The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 313: Grab time

Chen Zhizhi, the Grand Tutor of the Le Dynasty, the Grand Secretary of the Jinming Palace, and the Minister of Rites, stood on the stern of the ship with a grim face, watching more than a dozen Qi naval officers and soldiers climb over the side of the ship one after another, return to the small boat they were on, and then sail towards the fully armed warship.

The dozens of guns on that ship had their gun covers removed, revealing their black muzzles, aimed directly at their ship.

He was very sure that if the ship they were on refused to accept inspection by the Qi Navy, the other side would open fire without hesitation and send all of them to the bottom of the sea.

As the special envoy of Dali, he was riding on the country's royal official ship. He had just sailed out of the mouth of the Red Sea and the waters he passed through had not yet gone far from the coast of Annan when he was intercepted without reason by a Qi naval warship, which forcibly boarded the ship for inspection.

What a humiliation and how frustrating it is!
More than half a month ago, shocking news came from the Qi territory and Ruan Ni in the south.

The Governor of Runzhou of Qi State, His Royal Highness Prince Min, was stabbed to death on the ship by our Le Dynasty's secret agents!

Subsequently, the Governorate of Runzhou and the Governorate of Annan of Qi declared a state of war alert. Several naval warships of Qi weighed anchor and sailed into the northern waters to carry out war patrols, intercepting and inspecting all ships traveling to and from the port of Annan.

Immediately afterwards, the Nguyen rebel army in the south made frequent movements, with large numbers of troops heading to the Hengshan border area, and several elite teams crossing the border to carry out armed harassment and intelligence reconnaissance.

The Pseudo-Liang Hao clan in the north also began a comprehensive war mobilization. Taiyuan Town, Haiyang Town, and Xuanhua Town continuously appealed to the court for help, saying that the Pseudo-Liang clan was mobilizing a large number of troops on the front line and seemed to have the intention of launching an invasion to the south.

Just when the whole court was in a panic, the Qi State's ambassador to Tokyo stormed into Prince Weinan's palace and met with His Highness to make a solemn protest about the assassination of King Min of Qi by a secret spy of the Le Dynasty.

The Qi envoy questioned King Wei Nan whether this incident was instigated by the Le Dynasty and whether King Wei Nan would choose to start a war against Qi.

Although His Royal Highness King Wei Nan tried his best to defend himself, saying that this incident was purely the personal behavior of the "murderer" and had nothing to do with the entire Le Dynasty.

However, the Qi envoy spoke sharply and threateningly, demanding that the Le Dynasty must give an explanation for this incident, otherwise Qi would take "drastic measures" to seek justice for King Min who had unfortunately passed away.

King Weinan was forced into a desperate situation and had to agree to hand over the family members of the "murderer" to the Qi people for handling. The relevant court departments and officials involved in the incident were immediately dismissed and punished, and the victim, His Royal Highness King Min, was given a "compensation" of 30,000 taels of silver.

But the Qi State was not satisfied with this. A few days later, the country's envoy proposed the following terms and demanded that the Le Dynasty must agree to all of them before they would give up.

Article 1: Any speech or publication that expresses hatred and contempt for the Great Qi Empire is prohibited within the country.

Article 2: Reduce and disband the domestic military and armed groups that are "beyond the defense capability", retain a force of around 10,000 in principle, and ban and seal off societies and organizations that engage in anti-Qi propaganda.

Article 3: Remove officials in the government and the military who are accused of carrying out anti-Qi propaganda. The list of such officials is provided by the Qi government "in good faith".

Article 4: Accept cooperation with relevant departments of the Qi government and allow Qi advisers to have the right to guide the internal and foreign affairs of the Le Dynasty.

Article 5. Under the assistance and guidance of the relevant departments designated by the Qi government, arrest and detention actions shall be taken to punish all persons who planned or carried out the assassination of King Min, and they shall be handed over to Qi for disposal. At the same time, 300,000 taels of silver shall be paid to the victims.

Article 6: The forts on both sides of the Red River will be demolished, and Qi will be allowed to enjoy the right of free navigation on the Red River.

Article 7: The territory north of the Cang River and the Jin River was ceded to the Kingdom of Lang, and the territory south of the Lan River was ceded to the Kingdom of Guangnan, thus ensuring peace and stability in the entire Annan region.

Article 8: The four areas of Taiyuan, Xuanhua, Bac Ninh and Haiyang shall remain demilitarized.

Article 9: Further open up the domestic market and prohibit the establishment of any government legal provisions and actions that hinder the "free trade principle".

Article 10. In order to protect the lives and safety of Qi merchants and expatriates, Qi has the right to choose to station corresponding military forces in cities within the territory of Annan.

When King Weinan and many ministers and officials saw the ten demands listed by the Qi envoy, they immediately became furious.

Everyone was furious.

Except for the fifth clause which could be partially agreed to, who would dare to easily agree to the remaining nine clauses? !
This was not only a serious violation and gross interference of the "sovereignty" of the Le Dynasty, but also a naked humiliation to the King of Viennan and the entire court, and it also trampled on the dignity of all Annamites.

Just because a prince of Qi was assassinated, the entire Annan was forced to give up the court (national) sovereignty, give up armed self-defense, cede large tracts of land, and give up several major interests of the court.

If all these terms are accepted, our Dali Dynasty will probably perish without being defeated!

Therefore, King Weinan continued to actively mediate with the envoys of Qi, trying to bargain and exchange Qi's understanding and tolerance at the lowest cost. At the same time, he made preparations for the future and began to mobilize and assemble domestic troops to go to the north and south borders to deal with the risk of external invasion.

In addition, King Weinan also appointed the Minister of Rites Chen Zhizhi as a special envoy to visit Qin in the name of the court, and led a delegation to Nanjing to meet the Emperor of Qin in order to seek strong support.

When facing the military threat from Qi, Qin, as the suzerain state, should stand up and fulfill its responsibility and obligation to defend its vassal state.

Although the people of the Li Dynasty had great prejudice against Qi and even harbored hatred for it, they did not dare to underestimate Qi's powerful strength at all, and even the officials in the court were filled with fear.

As early as eighty years ago, the State of Qi had defeated our Annan army and captured the capital city of Dongjing. If King Qingdu (Zheng Zhen) had not seized the opportunity and ran away quickly, he would have been captured by the people of Qi.

Although, the Qi people fought that war in a somewhat tricky way, adopting the strategy of feinting to the east and attacking in the west, they transferred the main force of our Annan army to Guang'an, and then led thousands of elite troops up along the Red River, directly to the city of Dongjing, and then defeated it in one battle.

But to be honest, even if they faced the enemy head-on, the Annan army had no guarantee of defeating the Qi army. They might not suffer the shame of losing the capital, but would suffer a series of defeats resulting in the loss of troops and territory.

Now, so many years have passed, and Qi has become increasingly powerful, with a military might even greater than before. Not only does it possess unrivaled naval power in the region, it also owns large tracts of territory in the south, has a population of millions, and has a stable and solid forward attack base.

Moreover, Ha Tien, Champa, the Nguyen rebels in the south, and the pseudo-Liang Hao clan were all vassal states of Qi. If another war broke out, these forces would certainly be willing to serve as Qi's minions and would actively and enthusiastically follow Qi to plunder our Le Dynasty together.

The enemies surrounding us are all powerful, and the Le Dynasty is not united, but full of contradictions and problems. Once a war breaks out, there will be internal and external troubles, and we will fall into an unbearable desperate situation.

At the very least, Xuanhua Town in the northwest is an extremely unstable factor.

The Wu family of Xuan Quang had made great contributions to the Le Dynasty. When the Mo family usurped the throne of the Le Dynasty, they did not forget their former master and remained loyal to the Le Emperor. The Le Emperor allowed the Wu family to rule Xuan Quang for generations, and their status was a bit like the Qianguo Mansion of the Mu family in Yunnan during the pre-Ming Dynasty.

However, after several generations, the Wu family had long lost the loyalty and diligence of their ancestors, as well as the desire to serve the country. Instead, they were ambitious and "relied on the remoteness and dangerous terrain of the mountains and rivers, secretly harbored rebellious intentions, claimed the title of king, and falsely established a court." They also "frequently exchanged letters" and had "economic connections" with the pseudo-Liang Hao family.

If the imperial court encountered an invasion by a powerful enemy, regardless of whether he would send troops to help the imperial court resist the invasion of the pseudo-Liang army, he might also take the opportunity to plunder the surrounding prefectures and counties to expand his own territory, thereby realizing his intention of completely separatist and independent. In this situation, obtaining the support of the Qin Dynasty became the only hope for the Le Dynasty.

"Grand Secretary, are we still going to land at Qinzhou Port?" The person in charge of the merchant ship came over and asked carefully.

"No, we are not going to Qinzhou." Chen Zhizhi shook his head and said, "We will sail directly to Shanghai Port and go to Nanjing from there."

"Grand Secretary, isn't that inappropriate?" The merchant ship manager's eyes widened. "Our delegation has always landed at Qinzhou Port and then traveled overland to Nanjing when they came to pay homage to the Qin Empire. If we landed at Shanghai Port, it would be against the etiquette of a vassal state and against the laws of the Qin Empire."

"You are so impatient!" Chen Zhizhi shouted angrily, "When the life and death of our Dali Dynasty hangs on a thread, how can we still follow the old ways and follow the established pilgrimage route?... We should make the best use of the situation and sail the boat according to my instructions."

The vassal states of the Central Plains dynasty were some near, some distant, some close. Not only were there corresponding regulations on the time and number of tributes, but there were also special regulations on the routes for entering the capital.

For example, during the pre-Ming Dynasty, the closest Kingdom of Korea paid tribute four times a year, Ryukyu paid tribute twice every three years, Annan paid tribute once every two years, and sent envoys to Beijing once every four years, combining the two tributes into one; Nanchang paid tribute once every ten years, Siam paid tribute once every three years, and Sulu paid tribute once every five years.

Each tributary state must strictly follow the prescribed route to enter the capital and may not change it without authorization. Korea went from Fenghuangcheng to Shenyang and entered Shanhaiguan, Ryukyu entered the capital from Min'an Town in Fujian, Siam landed at Humen in Guangdong, and Annan entered the capital from Pingxiang Prefecture in Guangxi and entered Zhennanguan, and Nanzhang entered the capital from Pu'er Prefecture in Yunnan.

During the Qin Dynasty, because the Liang State separated the two countries from the border, Annan could not travel to the capital via the traditional tribute route. Therefore, the Honglu Temple of the Qin Dynasty stipulated that Annan's envoys coming to pay tribute or pay homage should first arrive at Qinzhou Port by sea, and then transfer to land, and be escorted all the way to Nanjing by local officials along the way. It was strictly forbidden to change the tribute route.

But now, Annan is facing the military threat from Qi and a number of vassal states. The situation is precarious and it must reach Nanjing as quickly as possible to meet with the Emperor of Qin and ask the Celestial Empire for security guarantees.

If we follow the established tribute route, we would first land at Qinzhou Port and then travel by land, which would allow us to travel at most 30 to 40 miles a day. By the time we reach Nanjing City, it would take at least one and a half months, and by then the opportunity would be gone.

Who knows when Qi will launch a military attack on our Li Dynasty.

According to the calculations of the officials in the court, it might take more than a month for the news of the assassination of Prince Min to reach Hanzhou. After the Emperor of Qi and the cabinet government had a brief discussion and made a decision on military retaliation, it would take another month for the news to be transmitted back to Annan.

Then Qi made military mobilizations accordingly, summoned troops from vassal states, and coordinated the actions of all parties, which took about another half a month.

By this calculation, the Le Dynasty only had more than three months to respond.

Therefore, Chen Zhizhi had to race against time with the people of Qi and reach Nanjing City as quickly as possible to meet with Emperor Qianyuan of the Qin Dynasty and try his best to persuade the Qin Dynasty to send troops to defend Annan.

When he left Tokyo City, the Qi envoy was still conducting diplomatic mediation with the King of Weinan, and the Qi merchants and their families had not made any move to evacuate. This showed that they had not yet received any instructions from their homeland and could only throw out some harsh conditions based on their own judgment and exert strong diplomatic pressure on our Le Dynasty.

Both the Nguyen rebels in the south and the pseudo-Liang Hao clan in the north were only engaged in military mobilization and troop deployment, and had not yet launched a large-scale military offensive.

Even the Qi naval ships only intercepted and inspected ships traveling to and from the Annan waters, and did not make any further threatening moves.

Therefore, time is extremely precious to Annan. As long as the security of Qin can be guaranteed, Qi will be cautious and will not force too much, and will understand this huge crisis on a condition that is not humiliating.
-
January 1733, 1, Hanzhou, Chang'an.

In a spacious conference room in Changxing Pavilion (the Prime Minister's Office), the joint military-political meeting that was being held suddenly fell into a strange silence after a fierce argument.

Everyone exchanged glances with each other, and occasionally stole a glance at Emperor Yonglong who was sitting at the top.

When the news of the assassination of the Governor of Runzhou and His Royal Highness Prince Min reached Chang'an, it immediately shocked the entire court and the country.

How dare you, Annan villain!

In the following days, after reporting to His Majesty, a joint military and political meeting involving many powerful figures including the Cabinet, the Privy Council, and the General Staff was quickly convened to discuss how to deal with the matter.

According to the military's opinion, the natural choice was to send troops to Annan to seek an explanation for King Min's death and demonstrate the power of the empire.

Back then, when local warlords in Egypt killed envoys from the Great Qi Dynasty, Emperor Taizu sent troops to severely punish them without caring about the distance.

The Japanese shogunate killed the sailors of our Great Qi merchant ships for no reason. Emperor Taizu gathered an alliance of forces from all sides and defeated the Tokugawa shogunate, forcing it to apologize and cede territory and pay compensation, thus establishing the great prestige of our Great Qi.

And now, the Annan villains have dared to commit the heinous act of killing the local governor and royal relatives of our Great Qi. Why don't we send troops to teach them a severe lesson?

Otherwise, everyone will come to trouble us in the future, and where is the dignity of our Great Qi Empire?

However, the cabinet government had some concerns about sending troops to Annan, because Annan was a vassal state of Qin. If they rashly used force, it would probably lead to armed intervention from Qin, which would in turn trigger a military conflict between the two countries.

Of course, this was not because he was afraid of the Qin State, but because he felt that it was not cost-effective to fight a large-scale war with the Qin State for Annan.

Not to mention how much troops Qi would have to mobilize, how much supplies it would have to requisition, and how much financial funds it would have to spend in order to deal with Qin's armed intervention - no matter which one, it would have to be a huge number. Even the huge commercial interests between the two countries did not allow them to make an immediate decision to engage in armed confrontation.

More importantly, is our Great Qi ready for a full-scale war with the Qin State?

"My Lords." Emperor Yonglong, who had remained silent throughout the meeting, raised his head, glanced at the imperial officials present, and said in a gentle tone: "As you all said, our Great Qi is indeed not yet ready for war with Qin. But is Qin also mentally prepared for a full-scale war with our Great Qi? I think no one is prepared accordingly. Even so, Qin recently sent an envoy to discuss the issue of debt extension with our Great Qi. Do they have the extra financial resources to start a full-scale war with our Great Qi?"

"Of course, Qin is a country with a large population and a great military power. Its strength should not be underestimated. We must not underestimate Qin's determination and combat capability. I think the same as you. In properly handling the issue of Annan, it is best to avoid the possibility of a direct conflict with Qin. However, Annan is a vassal of Qin, and Qin has the responsibility to protect it. So, should we give up military action and not punish Annan?"

"If so, where is the dignity of our Great Qi? How will the neighboring countries, local forces, and many vassal states view our Great Qi? How will we deal with the turbulent public opinion and the people's strong will? In the past few days, the ministers have been arguing and arguing about whether to send troops and whether Qin will interfere. There has been no conclusion, which makes me very anxious."

"In my opinion, Annan should be attacked, what's the doubt? As for the possible armed intervention of Qin, you are worried, and I feel the same way. But you have overlooked a very critical issue, that is, how quickly Qin will respond to my sending troops to Annan. If I, the Great Qi, launch a full-scale attack on Annan, I will destroy Annan in a month without giving Qin any time to react. Do you think that in this fait accompli, Qin still has the intention to interfere?"

"Wow..."

As soon as Emperor Yonglong finished speaking, there was a whisper of discussion in the conference room. The military representatives were all excited, while the cabinet members seemed to be thinking about something, and then they began to discuss and verify in a low voice.

Your Majesty's intention is to fight a quick battle and resolve everything before the Qin State can react, leaving no chance for Qin State to interfere.

This is about racing against time!

(End of this chapter)