Chapter 483: Sending Qi Yuanfu to Macau

These people were naturally the Portuguese entrenched in Macau.

Compared to the Spanish and Portuguese at the dawn of the Age of Exploration, when their strength was formidable, the Spanish and Portuguese of today had already begun to decline.

Though the mighty and invincible Spanish Armada still sailed the seas, after so many years of war with England, it could be said to have suffered grievous losses.

Moreover, with the Dutch now rising and beginning to challenge the Spanish fleet's position, the Spanish fleet's days had become even harder; and along the coasts of the Great Ming and Southeast Asia, the Spanish fleet's standing was even worse.

In Macau, thanks to the Great Ming's protection, these Portuguese could barely scrape by. But once they left the Great Ming's shelter, they would surely be swallowed up by someone.

The Dutch had long been eyeing them covetously. Now they had occupied Taiwan, seized the Penghu Islands, and even wanted to attack the Great Ming—this showed their arrogance.

The Portuguese were having a hard time. Zhu Youxiao believed that as long as he extended an olive branch, these Portuguese would certainly be willing to help the Great Ming.

Even if these Portuguese were unwilling to help the Great Ming, Zhu Youxiao believed he could persuade them, after all, his powers of persuasion were quite strong.

This time, Zhu Youxiao sent Qi Yuanfu precisely to guarantee that everything would go off without a hitch.

"After you arrive, find a man. This man established a cannon foundry in Macau. He is a foreigner, named Pedro Bocarro."

Zhu Youxiao could be said to have deep memories of this man, Pedro Bocarro. Because that cannon foundry in Macau was called the Bocarro Cannon Foundry.

The Bocarro Cannon Foundry purchased most of its copper from Japan, while iron ore, sulfur, and the like were sourced locally from areas near Macau.

The cannons produced by the Bocarro Cannon Foundry came in two types: iron cannons and bronze cannons. The iron cannons originated with Chinese workers, while the bronze cannons were pioneered by the Portuguese—they had long range and were durable.

During the Anglo-French War, the famous British general Wellington used bronze cannons produced by the Bocarro Cannon Foundry to great effect in the Peninsular War. By this time, the foundry had developed into a cannon works of considerable scale, producing not only cannons but also cannonballs, gunpowder, and even bronze bells for churches.

What Zhu Youxiao needed to do was find Pedro Bocarro and get this man under his control; as for those Portuguese in Macau, all the useful ones were to be relocated to the new city in the capital.

Zhu Youxiao was well aware of the Great Ming's current disadvantages. Although the Hundred Crafts Institute had manufactured many things, most were military products, and all of them were things he had forced into being by overreaching. To put it bluntly, there was no foundation beneath them.

These things looked lush and flourishing on the surface, but in reality they were castles in the air.

In the natural sciences, the Great Ming had already begun to fall behind, and without a scientific system, the difficulty of independently developing and researching in the future would be enormous.

This time, Zhu Youxiao had brought those missionaries to the capital and had them translate over seven thousand books—this was precisely for that purpose.

Those seven thousand-plus books were treasured classics that Nicolas Trigault had scoured Europe to collect. For this endeavor, he had traveled through every developed country in Europe, gathering all sorts of books—from art to culture to all kinds of industrial works, everything. Once these books were translated, they could make up for the Great Ming's deficiencies.

At the same time, there were all sorts of experimental equipment and scientific instruments, all of which the Great Ming currently lacked.

As for the industrial system, the Great Ming's current artisan system was fundamentally unreasonable. Although Zhu Youxiao did not want to reform it, he could establish new factories.

And as for a standardized system for factories, the Great Ming simply did not have one—it needed to be introduced from another direction. The best direction was naturally the Portuguese cannon foundry.

And if the Great Ming wanted to build ships, it also needed cannon foundries. What Zhu Youxiao valued was not the foundry's ability to cast cannons, but their other things.

With those seven thousand-plus books, plus the Portuguese before him, the Great Ming could make up some of its deficiencies in foundational strength.

With these things in hand, Zhu Youxiao believed that with the Great Ming people's intelligence, wisdom, manpower, and resources, rapid development was only a matter of time.

Moreover, Zhu Youxiao had already sent people to search for books across the entire country, preparing to organize and compile them in the great library, and he had already assembled the personnel.

In the fields of nature, science, medicine, and so on, he would find those masters and have them write treatises. With such cultural depth and a research team, combined with his own guidance, Zhu Youxiao believed the Great Ming would usher in an explosive development of the natural sciences.

As for thought and ideology, there would also be new collisions. But some things, Zhu Youxiao would need to guide and maintain carefully—they could not be allowed to go wrong.

And the ideological seeds planted earlier could now be dug up at just the right time. The students of the Imperial Academy would become the vanguard of the Great Ming's new currents of thought. In this matter, there would certainly be very good results.

Once these foundations were all laid, that would be the time for the Great Ming to soar.

Qi Yuanfu did not know why His Majesty wanted him to find this Pedro Bocarro. But when it came to His Majesty's orders, Qi Yuanfu would carry them out to the letter without the slightest deviation.

Qi Yuanfu said directly: "Yes, Your Majesty. Rest assured, your servant will certainly find this Pedro Bocarro."

"This time, when you go to Macau, you will not be going alone." Zhu Youxiao looked at Qi Yuanfu and said: "I am giving you three thousand troops, and the authority to make decisions on the spot as circumstances dictate, allowing you to mobilize the forces in Guangdong. No one in Guangdong will be able to obstruct you."

"In addition, I am having Wei Chao accompany you. Bring those Portuguese to Beijing for me, and move their cannon foundry over as well."

"Tell them that if they are willing to come, money and such will be no problem at all. Moreover, I can trade with them—open ports in Shandong and Tianjin, and allow their merchant ships to dock. If they are unwilling to come, then it falls to you."

As he said this, Zhu Youxiao looked at Qi Yuanfu with a grave expression and said: "I don't care what methods you use, you must bring the people back. Understand?"

Upon hearing these words, the expression on Qi Yuanfu's face turned serious.

What His Majesty wanted to do, Qi Yuanfu did not know. But what His Majesty wanted him to do, Qi Yuanfu already understood perfectly in his heart.

To put it plainly, he had to guarantee that those Portuguese came to the capital; if they would not come, then force would be used—even if they had to be bound and dragged back.

In fact, this was merely Zhu Youxiao's fallback plan. He believed the Portuguese would not refuse.

Never mind the Portuguese—right now, everyone was seeking to trade with the Great Ming; it was just that the Great Ming could not be bothered with them.

Smuggling trade had always existed, but in reality it was monopolized by certain people. For example, Li Dan, that famous maritime merchant and pirate of the Great Ming.

As for others who wanted to trade with the people of the Great Ming, the difficulty was especially great. The Portuguese could remain in Macau because there was no one else there—the main population was their own people, and even so, it had taken no small amount of effort.

The Portuguese had to pay taxes and land rent to the Great Ming every year, and also had to bribe the local officials with money, before they were permitted to stay in Macau.

Now the Great Ming Emperor was offering these Portuguese open ports—they would be jumping for joy. How could they possibly refuse?

But just in case the Portuguese had a bout of idiocy, Zhu Youxiao would simply have people bind them and bring them back. As for what the outcome would be, that could be discussed after they were brought back.

For now, he could grab a wave of Portuguese technology—Zhu Youxiao was quite interested in their technology.

One should know that in the original course of history, the Great Ming had repeatedly sent people to Macau to purchase cannons. In the fourth year of Tianqi, they purchased four; in the second year of Chongzhen, they purchased ten. Emperor Chongzhen even bestowed upon the Macau cannons mounted on Beijing's city gates the name "Mighty General of Divine Power," and there were also the later Hongyipao cannons—this fully demonstrated the strength of the Bocarro Cannon Foundry.

Under such circumstances, once the Bocarro Cannon Foundry was absorbed, the Great Ming could obtain a great deal of technology from it. Combining it with current technology and cross-validating the two, Zhu Youxiao believed there would be gains.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing." Zhu Youxiao looked at Qi Yuanfu and continued: "It concerns people who can build ships. Those foreigners who can build great ships—after you arrive, you must gather some of them. No matter what methods you use, you must bring them back."

"Also, blueprints for ocean voyages and blueprints for shipbuilding—you must obtain all of those as well. In this matter, you must handle it with great care and not make too much of a commotion."

"As long as no one else finds out, I will permit whatever you do. I am sending you because your family once fought naval battles—you haven't lost that skill, have you?"

"In reply to Your Majesty, no, I have not!" Qi Yuanfu hastily answered.

Qi Yuanfu naturally knew that the Emperor was referring to Qi Jiguang—that name that weighed upon everyone in the Qi family. The Qi family's current standing was also because of Qi Jiguang.

As for what the Emperor wanted to collect these things for, Qi Yuanfu naturally understood very well.

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said with satisfaction: "You do have something of the look of a worthy son from a general's family. Go now. Do not disappoint me—handle this matter splendidly!"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Qi Yuanfu hastily acknowledged.

After Qi Yuanfu had left, Zhu Youxiao stood in the great hall, gazing into the distance, his expression unchanging.

For the coming period, he would do nothing at all. What the Great Ming needed to do now was rest.

In Liaodong, he had crippled Hong Taiji with his own hands, and for years to come, Hong Taiji would be in no position to recover.

On the Mongol front, Ligdan Khan could not stir up trouble, and neither could the Khorchin or the Inner Khalkha. The three of them might well fight among themselves, but that had nothing to do with the Great Ming—the Great Ming only needed to watch.

In fact, this conjecture was unlikely to come to pass either—Ligdan Khan did not have that kind of ability. If Ligdan Khan had truly been a wise lord of the steppe, a heaven-sent hero, he would not have ended up the way he did in the original course of history.

For now, there were no major issues at court. The money Zhu Youxiao had obtained from Zhangjiakou would be enough to cover expenses for some time. As for the remaining funds needed, the Imperial Household Department would earn them back through trade in the northwest.

The Imperial Household Department was already turning a profit now—just the brand licensing fees alone brought in a substantial sum every year.

The so-called brand licensing fees were actually the cost of being an imperial tribute supplier—one had to pay to buy the quota. As the prestige of the imperial tribute designation grew higher and prices grew more expensive, these fees also increased accordingly.

In Zhu Youxiao's view, imperial tribute goods were already beginning to shift toward the luxury market. Under such circumstances, the Imperial Household Department brought in a great deal of money every year.

So for the next few years, Zhu Youxiao did not need to worry about spending. He planned to lie low for a while.

Zhu Youxiao was already prepared. All he needed to do now was wait quietly, letting everything he had set in motion ferment and take effect.

As for the Portuguese, he believed they would not reach the capital anytime soon. Even after they arrived, their things would need time to be processed, and the translation of those seven thousand books would also take time.

Beyond that, military training required time, and the Hundred Crafts Institute needed time to manufacture equipment.

Until all these things came to fruition, Zhu Youxiao would do nothing.

Developing for a few years in a stable environment would be of tremendous benefit to the Great Ming. Wasn't all his scheming and maneuvering ultimately for this very purpose?

Glancing at Wei Chao standing beside him, Zhu Youxiao said directly, "Go back and pack your things, then set out for Macau."

Wei Chao's heart was filled with anguish.

In Liaodong, what kind of work had he done? And now they were sending him out again?

When His Majesty had first ascended the throne, he had already been dispatched once. Now he had to do this kind of hard, exhausting work again?

Wei Chao truly could not understand what he had done to offend His Majesty, that His Majesty paid him such particular attention.

But he was merely a servant, and even having such thoughts, he dared not ask.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Wei Chao and said, "Leave the matter of compiling books in the new city to Wang An. After you return from Macau this time, a brush-holder position in the Directorate of Ceremonial will be yours."

Hearing these words, Wei Chao's eyes immediately lit up. He hastily prostrated himself on the ground and said, "This servant thanks Your Majesty!"

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "Alright, go make your preparations. If you handle matters well, you will have done right by me."

"Rest assured, Your Majesty—this servant will never let you down!" Having said this, Wei Chao rose from the ground, bowed, and retreated backward out of the room.

After Wei Chao had left, Zhu Youxiao gazed out beyond the palace, his eyes deep and far-seeing.

He turned and walked into the inner palace.

He had already idled away some days in the inner palace recently, and now he would need to lie low for an even longer stretch.

After all, he had been stirring things up for so long that he must have incurred the displeasure of many. If he kept pushing, trouble might well arise.

To put it plainly, his foundation was still insufficient.

Once his foundation was solid enough, he could do as he pleased with the realm.

But Zhu Youxiao believed that day would not be too far off. When he once again walked out of the imperial palace, everything he wanted would be within his grasp, and no one would be able to refuse him.

For now, he should spend time with Empress Zhang and his women. After all, he had been too busy lately and had been neglecting them.

Since they had entered the palace, he had not spent much time with them. Now was a good opportunity—when he became busy again in the future, who knew what things would look like.

From that day on, the Emperor of the Great Ming began a period of recuperation and rest.

Though no one knew why, the Emperor settling down was good news for everyone—especially for important ministers like Xu Guangqi.

After all, when the Emperor kept stirring things up this way and that, they had no confidence in their hearts either.

Especially since the Emperor always wanted to run outside the palace—that would not do.

Now, the Emperor staying put like this was just fine.