Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The emperor drew lines? Zhang Jingxin was puzzled.

He thought carefully about what the emperor had said, and said with enlightenment:
"The Emperor told me not to go against the court's policy and arbitrarily make enemies with a great power."

"This big country should refer to a three-star or four-star country, whose strength is at least comparable to that of North Korea."

"So, the emperor is still cautious about border affairs and will not allow military generals to provoke border conflicts at will."

With the strength of the Ming Dynasty, as long as it does not become an enemy of neighboring countries at the same time, the small forces on the border can hardly be considered a threat.

If there were no external threats such as Jianlu, Ming would have been fully capable of conquering Annan. Now, even though Jianlu has not been pacified, Annan is in the process of division.

Today, Annan is divided into at least four factions. If they unite, they may be called a three-star country, but if they are separated, each one is only equivalent to a one- or two-star faction.

No wonder the emperor looked down on them and let them do what they wanted.

This discovery made Zhang Jingxin somewhat excited, because he realized that this was a great opportunity to make a contribution.

If I lead the delegation to conquer Annan without using the army, the emperor will not be stingy with the title of Marquis when rewarding people for their merits in the future.

He might become an envoy with a name in history like Ban Chao and Fu Jiezi. In the future, he might be like Zheng He, with his portrait hung in the Lifanyuan.

The emperor forced the Lifanyuan to hang this portrait, encouraging officials of the Lifanyuan to follow Zheng He's example and subdue many foreign vassals.

The officials of the Lifanyuan could not object, but they felt deeply ashamed in their hearts and hoped to use more portraits to dilute Zheng He's achievements.

After Zhang Jingxin sensed this opportunity, he became eager to try and strengthened his courage to give it a try.

At this time, he heard Yuan Keli say:

"In addition to this, there is one more thing, which is that the emperor clearly stipulated a few days ago:"

"All countries and forces that are hostile to the Ming Dynasty are regarded as barbarians."

"Treat the barbarians in their own way and use military force to intimidate them at will."

"Moreover, for one-star and two-star forces, the Ming nobles can organize their own armies and establish fiefdoms."

"Even those without noble status can obtain a hereditary title after conquering and offering land."

"How do you think we should treat the various forces in Annan according to this method?"

Zhang Jingxin said without hesitation:

"Those who are willing to obey orders and pay tribute are naturally vassals of the Ming Dynasty."

"Those who are unwilling to accept the imperial court's orders are the barbarians who rebel and establish their own country."

"As a minister of the Ming Dynasty, students can conquer them."

Yuan Keli laughed loudly, stroking his beard and said:

"In this case, you are a qualified messenger."

"The emperor wants to train envoys like you."

Encourage Zhang Jingxin to act freely without any reservations.

In his opinion, as he understood the military strength of the Ming Dynasty, this was not a very dangerous thing.

Even if Zhang Jingxin accidentally failed, it would cause little harm to the court.

They could even use his death as an excuse to suppress the disobedient Annan.

Of course, success is what matters. Yuan Keli hopes that more of his disciples will achieve great things.

After Zhang Jingxin understood the emperor's thoughts, his desire to achieve great things took over. But he still said with some worry:
"Annam is a big country, and its strength is at least comparable to that of North Korea."

"Students are worried that if they act rashly, they may not be able to succeed."

This was his biggest worry and the reason why he came to find Yuan Keli.

Yuan Keli was very concerned about this and asked him:

"The Emperor sent the Imperial Guards to accompany you, but didn't he tell you how many guards to bring with you?"

"If there are several hundred new soldiers accompanying us, our fighting power will be at least equivalent to several thousand barbarians."

This is the conclusion reached by the Privy Council after revising the lethality index based on the results of the Battle of Daning.

In addition to the fact that Jianlu was stronger, the Ming Dynasty had no confidence in a one-on-many fight. As for the other surrounding foreigners, they believed that one Ming army could defeat five or even ten of them.

The Annan army's combat effectiveness was not that strong. A few hundred new troops were equivalent to a few thousand of the enemy.

This strength is more than enough to protect the delegation, and if used well, it is even enough to establish the achievements of Ban Chao and Fu Jiezi.

Zhang Jingxin was not very familiar with the latest military knowledge. Only after hearing Yuan Keli's explanation did he realize how powerful the Ming Dynasty's new army was now.

He said with some excitement and some trepidation:

"The emperor didn't ask me to select soldiers, but he gave me a dragon robe and jade belt, saying it was equivalent to the status of a prince."

"Does this mean that the number of my guards is equal to that of a prince?"

Yuan Keli pondered for a moment and said:

"Maybe so."

"The Marquis has two guards, but the guards he brings into the Ming Dynasty cannot exceed the number of miles of his fiefdom, which is four hundred people."

"The territory of a vassal king is a thousand miles, but the mansion and guards of a vassal king are equivalent to those of a duke, which is 500 acres and 500 people."

"I estimate the number of your guards to be between four hundred and five hundred."

"If the emperor is more lenient, he might send you a large group of guards."

"This battalion has infiltrated the heart of the enemy country and is capable of carrying out a decapitation operation."

As he spoke, he recalled a foreign war example that the emperor had asked the missionary to tell him about, and said to Zhang Jingxin:
"The Spanish conquered the Inca Empire with no more than 200 to 300 men in each battle."

"As an envoy of the Ming Dynasty, you must also have this confidence."

By telling students the history he heard from missionaries, Yuan Keli hoped to strengthen their faith.

If the ancients and foreigners could do it, there is no reason why the Ming Dynasty today cannot do it, not to mention that the court has made many preparations.

He believed that with the support of new firearms, the Ming army could also achieve the same result against foreign invaders.

After hearing what his teacher said, Zhang Jingxin became even more certain that the emperor was not unprepared when he instigated him to cause trouble.

He became more and more confident about this trip.
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After a night's rest, Zhang Jingxin received an order the next day to receive training.

After the current emperor ascended the throne, he changed many etiquette systems under the banner of re-establishing rituals and music, including the etiquette for interacting with vassal states.

Zhang Jingxin thought that his knowledge of etiquette was sufficient, but after hearing the emperor's arrangements, he found that it was far from enough:
"When the Ming envoys go on missions, they need to use the Ming national flag."

"This national flag is the flag of the Ming Empire and the symbol of the Ming Dynasty."

"The sun and the moon are at the center, representing the Ming Empire."

"The twelve stars around here represent the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty, distributed in the twelve earthly branches of the world."

"From now on, all envoys from the Ming Dynasty will use this flag when they go on diplomatic missions."

This is the Sun, Moon and Star Flag, which Zhu Youjian ordered to be designed based on the Three Stars Flag, using the colors red and yellow.

The flag was simple and elegant, and very beautiful. He planned to use it as the national flag of the Ming Dynasty.

This pattern, which was different from the complicated colors, conquered the ministers as soon as it was unveiled.

Although they were not used to this style, they could all feel the beauty in it and felt it was very meaningful.

Huang Liji, the head of the Lifan Yuan, said:
"This flag contains the sun and the moon, which is exactly the character 'Ming'."

"There are also stars surrounding it, just like vassal states guarding the Ming Dynasty."

"I think this flag is suitable as the national flag of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhang Jingxin followed the officials of the Lifanyuan and echoed them. He also heard the Minister of Internal Affairs, Zhuang Tingchen, say, "This flag includes the Ming Dynasty and the vassal states. The imperial court can use this flag, but what flag should the vassal states use?"

"If we use the same flag, it will be difficult to distinguish them."

Flags are used to distinguish between forces. If everyone uses the same flag, it is better not to use it.

But it seemed a bit presumptuous to let the vassal states use the Ming flag. If they didn't use the Ming flag, how could they show that they were Ming vassal states?

Just as the ministers were thinking about it, Zhu Youjian laughed and ordered people to display a few more flags.

He said to his ministers:

"These three flags are the military flags of the Ming Dynasty."

"Put the national flag pattern in the upper left corner, change the length and width from three to two to five to four, and display the patterns of the Imperial Guards, Border Guards, and Navy in the lower part."

"The same can be done for the vassal states. The lower half can be painted with patterns that are unique to the vassal states to show the differences between them."

(The picture shows the flag of the Ming Dynasty Imperial Army. The Imperial Camp has a dragon pattern, and the Eagle Army has an eagle pattern. The lower half of the border defense army flag is changed to green, and the lower half of the navy flag is changed to blue and white stripes)
The formulation of these military flags was proposed by the various armies a long time ago.

After Zhu Youjian ascended the throne, he prohibited generals from using their personal surnames on flags, and only allowed them to use military numbers on flags.

However, it would not look good if only the serial number was embroidered on it, and the specifications of the flags were not completely unified.

Therefore, the Border Defense Department planned to use a unified flag and embroider the number on it.

After the navy used flag signals, the need for flags became more urgent. They hoped to use flags to directly identify friendly forces. They also hoped to use national flags to distinguish ships from different countries.

Therefore, after Zhu Youjian formulated the national flag, he imitated the military flags of later generations, placing the patterns of the sun, moon and stars in the upper left corner, adding the colors of each military branch at the bottom, and formulating the flags of each army.

The flags of the vassal states also followed this pattern, with their own national patterns added to the lower half.

This way, there is both unity and distinction, and all the ministers felt it was very suitable.

Huang Li Ji quickly drafted an imperial edict and asked each vassal state to design its flag accordingly.

After the national flag was set, Zhu Youjian said:

"In addition to the national flag, the Ming Dynasty must also have a national emblem."

"From now on, all Ming embassies and other official institutions abroad can hang the national flag and emblem to indicate their identity."

"The national emblem also uses the sun, moon, stars, and other patterns such as Jiahe."

The design of the national emblem was relatively simple to suit the manufacturing technology at the time.

There are no requirements for the emblems of vassal states. Each country can design its own pattern, and can even use surname patterns instead.

Zhu Youjian issued several ready-made national emblems for officials of the Lifanyuan to wear.

As an envoy, Zhang Jingxin was given a golden national emblem.

Looking at the glittering golden badge, Zhang Jingxin pinned it on his clothes with the help of the palace eunuchs, and a sense of pride rose in his heart:

The feeling of wearing the national emblem made him feel that he had the support of the entire Ming Dynasty court and was not afraid of any enemies.

At the same time, he was also required as an envoy of the Ming Dynasty not to kneel down and kowtow to the vassal king.

Even in informal occasions, this is not acceptable, because his every move represents the national system of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Jingxin certainly didn't like to kneel down to others, nor did he think that the vassal monarch was worthy of his kneeling down, so he said happily:

"The emperor has bestowed upon me a dragon robe and jade belt. When I was on this diplomatic mission, my position was comparable to that of a prince, and I was naturally an enemy of the vassal monarchs."

"I will uphold the dignity of the Ming Dynasty and will not succumb to the barbarians."

Zhu Youjian nodded with satisfaction, and then he remembered something and asked the officials of the Lifanyuan:

"I have made such demands on my envoys. Do the monarchs of other powerful countries make the same demands on their subjects?"

"If they are unwilling to kneel before me, how should I receive them?"

This was a huge problem in the Qing Dynasty. The Qing emperor even refused to meet with envoys several times, causing disputes with foreign countries.

However, this was not a big problem for the Ming Dynasty, because the Ming Dynasty itself rarely used the kneeling ceremony.

After Zhu Youjian ascended the throne, even the kneeling in ordinary court meetings was abolished and replaced by bowing.

Huang Liji said:

"If foreign envoys do not wish to kneel, they can be received by us."

"Your Majesty only summons them when necessary and does not allow them to attend ceremonies such as grand court meetings."

"The envoys who attend the ceremony must kneel before your Majesty like other subjects."

Zhu Youjian nodded when he heard this, thinking it was natural.

Because in these ceremonies he represented not only himself, but also accepted the worship of his subjects as the Son of Heaven and monarch.

Even he needed to worship heaven and earth when he performed sacrifices, let alone these outsiders.

Therefore, he emphasized:

"Heaven, Earth, the Emperor, Parents, and Teachers are what Confucians worship."

"Except for these five, the people of the Ming Dynasty do not need to bow to anyone else."

"And kneeling to the five should only be done on formal occasions. Kneeling is not allowed at other times and can be replaced with bowing."

The kneeling ceremony outside of ceremonies such as sacrifices was officially abolished and replaced by bowing.

If you don’t attend the ceremony, you don’t have to worship for the rest of your life.

However, when attending a ceremony, one must bow down to Heaven, Earth, the Emperor, parents, and teachers according to prescribed etiquette.

It is a natural thing to bring this matter up at this time.

Because after Zhu Youjian ascended the throne, he began to promote the bowing etiquette.

After he raised the need for respect some time ago, he showed great respect to his subjects. He required any etiquette that did not meet this requirement to be modified.

The ministers naturally supported this enthusiastically. They had always expected the emperor to respect the wise and humble, not to mention respect themselves.

Kneeling as a symbol of submission was the most abolished. Zhu Youjian's proposal now was just a favor in advance.

After solving this biggest difficulty, Zhu Youjian and other officials of the Lifanyuan reviewed the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty's interactions with its vassal states and foreign countries.

They even hired people to act as vassal monarchs and foreign envoys to demonstrate and clarify various details.

After this review, I found a problem, that is, there is only ritual but no music.

Simply demonstrating etiquette without any accompaniment of music would be very boring.

Moreover, the rhythm is not easy to grasp, and the speed when raising the national flag is not uniform.

So Zhu Youjian asked to choose a song to be used as the national anthem.

There were many pieces of music for sacrifices and court meetings in the Ming Dynasty. Some of them were related to the Ming Dynasty, its vassal states and foreign countries, including "Song of Loving the Imperial Ming", "Song of Great Unification" and "Song of Comforting the Four Barbarians".

However, after listening to them, Zhu Youjian felt that these songs were too elegant, not conducive to being sung by the general public, and not suitable as the national anthem.

So he thought about the music of later generations and wrote an article "Ode to the Empire":
Standing tall in the world, the great Chinese Empire!

The mountains are crisscrossed with the sun and the moon, and the rivers are full of waves of civilization;
Hundreds of millions of people have passed down the Chinese nation, and the country is vast and rich in resources.

Promote the power of our great Ming Empire and sing the song of our empire!
He ordered the royal orchestra to compose the music using common instruments such as bells, drums, zithers and harps, which was later used as the national anthem.

The Ming Dynasty's national flag, national emblem, and national anthem were successively determined to distinguish it from other countries in foreign relations.
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Article ** of the Great Ming Convention on Rites and Laws:
The Ming Dynasty was based on the Ming Empire, with the country's name Ming, the national flag being the sun, moon and stars flag, the national emblem being the sun, moon and stars emblem, and the national anthem being the Ming Empire anthem.

With Beijing as the capital and Nanjing as the secondary capital, the imperial court was established in the two capitals.

The central time zone uses Beijing time and a 24-hour system.

The calendar adopts the lunar calendar, using the Yellow Emperor era and the reign era. (End of this chapter)