Ming politicians

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When Hong Chengchou returned to Dengzhou, members of the Korean royal family came to Dengzhou together. The purpose of their coming to Dengzhou was to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty.Those who followed Hong Chengchou to Dengzhou were those who came to the front station. The real pilgrimage team was still behind, and the journey was not so fast.

Su Tiancheng served as a cabinet scholar's residence newspaper, and he had already gone to Fuzhou and Xuanzhou and other places. Although the members of the Joseon royal family had been attached to the Jin Dynasty for many years, they were still very clear about the official system of the Ming Dynasty. Since Tian Cheng is a cabinet scholar, he is equivalent to the former prime minister, so members of the royal family must come to see him.

Su Tiancheng's views are a little different. He is in favor of the Four Seas, which shows the strength of the Ming Dynasty. People all submit and obey you, and accept the rule willingly. In this era, it is no different than hundreds of years ago. After that, various countries emphasized what sovereignty and the like.The history of thousands of years of development shows that since the Han and Tang Dynasties, China has been the birthplace of civilization and has always been the leader in the world region. It has long enjoyed the status of the suzerain, and in fact it is also the defender of Asia and even the world order. Over the years of prosperity, a system has long been formed, and a system of paying tribute to China has been formed nearby. The small countries in the four directions come to pay homage to the Celestial Dynasty, and the Celestial Dynasty rewards the kings of the small countries in the four directions in a way of enfeoffment, such as North Korea and Vietnam. Such countries are actually the king's private property. After these small countries are bullied by others, they will find the heaven to complain, and the emperor will reprimand such things. If they do something out of line, the emperor will send troops.As a blow, during the Wanli period, North Korea was invaded by Japanese pirates, and Emperor Wanli sent the Ming army to defeat the Japanese pirates.

This was originally a historical necessity.

The Ministry of Rites is specialized in such matters, and the Department of Host and Guest under the Ministry of Rites handles many matters in detail.The Huitong Pavilion under the jurisdiction of the Host and Guest Division is dedicated to receiving board and lodging for pilgrimage groups, the Siyi Pavilion is responsible for translation, and the Honglu Temple is responsible for etiquette. The division of labor is very clear.

Matching it is the Department of Pedestrians, who is in charge of overseas visits. This kind of visits is not the kind of visits that will be made hundreds of years later. Most of the officials of the Ming Dynasty visited many small countries with titles.Either it was to bring the imperial decree of the Celestial Dynasty, or because of some fights between small countries, they went out to settle many matters.

Over the years, due to the psychology of the Celestial Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty took great care of the small countries that came to worship and pay tribute, such as North Korea, the envoys who came to the Ming Dynasty.I live in the South Pavilion of the Huitong Pavilion, and every time I come to the capital.They all received special care, to put it bluntly, the things they sent were not many, but the rewards they received were quite a lot.

Su Tiancheng doesn't want to do such a stupid thing, if you want the surrounding countries to really come to worship, you have to convince them.Just like Tang Taizong Li Shimin, who was called Tian Khan, like Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, let the pilgrimage envoys willingly worship after seeing the military might of the Ming Dynasty.This kind of tribute is maintained by rewards.Not worth mentioning.

The decline of the Ming Dynasty is also well known, especially after the Wanli period, after experiencing natural disasters, bandits rebelling, and the invasion of the Hou Jin, the national power was greatly weakened, and the surrounding countries such as Japan were quietly developing. This is indisputable. In fact, over the years, the Ming Dynasty has gradually become stronger and stronger, and the small countries around it don't know it.

The decline of the Daming Navy is the best explanation. If Su Tiancheng hadn’t planned to build the Jiangningying Navy, the Ming Dynasty’s sea power would have been almost lost. As for Zheng Zhilong’s navy, it didn’t belong to the court, it was just the Zheng family. It is also because of Su Tiancheng that this situation has been fundamentally changed.

In fact, Su Tiancheng still has a lot of things to do. For example, the Dutch warships and Spanish warships entrenched in Taiwan must be expelled by Su Tiancheng. The formation of ships swept across the Atlantic Ocean, conquered America, Africa, Europe and other places, and truly made the Ming Dynasty the center of the world, a place where the whole world came to worship. finished.

So, when North Korea sent a mission to come to worship, Su Tiancheng needs to see what their intentions are, whether they want to test, or want to get some benefits from the Ming Dynasty, thinking about the fact that the Ming Dynasty provided a large amount of material support , don’t make such calculations, Su Tiancheng won’t do it, the people of my Ming Dynasty live only so well, and there are many poor people, how can it be possible to support your North Korea with gold and silver, not only can’t Take it, you need to pay me tribute to the Ming Dynasty every year in North Korea. The amount of things depends on your ability. This is the real pilgrimage.

When members of the Korean royal family entered the room, Su Tiancheng did not stand up.

This member of the royal family saluted Su Tiancheng Jishou, and Su Tiancheng just nodded slightly.

When the members of the royal family spoke, Su Tiancheng was very surprised. They spoke fluent Chinese, which made Su Tiancheng somewhat suspicious. Is the person here really a member of the Korean royal family? Su Tiancheng believed it only after the royal family's documents came out, written in Chinese.

This also made Su Tiancheng secretly happy. All members of the Wang family can speak Chinese. It seems that it is not too difficult to promote Chinese and Confucian culture in North Korea.

The conversation between the two sides quickly started, accompanied by Hong Chengchou and Qu Qingze.

As the conversation deepened, Hong Chengchou and Qu Qingze's eyes widened. They looked at Su Tiancheng, a member of the Korean royal family, with sweat dripping from his head and his face turning pale.

The understanding of Hong Chengchou and Qu Qingze will not change. They believe that the Ming Dynasty is a big country, and they should be more polite when dealing with a vassal country like North Korea. As long as they are dependent on you, they should give them some benefits. Unexpectedly It is not such a view at all, and it directly asks what North Korea should do in the future.

On the issue of the garrison, Su Tiancheng is very tough. The garrison is necessary. The Ming army led by Zhang Fengyi has an unusual status in North Korea. The area designated by the garrison is a restricted area. No one is allowed to enter casually. Any move that is not conducive to the garrison, the Ming Dynasty will regard it as a rebellion, and will suppress it mercilessly. No matter which force in North Korea, the Ming Dynasty will not be polite. For those that require the direct responsibility of the Joseon royal family, of course the court will allocate part of the expenses.

On the issue of tribute, Su Tiancheng's request is also very clear. North Korea does not have many special products, mainly gemstones and Korean ginseng. These things must be paid to the Ming Dynasty every year, and a certain amount must be specified. Of course, the Ming Dynasty also It’s not for nothing, there must be some rewards, such as amethyst, white crystal, ruby, topaz, nephrite, etc., don’t be stingy, and Korean ginseng is a very good thing, There are also some tributes every year.

As for the security of North Korea, the Ming Dynasty will of course guarantee that the main responsibilities of the troops stationed in North Korea are to maintain the stability of North Korea, maintain the rule of the Korean royal family, and so on.

In addition, there is the issue of education. In addition to allowing young Koreans to participate in the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty, the Korean royal family also supported the opening of local Chinese schools to teach Confucianism.

Following Su Tiancheng's request, Hong Chengchou and Qu Qingze didn't know how to understand it. They didn't know why Su Tiancheng knew North Korea so well. He even knew about North Korea's special products. Su Tiancheng had never been to North Korea. , Even in the imperial court, there are very few documents related to the situation in North Korea, especially in these years, the missions that came to Ming Dynasty to pay tribute have almost disappeared.

Su Tiancheng did not explain these matters, but only asked members of the Korean royal family whether these requirements could be fulfilled.

When the members of the Korean royal family hesitated, Su Tiancheng said bluntly, if the Korean royal family felt that the problem was not too big, then the Ming Dynasty would find someone who could do these things to rule North Korea.

These words completely changed the faces of the members of the Korean royal family. They almost knelt in front of Su Tiancheng and followed Hong Chengchou's army. You see, Su Tiancheng is a scholar of the Great Ming Cabinet, and he is also the head coach of the Jiangning Battalion, so he can do what he says.

This member of the royal family, who can be sent to the front, can also be responsible for many matters.

Su Tiancheng did not ask the member of the royal family to answer immediately, saying that he would give him a day to think about it.

After the members of the Joseon royal family left, Qu Qingze, who couldn't hold back for a long time, spoke.

"My lord, it is very good that the Korean royal family is willing to come to our Ming Dynasty to worship. I don't know if my lord has made these requests, which will embarrass the Korean royal family."

Su Tiancheng glared at Qu Qingze.

"Old Qu, how many times have I said, don't pay so much attention to face in this kind of thing, what is face, it can't be eaten as food, North Korea, as a vassal state of my Ming Dynasty, accepts the protection of my Ming Dynasty, can it be said Are you willing to pay the protection fee? How can there be such a simple thing? In the future, countries that come to pay tribute to my Ming Dynasty will have to do the same. If they don’t want to do it, it’s easy. Those who do this will become kings and receive the emperor's conferment. As for the importance of education, I won't say much."

After Su Tiancheng finished speaking, Hong Chengchou nodded.

"My lord's meaning, I understand. I completely agree with my lord's opinion. It's just that there is such a view in the imperial court."

Su Tiancheng smiled.

"This is not easy. I will write a memorial to the emperor, and I will write letters to Lord Yang and His Royal Highness King Jin. It is necessary to do so. Don't worry about things that are not face-saving, such as North Korea, Vietnam, Burma, etc. , used to be a vassal state of my Ming Dynasty, since you want to be protected by my Ming Dynasty, you must follow our rules and pay tribute, the amount of things is another matter." (To be completed continued..)