First Minister of Ming Dynasty

First Minister Section 622

Not to mention how much force Daming can use, even if it is given, East Rome will not be able to handle it.

A country that is rotten and sluggish, internally chaotic, strife is endless, and the mud cannot support the wall, is dying, and there is absolutely no way to save it.

It's like giving Wanyan Gou no matter how many famous generals he has, he can play until he becomes a minister and pays tribute, calling the other party his father, without him, it is in his bones, and it is really too difficult to save.

The same is true for Eastern Rome. First of all, we must solve a problem. Why should the people be loyal to you, support you, and fight against you?

"Fair! Fair! Still fair!"

Zhang Ximeng laughed and said, "You came here to ask for the method of saving the country. In fact, this method is not complicated at all. We were able to defeat the Mongols because of fairness! Fair land distribution, fair taxation, fair rewards for fighting, and fair promotion of officials... ...Every time we fight, we will become stronger and stronger, and finally when we accumulate hundreds of thousands of troops, it will be enough to drive away the Yuan army."

Manuel frowned, and shook his head in pain, "Is there no other way? It is unacceptable to make those peasants the same as the nobles. If we dare to do this, the whole West will take us Treat it as a heretic and carry out a crusade. Our end will be worse than dying at the hands of Osman!"

Zhang Ximeng smiled slightly, "Then are you willing to perish?"

Manuel was once again speechless.

This matter is like this, if the law is not changed, there is no way to survive. If the law is changed, the chances of winning are not great, but there is still a glimmer of hope.

But once the law is reformed and the country is governed in the way of Ming Dynasty, even if it is only one-tenth, if Constantinople is obtained, the whole West will be fried immediately.

What did Daming do?

The land is divided equally, the people are the same, the power of the emperor comes from the people... These are all things that shake the foundation of the West, such as the imperial examination system, which can drive Westerners crazy!

Even the most common theory of the round earth of Ming Dynasty, if put in the west, it would be burned to death.

That highly respected and talented Xia Zhifeng should be roasted in the west, and it should be roasted with a slow fire!

It's just too nasty!

You are shaking the foundation of the gods, and you will definitely go to hell.

Even having this kind of thought is already outrageous.

But with the same problem, Da Ming's toughness also made people dumbfounded and cast their eyes on the ground.

Manuel has seen a lot during his stay here.

Take this Yingtian City as an example, no matter in terms of scale or wealth, it is not comparable to Constantinople... What's more terrible is that there is only one Constantinople left in the entire Eastern Rome, and It will soon be renamed Istanbul.

But in the Ming Dynasty, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Yangzhou, Kaifeng, Beiping... There are too many cities that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the sky, and the territory is too vast.

The vast map alone made Manuel dumbfounded.

What a gigantic monster it was!

May I ask which emperor does not want his country to be vast and powerful?

In fact, Manuel also knew that the practice of the Ming Dynasty was actually a bit like the early Rome... At that time, Rome was also dominated by self-cultivating farmers, and ordinary people fought wars besides plowing the fields.

The combination of farming and war is simply the Qin State of the West, so it is not unreasonable to call Rome the Great Qin in Chinese history books.

However, with the development of the country, land mergers also occurred in Rome. The nobles occupied too many fields, and the owner farmers were reduced to tenant farmers and slaves.

The powerful Roman army also had to be converted into mercenaries... The local tyrants became stronger, the feudal towns were separated, and the imperial power was weakened... In fact, looking at the history of the Roman Empire, it is easy to think of the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties, and the logic is almost the same.

It's just that the next difference came. Although the dynasty in the eastern world has declined, there is still a powerful civilization.

It is precisely because of this that the Eastern Nirvana was reborn again and again, and the concept of great unity was continuously strengthened in each Nirvana rebirth. Later, the long-term divisions like the Three Kingdoms, Two Jins, Southern and Northern Dynasties no longer existed.

But the West is different. After Rome, there will be no Rome.

What is even more frightening is that this trend is becoming more and more obvious, and the division is becoming more and more fragmented. Even any attempt to unify the West will be regarded as a crime and will lead to a mob attack.

"We are all victimized by religious belief!"

After several days of reflection, Manuel finally came to a classic conclusion.

That's right, although there are gods worshiped in the East, there are also temples, but the Easterners treat the gods with a rational attitude.They do not believe in God unconditionally.

Any god will be respected only if it is effective, can protect believers, and help believers realize their dreams, otherwise, the Orientals will abandon them without hesitation.

From this point of view, the Orientals are the masters of the gods.

This is completely different from Westerners. Westerners regard themselves as God’s servants of the lamb, never dare to question the gods, and only feel that they are not religious enough!

How stupid and ridiculous this is!

It is religious belief that harms the West and restricts the West from becoming prosperous and strong!

That's right, that's it!

But after Zhang Chengtian told Zhang Ximeng about Manuel's feelings, Zhang Ximeng fell into a long silence.

This reflection is really profound!

"By the way, there are places like Suzhou and Hangzhou in Yingtian City. Are there many barbarian merchants? Where are barbarian scholars?" Zhang Ximeng asked curiously.

Zhang Chengtian immediately said: "There are not many, that is, there are not many people in Fulin Kingdom, and there are a lot of people in other countries. In fact, there are also Ottomans. And we have completed the voyage around the world, and we have seen some Western Yi people, such as Frangji people, Venetians ... They also came to Daming one after another. But most of them are from Wa, Annan. It turns out that there were quite a few of them in Goryeo, but now Goryeo doesn’t seem to be considered a barbarian.”

is not that right!

Li Shanchang has been tossing around for so long, the young and strong people of Goryeo are almost gone, and there are so many young people from Daming who went to open up, and it won’t be long before they all become a family. The only thing to worry about is that after a few years, they will compete for some characters There may be a little trouble in the place of birth...

"Can you tell these barbarians to get together and study Ming Dynasty?" Zhang Ximeng said.

Zhang Chengtian widened his eyes, "Let them study Daming?"

"Yes, it is to use their perspective to look at Daming, and it is best to form a kind of eminence... Do you understand what I mean?"

"Understood!" Zhang Chengtian said bluntly, "Father, in fact, it has existed for a long time. A few years ago, when we opened up seas for business, some barbarian merchants brought news of the Great Ming back to China. Later, when people knew that we had defeated the Great Yuan Dynasty, it would be even more difficult. Terrific. Translating Ming Dynasty classics... By the way, your old man wrote so many articles, and they were also translated... In the first few years, there were many jokes, such as translating Xuan Zhi Xuan into black and black! Now the situation is good I learned a lot, especially listening to those barbarians reflect on it, which is quite interesting."

"Reflect? Reflect on what?"

Zhang Chengtian said: "Naturally, I reflect on their lack of contract spirit."

"No?" Zhang Ximeng frowned slightly.

Zhang Chengtian said straightforwardly: "That's right, look at our businessman, you old man, what you say is a big deal, and you are a nail when you spit! And look at those Xiyi, every time they write on the documents, they still play with words Playing games, trying their best to take advantage of loopholes, they are simply not human! So, they will always be barbarians! They can't be civilized people!"

Zhang Ximeng also listened silently. Gradually, he began to understand why after entering the customs, there were great Confucianists who whitewashed you for peace.

As long as you are the strongest, people will naturally pounce on you and use you as a model to reflect on yourself.

This effect is almost like someone else's child!

As long as you pass the No.1 exam, you will be full of strengths, and there is nothing wrong with it.

Right now, the group of overseas scholars in Daming, their basic research method is to compare Daming with their own country. If there is any difference, it must be their own mistake.

Need to learn from Daming.

If you dig a little deeper, it is the root of civilization, and the quality of people is too poor... On this point, the Japanese envoys are the most outstanding.

Some people have already pointed out that the Wa country did not learn the benevolence that is the core of Confucianism, but instead blindly emphasizes loyalty, subordinates must obey their superiors, and samurai must obey the daimyo... But it is absurd that the Wa country even came up with a shogun who is such a wonderful thing that empties the king.

This shows that Japan's loyalty is also false and hypocritical.

Fundamentally speaking, it still worships force.

To put it bluntly, there is a problem with the morality of the Wa country, and the quality of the people is worrying.

Only by learning from Ming Dynasty and making a complete change can the Japanese people come out from the state of half beast and half human...

Zhang Ximeng didn't have much fun, most of it was given by these people. Looking at these deep reflections, Zhang Ximeng could sometimes laugh all afternoon.

And this group of people not only talked, but also acted... It happened in Annan.

Zhu Ying sent the news that the Annan Chen Dynasty assembled 12 soldiers and horses and went south to attack Champa, but suffered a disastrous defeat, and the king died in front of the army.

Some scholars and maritime merchants who have been to Ming Dynasty in the past few years gathered together and believed that the actions of the emperor of the Chen Dynasty were the actions of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty.

Now that the faint king is dead in battle, it is Tianzhu!

The people of insight in Annan must stand up, eliminate the tyrants, divide the land equally, and let the tiller have his land!

In just one month, they gathered more than 5 people, shaking Annan, shaking Lingnan...

Chapter 861 Annexing Annan

Something went wrong in Annan, which may affect Lingnan at any time.The land of Lingnan has an extraordinary significance to Daming.

Lingnan is rich in rice, sugar, ironware, and porcelain. In addition, there are shipyards and ordnance factories. Copper from Yunnan is also sent to Guangzhou.

Basically, Lingnan is the money bag, rice warehouse, and arsenal of half of the Ming Dynasty, so there can be no problems at all.

Now Annan is in chaos, and the people are fleeing everywhere. If they flood into Daming, it will be troublesome.

Therefore, all the officials in Yingtian Zhongshu immediately had a discussion, which lasted for three days. They discussed a set of measures, and then Sun Yan and Mao Gui came to see Zhang Ximeng together.

It is also external, and it involves the use of troops. Zhang Ximeng is naturally the authority in all aspects.

And there is another layer in it, the people who revolted in Annan's side, under the banner of "Zhang Zi", obviously, Zhang Taishi's reputation has spread overseas.

"Because of this, it seems inconvenient for me to make a statement. I should ask His Majesty to make a decision."

Sun Yan hurriedly laughed and said: "The grand master is too modest. First of all, you are a great duke, who doesn't know? Secondly, if Annan's side, in your name, raises an uprising and succeeds, it seems that other places can be pushed aside. Guangzhi... this matter is too involved, it is better to discuss the result first, and then trouble His Majesty later."

Zhang Ximeng didn't say any more nonsense, but took the initiative to say: "Mao Shangshu, do you see that Annan has a basis for promoting land equalization? Can they do it?"

Mao Gui immediately cheered up and said to Zhang Ximeng: "Teacher, you also know that Annan has always been a vassal state of the Central Plains, and it was only after the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms that it became independent. It is much later than Goryeo. Speaking of it, Annan and the Central Plains are different. There are few similarities. It’s just that due to the overlapping of mountains and mountains, in the Northern Song Dynasty, Lingnan was regarded as the end of the world, a land of smog, let alone Annan. It is also related to the relationship between Daming and Annan in the past ten years, all in all, it is a rare opportunity that comes together at the right time, place and people!"

Mao Gui's words are very interesting. He uses opportunities instead of troubles.

Time has developed to the present, and there are not many ministers in the Ming court. When they hear the chaos outside, they are frightened, and there is no place to put their hands and feet... This time Annan's accident, although it is worrying, it is not panic.Even people like Mao Gui and others are planning to take advantage of this incident to make a good fortune!

Mao Gui has already made it very clear that Annan and Central Plains have exchanges, and the two sides are actually very close.

However, due to terrain barriers and the fact that the south has not been the focus of the Central Plains dynasty's business, Annan has deep-rooted local forces.

They took advantage of the weakening of the Central Plains to stand on their own, and then the Yuan Dynasty conquered three times, all of which failed.

Now they are the rebellious sons who left the family. They feel that they can live a good life on their own, and they are not willing to return to the original family. They would rather be chickens than queens.

This is roughly the state. If there is no accident, Annan will gradually drift away from the Central Plains, so that they will completely part ways.

But with the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, things changed.

Because the Ming army defeated the Yuan court, regained their homeland, and even captured the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty... His great martial arts skills overwhelmed the hearts of Annan and restored their respect and even awe.

Next, we will talk about the impact of Zhang Ximeng's new proposition on Annan.

The two sides are so close, and Ming is so strong, it has long been the cultural center, so it is impossible for it to have no impact on the surrounding areas... At this time, Annan is in the late Chen Dynasty, and the country is in the last days. There should be many contradictions in Annan.

Due to the small size of the country, the manifestations are more severe, the population is overcrowded, the land is insufficient, the powerful and powerful wantonly annexed, and the people are struggling to survive.

The Chen Dynasty also had a very strange policy, because the Yuan court conquered Annan three times before.

On the side of the Chen Dynasty, the military system of soldiers from generation to generation was implemented, and they were not allowed to become officials.

Treating soldiers like this is simply more excessive than the military household system of the Ming Dynasty in history.

It can be said that the Chen Dynasty has reached the final stage,

But at this time, they also mobilized 12 soldiers and horses to attack Champa, and lost the king in the battle... At this point, if they can still live in peace, it will be a ghost.

In fact, things are not complicated. Annan is bound to have an accident. It is a powerful general who will replace the Chen Dynasty, or the common people will rise up and change the dynasty... nothing more than these two possibilities.

Is it a question of Wang Mang and Cao Cao, or Chen Sheng and Wu Guang.

In the original history, it was Haoqiang who replaced the Chen Dynasty, and during the Yongle period, he had a quarrel with Zhu Laosi.

And Zhang Ximeng's influence in this life has already gone out of the country.

Even in Annan, there are a group of middle- and lower-class scholars who call themselves disciples of Zhang Zi.

They advocate following the example of Ming Dynasty and completely reforming Annan.

Including equalization of land and taxation, Daxing education, fair entry into officialdom, etc... To put it bluntly, these low-level scholars also want to share the cake.

Some people even simply advocated that it should be re-merged into Ming Dynasty.

Obviously, this is only the whimsical thinking of a few people, and most Annan people do not agree with it.

After Zhang Ximeng listened patiently, he concluded: "The difficulty is not small, and the opportunity is rare. What do you think?"

Sun Yan nodded immediately, "What the grand master said is very true, it is true... I am thinking about whether I can mobilize the army to help the people of Annan and fight against the faint lord and treacherous people, and go to Annan as a teacher?"

Mao Gui also said: "Teacher, Annan lost 12 people, and the national power is declining. If you order Champa to send troops to attack Annan from the north and the south, it seems that you can follow the example of Koryo and take back the land of Annan. It is indeed a godsend! "

Obviously, both of them advocated using troops against Annan, and the sooner the better, the deployment of troops for the overall situation should not be polite at all.

Zhang Ximeng frowned slightly, thinking twice.

"In a place like Annan, the difficulty is never how to get in, but how to manage it!" Zhang Ximeng said: "Annan was originally far away from the emperor, and was far away from the Central Plains. Fortunately, but lost instead, Annan underestimated the Central Plains and developed arrogance. When we send troops at this moment, they must think that we are making trouble and feel dissatisfied. Even if we suppress it temporarily, they may not be convinced. There will be one after another, and there will be chaos."