Chapter 244: Teaching the Ministry of Rites
Li Tian's sister is getting married soon.
Jiang Qingzhi also sent someone to deliver a gift.
"Greetings, Mr. Li." Hu Zongxian bowed with a smile.
"Please sit down." Li Huan looked at the gift list. He was not looking for any bargains, but he saw the sincerity of his future son-in-law.
The host and the guest sat down and chatted about some random topics, which unknowingly turned to Jiang Qingzhi.
"The envoy of Altan suffered a loss, was Qingzhi scolded?" The father-in-law has been worried about this matter.
The day after tomorrow is the wedding day. Li Tian is accompanying her sister Li Xuan, and the two of them are talking to each other.
"Miss, Miss." Huang Yan'er ran in. "Someone came from the son-in-law's side. He said he was going to bring a gift."
Li Xuan stood up suddenly and said, "Let's go take a look."
Li Tian fell behind, and the two sisters went to the side outside the door.
"Why bother?" Li Tian knew her sister was upset and was looking for trouble. Otherwise, she would not have done such a thing as eavesdropping.
"...Your Highness, please rest assured, Lord Li. His Majesty has made a final decision on this matter, so Your Highness will be fine."
"He is Altan's messenger after all, so he is fierce!"
"Mr. Li, you worry too much." Hu Zongxian smiled inside. "In the two battles of Datong, Lord Bo beat Altan's so-called iron cavalry to a pulp. What do you mean by fierce? They can only lie down in front of Lord Bo."
"That's good. By the way, that..." Li Huan looked hesitant.
Hu Zongxian was drinking tea, and Li Huan hesitated again and again, "Qingzhi is at home...will he punish the servants?"
Li Xuan glanced at her sister and whispered, "I told Dad that I was worried that Jiang Qingzhi would be so violent at home and beat you."
Thinking of the pale-faced young man, Li Tian rolled his eyes and thought to himself that there was no way he would hit anyone.
Hu Zongxian was startled, then suddenly realized what had happened. He couldn't help but feel angry and amused, but he still said seriously: "My uncle is kind to the people around him, he has never taken action, and he will not do it again in the future."
Whether it was Fu Cheng, Sun Chonglou, Xu Wei, or Hu Zongxian, they all felt that Jiang Qingzhi was kind to others.
Li Xuan whispered outside the door: "Although I am very angry, I am very happy for you."
Hu Zongxian returned to the Bo Mansion and informed Jiang Qingzhi of this matter.
"This is such an unexpected disaster!" Jiang Qingzhi really didn't expect that his father-in-law would worry about this.
He always felt that if two people lived together, they could live together if they could, and break up if they couldn't. What did it mean to fight?
The cause of the fight was that they were reluctant to separate, yet very dissatisfied with being together.
Isn't this a problem?
Xia Yan is here.
"Wang Shen made a lot of noise for a while, but he has finally stopped." Xia Yan said, "It seems that Altan is not ready to go south."
As expected, he was the former Prime Minister. Jiang Qingzhi said, "Altan's biggest problem is his lack of prestige. Otherwise..."
If Altan's prestige could suppress all internal noises, the army should be on its way south by now.
"You've told the truth, which has greatly boosted morale." The old man was very excited. "This matter is now being spread around the palace, and most people say it's a relief. Congratulations."
The old man looked at Jiang Qingzhi with gentle eyes, "I have also thought about the iron cavalry of Emperor Taizu, and I have thought about restoring the old glory, but standing high in the temple, looking at the undercurrents of the Ming Dynasty, and looking at the corrupt officers and soldiers, I can only turn a blind eye.
It's not that I don't have the courage to stand up, but that I'm not strong enough. You're great!"
The old man was emotional, and he pulled Jiang Qingzhi aside to talk about a lot of things, all of which were his views on the current situation.
The former prime minister's opinion was naturally useful, and the two of them became more and more compatible as they talked. Early in the morning, Xia Yan asked someone to bring some wine.
Jiang Qingzhi had no choice but to sacrifice his life to accompany the gentleman.
While he was drinking, Wang Shen and Deputy Envoy Huang He were discussing something.
"Jiang Qingzhi's move is a test. He wants to test the Khan's bottom line." Wang Shen was also drinking.
"What a good wine! It is said that only the Khan can drink such good wine." Huang He took a sip of wine. "Jiang Qingzhi's move may seem abrupt, but it puts us in a dilemma. If we don't retaliate, it will show that we are weak inside. If we do... the timing is not right now."
Since the trade was cut off, occasionally some daring merchants smuggled goods into the grassland, but the supplies were not enough for the powerful people like Altan Khan to enjoy.
"As an envoy, if you are insulted and don't retaliate, you are derelict in your duty." Wang Shen took a sip of the fine wine and felt that the milk wine on the grassland was as unpalatable as horse urine. "If we just swallow our pride, you and I will be held accountable when we return to the royal court."
"You and I are both descendants of Han people. To be honest, we are top-notch in terms of ability, but we are often excluded. It's really fucking annoying!" Huang He was a little tipsy and couldn't help complaining.
"What do you mean by Han'er descendants?" Wang Shen sneered, "My mother is from the grassland, so I am naturally from the grassland too. Besides, even if I am a Han'er, I am a grassland person if I live in the grassland!"
"I love to hear that!" Huang He raised his glass, "For the people of the grassland!"
The two drank a glass of wine, and Wang Shen said, "We must get started on this matter."
"I will ask for an audience with the Emperor later. Even if I die, I must let the people of Ming Dynasty know that the Khan cannot be insulted!" Huang He said resolutely.
"It doesn't have to be this way."
Wang Shen suddenly smiled mysteriously, "During this diplomatic mission, someone followed the delegation and quietly sneaked into the Ming Dynasty."
"You mean..."
"An elite soldier beside the Khan, a good at gathering information."
"Where are these people?"
"It's in the dark. I know how to contact you."
"Okay! Let them take action."
"That's what I meant."
"Kill that son of a bitch!"
"Don't worry, take two days."
...On the second day, Jiang Qingzhi asked someone to inform the Ministry of Rites that he would meet with Wang Shen and others today to test the waters.
The place chosen was the Ministry of Rites. The clerks were cleaning the lobby early in the morning. This would be the place for negotiations between the two sides.
Zhang Gu was discussing with several officials.
"During this negotiation, the court requested that the Altan tribe should not invade the nine borders in the future. This is not an easy task. I expect Wang Shen to put forward conditions. As for trade... His Majesty's attitude is ambiguous."
When the emperor's attitude is ambiguous, his ministers will have a headache.
"Minister, this matter was initiated by Jiang Qingzhi, let him worry about it."
"Do you think I don't want to? But in the Ministry of Rites, if an outsider takes over, will the reputation of the Ministry be lost?"
"Long Wilbur is here."
Jiang Qingzhi entered the Ministry of Rites with several guards.
"Uncle." Xiao Zhuo came to greet him.
"How?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
"Many people in the Ministry of Rites said that Lord Bo's move was very pleasing to the people." Xiao Zhuo lowered his voice, "Left Vice Minister Chen He has been not involved in the past few days, and Zhang Gu has been colluding everywhere..."
"understood."
Jiang Qingzhi asked, "Old Xiao, do you want to leave the Ministry of Rites?"
Of course I want to... Xiao Zhuo wanted to nod, but when he saw Jiang Qingzhi looking at him with deep eyes, his heart skipped a beat and he subconsciously said, "It's an important place in the Ministry of Rites, so there must be someone from the Lord watching over it."
Jiang Qingzhi patted his shoulder and said, "Okay!"
Zhang Gu walked over and said coldly, "I wonder what Chang Wei Bo's rules are today?"
You, Jiang Qingzhi, are the leader, so the tone of the negotiations should also be set by you.
If anything goes wrong, it should be you, Jiang Qingzhi, who should take the blame.
"There is no rule." Jiang Qingzhi said calmly: "Don't disgrace the Ming Dynasty."
Zhang Gu laughed, "If Chang Wei Bo continues to threaten or even attack at will, I think the outcome of this negotiation will be worrying."
Jiang Qingzhi laughed, "What is the purpose of the negotiation? Do you know?"
Zhang Gu then gave a long speech.
Jiang Qingzhi waved his hand, interrupting his long speech, "You said these are just superficial articles."
Zhang Gu smiled, "Please give me some advice, Chief Weiber."
Come on, if you have the ability, come up with something new.
Jiang Qingzhi ignored him, looked at the officials, and said: "Why do two countries fight? For interests. When interests cannot be gained on the battlefield, they will fight for them at the negotiation table. And why negotiate? In a word..."
Chen He walked out of the duty room, and many officials also came out after hearing the noise.
Jiang Qingzhi said in a sonorous tone, "To seek benefits for the Ming Dynasty, this is the only purpose of the negotiations! Other than that, it's all empty talk!"
Fang Zhe, the head of the Ministry of Rites, had accompanied Jiang Qingzhi to Datong last time, and he had witnessed the decisiveness of this young nobleman. Hearing these words, he could not help but say, "This should be the motto of the officials of the Ministry of Rites!"
Someone said: "Does negotiation mean rolling up your sleeves and fighting with the other party for every penny? Our Ming Dynasty is vast and rich in resources, so how can we lack money to reward foreign races? Why should we damage the reputation of our Celestial Empire for a few small things?"
“Where does all that money come from?”
Fang Zhe came out and said, "That's the blood and sweat of the people. Just by talking, we're sending the blood and sweat of the people to the foreigners. Are those foreigners more important than the people of Ming Dynasty?"
"A few civilians..." The official saw Fang Zhe clench his fist and took a step back, "What do you want to do?"
Fang Zhe said with disdain: "People like you are old-fashioned and stubborn. I am ashamed to be associated with you."
He walked over and bowed, "I am Fang Zhe, the Director of the Ministry of Rites. I am honored to meet you, Lord. Do you still remember me?"
Jiang Qingzhi nodded, "It was you who went to Datong last time!"
Fang Zhe said happily, "It was me. I witnessed your ruthlessness in killing that time, but I still have some doubts. I hope you can give me some advice."
Jiang Qingzhi nodded, and Fang Zhe said, "There are many small countries around the Ming Dynasty. These small countries sometimes rely on the Ming Dynasty and sometimes rebel. How should the Ming Dynasty respond?"
This is a difficult question.
Chen He chuckled and said, "Is Fang Zhe embarrassing Jiang Qingzhi?"
Zhao Fa, his confidant, sneered, "Fang Zhe is a fool, obsessed with thinking about these things. I think he is not embarrassing Jiang Qingzhi, but he really encountered a problem."
"No one can solve this problem." Chen He said, "Sometimes they are dependent, sometimes they rebel... It has been like this for thousands of years. Can Jiang Qingzhi still find a way to solve it?"
After listening to this, Jiang Qingzhi said, "This is a good topic, and it is also the core of diplomacy."
Fang Zhe's eyes were burning, "I have racked my brains for a long time." He looked at the officials, "Many people in the Ministry of Rites are also thinking about this matter, but none of them can find a good solution. Lord..."
"I've said before that interests are the most important thing in relations between two countries." Jiang Qingzhi said slowly, and couldn't help but smile when he saw everyone listening attentively.
Not far away, the prince who volunteered to listen to the negotiation came over, and waved his hand to signal everyone to stop. He took a few steps forward, wanting to hear his cousin's ideas on how to solve this problem.
Jiang Qingzhi found the feeling of teaching military commanders in a small fishing village, which felt like a reversal of time and space.
"There is no need to look for the answer to this question in a pile of old papers. There is no need to write about the surface. To solve the problem, what we need to do is... see the essence through the phenomenon."
The Ministry of Rites was very quiet, and everyone was looking at this young nobleman.
"What is the essence of diplomacy? To strive for the interests of the country. Then why do small countries sometimes depend on others and sometimes rebel? It is still for the sake of interests. Can I draw a conclusion?"
Jiang Qingzhi held the unlit cigarette and smiled, "There is no eternal friendship between the two countries, only eternal interests."
After saying that, Dou Jialan handed over the burning firewood, and Jiang Qingzhi lowered his head...
The entire Ministry of Rites was silent.
(End of this chapter)
