Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 466 Kaiyang Aids Tianji
After a resolution was reached on the first item on the agenda of the Grand Court Assembly, “drug prohibition,” everyone moved on to the second item: a formal audience with the envoy of the Ottoman Empire.
Thanks to the propaganda of the six major newspapers over the years, the officials in the court basically knew that the main ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire had a lot of grievances with the Sui and Tang dynasties of China. Now, these people's countries are also among the top three empires in the world. Therefore, when the official Ottoman envoy came to meet the emperor, everyone still gave enough attention and a certain amount of respect.
However, as the Ottoman envoy spoke, everyone felt a little strange: What? Such a powerful empire promoted in the newspapers, an empire that has been conquering cities and expanding for nearly two hundred years, is actually asking for help from the Ming Dynasty? And the one who caused all this is the heartless Spain that dared to sell drugs to the Ming Dynasty?
Is Spain so strong?
Of course, at this time, the bones of China have not been broken. So the officials of the Ming Dynasty are still very arrogant: What if Spain is strong? My Ming Dynasty is invincible! As for whether to help you Ottomans, that still needs to be discussed in detail. After all, it is said that the government has finally stabilized its finances for several years, but it ran a deficit again last year. This support is all real money!
Again, the Grand Court Meeting was more of a ceremonial thing. To have an envoy from a powerful country show up at the Grand Court Meeting was a sign of respect for the country. But that was all. If things really needed to be decided, they had to be held at a smaller meeting.
After the grand court meeting that day, Zhu Youdong had his meal and rested for a while, then immediately summoned his confidants including Yuan Keli, Cao Sanxi, Zhang Shize, Xu Guangqi, Li Chunzhong, and Tian Ergeng for a small meeting.
"Everyone, let me set the tone for you first. After Spain unifies Europe, if it quickly swallows up the Ottoman Empire, it won't be long before it will gather the forces of Europe, America, Africa, and half of Asia to press on us with all its strength. It will be somewhat difficult to face such a powerful enemy when my Ming Dynasty has not yet completed its internal reorganization. Therefore, as the first line of defense against Spain, the Ottoman Empire must be saved! It must be saved!"
All the participants in the meeting were Zhu Youdong's old team members, and they all nodded in unison at the emperor's words.
"As for how to rescue them. I think that it is not appropriate to provide large-scale assistance when the war between the two sides has not yet started on a large scale. After all, the Ming Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire are thousands of miles apart. Whether it is transporting materials or personnel, the losses on the road are quite alarming. In the past ten years, the Ming Dynasty will carry out large-scale infrastructure construction in the country, as well as large-scale personnel migration, and even a thorough political reform. Therefore, we don't have much power to contribute."
"So what does the Emperor mean?"
"From the personal letter from the Ottoman Grand Vizier, Spain has just established the European Union. For such an alliance of hundreds of political entities, coordination and communication between them is a very time-consuming and labor-intensive task. It will take a long time to truly integrate them. Therefore, our work is not particularly urgent. I think the first two things we need to do now are: first, send an envoy to Constantinople to understand the actual situation in the country and use it to infiltrate our intelligence personnel. Second, prepare a sum of money to buy food, guns, and ammunition, and after the envoys have communicated well, deliver them to express our sincerity."
"Hmm..." Yuan Keli stroked his beard for a while: "Regarding the envoy, does the emperor have any candidate in mind?"
"I think that this delegation should have one civil servant, one soldier, and one Jinyiwei, with some clerks, doctors, guards, etc. However, this delegation will be stationed in Ottoman Empire in the future, so they must be determined. What do you think, Mr. Yuan?"
"Well, I think what the emperor said is very true. In this case, shall I recommend a civil servant?"
"Haha, the person recommended by Mr. Yuan must be reliable."
"Your Majesty, you are too kind. I recommend Chen Zizhuang, the first place winner of the Tianqi reign. He is a chivalrous man with a loyal mind. In the two years since he entered the government, as a scholar, he has taken the initiative to observe government affairs at the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Public Administration. He is very knowledgeable and practical. I think he should be the head of the diplomatic corps."
"Hmm..." Zhu Youdong knew the story of the Three Loyal Men of Lingnan before he traveled through time and was deeply impressed by it - in fact, it was because of this that he chose Chen Zizhuang as the top scholar in the palace examination in the first year of Tianqi. In the original historical plane, he was only the third place.
However, this delegation was to stay in the Ottoman Empire on the one hand, and on the other hand, if things went wrong, they would have to hold on to Constantinople until the last moment. Throwing away such a good minister?
Forget it, forget it. How can we hold on until the last moment without sending loyal ministers to guard there?
"...Okay, Mr. Yuan, to be honest, I am a little reluctant. However, Osman's matter is a big deal, I agree."
After all, Yuan Keli had never read Iprahin's handwritten letter, and he didn't know that one of the important tasks of this delegation was to kill Iprahin at the last moment - once this was done, it would be almost impossible to get away with it.
Therefore, Yuan Keli thought that he was helping Chen Zizhuang: the Ming Dynasty at that time was not the Qing Dynasty in the future, and going overseas as an envoy would ruin his career. On the contrary, thanks to the publicity of the six major newspapers, the officials and people of the Ming Dynasty had some understanding of the outside world and were full of curiosity. At this time, going abroad as a permanent envoy would put his career on the fast track after returning.
"Chunzhong, what about you? Please select a chief military officer for the Ming Dynasty stationed in the Ottoman Empire for me? He should be smart, able to adapt to circumstances, and decisive."
"Hmm..." After thinking carefully for a while, Li Chunzhong said, "Lord Yuan has already recommended the top scholar, so it would be unreasonable for me to hide it. How about this, Your Majesty, I recommend Liu Xingzuo, a captain of the Third Town Guard Battalion. He is highly skilled in martial arts and is very familiar with all kinds of firearms. The key is that he is loyal, brave and careful. Even if he is alone in enemy territory, he can remain fearless."
"Liu Xingzuo? Where is he from?"
"This man is from Kaiyuan, Liaodong. He used to be a military household in Liaodong. Later, my Third Town was expanded and recruited elite troops from the nine important towns. He was recruited into the town because of his excellent martial arts, military strategy, and reaction in battle. He has performed very well in the past two years. I like him very much. If the emperor had not made such a request this time, I would not have been willing to give him out."
It seems that it is the Ata from the historical plane. Well, as expected, gold shines wherever it goes, and this is true.
"Then I will recommend someone as well." Seeing Zhu Youdong's eyes turned to him, Tian Ergeng bowed quickly and said, "Cui Yingyuan, a captain under the Northern Pacification Division, is a man of wide acquaintance and good at socializing. The Jinyiwei relies a lot on him to gather information. If he joins the delegation, he can assist Chen and Liu."
This guy? One of the five 9,000-year-old generals in the historical plane. Use it. Use it.
"Okay, the delegation has been basically settled. Let these three people come to see me later. Next, let's talk about aid. Um, Sanxi, how much private money does the royal family have now?"
"Your Majesty, all the funds in the inner treasury are now stored in the bank's vault. The Grand Emperor withdrew 1 million yuan in advance for his western tour to Dunhuang, and currently has a balance of around 4.3 million yuan. You still have around 23 million yuan."
"Okay, I'll grant you a quota of 3 million first. Once the delegation goes to Constantinople and sends back accurate information, you will be fully responsible for the assistance. The funds will come from my inner treasury."
"Your Majesty, won't this matter go to the national treasury?"
"Hey, the national treasury is also tight this year. We need to repair so many things and relocate so many people. It's not certain about Man Gui, but Cao Wenzhao will definitely return this year, and the rewards will not be small. In addition, we have to fight Luzon this year... So, the money to support the Ottomans should come from my inner treasury. Money, money is a bastard! As long as the country is doing well, why do I need so much money?"
"Your Majesty's love for the country and the people is something I deeply admire. Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will make good use of every penny of this money."
"Well, I trust you to do the job. Mr. Xu?"
"I am here."
"The Ottomans' technology is also very advanced, especially in materials science, which should be ahead of our Ming Dynasty. So, you should go to Fangshan later and gather the materials scholars in Fangshan to ask them if they have any long-standing problems that have not been solved recently. Write them down and give them to the delegation. Ask the delegation to take them over and ask the scholars there to answer them."
"Ah? Oh, this is a good thing. Your Majesty, I will do it later."
"Okay." After greeting Xu Guangqi, Zhu Youdong turned to Zhang Shize and said, "Is your job clear now?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will immediately organize the six major newspapers to explain and publicize the drug problem, and use the newspapers to blacken the Spaniards and prepare public opinion for the large-scale assistance to the Ottoman Empire in the late Ming Dynasty."
