Father Han Gaozu

Chapter 583
Dianke House.

Dianke is one of the important departments of Jiuqing. Although its status is not as high as that of Fengchang, it is definitely not low. Basically, if you can serve as the chief officer of Dianke, you can be regarded as an official Sangong reserve. Selected from Fengchang, Dianke, and eunuchs.

In the past, the main task of Dianke was only responsible for liaison with the princes, entertainment, banquets and the like. Although foreign affairs were also under their names, they were not the main responsibility. With the expansion of the power of the big man, more and more The Gentiles have established diplomatic relations with the Han Dynasty, and Dianke's authority has gradually moved towards diplomacy.

Very early on, Huaxia realized the importance of diplomacy. Before Dianke changed his name and was called Da Xingling, among his main officials were those who were responsible for translating languages, and who were responsible for foreign affairs. Those who wrote letters, and those who knew the customs of the Gentiles.

They can translate the foreign kings who came to pay tribute to Emperor Zhou, so that they can communicate, and even write the letters of Emperor Zhou in foreign languages, and also remind diplomats of some taboos of foreign countries, so as to avoid unnecessary dispute.

It can be said that China had established a relatively complete diplomatic system thousands of years ago, and this system was mainly determined to be in the Qin Dynasty. The main function of the Dianke in the Qin Dynasty was diplomacy, not the tribute of the princes. As for why...then It is because Qin has no princes.

Therefore, the Qin Dynasty also directly changed the name of Da Xing Ling to Dian Ke, saying that his department has nothing to do with Zhou's department. As for the Dian Ke of Dahan. Although the name is the same as Qin, the department is the same as Qin, and the deployment of officials is the same as Qin , even their salaries are the same as Qin's, but there is absolutely no relationship.

At least the Emperor Gao and the Elder didn't recognize this.

Compared with Emperor Gao's copying, the Elder still made some changes. For example, he set up a special pedestrian army and gave Dianke military power, so that they have a better space to play. Although the officials are quite dissatisfied with this, but But the Elder asked back: How can we engage in diplomacy without an army?

With the Pedestrian Army's Dianke Mansion, they also won many times in subsequent diplomatic activities. They explored around and made a very full understanding of Shendu. They even had a complete map of the Shendu area. How much do they know about them? The counties, how many countries, and how powerful they all have a detailed understanding.

This is enough to give them an advantage in the next foreign affairs.

King Baicheng was brought to the Dianke Mansion early this morning, where he discussed with the officials of the Dianke Mansion about formal tribute matters. Liu Chang has the final say, and he still has to pass through the Dianke Mansion.

Now Feng Jing, the chief official of the Dianke Mansion, is not in Chang'an, he is not even in Dahan, he went to the Peacock Kingdom and stayed by the Peacock King's side, where he can be more responsible for the affairs of the body poison, and currently in the Dianke sits in charge, is his Zuo Cheng.

Baicheng Wang walked into the Dianke mansion with a smile, but after he entered, he couldn't laugh anymore, because the people here looked very serious, unlike the smiling faces of other departments, the officials here looked very serious. Everyone is very serious and unsmiling.

They looked like the soldiers who had escorted him, they were extraordinarily cold.

Baicheng King's original excited mood was put away at this moment, and he made himself a little more serious. Under the leadership of an official, he came to the innermost room. There were three people in the room, and one of them was holding a pen and ink. , kneeling and sitting on the left side, and another person standing on the right side, motionless.

As for the person sitting on the top seat, it was a young man, tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, with a short beard and sharp eyes. The moment King Baicheng walked in, this young man stared at him without taking his eyes off it.

The Baicheng King hurriedly paid his respects, the young man got up to return the salute, and then asked him to sit beside him. The one on the right was a translator, who was responsible for translating the young man's words to the Baicheng King.

"It's been more than 20 days since you came to Dahan, why didn't you come to Dianke Mansion to report?"

"I have no one to tell me, besides, I have always been with His Majesty before."

"Why, are you staying with His Majesty for twelve hours?! Can't spare time to come to Dianke?"

The young man was aggressive, and he didn't seem to be easy to talk to.

King Baicheng had no choice but to bow his head and admit his mistake, "I didn't come earlier, please forgive me."

"Well, no problem. If you want to pay tribute to the great man, you must know the law of the great man, and you must know the etiquette of the great man. If you cannot abide by it, then you are not qualified to pay tribute to the great man. The mighty sky of the great man is like rain and dew. The Land of Virtue cannot bear it!"

"You're right."

"Although our country is small, we are willing to offer 50 shi of cotton, [-] shi of spices, and [-] shi of skin to the great man."

Before Baicheng King finished speaking, the young man interrupted him directly, and the young man said with some displeasure: "Do you think the big man is greedy for the things you offered? The big man has a vast land and abundant resources. What is there for the big man? Yes, it is your sincere obedience!"

The king of Baicheng was shocked, and hurriedly pleaded guilty, and changed his rhetoric, "I have admired the Holy Son of Heaven for a long time, and I would like to submit to the emperor, become a prince of your majesty, follow the etiquette and laws of a great man, and be a great man."

After he expressed his loyalty, the young man's complexion improved a lot. He nodded, "Yes, yes, as long as you surrender sincerely, the big man will naturally not treat you badly. The Holy Son of Heaven once sent a message to let We accept your tribute, the Holy Son of Heaven likes you very much."

"On weekdays, there are many foreign kings who come to Dianke Mansion to pay tribute, but we don't accept all of them. The great Han's tributary country is not based on whether they have any resources, but whether their monarch is virtuous and whether they are loyal to His Majesty. .”

"In the future, you can send people to do business with the big man, and you can buy the armament of the big man. If you are attacked, the big man will send troops to protect you, and you will become your majesty's minister. In the country of the big man, you can send your domestic talents to Taixue , let them learn the knowledge of the big man, but the Taixue examination is extremely harsh, and the number of places is limited."

"When you dispatch, you have to think carefully."

"only"

Baicheng King's eyes were full of expectation, and the young man said again: "The big man has many things that you have never seen in this life, which can make your national power skyrocket, but these things are also limited, and the big man has many tributary states. It also depends on your performance.”

This young man drew a huge cake for the Baicheng King. In the mouth of the young man, doing business with the big man is the best way to improve their national power. Like the Peacock Kingdom, their original cotton can't be sold. Look at it Now, the price of their cotton has skyrocketed, those engaged in planting have made money, and taxes have increased significantly.

In fact, this young man did not lie, and the Peacock Kingdom did rely on the big man to drive a wave of domestic economy. However, the price was actually suppressed by the big man very low. Although there have been fluctuations due to changes in supply and demand, it can be processed. Commodity prices have also become expensive. Generally speaking, the biggest beneficiaries are still big men.

It's just that they have no choice. In terms of production, the ten Peacock Kingdoms are not as good as the big man, so they can only recoup their costs through the export of raw materials.

Baicheng Wang became more and more excited as he listened, and a smile appeared on his face again.

The young man said again: "Originally, according to the etiquette, this tribute should be completed in one year, but since the Holy Son of Heaven ordered it, we can only make an exception. Here is a set of clothes for the princes of the Han Dynasty. You have to hold a ceremony in the Changxin Hall to surrender to His Majesty, and after the ceremony is over, you will officially become the tributary country of the Han Dynasty."

"I dare not forget the kindness of the Holy Son of Heaven!"

Baicheng King said, and then praised: "The Son of Heaven is a god, how can I be able to get the love of the Son of Heaven. I have heard a lot of rumors about the Son of Heaven, it is like a myth!"

"Rumors about the emperor? Then you found the right person today. Let me tell you, I grew up with His Majesty since I was a child. I know the matter of the emperor best."

The Baicheng King was shocked, and hurriedly asked, "I don't know who you are?"

"I am the son of Marquis Jiang, Dian Ke Ling Zuo Cheng Zhou Jian!"

"When your majesty was three or four years old, did you teach the emperor at that time how to govern the big man?"

"Yes, who is Your Majesty? Although he was young at that time, he was already deeply loved by Emperor Gao. Before he was four years old, Emperor Gao formulated several laws under his guidance. These laws It has even been used to this day, and it has greatly strengthened the law and order of the big man!"

"Then His Majesty participated in the war when he was six or seven years old and defeated the Huns. How did he do it?"

"When your majesty was young, the Xiongnu Shanyu once sent someone to deliver a letter. The content of the letter was extremely rude and the words used were very shameless. , became angry from embarrassment, attacked rashly, and was defeated in the end."

Little stars almost flashed in the eyes of King Baicheng, "Then His Majesty became the most learned person in Chang'an before he was ten years old, and let everyone at that time run away when they saw him. How did you do that?"

Zhou Jian hesitated this time, and then hurriedly said: "Your Majesty showed extraordinary talent when he was young. Emperor Gao invited him the best teachers to teach him, but those teachers said that they could not teach His Majesty. They all left one after another, and in the end the only one who can teach His Majesty is the Marquis of Huaiyin, the most learned military strategist."

"The knowledge of the Marquis of Huaiyin is the most well-known in the Han Dynasty. No one knows it, but even a man as learned as the Marquis of Huaiyin can't answer His Majesty's questions. Luan Bu of Confucianism is still very upset and regretful. Why didn't I meet His Majesty earlier?"

King Baicheng was about to ask again, but Zhou Jian hurriedly stopped, "Ahem, we can continue to talk about these things in the future. Now, let's clarify the matter of paying tribute."

"it is good!"

The Baicheng King looked at Zhou Jian with unsatisfied interest, and nodded, but Zhou Jian couldn't help muttering at the moment, good guy, you only need to brag once or two, why are you bragging so much? Dianke has learned a lot, otherwise it would not be perfect.
At present, there are three or four systems in the local system of the Han Dynasty. Needless to say, the prefecture and county system is directly managed by the temple. The princely state is the second type, but the current princely state of the Han Dynasty is different from that of Zhou , the current officials of the vassal states are appointed by the temple.

Except for the first generation of princes and kings, all the princes and kings in various places are losing various powers. The first generation of princes and kings like Liu Bi, Liu Heng, and Liu Hui are still very powerful and can basically participate in various affairs in the country. But in the second generation, such as Liu Xiang and Liu Yingke, they basically have no power, and domestic affairs are resolved by the Prime Minister.

The prime ministers of these second-generation princes and kings are basically no different from the governors of the Han Dynasty.

The third type is the foreign kings, such as Nanyue, the Western Regions, Dian Kingdom, and even Shendu, etc., can also be counted among the foreign kings, but there are also differences, because the Nanyue and these foreign kings have already been treated by the big Han. In terms of actual control, their officials are completely determined by the temple, and everything must obey the order of the temple.

After another two generations of kings, it is estimated that they will be no different from the prefectures and counties of the Han Dynasty.

As for the poisoning of these foreign kings, the big man can't actually control them, and can only establish a preliminary tributary relationship.

But the current tribute system is different from the Zhou Dynasty, and different from the previous one. It is completely a set of things that Liu Chang figured out. Liu Chang wants to use the power of these foreign kings to develop the body of a great man. This is not like the future Colonies, because colonization still needs to send a governor to collect taxes.

The big man didn't interfere with these foreign kings at all, and didn't even send a single official. Even Feng Jing, he was in the Peacock Kingdom only to better meet the leaders from all over the world, not to interfere with the Peacock Kingdom.

If I had to give an example, it would probably be like Free Territory, or Protecting the Country. Anyway, the Elder is very satisfied with his own set of ideas. He even asked Yuefu to compose a hundred poems for himself for his merit. Give out your own merits and let the world sing.

At that time, there was a literati in the Yuefu who wrote poems to ridicule Liu Chang, accusing Liu Chang of only seeing his own merits and virtues, but not his own faults, hearing only good words, but not the slightest criticism. Then the poet So I went to Xiting country for further study.

After Zhou Jian was busy with Dianke's business, he set off towards the palace non-stop. When he came to Houde Hall, Lu Lu was standing at the door, and there were bursts of crying and howling.

"Who is Your Majesty singing to?"

"Your Majesty is teaching Young Master Ci a lesson."

Zhou Jian couldn't help shaking his head, "This son is really like a father, even his voice is exactly the same."

"What's the reason again this time?"

"He went to discuss with the prince."

"Ah? Debating knowledge, isn't this normal? I learned from my brother, why do I have to beat him? Your Majesty is too partial to the prince."

Zhou Jian didn't understand, but Lu Lu shook his head, "You don't know something, how can this scholar have any knowledge to argue with the prince, he can't understand what the prince said, and after losing, he became angry from embarrassment, rolled around, and wailed. Crying, the prince went to hug him, but he actually bit the prince. At that time, His Majesty sent someone to catch him and beat him till now.”

"This disobedience is quite in the style of His Majesty."

The two chatted for a long time, and a close servant came out holding Young Master Ci. Young Master Ci left the Hall of Houde with tears in his eyes. Zhou Jian followed Lu Lu into the hall. Liu Chang looked at them angrily, obviously in a good mood. Not very good, "Lu! Go and call Zongzheng here!! I'm going to seal this scorpion to Wa Island!!"

"Your Majesty, calm down. Young master bestows youth and ignorance, and when he grows up, he will correct it."

"Correction? Fart! He is still young now, when he grows up a few years later, he will steal my car, then go out and steal your chicken, steal Lu's sheep, and then he will lead a group of people to wander around , commit all kinds of evil. I know exactly what he will do!!"

Zhou Jian smiled bitterly, "Your Majesty, don't get angry, I have good news."

Only then did Liu Chang stop complaining, "Is the matter settled?"

"Yes, it has been negotiated. The Baicheng King will double the amount of offerings. Now we are going to make a fortune. Now the tribute of the two countries is comparable to [-] to [-]% of the income of the temple. If we can a few more"

Liu Chang frowned, "Are you stupid??"

"Does the Baicheng Kingdom have more cotton than the Peacock Kingdom? Do they have more food than the Peacock Kingdom? If you ask him to take hundreds of thousands of shi for this, which one will give 50 shi, it is better to let him take out his own specialties. Send a million stones directly, each of these foreign countries has its own specialties, if there are any advantages in specialties, let them increase the scale and provide them specifically for the big man."

Zhou Jian was taken aback, and Liu Chang said again: "The Peacock Country is the most suitable for growing cotton. Let them provide cotton exclusively to the big man in the future. Isn't there a lot of gold and jewelry in this hundred times? Then let them be in charge of gold and jewelry. Their development of this single resource is beneficial to the development of the big man, and it can also limit their development, do you understand?"

"Think about it, if their domestic economy can only be maintained by relying on a single resource to export to the big man, if one day they are disobedient and the big man directly cuts off business with them, what will happen to them?"

Zhou Jian patted his head and suddenly realized.

"I am short-sighted, I will change it now!"

Liu Chang looked at him very proudly, "It's just such a small thing, you can't do it well, I still have to figure out a way, if my father would pay respects at the beginning, give me the big position earlier, at that time Those great sages, I have taken Rome a long time ago, and the big men have been unable to develop for a long time, it is all because of my father's blindness."

"He even wanted to establish Ruyi as the crown prince at the beginning. Can Ruyi be the emperor? If he becomes the emperor, he may not be as good as Hu Hai!"

Liu Chang said, and suddenly looked at Lu Lu, "By the way, Lu, Zhao Guo has been unusually calm recently, and Ruyi hasn't made any more troubles. Do you think this guy is holding back a lot?" right??"

"Probably not."

"I hope not. If he forces Yuan Ang away again, I can only send Chao Cuo to be his prime minister!"

"Jian, once Baicheng King returns this time, there will definitely be a sensation in Shendu's side. Let your people spread the word as much as possible. When you find a big man, you will deliberately wipe out a few princes, and say that they are dishonest, which will trigger their competition."

"only!!!"

Zhou Jian responded hastily, thinking to himself: Except for being unreliable most of the time, His Majesty is actually quite reliable.

ps: My throat is no longer sore, and my whole body is full of strength.

(End of this chapter)