Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 834
In the yamen of the Ministry of Rites, not only officials from the Ministry of Rites, but also people from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households came to participate in the discussion. A total of more than 20 people gathered together.

The layout of the main lobby is a typical Jiangnan style. Above the main hall there is a table and a chair, behind it is a screen carved with huanghuali wood, and on it is a large gold-lacquered plaque with the words "State of Etiquette" written on it. It is the seat of the Ministry of Rites, but it has to be reserved for Wang Yan today.

The whole hall of the Ministry of Rites is divided into two sections, and the inner hall near the inside is only filled with six high-ranking chairs, which are the positions of two ministers and four principals, but now only the ministers of the Ministry of Rites Gu Yuanjing, the ministers of the Ministry of War Chen Bangyan and the ministers of the household department There are still three vacant chairs for the three of Wang Fuzhi, and the other section is the outer hall, which is separated from the inner hall by a hollowed-out round arch. There are more than ten seats filled, and now there are no empty seats.

The three of Chen Bangyan in the inner hall were talking, while many officials in the outer hall were sitting upright, staring straight ahead without making a sound, which can be described as strict hierarchy.

At this time, the soldiers outside the hall suddenly shouted: "His Royal Highness King Chu is here!"

More than a dozen officials in the outer hall immediately stood up together, and the three ministers in the inner hall also stopped discussing and bowed quietly to welcome Wang Yan.

Wang Yan walked in, sat down in the main hall, waved his hands to invite everyone to sit down, then took a look, and said with a smile: "Master Gu of the Ministry of Rites, and Chief Qian of the Lifan Academy, please also sit in the inner hall."

The two people who were called in the outer hall immediately got up, walked into the inner hall, bowed their hands to Wang Yan, and sat down on the remaining three high-ranking chairs.

After everyone sat down, the clerk came up and put down a cup of tea and a plate of pastries from Suzhou at each table, and then retreated.

Seeing this, Wang Yan straightened his body, and then officially entered the topic, "It's already February, and all the missions that are coming should have arrived. If you go to invite the rest, you won't give me any face. This time the missions come to court. It is beneficial for the country to revive the morale of the people, and I want to let the missions of several countries pay homage to His Majesty in the near future. How is the situation of the three families in Annan? Don’t make any trouble during the pilgrimage, so that the court can’t come down.”

Gu Yuanjing is the Minister of Rites, he got up and replied: "His Royal Highness, the three families have been separated and resettled, but the problem has not been resolved. The three families have to pay tribute in the name of Annan. If the court accepts one party, the other two parties will accept it." dissatisfied."

Wang Yan knew this a long time ago, he frowned, and suddenly asked: "What's the plan for the Lifan Academy?"

Seeing this, Gu Yuanjing had no choice but to sit down first, and Qian Bingdeng, who sat at the end, stood up and saluted: "In terms of relationship, the Annan Ruan family contributed a lot to the imperial court's attack on Champa, and they are the most powerful with me in Ming Dynasty." Being close should be rewarded, but the officials think that it is better for the Annan family to remain the same for now."

Qian Bingdeng had been on a mission to Nanyang with the navy before, and he needed to know more about the situation in Nanyang. Hearing the meaning in his words, Wang Yan raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why? No reward for meritorious service. How will the imperial court drive the feudal vassals of Nanyang in the future?" ?”

"Your Highness, compared with Ming Dynasty, the more vassal states the better, but the stronger the vassal state is not the better. Naturally, the Ruan clan should be rewarded, but it is inappropriate to support the Ruan clan to completely subdue the Li and Mo clans." Qian Bingdeng laughed.

This is to split the allies. It doesn't seem like the actions of the Central Plains, but it is in the interests of Ming Dynasty.

Wang Yan thought from his own point of view, naturally he hoped that the surrounding areas of Daming would be broken, so that Daming is the most powerful core. In fact, the Central Plains Dynasty did this for the northern one. This is what the Turkic Khanate did. In the early Ming Dynasty, Mongolia was divided and disintegrated. However, the dangers of the Central Plains Dynasty often came from the north, so they focused more on the north and did not care much about the south, so they rarely used it on the south. Such a strategy.

Wang Yan pondered for a while, "The land of Annan is indeed troublesome. There have been more or less conflicts with the Central Plains dynasties in the past dynasties, but they have rarely been conquered. Although this dynasty has occupied it for more than [-] years, it has also spent a lot of money. It’s not cost-effective, so I retreated. Maintaining the current situation of the three families can allow the three parties to contain each other, and as the imperial court resumes its influence in Nanyang, the three families can only get close to the dynasty. This is indeed the best state, but this tributary The problem is still not resolved!"

"Your Highness, it's easy, just divide it up. The Ruan family still belongs to Annan in name, and Ruan Fubin, the ruler of Ruan, is called the Duke of Yang County. The court can make Lord Ruan the king of Guangnan and grant the golden seal of the imperial edict. The reward for sending troops to occupy the city." Qian Bingdeng went on to say: "The Mo family is in danger now, as long as the court guarantees his safety, there will be nothing to say. Then only Lord Zheng, who is in charge of the Li family's regime, will be dissatisfied with this. But this is also the imperial court’s punishment for disrespecting Lord Zheng’s orders, for not cooperating with the imperial court to attack Zhancheng, and for not severing ties with He Yi.”

Wang Yan knew more about Annan than the general ministers. Annan can be said to be in the period of the Three Kingdoms. Lord Zheng is equivalent to Cao Cao, Lord Ruan is Sun Quan, and Mo is the weakest, barely Liu Bei.

Historically, the Mo family took shelter under the Ming Dynasty. During the San Francisco Rebellion, Lord Zheng exterminated it on the grounds of helping the Qing Dynasty to pacify the San Francisco. Soon after, Lord Zheng was destroyed by Lord Ruan in the south. Completed Unity.

Wang Yan nodded, "Then it will be arranged like this. Let Zheng's envoys pay tribute in the name of Annan Kingdom, Ruan clan pay tribute in the name of Guangnan Kingdom, and Mo clan pay tribute in the name of Gaoping Kingdom. This is a tribute to the Zheng clan. A warning, if he refuses to accept it, the Lifan Academy will see if they can find someone close to Daming within the Li Clan, who will convince him of his position and drive the Zheng Clan out of power."

This is tantamount to not only dividing Annan into three parts, but also interfering in the internal affairs of the feudal vassal. Gu Yuanjing frowned, stood up and said, "Your Highness, is it unethical to rashly divide a country into three countries, and cause the three parties to resent the court, so that It also affects the court's trade with Nanyang."

"No one wants outsiders to intervene in their own affairs. There must be some resentment." Wang Yan said in a deep voice, "But the old way won't work anymore. There's no need to talk about whether it's legal or not. Since all the vassals recognize me as the suzerain, the canonization of the Ming Dynasty is the legal authority of the vassals. Without the canonization of the Ming Dynasty, he is illegal. If he has the canonization of the Ming Dynasty, whoever dares to overthrow it is an enemy of the Ming Dynasty. As for meddling in the affairs of the countries, it is also a matter of sentiment As a last resort, everyone hasn’t forgotten the last food scare! Nanyang is now the imperial court’s granary. The merchants in Guangzhou responded that the operations of the Nanyang countries were too inefficient. The imperial court wanted the Nanyang clan to produce more grain and sell it to Ming. It is necessary to ensure the control of the vassals, and it is necessary for the vassals to have officials who are obedient and close to Daming."

A few days ago, from Yunnan and Guizhou, a detailed report about Sun Kewang's reforms in Yunnan reached Nanjing. Wang Yan was shocked when he saw it, but Wang Yan's background and the class standing behind him did not allow him to be like Sun Kewang. Brutal reforms can only be simmered slowly, exchanging benefits for the gradual compromise of the gentry class, but the internal contradictions of the Ming Dynasty must have an outlet. Wang Yan thought for a long time, and he could only focus on Nanyang.

The biggest problem in the Ming Dynasty now is that the gentry want to annex large areas of land to grow mulberry and cotton, and the common people pursue profits, so they also want to plant mulberry seedlings in the rice fields. The food in the Ming Dynasty will become a big problem. Wang Yan can't stop this phenomenon, so We can only turn our attention to Nanyang.

After hearing Wang Yan's words, Gu Yuanjing couldn't refute. If he didn't intervene in Nanyang or control Nanyang, the court officials might feel restless.

Seeing him sitting down, Wang Yan asked, "Do you have any opinions from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs?"

Chen Bangyan said: "Your Majesty agrees with the opinions of Li Fanyuan and His Highness, and divides Annan into three kingdoms, so that the imperial court can control Annan."

"The Ministry of Households has no objection either. Dividing it into three kingdoms can reduce the risk of the imperial court. Even if one country is an enemy of the imperial court, the Ministry of Household Affairs can also allocate grain from the other two countries." Wang Fuzhi stood up and said.

Wang Yan nodded, and when he talked about food, he had to explain, "From this year, the Ministry of Households will start to build a warehouse for grain, and at least one year's worth of military food must be stored, so that even if the vassals refuse to accept it, the court can still suppress it."

"Your Highness, it may not be easy to store grain for a year. The feudal vassals in Nanyang are generally lazy, and the grain that the imperial court can buy is already close to the limit." Wang Fuzhi clasped his fists and said.

After Wang Yan heard this, he frowned, "The Ministry of Household Affairs and the cabinet should communicate with each other first, and we will talk about it later!"

Wang Fuzhi folded his hands and sat back, Wang Yan still returned to the topic of today's discussion, "The Annan Sanfan made the decision like this, so what's the problem with the envoys of the other feudal clans?"

Qian Bingdeng got up again and reported: "I have a few things to report to Your Highness!"

"Oh?" Wang Yan was a little puzzled, could there be any trouble, "Say it!"

"Your Highness, Dongyu's envoy asked the imperial court why they wanted to attack Champa, and hope that the imperial court can restore Champa!" Qian Bingdeng saluted and said, "Besides, the envoy of North Korea arrived in Nanjing secretly last night, and there is no time to report to Your Highness in the future. report!"

(End of this chapter)