1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3878

How could Yue Shizong not know the situation in Jiangxi? Haihan chose to launch an attack on Jiangxi this year for many reasons, but if you look closely, Yue Shizong must be one of the behind-the-scenes manipulators.

It was Yue Shizong's involvement that persuaded Lu Congshan, the prefect of Jiujiang, to secretly defect to Haihan, creating conditions for Shi Chengwu and his men to quickly capture Jiujiang. Otherwise, Shi Chengwu's military campaign would have been significantly delayed, and might not have even been able to keep pace with the southern offensive to capture Ganzhou.

The fact that Meng Jinfeng, who is now taking over, is asking me if I know anything about the situation in Jiangxi is somewhat presumptuous.

However, Yue Shizong did not intend to state his position immediately. Instead, he asked in return, "Lord Meng, Haihan must have made many preparations and made a great decision to send troops to attack Jiangxi. Do you think that with our eloquence, we can persuade the Haihan people to stop the war and withdraw their troops?"

Meng Jinfeng said, "The task is difficult, but we must try our best. Otherwise, how can we explain it to the Emperor and the court?"

Yue Shizong pressed on noncommittally, "So, what does Lord Meng intend to do?"

Meng Jinfeng said, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Haihan requires me to complete the handover of work with Lord Yue first, and then arrange to meet with the senior officials of the Executive Committee. Now I can only take it one step at a time."

Yue Shizong said, "Actually, the embassy usually deals with trivial matters. We can't do much if something really happens. There's nothing special that needs to be explained. I'll write an official letter for you to take to Haihan, and that will complete the handover."

Yue Shizong was no joke. After speaking, he laid out paper and ground ink, preparing to write an official letter to Meng Jinfeng.

Seeing that he seemed to have no intention of going down the mountain and returning to the city, Meng Jinfeng couldn't help but ask, "Lord Yue, you seem to be in good health, so you must have recovered quite well. Don't you plan to return to the embassy?"

Yue Shizong continued grinding ink, replying without looking up, "Hasn't the court already sent you to Hangzhou to replace me? Negotiating with the Executive Committee is pointless if there are too many people; one person is enough."

Yue Shizong's words clearly indicated that he was ready to shirk his responsibilities, but Meng Jinfeng still didn't understand why Yue Shizong was doing this. In recent years, Yue Shizong had been handling almost all the dealings between the Ming Dynasty and the Haihan leadership, and he was known for his diligence in the past. Now, however, he suddenly claimed to be ill... No, from what Meng Jinfeng had seen and heard, it seemed more like he was faking illness.

Meng Jinfeng said, "Lord Yue, do you perhaps think that the negotiations between our Great Ming and Haihan are unlikely to achieve their goals?"

Yue Shizong did not answer his question, but instead asked, "Do you still remember why Haihan went to war with our country last time?"

Meng Jinfeng didn't understand what he meant, but he still replied, "Of course I remember. That year, Haihan decided to move the capital to Hangzhou. The executive committee was assassinated when it entered the city. This incident implicated our country. Haihan used this as an excuse to attack our country, resulting in the occupation of large areas. Nanjing was also lost at that time!"

Yue Shizong said, "Back then, when Haihan started the war, they still needed to find a high-sounding excuse. Now that they are sending troops to attack Jiangxi, has Haihan formally declared war?"

Meng Jinfeng said, "This is precisely what the court doesn't understand. We need to inquire about this matter with the Haihan Executive Committee. If we can find the reason, it may help with the upcoming ceasefire negotiations."

Yue Shizong smiled and said, "Reason? Do we even need to find a reason? The people of Haihan are too lazy to think of any excuses for war anymore; it's just that the bigwigs in the court are unwilling to admit it." Meng Jinfeng's face darkened and he said, "Does Lord Yue mean that Haihan is going to war this time purely to annex our Great Ming?"

"Otherwise what?" Yue Shizong said with a helpless expression, "For Haihan, the Ming Dynasty is like meat rotting in their own pot. It's just a matter of when is the right time to eat it."

Meng Jinfeng asked, "Then why did they choose to cease hostilities with our country three years ago when they had the upper hand, instead of continuing the war?"

Yue Shizong said, "No matter how delicious the meat is, you'll feel full if you eat too much. You'll have to stop and digest it, right? Once the food is mostly digested, you'll start to feel hungry again, and then you'll be ready for the next meal."

Meng Jinfeng was clearly hearing this theory for the first time, and was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to respond.

Yue Shizong then added, "Has Lord Meng figured out why I'm not in such a hurry for ceasefire negotiations?"

Meng Jinfeng came to his senses and nodded, saying, "So Lord Yue believes that after Haihan annexes a certain amount of territory from our country, it will naturally choose to cease hostilities so that these areas can be brought under its rule, which is what you call 'assimilation'?"

Yue Shizong said, "That's right. It's useless to talk to them when they have no intention of stopping. Unless you comply with their demands and make the court cede territory and pay reparations, allowing them to achieve their goals ahead of schedule, this war will definitely continue."

Meng Jinfeng said, "In that case, wouldn't the negotiations be pointless?"

Yue Shizong shook his head and said, "That's not it. Since Lord Meng has come to Hangzhou on a mission, even if it's just for show, he has to put on a show for the court. When Haihan decides that it's time to call a truce, you'll get some credit, won't you?"

Meng Jinfeng was even more dumbfounded and didn't know how to answer. He had spent most of his time in the capital and rarely had the opportunity to communicate directly with the Haihan people, so he naturally didn't know that there were so many intricacies on the diplomatic front.

Meng Jinfeng wanted to refute Yue Shizong, but he didn't know how to begin. His intuition told him that what Yue Shizong said was likely not fabricated, but an objective fact.

He immediately realized that Yue Shizong's previous achievements in dealing with Haihan were very likely obtained in this way. Those so-called ceasefire negotiations in the past might have just been a performance he was forced to put on for Haihan.

But if that were truly the case, Yue Shizong could simply continue his old ways of loafing around in Hangzhou. Even if the negotiations didn't go smoothly, the imperial court probably wouldn't easily send someone to replace him, so why would he claim illness and resign?

Yue Shizong seemed to have guessed what he was thinking and took the initiative to speak: "Lord Meng, are you trying to ask me why I would find a reason to resign if this job is actually not difficult?"

Meng Jinfeng nodded repeatedly, genuinely wanting to know the answer to this question.

Yue Shizong said, “It’s not hard to fool the court with this task, but it’s hard to keep fooling them. Even if we can fool the Jiangxi matter this time, we’ll do the same thing when it comes to Huguang next time. If this goes on and on, the court will eventually be dissatisfied with the results. When that happens, they’ll need to find someone to take the blame, and officials like you and me, who are in charge of the negotiations, will be the best scapegoats!”