People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 509: The suzerain-vassal relationship is the best system
During the Song Dynasty, there were only more than seventy countries and regions in the world.

There were about sixty people attending the grand ceremony held in the Song Dynasty.

The rest who did not come were either from Nordic countries such as England, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, which were too far away.

Or it is Ghana, Zaghawa, Songhai, Ouagadougou, Mali and other places in western Africa, which are countries in name only, but in fact they are still kingdoms of primitive tribal civilizations.

So it can be said that the kings and envoys who have come to the Song Dynasty now almost cover all the existing civilized countries in the world, comparable to the United Nations in later generations.

At this moment, with Zhao Zhen's request for no courtesy, everyone, at the reminder of the translators, raised their bodies and looked up at the emperor of the Song Dynasty.

In the Qing Dynasty, looking up at the emperor was like stabbing the king to death.

But in the Song Dynasty, it was okay to spit at the emperor in front of him, pull his sleeves and chase him to scold him, so there was naturally no rule that one could not look up to the emperor.

Instead, in this solemn and dignified atmosphere, Zhao Zhen slowly sat on the dragon chair, sitting high on the throne, overlooking the area below, full of majesty.

Everyone, including King Wang Hui of Goryeo, who had always been a king on the outside but a king on the inside, and King Goreizei of Japan, who should be called the King of Japan in the Song Dynasty, felt ashamed of themselves.

Compared with His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, the so-called Emperor of Goryeo and Emperor of Japan, who they call themselves in their own country, are as ridiculous as clowns who entertain themselves in their own homes.

The magnificent music had come to an end at this time. As the last clear sound ended, the musicians in the corners on both sides of the hall also stopped playing their instruments.

Zhao Zhen sat in the main seat. Wang Shouzhong lowered the microphone and placed it in front of him. He said softly, "Everyone, please take a seat!"

"Messenger, His Majesty asked us to sit down. Come and sit over here."

"This way, King."

Led by accompanying officials and translators, many kings and envoys were guided to sit on the chairs nearby.

After everyone was seated, Zhao Zhen continued, "This time, our Song Dynasty invites all the countries in the world to come to our Bianliang to celebrate. Although the day of the celebration has not yet arrived, in order to show my hospitality, I would like to invite you all to have a feast together today."

The loud sound can be transmitted to everyone's ears through the loudspeaker and the special design of the hall, without sounding harsh or unpleasant.

Everyone below had a solemn expression on their face as they looked at Zhao Zhen on the stage.

Today is December 19th, the day when all the kings and envoys of the invited countries are present, but it is not the day for the celebration. So this time we can just have a meal together and get to know each other better.

Afterwards, before the celebration officially begins, many kings and envoys can stay in the Bianliang Hotel, move around freely, or discuss important matters with the Song Dynasty in private.

After all, they should have set off to return home after the celebration. Therefore, this period of time basically gave many kings and envoys a window period to understand the Song Dynasty and understand the gap between them and the Song Dynasty.

Once they truly witnessed the power of the Song Dynasty, they naturally needed to negotiate terms with the Song Dynasty, such as arms sales, industrial exports, trade cooperation, cultural exchanges, etc.

Just this one meeting, the majestic buildings, the bright lights and the magnificent music had already given them a deep shock.

In such a solemn scene, no one even dared to whisper with the guides or accompanying officials around them. All their eyes were fixed on Zhao Zhen's every move, fearing that their lack of etiquette would offend the Song Dynasty.

"Come, to the feast!"

Zhao Zhen waved his hand, and in an instant dozens of palace maids walked out of the hall, holding trays in their hands.

The palace maids lined up in turn and entered the hall one after another. After entering the hall, they took the dishes from the trays in their hands, then squatted slightly to greet the guests, and then left in an orderly manner.

They were beautiful and charming, and each of them was laughing and smiling. Their charming smiles made all the kings, except for a few kings of Goryeo, Japan, Dali and others, fall in love with them.

Several neighboring countries have been deeply influenced by the culture of the Tang and Song dynasties, and the makeup and looks of women in these countries often imitate those of the Tang and Song dynasties. Especially now that commercial exchanges have become increasingly in-depth, the economic lifelines of those countries are in the hands of the Song Dynasty.

This means that no matter what new products are released on the market in the Song Dynasty, they can often be spread to neighboring countries very quickly.

As monarchs of countries like Goryeo, Japan, and Dali, the kings had naturally seen or enjoyed all kinds of beauties. They simply didn't look at ordinary women who were above average in appearance.

Although the palace maids of the Song Dynasty were beautiful, their looks were basically between 60 and 80 points. They also had to have proper court etiquette. Compared with those stunning beauties, they were still far behind and naturally not in their eyes.

So I just took a quick look at it and didn't take it seriously.

But to those Western countries, the Indian Peninsula and small countries in Southeast Asia, the palace maids of the Song Dynasty were simply celestial beauties. Many kings and envoys stared with their eyes wide open and almost drooled.

After all, many women in their country are either thin and dark, or, although they are good-looking, they do not have the sophisticated makeup techniques like those in the Song Dynasty, and it is difficult to cover up some natural problems.

Under such circumstances, even many envoys wanted to stay in the Song Dynasty, and had long forgotten their homeland thousands of kilometers away.

Then the dishes began to be served one after another like a buffet. After the dishes were served, the palace maids left one after another.

There were rich dishes left on the table. There were so many dishes, and they were all colorful, fragrant, and rich in delicacies from land and sea. These people had never even seen them before, and they all looked at the food on the table curiously.

"Everyone!"

There was also a table in front of Zhao Zhen, with dishes on it. He raised the wine that Wang Shouzhong had helped to pour, stood up and said, "Welcome to my Great Song!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Everyone stood up and took a glass of wine to express the highest respect to the Emperor of Song.

"Ding!"

Zhao Zhen drank the glass of wine in one gulp, and the musician started playing the yangqin, followed by various instruments such as the pipa, erhu, flute, long flute, and drum, which suddenly filled the entire house.

A cheerful piece of music played, and the sound made people feel as if they were in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, full of excitement and passion.

Then Zhao Zhen said with a smile: "Come, sing and dance to your heart's content, and drink and feast to your heart's content!"

Groups of dancers outside the door walked into the pavilion. Their figures were even more graceful. They were dressed like flying fairies, with flying ribbons. They swayed and fluttered to the sound of the music, and danced like elves.

The accompanying officials immediately began to toast with the king and envoys around them, inviting them to try the fine wine and delicacies of the Song Dynasty.

For a moment, under the light, both the host and the guests were having a great time, singing and dancing were going on, showing a prosperous era.

After noon, Zhao Zhen returned to Chongzheng Hall, looking a little tired.

Although a grand banquet was held with envoys from various kings in the morning, it was mostly ceremony and there was basically no discussion.

Besides, he would still feel very nervous in such a scene. Being watched by so many people, and almost all the countries in the world, the pressure was very great. Fortunately, he completed the task decently and did not lose the international image of the Song Dynasty. Otherwise, if this important meeting was messed up, it would be a big loss of face.

Zhao Jun and others followed Zhao Zhen in after the banquet. At this moment, the other prime ministers were working in the Council of Political Affairs, so there were only a few of them in the room.

"call."

Zhao Zhen sat down at his desk. Even in the middle of winter, he wiped the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief and took a long breath, saying, "I wasn't this nervous even when I faced dozens of officials at the morning court."

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "After all, more than 90% of the world's countries have come to our Song Dynasty. There are even many kings among them. It is more exciting than the United Nations in later generations. With so many outsiders watching, it is normal to be a little nervous."

"Ah."

Zhao Zhen nodded, and then when he heard about the United Nations, he suddenly remembered something and said, "Grandson, there are so many countries here, why don't we also set up a United Nations?"

He felt that if there was a United Nations, the Song Dynasty would definitely be very powerful as the leader of the United Nations.

Who would have thought that Zhao Jun would sit in his own chair and shake his head repeatedly, saying, "It is definitely not possible to use the United Nations. That is a very wrong approach."

"Wasn't there the United Nations in later generations?"

Zhao Zhen was puzzled.

His understanding of the existence of the United Nations in the future actually mainly came from the science fiction movies in his notebook, and he thought it was an organization that dominated countries around the world.

But Zhao Jun laughed and said, "The United Nations of later generations is called a union, but in fact it can only be regarded as a coordination organization."

"Coordinating agency?"

"Yes, because it is an organization formed by the victorious countries of World War II to maintain the current order, not a country. It cannot exercise the power of a sovereign state. What it wants to do must be decided by the five permanent members."

"Well"

Zhao Zhen pondered. He naturally knew the Five Permanent Members, but he did not expect that the United Nations was just an empty shell and the actual power was in the hands of the Five Permanent Members.

"As an organization, the United Nations has very limited power. It can only coordinate and mediate between countries that have frictions in the name of the United Nations. It is impossible to actually send troops to intervene in any country."

Zhao Jun said: "Even the peacekeeping forces are mainly used to mediate conflicts. It is common for members of the peacekeeping forces to be killed or injured. Even UN members are often deliberately attacked by some countries for humanitarian rescue operations. So in essence, the UN is just a makeshift team. In the early days, it was dominated by the United States and the Soviet Union most of the time, and later it was gradually dominated by the United States. Even though the United Nations has many members with ideals who try to save people based on justice and humanitarianism, they will be obstructed once the interests of the United States are damaged."

"I see."

Zhao Zhen then understood the true role of the United Nations and said, "If we establish the United Nations, can we become the leader of the global order like the United States in later generations?"

"It's hard."

Zhao Jun shook his head and said, "Firstly, the existence of the United Nations is a common order after World War II and is recognized by major powers. Our influence is currently limited to East Asia, and it is not realistic to expect to be recognized by countries around the world."

"Secondly, even if the United Nations is established, it is almost impossible to dominate the global order due to the limitations of communication in this era. It is just a facade."

"Thirdly, the Song Dynasty established the United Nations. Even if other countries join, what is the purpose of the United Nations? Can it really dominate other countries' internal affairs?"

"This is obviously impossible, so at this stage, it would be harmful rather than beneficial for us to establish a United Nations."

There is no doubt about this. Although the United Nations exists to resolve disputes between countries, its power can only affect some small countries at most. It has no power over slightly larger countries.

Unless the five permanent members make a unanimous decision, it will be in a very powerless position in many matters, and will often even be used as a tool for the benefit of the United States.

So in essence, even if the Song Dynasty wanted to advocate the establishment of a United Nations headed by the Song Dynasty, it was actually limited by issues such as influence, communication capabilities, and purpose, and was unable to play a dominant role.

Setting up a United Nations at this stage will not only prevent the Song Dynasty from dominating the world, but may even gradually undermine the interests of the Song Dynasty. Countries all over the world will unite to beg for food from the Song Dynasty and seek various kinds of help.

Will the Song Dynasty help them by then?

After all, if you establish the United Nations, you must pursue positive development principles such as peace, justice, fairness, tranquility, tolerance, and progress in your main purpose.

Even when the United States does bad things, it always acts under the banner of justice, otherwise it will be criticized by the international community.

Therefore, if you do not provide assistance to these UN members at that time, these countries will gradually become disappointed with the Song Dynasty, and the authority of the Song Dynasty will also fall. Therefore, setting up the United Nations at this stage will inevitably do more harm than good.

"That's it."

Zhao Zhen said with some disappointment: "I was thinking that if we could establish the United Nations, including all the countries in the world, with the Song Dynasty as the leader, it would surely make the Song Dynasty a global leader."

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "There's no way. I think so, but at least at this stage, it's impossible. Unless our country's level has developed to the level of the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II, otherwise, without invincible national strength, it will be impossible to achieve invincibility."

"That's true. The Director of the Ministry of Justice often says that in this world, whoever has the biggest fist has the right to speak. We do have the biggest fist right now, but with our current national strength, we cannot influence the entire world situation."

"Yes, sir. We should still develop ourselves first. If our fleet can sail around the world and our army can appear in any country in the world, then we will still be the world's leading force. What does it matter whether we have the United Nations or not?"

"As Zhiyuan once said, the military is an extension of politics, politics is a continuation of the economy, and the economic base determines the superstructure. We can only build the superstructure of the Song Dynasty now. It is too late to cross the world."

Fu Bi, Han Qi and Wen Yanbo spoke one after another.

Zhao Jun's eyes lit up and he said, "Yes, Kuanfu is right. Now we should work hard to improve the economy of Song Dynasty and make Song Dynasty lead the world in economy, education, science and technology, and military. Only then can we achieve our political goals."

Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "Well, it seems that I have thought too much. It seems that I can't count on the United Nations. What a pity."

He sighed, "I also hope that one day the Song Dynasty can become the world's only superpower."

"This dream is not too far away. You can become one now."

Zhao Jun laughed.

"Oh?"

Zhao Zhen was surprised and asked, "How can I be the boss now?"

“Although we cannot join the United Nations, we still have our old business.”

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "The vassal relationship is the best system at this stage. This can also deepen the exchanges between the Song Dynasty and the world. This time, all the nations came to pay tribute and brought so many gifts. We can discuss more trade at that time. Isn't this the best proof?"

(End of this chapter)