"Just killing a few businessmen?"

"Aren't the lives of dozens of Kunlun crew members in your mouth?"

Emperor Hongzhi was angry, and Hanlin was really angry at these censors.

In their eyes, the lives of the people of the Ming Dynasty are not their lives, and the lives of the people of the Japanese country are their lives. Dozens of crew members of the Kunlun were killed, but they can only be described as "just".

"Since the Yuan Dynasty, Japanese pirates have been harassing our southeast coast. Jiang En, Zhang Wenjing, if I remember correctly, Jiang En, you seem to be from Fujian, Zhang Wenjing, you seem to be from Zhejiang, don't you know this Fujian,

How many people in Zhejiang died at the hands of Japanese pirates?"

"You are now in the imperial court constantly defending the Japanese and calling deer a horse. How can you have the shame to go back to your hometown to meet your fellow villagers?"

"If it's anyone else, I won't say anything. The ones least qualified to defend the Japanese are people like you, Jiang En, and Zhang Wenjing, who are from the southeastern coast."

"If I remember correctly, in the eighth year of Hongzhi's reign, Japanese pirates sacked Quanzhou in Fujian Province, killing and injuring thousands of people. In the seventh year of Hongzhi's reign, Japanese pirates attacked Taizhou, Zhejiang Province and slaughtered a small town."

"Zhang En, you are from Fujian, Zhang Wenjing, you are from Zhejiang, why do you have the shame to keep impeaching Zhang Mao, Yang Yun and others about their conquest of Japan?"

"How can you face your father?"

"Don't you feel ashamed when you stand here impeaching them?"

Emperor Hongzhi stood up from his throne, walked down the steps step by step, and looked at Jiang En, Zhang Wenjing and others with a cold face.

Emperor Hongzhi's voice was very loud and resounded throughout the Jinluan Palace, making all the court ministers present feel very different. The current Emperor Hongzhi's domineering spirit is really too powerful.

"Chen~"

Jiang En was stared at by Emperor Hongzhi. As he watched Emperor Hongzhi get closer and closer to him, and listened to Emperor Hongzhi's roaring voice, sweat as big as a bean appeared on his forehead.

When Emperor Hongzhi finished speaking, he couldn't help but fall to his knees on the ground.

Zhang Wenjing was also breaking out in a cold sweat. Who could have known that the always amiable Emperor Hongzhi would become so furious over such a thing.

The other censors who stood up quickly knelt down one by one, and for a moment they didn't know how to reply to Emperor Hongzhi's words.

"Jian En, tell me what you said?"

Emperor Hongzhi came to Jiang En, slowly squatted down, looked at Jiang En coldly and said.

"Your Majesty, when is the time to repay grievances? Give mercy to others when you can. Since ancient times, we have paid attention to repaying grievances with kindness. Our Ming Dynasty has conquered the world with benevolence, righteousness and integrity. Therefore, people from all over the world surrender and are willing to become my vassal vassal of the Ming Dynasty."

Jiang En was sweating profusely and said in a panic.

"How can we repay kindness with kindness?"

When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he sneered.

Thinking about it carefully, I used to be so naive and simply believed in civil servants like them, so I was tightly controlled by these civilizations.

I trust these civil servants, but how can these civil servants be worthy of my trust?

"this…"

Gann was speechless.

"Are the lives of the dozens of crew members on board the Kunlun ship their fate?"

Then Emperor Hongzhi stared at Jiang En and asked.

"Your Majesty, most of the crew members on the Kunlun are merchants. Merchants buy low and sell high. They are not engaged in production and are only interested in profit. They go to Japan to do business and have too much money. Naturally, they will attract people's attention. There are also many in Ming Dynasty.

Bandits who robbed people on the road."

Gann gritted his teeth, feeling unwilling to admit defeat.

"Then those people in Fujian who were killed by Japanese pirates, weren't they all businessmen?"

Emperor Hongzhi asked again coldly.

"this…"

Gann was speechless.

"Hmph~"

Emperor Hongzhi snorted coldly, then stood up slowly.

"I think Zhang Mao, Yang Yun, Liu Jin, and Wang Shouren did a good job in Japan and they did the right thing."

Hongzhi looked at the ministers, who all bowed their heads. Emperor Hongzhi walked slowly and said loudly.

"The enemy can go, and I can go too~"

"The Japanese pirates wantonly killed our Ming merchants and our people, so we should teach them a lesson and let them know how powerful our Ming Dynasty is."

"Let them always remember that the Ming Dynasty is their vassal state, their heaven, and their father. As ministers and sons, they should always abide by the way of monarch and minister, the way of father and son."

When he said this, Emperor Hongzhi spoke very slowly. It was obvious that there was something in his words. These words were not only meant for the Japanese people, but also for the ministers present.

"If the following offenders do not respect the emperor and his ministers, they should be taught a lesson, a severe lesson."

"In the past, we all said we would give in, we all said we would take a step back, we all said we would repay evil with kindness, but what did we get in exchange?"

"It's the people from the northern grasslands who are pressing us every step of the way, heading south every year; it's the Japanese pirates that roam the southeastern coast, killing my people and destroying our cities; it's the people from Annan who have repeatedly invaded our Guangxi and Yunnan-Guizhou provinces, burning, killing, looting, and committing all kinds of evil."

"You are all the pillars of the country, the pillars of support for countless people of our Ming Dynasty. They count on you to support them a peaceful blue sky, count on you to bring them happiness and health, count on you to bring them justice.

Justice and injustice.”

"But what about you?"

"You are eating their food, drinking their food, and using their food, and you still keep saying that you are just killing a few businessmen?"

When Emperor Hongzhi said this, he pointed his finger at the ministers. Emperor Hongzhi knew that Jiang En and Zhang Wenjing were just selected representatives.

There must be more among the courtiers who think the same as them. They are just the stepping stones to be withdrawn. Once a gap is opened, the next step will be an impeachment memorial like snowflakes.

Thinking of this, Emperor Hongzhi felt very sad. He did not understand or see the hardships of the people of the Ming Dynasty before, and they always lived in the world described by these civil servants.

Now, Emperor Hongzhi understands what benevolence, righteousness, and morality are. People who keep talking about these things are the most unbenevolent, moralless, and shameless people.

"I am guilty~"

When Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and others heard this, they all knelt down and said in fear.

"guilty?"

Emperor Hongzhi sneered.

Then he said in a slightly calmer tone: "Last year, we used our whole country to destroy the little Tatar prince. Last winter, the people on our border had a peaceful year. The people in the northern prairie still dare not approach our border.

inside."

"Do you think it makes sense to reason with the barbarians?"

"If being reasonable and benevolent could stop them from offending our Ming Dynasty, they should have stopped going south to plunder a long time ago. But they didn't. Instead, they thought that our Ming Dynasty was weak and could be bullied. They went south every year, and the scale of their plundering increased every time.

big."

"In the past winter, my Ming Dynasty was not going to be robbed by them and tens of thousands of people died."

"There is no morality at all with them. Only by giving them a hard lesson with your fists and beating them so hard that it hurts them will they know how to be afraid, will they look down upon us, the Ming Dynasty, and will they not dare to offend me.

"

When Emperor Hongzhi said this, he slowly returned to his seat.

"Let's talk about this Japanese country. You always say that it is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, and we are their suzerain state. Apart from the fact that they came to pay tribute a few times, how else can it be called a vassal state?"

"And every time we pay tribute, we return it several times. Once we come, they will make a fortune. Not only the Japanese country, but also other vassal countries. If we come to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute once, they will make a lot of money. Some

The people who came to pay tribute at that time were not officials from their countries at all, but some speculative businessmen."

"Our Ming Dynasty responded several times every time. They made a fortune, but my Ming Dynasty's treasury was empty. In the end, these were transferred to the people of my Ming Dynasty."

"You often tell me that you should be diligent and frugal, and I have listened to you, but why doesn't anyone stand up and say something about this matter?"

"If we are the suzerain state and they are vassal states, shouldn't they pay tribute to us and we don't need to return anything to them?"

"Does it stand to reason that the replacement of their Japanese country should only require us to be canonized by the Ming Dynasty?"

After Emperor Hongzhi finished speaking, his mouth was slightly dry. Xiao Jing next to him immediately carefully served tea.

There was silence among the ministers. No one dared to answer Emperor Hongzhi's words at this time. They all kept silent for fear of triggering Emperor Hongzhi's anger at this time.

Many people are also thinking about this issue, thinking about the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the surrounding vassal states. Is this so-called relationship between the suzerain state and the vassal state, which is exchanged for wealth, a reliable relationship?

It's just for the sake of face, but it's going to harm Daming's interests. Under this kind of relationship, is it really necessary for Daming to continue to maintain it?

"Cutting our Ming Dynasty's flesh to maintain such a relationship, maintaining the image of this so-called suzerainty, and ultimately letting my people of the Ming Dynasty bear all this, do you think this is appropriate?"

"Have we ever asked the people of Ming Dynasty whether they would like to give the cloth and silk they have worked so hard to weave to those white-eyed wolves?"

"I think that the relationship between our Ming Dynasty and the surrounding vassal states should be changed in the future. If they are willing to admit that they are our vassal states of the Ming Dynasty, they should pay tribute every year. The scale and amount of this tribute must also be stipulated. I

As the sovereign state of the Ming Dynasty, you should accept their tribute with peace of mind and there is no need to give them any gifts in return."

"Even if you want to reciprocate the gift, it should be symbolic, rather than trying to make a fool of yourself in order to maintain the so-called suzerain status."

"In addition, if you are willing to be a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, the kings of these countries must be canonized by us to be considered legal. If they are not canonized by us, they are illegal."

Then Emperor Hongzhi took this opportunity, thought about it and began to adjust the Ming Dynasty's external relations.
To be continued...