As the Ming Dynasty's minister to Myanmar, the embassy where Gu Zhong was located was a large courtyard with hundreds of people living in it.
Gu Zhong pulled the linen cloth on his body and opened it a little more.
In the autumn years of the Ming Dynasty, Myanmar just entered the dry season. It was the most important time of the year, and the new capital was busy.
As an envoy, he not only had to convey the Ming Emperor's will to Myanmar, but also collected all things in Myanmar, large and small, and reported them to the court on time.
This gives him a sense of justice, but he has no real power over Myanmar.
He didn't dare have such a right.
Sun Kewang was cautious and narrow-minded, and he valued power very seriously. Few of the civil and military generals under his command dared to break the rules and were very obedient.
Naturally, although he represented the Ming Dynasty, he did not want to interfere in its national affairs.
The visitor delivered a large amount of documents to his desk and couldn't help but said: "Mr. Minister, there seems to be a yellow book in it."
"Oh?" Gu Zhong was stunned and hurriedly started searching.
In the official documents sent by the Ministry of Rites to the envoys of the vassal state, the yellow book is the most important, the red book is the second, and the ordinary white book is the third.
Sure enough, he saw the yellow book on it, tied with a piece of yellow silk, which attracted attention.
"Hey!" He opened it and looked solemn.
"Quick, prepare the car, I'm going to the palace."
"yes!"
The carriage was quickly prepared, and Gu Zhong quickly boarded it.
The chariots and horses in Burma have the same standards as those of the Ming Dynasty, and the standards of the envoys are the same as those of the state. Pedestrians on the road give way one after another.
After a while, he arrived at the palace.
Although it is the dry season, compared to the rainy season, the willow trees on the ground are sprouting and all kinds of flowers and plants are lush. Compared with spring, the weather is drier and hotter.
The Royal Palace of Myanmar took hundreds of thousands of manpower to build, and cartloads of gold, silver, and jewelry were used. Rumor has it that even ninety-nine pieces of golden nanmu were used.
And due to the rainy season, the huge palace was filled with two feet of earth out of thin air.
In other words, although it is located within the city, it is condescending and is the highest point of the new capital city.
There are a large number of small and numerous ditches that can discharge heavy rain into the river in a short time, thereby avoiding the suffering of floods.
In view of this, a large number of nobles and civil servants also adopted the method of filling soil to raise the foundation and avoid being flooded.
After passing through all the way, he soon arrived at the Long Live Hall.
Gu Zhong didn't report anything about this slightly over-the-top name. After all, the matter was too minor.
He looked around and saw that this Long Live Hall was used by Sun Kewang for his daily training, so not many concubines came there, not even many civil servants.
It is large in scale and splendidly decorated, worthy of the name of a royal palace. Various gems are inlaid on the pillars, which is dazzling.
"Why are you here, Minister Gu?"
Just when he was thinking about how much food it would cost to build this palace, Sun Kewang's voice came to his ears.
He looked up and was surprised.
At this time, Sun Kewang was already very old compared to half a year ago, and he could be described as a real old man.
You know, he was only in his fifties at this time and had only been in Myanmar for about ten years.
The once ambitious and energetic King of Myanmar has become an old man.
Such a contrast made Gu Zhong feel uncomfortable for a while.
"Your Highness, the foreign minister is polite."
Gu Zhong hurriedly bent down and bowed his head in salute.
"Get back on your feet!" Sun Kewang said slightly tiredly, with obvious dark circles under his eyes: "Since we are here, let's watch the singing and dancing first!"
"Dong, dong..." Amidst the sound of the drums, the chimes also played an impressive piece of music.
In the Long Live Hall, a group of graceful dancers wore thin Burmese military robes and danced a shield dance, mixing the dance steps and styles of the Burmese people. However, the clothes were all made of silk and satin, which was quite expensive.
After all, the costumes worn by the dancers lacked heavy momentum, let alone murderous intent.
However, they have good figures and look very dashing, which is more interesting than ordinary dance.
"Crack!" A certain percussion instrument made a sound, and a row of dancers neatly raised their shields and wooden spears. The dancers in front and behind alternated in a complex formation. Looking at the whole, the dance of the shields and wooden spears changed.
It's complex, yet not cluttered at all.
For a long time, Sun Kewang regretfully asked people to step back, and his eyes focused on Gu Zhong:
"What's the big deal, Minister?"
"Your Highness, I'm so happy!" Gu Zhong said as he recovered from the dance and raised his hands to the north: "His Majesty the Ming Emperor commended Myanmar for its loyalty and granted special permission for the marriage."
"Oh?" Sun Kewang stood up from the couch, with surprise in his eyes: "I wonder which princess is visiting me in Myanmar?"
"Princess Guangping!" Gu Zhong said.
Sun Kewang frowned. He had never heard that the emperor had such a princess.
"She is the prince of the Qin vassal county. Your Majesty took great pity on her, so she adopted her as an adopted daughter, especially Princess Guangping."
Gu Zhong said truthfully.
Sun Kewang frowned for a moment, and a surge of anger burst out from his eyes, and then he suppressed it forcefully.
Although the princess of the Qin dynasty was said to be from the same vassal as the emperor, her bloodline was thousands of miles away, so she could not be considered a princess at all.
He thought again of the state of Kang. When they were married to the state of Kang, the emperor also married a princess of the Qin vassal. The Qin vassal had already extinct heirs. Why were there so many princesses?
Could it be that he was adopted by a distant branch and then adopted by the emperor? This is too insincere.
Seeing Sun Kewang's expression suddenly change, Gu Zhong hurriedly explained:
"Your Highness, Hugh has underestimated this Princess Guangping."
"You have to know that the former Annan has now become the State of Qin. If the prince marries it, he will not only be able to get closer to His Majesty the Emperor, but also enhance his relationship with the State of Qin."
"The Ming Dynasty is far away and the Qin State is close. It will be very beneficial to Myanmar to have good relations with it."
When Sun Kewang heard this, his expression instantly softened.
Marrying a princess for your son, and being able to connect with both Beijing and Jiaozhou, is not bad.
Moreover, the harem of the Ming Dynasty could not interfere in politics, and there was no difference between the princess and the princess.
For Myanmar, it is a happy event to have good relations with a close neighbor like Qin.
"This is a very good thing."
Sun Kewang smiled: "It is my son's blessing to marry the princess of your country, and it is also the blessing of Myanmar."
As he spoke, he said rather proudly: "As soon as I accept the betrothal gift, I will pay double the amount for the crown prince."
Gu Zhong cupped his hands and said, "However, His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, must go to Beijing to marry the young master. It would be best for His Majesty to meet him in person."
Sun Kewang's face immediately turned cold, and the maid and eunuch serving beside him trembled with tremors.
This Burmese king was extremely powerful, decisive in killing, and even said he had a hobby of killing people. Who wouldn't be afraid of this?
After thinking for a long time, the old tiger put away his cold glare and said calmly: "For this reason, the ugly son-in-law also wants to see his father-in-law, so it would be a good idea to let him go to Beijing for a long experience."
Gu Zhong understood his suppressed pain and immediately agreed, then hurriedly left.
Sure enough, before they left the palace, there was the sound of bottles breaking and a series of cold scoldings coming from behind.
Immediately, a cry for mercy came.
Gu Zhong couldn't care less and left directly.
Not long after he left, he was pulled out of the palace. The eunuch who was playing with the board screamed for a while and was suddenly stopped.
"Stop it!"
A young man of fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing an ocher yellow python robe and jade-strap high boots, with a gentle look on his face said: "It's enough to teach you a lesson if you make a mistake, why take your life?"
"But this is what His Highness wants to fight..."
"Follow my instructions, I will take care of your highness's affairs myself."
The young man said warmly, ignoring the eunuch's grateful expression, and walked into the Long Live Hall unhurriedly.
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty!"
Everyone saluted respectfully, while the young man nodded slightly, with a smile on his lips, calm and gentle, giving people a feeling of spring breeze blowing on his face.
Especially after the heavy rain just now, this group of people felt a rare sense of warmth.
"Why do you have to be so kind-hearted?" Sun Kewang raised his eyes and saw his son, and the smile that had just appeared immediately faded, and he said in a deep voice.
"Father, although he is a humble person, he still has a life after all."
The young man smiled and said: "The Holy Lord is merciful to people. Your Highness does not want his life. I am just obedient."
"Oh?" Sun Kewang showed a smile: "Then what do I want?"
"You're trying to intimidate someone or even express dissatisfaction to them."
Sun Zhenghao said softly.
Sun Kewang was extremely satisfied with this prince at this time.
In the early years, several sons, Sun Zhengqi and Sun Zhengchun, all died early. Only these three sons lived a long life, survived the long rain forest, and grew up smoothly.
Different from his own ruthless personality, this prince had a gentle personality but was also extremely intelligent. He was the youngest, but was extremely proficient in government affairs.
In the past two years, I have entered the court and gradually been involved in government affairs. I think it won't be long before I can become a real monarch.
Although he himself killed a lot of people, he had to do it.
The Toungoo Kingdom was a feudal country. Although its capital was destroyed, there were still a large number of feudal nobles scattered throughout the country, forming separate factions.
As a guest, if he had not been more ruthless, he would not have been able to establish the Sun family's Burmese dynasty.
And this kind of ruthless killing of families and clans cannot be carried out for a long time. Otherwise, the whole country will only have fear and no order.
It is difficult for the majesty of the imperial court to take root completely.
Therefore, when facing his successor, Sun Kewang hoped to use a gentle approach to complement each other.
One ruthlessness and one softness, one violence and one kindness, and a moment of neutralization will allow the country to be passed down smoothly.
Although Sun Zhenghao is young, he meets all the conditions for being an heir, so he is naturally favored.
"Hahaha, that's right!"
Sun Kewang surprised the palace ladies and burst into laughter:
"Then Gu Zhong considers himself a minister and wants my son to go to Beijing for pilgrimage. It is simply too rude. If I don't show it today, he will really think that I am a fool."
"If you advance an inch today, you will dare to advance a foot tomorrow."
"My father is wise." Sun Zhenghao found out that he would marry a woman named Princess, who was actually a princess. He was not surprised:
"It is said that Emperor Shaowu does not care about his sons or his women. Many princesses have their own houses and palaces. The princess palace is also magnificent, but he is reluctant to let his own daughter travel thousands of miles away to get married."
"It's normal for this to happen."
"It's good that my son knows." Sun Kewang said in a deep voice: "The Ming Dynasty has not made peace with each other or cut off territory for three hundred years, but this Emperor Shaowu has violated it all the time. It's not bad to get a princess."
Sun Zhenghao nodded, and then said seriously: "My son is going to Beijing this time. Not only do I want to meet the Wang brothers who are studying, but I also want to see how prosperous the world-famous Beijing city is."
When Sun Kewang heard this, he was startled.
He had no impression of the city of Beijing because he had never seen it before, but the prosperity of Chengdu and the wealth of Kunming surrounded him in his dreams.
Compared with these two cities, although the new capital city is well built, it is not half as good.
"My son went to Beijing. Don't let the glitz blind you. You have to understand that there are few people in Burma and the Central Plains is vast and rich in resources. There must be many people who have no enough to eat. You can recruit some to enrich our people."
"My child understands."
The Burmese dynasty belongs to a small clan and a large clan. The meritorious group headed by the Han people has stirred up the power of the entire Burma, which will naturally dissatisfy the Bamar people who make up the majority of the population.
Therefore, the Yunnanese who followed were called Chinese people.
It is normal to form a group, and the same is true for expanding the number of people in the country.
Here, Gu Zhong got on the carriage and left the palace, feeling lingering fear: "This Sun Kewang's temper is not bad at all, he is still so cruel."
At this time, the sound of horse hooves was heard.
When I opened the curtain, I saw several horses galloping and accidentally knocked down a stall.
What's amazing is that, facing the wealthy and powerful family, the vendor showed no fear and cursed with his hands on his hips:
"Be careful with your dog eyes. It's okay if you hit the stall. If you hit the stall as well, wouldn't you be dead?"
The man on the horse was originally standing high and looking at people with his chin, but when he heard these Chinese words, he immediately got off his horse in a hurry and apologized hurriedly:
"Sorry, sorry, things are urgent today and I offended you. Please forgive me."
After saying that, he handed over a bag of silver and presented it respectfully.
"Hmph, I'll spare you this one time today."
The merchant then said: "The inner city is not as good as the outer city. If you get into trouble, I'm afraid your family won't be able to save it!"
Several knights nodded hurriedly, then simply stopped riding and directly took the horses and drove forward.
And the crowd dispersed in a hurry.
Gu Zhong looked at it with great interest and then lowered the car curtain.
This incident seems very abrupt on the surface, but in fact it directly points out a group: Chinese people.
These Han people and barbarian groups who followed from Yunnan, with the establishment of Myanmar, naturally became the superior people.
Those who were knowledgeable and capable basically became officials, while some who were incompetent or physically disabled were also assigned land and houses, filling the new capital.
Chinese people enjoy a lot of preferential treatment.
For example, in the Myanmar version of the imperial examination, Chinese citizens who account for less than 10% of the population received 80% of the places.
Even Chinese people are free from corvee for life.
Although the knight just now comes from a high-ranking official's family, he must be a native of Myanmar. No matter how high and powerful he is, he would not dare to offend the people of the country.
Group relations among Chinese people are complicated, and offending one person is equivalent to offending the whole family.