Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 151 Proposed Diplomatic Reform

"Your Majesty, if this is the case, Zhang Xiao will definitely be grateful to Your Majesty. The emperor's eldest son's sutra feast cannot be delayed for too long. Even if the emperor's eldest son's sutra feast cannot start immediately, please hire more famous teachers for the emperor's eldest son and do it every day. They all have their homework." Wang Xijue said.

"I will consider it." The emperor gave a reply.

In this way, it didn't take long for Zhang Xiao's position to be restored, and his rank even rose, because Zhang Xiao now also serves as an official of the Zhanshi Mansion, which is a real fourth-grade official.

Of course, his errands at Honglu Temple were not over yet, and the new appointment document had not yet been officially issued. After Zhang Xiao thanked Wang Cifu, he still had to go to Honglu Temple to order the errands as usual. As soon as Zhang Xiao arrived at Honglu Temple, the minister of Honglu Temple came out to greet him politely.

"Xu Keqing, you are the chief official of Honglu Temple, why are you so polite."

"Zhang Zhanshi, Xu has long thought that you have learned a lot, but I didn't expect that Zhang Zhanshi, you would be promoted so quickly. Now that you and I have the same rank, Zhang Zhanshi, you are serving in the Zhanshi Mansion again. In the future, the emperor's eldest son will officially If you are appointed as the crown prince, my dear brother, your future will be immeasurable. I am not congratulating the future court officials in advance."

"This is all your Majesty's great kindness. Xu Keqing, what are the arrangements for Honglu Temple today?"

"Zhang Zhan, you can do your own thing. Now my dear brother has many responsibilities, just come and visit Honglu Temple when you have time."

The two exchanged pleasantries, and Zhang Xiao went straight to his desk. Now Zhang Xiao just felt that his colleagues at Honglu Temple were more polite to him.

After a few days, Zhang Xiao received another summons from the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I propose to establish the Lifan Yuan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Lifan Yuan is responsible for the affairs of the vassals, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to connect with those countries that are not our traditional vassal vassals in the Ming Dynasty. The imperial court should send more envoys to various countries, even in some countries The big countries set up embassies to check the situation and see if they can complement each other. In fact, all the Western countries now want to deal with the Ming Dynasty, not to mention the Kingdom of Folangji, but also the other countries such as Britain and France. I checked the archives of Honglu Temple, During the reign of Emperor Sejong, the Ottoman Empire also sent a mission to the Ming Dynasty, but the court had no time to receive it, and the Turkish mission did not bring any precious tribute, so the mission just went back."

"Another example is North Korea, one of the ten non-conquering countries, which is now suffering from military disasters. The Ryukyu Kingdom is too close to the Japanese country. If the Ming Dynasty did not send troops to protect these two countries, there would be a risk of being invaded by the Japanese invaders. North Korea is currently relatively safe. It’s a hindrance, but the Ryukyu Kingdom has a small population and is isolated overseas. If the court doesn’t pay attention, it’s hard to say when the Japanese will secretly come to the island and destroy the Ryukyu Kingdom.” Zhang Xiao stated.

"So do you have any ideas about this?"

"Your Majesty, since the Western Yi opened a new sea route, all continents in the world have been connected. In the past, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was able to defeat the Xiongnu because of the Han's elite soldiers and generals, but it also included Zhang Qian's exploration of the Western Regions. Although he is now digging holes The Western Barbarians took the lead in the sky, but it was not too late for the Ming Dynasty to clear the air. Now that Mongolia is in trouble in the north, the Ming Dynasty can completely send envoys to the Ottoman State, Persia, Russia, and even Crimea, a branch of the Golden Horde. The Khanate also has the Kazakh Khanate, so the Mongolian tribes cannot be so raging. To the south of the Ming Dynasty, the Folangji Kingdom occupies important areas in Southeast Asia and is domineering. The Ming Dynasty can also communicate with the United Kingdom and France, so the Folangji Kingdom has to restrain itself." Zhang Xiao explained.

"Your Majesty, Emperor Taizu was far-sighted and established the rules of tribute and the ten countries that would not be conquered. But now two hundred years have passed, and some things are different from the time of Emperor Taizu. For example, the ten countries that will not be conquered at that time Taizu said that although the Japanese government was deceitful, it secretly collaborated with the treacherous minister Hu Weiyong and had evil intentions, so it was eliminated. Later, when Emperor Chengzu became emperor, the Japanese general Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was willing to surrender and pay tribute, so the Ming Dynasty gave the Japanese tribute. Quan. As a result, the Japanese were in civil strife, and the Japanese pirates ravaged the coast of the Ming Dynasty and eliminated them. Later, the Japanese country Ping Hideyoshi unified the Japanese country and did not send envoys to declare themselves ministers. In this case, the Japanese country cannot be included in the country without conquest. "

"I didn't expect you, Zhang Xiao, to be a political strategist. However, you can send envoys and set up a vassal council. There is no need for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Our Ming Dynasty is a central country. The purpose of establishing an embassy is not to compete with the West. Are the Yi countries equal? ​​If it is really necessary, just send envoys. If it is really necessary to collect intelligence, the court has other ways."

"The Japanese country Hideyoshi is indeed outrageous and rude. I have ordered the cabinet to draft the "Edict to Ping Japanese" and announce it to the world at that time. If the Japanese country dares to offend the heaven, it should be conquered. But now that the border troubles are serious, the conquest of the Japanese country can only be continued. Discussed," the emperor said.

"Wei Chen understands."

"There is another more troublesome thing. According to Zhou Li, the tributary etiquette is different among the countries. The so-called Dian clothes within the country, the marquis clothes outside the country, the Houwei Bin clothes, the barbarians should wear clothes, and the Rong Dihuang clothes. For remote places, , that is, the so-called desert service, does not require regular tribute, you can come if you want, or you can decide if you don't come. But now the countries such as the Folangji Kingdom in Xiyi have reached the edge of the Ming Dynasty. Even the Folangji Kingdom has rented The land of Macau. The Folangji people dared to covet the Celestial Dynasty before, but they became more honest after being defeated. Now some of the vassal states of our Ming Dynasty, such as the Luzon Kingdom, the Malacca Kingdom, etc., have been destroyed by the Folangji Kingdom. Jiren used the names of these original countries to pay tribute to our Ming Dynasty. Therefore, now we have to deal with these Western Yi countries, and the Ministry of Rites and Honglu Temple alone are not enough."

"Oh? Tell me."

"Wei Chen thanks the emperor for his kindness. It's just that now Wei Chen has multiple responsibilities, and he doesn't know how to run his errands well."

"Your Majesty, I do have some ideas."

"How about being a young minister in Honglu Temple? Do you have any ideas?" the emperor asked casually.

"Your Majesty is holy."

Zhang Xiao explained the functions and organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in his impression, as well as the meaning of embassy, ​​consulate, ambassador and consul.

"It doesn't matter. In fact, it's still the same errands you did before, but you don't have to worry about the small jobs, and you don't have to do the big jobs alone. If there is nothing important, just wait and listen."

"Oh, the Ottoman Empire has also sent a mission to this country, how could this happen? I probably know what the Council of Ministers means, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has never heard of it. Please tell me the regulations you want."

"Zhang Xiao, you'd better compile those books now and teach my son good lessons. You don't have to worry too much about other things. For those utensils, you can just draw the drawings, and the Ministry of Industry will take care of them. Someone is in charge.”

"The minister obeys the order."

In the imperial study room, only the emperor and Chen Ju were left again. "How is it? What can you hear?" the emperor asked.

"I didn't hear anything. Everything they said was reasonable. Over the past few years, Zhang Xiao has paid more attention to the Japanese country and the Jurchen Nurhachi. Later, the Japanese country Ping Hideyoshi invaded and Nurhachi dominated the Jurchen. It can be seen that Zhang Xiao's inference is still good. Except that Regarding the Japanese country, I didn’t see him having a special attitude towards any country. After the Japanese civil strife later, I didn’t see Zhang Xiao constantly shouting about beating and killing the Japanese country.” Chen Ju replied.

"So Zhang Xiao, he is neither Wu Zixu nor Shen Baoxu. It stands to reason that he stayed well in Nanyang. How could he think of coming to Ming Dynasty and starting as a small official? Such knowledge and insight are by no means ordinary. Even if we want to know more about the stories of Xiyi in Nanyang, there are not many people who can understand so much."

"The ministers are incompetent, and the ministers really can't tell." Chen Ju said honestly.

"It doesn't matter, just watch it like this. Maybe Zhang Xiao just has a rough family background and he doesn't want to talk about it."

Jianzhou Foala City.

Beilebu Zhantai of the Ula tribe seemed to have forgotten his noble status at this time, and he stood in front of Nurhachi and Shuerhaqi respectfully.

"Buzhantai, you don't have to follow me all the time. You are tired after so many days of work. How about it? Do you secretly hate me and Shuerhaqi?" Nurhachi asked.

"The Great Khan was wise and brave. He spared Bu Zhantai's life and married his daughter to me. My son-in-law is willing to serve the Great Khan for the rest of his life."

"I don't need you to serve me for the rest of your life. Don't you want to be the son-in-law of our Jianzhou Department for the rest of your life? What's wrong? You have been in our Jianzhou Department for so long that you, Bu Zhantai, have forgotten that you are the son-in-law of the leader of the Ula Department. ? Don’t you want to be the leader of the Ula Tribe? Oh, by the way, when did I become the Great Khan? The Great Khan is the name of the direct descendant of Genghis Khan. The one who still calls himself Great Khan in the grassland is the Bu of the Chahar Tribe. It’s time to sweat.”

"In my heart, Buzhantai, the Jurchen Great Khan is you. If the Great Khan is willing to take pity on me and help me obtain the position of leader of the Ula Tribe, the Ula Tribe will be the leader of the Jianzhou Tribe."

"It's not impossible. Your leader brother is just a straw bag, and he is still a straw bag who doesn't know how to promote. It's not difficult to defeat him. But Buzhantai, if you really become the leader of the Ula tribe, how will you repay the Jianzhou tribe? But we can’t let it go with empty words.”

"Great Khan, as long as I am the leader of the Ula tribe for one day, whoever the Jianzhou tribe wants to attack, the Ula tribe will definitely send troops to assist. The Ula tribe's ginseng, fur, horses and other specialties, as much as the Great Khan wants, Buzhantai will double them . And as I said before, the Great Khan and Governor Shu married your daughter to me. After I return to the Ula tribe, I will also marry my daughter and niece to the Great Khan and Governor Shu. Jian The Prefecture and Ula tribes should become closer and closer and be friends for generations to come, and the Ula tribe should also serve as the mainstay of the Jianzhou tribe from generation to generation."

"That's too much. In this life, it's not bad if you can control what you say. How can future generations control so much? Bu Zhantai, I hope you can remember. I, Nurhaci, will not treat his friends badly. , but I will not be lenient or merciful to anyone who dares to betray me, no matter who they are."

"Everything Buzhantai said is true. If what Buzhantai said is false, I will lose my position as the leader of the Ula tribe, be homeless, and die in a foreign country."

"Okay, so today the two countries have good relations. According to the Han people, that means Qin and Jin are good. If the Han people still want to compose a poem, I won't read any poems. Come on, Bu Zhan Tai, this jar of wine is now I'll give it to you. If you drink it, it will be considered a formal alliance between the two families. Come here, give Bu Zhan Tai a big bowl."

The attendant brought up several large bowls, opened the lid of the wine jar, and filled the bowls one by one.

"Thank you, Khan! It's nothing to worry about a few sips of a jar of wine." Bu Zhantai picked up a bowl of wine and drank it all. Then there was another bowl, and so on. Just after finishing the last bowl, Nurhaci was about to say something, when he saw Buzhantai stood up, dizzy, fell to the ground, and began to snore soundly.

Nurhaci laughed, ordered someone to lift Buzhantai down, and then looked at Shuerhaqi, who had not spoken much before.

"Brother, look at this Bu Zhantai. Not only is he incapable of fighting, but he also has a bad ability to drink. Originally, I wanted to trick him into talking to him while he was drunk, but I didn't expect that he got drunk right away. It's really disappointing." Nurhaci said.

"Brother, this Bu Zhantai has gone too far. If it weren't for the fact that he is my son-in-law, I really wanted to beat him up just now. I just can't bear to see such a groveling face. Look at what he has agreed to now. Okay, if you really help him, who knows if he will turn his back on me and deny me."

"I don't know, but now the Jianzhou Ministry is surrounded by enemies. If we have one more friend and one less enemy, the situation will be much better. How about it, Shuerhaqi, you didn't drink too much, why don't we go find Mr. Gong now? Sample?"

"It's so late, why bother Mr. Gong?"

"I previously asked Mr. Gong to be responsible for drafting documents for the Horqin tribe and North Korea. I also want to see how it goes? If we can turn enemies into friends with the Horqin tribe, we will have a boost on the grassland, and maybe we can also We can get some Mongolian horses. Our army is very short of horses now. If we can make good relations with North Korea and buy and sell some necessities from North Korea, we don’t need to wait for tribute or mutual trade before we can buy everything from Ming Dynasty. arrive."

"Brother, aren't you planning to go to the capital to pay tribute? If you are lacking anything, just buy more when the time comes."

"No, Shuerhaqi, there are more and more people in the Jianzhou Ministry now, and the territory is getting wider and wider. The supplies that can be obtained just by paying tribute and edicts are far from enough. In fact, otherwise When the Japanese invaded North Korea, I was thinking about setting up a fleet to trade with North Korea or Japan. In fact, our Jianzhou Ministry has a large territory now, and many products and minerals need to be mined, especially iron ore. Now we have Jianzhou There is too little iron, and the wood reserves are not enough. Whether you use it yourself or sell it, it is not enough. While I am going to the capital to pay tribute, you should not use your troops easily. Train your soldiers more, hoard more food and supplies, and repair the city's fortifications. , Don't slack off for a moment. It's really not easy for us brothers to work hard to build this foundation." Nurhaci warned.

(End of this chapter)