Lu Ming

I received the document before, so the traveler already knows the origin of the other party's name: "Master Zheng, please take a seat."

After the first middle-aged man spoke, he continued to laugh and said: "I want to teach the servant to know that I am Shao Qiang, the counselor of the General Soldier's Yamen. As for the Chief Soldier... this, diplomacy is not equal, so you will not see Cao today." grown up."

The principle of "diplomatic reciprocity" not only exists in later generations, but also in ancient times, it was not said that envoys would go directly to the hall as soon as they arrived, so Zheng Chuntang was not surprised when he heard the words. After all, he also went to the capital to pay tribute to the Ming Emperor. person.

"Master Shao sits firmly in the Chinese army, and he should be the one who can take the lead for General Cao, so that's good."

Next, Shao Qiang naturally greeted the Dutch red-haired Van Hermann Hotell who was waiting at the side.

As Batavia's trade representative stationed in Annan, Hotell has lived in this rainy and humid country for more than two and a half years.So at this moment, he can already communicate with the traveler in "Annan's second-hand Chinese" with a strange accent and stuttering.

"Hotel, the trade representative of the Dutch East India Company, on behalf of Governor Korn, would like to present the gift and greetings from Batavia to the old friend of the company, the invincible commander of the East, Earl Cao."

"Hahaha." Shao Qiang looked at the red-haired man in front of him with his three-cornered hat on his chest and bowed at 90°, and said with a big smile, "Governor Cohen was an outstanding man, and my commander-in-chief has always been a hero. Although he has never Masked, but the Governor is an old friend."

"Come here, show Mr. Hotell a seat and serve tea."

Generally speaking, the first meeting between the guest and the host was relatively harmonious.

However, Zheng Chuntang saw the end of the greeting after sitting down for a while, so he immediately stood up, cupped his hands with a serious face, and asked straight to the point: "The army of the Shang Kingdom came and went suddenly a few days ago, destroying my home and killing my parents. What is it?" Whose imperial decree did you follow?"

Chapter 597 Fuyuan Treaty ([-])

"Whose imperial decree did you follow? Haha!"

Hearing Annan's envoy's preemptive questioning, Shao Qiang raised his head and laughed loudly: "It's a joke, why do you have to obey the order?"

Zheng Chuntang was surprised and angry: "It's a joke, the two countries are fighting each other, and the side will say that it has no purpose?"

Shao Qiang smiled: "This is called a low-intensity conflict in the region, where are the two countries fighting each other?"

The weird Chinese dialect made Zheng Chuntang, who has read a lot of Han family economics, hesitate for a while.After tasting it for a while, he finally understood.

"Well, there is really no imperial decree!" Immediately, the tall and straight noble official among the Annan people turned his hands behind his back, his feet were uneven, and sneered with a sneer on his face: "There is no imperial decree." Frontier provocation, this is a serious crime of rebellion and extermination. Your uncle is with Emperor Chongzhen, can he afford it?"

"Hey, you official, why can't you understand? Let me explain clearly to you."

Shao Qiang, who was sitting at the top, touched his nose helplessly: "Master Cao, the loyal and brave uncle, is the deputy commander-in-chief of Guangdong and the real-time commander-in-chief of Zhangchao. The sea area of ​​the Ming Dynasty from the south of the Yangtze River is under the control of Mr. Cao. Don't say it." The Red River Estuary in the Beibu Bay... Well, you call it Tokyo Bay, which is the Siam Sea to the south, and since ancient times, it has also been under the jurisdiction of the Guangdong Deputy Commander-in-Chief."

Shao Qiang paused and added: "This is called the nine-dash line. Well, you don't read much, so it's not your fault if you haven't heard of it."

"Then since it is where the jurisdiction lies." Shao Qiang continued to guide the other party's thinking: "It seems that there is no need to ask for orders in such small conflicts these days. The capital and the border area are thousands of miles away. I also said that Bian will have the right to make decisions on the fly."

Zheng Chuntang was dumbfounded.The next moment, he stopped posing when he wanted to understand, and started yelling: "Pretending to make excuses! Waiting for the barbarians to destroy our capital, this is considered a skirmish? And what about the nine-dash line? It's nonsense!"

Annan's envoy was furious, as some people expected.So Shao Qiang didn't get angry when he saw the people spouting poisonous words. Instead, he smiled and comforted him: "Brother, seek common ground while reserving differences. You can talk about everything slowly. Don't be so angry."

Zheng Chuntang quickly calmed down.In fact, he just had an excuse to attack, but seeing that the other party was unmoved, he knew that his reckless test was useless.At the same time, his mood became depressed.

Before this, the civil and military elites in Shenglong Mansion also roughly figured out the mentality of villains before today's mission: For the hostile parties who do not know each other, it is certain to shoot first, then shoot, and then sit down to talk. in the interests of the powerful.After all, after the weaker party has experienced the strength, it will take whatever it wants, saving a lot of hands and feet.

It was based on this kind of speculation that Zheng Chuntang would stick to the "violation of the order" as soon as he came up today.

……

The moment the Annan court learned that they could send envoys to negotiate, the elites of this country knew that the time to pay the price was coming, with a high probability.

Although things are still far from clear, the daily cost of such a large and ferocious fleet, which has never been seen before, must be sky-high.The fine iron shells that have entered Shenglong Mansion these days alone are not a small number.

So no matter which side of the Ming Kingdom the people came from, since they had spent such a huge amount of military expenditure, they would naturally not have gone the wrong way to bombard Shenglong Mansion.People in Annan know with their toes that the other party must have something to ask for, and the request is huge.

This can also be seen from the report sent by the Hongji magistrate.

So although we don't know the exact purpose of the tiger wolf, but since it is a tiger wolf, it is nothing more than eating meat and drinking blood.Tigers and wolves, the Annan people have been expanding in the Indochina Peninsula these years. They are used to tigers and wolves, so they understand the mentality of tigers and wolves very well.

So the question is, how to deal with it?

It is definitely impossible to fight.These days, from the actual controller of the Houli Dynasty, Qingdu King Zheng Bing, down to the soldiers at the Shenglong Mansion to watch the city gate, they were all frightened by this fleet that descended from the sky.

The Annan people's traditional military methods are useless in the face of this invincible fleet.As of today, less than half of the Thang Long Mansion within the range has been destroyed by shells, and the ancient capital is paralyzed. The Zheng Group, which controls the north of Annan, feels tremendous pressure.

But the opponent came and went freely, looking at that leisurely appearance, he could launch an offensive again at any time.

In the face of the huge unreasonable power, Annan Chaotang quickly recognized the reality and reached a tacit understanding: "Comfort".

In fact, it is just decent language for admitting defeat and making peace.

There is no way, since we can't "suppress" it, we can only "caress" it.

The Annan people don't know that this kind of helpless choice is actually too common in the historical process of another plane.I don't know how many backward agricultural countries have all their dignity smashed by the shells of industrialization and endure all kinds of humiliation.

Of course, although the Annan people have recognized the reality now, it does not mean that they will surrender and take whatever they want, and they always have to resist at various levels.

Then, just before Zheng Chuntang set off, under the collective planning of the Annan people, they still found out a weakness of the opponent: aimlessness.

This information was judged by combining the documents sent by Hongji and Cao's information provided by the Dutch consultant.

The reason for attacking the opponent's innocence is simple: the only thing the weak can rely on is the system.To put it bluntly: the way for the poor to defeat the robbers is to use the power of the government.

So, even though An Nanguo used to live behind closed doors, even though An Nan's court used to treat Daming like a tiger and wolf and took strict precautions, but at this critical moment, these people suddenly remembered that Daming was the suzerain country...

Yes, the people in Annan realized that only within the political framework of Daming could it be possible to send this extremely ferocious general surnamed Cao back at a small price.

Emperor Chongzhen became the Bodhisattva of Annan Xiaobang overnight... Your Majesty, please take away the evil mount of your family.

This is the reason why Zheng Chuntang stuck to the imperial edict when he came up today.

But Zheng Chuntang was disappointed.

Zheng Chuntang, who has experienced court experience, can easily judge from the expression, movements and tone of this Senator Shao that the other party doesn't care about the charge of "provoking border quarrels". This judgment made Zheng Chuntang secretly call it bad.

But at this point, no matter what he thinks in his heart, his attitude on the surface must still be tough.So at the next moment, Zheng Chuntang continued to follow the plan and said: "I'm so pleased to learn that the envoys sent by Xiabang to pay tribute to Emperor Chongzhen left the Red River ten days ago."

After looking around coldly for a week, focusing on the group of officials and scholar-bureaucrats on the left, Zheng Chuntang said in a cold voice: "Hmph, if you want people to know, you have to do nothing yourself. You have done such a good thing in my Annan. It's time to see the sun!"

"Okay, okay, if you want to sue your parents, go!" Shao Qiang touched his nose helplessly for the second time today, and he was really speechless about the action of the Annan people following the court's order.

"However, this official Zheng, I still have a good word of advice here." The next moment, Shao Qiang and the group of scholar-bureaucrats also exchanged glances, and added with a playful face: "The emperor who is in the state of heaven is not so Good to see. The capital is strictly controlled, those envoys of your family, be careful to be taken back to their original places as blind people."

Zheng Chuntang replied stiffly when he heard the words: "Hmph, I don't need the counselor to worry about this."

At this point in the matter, Shao Qiang, who had been planning to talk about the business, probably understood Annan's tactics.This made him a little annoyed, and he felt like he had been put on a straight line: "Then other than talking nonsense, official Annan, do you really want to talk about serious business?"

After questioning, Shao Qiang said viciously: "I can tell you, everyone put on a show this time to save face for your father-in-law. If you can't speak clearly today, then you don't need to come anymore. After a few days, Let's see you at the palace of Shenglongfu!"

The Annan strategy formulated by the traversers before was originally a phased one: if the bombardment cannot defeat the Annan people, the next step must be to use the army to land and capture Thang Long Mansion.In the future, assuming that the Annan people still don't give in under this situation, then they will set fire to Shenglong Mansion, and everyone will slap their butts and leave...then burn it again after a while.

So Shao Qiang's words were not bluffing.If it is judged today that the Annanites show no sign of softening, then the so-called negotiations will be terminated immediately and the bombardment will resume.Next time, when the fleet comes again, it will be full of army and pioneer soldiers brought from Hongji Port.

Seeing that the amiable opponent before suddenly showed his true colors and threatened to capture Shenglong Mansion, reason and judgment told Zheng Chuntang that the opponent was telling the truth.If the family continues to ramble, they will probably be kicked off the ship immediately, and there will be no way to deal with business at that time.

So Zheng Chuntang quickly changed his face in the next moment, and returned to the businesslike style of a civil servant.

As of this moment, the contact channels between Cao and Zheng that had been established through the war had finally begun to play a role.

And when both sides start negotiating in earnest, the tempo picks up.

After all, the reality is that one side is very strong and the other is very weak, so this kind of one-sided so-called "negotiation" is actually more like a "notification meeting".

What to notify?

"Hey, all of these are my uncle's intentions... They are all good things, mainly for the sake of good neighborliness and friendship, and everyone can develop a well-off life together. Mr. Zheng, let's take a look here first, and ask me if there is anything I don't understand, and then call your uncle to cover it. chapter."

The next moment, Zheng Chuntang took a piece of white, thin paper.

The so-called uncle's "thoughts" were written in standard lowercase letters on the paper.

These ideas include the establishment of the "Embassy District" in Thang Long Prefecture, the "Free Trade Zone" in Hung Gai, and a variety of 15 clauses such as "three-port trade", "agreement tariffs", "free purchase of agricultural products", and "extraterritoriality".

After Zheng Chuntang looked at it for a while, he felt a little dizzy and his legs were weak, so he found a chair and sat down.After a while, after Zheng Chuntang read all the clauses, he probably understood the meaning of seven or eight of them.

Aside from those clauses that he still doesn't understand, just a few of them are the most simple and straightforward, and Zheng Chuntang intends to die with these people in front of him: "Dare to ask my lord, this embassy district is the meaning of a country within a country. ?”

"I help Cao's pay a million dollars every year? My Annan's annual income is less than one million!"

Chapter 598 Fuyuan Treaty ([-])

Unlike those colonial treaties of later generations, the "Fuyuan Treaty" thrown out by the traversers did not follow the colonial path at all.

The colonists of later generations forced the indigenous regime to sign treaties, and most of the time, the focus was on commerce.

For example, the famous Opium War series.The most important of these, including compensation, five-port trade, agreed tariffs, abolishing the public bank system, and allowing free trade, are all designed to open the shackles of British businessmen's trade with China.

As for the relationship between the colonists and the indigenous regime... To be honest, when the Qing government fell, there was no one who cried more sadly than the British... Where can I find someone who is so cooperative with the colonists to suck the blood of the people? What about the regime?

Therefore, most of the time, the purpose of the relatively few colonists is to make money rather than subversion.Their core appeal is to transform the colonies into suppliers of raw materials and dumping grounds for industrial products.

But the traverser is different.

From the beginning, the traversers were rushing to annex them.

This central idea is reflected in the treaty, first of all, the word "concession" disappeared.

In the "Fuyuan Treaty", there were no concession clauses necessary for future generations.Because there is a sovereignty trap: having a concession is equivalent to acknowledging that the land is owned, otherwise why rent it?

So whether you pretend to be confused or deceive yourself, since the beginning of this treaty, there have only been names such as "embassy district" and "free trade zone" that downplay the relationship between subject and guest.

Very simple to plan for a rainy day.

As for the other trade-related clauses in the treaty, although at first glance they seem to be similar to those of later generations, they are completely different in implementation.

In this plane, Annan, who is about to be smashed open by the iron cannon, will implement the long-term policy of "vacating the cage and changing the bird" by the transmigration forces.In such a situation, the scenario of "vigorously developing the local economy" is bound to not appear.

Even if it wants to develop, it will have to wait until a long time later.In fact, most of the commercial and trade clauses in the treaty are just a cover.The real purpose is to release the personal dependence of the people at the bottom of Annan, so that they can move freely in the future.

That night.

Shenglongfu Forbidden City, Imperial Palace.

In other words, there are not only the Forbidden City in the Shenglong Mansion, but also the three main halls of the inner and outer city palaces and royal roads. In fact, they are all exactly the same as the Central Plains Dynasty... except for a smaller scale.

In the main hall of the imperial palace tonight, Guangnan red candles, as thick as a child's arm, are inserted all over the wall as if they don't need money, and the lights in the hall are brightly lit.The monarchs, civil and military officials of the Houli Dynasty of Annan Kingdom are gathering here to discuss major plans.

At that time, a tall, thin and powerful middle-aged warrior wearing thin armor and a bun tied with a red brocade ribbon on his head was standing in the hall and talking eloquently: "Your Majesty, my lord, in the current situation, we have to fight to the death!" , otherwise I will not be able to protect the country of Da Yue!"

"I also ask the prince to order to send envoys to rest with Lord Ruan immediately. Then withdraw the first-line army on the Zhengjiang River in the south, and join the battalions near the Shenglong Mansion to join forces. We can fight to the death with the Ming army!"

The man who uttered these murderous words was General Zheng Yu of the Central Government.

Annan's general in the central government, in my Qing Dynasty, is the admiral of the Nine Gates, equivalent to the garrison commander of the Shenglong Mansion, and a military general with a very high political status.

With such an important position, the prince in power, Zheng Bing, naturally had to hand it over to his confidant.Zheng Yu is one of the younger brothers of Zheng's clan.

If in the usual days, a confidant general like Zheng Yu put forward a military strategy in the hall, the officials would definitely consider it before deciding to respond.After all, what this guy said may be what the prince himself meant.

But today is different.

As soon as Zheng Yu finished speaking, an old and shrill voice came out from the side: "Speak lightly. When the army is brought back, how to fight with the Ming army's large ships? Did you swim across the big river at the wharf outside the mansion?"

The one who spoke was a thin old man in civil official robes.At the same time, several civil servants who were also wearing robes beside the old man were also nodding, collectively expressing their dissatisfaction with Zheng Yu's absurd remarks.

Seeing this situation, Zheng Yu hurriedly explained: "It may be possible to lure the enemy to attack, or it may be possible to fortify the wall and clear the field. In short, the grand plan of battle and defense cannot be underestimated!"

"Is this pretending to be blind? A joke!"

The little old man flicked his sleeves just now, and stood out from the train: "The bright ship can come and go freely, and every time it finishes shooting, it will go to sea to repair it, and it will come back in a few days. You and I know it well. It is obvious that relying on the strength of the ship and the guns, we have repeatedly harassed the capital of Da Viet, and this move has been quite effective."

The old man asked loudly: "Zheng Yu, tell yourself, how stupid must the Ming people be to fall into your trap and drive the sailors off the boat to attack the city?"

"Also, even if the Ming people got off the ship and fought on land... Hmph, what do you say about the two thousand elites who were killed by the Ming people overnight in Hengpu County (Hongji) a few days ago?"

"Currently, half of Shenglong Mansion is in ruins. Without you, Zheng Yu, to strengthen the walls and clean up the land, probably the civilians will suffer from hunger and hunger in the future, wandering around, and turning themselves into bandits."

After he piled up the Zheng Yu one by one, the old man stopped talking to him, but turned to face his majesty: "Your Majesty, your lord, in the current situation, the people of the Ming Dynasty suddenly made trouble, which has already shaken the foundation of our country. If we follow this course, within half a year, We will be the kings and ministers of the subjugated country!"

When the old man said this, he folded his hands and bowed in a big salute, then took off the gauze and hard-winged headdress on his head, held it in his hand, and said with a face of hesitation: "The old minister has the courage to speak. The only solution now is to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty." Falseness and deceitfulness, let’s stay with each other for the time being. Wait until someday to find out the falsehood and reality of that generation, make a decision before making a move, our generation will be able to drive out the Ming people, and the government and the public will cheer up again!"

After listening to the old official's remarks, a middle-aged man in a four-claw python robe sitting high on the second floor was finally a little moved.

This person is the current ruler of the Houli Dynasty, the king of Qingdu: Zheng Bing.

The young man sitting on the top floor of the Majesty's Terrace, wearing imperial robes and expressionless, like a wooden sculpture, is the No. 18 emperor of the Later Li Dynasty: Li Shenzong Li Weiqi.

Thirteen years ago, Zheng Song, the powerful minister of the Hou Li Dynasty at that time, coerced the then emperor Li Jingzong to hang himself to death, and supported his son, Li Weiqi, who was still a child at that time, as emperor.

Thirteen years later, Zheng Song was dead.However, Zheng Song's son, Zheng Bing, still sat next to Emperor Li Weiqi as a powerful minister.

Today's Hou Li Dynasty is in an Annan version of the late Han era: powerful ministers coerced the emperor to order the princes, and frequently launched crusade wars against the southern separatist forces.

It's a pity that in this plane, Prince Zheng's process of unifying the country was interrupted by the intruders.Today, Zheng Bing, who was originally supposed to be in the palace and listened to the minister's report on the attack on the southern Ruan clan, listened abruptly to the battle and the fierce debate between the two factions.

At this point in the matter, seeing that the courtiers who were cautious in the past have spoken all kinds of words of subjugation without any scruples, Zheng Bing knew that the catastrophe was approaching, the country would be ruined and the family would be destroyed soon, and a decision had to be made on the Ming treaty.

The next moment, on the other hand, the wide-bearded and pot-bellied Lord Zheng first waved his hand to signal General Zheng Yu to step down, and then calmed the old man with gentle words: "Li Sima is old enough to seek the country, and what he said is from the bottom of his heart. There is no crime and merit."