Chapter 404 403 Wei Guangde's Ambition

"So, after Wala became strong, it needed more materials from the Ming Dynasty to support its development, but what about the court at that time?

It should be said that the court officials at that time had already realized Wala's intention to pay tribute to the court in large quantities, but they were helpless in the face of the rising Wala.

Because at that time, the Ming Dynasty court should no longer have the military strength of the Chengzu period, and could not launch a major war to weaken Wala's strength again, so they took the most prudent way, which was to reduce Wala's tribute.

On the one hand, they hoped to reduce the increasing tribute and restore it to the previous scale, and on the other hand, they also wanted to lower the price of tribute horses, so that more horses could be obtained while maintaining the original scale."

Outside the study of Prince Yu's Mansion, Yin Shizhan and Zhang Juzheng stood outside the window, listening to Wei Guangde pointing to the huge northern map and giving a lecture to Prince Yu Zhu Zaigui.

Wu Shan's memorial was sent to the palace and was approved by Emperor Jiajing the next day. Wei Guangde also became a lecturer in Prince Yu's Mansion, and Zhang Juzheng was with him.

After receiving the imperial edict, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng went to Prince Yu's mansion together, on the one hand to pay homage to Prince Yu, and on the other hand to discuss their work arrangements with Yin Shizhen.

Since they were lecturers, they naturally had to teach Prince Yu, but what classes they would teach needed to be discussed with Yin Shizhen.

In fact, Prince Yu's courses had been decided long ago. The main courses were books such as "Shangshu", "Daxue", "Zizhi Tongjian", "Ming Huidian", as well as arithmetic, astronomy and other knowledge.

Obviously, the courses in the area of ​​classics, history, and collections mainly fell on Yin Shizhen and Zhang Juzheng, and Wei Guangde was assigned relatively few courses, but according to the meaning of the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict and the meaning of Emperor Jiajing, Wei Guangde also had to teach Prince Yu knowledge related to the northern Mongols.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the northern nomadic peoples have always been regarded as the biggest hidden danger of the empire, and they have always been on guard against their comeback. As the crown prince, Emperor Jiajing naturally hopes that Prince Yu Zhu Zaigui has a deeper understanding of this to help him make the right decision, rather than simply repeating what others say. If everyone says that the Tartars threaten the Han people in the Central Plains, then that is a threat.

For this reason, Wei Guangde searched for documents related to the Ming Dynasty and the northern Mongols in the Hanlin Academy's collection and the documents of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War as materials for teaching Prince Yu.

Although Yin Shizan and Zhang Juzheng have more courses, most of them are rote. The key point is that they need to carefully explain the content of the classics to Prince Yu, while Wei Guangde's course requires him to find materials by himself, so in fact he has to do more work than Yin and Zhang.

Prince Yu has completed basic education under Gao Gong's teaching, so now Yin Shizan and Zhang Juzheng have less pressure to teach, and what Wei Guangde teaches has never appeared before, which makes Prince Yu feel a little novel.

In fact, in private, Prince Yu also discussed some current affairs with Gao Gong and others, especially the dangers from the north and the harassment of Japanese pirates along the coast, but none of them were as rigorous as Wei Guangde's teaching.

As for Wei Guangde, after confirming the intention of Emperor Jiajing, he naturally paid great attention to it.

Coming from the future, he naturally knew what kind of era he was in now.

He didn't know it when he was in Pengze, but after arriving in the capital, he began to come into contact with more things, especially the news sent back by the Shibosi. Wei Guangde has realized that the period of the Ming Dynasty is now the "Age of Exploration".

The Age of Exploration is also known as the Great Geographical Discovery.

It was opened up by Europeans to cross the Atlantic to America, bypass the southern tip of Africa to India, and the success of the first circumnavigation, which is one of the most important history in the process of human civilization.

Wei Guangde only knew about this period of history, but not in detail, but he could make a judgment from the news sent back by the Shibosi, that is, it is now at the end of the Age of Exploration.

In the past, when Wei Guangde heard and saw the Portuguese cannon and matchlock gun, he thought that the Europeans came from Africa and sailed along the coastline to Asia, but the Maritime Customs reported that the barbarian ships had come from the east for thousands of miles.

In the eyes of other officials of the Ming Dynasty, these news naturally came from Japan and other places, but Wei Guangde speculated that they might have occupied the American continent, and the barbarian ships might be loaded with gold and silver looted from America and ran to the vicinity of the Ming Dynasty to purchase Ming Dynasty materials.

Because it is very simple, if the gold and silver looted from America are to be transported back to Europe, they should choose to take the Atlantic route, and it is unlikely to go to the Ming Dynasty instead of going far away.

The Age of Discovery, this word represents the New World and wealth. In addition to the vast land itself, the New World also has rich products and huge gold and silver on these lands.

Don't blame Wei Guangde for discovering this fact at this time, it's not because of the game.

Wei Guangde remembered that there were not many courses on the Age of Discovery in domestic books, and the content was very thin. The limited knowledge taught was only a rough outline. What really made him remember this era was the game.

However, Wei Guangde still had little to use from the game, because everyone who had played it knew that the main map area of ​​the Age of Discovery game was actually centered in the Mediterranean Sea, so Wei Guangde really didn't realize this problem at first.

However, for him now, even if he knew the impact of the current period on future history, it would be in vain. The most valuable things have been discovered and snatched by Westerners. Unless a war is launched, those benefits will never be easily spit out.

Does the current Ming Dynasty have this strength?

Of course not.

The threats from the north are somewhat helpless, and they are still worried about the Japanese pirates raging along the coast. What can they do to participate in the feast of dividing the world?

However, from this, Wei Guangde found out what knowledge he wanted to teach Prince Yu, that is, to instill some things of the future into Prince Yu's mind.

Now is the period when international trade was formed. Europeans looted huge wealth from the American continent, and most of these wealth seemed to flow into China in the end.

The Opium War was a rebound made by the Western world against the huge and intolerable trade deficit.

Although Wei Guangde had not yet thought about what to tell Prince Yu specifically, and needed to think about it carefully, the most basic thing that Emperor Jiajing wanted was to tell Prince Yu about the relationship between the Ming Empire and the northern nomadic peoples, so he still had time to think about this issue.

In the study, Wei Guangde was still talking to Prince Yu. He was talking about the course of the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Mongolian Empire in the north during the reign of Emperor Yingzong of Ming. Then he naturally mentioned the "Tumubao Incident" and a series of events that followed.

At this time, Yin Shizhen and Zhang Juzheng outside the window frowned slightly.

Wei Guangde certainly would not say at this time that the "Tumubao Incident" was a conspiracy theory on the Internet in later generations. This was definitely unfriendly to him as a civil servant. After all, everything he enjoyed now came from this.

Moreover, this conspiracy theory itself was deduced from the conclusion and lacked factual basis.

In his lecture to Prince Yu, he mainly proposed that the Tumubao Incident commanded by the Oirat leader Yesen and the capture of Emperor Yingzong of Ming was an accident. Before Yesen confirmed the identity of Emperor Yingzong of Ming, perhaps he himself did not expect such a result.

This was a huge difference from the main ideas of the Ming Dynasty civil servants at this time. They believed that Yesen attacked the Ming army and his goal was to directly point to Emperor Yingzong of Ming and wanted to gain more benefits through Emperor Yingzong of Ming.

If Emperor Yingzong of Ming Dynasty had not succeeded in restoring the throne through the "Dou Men Incident", he might have been criticized for his ignorance and blind trust in eunuchs. Why didn't he trust loyal civil officials?

Look, after the Battle of Tumu, the Ming Dynasty was preserved by civil officials who risked their lives.

Therefore, the emperor treated the eunuchs around him as domestic slaves, who could be used but not trusted, and the emperor still had to rely on civil officials to govern the country.

The civil officials hoped to tell the emperors who came after him through this incident that their identities were different and they could not go to dangerous places in person. Many enemies outside the palace were eyeing them covetously. It would be best if all emperors lived in the Forbidden City all their lives.

As for the later part, Wei Guangde even said the theory of "professional things should be left to professionals". Every profession has its own specialty. For example, fighting a war should be left to officials who can fight. The emperor only needs to choose the right military commander and not give blind orders.

This is also what Wei Guangde decided to say after carefully reading the military deployment and action route of the Ming army in the Tumubao incident. There are indeed problems with the command of Emperor Yingzong of Ming. The Ming army was mobilized back and forth, and he became a tired soldier.

Wei Guangde considered explaining all these to Prince Yu. Perhaps Prince Yu had understood them before, but Wei Guangde still planned to explain them one by one according to his own ideas.

After the northern Tartars finished talking, he talked about the private goods he had prepared and the background of the times in the Ming Dynasty. He hoped that something could be changed after Prince Yu ascended the throne and strive to end the Ming Dynasty's national policy of "sea ban".

The sea ban of the Ming Dynasty actually banned private foreign trade, and the official-led tribute trade was not banned. This is also the fundamental reason for the "tribute dispute" among the Japanese daimyo in the early years of Jiajing.

Coming to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute can get more rewards than tribute items, and it is profitable to engage in trade between the two countries, so it is not surprising that they compete to pretend to be tribute envoys.

Wei Guangde planned to sort out the relevant information of the Shibosi, and he also needed to analyze it carefully, and try to make Prince Yu, the future ruler of the Ming Empire, understand the importance of international trade, especially the influence of the Ming Dynasty on the international situation during this period.

The Ming Dynasty of this era was undoubtedly the world's superpower. Although its own strength was limited, this was caused by many reasons, not because of the lack of national strength.

Moreover, Wei Guangde also hoped to make Prince Yu and his descendants understand these things, so Wei Guangde recorded everything he said in detail.

Unintentionally, Wei Guangde actually started to compile books in the Ming Dynasty.

Wei Guangde did not plan to push these things to the literati now, because the scholars of this period still adhered to the Confucian set. From the top of the court to the bottom of the people, the country should be based on agriculture, emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business. Merchants valued profit and forgot righteousness. Now they were asked to open the sea ban and engage in international trade, I am afraid they would be directly sprayed to death.

Wei Guangde certainly would not be a Confucian rebel and choose the path that would be spurned by the literati. Some things can be planned quietly, but he must not let himself stand in front of the stage, let alone expose himself too early.

Having been here for many years, Wei Guangde sometimes wonders what he should do?

When he first came to Bengshanbao, he wanted to live in a big city. After he had studied well, he wanted to pass the imperial examination to become an official, a high-ranking official, and enjoy a luxurious life with three wives and four concubines.

Now he is an official, although his position is humble and he still needs to work hard to climb up, but in the end he is a little confused.

In Yan's mansion, Wei Guangde saw the life of the rich and powerful in this era.

To be honest, it is in line with his original yearning for future life.

However, only when he really came here did he realize that small officials can actually enjoy such a life, but it will be slightly worse than the rich and powerful, but it seems to be safer.

According to his own imagination, being a high-ranking official and enjoying a more luxurious life, but when you sit in that position, you are looked up to by countless people below, and they are actually thinking about how to overthrow you and replace you all the time.

Yan Shifan can enjoy such a life because his father has given him a good foundation, but can he live like this forever?

Apart from other things, what the people in Prince Yu's Mansion are considering is not to overthrow him?

To protect Prince Yu's position is not only to maintain the system, but also for their glory and wealth. If they want to get it, they must climb up and get rid of the people who occupy the position.

Wei Guangde was a little scared. If he really climbed to a high position and started to enjoy himself, there would be countless pairs of hateful eyes watching him behind him, looking for opportunities to replace him at any time. Can he still enjoy himself comfortably?

After receiving the imperial edict, Wei Guangde seemed to have finally found his goal of coming here, to make the gradually decaying machine of the Ming Dynasty run again, at least it could not continue to be so slow.

Restrain some enjoyment, drink and drink with colleagues harmless, and forget about the extravagant life. He wants to be remembered for thousands of years and does not want to be infamous for thousands of years.

Why is Zhang Juzheng so famous in later generations? Isn't it because he is a tragic hero?

His reforms are considered effective, but not thorough enough, and he died too early and his decree was eventually overturned.

Although Wei Guangde had already regarded Zhang Juzheng as a political opponent at this time, Wei Guangde chose to hide himself and first see what Zhang Juzheng wanted to do and what reforms he wanted to make, and then learn from it and try Yongzheng's system in the Ming Dynasty.

Even if he failed, his reputation in the future would be greater than Zhang Juzheng's.

Is Prince Yu the Wanli Emperor?

I remember seeing that Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao joined forces to bully the little Wanli, although it seems that Prince Yu and the little character have nothing to do with each other.

Forget it, let's wait and see, we will know when Prince Yu ascends the throne and sets the reign title.