New Shun 1730

Liu Yu could never have thought of this metaphor. The emperor buried it too deep, and he didn't want Liu Yu to think of it at all. It's just that there is a mentality that seems to be superstitious or fatalistic, and he deliberately used this as a comparison.

The emperor had no suspicion of Liu Yu.

This stems from Li Gan's arrogance.

When he named the troops trained by Liu Yu the Qingzhou Army, he said that if Cao Mengde was under the command of Emperor Wu of Han, he would not be a capable minister in governing the world, but at least he would be a loyal minister.

As for why he might not be a capable minister in governing the world, if he really lived in the era of Emperor Wu, the biggest possibility would be that he could not stand out in the situation where Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, Sang Hongyang, and Zhufu Yan were so talented, and at most he could be Zhang Tang...

Arrogant or confident emperors always think that they are very stable, and they always look down on their successors, thinking that their successors are far inferior to themselves.

Therefore, in the era of Emperor Wu of Han, everyone was a loyal minister, and the control of the army by foreign relatives and the monopoly of power by foreign relatives were basically two sides of the same coin. However, in the era of Emperor Wu of Han, there was no such thing as the monopoly of power by foreign relatives. There were only foreign relatives who were driven to the desert and sealed the wolf's lair.

This kind of self-confidence or arrogance, coupled with Liu Yu's actions that did not deliberately seize power, made the emperor not have much suspicion of Liu Yu when he was sure that he would not die suddenly.

Half of the emperor knew about the things Liu Yu did in Europe this time. If the Russian coup was not notified in advance, the emperor would not let Hannibal, the face of "the four barbarians submitting to him", go - Hannibal had too many BUFFs stacked on him, Peter's adopted son, the godson of the Queen of Poland, and black people. These BUFFs stacked together, one person could at least symbolize "two barbarians".

However, the Dutch matter was indeed not notified to the emperor before. Liu Yu only said in the report that the opportunity had come suddenly and he dealt with it on the spot.

The emperor did not say anything.

However, the Dutch matter made the emperor see Liu Yu's mind. It was obvious that he was still preparing to continue to expand westward, and Nanyang did not seem to satisfy him.

If it is just to go to Southeast Asia and get the benefits of Southeast Asia, there is really no need to make such a big deal in the Netherlands.

According to the emperor's idea, monopolizing the spice trade does not require selling to Europe. Just ask Europeans to buy it themselves, as long as you can ensure that smuggling and private trade are cracked down, you can still earn millions a year.

It is difficult to control smuggling along the long coastline, so if the Malacca Strait and the Sunda Strait are blocked, wouldn't the smuggling situation be greatly alleviated?

Now that Liu Yu has done something in the Netherlands, the selection of the future Protector of Southeast Asia will be very important. At least, Liu Yu should ensure that someone can continue to implement policies.

In managing Southeast Asia, there are steady and radical people, provided that their abilities can be ensured. If you want to continue to expand westward, at least you have to be a radical. Once you go south to Ceylon, then to the west is India, and you will really have to go to war with the European powers and India, which is quite rich in the eyes of the emperor.

The emperor did not say that he did not support it. Although he was satisfied with taking Malacca, just like the westward expansion of the Tang Dynasty, it was necessary to hit a snag before knowing where the border was.

If everything went well and there was no serious impact on the country, it would be fine for them to try.

Liu Yu was not a pedantic person, nor a fanatic. He did not expand for the sake of expansion. He was a standard profit-seeker. The emperor felt that Liu Yu wanted to continue to expand westward, which should be of great benefit.

But at this time, the emperor had not yet seen through the huge benefits.

However, Liu Yu's attitude satisfied the emperor.

The emperor had previously warned Liu Yu not to act first and then report, and not to force the court's policy.

This time, Liu Yu clearly wanted to continue to expand westward, and the selection of the Nanyang Protectorate was crucial, but Liu Yu kept refusing and refused to provide a list of candidates.

Instead, he let the emperor choose the person himself.

Obviously, in the emperor's view, Liu Yu was following the formal procedures, writing to the emperor, persuading the emperor, and then the emperor approved the policy, and then the emperor selected the person.

It is no longer like the attack on Luosha and the pacification of the Ministry of Justice, where the court executed first and reported later. The matter has been done, and the court has benefited greatly from the situation. If it does not do as he expected, it will lose a lot.

Although the emperor was satisfied with the result and benefited from it before, he was dissatisfied with the process.

However, Liu Yu was young before, but now Liu Yu is much older. Is it called young people who are not impetuous? When I was young, I did it for the sake of the rising sun. As long as I don’t do it now, it will be fine.

Now it is indeed not executed first and reported later. The emperor is satisfied and finally asked about the policy issues in Nanyang, but he did not ask about trade and trade control. Instead, he asked Liu Yu directly about India.

"My dear minister, the Celestial Empire should do something in India in the future. It is even prepared to trick France and let France follow the example of Shangdang returning to Zhao. Now it seems that your strategy is not a problem.

"But how much benefit is there? Please tell me."

Liu Yu's answer to this question is also very simple.

"Your Majesty. The ancients said, "Those who steal a hook will be executed, and those who steal a country will be made princes." If you can collect taxes on capitation and acreage in India, wouldn't it be more profitable than doing trade? "

He wanted to take India to pave the way for industrialization. Markets and raw material production areas, to minimize the impact of initial industrialization on Dashun's homeland.

But he didn't say it, but talked about what the emperor was most interested in.

After being stunned for a while, the emperor said in surprise: "You mean...you mean...this, this...India has been a big country since ancient times, and its country is rich. It doesn't say a million soldiers, but it is estimated that there are 300,000 or 500,000 armored soldiers, right?"

The emperor never thought of this possibility, because since ancient times, the Celestial Empire and India have both been known to each other, but have never been conquered.

Now there is a map, and the map was drawn by missionaries, and the missionaries drew the map during the heyday of Aurangzeb.

An empire with a population of over 100 million and rich since ancient times, the emperor never thought of conquering it, or never thought of being conquered by others.

This is also the first time that Liu Yu has revealed that he wants to seize India. He has never mentioned it before, and the emperor was shocked for a while.

The emperor knew that Liu Yu had thoughts about India, but he never thought that Liu Yu's thoughts were to go to India to collect taxes!

But if you don't consider whether it can succeed, the saying that those who steal hooks will be executed and those who steal countries will be marquises is really true.

Especially in China, you ask whether merchants are rich or emperors are rich? Or in other words, is it easier to make money by doing trade or by being an emperor?

This is almost a no-brainer to answer the correct answer.

It's just that due to political correctness, the emperor can't say that he wants to make money. But if you really want to make money, it is definitely easier to be an emperor.

Take Dashun as an example. If the emperor wants to make money, he can easily earn millions of dollars a year. This is much simpler than doing business, and you can make money regardless of drought or flood.

This has made India attractive enough. If a rich place since ancient times can really collect taxes and mu taxes, it will probably make tens of millions of taels a year.

In this day and age, what business can make more money than collecting taxes? There are so many tax farmers in France and the Netherlands, which is much easier than doing business. How many people want to farm taxes but have no way to do it.

The goal of collecting taxes to get rich is tempting, and the emperor is tempted enough, but the question is, is it possible?

Seeing the emperor stunned, Liu Yu only used three sentences to dispel the emperor's doubts.

"First, India has never had the first emperor to make it a unified writing system and a unified wheel gauge."

This is a fundamental problem and the key to the emperor's understanding: Don't think about India with the situation in China. If you don't jump out of this box, you can't figure it out.

"Second, the unlimited power of the Mughal emperor was overthrown by his governors, the governors' power was overthrown by the Marathas, and the Marathas' power was overthrown by the Afghans. If the Dashun could break in during this chaotic battle, they could have overthrown them all."

"Third, the Ming Dynasty's policy towards the Jurchens said: divide their branches, separate their power, and make them fight and kill each other. The strategy was right, but after Li Chengliang's death, Liaodong did not have a strong field army, so the strategy failed. If there was a strong field army, what would be wrong with this policy?"

"I think , Your Majesty is only worried about the third one. "

"However, this is a different time, and that is a different time; this is a different situation, and that is a different situation."

"At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Jurchens were close at hand, and the emperor was already near the national gate. If they succeeded, they might enter the pass."

"India is far beyond Malacca. If they don't play well, they will withdraw."

"Could it be possible that the Indians can rush through Ceylon, capture Malacca, occupy Java, capture Fujian and Guangdong, and then rush into Tianjin?"

"If you make money, you can station troops and collect taxes. If you lose money, you can run away. What harm does it do to the country?"

"Second, Li Chengliang and his generation may have the intention of nurturing the enemy for their own benefit; Guan Ning Zhujun may benefit from the land. "

"However, the Celestial Empire only wants money and food from India. First, it does not reward land or raise food locally. Everything is provided by the court. If there are meritorious soldiers, they can be rewarded in Nanyang and Kuwu. "

"An Lushan can rebel and beat the drums of Yuyang, intending to become emperor, because he can reward his soldiers and subordinates for their merits. But can An Lushan let hundreds of thousands of soldiers abandon their families, leave their homes, and go to the Western Regions with him to become king? "

"Third, if Britain and France want to get India, they must train local soldiers. The country is very far away and transportation is not easy. The Celestial Empire has hundreds of thousands of refugees every year, and they are recruited as soldiers. They can be used to withdraw young and strong people to prevent rebellion; they can also be used as soldiers and transported to India to serve and make money for the national treasury. "

"It can also make the local forces rise, making it impossible for the generals to cultivate their own local forces."

"Fourthly, the tax on capitation, the tax on mu, and even the salt and iron monopoly, who is better than the Celestial Empire at collecting these taxes?"

"Fifthly, even if it fails, what harm will it do to the country? Once it succeeds, the profit will be a hundred times."

"Therefore, I think it can be done!"

His answer seemed irrelevant.

The emperor asked, how sure is this matter? How should it be done?

Liu Yu's answer was that you can do it with confidence, without worrying about rebellion, independence, or getting stuck in the quagmire.

As for how to do it and how sure it is, he didn't say it.

But not saying it is the same as saying it, which can be completely understood as: success is 100%, so there is no need to discuss how to do it, just consider whether you want to do it.

The emperor's job is to be an emperor, not to be a grading teacher. He will not lose points for answering questions that are not relevant to the questions. Moreover, given the particularity of his job, there are some questions that the emperor cannot ask in person.

Whether the ministers answer well or not does not depend on the appearance of the question, but on the emperor's subtext. Moreover, even if some subtexts are misunderstood, the emperor will not think there is a problem.

Now that Liu Yu has told the situation in India, the emperor is relatively satisfied. After careful thinking, he can't help but think of the story of "carving a boat to find a sword" that Liu Yu often tells.

It is completely wrong to apply past seemingly similar experiences to things in Nanyang or even India.

Because... the navy is a technical branch of the military and a gold-eating beast.

Barbarians, barbarians, and small countries can train cavalry and strengthen infantry warfare, and there is always the possibility of winning with fewer troops.

But the navy is different. Without money and technical accumulation, you just can't win.

The price is clearly marked, and a regular battleship costs 300,000 or 400,000 taels of silver. Even if you are a genius, it is impossible for a frigate to fight a second-class battleship in the open sea. In the ocean battles of the 18th century, there was no story of 800 destroying 100,000, and it was impossible for 800 to destroy 100,000.

If you can't defeat the attacking navy and can't swim across the sea, there will be no situation where the chieftains are in chaos and besiege Chengdu and Chongqing, nor will there be the possibility of the vassal rebelling and approaching Nanning, and of course it is even more impossible for the barbarians to successfully enter the pass through militarization and centralization.

And this means that there is no possibility of raising bandits for self-respect.

The root of raising bandits for self-respect is that the bandits can come to rob your things, come to beat you, and even occupy your house.

But after having a navy, you can only fight the bandits, not the bandits, so what's the point of raising bandits?

When the bandits cannot come to rob the Celestial Empire, and when raising bandits affects everyone's wealth, raising bandits is like a waste occupying the toilet without doing anything. You don't want military merit, but there are others who want it.

Even if India is conquered, it is still different from the previous situation. The bandits in the northwest, northeast, and even southwest have to be fought, otherwise they may seize the world; India is far away from the sea, and if it really gets chaotic, they will just run away. If you want to be a governor and make money, it is best not to let it get chaotic, and don't let bandits appear.

What Dashun really needs to guard against is the border generals of the Han Dynasty who willfully start wars to brush military merits and seek titles, rather than guarding against the Anshi Rebellion, wearing yellow robes and stealing the country.

At this point, in terms of mentality, it can be said that it has just had a little bit of the heroic spirit of the Han Dynasty.