Chapter 365

"Rui de, you have great backbone; I admire you!" Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Rui, who was being pressed down by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and highly approved of this man's unyielding spirit. In order to see the Emperor, Rui had submitted to the etiquette of the Great Ming, but once he saw the Emperor of the Great Ming, Rui refused to kneel. Who gave him this courage?

Zhu Zhu Yijun could not help but ask, did Rui really come to negotiate peace? The Governor-General of Goa, Menezes, sending him here seemed more like a declaration of war!

The civil and military officials of the entire court watched this scene in great astonishment.

Since the founding by Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang, among the envoys from foreign countries coming to pay tribute, when has there ever been one who refused to kneel?

Wan Wan Shihe did know one thing, and that was that in the nineteenth year of Yongle, the envoys of the Timurid Kingdom, Aldusha and Ghiyath al-Din, refused to kneel. Aldusha was the Prime Minister of the Timurid Kingdom, and Ghiyath al-Din was a fierce general. That year, the Yongle Emperor held a grand military review and invited the foreign envoys to witness it together. These two eye-catching figures refused to kneel, and the Emperor Chengzu Wen Emperor did not take it to heart. When the review ended, these two envoys kowtowed violently.

Between the Great Ming and the Timurid Kingdom lay the Western Regions; the Great Ming was indeed unable to reach them. At that time, the Timurid Kingdom was the hegemon of Central Asia, claiming to be the suzerain of 127 countries. Timur had even defeated and captured the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I the Thunderbolt, so he naturally had his own arrogance. However, after witnessing the dazzling military might of the Great Ming, the envoys of the Timurid Kingdom immediately performed a sliding kowtow.

The arrogance of the Timurid Kingdom's envoys was based on the strength of the Timurid Kingdom and the fact that the Great Ming was far away and could not reach them.

But where did Rui de's arrogance come from? He actually dared to toy with the officials of the Great Ming Ministry of Rites, going back on his word and refusing to kneel in the hall. The water route from the Great Ming military to the Goa Governor-General's office is only two months, shorter than the time it takes for the Capital Battalion to reach Jiayu Pass!

The officials of the Ministry of Rites were completely numb. They had taught him well, but once he got to the hall, he went back on it. If His Majesty were to blame them, no one in the Ministry of Rites would have a good outcome. Chen Chen Xuehui looked at Ma Ma Ziqiang, and Ma Ma Ziqiang looked at Wan Wan Shihe. Diego de was very well-behaved now; after being beaten once, he honestly went to the Jiangwu Academy to attend classes. This Rui de was still asking for a beating.

Some officials, seeing this scene, had already started whispering. The officials of the Great Ming court had truly never seen such a scene before.

"The Goa Governor-General's office will surely use its own swords to protect its territory. The Great Ming abandoned the Jiugang and the Strait of Ma Liujia over 170 years ago. We have occupied Ma Liujia for sixty years. Because of one word from the Great Ming Emperor, we must give it up? This is impossible. Today, I do not kneel to you, this tyrant, here, just to tell you, this tyrant! None of us in the Goa Governor-General's office lack courage; we will hold our ground until the last man!"

"Your schemes will never succeed!" Rui was pressed by his shoulders and kicked to the ground, forced to kneel, but he still shouted loudly.

According to Rui's intelligence, the Great Ming Emperor spoke Latin extremely well. The Great Ming Emperor would certainly be able to understand what he shouted.

Zhu Zhu Yijun picked up a square cloth, wiped his hands, took a box from Feng Bao, and after confirming there was no hand sweat, opened the box. Inside lay an imperial edict. He put on his gloves, and while opening the edict, he said: "No, no, no, Rui, you are wrong. That piece of land is not yours. I must remind you that sixty years ago, you captured the city of Ma Liujia. The King and Prince of Ma Liujia escaped. Since then, the King has been organizing resistance, attempting to retake the city of Ma Liujia."

"You extinguished the old King's resistance forces, but this Prince is still alive in the Great Ming."

"This Prince's name is Tun Muhammad. He arrived in the Great Ming and found the Minister of the Court of Ceremonial Protocol, Qiu Qiu Daolong, to cry out his grievances. Qiu Qiu Daolong reported it to the Wu Sect Emperor, and the Wu Sect Emperor was furious."

"In the twelfth month of the fifteenth year of During Zhengde, the Wu Sect Yi Emperor issued an imperial edict telling the Portuguese envoy, Huo Zhe Huozhe Yasan, that the Kingdom of Ma Liujia was a kingdom enfeoffed by the Great Ming's edict, a vassal state of the Great Ming, and a tributary state of the Great Ming. Yet the Portuguese dared to break through the capital and annex the land of Ma Liujia, and even demanded that the Great Ming recognize the Portuguese occupation. The Great Ming will never recognize the Portuguese rule in Ma Liujia. He dispatched the envoy Jiang Bin with an imperial edict to Ma Liujia, ordering the Portuguese to return the territory. If they remain obsessed and unrepentant, he will surely declare your crimes and punish your evil deeds."

"This imperial edict is the original. Jiang Bin brought it back in the third month of the following year. The Portuguese refused to agree and chose to defy the edict. Because his mission was unsuccessful, Jiang Bin was sentenced to prison by the Wu Sect Emperor."

Zhu Zhu Yijun opened the imperial edict. Even though it was Goryeo tribute paper, it was still slightly yellowed. This imperial edict was the original, which Feng Bao had dug out from the Ancient and Modern Collection Library. Jiang Bin had taken it, the red-haired barbarians defied the edict, and Jiang Bin brought it back.

The reason for Jiang Bin's imprisonment was very simple; the Wu Sect Emperor had stated it very clearly: You are a Han envoy, the barbarian thieves defied the edict, you should have issued a manifesto to the various barbarians to invite troops to attack them together.

"In the first year of Emperor Jiajing, the Shizong Emperor issued an edict to execute Jiang Bin, as well as the Portuguese envoy Huo Zhe Huozhe Yasan, who had already lived in the Great Ming for twelve years." After Zhu Zhu Yijun closed the imperial edict and put it away carefully, he picked up another imperial dispatch. This was the dispatch from the Daoist Master ordering the beheading of Jiang Bin and Huo Zhe Huozhe Yasan.

The reason for Jiang Bin's death was also very clear: the Great Ming's vassal state was conquered and destroyed, and Jiang Bin, carrying the imperial edict, failed to handle the matter well, causing the Great Ming to suffer humiliation; he deserved to die.

Zhu Zhu Yijun took another imperial edict from the box and continued: "In the thirty-second year of Emperor Jiajing, Tun Muhammad passed away in the Great Ming. The Shizong Emperor issued an edict for an official burial, and subsequently enfeoffed Tun Muhammad's descendants as Kings of Ma Liujia, and then issued an edict to the Portuguese commander in Tunmen Island, Simão, to return the old land of Ma Liujia."

The Daoist Master was petty. It didn't end with killing Jiang Bin, killing Huo Zhe Huozhe Yasan, and killing Tomé Pires. The Daoist Master always remembered this matter, but by the thirty-second year of Emperor Jiajing, the Northern Barbarians were invading and the Southeast was plagued by Japanese pirates, so the Daoist Master could only remember this much.

Zhu Zhu Yijun put the imperial edict away, took out another one from inside, and said: "From the Great Ming's standpoint, the Great Ming has never abandoned its claim to Ma Liujia. Portugal has never been allowed to pay tribute. In the first year of Emperor Wanli, the Viceroy of Liangguang, Yin Yin Zhengmao, expelled the Portuguese who had occupied the land of Haojing without permission. That year, all merchant ships belonging to Portugal arriving at the port were subjected to an additional ten-percent punitive tariff, which was also a continuation of the initial matter."

"From Portugal's standpoint, your King's heir, Antonio, accepted the Great Ming's enfeoffment and offered the Strait of Ma Liujia to the Great Ming. This is the letter sent by Antonio, and this is my imperial edict enfeoffing him as the King of Portugal."

"Do you have any other questions?"

Rui de understood very clearly. The Great Ming was fully prepared. Starting from the grievances of sixty years ago to the various events during the Emperor Wanli period, the Great Ming indeed possessed a very, very complete claim in terms of legal principle. Even the descendants of the Prince of Ma Liujia were still living well in the Great Ming.

Even if the past was not mentioned, the Kingdom of Ma Liujia had factually been destroyed. Standing from Portugal's standpoint, the heir Antonio had also sold out the ownership of the entire Strait of Ma Liujia.

However, Portugal was Portugal, and the Goa Governor-General's office was the Goa Governor-General's office; their interests were not entirely consistent.

"It is we who factually occupy the Strait of Ma Liujia now. What is the use of you, this tyrant, saying so much! I am telling you today that we will absolutely not leave the Strait of Ma Liujia!" Rui was pressed down, still refusing to lower his head, stiffening his neck and shouting loudly.

Zhao Zhao Mengyou reached out and pressed Rui's head to the ground. Whether Rui was willing to kneel or willing to bow his head and listen was Rui's business; making Rui kneel and bow his head was the duty of these ceremonial censors like Zhao Zhao Mengyou.

Zhu Zhu Yijun put the imperial edicts and other items into the box, took off his gloves, looked at Rui, and said: "I am a reasonable person. If the logic holds, we will discuss it; if the logic does not hold, I will not discuss it."

"Didn't you say that you would not surrender until the last man?"

"That's fine. I promise you, I will kill everyone until not a single one is left."

"As the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming, my words are golden and jade; once said, I will never break my promise."

"I have had these documents copied. You take them back. This is my logic. I am telling it to you. You may choose not to listen, but I must tell it. The Great Ming is not a land of barbarians; it is a civilized country and a land of etiquette."

The Central Plains have a long history. This is a burden, but also a pride. Most people in the Great Ming respect history, including the Emperor Zhu Zhu Yijun. Picking up the imperial edicts from the During Zhengde and Emperor Jiajing periods, the Emperor was also very careful, because the paper had become fragile over time. But it didn't matter; Zhu Zhu Yijun had already ordered these to be carved into stone tablets.

Zhu Zhu Yijun waved his hand, telling Rui to get lost. Since they wanted war, then he would give them war. Rui was still shouting, but he was taken away by the ceremonial censors. Inside the Huangji Hall, the civil and military officials of the Great Ming were all silent. Even those restorationists who clamored about "cherishing the distant and embracing the vassals" could not say a single word of nonsense at this moment.

Rui de's going back on his word—clearly promising but refusing to kneel—humiliated the officials of the Ministry of Rites, humiliated the Great Ming Emperor, and humiliated the Great Ming.

In the twenty-ninth year of Emperor Jiajing, Altan Khan invaded the capital region, besieged the capital, and sent envoys to the capital to negotiate the withdrawal of troops. Even Altan Khan's envoys had knelt.

"Rui de, red-haired barbarian, coming from afar to admire righteousness, not knowing the etiquette of the Heavenly Dynasty. As a high official of the imperial court, order him to go to Guangxiao Temple to practice etiquette for three days before seeing him. On the first day, start by kneeling on the left leg; on the second day, start by kneeling on the right leg; on the third day, only then kowtow, and only then introduce him to the Minister of the Court of Ceremonial Protocol." Zhu Zhu Yijun took off his gloves and took out the memorial from the Minister of Rites, Ma Ma Ziqiang.

Rui's learning of etiquette was at Guangxiao Temple. He had indeed learned it, and only after learning it did he see the arrangements for the audience made by the Minister of the Court of Ceremonial Protocol, Chen Chen Xuehui.

"Your subject is guilty." Ma Ma Ziqiang, Chen Chen Xuehui, and other officials of the Ministry of Rites hurriedly stepped out and bowed their heads to plead guilty. With such an incident occurring, they could not escape their responsibility.

"No, no, no. I clearly remember that when Grand Secretary Wan was still the Minister of Rites, he patted the table and said to me: 'Barbarians have the faces of wolves and the hearts of beasts; they fear power but do not cherish virtue!' Today's incident just happens to prove that what Grand Secretary Wan said is true. The officials of the Ministry of Rites have done their best." Zhu Zhu Yijun considered himself a reasonable person.

Menezes sent Rui here with the excuse of peace talks. Those conditions were indeed very generous. Menezes' ultimate goal was to replace the Kingdom of Ma Liujia and continue to exist.

The Ministry of Rites arranged the audience, and Rui was very respectful. Rui turning against them in the hall was beyond everyone's expectations.

"Rui's behavior actually just proves what the Grand Marshal and the Master said to me: what cannot be obtained on the battlefield should not be expected to be obtained at the negotiating table." Zhu Zhu Yijun said with great emotion.

The reason Rui came to the hall to shout was simply because he couldn't win on the battlefield, wasn't it? If he could win on the battlefield, would he have traveled thousands of miles to the capital?

Zhang Zhang Juzheng was already prepared to blame Chen Shan, and Hence Hai Rui had already stepped out with one foot. With the Emperor's words, Zhang Zhang Juzheng breathed a sigh of relief, and the foot Hence Hai Rui had stepped out was also retracted.

To kill a high official of the imperial court because of the rudeness of a barbarian envoy—wasn't this a typical act of "hurting those close to you and gladdening your enemies, and being fierce at home but weak abroad"? Emperor, your temper is so big, why don't you go kill the barbarians?

As a result, His Majesty did not blame the officials of the Ministry of Rites at all. Zhang Zhang Juzheng had prepared a bellyful of words, all in vain. Back then, he said in his "Memorial on Current Affairs" that the greatest harm to the country was the lack of clear rewards and punishments. Hence Hai Rui discovered that during the Emperor Wanli period, he rarely had the opportunity to blame Chen Shan and could only catch a few more corrupt officials and perform his duties faithfully.

"Your subjects kowtow to thank His Majesty for the imperial grace." Ma Ma Ziqiang wiped the sweat from his forehead. His Majesty's temperament was indeed, as Yu Yu Dayou said, too gentle and benevolent. According to the basic logic that "if the lord is humiliated, the subject should die," Ma Ma Ziqiang should have lost his head at this moment. Even after thinking it over three times, plus the persuasion of the Senior Grand Secretary and the censors for benevolence and forgiveness, the best outcome for Ma Ma Ziqiang would have been to be sentenced to prison.

Jiang Bin was imprisoned and then beheaded and displayed in public simply because he failed to issue the imperial edict.

Under the feudal imperial system, this is how it is.

His Majesty's temperament is gentle and benevolent. The reason he is fond of killing is not His Majesty's fault; it is because the subjects have lost their sense of respect.

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked around and asked calmly: "Is there anyone else who opposes the Great Ming's re-establishment of the Jiugang Regional Military Commission? If no one opposes it today, do not oppose it in the future."

"His Majesty is wise!" Zhang Zhang Juzheng led the officials in singing praises and singing hymns.

"Alright, summon Shah Muhammad." Zhu Zhu Yijun signaled for the officials to return to their ranks. The main agenda of the grand morning assembly, the audience with foreign envoys, was not yet over. Rui's commotion actually helped the court, which originally had many opinions, reach a consensus. If the Strait of Ma Liujia remained in the hands of foreigners, the Great Ming would be finished sooner or later. These red-haired barbarians were not only bold but also very ruthless in their methods. This could be considered an unexpected joy.

Previously, there had always been people opposing the imperial court's re-establishment of the Jiugang Regional Military Commission and plotting for the Strait of Ma Liujia. If there had been only one voice in the court, Zhu Zhu Yijun would have had to be careful about his own head even in his dreams.

The opponents had very sufficient reasons. Because of Menezes' submissiveness, the conditions he offered were indeed very moving, causing some restorationist officials to rekindle old dreams and have grand dreams of "cherishing the distant and embracing the vassals, and making the world fear them." It seemed that if the Strait of Ma Liujia were in the Goa Governor-General's office, it might not be unacceptable; everyone could just be harmonious and make money.

This set of Nine Classics of Confucianism has poisoned the Central Plains for thousands of years.

But facts have proven that barbarians are barbarians after all. Rui's behavior was like a fierce slap in the face of these restorationist Confucian scholars, waking them up from their illusions.

Conflicts concerning survival are the primary contradictions and are irreconcilable contradictions.

Even those restorationist Confucian scholars who had thoughts in their minds and said that the Strait of Ma Liujia being in the hands of barbarians would not cause harm to the Great Ming had to consider today's scene. If they talked nonsense again, they would likely be accused of secretly colluding with the barbarians.

Shah Muhammad naturally saw Rui being dragged out. Because Rui kept shouting and screaming, Zhao Zhao Mengyou simply found a sock and stuffed it into Rui's mouth to save him from continuing his wild talk. Shah Muhammad was extremely surprised. As far as he knew, since the Great Ming shifted from a conservative national policy to opening the seas, they had never dragged out any foreign envoy with a sock stuffed in their mouth.

What exactly did this Rui do?

After Shah Muhammad was summoned, he walked cautiously into the Huangji Hall, bowed with extreme respect, not daring to make any mistakes, and shouted with his head bowed: "Greetings to Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty, long live, long live!"

Shah Muhammad had spent a year in the Great Ming after entering through Jiayu Pass before completing the process of having an audience with the Emperor and reaching the capital. His Han Chinese was excellent; he could even correctly express idioms and common sayings.

"Envoy Shah, long time no see. No need for such formalities, please rise quickly. This time, regarding the horse ships, Envoy Shah has worked hard." Zhu Zhu Yijun was like a dog's face! As soon as he saw a big client, his face wrinkled with smiles!

This trip, Shah Muhammad brought back 25,000 warhorses for the Great Ming, including 500 stallions, and they didn't need to spend any extra money!

"Not hard, not hard. Your Majesty, Emperor Akbar entrusted me to bring a state letter, please review it, Your Majesty." Shah Muhammad's heart, which had been in his throat, fell back into his stomach. The Great Ming Emperor was such a good person; being an Emperor, he was so approachable. It must have been that Rui's fault.

Akbar's state letter was naturally full of commercial flattery, praising the five-masted ocean-crossing ships endlessly. Especially the fearful look of the Diu Governor-General's office when they saw the five-masted ocean-crossing ships made Akbar very comfortable. He hoped to have more five-masted ships to deter the red-haired barbarians of the West.

The communication between Zhu Zhu Yijun and Shah Muhammad was very smooth. Shah Muhammad indeed intended to live in the Great Ming for a long time. He protested to the Ministry of Rites that the officials of the Great Ming were too hardworking. He hoped that they could only visit him on odd-numbered days and not look for him on even-numbered days. He expressed surprise at the diligence of the Great Ming officials.

It wasn't that the Great Ming officials were diligent, but that Shah Muhammad's life was truly enviable.

Listening to storytelling at the Qianmen Tower for a whole day, and even when reporting for duty at the Four Foreign Envoys' Hall, he would go for half a day and rest for half a day, focusing on a relaxed and carefree life.

"Praise to Your Majesty, the goods in Your Majesty's Imperial Manor truly opened my eyes. It's just a pity that I don't know when new and strange goods will be available." Shah Muhammad was very satisfied with his shopping experience at the Imperial Manor and was also full of expectations for new goods.

"Envoy Shah can buy a copy of the 'Civil News'; it will publish the new arrivals at the Great Ming Imperial Manor. If Envoy Shah wants to buy them, most of the goods will be reserved for Envoy Shah, so don't worry." Zhu Zhu Yijun was also very satisfied. Yesterday, Shah Muhammad spent 17,800 taels of silver at the Imperial Manor.

"Thank you for Your Majesty's reminder." Shah bowed and said: "Your Majesty, my monarch told me to maintain friendship with Your Majesty in the hope of obtaining more five-masted ocean-crossing ships. I wonder how many the Great Ming can sell us this year? Of course, still at the price of 250,000 silver per ship."

"Five five-masted ocean-crossing ships. Philip II of the West did not pay enough silver. He did not take away the ten five-masted ships he had reserved, but only took away five, and even borrowed my silver." Zhu Zhu Yijun told Shah Muhammad that the quota for the Mughal Kingdom this year was only five ships.

The Great Ming's production capacity had already been pushed to the limit.

"Thank you, noble and generous Your Majesty. Your benevolence will surely shine over the entire Western Ocean." Shah Muhammad asked curiously: "Can I borrow money here, Your Majesty? How is the interest paid?"

The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue stood up and explained the Great Ming's loan policy to Shah Muhammad. The more Shah Muhammad heard, the more surprised he became. Terms like risk, extension, asset pledge, and sovereign pledge made Shah Muhammad break into a cold sweat.

Borrowing money from His Majesty meant that at least several generations would have to work like oxen and horses for His Majesty to pay it off. Even then, they might not be able to pay it off; this favor of borrowing money from His Majesty could never be repaid!

"Is Envoy Shah interested?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked eagerly.

"Your Majesty, the Mughal Kingdom is very wealthy. I personally do not lack money." Shah Muhammad hurriedly refused, fearing that if he refused too late, the ceremonial censors would press him to the ground on the spot and force him to borrow money. Shah Muhammad did not dare to talk more and immediately fled the Huangji Hall as if escaping.

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Shah Muhammad's back with great regret. Envoy Shah left very decisively, without any lingering feelings, and didn't even want to look back.

Zhu Zhu Yijun said helplessly: "Why didn't he borrow a little from me? He should have borrowed a little."

Afterward, envoys from Joseon, Annam, Siam, the Western envoy Li Li Yashi, and others entered the court for an audience. Just receiving the foreign envoys took nearly an hour.

"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Marquis Ningyuan, Li Li Chengliang, arrived at Jimen yesterday." The Minister of War, Tan Lun, reported a matter. Every three years, it was time for Li Li Chengliang to come to the capital to report on his duties. Li Li Chengliang brought only one hundred personal guards and had already reached Jimen, waiting for the imperial decree at Jimen. If His Majesty did not see him, Li Li Chengliang would circle the Ministry of War and return to Liaodong.

"Let the Marquis of Marquis Ningyuan stay at the Northern Great Camp today. We will summon him for an audience on another day." Zhu Zhu Yijun thought for a moment, looked at Qi Qi Jiguang, and smiled: "Since the Marquis of Marquis Ningyuan has come from afar, General Qi must entertain him well. Let Li Li Rusong go to Jizhou to receive the Marquis of Marquis Ningyuan into the camp."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Qi Qi Jiguang bowed and accepted the order.

"If there is anything to report, report it early; if not, retire from the court." Feng Bao saw that the time was about right, flicked his horsetail whisk, took a step forward, and announced that this grand morning assembly had concluded successfully.

Zhu Zhu Yijun did not like the Confucian Nine Classics about "cherishing the distant and embracing the vassals," but as Li Li Chengliang, a feudal lord, entered the capital, Zhu Zhu Yijun gave him enough face because, regarding the Liaodong issue, he still had to rely on Li Li Chengliang at this time.

After the grand morning assembly ended, Zhang Zhang Juzheng and Qi Qi Jiguang were stopped by a small eunuch and led to the side of the small railway. The carriage was already waiting, and the Great Ming Emperor had long since ridden his "dry duck" to the Zhao Wenhua Hall.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng and Qi Qi Jiguang arrived at the main hall and were led to the side hall. Inside the side hall, there were still seven display cabinets. Feng Bao led three small eunuchs to place the documents shown by His Majesty today into the third display cabinet, while the Great Ming Emperor stood on a huge map, standing with his hands behind his back.

"Greetings to Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be well." Zhang Zhang Juzheng and Qi Qi Jiguang bowed to pay their respects.

"No need for formalities." Zhu Zhu Yijun turned around and said with a smile: "Sit down and talk."

Zhu Zhu Yijun stood in front of the map, pointed to the location of the Jiugang Regional Military Commission, placed a small red flag in his hand on the position of the Jiugang, and then said with a relaxed expression: "Zhang Zhang Yuanxun launched a surprise attack on the Jiugang and captured the Jiugang Regional Military Commission, which can be considered as having seized the initiative on the battlefield. This battle won by surprise has indeed taught these foreign barbarians a good lesson."

"The Songjiang Shipyard reported that the two five-masted ocean-crossing ships deployed to Luzon this year have already undergone sea trials and can be deployed on schedule in September."

Deng Deng Zilong returning to the capital was to seek the support of the Great Ming Emperor. Zhu Zhu Yijun promised to deploy them before September. The Songjiang Shipyard had built the ships well. The C-type ocean-crossing ship was a warship used by the Great Ming, and the C-type five-masted ocean-crossing ship was a good thing that couldn't be bought even with extra money.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng shook his sleeves, took out a memorial, and said with a full face of smiles: "Yin Yin Zhengmao sent a memorial saying that the plantations in the Nanyang have already started to make a profit. This year, it is estimated that there will be 720,000 silver. According to the original agreement, 30% will be retained in Luzon, and about 500,000 silver will be delivered to the capital. Among them, 200,000 silver will be delivered to the Songjiang Prefecture in the form of 5 million catties of red copper for casting copper coins."

In the Great Ming, one tael of silver is worth 20 catties of copper. According to the market price of the Great Ming, it should have been 4 million catties, but Yin Yin Zhengmao calculated it based on the copper price in Luzon, so he delivered 5 million catties of red copper, which is 1.6 million ingots, or 650 million copper coins.

Casting coins is highly profitable, and private casting by the people is common. However, most of the copper coins privately cast by the people are "flying money" or thin iron coins. It is not that the people of the Great Ming do not want to use the Zhiyuan Tongbao coins; the Great Ming imperial court previously only cast at most 20,000 ingots of Zhiyuan Tongbao coins a year. It is an indisputable fact that the Great Ming has no copper.

Just the Tongxiang Town in Luzon has 6.5 million catties of copper material a year.

"If possible, it would be most appropriate to exchange all the gains from the plantations into copper." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Zhang Juzheng and said quite seriously.

"Your Majesty, the Goa Governor-General's office doesn't even have a single copper vessel left." Zhang Zhang Juzheng's meaning was very clear: it was not that the Goa Governor-General's office was not submissive, but that Luzon truly had nothing left. Yin Yin Zhengmao had exhausted everything and done his best.

Li Li Yashi's judgment in his travelogue was correct. The purpose of the Great Ming opening the seas was not exactly the same as that of the West; the West liked silver, while the Great Ming liked grain and copper material.

"The Imperial Uncle said to me a few days ago that he hoped to send a few doctors of science and students of science to the Nanyang to draw maps. This map is indeed terrible." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at the map of the Ten Thousand Mile Sea Tang and scratched his head. On the map, the area of the Ten Thousand Mile Sea Tang was much smaller, all calculated by the distance of the water route, which was seriously distorted.

"I will arrange it." Zhang Zhang Juzheng took this matter very seriously.

Especially since the last time the doctors of science used the triangular surveying method to draw the map of the Beiping Regional Military Commission, including Danning Guard, Quanning Guard, Song Yingchang, etc., Zhang Zhang Juzheng attached even more importance to this. Confucianism does not teach geography. Zhang Zhang Juzheng previously thought that the Beiping Regional Military Commission was about the same size as the Shuntian Prefecture. As a result, after the map was drawn, Zhang Zhang Juzheng directly shouted that he had been deceived!

(Map of Beiping Regional Military Commission)

I wish everyone a Happy New Year. In the new year, may everyone make a fortune. Respectfully.

(End of chapter)