Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 102: Sympathy? Stab you!

Naturally, kindness and severity must be used together, and then it is Zhu Changluo's turn for long-term planning.

He first gave him earnest advice and told him some general principles on how to maintain good relations with neighbors.

It is also said that there will be changes in the tribute and rewards in the future, and the scale of border markets will be expanded.

He also expressed his "good intention" to revamp Liaodong and pay the money that the Jurchen tribes should collect from the border markets as soon as possible.

"As long as you are loyal to the Ming Dynasty, you can rest assured. The border markets of the Ming Dynasty will be more prosperous, so that all tribes can buy the goods they need, and the prices will be fair. As for the tribute, I will set up special personnel in the border markets in the future to settle the silver and goods. The price will naturally be higher than that of ordinary bulk goods. After all, you spend time accumulating, and the Ming Dynasty saves time to search slowly, and can also provide a stable supply, so you will never suffer a loss."

Zhu Changluo was laying the groundwork for Changming's operations in Liaodong, while Nurhaci looked at him with mixed feelings.

This new king is very different from his father, very different!
Furs, pearls, ginseng, mushrooms, pine nuts, honey... these goods were all needed by the Ming Dynasty, but the tributes presented to the emperor were often not the best.

If you take it to the border market, or simply bring it all the way to Shanhaiguan or the capital as a tribute, you can sell it at a higher price.

In addition to the tribute gifts from the Ming Dynasty, they could also purchase salt, iron pots, iron tools, silk cloth, etc. needed by the tribe on their way back...

Overall, if there is no profit to be made, why would everyone fight over those imperial edicts?
Now the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty said that even if he would change the tribute method, he would still let them make a profit, so there was nothing we could say.

Nurhaci also believed that at least the Ming Dynasty did not want to cause resentment among the ethnic groups outside the border towns and then cause them to rise up and plunder for what they needed, right?
"I am quite curious about that extremely cold place. You should send a letter to summon your eighth son to the capital. You stay in the capital first, and I will ask you about the customs and habits of Changbai Mountain when I have time! It just so happens that Ningyuan Hou is an old acquaintance of yours, and I now trust him quite a bit. In a few days, I will summon you all together to listen to the stories between the White Mountains and Black Waters!"

Nurhaci was under someone else's roof and had no choice but to obey orders.

The new emperor of the Ming Dynasty was interested in the Baishan and Heishui regions, which made him extremely worried.

It seems that unless Taiji's child comes to the capital, he can't go back.

How did the emperor know that Taiji's child was very talented?
……

Gwanghaegun Yi Hun, the second son of King Yi Sun of Joseon, also did not feel the warmth of the new Ming emperor.

"Gao Huai sent people to ask for tribute. Although he acted on his own, he was loyal to my father. He was not very knowledgeable, so he was angry that the Ming Dynasty lost countless soldiers and spent tens of millions of national treasury just to help you, Korea, expel foreign enemies. In the past, you were reborn, and now you are donating continuously."

Zhu Changluo said coldly: "My father worked so hard that he became seriously ill in his prime and had to abdicate to me. Every time I think of this, I feel so depressed! Therefore, although Gao Huai acted on his own, I will now issue a clear decree regarding the tribute he mentioned: Korea should indeed show some sincerity and thank the Ming Dynasty for its kindness in renewing its power!"

Li Hun nodded in agreement, not daring to refute or even mention that the people sent by Gao Huai had actually taken away a lot of materials.

For Zhu Changluo, it was just an excuse to make some comments.

Will the Ming Dynasty get any rewards for sending troops to Korea?
It cannot be said that there was no influence at all, at least it did demonstrate the status of the suzerain state, had a positive influence on the loyal vassal states, and also had a deterrent effect on some vassal clans.

But the rewards are so little.

Even though the King of Korea had already requested to "submit to the country", the Japanese spent so much money and manpower to fight this battle, but in the end they had no intention of continuing to govern Korea.

Zhu Changluo had missed this opportunity, so now he was ready to create another one.

"Only those who are self-reliant can be called wise vassal lords, who can govern the people of the vassal state well and not cause trouble for the country above." Zhu Changluo looked at him, "You may know that the Ming Dynasty has also been arguing for a long time because of the issue of the country's foundation, but that was just the ministers' nagging and disturbing when the emperor had to devote all his energy to several wars. Since I am the eldest, there is no need to worry about the country's foundation."

Li Hun felt uneasy, and he heard the Ming Emperor continue to say, "And your father is really foolish. First, he failed to stabilize the country for a long time, and when the Japanese pirates were approaching Seoul, he ignored his eldest son and forced you to be the crown prince. Such an act is against the order of the times, how can I recognize it?"

History is full of coincidences.

At almost the same time, disputes over the national foundation broke out in both Ming Dynasty and Korea, as the emperors did not like their eldest sons.

In fact, Li Hun was not the fourth son favored by King Yi Sun of Joseon. It was only because Li Hun was relatively outstanding that when the country was about to perish, the ministers of Joseon strongly demanded that a crown prince be appointed in case of an emergency. Li Hun was therefore canonized as the crown prince and had the same mission as Emperor Qinzong of Song.

Li Cheng first went to Pyongyang and then to Liaodong, dividing the court into two, leaving Li Hun in Korea to lead the fight against the enemy.

It must be said that Li Hun was much better than his father. He really gathered scattered troops and volunteers in Korea and held out until the Ming reinforcements arrived. For this, Zhu Yijun also appointed him as the governor of Qing and Quan military affairs.

Now that Zhu Changluo has ascended the throne, the Ming Dynasty and Korea have one more thing in common: internal abdication.

The situation became awkward after Lee Sun returned to North Korea.

His son Yi Hun had already won the support of the army, and even on the Ming side, there were suggestions that Yi Sun should abdicate in favor of Yi Hun.

After Lee Sun divided the Joseon court into two, he proposed abdication 18 times in seven years. At first, he might have intended to evade responsibility like Song Huizong, but later he did it to test his son's loyalty.

Now the situation of both the North Korean leader and his son is awkward.

Lee Sun married a new young queen. Who knows if she will give birth to another legitimate son?
Li Hui came to the court to pay tribute, using his previous prestige, which made Li Sun reluctant to come. He just wanted the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty to formally recognize his status as the crown prince, but Zhu Changluo would not "sympathize with him".

Zhu Changluo stabbed him in the back instead, saying that he was the eldest son and Li Hun was the second son.

It was as if recognizing him would weaken the legal authority of the new Ming emperor.

Li Hun then knelt before the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and sobbed, "How can an outsider control my current situation? When I first received the order from my father, I supported myself alone; now that my status is not right, I am in a state of panic all day long. I still hope that the Emperor will have mercy on me..."

Zhu Changluo was very moved: He is indeed a person who can behave decently even though he is treated like Emperor Qinzong of Song.

This acting skill just comes naturally.

And how could he feel the influence of the Ming Dynasty today in another time and space?

Without the recognition of the Ming Dynasty, the future of the Joseon Crown Prince will be illegitimate. If he succeeds in his special trip, he can strengthen the confidence of more Joseon officials to support him after returning, and maybe he will soon be able to achieve internal abdication.

Zhu Changluo sighed, "I have also heard about your deeds. I can only say that fate plays tricks on me. I cannot acknowledge you as the crown prince first. After all, the Ming Dynasty also has a dispute over the foundation of the country. If the inheritance is disorderly, Korea will surely have a fight. In this case, won't the Ming Dynasty still have to continuously send grain to aid Korea?"

Li Hui's heart moved when he heard this. Is it mainly about interests?

"Your Majesty, my elder brother was captured by the Japanese invaders and surrendered to them. He also followed them to pacify many lost territories. Although he was held hostage, no one in the country believes him now. Last year, my elder brother got drunk and broke into my father's bedroom. My father was furious and dismissed him from his post. Now I only hope that the upper country will grant me the permission to make him the crown prince. Then my country will be at peace and I can rest and recuperate to repay the upper country's kindness."

Zhu Changluo seemed to be moved by what he said and fell into deep thought.

Li Hui felt as if there was hope and pleaded sadly again and again.

Zhu Changluo sighed, "Now that I have just ascended the throne, at least not now. But you are very loyal, and I sympathize with your difficulties. Let's put it this way, Korea can never rely on Ming to send food and relief for a long time. Ming has fought many wars both internally and externally, and now it needs to recuperate, especially Liaodong has not yet recovered. Although Korea is poor, it still has some products. Liaodong has only one Kaiyuan horse market, and I can open another border market in Kuandian Fort..."

Then he told us his idea: Korean products should be traded in the nearby border market of Kuandianbao, and as for tribute, that should also be changed.

All grain transported by the Ming Dynasty had to be priced and sent directly to Korea by sea, with Pi Island chosen as the transit port.

"In addition to tribute, there is a lot of private trade. After you go back, can you restrain yourself and only make transactions with the people I designate in Pi Island?"

Li Hui felt bitter in his heart and could only say: "Outside officials should restrain themselves..."

Zhu Changluo looked at him meaningfully: "If you can control this matter, it will prove that you can stabilize North Korea in the future."

Li Hui was shocked. Is this matter related to whether he can be recognized as the crown prince?

Just as the Ming Dynasty had many powerful clans engaged in maritime trade and smuggling, the same was true for Korea.

Zhu Changluo asked him to monopolize this market, connect specifically with the Ming Dynasty, and exchange many Korean products for Ming Dynasty relief grain.

The Ming Dynasty’s ships had come, so they naturally could not return empty-handed.

What else could Li Hun say? He could only thank the emperor for his great grace.

He can only be said to be half successful, the rest he needs to figure out by himself.

It just so happened that during the Korean War, his father had already accomplished the great feat of refutation of the royal family lineage, which had failed to be accomplished by several generations of Korean kings, by virtue of his close connections at the time and the geographical advantage of being within the Ming Dynasty. This ensured that the lineage of the Korean kings was correctly recorded in the Ming Dynasty's Code.

Otherwise, if we settle for the next best thing and accomplish this task, our prestige will surely increase greatly and our position will be much more solid after we return home.

Seeing him go back with a heavy heart, Zhu Changluo said, "Come out."

Wang Xun came over from the warm room next to him and knelt down obediently.

"You heard it, didn't you? No matter if it was the Jurchens or the Koreans, those who were sent to the border cities gradually became our own people. The Jianzhou Jurchens didn't dare to rob Kuandian Fort, but they certainly dared to rob the Koreans in Kuandian."

Wang Xun kowtowed: "I understand."

"We can also recruit Korean craftsmen from Pi Island. They also have people who are familiar with shipbuilding. You don't have to avoid Matteo Ricci next."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

He is now eligible to serve as a vassal, and in recent days, in Wang Xun's opinion, the emperor really wants to use them!

It turns out that he intended to conquer the Jurchens and Korea from Liaodong first!
(End of this chapter)