From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 818

Zhou Yuan naturally had no time to cook, and with the kitchen utensils and seasonings of this era, he couldn't cook any good dishes at all.

The four of them went out and went to the best restaurant in Ningbo Prefecture and ordered a table of dishes.

Zhou Yuan and Li Yu'an had been traveling and fighting on the ship for a long time, and they hadn't eaten anything good for a long time. Today was a good meal.

While eating, they naturally talked about the entire southeast coastal situation.

Zhuang Xuansu was obviously very professional in his job.

She spoke in a low voice, "The island bandits have been a problem for many years. They appeared when the late emperor just ascended the throne."

"But at that time, the scale was not large. It was just looting and smuggling along the coast. The other side didn't even dare to kill people."

"But as the Great Jin became more and more corrupt and decadent, the great country was aging, and the northern border was seriously threatened, the island bandits became more and more daring."

"They began to land at the same time with hundreds of people, bloodbathed major villages and towns along the coast, killed people and robbed goods, set fire to villages, and did all kinds of evil."

Speaking of this, Zhuang Xuansu looked sad and gritted his teeth and said, "At that time, the current emperor had just participated in the selection, The previous emperor was old and incompetent, and the treasury had no money, so he only ordered coastal towns to suppress the island bandits. "

"But after a few years of suppression, the scale of the island bandits became larger and larger, the losses along the coast became more serious, and the people suffered more and more."

"After your majesty ascended the throne, he worked hard to govern the country and directly took out the silver from the treasury to organize a large army to suppress the island bandits."

"The commander-in-chief of the five military camps of the Beijing camp personally led the army, first to Lin'an Prefecture, then to Ningbo Prefecture, and gathered 12,000 garrison troops from the two prefectures to suppress the island bandits."

"The battle ended in a disastrous defeat."

Zhou Yuan raised his head and frowned, "Impossible? Twelve thousand people can't suppress a few people. Hundreds of island bandits?"

Zhuang Xuansu snorted coldly, clenched his fists and said: "Because the island bandits colluded with the local aristocratic families and formed an alliance."

"At that time, the commander-in-chief of the Five Military Camps did not see the essence of the situation here, and believed the false information of the aristocratic families. He repeatedly transferred the battle, and the operation of the troops had reached the limit. In addition, the insider poisoned the soldiers. Various unfavorable factors gathered together, and the hundreds of people on the other side killed and killed the soldiers and fled, with thousands of casualties."

"When the news was sent back to Shenjing, the whole court was shocked. His Majesty was furious and ordered the inner court to investigate the truth."

"Later, I brought the truth back to Shenjing, but His Majesty said that the matter was over and would not be pursued. "

Speaking of this, Zhuang Xuansu shook his head and sighed, "I understand your majesty's temperament. Unless she is forced to do so, she will not give up."

"Until now, the island pirates are rioting along the coast. Ningbo, Shaoxing, Taizhou, Yanzhou, Jinhua, Chuzhou and even Quzhou have all been robbed and massacred."

"Li He, the commander of Zhejiang Province, is also your old subordinate. He is a pure fool. He was fooled by the other side and finally stopped moving his troops. He has been stationed in Lin'an Prefecture and watched the people in various prefectures suffer."

Li Yu'an pretended not to hear anything, but took care of Xiaoying's meal and chatted with her.

This gave Zhou Yuan the opportunity to think about the reason, and finally sighed.

He tapped the table lightly, watching the endless stream of pedestrians on the street downstairs, and couldn't help feeling a lot of emotion in his heart.

"Any phenomenon has its core contradiction in it. If you don't recognize the core contradiction, you will never be able to solve the problem from the root."

Zhou Yuan stood up and walked to the window, letting the sun shine on him.

Zhuang Xuansu looked at his back, stunned.

Zhou Yuan said: "There are many reasons for the sea ban, such as sea trade easily leads to barbarians becoming pirates and harming the good people along the coast, and to prevent overseas barbarians from colluding with domestic rebel organizations and endangering the court. There are too many to list and count."

"But in fact, the essential reason is to maintain political rule, ensure the small peasant economy, and isolate foreign invasions."

"But obviously, the sea ban policy has more disadvantages than advantages, especially in the long run."

Zhuang Xuansu couldn't help but say: "What you are about to say should determine the direction of development here, right?"

Zhou Yuan nodded and said slowly: "Yes, what I am about to say is the fate of this place. It is also the fate of the Jin Dynasty. "

He turned around and his voice became low: "I have never agreed with the maritime ban policy. I have always believed that this policy is wrong, short-sighted, evasive, and irresponsible."

"It does protect the safety of coastal people to a certain extent, and also protects the self-sufficiency of small peasant economy to a certain extent."

"But at the same time, we are isolated from the world, we are gradually out of touch with the general trend of world development, we have lost the opportunity to open up overseas markets and stimulate capital expansion, we have missed the opportunity to promote industrialization, we have hindered the budding of capitalism, and we have hindered the development of culture and economy in the world.The integration of the world, and eventually falling behind, becoming obsolete and aging. "

"The result is what we have today - strong ships and powerful guns, blasting the coastline, being bullied, ravaged, invaded, and even colonized."

Speaking of this, Zhou Yuan said coldly: "A great country should have the responsibility of a great country. Facing the changes of the times and the advancement of civilization, it should not escape, but face the challenges, seize the initiative in the tide of history, and guide the progress of the entire civilization."

"Otherwise, it will only be eliminated."

The sun is bright, shining through the window holes at a peculiar angle into this spacious private room.

The three girls have been listening very seriously without knowing when.

Zhou Yuan said: "This passage will determine the fate of Dajin in the next few decades, and it is also what we have to work hard to do."

"Then let's talk about the contradictions of the southeast coast itself."

"The sea ban hinders sea trade and even prohibits fishing. What should the people on the coast do to eat and survive? Smuggling! ”

“Coastal merchants want to make money, dump goods, and develop. What should they do? Smuggling!”

“But the maritime ban policy does not allow the construction of large ships! How can we go to sea without large ships? There are still pirates on the sea. How can we ensure overseas trade?”

“What should we do? Collude with pirates! Merchants are responsible for supply, and pirates are responsible for sales. This solves the problem.”

Speaking of this, Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice: “So why do the aristocratic families collude with island pirates? Because island pirates can help them smuggle and make money.”

“The court wants to suppress island pirates, which is equivalent to cutting off the source of money and destroying their jobs. Of course, the aristocratic families will not agree.”

“In the first few years after your majesty ascended the throne, in addition to the imperial guards and the inner court, you can at most dominate the treasury expenditure, but you can't control the cabinet and the royal family. These aristocratic families are willing to spend money and bribe. The pressure from all sides is on your majesty, so of course she can only swallow her anger. ”

“Merchants are profit-driven. They don’t care about the lives of ordinary people. They even hope that the people will suffer a little more, so that they can have free labor. If they provide a meal, countless people will work for them. ”

“This is the core contradiction of the situation on the southeast coast. How can we fight without solving this core contradiction?”

“Even if we win, in time, this place will become what it is now.”

“To solve this core contradiction, it is naturally about export trade, abolishing the sea ban policy, and opening up the sea for trade.”

“After opening up the sea for trade, merchants are no longer willing to share money with pirates, and their interest alliance will naturally collapse.”

Zhou Yuan stared at Zhuang Xuansu and said coldly: “Of course, before that, the court must regain its dignity, and the people also need justice.”

“The beasts who collaborate with the enemy and betray the country must die!”

“And those island pirates who are worse than beasts should be cut into pieces! ”

Zhuang Xuansu said: "I have all the information, but I can't find evidence for a large part of it."

Zhou Yuan said: "Evidence? Judicial procedural justice is for ordinary people, not for traitors."

"I don't need evidence, I just need a list!"