Hearing Yan Jing asking how to gain the trust of the ministers, Dong Yushu pondered for a moment and said slowly:
"I heard that the Minister of War, Mr. Tao, encountered a difficult situation today, and I would like to ask Your Majesty for a decision."
Tao Yuan, the Minister of War, and Cai Xu, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, were both good friends of Dong Yushu. The three of them often gathered together to compose poems, drink wine, and talk about current affairs.
Uncle Dong knew that they would never be convinced by Yan Jing, the young empress.
Sure enough, the Minister of War Tao Yuan stepped forward and said to Yan Jing:
"Your Majesty, recently there has been a rampant bandit problem at the border of Tongzhou and Qingzhou. The imperial court has sent troops many times but has not been able to completely eliminate them. May I ask if Your Majesty has any good plan?"
Yan Jing thought for a while and said slowly:
"The imperial army is far superior to the bandits, and the repeated failures in encirclement and suppression are definitely not due to a problem of combat power.
According to what you said, the place where the bandit problem is rampant is the border of Yuzhou. It is very likely that the responsibility for suppressing the bandits is not clearly divided and the Yuzhou government fails to cooperate.
We need to send an inspector to the scene to urge the two local governments to reach a consensus as soon as possible and determine a cooperation and accountability plan. This should be effective.”
After Yan Jing finished speaking, he subconsciously glanced at Zhu Lan.
Seeing her smiling and nodding slightly to him, Yan Jing couldn't help but shake his feet, sitting up straighter, feeling a little proud.
The questioner Tao Yuan opened his mouth slightly and cast a surprised look at Uncle Dong.
The bandit problem on the border of Qingzhou has been around for a long time. The imperial court has sent troops several times, but the results have been unsatisfactory.
It was not until I went there in person last month that I discovered that several county magistrates in the border counties of Tongzhou were lazy and failed to cooperate with the Qingzhou government's actions as planned, thus missing the opportunity to suppress the bandits.
This emperor had never been involved in military affairs, but he was able to see the key at a glance.
Guessing is definitely a blind guess.
It doesn’t matter. If she can guess right once, can she guess right every time?
Tao Yuan glanced at Cai Xu, the Minister of the Honglu Temple.
Cai Xu then raised the second question:
“Your Majesty, recently an envoy from a small country in the Western Regions visited us and wanted to trade with us.
However, the customs of their country are strange, the envoys behave in a crude manner, do not speak Chinese, and are not accustomed to the etiquette of our dynasty. We, the ministers, feel quite embarrassed to receive them.
If we treat each other strictly according to etiquette, it may cause discord between the two countries; if we are lenient with etiquette, it may damage the national dignity.
I wonder how Your Majesty thinks we should deal with this matter?"
When the other ministers heard this question, they couldn't help but nod their heads.
Differences in language and customs between countries have always been a big problem.
If it is not handled with care, it may cause misunderstandings between the two countries at best, and may even lead to war at worst.
As the Son of Heaven, if you cannot properly handle relations with foreign nations and preserve the dignity of your country, the entire court and even the people will be humiliated and you will lose the support of the people.
Many ministers also became serious and wanted to hear the empress's opinion.
Yan Jing seemed to know that this question was of great importance, and he thought about it for a longer time than last time.
After a long while, she said in a childish yet steady voice:
“What the Minister of the Honglu Temple said is indeed the most important thing for foreign officials to do.
However, Confucius said: If people from afar are not convinced, then cultivate virtue to win them over. He also said: The rulers of the barbarians are not as good as the rulers of the Chinese.
I think that if foreign envoys come to pay homage to the emperor, one can order someone who is proficient in their language to serve as an interpreter and explain our dynasty's etiquette in detail so that they can understand it instead of forcing them to follow it.
Secondly, officials who are familiar with foreign customs should be selected to accompany them so as to take care of their habits without being impolite.
Third, they are allowed to meet the emperor with their national etiquette, but they must demonstrate it first. If they are disrespectful, they will be stopped on the spot. "
At this point, the expressions of many ministers, including the Minister of Honglu Temple Cai Xu, changed slightly.
Looking around the world, Daliang is a superior country in the heaven. Although the saints advocated the idea of "winning over distant people", the etiquette is so gentle that it seems too humble.
It would be fine if we meet a sensible small country, but if it is an ignorant one, I am afraid it will be too arrogant.
Yan Jing then changed the subject and said:
“Finally, if they behave respectfully, they can be given generous gifts.
If there is any usurpation, we will immediately lower the standards to show the power of the Celestial Empire."
The last sentence combines kindness and severity, making people feel the magnanimity of the superior country and fear its majesty. It can be said to be the essence of the external tactics.
The ministers who were originally skeptical all turned to admiration. They not only admired the fact that the emperor was so thoughtful despite her young age, but also admired her for being able to clearly list her views in such a short time.
Such a calm mind, compared with her brother, is really...sad.
It turns out that children’s brains can work so quickly.
Of course, everyone only dared to think about the last two sentences in their hearts, and no one dared to express them out loud.
Dong Taibao listened carefully to Yan Jing's two responses, which somewhat refreshed his understanding of this emperor.
An answer of this caliber would definitely not be a blind guess.
Dong Taibao already had the answer in his mind, because he had already prepared some questions to test Yan Jing.
If you don't ask, wouldn't it be necessary to prepare?
After all, he is already in his 60s and has no obsession with further advancement in his official career. Even if this move may anger the young emperor, he doesn't care.
He was now purely curious and wanted to see how powerful this young empress was.
Dong Taibao cleared his throat and asked:
"Your Majesty, I have heard recently that the people of Yunzhou seem to believe in some kind of evil cult, and they have been buying large quantities of willow branches.
This move was probably due to the prevalence of superstition, and people wanted to use willow branches to ward off evil and avoid disaster.
Your Majesty, how do you think we can curb this kind of foolish behavior and guide the people not to be deceived by evil gods?"
As soon as he asked this question, even Tao Yuan and Cai Xu, who had asked the question just now, couldn't help but look sideways.
Taibao, this question is too difficult.
The beliefs of the common people are varied, and local governments have to spend a lot of money just to deal with cases of messy sacrifices.
How could she, a little princess who had lived in the deep palace for a long time, be exposed to those things?
Tao Yuan couldn't even help but glare at Dong Taibao.
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