0p0 Chapter 185 Maritime Pilot Fuzhou
Chapter 185 Maritime Pilot Fuzhou
Chapter 185 Maritime Pilot—Fuzhou
Liangzhe Road Transfer Department Yamen.
Mei Zhi, the governor of Hangzhou, slowly opened his mouth and said:
"We, all of you, have nothing to do with the Japanese pirates. As for whether we have any people under our command, we don't know."
"In recent years, we have racked our brains to pay for the taxes set by the imperial court every year. Life has been difficult for everyone."
"Now that we have finally waited for the opportunity of shipping, we need to rely on the participation of merchants from well-known families in each state."
"We have never colluded with Japanese pirates, what about them? Even if we have not, the power of life and death is in the hands of Commander Wei after all."
"If it causes people to panic and makes the various states miss this opportunity, it will be difficult for the people, it will be difficult for the merchants of the famous families, and it will be even more difficult for us as officials."
This is the place that worries the most for the governors in Zhejiang and Zhejiang provinces.
All money and belongings cannot go into Wei Yuan's pocket.
But if merchants from aristocratic families from all over the world don’t do that, who can guarantee that they can participate in the shipping business?
Even if he can participate, Wei Yuan will definitely cause panic in the name of eradicating Japanese pirates.
By then, how many people will dare to participate?
Some poor state capitals even have to unite to sign a big deal with overseas countries.
If Wei Yuan comes to disrupt the situation, won't the prosperity of various places become a daydream?
Zhang Xia sighed: "When Commander Wei passed by Hangzhou, I went to see him. However, Commander Wei refused on the grounds of marching."
"Although Fan Chunren is the Southeast Economic Envoy, in the final analysis, he is just a puppet."
"When it comes to the economic prosperity of our two Zhejiang provinces, we cannot avoid the Commander-in-Chief Wei."
"If he turns a blind eye, we can still have food. If he has the intention of cleaning up the world, I'm afraid many people will die in the two Zhejiang provinces."
This is just like what King Wu said. It depends on whether Wei Yuan, the person holding the pole, is willing to wander.
After listening to Zhang Xia's words, the governors from various places in Zhejiang and Zhejiang also understood in their hearts.
Even their immediate superiors are now demanding self-protection. It is difficult to see Wei Yuan, let alone them?
Wei Yuan has troops in his hands and can control all the troops in the three southeastern prefectures. Not to mention Zhang Xia, a high-ranking official in the border area, what can even the King of Wu in Suzhou do?
Aren't you going to rush up and lick it?
Zhang Xia added: "Tomorrow the Japanese officers will set off for the Mingzhou Coastal Defense Camp to see the Commander-in-Chief."
"If Commander Wei disappears, I will follow him all the time."
"If we don't talk to him, I'm afraid it will be difficult for the shipping matter to have a good outcome."
From the moment the imperial court announced the opening of sea transportation.
Merchants from aristocratic families in Shandong, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Huaihe began to hoard large quantities of goods.
If these goods cannot be released in time, big problems will occur everywhere.
And the only person who can solve the problem is now focused on the imperial court's coastal defense cause.
After all, the thinking positions of civil servants and military generals are still different.
Even a frontier official like Zhang Xia focused on the overall economic and strategic development of the two Zhejiang provinces.
However, Wei Yuan was planning for future generations in the southeast. He could not allow local finances and taxes to rise and a group of officials to be promoted for temporary gain, which would cause suffering to the people of future generations.
Once the sea transport starts, it will be even more difficult for Wei Yuan to change the great cause of coastal defense along the coast.
His achievement is not to increase tax revenue in various places. This is the responsibility of Fan Chunren, the southeast economic envoy.
The situation of officials in Zhejiang and Zhejiang is similar to that in parts of Fujian Road, Jiangnan Road, and Guangnan East Road.
They all wanted to visit the southeast pacifier and recruiter as soon as possible.
Finalize something quickly.
The so-called southeast pacification and recruiting envoys, where exactly is the southeast? The imperial court has no definition.
But Zhao Zhen's decree clearly stated that Wei Yuan should be allowed to pacify the Japanese.
In other words, as long as the coastal areas involve Japanese pirates, they will be under the control of Weiyuan.
Wherever there is sea transportation, Fan Chunren can also get involved.
The power of these two people is not small.
Therefore, many officials in the capital said that Wei Yuan was the "pillar of the southeast", which is not an exaggeration at all.
When he is here, there will be no chaos due to the shipping incident in the southeast.
If he were not here, chaos would sooner or later occur in various places due to shipping matters.
The next day.
Wei Yuan continued south, to Taizhou, Wenzhou and other places, and inspected the coastal defenses in various places.
During this period, many local officials from Taizhou, Wenzhou and other places came to see Wei Yuan.
They threatened that if Wei Yuan didn't see them, they wouldn't leave.
Wei Yuan knew very well that once he broke the precedent of meeting the officials, he would not be able to calm down, so he simply let them go.
Two days later, Wei Yuan arrived in Wenzhou on horseback and summoned the local Imperial City Commander Geng Tian.
"Since you eradicated the Japanese pirates in Haizhou, the Japanese pirates along the southeast coast have basically dispersed. Some are hiding on the vast sea, and some are hidden in the mountains."
"The situation in Yongjia County is also the same. However, among the people who dispersed from humble positions, many Japanese pirates' hidden strongholds were found. Preliminary estimates indicate that there are about two to three hundred Japanese pirates in this group."
Wenzhou was called "Yongjia County" at this time.
Did you know that Minglan later had a royal title, and she was the 'Mrs. of Yongjia County'.
After hearing Geng Tian's report, Wei Yuan ordered Xie Wu,
"You will temporarily take over the coastal defense affairs of Yongjia County and eradicate the remaining cancers here one by one."
"Save the leader's life for the time being and force them to reveal who they had an affair with."
"How many troops do you want?"
Xie Wu, who was standing aside, responded in a deep voice: "Go back to the Commander-in-Chief, a thousand people are enough."
Wei Yuan said: "I'll give you two thousand men, and with the city defense and coastal defense forces of Yongjia County, there will be about four thousand, which is enough."
It's not that one thousand is not enough. If you can fight a rich war, there is no need to fight a poor war.
Afterwards, Wei Yuan and Yang Huairen continued to inspect the coastal defense of Yongjia County.
Today the sky is gloomy, and the sea breeze is blowing, which is slightly cool.
Wei Yuan and Yang Huairen walked on the seashore, surrounded by soldiers from the Manjia Camp deploying defenses.
Yang Huairen said: "The remaining Japanese pirates who stayed in the local area are easy to deal with, but the Japanese pirates hiding in the vast ocean are unknown. When will the ships built by the Ministry of Revenue and the Military Equipment Bureau arrive in Liangzhe?" Wei Yuan said: "It will take about one or two days. Even if the ships arrive, I will not let the soldiers go to the sea to find the enemy." Yang Huairen frowned and said: "What's the use of the ships?" Wei Yuan said: "Let the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works build ships so that the navy can be built more smoothly in the future." "Five or six out of ten soldiers of the Danglu Army are not good at sailing. Even if they are, they will be nervous when they go to the sea." "By then, the advantages of the Danglu Army will be gone. I don't want the trip to the southeast to cause the new army to lose soldiers and generals." Yang Huairen suddenly realized, "That's why General Wei wants to actively transform the coastal defenses of various places?" Wei Yuan said : "Yes and no, the Japanese pirates are endless. We can kill a group, but we may not be able to keep killing them. Sooner or later, we will have to return to the capital."
"After we leave, what should we do if the Japanese pirates come back? Without coastal defense, every time Japanese pirates breed, the court will send a large army to encircle and suppress them."
"After a while, the court will be dragged down sooner or later."
Yang Huairen asked: "What does Wei Shuai want to do?"
Wei Yuan said: "Yongjia County is an important town, but you can see that most of the bunkers set up in this area of coastal defense are already shaky, and the watchtowers and beacon towers are useless."
"The Japanese pirates landed here and entered an uninhabited area. The situation in other areas is roughly the same."
"The so-called strengthening of coastal defense is nothing more than three strategies: defending the near sea, consolidating the coast, and strictly guarding the city."
"Establishing a navy is already imminent."
Two days later.
Wei Yuan arrived in Fuzhou.
Fuzhou, also known as Rongcheng.
Fuzhou in this era has entered an era of relatively prosperous economy and culture.
It is also an important place for imperial examinations and Confucianism.
There are many clans in Fujian Road, and most of the Jinshi are from Fuzhou clans.
The news of Wei Yuan's arrival in Fuzhou spread like wildfire.
There are seven famous clans in Fuzhou, headed by the four major families of Lin, Wu, Cai, and Liu.
On that day, the elders of the major clans, the governor of Fuzhou, the commander of the Fujian Road Transportation Bureau, Cai Xiang, and the civil and military officials of Fujian Road all came to the Fuzhou Coastal Defense Camp to pay homage to Wei Yuan.
It must be said that Fuzhou's coastal defense is the most complete coastal defense Wei Yuan has seen so far.
This is due to the fact that the major clans in Fuzhou are united in fighting against the Japanese pirates.
These clans are well versed in Confucian teachings. Unlike merchants from all over the country, they only believe in one thing and never compromise with the Japanese pirates.
The famous merchants in Fuzhou all come from major clans.
Therefore, Fuzhou is the important town least affected by the Japanese pirates.
Since Fuzhou's coastal defense is quite complete, Wei Yuan made an exception and personally met with the elders of the major clans in Fuzhou and Cai Xiang, the transport envoy of Fujian Road, and asked them about their feelings in fighting the Japanese pirates.
Several people responded one after another:
"I heard that General Wei said in Haizhou that killing Japanese pirates can be rewarded with silver money. I and several clan elders have already done this. The military and civilians are united, and the problem of Japanese pirates will naturally be solved."
"Fuzhou's coastal defense is all thanks to the major clans. Many people in Fuzhou live by the sea. Therefore, Fuzhou is very serious about dealing with the problem of Japanese pirates."
"Most of Fuzhou's coastal defense officers and soldiers come from major clans. They are heroes who are not afraid of Japanese pirates and dare to shed blood. After their death, their relatives can receive a large pension."
"As long as you are determined to fight the Japanese pirates, the Japanese pirates will naturally not affect Fuzhou at all."
"."
Hearing so much from them, Wei Yuan couldn't help but sigh and praise:
"If the southeast coast If the prefectures at sea were like Fuzhou, the Japanese pirates would not be able to thrive.
Afterwards, they told the purpose of this trip,
"There are no Japanese pirates in Fuzhou, and even if there are, they are just some small shrimps. Now that the court has opened up sea transportation, will Wei Shuai take the lead in officially opening up sea transportation in Fuzhou?"
"Wei Shuai, the people of Fuzhou are ready. As long as Wei Shuai sends an army, we can make Fuzhou's sea transportation worry-free."
"Wei Shuai, we worked together to supervise the construction of 60 warships before you and the Danglu Army came. The largest of them is a hundred feet high. Your army will ride these warships to scare the pirates at sea."
"In addition to the warships we built, Fuzhou still has more than a hundred intact warships, which can be inspected by Wei Shuai at any time."
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Hearing this, Wei Yuan looked at Cai Xiang curiously.
The latter explained: "Fuzhou is an important town in Fujian Province. Previously, I urged the military and civilians of Fujian to work together to build warships to resist the Japanese pirates."
Wei Yuan praised again: "Fuzhou can be a model for the coastal prefectures."
Cai Xiang smiled and bowed, saying: "It is a blessing for the people of Fuzhou to be praised by General Wei."
Wei Yuan said: "If the situation in Fuzhou is really as you said, then the first batch of transactions with overseas countries should start from Fuzhou."
Cai Xiang's face was overjoyed, "In this case, we thank General Wei."
After this incident, it can be predicted that in the near future, Fuzhou's strategic affairs will surpass Suzhou and Hangzhou!
As for the first batch of pilot sea shipments, one cannot blame Wei Yuan for having to be cautious.
As the official of the Southeast Frontier, his words and deeds will affect the people of the entire Southeast.
"Fan Chunren, Lord Fan, have you ever been to Fuzhou?"
Wei Yuan asked.
Cai Xiang responded: "I came here seven days ago, and Mr. Fan also said that Fuzhou can take the lead in opening sea transportation."
As he spoke, he paid attention to Wei Yuan's face, and when he saw that the other party was calm as usual, he continued:
"My official believes that whether Fuzhou can start shipping depends mainly on your wishes, Commander Wei."
"The clan merchants in Fuzhou will all be grateful to Commander Wei."
Of course, how to express gratitude cannot be expressed openly.
Wei Yuan smiled and said, "That's easy to say."
"It's just that if sea transportation is launched, it would be a little inappropriate for the Fuzhou clan to only send merchant ships to sea."
"As for excessive tariffs in other regions, we will exempt them if possible and reduce them as little as possible."
The so-called customs clearance means that merchants from other places who come to Fuzhou to do business and go to sea through the docks in Fuzhou must first pay a batch of taxes.
If the profit is small, after review by the Fuzhou government, all the taxes will be refunded, or part of it will be refunded to some merchants in other places.
On the contrary, if the profit is very high, no refund will be given.
Cai Xiang thought for a while and said bluntly: "Commander Wei, please rest assured. I can guarantee that some of the caravans that Commander Wei focuses on will be treated the same as the Fuzhou caravans."
After hearing this, Wei Yuan became more and more pleased with Cai Xiang.
"In that case, this matter will be settled for now."
"After I finish handling some matters, I will meet with Mr. Fan and let Fuzhou take the lead in starting shipping."
"Presumably His Majesty is also waiting for such good news."
The last sentence was to tell Cai Xiang.
Once Fuzhou is really safe, he will personally report to the Ming Emperor and praise Cai Xiang's achievements in managing Fujian Road.
By then, Cai Xiang will no longer have to be an official in Fujian Road. It will be a matter of time before he changes his identity and becomes a high official in Beijing.
Cai Xiang was overjoyed and said: "Thank you for your cultivation, Commander Wei. Please rest assured, Commander Wei. Your subordinates will follow Commander Wei's lead and complete the Fujian Road anti-Japanese and coastal defense matters."
The implication is that during your stay in Southeast, I only listened to you.
As for Fan Chunren, let him be the ‘auspicious’ (mascot) of the Southeast.