Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Li Ziliang, Li Yong, and Quan Tong were taken to the East Palace by officials from Honglu Temple.

This approach made the Koryo envoy extremely surprised. Li Yong whispered in Koryo dialect halfway: "Is it the prince who makes the decision in the Ming Dynasty? The prince dared to summon the envoys of the country in private before the emperor."

Although Quan Tong has studied abroad in Tokyo for several years, he is not familiar with the current situation in China.

Li Ziliang guessed: "Perhaps the Chinese emperor trusts the prince and asked the prince to find out in advance the reality of my country. You two, please don't talk nonsense and listen to my words."

The three of them came to a side hall of the East Palace, where Ju Ming handled matters.

"Envoy xx from the Kingdom of Korea, pays homage to His Highness the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty!"

The three of them knelt down in unison. Among them, Li Ziliang and Quan Tong spoke Chinese, and they belonged to the standard Kaifeng dialect. Li Yong understands but is not good at speaking. He still speaks Korean dialect.

"Sit down and give me a seat." Zhu Ming nodded slightly.

After the three of them stood up, Quan Tong suddenly said, "Student Quan Tong, meet you sir!"

This was really beyond Ju Ming's expectation, so he asked: "Why are you my student?"

Quan Tong explained: "Mr. was once the orthographer of Taixue in the old Song Dynasty. At that time, the students studied in Taixue Shangshe."

"Sit down." Ju Ming was noncommittal, his attitude seemed ambiguous.

After Li Ziliang sat down, he immediately told the basic situation: "Because we didn't know the founding of the Ming Dynasty, we were ordered by the king to come to contact the old Song Dynasty to fight against the Jin Dynasty. For some reason, we were put under house arrest in Mingzhou for a year. . After the Ming Dynasty soldiers took over Mingzhou, we hurried to Bianliang to have an audience before we had time to return to Goryeo. Here, on behalf of the king, we congratulate the emperor of the Ming Dynasty on the founding of the country and enjoy the country forever. As for the national gift , I will definitely serve it next time I come back.”

"Send my regards to the Lord of Goryeo for me." Ju Ming nodded and smiled.

Li Ziliang said: "We, Goryeo and Jin, were originally father and son, Goryeo was our father, and Jin was our son. Unexpectedly, the barbarians from the Jin state actually gained power and became rampant, forcing our lord to surrender and obey, and also forced our country to hand over Baozhou (Baozhou). Land. Baozhou is the inherent territory of Goryeo. How can our lord be a king who wants to cede territory for glory? So he came to ask China to send troops to attack the Jin Kingdom together next year!"

This was half true and half false, just to fool Ju Ming.

The ownership of Baozhou is a bad debt that cannot be explained in a few words.

During the Tang Dynasty, it was not called Goryeo at that time. They took advantage of the collapse of Goguryeo and continued to expand northward. By the Fifth Dynasty, they had developed to the north of the Datong River.

As a result, when the Liao Kingdom rose, both sides wanted to kill the Bohai Kingdom, and there was a honeymoon period for several years.

Because the Liao Kingdom annexed the Bohai Kingdom, Goryeo did not gain much benefit, so he became angry and started to be a teddy.

Goryeo was unable to fight the Liao Kingdom, so it exiled more than 30 Liao envoys to the island and all starved to death. This kind of thing is simply outrageous. It is of no benefit to oneself. Instead, it will anger the Liao State and appear particularly rude.

When the Liao Kingdom was free, it sent an army of 800,000 to attack Goryeo.

Gao Li was instantly frightened and quickly expressed his submission.

The Liao Kingdom also had some internal problems and was eager to recall its frontline troops. Seeing that Goryeo was willing to become a vassal, it gave Goryeo hundreds of miles of land east of the Yalu River (i.e. Baozhou) and ordered Goryeo to immediately sever diplomatic relations with Song.

Goryeo actually took advantage and continued to secretly spend money to instigate the Jurchens to rebel.

This led to the Liao Kingdom's "Three Expeditions on Goryeo". Although they lost countless troops and generals, they also took back the land of Baozhou.

Later, the Jin State and Goryeo joined forces to attack the Liao Dynasty. The Jin State promised Goryeo to occupy Baozhou, but the Jin State was also famous for going back on its word. Aguda directly occupied Baozhou and asked Gao Li to lead his troops to take it.

Goryeo did not have the courage to send troops, but had the brains to deceive.

Goryeo verbally agreed to surrender to the Jin Dynasty, and the Jin Kingdom readily granted Baozhou, but later played tricks on the title of the credential. The Kingdom of Jin was furious and mobilized troops to kill him. Gao Li decisively gave in and called his father.

Therefore, although Baozhou was actually occupied by Goryeo, it was never the inherent territory of Goryeo.

The last time we had Baozhou, it was given by the Liao Kingdom.

Possessing Baozhou this time was given by the Kingdom of Jin.

And all at the cost of being a subject!

However, the emperors and ministers of Goryeo felt very aggrieved, thinking that Baozhou should be the territory of Goryeo, so they secretly came to contact the Song Dynasty to attack the Jin Dynasty.

You can guess with your toes that once the Ming Dynasty cuts gold, Goryeo will definitely choose to wait and see.

The Ming Dynasty succeeded in cutting down the gold, and Goryeo took the opportunity to expand northward.

After the Ming Dynasty failed to conquer gold, Goryeo continued to give in and refused to admit that it had any dealings with the Ming Dynasty.

Ju Ming didn't care whether these guys were telling lies, and acted like they shared the same hatred with the enemy: "The Jin people really have no credibility. They had good relations with the Song Dynasty back then, but they went back on their word and attacked the Song Dynasty. They burned, killed, and looted all the way. They were really cruel barbarians." Since both the Ming Dynasty and Goryeo have national feuds with the Jin people, it is only natural for the two countries to join forces to defeat the Jin people."

"His Royal Highness the Prince is wise!" Li Ziliang was overjoyed.

Ju Ming also started to fool around: "The Ming Dynasty sent troops to subdue Xixia this year. Xixia has become a vassal of the Ming Dynasty. The two countries are a country of father and son. Yelu Dashi, the clan of the Liao Kingdom, unified Mobei and called himself the Great Khan of the Liao Kingdom. The Ming Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom also made an agreement. We are brothers. If Goryeo joins again, the Jin Kingdom can be surrounded on all sides. When the time comes, the four countries will send troops together, how can the Jin people be invincible?"

Li Ziliang was shocked: "Xixia actually surrendered to the Ming Dynasty?"

Ju Ming smiled and said: "If you don't believe it, you can send one person to Xixia for a walk."

Li Ziliang immediately expressed his position: "Korea is willing to follow the Ming Dynasty. If the Jin Kingdom is attacked and destroyed, Korea will respect the Ming Dynasty as the country of its parents!"

Ju Ming asked: "How is Confucianism in Goryeo?"

Quan Tong replied: "Our country respects Confucianism in the Han and Tang Dynasties. Decades ago, Prime Minister Cui first opened the private school. He taught without distinction and was known as 'Haidong Confucius'. Eleven more ministers successively opened private schools, collectively known as 'The Twelve Disciples of Confucianism'. Since the founding of Selfish Studies, countless common people have become able to read and write, and Confucianism is already flourishing in Korea."

Ju Ming took the opportunity to spread his thoughts: "Although the Ming Dynasty was only a year old, it has compiled three classics. Come and give me the book!"

The three Goryeo envoys were overjoyed, which was different from the Song Dynasty.

Although they had good relations with Goryeo in the late Northern Song Dynasty, they still refused to give high-end books and even prohibited Goryeo envoys from purchasing them. This is because they regard high-end books as state secrets and are afraid that Goryeo will take the books to the Liao Kingdom.

Immediately, a eunuch brought several books, all of which were hand-copied versions and had not yet been printed on a large scale.

They are: "Jinzhou Collection", "University Justice", "Zhongyong Justice" and "Book of Rites Justice".

"Jinzhou Collection" is a collection of Ju Ming's poems and articles.

"University Justice" and "Zhongyong Justice" are the renames of Ju Ming's previous commentaries.

"Book of Rites and Justice" was compiled by Hanlin Academy officials, and Ju Ming was responsible for reviewing and revising it. Now all the revisions have finally been completed.

Quan Tong was responsible for holding the book, and Li Ziliang knelt down and kowtowed: "Thank you, Your Highness, for the book!"

Ju Ming said: "Since the country is governed by Confucianism, should the intermarriage between close relatives in the Goryeo royal family also be changed?"

As soon as these words came out, the three envoys were instantly ashamed because they thought it was so embarrassing.

Marriage in the Goryeo royal family has always been settled internally.

For example, the founding king Wang Jian married all his nine daughters to his own sons, which meant that his children engaged in brother-sister marriage.

The second generation of King Goryeo married two biological sisters, and the children he gave birth to were brothers and sisters.

One of the biological sisters (the queen), after the death of the king's brother and husband, had an affair with her biological brother and had a child.

This illegitimate son of a close relative actually became the king of Goryeo.

Nowadays, families are getting bigger and bigger, and they are no longer limited to intermarriage between brothers and sisters. They mainly engage in intermarriage between brothers and sisters, brothers and sisters, and even cross-generational marriages.

The Confucian scholars in Goryeo have been criticizing this for a long time, but the king and the clan did not listen at all, thinking that this was a necessary means to consolidate and extend their rule.

Now that the Ming Prince mentioned it to his face, the three Korean envoys were so ashamed that they wanted to find a crack in the ground to get in.

Li Ziliang lowered his head and said: "After returning to the country, I will definitely give advice to the leader of the country."

Ju Ming said: "I just mentioned casually that Goryeo has its own national conditions, and the country's leader can follow the old customs."

After chatting about poetry and articles for a while, the three envoys bowed and left.

As soon as he left the palace and got into the car, Quan Tong said in Korean language: "Marriages with the same surname are really bad customs. In recent decades, many ministers have advised me. I don't know when your majesty will correct it."

"I'm afraid it's difficult," Li Ziliang said, "This matter has actually spread to China. How will future envoys come to the Ming Dynasty to deal with the Ming Dynasty Confucian scholars? Korea will definitely become a laughing stock!"

Li Yong sighed and said: "Don't talk about this matter. Your Majesty will make your own decision. We can just tell the truth when we go back."

The three began to read the books given by Ju Ming. They were not very interested in classics. Instead, they preferred to read Ju Ming's collection of works "Jinzhou Collection".

This is because the Confucianism in Goryeo is still stuck in the Tang Dynasty version. It does not attach much importance to the classics. Instead, it is keen on the study of rhetoric. Goryeo Confucian students love to study poetry and songs.

"These poems are old works by Prince Zhu. I read them when I was studying in Imperial College." Quan Tong said proudly.

Li Yong praised and said: "Prince Zhu is really a great Confucian, and his poems are so beautiful."

Li Ziliang continued to read, slapped his thigh suddenly and said: "Look at this song "Song of Righteousness", it has such majestic and majestic energy that it makes your blood flow and feel upright and awe-inspiring!"

Li Yong and Quan Tong read it hurriedly, and they were both shocked and inexplicable.

Quan Tong said: "If this book is spread back to China, it will be sought after by thousands of people, and Prince Zhu will be famous far and wide in our country."

The three discussed poetry and began to plan for future territorial expansion.

Today's Goryeo, and later North Korea, all grew stronger by fishing in troubled waters.

The Tang Dynasty defeated Goguryeo, and Silla took the opportunity to expand to the Datong River.

The Liao Kingdom defeated the Bohai Kingdom, and Goryeo took the opportunity to expand to the Yalu River.

The Ming Dynasty destroyed the Yuan Dynasty, and North Korea took the opportunity to expand to the north of the Yalu River, but was quickly beaten back to the south of the Yalu River by the Ming Dynasty.

Ju Ming's future plan is to drive Goryeo back to the south bank of the Datong River, and if there is still room for it, he will simply annex the country.

There are all kinds of excuses for sending troops, and there are even sufficient reasons for a cultural war: the Goryeo royal family is intermarriage among relatives, which is not in line with Confucian ideals, and rebellion against human ethics should destroy the country!