Chapter 589 T-shaped ambition, fangs

Feng Ziying ignored the restlessness of the people below and just glanced at her. The voices in the entire hall subconsciously became quieter and fell into silence.

"Everyone can listen to what I am saying. If you have any questions, you can ask questions later, and you can discuss and negotiate. Otherwise, why would I have summoned you here?" Feng Ziying snorted lightly, "The Ezo land and the Jurchen hinterland are the imperial court. The strategic strategy is indispensable to the military affairs of the imperial court, so there is no need to question this. If there is no risk or difficulty, why does the imperial court need such favorable treatment?"

"In addition, at the suggestion of my official, the imperial court also preliminarily agreed that in order to encourage the people and merchants of the Great Zhou Dynasty to open up sea routes and promote trade, in addition to the Ezo land and the Jurchen hinterland, the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty including but not limited to the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, as long as If you can explore and discover new areas and new routes to the surrounding areas that the merchants of the Zhou Dynasty have not yet mastered, regardless of whether they can bring substantial benefits, the court will give you a heavy reward. And if the new areas and new routes discovered can bring substantial benefits, Substantial benefits, such as goods in great demand in the area, such as gold, silver, copper ores, medicinal materials, crops, spices, etc., the court can also grant them exclusive cultivation and trading rights while giving heavy rewards. You can also sell all or part of the land reclamation and trade rights to the court and other gentry and merchants..."

This is almost like a Dazhou version of the regulations to reward colonization.

Neither the cabinet nor Zhongshu Ke had such intention, or even thought about it at all, but in Feng Ziying's view, this was an important step that Zhou Dynasty must take if it wanted to compete with European countries such as the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

To put it bluntly, with the development of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the increase of population, sooner or later the Great Zhou Dynasty will also need more land under the sun.

 This suggestion made the Fujian businessmen very interested.

They had many contacts with merchants from Guangdong and Guangxi, and knew that in addition to the well-known places such as Luzon and Manchuria, there were countless uninhabited islands and lands in Southeast Asia or inhabited by mountain people.

The environment in those places is harsh, but the climate conditions are rich in precious wood, suitable for spice cultivation, and even have gold and silver mineral deposits. If the routes to the land of these islands can be opened up and presented to the court, this may also be a way to make money.

This coastal area is full of desperadoes who like to take risks but have little capital for maritime trade. If we can help a few of them to engage in this business, they will be able to make good friends with the court and gain some benefits. In particular, the former is of great significance to the future expansion of sea trade.

"I don't know how much you know about the Nanyang region. The Hongmao Fans, the Flemish people, and the English people all traveled tens of thousands of miles to Nanyang to seek benefits. They took away a lot of spices, gold and silver. Why are we so big? Why don't Zhou merchants dare to try it? There are tens of millions of large islands in the South Seas. I am waiting for you to boldly explore and try. I very much hope to see you make a lot of money from it. In this regard, the imperial court Don’t hesitate to reward me generously!”

 From simple sea trade in mature areas to colonization of undiscovered areas and then sea trade, this is not just a change in sea trade methods, but the instillation of a new concept.

 Let these merchants understand that there is no market and no output, then they can discover, develop, colonize and cultivate, so as to form trade interactions with the mainland of the Great Zhou Dynasty. This is the correct way to develop maritime trade.

 The topic is a little off topic, but we need to instill such a concept in them first.

 It is rare to have such an opportunity.

This group of people are all influential in the local area. After they return, they can convey the court's intention to more people, so that those who are not qualified to participate in maritime trade can join in by cultivating new trade routes. And the court will also provide encouragement.

"Sir,..." Someone couldn't help but want to ask first, and everyone looked at him.

"Well, it stands to reason that I should answer questions after I have said everything. However, I know that what I just said may be slightly different from what we were originally going to talk about. I am afraid that you will not be able to remember clearly in a while, so I will make an exception and answer the question first. The problem of exploring new routes and new areas.”

Feng Ziying glanced at the other party. The Zhang family of southern Fujian was said to be a descendant of the Zhang family of Zhang Dun, the former Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty. They were both a prominent family of gentry and a giant maritime merchant.

"you say."

"The common people would like to ask, according to the imperial court's intention, as long as new routes and places are discovered, then they can cultivate and explore by themselves, and everything they gain will belong to the discoverers?" Zhang Quan stood up and bowed his hands in salute before asking questions.

"Under the whole world, is it the land of the king; on the shore of the land, is it the land of the king. As long as you are a citizen of the Great Zhou Dynasty, all the land you get is the land of the Zhou Dynasty." Feng Ziying took a deep look at the other party, "But I want to emphasize one point, this Soil does not refer to fields, but to territory, which means that if the land is newly expanded, it must be the land of the imperial court, but if the land is recognized by the government, the land deed can be obtained from the government..."

“Does your Majesty mean it is similar to the land of Dongfan?” Zhang Quan immediately asked.

"No, it's different. Dongfan is not a newly expanded land in terms of territory. Since the Han and Wei dynasties, all dynasties have belonged to China. However, due to geographical and population reasons, it has prospered and declined, so now the court is ready to vigorously develop it." Feng Ziying His face was calm and his attitude became gentler, "The land I am talking about, such as the land of Nanyang, refers to the land that has never belonged to the Great Zhou Dynasty. If anyone can open up new routes and expand new fields, then report to me, in the Zhongshu Department Once the documents are filed and the court establishes its governance, the land being developed will be issued a land deed by the court government. The court will also allow legal channels and even encourage relocation of people to cultivate land..."

This statement immediately caused a burst of whispers among the people.

 In fact, many maritime merchants from Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangxi, as well as some people who were both merchants and pirates and lived on the sea, settled in Nanyang.

Although the Francoji people occupied Luzon, they were still fighting against the indigenous people in the local mountains and forests of Luzon. They did not achieve an overwhelming victory, and the land of Luzon was not completely controlled by the Francoji people. The same was true for the Hongmao people. Although it also began to set foot in Kalimantan, it was counterattacked by the local indigenous residents and has not made much progress so far.

It can be said that the entire Nanyang region is still in chaos except for the Luzon area where the Francois have the upper hand and their position is relatively stable.

Some small dynasties, including those established by local indigenous people, did not really control the entire region. For example, the Maluku region, which was later regarded as the Spice Kingdom, Aceh and Jambi in Sumatra, and Banten in Kalimantan, were all still in a state of turmoil. A more disorganized state of divide and conquer.

There are also many people who went abroad from Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian and lived in the Nanyang area. However, because the Zhou Dynasty followed the policy of the previous Ming Dynasty and did not allow people to leave the country and go abroad, otherwise they would be punished, so no one dared to expose them. This situation.

In fact, the government is also well aware of this situation, but on the surface everyone tacitly refuses to admit it or pretends not to know. But today, the remarks of this editor undoubtedly represent the imperial court. A huge shift in policy.

If we follow Feng Xiuzhuan's statement, then the land that has actually taken root in many places in Nanyang can be donated to the imperial court, recognized by the imperial court, and become the land of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The handling of the affairs and the management of the officials appointed by the imperial court can all be carried out in a fair and orderly manner.

Such a huge change is hard for many people to believe.

Feng Ziying is beheading first and playing later.

 Even he himself didn’t know what this promise would bring.

  But if this was not done, it would be difficult for the Zhou Dynasty to compete with the Red-haired Fans (Dutch) who had already established a foothold in Luzon and settled in Kalimantan if they wanted to carry out maritime trade and colonization in Southeast Asia.

The British have also begun to establish trading stations in Sumatra and obtained a charter from the British King. The offensive is also in full swing.

It can be said that although the Zhou Dynasty's reclamation of Nanyang had a geographical advantage compared with these Europeans, the isolation and maritime ban policies since the Ming Dynasty have made the Zhou Dynasty's spirit of maritime exploration significantly lagging behind.

  If we do not provide enough stimulation to the private sector, it will be difficult to regain the upper hand in the competition with Europeans.

Spices, a product with great demand in Dazhou, not only cannot meet the needs of Dazhou, but also cannot become an important product exported to Xiyi. This is exactly what Feng Ziying wants to achieve, and this is what he will rely on to impress and An important factor in convincing Emperor Yonglong and his cabinet.

Perhaps the imperial court was forced to implement the strategy of opening up the sea under huge financial pressure, but Feng Ziying's purpose was very simple, which was to make opening up the sea a continuing national policy.

To achieve this, the court must realize that opening up the sea and developing foreign lands can bring continuous benefits, and the benefits will become larger and larger.



For this reason, Feng Ziying is willing to take a gamble.

Everyone is chewing on the profound meaning behind Feng Ziying’s words. Since the Song Dynasty, Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian have had a history of going to Southeast Asia, and since the Ming Dynasty, this situation has become more prominent. Luzon is a typical example. There are no less than tens of thousands of Chinese, and also in Kalimantan, Sumatra and other places, the number of Chinese is tens of thousands. Under this situation, when the strength of the naval fleet of the Great Zhou Dynasty has recovered to a certain extent, it may not be impossible to launch this strategy.

Of course, before that, Da Zhou still needs to recuperate his energy and try to avoid conflicts with Europeans such as Fo Langji and Hongmaofan. The main enemies of Da Zhou are not them yet.

  Only after the threats from the Jurchens and Tatars have been resolved can the main focus be placed on the sea. The main task currently undertaken by the sea is to relieve the financial pressure on the imperial court.

But the early thinking must be instilled in them. Avoiding conflicts with the Westerners does not mean doing nothing. Nanyang is so big and Chinese are everywhere, how can there be no chance?

 (End of this chapter)