Chapter 640 Who has any objection
The name Jiang Qingzhi was not unfamiliar to the foreign envoys.
The Ming Dynasty was somewhat powerless against Altan's cavalry, and the envoys were aware of this.
But since Jiang Qingzhi suddenly appeared, this momentum has been reversed.
What invincible cavalry? In the northwest, Jiang Qingzhi led the Ming soldiers and the Tiger Guards to three victories in three battles. He even built a Jingguan outside Datong City to deter foreign races.
It would be great if such a strong man was a general of our country... This is the thought of many envoys.
Jiang Qingzhi's tough stance towards ethnic minorities is well known.
It is said that this man actually killed prisoners when he was suppressing the Japanese in the southeast.
Killing prisoners was the thing that the central dynasty disliked the most, but Emperor Jiajing forcibly suppressed public opinion. In the eyes of outsiders, this was protecting his own people.
Is it endorsed by this strong man?
Damn it!
I’m afraid the good days of the Portuguese will not last long!
In addition, Jiang Qingzhi's act of killing prisoners shows his disgust for the Japanese.
The Ryukyu envoy's eyes welled up with tears. "Chang Wei Bo... is he really willing to endorse this?"
Zhou Xia nodded, "My master once said that I cannot allow others to snore beside my bed!"
The messengers' expressions suddenly became complicated.
How can I allow others to snore beside my bed? This is a famous saying of the former Song Dynasty. It means that no forces that can threaten the Song Dynasty are allowed to exist around it.
If these words were spoken in the Ming Dynasty, it would be the highest warning to Altan and Japan.
Or get out of here!
Or wait to be crushed!
Others would be laughed at if they said this.
But what Jiang Qingzhi said...
The envoys' eyes sparkled with surprise, and one asked, "Regarding trade..."
"My memorial has been submitted to the court. Besides, since the Ming Dynasty can trade with the Altan tribe, why can't it trade with loyal vassal states?"
Zhou Xia's words completely dispelled the envoys' doubts.
Just for the sake of trade, it was worthwhile to turn tribute into trade. Not to mention that the Ming Emperor, William of the Ming Dynasty, personally endorsed and promised to expel the Portuguese and destroy Japan within five years...
Many times, the vassal states in the southeast sent envoys to complain that the Portuguese were rampant and asked the Ming Dynasty for help. But the Ming Dynasty ignored them.
The reason is simple, maritime ban!
What the hell is the maritime ban!
Back in the time of Emperor Chengzu, the fleet led by Zheng He filled the entire strait, with sails blocking out the sky and the sun, shocking and awed the southeastern countries.
The current foundation of the Ming Dynasty’s foreign relations is built on the large-scale ocean voyages during the Chengzu period.
At that time, wherever the fleet went, everyone was respectful. If there was trouble in a vassal state, the fleet would just send people ashore to mediate, and who would not listen?
At that time, the Ming Dynasty won the hearts and minds of all other countries. Their submission to the Ming Dynasty was never false.
But after Emperor Chengzu, the fleet disappeared. As time passed, the respect and sincerity disappeared.
God!
The Ming Dynasty finally showed its fangs to the outside world!
The messengers were in tears.
……
"How are you going to deal with this matter?" Xu Jie asked indifferently.
Fang Sheng lowered his head and said, "I will wait until those envoys start to make a fuss before I go. This matter has nothing to do with my Ministry of Rites. It was done by the head of the Ministry, Zhou Xia. I don't know why this person took the initiative to anger the envoys of various countries. I will definitely interrogate him later. However, the punishment for this matter... I would like to ask you, Lord, to decide."
——This matter has nothing to do with you, and it has nothing to do with our Ministry of Rites. Zhou Xia caused a big disaster out of selfishness. As for the purpose and the mastermind behind it...you can make it up as you like.
Your humble servant promises to hit wherever you point him!
This is the code word in official circles.
It is also a statement of loyalty.
Xu Jie was silent for a moment, "Go!"
Fang Sheng understood without having to express his opinion. He suppressed his joy and said, "Yes."
Fang Sheng walked out of the duty room, "Where is Zhou Xia?"
"We are negotiating with those emissaries."
"It's time to wrap it up. Come on, follow me and take a look."
Fang Sheng walked towards the lobby with a serious expression.
The lobby was very quiet at this moment. Many officials gathered not far outside. After seeing Fang Sheng, they all bowed to express their congratulations.
However, many officials looked worried and said that Zhou Xia's move was too reckless.
Fang Sheng walked outside the lobby and said in a deep voice: "Let Zhou Xia come out!"
It's his turn!
"it is good!"
"Tribute to trade is mutually beneficial, and our country is willing to do so."
"Master Zhou is right. Our country has had this intention for a long time, but we have been hesitant."
"My country agrees with this proposal!"
"The King will surely be extremely delighted upon hearing the news!"
"..."
A clerk who was about to go in stopped and looked inside.
Fang Sheng was stunned.
Willingly!
I had this idea a long time ago!
Agree with this proposal!
Extremely happy!
But who was so furious yesterday?
Could it be that... Fang Sheng is picking his ears.
"Please ask Chief Zhou to report to His Majesty that this matter is mutually beneficial and we all agree. Please approve it as soon as possible." "Chief Zhou is young and promising. We will have to get closer to him in the future!"
"..."
The officials were stunned.
"This is...are they crazy?"
"How did Zhou Xia do it?"
"Why did those messengers agree to this willingly?"
"That's not right! Go ask! I don't believe those messengers would let go of the opportunity and take advantage of it!"
"..."
Fang Sheng's body shook for a moment. The clerk turned around and said in astonishment, "They... are all laughing!"
"Hahahaha!"
Zhou Xia walked out of the lobby with laughter.
He looked at Fang Sheng and said, "I know Doctor Fang is quite hostile to me, and I know that many people in the Ministry of Rites are quite hostile to me."
Those officials avoided Zhou Xia's sight uncomfortably.
"My master once said that the dispute between Confucianism and Mohism is not just a dispute over the orthodoxy, but more often a dispute over interests. The Mohists take it as their mission to revitalize the Ming Dynasty. Confucians also have benevolent people with lofty ideals. However, there are also many people who are staring at the fat meat of the Ming Dynasty and salivating. No, they have already been frantically biting and devouring it..."
Zhou Xia's voice echoed in the Ministry of Rites, "I once thought that even if we have different principles and interests, at least... we should share the same purpose and be connected for the sake of the Ming Dynasty. So I endured everything just to consider the overall situation."
A eunuch came in from outside. He looked at the scene in astonishment, "This is..."
"But I was wrong." Zhou Xia said, "My forbearance and consideration for the overall situation only made you wait even more."
"Zhou Xia!" Fang Sheng didn't know what tricks Zhou Xia used. Just as he was about to ask, Zhou Xia looked at him coldly, "Doctor Fang, may I ask if Zhou Xia was incompetent in the Ministry of Rites? Have you made any mistakes?"
"No!" An official could not help but say, "Zhou Zhushi is fair and upright in his conduct, and everyone has seen it!"
"But you, Fang Sheng, trip me up everywhere and stab me in the back. Why?" Zhou Xia stared at Fang Sheng. "Let me ask you, why?"
Xu Jie heard the noise in the duty room, slowly stood up and walked to the door of the duty room.
"Moreover, you trip others up not out of public interest, but without regard for the success or failure of public affairs. Why?"
"In your eyes, public affairs are just official business. What is the Ming Dynasty in your eyes? Is it a tool for you to cling to high officials and seek promotion?"
Fang Sheng's face flushed, "How dare you! How could I ever be so..."
"Do you want me to list them one by one? Last August, you ordered me to welcome the Ryukyu envoy, but you didn't tell me that the court had already known the envoy's intention and was prepared to refuse. So when I heard the envoy's complaints, I was filled with righteous indignation and said that the Japanese pirates deserved to die... This remark caused the envoy to speculate, and later caused a storm."
"Last September..."
Zhou Xia told all the stories one by one, and many of the officials sighed, "It's so shameless."
"It turns out that Zhou Xia has such a hard time under Fang Sheng."
"..."
No one is born cruel. After hearing Zhou Xia reveal everything Fang Sheng said and did, many officials who were originally disgusted with the Mohist school remained silent.
"Nonsense!" Fang Sheng suddenly calmed down and even asked with a smile: "Master Zhou, what promises did you make to the envoys of various countries?"
At this time, an envoy came out and said, "Master Zhou said that the Portuguese will be expelled within five years."
As expected, Fang Sheng concealed his joy and angrily rebuked, "What nonsense! If the court had such intentions, why didn't I know about it?"
The messenger heard, "Master Zhou said that Chang Wei Bo is willing to endorse this matter."
"When has Lord Changwei ever endorsed this?" Fang Sheng sneered. He knew that he had caught Zhou Xia's handle, a handle that could doom this man from everlasting destruction.
"Who says Benber didn't endorse it?"
At this moment, someone outside said leisurely, "Hey! Make way!"
When everyone turned around, they saw the doorman of the Ministry of Rites standing sideways with a respectful look on his face… The previous doorman had been severely beaten by Jiang Qingzhi, and with the lesson learned from the past, the doorman did not dare to offend this one.
Jiang Qingzhi shook off the cigarette ash, squinted his eyes and took a puff of medicinal smoke, then slowly walked along the passage that the officials had made way for.
When the messengers heard the news, they looked at each other with suspicion amid their enthusiasm, thinking of what Zhou Xia had said.
"More than 20 years ago, the Portuguese tried to open the gates of the Ming Dynasty with their powerful ships and cannons off the coast of Guangzhou. What did they want to do? They wanted to conquer the Ming Dynasty and colonize it!"
Jiang Qingzhi couldn't help but sigh at the stark difference between the Ming and Qing dynasties. When the Ming Dynasty encountered such a situation, its first reaction was to learn from the foreigners, imitate firearms, and quickly launch a counterattack.
"Do you think the Ming Dynasty will swallow this humiliation and sit back and watch the Portuguese block the strait and eye the Ming Dynasty covetously?"
Jiang Qingzhi pointed at the envoys with his cigarette, "Have the envoys from Malacca arrived?"
One of the messengers came out, and it was the messenger from the fallen country of Malacca. He was now wandering around like a lonely ghost.
"Go back and tell those people that the Ming Dynasty will not sit idly by and watch its loyal vassal states perish."
The envoy knelt down, tears streaming down his face, "The Ming Dynasty is truly the country of our parents..."
"Has the Ryukyu envoy arrived?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
"Master Chang Wei..." Fang Sheng wanted to speak up to bring the situation back to normal, but he found that no one paid any attention to him. Even those officials who had cheered him on before were now looking at Jiang Qingzhi. What a look in their eyes!
As if intoxicated.
"The foreign minister is here!" The Ryukyu envoy came out.
Jiang Qingzhi said calmly: "Go back and tell Shang that I have few wishes in this life, and one of them is to destroy Japan!"
The Ryukyu envoy trembled when he heard Jiang Qingzhi's words. "Foreign minister, I, Ryukyu..." The envoy knelt down and said, "I, Ryukyu, wish to be a minister of the Ming Dynasty forever and follow the Ming Dynasty forever!"
Jiang Qingzhi turned around.
His eyes passed Fang Sheng and looked at Xu Jie inside the duty room.
Open up.
"Who has any objection?"
(End of this chapter)
