Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 538: Going One's Own Way
Zhang Shou was only slightly stunned by the Queen Mother's sudden question, and then he said frankly: "Lao Xianyu came to Beijing from Cangzhou before, and sent a lot of overseas crops that Cangzhou Canghai Xiayuan used to grow. He looked at the small peanuts he fostered in my house, and then went to Tianjin to prepare for the sea. The cinchona tree was discovered by him overseas, and if it is to be planted in Qiongzhou, he needs to drive a boat to take a look in person."
The Queen Mother gently turned the Buddhist beads in her hand, then looked at Zhang Shou for a long while, then smiled and said, "Of course what you said is one of the reasons, but I guess he is also worried about his nephew Xian Yunhe who was exiled to Qiongzhou to plant trees, right?"
"That should be the case." Zhang Shou said without reservation, "Qiongzhou has always been a remote place with a hot and humid climate. Every year for a few months there are often storms from the sea, and it rains heavily for several days. So when northerners first go to this extreme south, it is easy for them to get sick from the climate and water. It is inevitable that he is worried."
"For this purpose, I even bought prescriptions and a batch of medicinal materials in the capital. Ah Liu even found two doctors who were slandered and suppressed by their peers and could not continue to practice medicine in the capital and took them away for him..."
Zhu Ying was very confused as to why the Queen Mother suddenly asked Zhang Shou this question. She wanted to interrupt several times, but when she saw Ah Liu shaking his head behind Zhang Shou, she held back again and again, and simply observed the Emperor who had been angry just now. She found that when the Emperor was talking to Zhang Shou, his face looked as if he was not interested, but his eyes clearly betrayed him.
As she was most familiar with the emperor, she could tell at a glance that the emperor was clearly listening attentively.
Zhang Shou told Lao Xianyu whereabouts now, and then recounted the sailing experience that Lao Xianyu claimed to have had before. Although he had mentioned these things before in his memorials, he naturally described them in more detail this time, and did not bother to embellish them - because he understood that Lao Xianyu had already done the corresponding artistic processing when he told him what needed to be embellished.
The Queen Mother listened carefully and then turned her head to ask Zhu Ying: "Yingying, weren't you also in Cangzhou at that time? Is there anything else you want to add?"
"Me?" Zhu Ying blinked in confusion, then laughed dryly, "I went to Cangzhou to look for Ah Shou, and I'm not familiar with that old, wrinkled salted fish. My second brother and him have been through life and death together, and we've been through thick and thin together, so he should know more than me."
The Empress Dowager always loved Zhu Tingfang and Zhu Ying, but naturally treated the incompetent Zhu Er much less well. However, he was her grandson and nephew after all, so she would see him several times a year.
At this moment, she remembered what the Madam had said before, that Zhu Er seemed to have turned over a new leaf and had made great changes. She nodded happily and said, "In that case, next time your second brother comes, I will ask him properly..."
However, before she finished her words, the emperor suddenly asked, "Zhang Shou, have you ever asked that old salted fish how he ended up in the East Sea? You know, if it was maritime trade, it would either go to Japan and Korea, or to the countries in Southeast Asia. If it was further away, it would at most go to those small countries in the West."
"If it was for the purpose of making money, there would be no way to cross the vast ocean, pass through North Korea and Japan, and continue eastward."
Without waiting for Zhang Shou to answer, he said calmly: "You have been to the Military Equipment Bureau to see the globes and maps made by Emperor Taizu Meng Tiandi, so you should know how big the ocean is. Moreover, such maps have not been circulated among the people. It is not normal for a commoner like Lao Xianyu to travel across the ocean to Haidong. Don't tell me about the shipwreck..."
"It's possible that it could be blown to a small island, but it's absolutely impossible that it could be blown to a distant continent. Moreover , you told me in your memorial that the old man found some Ming people who had been stranded there before, and even found a stele that looked like the Taizu stele... I haven't asked you yet, have you figured out the stele you found in the cave?"
Seeing that the emperor was obviously suspicious, Zhang Shou remembered that Zhu Ying had mentioned to him before that Emperor Taizu said he died of old age after abdicating, but in fact he disappeared in the vast ocean. So he knew what the emperor was suspicious of without having to think about it.
Therefore, he thought for a moment and said frankly: "Your Majesty asked about the stone tablet, and I can only say that I have not yet solved it. And what your Majesty said is indeed correct. If it is purely for maritime trade, then we should take the mature routes of the East, South and West. However, just like Taizu dreamed of the Emperor of Heaven and made a globe, it is inevitable that there will be more adventurers in this world who want to see the world."
"Of course, maybe it's not such a pure adventure, but for fame and profit. As for Lao Xianyu, I think he was probably very poor when he was young, and he wanted to get rich, so he went all the way to Haidong. How much does a ship cost, and how much does it cost to hire crew members? Judging from his current wealth, he must have been funded by someone."
The emperor's eyes suddenly became sharp: "Who funded it? Who knew that there would be descendants of my Ming people in Haidong Continent? Shouldn't this matter be investigated thoroughly?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed that both the Empress Dowager and Zhu Ying were looking at him with rather subtle eyes, while Zhang Shou, on the other hand, looked normal.
He knew that he was too concerned and confused. It was ridiculous for the emperor to claim that he wanted to investigate such a "trivial" matter. However, when Zhang Shou said the next sentence, his remaining calmness disappeared without a trace.
"A few days ago, Ah Liu met with Song Huishou of the Guangdong Guild Hall and brought Mr. Song back from him. He also conveyed a request from Song Huishou to me. Song Huishou saw the business opportunity of the Imperial Chef Selection Competition and said that the ingredients from overseas are not only available in Cangzhou, but also in Guangdong. Many of them are fruits, but because they are sent to the capital from a long distance, they can only be dried like raisins and sent to me."
"Among them are fruits like mango and pineapple, but as far as I know, some of them are not native to Southeast Asia near Guangdong."
The emperor never bothered to investigate what Zhang Shou meant by "as far as I know" and where he got the knowledge from - he had already concluded that Zhang Shou had another master, but Zhang Shou's background was clean and he had never left the small village before coming to the capital, so as long as Zhang Shou did not hide what he had learned and worked wholeheartedly, it did not matter to him.
As for who Zhang Shou's teacher was, he felt that Zhang Shou himself might not even know it.
But if people from all over the world kept setting sail to search for traces that the court had given up looking for for many years, he couldn't stand it. Not only could he not stand it, he also felt like a thorn in his side.
"All under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people in the world are his subjects!"
After blurting out these sixteen words, the emperor said viciously: "When you asked Yingying to propose the escort ship to me, I thought about it, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt uncomfortable. Merchant ships are wandering around the world, but the official ships of the court are stuck because of concerns about expenses and manpower. No wonder those small countries in the West and South Seas dare to make moves!"
"Back when Emperor Taizu had not yet unified the country, he had the courage to send envoys on a long journey. Now that the Ming Dynasty has unified the country and is rich and powerful, he is counting money on his fingers every day? What's more, the envoy who was away for several years a hundred years ago not only made up for the expenses, but also made a lot of money. It's not like the official ship during the reign of Emperor Taizong, which only lost money!"
Zhang Shou couldn't help but complain in his heart when he heard the emperor's words. That was because the huge official ships that covered the sky during the reign of Emperor Taizong were most likely to find the whereabouts of Emperor Taizu - just like Emperor Yongle who was looking for Emperor Jianwen. And when it came to the emperors after Emperor Taizong, they didn't have time to fight among themselves, and it had been too long since Emperor Taizu disappeared, so they gradually stopped.
Of course, the increasingly powerful conservative forces in the court - coupled with the families and groups that are likely to profit greatly from maritime trade - will naturally do their utmost to prevent the official forces of the court from joining in this feast of lucrative profits.
The emperor did not notice the change in Zhang Shou's expression. He just smiled and said, "If those merchant ships were not profitable, they would not go out again and again. Can't the government ships make some money while they are setting sail?"
The Queen Mother knew that the Emperor would say this, but she was helpless in front of Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying, so she couldn't blame them. What made her laugh and cry was that Zhu Ying actually cheered loudly, "What the Emperor said is true. As long as the official ship can balance the income and expenditure after it goes out, or even have a surplus, let's see what the ministers can say!"
“Even if it cannot be said that it is a waste of money and labor, they will still accuse the court of sending official ships to sea, saying that it is competing with the people for profit.”
Zhang Shou said something slowly, and seeing Zhu Ying suddenly fell silent, and the emperor's expression suddenly turned cold, he simply spoke frankly.
"Your Majesty, the official ships have not been out to sea for many years. For some officials, this is the ancestral rule, and it is not something that can convince them by simply citing the four characters of Emperor Taizu."
"It's just like when I refuted Mr. Hong in the Imperial College before, saying that according to the Emperor Taizu's order, the third shift of errands was not menial, but Mr. Hong still looked dissatisfied. Because from the Han and Tang Dynasties to the Song and Yuan Dynasties, how many of the decrees of the founding emperors were changed by their descendants?"
"When the emperor issued the decree about the escort ships, there was actually a lot of opposition. However, because it did not involve major military affairs, the addition of a few minor officials and other matters overshadowed the issue, so the situation finally calmed down. Why don't you first see what kind of news these escort ships can bring back before sending large ships out to sea to promote our country's prestige?"
The Queen Mother was relieved when she saw that Zhang Shou did not urge the Emperor to immediately send an official ship to Haidong for investigation. She had always thought that Zhang Shou was nosy, but now she thought that based on the Emperor's character, if there was no Zhang Shou, there would be Li Shou, and if there was no Li Shou, there might be Wang Shou. In short, even though the Emperor had been on the throne for 27 years, the ambition in his bones was still there.
So, she could only make the next best thing and advised earnestly: "Emperor, Zhang Shou is right. It has been so many years since Emperor Taizu, and many people have become accustomed to the current system. If you want to change it, it will affect the interests and people of all walks of life. If you insist on investigating and sending official ships out to sea, you might as well test the waters."
The emperor certainly understood the meaning of throwing a stone to test the water. It was nothing more than asking someone to find an insignificant minor official to write a letter to mention the matter, and then see who supported and who opposed it, and then decide on the next step based on the specific situation.
However, he has been the emperor for so many years, and he has already removed Lord Jiang. Now even the position of the Prime Minister of the Cabinet is vacant. He completely ignores the unfamiliarity and opposition of his subordinates, and insists on pushing reforms in many places. How can he be willing to compromise?
Therefore, he narrowed his eyes slightly, but said with finality: "If the old salted fish you mentioned, Zhang Shou, has not yet set out for Qiongzhou Prefecture, then let him come to the capital. I want to ask him in person."
"I have always wanted to know who are those people who want to find out the whereabouts of Emperor Taizu and those people more than the royal family!"
"Moreover, the information on foreign countries in the Arms Bureau is at least ten to twenty years old, or even longer. Emperor Taizu once said that his descendants must look at the world. Now that the Ming Dynasty has quelled the northern threat and the people have enjoyed long-term peace and stability, it is time to take a fresh look at the world. This can be regarded as living up to Taizu's ancestral teachings."
The emperor suddenly changed his tone and said, "In the years since Emperor Taizong, government ships no longer go out to sea. In the early years, there was even a call for a sea trade ban because it harmed the people. When my father was alive, he once told me that some people were worried that someone overseas would cheat people under the guise of being descendants of Emperor Taizu, and even return to the Ming Dynasty to stir up trouble, but this is simply a joke."
"Emperor Taizu reigned for ten years, Emperor Taizong reigned for twelve years, Emperor Gaozong reigned for twenty years, Emperor Sejong reigned for fourteen years, Emperor Yingzong reigned for fourteen years, and Emperor Ruizong reigned for six years. During these periods, when politics was peaceful, no one claimed to be a descendant of Taizu. When the world was in turmoil, no one claimed to be a descendant of Taizu either."
"In that case, I just want to know what kind of new world Emperor Taizu discovered! He was willing to expand the territory with the dignity of the founding emperor, but the emperors of later generations ignored it and abandoned it. Is this the way for descendants?"
The emperor had just had an argument with the empress dowager. At this moment, he poured out all the words he had not had time to say before, then stood up and said word by word: "I did not teach my two sons, Dalang and Erlang, well. As a father, I am actually as guilty of dereliction of duty as the deposed empress, Concubine Jing! For the long-term peace and stability of the world, I plan to choose a day to issue an edict..."
Seeing the Queen Mother suddenly stand up from her seat, as if she had anticipated what he was going to say, with a look of shock and anger, he said in a deep voice: "I will choose a day to issue an edict to depose the eldest prince as a commoner and confine him to the Zongzheng Temple for life, without pardon. As for the second prince, he will be sent to Qiongzhou Prefecture to plant trees. He will come back the day he can get the magic medicine that can cure malaria. Their marriage will be put on hold to avoid bringing disaster to others!"
"Emperor!" The Queen Mother felt as if her temples were about to explode. It would have been fine if the Emperor had made up his mind on such a matter, and it would have been fine if he had been stubborn when arguing with her, but why did he have to mention this matter when Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying were around?
She glanced at Zhu Ying and Zhang Shou and saw that Zhu Ying was just stunned, while Zhang Shou frowned slightly, and neither of them had any expression that showed any sign of losing composure. She secretly said thank goodness, but then the emperor said something that made her completely lose composure.
"The Eastern Palace has been vacant for so many years, and I don't know how many people have advised against it. This time, I will appoint a crown prince!"
