There was a solemn atmosphere in the Tumu Fort and the side hall where the emperor camped.
Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty sat upright on the dragon chair, with the eunuch Wang Xiaosi standing next to him.
In the hall below, all around the wall are the captains of the East Factory.
All of them were in high spirits, holding the saber on their waists with their hands, their eyes bright and alert, looking ahead, and straightening their bodies like flagpoles.
In front of and to the left of the Emperor's desk, stood an old eunuch.
He stood up straight and shouted loudly towards the door of the side hall: "The emperor has a decree, and envoys from foreign countries are here to see you."
"The Emperor has a decree, and envoys from foreign countries are here to see him."
"The Emperor has a decree, and envoys from foreign countries are here to see him."
Sounds came one after another from inside the side hall to the gate of the Civil Engineering Department.
The envoys who had just received the "personal inspection" looked excited, holding their clothes with both hands, and nervously looked inside the earthen fort.
"Envoys, please." The old eunuch at the door, with a smile on his face, looked toward the inside of the door, raised his right hand slightly, and made a gesture of invitation.
Everyone nodded and filed in.
The first person to enter the side hall was the envoy from Korea.
When he was at the door, the envoy seemed to be ready to keep a low profile.
Just three steps into the door, he shook his long sleeves with both hands, arched his body, first held his hands together and bowed, then put his hands on the ground and fell to his knees.
"Li Zikang, the envoy of Korea, is here to see His Majesty the Ming Emperor." The whole person fell to the ground, and the envoy of Korea shouted sincerely.
"Get up," Ming Chengzu smiled and waved his right hand gently, "Korea and Ming, although the two countries are adjacent to each other, there has never been friction. Daming is a country of etiquette. Since Korea and Ming
If you maintain the respect you deserve, I, the Ming Dynasty, will never have any undue thoughts about Goryeo."
"His Majesty the Emperor's words, I will definitely report them exactly as they are when I return to my country. It is Korea's good fortune to be adjacent to a superpower like Ming Dynasty but without any war." The Korean envoy straightened up and said
Say it as respectfully as possible.
"Although Goryeo is not a vassal state of Ming Dynasty, as a friendly neighbor, as long as Goryeo maintains its current attitude, Ming Dynasty will never stand idly by if other forces attack Goryeo. Envoy Li went back to tell the leader of Goryeo that Goryeo is
The East Gate of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty will not allow people to cause trouble at its gate."
Ming Chengzu's voice was very low, but the attitude contained in it made people think deeply.
How could the Korean envoy not understand the meaning of such words?
Then he bowed again: "Your Majesty, please rest assured that although Goryeo is not affiliated with the Ming Dynasty, it has always regarded itself as the guard of the east gate of the Ming Dynasty. In the past, Goryeo had no dissatisfaction with the Ming Empire, and it will never have any dissent in the future.
"
"To live in peace, the people will not be devastated by the war. I have something on my mind about Koryo's intentions. Envoy Li, please take a seat." Ming Chengzu smiled faintly and pointed to the chair closest to him.
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Emperor." The Korean envoy thanked him again, then slowly stood up, keeping his body slightly arched, walked slowly to the side of the chair, and gently touched his buttocks to the edge of the chair.
Watching the other party take his seat, the old eunuch in front of the desk said again towards the door: "Next one."
Following the sound of footsteps, a dark-skinned man with a cloth wrapped around his head walked in. He was an envoy from the Mihir Kingdom.
After bowing respectfully on the ground, Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty did not have any extra words to say. He only said: "Get up and take a seat."
How could the envoy of the Mihir Kingdom dare to get up? He knew that the Ming Emperor's lukewarm words were dissatisfaction with the Mihir Kingdom's policy towards the Ming Dynasty.
In the Mihir Kingdom, they always believed that the Yuan Dynasty was the Celestial Dynasty, and did not know much about the Ming Dynasty that replaced it. So when the Ming Dynasty's fleet arrived in the waters of the Mihir Kingdom, they were treated as "not allowed here."
The trip was blocked on the grounds of "the passage of the Eastern fleet".
But this hunting activity in Huailaiwei allowed the envoys of the Mihir Kingdom to truly see the power of the Ming Dynasty.
It is natural for the Ming Dynasty to replace the Yuan Dynasty as the "Celestial Dynasty".
"Your Majesty, the country of Mihir had an incorrect understanding of the Ming Empire before. After this villain returns to the country, he must truthfully report the true strength of the Ming Empire to the king, so that the Ming Dynasty can still be in the "Celestial Dynasty" in Mihir.
Status." Still kneeling on the ground, the envoy of the Mihir Kingdom said as if he was making a promise.
"The purpose of the Ming Dynasty's fleet sailing on the sea is to promote trade, culture, and religious exchanges between the East and the West. Mihir shut out the Ming Dynasty's fleet. For the Ming Dynasty, it was just one less country.
But for the Mihir country, it missed out on being a great country in the east. I will wait and see how your country will treat the Ming Dynasty in the future." Putting his hands on the table, Ming Chengzu said softly without saltiness.
.
"Your Majesty, please rest assured that after this villain returns home, the country of Mihir will definitely open its arms to welcome the arrival of the Ming fleet." Envoy Mihir said loudly.
"Before, Ming's fleet would turn back every time it reached the Mihir sea area. Now, the fleet is still traveling on the sea. I hope that the words of the envoy can be fulfilled, so that Ming's fleet can sail into Mihir's port.
.”
"must be able to."
"Okay, envoy, please take a seat. Let's wait and see what happens next." Ming Chengzu waved his hand.
As Ambassador Mihir stood up and took his seat, the old eunuch shouted again: "Next one."
More than twenty envoys and their deputies entered the temple one by one to pay homage.
The last ones who walked in were two tall middle-aged men with big beards and strange clothes.
One of these two people was Zayim, the Timurid envoy who could almost compete with the Ming Dynasty, and the other was his deputy.
Ming Chengzu had a deep impression on these two people.
In November of last year (the 18th year of Yongle), I received envoys from various countries in the palace. All the envoys performed kowtows. Only the two envoys from the Timurid Kingdom insisted on doing so on the grounds that "our country does not have this custom."
Bow.
Ming Chengzu didn't pay much attention to this at the time.
After all, if you want to win the respect of a country, you need strength. Conquering the other party with strong strength and making them truly willing to bow down from the bottom of their hearts is what Ming Chengzu always pursued.
Seeing these two people coming in, Ming Chengzu's face was very calm.
Prostrate and bow as they choose.
After all, he is the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, not the Khan of Timur.
The envoys in the side hall also witnessed the two men's behavior last time.
Watching the two of them come in, I thought that they were just bowing.
Zayimu, who was walking at the front, suddenly put his left hand on the ground, bent his legs, and knelt down after walking through the gate.
Ming Chengzu was also startled and frowned slightly.
A Huailaiwei hunting activity, an envoy from the Timurid Kingdom, surrendered?
After kneeling on the ground, Zayimu slowly slid his hands forward and his whole body fell on the ground.
The envoys next to him were stunned when they saw it.
This kind of prostrate ceremony is the highest etiquette in the Timurid Kingdom, and it is a great ceremony that ministers only perform when they see the Khan.
Didn't Zhayimu say last time that "there is no such custom in our country"? It's only been a few months, so it's easy to change.
"Zayimu, the envoy of the Timur Kingdom, comes to see His Majesty the Emperor." A loud voice came from Zhayimu's mouth.
The deputy envoy next to him also fell to the ground. As soon as Zaimu finished speaking, he shouted: "Deputy envoy of Timur, please bow to His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Empire."
"Okay, okay. Please get up, both of you." Ming Chengzu sat on the dragon chair with a smile on his face, and waved his hands upward at the same time.
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Emperor." Zayim and the deputy stood up slowly.
"Before this, Zayimu did not know the sacred power of the Celestial Empire and was rude. I still hope that His Majesty the Emperor will atone for his sins." Zayimu said sincerely with his hands clasped in fists, his head lowered and his body hunched over.
"He who doesn't know is not guilty. The envoy followed the etiquette of your country, so there is nothing to blame." Ming Chengzu said with a smile.
"In order to express the highest respect for His Majesty the Emperor, I specially asked someone to transport a war horse from the Timurid Kingdom. I hope His Majesty the Emperor will accept it," Zaimu said.
"War horse?" Ming Chengzu chuckled.
"This war horse is the father of the current king of the Timurid Kingdom. It was the royal mount used by Timur Khan in the north and south campaigns during his lifetime. This horse is presented to His Majesty the Emperor because the people of the Timurid Kingdom believe that there is only the Ming Dynasty in the world today.
Only His Majesty the Emperor can be worthy of this horse."
