Ashikaga Yoshimitsu burned incense and knelt down. He knelt three times and kowtowed in a grand and solemn manner. After him, the Congdu family and the samurai family all knelt down together. However, there was a minister who was taller than the others and his movements were slow.
He stood out a little, so that after everyone knelt down, he stood out like a chicken standing out from the crowd. [] Although he knelt down immediately, Xia Xun was still impressed by the hesitation at this moment.
Xia Xun realized that the man was pulled by a minister who was kneeling next to him, and then he knelt down reluctantly. When he bowed his head, his cheeks were tightly stretched, as if full of anger. This man was in Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.
Three steps behind him was one of the seven ministers at the front of the ministers. There was no doubt that he should be one of the most powerful ministers under Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Xia Xun looked at him carefully and took note of his appearance.
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Seeing Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's courtesy, Zheng He's expression became serious. He took out the imperial edict, solemnly took three steps forward, walked to Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and read loudly: "The emperor is destined to be carried by heaven, and the edict says: Reprint
Between them, the land is so vast that it cannot be counted. The ancient sages managed the territory, paid tribute and provided labor, knew the etiquette, and achieved the integrity of the king, his ministers, his father and his son, he was called a country.
And outside the country, if there is a king who can admire righteousness and come to the king, he will not hesitate to enter. He is not there, so he will bring the world together and return to the good path. King Zier has a moral origin, has the royal family in his heart, and sincere love for the king.
After crossing the waves, I sent envoys to the court, and returned to the Buliu people. I paid tribute to you with swords, horses, armor, paper and inkstones, and good gold as accessories. I am very grateful to you.
It has always been known as the country of poetry and literature, and it is always in my heart. The military and state affairs are in Yin, and I have no time to ask. Now the king can admire etiquette, and wants to be angry for the country's enemies. He is not committed to the way of a monarch and his ministers, and he has conquered Zhenzi. Now he sends an envoy Yang Xu
When Zheng He went on an envoy, he was given crowns, clothes, silk, gold, silver, porcelain, calligraphy and paintings, etc., and was allowed to pay tribute every ten years. The number of envoys, including chief and deputy envoys, could be as many as 200, and they could trade in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
Woohoo! Heaven is impermanent, but respect is my heart. My name is impermanent, but my loyalty is Sui. I am based in Jiangdong, and the king is the closest to me in the sea. The king is aware of my heart, and he is my heart. I think respectfully and obediently, and I am sincere and great.
Lun: Do not allow anyone to flee, do not indulge in treachery. Let the world think of you as a loyal and righteous country, and you can be famous for eternity. The king should respect him, so as to bring good fortune to his descendants. Therefore, this is an edict, and it is appropriate to show your love and care."
Zheng He had finished announcing the edict, and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu raised his hands to receive the edict. He received the edict and thanked him, and he bowed politely before standing up. He had been looking at the officials behind Ashikaga Yoshimitsu with cold eyes. Xia Xun, the military minister, responded with a gentle shoulder.
When he met Zheng He, he took a step forward and saluted with a long salute: "Duke Fu Guofu of Ming Dynasty, I have met the king!"
Zheng He was touched by Xia Xun and understood. He quickly took a step forward with tacit understanding, announced his identity, and bowed. Just now, the two of them announced the decree on behalf of the emperor and received the gift on behalf of the emperor. At this moment, the decree has been announced, and the other party is the Ming Dynasty.
The king whom Emperor Yongle personally named had a higher status than them, so he naturally had to pay homage to him as a minister.
When Ashikaga Yoshimitsu saw the respectful expressions of the two of them, he was startled for a moment, then his face showed genuine joy. He quickly stepped forward, helped the two of them up, and said repeatedly: "You two angels, don't be polite. The angel is coming from far away, step over
It was really hard work riding on the waves and traveling all the way. Daoyi was so happy to hear that the angels were coming from afar, so he came to welcome them from afar, personally picked up the two angels back to Kyoto, and invited them to board the car!"
The three of them made a noise and gave in to each other for a long time. Finally, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's guard of honor walked in front, followed closely by Xia Xun and Zheng He's charioteers. The two groups of honor guards formed one team and continued to walk forward. Many of them were slightly embarrassed.
The angry princes and the Wu family softened a lot when they saw that the Ming envoys were also very respectful to their own generals.
After a while, He Tianyang quietly touched Xia Xun and Zheng He's car. In the car, the two were sitting side by side and were whispering something. As soon as He Tianyang came in, Xia Xun stopped and asked: " What's up?"
He Tianyang said: "My lord, I found that many ministers were very dissatisfied with their general who was conquering the barbarians and kowtowed to the two envoys. The officials accompanying the Ministry of Rites were also very dissatisfied with the lord and Eunuch Zheng's courtesy as foreign ministers to the king. I I feel like I need to remind the Duke and Eunuch Zheng that if you are like this, you won’t please me inside and out, so why bother. We are the Kingdom of Heaven, and they are rushing to curry favor with our low-income people. You adults should be more arrogant and domineering. , lest those people from the Ministry of Rites make noise and shock them!"
Xia Xun shook his head and said: "Don't think so. Please inform me. If anyone among our people dares to show off and do unnecessary things to arouse the resentment of the Japanese, he will be severely punished as soon as our country knows about it." No loan!"
He Tianyang originally came to encourage Xia Xun, but he was startled when he received such an order. Although he agreed, he looked very unconvinced.
Xia Xun said earnestly and sincerely: "Don't belittle anyone, especially potential enemies. The sea is open to all rivers, and tolerance is great. You must be good at learning from others. That is the real way to win. Being blindly arrogant and arrogant does not understand the wisdom of others. advantages and strengths, then failure may soon come.”
He Tianyang scratched his head, still not understanding. Xia Xun smiled and said: "Yes. You are here too. There are many people in the country who are not satisfied with their king being so respectful. In fact, if you were them, What’s so incomprehensible about this attitude? Is it possible that your country is small and your king is the emperor, so you are convinced?”
This time, He Tianyang really fell into deep thought and seemed to have figured out something.
Xia Xun said: "Remember, we are not here to give charity. We are here to get the actual benefits we want. This is fundamental. Respecting others will not reduce your worth or blind arrogance. , will really make people look down upon. They are arrogant and arrogant, and cannot win the respect and respect from the heart of others. Some people admire me for being a Chinese, and some are disgusted with bowing to the Chinese. What should we do at this time? Do something stupid. , to push those who admire and respect our dynasty to the side of those who are hostile to us?"
He Tianyang nodded, but still said unwillingly: "But... Ashikaga Yoshimitsu may not be sincerely obedient. Doesn't he think it is good for him to surrender to our Ming Dynasty?"
Xia Xun said: "This is submission! What do you think is submission, asking him to be unconditionally respectful and loyal? If it were you, would you do this? Don't say that he is a Japanese, even if he is a Mingren, if he goes far away If a self-proclaimed king overseas is willing to treat the Ming Dynasty with sincerity and respect without benefit, will he be respectful and docile to me? Not to mention the ministers overseas, Meng Shengren said, "If the king treats his ministers as his brothers and feet, then the ministers will treat him as his heart; the king's If you treat your ministers like dogs and horses, then your ministers will regard you as a fellow countryman; if your king views your ministers as dirt and mustard, then your ministers will regard you as a bandit. 'If the people in your country are like this, what do you want from the king of a foreign country?"
He Tianyang was a pirate, and he was not as obedient and loyal to the court as someone who had been studying since childhood. These words were exactly what he was thinking: "I will only do things for you if you treat me well. Otherwise, no matter what you say, I will do something for you." If you do, I will be a loyal minister even if I die?" So I couldn't help but nod my head frequently.
Xia Xun said: "A truly noble and polite person is a gentleman who treats anyone who is respectful and humble to you, even if he is as poor as a beggar! Otherwise, with those who have a few spare money at home, you will be treated with courtesy.
What's the difference between a second-generation ancestor who is domineering in front of others and a playboy?"
He Tianyang nodded happily and said: "The Duke said this, you understand the humble position. Being arrogant and arrogant is a sign of self-degradation, right?"
Xia Xun smiled and said: "Pretty much, we are here to do things, not to show off! Those who only know how to be arrogant and arrogant are stupid boys who don't understand anything! So, those who tell us, let their arrogance be revealed
Please restrain yourself, if they don't know how to restrain themselves, I will punish them!"
He Tianyang clasped his fists: "Yes, I will convey the Duke's order immediately!"
He Tianyang hurried out, and Xia Xun turned to Zheng He and said: "Come on, we are not the only ones in the Ming Dynasty. There are many ministers who have objections to whether to open sea trade. There are also many ministers in the country who are unwilling to win the war with the Ming Dynasty at the cost of bending the knee and professing their vassalship.
trade."
Zheng He nodded and said: "Yes, so what the Duke did was not wrong. At this time, we should give him enough support for Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who is close to our Ming Dynasty, and attack those who are hostile to our empire, and
It’s not to give people a reason to push Ashikaga Yoshimitsu to the side of those who are hostile to our Ming Dynasty! Besides, respecting others is not a shameful thing. A true gentleman is a true gentleman if he does what is right and good!”
Xia Xun smiled. He did not want to be a gentleman. His ultimate goal was to achieve free and equal trade. This freedom and equality means that everyone makes money based on their own abilities, with less political factors. Political factors should be combined with
It is impossible to completely separate international trade. Even in modern society, economic and trade relations must serve politics in a timely manner, and this phenomenon will never disappear.
Therefore, there is no need to criticize Ming Dynasty's "political" trade as useless. It is normal for international trade to serve politics to a certain extent. This starting point is not wrong. However, there are many types of political services. Politics
Actual interests and political fame are two different things.
Some countries indirectly control other countries through trade and influence their policies, but we often pay regardless of investment for a false name. What happens in the end? We tighten our belts and provide economic assistance to our own people even if they have wronged them.
You shyly refuse to engage in substantive interference and control. While offering benefits, you claim to be a gentleman. In the end, you raise a group of white-eyed wolves. People will fall out whenever they want. Your false reputation can be used by the other party to blackmail you at any time.
The method is so stupid.
But these cannot be reversed from the root of thought in just a few words. To achieve this step, it still requires a long process of natural fermentation and maturity. Zheng He would not understand it if he raised it now. Xia Xun did not expect to say a few words.
He can convince Zheng He, and he doesn't think that convincing Zheng He can change anything. Now he just needs Zheng He, the deputy envoy, to fully support him. It is enough.
Xia Xun paused and then said: "If I guess correctly, the seven people behind Ashikaga Yoshimitsu are the seven most powerful daimyo under Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.
Quite hostile. It doesn't matter if ordinary Japanese are hostile to us. The problem is that as the ministers whom Ashikaga Yoshimichi relies on the most and trusts the most, they should be in step with Ashikaga Yoshimichi. Even if they disagree in their hearts, they should not show it in public.
If a man does this and goes against his master in public, what do you think it means?"
Zheng He hesitated and said: "What does the Duke mean?"
Xia Xun touched his chin and smiled a little sinisterly: "I will find out the identity of this person first. If I use it well, I can instigate their family to be restless, and their chickens and dogs will be restless. This will be of great benefit to us, hehe!"
Zheng He was dumbfounded when he heard this: "Didn't the Duke of the State just say... that he is a true gentleman who behaves kindly? The contrast is too great!"