genius of his time. In the end, he was captured alive by Timur and died in prison.
However, in the current timeline, Timur was killed by the brothers Zhu Su and Zhu Di before he could defeat Bayezid I. Therefore, this Sultan who was quite knowledgeable about military affairs was still alive and well in his own country.
The Ottoman Empire wanted to take advantage of the collapse of the Timurid Empire, so Bayezid I had secretly mobilized troops to deal with Tokhtamysh who suddenly rushed in. The two sides fought fiercely on the border of the Ottoman Empire, and in the end, "Lightning" Bayezid was more skilled, and his good son Tokhtamysh was defeated and exiled again.
This time, Toqtomish went directly into exile in the Mamluk Dynasty. Due to the excellent matching mechanism, the Mamluk Sultan Falegy and the Golden Horde Khan Toqtomish hit it off at first sight. Falegy then refused Bayezid's ultimatum to hand over Toqtomish.
"Lightning" Bayezid was furious. Seeing that the Ming Dynasty did not take any action, he directly declared war on the Mamluk Dynasty. The Syrian War broke out. The Mamluk cavalry and the Golden Horde cavalry coalition were defeated, and the famous city of Damascus was burned down.
The Ming Dynasty just watched the show from the sidelines and did not intervene in these fights.
This was the news Zhu Su knew, but he didn't know that at that time, European maritime power had already begun to move.
"Yes, since Timur was destroyed by the Ming Dynasty, the Ottoman Empire and the Mamluk Empire have been at war. The Black Sheep Kingdom and Georgia have also been caught in a melee, but they still cannot stop the Ottoman Empire. The expanding Ottoman Empire has completely controlled the land trade routes and is said to have killed many European merchants."
Zhu Su took a sip of tea. Did the Ottoman Empire massacre merchants? Well, it should be for religious reasons. The Ottoman Empire did not believe in Christianity, which was popular in Europe. At that time, the Ottoman Empire was in a decisive battle with the Byzantine Empire. It was the rise of the Timurid Empire that interrupted the pace of "Lightning" Bayezid to conquer the Byzantine Empire.
Because of the long-term hostility with the Christian Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire hated Christians more than Timur. In history, if Timur had not defeated the expanding Ottoman Empire, the entire Christian process in Europe would have been rewritten. Now that Timur is gone, the Ottoman beast can be said to have lost its bridle.
"So, many European countries have begun to vigorously develop maritime trade to connect with our Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Su said.
"According to the merchants, it is true." Yang Shiqi said. "But some people also say that the European countries are afraid of the threat from the Ottoman Empire and the Ming Dynasty, so they are looking for ways to strengthen their national strength... It is said that many countries that were originally hostile to each other have ceased fighting to accumulate national strength to deal with the threats from the Ming Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire in the future." Yang Shiqi said.
This is consistent with what Abigail said. If this is true, Europe is now somewhat like "winter is coming". However, this should only be an inducement. There must be many factors that made European countries start to develop maritime trade. At least Zhu Su believes that the envy of the wealth of "Fengmingzhou" must account for more than the fear of the threat of the Ming Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire.
"Since you have also noticed that the Western countries have increased their efforts to develop maritime trade, why haven't you noticed that our trade volume has changed?" Zhu Su said dissatisfiedly. "Maritime trade is profitable. Westerners come from afar to trade. Even if there is only a 10% increase, it means tens of thousands of silver coins will flow in... But now there is no change. There must be something strange. Why don't you notice it?"
"...I am ashamed." Yang Shiqi hesitated for a moment, and finally bowed his head to apologize.
"... That's all." Zhu Su waved his hand. People in this era still underestimated the changes in foreign situations. Although Yang Shiqi also detected some trends in the West, he did not connect them with the reality of the Ming Dynasty. Subconsciously, he still separated the West and the Ming Dynasty into two individuals. However, he did not know that the Ming Dynasty today was no longer the closed-door Ming Dynasty of the past. It was normal that the Ming Dynasty's maritime trade would be affected if there was any disturbance in the West.
"Nine out of ten maritime trade destinations in the West must be goods from our Ming Dynasty. But now the maritime trade volume of our Ming Dynasty has hardly changed. Something is wrong... I am worried that the pirate incident in Srivijaya was caused. Could it be that the pirates intercepted the Western merchant ships? Otherwise, why hasn't the maritime trade volume of our Ming Dynasty increased?" Zhu Su guessed.
"This... can't be possible?" Yang Shiqi said in disbelief. "Who has the power to intercept the ships of the Western countries? Moreover, Srivijaya is within the reach of the Ming Dynasty. Who has the ability to avoid the ships of the Ming Dynasty and rob merchant ships?"
"In fact, the court has never heard of the news that pirates are wreaking havoc in Srivijaya. How powerful must one be to keep the court silent and do such lawless things right under the nose of our Ming Dynasty..."
"In any case, this matter should be thoroughly investigated." Zhu Su said solemnly. "Maritime trade is very profitable. If someone blocks the trade route, I don't know how much ill-gotten gains will be accumulated over the years."
"If these treasures were used to build ships and recruit soldiers, we might become a maritime kingdom. This cannot be tolerated... Shiqi, you must come with me to the palace to see the emperor. Be sure to inform my father about this matter and ask him to make the decision!"
Although it was just a guess, Yang Shiqi also knew that this matter was serious, so he nodded solemnly. He packed up some data files and followed Zhu Su on the carriage to the imperial city to meet the emperor. Zhu Su handed over his badge, and the palace servants did not stop him. They quickly entered the palace to inform Old Zhu. Almost at the same time that Zhu Su and Yang Shiqi arrived at the door of Jinshen Hall, Old Zhu inside asked someone to let the two of them enter the hall.
"Hmm... Are you saying that pirates are appearing in Srivijaya again?" Old Zhu frowned deeply, staring at the direction of Srivijaya in Kunyu Wanguo Tu. His tiger eyes shone inexplicably, and he asked, "Why haven't we received any news from the navy?"
"Father, the presence of pirates is just my speculation based on the one-sided statement of a foreigner... But judging from the news from the Western countries, at least, it is certain that there is a problem with the maritime trade of our Ming Dynasty."
"In any case, this matter should never be left unchecked. We must send someone to investigate the matter. Otherwise, if someone blocks the waterway, the consequences will be disastrous."
"Well. The maritime trade quota has not changed, but we can't see any difference." Lao Zhu said.
"After all, Srivijaya is still too far away from our Ming Dynasty. Was it previously managed by the fleet of that kid from Jiujiang? But now Jiujiang is in Annan, and it is indeed out of reach for Srivijaya." Old Zhu said, turning his gaze to Annan again.
"If we want to control Srivijaya, we may have to add more navy. If we continue to add more navy, money will be spent like water. I'm afraid the officials in the court and your elder brother will be the first to disagree."
"It's not a good idea to start a war over something that is just hearsay."
"Well, let's send someone to the South Seas to ask if there are really pirates patrolling there."
"Yang Qing, you should investigate whether there is anyone in the Maritime Affairs Department who is breaking the law and embezzling maritime trade taxes for personal gain."
"We will ask the Royal Guards and the Taxation Commissioner to cooperate with you and conduct a thorough self-inspection. If there are any corrupt officials causing trouble, we will show no mercy and skin and stuff them with straw to serve as a warning to others."
"Yes." Yang Shiqi bowed and replied.
"Old Five." Old Zhu turned to Zhu Su and said, "You should go too, help the Honglu Temple, find a few foreign envoys, and investigate."
"If there really is a thief, there is no way it can be concealed."
"Someone must know. Once we know the details, we can make a plan."
"Yes." Zhu Su bowed in response. Old Zhu gave a few more instructions and then called a few officials. He passed down some targeted investigation orders and then let Zhu Su and Yang Shiqi leave first.
"Your Highness?" Seeing that Zhu Su still looked solemn, Yang Shiqi called Zhu Su with some caution.
"Hmm? Oh. I'm fine." After being called by him, Zhu Su came back to his senses and waved at him.
In fact, according to him, the interception of the sea trade route should be a very serious matter. Nowadays, the commercial tax of the Ming Dynasty has exceeded the agricultural tax, and the proportion of the sea trade tax in the commercial tax is almost one-third. And with the development of the ocean trade in the future, this proportion will become heavier.
Maritime trade might be blocked, and the Ming Dynasty should immediately take powerful measures to dredge the shipping routes, safeguard maritime rights, and deter the world... But it was not until he met Zhu Yuanzhang and heard his decision that Zhu Su realized that he had been thinking too simply.
The Ming Dynasty is different from those small Western countries. Even though the proportion of trade taxes is getting higher and higher, the essence of the Ming Dynasty is still an agricultural country. Only agriculture is the foundation for the long-term stability of the Ming Dynasty. The significance of agriculture is far more than just providing taxes.
Compared with agriculture, commerce has always been less important to the Ming Dynasty court. Even if the ratio of commercial taxes is increasing, its importance will never exceed that of agriculture... This also determines that while the court is trying every means to develop commerce, it cannot use all its strength and must strengthen the development of agriculture and the stability of the country.
The Ming navy did expand its influence to the vicinity of the Malacca Strait, but control over that place relied on island outposts and concessions built by merchants, as well as the South China Sea Fleet that only visited there from time to time. Srivijaya was still too far away from the Ming mainland, and even though there were no forces in the surrounding area that dared to oppose the Ming, the Ming's control over the place was not very strong.
It’s really too far away…The sky is high and the emperor is far away, that’s all.
Therefore, Zhu Di wanted to take Annan in history. After Zheng He's voyage to the West, Zhu Di had already seen the lucrative profits of the sea routes. In order to ensure the control of the sea routes by the Ming Dynasty and to further radiate the power of the Ming Dynasty to the South Seas, the far-sighted Ming Taizong Zhu Di spared no effort to take Annan. At this time, the power of the Ming Dynasty in Southeast Asia relied more on many tributary states and the Ming Dynasty's navy fleet. Many tributary states were insincerely on the Ming Dynasty, and the navy fleet had logistical problems and could not stay away from the border for a long time. The Ming Dynasty's control over Malacca and even the South Seas was indeed not strong enough.
"Father... probably wants to wait until we conquer Annan before making any plans." Zhu Su thought to himself, recalling Zhu's expression just now.
This is indeed a mature way to govern a country. By conquering Annan, Ming's power can naturally be projected throughout Southeast Asia without having to spend a huge amount of money to add a navy, which would be a waste of manpower and money.
Before that, it would be appropriate to find out the cause first and then take appropriate measures after taking Annan. But for some reason, Zhu Su instinctively connected the discovery of pirates in Srivijaya with Tie Xuan's report that "the natives of Fengmingzhou possessed iron weapons".
"What if a newly emerging maritime power has discovered a new route to Fengming Island and even begins to curb the development of Ming's maritime power? What should we do?"
"The Age of Discovery is a treasure trove. Whoever can get ahead of others will gain immense wealth... The Ming Dynasty finally got ahead of the Western countries. Is it going to be tripped up by others and caught up by them?"
Zhu Su felt a sense of urgency in his heart.
(End of this chapter)