Zhu Hengjia sits high on the throne, the Nine-Five Supreme, looking down at all living beings.
Civil and military officials stood on both sides of the palace in a regular manner, not daring to breathe for fear of losing their etiquette before the king. Envoys from various countries were led by etiquette officers and found their positions.
Theoretically speaking, when the Ming Emperor received foreign envoys, he met them individually according to their tribute period. North Korea paid tribute every year and met once a year; Ryukyu paid tribute every two years and met every two years; Siam paid tribute every three years and South Korea met once every two years.
One tribute every five years, etc. But in fact, the number of tributes a year mainly depends on the sincerity of others. For example, the number of formal tributes recorded by various countries in the "History of the Ming Dynasty": Ryukyu Kingdom was as high as 171 times, almost close to
Compared with other countries combined, he is worthy of being the die-hard younger brother of the Ming Dynasty.
Even if it is a tribute period, you may not be able to see the Ming Emperor. If the tribute period happens to coincide with a dynasty or a regular dynasty, the envoys can meet the emperor along with the courtiers. If it is not a dynasty period, the emperor decides whether to summon him. If the emperor is
If the envoy does not want to see him, a case will be set up in the lobby of the Ministry of Rites to hold a tribute presentation ceremony. The envoy will be led to the Ministry of Rites by the official of the Ministry of Rites, kneel three times and kowtow to the case, present the memorial, and then the Ministry of Rites will send the memorial to the cabinet for forwarding.
The emperor has paid tribute.
Large scenes like this where dozens or hundreds of envoys are received at one time are very rare and usually only occur during major ceremonies such as the new emperor's enthronement.
Zhu Hengjia didn't care about so many things. In order to satisfy his vanity of ruling over all nations and shocking the Russians, he found a reason: birthday. I am going to celebrate my sixty-fifth birthday. Is there anything in the world that is more important than my birthday?
?Let’s see, on this day, which of your vassal countries dares not to pay homage to me?
Not to mention, as soon as the boss said hello, all the younger brothers came. Not only Ryukyu, Annan, Guangnan, Korea, Nanzhang, Siam, Chenla, Champa, Kazakhstan, Bukhara, Khiva and so on
Ten vassal states sent envoys, and even diplomatic countries such as Japan, Big Franji, Little Franji, Red Maoyi, Yingguili, Gaul, Lumi, Persia, Tianzhu, and Nibala also sent their envoys.
Envoy.
After a burst of drum music, the etiquette officer began to guide the envoys from various countries to salute.
The envoys from the vassal countries performed the ritual of kneeling three times and kowtowing nine times in a formal manner; while the non-vassal countries such as Hongmaoyi and Yingguili performed the kneeling ceremony with one leg after consultation.
On the surface, the envoys of these vassal countries suffered a big loss. The men had gold under their knees, and their knees were weak as they knelt here and there. But Emperor Guangwu was the fairest in doing things, and naturally he would not let them kowtow in vain. He issued an edict,
Special preferential treatment was given to envoys from vassal states who were willing to kowtow, and they could enter the main hall and be given seats and tea. Envoys from non-vassal states who were unwilling to kowtow could only stand outside Fengtian Hall without seats or tea.
Hum hum, whether you are willing to kowtow to me represents your attitude. Those who are respectful will naturally have a seat and have tea. Those who are not respectful, just stand for me.
I don’t know whether it was intentional or not, but the Rakshasa envoys Bubinet and Kurvinsky happened to be placed at the gate of Fengtian Hall. The Chenla (Cambodia) envoy in front of them kowtowed respectfully and sat down.
Drinking tea. Starting from the two of them, the envoys outside the palace who did not kowtow could only stand.
"Unfair!"
Kurvinsky roared that it was unfair and was about to get angry. The etiquette officer beside him shouted angrily: "If you are unwilling to abide by the Ming etiquette, we will have to drive you out of the palace. After leaving the palace, if you want to see your majesty again, please do so."
It’s difficult.
"My deputy doesn't understand the rules, please forgive me," Bubinet hurriedly tried to smooth things over. Kurvinsky thought of his mission. If he was kicked out of the palace, he would not be able to negotiate with the emperor of the Ming Dynasty to return Karl.
It’s something that happened to the Mek people. I had to hold back my anger and stop talking.
I thought that since he was receiving envoys, the emperor would always call me to comfort him, so that he would have the opportunity to negotiate with the emperor.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Hengjia just collectively comforted the envoys with a few words and then left the court. Then, officials from the Ministry of Rites led the envoys to the East Palace to meet the crown prince and gave them a banquet in the Huitong Pavilion.
Is this the end? We haven’t talked about the real thing yet!
Bubinet and Kurvinsky were so angry that they were so angry. However, the sight of hundreds of envoys paying homage to the Ming Emperor still gave them a huge shock. The Ming Dynasty was powerful and had many vassal states, so it was really not easy to mess with! p>
After attending the banquet angrily, an official from the Ministry of Rites suddenly informed me that the emperor had come to Yaxing and was going to review the army. Envoys were invited to observe.
Military parade?
The two became interested and thought this was an excellent opportunity to understand their opponent's military strength.
Officials from the Ministry of Rites took them to the top of Shogunate Mountain to watch the Ming army's grand appearance.
In the Ming Dynasty, the area around Mufu Mountain was a royal hunting ground. It was a large area, starting from Shangyuanmen in the west and ending at Yanziji in the east. It was about 11 miles long and nearly one mile wide. According to legend, Emperor Sima Rui of Jin and Yuan Dynasties crossed the river, and Wang Dao established the shogunate (staff department).
) here, hence the name.
Now that it's here, let's make peace with it.
Bubinet and Kurvinsky climbed to the Shogunate Mountain, and saw the rolling hills, the same landscape, and the Yangtze River rushing forward from the bottom of the mountain. It was a good view!
One hundred thousand Ming troops are coming!
In order to demonstrate the power of the Ming Dynasty to the envoys of various countries, Zhu Hengjia ordered the dispatch of 100,000 troops stationed in Beijing, all of whom were veterans who followed him in the southern and northern wars.
They formed a neat military formation, row after row, layer by layer, like Mount Tai, like huge waves, overwhelming the sky and the earth, roaring towards us.
"Boom~Boom~Boom~"
The artillery shells were shot down in front of Shogunate Mountain with howling sound. In order to achieve the effect of shocking all countries, Zhu Hengjia ordered the review to be carried out with live ammunition exercises.
After the veteran artillerymen finished firing their shells, the 20,000 cavalrymen formed a column and charged towards the "enemy formations" made of scarecrows.
Bubinet held up his telescope. In the lens was a cavalryman holding a saber. With the power of his horse, he cut off the heads of a row of scarecrows with a slight movement.
"Kill~kill~kill~"
Along the gap opened by the cavalry, the Ming army infantry lined up in order and began to attack in unison.
"Bah~bah~bah~"
"Whoosh~whoosh~whoosh~"
Guns and arrows are flying, spears are like a forest, and swords are like the sea.
As the Ming army rushed towards the enemy's position and chopped down the enemy's flag, the military exercise came to an end.
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The soldiers re-arranged themselves and waited quietly in complete silence.
Then, the great emperor came. Holding a long spear, he stood on a royal chariot drawn by eight pure white horses. On the roof of the chariot, a majestic dragon scroll fluttered in the wind.
The driver drove the chariot past the military formation.
"Long live~Long live~Long live~"
Earth-shaking cheers rang out in the military formation.
As a time traveler, the emperor knew the importance of showing off. He smiled, nodded to the soldiers, and raised his long spear from time to time.
"Long live!"
"Long live!"
"Long live!"
The cheers became even crazier and deafening.
Afterwards, a veteran wrote in his memoirs: "That day, His Majesty the Emperor saw me. He waved his long spear to greet me. In an instant, a huge joy filled his chest, and everyone shouted 'Long Live',
Even if my voice becomes hoarse, I don’t notice it at all??”
The military parade had a very good effect, and the envoys from various countries were all shocked, and even the timid ones were sweating profusely.
Bubinet and Kurvinsky were so surprised that they were speechless. Although the Mongols they faced in the past were large in number, their weapons were backward. But the Ming Dynasty was different. They had guns and cannons and a larger number of troops.
.It’s so terrible!
Once you lose your courage, you will be at a disadvantage during negotiations.
The Ming Dynasty refused to give in and refused to return the Turghut people, nor did they agree to give any compensation.
The two had no choice but to return to Russia and talk to Tsar Alexei about the power of the Ming Dynasty and persuade him not to become an enemy of the Ming Dynasty.
Tsar Alexei was furious and dismissed the two men as cowardly and incompetent.
There was an official in the mission named Litosov. In order to flatter the Tsar, he gave in to him and reported: "We only need to send three thousand soldiers to Siberia to disarm all the Ming troops on the border."
Tsar Alexei was overjoyed and rewarded Litosov heavily.
