Chapter 195: What kind of people are you?
The envoys from the vassal states sought to see Zhu Yuanzhang but to no avail, which led to the collapse of the alliance. They secretly made their own plans and had no choice but to go to Zhu Chong.
The Ministry of Rites did not make any further arrangements this time, and Zhao Mao did not even show up. He just ordered his subordinates to arrange a decorated room and let the envoys talk to Zhu Chong themselves.
Zhu Chong naturally knew the purpose of these envoys looking for him, so they left him alone for more than an hour before finally arriving.
But the envoys dared not speak out, and when they saw Zhu Chong, they had to put on a smile. Among them, the envoy from Goryeo smiled the brightest, his face looked like a chrysanthemum, which was creepy to look at!
Seeing the envoys' disgusting and fawning looks, Zhu Chong knew that they had been humiliated by Zhu Yuanzhang and could only beg for mercy. He knew what was going on in his mind.
It is easy to ask for mercy, but your hand is really precious. If you want to show mercy, you have to pay a high enough price!
At the beginning of the meeting, after just a few pleasantries, the Goryeo envoy started to cry poor to Zhu Chong.
"Your Highness, the people of Goryeo are suffering and need to rebuild. We will not do anything like this unless it is absolutely necessary."
"Please show some mercy. I really cannot accept the conditions you mentioned earlier. Please have mercy on my master!"
Zhu Chong sneered, "If I pity you, then who will pity the people of the Ming Dynasty? Our people can't even get enough to eat, and you still care about the lives of the people of Goryeo? Are you crazy?"
How could such a good thing happen in this world? Zhu Chong despised the Korean envoy to the extreme, even trampling on him and putting him on the blacklist.
Zhu Chong knew very well that Goryeo was an ungrateful person who could never be tamed, just like the Japanese country next to him.
Don’t be fooled by their current respect for the Ming Dynasty; that is all based on interests, just like the so-called poor relatives.
When there is profit to be made, they say a few nice words and send a few radishes as special products, but they want the Ming Dynasty to provide them with real money. If the Ming Dynasty does not provide them with enough aid, they will immediately turn against it!
If Zhu Chong remembered correctly, Goryeo did just that later, which angered Zhu, who sent troops to suppress it and directly changed Goryeo's name to Joseon, which meant being fickle and shameless.
However, after Zhu Yuanzhang conquered Korea, he made one mistake, which was that he did not simply incorporate Korea into the territory of the Ming Dynasty. As a result, he left a pit for future generations of Zhu's descendants!
But that was a story for later. Zhu Su didn't believe the envoys' crying poverty.
Besides, whether their country is poor or not, what does it have to do with the Ming Dynasty? Even if we take a step back, can the real money they bring back be used by the common people in their country? Don't be ridiculous!
Even in the Ming Dynasty, the new treasure notes were different now. They were only supplied to officials. If ordinary people wanted to see them, they had to either pay a high price or wait. Otherwise, how could they possibly appear? Now one string of new treasure notes was being sold at the outrageous price of eight strings of money?
As a leader, Zhu Chong knew too well the behavior of these so-called politicians. They would definitely not give the Ming Dynasty's new treasure notes back to their people, but would give them to the leaders of their country in order to gain credit for themselves.
But why do you need me to grant you the credit you want? If you want me to grant you the credit, you must show your sincerity or pay real money, otherwise, there is no point in discussing it.
The current situation is like this: the Ming Dynasty is strong and the vassal states are weak. The right to speak is in the hands of Zhu Chong alone, and what he says is what counts.
Anyone disagree? No problem, either get out, or Zhu Chong will use his brains and come up with dozens of ways to force you to agree!
This is how relations between nations should be! There has never been any so-called brotherly nations or father-son alliances!
The relationship between two countries can only be linked by interests. If you always want one party to make efforts while the other party reaps the benefits, you are dreaming!
No matter how much food I eat, you have to vomit out double, or even ten times as much, otherwise I will beat out your heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, and if that doesn't work, I will kill you!
In today's world, there is no such thing as humanitarianism or human rights, let alone so-called multinational condemnation and sanctions.
Even if there is, for the current Ming Dynasty, it would just be a lot of trouble.
Zhu Chong is still young, and his sons are about to grow up. Sending these troublemakers to cause trouble in those disobedient vassal states will save the Ming Dynasty a lot of expenses!
With Zhu Chong's methods, he could definitely use war to support war, and even bring back considerable benefits to the Ming Dynasty.
Given Zhu Yuanzhang's greedy and stingy nature, he must have been overjoyed to see Zhu Chong doing this.
At this time, the so-called censors of the Ming Dynasty were far from being as arrogant and uncontrollable as they were in later generations. After all, Zhu Yuanzhang killed people indiscriminately. The censors were also human beings, and the censors now were afraid of death and would definitely not dare to trip him up.
Therefore, Zhu Chong had thought of all the back-up plans. If these envoys from the vassal states knew how to deal with the current situation, it would be fine. But if they were fools who didn't know how to deal with the current situation, he would take this opportunity to destroy them.
The Goryeo envoy was obviously quick to change his tone when he saw that the situation was not good.
"Okay, I'll do as you say, Your Highness. The conditions are as you said before. But I'm not sure if it will be okay for us to use the Ming Dynasty's banknotes once they circulate among the people..."
"What are you thinking? Even if that day comes, we will still have to exchange one of our coins for eight of your coins!"
Zhu Chong interrupted the other party without thinking. The envoys from the vassal states present were stunned when they heard his words.
"Your Highness, Prince Qin, don't you think this is too much?" The Goryeo envoy's mentality collapsed again. He stood up angrily and shouted, "Is this how the Celestial Empire behaves now? I want..."
"Go, write a letter and find my father!" Zhu Chong waved his hand, indicating that the Goryeo envoy could leave.
Seeing Zhu Chong's behavior, the Goryeo envoy immediately felt embarrassed. Looking at the envoys from other vassal states who were all motionless, he cursed in his heart, gritted his teeth and sat back in his original seat, deciding that from now on, he would never speak again.
"Do you also think that what I did is unfair?" Zhu Chong grinned at the envoys from the surrounding vassal states. Everyone smiled awkwardly and said nothing, but the anger in their eyes could not be concealed.
"This prince will endure the injustice!" Zhu Chong sneered, "Do you think the money in my Ming Dynasty was blown by the wind?"
"My Great Ming court has invested a great deal of manpower, financial resources, and material resources in producing new banknotes. The main purpose is to provide convenience for the people of the Great Ming. Are you a citizen of the Great Ming?"
"Don't talk to me about vassal states. I'm just a subject. I only care about practical matters. Good things are made for my own people. How can you be considered my own people?"
"If your ruler is willing to surrender and become a province of the Ming Dynasty, paying taxes to the Ming Dynasty court from now on, then the situation I mentioned earlier will not exist."
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