The cold wind blows, and the winter plum blossoms shine on the snow.
The midwinter in the capital was getting colder and colder, but on this day the people of the capital took to the streets to celebrate spontaneously. With the sound of firecrackers and the sound of gongs and drums, more than a hundred teahouses in the capital announced free tea today, just to celebrate the victory of Busan.
It is said that even Emperor Wanli, who is not seriously ill, has been suffering from minor ailments and has not been in power for a long time, issued an oral order early today that all the products in the imperial store in Beijing will be sold at a 20% discount to show his sincere joy for the people.
With the Imperial Store like this, Jinghua Department Store will naturally not remain indifferent, and also launched a large discount event with 20% off sales. Unlike Huangdian, Jinghua Department Store has a wider range of products and abundant supplies. Such activities can bring benefits to more ordinary people. For a time, the capital was in a state of excitement and all the people rejoiced.
In the past, the joy of the people could affect the court to some extent, but this time after the victory in Busan, the court's attitude was somewhat ambiguous.
Early in the morning, messages of congratulations on the victory were indeed sent to the cabinet and the Supervisor of Ceremonies in a steady stream, but there were also many officials who joined hands in knocking at the gate to ask to see His Majesty the Emperor.
His Majesty the Emperor is not easy to see, because a few days ago he used the excuse of being dizzy due to the strong wind, and stopped all the royal dynasties this month. According to the words of the Chief of Ceremonies, "The Emperor is resting, and all the officials have something to do. Please report it." Report on the cabinet vote." As a result, a large number of officials had to join hands to request to see the elders.
Unlike the emperor, the elders had no reason to refuse to meet with the officials - it was okay to refuse one or two, but it was unthinkable to refuse to meet collectively.
As a result, the almost simple main room of the cabinet was crowded with visiting officials. Several cabinet elders put on amiable and approachable appearances and asked what the visitors wanted.
Although there were many visitors, seventy or eighty in total, the purpose of the visit was quite consistent, which was to request the cabinet to declare to His Majesty: Since the Japanese pirates have been driven out of Korea, we, the Ming Dynasty, should stop fighting and return in triumph, stop fighting and rest and recuperate. .
Of course, now that the troops are on strike, shouldn't the "One Hundred and Thirty Commercial Taxes" imposed by Gao Ge Lao in the five Jiangnan provinces before his expedition also be stopped?
Oh, that’s what happened.
The ministers in the cabinet understood it, but it was difficult to respond to these words - because the highly pragmatic report of victory did not seem to have any intention of withdrawing troops and returning to the court.
Since Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue took office, there are almost no ministers in the cabinet who dare to expressly oppose Gao pragmatism. Especially in the context of the current victory in the imperial war, no one wants to test Gao's position in the emperor's mind. How much higher is your status than yourself.
"As for when the war will end, Mr. Gao Ge has not made it clear yet, and the emperor did not mention it yesterday..."
As the chief minister of the dynasty, although Wang Jiaping did not want to take a stand, he had to take a stand.
"We, the Celestial Empire, sent troops to support the war. Our only purpose was to uphold justice for the loyal vassals and recover the lost territory. Now that we have accomplished the task, why don't we stop our troops?" All the officials shouted one after another.
Wang Jiaping stretched out his hand to ask everyone to stop making noise. Unexpectedly, these officials did not agree with him and continued to express their opinions. One of them with the loudest voice said: "This battle is not our empire's business. Today, we have mobilized more than ten elite soldiers from all over the world." Not only did they go to court, but they also doubled their pay in Jiangnan, causing all industries to be ruined and the people to live in dire straits.
Today, Gao Nanning takes up his position as a local official without caring about the hardships of the people. He is only focused on promoting his personal achievements. To put it nicely, he calls it a great success, but to put it worse... that means he has no regard for the sentiments of the country and the people, and his intentions are to be punished! "
At this moment, Liang Menglong couldn't help it. He had planned to resign immediately and became an official, and he was not too afraid of offending others. He sneered and said: "Where did you get the so-called 'Every industry is ruined and the people are destitute'? Where did you get it?" There are also many former colleagues, friends, students and former officials who are from Jiangnan. Why don’t you hear that Jiangnan has reached a situation where ‘all industries are ruined and the people are in dire straits’?”
Someone in the crowd sneered and retorted: "Mr. Liang Ge, although you have many colleagues, friends, students, and former officials, are there any of you who plow the fields and sell goods in the streets?"
Well, this is indeed not the case.
Liang Menglong was speechless for a moment, but immediately responded: "What you said seems reasonable, but in fact it is a lie. Not a penny of the salary collected by Gao Rixin was collected from those who 'worked in the fields and sold goods in the streets'." All the taxes are levied on wealthy merchants, large shops, mines and trading houses, and the tax collected is only 3%. Is this going to mean that all industries will be ruined and the people will not be able to make a living?"
When he said this, Zhou Yong also stood up and added: "What Mr. Liang Ge said is absolutely true. As far as I know, all the properties under Mr. Gao Ge's name in the south of the Yangtze River also pay this tax. How come I haven't heard of anyone? Is it so difficult?"
"Joke!" shouted the crowd: "He, Gao Nanning, has great wealth and wealth, and this battle is for him to gain military exploits, so of course he can earn a mere three hundred dollars. But how can an ordinary merchant's family benefit? , should we be compared with Gao Nanning?"
The conversation became unstoppable as soon as it started, and the two sides began to quarrel again, ranging from the scope of taxation to the amount of taxation, from whether taxation would cause the destruction of all industries, to whether the country should levy commercial tax. Round after round, endless.
I don't know how long it took, but suddenly someone hurried in from outside and shouted: "Sixty-four civil and military officers, including the Pingwa Manager, the Pingwa Admiral, and the Pingwa Chief Military Officer, jointly submitted a report: King Li of Korea. He requested North Korea to attach it, and the credentials are already on the way to be presented to the North Korean imperial envoy and political leader Li Shanhai!"
There was a moment of silence in the Datong room, you could almost hear a pin drop. However, this moment of silence only lasted for a few breaths, and then there was an uproar immediately.
"North Korea wants to annex itself again?"
"The battle has been won, why do we need to keep it inside?"
"This matter is quite strange. Could it be that there is fraud in it?"
"What good can I gain from this foreign land?"
"Nonsense! Think about Korea. Three thousand miles of rivers and mountains were lost, and it was all thanks to the power of our heavenly dynasty to restore them. Now the king of Korea feels my heavenly grace, and wants to prove his loyalty by joining in. How can there be any deception? What's more, now that I have elite soldiers and generals gathered in North Korea, how can North Korea dare to cheat!"
"Exactly!" Someone else said: "Besides, my emperor inherited the great unification, restored Annan, conquered the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, and shocked all the barbarians! If now we can make North Korea grateful and attached to it with the kindness of survival and death, how can we Isn’t it a sign of great majesty and virtue? This is exactly what God did not give you, and you are to blame for it!”
"This is a joke! I heard that only two groups of celebrities can speak Chinese in North Korea, and its people's language is not the same as China's. If I merge with China, how can I lead such a place?"
"Yes, and not only that! North Korea is very close to the Japanese country. Although the Japanese country has retreated in defeat today, who knows that it will not have any evil intentions in the future? If I annex Korea now, the one who will be attacked by the Japanese army first in the future will be our Ming Dynasty That’s right. For this reason, in a remote and wild place, and facing the danger of Japanese pirates, what’s the benefit?”
Okay, now, before the quarrel about the previous topic came to a conclusion, a new topic came up, which was also very quarrelsome. The most important thing is that this time, the rejection of North Korea's internal attachment actually prevailed.
In particular, the group that rejected North Korea's internal annexation found a precedent - someone mentioned that Li Shimin rejected Kang Ju, and used this as an analogy to the internal annexation of North Korea today, and Ming Dynasty should reject it just like Li Shimin did back then.
This situation means that Gao Pragmatism is not present, otherwise he would definitely think of Mexico's proposal to merge with the United States but was rejected by the United States.
Logically speaking, if someone wants to take the initiative to annex your country, isn't it a good thing? Why should you refuse? In fact, this kind of thing happened in ancient China. In the end, the imperial court gave the same answer as Americans: no.
As the group that now opposes the agreement said, it was during the period of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty. At that time, China, that is, the Tang Dynasty, once again included the Western Regions into its territory.
As we all know, China first opened up the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty, in order to find the Yuezhi to fight against the Huns. Although the Yuezhi were found, they had already moved to the Amu Darya and Syr Darya areas in Central Asia in later generations, and were not interested in fighting the Huns. Not big. Some Yuezhi people continued south, occupied northern India, and established the Kushan Empire; others stayed in Central Asia and established a series of oasis countries.
In that era of law of the jungle, it was a common phenomenon for small countries to be bullied by powerful ones. The small Yuezhi country in Central Asia has always been suppressed by the Western Turks. They have to pay food and money, otherwise they will be beaten. After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin entered the Western Regions and operated more vigorously than the Han Dynasty.
The small Yuezhi country finally saw the hope of getting rid of the Turks, so it took the initiative to make good friends with the Tang Dynasty. Their caravans traveled continuously to the Central Plains and dominated the Silk Road. According to the royal surnames of these small oasis countries, the Tang Dynasty collectively referred to them as the Nine Surnames of Zhaowu, which were the Sogdians at that time.
The prosperous Silk Road brought great wealth to the nine surnames of Zhaowu, and the Tang Dynasty's attack on the Western Turks also made them no longer worry about their own safety.
More importantly, the tolerance of the Tang Dynasty made them feel that they were not excluded or discriminated against, so that the Sogdians could not only do business and settle in the Tang Dynasty, they could even serve as soldiers and officials, and enjoyed the formal national treatment of the Tang Dynasty.
Comparing the two, Kangju, the largest of the nine surnames of Zhaowu (roughly in today's Uzbekistan), came up with the idea of annexing the Tang Dynasty and incorporating it into the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Just as Mexico wanted to join the United States, the Kangju people also wanted to become subjects of the Tang Dynasty and take shelter under the wings of the Tang Dynasty.
The small foreign vassal states took the initiative to apply for annexation. This has actually been regarded as a sign of China's prosperity. Moreover, after obtaining Kangju, the Tang Dynasty's territory will penetrate deep into Central Asia, which will be of great help in combating the Western Turks.
Another point is that after Kang Ju joined the Tang Dynasty, the other eight Zhaowu small kingdoms might also request to join, which was very attractive. Therefore, the ministers who agreed to accept Kang Ju at that time accounted for more than half of the court.
However, an accident happened. After careful consideration, Li Shimin politely rejected Kang Ju's kindness, saying that the Anxi Protectorate would take special care of Kang Ju, but the Tang Dynasty only wanted to restore the homeland of the Han Dynasty and had no intention of annexing the nine surnames of Zhaowu.
Hey, does His Majesty Tian Khan really think so? Well, obviously it's not that simple.
Although Li Shimin's words were beautiful, he had actually calculated it long ago. At that time, Datang's annexation of Kangju was not a good deal, and might instead drag down the country.
You must know that at that time, the Tang Dynasty had just wiped out the Eastern Turks and established the Anxi Protectorate, but its control over the Western Regions was not yet stable. And Kangju was located at the westernmost end of the Western Region, which had exceeded the limit of the Tang Dynasty's military power.
Datang's military strength in Anxi did not exceed 30,000 at its peak. Compared with the hundreds of thousands of troops in the interior, it was completely a small army. This is not because the Tang Dynasty did not pay attention to the Western Regions, but that the food produced in the Western Regions could only support so many soldiers at that time.
According to the Art of War, after transporting food for thousands of miles, only one-thirtieth of the food will be delivered to the frontline soldiers, and the rest will be eaten on the way. Therefore, it is obvious that it is unrealistic to transport grain from Chang'an to the Western Regions. The only way to support the troops is to rely on local food in the Western Regions. Therefore, more than 20,000 soldiers and horses are actually the upper limit of the number of troops that the Tang Dynasty can support in the Western Regions.
Then, if Kangju became the territory of the Tang Dynasty and a war broke out, the Tang Dynasty would have to send troops to protect Kangju to the death. However, Kang Ju's own country had few soldiers and no geographical dangers, so it was very easy to be attacked. This obviously required the protection of the Tang Dynasty with heavy troops.
However, Anxi does not have such ability. With so few troops, the Anxi Protectorate is already struggling to control the Western Region with a radius of thousands of miles. How can it deploy more troops to defend Kangju? If the Western Turks attack and Kangju falls into the hands of the enemy, the Tang Dynasty will not only lose face, but also chill the hearts of foreign vassals, which will greatly weaken the Tang Dynasty's prestige in the Western Regions.
Therefore, accepting Kang Ju will bring many advantages and disadvantages to Datang. If you accept it now for the sake of face, you may lose more face in the future. Li Shimin was the immediate emperor and had extremely high military talent. Naturally, he could not see this clearly, so he rejected Kang Ju's request.
Nowadays, most of these officials are opposed to accepting the internal annexation of North Korea, and cited the old incident of Li Shimin's rejection of the internal annexation of Kangju. It is obvious that they have not understood the inner logic of Li Shimin's refusal without reading.
Of course, they couldn't even figure out the real reason why Li Shimin rejected Kang Ju, and naturally they couldn't see the reason why Gao Pragmatic tried every means to force North Korea to annex.
The North Korea of today and the Kangju of the past are completely different, and the "similarity" does not apply at all.
In fact, not to mention Liang Menglong and Zhou Yong, the two elders of the Practical School, knew Gao Pragmatic's intentions. Even Wang Jiaping... and even Zhao Zhigao and Shen Yiguan, who were from the Xin School, could see the clues.
"The Romance of Fairy Wood"
However, whether they knew it or could see the clues, all the cabinet ministers tacitly agreed not to take a stand this time, until finally someone asked: "Yuan Fu, cabinet ministers, how exactly do the cabinet plan to vote on this matter?"
Although Wang Jiaping did not want to offend the public, he was very dissatisfied with the fact that this group of people had been noisy for a long time, and now they were asking the cabinet how they planned to draw up votes, which made him unable to help but get angry.
"How does the cabinet draw up votes? When does it need to discuss with all officials?" Wang Jiaping said coldly: "Even if the matter is big and requires all officials to work together, it should be above the dynasty. You are here today. , who dares to say that he can speak for all the officials!"
Everyone did not expect that Wang Jiaping would suddenly become angry, and they were all a little stunned. The whole audience was silent for a few breaths, and then someone said sullenly: "Yuan Fu has such great official power. Since Yuan Fu disdains what I said, then There is no point in staying for a long time, so say goodbye!" Then everyone walked out with cold faces.
Wang Jiaping wanted to see who the person who said this was, but unfortunately the crowd was crowded and his eyesight was not very good, so he was stunned and couldn't find the initiator.
The discussion ended unhappily.
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