Chapter 15 Bargaining

Inside the Shuntian Prefecture, Zhang Tianshi, who was meditating to recuperate, suddenly opened his eyes and glanced in the direction of Korea.

"The Korean war is over. We can transfer the troops back to deal with the north."

The fortune of Korea is rising at an extremely fast speed, even Zhang Tianshi in the Ming Dynasty's capital can sense it. After all, Korea itself is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, and there is a certain connection between their fortunes.

And the situation was as Zhang Tianshi expected.

The Wanli Emperor was by the old Tianshi's side, with what looked like clouds flowing in his palm. Hearing this, he was very surprised.

After a while.

After the news left the Tianshi's residence, the Wanli Emperor went to Zuoshun Gate from here.

At the noon court, the emperor summoned civil and military officials to discuss matters in the afternoon.

The civil and military officials received the news and dared not neglect it. They rushed from all over. Now the Forbidden City hangs high in the sky, covering the world like a dharma realm. They also needed to ride the clouds and drive the fog before entering the Forbidden City, which also gave many officials an addiction to being "immortal officials."

Before today, the Wanli Emperor had not held a court meeting for more than ten days.

Everyone thought that Wanli had become a hands-off shopkeeper again, but now various anomalies have appeared in the Great Ming, and even the Forbidden City has become completely different from the past. These officials also know that they are in the torrent of change, and if they can't keep up, they will only be washed into dust.

The Korean envoy was also summoned to the imperial presence as soon as possible. The latter was tense. After performing the grand ceremony, he learned that the country's crisis had been resolved. He was stunned for a moment, and then burst into tears!

"Losing decorum before the殿 (dian)!"

A minister came out to reprimand him. The Korean envoy quickly said that he had not returned to his country for seven years, and now he heard that the crisis in his homeland had been resolved and could not control himself, so he wept with joy. Then he knelt on the ground, praising in the extreme.

"This time, the upper kingdom's kindness to the lower kingdom is a rebirth! The lower kingdom dares not forget the great kindness of the upper kingdom, and should erect a monument to make a biography, which will be passed down to the lower kingdom for generations..."

"Long live my Emperor! Long live! Long live!"

The Wanli Emperor waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to say too many platitudes.

But helping comes at a price!

"Ah? The upper kingdom is...!"

The Korean envoy was stunned. Has the strategic direction of "protecting Korea is protecting China" changed? Wasn't it said that this battle does not require any price? It is even more appropriate for the upper kingdom to protect the lower kingdom in order to defend against the Japanese pirates!

"This humble official is ignorant and does not know what Your Majesty means! Now Korea is devastated, and there is really nothing to offer to the upper kingdom!"

The Wanli Emperor glanced at the grand eunuch beside him. The latter leaned over and whispered a few words to the Wanli Emperor. The Wanli Emperor nodded slightly, then looked at the envoy and said:

"The celestial dynasty is a great country, rich in products, and does not need your small country to offer any treasures. The war has lasted for seven years, and the Japanese pirates, like jumping lice, do not let the world rest, resulting in the devastation of life, no smoke for thousands of miles, and bones exposed in the wilderness."

"Therefore, what朕 (zhen), Great Ming, wants from your country is not treasures, not money and food, not wealth, and not someone's head."

"朕 (zhen) wants the right to use your country's land."

As soon as this remark came out, the Korean envoy's face suddenly turned earthy! With a plop, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed like pounding garlic:

"Your Majesty, think twice, think twice! Since the founding of the country, the lower kingdom has followed the example of the upper kingdom in everything. The lower kingdom is like a son, and the upper kingdom is like a father. Father, son, and the way of the monarch and minister! For two hundred years, there has never been any violation of the upper kingdom. Why should we end up in this kind of national subjugation!"

The Korean envoy wept bitterly. The Wanli Emperor was not annoyed. He stopped those officials who reprimanded the Korean envoy for losing decorum, and then patiently explained:

"You misunderstood,朕 (zhen) doesn't want to destroy your country."

"In the Tang Dynasty, there was a man named Li Junqiu, who knew that Emperor Gaozong of Tang wanted to conquer the land of Goryeo, so he wrote a memorial to advise him, saying: That Goryeo is a humble and small clown, hiding in the mountains and seas. Getting its people is not enough to promote the sage's enlightenment; abandoning its land is not enough to damage the majesty of heaven. Why should we tire the people of China and empty the treasury? Let men not be able to cultivate, and women not be able to weave! Your Majesty, as parents, does not show a heart of compassion, but pours out its limited resources, greedy for useless land. Suppose Goryeo is destroyed, we will have to send troops to guard it. If we send few, the military prestige will not be enough; if we send many, the people's hearts will be uneasy. This is to be tired of transferring garrisons, and all people will have no livelihood. If all people have no livelihood, the world will be defeated!"

"If the world is defeated, how can Your Majesty feel at ease? Therefore, your subject believes that it is better not to conquer than to conquer, and it is better not to destroy than to destroy."

The Wanli Emperor recited this passage completely. The ministers present also deeply agreed. Although the Korean envoy looked ugly, the crisis of national subjugation was at hand, and he had to kowtow and continue to say:

"The ministers of the former Tang Dynasty, every word is precious, and every word is true. The lower kingdom is such a barren land, why should it attract such concern from the upper kingdom! To the point of taking land, is it possible to set up the Andong Protectorate again?"

Of course, his words gradually revealed some resentment.

"Presumptuous!"

An official shouted at this time, loudly rebuking the Korean envoy!

"What do you mean by this? How dare you question the current emperor with such a tone?"

The ministers usually like to criticize the emperor, but now there is obviously something important, and even those restless censors did not speak, obviously unable to find the point to spray. Just now, the Wanli Emperor said that he wanted to take the land of Korea, and they were immediately ready to spray saliva endlessly, but unexpectedly, before they stood up, the Wanli Emperor changed the subject and even quoted the admonition book of the Tang Dynasty to satirize Korea as a useless land, and it was not worthwhile to conquer it.

This made the censors look at each other at this time, and decided not to spray for the time being, and wait for an opportunity to act.

The Wanli Emperor waved his hand and still explained patiently:

"朕 (zhen) thinks that what the former Tang said is indeed true. Your country of Korea is of no great use to conquer. Moreover, the founding Emperor set fifteen unconquerable countries, and your Korea is at the top of the list. 朕 (zhen) is not good at actively breaking the rules..."

"But, if your monarch has rebellious intentions and commits the crime of deceiving the emperor, then don't blame 朕 (zhen)!"

The Wanli Emperor's voice suddenly increased by eight degrees: "Your Korea is the head of the fifteen unconquerable countries, followed by Japan! Now Japan has actively attacked you. After seven years of war, the title of this unconquerable country has long been taken away!"

The Korean envoy continued to kowtow, panicking: "Our monarch has never had any rebellious intentions!"

"No rebellious intentions? Now that the war is over, we have to calculate your country's 'contribution'!"

The Wanli Emperor began to enumerate the Korean envoy's faults. The first one was the various false information given to maintain the monarch's face when he first entered Korea to fight. For example, this city was obviously occupied by the Japanese army, but he insisted that it was not, and as a result, he was ambushed when passing by. There were countless similar incidents. The most common was lying about the strength of the troops, resulting in many strategic errors.

Korea valued literature and despised martial arts. In this regard, it was simply an enhanced version of the Great Song Dynasty. This led to various military generals being remotely controlled by the fleeing Korean king, and Korean soldiers being captured by the Japanese army many times and then defecting on the spot, turning around to attack the Ming army. There were countless such incidents.

The Korean envoy listened to the exposure of one despicable thing after another. He was sweating profusely, and he cursed in his heart, saying that your Ming army also did a lot of evil in Korea. In the beginning, there were cases of killing good people and taking credit, and there were Yang Hao's various strategic mistakes that turned the victorious battles into great defeats. These are not mentioned now, only the bad things of his own country are enumerated, but there is no self-reflection!

But he only cursed these words in his heart. He knew that if he dared to say them now, his head would probably fly in the next moment.

This is obviously to bargain.

It's just that I don't know what the real purpose of asking for land is.

So the Korean envoy burst into tears and kowtowed on the ground, kneeling for a long time, claiming injustice!

"The soldiers' defection is the fault of the military generals! The low morale is the fault of the military generals! The intelligence failure is still the fault of the military generals! What does it have to do with us!"

"Your Majesty, please investigate!"

The Wanli Emperor: "朕 (zhen) has already investigated, and it is true that it has little to do with you. Except for a few who stayed in Korea, most of them ran to 朕 (zhen)'s feet. Of course, these things have little to do with you, right?"

However, the Korean envoy's face remained the same when such mocking words were spoken, but there were two more streams of snot on his face. The Wanli Emperor did not want to humiliate an envoy of a lower kingdom. If he wanted to scold, he should catch the other party's king and scold him. It would inevitably seem very unsightly for himself to be such an emperor and make things difficult for a minister of a lower kingdom.

So he went straight to the point:

"朕 (zhen) has said so much, enumerating most of the mistakes made by your monarch, ministers, and military generals in the entire battle for the past seven years! Every word is true and undeniable."

"You also said that your country is a son, and朕 (zhen)'s Great Ming is a father. Father, son, monarch, and minister. Is it not a great crime of deceiving the emperor for a minister to deceive the monarch!"

The Korean envoy did not dare to breathe too much, but kept kowtowing, even without saying a word, and directly began to摆烂 (bai lan - to do the bare minimum/let things slide).

Not answering.

The Wanli Emperor: "It seems that you dare not admit it. Of course, you cannot admit such a great crime on behalf of your monarch! Therefore, 朕 (zhen) wants you to tell your monarch that the property, land, grain, and people of Korea are fundamentally owned by your own country."

"What 朕 (zhen) wants is only the right to use those lands."

The land is yours, but 朕 (zhen) also wants to use your land, and when 朕 (zhen) uses it, you cannot use it.

But 朕 (zhen) didn't destroy your country, just doing 朕 (zhen)'s own business on your territory.

As for what 朕 (zhen) wants to do, 朕 (zhen) can't let you know! Besides, it has nothing to do with you!

"朕 (zhen) wants the land to do things, which has nothing to do with you. Your country should restore people's livelihood, cultivate the fields, read books, and train troops. 朕 (zhen) only does 朕 (zhen)'s own things and does not interfere with any other matters in your country, how about that?"

"This!"

The Korean envoy's face was extremely embarrassed!

"What? Your monarch has committed the crime of deceiving the emperor, and 朕 (zhen) only wants a little right to use the land, and you, want to argue with 朕 (zhen)?"

The Wanli Emperor narrowed his eyes and looked unkind.

The Korean envoy cursed this rascal in his heart!

This also counts as deceiving the emperor!

Okay, anyway, the power of interpretation is in your hands, you can say whatever you want!

At this time, an official jumped out from below, and it was finally time to seize the opportunity. He came up with a sentence:

"Your Majesty, your subject thinks this matter is inappropriate!"

"Our celestial dynasty cannot covet the land of a lower kingdom. This is like bringing shame on ourselves..."

The Wanli Emperor waved his hand: "Drag him down, seal his mouth, and we'll talk later."

The censor's eyes widened. Before he could react, he was grabbed by the Jinyiwei, covered his mouth, and dragged out of the hall. The court was in an uproar. How could such rude treatment of a minister be something an emperor should do!

Immediately, many people became angry and were about to make trouble, but the Wanli Emperor didn't know what he was thinking at this time, and then pointed forward:

"Fix!"

As soon as he said this, several officials stood still on the spot, and this scene also shocked the three Grand Secretaries, including other important ministers!

Damn, the emperor hadn't been to court for the past few days, hiding in the palace. Now he understood what was going on!

It turned out that he went to learn magic with the old Tianshi!

In an instant, the censors felt horrified! In the past, in order to prevent the emperor's power from being too great, someone needed to impeach and remind him at all times, so the censors were set up. Now the emperor is cultivating immortality, and one sentence can turn the censors into wooden people!

Now it's really a one-man show!

"What's the panic? 朕 (zhen) sees that you are all very frightened."

The Wanli Emperor showed a surprised expression, but it was obvious that he was pretending, mocking the ministers:

"Emperor Zhengde also had magic, and Emperor Jiajing also had magic. Why, Zhengde and Jiajing both practiced magic, can't 朕 (zhen) practice it?"

"But 朕 (zhen) is not a tyrant. 朕 (zhen) learned these spells just to tell you that sometimes, when discussing serious matters, don't interrupt, don't suddenly pop up and speak, it will interrupt 朕 (zhen)'s train of thought."

"So, be quiet, and after this Korean envoy leaves, we will discuss it slowly."

The ministers were silent for a while, and the three Grand Secretaries stood in the front row like wooden sculptures, leaving only their nostrils to breathe and their eyes to look at the sky. Only the sound of the wind entered and exited their ears, and they did not hear the emperor's quarrel with the censors.

Immediately, the Wanli Emperor looked back at the Korean envoy:

"朕 (zhen) doesn't have the time to haggle with you. Give 朕 (zhen) an answer within two days whether you will give it or not."

The Tartars in the north are invading the border, and now they are gradually invading the land of Liaodong. The Wanli Emperor doesn't have much time to give the Korean envoy to think. He wants him to immediately communicate with his king and does not allow any delay.

The Korean envoy looked embarrassed, but he dared not refute any further. He could only thank the emperor for his "kindness" in a hurry. Then the Jinyiwei led him away, using the communication talisman to communicate with the Korean king. The Wanli Emperor also had a thought in his mind, that this talisman was really useful.

His bastard brother, after copying the "inheritance" he left behind, the most useful thing was this kind of talisman. With the Tianshi here, imitating this kind of talisman was just a matter of hand. After all, although the talisman was magical, it was not a仙品 (xian pin - immortal grade) after all. One of the foundations of the Tianshi Mansion was the talisman, how could it fall behind in the way of talisman?

With the communication talisman, in an instant, when the talisman paper was set off, a flash of spiritual light appeared, and then it could be used to conduct real-time and effective communication with people thousands of miles away. This was more important than anything else.