Xinshun 1730

Chapter 379 Four Deadly Sins

Outside the Zhengyang Gate.

No soldiers with guns.

It's too dangerous to hold a gun for the emperor's ceremonial guard.Although the honored guards and guards are all "insiders" and carefully selected, the era of the enemy has passed, especially after the emperor knew about the rifled miniature bullets, this kind of scene of driving out of the palace is still nearby. Not as good as a gun.

Anyway, the Western envoys had already "watched the Chinese-style military drills performance" yesterday. Judging from the performances of several battalions selected by the Beijing camp, the tactical system is very different from that of Western Europe.

In order to meet the preparations made by these missions, the new, lighter and faster artillery system reform was first implemented in the Imperial Army.

The fusion of boring machine and brass technology, six-pounders replaced four-pounders and eight-pounders, and heavy guns whose weight was close to the end of the Seven Years War also made a show.

It was enough to startle the European missions at this time with their "queue formation conversion speed", declaring that Dashun had given up the pure line formation and moved towards a tactical system different from the mainstream at this time.

Perhaps some diplomatic envoys who knew the soldiers believed that this was Dashun’s tactic adapted to local conditions, and it was to deal with the vast number of Tatar nomadic cavalry, or to fight in small battles in non-plain mountainous areas.

As for this tactical system, or today's pure line array, which one is more suitable for the plain battles in Western Europe, Dashun has not been tested in actual combat after all.

I did fight Junggar, but at this time countries did not have a very high evaluation of the Russian Kalmyk cavalry, and the Mongols had not yet reached the final highlight moment in East Prussia.

But in terms of discipline and the extravagant brass cannons of the Imperial Army, these foreign envoys determined that this was an army not weaker than the French army.

Therefore, such an army that emphasizes rapid formation changes and is obviously designed to deal with the vast number of cavalry as imaginary enemies seems to be naturally confirmed by Dashun's diplomatic strategy of being pro-French and cross-Swiss.

Reminiscent of the fourth Russo-Turkish war that had not yet ended before they came to Dashun, the image of a powerful country with an army that wanted to take advantage of Russia's exhaustion came to mind.

Since they have already seen what should be shown to Westerners, then this time, there is no need to deploy musketeers, but a guard of honor in the Forbidden Palace with bright armor and armor.

Li Gan lived in the middle, and the Western envoys watched the ceremony from the sidelines. All the civil and military officials had already lined up, and there were crowds of people in the distance.

The last time Dashun had such a grand occasion was when the capital was restored and Liaodong was pacified.

At that time, Emperor Gaozong Li Laiheng was here. Under the crowd of the people, he took advantage of his prestige to descend to Yan Shenggong as a priest, and presented a large plaque with "Wei Guanzhong, I was sent to the left".

Decades passed in a blink of an eye, and there was such a grand occasion again.Especially when the self-confessed Zhongshan King Shangjing approached from afar, and the people burst into cheers, Li Gan's heart was greatly satisfied.

I thought to myself that what Liu Yu did was really beautiful, it not only saves face, but also gains reputation.

It's easy to use the Celestial Empire's soldiers to belittle or degrade the nobles.

But letting the Ryukyu king come to Beijing by himself, especially in front of the envoys of Western countries, is not only to save the emperor's face, but also to tell the Western countries about the relationship between the celestial dynasty and the vassals.

Captured, appears violent.

To apologize by myself, this is the benevolence and righteousness of the heavenly dynasty, and even if people have a heart of goodness, they come here knowing that they are ashamed.

Although the emperor knew that King Zhongshan's visit this time relied on Weihai's fleet and Liu Yu's sudden purge of Satsuma and the pro-Japanese faction in Ryukyu.

However, others do not know.

So there really is something like "King Wu ruled the country with benevolence and righteousness, cultivated virtue and all the world obeyed himself". This is simply the supreme pursuit of the emperor in terms of religious doctrine.

He couldn't help thinking in his heart that he was really right to let Liu Yu "do things cheaply".If it were someone else, it would be just empty talk, or it would not be like Liu Yu who directly sent troops to detain all Ryukyu civil and military officials because of the dignity of the Celestial Dynasty.

It’s just that this matter needs to be kept low-key. One Liu Yu is enough. If military officials and civil servants all follow Liu Yu’s example, but fail to learn the essence, and each of them is good at provoking and fighting for merit, then it will be bad. .

In the distance, the King of Ryukyu is dressed in the crown of a county king, and he is symbolically tied with a rope. He cannot use thorns on his body, because it is inappropriate to use it on the emperor.

Whether the king of Zhongshan is guilty or not is determined by the emperor.

Therefore, before the crime is judged, the king of Zhongshan is the king after all, and the clothing system is still preserved.

Shang Jing only imagined the prosperity and population of the Celestial Dynasty from the words in the book, and he also imagined the majesty and honor of the emperor, but even if he imagined it, when he really got to this point, the sense of coercion created still made his eyes Legs tremble a little.

This is the way to survive from death. If the emperor is furious, it only takes a small official to kill him.So what if he hides in Ryukyu?The fleet is just around the corner, and Ryukyu can't even defeat Satsuma. Can it still resist the Chinese Empire?
Shang Jing's clothes were soaked in nervous sweat, and he finally moved in front of the emperor, knelt down on the ground, and cried out in a strong Hokkien-flavored Chinese: "My minister, Shang Jing, knows that he has committed a serious crime, and I ask the Holy Son of Heaven to punish him. "

The interpreter kneeling beside him read out in Chinese one by one the crimes that Shang Jing had mentioned.

When he was in Ryukyu that day, from the perspective of etiquette, Zhao Baiquan believed that from the five directions of heaven, earth, monarch, relatives and teachers, the crime of the Ryukyu king could already be convicted to the point of "killing the nine clans".

Some sins are forgiven and some are unforgivable.The laws of the country serve as an example. If the sins of "disloyalty and filial piety, no ruler and no father, and deceitful king and superior" can be forgiven, then the etiquette may be messed up, and there is a heavenly dynasty with etiquette, and there is only law without etiquette. only China.

This point is also like a mirror in Shang Jing's heart.

Therefore, some sins must not be confessed.If you admit it, there is no way out at all.

Fortunately, when Liu Yu was cleaning the Ryukyu that day, the loyal minister Cai Wenpu committed suicide in order to protect the Ryukyu King, which provided an opportunity for the Ryukyu King to lie.

So Shang Jing defined his crime as "As a vassal, even if you pretend to commit yourself to the Japanese country, it is wrong; if you can't sacrifice your life for righteousness, it is also wrong. That's why I come to plead guilty."

Why have you been hiding it before?That's about the ancestors, not about me.

Why didn't you report it after you ascended the throne?Because before I came to the throne, I took advantage of Cai Wenpu's study abroad at the Imperial College, and let him avoid the eyes and ears of the Japanese, and secretly reported it to the Celestial Dynasty, but who knew that this person was actually a traitor, so he concealed it and did not report it.

This is an obvious lie.

Shang Jing knew that he was lying, and he also knew that the emperor knew that he was lying, but if he wanted to live, he had to risk the crime of "deceiving the emperor" again, and put all the responsibility on Cai Wenpu, who had died for him.

The court didn't know about this, but the people who were among the civil servants at this time had also been in contact with Cai Wenpu back then, so they knew that this person should not be.

But at this time, it is better to pretend to believe.

Otherwise, many people will be implicated if the bastard is brought out and the turtle is brought out.

If it is said that Shang Jing is lying, then, was the angel and deputy envoy who was canonized the King of Ryukyu last time guilty?

Is there any crime for all the civil and military officials of the Ryukyu Kingdom?

Knowing that Shang Jing is lying, the court can only admit it with a pinched nose, and give each other face.

Otherwise, there can only be one solution to this matter: kill the Ryukyu royal family and the nine clans, cleanse all the pro-Japanese families, and then directly transform them into counties.

But the court did some calculations and felt that it was really worthless.The common people in that poor place ate banana leaves and cycads poorly, and directly turned Ryukyu County into a county, fearing that "the vassals will be surprised."

One more...Dashun is a Chinese dynasty, especially in recent years, it has learned about the external environment, and the quasi-ministerial plowed the Western Regions again, so that the group of empty kingdoms that cheated the tribute from the previous dynasty did not exist; The Western Tributary has been changed to Diplomacy again.

As a result, there are really not many remaining vassals, and even ten of them can't be made up after trying hard, which is really not very good-looking.

Whether it's lizi or face, it is still necessary to keep Shang Jing and Ryukyu, a tributary country.

But it can't just leave it like this, because it can't show the control of the Celestial Dynasty.

The emperor handed over this issue to the Li government, and the Li government came up with the idea of ​​"punishing Ryukyu and pardoning its master" and downgrading Ryukyu.

Facing Shang Jing who was kneeling in front of him, Li Gan thought he would tell a lot of lies, but it was a pity for that loyal minister who died for you.

"Ryukyu was originally a suzerain vassal, protecting the East China Sea, but now it has done such a thing, I have to punish it."

"First of all, Ryukyu has paid tribute since the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty was defeated by Sarhu, and everything outside the pass was lost. The Central Plains were in danger of land and sinking. You are suzerains, but you don't have a single soldier to defend China. The etiquette is great."

"For this crime, the kingdom should be reduced to a principality."

"Secondly, the new dynasty is established, and its righteousness is to protect the world. Ryukyu knows that the new dynasty is established, and it also knows that protecting the world is the righteousness of this dynasty, but it still conceals the Japanese personnel, so that those who know this will all laugh at the heavenly dynasty."

"For these two crimes, the principality should be reduced to a marquis."

"Thirdly, I don't care about the prosperity of Japanese studies in Ryukyu, and the decline of Sinology in Naha. I don't care about the decline of Chinese studies in middle China and the prosperity of Japanese studies. Although Japanese people also talk about Confucius and Mencius, it is not the right way. If you don't follow the rules, you will deviate. "

"For these three crimes, the state of Hou should be reduced to the state of Bo."

"Fourthly, in order to welcome the Puppet Ming Dynasty, I cede land to the Japanese country to ask for money. I don't hate you for serving the Puppet Ming Dynasty. At that time, the dynasty was not close to the sea, and Ryukyu didn't know it. After all, I didn't serve the eastern captives. This crime can be pardoned. However, I hate you Cutting off the land for a mere 9000 taels of silver, you need to know that the country is priceless, this is a serious crime! If there is no crime, the future generations will commit it as a small crime. If you cut off a city today and an inch of land tomorrow, how can the country last?"

"For these four crimes, the uncle country should be reduced to a son country."

"These four crimes cannot be forgiven by me. As for you, since you have intentions, there is nothing you can do. Since the angel came, you can turn around early, and you know your own sins. I will rule the world with benevolence and righteousness. This crime is forgiven."

"Shang Jing, still guarding the Ryukyu Ancestral Temple."

After all, the guards around him stepped forward, and in front of everyone, directly pulled off the county king's clothes that Shang Jing was wearing.

Shang Jing knew that his life was saved, and he also knew that his seat was saved. At the moment when he was stripped of the crown of the county king, Shang Jing already knew how to repay the emperor.

Since the emperor proposed the four crimes of subjugating the Ryukyu Kingdom to the Ryukyu Kingdom, it is obvious that those who want to repay must start from these four aspects.

Since the number one crime is that being a vassal of the Ming Dynasty did not send troops when the world changed, it is natural to put forward "I hope the Chinese government will send people to help the Ryukyu military training, and the Chinese government has the right to recruit Ryukyu soldiers."

By analogy, the four crimes are crimes, but the rewards that the Celestial Dynasty wants can also be inferred from the four crimes.

After figuring out the key point, Shang Jing, who had no clothes and only the inner lining, shouted: "Mr. Shang Jing, thank you Lord Long En."

The sound of kowtowing made the Western envoys who were watching at the side finally understand what the so-called vassal state of the Celestial Dynasty meant.

The emperor clearly punished the king, and after the king was punished, he still had to thank the emperor... The taste of it was not in the etiquette of kowtowing, but in the word "thank you".

At least, it is absolutely not possible to apply the Holy Roman Emperor and the princes from all over the world to understand the legal relationship between the Celestial Dynasty and the vassals, which are difficult for them to understand.

(End of this chapter)