Jingming

Chapter 426 The future Ming Dynasty in the emperor’s mind

This is the first time that the emperor has made a clear statement that credit for something can be given to a king with a different surname.

Yan Song could only look at the emperor with dull eyes.

The merit of being crowned king means a narrow escape from death!Your Majesty, you just keep pressing me to enter the State Palace as fast as you can. Do you really want the Yan family to be extinct?

Zhu Houcong also blocked Yan Song's mouth again: "For this big plan, there will be re-election this year. It's time for Wei Zhong to enter the State Palace and receive gifts and hand over ministerial affairs."

"... Your Majesty is very kind, I... I beg your Majesty to take back these words! How dare I, my father and my son, have such delusions?"

Yan Song left the table and knelt down, his voice choked with sobs and mixed emotions.

Is this me selling my son's life to become a high-ranking official?

And this one is too eye-catching.How could the Yan family be so virtuous and talented that they could covet such merit?What do other old and new ministers think?
However, Yan Shifan just kowtowed with great kindness: "Your Majesty trusts me. I will sacrifice my life for your Majesty and I will be loyal to your Majesty and achieve this great cause!"

"Shut up!" Yan Song scolded him, but now he could only say, "Your Majesty wants Quanzi to go on any mission, and Quanzi must die for it. As a minister, how can you be willing to die only after your father has promised you a reward?"

No matter what he thought in his heart, Yan Song could only act righteously with the promise of the title of king on the left hand of the emperor and the promise of the minister of state on the right hand.

"Get up first, everyone gets up first."

Zhu Houcong sighed.

To be fair, in history books and literary and artistic works, these two guys are greedy, but when it comes to the word "loyalty", they are extremely loyal to the emperor. They carried the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty on their shoulders.

Now... we need to use some means to allow them to continue to maintain their status without allowing them to cause harm to the people.

Zhu Houcong looked at them with a smile. To be honest, he didn't have any good intentions.

If Yan Shifan is really capable of accomplishing this great thing, his chances of rebelling against the Ming Dynasty will be very small. After all, he knows the strength of the Ming Dynasty and the capabilities of the Ming Emperor.

But since he has been crowned king in that troubled place, he must be arrogant, extravagant, and extortionate.

As for the Ming Dynasty... when he has made the Japanese people miserable, and then someone else can implement benevolent policies, preach the truth, and act kingly, then he will be the virtuous king of the Celestial Dynasty.

This may not be a strategy.

With Yan Shifan's ability, if he is given support in the early stage, there must be great hope that he can actually accomplish this thing, and it may be accomplished at a small cost.

So Zhu Houcong began to tell the father and son seriously: "This matter is not that dangerous, and it is easy to do. What I just said was based on the needs of the national economy, not what you father and son should do based on high officials and generous salaries." "

After all, I mainly spoke to Yan Song.

At the end of the Warring States Period in Japan, I remember that Japan later arrogantly wanted to attack Korea and the Ming Dynasty, but was beaten back.

Therefore, if the Ming Dynasty only intervened in Japan's affairs, North Korea would not necessarily feel uncomfortable with the Ming Dynasty maritime merchants directly intervening in Tsushima Island, depriving North Korea of ​​some benefits from Japan's re-export trade.

After all, it is very likely that it will completely cut off the Japanese pirates' harassment of North Korea and the threat to North Korea after the rise of Japan.

Anyway, they said that now "only" 25 ships a year are allowed to trade with Japan.

Is this small profit a drop in the bucket compared to the scale of the border cities of Jiulian City that Ming Dynasty promised to develop?

On the contrary, if North Korea did not have foreign aggression from the Ming Dynasty and Japan, the fight would only become more joyful.

As for Japan, what they are planning to do now is to take advantage of the opportunity of civil strife on Tsushima Island, an island that Japan's mainland forces have no time to take care of, to do business there.

Although there is still a risk of supporting one of the forces and being attacked by the hostile forces, it is just a small island. The Ming Dynasty Navy can transfer some generals to the Great Wall Maritime Trading Company, and allocate 200 people to listen to Yan Shifan's dispatch. He himself has some weapons. Juren's background would be too dangerous.

After that, he used Tsushima Island as his base. He first relied on doing business to maneuver among various forces in Japan. In the process, he tried to control the Sou clan on the island, and finally found good opportunities in the nearest Ouchi and Ouchi. In the confrontation between the three forces of Nizi and Maori, they expanded their power to southwestern Japan.

By that time, the Ming Dynasty Navy will probably have a completely new look.And if the forces in eastern Japan counterattack, they will attack the Ming merchants again.

At that time, the Ming Navy followed the sea route that the Xu family had already known, and even arranged some generals there bit by bit before that. Couldn't they defeat Japan in one go?
"Your Majesty has a wonderful plan! This plan is very feasible!" Yan Shifan, a spirited young man, was very excited. The steps for becoming a king seemed to be clearly laid out in front of him, "I will definitely be able to handle this!"

Zhu Houcong said to Yan Song again: "The Ming Dynasty and Japan have been excluding tribute for ten years. You have received the courtesy and ministerial affairs, and you can also send envoys to Japan. It is no longer necessary to mention the so-called emperor of Japan, and it is a fact that the Ashikaga clan of the shogunate is weak. There is no unification. Lord, although we cannot set up a diplomatic embassy, ​​if the trade is suitable, we can be friendly to the families of the Ming Dynasty. In order to avoid damaging the national dignity, we are not allowed to come to the Ming Dynasty, but we can all go to Tsushima Island."

He smiled evilly: "How to adapt to the changing situation in Japan so that it can fight endlessly is also a lesson. The hatred between the various families is getting deeper and deeper. When the Ming Dynasty wants to take real action, it cannot unite hastily and without grudges. This is where only Zhongyou can help the world. After success, it is even more necessary to be like the Duke of Guizhou guarding the southwest, so that Japan will surrender to China from now on, and there will be no possibility of trouble again."

Yan Song finally felt a lot better, but he still insisted: "Quinzi died for your Majesty, which is where loyalty lies. Even if he has meager achievements, he can never be rewarded generously! If I accept the gift and pay for the ministry, if Quanzi is rewarded for his merits, he will be rewarded. If it passes, the government and the public will be in an uproar. Isn't it true that Japan is worried about the separatism of the Yan family? How can Japan, a small country, be able to harm the Ming Dynasty? Why does it need important ministers to guard it for generations? Your Majesty is far-sighted. Even if you have such a great strategy, you cannot be a dog!"

Zhu Houcong was silent for a moment.

Of course Japan can't do that today, but there are things in his heart that he can't let go of.

It happened to be the so-called Warring States Period in Japan, where conquests were endless and people were devastated. If there were huge changes in the troubled times, everything would be different.

Only through thorough assimilation from national identity to governance system can we avoid future disasters.

No matter what, Zhu Houcong's decision on that direction will not waver.

Of course, he never thought about leaving it alone to a certain hero.

"Wei Zhong doesn't need to say more. It's too early to talk about those things now." Zhu Houcong smiled again, "There's no rush to start this matter. Yan Shifan, first follow the interpreter from the Ministry of Etiquette and International Relations to learn Japanese. The Japanese language on the border. During this period, give birth to two children. It is a thorough plan and it also avoids any worries."

Yan Song could only smile bitterly when he heard what the emperor said.

Are you saying it's not that dangerous?I’ll leave all this for later.

But now that there is no escape, and my son is too overwhelmed by his future achievements, we really need to seize the time to get him married.

Unexpectedly, Yan Shifan chuckled and said, "Your Majesty's assistant is trying to persuade my father. In fact, I raised one outside and it has been broken for six or seven months. I still don't know how to explain it to my father. Fortunately..."

Yan Song's face turned red and he was furious: "You rebellious son..."

Zhu Houcong could only marvel: Yan Shifan, you are worthy of it.

"...That Jiaozhi woman really has an appetite for her son, but her background is really humble, so her son doesn't dare..."

"You still dare not? Haven't you forgotten your father's teachings? Your Majesty, our family is unfortunate..." Yan Song's tears finally burst out.

To be honest, this also has Yan Song's problem.

In other words, he felt that there was also a problem with the emperor.

When the child was only a few years old, His Majesty had a special regard for his son.But after returning from being sent to Jiaozhi, Yan Song did not immediately feel that His Majesty had a clear arrangement for his son.

He is almost sixty. If he passes away, his son will only be able to rely on his wife's family.Yan Song was actually paying attention, hoping to see a signal that the emperor had another important use for his son before proposing a suitable marriage.

Who would have expected that after such a delay, this young man would actually do something to ruin the family tradition!

"...Now that the deal is done, it's better to find a marriage as soon as possible. If the child is young, give birth quietly first, and after two or three years, pretend to be only one or two years old, then recognize the ancestor and return to the clan." Zhu Houcong, "Wei Zhong, if it is If you have a grudge in your heart from a good family, I will give you another favor. When your direct grandson reaches the age of six, he will also enter the Imperial Academy."

"...I...I thank your Majesty for your kindness!" Yan Song wiped his tears, and now he was in a state of emotion. The emperor's kindness was indeed very great.

My daughter has not yet been married, and the child from another family is about to be born. How many good families are willing?

But since he is a descendant of the Yan family, he will naturally recognize his ancestors and return to the clan in the future.Instead of trying to get a good marriage first, it's better to make it clear in private first.With this grace, the emperor's regard for the Yan family can be somewhat increased.

You know, imperial studies can only be done by princes, clans and relatives, and the emperor is also the teacher of imperial studies.

This means that the third generation of the Yan family will first have the status of a disciple of the emperor in the future, and will have a good relationship with the next generation of the royal family, clan, and relatives.

He glared at his son fiercely and prepared to go back and deal with him again.

This kid just expressed his willingness to do such a dangerous thing so proactively. In addition to greed for merit, there is also this reason, right?
Zhu Houcong helped Yan Shifan solve this farce-like problem, and he couldn't help but wonder what happened to him.

With Yan Shifan's stupidity, he shouldn't have failed to understand how serious a problem it was to have an extramarital affair and an illegitimate child before getting married.Knowing this, but still trying to hide it for several months, his Jiaozhi outer room fascinated him so much?
I'm afraid there is another reason.No matter what, for Yan Shifan's honor, I'm afraid there is always a hint of inferiority in his heart.But in Jiaozhi, he played a role that even Mo Dengyong had to bow his head in humiliation.The woman who came over there probably had the tenderness of "heart-wrenching surrender" to him, and this gave Yan Shifan a double sense of great satisfaction?
I'm afraid he will be very happy if he goes to Japan.

From this day on, Ming Dynasty's strategy towards Japan also officially began to be planned.

As the Ming Dynasty once again entered a year of major changes, there was a secret competition for vacancies that were expected to be vacant among the ministers, especially among the ministers of state. Naturally, the secret competition began long in advance.

Among them, it is necessary not only to have the support of other courtiers and be included in the preliminary list, but also to have the support of the emperor to be selected in the end.

Zhang Fujing's status had already been promised, and Yan Song's possibility also received a tactful reply from the emperor in some subsequent tests. Yang Shen and Liu Tianhe were both able to take a step further and be ranked in the State Palace.

Under this background, Yan Song had a greater possibility and was ordered to prepare for his son's marriage. In the end, he quickly got married to a right minister from the Ministry of Etiquette.

In the faint pattern, the emperor seems to be promoting the establishment of a power network for Japan in the future.There is no shortage of civil servants and military generals.

This means that the emperor's plan for Japan is not to accept it as a solid territory, nor to just set up a protective palace to make profits like in Nanyang, but to truly promote Ming culture and education there.

This is easy to understand, after all, they are too far apart.

Since this goal is to be achieved, then in the eyes of the Ming Emperor, there is only one choice for the future of Japan: to replace it with the Ming Dynasty and formally establish a new master.

That is the true master of a country!
Including Yan Song, no one thought it was something that could be touched.

So, which prince will it be?

The clan system has been changed again, and the vassal king lives in Beijing.

But soon, there will be a new approach. Can the vassal king seal the land outside the territory, with solid land, soldiers and people?

The emperor's eldest son, King Yue, is already 13 years old. I'm afraid this day won't be too far away.

Therefore, it is no wonder that the emperor was not so sensitive to the establishment of a government office in the East Palace.

Because in the future, no matter which prince he is, he is likely to get support from some people.Because whether to stay in the Ming Dynasty or follow some princes to establish themselves outside the territory, the civil servants and military generals had more choices.

In other words, you can almost watch the emperor choose those people.

Once selected, after leaving, he would still be a minister of the Ming Dynasty. In the new independent country outside the territory, he would also be an important civil and military official relied on by the princes of the vassal, and he would hold a high position there.

Even just the descendants and branches of the family came to help, killing two birds with one stone.

In the 13th year of Jiajing, His Majesty the Ming Emperor finally revealed more of his thoughts about the future of the Ming Dynasty.

Internally, the new laws and policies have basically been rolled out in an all-round way, and the next step is to continue to implement them and see actual results.After the military reform, I am afraid that the country will become rich and the military will be strong.

Externally, I fled far away to the desert north and planned to return to the west.

Protectorates were established in Nanyang, Portugal came from thousands of miles away, and the benefits of maritime trade became new expectations of the Ming Dynasty's monarchs and ministers.

The war with Yunnan is temporarily suspended, but the conflicts between the Bamar, Mon and Shan ethnic groups still exist.

The Li and Mo dynasties in the north and south of Jiaozhi stood side by side, and the diplomatic embassy still relied on the maritime trade to stir up disputes. Xia Yan knew very well that the emperor's ultimate goal was to become a solid territory there.

The three border cities in Liaodong, Duoyan Sanbu and Jurchen all have new uses and guidance in the Ming Dynasty's strategy of developing the Northeast.

As for North Korea, Ming Dynasty is waiting for the fierce battle between their crown princes.

Japan started planning again.

These are the basis for important ministers in high positions to start planning the future for themselves and their family heirs.

But for the younger generation, they are just preparing to enter a new stage of their lives.

Next February, there will be another trial.

In Huizhou, which has become part of Jiangning Province, 22-year-old Hu Zongxian is ready to set off.

Because the provincial examination was taken every year, he passed the examination earlier. This was the biggest benefit that the new law brought to the new generation of scholars.

He was not very confident about himself, so he planned to go to the capital in advance to ask more people for advice.

But Sichuan's Zhao Zhenji is very confident.

Because although he ranked fourth in the Sichuan Provincial Examination seven years ago, when he went to visit Yang Tinghe after returning to his hometown, Yang Tinghe gave him a high evaluation and gave him new suggestions.

"I will serve as a weapon for the country, so be careful not to catch me."

With Yang Tinghe's evaluation and six years of listening to Yang Tinghe's continued study of new learning, Zhao Zhenji is still studying hard in Sichuan and is not in a hurry to go to Beijing.

His ancestor had been the Prime Minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, and his ambitions and goals were also that of the Prime Minister and Minister of State who emerged today.

With accumulated experience, Zhao Zhenji believed in Yang Tinghe's judgment: in the early days of the new law, the court lacked a deep understanding of the new law and new learning. The stage had passed, and the opportunities for rapid advancement were becoming less and less.The current structure in the court has also brought about a new seniority order.The group from the eighth year of Jiajing period were too close to Tang Shunzhi and others...

Therefore, separated by two worlds, the 14th year of Jiajing would be the most suitable year for Zhao Zhenji to enter the emperor's field of vision.

He wants to enter the emperor's sight with a stronger attitude!

At this time, Hai Rui, who had already entered the emperor's field of vision, had been offered many olive branches in the capital. However, he listened to the emperor's teachings and studied with peace of mind.

He could feel the emperor's expectations for him. His father was so kind, and Hai Rui was worried that he would fail to live up to his holy expectations.

Talent is limited, so you have to work hard and be careful.

In Wuzhou, Guangxi, at the home of the Guangxi military officer, Qi Jingtong hurried home, still wearing armor.

"Father!" Different from the original, Qi Jiguang is already nine years old.

"Is your grandmother okay?"

"To tell my father, my grandmother is in good health, but she often misses her hometown."

Qi Jingtong nodded.

From the time Zhang Fujing arrived in Shandong, Qi Jingtong had a different official career.

He knew that his talent was not very good, so even though his destiny changed, he still named his son Jiguang after he had a son.

In the past, the Qi family had the honor of being the hereditary Dengzhou Guard and commanding Qian affairs because of the kindness of their ancestor Qi Xiang Taizu.The emperor specifically asked about Qi Jingtong during his southern tour in the past, and Zhang Fujing told him about this.

Later, he was transferred to the chief military officer of Guangxi and became an important general. When he went to the capital to attend the military reform meeting, the emperor privately asked about his son's current situation.

There are many affairs in Guangxi. Jiaozhi has given back the land of Sanfu. The hidden danger of banditry in Tengxia is still there. Qi Jingtong has been very busy.As for the emperor's concern, he only thought that it was the emperor's polite kindness to him.

But he never slacked off in his son's training.

As a result, now, the imperial letter from Beijing forced him to rush back in person.

"Get ready and go to Beijing with the governor."

Qi Jiguang was a little confused: "Enter Beijing? Why?"

Qi Jingtong was excited, but he still acted sternly: "This is His Majesty's will! After entering the capital, he will be taken care of by the Marquis of Xinjian, and he will study at Jinyi Health School!"

"...Xin Xinhou?"

"Your Majesty is so kind, you must be attentive!"

Qi Jingtong didn't understand why, but he was taking care of the elderly Wang Shouren, but he was always there to teach him by words and deeds. How could this not mean that Wang Shouren was no longer a disciple in the art of war and knowledge?The last person like this was Tang Shunzhi!
There was a vague feeling that Qi Jingtong was not capable enough to teach his son well.

The emperor actually issued a decree through Yu Xin specifically for this matter, and Qi Jingtong immediately rushed back from the three prefectures on the Jiaozhi border.

One is to send the Governor of Guangxi to the capital to attend a major national policy meeting, and the other is for this matter.

Qi Jiguang, who was only nine years old, naturally didn't understand it even more, but he could only start packing his bags first.

In the Forbidden City, Zhu Houcong was giving a lecture. In front of him, in addition to the Crown Prince Zhu Zaicheng and the Yue King Zhu Zaiyan, there were also Prince Rui Zhu Zaiyan, Prince Su's grandson Zhu Biniu, Lingbihou's grandson Tang Shilong, and an additional prince accompanying Zhang Juzheng.

As he looked at these young faces, his thoughts were a little more focused on ten years from now.

By then, they will all be adults, and the court will be different.

During the period when Zhu Houcong focused on domestic affairs and technological progress, and continued to lay a solid foundation, external affairs focused more on diplomatic, economic and cultural means.

The Ming Dynasty was very different at that time, but there must have been new problems.

For example...the court disputes surrounding the princes, the rigidity and corruption after the new system was established...

"Today we talk about necessity and chance..."

(End of this chapter)