Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 350 Asahi Filial Son

"Beep--"

"That spitting guy over there, doesn't he know you can't just spit? He's fined three cents!"

With the firecrackers going off, the fifth year of Yongle passed smoothly, and the sixth year of Yongle followed.

However, compared to the fifth year of Yongle, the city of Nanjing in the sixth year of Yongle was particularly strict. Both public security and sanitation were strictly enforced.

The reason for this is that at the beginning of the new year, the Ming Dynasty will hold a grand military parade with a "tribute banquet" at Qilin Gate and Jiangdong Gate respectively.

"Zuo Zhuan" says: "The great affairs of the country lie in sacrifice and military affairs."

The "sacrifice" in this refers to the country's public sacrifice ceremony, and the "rong" refers to the country's military operations.

For the Ming Dynasty, the upcoming military parade is a well-deserved national event.

As a sovereign state, military parades are not only a way to declare national strength and enhance national cohesion, but also an important means to expand national influence. At this time, the reason for military parades is generally the same.

Envoys from twenty-five countries at home and abroad arrived in the capital one after another. Some have been here for a year, and some have been here for ten months.

Standing on this tall building that is nearly seven feet high, he can have an unobstructed view of the surrounding scenery behind the window.

To be honest, Zhu Gaoxu knew Quan Jin not because of his famous talents, but because of a book written by Quan Jin.

Unlike Mahama and others of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, Quan Jin was summoned by Zhu Gaoxu due to his special status.

"I thank Your Highness for your grace..."

Because of Zhu Yuanzhang's favor, Quan Jin still stood firm despite being repeatedly impeached.

Zhu Gaoxu, who was in the first place, offered him a seat, and Quan Jin also thanked him honestly.

When Li Fangyuan came to power, he even consecrated Quan Jin as Lord Jichang to demonstrate his political intention to favor the Ming Dynasty.

"Now it seems that we can only approach them on the day of the Lantern Festival parade."

Quan was nearly fifty years old. He participated in the Ming Dynasty imperial examination twice during the Hongwu period and won the second place in the provincial examination.

In history, Li Fangyuan was close to Zhu Di, mainly because of the grant of land and the Ming Dynasty's recognition of Li Fangyuan's identity. But now, the Ming Dynasty not only has land disputes with North Korea, but also does not recognize the previous monarchs of North Korea as kings politically. Economically, it is because the Ming Dynasty directly opened the door to Li Fangyuan. The Japanese market made it difficult for North Korea's second-rate dealer economy to survive.

"The task given to us by Shami Chagan Khan is to obtain the support of the Ming Dynasty and use the power of the Ming Dynasty to recover the lost territory captured by the cripple Timur to the west."

"Sumuha, we went south from the west and met many Semu and Mongolians who believed in the teachings. However, they have abandoned the teachings. Even marrying a wife and having children are subject to the restrictions of the Ming Dynasty. In my opinion, the people in the northwest The doctrine will hardly survive another few decades.”

"In the past few days since we came to Ming Dynasty, we have not seen the emperor of Ming Dynasty or the prince of Ming Dynasty."

"At that time, only the Western Region where we are located can maintain the glory given by God."

"The ministers of the lower country, Quan Jin, see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He is a thousand years old, a thousand years old, a thousand years old..."

In addition to them, nearly three hundred chieftains from Nanyang, Zhongnan, Southwest, and Xifan also sent envoys or arrived in the capital in person.

A voice came from behind the man. Not far away was a noble man with deep eyes and a high nose. He was about thirty years old. He was sitting quietly at a round table in the room. There were more than a dozen Jiangnan dishes on the table. .

"The Ming Dynasty is indeed prosperous and clean. I wonder what they want to show during the military parade half a month later."

The thirty-year-old man said his thoughts, but this thought made the man dressed like a minister frown: "Mahama, your brother Samizhagan Khan does not want to promote the doctrine."

"The lame Timur is dead. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty probably wanted to show off his force and let other countries know how powerful the Ming Dynasty was, so that the countries around the world would stop their ambitions."

Wherever he could see, there were all kinds of Jiangnan pavilions and residential courtyards, and he could see the daily life of many people in the Ming Dynasty.

In an antique concrete six-story building, a man dressed in Central Asian Mongolian clothing slowly spoke. He was currently in a room on the sixth floor of this building. It was the only room on the sixth floor of this building. Although the area was small, it was only It’s less than a quarter of an inch of land, but the scenery is superb.

"If we can't see them, the mission is doomed."

Faced with the difficulty of obtaining land in the Northeast and the cutoff of maritime trade, Li Fangyuan sent his crown prince Li Bao, as well as North Korea's Andong clan aristocrat Quan Shi, and the great-grandson of the former Goryeo Prime Minister Quan Pu to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty. .

Sumuha was talking about his thoughts, but Mahama was still immersed in how to get the Mughals in the Chagatai Khanate to embrace Islam.

"We can make peace with Ming. After all, he poses no threat to our religion."

Before the Zhengdan Festival in the sixth year of Yongle, they did not know that the Ming Dynasty was about to hold a grand military parade. When they found out, they became anxious and curious.

"Who knows." The fanatical religious man called Mahama chuckled and commented to Daming:

Li Zhen was only twelve years old, so he was sent here just to show North Korea's highest courtesy towards Ming Dynasty's diplomacy. The person who was really in charge was Zhu Di's old friend Quan Jin.

The place where they live is not far from where Mahama and the others live, and because North Korea is the first vassal state under the Ming Dynasty, the high-rise building they live in is also the sixth floor of the most central high-rise building.

"Okay, let's talk about the teachings when we get back. What matters now is the attitude of the Ming Emperor and the Ming Prince towards us." Sumuha interrupted Mahama, while looking worriedly at the prosperous scene of Nanjing outside the window.

There are many countries that are as anxious and purposeful as them, including North Korea, which is sandwiched between the Ming Dynasty and Japan, and the Ashikaga Shogunate, which relies on the economic, political, and military power of the Ming Dynasty.

Later, when North Korea was established, Li Chenggui's faction persecuted him, but because of his relationship with the Ming faction, they did not harm his life. Instead, he was appointed as an envoy to the Ming Dynasty when North Korea needed the support of the Ming Dynasty, and cleverly eased the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and North Korea. Zhu Yuanzhang was called an "honest scholar".

"Give me a seat."

After he took his seat, he began to look at Zhu Gaoxu in a vague way, and at His Highness the Prince of Ming Dynasty, who had made the first contribution to the Jingnan Campaign and relied on external forces to suppress North Korea.

He was sizing up Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaoxu was also sizing him up.

He knelt in the Chunhe Hall and bowed five times and kowtowed three times to Zhu Gaoxu respectfully.

But inclination is one thing, and relationship interests are another.

If it were not for his lack of age, he might have already served as an official of the Ming Dynasty before the fall of Goryeo.

Although he was born in the Korean Peninsula, Quan Jin had a gentlemanly attitude. When he was in Goryeo, he scorned Bei Yuan. He repeatedly advised Bei Yuan to be a Hu and that Goryeo should be remonstrated with the Ming Dynasty. In the 22nd year of Hongwu, he got the advice. An opportunity to serve as an envoy to the Ming Dynasty.

In such a predicament, North Korea must find a way out, and Quan Jin has this burden on his shoulders.

The name of this book is "Fengshilu". It is the earliest foreign historical material recording the relationship between Zhu Di and Empress Ma among the historical materials of the Northern Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.

He went to the Ming Dynasty as an envoy in the 22nd year of Hongwu. While traveling north, he recorded the cultural scenery of the northern land. When he arrived in Peking, he met Zhu Di, who was just a king of Yan at the time.

Coincidentally, Quan Jin, who was the envoy of Goryeo, asked to see Zhu Di on the Hungry Ghost Festival, which happened to be the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. Therefore, his request to see Zhu Di was declined by the royal palace chief Shi, who said that it was not polite on this day.

Quan Jin stayed in Peiping for three days, and was not ready to say goodbye to Zhu Di until July 18, but he happened to encounter Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi, the three princes, going to the Buddhist temple to burn incense.

After Quan Jin inquired, he learned that this day was the birthday of the late Queen Mother Mingji, which was also the birthday of Queen Ma during her lifetime.

For this reason, Quan Jin's book just proves that Zhu Di's mother is Empress Ma, because Mingji coincides with Empress Ma's birthday, and records of worshiping Empress Ma on the Hungry Ghost Festival are also common during the Hongwu period.

A piece of foreign historical data proved that Zhu Di was the son of Empress Ma. After all, no one would not sacrifice his biological mother on the Ghost Festival, but Zhu Di only sacrificed Empress Ma on the Ghost Festival, which is enough to illustrate the relationship between the two.

Zhu Biao was still alive at this time, and Zhu Di did not know that he would be emperor in the future, so there was no need to pretend to be his mother.

Because of this, Zhu Gaoxu remembered Quan Jin through this historical material, but what he didn't expect was that Quan Jin actually lived to this day. He thought Quan Jin died after the fall of Goryeo.

"My grandpa said that you were an honest scholar when he was still alive, so I will receive you."

Sitting on the chair, Zhu Gaoxu explained the reason for meeting Quan Jin, and then said to Quan Jin: "Helan Mansion, the court will not give in."

"I'm ashamed..." Seeing Zhu Gaoxu reveal his first purpose, Quan Jin was very ashamed. After all, he didn't think North Korea owned the Helan Mansion, but as a minister, since the king ordered it, he would naturally come.

Now that Zhu Gaoxu has rejected him, he cannot continue to speak and can only bring economic and political issues to the forefront.

"I come here this time because there are two things that bother Your Highness."

Quan Jin spoke out about North Korea's maritime economic problems and the North Korean king's unfair reputation, which Zhu Gaoxu also knew very well.

North Korea itself does not produce gold, silver and copper coins, but they have a large population and have a huge demand for gold, silver and copper coins.

In the past, they could use the tribute trade to trade with the Ming Dynasty, and then act as second-tier dealers and sell them to Japan at a high price.

In this way, they can obtain gold, silver and copper coins from Japan, which will not only solve the problem of domestic money shortage, but also solve the problem of trade with the Ming Dynasty.

But now with the establishment of the Japanese Shipping Department, North Korea's second-hand merchant business has undoubtedly declared bankruptcy. After all, in this era, apart from eunuchs and palace maids, they really have nothing worth trading.

Just like Quan Jin's current mission to the Ming Dynasty, in addition to some worthless specialties, the tribute he brought was three hundred eunuchs and three hundred palace maids.

Regarding the North Korean issue, Zhu Gaoxu did not have too many difficulties.

The land in North Korea is barren, food, gold and silver need to be imported from the Ming Dynasty, and the population is larger than Annan.

Now that the Ming Dynasty is somewhat overstretched, Zhu Gaoxu is thinking about how to digest Annan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Nanyang, Sanxuan and Liuwei instead of taking over North Korea.

For Zhu Gaoxu, taking North Korea would mean adding millions of mouths, and the local farmland conditions were not good enough, so he relied heavily on the Ming Dynasty.

It can be said that before industrialization, North Korea's greatest weapon was its poverty, followed by its flexible tongue.

"North Korea is indeed respectful to the imperial court. I have also discussed with His Majesty the issue of canonizing North Korea's powerful official in state affairs as king, but I still can't make up my mind."

"North Korea lacks copper mines, so it is worried about trade. The imperial court understands, so it has already said before that North Korea is allowed to join the Western Private Trade Zone, and North Korea can be allowed to order 20 large ships at the Longjiang Shipyard."

Zhu Gaoxu had already arranged the road to North Korea. Since he was the filial son of the Ming Dynasty in Northeast Asia in history, North Korea in this life can also be the filial son of the Ming Dynasty in his voyages to the West.

Regardless of whether North Korea will build colonies overseas, this is not important to Zhu Gaoxu. On the contrary, it would be better if they could build colonies. After the opening of the Great Navigation Trade, Europe as far away as the Western Hemisphere still could not escape the fate of being harvested by the Ming Dynasty's handicraft industry after acquiring gold and silver. What about North Korea, which is right at the doorstep of the Ming Dynasty?

Not to mention North Korea, even Siam, Champa, Manchuria and other countries in the south are within the scope of Zhu Gaoxu's attempt to support.

The transition between the Ming and Qing Dynasties in the previous life caused the tribute system to lag behind the Westphalian system. In the final analysis, it was because the country was not strong.

There is a trend in East and Southeast Asia, and that is the Central Plains Dynasty.

If the Central Plains dynasty learns firearms, other countries will rush to learn from it. If the Central Plains dynasty continues to make profits from its voyages to the West, other countries will follow suit and make profits.

For Zhu Gaoxu, distant colonies can be built, but it is still not as good as digesting the three propaganda and six comforts of Indochina, as well as the Western Regions and the vast Mobei.

In this era, the porcelain, tea, sugar, and silk of the Ming Dynasty were various high-tech patents of later generations. The pricing power was in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, and other countries could not imitate the same products, so the gold and silver they earned reached the level they needed to consume. At that time, only Daming products could satisfy them.

Later generations of Americans harvested the world with U.S. dollars. Before the industrial age, the Central Plains dynasty harvested the world with sustainably produced handmade products.

The reason why the Tokugawa shogunate closed the country was that it could not prevent the large-scale outflow of gold and silver from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The Opium War was also because European countries were at a disadvantage in long-term trade with the Qing Dynasty. In order to fill the trade deficit with the Qing Dynasty, the British took advantage of the addictive properties of opium. Come enter the Qing Dynasty.

The lesson the Qing Dynasty taught Zhu Gaoxu is that when you can make everyone's money, you'd better have the strength to fight against everyone, otherwise you will just be like the Qing Dynasty, walking through the market with gold bricks and ushering in bandits.

"There are really not that many businessmen in the country who can afford the price of five thousand guan."

Quan Jin spoke with a grimace, but Zhu Gaoxu shook his head when he heard this and said: "If you can't do it one family at a time, then form a business gang to go overseas."

"North Korea is the first vassal state of the imperial court, so in terms of trade, the old port will also open the door to North Korea and provide a sufficient amount of goods."

"As long as it can be sold out, North Korea can also benefit, so why not?"

Zhu Gaoxu would not discount the price out of sympathy for North Korea. In his opinion, selling an armed merchant ship with 3,000 materials for 5,000 guan was cheap enough.

I would like to ask which country in the world besides the Ming Dynasty can build large ships with three thousand materials and more.

Quan Jin obviously knew this, so he hesitantly raised his hand and bowed: "I will discuss the business gang issue with Quan Zhiguo Shi after I return home. I just want to facilitate this matter. I'm afraid Quan Zhi Guo Shi's reputation will not hold me back."

Quan Jin wanted to gain recognition from the Ming Dynasty for Li Fangyuan and make him a veritable king of North Korea. However, Zhu Gaoxu still said: "The court has not yet made up its mind on this matter. It depends on how Quan Zhiguo prepares to do it. How should you respond to the court?"

After Zhu Gaoxu finished speaking, he picked up the tea. Quan Jin got up knowingly and walked out of Chunhe Hall.

After he walked out of Chunhe Hall and was blown by the cold early spring wind, he only reacted belatedly.

What His Royal Highness the Prince said about making up his mind was not the land dispute between North Korea and the imperial court.

In other words, if North Korea wisely withdraws from Helan Mansion, then Ming Dynasty will not mind recognizing Li Fangyuan's throne.

If Li Fangyuan knew, it would be difficult for him to choose, so external forces must intervene.

Thinking of this, Quan Jin thought of the military parade during the Lantern Festival.

He already knew that the Heavenly Army's firearms were sharp, but they had never met the Heavenly Army, so he didn't know how sharp the Heavenly Army's firearms were.

Now that His Highness the Crown Prince dares to speak, he naturally thinks that after the military parade, North Korea will agree to end the land dispute and obtain political recognition honestly.

With his thoughts at this point, Quan Jin couldn't help but quicken his pace.

When he walked out of the East Palace, he happened to meet an oncoming team.

Looking at the Japanese envoy in kimono, Kwon Chika frowned and left. The oncoming Japanese envoy also frowned and said to the twelve-year-old boy wearing yellow-dyed royal robes next to him: "If it is under the palace, it should be Envoy from North Korea.”

"Huh?" Hearing the words of the people around him, the young man, who was no more than four feet tall, looked at Quan Jin in surprise, and then asked: "I think his official uniform is the same as that of the Celestial Dynasty. How do you tell the difference?"

"Of course it's from appearance." The envoy replied without thinking, and indicated: "Most Korean people have Chinese character faces and round faces, while most Chinese people have thin faces, mainly oval faces, long faces, and awl faces. Or mainly round faces.”

"In addition, the eyes of officials and people in the two countries also look different."

"Most people in North Korea have small eyes and deep eye sockets."

"Most Chinese people have round eyes or long eyes, and the eye sockets are shallow."

After the envoy finished talking about the appearance of Koreans and Han people in his eyes, the young man beside him suddenly nodded in realization: "That's it."

"Your Highness, when you see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Celestial Dynasty, you must be respectful. This is what the Minister of Taizheng (Ashikaga Yoshimitsu) specially ordered."

"Whether you can succeed the emperor depends on how strong the Chinese government's support is for you."

"Minister Taizheng hopes that you will come to Nanjing to study, in order to help you expand your contacts in the Ming Dynasty."

The envoy said, and the young man nodded solemnly.

Soon, they arrived in front of the Chunhe Hall, and the eunuch on duty at the door also sent a message inside.

"The Crown Prince of Japan, Ashikaga Yoshitsugu, has been summoned to come!"

"Xuan!"

There was a voice in the hall, and Ashikaga Yoshitsugu, who had studied Mandarin in the past three years, also understood the content. He walked into the Haruwa Hall and walked to the side hall under the guidance of the eunuchs in the hall.

When he walked into the palace, he knelt down in accordance with the Ming Dynasty etiquette he had learned, performed the courtier ceremony of five bows and three kowtows to Zhu Gaoxu, and sang loudly: "The third son of the King of Japan, Ashikaga Yoshitsune, comes to your highness, your highness is a thousand years old." Thousands of years old, thousand years old..."

Ashikaga Yoshitsugu finished singing the ceremony, but he did not get an answer allowing him to get up, because Zhu Gaoxu was looking at Ashikaga Yoshitsugu.

To be honest, this was the first time he had seen such a short person.

Ashikaga Yoshitsugu is twelve years old after all. If you look at the people of the Ming Dynasty, he should be at least four feet, six or seven inches, or even about five feet.

But Ashikaga Yoshitsugu's figure was just over four feet tall at most, less than 1.4 meters tall.

"Get up."

Zhu Gaoxu signaled Ashikaga Yoshitsugu to stand up, and then told Yishiha: "Give me a seat."

"Yes..." Yi Shiha responded and asked someone to bring a chair.

"I thank Your Highness for your kindness..."

Ashikaga Yoshitsugu stood up to thank him and tried to sit on the chair, but it was difficult due to his height, so after sitting on the chair, his feet were dangling in the air, which looked very rude.

His face turned red and he could only sit forward, letting his butt touch the edge of the chair so that his feet could touch the ground.

Seeing his appearance, many eunuchs on duty couldn't help but want to laugh, which made Ashikaga Yoshitsugu lower his head even lower.

In response, Zhu Gaoxu said cheerfully: "Raise your head, I will look at you as equals."

Ashikaga Yoshitsugu slowly raised his head when he heard this, and took a breath of cold air instantly.

From his perspective, Zhu Gaoxu was like a giant. Even when he was sitting, he was much taller than when he was standing.

With his upturned mustache, Ashikaga Yoshitsugu suddenly became nervous and didn't know what to say.

"Your father said that you are the crown prince, so he asked you to come to the Imperial College of the Ming Dynasty to study for three years."

Zhu Gaoxu opened his mouth to talk about Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's arrangements, and he naturally knew Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's little Jiujiu in his heart.

He wanted the Ming Dynasty to support Ashikaga Yoshitsugu in taking the position of emperor. After all, Ashikaga Yoshitsugu had already taken the prince's primordial robe in advance and was called Wakamiya.

As long as Ming Dynasty supports it, and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu operates behind the scenes, it will be just around the corner for Ashikaga Yoshimitsu to take the position of emperor.

But the question is not how to sit in this position, but how to sit firmly in this position.

Although the Ashikaga Shogunate unified Japan in name, it could not even claim to be able to control all of Gyeonggi, let alone other places.

Once they usurp the throne of the emperor, it will probably trigger a crusade from the entire nation.

Because of this, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu would get close to the Ming Dynasty, and was even willing to give up Yinqi and Treasure Island to the Ming Dynasty to garrison.

Anyway, he can't control these two islands. After Ming gets it, he can get the military power to mobilize part of the Ming army and tens of thousands of taxes. Why not?

Moreover, this was just his first step. His second step was to establish a good relationship between Ashikaga Yoshitsugu and the Ming Dynasty, so as to ensure that when the Ashikaga shogunate was besieged by national guards in the future, the Ming Dynasty would take the initiative to send troops to help the shogunate put down the rebellion.

Even if they don't send troops and the shogunate is defeated in the end, the shogunate can retreat to the Ming Dynasty and use it as an excuse for the Ming Dynasty to enter Japan in the future.

No matter how he chooses, the wealth of the Ashikaga family can be preserved. This is Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's little thought.

Zhu Gaoxu knew his thoughts well, so when faced with the arrival of Ashikaga Yoshitsugu, he did not resist, but welcomed him very much.

Anyway, as long as Ashikaga Yoshitsugu does not get in touch with the core and simply learns Confucian culture, it will be beneficial to the penetration of Ming culture into Japan.

If Ashikaga Yoshitsugu can really take the position of emperor, then they will inevitably bear the infamy of usurping the throne. After all, in the eyes of the Japanese, the emperor has been inherited for nearly two thousand years. Once the Ashikaga family usurps the throne, it will be more difficult than when barbarians take over the Central Plains. accept.

In order to maintain their rule, the Ashikaga Shogunate could only rely on external forces, and the Ming Dynasty was the only external force they could rely on.

The more Japanese people hate the Ashikaga Shogunate, the deeper the Ashikaga Shogunate will rely on the Ming Dynasty, and this is what Zhu Gaoxu wants.

Thinking of this, the smile on Zhu Gaoxu's face became even stronger...

(End of this chapter)