eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 618 The Tibetan Dynasty came to pay homage

The Ministry of Rites has many routine matters on weekdays, and various sacrificial rituals are very important. The emperor never denies this, but most of these matters do not attract the emperor's attention.Anyway, you can find out what to do by looking through the actual records of previous dynasties. If you can’t find the actual records, then go back to the previous dynasties.

Emperor Jiajing was afraid of the word "ritual", but Emperor Zhengde should not be afraid of it. Looking at the history of thousands of years, the legitimacy of his throne also belongs to the first echelon.

But in the spring of the fifth year of Zhengde, Wang Hua, the Minister of Rites, took on a "big job" - receiving foreign envoys.

In the early Ming Dynasty, especially during the Zhu Di era, there were more vassal states coming to the DPRK, and one was built in the north, imitating the Huitong Pavilion in Nanjing.

Among the many etiquettes, one of them is that all foreign envoys must first learn the court etiquette of the Ming Dynasty. Only after they are familiar with this set of etiquette can they enter the palace for audience.

Zhu Houzhao held the "Court Ceremony of the Coming of the Tibetan Dynasty" written by Wang Hua in his hand, and read it carefully based on the principle that no small matter in diplomacy should be considered. After reading it, he had some "little thoughts" about this article.

"Uncle Zong, why are you familiar with court etiquette?"

Wang Hua was honest and said the key point, "The etiquette of the palace is mainly the etiquette of the monarch and his ministers. Your Majesty is the emperor and the monarch of the heaven. These overseas islanders are far away from the Central Plains. If they are not taught, I am afraid that they will enter the palace." There will be acts of arrogance in the future.”

"Well..." Zhu Houzhao drawled, he was thinking.

This problem is actually quite difficult to solve.

The so-called etiquette of a monarch and his ministers is to kneel down and worship.

You want to say that Wang Hua's words are unreasonable, but that's not true. Although hegemony is a bit overbearing, the subjects of the country have to kneel when they see the emperor. Why don't foreigners kneel when they come?Are foreigners more noble than natives?

But if you want to say that he has a point, this kind of hard leverage will definitely affect Ming Dynasty's foreign exchanges.

After all, Ming Dynasty is the hegemon of East Asia, and it is not the leader of the earth. When the Ryukyu and Japanese envoys come, they must kneel down. But Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands are also the hegemons. Who will kneel down for you? ?
In fact, in history, in order to avoid this embarrassing problem, our ancestors took a simpler and cruder method, which was to say goodbye.

Generally speaking, there are ways to avoid summoning foreign envoys in the Forbidden City. However, the sense of ritual is very important in the exchanges between countries, so it does not seem right not to do so in the Forbidden City.

Zhu Houzhao started to scratch his head because of this rare situation, so he also asked directly, "What should I do if the envoys of certain countries are unwilling to kneel?"

Wang Hua didn't even frown, "Then you can't enter the palace to submit your credentials to the emperor, and the Ming Dynasty won't recognize it as a vassal state."

"Can you kneel down on one knee instead?"

Wang Hua raised his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, the etiquette cannot be discarded."

"I'm just discussing with you. If that situation really arises, can we kneel down on one knee as a way? Does the eldest uncle want to raise troops to attack the envoys because they don't kneel to me?"

"Your Majesty, the whole world is not the king's land, and the people who lead the land are the king's ministers, and the envoys who cannot kneel and worship. How should the Ming Dynasty call his country? The country of brothers? So, who is the brother and who is the brother?"

Zhu Houzhao started to have a headache, and he was afraid that the old Confucian would talk to him about these useless arguments.

Moreover, this idea that I am orthodox in the middle and you are a barbarian in the frontier is really very overbearing.Its internal logic is that I am superior to you and you should not reason with me. It is a supreme honor for you to be allowed to be received by the emperor.

What is this called?
Call me Jun En!
Because it was the first time, Zhu Houzhao didn't change too much. If he had more contacts later, he would delete or modify some inappropriate things.As for what he just argued, he also 'raised his hands and surrendered'.

"Let's go with this for now. I heard Ping Haibo's idea very quickly. I agree with your memorandum and will prepare it early in the afternoon. However, Huitong Pavilion used to be in charge of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Etiquette, but I don't think it's appropriate. Let the Ministry of Rites be in charge, and the safety of these envoys should be coordinated by the Ministry of War."

"Yes, Wei Chen obeys the order."

Zhu Houzhao tapped the imperial case with his index finger, "There's one more thing, I almost forgot. I'm going to send Gu Renyi to sea. Has the eldest uncle heard about it?"

"Yes, I have heard about it."

"Businessmen go to sea, and officials also go to sea. In the future, our Ming Dynasty will have more and more exchanges with Western countries. I will definitely add this matter to the Ministry of Rites. The exchanges between countries are also a very deep knowledge, Sun Tzu said in The Art of War Know yourself and your enemy and you will be victorious. Although we do not fight with them, we must understand them when communicating with them, know the conditions of their countries, and understand the differences between the temperaments and temperaments of these people and us Han people. I take the tribute trade as an example. Why did the Ryukyus in the early years China and Japan frequently send envoys to pay tribute to us? Because they know us and know that Ming Dynasty is good at face. They pay 30 taels, and we have to pay back 50 taels or [-] taels. Who wouldn’t want to do this kind of business? The same goes for the reverse. We also need to know the characteristics of Ryukyu Kingdom and Japan.

I don’t need to speculate or be confused as to what I mean by these words.I can tell you that I will not use my country’s people’s wealth and anointing to win the favor of foreign countries.No matter what you Confucian scholars think of me, my words are left here anyway. Isn’t it good to use the extra money to feed the people of Ming Dynasty? "

Wang Hua also wanted to scratch his head, but when he looked up, he found that the emperor tilted his head to one side with an arrogant look on his face. This...

What should he do?
An emperor suddenly started to be indifferent, and his expression was very clear: I won't do whatever you say anyway.

"Your Majesty, tribute matters are also ancestral..."

"Huh?" Zhu Houzhao waved his hands repeatedly, "Don't mention your ancestors. When I go underground, if my ancestors blame me, let them blame me, not any of you."

We can really see those former emperors underground, but Zhu Houzhao still cares so much?Show your cards directly, I'm not your Zhu family, you spend money to buy a good reputation, that's your business, I don't want to do it!

Wang Hua had no choice but to say, "I have the courage to speak, and I hope that your majesty will forgive me. I am the Ming Dynasty and do not talk about benevolence, justice and morality, but only talk about the style of the country. Shouldn't I just stick to some money? If... if I am stingy, I will be like before." It's different, and foreign envoys will inevitably feel that the Ming Dynasty is not as good as it was back then. If they feel contempt for it, won't they bring endless disasters?"

"Uncle Da Zong means spending money to buy peace?"

"This..." Wang Hua was dumbfounded, "Old minister, that's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Old minister, the court must be dignified, and your majesty must also be dignified. From Yongle to Xuande to Chenghua, our Ming Dynasty has always been like this when other countries pay tribute. I think they have this purpose this time. If it suddenly changes, I'm afraid the impact will be unpredictable.

"Unexpected? If you don't give it, will you rob it?"

"His Majesty!"

"Okay! Let's discuss it then. You don't have to be in such a hurry." Zhu Houzhao walked down with a smile. He was not going to argue on this point. Anyway, he would do what he did. He was the emperor, and one tael of silver came out of the treasury. As long as he doesn't nod, we'll see who dares, so there's nothing to argue with Wang Hua at this time.

"As for this matter, you prepare as usual, or you can go and talk to Gu Liqing again. Foreign envoys are coming. Let them see the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty. The city that never sleeps allows them to enter. Don't lock people in the Huitong Hall to learn etiquette. Since we are the Kingdom of Heaven, we must have the confidence and generosity of the Kingdom to show them that nothing will happen."

Wang Hua had no choice but to accept the order and thank him.

After he left, Zhu Houzhao laughed out loud, and the person beside his smile said "hehehe". It turned out that this guy was smiling but not smiling, just like a gloomy ghost.

Zhu Houzhao glared at him, and he froze immediately.

"I can't help but laugh at him even though he's holding his breath. Why are you laughing?"

"This servant sees that His Majesty is happy, so he will be happy with His Majesty."

"The smile is too ugly. Go and find me Gu Renyi."

You Zhi was happy to be scolded, after all, the emperor was in a good mood now.

Of course Zhu Houzhao was in a good mood. Without a bastard like Chen Tai to anger him, he would have lived ten more years.

"By the way, I'm going to urge Mao Yuwen again. Will the Zhejiang incident come to an end?"

"Yes, the slaves obey the order."

(End of this chapter)