Zhu Jingyuan and Zhu Jianfeng, two uncles and nephews, received representatives from vassal states and imperial estates from all over the world in the Wenhua Hall of the Western Cape Palace.
The representatives came out one by one to introduce and greet each other, and this process took a long time.
Zhu Jingyuan simply responded with a few questions, arrangements and instructions. It was almost noon, so the banquet started directly.
The official banquets of the Ming Dynasty were the same as those before the Tang and Song Dynasties, with each person having a small table and a piece of food.
The host's seat is in the center above the lobby, while the guests are on both sides of the lobby. In the middle is a place for singing and dancing performances.
If someone wants to speak to everyone or wish to congratulate others or the owner, he will go to the middle of the venue and let the dancers go away first.
Today's banquet was no exception. People from the vassal state and the imperial village ate and drank, and from time to time someone came out to toast Zhu Jingyuan.
Zhu Jingyuan didn't drink, so he responded with tea instead of wine and sipped a little, otherwise he would be filled with water.
The banquet lasted until three o'clock in the afternoon, after which the guests and hosts returned to their residences.
Zhu Jingyuan, who was still jetlagged and yawned, returned to his study and found that Shen Fu, the young minister of Honglu Temple, had also followed him in:
"Mr. Shen, what's the matter?"
Shen Fu slightly arched his hands and said:
"British Prime Minister William Pitt would like to meet with you alone. They have objections to the venue we have arranged for the meeting."
Zhu Jingyuan asked subconsciously:
"How is the venue arranged?"
Shen Fu said naturally:
"Normal negotiations are held at Wenhua Hall or Wuying Hall, and formal signing is held at Fengtian Hall.
"At that time, the two royal highnesses will be on top, and the ministers of the Ming Dynasty and the representatives of the vassal state and Huangzhuang will be on the left.
"Representatives of the Western countries and their vassal states are on the right."
Zhu Jingyuan thought about that scene:
"Isn't this similar to the previous one, except that Uncle Jiu and I are sitting under Grandpa's seat.
"Then Xi Yi was placed in the position of ministers, and it was on the right side of the field, and the representatives of the Ming Dynasty were on their left..."
Shen Fu smiled and nodded and said:
"Honglu Temple is indeed arranged in this way. It is originally intended to create the most comfortable environment for us.
"But obviously some Westerners understand the etiquette of our Ming Dynasty, know that this is the pattern of our previous dynasty, and also know that our Ming Dynasty respects the left.
"So, the other party first insisted that the countries in Thailand and the West should not be placed in the position of vassals of the Ming Dynasty.
"Then the other party requested that the upper position should be empty, the long negotiation table should be horizontally facing east and west, and representatives from both sides should sit on both sides of the long table.
"But this request is absolutely impossible, and it is impossible for His Highness to talk to them face to face.
"As a representative of the Ming Dynasty, once His Highness sits across from representatives of the Thai and Western countries, the other party may use this to promote the equality of status between the two parties.
"I think that the other party may know that you are not weak yet, so they are trying to find a breakthrough from you.
"Our bottom line should be that although the top position can be left vacant, the long table must still be placed in the north-south direction, and the representative of the Ming Dynasty must still be on the left side of the long table.
"Your Highness must sit in the middle on the left side, and the opposite side of you should also be vacant. No Thai or Westerner is qualified to sit opposite you.
"But the bottom line cannot be revealed easily, and His Highness should not compromise easily. We can discuss this matter slowly."
In Zhu Jingyuan's previous life, this kind of request from the British was completely normal.
But the Ming Dynasty courtiers in this era would not be able to get used to this problem.
You, the representative of the Western and Eastern countries, want to be on an equal footing with the representatives of the Ming Dynasty?
This is absolutely impossible!
If the Thai and Western countries must insist on equality, then Ming Dynasty may even stop peace talks for this reason.
But the Thai people probably won't insist.
They knew in their hearts that they could not be on an equal footing with Ming Dynasty, they just wanted to compete.
What they want is this dispute process, otherwise they will not be able to explain it to the king and the public.
After Zhu Jingyuan thought about it for a while, he quickly came up with another idea:
"Then I will meet them tomorrow morning, but we can't just let the British come, let the official representatives of the Thai and Western countries come.
"Let the main representatives of our imperial court also participate, and the representatives of the vassal state and the emperor's village will also select some representatives to participate.
"It was just an informal, small-scale meeting, where we discussed how everyone should sit.
"The scene will use the same layout we prepared, but we need to replace the upper chairs with four."
After hearing this, Shen Fu was a little confused:
"Four chairs for the top? Who are the other two for?"
Zhu Jingyuan smiled and said:
"To Rome."
Shen Fu immediately remembered the Roman destiny plan that Zhu Jingyuan had mentioned. It started directly before the negotiations.
The idea of His Highness the Food King is really...very interesting...
Shen Fu could already imagine what would happen tomorrow, so he couldn't help but smile and nod his head and said:
"I understand, I will make arrangements now."
Shen Fu left Zhu Jingyuan's residence, went out and ordered his men to prepare the venue and notify relevant personnel to participate.
At the same time, he personally informed Zhu Jianfeng, the highest ranking officer in Shen Fu.
After Zhu Jianfeng heard Zhu Jingyuan's plan conveyed by Shen Fu, he couldn't help but said with emotion:
"This kid...is really different. He is trying to respect the dead while actually degrading the living. Moreover, the other party has nothing to say..."
Zhu Jianfeng walked around his room twice, thought carefully for a while, turned to Shen Fu and said:
"It's better to prepare two chairs for the superior, but I won't sit on the superior because during the formal negotiations, I am not the representative of Ming Dynasty.
"I'll just sit first on the left. I'll also put a chair across from me. I want to see who will sit there..."
Of course Shen Fu understood that placing only two chairs in the upper position, leaving only one for Rome, would obviously be more effective than placing two chairs.
However, Shen Fu also realized that the Ninth Prince also had his own ideas.
Shen Fu asked Zhu Jianfeng what he wanted to do, but Zhu Jianfeng pretended to be mysterious and didn't say anything. He just promised not to cause trouble to Honglu Temple.
Shen Fu thought in his heart that even if you cause trouble, it shouldn't be a big problem.
So he reluctantly agreed and went to inform Zhu Jingyuan again.
Zhu Jingyuan was a little puzzled after hearing this:
"What is my Uncle Ninth going to do? What is he going to do to the person sitting across from him?"
Shen Fu smiled bitterly and said:
"I don't know, but His Highness the Ninth Prince has always been pretending to be mysterious, saying that we will find out tomorrow."
Zhu Jingyuan was speechless. You, Zhu Jianfeng, are not a strategist, so you can't play tricks that cannot be revealed.
Zhu Jingyuan turned to look at his two staff:
"Gentlemen, what do you think my Uncle Ninth is thinking?"
The two staff members thought about it for a while, and Niu Jian spoke first:
"Of course students don't know what His Highness Ninth Prince is thinking, but they can analyze it based on the situation.
"During the formal peace talks, His Highness the Great Food King represented the Ming Dynasty.
"His Royal Highness Ninth does not represent the Ming Dynasty, but represents the Ming royal family.
"The person sitting opposite His Highness Ninth Prince can be regarded as the representative of the family corresponding to the Ming Dynasty royal family.
"Some people must want this honor, but others may not allow it.
"Once a dispute breaks out, trouble will begin."
Lin Zexu next to him smiled and added:
"Actually, this is similar to the Roman throne set up by His Highness.
"The princes of the Thai and Western countries would not allow people of the same kind to sit there.
"But if it is a court representative from the European and European countries, for example, British Prime Minister Peter.
"It seems that if he sits there as prime minister, he can avoid this problem.
"I just don't know if His Highness Ninth Prince has a plan to deal with this situation."
Zhu Jingyuan nodded slowly after listening to the two people's analysis:
"Then let's wait and see what happens tomorrow. This kind of little plan is just a gimmick. It doesn't matter if it is solved..."
Nine o'clock in the morning the next day.
Zhu Jingyuan took two of his staff, escorted by Guan Tianpei, into the palace again and came to the rearranged Wenhua Hall.
In the middle of the hall, the table usually used for discussions has been replaced by a large conference table with a height suitable for sitting.
On the main seat at the top of the conference table, according to the requirements of Zhu Jingyuan and Zhu Jianfeng, two exquisite armchairs are now placed.
On both sides of the table, there were twenty official chairs on each side for the use of the main representatives of both sides.
Behind these two rows of chairs, there are also rows of tables and a large number of armchairs for the accompanying secondary representatives and clerical staff.
Representatives of the Ming court, as well as representatives elected by the vassal states and Huangzhuang, arrived twenty minutes in advance.
The most senior representative, Zhu Jingyuan, had not arrived yet. They were all standing and chatting in the left area of the scene, actually occupying the land on the left in advance.
Representatives of the ten imperial courts of the Anti-Ming Alliance and representatives of the ten royal families, a total of twenty people, are all here now.
They also didn't sit down. They were first questioning the layout of the scene, and at the same time they were waiting for Zhu Jingyuan to arrive.
They did not stand on the right side of the large conference table, but stood at the end of the conference table, obviously not wanting to enter the right area.
Zhu Jianfeng was the only one, already minding his own business and sitting in the first seat on the left, looking at the people around him happily.
Zhu Jianfeng's identity is unparalleled. In terms of birth, as the prince, he is higher than Zhu Jingyuan, the grandson of the emperor.
After Zhu Jingyuan entered the arena, representatives from the Ming Dynasty bowed and saluted. Zhu Jianfeng, as his uncle, sat down and nodded slightly in greeting.
When the representatives of the courts and royal families of the Thai and Western countries saw Zhu Jingyuan officially entering the venue, there was a slight commotion.
Although they had repeatedly confirmed before coming, the plenipotentiary peace negotiation representative sent by the Ming Empire was not Zhu Jianyan, the former Minister of Honglu Temple of the Ming Dynasty and the second son of the current Ming Emperor.
It was the son of the second prince, a grandson of the Ming Emperor, an eldest child who was only fifteen years old.
They still couldn't believe it completely. They were worried that Zhu Jianyan would also come to the scene with his son, but not in the name of a peace envoy.
That is an operation that people in Ming Dynasty often perform, and they have made a lot of preparations for this.
After all, the negotiation methods required when facing a mature diplomat are completely different from those when facing a young royal child.
Now when they actually see Zhu Jingyuan appearing alone, not with Zhu Jianyan, and when the news is confirmed, everyone is very surprised.
At the same time, the image of this Eastern young emperor's grandson also made them sincerely admire him.
The Thais and Westerners in this world generally believe that the images of Easterners are very beautiful and generally more beautiful than the Thais and Westerners.
This was not only a strong cultural impact from the Ming Dynasty, but also led to the gradual orientalization of their aesthetic tendencies.
It is also caused by the limitations of the group they observed.
The images of Eastern people that Westerners often see are, first of all, the emperor and his sons and grandsons of the Zhu family.
Next are the noble children from the East, and then the actors and courtesans from the East.
They rarely see ordinary people in the East, especially the hardest workers at the bottom, and are basically not noticed by them.
The image of the emperor, grandson, nobles and advocating excellence was originally the best among the people of Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang, the ancestor of the Zhu Ming royal family, has an outstanding image as a man who eats soft food and eats hard.
Subsequent Ming emperors only selected beauties from small families when selecting their concubines, thus optimizing their genes for more than four hundred years.
Therefore, the current princes and grandsons of the Ming Dynasty are all quite handsome in appearance, and only a few of them will become disabled.
But the more important reason is acquired. As the ruling class, they will not participate in manual labor for a long time.
It has the best diet, living environment, and the most reasonable basic exercises, as well as dedicated personnel to prepare and take care of the image.
The appearance they show every day has been carefully cared for and maintained, and is the most beautiful side of Ming people.
The Thais looked at the images of these Ming royal families and nobles in newspapers and illustrated magazines, and compared them with the ordinary Thais around them.
The result was naturally a complete victory for the Eastern nobles.
Even when comparing the royal family and aristocrats of the West and the pampered ruling class of the West, the Ming Dynasty is still generally superior.
After all, the genes that have been continuously optimized for hundreds of years are not on the same level as the genes that have been inbred for hundreds of years in Europe and America.
The Zhu Jingyuan these representatives see now is the best result formed under such various conditions.
The basic image itself is good enough, coupled with the royal family’s best attire and temperament, and more importantly the identity filter, as well as the filters that come with children.
The Taixi representatives now feel like they have seen the legendary fairy boy.
If there really are angels, they should look like this!
He will definitely bring peace to the world!
The representatives were stunned for a few seconds before they came to their senses and quickly saluted Zhu Jingyuan like the representatives from the Ming Dynasty.
Use the hand-over-hand salute that was popular throughout the Ming Dynasty, and then bow slightly to those of noble status.
Zhu Jingyuan first bowed and handed over to his uncle, then stood up straight and handed over to others, and at the same time greeted everyone with a smile:
"Okay, we all have come from afar, don't stand around, sit down and talk."
A group of Thai and Western representatives suddenly felt like they were in the right place, and their first impression was pushed to the limit.
Spanish Prince Fernando subconsciously wanted to sit down on the right side, but was immediately stopped by Prime Minister Manuel next to him.
Then the twenty-one-year-old Prince Fernando suddenly realized that he couldn't sit down yet according to the plan.
Now we have to discuss the arrangement of the meeting venue. Just sit down and accept it directly.
British Prime Minister Peter coughed lightly, and after getting rid of the influence, he was about to speak, but was overtaken by Zhu Jianfeng who was sitting down.
Zhu Jianfeng raised his finger and pointed at the Taixi representatives, seeming to remind them very generously:
"Everyone in Taixi does not need to adapt to the etiquette of our Ming Dynasty. Just as you usually salute your king in your court, now you can salute me, Prince of the Ming Dynasty."
Everyone at the scene could speak Daming Yayan, but everyone was obviously stunned when they heard this.
It took him a few seconds to realize what he meant.
The etiquette for visiting the king in the Thai and Western courts is to kneel down on one knee.
It means don’t bow your hands like Ming Dynasty now, and continue to kneel down on one knee in your Taixi way.
He should have said that you Xiyi are not qualified to use our Ming etiquette, but he said it in a very generous and kind tone.
After Zhu Jingyuan understood this, he subconsciously wanted to praise Zhu Jianfeng: Uncle Jiu, you are really a master of yin and yang.
Taixi’s representative was also embarrassed at this moment.
Prince Fernando immediately felt that although the ninth prince had an outstanding image, he was a very mature and tasteful middle-aged man.
But he is definitely a villain.
The difficulty in negotiating may lie with him.
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Chapter 100 This position is for Rome. Free to read.
