“Besides this, what other drawbacks does Lord Zhu believe the maritime ban has?” Wang Zhi asked Zhu Pingan again.
He wanted to probe through these questions whether Zhu Pingan genuinely opposed the maritime ban or was merely pretending to oppose it, with ulterior motives against him.
Clarifying Zhu Pingan’s stance would help him decide.
If Zhu Pingan truly opposed the maritime ban and wanted to lift it, Wang Zhi would fully support him; conversely, if Zhu Pingan was using opposition to the ban as a pretext to plot against him, Wang Zhi would have to teach him a harsh lesson!
I, Wang Zhi, have roamed the seas for decades—could I capsize in a small ditch like you?! Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
“The maritime ban causes the court to lose vast amounts of trade revenue, depriving the people of a vital means of livelihood. With overseas trade taxes, the court’s current financial strain could be resolved, with plenty to spare. Lifting the ban would allow people to fish and trade at sea, enriching coastal regions. With no worries about food or clothing, who would risk their lives to become a pirate? This way, the court prospers, the people thrive, and recreating a golden age wouldn’t be an issue.”
Zhu Pingan spread his hands, sighing deeply.
“Can maritime trade generate that much revenue? Recreating a golden age— isn’t that a bit exaggerated?” Wang Zhi toyed with his teacup, asking two questions in succession.
“Not exaggerated at all. The volume of overseas trade rivals land trade, and its tax revenue is unimaginable. Leader Wang, are you familiar with the Southern Song? They had over twenty trading ports, including Quanzhou, Guangzhou, Mingzhou, Hangzhou, Wenzhou, Jiangyin, Huating in Xiuzhou, and Ganpu in Xiuzhou. Let’s take Quanzhou alone: every year, it could easily deliver a million bolts of silk in taxes to the court. With over twenty ports combined, the total tax revenue was nearly twenty million strings of cash— twenty million!”
Zhu Pingan took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, then cited the Southern Song as an example.
“That much?” Wang Zhi was astonished.
“Of course. The Southern Song traded with over sixty foreign states. Their overseas trade was vibrant, with countless ships coming and going daily, generating huge transactions and, naturally, substantial taxes. These are recorded in history, like the *Chronological Record Since Jianyan*. You can verify it— no deception here,” Zhu Pingan nodded firmly, citing sources confidently.
Hearing Zhu Pingan quote historical texts, Wang Zhi nodded along, no longer doubting. He wasn’t fond of reading and hadn’t heard of the book Zhu mentioned, but Zhu was a top scholar, an expert. If he said such a book existed, it must be true.
Though he didn’t know the exact figures for Southern Song’s overseas trade, he was aware of how thriving it was.
The Southern Song was his ideal realm; if he could have lived then, he’d have no regrets.
“It seems Lord Zhu has studied maritime trade deeply. Is the important matter you wish to discuss the lifting of the maritime ban?”
Wang Zhi now believed Zhu Pingan genuinely wanted to lift the ban.
“Yes, and no,” Zhu Pingan smiled faintly.
“Hm?” Wang Zhi paused at Zhu’s words. What did he mean by yes and no? Was he or wasn’t he?!
Scholars always spoke in riddles.
“Is Leader Wang only thinking of lifting the ban and opening trade?” Zhu Pingan squinted slightly, looking at Wang Zhi.
“Yes, lifting the ban and opening mutual trade— that’s my dream,” Wang Zhi nodded vigorously.
“Is Leader Wang’s dream so small?” Zhu Pingan leaned back, a hint of disappointment in his expression.
What?
Was he looking down on me?
My dream is too small?! My dream, small? This is defying the Ming dynasty’s ancestral laws— harder than reaching the heavens!
Wang Zhi, struck by Zhu Pingan’s words and his visibly disappointed expression, felt deflated.
“May I ask what Lord Zhu’s dream is?”
Unconvinced, Wang Zhi challenged Zhu Pingan. You say my dream is small— what’s yours?
Let me hear it!
Zhu Pingan stood and clapped his hands outside.
The pirates seated around, seeing Zhu Pingan rise and clap, broke out in cold sweat, startled!
Was this the moment of betrayal, clapping as a signal for hidden troops to emerge and slaughter them at the banquet?!
Instantly, the pirates sprang up, ready to flee.
“Sit down! You’re embarrassing yourselves!”
Wang Zhi, seeing this, stood and gestured for the pirates to sit, scolding them irritably.
Soon, the pirates realised they’d made a blunder.
After Zhu Pingan clapped, Liu Dadao and Liu Daqiang carried in a display board covered with red cloth, setting it behind a low screen.
They placed the board beside Zhu Pingan, saluted him with clasped fists, and withdrew.
“Leader Wang, please look,” Zhu Pingan said, pulling off the red cloth to reveal the board’s contents.
“Is this a map? A nautical chart? What places are these? They seem familiar yet unknown,” Wang Zhi, seeing the map, stood excitedly.
“Leader Wang has a keen eye. Indeed, this is a nautical chart,” Zhu Pingan nodded with a smile.
Then, like performing a magic trick, Zhu Pingan pulled a charcoal pen from his pocket— one he’d crafted from ink, wrapped with cloth at the tip to avoid staining his hand and prevent breaking.
“You asked about my dream, Leader Wang. Allow me to introduce it— my dream is to usher in the Age of Sail!”
Zhu Pingan pointed at the map beside him, chin slightly raised, speaking slowly as if commanding the world.
“The Age of Sail?!”
Hearing the term Zhu Pingan coined, Wang Zhi felt his heart ignite, burning with excitement.
Goosebumps rose on his skin!
“Indeed, the Age of Sail!” Zhu Pingan nodded firmly.
He lightly tapped the map and said to Wang Zhi, “This is a world map.”
“World map?” Wang Zhi, hearing the term for the first time, looked puzzled.
“The world refers to the boundaries of this realm,” Zhu Pingan explained simply. Seeing Wang Zhi still confused, he added plainly, “Or you could call it a map of the heavens.”
“I understand,” Wang Zhi nodded.
Zhu Pingan continued, “This map is drawn by my own hand, based on the records of the renowned eunuch, navigator, diplomat, and military strategist Zheng He’s seven voyages, combined with secret archives from the imperial storehouse, as well as records from the Jinyiwei and factory guards’ interrogations of red-haired barbarians and their collected documents!”
The references to Zheng He’s voyages, imperial archives, and Jinyiwei interrogations were Zhu Pingan’s pretexts. In truth, the map was drawn based on modern maps.
Of course, Zhu Pingan didn’t replicate modern maps exactly. He combined them with maps from Europe’s Age of Exploration, deliberately reducing precision, blurring boundaries, and drawing North and South America as one landmass with a large question mark.
