I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 381 The most important thing in diplomacy is the substance
Chen Ju placed the rest of the urgent reports on the desk and hurried back to the Imperial Household Department.

Zhu Yijun finished reading the memorial in his hand, picked up the one that Chen Ju had placed on the table, and said to Qi Yan after reading it.

"Please invite Cao Bingbu here."

"Yes."

Ten minutes later, Zhu Yijun stood up and moved his shoulders, neck, waist and legs on the open space in the room.

His experience as a senior civil servant in his previous life taught him that career belongs to everyone, but the body belongs to oneself. Working at a desk can easily lead to diseases of the cervical spine, lumbar spine, and periarthritis of the shoulder. He was young, so he should not develop bad habits so quickly.

So he asked the Imperial Observatory and the Imperial Household Department to make a timer. When it was wound up, it would ring every hour. Then people would get up from their desks and do ten minutes of exercise.

I had just done a set of chest expansion exercises when Cao Bangfu hurried over.

After the greetings, Zhu Yijun asked Cao Bangfu to sit down, asked someone to serve tea, and insisted on completing the last set of shoulder exercises.

"Lord Cao, there is chaos in Ordos now. Altan Khan has mobilized his troops to move west to prevent the chaos from spreading to other tribes on the right wing. This is a good thing."

Cao Bangfu, as the Minister of War and the Supervisor of Military Affairs, knew the inside story and said, "It was all thanks to the Crown Prince's planning and the full efforts of Wang Daokun and Wang Chonggu that we achieved this good result."

"It seems like a good result, but we can't take it lightly. Experience tells us that when two groups of people fight, the ones who get hurt the most in the end are often the ones watching the fight.

Ordos is in chaos, and Altan Khan is doing his best to deal with it. We are watching the excitement from the sidelines. But we must remember that Altan Khan is the wolf king of the grassland. Will he go to war with the Ming Dynasty in order to divert internal conflicts? "

Cao Bangfu was stunned, stroked his beard and pondered for a while, and felt that it was very likely.

"Your Highness is wise and has seen the crisis in this favorable situation. If so, the Supervisory Office will send a letter to the three supervisors of Shanxi, Xuanda, Shaanxi, and Ganning, ordering them to strengthen their vigilance and be on standby at any time.

At the same time, two to three strategic mobile divisions will be dispatched to Yulin and Jingbian to be on standby at any time.

Zhu Yijun nodded, "Lord Cao has handled the situation properly. However, the strategic mobile division has been transferred to the west, leaving the Beijing camp empty. Fortunately, Qi Jiguang stayed in Luanhe, which is only three days and three nights away from the capital. If there is an emergency, he can still rush back."

Cao Bangfu understood the meaning of Zhu Yijun's words and quickly responded, "Qi Yuanjing is sensible and steady in his work. Your Highness is extremely wise in appointing him as your commander."

"Qi Jiguang gave up the opportunity to make achievements and be granted a title to others, and stayed in Luanhe River, guarding the Liaohe River in the north and the gate of the capital in the south, which made him feel very happy.

Actions are judged by the heart. Lord Cao, the court cannot let these loyal and patriotic people feel discouraged. "

Cao Bangfu understood what he meant and said, "I will record the affairs of Qi Yuanjing and others. When the achievements are summarized, they will be given priority in commending them. Please make the decision, Your Highness."

"it is good."

Qi Yan reported from the side: "Your Highness, the Minister of Rites Wang Zhigao has sent a letter requesting an audience."

Zhu Yijun turned his head and glanced at Cao Bangfu.

Cao Bangfu quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, I have nothing else to report. I beg you to take your leave."

"Okay, Lord Cao, please help take care of the affairs of the three borders in the northwest. Now the situation in the northwest is turbulent, and no one knows what the outcome will be. No one knows whose face the raised fist will fall on in the end. But no matter what, the iron fist of the Ming Dynasty must be ready to strike."

Cao Bangfu quickly responded: "I will keep it in mind. I will take my leave now!"

After a while, the Minister of Honglu Temple Wang Zhigao was brought in by Qi Yan.

After Fang Fengshi was transferred to the post of Governor-General of Gansu and Ningxia, Wang Zhigao was recommended to take over as the Minister of Rites. He was also a capable official who had once been the governor of Liaodong.

After paying his respects, Zhu Yijun asked him to sit down.

"Mr. Gao Ruo, what's the matter?"

"Your Highness, I have been ordered to meet with the Joseon envoy, Zheng Renhong. He begged me to see Your Highness, saying that he has something important to report in person."

"Important matter, what important matter?"

"I asked, but Zheng Renhong refused to tell me everything. However, from what he said, it seems that the King of Korea is willing to agree to the conditions of the Ming Dynasty."

"Is the King of Korea willing to agree to our conditions?" Zhu Yijun thought for a moment, "It's time to agree. The work of the Intelligence Bureau is very fruitful.

Qi Yan, are you free these days?"

Qi Yan checked and replied, "Your Highness, there is an hour free after lunch in four days."

"Then in four days, tell Mr. Ruo to bring this Zheng Renhong here."

"As you command."

"Where is the Japanese envoy group?" "Your Highness, they arrived in Dengzhou last month, just as their fifteen-day quarantine on an outer island was completed. After they were cleared, they were sent to Dagu and are on their way to Beijing."

"Has the Honglu Temple found out the purpose of the Japanese delegation?"

Wang Zhigao quickly replied: "The Honglu Temple received a report from the Intelligence Bureau that the Ming Dynasty has blockaded Japan's waters for four years, people's livelihood has declined, and the lords can no longer tolerate it.

Last year, with the support of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Deputy Governor Hosokawa Fujitaka came forward and secretly contacted powerful local lords such as Takeda, Oda, Hojo, Rokkaku, Miyoshi, Asai, Mori, Asakura, Uesugi, Otomo, Ryuzoji, and Tokugawa, and reached a consensus.

This situation cannot continue, and peace must be negotiated with the Ming Dynasty. After the agreement was reached, the shogun sent Konoe Maehisa, Hosokawa Fujitaka, and Akechi Mitsuhide to the Ming Dynasty in the name of the shogun.

Due to the rise of the Ming navy, the regular and irregular clearing of the Japanese coastline twice a year changed the situation in Japan, and the so-called Eiroku Rebellion no longer existed.

The lords of various places are struggling with the people's livelihood and economy in their territories, and do not have much spare energy to launch a "war", so the density and intensity of attacks between them have been reduced a lot.

After Miyoshi Nagayoshi's death, the "swordsman" shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru lost his biggest constraint. He took advantage of the current situation, maneuvered and lived a good life.

Zhu Yijun said without comment: "Negotiate with me, the Ming Dynasty. Do you know my Ming Dynasty's conditions?"

"The delegation knows."

"First, the Japanese ruler is disrespectful to a vassal by calling him the emperor. Do they know what disrespect is?"

Wang Zhigao replied: "The envoys made it clear that they understand."

"It's good to know. It seems that they want to throw the emperor out as a scapegoat to appease the anger of our Ming Dynasty. It is worthy of Japan, which has a tradition of subjugating the superior.

Since they are so sensible, then we should negotiate with them. The Qinglong Navy led by Li Chao will soon follow the Spaniards' route to the east, break into their lair, and seize their territory.

Japan is on the way and will become an important transit point in the future. It is indeed time to negotiate.”

"I obey your command."

"There is also a Portuguese envoy group heading north, and the Honglu Temple must also make arrangements. In the future, the Ming Dynasty's foreign policy will change. Congratulations are congratulations, and trade is trade. One is about face, and the other is about substance. Face is glory, and substance is real gold and silver.

Both are important, but real money is more important. Without real money, how could the Ming Dynasty build a strong navy? How could it pacify the South China Sea? How could it defeat the Japanese and barbarians who refused to obey the king?
If we can't win, then we'll have no face left!"

Zhu Yijun was walking around the room in circles, his voice loud and clear.

Wang Zhigao quickly responded, "The prince is wise."

"Malacca Longtou Port, if the South China Sea Navy's left camp can occupy it, then it's occupied. I've seen the map presented by Yu Dayou and his men, and that place is a crucial sea pass, like a mouth. The South China Sea has become Daming Lake, which is the throat, and the East China Sea to the north is the hinterland.

From now on, when the navy of the Ming Dynasty sets sail to the West, merchants from the West will enter the Ming Dynasty through there. It will be called Longkou County, and Sanbao Prefecture will be set up to temporarily govern Longkou, Wansheng and other counties. It will be temporarily managed by the Navy Bureau, and you, the Honglu Temple, will assist in the management. "

"I obey your command."

After Wang Zhigao left, Zhu Yijun sat down and continued to read the memorials.

He picked up a catalogue drawn up by the Imperial Household Department, which listed the number of memorials submitted by officials in Beijing and local areas yesterday through the three local offices, six ministries, five temples and two courts, as well as the Ministry of Public Security, and categorized them into different categories.

Many of them are related to the administration of officials, and many of them are related to finance and taxation. This is the most important work of the Silijian every day.

With so many memorials submitted by local and central governments every day, it was impossible for Zhu Yijun to review them all.

There were twenty or thirty young eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department who were responsible for reading these memorials, extracting their main contents, and making statistics by category.

Only memorials concerning major military matters, serious cases, and other important matters, as well as certain memorials designated by Zhu Yijun, would be presented directly to the court.

Zhu Yijun glanced at the catalogue and found that most of them were related to the rectification of royal family members. Yesterday, 272 reports were submitted continuously from local and central governments.

He frowned and said, "Go call Li Chun. I want to ask him about the memorials to the royal family."

Soon, Li Chun, one of the chief eunuchs of Silijian and the official in charge of writing, arrived.

"This servant greets His Highness."

"What are the contents of these memorials concerning the rectification of the royal family?"

When Li Chun was called over, he already knew what Zhu Yijun wanted to ask. He had already done his homework and quickly replied, "Your Highness, most of these memorials are about severely punishing the royal family and thoroughly reforming the feudal system. Some even clamored to demote all the royal family members to commoners, which would benefit the country and the people."

"Eighty percent?" Zhu Yijun slammed the desk, and Qi Yan and the others knelt down hurriedly, "What are they doing! It's endless! They are taking advantage of us!"

After thinking for a while, Zhu Yijun said, "Go and invite Mr. Dazhou."

(End of this chapter)