New Shun 1730

Although many people know that it is a case of the emperor and his subjects co-governing like the emperor's new clothes, under the inertia of history, the emperor always has to save face.

The trend of Confucian scholars discussing politics is more serious than in the late Ming Dynasty. I wonder if the emperor can bear the title of a tyrant.

Tian Zhenyi's idea seemed to Liu Yu to be the only feasible way, which was similar to what he had thought before.

At this point, there was no way out, so he could only bite the bullet and do it.

When the day of the grand court meeting really came, Liu Yu did not talk to anyone along the way.

While waiting for the door to open, he stood alone to the side and smoked silently.

The nobles also tacitly did not talk to Liu Yu, and the other ministers stayed away from Liu Yu.

It was the first time for Liu Yu to enter the court to discuss politics as an earl. This time, the scale of the grand court meeting was very large. Liu Yu secretly glanced at the emperor and found that the emperor was sitting upright, not looking sideways, and he didn't know what the emperor was thinking.

"I think all the ministers have read Ying Suobo's memorial on military reform. Let's speak freely in the court today."

"Who supports? Who opposes? If we just ask like this, I'm afraid we can argue until dark and still not come up with any rules. In this case, I will make the decision and discuss the navy first."

As soon as the voice fell, a person who surprised Liu Yu stood up, it was the Left Prime Minister, Duke of England Zhang Muzhi.

"I don't agree with the construction of the navy."

Buzz...

There was a chaos in the court. Duke of England always acted indignantly, and his actions on the issue of Korea made people in the court sigh "a thousand years of vassalage, one day lost its dignity."

Zhang Jin was in charge of the Qingzhou Army. No matter how you look at it, Duke of England should not stand up to oppose Liu Yu.

Liu Yu himself was also confused, thinking that this was not right.

As the Prime Minister, Duke of England could not fail to discuss with him. After the discussion, Duke of England came out and fired cannons. What does this mean?

Duke Ying slowly asked: "Ying Suo Bo Yan, our dynasty has thousands of miles of sea borders, but no defense. At the end of the previous dynasty, the Netherlands and England, Guyana and Lebanon attacked Macau and invaded Fujian. The navy was helpless. Now, nearly a hundred years have passed, and I heard that the Western warships are as big as 6,000 ships. Our navy is no match for them. It is indeed not possible to have thousands of miles of sea and river without defense."

"However...whether it is the Netherlands or England, Guyana, the reason why they raised troops to plunder the coast is nothing more than the desire for trade. Our dynasty is different from the previous dynasty. We have opened trade. Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang all have customs. Opening trade is the legacy of Emperor Taizong."

"The Celestial Empire has everything. Westerners trade with our dynasty for profit. As long as we open trade, Westerners will naturally not come to invade us. This is the first."

"Second, free trade allows Western countries to traffic goods, ships Travel thousands of miles to seek wealth. If there are pirates, if their nest is on the shore, our dynasty can send troops to suppress them; if their nest is on the sea, Westerners can also suppress them. Pirates plunder and Western trade is not smooth, so they will naturally send troops to protect free trade from being plundered. "

"In the last years of the previous dynasty, pirates were rampant. Ying Suo Bo also said that it was nothing more than the Dutch could not trade in the Celestial Empire, so they supported Zheng and others to plunder ships going to Luzon and force merchants to go to Batavia to trade with the Dutch. "

"Now that our dynasty has opened customs, the Dutch, Spanish, and British and Guili can all trade on the shore. Who would support pirates? "

"Why spend millions of money and grain every year to build a navy? "

"There was a sudden sound of ministers agreeing in the court. The idea of ​​the Duke of England was quite high-level, and it seemed to reveal the characteristics of Dashun trade.

Merchants from the Qing Dynasty cannot go to Europe, but European ships can come to the Celestial Empire. If there are pirates on the road, the Westerners will naturally wipe them out.

Amidst the chaos, Liu Yu heard something different from the words of the Duke of England.

The Duke of England kept talking about pirates, pirates... It is said that the Duke of England should know the threat of Westerners, but at this time he assumed that Westerners were all kind people, which seems not right.

Is the navy used to fight pirates?

In a sense, the words of the Duke of England are not wrong.

If the British did not engage in opium, they would have to fight for a hundred years before the popularization of steam engines could impact the domestic handicraft industry. The influx of silver was inevitable, and Dashun had no intention of closing the country or increasing tariffs. It seemed that the Western countries did not have the motivation to send troops to fight.

It seems to be like this.

However, since they are called barbarians, many heart-breaking words can be said.

Liu Yu pondered what the Duke of England wanted to say, and kept his head down and did not speak for the time being.

The emperor hummed and said, "What the Duke of Ying said seems to make sense. However, as the saying goes, you should not have the intention to harm others, but you must be on guard against others. If the Western countries intend to invade the border and send fleets, Jiangnan is an important place for finance and taxation. Without a navy, how can we prevent them from looting Jiangnan?"

The Duke of Ying replied, "Westerners have strong ships and powerful guns. Our navy cannot really fight against them. However, although the ships are strong and the guns are powerful, these ships cannot fire on the shore. If you want to harass and plunder, you still have to rely on the army."

"I agree with the army reform of Ying Suobo. If the army can be reformed and the army is strong, what is the use of the Westerners having strong ships and powerful guns? Their ships cannot always drift on the sea. If they want to plunder, they must fight in the field with the army. If the army reform of Ying Suobo can be implemented, how can the Westerners win in the field after transporting troops thousands of miles?"

The court, which had just been full of approving voices, suddenly became quiet. Liu Yu couldn't help laughing and suddenly realized.

So the emperor and the Duke of England are playing a double game here? Let's have a bottom line, one of the two options?

As a bottom line, either build a navy or reform the army.

People in the DPRK know very well whether Jiangnan's army can fight.

Everyone knows that the Qingzhou Army learned from Westerners, and its combat effectiveness has been fully demonstrated in the Western Regions. It goes without saying whether it can defeat the troops garrisoned in Jiangnan.

It seems that the emperor also has no confidence in his heart, so he takes advantage of the opening to protect the bottom line of choosing one of the two.

The emperor coughed slightly and came out to stir things up: "Since this court meeting has been divided into two, it is not appropriate to discuss army affairs at this time. We only talk about the navy. Who else among the ministers will object?"

The Minister of the Li Government reported: "I am also opposed to it."

"The ancients closed the windows and knitted hats when autumn came. This can be said to be a way to prepare for a rainy day."

"But people look at the sky and worry about it falling all day long. This is unfounded worry."

"Ying Suobo's memorial is said to be a precautionary measure, but in fact, in my opinion, it is unfounded worry."

"Building the navy requires more than one million taels of silver every year. Does Ying Suobo know how much tax money Shandong can get in a year?"

"Besides, according to Ying Suobo, the construction of the navy will not happen overnight. It will take ten or twenty years at least. In twenty years, this is thirty million taels of silver."

"If these thirty million taels of silver are thrown into schools, the words of saints will flourish; if they are thrown into river embankments, the people on both sides of the Yellow River will call for benevolent government; if they are thrown into fentanes, there will be no cannibalism after floods, droughts, and locust plagues. "

"Uncle Ying Suo invested these 30 million taels in places where they are not needed at all. Isn't this groundless worry?"

"If because of unfounded worries about the sky, Qi Hou will build a large-scale construction project, regardless of people's livelihood, and insist on building stone pillars to prevent the sky from collapsing, isn't this harmful to the country?"

Liu Yu heard this and asked: "In your opinion, there has been little rain in summer these past few years, so the Yellow River embankment does not need to be repaired?"

The Minister of the Li Government laughed and said: "Ying Suobo is in compliance with the difference between planning for a rainy day and worrying about the future. The embankment of the Yellow River is measured in years. If there is less rain this year, there may be more rain next year. To develop the navy and defend the sea, Enemy, this is nonsense.”

"I would like to ask, who is Ying Sao Bo to guard against? North Korea is a filial son; Japan is locked up in the country. Is it possible that Ying Sao Bo is guarding against Ryukyu?"

"As for the Westerners, I am in charge of the switch, and the Westerners kneel down and beg me for tea, rhubarb, porcelain, and silk. How can they attack me?"

"Even if this money is not invested in people's livelihood, but invested in the construction of the army, it will still be useful to some extent. If there is chaos in Mongolia, the Western Regions or even the surrounding small countries, the army can still fight. Or if there are unruly people in the world, they can suppress it. This money is not considered as nothing. White flowers.”

"But I don't know what the navy is for?"

"If there is trouble in Jiangnan, can the navy suppress it?"

"If Mongolia rebels, can the navy sail the ship to Mobei?"

"If there is chaos in the Western Region, can the navy sail the ship across Hexi?"

"The country spends tens of millions of taels to maintain a navy that is never used. Isn't this ridiculous?"

After that, he smiled at Liu Yu and said: "In Ying Suo Bo's memorial, a battleship costs fifty to sixty thousand taels, and it is still a small ship. A big ship costs hundreds of thousands taels... Although Ying Suo Bo is I am loyal and patriotic, but I am afraid that the Westerners are making fun of Ying Suobo. How can a ship be worth so much money?”

"It's not like the dynasty has never built ships, or it's a treasure ship from the previous dynasty. Is it worth hundreds of thousands taels?"

After saying these heart-wrenching words, the Minister of Li Government added: "Furthermore, Ying Suobo's talk about a century-old navy is simply ridiculous."

"My dynasty can't control the sea. Don't we have fishermen? Our dynasty's big ships can't fight on the water? Why do we have to imitate Western ships?"

"If the Westerners are really disloyal, it won't be too late for my government to invest more money in building ships. Why throw the money away? It will be in vain."

"If the Westerners really have evil intentions, as long as our country closes its customs and prohibits trade, this country will surely obey. Besides, our country has always closed and closed trade, so why do the Westerners want to invade our country?"

Later, someone in the remonstrance said: "Of course! Even if you are guilty, you still have time to build a ship. A century-old navy is actually a lie. As long as the navy has ships and people, I am afraid that Ying Suobo said this because In the Manchu Dynasty, only Ying Suobo understood these things, so he exaggerated? "

"I have raised bandits before, so I respect myself. Ying Suobo has no bandits to raise, but he came up with a giant bandit on his own?"

"There is always some use in spending money to train and recruit troops. But spending money to raise the navy is really useless for our government. If Uncle Ying Suo really has the heart to serve the country, but now that the Western Region has been newly established and the boundary demarcation is not accurate, why doesn't Uncle Ying Suo recommend himself and go to the Western Region to serve the country? ? Why use this desire to serve the country on an imaginary sea pirate? "

"Furthermore, Uncle Ying Suo also said that raising a navy can protect maritime security. In the future, we can also abolish water transportation and replace it with sea transportation. Calculating it, it seems to save money, but I only ask Uncle Ying Suo, if we abolish canal transportation and replace it with sea transportation, What to do with the millions of canal works? If the Jianghuai River is corrupted, the world will be in chaos. For the sake of wasting a mere million taels of silver, has the world been exposed to the risk of chaos? Has Uncle Ying Suo ever thought about it?

"When it comes to fighting, Uncle Ying Sao may be called a capable general. However, when it comes to running a country, Uncle Ying Sao is really young, and it's all a matter of youth."