Some Greek officials showed obvious curiosity about Shi Ke's statement.
"How is this unified dynasty calculated?" John Papadopoulos, the Minister of Household Affairs, asked.
"Just see if there are other claimants," Shi Ke replied.
"A unified dynasty must be the claimant of 'Emperor'. At the same time, it must eliminate all regimes that also claim the title of 'Emperor', or at least force them to give up their claims in formal diplomatic occasions." He explained: " In short, only by ensuring the uniqueness of the 'Emperor' can it be regarded as a unified dynasty."
"Unification is not a geographical concept, but a... theological concept." Shi Ke finally said metaphorically: "So, sometimes there will be situations where a small territory is considered a unified dynasty, but a large territory is not."
"Then I can understand." Papadopoulos nodded: "The war between the Yuan and Ming Dynasties is not just a dynastic war on our side. It actually has the nature of a religious war, isn't it?"
"It can be understood this way." Shi Ke nodded: "This is the religion of the Seris people."
"Then we should really avoid this issue." Chief Treasurer Otrifus also reacted: "Religious matters cannot be considered purely economic issues. No wonder the Ming Dynasty pursues this Javanese regime every day... …”
"Yes." Lama Wang also agreed: "Actually, even the Tang Dynasty did not go so deep into the southwest, let alone the Song Dynasty. But because the Yuan Dynasty once controlled this place and established a regime that claimed to be the successor of the Yuan Dynasty, so , for the sake of 'legitimacy', which is one of the most important legitimacy of the Seris regime, even if it is a long way here, the Ming Dynasty will have to invest its strength to eliminate them."
"Generally speaking, subsequent dynasties tend to regain all the territory of the previous dynasty. Because Seris, like our Rome, is a country with a very strong cultural appeal." He explained to a group of Greeks: "Anyone who has been ruled by Rome In this place, the local barbarians like to call themselves Rome, and it is the same over there."
"This has led to the emergence of a large number of regimes claiming to be 'Emperor Seris' in places controlled by the previous dynasty, and even in places affected by it - similar to that of Shinra. Unless these guys are eliminated, there is no way He said that he had achieved unification. Therefore, although it is a religious concept, from a geographical point of view, it is indeed almost the same as regaining all the territory of the previous dynasty."
"But the Yuan Dynasty was very big..." Tuotuo Buhua also reacted.
"Yes, and not only is it big, it can also run." Lama Wang pointed out: "The remnants of the Yuan Dynasty are running everywhere. In order to prove that it is the unified and orthodox 'Ming Dynasty', the Ming Dynasty has to chase them one by one. Otherwise, if they still claim to be orthodox, they will continue to exert influence and make the Ming Dynasty uncomfortable."
"Moreover, these Yuan Dynasty... friends are also very good at running away. Once they are beaten, they may run away again, but they insist on not giving up the orthodox title. This is the situation we are facing now."
"The Seris people's belief is really interesting." Otrifus said with great interest: "Strictly speaking, the Ming Dynasty is still the Ming Dynasty? Is there any precedent for this in the past?"
"Yes, and there have been quite a few over the years." Yeli Gosale Wanhu Yeluxin stroked his beard and said, "This has been the case in the Seris area since the collapse of the Tang Dynasty."
"At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, they once professed themselves to the Turkic Khanate. But the Turks did not use the Central Plains'... er, legal system, so the subsequent impact was not significant. After Emperor Taizong defeated the Turks, there was no doubt. The Tang Dynasty The legitimacy system has been maintained for a long time, and it can be said that it has continued to influence it to this day.”
"After the collapse of the Tang Dynasty, a large number of regimes emerged from Japan to the east of Persia. Many of them claimed to be emperors, so during this period, there was no unified dynasty."
"By the time of the Liao and Song Dynasties, the world had stabilized, but there were still two opposing emperors. My Taizu, Liu Yi, discussed the state religion with the officials. The officials believed that Buddhism was prevalent and they should worship Buddha. Taizu said, 'Buddha is not a Chinese religion. , no'. Finally, a Confucius temple was built to offer sacrifices."
"The Liao Kingdom has always demanded China's self-reliance and fought for legitimacy, and the Song Kingdom could not stop them. But in turn, the Liao Kingdom was unable to make the Song Dynasty give up its claims. Therefore, at this time, there is still no unified dynasty."
Guo Kang is now very familiar with these terms. For example, "Liu Yi" is Yelu Abaoji, the founder of the Liao Kingdom. This man was a "refined man", so he took Liu as his surname and gave him a Chinese name.
The word "Yelü" is the pronunciation of "Liu" in Khitan. The later clan's surname was "Xiao", which was also moved from the Han Dynasty Prime Minister Xiao He.
There are not many documents left by the Liao Dynasty. In the records of the Song Dynasty, probably in order to compete for orthodoxy, the surname Xiao was always used, but the surname Liu always insisted on writing it as "Yelu". Over time, it became a habit and continued to be used.
"You said Buddhism is not a Chinese religion? Does that mean you cannot believe in foreign religions?" Otrifus discovered a problem and asked: "Why is this?"
"At that time, the culture of the Liao Kingdom was not as developed as that of the Song Kingdom, but everyone still understood the basic principles." Yeluxin said very firmly: "The reason? The reason is that we are Chinese. How can the Chinese use foreign religions as their state religion? ?”
"Ah? Then Christianity is also a foreign country to you, right?" Otrifus asked curiously.
Guo Kang wanted to cover his face after hearing this. He was almost numb to these "Khitan Wolf Warriors".
Yelu Xin is a stubborn old man, and he has always been unhappy with the fact that some members of his tribe believe in other religions. Who knew they would be able to speak out in court. In order to prevent these Khitans from having a "Chinese vs. foreigner" game in the court, he quickly came out to smooth things over.
"That doesn't count." Guo Kang stood up quickly, waved his hand and said, "Brother Tian Yishu is a Roman. Brother Tian is a Roman, and naturally our Heavenly Father is also a Roman."
"Rome was called Da Qin in ancient times, and "Wei Lue" said that Da Qin people are a different species from China. Therefore, the Romans are Chinese; therefore, Heavenly Father and Brother Heaven are also Chinese, and Christianity is also Chinese religion. Chinese people believe in Chinese religion, it's nothing."
After a few words, the hall was quiet for a moment.
Lama Wang breathed a long sigh of relief and cast a grateful look at Guo Kang; the old scholar Borjan began to applaud subconsciously, as if he thought Guo Kang's logical statement was good, but found that he was the only one speaking out, and quickly shrunk. Fight back. Most of the other people were still in a daze and seemed to have not yet reacted.
However, his adoptive father smiled brightly at him again, seeming to encourage him to continue speaking.
He probably understood why his adoptive mother specifically asked his adoptive father to support his speech.
