The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Shandai, why did you suddenly mention the Xuanwei Department of Jiugang? As far as I know, the imperial court has cut off contact with that place for more than a hundred years, and Jiugang has not sent anyone to the capital to pay tribute."

In the cabinet, Zhang Juzheng was in the room. Zhang Juzheng twirled his beautiful beard and said in surprise.

There were many officials with beards throughout the court. Even Wei Guangde, who came from a later generation and was very unaccustomed to growing beards, had to choose to adapt to the times and grow a beard.

However, among all the princes in the Manchu Dynasty, only Zhang Juzheng had the largest and longest beard, so officials in the court privately used "big beard" to refer to the chief minister.

Zhang Juzheng also loved his beautiful beard very much. It is said that he took care of it carefully every day and only went out after doing it.

In fact, the beautiful beard under his forehead has become a symbol of him as the chief minister. He even rides in a car and sedan on the street. After lifting the car curtain to reveal his beautiful beard, the people around him know that he is the chief minister of the dynasty. grown ups.

In addition, Zhang Juzheng has good facial features and excellent eyebrows, and people have praised him as "the beautiful man with beard".

A man who is qualified to be called a "beautiful man" must not only have a good-looking beard, but also must be a "wonderful man" himself.

As a result, some good people among the people searched ancient and modern books and compiled a list of beautiful beards, and Zhang Juzheng, the first assistant, was also among them.

In this list of beautiful beards, the one who tops the list is naturally Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty.

Did Liu Bang also have a beard?

Of course not, but according to the records in "Historical Records", Liu Bang was different from ordinary people in many places. For example, he had "seventy-two sunspots" on his left thigh, and his forehead was very high and he had a "dragon face".

Of course, just because his forehead is very high, he cannot be considered a dragon. It is also because of his beard. Liu Bang’s beard is sparse and beautiful, similar to a dragon’s beard. Coupled with his high forehead, he has the term “dragon’s face”. .

Below Liu Bang is Guan Yu.

When most people think of Guan Yu, apart from his pride in his martial arts, the most arrogant thing about him is his beautiful beard.

It is said that one time he wanted to compete with Ma Chao. Zhuge Liang said that Ma Chao was incomparable to your handsome beard. Once he was happy, nothing would happen to him.

With the red rabbit horse on his crotch, the Qinglong Yanyue Sword in his hand, and his fluttering beard, Mr. Guan was a handsome boy of that era.

The next one is Su Dongpo, the great talent of the Northern Song Dynasty. There are endless topics about him, but his beautiful beard is rarely mentioned.

In fact, Su Dongpo was also known as "bearded Su", which can be seen in Zhang Dai's poem "West Lake" in the Ming Dynasty, "I ask who can understand that there is a beard Su at this time."

Although there is not much mention of his beard in historical materials, judging from his nickname and folklore, this man should be similar to Zhang Juzheng, with a beautiful beard under his chin.

Others include Xie Lingyun, Cai Xiang, etc.

Xie Lingyun was a poet, Buddhist scholar, and traveler during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, he was hereditary Duke Kangle and was known as Xie Kangle.

He once held the posts of Grand Sima Xingjun, Fujun General's Record Office, and Taiwei.

After the Jin Dynasty in the Song Dynasty, Liu was demoted to the title of Marquis of Kangle, and served successively as the governor of Yongjia, secretary supervisor, and internal history of Linchuan. Finally, in the tenth year of Yuanjia, he was killed by Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty Liu Yilong on the charge of "rebellion" at the age of 49.

Xie Lingyun was eager to learn when he was young, well-read, and good at poetry and prose.

His poems are as famous as Yan Yanzhi, and are also called "Yan Xie". He founded the landscape poetry school in the history of Chinese literature. He is also a general historian, good at calligraphy, has translated foreign Buddhist scriptures, and was ordered to write the "Book of Jin".

The Ming Dynasty compiled "Xie Kangle Collection", so Xie Lingyun's popularity in the Ming Dynasty is still very high.

As for Cai Xiang, it was mainly due to the influence of folk stories that his beautiful beard was also spread, so he was listed in the Ming Dynasty version of "Chinese Beautiful Beard".

Cai Xiang's beautiful beard is as famous as his calligraphy. According to legend, Song Renzong once asked him, should you put such a precious beard on the outside of the quilt or inside the quilt when you sleep at night?

As a result, Cai Xiang had a serious heart and moved his beard from the inside to the outside of the quilt that night, and then from the outside to the inside. He didn't sleep all night.

I don’t know if the story is true or not, but as it spreads among the people, everyone naturally knows that he must have a beautiful beard.

Zhang Juzheng is on the list. Although his ranking may be due to his current dynasty and is second only to Guan Gong, his ranking should be said to be very high. However, Zhang Juzheng still admits that he has no intention of comparing with the ancients.

However, now that the DPRK is discussing matters, Zhang Juzheng is stroking his beard more frequently, making it difficult for people not to notice.

"Uncle, brother, the Xuanwei Department of Jiugang was appointed by Emperor Cheng. He lost contact with the court inexplicably. The court also forgot to send someone to investigate. What is wrong? I don't know if Sister Shi, the Xuanwei Secretary, was raped by someone. harmed."

Wei Guangde sighed.

"Hiss, that's not the case. I, the Ming Dynasty's envoy to Jiugang, who dares to harm her?"

When Zhang Juzheng heard what Wei Guangde said, he frowned slightly and put down his hand twirling his beard.

"More than a hundred years have passed. Even if we send people to investigate now, I'm afraid it will be difficult to find out what happened back then."

In fact, Zhang Juzheng didn't care about the life and death of an overseas person, but after all, he was an official appointed by the imperial court. If he was really harmed by the natives of Nanyang, wouldn't it mean that he didn't take Ming Dynasty seriously and trampled on the dignity of Ming Dynasty.

This is absolutely unacceptable to civil servants who elevate the status of "ritual" very high.

In fact, no one mentioned it before, or it was deliberately ignored, but if we really want to put it in the court, the court has never issued a decree to abolish the Xuanwei Department of Jiugang. After Shi Jinqing's death, the court also issued an order to canonize the Shi family. The will of the descendants to ascend the throne.

It can be seen that the imperial court did not abandon the old port.

"No matter what, it is still appropriate for the imperial court to send people to investigate the situation back then."

Wei Guangde said, "Moreover, the "Map of Huangming Yudi" drawn during the Jiajing period does not indicate the Xuanwei Department of Old Port. I think the atlas collected by the Ministry of War and the palace should be revised."

Modifying the map was also a moral basis for sending troops to Old Port in the future. After being reminded by Tan Lun, Wei Guangde also knew that it should be repaired in advance.

Anyway, it will take several years before we actually send people to Nanyang.

Wei Guangde would never send troops hastily unless the land and sea armies were fully prepared.

"Shan Loi, tell me the truth. Why did you suddenly mention Old Port?"

The matter is actually not big, but Zhang Juzheng is not easy to fool. Although he has been busy promoting the examination method recently, Wei Guangde's sudden mention of the old port still made him very sensitive.

Today, it was Wei Guangde who came to report to him on the situation of Jizhen Army.

In Wei Guangde's words, he saw that the Jizhen Army was well-trained and could be called the strongest army in the Ming Dynasty. Later, when chatting with Tan Lun, he accidentally mentioned the Jiugang Xuanwei Division that had lost contact with the DPRK and China for many years.

It seems logical, but Zhang Juzheng always feels that Wei Guangde's words are not that simple.

Wei Guangde is relatively steady in his work and does not act rashly. Whatever he does, he usually makes careful preparations for a long time before putting it into practice.

This is how Wei Guangde feels about Zhang Juzheng. Now talking about Jiugang, Zhang Juzheng always feels that Wei Guangde should be holding back his big move.

At this time, Zhang Juzheng actually had some guesses in his mind, that was, was the Nanyang Navy commanded by Yu Dayou planning to send it to Old Port?

"No."

Of course Wei Guangde denied it flatly, "I just heard that our dynasty still had land overseas, and I didn't see relevant records either in the Hanlin Academy or elsewhere, and I felt very strange.

According to Zili, the DPRK and China did not abolish the Xuanwei Department of Jiugang. After the death of Shi Jinqing, the first Xuanwei envoy, his son and daughter were appointed as Xuanwei envoys. However, there was no contact after that, and Jiugang did not send anyone to Beijing. The audience actually lasted for a hundred years, and no one mentioned that they had sent people to find out the details of that year. It was really a dereliction of duty.

If there had been the examination method promoted by my uncle, this matter would never have happened, otherwise the duty officer should be held accountable. "

Wei Guangde cleverly linked the loss of contact between the imperial court and Old Port with Zhang Juzheng's concern about the examination method.

Are the two related?

Of course, the yamen responsible for contacting the vassals and Xuanweisi who have not come to pay tribute for a long time should naturally report to the court in a timely manner.

But in fact it didn't happen. This was a dereliction of duty on the part of the liaison office.

"Do you want to send the Nanyang Navy southward and then to Old Port?"

Wei Guangde has always supported the examination method he promoted, and Zhang Juzheng knew this.

He could also understand Wei Guangde's praise for linking the old port and the examination method. However, after all, the navy's voyage to Nanyang would risk provoking a war. Zhang Juzheng had to figure out Wei Guangde's true intention.

Wei Guangde was not in a hurry to answer this time, but glanced at Zhang Juzheng before sighing and saying: "Uncle, my emperor, since Tumu Fort, the country's power has gradually weakened, and the scope of the imperial court's control outside the customs has also shrunk significantly. This move will undoubtedly make Chief Nu is arrogant.

This time the imperial court decided to use troops in Liaodong, and the expansion of Xinjiang by 800 miles was the first expansion of territory since Civil Engineering.

I think that opening up new territories and expanding our territory can certainly demonstrate our great power, but it is also imperative to restore the old territory.

The guards of Daning and Kaiping were moved inward, and the imperial court had almost no control over the three announcements and six wei. These were all things that undermined the majesty of the Ming Dynasty.

Taking advantage of the good news of the expansion of Liaodong territory next year, we will first look for opportunities to restore the Xuanwei Department in the old port and spread the power of tomorrow in Southeast Asia.

After all, it has been more than a hundred years since the Ming Navy disappeared there, and the sea has changed. Those who were afraid of the Ming Dynasty have long since passed away, and people today may have long lost sight of the majesty of the Ming Dynasty. This is why when wars raged in Myanmar and other places, Yunnan sent personnel to mediate But the reason is powerless.

As far as I know, in recent years, the number of Ming merchant ships sailing to Southeast Asia has increased, and various forces in Southeast Asia have regarded it as a gluttonous feast.

It’s time for the Nanyang Navy to go around and show off the might of the Ming Dynasty.

As for the Xuanwei Department in Old Port, this place is not actually the most important, but the naval warships are outside and need to be stationed to rest and replenish supplies. The warships also need to be properly maintained.

I feel it is imperative to restore imperial control over Old Port.

No matter why Jiugang lost contact with our Ming Dynasty, this time the fleet goes south, the murderer must be punished. "

Wei Guangde suddenly paused when he said this, and then continued after thinking about it: "I heard the news brought back by the returning ship, and the various forces in Nanyang are now complicated. Not only are the original vassal countries competing for their own interests, but also there are barbarians occupying important ports. Expanding its strength, some small countries in Southeast Asia have even been destroyed by the barbarians."

Wei Guangde thought of the news from Yuegang. Although his ships mainly ran the Japanese route, there were also many Ming merchant ships running the Nanyang route.

Chinese merchant ships that went to Southeast Asian islands for trade sailed away on the northeast trade winds in winter and spring, and sailed back on the southwest trade winds in summer and autumn. Chinese merchants carried silk fabrics, tea, porcelain, hardware and groceries. Exchange for spices, medicinal materials, sandalwood and other local products.

At the same time, what was brought back was the complicated situation in Nanyang.

Although many of the statements are contradictory, Wei Guangde also knew after seeing it that Nanyang is now very unstable, and European powers have been racing to enclose territory in various parts of Nanyang. If the Ming Dynasty does not take action at this time, I am afraid that all the territory will be occupied.

Wei Guangde didn't dare to think about it before because the Ming army was weak.

But after seeing the Jizhen army trained by Qi Jiguang, Wei Guangde's mentality changed.

Even if the combat power of the other Ming armies except Ji Zhen is still weak, so what?

With an army of 30,000 from Ji Town, it was enough to sweep away all the European powers.

What we are worried about now is nothing more than cannons and giant ships.

The Ministry of Industry had previously cast the Hongyi cannon according to the impression mentioned by Wei Guangde, but the effect had never been satisfactory.

But recently Wei Guangde has figured out that the Hongmaofan's ship-borne cannon mentioned in Yu Dayou's letter is not what he mentioned to the Ministry of Industry before?

The Yi people moved their cannons onto battleships. It is conceivable that they have surpassed the Ming Dynasty in cannon-casting technology.

Although this was an idea put forward by scholars in the late Qing Dynasty, learning from the barbarians and developing skills to control the barbarians, Wei Guangde thought it made sense and should be used.

How can we control the barbarians if our skills are inferior to those of others?

Therefore, Wei Guangde now wants the Ming Dynasty to face up to the fact that the Yi people have firearms, so that they can put down their posture and learn.

Fortunately, the current Ming Dynasty is not the decadent Manchu Qing Dynasty. It still has a good understanding of advanced technology, as evidenced by the Franco machine cannon and the bird cannon.

After confirming that the Yi firearms were useful, the imperial court began to manufacture large quantities of Yi firearms to equip the Ming army.

Although many people in the Ming court are still complacent about the advancement of Franco machine guns and bird guns, since Wei Guangde knows that the Yi people already have better weapons, he naturally wants to get them as soon as possible.

Zhang Ju was just digesting the news that Wei Guangde said that the Yi people had captured the small country in Nanyang and destroyed it. He heard Wei Guangde mention a new type of artillery that he had asked the Ministry of Industry to build earlier. It had been several years but there was still little progress. .

The artillery cast by the Ministry of Industry will explode after being fired a few times, so there is no way to produce equipment.

"I was planning to talk to you about the cannon you mentioned."

Zhang Juzheng heard Wei Guangde talking about this and immediately said: "The Ministry of Industry previously spent thousands of taels of silver on this cannon every year. Since it can't be done, it's better not to do it.

Whether it is the Jiaolai Canal or the Ga Canal, the court will definitely dig one of them, and it will be good to save money. "

"Uncle, I'm not saying this can't be done, but Yu Dayou saw something similar on the barbarian ship in Haojing.

Although the launch speed is slower than that of the Folang machine, its range and power are much greater. If it were to be a naval battle, there would be no chance of winning except to fill the distance with life. "

When Wei Guangde heard that Zhang Juzheng also knew about the failure of cannon production by the Ministry of Industry, he wanted to put the matter aside and hurriedly told him the news that Yu Dayou had conveyed to him.

"real?"

Zhang Juzheng just frowned, then looked at Wei Guangde and asked: "Shandai plans to rob ships and cannons or..."

"Smash it with silver. According to Dayou, there are shipyards and artillery factories in Haojing, which can make barbarian ships and cannons. If you learn the art of making cannons and ships, I, Ming Dynasty, can build them yourself."

Wei Guangde smiled. (End of chapter)