Such an apportionment from North Korea is nothing more than punishment.
After all, Zhu Yixi still wanted to lose face, and did not directly order him to pay annual tribute like the Manchus did.
Therefore, there are only three items: purchase grain at low prices, trade, and control the navy.
Achieve control economically and militarily.
Of course, even so, in the eyes of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, it was still not decent enough and unworthy of the demeanor of a great country.
How can there be any reason in the world for a father to blackmail his son?
However, the emperor argued hard and refused to compromise: "If we don't punish him now, and the country will follow his example in the future, won't we mess up the rules?"
This time, the officials gave up.
Looking at the historical records of various dynasties, the Chinese emperor's most proud and glorious words are probably "tributes from all directions, and all nations come to court."
Especially during the period of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, after the founding rule of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, when all nations came to court, in order to show off China's wealth, he used silk as color and hung it on both sides of the road, regardless of the hungry and cold people on the streets.
Therefore, it has become a tradition to go back and forth lightly.
In the Ming Dynasty, when Zhu Di was the founder of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He made seven voyages to the West, visiting countries all over Asia and Africa. Sino-foreign exchanges were flourishing, and the Ming Dynasty's national prestige was "known all over the world".
There are more than 150 tributary states, and the unique "sovereign state-vassal state" system in the East has reached its peak in terms of historical and geographical scope.
As the saying goes, everything in the world is for profit, and tribute trade is a powerful tool to maintain its tribute system.
That is, in any country, only its ennobled leader can come to China to pay tribute, thereby monopolizing trade and seeking huge profits.
First, it was to obtain rewards from the Ming Dynasty through thin and generous exchanges; second, it was private trade, the goods carried by the envoys personally.
In the early Ming Dynasty, there was no tax on these private properties, but in the second year of Jingtai, they finally succumbed to national power and began to tax them.
The monopoly of tribute trade and the huge profits it brought allowed the tribute system to be maintained for more than 200 years.
Even in the last years of Chongzhen, Korea, Ryukyu, Annan, Champa (annexed by Annan), Siam and other countries paid tribute.
Japan, for example, has usurped the benefits of tribute trade as a non-subject country, which is a very special existence.
"Now that the customs are open and merchants from all over the world are coming, the tribute trade may be unsustainable unless the court continues to be generous with rewards."
Zhu Yixi glanced at the neatly arranged chime bells, which were sent by the Portuguese ambassador not long ago as a congratulation.
Its sound was clear and loud, and within a few days it became an extremely important time-telling device for the inner court.
The imperial palace also influenced the outer court, and the noble ministers also followed suit and made large purchases.
This made the Westerners very moved for a moment. In addition to firearms, they finally had something they could sell, and finally saw the money they could get back.
Given time, it will surely become popular in the Ming Dynasty.
After playing with the heavy self-ringing clock, Zhu Yixi thought a lot.
He saw clearly that the tributary trade and the tributary system were mutually exclusive. From the moment Longqing switched on and off, the tributary system was already on its last legs, relying only on rewards to survive.
The monopoly was broken by free trade, and tribute became the representative of attitude. Except for North Korea, Ryukyu, Annan, and Siam, how many people are willing to travel thousands of miles to show their loyalty?
For example, the Ouchi clan of Japan was also a victim of the changes in tribute trade!
Reshape tribute, reshape rights and obligations.
Before, everything was blurry.
As a vassal state, it had the obligation to send troops to help, and it was even more obligated to provide financial and food support. The Ming Dynasty needed to help it recover and ensure the continuation of its power.
The best representative is North Korea, especially the Imjin Japanese Rebellion, which helped it recover and directly contributed to the second wave of tribute peaks in the Ming Dynasty, which greatly enhanced its prestige.
Obviously, in Zhu Yixi's view, the Ming Dynasty paid too much, while the vassal countries paid too little, making it unworthy.
Therefore, we must use North Korea as a benchmark to reshape the tribute system, increase trade, and control the army, these two powers.
Commerce can promote commerce, so the customs can collect more taxes and support the finance, while restraining the army can further expand the influence of the Ming Dynasty.
In the future, you can even ask for a monopoly on its diplomacy.
By then, the Ming Dynasty would be a vassal state, covering the whole of Asia.
"How did Portugal and other Western barbarians react to this?"
"Your Majesty, this is a private matter for our country. How can the country speak for itself?"
"Hahaha, it's me who got caught."
Zhu Yixi was stunned for a moment, then realized what she was doing and smiled again and again:
"Well, you have done a good job as the Minister of Lifan Yuan, but it won't work for a long time. There are a lot of discussions inside and outside the court, so you can rest now.
"I will reward you with food and a double salary, and I will be promoted to the rank of uncle."
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty." Zhu Mou was overjoyed and immediately knelt down and kowtowed.
Since the establishment of the Lifan Academy more than a year ago, Zhu Mou has been acting as its deputy.
The Ministry of Rites was divided into two. In addition to still controlling tribute and diplomacy, the power to deal with the inner vassals was completely seized by the Lifan Yuan.
In terms of power division, the Ministry of Rites is external, and the Lifan Yuan is internal.
Mongolian tribes such as the Chahar tribe, Tibet, and even vassal states such as Korea, Annan, and Ryukyu were all handled by the Lifan Yuan.
Western countries such as Portugal and England were handled by the Ministry of Rites.
Although the Lifan Yuan has little power and messy departments, it is ultimately the center of the imperial court.
In other words, he is the first civil servant in the Ming Dynasty to serve as two ministers in more than 200 years. On the surface, he is extremely powerful.
But in fact, because the Lifan Academy was originally separated from the Ministry of Rites, it was said to be a department, but in fact it was just a department, so it was not taken too seriously by the officials.
This is also the reason why the emperor allowed him to hold concurrent posts. The officials of Lifan Yuan were all transferred from the Six Ministries.
But as time went by, as the Lifan Academy gradually got on the right track, a Shangshu became too tempting.
Although the power is small, he is still a minister after all, and the next step is to become a cabinet. Is this the expectation of many frontier officials?
In fact, although Zhu Mou carries glory, he is still under a lot of pressure. He holds two jobs and is from a clan. The gossip behind his back is enough to kill someone.
Now that it was over, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Now, in reshaping the tribute system, the Lifan Yuan is an extremely critical link.
"I'm not afraid to tell you either."
Zhu Yixi took one look at Zhu Muru's appearance of lifting a heavy burden, and couldn't help but feel a little distressed.
After all, it is his own background that keeps him in the political whirlpool, which is not a good thing.
Even if it is given to a count, the damage done to him is difficult to make up for.
Rules are the most important in the officialdom. If you break the rules, it will be difficult to convince the public. Among other things, it will be extremely difficult to enter the direct cabinet in the future.
"I have decided to transfer someone from the local area to Beijing to serve as the Minister of Lifan Yuan."
"Your Majesty, you are wise!" Zhu Mou said that he was incompetent. This was the time when he wanted to avoid suspicion.
"You don't want to know?" Zhu Yixi said softly: "After all, the Lifan Academy is also where your hard work lies."
"Lifanyuan is His Majesty's Lifanyuan, and it also belongs to the imperial court, but it does not belong to the ministers——"