Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 872: Grand Battle
"What? Go by sea? Let me go back by sea?"
When he said this, Zheshanjun's face was extremely pale, not to mention blood color, even his soul was almost lost. Not only him, but also the Minister of Rites who was accompanying him was also terrified, and he almost knelt down to beg Zhang Shou to help him intercede. After receiving Zhang Shou's affirmative answer, Zheshanjun finally couldn't help but his legs softened, and he staggered forward.
Fortunately, Zhang Shou was quick to support the frail future King of Goryeo, preventing him from falling headfirst to the ground. When he saw the Minister of Rites shaking like a sieve, he cleared his throat and said earnestly, "Of course, the court will send someone to escort you back, and you will also be accompanied by many sons of meritorious officials and nobles."
This time, Zheshan Jun's face finally regained a little color, and the Minister of Rites, who had just been so shocked that he forgot to show his courtesy to the future king, finally woke up. He forced a smile and asked cautiously, "Master Zhang, may I ask what's going on?"
"Your envoys from Goryeo come to the Ming Dynasty every year. In contrast, the Ming Dynasty usually only sends people to Goryeo for important events such as enthronement. As a result, most people in the court can't clearly explain what the situation in Goryeo is, let alone the younger generation. Therefore, the emperor plans to select a group of children of meritorious officials and nobles and let them go to Goryeo to take a good look."
Hearing this, the Minister of Rites finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although Zheshan Jun was young, he was thinking more than the senior official next to him. Therefore, after thanking Zhang Shou for his support with a terrified look on his face, he asked in a low voice: "Teacher, the Celestial Empire sent these sons of meritorious officials and nobles. What do they intend to see?"
"Look at the people's livelihood, customs, and official system, and mainly try to reduce their arrogance." Zhang Shou didn't care whether there was such a thing as arrogance these days. He smiled and asked, "Why? Is there something shameful in Goryeo that can't be shown to these young masters?"
"Absolutely not!" This time, it was the Minister of Rites who took over the conversation, swearing. Although he was annoyed that the mountain master was too inarticulate, he dared not show it on his face, so he could only smile at Zhang Shou and said, "It is an honor for the Celestial Empire to send some noble children to visit our country. However, our country is not as rich as the Celestial Empire, so I am afraid they will be disappointed."
"Looking at other countries' kingdoms and people, and comparing them with the Ming Dynasty's kingdom and people, they can have a deeper understanding of this world. Of course, if you think that the Ming Dynasty is taking this opportunity to find out about your Goryeo, you can also write a letter to the emperor to express your objection. Anyway, everyone's name will be listed at that time, and you can see it clearly."
Zheshan Jun's face suddenly changed, and the Minister of Rites quickly explained: "I dare not think so, Mr. Zhang, please don't misunderstand! Our country has been a vassal of the Ming Dynasty for many years, and we have always been respectful and polite. The envoys of the Celestial Empire have been coming and going constantly. There are no secrets in the country that cannot be seen by others! However, our dynasty is not rich after all. If we are not able to entertain you well..."
He paused for a moment, and seeing that Zhang Shou didn't seem to understand what he meant, he gritted his teeth and said more clearly: "For someone like the eldest son of the Qin State Duke who can't tolerate any sand in his eyes, I'm afraid it will be inconvenient."
After all, it turns out that they are worried about Zhang Chen, a troll of high status!
If Zhang Shou hadn't wanted to maintain his calm personality, he would have burst out laughing. Thinking about it, Zhang Chen was really impressive. He had criticized the previous Goryeo king and the soon-to-be-ascended Jesan. No wonder the Goryeo people were afraid of him, fearing that he would find fault with them.
He chuckled and then said nonchalantly, "Of course Zhang Chen won't go. He's been busy lately, leading a bunch of people to deduce whether the Song-Jin War and the Song-Yuan War could change due to human and external forces. However, the guy who led the way to Goryeo also has the surname Zhang. He's also one of my students, and the son of the Earl of Xiangyang."
Zhang Shou casually reported a few names, most of whom were sons of officials in the court. The Minister of Rites listened and pondered, but then he suddenly thought of some situations that he had tried every means to find out.
It is said that the reason why Zhang Xueshi was able to gain a foothold in the capital was because he provided opportunities to a large number of noble sons who were originally frustrated. Most of these people were not the eldest sons of the family, and were even illegitimate sons. Unlike his own country, the illegitimate sons of the Ming Dynasty may not have a share in the inheritance of the title, but their other status is much higher.
In other words, even if the group of people going to Goryeo came from a noble family, they were probably all illegitimate children of side branches, and they might be easily abandoned. They might even be used to cause some incidents and then blame them! After figuring this out, the face of the Minister of Rites, which had just improved, turned pale again in an instant.
So he immediately asked, "Besides these people, is there anyone else going with us?"
Zhang Shou knew immediately that the Minister of Rites was still scared to death. However, the risks at sea were extremely high these days. Even the Second Prince would fall into the hands of a group of unknown people after his ship sank, not to mention others. Therefore, it was understandable that these fearful Korean nobles were afraid of being sunk at sea.
He did not intend to hide it, and said calmly: "This matter is of great importance. Although the messenger has been sent to deliver the letter of accusation, the emperor still decided to send another messenger. Although the second prince has been removed from the clan, he should be just a commoner, but we all still address him respectfully, which shows the emperor's feelings as a monarch and father."
"So, the deputy envoy of the delegation traveling on the same ship this time is naturally not an unknown person, but the Earl of Weinan."
Who is Weinan Bo? Zheshan Jun had listened to Zhang Shou's indoctrination of ancient Chinese history, but he didn't know much about the officials that the Ming Dynasty had to use now, so when he heard about this title, he felt that it was completely unfamiliar.
The Minister of Rites would not be as ignorant as his future king. He took a deep breath and said in disbelief, "Zhang Kang, the Earl of Weinan? The one in charge of the Military Equipment Bureau?"
When Zhang Shou nodded slightly, he suddenly woke up and hurriedly apologized with a smile: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was really surprised for a moment, so I called the name of Lord Weinan... Oh, I heard that Lord Weinan has been a favorite minister for decades, in charge of the Military Equipment Bureau, and is deeply trusted by the emperor. I didn't expect him to be the deputy envoy this time..."
When he said this, his throat suddenly became stuck and he felt horrified.
Even Zhang Kang, the Marquis of Weinan, was only a deputy envoy, so who was the chief envoy? Would the emperor send such an important official as the Shangshu to Goryeo? If so, it would be too grand, and to be honest, he felt that he could not afford it!
Under the surprised but equally frightened gaze of the Minister of Rites, Zhang Shou said with a smile: "The envoy was just discussing this today, and someone suggested that the cabinet minister Kong should go."
hiss--
Even though he knew he shouldn't have taken a deep breath, the Minister of Rites couldn't help himself, and neither could the Lord of Zheshan. Even though this little member of the Goryeo royal family didn't really know much about the high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty, he still understood what the cabinet meant, and he also knew that the Grand Secretary Kong was the Prime Minister in name only.
Such a top official, equivalent to the Prime Minister of the Joseon Dynasty, is actually going to go there as a chief envoy? What is he planning to do? A demonstration? No, no, no, the Celestial Empire doesn't even need a demonstration, it's enough to make them silent, but isn't this too big of a show?
"It hasn't been decided yet. Once it's decided, I will definitely tell you first." When Zhang Shou said this, it seemed as if he was comforting the two people who were overly frightened at the moment. "This also shows that the court attaches great importance to your return to Goryeo this time."
I would rather not have such attention!
Both the Minister of Rites and the Lord of Zheshan could not help but let out such a cry in their hearts. In the past, I always thought that the envoys sent by the Ming Dynasty were insignificant. Most of the time, they were just a messenger from the Ministry of Travel, plus a chief of the six ministries, and a sixth-rank official. But now the Ming Dynasty has a super-rank earl as the deputy envoy, and it is very likely that a university scholar will be sent as the chief envoy...
How could this kind of powerful dragon suppressing a local snake not make people tremble with fear? Even the Minister of Rites, who was best at finding out all kinds of gossip, came up with the most conspiracy theory.
Could it be that the emperor used Zhang Kang, the Earl of Weinan, whom he trusted the most, to replace the Grand Secretary Kong, whom he disliked?
It is no wonder that the Minister of Rites came up with such a ridiculous idea. Even Academician Kong himself felt dazed when he came out of the Qianqing Palace today. He even seriously considered for the first time in his life whether he should resign in anger to avoid being stared at in a very strange way by his colleagues.
Fortunately, before he could return to the cabinet to face the strange looks of his subordinates, the emperor sent someone to invite him back in a hurry . And because everyone's eyes were focused on him, no one noticed that another person had quietly returned to the Qianqing Palace. When Academician Kong found the person, he was so surprised that his eyes widened.
Grand Secretary Zhang Yu greeted Grand Secretary Kong calmly and said straight to the point: "The emperor just said this to the ministers before to see how the situation was. Why would he let Grand Secretary Kong come in person?"
"The emperor has already made plans. I will lead the team, and the Earl of Weinan will be his deputy."
Even though he was so angry that he almost wanted to resign, when he heard Zhang Yu reveal his true intentions so directly, Academician Kong still felt extremely uncomfortable - it was a feeling of being excluded. If someone else excluded him, he could ignore it, but the person who excluded him was the emperor, then the significance was extraordinary.
Therefore, his face, which had been dark just now, not only did not return to normal at this moment, but it looked even uglier. Fortunately, he quickly adjusted himself, especially when he saw the emperor walking out leisurely, he quickly stepped forward and saluted.
"Your Majesty, this was..."
"Mr. Kong, did I scare you before? Of course I won't send you to Goryeo. If I do that, wouldn't those guys who love to talk about some conspiracy be able to speak out even more? I want to see who wants to see the king and the prime minister fall out. Also, I want to see if the deposed queen and those two guys were fooling around on their own or if someone was fanning the flames behind the scenes."
"So, I'll forgive you for pretending to be furious with me. Before you leave, I will naturally change the candidates. This trip to Goryeo is not to punish people, but also to prepare to send people to Japan. The Mongols were so powerful in the past, but they never conquered Japan. I will naturally not be arrogant, but it is imperative to visit Japan."
"In addition to Japan, there is also Ryukyu, including the Nanyang countries and even the Western countries. In recent years, those merchant ships have mostly been doing business and have had little contact with the courts of the countries. Most of the time, what has been circulated there are scenes of official ships sailing in the ocean during the early years of Taizu and Taizong. This time, I plan to get to know the countries of the world better. Of course, we may even have to fight a war."
When Academician Kong heard the emperor speak, he smiled. Under normal circumstances, he would have protested and advised, but today he knew it was not appropriate for him to speak - because he doubted that if he said anything at this moment, then unless he resigned when he walked out of this door, otherwise, the emperor would most likely make the trip to Goryeo a fait accompli!
As for the fact that the emperor said that the person who went was Grand Secretary Zhang Yu...did anyone else hear it?
The emperor certainly had no intention of intimidating. In fact, he felt that he was speaking in a good way, presenting facts and reasoning. He had learned about the current situation in the West from the ships that returned from the royal family, and he also knew that a certain big country in the west had many large ships cruising on the sea, controlling the trade routes, and even planned to collect taxes from his ships. This was obviously a dangerous sign.
Therefore, he then expressed his attitude in terms of expenses, manpower, future profits and other aspects. Although he was not particularly satisfied with Academician Kong now, he kept changing the Prime Minister according to his own wishes. In the words of the Queen Mother, such willful behavior would definitely cause considerable backlash from the literati, so he decided to be patient.
After recognizing the reality, Confucius gradually calmed down. Therefore, he waited for the emperor to finish speaking without making any noise, and finally decided that these overseas affairs had nothing to do with the domestic affairs and his own responsibilities. As long as the emperor was not crazy enough to send ships and soldiers to fight everywhere, he didn't need to worry about it, so he gave up completely.
What else can he say when he has an emperor who, when he was still young, could make his ministers so angry that they vomited blood?
So, he said in a tone that he himself thought was too calm: "I understand the emperor's instructions. Anyway, let's leave it at that. Whether it's luring the snake out of its hole or other things, I will do my best to cooperate." At that moment, he finally understood what it meant to throw the jar into the ground!
