The struggle of the reborn prince

After dealing with the matter at hand, Zhao Tun set foot on the road of offering sacrifices to the ancestral mausoleum.This time when he left Beijing, he demanded that everything be kept simple. The accompanying guards were only a brigade of the Guards and the Internal Guard Brigade. The number of officials who accompanied the sacrifice was also greatly reduced, but he brought Yuwen Xuzhong who had just returned to China as a show of favor.

A large group of people marched along the main road to the ancestral mausoleum in Gong County with a guard of honor, but they couldn't walk much every day.Passing through Zhengzhou that day, Zhao Tun suddenly decided not to go into the city to avoid disturbing the people, but to make do with the night in the posthouse outside the city.He was naturally very puzzled that even though the post house was full, they had been driven out for such a long time, not to mention that it was the end of the year when the officials were not transferred, and the post house should be the most vacant time.

"Jianxi, why haven't you been ready for so long, go and see what's going on!" Zhao Tang waited a little impatiently, and asked Jianxi to check the situation.

"Your Majesty, the post house is full of envoys from all over the world who came to pay tribute. They are moving around, but they have a lot of luggage, so they are delayed!" After a short time, he understood and came back to report.

"Well, which country's envoy is it?" Zhao Tang asked.

"Your Majesty, it is said that he is the tribute envoy of Khotan and Xizhou!" Jianxi replied.

"No, Khotan has no vassal relationship with our country. The Xizhou envoy is not mediating the Gaochang matter in the capital. Why did another one come out?" Zhao Tuo got out of the car and looked around. There was a woman and a child among them, and the luggage was carried by camels with hundreds of peaks as reported by the happy news. It would take some time to arrange it hastily. I feel wrong next time.

"Your Majesty, I don't know about this little one!" Jian Xi shook his head and said.

"Bring Zhang Shilang, I'll ask him!" Zhao Tang wanted to clarify the matter.The Ministry of Rites is in charge of ancestor worship, so of course they will send people.Diplomatic affairs are also the affairs of the Ministry of Rites, and Zhang Suo should know the details.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Shilang is comforting you in the posthouse, and it's not too late to ask after the arrangements are made later!" Jian Xi worried that the emperor would make trouble again, so he stopped him.

"That's good!" Zhao Tang thought for a while, but the doubt in his heart was even stronger, a few Tibetan officials would not be appeased by a servant of a big country!

After dinner that night, Zhao Tang summoned Hu Anguo and Zhang Suo, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, to his residence for questioning, only to find out that he lived in the palace in previous years.The posthouses in the city were also vacated for the accompanying officials to live in, and the tribute envoys who came to Beijing were all bombarded to live in posthouses outside the city.Unexpectedly, this year the emperor suddenly wanted to live outside the city, which caused dissatisfaction among the tribute envoys who had moved twice, which delayed the time.

Next, I answered the questions about the envoys of Khotan and Xizhou. The so-called envoys that Zhao Tong saw were indeed a bit inaccurate, but they also had an edict from the king, and they could also be regarded as envoys. Their identities Between messenger and merchant.And Zhao Tun also laughed dumbfounded when he heard it, the reason why Da Song turned a blind eye to him.Let them do business, and get a huge reward, that is, let them appear at the New Year's Day court meeting to perform the "All Nations Come to the Court" drama for the emperor and the people of the world. To put it bluntly, they are special actors invited by public funds...

The phrase "all nations come to Korea" appeared very early.The first so-called "all nations come to court" is believed to have occurred in the era of Dayu's rule.According to historical records, Dayu ordered all countries in the world to go to the Tushan League Meeting.This is the so-called "Tushan meeting, the princes inherited the prosperity of Tang and Yu."There are also ten thousand countries holding jade and silk."And it should be the Han Dynasty that really turned it from a legend into a reality, with the management of the Western Regions and the conquest of the Huns by the Han Dynasty.As well as the adventures of Ban Chao, Gan Ying and others, a group of countries other than Kyushu came to pay tribute in the Han Dynasty, and the tribute system was truly established.

The monarchs of the Han Dynasty discovered that the empire they ruled could not actually be the entire world as explained in classics such as "Shangshu" and "Book of Songs".However, based on practical political strategy considerations, vassal states are the key to maintaining the stability of the empire's frontiers. They are the top priority of the empire's "all nations come to court"; as for those tributary states, like Daqin, Anxi, Tianzhu, etc., they are far away. Knowing whether it really exists, the so-called tribute is just an accidental date between two time and space, so don't worry about it.But as a means of whitewashing peace, "all nations come to North Korea" naturally means that the more countries come, the better.

Since then, the Chinese Empire has embarked on a journey of 'discovering' tributary states. Every foreigner who is willing to meet the emperor and offer gifts from his own country is counted as a 'tribute envoy'. Well, for the convenience of doing business, they are all counted as 'tributes', and the country they come from has naturally become a respectful vassal of the heavenly kingdom, but the country that has become a vassal gloriously knows nothing about it.

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty pushed this drama to the top and became the benchmark of all dynasties. According to historical records, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty "Every year on the first month, all nations come to court, and stay until the fifteenth day, outside Duanmen, inside Jianguomen, stretching Bali, listed as a theater.... The sound of Jinshi Paoge can be heard dozens of miles away. There are more than 8000 people playing strings and pipes. There are large torches, candles in the world, and the prosperity of a hundred operas, which is incomparable since ancient times. It’s something that’s normal every year.”He created a dream world that later kings pursued and created a legend.

So from the very beginning, "All nations come to court" was a grand show with a boastful nature. This big show was not only performed for the barbarians from outside, but also for all the subjects of the empire. It clearly told the people that they could What a blessing it is to live in such a country that is admired and supported by all nations.And the barbarian tribute envoys who came to pay tribute meant that the success of the Celestial Dynasty was not boastful, but was recognized by all nations in the world.It also conveyed a clear message to the subjects of the Celestial Dynasty: Apart from the Celestial Dynasty, other countries have nothing to envy.

Of course, maintaining such a face project would cost a lot.If it is only according to the records in the book, only the obligation of paying tribute to all nations is stipulated, and the empire can enjoy the benefits, which is naturally the best.The Heavenly Kingdom, which can be handed down as etiquette, naturally cannot treat those vassal states that are enamored of Huaxia. It is obviously undignified to be stingy. Only by exaggerating the wealth of the Heavenly Dynasty can it attract batch after batch of tribute envoys to come to pay tribute, so that "all nations come" North Korea" can be performed year after year.

Therefore, starting from the Han Dynasty, paying tribute was a huge expense for the empire, receiving audiences, giving banquets, giving seals, ribbons, crowns, gold and silver, and colorful ribbons, all of which were not a problem, and the rewards were several times higher than the tribute.As for these gold, silk and silk items, the tribute envoys brought them back to the country and changed hands, which was quite a fortune.But knowingly becoming a "Kaizi" for the obvious myth of "all nations come to court", the empire is willing to pay any huge price, using endless extravagant pomp and amazing waste to show the empire's incomparably powerful face; Time, effort, wealth and lives have been used to flesh out this myth and make it real.

In the Song Dynasty, of course, it was not exempt from customs, and it spared no effort to create a huge face project. In order to prove the legitimacy of its obedience to heaven, it also continued to "give" Liao and Xixia old coins to attract countries with thick and thin The tribute envoy came to the DPRK.Moreover, the more the fate of the country is deteriorating, the more it needs to bow its head to the Northern Dynasty, the more it is necessary for Wan Guo who came to the Dynasty to regain some self-esteem of the empire. It's just a facade to show that there are still allies supporting him.

The people from Khotan that Zhao Tun had just met had grasped the pulse of the Song Dynasty, and they could be called the tributary country that understood the psychology of the Celestial Dynasty. They called the emperor of the Song Dynasty "the sun rises in the east, and the great light shines on the four worlds, and the four worlds rule the world." My uncle's official family".During the hundred years of Song Jianguo's founding, the envoys from Khotan went to the Song court once every one or two years at most, and at least half a year. Each one-way trip took two years, but these long-distance journeys were really rewarding.

Every time Khotan came to the capital, he was treated as a distinguished guest, and he was grandly received by the government. Along the way, there were station officials to take care of him. The whole family ate and played, and the business naturally prospered. The official will pay compensation at a price several times higher than the price of the goods.From this point of view, Wan Guo’s coming to court is more like a transaction. The empire paid a huge sum of money to buy back its confidence and dignity, and the tribute received rewards and money. Both parties were happy.

After the Jurchens invaded the Central Plains back then, these tribute envoys didn't say they were helping, even if they didn't even have a word of moral support, they stopped coming and turned to the Jurchens, even though they made an unknown amount of money in Song Dynasty Khotan is also included.Now that Song Dynasty has recovered, they resumed the "tribute" again, driving camels and bringing their family to do business...

Zhao Tong understood, but he couldn't help but smile wryly in his heart. When they were enjoying the drama of "all nations come to court, all barbarians are obedient, sound teaching is widespread, and the world is blessed", and they fantasized about all the beautiful things, they may have thought about a question : How wonderful it would be if all this was true!But unfortunately, all of this only exists in the illusion of hopeless suspense. In reality, there is only heartache. The treasury has already been full of tribute. The so-called "glory" is actually old and cannot be sold at all Overstock, but the empire paid an astonishing price for it!

Of course, Zhao Tong is also one of those who feel distressed. He ascended the throne when the country was destroyed. At first, all countries were afraid of the Jurchens' power. More and more countries are coming to the DPRK, but he doesn't understand the inside story, it's just like singing and dancing at a banquet, it's just to embellish the festive atmosphere and make everyone happy.He didn't expect to pay such a high price for this face project, but he didn't want to be another victim of this project... (to be continued...)