"I have met my father, eldest brother, and all of you. My father lives a long life today, and it is time for me to return to the capital." Zhu Su said with a smile. "It should have been tidied up more completely before entering the palace to congratulate them."
"But halfway through, I heard that someone actually disturbed my father's pleasure today?" As he spoke, his eyes glanced at Kong Xixue and the envoys beside him, and he looked particularly at Zheng Mengzhou who was mixed in among the many envoys.
Zheng Mengzhou felt his heart skip a beat. The look in the eyes of the Fifth Highness was as sharp as a knife, making him feel uneasy for a moment.
"Why did the Fifth Highness say this? The veteran is also concerned about state affairs." Seeing Zhu Su's sudden appearance, Kong Xixue panicked for a moment. He originally wanted to take advantage of the fact that the Fifth Highness was not in the country to speed up the matter of the new study. , the dust had settled by the time he came back.
But now that His Highness the Fifth Prince has returned, the new school has a backbone. And seeing how much His Majesty loves this son... Kong Xixue felt pressured.
But these pressures were actually within his expectation. After all, Yan Shenggong was a well-informed man. When the incident came to an end, he quickly calmed down. "His Royal Highness is young and energetic, and it is understandable that he relies on his military achievements."
"It's just that you should not misinterpret what my ancestors of the Confucius family said, falsely claiming new learning, falsely claiming the truth. You must know that the country will decline if you resort to military force. Your Highness conquered the Japanese and made all the countries frightened. Now he is going to estrange from me, the Ming Dynasty. Isn't this clear evidence? "
"Afraid?" Zhu Su looked surprised. "The reason why these foreign envoys are kneeling here is because they are afraid?"
"By the way, father." Before Kong Xixue could answer, Zhu Su suddenly seemed to have thought of something. He turned to Lao Zhu and said, "Father, my son is not coming to Beijing alone this time."
"There is another person who has crossed the sea with my son to wish my father a long life."
"Haha, since you brought someone back, you can bring him directly into the palace. Xuan!" Lao Zhu said with a smile.
Liu Bowen, who was about to go out, turned around silently, and even Zhu Biao, who had some anger on his face just now, regained his calm princely demeanor. How could they not see that Zhu Su's sudden appearance was clearly aimed at Kong Xixue.
Let’s take a look at His Highness’s methods.
The emperor issued an order, and soon a man was brought in. The person who came was wearing an ocher royal robe and a strange high crown on his head, but he was surprisingly short, as if he wanted to use the crown to prop himself up. He lowered his head and entered the palace. He first looked at Zhu Su's face, and then immediately knelt down towards Lao Zhu and said, "King of the lower country, pay homage to His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty!"
The king of Xiaguo? Surprised murmurs soon filled the hall. This short man with an ordinary appearance was actually a king?
"Father, this is the Japanese king of Guishan, Queen of the Japanese Kingdom. He respects your father for your generous helping hand, so he insists on going to the capital with his son and ministers to wish his father a long life."
The Japanese king of Houguishan nodded repeatedly, imitating the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty and said to Lao Zhu: "What His Highness King Wu said is true. I have always admired the sage king Tianyan of the above country, and I am also grateful that the above country has eradicated the traitors and traitors of the Japanese country. It’s really a great blessing for Xiao Wang to be able to congratulate you on his long life today.”
"The country below is poor and despicable, and has no great treasures. It only contributes 10,000 taels of gold, 100,000 taels of silver, more than fifty Japanese sword handles, and more than a hundred Japanese women..."
"I would like to congratulate my country."
This gift list, even among the many vassal states, stands out from the crowd and is full of sincerity. In fact, most of the tributes from other countries were just for the sake of it, including animal skins and local products. Even Korea, which seemed the most submissive, only gave him a thousand taels of silver, plus some mink skins and Korean ginseng.
How can it be like this Japanese country, where one can buy ten thousand taels of gold and one hundred thousand taels of silver... Could this mean that the entire treasury of the Japanese country has been emptied?
"How is this possible?" There was silence in the palace, but Kong Xixue couldn't help but make a sound of surprise. He never expected that Zhu Su would actually invite the king of Japan over. Moreover, this Japanese king had no integrity, so he knelt down to show his respect.
From what he knew, weren't the Japanese all arrogant people who liked to fight, kill, and loot? When have you ever seen Japanese people be so respectful?
Seeing the confused looks on the faces of the foreign envoys from Luzon and other countries, Kong Xixue knew that he had to risk his life at this time. He had already made up his mind since he entered Beijing.
If these foreign envoys believed that the Ming Dynasty was indeed helping the Japanese country, he would not be able to obtain moral justice in the name of "benevolence and righteousness". Forcing the emperor is never easy. On the one hand, he was confident because he believed that the emperor would not risk destabilizing the foundation of the country by insisting on the illusory "pioneering and enterprising" strategy. Second, he, Kong Xixue, was already prepared to die.
The prosperity of Confucianism is the foundation for the longevity of the Confucian family in Qufu. As long as Confucianism is immortal, even if the sun and the moon rotate and dynasties change, the Confucian family can survive forever.
However, the new learning has already appeared to be divorced from Confucianism. If the new learning becomes popular, the Confucius family will be sucked out of the cauldron.
Kong Xixue may be destroyed, but the Kong family cannot be destroyed.
"From ancient times to the present, no king of the country has ever come to the court in person to congratulate the sect leader. Moreover, His Highness fought fiercely in the Japanese country and plundered countless lands. How can the Japanese be sincerely convinced?"
"Is this person falsely claiming the name of the Japanese king and coming to deceive His Majesty?"
"This lord is saying that I just randomly found someone to bully you?" Zhu Su narrowed his eyes.
Kong Xixue raised his hand and said to Zhu Su: "Of course I don't dare to slander His Highness. This matter is so contrary to common sense. It is unheard of for the leader of a country to personally come to the court to congratulate you."
"Perhaps this person is not a Japanese king, but just an ordinary Japanese pretending to be a Japanese. Even His Highness was deceived by him, so we don't know."
"What Duke Yan Sheng said makes no sense." Liu Bowen stepped forward and said. "His Royal Highness the King of Japan has traveled a long way here, and his credentials and tributes are all there, and he is walking with His Highness all the way."
"How can it be a disguise?"
"Japanese people have always been cunning. Perhaps His Highness was deceived by them when he was in the Japanese country. After all, Your Highness is young and does not understand the evil in people's hearts." Kong Xi learned from Shi Shiran. "I am not saying that His Highness is incompetent, but it is always appropriate to be suspicious."
"It's because I have no status."
As he said this, he bowed to the Japanese king of Houguishan and stopped entangled in this matter. There is no need to confirm this matter, just mention it and leave a knot in the hearts of other foreign envoys. They would naturally choose a safer method because they were worried that Ming Dynasty was deliberately putting on a show to paralyze them: that is, continue to support the Confucius family and unite to force the Ming Emperor to give up his powerful new learning.
Houguishan Japanese King was originally a puppet, but he did not dare to show his displeasure when Yan Shenggong targeted him like this. He just returned the gift awkwardly and turned to look at Zhu Su's face.
Zhu Su smiled casually and said directly to Yan Shenggong: "It turns out that this old man is Yan Shenggong of the Kong family."
"If I didn't tell you sincerely, I would have thought that your surname is not Kong, but An, Cai, and Jia."
An Lushan, Cai Jing, and Jia Sidao are all famous in history for their clever words and seductiveness. Kong Xixue's old face froze, and finally he couldn't hold back anymore and showed a scowl.
(End of chapter)
