unclear

Chapter 280 An unexpected surprise 2
After the Empress Dowager of the West Palace was poisoned and died, the coffin was not immediately sent to Emperor Shenzong's mausoleum for burial. Instead, it was parked in the Shouhuang Hall on the north side of Meishan Mountain.

According to the Ministry of Rites, we must choose a good and auspicious day to be buried together.In addition, the imperial mausoleum is not a big road in later generations. It has to be dug and buried every three days. The necessary construction work will take at least half a year.

As a result, Cining Palace became empty. For the sake of symmetry, Hong Tao invited the Empress Dowager of the East Palace to Renshou Palace, and no one lived in Ciqing Palace.Two large palace complexes, one in the east and one in the west, are not only very independent, but also very large in scale, much more grand than the Yangxin Palace.

So some ministers suggested that even if the three main halls are not planned to be rebuilt in the near future, they should not stay in the Yangxin Palace. Instead, they should choose one of Ciqing Palace or Cining Palace as their bedroom.

Hong Tao followed a good example and chose Cining Palace, but he did not fully adopt it. Instead of using it as a bedroom, it was used for daily work and summoning courtiers. It became an office, reception room and conference room.

The Japanese envoy had the honor of being the first foreign envoy to enter the harem and be received in the emperor's office, and also the first foreign official to be personally killed by the Ming Emperor.

In fact, Hong Tao didn't have any serious ill intentions towards the Japanese envoy at first. He just wanted to ask some questions about Japan's current situation.For example, the organizational structure of the shogunate, the number of daimyo in various places, how the shogunate manages daimyo, how much tax is collected, etc.

Ordinarily, this kind of question should be asked to the Ministry of Rites or the Ministry of War. As a country that has fought against North Korea and has always been hostile, the diplomatic and military departments must be prepared to know themselves and the enemy and be able to fight without danger.

In fact, this is not the case. Both the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War's understanding of the Japanese archipelago is limited to historical records and envoys' descriptions. There is neither on-site survey nor specific data, not even a superficial understanding.

In view of this situation, Hong Tao could only go into battle in person. He first made a general assessment of the situation from the Japanese envoy's mouth, and then found a way to send the envoy to the local area for detailed inspection.

How should I put it? Logically speaking, the questions raised should not be too much. If the two countries want to have normal exchanges, they must first understand each other.But the emperor couldn't help but express his views on certain issues. If he spoke too much, his secret would inevitably be exposed. He recounted some famous events that happened in Japanese history, as if he was personally there.

The most troublesome thing is that he can understand part of Japanese and can speak a few words. Whenever he thinks that the Japanese envoy speaks too slowly or expresses unclearly, he immediately corrects him. This is to use Japanese to correct Japanese history for Japanese officials!

Now the Japanese envoy was not calm. The Ming Emperor was sure, 100%, absolutely never to Japan, but when he talked about Japanese history and local customs, his words were astonishing.

Even if half of it is wrong, the other half is real.Coupled with speaking fluent and unclear Japanese, it is easy for people to have unreasonable suspicions and fears in their hearts.

If he were an ordinary person, that would be fine. He would still have to praise his erudition.This is the Ming Emperor, why is he so concerned about Japan?Not only was he looking around at his own home, but he was also pointing at his wife and children and asking questions. There was a greedy light in his eyes, something must be up to him!

Thinking that the Ming Emperor might have set his sights on Japan's land, the envoy couldn't help but feel chills all over.It is not that Japan has resisted foreign invaders, and it has been very successful, such as the powerful Mongol Empire.

But this time it was different. The two large ships with black sails burned the coastal ports of the five feudal domains of Satsuma, Osumi, Hizen, Chikuzen and Tsushima into ruins in less than ten days. Numerous ships were lost.If instead of 2 ships, 20 or 200 ships come, then none of the vassal states along the coast of Japan can compete with them head-on. They can only watch the Ming army casually land, attack cities and plunder villages, and advance and retreat freely. Come as soon as you come, leave as soon as you say.

This time, under the pretext of apologizing and asking for forgiveness, I followed the Ryukyu King’s mission to the Ming Dynasty. In addition to calming the Ming Emperor’s anger, I also had a small idea: to find out how many black sailing ships the Ming Dynasty had, where they were built, and what was on them. Where did the cannon come from?

As a result, the goal has not been achieved yet. First, the Ming Emperor gave him a good education. He talked about developing trade, complementing each other, peace and friendship, and passing on from generation to generation.

But it doesn’t sound right no matter how you listen. In the eyes of the Ming Emperor, Japan was just a big village composed of miners and farmers. It was enough to make a living by selling minerals, timber, and rice. There was no chance to incorporate larger-scale maritime trade, such as The deal with the Folangji people and the Hongmaofan.

"The Saipan people believe in God. Everywhere they go, they send monks to preach. Not only do they want to do business, but they also want to guide the locals to believe in their religion. When there are Saipan churches all along the coast of Japan and the people believe in God, the shogunate and the emperor It only exists in name only.”

Why not let Japan participate in maritime trade? Hong Tao told the whole story with great sincerity.It's not that they care about money, nor are they afraid of Japan's prosperity, but they are thinking about the Yamato nation, and are afraid that they will fall into the machinations of the Xifan people, be dazzled by the immediate interests, and eventually annihilate the race.

"But the Ming Dynasty has been trading with the Folangji people. Not only has it set up a residential area in Guangzhou, but it has also built the Europa Temple in the capital. Aren't you afraid that the people under your rule will believe in God?"

The Japanese envoy is definitely not stupid. He must be considered an official of his generation who has a broader vision and a better understanding of the situation in neighboring countries.Facing the emperor's deception, I had a very clear mind and immediately found the big loophole in it.

"Hey, this is wrong! The Ming Dynasty has a vast territory and a large population. Even if a mere monk is exhausted to death, the people affected by it are only a drop in the bucket. Even so, the Ming Dynasty did not dare to open the sea, and only allowed trade in Guangzhou.

However, Japan is different. It is a small country with few people and is surrounded by the sea. It is more convenient for foreign monks to come by boat.They randomly sent a few hundred people ashore, and in less than ten years God could spread throughout Japan. "

It's a pity that he met the emperor who was the best at digging holes and burying people. Whether the Xifan trade was a fake missionary or not, he was deliberately digging holes. As long as you asked, you would have basically fallen into the trap. Sooner or later it will fall.

"...A small country with few people...Baga...Thank you very much for the reminder from His Majesty the Emperor, but I'm sorry, Hattori from Iga is about to accompany you to see Amaterasu!"

It was hard to tell that the Japanese envoy was trapped, but he was definitely agitated by the emperor's obviously contemptuous words.Not only did the expression on his face suddenly become ferocious, but he also said some disrespectful words in Japanese. Before Wang Chengen on the side could react, he suddenly jumped up from his kneeling position, glared hard, and stretched out his legs. With both hands, he pounced on the unprepared emperor opposite.

(End of this chapter)