eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 878 White Sugar

Chapter 877: Common regional trade market and military joint defense agreement between Ming Dynasty and its vassal states

If Zhu Houzhao remembers it correctly, then the natural naval port that Zaihe mentioned to him should be the later Cam Ranh Bay Port.

Cam Ranh Bay Port was first developed as a commercial port by French colonists. Later, due to its superior geographical conditions, the Soviet Union and the United States invested and built it as a military port.

From a topographic point of view, the South China Sea is surrounded by land. The north is the mainland. Needless to say, the northeast and east are Taiwan and Luzon respectively. This is already there.

Cam Ranh Bay port can now supplement the military presence on the west coast of the South China Sea.

In addition, as a regional power, the Ming Dynasty has dominated maritime trade for some years, so the commercial aspects of these ports should also be developed to promote regional prosperity.

Zaihe was pondering the emperor's reaction and said: "If my father agrees with the report, I can go and negotiate with the envoys of the Champa Kingdom first."

"Talking one by one is too slow." Zhu Houzhao said thoughtfully, "and his face doesn't look good."

not good-looking?

Zaihe couldn't understand what he said.

"My son is stupid, please let me know clearly."

The basic measure is to jointly build and develop ports. If the vassal country did not have funds, the Ming Dynasty could provide them with land, labor, etc. And try to include all relevant countries in the region as much as possible, without mentioning any war, just promoting trade and benefiting the people. For these dependent countries, having more prosperity should always be a good thing.

"Yes!" Zaihe was encouraged and now he felt a little more excited.

Zhu Houzhao slapped the boss and dick on his left and right twice hard.

The four children all agreed reluctantly, "My sons will all remember father's teachings!"

"Boss, second, fourth and fifth, you are all the princes of the Ming Dynasty. Outsiders say that we are called the royal family, and the royal family should also have the pride of the royal family. You all swear to me here today that you will never do anything worthy of the Ming Dynasty. Things that harm the interests of Ming Dynasty! Some of you are smart, some are brave, and some of you are indeed impulsive from time to time, but as a father, I will love you no matter what you are, but the only thing is, You just cannot betray Ming Dynasty or harm Ming Dynasty. Whether you are smart or not, at least you must be a man first! You cannot be a coward without eggs!!"

At this time, there were footsteps again outside. It was Zai Yan who was also back, followed behind him were the fourth child Zaiji and the fifth child Zaihen.

A smarter and gentler approach should therefore be adopted. Boss, you don’t need to tell me, I already know how you are going to negotiate. As for Shangguo, it's not a big deal to have a place for them. "

The two children are also one year older, forty-three and fifty-one.

"My son, I will meet my father."

"Come in." Zhu Houzhao waved, and he warned patiently first, "You happen to be here. I have a few words to say to you.

Thinking about how powerful the Tang Dynasty was back then, a single army could often conquer a country. Even today's Ming Dynasty dare not say that it can match that kind of weather. But its demise was sudden. Where is the Tang Dynasty now? Today, you and I, the monarchs, ministers, fathers and sons are here to build the power and prestige of the Ming Dynasty. If you, the children and grandchildren, are not careful, all the hard work today will be in vain. Come on,"

"There can be a better solution for the Cam Ranh Bay port you mentioned. The name can also be better, called for the prosperity of Southeast Asian regional trade.

In fact, this is okay. According to the current status of the Ming Dynasty and the current lack of understanding of the concept of sovereignty, just getting them a coastal territory will not be a big problem.

But the problem is that Zhu Houzhao thought of a better way.

Zhu Houzhao stood up and paced back and forth. He frowned and thought for a long time, "Although our country has strong military force, we should not write the word force on our face in everything. The main reason is that this will cause trouble. reaction.

It has been more than a hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty by Emperor Taizu. If you go back and look through the seventeen histories, most of them have turned into dust. In my heart, the biggest enemy is not the power seekers in the DPRK or China, nor the Tatars, Japan, or Luzon. What I am most worried about is that my children and grandchildren will not live up to expectations.

Zhu Houzhao stretched out his hands and asked his sons to hug each other shoulder to shoulder, and five men surrounded them.

In this case, the Ming Dynasty took the lead, and the vassal states followed suit. At the same time, they developed one or two coastal ports in Korea, Japan, Champa, Bo Ni, Sulu, Manchuria, Siam and other vassal states. At the same time, in order to protect the interests of both parties, To maintain regional stability, Ming Dynasty can send troops to garrison. These matters can be clarified by the signing of an agreement by all parties, called the Ming and Vassal States Regional Trade and Common Market Agreement. "

Zaihe lowered his head, basically acquiescing.

Zhu Houzhao first fell into a trap with his name.

"Okay, everyone, sit down." Zhu Houzhao turned back to the dragon chair, "Boss, didn't you take the map? Expand it."

It's a vassal state.

Under this big hat, the Ming Dynasty's power is actually not strictly restricted. If there is a dispute, it will definitely be the upper country that has the advantage.

However, for the eldest and second eldest children, this is a completely new word, and they have never even thought about it.

Zaihe asked slightly ignorantly, "Father...Son, I want to ask one more question. This requires signing an agreement. Isn't it...more complicated?"

"No, with an agreement, many things will be made clear. It is also a loose unit when facing countries outside the region."

Zaiyan asked: "What is a common market?"

The word market was first proposed by Adam Smith, who was not born yet. However, in Zhu Houzhao's daily communication, it is difficult to explain clearly the correlation between trade, currency, companies, and industries without the concept of market.

Therefore, he had already begun to talk about the connotation of this word.

But this is the first time the term common market has appeared.

According to history textbooks, the Ming Dynasty had already produced the germs of capitalism in the south at this time, and the key to the growth of capitalism lay in having a sufficient market.

"The concept of the common market is to establish an interconnected business environment between the Ming Dynasty and the surrounding vassal countries, with the free flow of goods, people, and capital. This is good for the Ming Dynasty, because the Ming Dynasty's porcelain, silk, cotton spinning, refined salt, Various commodities such as sugar are more competitive, so once the common market is established, each country will be flooded with Ming's products.

Also because it is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, the agreement can require the markets of each country to accept the new Ming Dynasty coins without forcing them to abolish their existing currencies. It is enough to allow the Ming Dynasty's currency to circulate on its own.

This is what we say to ourselves behind closed doors.

What was told to them was another set of words. For example, if they cooperated with the Ming Dynasty to jointly develop the port, they could promote the trade prosperity of their own country. A prosperous port requires hundreds of thousands or even millions of workers, which is to digest their own Refugees drive government tax revenue growth. In this way, they can enjoy the benefits brought by the strong national power of the Ming Dynasty, not only in terms of money, but also learn about the culture, technology, etc. of the Ming Dynasty.

The construction of military ports and garrison protection can also free them from the fear of invaders from the West. Of course, the price is to transfer the port and some surrounding land to our Ming Dynasty. "

Zai Yan understood what his father meant.

In fact, it coincided with what he had just said to You Zhi outside. The emperor did have deeper considerations.

"My father wants to boil the frog in warm water, in the name of the circulation of goods and common prosperity."

"Isn't this good? In fact, most of these vassal countries have little connection with the Ming Dynasty. This kind of surrender, which has no binding force and no connection, is too weak."

In essence, it means giving up military offensive.

But unify the economy, finance, currency, and culture.

The meaning of military occupation is to obtain a territory, but when the indigenous people are not allowed to be massacred, the territory is obtained at the same time as the burden of millions or even tens of millions of people.

If you ignore them, that won't work - wherever there is oppression, there is resistance. These resistances will not overthrow the Ming Dynasty, but they will greatly increase military expenditures.

But if you care about them, you can pull them down. Ming itself has the largest population in the world.

Now that things are getting better, with the abolition of the poll tax and the gradual introduction of medical care, the population growth rate will surely be even more alarming.

Of course, Zhu Houzhao already has a layout for islands with good natural conditions, such as Java.

In fact, under the title of suzerain and vassal country, those places belong to the Ming Dynasty, but they are not actually ruled. As long as this agreement is implemented, it will be a big step forward in the process of rule.

The concept of sovereignty is now reflected in three aspects: internal supreme power, external independence, and the right of self-defense to prevent aggression.

The supreme power within the country is inherited by the emperor of the superior country who directly interferes with the king of the subordinate country. How can this be the highest?

With the right to independence from the outside world, with this agreement, Ming's interests will be their interests.

As for the right of self-defense, it means stationing troops to jointly prevent aggression.

At least when the Westerners come back, they must first explore the Southeast Asia. Otherwise, how can the road from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific be opened?

There is no need to go deep into war, no need to fight rebellions everywhere, and no need to be responsible for the people who belong to the country.

And a more friendly and civilized approach will also create a local community of Mingbuki.

There is only one problem now.

Zai Yi volunteered, "Father, it is the first month of the new year, and we have a ceremonial banquet to entertain envoys from various countries. Why don't I and my eldest brother spread the news at the banquet to test the reactions of the envoys from various countries?"

Zhu Houzhao agreed that there is no need to rush this matter, it is better to handle it slowly.

"Okay. Just say that maritime trade is booming now, but the legal provisions of various countries are not unified enough, creating many artificial obstacles. I intend to take the lead in promoting the development of trade in this region. At the same time, in view of the Luzon rebellion, I am willing to send troops to attack the kings of various countries. As well as national security protection, the garrison expenses will be discussed separately.”

Finally, Zhu Houzhao said again, "This matter is very important. Although we want to be civilized, we must not be too weak and appear as if Ming Dynasty is begging them. If their king really disagrees..."

He thought for a while, "I will issue an order to summon him to the capital, and I will explain it to him personally. I will give him enough face."

Zaihe and Zaiyan suppressed their laughter and said nothing.

Wouldn't it scare others to death if you say such a statement?

In fact, Zhu Houzhao really had it all figured out. When Emperor Yongle was here, there was no such kind words for them. Regarding the Japanese pirates, he just said, "If you don't solve it, I will help you solve it." In the end, Japan captured the people themselves and sent them to the Ming Dynasty to be handed over to the Ming Dynasty court.

The Central Plains orthodoxy in Confucian culture also has a relationship between monarch and minister when facing the surroundings. It does not attack you because it cannot defeat you. It is classified as a country that cannot be conquered. You are not even worthy of letting me fight. After all, what is the good of an uncivilized place? call taxi?

(End of this chapter)