Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 230 All the land in the world belongs to me!
Pires said this and took out the document.

The last time he went on a diplomatic mission to the Ming Dynasty, his status as an envoy was not recognized by the Ming court because he had no clerical experience.

This time, Pires also brought a handwritten document from the Portuguese Governor of Goa.

After listening to what Pires said, Zhu Houcong didn't say anything and just took the document.

"Now I have reason to declare war on you!"

Zhu Houcong said this after taking the document with attached Chinese text and reading it.

"Although Taizu never established an institution in Donglai, as early as the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the "Linhai Water and Soil Records" written by Wu people Shen Ying contained a record of Donglai Island, mentioning that this island was discovered by our Han people, and the people on it were also the people who migrated there by our Han people."

"You said that he was the territory of your country of France. Are you trying to deceive me by saying that I don't know history books?!"

"Besides, I am the Son of Heaven. All the land in the world belongs to me, and all the people of the Son of Heaven are ruled by me! Not to mention Donglai, even Malacca, Goa and your Portuguese homeland, who belongs to whom and who does not belong to whom is decided by me!"

"You have not established a tributary relationship with the imperial court. You have not obtained my recognition that the territory is yours. Only then will the territory there become yours. Now you are essentially occupying it illegally!"

"Don't even think about me issuing an order to attack you. Even my subjects can wipe you out on the pretext of being bandits!"

"I allowed you to come to the capital to see if you were willing to accept me as the ruler of the world. But I never thought that not only did you not have the heart to submit, but you also wanted to deceive the emperor and be disloyal!"

"If I don't attack it, how can I be worthy of being the emperor?!"

Although it was difficult for Zhu Houcong to control the entire world, this did not prevent Zhu Houcong from using the theory of the legal power of the emperor in this world to clearly state that these Portuguese were bandits who illegally occupied some places in the world.

After all, theoretically speaking, the world belongs to the emperor, and all the land you see should belong to the emperor. Whoever the emperor says it belongs to, then it belongs to him, and only the emperor has the right to distribute it.

Because there was Ming's own interpreter supervising, the interpreter Huoya had to translate Pires' words truthfully as he had done before, so this time he had to translate them to Pires verbatim.

However, Pires could understand Chinese.

Because Westerners have been paying attention to China for more than a year or two, and Western pirates have been coveting the wealth of the East for more than a year or two.

After all, Westerners who had visited China a long time ago described China as a place full of gold.

This naturally aroused the covetousness of many Western bandits.

The Western barbarians who dared to take the risk to come to China were basically Western bandits who coveted and wanted to plunder China.

Because if they just admired and had no intention of plundering, they would not take the risk of life and death at sea at any time.

Even those who come here to preach have great ambitions, otherwise the risk they take would not be worth it.

As some of the robbers who dared to venture to the Ming Dynasty, Pires and Coelho were naturally not good people and were quite courageous.

Therefore, after hearing what Zhu Houcong said, Pires was not panicked because Zhu Houcong wanted to declare war on him, but said to Zhu Houcong calmly:

"As far as I know, your country no longer has the ability to conduct ocean-going expeditions. Even its coastal defense is not very complete. It is quite passive and slow to react. This is the case when your country forcibly took back our Tuen Mun and repelled us at Sai Cao Wan."

"So, instead of thinking about conquering us, your country should think about how to strengthen its own maritime defenses to prevent us from disturbing your long and poorly defended sea borders at any time in the name of your country's illegal occupation of our Portuguese territory!"

"Your Majesty, you may not know that in the near future, there will be reports of pirate raids in your country's Min area due to insufficient maritime preparations."

After Zhu Houcong heard the translator's report, he said, "I already know what you said, and I have received the latest news that your army has been defeated and retreated. Our people have captured your commander named Lei Ge, five sailors, three gunners and two craftsmen."

Speaking of it.

Zhu Houcong looked at Pires and said, "This shows that your plan has failed. As for what you said about the Ming Dynasty no longer having the ability to conquer you, it only shows that you underestimated my empire! If someone can make my empire lose the ability to conquer the sea, then there is also someone who can restore my empire's ability in this regard!"

After hearing this, Pires looked incredulous.

Zhu Houcong asked the eunuch Huang Jin from the Imperial Household Department to show him the Tangbao report that had been prepared in advance.

Pires, who could recognize Chinese characters, only sneered after reading it: "It's Wang Hong again! Is there no one left in your country?"

"It's not that we don't have them. It's because Wang Hong is enough to deal with pirates like you."

Zhu Houcong replied with a sneer.

then.

Snapped!
Zhu Houcong suddenly slapped the imperial table, stood up, and looked at Pires again: "You can go back as a foreign envoy, but Coelho beside you is a bandit who invaded my territory. I will punish him to enforce the law of the country!"

Zhu Houcong looked at Coelho and ordered, "Catch him!"

"Yes!"

At this time, the Jinyiwei on duty outside the hall immediately walked in and pressed Coelho to the ground.

Coelho could not help but struggle and shouted to Pires: "What should we do? This Ming emperor looks very tough! Obviously he has great ambitions!"

Zhu Houcong had already turned around and left the Wenhua Hall with his hands behind his back.

Pires glanced at Zhu Houcong's back and shouted, "Your Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty! Your actions will intensify the conflict between the two countries, which will not benefit you!"

Zhu Houcong ignored it.

Wu Yipeng, who replaced Wang Zun as the Minister of Rites because Wang Zun was in mourning, stood up and said to Pires: "Retreat! The emperor's will is clear. If you stay here any longer, you will be punished for treason!"

Although Pires disdained the crime of treason mentioned by Wu Yipeng, he still retreated. After all, he also knew that this was the territory of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and he could not do whatever he wanted.

Pires withdrew, but before leaving, he asked to see the Minister of Rites Wu Yipeng, and said to Wu Yipeng:

"Please tell His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty that since your country is so overbearing and powerful now, you should be prepared to be an enemy of our Portuguese country and wait for us to harass your sea borders and cut off your trade routes!"

After hearing this, Wu Yipeng relayed Pires' threat in the form of a memorial.

After reading Wu Yipeng's memorial, the cabinet chief Mao Ji couldn't help but sigh and said to Yang Yiqing: "These Portuguese are really arrogant. What they are doing is simply stimulating Your Majesty to further strengthen the army!"

Mao Ji then asked Yang Yiqing: "Why don't they know how to be more respectful to our Celestial Empire?"

"Those who dare to come from thousands of miles away are naturally big thieves and bandits. How can we expect them to know etiquette and situation? Of course, if we can intimidate them with force, we will intimidate them with force first. If we can't intimidate them with force, then it's not too late to talk about other things."

Yang Yiqing said with a smile, not surprised, then took Wu Yipeng's memorial from Mao Ji and looked at it carefully.

Mao Jize asked Yang Yiqing with a worried look on his face: "Do you think His Majesty will really go on an expedition to Portugal?"

"Although His Majesty mentioned that there is a reason to declare war on them, it does not necessarily mean that he will really launch an expedition to France."

"In any case, your majesty is a wise and enlightened ruler. It is impossible for him to do something that is not cost-effective."

"Today, I showed my strength in front of the Portuguese envoy. It should be just for show."

After a brief thought, Yang Yiqing expressed his opinion.

Mao Ji nodded and said, "Your Majesty, it is a wise and heroic move to publicly demonstrate the majesty of the Celestial Empire. However, I hope Your Majesty can understand that many provocations should be tolerated. Donglai has gold mines and is close to Fujian and Zhejiang. It is not suitable for other countries to occupy this place! But don't think about intervening in Malacca's affairs because the world is too big and not all places can be managed."

"The Emperor has ordered the two ministers to meet him in the Palace of Heavenly Purity!"

At this time, the voice of the eunuch in the secretariat of the Imperial Household Department came from outside.

Mao Ji and Yang Yiqing came to the Qianqing Palace for this reason.

Half a year after the Qianqing Palace was completed and ventilated, Zhu Houcong moved into the Qianqing Palace at the request of court officials.

The vermilion paint used in the Qianqing Palace now is all made from red and blue flowers in the northwest. Not only is it non-toxic compared to cinnabar, it has also added an industry to the northwest. As a result, there are currently fewer reports of enemy attacks in the Ganzhou area. At the same time, the people in the south who were originally responsible for paying cinnabar taxes have been exempted from the cinnabar tax, thus reducing the burden.

Zhu Houcong summoned Mao Ji and Yang Yiqing because of the Portuguese envoys' provocation to the Ming Dynasty today.

"Now Mr. Fei is in the south, and there are only two of you in the cabinet. Tell us what you think of this Portuguese."

Zhu Houcong spoke first after Mao Ji and Yang Yiqing arrived.

Mao Jize first took out a memorial from Wu Yipeng and said, "Your Majesty, it just so happens that the memorial from Grand Master Wu Yipeng regarding the Portuguese envoy asking him to convey their threatening words has arrived at the cabinet. The cabinet dares not make a decision on its own, so please give your Majesty your instructions!"

"Take it and take a look."

Huang Jin then handed Wu Yipeng's book to Zhu Houcong.

After Zhu Houcong took it, he looked at it carefully, then slammed it shut and threw it to the ground.

Snapped!
"How arrogant!?"

Zhu Houcong bared his teeth.

Mao Ji hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, calm down! You are a small country that does not know the majesty of the Celestial Empire, so you are arrogant! Your Majesty is the emperor of a superior country, there is no need to get angry with you!"

"I'm not angry!"

Zhu Houcong denied it and said, "But what I said today about treating them as enemies and declaring war on them is not just empty talk!"

"Your Majesty, the imperial court is currently limited in strength and may not be able to destroy this barbarian nation!"

The scholars of this era had a more traditional understanding of declaring war, that is, they believed that declaring war meant destroying the other side, just as the purpose of all the expeditions in the past was to destroy the country.

Therefore, Yang Yiqing began to present his views objectively at this time.

Zhu Houcong said: "Even if we cannot destroy this country right now, we must take destroying these bandits as a long-term strategy!"

"Your Majesty said so."

"But to achieve this goal, we must first ensure that the ruler and his subjects are more united, the government is in good order, and supervision is strict, so as to avoid collusion and bribery with foreign barbarians due to internal troubles. This will allow us to continuously obtain important information and material supplies, and to plunder our country's long sea borders at ease."

"In any case, our country is vast and rich in resources. If foreigners come from afar, they will not be able to gain a foothold without our resources. Without our traitors to lead the way, they will be like a headless fly."

Mao Ji then expressed his own views.

Zhu Houcong nodded: "That makes sense!"

Mao Jize continued, "So, I think that to achieve this goal, we still have to continue to promote the new policy of official administration that was piloted in Huguang! Send more envoys to various places to observe customs and rectify habits, mobilize the people, set up inspection offices and patrol stations, crack down on thieves, and provide disaster relief and build water conservancy projects in a timely manner."

"However, this will inevitably lead to even greater expenses! Unfortunately, last year's autumn grain in Huguang has not yet been collected, and Fujian's autumn grain has not been paid because the local gentry intends to force the court to compromise. Therefore, the money confiscated from some of the gentry in Huguang and Fujian and the profits from the Donglai gold mine will only be enough to offset the unpaid autumn grain in the two places and the expenses of maintaining Huguang and promoting the new policy of official administration throughout the country in the future. The expedition to Portugal cannot be put on the agenda for the time being."

After hearing this, Zhu Houcong said, "The issue of unpaid autumn grain should also be dealt with, especially for the gentry who owe taxes. They should be dealt with first! After all, they should set an example in this matter, and now they should be punished first to warn the common people! Pass down the order, all the gentry who fail to pay the autumn grain before the summer tax is collected this year will have their family members stripped of their official titles and honors! As for the common people, let's not ask for now, let's deal with the gentry first!"

(End of this chapter)