Jingming

Chapter 419: The Emperor of Heaven is eyeing North Korea

Lee from North Korea stayed in Beijing and still temporarily resided in Huitong Pavilion.

To learn about the establishment of a new border market, you must contact the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.The current Director-General of the Foreign Trade Department is Tian Rucheng, who once served as Cochin's diplomatic envoy.

The Foreign Trade Department is now the most "rich" department of the Ming Dynasty's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Because in border cities and municipal shipping departments, Ming enterprises, private companies, and trading houses go out and come back, and the Ministry of Etiquette does not care.However, foreign caravans and fleets that came to Ming Dynasty on their own initiative after being accepted by the Foreign Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Ming Dynasty required the Foreign Trade Department to come forward.

Those merchants of the Ming Dynasty who did not want to take the risk of leaving the territory of the Ming Dynasty naturally fawned over the heads of the Foreign Trade Department stationed in various border cities and shipping departments in each city just as they had fawned over the Weaving Bureau in the past.

Tian Rucheng sits in the position of Director-General of the Foreign Trade Department.In addition to being the Right Assistant Minister of Foreign Trade, Tian Rucheng is the No. 1 person in charge of the daily affairs of the Foreign Trade Department.

But he doesn't dare to be presumptuous now.

Mo Dengyong received a lot of benefits from Mo Dengyong in Jiaozhi, but the memorial he wrote was actually not in line with the strategy of His Majesty and the important officials in the court towards Jiaozhi.

After staying there for a long time, he was replaced by Wang Xueyi. When he returned to the Ming Dynasty, he was promoted to the fourth rank.

It has been just over eight years since he became an official and he is already in the fourth rank, which is already very good in the eyes of many people.

There are many reasons why he is willing to go to Cochin.

However, this is clearly not a better path.

Instead of considering the prefectures and counties, he would rather just start from the fourth rank and make orders first for whichever house he goes to.

Prefectures and counties are just a general term, which means that they must have at least the office resumes of several major officials at the prefectural and provincial prefectures or prefectural and prefectural and county levels, preferably the chief administrative officials.

Now that he is in the fourth rank, if he wants to go out again, he must compete for the position of prefect of the prefecture.

Not to mention whether it is easy to fight or not, even if you can do it, you will still be at the fourth level, and you will have to stay at this level for several years.

Tian Rucheng was a Jinshi for five years in Jiajing. In such an era of rapid change and abundant opportunities, he still has great ambitions. After all, he is only 31 years old now.

So he learned that Li was staying in China "by order". After learning about border markets and foreign trade, Tian Rucheng was very sensitive to this matter.

After a trip to Jiaozhi, there were both gains and losses. Tian Rucheng had already understood that the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Literary Affairs actually served the Ming Dynasty's management of foreign vassals.

Your Majesty will never do anything unrelated to this purpose.

This time, he made a lot of preparations first.Because he already understood that even if His Majesty had intentions, he needed to understand Li's ability and character first.

So he spent time meeting with Li every day, mostly after work.During the day, it was the doctor from the Liaodong branch who explained the policy to Li.In the evening, Tian Rucheng was particularly caring.

In just half a month, the two of them were already drinking and talking in the brothel together.

"Brother Mingji and I are from the same department." Tian Rucheng said with emotion. "We both went to the vassal country together to serve as ambassadors. He is still in your country now. In the blink of an eye, we have not seen each other for several years."

He was talking about Gong Yongqing.

Take a look, in comparison, Gong Yongqing is still the fifth grade, so what does Tian Rucheng have to care about?

What's even less important is another person.

"Does Marquis Jingbian know?" Tian Rucheng's eyes were complicated. "In the five years of Jiajing, Marquis Jingbian is now the leader. No matter the title, the official's character is upright. He will oversee the three sides first, and then the Hetao. Mr. Hai'an, If you praise me, it makes me ashamed."

Li always remembered Jin Qi's kneeling and his request: to find ways to stay in the Ming Dynasty.

This was also Li's wish originally. He was very afraid of the battle for the crown prince after returning to North Korea.

"General Secretary Tian has made great contributions to Jiaozhi, and he is also a first-class figure. There are so many heroes in the country, it is amazing." Li said sincerely, "I met General Secretary Tian very late, and I really don't want to have to pay homage to him soon." Don’t go back to China, and I don’t know when we will see each other again in the future.”

Tian Rucheng's heart was moved, but he was joking: "His Royal Highness is a prince in North Korea, but he is unwilling to return to the country because he is reluctant to leave? Don't say it's a joke."

Li Yiyi sighed: "Since General Secretary Tian and Gong Qin are old friends, how can he not know about the important affairs of my country? To be honest, although I am a prince, I am in danger of being killed. My father is getting older, and the battle between the crown prince and the prince has become a reality. The power of water and fire. My brother has..."

As he spoke, Li wiped away tears.

This was the first time Tian Rucheng had seen him express such emotions and say such sensitive things in a while.

If Li was not a prince who only cared about his own life and did not care about North Korea's interests, then he knew clearly that he should not expose North Korea's worries, but still pointed out that he wanted to stay in the Ming Dynasty to deal with the dispute between the crown prince.

Tian Rucheng suddenly grasped some clues, that is, Li's identity.

He was originally the second son of a concubine, but the eldest son of a concubine has been condemned to death.The Crown Prince is the only legitimate son, and he is not the son of the current Queen of Korea.

If the crown prince of Joseon is gone, then Li Wei will be the leader of the princes.They are both concubines, so they are the elders and inherit the throne.

And if the Ming Dynasty wants to support Li, then it can use the king's canonization to make a fuss, just like what Mo Dengyong wanted to do when Tian Rucheng was in Jiaozhi.

"His Highness said something serious." Tian Rucheng comforted him, "Since Your Majesty appreciates you and considers the important matter of border trade, he hopes that your Highness will be able to make more connections between North Korea and the Ming Dynasty after returning to the country. Your Highness has this important responsibility to rely on, so why worry about these things?" ? Although His Highness and I hit it off, partly because of Your Highness’s temperament, and partly because I also hope that Your Highness will manage the trade between the two countries well after returning to the country. Now, I work in the Department of Foreign Trade. "

Tian Ru seemed to be joking and continued to test Li's attitude.

Li shook his head resolutely: "Since I came to the capital of the Celestial Empire, I have become more and more admiring of the Ming Dynasty's culture and education. His Majesty the Emperor is so generous that he allows the country to select scholars to study in the Imperial College. I am determined to stay in the Ming Dynasty to study. I wonder if General Secretary Tian can petition me on my behalf?"

Tian Rucheng was stunned: "Who in North Korea is in charge of the cross-border trade?"

"My country's envoy Jin Qi, General Secretary Tian has also met him. By the grace of His Majesty the Emperor, he was allowed to open a Korean border market in Jiulian City. Jin Xiuzhuan returned to the country with his merits and may have another appointment. I know about the trade here. Yes, you can repair the book and report back to your father, and your father will naturally arrange the person to preside over it, how could you miss the mission of General Secretary Tian?"

After Li said this, he expressed his attitude again: "The country is vast, the land is rich, and the benefits of trade here are so important. How can I preside over it? Wouldn't that be more eye-catching? General Secretary Tian doesn't know. I was also a person who promoted freedom and ease when I was young. Now, We are extremely cautious, all because of the dispute between the crown prince!"

Tian Rucheng thought of the vague rumors among the courtiers about the opening of the East Palace and the establishment of a government office. Most of the counselors looked solemn.Anything surrounding the big position is indeed sensitive and scary.

"No wonder I hit it off with His Highness. It turns out that His Highness is also a straightforward person." Tian Rucheng persuaded him to drink. "That's all. It's just that the matter of entering the Imperial College for further study is now in the hands of the Ministry of Culture and Education. His Highness is also a prince of a foreign vassal, and the Ministry of Etiquette and Communication cannot. Stay out of the matter. In this way, I will report it to Lord Shangshu tomorrow and then listen to what he has to say."

"Thank you, Mr. Tian!"

Tian Rucheng arrived at the Lijiao Yamen early the next morning and went to find Liu Long.

Then he got the reward. Liu Longzheng talked with Li Kaixian, the accompanying bachelor in the imperial study, and asked him to wait.

Tian Rucheng waited for more than half an hour.

I have to say that being a bachelor in the imperial study room is still enviable.This Li Kaixian was usually more playful, but once he was asked to enter the Imperial Study Room, Liu Long could not neglect him at all, even if he was only the head of the household department of the sixth rank before.

He is still shorter than me by one subject. He must have become a person who has soared into the sky after staying in the royal study for three to five years. I really don’t know what His Majesty likes about him.

Seeing Li Kai come out first, Tian Rucheng did not dare to neglect. He stood up and saluted: "Li Bandu."

"I've met Mr. Tian." Li Kai returned the greeting first, and then suddenly said, "I have something I want to ask Mr. Tian."

Tian Rucheng was quite surprised: "I don't dare, Li Bandu please speak."

Li Kaixian smiled and said: "Your Majesty intends to hold a chess Holy Grail in the capital, and wants to invite players from foreign vassals to come and compete. General Secretary Tian has been to Jiaozhi, and is teaching the North Korean princes about border trade. I don't know if there is such a thing in Jiaozhi and North Korea. A national player in chess or go?"

Tian Rucheng was stunned when he heard this: "The Holy Grail of chess?"

"Exactly. A golden cup is to be engraved with glory and given to the leader. The top three will be rewarded." Li Kaixian said seriously, "There is no shortage of experts in the Ming Dynasty, but your Majesty's intention is to let the vassal countries also send people. Participate in the competition. From now on, it will be held regularly, so for this first session, it is best for more experts from other vassals to come to our country."

"When I was in Jiaozhi, I also knew that there were many people there who also liked chess." Tian Rucheng didn't understand very well. "However, in a small and remote country, even if there are two or three people who have some experience, how can they compete with me from the Ming Dynasty?"

After saying this, he came to his senses and immediately continued: "Since it is His Majesty's will, I will naturally write to Jiaozhi first and also ask Hai'an Jun."

In the preparation process from scratch, Li Kaixian naturally adopted the invitation method first, rather than directly asking the emperor to order the heads of countries to select experts to go to the Ming Dynasty to compete.So Li Kaixian said: "Thank you for your work. Please bear in mind, General Secretary Tian, ​​that your majesty is not doing this to show his power. Even if the contestants come here, they cannot be among the top, but everyone can have your majesty's imperial letter for encouragement."

Tian Rucheng's eyes widened: If you come to Ming Dynasty and play chess, you can receive a handwritten letter from His Majesty?
This is the calligraphy treasure of the Ming Emperor. If you bring it back to their small countries, it will be a treasure that can be passed down from generation to generation!
With many questions, he was still dazed after meeting Liu Long: "Sir, what exactly did Li Bandu say..."

"This matter is related to the national economy! The Ministry of Etiquette and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture and Education will cooperate in handling it." Liu Long has been the head of the Ministry for a long time, Cui Yuan no longer reminds him, and his official authority is gradually rising, "伱What have you come to report?"

"Oh, it's Li, the son of the leader of North Korea..."

Tian Rucheng relayed Li's request, and also talked about the danger he mentioned and his attitude.

"Sir, I see, this Li really wants to stay in the Ming Dynasty." Tian Rucheng tested it, "It's just that as the son of the lord of a foreign vassal, if he wants to enter the Imperial Academy, even if His Majesty can grant permission, he still has to ask What do you mean by the leader of North Korea?"

Liu Long pondered for a moment, and then spoke: "You go back and tell him what I mean. If you don't get his father's approval, it will seem like our empire is forcing him to stay in the Ming Dynasty and intervene in the dispute between the crown prince of North Korea. Since it is If he doesn’t want to go back, he needs to write a letter first and ask his father to take the initiative to petition. Only after the Ministry of Etiquette and Communications receives the petition can it help him handle this matter.”

"...I'm afraid he doesn't dare. If so, doesn't it mean that he wants to stay in the Ming Dynasty for a long time and make friends with foreign aid? If the leader of North Korea is not happy and calls him back to the country, then he will be in disaster."

Liu Long smiled: "Whether it is to avoid disaster or to have great ambitions, if he wants to achieve his wish, how can he not be willing to take any risks? In short, it is okay to help him, but if he is not worth helping, If you don't have that ability, why would your Majesty need to make excuses? Even if they fight to the death in North Korea and the new master ascends the throne, your Majesty still depends on whether he is obedient or not before deciding on the canonization and imperial decree. There is no need to calculate in advance what and who to support? "

Tian Rucheng thought that this was probably what happened, right?Liu Long's words showed the emperor's intention to temporarily keep Li in Ming Dynasty.

But the words are correct.Although it was intended to see if Li could be used, he could not be so obviously biased that Ming would have to deliberately play a conspiracy against the previous North Korea.

But if the leader of North Korea goes to the table to petition him, then he has other considerations in mind.The Emperor of Ming Dynasty approved it, that is, according to his request, the grace is given to the leader of Korea.

Before that, the Emperor of Ming Dynasty was of course unaware of it.

Tian Rucheng got the clear information and naturally went back to tell Li.

And Li began to hesitate.Not to mention his father's attitude, would the Crown Prince faction in the court be willing for him, the most sensitive prince besides the Crown Prince, to stay in the Ming Dynasty?
I'm afraid he will be accused of befriending the Ming Dynasty and intending to lead the Ming army into the dynasty to seize the throne!

Li thought about it and could only place his hope on Jin Qi.

He said that he hoped that Li would find a way to stay in the Ming Dynasty. He should be able to convince his father, right?

Elder Jin An is also from the Shizi faction. How on earth is Jin Qi going to convince his father?
Tian Rucheng sighed at him: "If the Korean royal family had a harmonious relationship between father and son, and brothers, friends, and brothers respected each other, Your Highness would not have to be so embarrassed. It would be better to do this. Now there is another matter. Your Majesty intends to hold a chess match. Your Highness will use this matter as a guide to inquire first. manner……"

If North Korea can really send a few people to the Ming Dynasty, then Li Ben will be in the Ming Dynasty. At least he can successfully come here to represent the North Korean leader and encourage the North Korean "national players" to win glory and return.

In this case, we can stay in Ming Dynasty for a while longer.

During this period of time, the Jin Qi he mentioned must also give him some accurate information.

Li was thinking of ways to plan for his own future, and at this time, Zhang Baigui, a child, accompanied by his father, was heading north in a carriage specially arranged by Fei Maozhong.

The closer they got to Beijing, Zhang Baigui and his son were just like the foreign envoys who came to Beijing to celebrate their birthdays, marveling at the new straight roads of the Ming Dynasty.

This is the first time Zhang Baigui has left Jingzhou Mansion, and he has to go so far away.

He had no idea what the emperor wanted to see him for, because he only knew that the official said that the emperor wanted to test him personally.

Zhang Baigui really wanted to review his lessons along the way, but the scenery outside the car window and the inn was too attractive.

While staying at the post house in Zhending Mansion, I heard noise again at night.The horses come and go quickly, leaving only the young people in the express delivery system who have been replaced to rest, drinking tea and showing off.

"Great victory in Nanyang! Just a red-haired Western ghost, defeated again and again! This time, they attacked with the strength of the entire country and were completely defeated in Nanyang. Seven Western warships were captured, and fifteen small warships. The entire Portuguese force This time it’s half off!”

"How much is half?"

"It's only five or six thousand. If you die, you can capture."

"Huh - a small country with only over [-] troops?"

After the great victory in the Northern Expedition, the officials, gentry, businessmen, and servants who came and went seemed to have become desensitized to this kind of "great victory".

Instead, they joked about another subject.

"It happened before the Longevity Festival. It's a pity that we are thousands of miles away and Jing Haibo didn't catch the good time. If it could have been earlier, maybe there would be one more marquis during the military parade and award ceremony."

"This is also fate."

"In my opinion, Your Majesty spared no effort in the expedition, and he is also concerned about Nanyang. Now Jinghaibo first captured Malacca, established the Nanyang Protectorate, and set up an ambush to defeat the red-haired Japanese expeditionary army. Xin has made great contributions. Shopkeeper, although you don’t run boats, I heard that those who run boats can usually make back their wasted money over the years?”

"How can it be that easy? When you come back, you will naturally make money. But the sea is rough and the waves are rough. If the boat capsizes, you will lose all your money. How can we be doing business safely on the Ming Dynasty?"

"That's right, it's life-saving money..."

When Zhang Baigui was eating in the dining room of the post house, he just stared and listened to the discussions of other people of all kinds.

It was all new to him.

Others looked at their group, which included both young children and officials from the government. They thought they belonged to an official family, but no one came forward to talk rashly.

Of course, Zhang Baigui's father was also warned not to show off on the road, so as not to cause trouble and ruin this opportunity.

They rested here for a night, and early the next morning, the latest news from Nanyang had arrived in the capital.

Zhu Houcong received the good news as soon as he woke up, and for a moment he suspected that he was really lucky.

In the history books, Portugal was so famous during this period, how could it send so many treasures to Asia?
Juan won't say anything, at least he was instigated by Alfonso after the defeat.

Not to mention that Enrique is stupid. For someone who has never been to Asia, his cognitive backwardness is understandable.

But how could the other generals and soldiers of the expedition fleet be so stupidly deceived by Juan that they could send away the Portuguese fleet in two waves?

Even a serious injury is not enough to describe Portugal's losses this time.

Zhu Houcong got a little excited: João III should bow his head this time, right?

Would he be willing to part with the silver he had accumulated over the years, in exchange for an opportunity to continue to monopolize the benefits of this maritime trade route?

Maybe Alfonso is really right, he understands better what these people who venture in the East are trying to do.

Precisely because it is a trend of interests, once the situation is unfavorable, it is easier to be persuaded, right?

Even those generals.

To put it bluntly, the so-called loyalty of European nobles to the royal family is far worse than the die-hard loyalty of Japanese retainers to their heads of family.

Zhu Houcong's eyes were bright: "Summon Zhao Jun's class teacher back to the court!"

Although the Ming Navy defeated the Portuguese expeditionary fleet under various favorable conditions, with this experience, it was time to make more preparations.

They have been paying tribute to Japan for many years. They are engaged in "village warfare". The powerful ones are unwilling to compromise the Ming Dynasty Coast Guard Road. Now they are doing "entrepot trade" through North Korea.

As for the "Holy Grail of Go" this time, we might as well open an opening for them and engage in "Go diplomacy."

The advantage of not being unified is that you can find a suitable springboard!

Jin Qi, who had just returned to Seoul, didn't know that the Ming Emperor had already set his sights further afield. He told his father categorically: "The Emperor of Ming Dynasty is eyeing North Korea!"

(End of this chapter)