Xu Jin vaguely remembered that in the early years of Jiajing, there was indeed a very serious diplomatic incident in the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty, known as the "Battle for Tribute" in history, the specific cause Xu Jin naturally did not remember, in short, two groups of tributary missions from Japan had a conflict, and then evolved into a weapon fight vendetta. A group of Japanese people chased and killed another group of Japanese people, all the way from Ningbo to Shaoxing, and burned and looted villages along the way, and also killed several senior local military attaches of the Ming army.

The "Battle for Tribute" directly led to the Ming Dynasty closing the Shibo Tiju Division in Fujian and Zhejiang, and stopping the tributary trade with Japan, which also laid the groundwork for the future coastal troubles. Because the normal trade route was cut off, the Japanese began to smuggle trade with the merchants along the coast of the Ming Dynasty, and finally simply colluded with pirates to rob and plunder, bringing great disasters to the people along the coast of the Ming Dynasty. For more than 40 years, the coastal troubles have not really subsided, until the later "Longqing switch", the Ming Dynasty lifted the ban on maritime trade.

"Your Majesty, have you ever been caught by those evil wads?" Xu Jin asked quietly.

Zhu Houxi became even more angry when he heard this, and slapped the coffee table and said: "The most hateful thing is this, that gang of Japanese people burned and plundered and then seized the boat and fled into the sea, and they are still missing, and the guards along the coast are all waste, so angry that I have a toothache and can't sleep all night." ”

Xu Jin Jian's eyebrows couldn't help frowning, the Ming Dynasty originally had a powerful sailor, but since the Yongle Dynasty, it began to decline, Zheng He went to the West seven times to exhaust the treasury, causing the Manchu Dynasty to complain about the civil and military, and finally the Ming Dynasty stopped going to the West, and even Zheng He's navigation treasure map that he had bought with a lifetime of hard work was burned by the minister (Liu Daxia).

Since the beginning, the shipbuilding industry of the Ming Dynasty has plummeted, and the combat effectiveness of the sailors has deteriorated, and now in the Jiajing Dynasty, the sailors of the Ming Dynasty are estimated to be able to play only on the rivers and lakes, and even have no ability to go to sea.

Xu Jin glanced at the angry little emperor and asked, "How does the emperor plan to deal with this matter?" ”

Zhu Houxi said angrily: "This kind of small country dares to be so presumptuous in my Ming Dynasty, I plan to send envoys to the Japanese State to announce the decree and reprimand, and at the same time close the Ningbo and Fujian two cities of Botiju Division, and suspend the tribute with the Japanese people as a punishment." ”

Although the national strength of the Ming Dynasty is currently declining, it is still a well-deserved supreme power, rich in products, and the world's largest GDP. It's like the United States, which wants to be there, the whole world has to do business with it, and whoever dares to disobey will impose economic sanctions on whom, and the end is domineering.

Xu Jin chuckled in his heart, and sure enough, he still followed the historical trend, and asked quietly: "What is the opinion of the ministers, there is no objection?" ”

Zhu Houxi glanced at Xu Jin strangely and said: "The Japanese people burned, killed and looted in my Ming Dynasty, which seriously offended my Ming national prestige. Now it is only the suspension of the tribute, this punishment is already light, how can there be ministers who oppose it? ”

Xu Jin was speechless for a moment, "the kingdom of heaven, the state of etiquette" has always been the self-flaunting of the people, and face is always more important than the inside. For example, Westerners came from afar to make a profit from business, while Zheng He went to the West seven times just to promote the virtue of the Son of Heaven, and finally exhausted the treasury.

"Xu Jin, are you objecting?" Zhu Houxi asked.

Xu Jin took a sip of tea and considered the words before replying: "The minister has no objection to teaching the Japanese people a lesson, but the practice of closing the two cities in Ningbo, Fujian Province and suspending Tonggong commerce and trade is to be discussed. ”

Zhu Houxi frowned when he heard this: "What's wrong? ”

Xu Jin didn't answer, but asked: "Your Majesty, how did Dayu control the water?" ”

Zhu Houxi blurted out: "If the water is down, it will be led into the sea, and it should be dredged and not blocked!" ”

Xu Jin smiled and said: "Isn't it, those two groups of Japanese people have a dispute because of the tributary matter, if we suspend the tributary qualification of the Japanese state, I am afraid it will backfire, it is like a big water control, it should be sparse and not blocked." Therefore, the minister felt that the two cities should not be abolished, but should be more open and allow non-governmental trade between the two countries. ”

Zhu Houxi said disapprerovingly: "The country of war, the country of projectiles, how can it be compared with the flood beast, even if I suspend their tributary qualifications, what can they do?" What's more, I don't lack anything, and I can't do business with them, and doing business with them is a loss-making business. ”

Xu Jin couldn't help but be speechless, of course it was a loss-making business, who made your court die to save face, it was obviously trade, but it was also crowned in the name of tribute, and it was rebated to other countries several times, so it would be strange if you didn't lose money.

Zhu Houxi saw that Xu Jin was speechless, and suddenly said a little proudly: "Xu Qing, am I not right?" ”

Xu Jin couldn't help but be entangled, even the little emperor had this kind of idea, not to mention those ministers who couldn't eat the ancients, it seemed that he still had a long way to go if he wanted to "open the sea ban" in advance.

"Your Majesty, the minister will tell you a deliberate one!" Xu Jindao.

Zhu Houxi couldn't help but perk up, during the days of his ascension to the throne, in order to show his posture as a wise man, this kid was never absent from the feast, and he must come to every meeting, and listened carefully to the minister's lecture.

But those Confucian and Mencian ways, the policy of governing the country is really boring, Zhu Houxi listened to it for more than half a year, and he wanted to vomit when he heard it, so there is Xu Jin's astronomical geography, and the local customs are interesting and novel?

Xu Jin cleared his throat and was ready to speak, in early spring and early summer, when the maid heard that the master was going to talk about intentionality, she immediately took a small horse and surrounded her, and even the little guy in Xie Xiaowan's arms looked at it with wide eyes and curiosity.

Xu Jin took a sip of tea, and then began to speak: "It is said that there is a continent in the west of the sea, which is called: Xilu Shenzhou, a country with the name of the Qing Dynasty rules this continent, and Xilu Shenzhou has a vast territory and rich products......

Xu Jin used the Qing Dynasty as a model to tell the story of the rise and fall of a country, because the geography and system of the Qing Dynasty were similar to the Ming Dynasty, so everyone present consciously incorporated the Qing Dynasty into the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, when Xu Jin talked about the fact that the Qing Dynasty was invaded by the Eight-Nation Alliance, burned the Old Summer Palace, and ceded land for compensation, he was so angry that he was filled with righteous indignation. Zhu Houxi's face was even more red, and he stomped his feet angrily and scolded: "How can this be true, the old demon woman Cihuan is really hateful, and Li Hongzhang, the bastard who lost his power and humiliated the country, is really hateful, if I have this kind of minister under me, I must punish him for the nine clans." ”

Xu Jin coughed lightly and said, "Don't get excited, the emperor, it's just a fictional story." However, the truth is applicable everywhere, backward will be beaten, the Qing Dynasty regarded itself as the superior country of the Celestial Empire, pursued the policy of closing the country to the outside world, sat in the well and watched the sky and night Lang arrogant, and did not even know that he was backward. In the end, the strong ships and cannons of the great powers blew up the country, and then I was shocked, but it was too late. In the end, he was pressed to the ground by the foreign powers and bullied fiercely for nearly a hundred years, constantly cutting land and paying compensation, and the people were as cheap as pigs and dogs, which is sad and lamentable! ”

The anger on Zhu Houxi's face gradually subsided, he glanced at Xu Jin thoughtfully, and finally nodded and said, "I understand what Xu Qing means, you have a transcript, and I will hold a court meeting on a certain day to re-discuss the closure of the Boti Division in Fujian and Ningbo City." ”

Xu Jin suddenly felt a pain in his eyes, damn, wouldn't this be going against the ministers again, this time it was really a special cocoon!

But now it is difficult to ride a tiger, if he refuses, it is estimated that Zhu Houxi, this kid, will run to the kitchen to find a kitchen knife, so he has to bite the bullet and say angrily: "The life and death of the country have been profitable, how can it be avoided because of misfortune and fortune." The minister will go up tomorrow to explain the interests and disadvantages. ”

Zhu Houxi couldn't help but be moved when he heard this: "Xu Qing, I really didn't misunderstand you." The life and death of the profit-seeking country is over, and it is not because of misfortune and good fortune that it is avoided. If all the officials are like Xu Qing, why worry about my Ming Dynasty? ”

Xie Xiaowan Yue'er, as well as early spring and early summer, all cast adoring eyes, and their eyes were full of little stars.

Xu Jin couldn't help but sweat secretly, and the cowhide was blown up, but fortunately, the "ban on opening the sea" did not damage the interests of the upper nobles like "Qingtianzhuang", it just violated Lao Zhu's ancestral system, and the resistance should not be as big as Qingtianzhuang, mainly because those "upright" ministers who eat the ancients will come forward to stop it, but they can try.

Zhu Houxi was obviously in a good mood, looked at Xu Dazhongchen with appreciative eyes, and asked with a smile: "By the way, Xu Qing, how is the matter of the flintlock gun and the five hundred battalions going now?" ”

This question hit Xu Jin's heart, and he replied: "The flintlock pistol is still being trial-made, and some key problems have been solved. As for the 500 battalions, they have already been stationed in the camp for training, and the ministers have carried out some new training measures, and if the emperor is interested, he can take the time to go to the camp to have a look. ”

Zhu Houxi was overjoyed when he heard this, this kid is still martial and intends to rebuild the Shenji Battalion, the 500 battalion is the team of the Shenji Battalion, he has always attached great importance to it, and immediately said: "Okay, tomorrow is the day of rest, I will go to the 500 camp to have a look." ”

Xu Jin hurriedly reminded: "The emperor is a golden body, going out of the city is different from going out of the palace, you can't sneak out anymore, it's better to say hello to the cabinet first." ”

Zhu Houxi hesitated for a while, and finally nodded helplessly, indeed, if sneaking out of the city was found out by those old guys, he would definitely make a big fuss again, and Xu Jin would be impeached. It's just that as the emperor, he even has to report to the minister when he goes out of the city, which really makes the little emperor feel very aggrieved.

Zhu Houxi sat for a while and then left the Xu Mansion, and returned to the palace in a hurry, preparing to go out of the city tomorrow to patrol the camp.