Chapter 1823, Emperor Hongzhi wants to learn from Qianlong?
In the study room of the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Hongzhi and his ministers were having a small meeting. The morning meeting was becoming more and more formal, and they could no longer discuss any major national affairs.
It is in line with the old saying that important meetings have few people, and meetings with many people are not important.
The affairs of the Ming Dynasty are basically discussed and decided in the study room. As for the morning meeting, many times it is just a briefing. There are really some things that need to be discussed in the morning, so they are discussed in the morning. Most of the time, there is no What to do.
"Your Majesty, Lord Yanshan of North Korea has asked me, Ming Dynasty, to send troops to help. They are retreating steadily in West Africa, losing cities and territory, and they still cannot defeat the Spanish fleet."
Zhong Zhong delivered a memorial, which was written by King Yeonsangun of Korea to Emperor Hongzhi.
Nominally speaking, the Ming Emperor is also the emperor of the five vassal states of Korea, Japan, Luzon, Siam, and Sulu. The kings of these countries are also the ministers of the Ming Emperor. Every year, they have to pay tribute to the Ming Empire. Those who paid tribute would have to pay homage to the Ming Dynasty from time to time.
If something happens, it is natural to hug the Ming Empire tightly.
No, the war between Korea and the Spaniards to compete for the colonies in West Africa freed up Spain's powerful strength, especially its maritime power. The Korean nation lost cities and land in West Africa, and colonies were lost to the Spanish again. Got more back.
I have no choice but to ask Daming's father for help now.
Emperor Hongzhi took the memorial and read it quickly.
"Your Majesty the Ming Emperor, Li? (long) declares... The barbarians in the West are ignorant of education and etiquette. They want to be enemies of our Eastern civilized world and compete for the colonies and wealth of our civilized world. Although I try my best to fight, but However, our country, North Korea, is small and weak and ultimately invincible. I ask His Majesty the Emperor to send the Heavenly Master to make decisions for me and safeguard the interests and order of our Eastern world."
"You all should take a look too."
Emperor Hongzhi read it quickly, and then passed the memorial to Liu Jin, Wang Shouren, Zhu Fu, Han Wen and other ministers to read as usual.
Liu Jin took the memorial and looked at it very quickly.
"Good guy, this tone and tone are exactly the same as the expressions of some Westerners in later generations."
"You claim to be civilized, but everyone else is barbaric. All you talk about is the order, interests, and civilization of the Eastern world."
After reading the memorial, Liu Jin really wanted to laugh.
It is clear that two bandits are fighting for colonies and interests in West Africa, but Mr. Yanshan can be said to be high-sounding and righteous. He describes the Spaniards as barbarians, and the Spaniards compete with them for the colonies in West Africa. This is barbarism against civilization. A challenge is a provocation to civilized order and justice.
"Your Majesty, the fight between Spain and North Korea for the colonies in West Africa is of little concern to us, Ming Dynasty. We, Ming Dynasty, have maintained the principle of neutrality from the beginning."
"If North Korea cannot win the fight, it's because North Korea itself has no ability. If Ming Dynasty intervenes, it would be more direct than Ming Dynasty snatching all these colonies directly."
Liu Jin's meaning is very simple, that is, to always remain neutral. The West African colonies are the last colonies left by the Ming Dynasty to other countries that can be fought for.
There is no need for the Ming Dynasty to participate. If they participate, all the colonies will be occupied, which is obviously inconsistent with the original intention.
The Ming Dynasty has occupied enough land, and there are still a large number of vassal states and colonies in West Africa. It is still necessary to leave some land for other countries to snatch and divide, so that they will not be jealous of the Ming Dynasty's colonies.
In the future, if there are rising and powerful countries, they will only dare to compete with Spain, Korea, and Persia to snatch colonies in West Africa, but they will not dare to challenge the hegemony of the Ming Empire.
Historically, after the rise of Germany, all the colonies around the world were snatched away by the old Britain and France. Therefore, Germany and several rising stars also launched the First World War, with the purpose of challenging the original colonial system and order.
"Yes, Your Majesty, what Mr. Liu said makes sense."
"There is no need for Ming to get involved in the affairs of the West African colonies."
"The forces of North Korea and Spain are actually evenly matched. It can even be said that North Korea's national strength is stronger, with a larger population and more tax revenue received every year."
"Coupled with the fact that it is very close to us, North Korea's development is much better than that of Spain. If it cannot defeat Spain, it only shows that North Korea itself is not good enough."
Zhu Fu also expressed his agreement.
"I think that Ming Dynasty can appropriately lend money to North Korea so that they can purchase more arms and weapons to fight the Spaniards, but it is not appropriate for Ming Dynasty to get involved."
Wang Shouren also followed suit.
There is no doubt that Lao Wang is also a scheming man now, and he has already become very good at taking out housing loans and selling arms and weapons.
Directly sending troops to intervene is thankless, offending people everywhere, and borrowing money to sell arms and weapons behind the scenes is a silent way to make a fortune for the Ming Dynasty. Everyone knows how to do it.
"Your Majesty, in West Africa, Korea and Persia are in alliance, and Spain and Japan are in alliance. If the Ming Dynasty intervenes, it will be unfair to the vassal country Japan, and Spain has always had a very good relationship with the Ming Dynasty. .”
Han Wen also followed suit.
"Well, since all my dear friends have the same opinion, let me reply to Lord Yanshan and tell him that it is fine to borrow money to sell arms and weapons, but I, the Ming Dynasty, will not get involved."
Seeing that everyone's opinions were unanimous, Emperor Hongzhi nodded and issued an order.
"Yes~"
Upon hearing this, the important ministers quickly replied in unison.
This Korean country wants nothing to do with it. Just because it is a vassal state, does Ming Dynasty still have the obligation to help you Korean country seize colonies?
What are you thinking? How can there be such a good thing in the world? Even if the relationship between Korea and the Ming Dynasty is very good, it is impossible for them to send troops to help you seize colonies.
If the Korean mainland was attacked by the Spaniards, and the Ming Dynasty did not help, this would definitely be unjustifiable. For colonial matters, I have to find a way myself, and being able to lend you money and sell you arms and weapons is the maximum limit.
After discussing the affairs of Korea, there will be no other matters.
Now that the Ming Dynasty is peaceful and the people are safe, the country is prosperous and the people are prosperous, there are not many things that need to be discussed in the Shang Shufang. It is enough for everyone to hold a meeting for an hour every day.
"There is something I have always wanted to do, but I have never done it."
Emperor Hongzhi looked at everyone, thought for a while and slowly said something he had always wanted to do.
When everyone heard this, they immediately became energetic. Emperor Hongzhi was already the emperor, so what else could he want to do but not be able to do?
"I have always wanted to go to various places in the Ming Dynasty, see the thousands of miles of rivers and mountains in the Ming Dynasty, and see the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty."
"In the past, the Ming Dynasty was suffering from internal and external troubles. Even if I wanted to go, I couldn't go because it was impossible to put aside national affairs and take care of my own affairs."
"But now, my thoughts are getting stronger and stronger. I want to go around the Ming Dynasty and take a look. What do you think, dear friends?"
Emperor Hongzhi looked outside. Although he was the emperor, holding the world in his hands and enjoying the most noble status in the world, it was also like a shackle that locked him firmly in the palace.
Take a walk around the capital.
From the time he was born until now, he has never even gone abroad to Beizhili. The farthest he went was just to go to Tianjin for a walk and take a look.
This prosperous world of the Ming Dynasty can only be seen in books and heard about in newspapers, but I have never seen it.
In the past, perhaps this year was not so intense, because the Ming Dynasty was suffering from internal and external troubles, and as an emperor, he had a lot to do and could not get away to travel around.
Moreover, transportation was inconvenient at that time and he was in poor health. The ministers would never agree. The prince Zhu Houzhao was young and playful, so he was not at ease.
But it's different now. It's time to go out and take a look.
First of all, the Ming Dynasty is prosperous and powerful, the country is peaceful and the people are safe, the country is rich and the people are strong, and there are no internal or external worries. He can rest assured.
Secondly, the prince has grown up and become more and more mature. There are still a lot of grandchildren. The Ming Dynasty is stable. Even if something happens to him outside, the prince can naturally inherit the rule.
The Ming Dynasty is stable.
In addition, the current transportation conditions are getting better and better. Trains, cars, highways, and railways are everywhere. It is much more convenient and comfortable for Emperor Hongzhi to travel.
In addition, with the emergence of radio communications, even if Emperor Hongzhi was not in the capital, he could still control the entire Ming Dynasty, grasp the situation of the Ming Dynasty anytime and anywhere, and command and control everything in the Ming Dynasty.
So Emperor Hongzhi wanted to go out and take a look, walk around, see the prosperous times of the Ming Dynasty, and see the thousands of miles of rivers and mountains of the Ming Dynasty. There was actually another level of consideration involved.
Emperor Hongzhi is also about to be fifty years old. He knows his destiny at fifty. In ancient times, when the average life span was only over thirty years old, it would be considered good if he could live to be over fifty years old.
Emperor Hongzhi wanted to see the mountains and rivers of the Ming Dynasty while he was still in good health, able to move, eat, see and walk. Otherwise, after the age of fifty, his body might not be as good as before.
Even if you want to visit various places in the Ming Dynasty, I'm afraid it won't work. The ministers will not allow Emperor Hongzhi to go out because he is not in good health.
Moreover, I am not in good health. I cannot fully experience the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty when I go out. If I want to try the local delicacies, I am afraid I will not have much appetite and I will not be able to taste anything.
So if you want to go out and take a look, now is the best time.
ps: If you were an ancient emperor, would you want to travel around?