Chapter 1434: Thousands of Sails Fall, the Sunset in Ningbo

Chapter 1434: Thousands of sails have fallen, the sunset in Ningbo~

"Master Fandai...student...student understands!..."

"Well... finish the tea."

The sun is setting in the west, the twilight is floating with golden light, and the day is coming to an end. The plum garden is illuminated by sunset and surrounded by rockery ponds. It is truly beautiful. However, Shi Wende did not have the mood or courage to appreciate the beautiful scenery. He just lowered his head and sipped the tea in small sips in front of the chief envoy Wang Zhe, neither daring to drink too quickly and out of decorum, nor daring to drink too slowly to procrastinate. The study fell silent for a moment, and you could almost hear a pin drop.

"Dongfan Kingdom, tribute from the Dongfan barbarians...Zhejiang Ship Bureau, please mention the mid-level officials of the Ship Bureau...Hmm...let me think about it..."

"At present, the court is full of people, and the saints are kind and accept remonstrances. Come to think of it, the middle officials don't dare to act recklessly and open tribute and sea trade randomly! If I find out, a memorial is posted, and gentlemen and benevolent people work together, these middle officials will definitely be allowed to... Lose some more white-faced and beardless treacherous heads!…”

The chief envoy Wang Zhe drank tea slowly, his expression flashing with thought. Since the founding of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, most of the tributes from vassal states have been facilitated by the officials in the inner court. Because this kind of "tribute" has always been the great achievement that middle-ranking officials most desire. The lieutenants only need to be responsible to the emperor. If the emperor is "overjoyed" when he sees all the nations coming to court, the lieutenants will naturally receive rewards and awards of power and status!

However, this kind of "paying tribute to open frontiers" is not necessarily a "good political achievement" of scholar-bureaucrats in traditional understanding, especially the acceptance of overseas tribute that is "unprofitable and has nothing to do with the country." The entire group of Ming literati and bureaucrats, and the entire Ming bureaucracy, had their own set of merit evaluation standards that were in line with the "Way of the Sages," "Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism," "farming and peace of mind," and "the interests of the scholar-bureaucrats."

If the two "heroes" "Taizong" and "Xuanzong" hadn't emerged, established powerful middle-ranking officials and military attachés, and successfully suppressed the opposition of the entire scholar-bureaucrat group... then Zheng He's "immortal achievements" in his seven voyages to the West would not have been achieved. It is completely impossible to achieve!

Now, under the imperial examination selection of the three dynasties of "Yingzong", "Xianzong" and "Jinshang", "famous ministers and wise men" are constantly emerging from the group of Ming Dynasty literati, expanding the power and influence of civil servants. The ability and level of these civil servants among millions of people, as well as the cobwebs of connections, have made the group of scholar-bureaucrats in the Ming Dynasty stronger and stronger! It was not until the Hongzhi period in "this day" that the "civilian officials" finally completely suppressed the "zhongguan" and "military officials" and stood at the top of power!

It can be said that the civil service system of the Ming Dynasty, the most complex and accumulated bureaucracy in the world during this era, has formed the will of the group. Through "academic inheritance and scientific examination", and by selecting a group of "jinshi" who are the most intelligent and top-notch among tens of millions of people and have the same ideology, the civil service system finally, with the help of time, completed control of the entire Ming Dynasty!

If you select one of these elite candidates at random, five hundred years later, he will still be able to become a big shot in the system step by step. On the other hand, if someone catches a time-traveler from five hundred years later and throws him into the Ming Dynasty scholars at this time, under such a mature Ming Dynasty bureaucracy, he is afraid that he will be like a dust!

Even if Shulot is left here, in the home of a distinguished prime minister, he may not be able to succeed. Even if you get ahead, it is almost impossible to reform the Ming Dynasty. Thinking about it will make you feel despair...

Even the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, if he was not capable enough, did not have enough skills and prestige to overwhelm the scholar-bureaucrat class. Then no matter how many officials he kills, it will be useless and he can't do anything. Even more extreme, like the two emperors who wanted to reform, they "drown for a long time and died of fear after falling into the water" against the background of strong opposition from the entire bureaucracy. The truth behind this is difficult to explore, and the conspiracy theory part needn’t be extended. But the final result was that all taxation reforms came to an end due to the emperor's changes...

"My emperor must be cautious when accepting tribute from overseas. This kind of luck is something that a gentleman will not take... What's more, when overseas vassals come to court, it is too easy to cause trouble in this coastal area. Once trouble occurs, I will become the target of thousands of people! ...This is not the end of the matter, but every time a vassal comes to court, there is a risk! ...In the end, the officials who were initially accepted and recommended will be held accountable..."

The chief envoy Wang Zhe lowered his eyelids, and within a moment, he clearly weighed the pros and cons. Once you accept tribute, you will dig a big hole for yourself and even harm future generations. Then it couldn’t be clearer how to choose.

"Lord Fantai..."

After a while, Shi Wende finally finished drinking the tea and bowed again. The chief envoy, Wang Zhe, sat on a chair and received the homage motionlessly, still expressionless. Obviously, this was an "unpleasant" statement towards the "Eastern Tribute" that Shi Wende had previously "asked for advice" on.

"Go down! We need to keep the affairs of the Japanese in mind at all times. Let the Yi people in Dongfan go home and don't cause any trouble!"

"Yes! Lord Fantai!..."

"Um…"

Shi Wende bowed and saluted, maintaining a respectful posture, and walked backward out of the Plum Garden. Then, under the guidance of the Qin steward, he left the mansion through the back door. Before leaving again, he found a quiet place with no one around, exchanged hands with the housekeeper, and handed him another heavy envelope.

The formalities for these visits are all must-have. You are not asking others to do something for you, but you are asking others to be noble and not to ruin your own affairs. Calculated in this way, one submission of greetings, one interview, and just running the whole house cost nearly a hundred taels of silver. As for a small family of five, the annual consumption of food and clothing is only about ten taels.

Not to mention the Song Dynasty "Huizhou She Inkstone" worth hundreds of taels as a gift to the feudal lord. This is because Wang Zhe has a "pure reputation", restrains everyone in the house, and does not respect luxury, so he only accepted an "elegant cultural relic"...

"Shi Xiaolian, my master has ordered that if there is any important news about the Japanese... take this post and send someone directly to the house to report it."

Before leaving, the butler handed over a "name card" with a polite smile. This post is all red, which represents dignity. It simply says "Zhejiang Chief Envoy, Wang Wenming, May 15th, the seventh year of Hongzhi", and then ticks a "mark" that is difficult to imitate. Among them, "civilization" is Wang Zhe's word, and "mark" is the "anti-counterfeiting label" drawn by the chief envoy himself.

But this "ordinary" post is a "talisman" for Shi Wende! As long as this post is there, it means you have an extra life! Even if he and his boat were caught in the water prison of the Coastal Inspection Department... handing over this post of "Second Rank Chief Envoy", the inspectors in the Inspection Department and the thousands of households in the health station would have to Nodding and bowing, send the person out well!

"Yes...yes! The students are so frightened that they must try their best to do things for the feudal government!..."

Shi Wende lowered his head again and saluted the butler. The butler returned the favor and left with a smile. It was only at this moment that Shi Wende, who was standing at the back door of the mansion, took a long breath. He was exhausted, holding on to the high white wall, barely able to stand. But even so, he still clung to that "name card" as if he was clinging to the lives of the Shi family!

Even when he first came of age at the age of sixteen, he took a boat to the Japanese country with his father and ancestors for the first time, and faced hundreds of Japanese warriors... He was not as accustomed to the turmoil as the thirty-year-old. This trip to "visit the feudal lord", Make him even more nervous, frightened and frightened!

This is the power and coercion of the Ming dynasty. There is no light or shadow of swords, but it is more cruel and bloody and cold and ruthless than swords! Just like this red "name card", if given to Shi Wende, he can be exempted from the "Ming Dynasty's laws". And if it is handed over to the "Inspection Department", "Health Office", and "Yamen", just one sentence can be used to send out all three parties together, so that the Chongming Shi family will be stained with blood...

"Hey! Bodhisattva, Mazu! ... The benefits of sea trade, even though there are thousands of taels of silver and tens of thousands of copper coins, can support hundreds of sword-wielding warriors... But facing this 'post', it is just a paper window. It will break when you poke it..."

"My father tried every possible means to get me a meritorious career...but only this single-plank bridge of merit can protect my clan and my family! I, the Ming Dynasty, were inferior in everything, but in the end, there is only this one, the right path to upwards!..."

"If I don't have an official position, no matter how much wealth my Shi family saves, what's the use? It just attracts others to spy on me, and ultimately brings disaster! ... And this maritime trade, the layout of Dongfan Island, Maybe, it really should be cut off…right?”

Shi Wende remained silent. After a while, he finally regained his composure and looked at Ningbo Port in the dusk. The red clouds of Ningbo Port reflect the sea, and thousands of sails race across the sea. Shili is full of prosperity and beauty, and Luo Qi's costumes are countless. But the prosperity brought by this maritime trade has never been the maritime trade that brought prosperity!

This prosperity is beautiful and fragile, just like the colorful shells on the beach. As long as the Jinshi gentlemen stepped on it, they would be crushed to pieces. As for the tens of thousands of Zhejiang people who depend on the sea for their livelihood, they are not even as good as shells. They are just helpless gravel in the falling tide~~