Chapter 287 Three people become tigers
People in later generations have a wrong perception that the maritime ban was initiated during the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, it was the Yuan Dynasty that first lifted the maritime ban.

However, the Yuan Dynasty implemented the maritime ban during wartime, with two main purposes: one was to prevent military intelligence from being exposed, and the other was to prevent coastal merchants from selling supplies to the enemy.

The war ended and the maritime ban was lifted.

By the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the threat of Japanese pirates in coastal areas was very serious.

Then there was the down-to-earth imperial edict from Zhu Yuanzhang: By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor declares, Tell every citizen to prepare their knives. When these guys come, kill them first!

In addition to the Japanese pirates, the trade separatism of the remnants of Zhang Shicheng in the coastal areas was also a very big threat to the newly formed Ming Dynasty.

As the saying goes, when in doubt, consult the history books!

Then, the imperial court discovered the Yuan Dynasty's magical method of maritime ban. Once this method was used, both the remnants of Zhang Shicheng and the Japanese pirates were significantly suppressed.

The phrase "Not an inch of board is allowed to go to sea" came from Hu Zongxian, a general who fought against Japanese pirates during the Jiajing period.

In his "Chou Hai Tu Bian", he mentioned that not allowing any planks to go out to sea was a clear ban of the imperial dynasty, not the legacy of Emperor Taizu.

Old Zhu has no idea how many years he has been blamed for this.

But it doesn’t matter. Old Zhu has enough blame on himself, so he doesn’t need this one.

Nevertheless, Hu Zongxian still explained this sentence:
The law is indeed strict, but people living along the coast make a living from the sea, catching fish and shrimps, and if there is something that is not prohibited, it is easy for them to get involved.

We must make clear the intention of our ancestors, and only prohibit two-masted ships from secretly communicating with foreign goods, so as to provoke border conflicts. The so-called "not allowing a single piece of wood to go to sea" refers to sailing into the ocean and entering Japanese territory, not to stop people from fishing in the inland sea and trading grain in neighboring provinces.

So "no planks are allowed to go out to sea" sounds very harsh, but in fact, for fishermen, as long as you make a living by fishing honestly and don't go out to sea and cover one eye to become the Pirate King, the imperial court will not bother to care about you.

But the mystery lies here. Some people who come ashore during the day are good citizens, but those who come ashore at night are pirates.

Also from the record of "Chou Hai Tu Bian":

There are tens of thousands of pirates nowadays, all claiming to be from Japan, but in fact only a few thousand of them are from Japan, and the rest are all Chinese scoundrels who have traitored China and joined them.

Therefore, before Qi Jiguang, the Japanese pirates were so powerful that it was hard not to suspect something fishy was going on.

However, these things happened during the Jiajing period. During the Zhengde period, although these Japanese pirates were also a scourge, they were far from the level they were during the Jiajing period.

But this did not prevent it from becoming a reason used by the court officials to reject Emperor Zhengde's wish to go to sea.

Looking at the memorial and explanation returned by the cabinet, Emperor Zhengde threw it aside without even reading it, and said indignantly: "The more they don't let me do it, the more it shows that I am doing the right thing!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Emperor Zhengde knew that he was in trouble. This might be fine in the Leopard Room, but it would not work in the Qianqing Palace.

Zhang Yong, who was standing by, was shocked when he heard this and said quickly, "Your Majesty, the whole court is on the same page with you! Why don't you summon Ou Dongqing to the palace and listen to the opinions of the Honglu Temple?"

After hearing this, Emperor Zhengde's eyes lit up and he nodded, saying, "That makes sense. Go ahead!"

At this moment, Ou Zanghua was checking the nautical chart brought by the Malacca envoy, and at the same time he was wondering whether there were any generals in the Zhengde Dynasty who were good at naval warfare.

Upon hearing the news from the palace, he had to put down his work and go to the palace to meet the emperor.

As soon as he entered the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Zhengde handed the memorial returned by the cabinet to Ou Zanghua, and said with a depressed look: "Mr. Ou, please finish reading this first!"

Ou Zanghua took the memorial and opened it. The first paragraph was written by himself, and the second paragraph contained the opinions put forward by the cabinet. After being rejected by Emperor Zhengde, the cabinet still insisted on its original opinion and refused to send troops overseas.

After waiting for a long time until Ou Zanghua finished reading, Emperor Zhengde asked, "What do you think, Mr. Ou?" "Your Majesty, isn't the purpose of our navy going out to sea to promote our national prestige and deter Japanese pirates?" Ou Zanghua put down the memorial and said seriously.

Emperor Zhengde nodded and said angrily, "Yes! But the cabinet disagrees. How can we send troops without the support of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War?"

Ou Zanghua was about to answer when he suddenly saw Boss Zhu winking at him.

As a good friend who had fought with Zhengde many times, Ou Zanghua immediately understood that he couldn't tell the truth!

So, he started to fool around: "Yes! How about your Majesty discuss it with the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War? I will also do my best to assist your Majesty."

"Mr. Ou, do you think there is any other way? I am the emperor, and it is not appropriate to negotiate with my subjects!"

"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. Which subject dares to disobey Your Majesty's will? From my humble perspective, I must have been forced to do so. Your Majesty should be more understanding."

The two men argued with each other for a while before Emperor Zhengde admitted that the cabinet had difficulties, but that was not how things were done, which made him unhappy, so he got up and left.

After sending Emperor Zhengde away, Ou Zanghua was still a little confused. What was the boss up to today?

When he was about to leave the palace, a young eunuch chased him out and conveyed Emperor Zhengde's order, asking him to go to the Leopard Room the next afternoon.

Ou Zanghua was speechless and bowed to show that he had received it.

In the cabinet that he could not see, the depressing atmosphere had dissipated at this moment.
What is more depressing than repression is frustration, and Yue Buqun is experiencing it deeply now.

Ever since he left Yingtian Prefecture and headed for Luoyang, a few wandering warriors would pop up on the road from time to time, questioning him why he expelled the romantic young hero Linghu Chong from his sect?

It was fine at the beginning, it was just questioning, and Yue Buqun patiently explained.

When we got to the middle of the journey, those gangsters started to attack us:

What a blind man Yue Buqun is. He even expelled a young hero like Young Master Linghu from his sect. It is simply outrageous to both humans and gods.

What a hypocrite Yue Buqun is. He just can't stand the fact that Young Hero Linghu is stronger than him and can't tolerate Young Hero Linghu.

The Huashan Sect is so petty that even a good and upright man like Young Master Linghu can't stay there. It must be a filthy place where snakes and rats live together.

Yue Buqun was so angry that he almost fought with these people, but they just dispersed.

But when they arrived at the next resting place, the Huashan Sect had just sat down when they heard people next to them talking about how Yue Buqun was indeed a hypocrite, and after his true face was exposed, he became angry and wanted to kill people to silence them.

Yue Buqun was filled with rage. He stood up suddenly and walked over to see that it was a few peddlers chatting.

These people didn't know Yue Buqun, but seeing that he was well-dressed and elegant, they thought he was some important person, so they quickly stood up, bowed and asked, "What can I do for you, sir?"

"Where did you hear these rumors?" Yue Buqun took a deep breath and asked in a cold voice.

"Sir, we, the peddlers, have heard these words in several nearby towns while traveling around."

One of the peddlers bowed and said, "I think it's because Yue Buqun went too far that he caused public outrage! This is what they say: good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels a thousand miles."

Yue Buqun's eyes turned cold, and the anger that he had suppressed with great difficulty suddenly rose again. Fortunately, he was rational and did not draw his sword to kill the peddlers. Instead, he said seriously: "As the saying goes, three people make a tiger. You have never seen Yue Buqun, so why do you think he is that kind of person? I don't ask you to investigate and collect evidence, but at least you should not help the tyrant."

One of the peddlers wanted to argue a little more, but fortunately the other older man, who was experienced in the underworld, quickly admitted defeat and said, "Yes, yes, sir, I am right."

"Humph!" Yue Buqun snorted coldly and returned to his seat.
(End of this chapter)