Profit is the first

Yang Ling leaned on the bed, Gao Wenxin sat beside the bed, holding a hot towel and smeared his face again. After all, he had just finished taking a shower, and his face was white and red, and his complexion was extremely good. No matter how he looked, he didn't look like he was dying, so he had to pretend to have cleaned his face with a hot towel.

Jiao Fang was sitting at the table, twisting her beard calmly, and her smile was very kind. If she hadn't occasionally smiled a little bit of a treacherous smile, this guy was 71 years old, but he was not deaf, had no eyes, and was very healthy, with white hair and beard.

Yang Ling was thinking about the candidates for the Grand Secretary of the Pavilion on his way back to Beijing, and he also considered this civil official with a relatively good relationship with him. This Jiao Shilang passed the Jinshi in the eighth year of Tianshun, and served as a Shuji Shi, editor, lecturer, and bachelor. Later, he went to the local area to be a Tongzhi, governor, deputy envoy of the prefecture, Tongzheng, Shaoshi of Taichang, and right assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites. Now he has become the Left Assistant Minister of Personnel.

It can be said that he has gone from low to high in technical titles and administrative positions, and his political experience and qualifications are the best choices. Today, the three Grand Secretarys' official positions are even younger than him when they entered the cabinet, and he is one of the people who are qualified to be promoted to Grand Secretary.

Moreover, Yang Ling helped him. When Yang Ling was imprisoned in the imperial tomb case, he also said good things to Yang Ling, so Yang Ling had a good impression of him and listed him as a possible candidate. Therefore, he asked Wu Jie to secretly investigate his situation. Unexpectedly, he had not decided whether to contact him or not, so he came to him first.

Yang Ling waved his hand weakly and said, "Wenxin, you go back first, I want to talk to Lord Jiao."

Gao Wenxin looked at the deafness he pretended to be, and couldn't help but give him a coquettish look. Then Yingying stood up and said in a coquettish voice: "Yes, the master is weak, don't be too tired. The maid takes his leave."

As he said that, he took two steps back, gave Jiao Fang a bow, and then quietly retreated and covered the door.

Jiao Fang took a sip of tea in a leisurely manner, twisted her beard and said, "I heard that the adults were plotted against on their way back to Beijing, and they were seriously injured. Today, they couldn't get up when they saw him. I was worried after hearing this in the Ministry of Personnel and couldn't sit still. So I took a leave urgently and brought three thousand-year-old ginseng to visit."

Yang Ling couldn't figure out his true intention, so he pretended to agree: "I'm worried about the old man, and some skin injuries are a little bit hurt."

Jiao Fang suddenly sniffed his nose and said meaningfully: "Well, now that I have seen the adults look good, I feel relieved."

Seeing his movements, Yang Ling said intimately: "It's broken. If you apply a golden sore medicine on your body, how can you tasteless? This old man is smart enough." He laughed dryly and said: "Sir, you are busy with official business and have to come and visit me. I am deeply grateful."

Jiao Fang sighed and said, "Sir is the pillar of the country. Now only Grand Secretary Li is left in the central pillar of the court. People's hearts are floating. At this time, we need to turn the tide and calm people's hearts. So I sincerely hope that you will recover soon."

Yang Ling smiled, picked up the teacup from the stools next to the couch and drank a sip of tea. He thought secretly by lowering his head to drink tea: With the qualifications and official position of Lord Jiao, he came to visit him at this time, and he was so slanderous and charming, obviously he was deliberately accepting it.

But I quit this storm circle under the pretext of being injured and quit to protect myself. This old guy can actually see that it is shrewd and terrible. Will this person become my political ally?

He thought thoughtfully and drank the cup of tea in one go. He raised his head and was about to put the cup back on the plate. Jiao Fang had already come forward, took the cup of tea with both hands, filled him with another cup of tea, and gently pushed him in front of him.

Seeing the respectful attitude of the third-rank official of the Ministry of Personnel, Yang Ling had made a decision in his heart. He thought for a while and smiled heavily: "The elder is too proud. Yang's speed of becoming an official is shocking, but he has always been in a side-door and has never participated in major events in the court. If you are in terms of experience and experience, you are not as good as you, and you are much worse than many court officials."

He pondered for a moment and said slowly: "The emperor is fond of him. Of course, he wants to share his worries for the emperor. During this trip to the southern tour, Yang saw and heard some tricks in his heart. But he didn't know if it was shallow or ridiculous, so he did not dare to advise the emperor. Since the old man is here, I will ask for advice. Please ask the master to consider it for details on his behalf?"

Jiao Fang raised her white eyebrows, and a trace of surprise flashed in her eyes. Yang Ling said this as if she was deliberately accepting him. This person said something to the emperor. Now the eunuchs who hold the power of the inner court obeyed him. As long as he was willing to support him, would he have to be angry with people like Ma Wensheng?

However, although the man in front of him was young, he was fined the eunuchs in the southern tour and returned to Beijing to calm down the attacks of internal and external officials. He was thinking carefully and then taking action. His methods were very sophisticated. This was not an ordinary person. I wonder what he was going to compare with me?

I have to have some unique insights that can be appreciated by him, but the general policy must be consistent with him. The opportunity is rare, so I have to deal with it carefully. When Jiao Fang thought of this, just like when he went to Beijing to take the exam, he raised his twelve-point spirit, moved Jindun forward, leaned slightly, and said intently: "I don't know what great ideas are, I want to hear it carefully."

Yang Ling said: "This time I went to Jiangnan, most of the coastal areas where pirates are rampant. According to my understanding, it was the smuggling of sea merchants and smuggling of sea bans and pirates. This situation has been repeatedly banned, so I have been unable to understand. It is better to clear away the so-called "blocking is worse than being able to clear away". Why can't the court lift the ban and encourage private trade? Just as taxes, the annual income is more than tens of millions.

When I returned to Beijing, I passed by the Longjiang Shipyard and saw that it was deserted. The grand occasion of the three treasure eunuchs who went to the West in the past was no longer seen. It is said that because the trip to the West was expensive and the national strength was unbearable, I wanted to…”.

Yang Ling looked at Jiao Fang's wrinkled face and said, "Since the court's shipping that mainly promotes national prestige is not worth the cost, there is no need to ban private trade. Although the court is based on agriculture, it should not suppress too much business. Can the officials in the court see the benefits of communicating with other countries? I am puzzled by this official. Can you solve my doubts for me?"

Jiao Fang frowned, looked at him deeply, and said to himself: "It turns out that Lord Yang is not willing to be lonely. Does he want to choose to lift the ban and trade as a political achievement? This is difficult."

Seeing that he was twisting his beard for a while, Yang Ling looked a little impatient. Seeing this, Jiao Fang hurriedly said, "I am very close to you. So I am willing to tell you some of my confidants. If there is any inappropriateness, it would be fine if you heard it. Some things... Although everyone knows it well, it is really inconvenient to get it on the table to discuss it."

Yang Ling was excited and said, "That's right, this is the younger generation asking the elders for advice. What you and I do privately will naturally not let the third person know."

Jiao Fang calmed down after hearing this, pondered for a moment before slowly saying: "Do you really think that scholars are foolish in studying and cannot see the benefits of trading land? Haha, those are just scenes. Not to mention the great benefits of private trade, even if Zheng He went to the West, although it was huge and rewarded all over the country, it would not be worth the loss."

The arguments that Yang Ling has always heard said that the Ming Dynasty went to the West to promote its prestige. The treasury made great efforts but did not have corresponding income, which led to the opposition of all officials. When he heard Jiao Fang's words, he was a little surprised and asked, "Why did you say this?"

Jiao Fang smiled faintly and said, "When I was in the Ministry of Rites, I had read the literary spies who had exchanged between the countries during the Yongle period, and I still vaguely remember some things. My Ming Dynasty court did not communicate with foreign countries, which does not mean that the court does not need us to have no land, but they are just trading through tribute to various countries.

Many of these goods are expensive due to geographical differences. The supply exceeds demand. For example, I want pepper in the Ming Dynasty, but they are not produced locally. They are tributed by overseas countries. The price is equivalent to gold, which is twenty times the origin.

In the fifth year of Yongle, Zheng He returned from the West for the first time, and the market price of pepper per kilogram in the Ming Dynasty dropped to ten times. By the ninth year of Xuande, Zheng He returned from the West for the last time, and the price of pepper fell to 100 jin per kilogram. Our dynasty needed more than 10,000 jin of pepper per year. The price difference was shocking. At that time, there were as many as 10,000 kinds of goods exchanged between China and the West, and the national treasury saved countless land and money. After deducting the expenses of rewarding the Celestial Empire and voyage to the West, it would be a big profit..."

Yang Lingqi said: "But why did I hear that... the imperial court banned voyage to the West because the finances were short of money. So all officials opposed it?"

Jiao Fang smiled deeply. His eyes flashed and said, "During the Yongle period, Beijing City was built internally. The outside was to fight Jiaozhi in the south and the north of the Mongolian Yuan in the north. He used troops everywhere and spent money everywhere. However, the people were enriched and the palace was full of. These were all recorded in history. The silk industry in Jiangnan, the porcelain of Jingdezhen, and even printing, tea, ship transportation, and logging were all prosperous. How could there be a saying that it was difficult to get short?

After stopping voyage to the West, the national treasury was in a dilemma. During the reign of Emperor Yingzong, it was difficult to recruit and help the people. It was more than enough to build a city when using troops to the outside world. Now, it would take most of the annual income to build an imperial tomb. What is the explanation?"

"As for promoting merchants and damaging agriculture, it is even more nonsense. In the Song Dynasty, the amount of land was not as large as that of the Ming Dynasty, and the yield of land was not as high as that of the Ming Dynasty. The people's taxes were much heavier than those of the Ming Dynasty, but the people could bear it, and their lives and food were richer than those of the Ming Dynasty.

Nowadays, when the income is at most tomorrow, it is only 4 million taels, which is only one-tenth of that in the Southern Song Dynasty. For land, it is a tax to support the people, but people's lives are still difficult to sustain. In addition to the problems of taxes themselves, isn't the ban on sea and ban on merchants a disaster?"

Yang Ling was stunned when he heard this, yes, why did he never think about these things before? He just criticized the voyage to the West to be useless. He deeply realized the power of the pen in the hands of civil servants. If he was killed by the Dongchang factory this time, he would not have made up his mind and would have been a treacherous person in the future? Could it be that there is another reason for this?

Yang Ling was so excited that he almost sat up. He felt relieved after he was owed his body. He hurriedly lay back on the couch and said sincerely and excitedly: "To be honest, in my opinion, closing the country is actually a misleading country and people. He opened a ban on trade and eliminated the source of pirates from the root. He can enrich the country and the people, and stabilize the Qinghai border, so that our Ming Dynasty can understand the overseas countries and not look at the sky in a well. There are many benefits. Therefore, he is willing to advise the emperor, but he still can't figure it out. Can you tell me in detail?"

Seeing that he looked excited, Jiao Fang almost forgot to be seriously injured in bed, and he felt a little funny. Although he was not optimistic about lifting the ban and trading, he could show his own unique insights and cater to Yang Ling's thoughts. Even if this strategy was not feasible, Yang Ling would definitely attract him as his confidant, so Jiao Fang also cheered up and slowly said what he knew and understood.

Since Zheng He went to the West, most of the initial imports were luxury goods. As exchanges increased, the large number of items were imported, the prices continued to fall, and daily necessities began to increase. Yangling could understand this. At the beginning of reform and opening up in later generations, the initial imports of high-value-added products from abroad were also imported from China in short supply.

However, the most advanced one at that time was the Ming Dynasty. The so-called luxury goods were mostly rare items. After more, they began to import a large amount of raw materials, but the output was exquisite silk, porcelain and other things, which also stimulated the development of domestic handicrafts. Heavy industries such as shipbuilding and cast iron also developed due to the increase in demand. It can be said that there are many benefits, so why did they die in a voice of opposition?

Jiao Fang's answer surprised Yang Ling. He thought that the small peasant thought of the scholars of the Ming Dynasty made them defame business and suppress business, and despise the role of commercial land. He did not expect the reasons for it. It seems that the strategy of preparing to advise Emperor Zhengde must be modified.

Yang Ling was very grateful for Jiao Fangdi's arrival. If he had refuted the short-sightedness of all officials in the court and promoted the benefits of lifting the ban and communicating business, he would probably be disappointed.

Jiao Fang received the hint that Yang Ling would recommend him to the cabinet, and also felt that this trip was worthwhile. He repeatedly stated that once he entered the cabinet, he would watch and help Yang Ling in the court, and then he said gratitude and tears.

Han Youniang, Gao Wenxin, Yu Tangchun, and Xue Limei were waiting in the outer hall. Seeing Yang Ling slowly walking out and coming up to meet him, Han Youniang saw that her husband had some worries. She couldn't help but say worryingly: "Mr., are you going to be busy with business?"

Yang Ling didn't want her to worry, so she put her worries for the time being and smiled: "Why are there so many things? The noodles are still hot. Come on, my husband eats a few bites of noodles that my wife has laid for me with his own hands."

He walked to the table, hurriedly drank a bowl of fragrant noodles, wiped his mouth and said, "Okay, my husband is so full of food. I'll go for a walk in the garden first."

Gao Wenxin opened her mouth and wanted to call him. After thinking about it, she stopped again. She sighed and said, "Forget it. She has been a few days, it's not bad at this moment."

Han Youniang then saved another important matter and asked worriedly: "Sister, my husband and you went to Beijing separately. I'm afraid there will be no more than ten days? Isn't it a big deal if I haven't had acupuncture these ten days, right?"

Gao Wen couldn't help laughing and said, "It should be a good idea. In fact, it must have been cured for so long before and after treatment. It was just the first time that my sister treated this disease. I said it for a while just in case."

Anyway, the three of them were all Yang Ling’s wives and concubines, and they were all sworn sisters, so they didn’t have so much scruples. She couldn’t help but smile and said, “My master has been going back and forth for more than two months. I have been guarding you for your health. After my treatment, I might be able to regain my energy and regain my energy.

She said slyly: "Hehe, maybe I can win the first prize tonight and make you pregnant with the Yang family's flesh and blood."

Han Youniang blushed when she heard this. She blew her shyly on Gao Wenxin's shoulders. Suddenly, she remembered her husband's various ways in the boudoir. Her heart suddenly "bang" and she jumped lightly.

"My husband's flesh, my husband's baby..." She couldn't help but caress her lower abdomen, bit her lips lightly, her face full of beautiful spring light, and her black eyes emitted a dazzling light.

Gao Wenxin smiled and suddenly turned her head. Seeing Yutangchun and Xue Limei glanced behind her with strange expressions, she couldn't help but touch her buttocks, then looked at her shoulders, and said suspiciously: "What's wrong? What's there?"

Yutangchun and Xue Limei shook their heads with a smile, looked at each other, biting their lips and turning their heads away. Gao Wenxin was puzzled, but he didn't know what they thought of.

Yu Tangchun suddenly thought that if his husband was healed and he was favored by him, maybe the person who had a baby first became a child. However, by luck, the young mother and sister may not be able to grab the first, and she couldn't help but be moved.

She turned her head and glanced at Xue Limei. She saw that the little girl seemed to have thought of something, lowered her head dejectedly, frowned, and looked indescribable. She knew that she had arrived in the past few days, and couldn't help but be happy.

Although the four of them became sworn brothers and were like sisters, they were always selfish in such matters. How could Yu Tangchun be so generous?

Yang Ling slowly walked to the inner study room, Cheng Qiyun was sitting at the table and flirting with ancient books boredly. She had already dressed up neatly, for some reason. She changed the blouse and wore a man's white robe, with purple patterns on the collar and sleeves. After the bath, the skin was moist like white jade, his nose was like a hanging gallbladder, and his red lips and white teeth. If she was really a man, her elegant temperament could compare Yang Ling.

She seemed to have known that Yang Ling would come to see her again after meeting Mr. Jiao. She smiled and said, "There are twice as many traditional Chinese medicine books in the study than classics, history, and collections. Look at the places where you are talking about the annotations, there are actually many mysterious places... Unfortunately, Beizhi will return to Jinling in three days, otherwise Beizhi will be taught here from Sun Simiao, which can provide the Yin and Yang techniques that can maintain health and qi."

Yang Ling was stunned, and then came back to the point, knowing that she was talking about Yin-Yang Techniques implicitly, but actually referring to the art of room. She couldn't help but frown and said, "What I like is your talent and knowledge. Why should I assign myself to the alchemist and sorcerer?"

Cheng Qiyun was stunned for a moment, but stood up solemnly and said, "My lord is the lesson. I'm wrong in my humble position."

Cheng Qiyun has a slim figure, wearing a young master's white robe and a purple square scarf, which looks like a branch of cultivating bamboo. She looks really graceful and out of the world, like a jade tree facing the wind. Yang Ling snorted, knowing that she pretended to be like a god, pretended to be like a ghost, and her expression and voice were unbelievable at all.

He sat at the table, frowned slightly and said, "I'm afraid you won't be able to go back to Jinling within three days. I thought the reason for the sea ban too simply. Today, after listening to Mr. Jiao's words, I realized that it was complicated and hard to describe it."

Cheng Qiyun raised her eyebrows and said in surprise: "What's the reason? I think that lord must have a superior vision. It's obvious that you are the master behind the scenes to resolve the internal and external courts' questioning the emperor this time, so he was determined to surrender. Could it be that he deliberately exclaimed in order to gain your appreciation?"

Yang Ling shook his head and said, "It turns out that I have simply regarded the scholars taught by the ancients...uh............. Most of them are not nerds I imagined to hold the saints' teachings. At least those who have become officials and have been in the officialdom are not such people."

Cheng Qiyun smiled and said, "That is natural, self-righteous and unscrupulous scholars even if they enter the officialdom, they will not stay for a long time. They will inevitably be like a big wave washing sand. In the end, they are forced to sing the wind and the moon, and they will roar proudly in the mountains and forests. How can scholars who can stay be so simple? Why can adults express this feeling?"

Yang Ling sighed softly and said, "The Ming Dynasty forbids the sea, there are many reasons, not for a simple reason. If we cannot prescribe the right medicine, the officials in the court may not respond based on your clever plan."

Cheng Qiyun's expression became solemn. She turned over two cups, picked up the pot and poured a cup of tea for Yang Ling, and said, "Fortunately, the court has just undergone a major change and is afraid of personal future. Many officials may not dare to make things difficult for adults.

Besides, the inner court is in your hands, and the emperor believes very much, so he has mastered most of the power. The outer court has a few more capable people to separate them, and there is great potential for things. Please tell me slowly, what are the reasons? Let's take a break and deal with them one by one."

Yang Ling nodded and laughed in silence, "I always like to not worry about success or failure when thinking about things. I am too cautious, but you are much more optimistic than me."

He pondered for a while before slowly saying: "The first reason for banning the sea is due to party disputes between the court."

He smiled bitterly and said, "This party is a dispute between the civil servant party and the eunuch party. The internal eunuchs are in charge of shipping, have soldiers and money, and have great power. Civil officials are afraid that the internal eunuchs will destroy the court's principles.

They believed that the superior country of the Celestial Empire could be self-sufficient and not traded with other countries. Small countries in foreign lands were even less able to destroy the Ming Dynasty. However, the internal officials' power could cause chaos in the world. Therefore, they tried their best to oppose the eunuch-led shipping, and as a result... they won."

Yang Ling sighed and said, "The feng shui turns around. Now I want to lift the sea ban. It seems that I still have to rely on the help of the inner court. What will the civil servants of the outer court feel?"

Cheng Qiyun raised her eyebrows, wanted to speak but stopped, and asked, "What about this second one?"

Yang Ling said: "This second is due to the checks and balances of the emperor. Now civil servants lead the army, the Ministry of War, and the Governor's Office of the Five Army to check and balance each other. What are the lands? Just prevent the generals from holding troops and respecting themselves. If you want to open a maritime businessman, you must have a strong navy. The huge navy is like a country at sea. What should you do if you can't lose your tail?

Therefore, with the courage and courage of Emperor Yongle, he insisted on using eunuchs to lead the fleet. Eunuchs had no descendants. They would not have the intention to split the soil, and it would be difficult to establish absolute authority among the soldiers. Only by using them can they be assured, but the civil officials were not assured of them."

He sipped the tea ceremony: "The third reason is my original view. The Confucian scholars are responsible for the country, and they pay attention to "parents are not traveling far away" and "only villains value profit". The merchants are at the end of the way. They have no great use for national economy and people's livelihood. They also think that the Celestial Empire is in the earth, and foreign barbarians are not worthy of being willing to trade. It is not that they cannot do anything, but that they are unwilling to do business."

"This fourth reason..." Cheng Qiyun said in surprise: "What, there is still a reason?"

Yang Ling smiled dryly and said, "The last one, the last one, this reason. Even I never thought of it in advance."

He thought for a while and said, "The interests of overseas trade are so great that it is mouth-watering. The people are secretly smuggling and making profits. Although Zheng He went to the West to trade widely, well... do you understand monopoly? It means that interests are concentrated in the court.

The gentry officials in coastal cities were incapable of competing with the huge fleet of the Ming Dynasty. They naturally found various reasons for their various relationships in the court, and used their attitude of asking for the people to win over and deceive more court officials to advise and stop them.

The land of the coastal officials and gentry was already poor, and they started their business through business and shipping. Since the sea ban, it was banned. In fact, it was banned but not stopped. Even taxes were not required, and the profits were even greater. Therefore, the Japanese pirates were in trouble. They were more excited than anyone else and were clamoring to fight against the Japanese. If someone really wanted to calm the Qing Dynasty and eliminate all smuggling forces, they would turn a blind eye to drag their backs in the court. The sea ban became a means for them to make profits for their families."

Cheng Qiyun was stunned when she heard this. She thought about it, took a piece of snow-white letter paper, took the wolf hair on the rack, opened the inkstone box and dipped it, wrote down four lines of words on the wrist, briefly wrote down these four reasons, and then frowned and pondered.
To be continued...