Emperor Jiajing finally appointed Xu Jin as the left attendant of the household department as he wished, not only fighting for face, but also getting the lining, he couldn't help but feel happy, put on the curtain crown and sat back on the throne.

The celebrant and eunuch Bi Yun was so frightened by the emperor just now that he just wanted to end this court meeting quickly, so he stepped forward with a whisk and shouted: "There is a book to play, and there is no book to retreat from the court." ”

It's a pity that it backfired, as soon as Bi Gonggong's voice ended, two people flashed out of the civil official queue, and it was the military department that gave Xia Yan in the matter, and the rite department gave Zhang Xuan in the matter, both of them were not slow, but Xia Yan was obviously a beat faster.

Zhang Xuan couldn't help but be slightly stunned, he was a person who was very good at seizing opportunities, Yang Ting and the party had just been frustrated and demoralized, and Yang Tinghe himself's prestige was also reduced because of this, so he wanted to take this opportunity to take advantage of the victory to pursue and propose to agree on the matter of offering the emperor's sacrifice to further attack Yang Tinghe and his faction, who knew that Xia Yan's actions were faster than him.

Although Zhang Xuan was unwilling, Xia Yan obviously seized the opportunity, so he had to retreat into the team. At this time, I only heard Xia Yan's loud voice: "Your Majesty, the minister has a book." ”

Just now, Xia Yan expressed his support for Xu Jin to take over as the head of the household, and Emperor Jiajing naturally had a good impression of him, plus Xia Yan himself has sparse eyebrows, and his voice is loud and mellow, which inevitably makes people feel very good, so Zhu Houxi said with a pleasant face: "Xia will do something and play." ”

Xia Yan said loudly: "Your Majesty, since the end of June last year, when the Japanese thieves joined forces to invade the Ming Dynasty, our Ming Dynasty has been harassed to varying degrees, especially in some coastal towns in Nanzhili, Zhejiang, and Fujian. Although the thieves and foreign thieves have been wiped out, the local area still suffers heavy losses, and the agricultural time has been delayed, and the people have no food and clothing. Therefore, the minister implored the emperor to exempt the local people from two years of relief and forced labor, and live with the people, so that the people of Li will be grateful for the emperor's grace. ”

"Okay, I'm ready, and I'll order the cabinet and the household department to discuss this matter." Xu Jin had just brought back nearly 10 million taels of wealth from Manlaga, more than two years of treasury revenue, so Emperor Jiajing was very generous in approving Xia Yan's request.

"The Emperor Shengming!" Xia Yan said loudly: "The minister still has the book to play. ”

Zhu Houxi said with a spring breeze on his face: "Come!" ”

I saw Xia Yan take out a copy of the book from his bosom and said loudly: "The minister wants to ask the emperor to open the sea ban, restore the two cities of Ningbo and Fuzhou, and add a commercial port to allow the people to participate in the maritime trade market." ”

As soon as Xia Yan's words came out, it was tantamount to dropping a depth charge, which instantly caused an uproar, and even Xu Jin was stunned, which one did Xia Yan make a fuss?

However, at this time, almost all the officials in the audience set their eyes on Xu Jin, even Emperor Jiajing was no exception, no way, who made Xu Jin the first to propose the opening of the sea ban, but Xia Yan's original attitude was to strictly ban the sea, and even the closure of Ningbo and Fuzhou City was also proposed by Xia Yan. As a result, Xia Yan followed Xu Jin to the south for a year, but he changed his course, and his attitude towards the sea ban took a 180-degree turn.

Therefore, including Emperor Jiajing, they all thought that Xia Yan was "subdued" by Xu Jin, and Xia Yan's actions at this moment were also instructed by Xu Jin.

However, Xu Jin was more wronged than Dou E at this time, he did intend to propose a ban on opening the sea in the near future, but he really didn't instruct Xia Yan to do so. It is said that after Xu Jin talked with Master Fei last night, he originally planned to wait for King Xing's sacrifice to be agreed before proposing to open the sea ban, so as not to set himself on fire at this juncture, but he didn't expect Xia Yan to do this first.

Of course, Xu Jin was shocked and a little surprised, after the first time he failed to propose the ban on opening the sea, he planned to slowly wait for the opportunity, assimilate and persuade a group of people, and wait until the time was ripe to propose the ban on the sea for the second time, and last year, he chose Xia Yan as the deputy envoy and went south with him, the purpose was to assimilate Xia Yan, let him identify with him, and instead support the opening of the sea ban. Now it seems that the goal has obviously been achieved, but Xia Yan proposed to open the sea ban at the court meeting at this time, and he didn't greet him in advance, which is really a bit reckless.

Sure enough, after the ministers were shocked, the superintendent Yu Shi Jitang first jumped out and scolded: "How can this be reasonable, it's just nonsense, Xia Gongjin, this official has always thought that you are a upright, upright and outspoken person, but unexpectedly, you are also a despicable villain who flatters and flatters the officials." is also a science and technology official, and this official is ashamed to be with you. ”

As soon as Ji Tang finished scolding, Yu Kuan immediately jumped out and poked his fingers and said: "Xia Gongjin, you originally wrote a letter to suggest a strict sea ban, but now you have written a letter to ask for the opening of the sea ban. Phew! ”

"Your Majesty, strictly enforcing the sea ban is the last instruction of Taizu, Xia Yan is now confusing the public with evil words, and he should order to be killed, and thoroughly investigate the main messenger behind the scenes, so as to set the record straight!" Zhou Yusheng also jumped out of the criminal department, and looked at Xu Jin defiantly, almost without naming Xu Jin as the main messenger behind the scenes.

Xu Jin couldn't help but secretly scream My day your uncle, I remember the last time I proposed to open the sea ban, it was also this Zhou Yusheng who jumped out and shouted and shouted to kill, Nima, what kind of grudge does Lao Tzu have with you?

At this time, more officials jumped out to accuse Xia Yan one after another, and some even directly pointed the finger at Xu Jin, the "main messenger behind the scenes", and these officials were all Yang Ting and the party. It's no wonder that the Yang Party lost in the contest just now, so that Xu Jin fished out a household servant, and he was holding back his anger, and then he just found a reason to vent, so he took turns to reprimand Xia Yan like crazy, and burned the fire to Xu Jin.

Facing the surging group of ministers, Zhu Houxi couldn't help frowning, and looked at Xu Jin inquiringly, but the latter looked helpless and shook his head imperceptibly. Only then did Zhu Houxi realize that Xia Yan's move was not instructed by Xu Jin, he was still strange about such a big thing just now, why didn't Xu Jin greet him in advance, it turned out that Xia Yan made his own opinion!

It is said that Zhu Houxi was persuaded by Xu Jin's story based on the "Qing Dynasty" that year, he supported the opening of the sea ban, but the ministers strongly opposed it, so when Xu Jin proposed the sea ban for the first time at the court meeting, although the tongue war group Confucianism was explosive, but in the end it ended in failure.

Knowing that Xia Yan's move was not instructed by Xu Jin, Zhu Houxi immediately had little hope, and with the opposition of a large number of officials, the possibility of this kind of proposal without careful planning was very small.

However, since the problem had been put on the table by Xia Yan, Zhu Houxi was still willing to give it a try, so he gave Duke Bi a look, and the latter immediately understood, took out the whip and waved it vigorously, making a loud thunderous noise, and shouted: "Silence!" ”

Those court officials who were criticizing Xia Yan finally quieted down and retreated to their respective positions to stand.

Zhu Houxi glanced back and forth majestically, and finally his gaze fell on Xia Yan and said: "Xia Zhishi, I remember that you supported the strict implementation of the sea ban at the beginning, why do you now propose to open the sea ban and allow private sea trade?" Do you know that this is a violation of my Ming Taizu's ban? If you can't come up with a convincing reason, I will punish you. ”

Xia Yan had a fierce confrontation with other officials just now, and his face was still swollen red at this moment, and he said loudly with a little excitement: "Emperor Qiqi, the reason why the minister advocated a strict sea ban was originally because he thought that this move could put an end to such incidents as "two Yi fighting for tribute", and at the same time, it could also cut off sea traffic and prevent the Japanese from invading all parts of the coastal area of our Ming Dynasty.

However, this proved to be ineffective and exacerbated the problem.

Since China imposed a strict ban on the sea, smuggling activities in various coastal areas have not decreased, but have become more rampant, and pirates and pirates have also intensified their invasion of the people along our coast. Last year's surging plague was caused by the strict ban on the sea, but fortunately, Xu Shilang led the army to turn the tide and quickly pacified the thieves, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

As Xu Shilang said: If the city is generally good, the business will turn into a businessman, and if the city is banned, the business will turn into a businessman. For more than a year, the minister aimed to clear the land in Zhejiang and Zhejiang, and had the honor to lead the troops to fight against the thieves, which is a deep understanding of this. Most of the thieves who did evil were local people, and because they had no source of livelihood after the sea ban, they went to sea to become thieves and plunder the seashore.

Therefore, the ministers changed their views, hoping that the imperial court could open the sea ban and allow the people to go to the sea for trade and fishing production, so that the people would naturally not go to sea to become thieves if they had a source of livelihood, and the merchants would naturally not take risks if they had a legal way to do business, and the Japanese merchants and foreign merchants would no longer commit robbery.

In this way, the livelihood of the people and businessmen is abundant, and I can also increase the tax income, and at the same time, I can also put an end to the troubles, so why not do it? ”

Xia Yan was extremely eloquent, his voice was loud, his tone was abrupt, and he was well-organized, explaining the benefits of opening the sea ban with reasonable evidence, and many officials present subconsciously nodded their heads when they heard it, and even Xu Jin secretly applauded.

Zhu Houxi was inexplicably surprised, nodded and said, "Xia is right. ”

Mao Cheng, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, walked out angrily and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Xia Yan's words do seem reasonable at first, but in fact they are extremely ridiculous and ridiculous.

First of all, the Japanese thieves have been plundering the coastal areas since the Yuan Dynasty, and the Japanese wolf ambition, greed and cruelty, and disobedience to the king for a long time, it can be known that even if I do not enforce the sea ban, the Japanese will burn and loot the coastal areas of my Ming Dynasty. Therefore, last year's plague was not necessarily caused by the strict implementation of the maritime ban.

Second, Xia Yan said that the sea ban was strictly enforced until the livelihood of the people was cut off, so he took risks to go to sea as thieves. The minister thought that this was entirely due to the inaction of the local officials, and that the local gentry were vainly trying to make huge profits through smuggling in the sea, so they instigated the local people to go to sea to occupy the island as thieves. The minister heard that Chen Sipan, a pirate on Dongsha Island, was like this, ostensibly a thief, but secretly he was smuggling and selling stolen goods for the local gentry and merchants.

Therefore, the minister thought that not only should the sea ban not be opened, but should be implemented more severely, so as to deter Xiao Xiao with heavy punishments, so that he does not dare to know the law and break the law. ”

As soon as Mao Cheng finished speaking, many old-fashioned officials immediately applauded.

Xu Jin raised his eyebrows, at this moment, he naturally couldn't watch Xia Yan fight alone, since he was safe, then he would fight again, so he stepped out of the queue and said loudly: "Lord Mao's words are wrong!" ”

Xu Jin's appearance suddenly became the focus of the audience, and it was even more confirmed that he was the "main messenger behind the scenes". When the little emperor Zhu Houxi saw Xu Jin make a move, he couldn't help but perk up, with his understanding of Xu Jin, hehe, there is a good show to watch!

Mao Cheng had already publicly torn his face with Xu Jin, his face sank, and he sneered unceremoniously: "Does Xu Shilang have any advice?" ”

Mao Cheng deliberately bit the word "waiter", obviously reminding Xu Jin to pay attention to his identity, you kid is just a waiter, don't pretend to be a big-tailed wolf in front of the old man.

Xu Jin said calmly: "I don't dare to give advice, the lower official just wants to ask Master Mao, why did my Chao Taizu order the ban on the sea in the first place?" ”

Although Mao Cheng was contemptuous of Xu Jin in language, he did not dare to underestimate it in his heart, so as not to fall into Xu Jin's trap, he first pondered for a moment, and then replied carefully: "Since the Yuan Dynasty, the Japanese have repeatedly invaded the southeast coast.

Later, although the Japanese kingdom superficially surrendered to our Ming Dynasty, it was actually cunning and changeable, and even secretly conspired with the adulterous minister Hu Weiyong and plotted against him. Therefore, Taizu ordered to cut off contacts with the Japanese people, and ordered Xinguo Gongtang and Jingluo to coastal areas, equipment to prevent Japanese people, and at the same time ordered that the pieces of the board should not go to the sea, and forbade the people of our Ming Dynasty to go to sea without permission. Since then, the ban on the sea of our Ming Dynasty has been in use to this day. ”

Xu Jin arched his hand and smiled: "Lord Mao, the lower officials have been taught, so I ordered the ban on the sea to Taizu completely to guard against the Japanese country, right?" ”

Mao Cheng frowned, faintly feeling that something was wrong, and nodded vigilantly: "So to speak." ”

Xu Jin turned to the throne and said, "Your Majesty, the minister also thinks that the reason why my Emperor Taizu ordered the ban on the sea was entirely to guard against the Japanese people. However, as the so-called time and time, any decree should be adapted to the times, and the decrees implemented by Taizu in the past 150 years since the founding of our dynasty may not still be applicable today. For example, Taizu's ban on the sea was to prevent traitors from colluding with the Japanese to plot misdeeds, but now that my Ming Dynasty has deep roots, I don't have to worry about someone colluding with foreign thieves. In addition, although the minister is not talented, he has luckily wiped out all the thieves along the coast of the Ming Dynasty, and it is even more unnecessary to ban the sea to defend the Japanese.

As Lord Xia just said, opening the sea to ban trade and allowing the people to go out to sea for fishing and production can not only enrich the people of the Ming Dynasty, but also increase the revenue of the national treasury, so why not? The minister thought that even if Taizu knew about it in the heavenly kingdom, he would definitely support the opening of the sea ban. ”

"Presumptuous, how can the Holy Will of Taizu be something you can speculate about." Hanlin Scholar Shi Xuan jumped out and scolded, that finger was about to poke Xu Jin's nostrils.

Xu Jin couldn't help but secretly scream I wipe, took half a step back slightly, and frowned: "Lord Shi, please respect yourself, you are so disrespectful before driving, but you don't know how to be polite as a waiter in the Ministry of Etiquette, you are simply smiling at the generous family!" ”

"Zhu Zi'an dares to insult this official with wild words, and this official swears to stand with you today!" Shi Xuan was furious when he heard this, and he actually rolled up his sleeves and wanted to go up to Haibian Xu Jin, but fortunately, Mao Cheng and Yang Dan next to him stepped forward in time to stop him.

After Yang Dan, the secretary of the ministry, stopped Shi Xuan, he glared at Xu Jin angrily and said: "Xu Ziqian, Hugh has to speak wildly, although the Japanese along the coast have been temporarily wiped out by you, but the Japanese country is still there, and Er An knows that the Japanese will not come back, as far as this official knows, that Zhixin Meizi has escaped from your hands twice." ”

Xu Jin said angrily: "The soldiers will block, the water will flood, if the Japanese invade again, and then destroy it, I will be like a cloud, and I will be afraid of a small country like Japan." What's more, there is only a thousand days to be a thief, how can there be a reason to prevent thieves for a thousand days. We should confidently open the country, and there will be good wine when friends and guests come, and there will be muskets when jackals come. If the Japanese invade me, they will destroy the Japanese, and if the Westerners attack me, they will destroy the Westerners, what am I afraid of?"

Xu Jin's domineering words suddenly made the blood of the generals present boil, and they subconsciously cheered in unison, and Emperor Jiajing on the throne was also excited, laughing and said: "Xu Qing said it well, what am I afraid of?" ”

Yang Tinghe finally couldn't stand it anymore, and stepped forward to reprimand: "As the saying goes, if the water is full, it will overflow, and when the moon is full, it will be lost, and the arrogant soldiers will be defeated." Xu Jin, although you have won a lot of battles in the past two years, your tone is too arrogant. Although Japan is a small country, the former dynasty Alakhan with 100,000 divisions to conquer, only three people remained, how can you compare yourself to Alahan? ”

Yang Tinghe's mouth of Alakhan is the founding emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan, he twice sent troops to conquer Japan failed, the second time sent hundreds of thousands of troops, and finally almost all the army was wiped out, only three people came back alive.

The first assistant of the cabinet personally opened his mouth to reprimand Xu Jin, and there was silence in an instant, and everyone stretched their necks to watch the play!

Xu Jin frowned imperceptibly, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly: "Yang Ge's old words are serious, Xiaguan An dares to compare with the founding emperor of the previous dynasty, but my Ming can replace the previous dynasty, it can be seen that my Ming army is only stronger than the previous dynasty, not weaker, plus my Ming army is now well-armed, which is not comparable to Japan." So it's not a boast of the lower officials, just a team of 10,000 people armed with flintlock pistols can sweep the Wa Kingdom! ”

Xu Jin's words seem reasonable, but in fact they are strong words, the Mongolian cavalry in the period of Kublai Khan is so powerful that people are desperate, Zhu Yuanzhang defeated only the Mongolian soldiers at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the combat power of the Mongolian cavalry in this period is not the same at all, of course, the Mongolian cavalry at the end of the Yuan Dynasty is still far superior to the Ming cavalry, but it is just a loss in firearms.

Although Yang Tinghe knew that Xu Jin was arguing with reason, he couldn't refute it for a while, so he couldn't argue with Xu Jin that the Ming army's combat strength was inferior to the Yuan army, right? So he could only snort coldly and shouted: "Xu Ziqian, Hugh is reckless." Zi said: The murder weapon of the soldier is also used by the saint. As the saying goes, although the country is big, the belligerent will perish, how can it start a war lightly? No matter how strong my Ming army is, if it is reckless, it will definitely be doomed in the end! ”

Xu Jin arched his hand and said: "What Elder Yang Ge has taught is that the lower officials just want to say that my Ming is not afraid of any enemy, and there is no need to ban the sea in order to guard against the Japanese invaders, and the ban on the sea should be abolished." ”

Yang Tinghe snorted coldly and said: "How can the ban set by Taizu be abolished and abolished, not to mention that agriculture and mulberry are the foundation of the country, as long as the taxes are lightly levied and the labor is thin, the people will naturally be able to do enough for the people, and the country will naturally have long-term peace and stability." There is no need to open the sea for trade! ”

Xu Jin really wanted to give Yang Tinghe a big roll of his eyes, and then scolded him: "Small peasant thoughts, eating the ancients will not change!" ”

Just as Xu Jin was considering the words and preparing to refute Yang Tinghe, Zhang Xuan had already rolled his eyes and stood up and said: "As the saying goes, the clearer the argument, the clearer the reasoning, so the lower the official dares to debate a few words with Yang Gelao." ”

Yang Tinghe glanced at Zhang Xuan and said coldly: "Let's argue!" ”