"In the fourth year of Hongwu," Guan Zhuofan said, "that is, in the fourth year of the founding of the former Ming Dynasty, Ming Taizu issued an edict to prohibit the sea from the Metropolitan Governor's Palace, 'the people are not allowed to go to sea privately', and 'those who commit crimes are like the law'." ”

After a pause, Guan Zhuofan said: "Speaking of this 'law', the minister asked the Queen Mother to listen to a passage of "Da Ming Law". ”

He coughed lightly and said, "'Anyone who sells cattle and horses, military quartermasters, iron goods, copper coins, silk silk, silk and cotton goods from other countries, and goes to sea, will have a hundred rods. The person who carries the burden shall be reduced by one. The cargo ships and wagons shall be incorporated into the officials, and the reward shall be paid to the informant at the rate of ten equal parts, and three points, and those who leave the country and go to sea shall be hanged. ’”

Cixi frowned slightly and said, "It's ruthless enough." ”

Guan Zhuofan smiled and said, "It's not over yet--these are just dealing with people, and there are others below-'Therefore, those who leak things will be killed. The person who detains the lawsuit and the person who guards it is all involved in it, or knowingly arrivers, is guilty of the same crime as the prisoner. Those who fail to perceive shall be reduced by three degrees, and the sin shall be reduced by one hundred rods, and the soldiers shall be reduced by one degree. ’”

"Hey ......"

After a pause, Cixi said, "Your mind...... It's good enough. ”

"Empress Dowager Xie's award." Guan Zhuofan smiled slightly, "At that time, the Europeans had not yet set foot in the South Seas, if there was no such sea ban, as long as we in China were willing, a large piece of the South China Sea could be taken over - what to say?" Is there no frontier to open, no soil to expand, and the sea is not a frontier? The island is not dirt? The British are the strongest in the world, didn't they start from the three islands of Yuer, crisscross thousands of miles of sea borders, and finally dominate all countries? ”

Cixi felt her heart beat faster.

The sea is also a frontier. The island is dirt, too!

Seem. A new world. The door was slowly opening to her—half-open and half-hidden, and the scene on the other side of the door was vague and not very clear, but it was enough to make people feel excited.

In fact, Guan Zhuofan knows his evaluation of Zhu Yuanzhang's sea ban policy. It's not very fair.

Zhu Yuanzhang's ban on the sea is not because "the world has been decided early", he has no ambition, and he lives behind closed doors; On the contrary, at that time, the most I could say was "the world was decided", and there were still many troubles. In the north, Meng Yuan is eyeing the tiger and is ready to go south to "restore the country" at any time; In the south, the remnants of Fang Guozhen and Zhang Shicheng are entrenched in the coastal islands, linking traitors with the party inside and gangsters outside, waiting for an opportunity to make a comeback. One of the important considerations for Zhu Yuanzhang's ban on the sea. It is to keep Fang and Zhang Yubu out of the country. In order to concentrate on the northern affairs of Mengyuan.

In addition, Guan Zhuofan believes that with the productive forces and production relations in the early Ming Dynasty, economically, China simply did not have enough motivation to incorporate Nanyang into its territory, and if it insisted on doing so, the input would be far greater than the output, and the Nanyang would soon become an unbearable burden for the empire -- this is really not just a matter of concept.

Therefore, accusing the Ming Dynasty of not thinking about the South Seas, not taking the sea as the frontier, not taking the island as the soil, and beating the chest for the vanished Zheng He's treasure ship, in a sense, is also an unfairness to the ancients.

However, there is no need to tell Sister Yu about this - if Guan Zhuofan really does this stupidly, it will definitely blur the focus and affect his argument and persuasiveness of "expanding the territory".

What I'm telling you is the truth -- but it's the chosen fact.

Isn't that what politics is all about?

What's more, even if there is any injustice to Zhu Yuanzhang, it is limited -- in any case, the sea ban is the most passive defensive policy, and drinking to quench thirst has to be a short-term behavior. However, the sea ban of the Ming Dynasty, although it was repeated and tight, but in general, it was still the "ancestral system" and "national policy". It was precisely because of Zhu Yuanzhang that China really began to "look inward", and over the past few hundred years, it has become more and more difficult to see and lose sight of the trend of the world's vast soup.

This is an indisputable fact.

"What about after Hongwu?" Cixi asked, "Has it always been like this?" ”

"Back to the Queen Mother," Guan Zhuofan said, "After the Hongwu, the Yongle Dynasty not only 'followed the prohibition of the Hongwu case', but also intensified it, and ordered that all civil sea ships must be changed to flat-headed ships - the Queen Mother, flat-headed ships cannot sail in the ocean, this is a method of drawing wages from the bottom of the kettle, but it is powerful!" That's why the minister called it 'intensifying'. ”

Cixi was a little strange: "But, isn't the eunuch of the Three Treasures the matter of the Yongle Dynasty?" ”

"Back to the Queen Mother," Guan Zhuofan said, "The so-called sea ban is a ban on people going to the sea, not a ban on the court and the government." ”

"Ah, I see—only the governors are allowed to set fires, and the people are not allowed to light lamps."

Guan Zhuofan smiled: "Queen Mother Shengming." ”

After a pause, he continued: "After Yongle, when it was tight and sometimes loose, when it arrived in the Jiajing Dynasty, it was once again strictly forbidden on the sea, and even 'those who check the sea ship but the brig will be arrested, although it is not a fanwu, in terms of fanwu, it has a border guard'. ”

Cixi frowned slightly and said, "But it's a bit excessive, isn't this wronging?" ”

Guan Zhuofan said: "The Queen Mother is merciful, but in the eyes of the court at that time, this is not a wrong. Brigs are 'illegal ships' that should not have been built in the first place -- and later, they even reached the point where 'all the illegal ships were burned down'. ”

Cixi nodded and said, "I understand, brigs can go to the sea, and banning brigs is the same as the Yongle Dynasty's edict to change sea ships to flat-headed ships." ”

"Queen Mother Shengming."

After a pause, Guan Zhuofan said: "Although the sea ban is strict, it is impossible to ban it!" In the Ming generation, only Yongle was really banned, and below Yongle, the stricter the ban, the more prosperous the trafficking of smuggling, and the more pirates! ”

"What is this for?"

"The Queen Mother understood after thinking about it: there are many people along the coast and little land, and they can't live by farming alone, and the people along the sea already rely on the sea to eat the sea, and you don't allow him to go to the sea, does he sit at home in vain, and go hungry with his hands up? Naturally, they take risks, those who are safer, those who secretly sell smuggling, and those who are tougher simply become pirates, and more of them are also private and stealing, and they are inseparable. ”

Cixi's face was solemn: "This is a ...... to force goodness"

The word "prostitute", as a woman, couldn't say it after all, so she stopped.

After thinking about it, he asked again: "Then, why can the Yongle Dynasty be clean?" ”

Guan Zhuofan said: "That's because there is a Three Treasure Eunuch. The Queen Mother thinks about it, Zheng He's treasure ship, how big is that fleet? All the business is covered for them, and for a while, there is no need to do business with other Chinese businessmen. Besides, Zheng He's fleet is majestic on the sea, destroying the country like picking mustard seeds, entering and exiting the South China Sea like a pan-inland lake, and any pirates and smugglers are too frightened to show their heads. ”

Cixi sighed leisurely and said, "The fleet of the Three Treasure Eunuchs can only be withdrawn. ”

Guan Zhuofan shook his head slightly: "In the past, the national finances, where can I eat hard?" ”

Cixi nodded and said, "I understand this truth - I just sigh in vain." ”

"Yes, Queen Mother Shengming."

After a pause, he continued: "When it came to the Longqing Dynasty, the imperial court really couldn't stand it - it was forbidden to come and go, and nothing was forbidden, but it lost countless tariffs and silver!" So the ban was reluctantly lifted - of course, the opening was not large, and the ban was constantly reiterated while the ban was lifted, in short, it was a dilemma-"

Guan Zhuofan smiled and said: "To take the foreigner's term, it is 'schizophrenia'. ”

Cixi frowned slightly, thought about it carefully, and smiled: "This metaphor is enough to damage, but it's really ...... Image. ”

"This dynasty is the Dingding," Guan Zhuofan said, "The civilized system generally follows the previous dynasty, and the sea ban is no exception." In the Shunzhi Dynasty, Taiwan's Zheng family was not peaceful, and the sea ban was particularly strict, and it really reached the Cheng dù of 'the piece board is not allowed to go to the sea'. ”

These few words are faint, but they are not good words.

Cixi naturally heard it - Guan Zhuofan had just criticized the former Ming Dynasty's maritime ban policy, and said that the current dynasty's "civilized system generally follows the previous dynasty, and the maritime ban is no exception", how can it be a good word?

But-

"In the twenty-second year of Kangxi, Fushun, Taiwan; The following year, the Holy Ancestor issued an edict, 'First because of the sea, so the sea is forbidden to be opened, and now the sea atmosphere is clear, what to do!' 'It was ordered that the maritime ban imposed by the coastal provinces should be stopped, and the Manchu and Han people should be allowed to go out to trade abroad, and the four places of Guangzhou, Zhangzhou, Ningbo, and Yuntai Mountain should be designated as foreign trade ports. ”

"There is nothing to do about the sea ban," Guan Zhuofan accentuated his tone, "It can only be a temporary expedient measure, and when things change, it should be changed, and it must not be regarded as an 'ancestral system' or a 'national policy' - in this regard, Emperor Shengzuren is truly wise!" ”

If these two sentences have a deep meaning, Cixi listened to it, her eyebrows moved slightly, and her heart moved.

*(To be continued......) R1292