Chapter 1432 Find Out the Situation of the Japanese Fleet in Advance!

"How many of Ningbo's foreign ships are foreigners and Japanese, and how many are coastal gentry and powerful people?"

Hearing the question from the governor, Shi Wende trembled all over, terrified beyond words. As a member of the maritime merchants, he actually knew the answer to this question. That is, "seven out of ten Japanese ships are fake Ming ships" and "nine out of ten sea ships use uncheckable goods"!

Behind the profit sharing of Ningbo Port's maritime trade, 30% belongs to the eunuchs in charge of the Shibosi, 40% belongs to the gentry and prominent families who are sitting on the ground, 20% belongs to the sea owners who transport goods, and 10% belongs to the Japanese merchants who provide the goods, and not a single cent is given to the court!

This is an extremely large network of interests, which continuously flows into the hinterland of Jiangnan in the Ming Dynasty, with a large amount of luxury goods and silver money flowing into it. The wealth of coastal gentry has expanded dramatically, and the annexation of land is also increasing day by day. If a governor from Jiangnan is born, he will naturally be familiar with the private trade situation along the coast, and he will not really do anything cruel.

The maritime trade in the three coastal provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong was participated in by all the gentry families along the coast, but there were more or less problems. No family was really clean, and no one would turn the knife on themselves!

But now, this governor from Shanxi, who was transferred from Shaanxi to Zhejiang, really had nothing to do with the huge coastal maritime trade interests!

If he really wanted to represent the court, rectify the Zhejiang officialdom, tighten the maritime ban, and start to settle the "general illegal maritime trade". Then such a northern Jinshi who had prepared for the northern barbarians was really a sharp guillotine in the hands of a saint!

Such a court knife was swung down, not to mention whether those "sitting tigers" could be really killed, at least the snakes and rats that showed up would inevitably be separated from their heads. And his Shi family had registered with the Fantai, and they were all "quite famous", so could they still be spared? An ordinary title of a Juren could not protect such a big scene...

This is the sadness of the Ming Dynasty's maritime merchants. Even if they could gather hundreds or thousands of people and travel across Japan in the South Sea, they would still be at the bottom of the Ming Dynasty's "food chain". Unless the maritime trade continues to expand and the power of the maritime merchants continues to expand until they can forcibly break free from this "food chain"... But by that time, the eyes of the court will probably be more than just a guillotine and a few hundred deaths! …

"Sir! Sir!..."

Shi Wende could no longer sit still, and knelt down in front of the governor Wang Zhe with a "thump". He was trembling with fear and sweat, and tried to defend himself.

"Master Fantai!... Although maritime trade is indeed... illegal in many ways... after all... it has always relied on the foreign trade allowed by the court... and never dared to openly raise the flag of rebellion..."

"And these foreign trades have indeed given many landless people in Zhejiang Province a way to support their families!..."

"The four great families in Ningbo in this dynasty... the Lu family of Xihu, the Zhang family of Chahu, the Tu family of Jiangbei, and the Yang family of Jingchuan... are all families of Jinshi! In the past twenty years, the thousands of acres of farmland they have protected have driven away Thousands of common people were driven into the city..."

"If there were no foreign trade to hire people, then these thousands of common people without a livelihood... would have to become refugees and die of hunger and cold! ... I hope the governor will raise his hand, leave a gap for sea trade, and let the common people have a way out! ..."

"Hmm? The Lu family of Xihu, the Zhang family of Chahu, the Tu family of Jiangbei, the Yang family of Jingchuan... the common people without land, became refugees who caused chaos? ..."

Hearing this, the governor Wang Zhe stroked his beard and did not speak for a long time. The literati and officials kept talking about "agriculture as the basis", but it was difficult to answer when it came to land annexation. According to Zhu Xi's teachings, the answer is undoubtedly to vigorously suppress annexation, punish the powerful, and ensure the arable land for the common people to survive!

But in reality, the real land occupiers in the Ming Dynasty have never been the powerful, but the gentry families with achievements, who are the literati and officials themselves. Under this reality, it is really difficult to check the land and cut the literati's own heads.

Even if Wang Zhe is a northerner with no interests involved, he can't make up his mind to take action against the "Lu Zhang Tu Yang" and other prominent families without the strong support of the court!

If the fundamental annexation problem is not solved and the land for cultivation is not provided, and the maritime trade is simply banned, the landless people are not given a way to live, and they are forced to become refugees... For Wang Zhe, the governor, the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages, and it is easy to cause a civil uprising.

And during the Hongzhi Restoration, he couldn't say such nonsense as "kill all the bandits" like the "degenerate" literati during the Chongzhen period more than a hundred years later.

"There are still tidal flats and hills in the east and west of Ningbo... If you try to reclaim them, you can also get some thin land... Alas!"

Governor Wang Zhe said halfway and sighed again. The country has been established for 150 years. In the hinterland of Jiangnan with a rich population, where are the uncultivated fields? Those tidal flats and hills cannot be developed at all, and rice and wheat are difficult to survive, and even the seeds cannot be harvested...

"Forget it, forget it! The court does not compete with the "people" for profit. I will stay in this position of Zhejiang governor for two or three years at most. There are some things that I turn a blind eye to and do not want to delve into..."

Governor Wang Zhe shook his head, and the murderous intent in his eyes disappeared, leaving only a helpless bitter smile.

The Ming Dynasty did not compete with the "civilian literati" for profit. It has been more than a hundred years. First, there has been no trade tariffs or maritime trade taxes, and second, there has been no control of copper and silver or minting of silver yuan currency. The bulk of the maritime trade profits have always flowed into the pockets of coastal gentry in a tacit and blind attitude of the bureaucratic system.

During these years, scholars and officials have written to the court to advocate reforms in the Maritime Customs Office. The court also realized the loss of commercial taxes from "foreign ships" and had endless internal debates. But in the developed civil service system of the Ming Dynasty, how difficult is it to make some reforms? As long as you want to really reform something and change the distribution of some interests, you will face huge political resistance!

And those court officials who blocked it openly or secretly were all selected from the imperial examination among tens of millions of people, and their political and cultural levels were full. They are closely connected to each other and have many reasons and ways to oppose. If there was no determination to burn the boats like Wang Anshi, or the great changes in the outside world like Tumubao, the Ming Dynasty would be like the turtle, snake and black tortoise in "Chu Ci", "always unchanged, immovable like a mountain"!

"Hu... It's rare to smile in this world, and chrysanthemums must be inserted into your hair to return... Today, I look at the test paper alone, and there are still many green mountains and green trees."

Governor Wang Zhe chanted two lines of poetry, and he was bored. He didn't want to waste any more words on Shi Wende who was kneeling on the ground. He stood up and put the "Collection of Li Wenxi" into the bookcase. Then, he stood in front of the desk with a cold expression, looking down at Shi Wende who was kneeling.

At this moment, the "teacher" who liked to teach others disappeared, leaving only a second-rank official of the Ming Dynasty, who controlled one of the thirteen provinces, looking down at a Juren merchant at the bottom of the officialdom!

"Shi Wende, I'm meeting you this time because I have something to tell you. It's about the overall situation in Zhejiang, so you have to listen carefully!..."

"According to the court's rules, in April next year, Japanese envoys will lead a large fleet to pay tribute. This kind of large tribute only happens once every ten years, and the scale is not small. The Japanese fleet that will appear at that time may have two or three hundred people. And I looked through the records, and the Japanese who appeared in each large tribute were some kind of "flag-carrying warriors" wearing swords, similar to the elite cavalry of the northern barbarians..."

"Every time the northern barbarians came to pay tribute, the north would send scouts to investigate and mobilize the guards along the way to "prepare for the barbarians" at all times. And before these Japanese envoys' fleets arrive, Zhejiang also needs to "prepare for the Japanese", just like "prepare for the barbarians"! "

"Jiangnan has been peaceful for too long, and the guards need to be properly rectified! I will deal with this severely later. And now, you Chong Shi Shi of Ming Dynasty had dealings with the Japanese and also engaged in the sea trade of Japanese goods... so he will be the scout for this "preparation for the Japanese"! …”

“Find out the situation of the Japanese fleet in advance! If there is any important news, you must report it to me immediately! When the Japanese ship arrives, you Shi will also serve as an interpreter and accompany the communication throughout the process! …”

“Next year's tribute of the Japanese fleet must be peaceful. If there is any trouble, the court will punish it, and I can only enforce the law of the Ming Dynasty and catch a group of "bandits" who collude with the Japanese! You must know that private trade with the Japanese is a crime that will cost you your head and exterminate your clan! …”

“Yes! Yes! Obey the will of the governor! …Student…I will definitely find out all the situation of the Japanese and never let the Japanese cause trouble! …”

Hearing the strict order of the governor, Shi Wende bent down deeply, touching the ground with his head, and the ground was wet with sweat. The governor Wang Zhe lowered his eyes and glanced at the trembling sea merchant. After several breaths, he spoke lightly.

"Do a good job! Sicheng, you came to see me, you don't need to tell me, I already know... I will hand over a post of governor to several coastal patrol offices and guards... As long as I am in Zhejiang, you, Shi Shi of Chongming, will not make any big mistakes!..."

"However, I am old and will not stay in Zhejiang for too long. As long as I finish this term safely, I will also submit a petition to the emperor and retire. You, Shi Shi, should make plans early and make decisions... Don't let anything happen after I retire!..."

"Come here! Serve tea!..."