Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

The capital city ushered in a pattering spring rain, and the people taking shelter from the rain had a smile on their faces.

Although they need to change their clothes when the rain falls on them, the rain will also fall on the crops in the fields. This is the guarantee of their harvest in the first half of the year.

A young man wearing an eighth-grade official uniform walked through the small Yongfang in a dejected manner, knocking on the doors of countless officials. These official residences that did not require admission originally turned him away. outside.

Yang Tinghe was a true pride of heaven, but now he was suddenly demoted by the emperor to a remote place as the envoy of Zhengjiufucang. This was a result that he could not accept no matter what.

Not to mention that his official career has already been paved, but now he is demoted from the Hanlin official who everyone respects to the Jiuliucang official. This is the difference between heaven and quagmire.

He can't figure it out!

Just an insignificant official prostitute!

I don't even bother to kill such lowly people!

As a result, he was relegated like this. This is really unfair.

It's just that the mansions that used to treat him with great courtesy now treat him like a god of plague, but no one is willing to receive him.

Catch him!

It was at this time that Wang Xiang led a group of royal guards to search for him through the water. When he saw Yang Tinghe, his eyes flashed with a stern expression and he ordered.

When Yang Tinghe saw Wang Xiang chasing after him, he originally wanted to run away, but his feet failed him and he immediately fell to the ground.

Execution!

Although Wang Xiang knew that behind Yang Tinghe were three important officials of the imperial court, behind him was the emperor of the day, and he upheld the law of justice, so he even gave orders.

Naturally, he was not polite when facing this person who wanted to escape the punishment of the rod. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, this villain who despised the imperial power and looked down upon human life was punished with the rod and slapped.

The rain continued to fall, but the punishment did not stop.

The beatings made Yang Tinghe's mouth swell, punishing him for the dead soul.

On the second day after Yang Tinghe was punished, because he was not allowed to stay by imperial edict, he left the capital with his servants. No one knows whether Yang Jiexuan, who always walked gracefully in the home of important ministers, realized the mistakes he had made. .

Yang Tinghe is gone, and history has changed.

Although one Yang Tinghe left, the civil service group would cultivate another Yang Tinghe to continue the power of their gentry class, but the man on the throne finally saw through the tricks of the civil service group.

Whether it is the Civil Service Group or the Wuxun Group, they are no longer the dragon-slaying young men they were when the country was founded, but have evolved into evil dragons.

Zhu Youtang knew that he couldn't actually control it, but he would not sit back and ignore it. He still believed that China would eventually clear up the clouds and see the light of day.

This spring rain actually lasted for three days in a row, but it eventually cleared up, and a few days later the entire capital became peaceful and bright again.

Today ushered in a grand event. Envoys from North Korea and other five countries went to Fengtian Hall to pay tribute.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the kingdom on the Korean Peninsula was called Goryeo. Later Goryeo general Li Chenggui successfully won the throne. The new king asked Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, to profess his vassalship and request for a seal.

Because the Li family of North Korea was a military general who conquered the world, they now also followed the Ming Dynasty in emphasizing civility over military affairs. In addition, their backbone was broken in the Yuan Dynasty, and now they are firmly clinging to the lap of the Ming Dynasty.

The rulers of the past dynasties of North Korea did not dare to call themselves emperors. They were all granted the title of King of North Korea by the Ming Dynasty as a rule. Therefore, they could only call themselves Yu or Idiot, while North Korean courtiers could only call themselves King or His Royal Highness.

Not only did North Korea completely surrender to the Ming Dynasty, it was also the vassal state with the closest ties to the Ming Dynasty.

Originally, Taizu stipulated that North Korea should pay tribute once every three years, but North Korea would come whenever they could find an excuse, and often paid tribute once a year.

In addition to their longing for the political culture of the capital, it was also related to the Ming Dynasty's thin and generous tribute. In addition, they could also take advantage of the opportunity to do business.

Now that the Ming Dynasty has returned to the road of strengthening its army, it can be said that it is easy to destroy North Korea, which has long been rotten.

In addition to the envoys from North Korea, the envoys from the Ryukyu Kingdom, Luzon, Houli and Champa have already arrived at the Huitong Pavilion, and today they will be together for a face-to-face meeting.

When the bells and drums of the Meridian Gate Tower were ringing, Liu Jian, the newly appointed left minister of the Ministry of Rites, entered with five envoys. After passing through the Meridian Gate, the group saw the Jinshui Bridge and Fengtian Gate in front of them.

Li Mie had been here last time, but this was the first time for Ryukyu, Luzon, Houli and Champa to come. The capital had already shocked them, but now they couldn't believe their eyes when they saw the Forbidden City.

Relatively speaking, North Korea is relatively better. Ryukyu and Luzon are both island countries. They are essentially the chiefs of several tribes. How did they see this situation?

This is... the Ming Palace?

Oh my God, there are such majestic palaces in this world!

How is it possible? Is this humanly possible?

…

When the five people passed through the Fengtian Gate and saw the Fengtian Hall on the platform, even Li Shi was greatly shocked. The other four envoys who had just met for the first time were stunned.

At this moment, they felt that there was an insurmountable gap between themselves and this empire, and the national power was not at the same level at all. Once they go against this dynasty, they will definitely seek death.

Today is the day to watch the court, and all the civil and military officials are already standing inside and outside the palace.

As the call was being announced in the palace, the Minister of Rites, Zuo Shilang, led the five envoys towards the splendid Fengtian Palace.

Li Shi is very proficient in Chinese. Although the other four countries understand it more or less, he does not need the help of officials from the Seiyi Pavilion to translate. When he sees Li Shi in front moving, he follows him.

Zhu Youtang, who was wearing a dragon robe, did not limit his vision to the country. He had already collected information about the surrounding vassals and was looking at the five envoys who entered the palace.

If the arrival of the Ryukyu Kingdom, Luzon, Korea and Champa was expected, then the arrival of the Li Dynasty envoys was unexpected.

The Li Dynasty was the name of the country they founded, but they still called themselves Annam to the outside world. Due to the Ming Dynasty's strategic abandonment of Annam, Le Loi took the opportunity to rise up and proclaimed himself emperor in 1428. It was known as the Later Le Dynasty in history and established a three-year tribute rule with the Ming Dynasty.

Now the fifth emperor of the Later Li Dynasty is called Li Sicheng, who is the grandson of Li Li. He was crowned emperor when he was only eighteen years old, and he has been in power for eighteen years now.

However, during Li Sicheng's reign, there were diplomatic frictions with the Ming Dynasty. He once sent troops to occupy places such as Pingxiang County in Guangdong, and even drove a two-masted ship across the border to plunder Tokyo Bay and steal pearl ponds.

There has been a rift in the relationship between the two countries, but for some unknown reason, Li Sicheng still sent officials to pay tribute under the banner of Annan's envoy.

Foreign ministers have come to congratulate the new emperor on his enthronement. They have presented twenty large pearls, ten pairs of ivory, ten pieces of silverware, ten pieces of white cloth, and ten pieces of porcelain to wish His Majesty a long life.

Liu Jin stepped forward to inspect the tributes. After these tributes were registered, they would be put into the inner treasury.

Guo Yong already knew about the tribute given by the other party, so he unfolded the imperial edict and said: Annan envoy Li Xin, minister of the Ministry of Rites, listens to the edict!

The Annan Li Dynasty followed the Ming system of six departments and six subjects, but only set up the left and right prime ministers. It can be regarded as retaining the prime minister system. Overall, it is more like borrowing from the official system of the Song Dynasty.

The foreign minister welcomes the imperial edict, long live my emperor! Li Xin, the envoy and the Minister of Rites, did not dare to violate the slightest taboo and pretended to kneel down to welcome the imperial edict.

This kind of tribute already had a fixed process: envoys from various countries brought a batch of tributes, and the Ming Emperor gave them titles, silver seals or robes, as well as some valuable rewards.

According to the Ming Dynasty's principle of little comes and thick exchanges, no matter how many valuable tributes the other party brings, the Ming Dynasty will not let the other party suffer.

Zhu Youtang did not make any major changes, but when faced with Annan who was becoming more and more outrageous, he reprimanded him while giving him gifts: I heard that Annan was training troops and sometimes sailed eastward in order to dye the Ming Dynasty. I should not be credulous when it comes to rumors. However, if there is too much talk, and people cross the border to cause trouble, I am young and irritable, so I cannot avoid following the stories of Dazong, so I hope the king will control his subjects and avoid war!

Although he didn't think that a few threatening words could make King Li Sicheng of Annan, who also enjoyed the kneeling of thousands of people, restrain himself, but now that he had given a warning, he would be able to make a name for himself if there was any subsequent friction.

Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, long live my emperor! Li Xin, the Minister of Rites and Etiquette, felt the bloody nature of the Ming Emperor, and knelt down to thank him uneasily.

The other four envoys paid tribute one by one, completing the tribute process.

In addition to paying tribute, there is also the following banquet, which is responsible for receiving envoys from the five countries.

Zhu Youtang asked Xu Qiong, the Minister of Rites, to entertain him as usual, and he summoned the North Korean envoy Li Shi alone in the imperial study room of Yangxin Hall.

Li Shi had made meritorious service on his last mission. Just after returning to North Korea, he had been promoted from the second-rank Bingcao Shenping to the second-rank Bingcao Banshu, so he looked more energetic.

Li Qing, I have always heard that you are a good reader. I allow you to pick two books here. How about it? Zhu Youtang was reading in the attic and said to Li Shi who was ordered to come in.

Li Shi came in with his entourage and was wondering why the dragon chair in front of the desk was empty. After hearing the sound, he looked up in surprise.

When he saw Zhu Youtang in the attic, he hurriedly expressed his position: This is the place where His Majesty keeps books. Foreign ministers dare not take away his love!

There is an old saying in China: A sword is given to a hero, and pink powder is given to a beauty. You are neither a beauty nor a hero, so it is just right to give you two books, so don't refuse! Zhu Youtang had a good impression of Li Shi, so he He put down the book in his hand.

Li Shi knew that this might be His Majesty's intention, and it also proved that the emperor had control over the matter of buying back many books and returning home last time. He immediately said gratefully: Foreign Minister Li Shi thanks your Majesty for your kindness!

Li Qing, except for the consent of your king, I wonder what the attitude of the princes and ministers in your country is about the mutual trade between the two countries? Zhu Youtang came down from the stairs and asked seriously.

Now that we have determined to build Ming Dynasty into the world's textile center, we must not only overcome the technical difficulties of looms, but also open up markets in various countries.

Although North Korea appears to be very backward, even the African market in later generations can still contain huge economic value if it is explored deeply.

Because of this, the first stop for overseas markets is neighboring North Korea, intending to deepen economic exchanges with North Korea and embrace this country that yearns for China more closely.

Li Mie had always been grateful to the Ming Emperor for his generous service, so he said very honestly: Your Majesty, our king, princes and ministers all want it, but they are worried about the inconvenience of traveling by sea?

Don't you often come and go to Tamluo Island? Zhu Youtang noticed that an entourage brought by Li Shi looked like a woman, but he said in confusion.

Although he planned to promote mutual trade between the two countries, he did not intend to follow the example of the later dynasty and open a market in Uijubu via land. Instead, he chose Tamna Island, which was later known as Jeju Island.

There was originally a country on Tamluo Island. New Book of Tang Dynasty: Dongyi Biography records that the chief came to visit Lin Dezhong and went from the emperor to Mount Tai.

In 1105, the Goryeo Kingdom destroyed Tamna, and Tamna County was established there. Soon after, Tamna was renamed Jeju.

In 1273, the Yuan Dynasty added Tamluo Island to its own territory, established a general administration office here, and stationed 1,700 frontier troops.

In 1374, the Yuan Dynasty had been defeated. King Gongmin of Goryeo sent Cui Ying to attack Jeju, pacified Muhu, and Jeju was returned to Goryeo territory.

However, the Ming Dynasty did not completely abandon this place. At the beginning of the country, it followed the old system of the Yuan Dynasty and used Tamluo as a place of exile for prisoners. Ming Taizu exiled the families of his opponents who failed to compete for the world, such as Chen Li, the son of Chen Youliang, and Ming Sheng, the son of Ming Yuzhen, to Tamluo. island.

In 1388, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty exiled the last batch of Mongolian princes and nobles here, and this was considered as letting go of Tamna Island completely.

In 1392, Goryeo was finally able to flex its muscles, sending troops to defeat the Mongolian forces on the island, gaining control of Jeju Island, and then established Daejeong and Jeongui counties in Jeju Munei.

Zhu Youtang chose to place the mutual trade here not only to occupy a large area of ​​​​Jeju Island, but also to create a springboard for his future expedition to Japan.

Li Mie realized that his statement was not clear enough, so he hurriedly corrected it and said: Your Majesty, the foreign minister just expressed it not clearly enough. Our king and ministers are worried about the Ming Dynasty and the inconvenience for your merchants to board ships!

The reason why North Korea paid tribute so actively was that, in addition to Ming's generous return gifts, it was also related to the fact that they could take the opportunity to go to the capital for mutual trade.

Although they were considered a land-based regime, their production technology was relatively backward and many goods could not be produced at all. Therefore, they could always make a lot of money by bringing goods back from the capital.

Just like this, when they learned that the Ming Emperor wanted to build a mutual urban area between the two countries on Tamna Island, they were very excited from top to bottom, but soon they were worried that their joy would be in vain.

They were really paying too much attention to the Ming Dynasty. Naturally, they knew that the Ming Dynasty was not allowed to go to sea. How could the merchants of the Ming Dynasty dare to take a boat to Tamna Island?

Your king is thinking about me, but there is no need to worry about this. I will definitely solve it properly! Next, you North Korea only need to cooperate with the Ministry of Industry to prepare for the construction of a mutual city. I will not treat you badly! Zhu Youtang learned that They are worried that they will change their minds, even if they express their opinions.

In fact, North Korea's concerns are not unreasonable. If it wants to promote the opening of the sea now, this matter will definitely encounter certain resistance. After all, some so-called good ministers will burn even treasure maps at will.

After all, he is the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. No matter how great the domestic resistance is, he has already mastered the Beijing Camp and the Nanjing Shenji Camp. If the blood from the previous battles was not enough, then they would have to kill another batch.

He is determined to decide the North Korean market!