Going to Hanyang? I definitely want to go to Hanyang, but the things at hand are still a little unfinished. It seems a bit early to go to Hanyang now.
If he wants to go to Hanyang, Gao Pragmatic believes that he should do it after he has completely recovered the Korean Peninsula. At that time, he will take the great contribution of survival and death, and with the power of defeating the Japanese pirates, he will come to Hanyang like a god descending.
By that time, no matter what decision he makes, no one in the North Korean court will dare to question it, no one will dare to disobey it, and truly achieve the legendary respect and authority of "the heavenly constitution is spoken, and the law is followed".
Therefore, I can’t go now; however, I must “be able to go” as soon as possible.
In this way, the Battle of Busan should be accelerated and should not be delayed any longer - even if the most secure plan that had been prepared before was abandoned and replaced with a strong attack plan that might increase battle losses.
After all, war is a continuation of politics, not the other way around. In order to achieve greater political goals, the means of war need to be adjusted in real time and fully adapted.
But at this point, Gao Pragmatic must prepare for another thing, that is, to attack the Japanese mainland.
Gao Pangshi knew very well that with the current strength of the Ming Dynasty, not even the Ming Dynasty, but only the strength of the Maritime Trade Alliance, the biggest problem in attacking the Japanese mainland is not how to fight the war, but how to fight the war.
The trouble here still lies in Zhu Yuanzhang's "country without conquest". This is a big trouble related to the basic thinking of the Ming Dynasty's foreign affairs.
The Hongwu Dynasty was the foundation period for the Ming Dynasty's diplomacy. In the early Ming Dynasty, people's understanding of China, its surroundings and even the world directly affected the emergence and development of Sino-foreign relations in the Ming Dynasty.
The occurrence and development of Ming Dynasty's foreign relations relied on many necessary conditions, the most important of which was the great turmoil and reorganization faced by the international structure after the collapse of the Mongol and Yuan Empire, and the urgent need to rebuild the international order.
On the one hand, it is the continuity of history and the inheritance of institutions; on the other hand, there is also the choice and development of the Ming Dynasty people themselves, which has a huge impact on future generations.
Even in the original history of the Ming Dynasty, there were nearly 300 years. Except for the conquest of Annan during the Yongle period and its withdrawal during the Xuande period, there were basically no external conquests.
This is enough to show that the foreign relations of the Ming Dynasty, which was established in the Hongwu Dynasty and was characterized by "no conquest", was unprecedented in Chinese history. It actually marked the emergence of new patterns and characteristics in ancient Sino-foreign relations, and became a turning point in ancient Sino-foreign relations. .
In the sixth year of Hongwu's reign, "Ancestor's Instructions" was completed. In May, Taizu himself wrote a preface, mentioning the process of compilation of "Ancestor's Record" which was "established as a family law":
"...As for the enlightenment of future generations, it was recombined into the "Ancestor's Instructions Record" and established as a family law. The big book was unveiled in the west veranda and read day and night in order to get it right. In the first and last six years, seven manuscripts were copied and are still available today. Isn’t it difficult to be determined...
The Ministry of Rites is now ordered to publish it in a book for permanent dissemination. All my descendants who accept my orders are not clever enough to mess with my established laws, and cannot change a single word. "
Here, "in the first and last six years, seven manuscripts were drafted and have been finalized until now." This shows that the content has been repeatedly considered since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and it took six years to finalize. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang used the "ancestral precepts" to request future generations. , no changes are allowed from now on.
In other words, by the sixth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang believed that the diplomatic thinking of the Ming Dynasty had completely matured, and its foreign relations were thus established and published in a book to spread it forever. As often mentioned in the previous article of this book, Zhu Yuanzhang’s biggest problem was The reason is that he does not seem to think that society is developing at all.
In the first chapter of this "Ancestor's Record", "Proverbs", the content related to diplomacy is as follows:
“All overseas barbarian countries, such as Annam, Champa, Koryo, Siam, Liuqiu, Xiyang, Dongyang and Nanman small countries, are separated by mountains and seas and are isolated in a corner. The land they obtain is not enough to provide food, and the people they obtain are not enough to support them. Order, if he comes to scratch my side without thinking, it is unlucky for him; he is not a trouble to China, and it is also unlucky for me to launch an army and attack lightly.
I am afraid that future generations will rely on China's wealth and strength, be greedy for temporary military success, and raise armies without reason, causing harm to human lives. Please remember this. However, the Hu Rong are approaching northwest China and are a frontier threat. They must select generals to train their troops and be prepared at all times. "
Diplomatic thought has a gradual formation process. Before the book was published in the sixth year of Hongwu, Taizu publicly announced his views on diplomacy at Fengtianmen in the fourth year of Hongwu, which can be regarded as the earliest time when his diplomatic thought took shape.
In September of the fourth year of Hongwu, Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang summoned his officials at Fengtianmen and solemnly elaborated on the general program of foreign policy he had formulated:
"Overseas barbarian countries must not refuse to attack those who are harming China; they must not raise their own troops if they are not China's patients. The ancients said that vast territory is not a long-term solution, and the labor of the people is the source of chaos... There is insufficient land. By providing supplies, the people are not enough to make orders. They only seek false fame and harm the country. They will be recorded in the annals of history and will be ridiculed by future generations.
I used the small barbarian countries to block the mountains and seas, and isolated them in a corner. If he is not a Chinese patient, I will never attack him. However, the Hu Rong in the northwest are a danger to China, so we must be careful. Your Majesty, please remember what I said and know what I mean. "
In the Ming Dynasty, edicts were generally issued at Fengtianmen, and the "officials" here may include foreign envoys. Importantly, this is the first time that Ming Taizu comprehensively discussed the dynasty's foreign policy, which fully reflects Ming Taizu's own realistic diplomatic thinking.
In fact, compared with the "Ancestor's Record" published later, the main extra part here is the ancient saying: "A vast land is not a plan for long-term stability, and people's labor is the source of chaos." This means that this Ming people's thinking is also a direct result of the ancient thinking. continue.
First of all, the foreign policy he determined for the dynasty is "anyone who has done harm to China must not be ignored," showing a firm stance in safeguarding national security. However, the tone of foreign policy is peaceful: "Don't raise troops on your own initiative." Here it is clearly stated that the criterion for raising troops for conquest is "for those who cause harm to China."
Secondly, he quoted the words of the ancients to explain that he had no ambition to expand the territory. He believed that external expansion was not conducive to the country's long-term peace and stability, and would even lead to disasters due to overworking the people. "Obtaining the land is not enough to provide supplies, and gaining the people is not enough to command", and "obtaining a false reputation, doing harm to the country, recorded in the annals of history, and ridiculed by future generations" clearly expresses contempt for the behavior of expeditions and expansion.
Finally, Taizu divided the object into two and once again mentioned the basic policy of "I will never attack overseas countries unless they are Chinese patients."
However, after announcing the important choice of foreign policy, he also stated that Mongolia in the northwest is a thorn in his side and must be cautiously guarded against. It directly shows that the remnant forces of the Yuan Dynasty going north are regarded as a major concern of the new dynasty, and the northern land is regarded as the focus of the dynasty's military defense.
In the late years of Sangyu, Taizu published the further revised "Ancestral Instructions of the Emperor Ming Dynasty" in the 28th year of Hongwu. The external relations listed in "The First Chapter of Ancestor Instructions" became the golden rule for the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. It became one of the basic national policies that descendants of the Ming Dynasty must abide by for generations to come, and was preserved in the world in the form of a constitution.
In order to let future generations know clearly the countries that have not been at war with each other for generations, which is what Taizu of the Ming Dynasty said "will not conquer the barbarian countries", he listed their names one by one in the "Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions" according to their directions.
The fifteen countries have been mentioned before and will not be listed again. However, the most striking thing here is that even Japan, which was not mentioned at all in the "Ancestor's Record", although it was clearly included in the list of severing diplomatic relations at the time, it was not mentioned. Being excluded, they are also included in the scope of non-levy.
This undoubtedly shows that the Ming Dynasty adopted a "no conquest" attitude towards foreign countries, regardless of whether they established tributary relations or not, and whether they were friends or enemies. This cannot help but give people a deep impression of the peaceful concept of foreign relations characterized by "no conquest" in the early years of the Ming Dynasty.
If future generations are like this, people in the Ming Dynasty can only do it even worse.
However, although Zhu Yuanzhang's subjective consciousness was very good, the actual development was not so smooth. Annan and Goryeo (the predecessor of North Korea's Li Dynasty) had problems one after another, and they all had fierce conflicts with Ming Dynasty.
However, the problems that these two countries had with the Ming Dynasty at that time have been discussed earlier in this book, so I will not mention them here. Let’s talk directly about the third country with problems, which is the country that Gao pragmatically believes is due to the restrictions of the "country without conquest" thought. Japan is the most troublesome for him.
In the early Ming Dynasty, the initial experience of interactions with Japan was the same as that of other countries. That is, the Ming Dynasty notified the "sebari countries" through diplomatic documents to establish relations. However, interactions with Japan are different from other countries in two points:
The first is historical, that is, the shadow of the Yuan Dynasty's failure to send troops to conquer Japan lingers; the second is realistic, because the problem of Japanese pirate intrusion continued to be unresolved at that time.
After Zhao Zhi, the Tongzhi of Laizhou Prefecture, went to Japan in the fourth year of Hongwu, according to the "Records of the Ming Dynasty", it appeared that "King Lianghuai of Japan sent his ministers, monks and ancestors, to bring in memorials, tribute horses and square objects, and nine monks to come to the court. , and sent back more than 70 captive men and women to Mingzhou and Taizhou." This is the result of the Ming Dynasty's diplomacy.
Therefore, in May of the fifth year of Hongwu, Taizu appointed Zhongyou Zuchan, a monk from Tianning Temple in Mingzhou, and Wuyi Keqin, a monk from Waguan Temple in Nanjing, as his envoys. The sovereign Zhongxun served as general officer and escorted the envoys back to the country and went to Japan.
Not only this time, but Ming Dynasty sent envoys to Japan several times, mainly talking about pirate intrusion. But at that time, Japan was in the period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The Ming Dynasty contacted the Southern Dynasty with good intentions, and it was actually unable to solve the piracy problem.
In the ninth year of Hongwu, "Ming Dynasty Records" recorded: "The Japanese king Lianghuai sent Shamen Guiting to pay tribute to horses and other objects." Taizu used his words to be dishonest and issued another edict. In the final analysis, the content is still He is deeply worried about the problem of Japanese pirates invading the sea.
In May of the seventh year of Hongwu, Zu Chan and Keqin returned from their missions. In June, Japan sent envoys to contribute, but they were denied tribute because there was no explanation. It can be seen that Zu Chan and Keqin's mission was successful on the surface, but in fact it did not completely improve relations. In April of the ninth year, tribute was paid, and the tribute was paid in an unfaithful manner; then in May, Japanese businessmen paid tribute.
This shows that Taizu's intention was mainly to establish official diplomatic relations and not to contribute local materials. In the twelfth year of Hongwu, Taizu accepted the contribution of the Japanese King Lianghuai's envoys. It seemed that things were developing in a good direction. However, the following year, "Japan sent monks such as Mingwu and Fashu to pay tribute, but they did not pay tribute. They stopped holding the general who conquered the barbarians, Minamoto Yoshimitsu, and presented the Prime Minister's letter with an arrogant tone. The tribute was ordered but not paid."
At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang was angry. In December of this year, Taizu issued an edict to the King of Japan, saying:
"The Song Dynasty was out of control, and the Central Plains suffered. The Jin and Yuan Dynasties took over for more than two hundred years, and customs changed, and China was full of smells. No gentleman will be angry. When the Yuan Dynasty comes to an end, heroes stand out, and there are many voices and teachings. I control the time. Three hundred thousand strings were used to sharpen the blade for inspection. Not long after, the general was ordered to launch the Nine Expeditions. In less than five years, he conquered the Central Plains.
You are stupid, the Eastern Barbarians, your ruler and ministers are unjust, and you are disturbing your neighbors. The year before last, there was rhetoric and provocation, but this year people are coming, whether it is true or not. If you doubt it but ask, the result will be more inevitable than victory or defeat, and the gap between reality and structure will be absurd.
Yu Xi! Living in Cangming without knowing that the emperor has given Qidian, being arrogant and disrespectful and allowing the people to do wrong will lead to disaster! Therefore, this is an edict, and I think it is appropriate to know it. "
The edict was full of accusations, the most important of which was that "the ruler and his ministers acted unethically and disturbed their neighbors." As a result, a deep impression was formed that there was no integrity at all. No wonder he had to withdraw from the tribute, which meant breaking off the relationship.
In the fourteenth year of Hongwu, King Lianghuai of Japan still sent monks such as Yao Yao and others to pay tribute to the emperor. This time, Taizu had two documents given to Japan in the name of the Ministry of Rites, and he severed ties with Japan from then on.
These two documents, one is "The Ministry of Rites Asks the King of Japan" and the other is "The Ministry of Rites Asks the Generals of Japan". Both diplomatic documents contained accusations as the main theme, marking the abrupt end of official exchanges between the Ming Dynasty and Japan.
Especially the latter one, while expressing strong dissatisfaction with "the Japanese monarchs and ministers allowing the people to become thieves and bandits against their neighbors, doing harm to good people", also revealed the emergence of conquest ideas in the Ming court. However, this proposal was rejected by Taizu on the grounds that "it is a crime to live in the people".
Although the accusation clearly contained the threat of war, Gao Pragmatic later checked the historical records and found that Taizu only threatened with words and did not actually prepare for war.
In fact, it was Taizu who rejected the ministers' proposal for conquest and adopted the method of severing exchanges through diplomatic means. Even so, the "Huang Ming Zu Xun" compiled by Taizu in his later years still placed Japan as a country that "does not conquer". This proves that Taizu has always adopted "no conquest" as the established national policy of diplomacy.
Zhu Yuanzhang is a very stubborn person, and it is difficult to change the things he believes in. For example, he only recognizes Prince Zhu Biao as his successor. Even if the white-haired man gave away the black-haired man, he would not let the emperor deviate, so he established Zhu Yunwen was the grandson of the emperor.
Similarly, his insistence on being a country without conquests is also confirmed by his own insistence. Even though the Japanese invasion made him unbearable, he still refused to conquer Japan. He even wrote down Japan's status as a country without conquests in his ancestral motto. It also requires future generations to abide by it, every word of it.
Many things in the Ming Dynasty were caused by the ancestral precepts. Although many of them have actually been changed, what you need to know is that most of those changes were "accommodated" under the guise of temporary measures.
For example, the governor general and the governor were not created by Zhu Yuanzhang. Therefore, even though they have become permanent positions, they still have the attribute of "temporary dispatch" from an institutional perspective.
But what does Gao Pragmatic want to do? In essence, it is external expansion, which is difficult to improvise and can only find another way.
In Annan, Gao pragmatically used his private army and chieftain army to sneak attack Thanglong, the capital of the Mo Dynasty, and then used the power of the Mo Dynasty to pacify the Hou Li Zheng family, and finally asked Annan to be included in the name of Mo Maoqia.
In North Korea, Gao Pragmatic took advantage of the opportunity of sending troops to assist, intending to control the King of North Korea and the North Korean court and let them "actively annex" to avoid the confinement of the "country without conquest".
But what about Japan? Is it possible that we can only send troops and money to capture it ourselves, and then force the people in power in Japan to become puppets and request the Ming Dynasty to annex it?
It can be done, but it’s not cost-effective and the results are unknown.
If the Ming Dynasty sent troops to Japan, it could be said that it was to punish Japan for invading Korea and disrespecting the Ming Dynasty. This is famous for its military strength, but why would the Ming Dynasty, or the Sea Trade Alliance, have any reason to send troops to Japan?
It's obviously a national hatred, but there's no way to treat it as a family hatred.
What's more, Japan is different from Annan. Although Annan rebelled, the Ming Dynasty treated it as if it was for fun and didn't take it seriously. It just felt that it was too expensive and uneconomical to send an army to fight it every year, so Xuanzong chose to give up.
Japan was different. Both times it sent troops, it defeated Korea, the top vassal state among the vassal states, without the ability to fight back. Moreover, everyone in the Ming court now knew that Japan "had half a million soldiers." Although it is not as good as the Ming Dynasty, it can still be called a powerful country.
Such a "powerful country", if Gao Jingjing does not need the help of the court, can be dealt with by Beijing or the Maritime Trade Alliance alone... This may be a big bad thing for Gao Jingjing.
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