Chapter 17 Assessment
Seeing that the situation on the field was not right, Kusunoha Nishinin could only bite the bullet and explain: "There are many crazy people in our country who speak nonsense, and it is difficult to investigate for a while... for a while. But my heart towards the Central Plains is unwavering."
"I am willing to believe that Japan is willing to be civilized." Unexpectedly, the prince of Duke Mu actually slowed down his tone: "However, isn't it because the barbaric nature is hard to get rid of such mad dogs barking at the sun, rebellious and vicious? Even if there is a desire to be civilized, it is difficult to change one's nature after all! Of course, China and Japan are close neighbors after all, and the court cannot watch the vassal states being trapped by the barbaric nature, so we must give them some advice."
Seeing that the other party was talking, Kusunoki Nishi hurriedly tried to test him: "Please give us some advice, Prince!"
"What's so difficult about this?" Mu Qi smiled. "To get rid of wildness, we need to educate people. The envoy might as well think about it. In this world, apart from the most holy, wise, benevolent and compassionate emperor, who else can inherit the virtues of the previous kings and educate the nations with benevolence? This is why I gave the envoy the emperor's works. The barbarians in Japan have not yet gotten rid of their barbaric nature. They need to read these precious books carefully and appreciate the benevolence and kindness of our holy emperor. Only then can they cultivate their body and mind, change their temperament, gradually be influenced by the king's teachings, and abandon the barbaric customs of the past."
The Prince of Duke Mu spoke at great length, and what he said was heartfelt, sincere and serious, as if he was truly enthusiastic and affectionate. The envoy paused for a moment, looked at the exquisite books on the table, and finally murmured:
"The Emperor's works that the Crown Prince mentioned..."
It can’t be just these Qing Ci, right?
Perhaps it was too absurd, the envoy could not help but protest:
"Your Majesty's masterpiece, I will certainly read it. But we are familiar with the sages' classics, how can we say that we are 'uninformed'? Your Majesty, I dare not accept your words!"
The prince smiled coldly and pointed at the book on the table:
"Is that so? Then please turn to page 183 of your majesty's book. There is a famous quote from your majesty: 'I hereby recommend you to be pure and sincere, and this is the day of your birth. I hope your sincerity and purity will be recognized by the gods, and the true spirit will look down upon you.' Please tell me, envoy, which allusion from the Four Books did the four words 'the day of your birth' use? What kind of emotion did your majesty express?"
Kusunobu Nishi: …………
Who the hell knows this? !
Are you fucking sane? !
"It can be seen that your 'familiarity' is full of mistakes." Mu Qi smiled, thinking that it was worth it that I studied Qingci and read historical materials last night, and today I can finally let out some anger: "But your envoy does not need to thank me for pointing out the mistakes, it is all your majesty's great pen. Your envoy said that the Japanese are loyal to the king and are familiar with the classics, and can be on par with Goryeo and Ryukyu; but judging from the situation just now, I am afraid it is difficult to know. Fortunately, His Majesty the Holy Emperor has set an example and pointed out the direction for us."
He had already planned to use assessment to stop the Japanese from delaying progress. But it took a lot of thought to decide what specific content to use for the test - Japan does have a few experts in sinicization, and ordinary classics would not be difficult for these envoys, and might even be counterproductive; obscure classics would seem too difficult. But in this world, whose works are weird and inhumane? Why do we have to read it carefully?
——After thinking about it to this point, the answer is obvious.
This is the eternal favor from Master Feixuan, and I suggest that the Japanese savor it slowly.
He added:
"I think that the emperor's works are the supreme classics that embody the teachings of the previous kings. As long as you learn the emperor's works thoroughly, you will naturally have the heart to rule the country. Therefore, before the envoys talk about paying tribute in the future, they might as well write a few reflections on the emperor's works for the Ministry of Rites to check. When the level of rule the country is qualified, it will not be too late to talk about it..."
Kusunoha Nishinin... Kusunoha Nishinin was stunned. He almost thought that he had made some mistakes when learning Chinese. Otherwise, why did he always feel that he didn't quite understand what Prince Muguo explained so clearly?
"Prince...Prince means," he said with difficulty, "before we pay tribute in the future, we must first study the Qing-works of □□, and then take the-examination?"
The prince nodded happily: "Your Excellency has understood very quickly. You don't have to worry. As long as you pass the exam, the country will make things convenient for you."
As soon as he finished speaking, the inn fell into an indescribable silence. Several foreign envoys had their eyes wide open, unable to react for a moment. Eunuch Huang and Young Lord Yan, who were listening in, were trembling all over, and light was almost coming out of their eyes!
Damn it, there are such powerful flatterers in the world!
To allow foreigners to deeply appreciate the emperor's words, and to have them write their reflections in preparation for the assessment? How come they didn't think of such a wild and unexpected way of licking? !
In an instant, Eunuch Huang and the young cabinet minister both felt a strong sense of regret - as His Majesty's close ministers, they were all experts in writing poems and refining elixirs to make money; but this track had been developed for too long and had too many players, and it had already turned into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. Where is there room for improvement? Now seeing the blue ocean opened up by the prince, feelings of envy and admiration truly arise from the bottom of my heart!
In fact, if you think about it carefully, just writing poems and guessing riddles to flatter the emperor in the court is just pure internal competition behind closed doors. What kind of ability is it to be a bully at home? In general, we should ask the foreign vassal states to show their loyalty so that we can have the bearing of a great country and establish a dynasty among all nations - we didn't think of this before, or our minds were not liberated enough!
The two close ministers prostrated themselves in admiration, repeatedly pondering the prince's ideas, wholeheartedly trying to liberate their own rigid and conservative thoughts and strive to go further. Kusunoha Nishi remained stunned for a long time before finally speaking with difficulty:
"Your Highness, do you mean that as long as you pass the exam, you can - you can pay tribute..."
"As long as you abandon your barbaric nature, there is no reason for us to stop you." Mu Qi smiled, "However, before changing your nature, Your Majesty cannot but consider your people. Japanese officials cannot restrain their outrageous words and are so weak that they are hard to trust. In order to protect the people, the court can only choose a place to set up an embassy in Japan and send troops to garrison. If the people of the upper country commit crimes in Japan, they should be dealt with by the embassy. All trade shall not be blocked or levied. The tariffs of both sides should be consistent, and no other obstacles should be set up."
He then enumerated several basic clauses, the central idea of which was only one: "free trade" and "full competition". Anyone who dared to engage in trade protectionism would be punished without mercy. Similarly, as long as Japan can fulfill the above terms, the superior country will definitely reciprocate equally.
"…In simple terms, it can be summarized as the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Friendship and Commerce." Mu Qi concluded: "This is the goodwill of our court, and we try our best to demonstrate an equal and fair tribute order. I hope the envoy will consider it carefully."
As he spoke, Eunuch Huang and Minister Yan, who were sitting on both sides, nodded in agreement. To be honest, these two people don’t understand what “equal and fair tribute order” is, but the clauses that Prince Mu repeatedly emphasized must not be wrong. Didn’t you see how unexpected and ingenious those two flatteries were? Maybe there are some amazing ideas hidden in these terms?
Flatterers also need to be repeatedly trained and improved. The young cabinet minister and Eunuch Huang made up their minds to think deeply about the remarks made by the Prince of Duke Mu, to ponder them carefully, and to savor them repeatedly; what one understands should be learned, and what one does not understand should be learned even more, this is the quality of a treacherous minister.
——After all, there is always someone who can flatter you that you cannot flatter; there is always someone who can lick the ditch that you cannot lick; there is always someone who will work hard to complete the ideas you are willing to put off until tomorrow. So, I'm sorry, the yamen you want to go to can only be replaced by someone else, and the official position you want to be promoted to can only be promoted by someone else. Looking back on the past, would you rather have no regrets?
Kusunoha Nishi remained silent. He also knew very little about trade, but he felt that what Prince Mu said made some sense - judging from the terms alone, the trade between Japan and Da'an was indeed completely equal, with no distinction between high and low! If this can really be done, it seems that it would be nothing to take the Qingci test every year.
But he thought for a moment and tried to take advantage of the situation: "This matter of the embassy is unheard of in my country..."
"In order to protect maritime merchants, the embassy must be opened." Mu Qi refused: "However, the location of the embassy can be suggested by Japan, and we will decide later."
Upon hearing this, the envoy's heart was moved: Although Japan has achieved a unified situation, there are still factions coexisting within the country and endless fighting. The different factions, if not completely close, are at least mortal enemies. If he could take advantage of the negotiation opportunity to quietly place the embassy in the territory of his political enemy, wouldn't that be a brilliant move to defeat the enemy?
His tone softened:
"Thank you for your advice, Your Highness. I will consider this carefully."
·
When a bell rang, a figure fluttering behind the veil spoke:
"Did the foreign envoy really say that?"
Eunuch Huang kowtowed respectfully, not daring to neglect it: "My Lord, it is indeed so. Those envoys were originally quite sarcastic, but after talking with the Prince of Duke Mu and Minister Yan, they all changed their minds and became very respectful, willing to obey the king's rule of our country. The Prince also asked me to pass on the request to the Lord to grant more Qingci to facilitate future examinations..."
True Lord Feixuan and Emperor Qingmiao were stunned for a moment, and were unable to react for a moment. To be honest, the old Taoist has been writing and reading Qingci for decades. The ministers who serve him have been repeatedly tormented by various turmoil and have long lost their former courage to resist. Most of them have embarked on the old path of flattering the Taoists.
But no matter how much flattery and licking one's boots, and how much praise one gets for the True Lord's magical powers every day, no one took the initiative to write a letter to ask for the Qingci. To put it bluntly, no matter how much everyone flatters the emperor, they are not really willing to flatter him in their hearts. Writing and reading Qingci is like working overtime. It's okay to do it under the pressure of the boss, but who would be so lowly as to ask for overtime?
So it was not until today that Master Feixuan finally experienced the feeling of being urged to update his poems. He was dazed for a moment and felt that this feeling was really... so great!
It turns out that there are still people who truly appreciate my Qing Ci! I said that writing Qingci is useful!
Thinking of this, Zhenjun could not help but smile and struck the bronze chime several times, which sounded crisp and pleasant, and he generously agreed to the prince's request. After expressing his deep joy, the True Lord did not forget his business. He directly ordered:
"You did a great job. You need to keep an eye on the Japanese envoys. By the way, I heard that Emperor Taizong once intended to invade Japan? Go and get the files quietly so I can take a look at the teachings of our ancestors."
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