I'm really not doing business

Chapter 630 Because, His Majesty is kind!
The Ming Dynasty is the parent country of the Joseon Dynasty and its biological offspring. This statement has existed since the day the Joseon Dynasty was established, and it was established on the day Lee Seong-gye requested the Ming Dynasty to enthrone him as the King of Joseon.

In July of the 25th year of Hongwu, Lee Seong-gye, who had been patient for more than 20 years, finally realized his dream. He abolished the last king of Goryeo and became the new actual king. However, Lee Seong-gye still needed recognition from the suzerain state, so he sent envoys to ask the Ming Dynasty to grant the country a name.

In February of the 26th year of Hongwu, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang finalized the name of the country of Korea and officially appointed Lee Seong-gye as the King of Korea.

Lee Seong-gye had seized power by force and became the de facto king, but the old ministers of Goryeo were still a huge opposition force. In order to suppress this opposition, Lee Seong-gye launched many large-scale purges and fabricated unjust cases to purge political enemies, but the more he suppressed, the more the opposition force became.

Even when Lee Seong-gye, who had already ascended the throne in Shouchang Palace, wrote to the Ming Dynasty, he could only report to the suzerain state in the name of "temporary governor of Goryeo affairs" and seek support from the Ming court.

The four words "the country of parents" originated in the Jingtai period. Li Shuo, the fourth uncle who launched the Jingnan Rebellion, after determining the name of the country to serve the great neighbor, made "the country of parents" and "the grace of great creation" the ancestral precepts.

The six-year long expedition from the 20th year to the 26th year of Wanli was the Ming Dynasty’s favor in rebuilding the Joseon Dynasty.

In the 20th year of the Wanli reign, Toyotomi Hideyoshi brazenly launched a full-scale war of aggression against Korea, mobilizing an army of 150,000 to attack Korea. It took only one month for Toyotomi Hideyoshi to capture Seoul, and the Korean King Yi Sun fled north to Yizhou and asked the Ming Dynasty for help.

During this six-year-long war, the Ming Dynasty dispatched a total of more than 120,000 troops. All the food and wages for this army were transported from Liaodong to Korea by the Ming Dynasty. Later in the war, there was widespread resentment in the Ming Dynasty, so officials from the Honglu Temple, regardless of the dignity of the Celestial Empire, asked the King of Korea for food and wages, because the long-distance transportation consumed too much energy.

But the King of Korea just said no, and said, "We should not ask for more from our country, which is vast and dependent on our parents." Even the officials of the Ministry of Rites, who were most concerned about their reputation, lost their defense and said that you deserved to die.

We mobilized all the soldiers in the world and spent all the money in the world to save Korea from the hands of Japanese pirates.

The Ming Dynasty was very kind to the Joseon Dynasty and it also gave it the grace of rebirth. So, is the Joseon Dynasty grateful to the Ming Dynasty?

The Joseon Dynasty was not grateful to the Ming Dynasty.

Because the Joseon Dynasty went back on its word.

On May 1, the 20th year of the Wanli reign, when the Joseon King Yi Sun sent an envoy, Liu Mengding, to the Ming Dynasty to ask for help, Yi Sun said to Liu Mengding: "When you arrive at the capital, you can first express your intention to submit to the Ming Dynasty." In exchange for the Ming Dynasty's reinforcements, Yi Sun's condition was submission.

On June 13, King Yi Sun of Joseon, who had fled to Yizhou, swore once again to the sea that there was no place to hide in our country, and today he would cross the river to surrender and avenge his king and father for the destruction of his country.

On June 21, Shi Xing, the Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty, sent Huang Yingyang to Pyongyang to discuss the matter.

On July 16, after the court discussion, Emperor Wanli issued an edict: Korea’s request for reinforcements must be confirmed and reported in detail. When the king comes, choose a good place to live.

The imperial edict from Emperor Wanli authorized the dispatch of troops to Korea and said that the King of Korea should be properly resettled.

This was an imperial edict, which clearly confirmed that if the King of Korea surrendered after the Ming Dynasty came to its aid, the Korean territory would become a real county of the Ming Dynasty, because at that time, local officials represented by Zhejiang Governor Chang Jujing, Fujian Governor Zhao Canlu, and Guangdong and Guangxi Governor Liu Jiwen advocated the destruction of Japan and attacking Japan's homeland to prevent future troubles.

The Minister of War Shi Xing was also a supporter of destroying Japan. With Korea, they could attack the Japanese mainland and solve the problem once and for all.

You have to know that the mobilization of food and grass for the army is a very, very critical matter. During large-scale military operations, a supply line like a snake in Changshan Mountain will be formed on the sea. Once there is strong wind and big waves, the supply line will be broken, which will cause huge trouble.

So when departing from North Korea, there won’t be too many worries.

But after the Ming Dynasty expelled the Japanese pirates, the Korean monarch and his ministers regretted their decision. The Korean King Yi Sun later played tricks on the Ming court and directly abdicated the throne to the Crown Prince Gwanghaegun. He went back on his word. As a king, he had promised to submit to the Ming Dynasty, but now he could no longer do so because he was no longer the king.

The Minister of War sent several envoys, but they were ultimately unable to carry out their mission. The Ming Dynasty fought wars for six consecutive years, and ultimately the national treasury was emptied of all its resources. It lost both face and money. It lost face because it was fooled by the King of Korea, but it lost money because it failed to annex Korea.

The most serious consequence of this incident was that Emperor Wanli's ability to govern was questioned unprecedentedly.

The reason why North Korea dared to go back on its word like this, calling itself the motherland but actually playing tricks on the Ming court, was that it was sure that the Ming was unable to fight again.

At that time, the news that some southern soldiers who returned to their country failed to demand their salaries and were suppressed reached Korea. Lee Sun and his sons were sure that the Ming Dynasty had suffered heavy losses and had no more food and salaries to punish them, so they dared to act so boldly, and the Ming Dynasty could only suffer this loss in silence.

At that time, the Ming Dynasty was so poor that it had to send mining supervisors to collect money everywhere and make money at the expense of the tax base. Emperor Wanli had done such a big losing business, so naturally all his subsequent decisions were not recognized.

When Gao Qiyu, the Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple, received the imperial edict from the Ming Emperor, he was stunned at first, and then he showed a matter-of-course expression. His Majesty had long been dissatisfied with the loss-making tribute trade with Korea. His Majesty's stinginess was well known to the world. With such a huge deficit, which had to be paid out several times a year, it would be strange if the emperor did not feel distressed.

Your Majesty should save when necessary and spend when necessary. Gao Qiyu knows this very well.

"Shaoqing, the Korean envoys Li Houbai and Yin Genshou are here. They said they received news that the Ming court is going to cut off their tribute payments several times a year! We just received the imperial edict, and they knew the news right after we received it!" Xu Jiugao said with a very ugly expression.

The Ming Dynasty's Honglu Temple had not yet informed the Korean envoys of the situation, but the Korean envoys came to the door on their own initiative. This was really beyond Xu Jiugao's expectations. It was obvious that the Korean envoys had received the news earlier than the Honglu Temple.

Moreover, when Wu Xuan came here, he didn't consider himself an outsider at all.

"It's not surprising. It's the emperor's decree, not a secret decree, nor something shameful. Why can't people know about it?" Gao Qiyu looked calm.

The purpose of the order was to make it known to everyone, and the news was most likely leaked on purpose.

"But we haven't discussed a countermeasure yet. How should we answer when the Korean envoy asks?" Xu Jiugao said with some concern. The emperor suddenly lowered the diplomatic level of North Korea, which was not surprising to the Ministry of Rites, but it was difficult to answer. They couldn't just say that it was because the emperor was stingy.

Korea paid tribute at least three times a year, and the court had to pay a reward ranging from 100,000 to 150,000 each time. This was an extremely heavy burden, and it never stopped even during the last years of the Jiajing reign and the Longqing reign when the government suffered heavy financial losses. The Ming Dynasty was very concerned about its reputation, and it would suffer for the sake of face at the cost of its life, and this happened more than once or twice.

And now the emperor has finally lost face, because he is fat even without any pride, so there is no need to hold on any longer.

Sometimes, many things are like this. The more they lack something, the more they like to emphasize it. The greater the financial losses of the court, the more they like to put on a show and bluff.

In response to the inquiries of the Korean envoys, the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple should neither damage the wisdom of Your Majesty nor bring shame to the country. They should also not speak nonsense that would shock friendly countries or cause the barbarians to sneer.

This answer is a test of one's personal level, and the most important thing is to react in such a short time. After all, the North Korean envoy arrived too quickly.

"Why don't we let the Korean envoy go back first, and then we go ask the Grand Master of the Clan how to respond?" Xu Jiugao thought quickly and thought it would be a better idea to ask the Grand Master of the Clan.

Gao Qiyu smiled and said, "You are bothering the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan with such a small matter. If His Majesty knew about it, he would think that the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan was the only one in the Ministry of Rites. No need. Send two envoys over. I have my own way."

Li Houbai and Yin Geunsu hurriedly walked into the Honglu Temple. After greeting each other in panic, Li Houbai took the lead and stepped forward and asked anxiously, "I suddenly heard a strict decree from the Ministry of Rites, saying that Korea cannot pay tribute more than once a year. I would like to ask, Junior Lord, have we offended the superior country in some way?"

"No." Gao Qiyu said with a smile.

"Then why is there such a sudden strict order? I was frightened and uneasy when I heard the news. The Celestial Empire has been very kind to our Joseon. Our King Suyang has set up a large altar to offer sacrifices every year. We are always grateful. The Celestial Empire is our parent country. I would like to ask the young minister to make it clear. If there is any crime committed by ignorance, we should correct it." Yoon Geun-soo was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead.

During the Yongle period, Korea requested the permission of Emperor Chengzu to build the Sungkyunkwan in Seoul, Korea, and invited famous Ming Dynasty scholars to teach there. This has been going on for over a hundred years. Lee Houbaek and Yoon Geunsu were both Jinshi graduates from the Sungkyunkwan. If they had returned to Korea, they would probably have been scolded to death.

The benefits of the annual tribute rewards had been divided up long ago, and suddenly they were gone. Wouldn’t the two envoys be skinned alive when they returned?!

Gao Qiyu said as a matter of course: "Your Majesty has issued a strict order to the Ministry of Rites. The reason for doing so is because, Your Majesty, he is kind!"

Xu Jiugao stood there in shock as if struck by lightning, staring at Gao Qiyu in disbelief. How could this man do this? He lied to such an extent with his eyes wide open, and acted as if it was only natural, as if this was the real reason, and that the many tributes from North Korea were stopped because of His Majesty's kindness? !
Although we are all educated people, we should still have some dignity!

Li Houbai and Yin Genshou looked at each other in shock. Were they not good at studying, or did they not understand Chinese? They could understand every word of the words of the Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple, but why couldn't they understand them when they were put together?

"Please help me solve this doubt." Li Houbai said hurriedly.

"Let me ask you, are the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty from the Ming Dynasty or from Korea?"

"Of course it belongs to the Ming Dynasty."

"Let me ask you again, does the food and salary of the Ming Dynasty come from the Ming Dynasty or from Korea?"

"Of course it belongs to the Ming Dynasty."

Li Houbai gritted his teeth and answered these two questions that even a three-year-old child could answer: Whose money and food would the Ming Dynasty's army provide if not the Ming Dynasty's?
"North Korea does not know how to train its soldiers, and often uses China's soldiers as its own; North Korea does not know how to accumulate military pay, and often uses China's pay as its own. This was certainly possible in the past, but it is no longer possible now," Gao Qiyu said with emotion.

"Is there anything wrong with this? A country that is small but does not humble itself, that has little strength but does not fear the strong, that is rude but insults its big neighbor can lead to the destruction of the country. It was possible before, but not now? What kind of truth is this?" Yin Genshou still did not understand the logic.

"Because the Ming Dynasty is old. You keep saying that the Ming Dynasty is the country of your parents, but are you really sincere?" Gao Qiyu asked in return.

Li Houbai frowned and said, "Of course I am sincere."

If the Ming Dynasty asked Korea to do something it didn't want to do by cutting off tribute, Li Houbai would definitely not agree to it! Even if it was within his power.

"Parents are old, and we can't rely on them anymore." Gao Qiyu sighed heavily and said helplessly: "You can see that Daming is really old. Everyone in the officialdom is a master, and everyone below is a disciple. It's like the mountaintops in the village. These mountaintops have different interests, different ideas, and different opinions."

"If there is something going on in North Korea, the Ming Dynasty knows that it will take time. The Ming Dynasty officialdom is so rigid that it takes time to make decisions. Over time, it will delay things. Rigidity causes a lag in decision-making. I think you two have met more than once or twice."

"Your Majesty, he is very kind! Now that Korea's annual tribute has been cut off, it is to allow Korea to train its troops and store food. If something unexpected happens, it will not be too late to regret it, and the court will have time to react."

"This!" Li Houbai understood! And the logic is very complete. Ming Dynasty seems to be doing this for the good of Korea. As the parent country, it has given too much, which has led to Korea's excessive dependence on Ming Dynasty. Now Ming Dynasty is old and has become rigid. The implementation and handling speed of various policies are not comparable to those at the beginning of the country.

If something really happens, what will North Korea do?
Gao Qiyu said worriedly: "Wakoku has now entered the final period of the chaos of the Warring States Daimyo. No matter who wins or who becomes the regent, there is only one thing to do, which is to attack Korea to consume the large number of samurai produced by the chaos. With so many samurai, Wakoku cannot be stable at all. Using external wars to ease internal conflicts is a very common method."

Li Houbai asked blankly: "Can't the Ming Dynasty come up with a countermeasure in advance?"

Gao Qiyu and Xu Jiugao looked at each other. This was Korea, the greedy Korea. The Ming Dynasty could not interfere too much. If it interfered too much, it would bring up the ancestral law of a country that should not be conquered and a country that is the parent of the country. But it also wanted too much. Even major events concerning the life and death of Korea required the Ming Dynasty to prepare countermeasures in advance.

Gao Qiyu shook his head and said, "The Ming Dynasty now has four overseas governor-general offices, Nagasaki, Ryukyu, Luzon, and Jiugang. The Ming Dynasty navy has a total of 100,000 people. What do you think we should do in advance?"

"Expand the army! If 100,000 navy are not enough, just expand it to 200,000. Isn't this a very easy thing for the Celestial Empire?" Yin Genshou immediately threw out the hat of the Celestial Empire and asked the Ming navy to expand its army to deal with possible changes.

The Ming Dynasty is the most impressive.

"The annual cost of a naval force of 225 is million silver coins, and this is just for maintenance, not including its establishment. Recruiting soldiers, building ships, and weapons, each of these costs money. Where does the money come from? Your Majesty is frugal, and there has never been any extravagance or enjoyment in the palace. Even so, it is still a struggle to maintain the system. The Celestial Empire, as our parent country, also has its own national conditions." Gao Qiyu's face turned cold.

This is to lay out the facts. The Ming navy's military expenditure was as high as 225 million silvers per year, and the court's military expenditure exceeded 1200 million silvers per year. The Korean envoys just lip-service, and the Ming Dynasty had to spend an extra 225 million silvers per year. Why? It's not a real county, it's not worth investing so much.

Is it necessary for the Ming Dynasty to pay so much for the empty words of "the motherland"? Even to give itself a few knives?

"If you ask for more, it's unfilial." Gao Qiyu immediately put a big hat of unfilial on the boy. Everyone would be accused of being unfilial if someone puts a hat on him.

Gao Qiyu's words were extremely cold. He was admonishing His Majesty, and he thought that His Majesty had a good heart and just wanted an answer that would save face. It was enough for him to just know the situation. Why did he have to continue to make trouble like this? Did he really think that the Honglu Temple was a place where envoys from vassal states could run wild?

Your Majesty's edict is the result. Whether you accept it or not, this is the result.

Li Houbai and Yin Genshou finally came to their senses and wanted to say something, but in the end, they didn't say anything and had to leave.

The answer that Your Majesty has a kind heart will save everyone's face.

"It seems that the Ming Dynasty is really out of money. Even the tribute rewards have to be saved." After walking out of the Honglu Temple, Yin Genshou thought about it and found an answer, that is, the Ming Dynasty's treasury is empty.

Li Houbai said in agreement: "That's true. Otherwise, how could the Ming Dynasty, which values ​​face, throw away face for a little money? Your Majesty, he is really poor."

His Majesty's treasury is piled with a mountain of silver, which cannot be spent, but this is a secret. Only the court officials know that His Majesty is rich, but they are not sure how much money His Majesty has. It was only when His Majesty mentioned it that Wang Guoguang learned that His Majesty can withdraw 20 million silver from the treasury at a time.

However, Li Houbai and Yin Genshou were obviously unaware of this fact. They thought that the emperor had no money, so he cut this expenditure.

If Zhu Yijun knew what the two envoys said, he would have killed them with silver to let them see what the punishment for criticizing the emperor was.

After Li Houbai and other Korean envoys left, Gao Qiyu and Xu Jiugao went to find the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan Wan Shihe and reported today's situation.

"You did a great job." Wan Shihe said after hearing the details: "I'll leave this matter to you."

After receiving the imperial edict, Wan Shihe began to ponder it for a long time. He thought that everything was for the good of North Korea, which was similar to what Gao Qiyu said about His Majesty's kindness.

Wan Shihe glanced at Gao Qiyu with a hint of regret. Zhang Juzheng had never forgiven this former disciple. Gao Qiyu was quite capable, but without anyone to help him, he would end up in the Honglu Temple in this life.

"Has Le Gasi been sent away?" Wan Shihe talked about Le Gasi, the special envoy from the West. The envoys from the West had already met with him collectively, and it was time for Le Gasi to leave. This red-haired foreigner who had lived in the Ming Dynasty for twelve years, after all, had a deep love for the land that gave birth to him.

"He's already on his way." Gao Qiyu said with a hint of emotion: "I can only wish him good luck."

Wan Shihe said very calmly: "He will be burned to death. He is a blasphemer, an apostate, a devil, a heretic, and a person who is not on the list of God's gospel. But he is also a martyr. He made his choice, and we must respect his choice."

"I have a miscellaneous newspaper here, take a look."

After Gao Qiyu finished reading the newspaper, he frowned and said, "Isn't this nonsense? Where is this newspaper? I'll have someone call their chief judge to the Ministry of Rites."

If you don't listen while drinking tea, I'll use my heavy fists against you.

The content of the miscellaneous newspapers is even more "Kublai Khan" than Kublai Khan, which is Kublai Khan (nonsense).

Criticisms of the Ming court's eleven copper mines in the Luzon Governor's Office. These eleven copper mines contributed more than 15 million kilograms of brass, and the quantity was still growing rapidly. This resulted in the scale of Yunnan copper being suppressed by the Luzon Copper Mines, and the scale of production could not be expanded, so the people of Yunnan could not become craftsmen.

For every 10,000 kilograms of copper produced in Luzon, Yunnan loses a coppersmith!
The Ming Dynasty court would rather make friends with foreign countries than treat them as domestic slaves!

"The Ming Dynasty is in dire need of copper. Even cannons are made of steel, while the cannons of the red-haired foreigners are made of copper! What a shortage of coppersmiths for producing 10,000 kilograms of copper! No matter how much copper is produced, it cannot meet the needs of the Ming Dynasty." Gao Qiyu had a very low opinion of this miscellaneous report. He had no knowledge of the Ming Dynasty at all, so he could say such things.

The Ming Dynasty was a glutton. It wanted as much copper as possible and could use it all up. In the supply and demand relationship of copper, there was no upper limit to the Ming Dynasty's demand for copper, just like its demand for silver.

"I let you read this magazine, not to ask you to make an appointment for a talk with them." Wan Shihe looked at Gao Qiyu with a smile. What kind of teacher, what kind of disciple. Zhang Juzheng was an authoritarian figure who would not tolerate others' comments. Gao Qiyu was exactly the same. The first thing he thought of was to cover his mouth.

"This is the process of forming consensus." Wan Shihe explained why he let them read these miscellaneous newspapers.

Wan Shihe explained in detail why he let Gao Qiyu read these miscellaneous newspapers, and how the great debates during the Wanli Reform formed a consensus step by step, and then transformed the consensus into commonly accepted public order and good customs, and finally formed laws to put them into practice.

Public order and good morals are the greatest consensus among all the collective members of the Ming Dynasty, and the greatest common divisor.

Many new things happened during the Wanli Reform. Limited freedom of speech was allowed, which gradually formed a consensus in the verbal battle. This article criticizing Luzon Tongshan quickly caused waves of discussion. The man said that the man was right and the woman said that the woman was right. So who is right? Practice is right.

If it is verified through practice, then a consensus has been reached and the construction of public order and good customs has been ultimately completed.

Each of these steps is indispensable.

"A question arises at this point. What responsibilities should the court fulfill in this process? When should it intervene?" Wan Shihe looked at the two Shaoqings of the Honglu Temple and asked for their thoughts.

"It's hard to define it clearly, because the boundaries are not clear." Gao Qiyu frowned, took two steps and continued, "There is a lack of a standard. The court needs a standard to control the degree of freedom of speech, but what should this standard be?"

In the feudal monarchy, the clearest standard was the emperor. Articles that insulted the emperor should be covered, but what else? How should the court guide public order and good customs? This was a problem that the Ministry of Rites had to face.

"When the interests of the majority are harmed, intervention must be carried out." Wan Shihe gave his standards. The position of public opinion must be firmly controlled in the hands of the Ming Dynasty court. The court has suffered too many losses like this.

Wan Shihe found the standard and decided to intervene to protect the interests of the majority of Ming people.

"This gives a clear definition of etiquette and law, and it is a public order and good customs that protect the interests of the majority." Wan Shihe said with a sigh: "Your Majesty had already fully understood the essence of etiquette and law when he killed Chen Youren, who slandered General Qi and glorified the Japanese pirates."

Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness had a new and clear definition during the Wanli Reform, which was the achievement of the Wanli Reform.

"Gao Qiyu, are you willing to become my disciple?" After Wan Shihe finished defining etiquette, he changed the subject and asked Gao Qiyu about his opinion on becoming his disciple.

Gao Qiyu said with great confidence: "I am your disciple, even if you don't recognize me."

"I'm not asking you to become my disciple." Wan Shihe had long guessed that Gao Qiyu would say this. What he wanted was not for Gao Qiyu to become his master, but to become part of the emperor's party. In this way, the talent would not be wasted.

The Ming Dynasty needs more talents and more joint efforts to jointly maintain the achievements of the Wanli Reform.

Gao Qiyu is a talented person. He is a Hongyi scholar. Just looking at the recent experience of Wan Shi and the Minister of Rites, among the 300 new Jinshi scholars over the years, only a few can be considered Hongyi.

The Ming Dynasty has no shortage of officials, but it lacks people who can do things.

"I don't want to cause trouble for the Grand Master. He will be angry if he knows." Gao Qiyu thought about it again and again, and still chose to refuse. If he really joined the imperial party, Zhang Juzheng would be afraid that he would deal with Wan Shihe.

Wan Shihe said confidently: "Don't worry about Yuan Fu, I will take care of him. You have paid a high enough price for your mistake, it is more than enough."

"Then thank you, Grand Master of the Imperial Clan." Gao Qiyu, who among the officials appointed by the imperial court of the Ming Dynasty does not want to be promoted? Gao Qiyu has made great contributions in his mission to the West, similar to Zhang Qian's mission to the frontier during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Gao Qiyu also wants to improve himself.

But everyone in the world knew that Zhang Juzheng was not easy to mess with.

"Take this badge. It's time for you, the Shaoqing, to be promoted to the Grand Herald. Go back and wait for news." Wan Shihe handed over his badge, the badge of the imperial party.

The reason why Wan Shihe was confident was entirely because the badge he was given was that of the Emperor's Party. What he did was instructed by His Majesty. Wan Shihe had a clear understanding of himself. He was just a gatekeeper for His Majesty, and His Majesty was the leader of the Emperor's Party.

Like Zhou Liangyin, Gao Qiyu also passed the ten-year probation period and got an opportunity from His Majesty.

(End of this chapter)