Hongwu Daming: Why hasn't my son rebelled?

Chapter 103 What is "The World"

Li Chengxu was in a panic at first, so he hurriedly said:

"His Royal Highness, the bad news is that the emperor of the Celestial Dynasty does not agree with the marriage?"

After Li Chengxu finished speaking, he saw His Royal Highness King Liao nodded heavily, and then said:
"Not exactly, but more or less."

When Li Chengxu heard His Royal Highness Liao Wang's words, he was in a fog, as if he had listened, but he didn't seem to listen.

Thinking of the good news, I hurriedly asked:

"Your Highness, what about the good news?"

Zhu Qi hesitated for a moment, and muttered "This..."

Li Chengxu hurried forward, took out another small box from his pocket, and handed it to Zhu Qi respectfully.

Zhu Qi frowned, raised his hand and said:

"No, no, envoy, don't do this."

Li Chengxu gave a "tsk" and said with a natural expression:
"Your Highness, don't worry, these are not expensive things, but some specialties from my hometown."

Zhu Qi hesitated for a moment, put the box away calmly, and then talked about the good news.

The good news is that Zhu Qi, king of Liao, managed to stabilize the situation temporarily after a lot of effort, otherwise we would have seen the news of Princess Lin'an's marriage today.

As soon as Li Chengxu heard that his calves were weak, he immediately begged:

"His Royal Highness, Your Highness! You must advise us, what should we do now?"

what to do?Ordinary princes, what else can we do at this time, it must be to put down the burden and do it coldly!

But Zhu Qi is no ordinary prince, he is His Royal Highness King Liao!

Li Chengxu heard that although His Royal Highness King Liao looked distressed, there was clearly a glimmer of hope amidst this distress.

His Royal Highness the King of Liao was hesitant to speak but stopped and he wanted to speak. His expression can be said to be quite exciting. Li Chengxu immediately said:
"Your Highness, the foreign ministers can still have almost a box of hometown specialties by putting together all kinds of things..."

Zhu Qi's expression froze, as if his whole body was covered with large and small orthographic characters, he grabbed Li Chengxu's hands and said on the spot:
Messenger Li, no, Lord Li!What is the relationship between the two of us?If you were born in Daming, then I will immediately recommend you as Prime Minister Zuo Sheng!
But it doesn't matter, this king can still strongly support Mr. Li for you to be the prime minister of Korea.

As for the marriage, there was no room for reversal. Although the emperor didn't really want to marry Princess Lin'an to Goryeo, the king had already laid the groundwork. If he worked harder at this time, there might be a chance.

Then Li Chengxu was taken aback, what's the point?
"Struggle for relatives!"

Zhu Qi said:
"Just write a note and say that you are willing to compete fairly with other envoys. If this matter can be achieved, with this king behind the scenes to help you, it will be possible in all likelihood!"

Li Chengxu made such a conclusion, this matter makes sense, as long as His Royal Highness Liao Wang is behind the back, if it is really a fair competition with other envoys, if you can get the test questions in advance, isn't it a sure win?
Anyway, according to what His Royal Highness Liao Wang said, if you continue like this, you will not be able to marry Princess Lin'an. If this is the case, it is better to follow the method His Royal Highness Liao Wang said.

When the time comes, you will win and marry Princess Lin'an, and you will have your status and prestige. Then you will fish in troubled waters between Beiyuan and Daming, and then take advantage of the competition between snipe and clam. Isn't it beautiful!

Li Chengxu thought in his heart that in this way he could complete the task given by the king, and immediately agreed with joy.

When Zhu Qi saw it, he was also very happy, so he was hooked!

The two had their own secrets in their hearts, but on the surface they had become good brothers who talked about everything. After chatting for a while, Zhu Qi sent the guests away. Not long after, Li Chengxu arranged for someone to deliver a big box. ——It’s all specialties!
What Li Chengxu didn't know was that in the past two days, many envoys from various countries began to send various special products one after another.

Behind all of this, the ghostly imperial guards, that is, the embryonic spies of Jin Yiwei, have delivered news one by one to Da Nei.

Zhu Qi continued to receive gifts with peace of mind, and at the same time sent all the gifts he received to the Ministry of Internal Affairs without exception.

The internal officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were almost scared out of their minds. Two days ago, they were all small boxes, but today they turned into big boxes!
This is too exaggerated.

However, on the eighth day of the first lunar month, Zhu Di came over with a serious face. Seeing that the third brother Zhu Qi was still drinking tea slowly, he hurried over and said:

"Third brother, those foreign envoys have really submitted papers one after another, demanding a fair competition for Princess Lin'an, and the courtiers who were originally quarreling stopped arguing. Sure enough, everything is in your calculations! It's just..."

Seeing Zhu Di hesitated to speak, Zhu Qi chuckled:
"It's just that Dad is looking for me, right?"

Zhu Di nodded and said worriedly:

"Third Brother, do you think Dad knows what you did behind the backs of those envoys? Dad won't punish you, right? Third Brother, you believe me, this is definitely not what I said, or I will go with you , I also have a share in this matter, and I also bear the responsibility."

Zhu Qi looked at Zhu Di and told him to pull it down quickly. What does this matter have to do with you? I said the words, I instigated the people, and I received the gifts. Even if there is a responsibility, I will bear it alone. .

However, Zhu Qi estimated that there would be no major incidents. After all, he did this by himself. It can be said that he did not hide from Zhu Yuanzhang at all. It is equivalent to telling Zhu Yuanzhang that those foreign envoys gave him gifts.

Even if those Jinyiwei spies were not so powerful, Zhu Yuanzhang would be surprised and arrange for someone to investigate.

It would be better to say that Zhu Yuanzhang had been patiently watching for so long, and now he came to call himself over. Zhu Qi felt that it was a bit late.

Without saying a word, Zhu Qi stood up and tidied up his appearance. Of course, in Zhu Di's eyes, it was almost tidying up his remains.

Zhu Di felt that if he dared to flirt with the envoys like this, he might be beaten to death by Zhu Yuanzhang on the spot.

Zhu Qi smiled and patted Zhu Di on the shoulder, saying:
"Go and talk to your sister, Princess Lin'an, and say that her happiness in marriage depends on Third Brother."

As soon as the words fell, before Zhu Di replied, he heard an internal official coming outside, and it was indeed sent by Zhu Yuanzhang to ask Zhu Qi to go there.

Zhu Qi followed the eunuch and left quickly, and the eunuch didn't talk too much, he only asked one question:
"Your Highness, don't ask, our family doesn't know, and His Highness will know when he arrives."

Don't look at Zhu Qi's free-spirited and confident appearance on the surface, but in fact there is still a little bit of uneasiness in his heart.

But everything has been done, and everything is going well at this point, and there is nothing to worry about.

Thinking this way in his heart, Zhu Qi cheered himself up, and then walked into Zhu Yuanzhang's study.

As soon as the door was pushed open, there was a stove burning in the room, the inner officer stepped back and closed the door.

Zhu Qi saw Zhu Yuanzhang sitting in the room, with a pile of neat small boxes and boxes next to him. Aren't they the gifts that Zhu Qi sent as bribes from the envoys a few days ago.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Qi who walked in, and said:
"Third brother, tell yourself, why did you accept bribes from foreign envoys?"

Zhu Qixian was taken aback for a moment, and then said with great injustice:
"Father, if you put the gold, silver and jewels in your pocket, that's called bribery, but the child didn't put it in your own pocket at all, it's all in your pocket, it really counts, this bribe, no, this should be The gift called tribute is for you, father."

After Zhu Qi finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was still stern, suddenly laughed out loud, then slapped the table and said:

"It's just that you have a lot of ideas. If you didn't send these things to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, or relying on your private contacts with foreign envoys, can I simply call you over?"

What Zhu Yuanzhang said was indeed true. Zhu Qi reckoned that if he was a little greedy and kept the money privately, he might have been hanged and beaten.

Who is Zhu Yuanzhang?Emperor Hongwu, the representative emperor of the forbidden dynasty's spy politics, dare not say anything far away. It is very unrealistic to hide any troubles in this imperial city from him.

Zhu Qi didn't talk too much, he put on a serious expression, bowed respectfully, and then said in a deep voice:

"The reason why my son did this is naturally to help daddy solve your problems!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was taken aback for a moment, and asked:

"Help me solve my problems?"

"That's right!" Zhu Qi said seriously:

"Daddy, think about it, these foreign envoys all came to beg the princess one by one, not to mention other small countries such as Champa, Java, Nan'an, Siam, Chenla and so on.

They wanted the princess just to get my generous dowry from Princess Daming, but if they refused directly, it would be unavoidable that they would be criticized by their tongues.

As for Goryeo and Wa, that is really wolfish ambition! "

Zhu Qi increased his tone and heard Zhu Yuanzhang ask:
"Tell me, what kind of wolf ambition do they have?"

Zhu Qi immediately said:

"Let's talk about Goryeo first. Since the Yuan Dynasty was chaotic and expelled from the Central Plains, although Goryeo surrendered to Beiyuan in name, it actually did a lot of tricks behind its back and eroded a lot of Beiyuan's territory.

This is the result of nearly a hundred years of intermarriage between the Yuan Dynasty and Goryeo. Even if this is the case, my Ming Dynasty married the princess, so could they live in harmony with my Ming Dynasty because of this in-law relationship? "

Zhu Qike clearly remembered that in history, Li Chenggui seized power and usurped the throne. Not long after surrendering to Ming Dynasty, King Sejong of Joseon succeeded to the throne and began to implement the policy of expanding the northern border to the south of the Tumen River.

Occupied the land of the Six Towns of Daming, in the name of helping Daming defend Jurchen.

Zhu Qi continued:
"They asked to marry the princess because they hoped to stabilize our Daming. Bei Yuan couldn't do without Gao Li's help, so he wouldn't turn against them.

To please both sides is nothing more than speculative thinking, no matter which side has the advantage, it is beneficial to them.

If Bei Yuan has an advantage, they will help Bei Yuan and encroach on my Ming territory.

I have the advantage of the Ming Dynasty, and when the time comes when I conquer the Northern Yuan Dynasty, they will use the name of helping us to encroach on the territory outside the Great Wall of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

Dad, tell me, should we marry this princess? "

Zhu Yuanzhang did not speak, but asked:
"In today's world situation, if Goryeo is really willing to send troops to help us, wouldn't it be a good thing?
The ministers and workers have been discussing this matter recently, hoping to form an alliance with Korea so that they can send troops to help. "

Zhu Qi immediately scoffed and said:
"Please ask Goryeo to send troops to help, why don't you think about what Huihe did in Tang Dynasty?"

What Zhu Qi said was that during the Anshi Rebellion, Huihe, who was originally an ally of the Tang Dynasty, almost wiped out the Tang Dynasty together with the rebels. obvious.

Fortunately, Guo Ziyi saved a hand at that time, so Huihe did not succeed.

If you simply rely on the strength of foreign nations to fight, the example of the Tang Dynasty is the best proof.

People who are not of my race must have different minds, but it is the experience summed up and verified by thousands of years of history.

Before Zhu Yuanzhang could speak, Zhu Qi changed the subject and said:

"Besides, father, do you want to be an emperor of a dynasty with thirteen prefectures in the Central Plains, or do you want to be one, inherit the territory of the Great Yuan Dynasty, and truly rule the world!"

Zhu Qi's voice gradually became higher, but his heart was beating drums.

Because of his words, it seems a bit deviant now. After all, Zhu Yuanzhang's banner is to expel the Hulu, restore China, and clearly oppose the Yuan Dynasty.

At this time, it is said that it will inherit the territory of the Great Yuan Dynasty, and look at the world in the conventional sense to the former territory of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, including all Mongolian regions, Siberia regions, and plateaus, etc., are covered by this scope.

This is something that the Confucian scholars in Ming Dynasty dare not think or say.

But Zhu Yuanzhang in history did just that!

After he completely defeated the Beiyuan court, he began to admit that Beiyuan is the Chinese orthodoxy. The purpose is nothing else, because you only need to admit that Beiyuan is the Chinese orthodoxy. The territory that Beiyuan once ruled, I, Ming, also have the right to rule. !
This is also an unspoken rule in the Chinese cultural circle under the idea of ​​unification that began with Qin Shihuang. However, if a new dynasty is established, if the territory is not as large as the previous dynasty, it will inevitably feel uncomfortable.

Therefore, the newly founded dynasties are often the most active dynasties in opening up territories, not for anything else, just for the idea of ​​a great unification that began with Qin Shihuang—unification of the world!
And this concept of "the world", after experiencing the Northern Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang's vision is no longer as big as the thirteen states of the Central Plains.

This world should be the territory of the Great Yuan Dynasty at its peak!

Zhu Yuanzhang did this in history, and so did Zhu Di!
Why did Zhu Di make five expeditions to Mobei?Because Mobei, in Zhu Di's eyes, is also the world.

It's a pity that what happened later, as we all know, a civil fort change, a man named Men Tianzi, abruptly interrupted the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty.

It is precisely because Zhu Yuanzhang had such a mind and courage in history that Zhu Qi dared to say this.

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang's expression became more and more enthusiastic, Zhu Qi knew that he had made the right bet. Sure enough, seeing Zhu Yuanzhang looking at the map of Mobei behind him, he breathed a sigh of relief and said in relief:

"Third son, you can have such a heart for the world, it is really beyond my imagination. Of course, my Ming Dynasty can't stop at the thirteen states of the Central Plains. This grassland is thousands of miles away, and this Koryo is five hundred miles away. Sooner or later, my Ming Dynasty will rule the world. !"

(End of this chapter)