As for external affairs, Zhu Yuanzhang has basically handed them over to his eldest grandson.
Just focus on the general situation.
The affairs of Zhenla seemed troublesome, but in fact, from Zhu Yuanzhang's point of view, it was no big deal.
Even if Zhenla was destroyed, so what? Would it dare to invade the Ming Dynasty?
The Ayutthaya Empire of Siam and Malacca in Malacca, united on the sea, are just a slightly larger ant.
The Ming Dynasty's invincible fleet could easily crush them.
They only dared to do some small tricks in secret. If they gave the Ming Dynasty an excuse to go to war, we really have to thank them.
From Zhu Yuanzhang's perspective.
Whether it is Malacca, the Ayutthaya Dynasty, or even the Sukhothai Dynasty in northern Siam, in name only, they are all his younger brothers.
The Ming Dynasty was a country of etiquette and power. If it rashly declared war on its younger brothers without being invaded, it would easily cause panic among the surrounding countries.
Zhu Ying was not in a hurry either.
After all, that was Lan Yu, Duke of Liang.
If he died at the hands of the Ayutthaya Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty would naturally send troops to avenge the Duke of Liang.
There was no need for the Ayutthaya Dynasty to exist.
Today is a day off.
Now the court meetings are held every three days.
It is spring now, and Zhu Ying has been feeling bored in the palace, so she plans to take her children and concubines out for an outing.
…
Tianjie Temple, the Embassy.
Amona didn't sleep all night.
He received an urgent letter from the eldest prince, Canrepa Pitya, or rather the King of Chenla.
With the help of Li Jinglong, it was obvious that the eldest prince, Canlebopiya, had inherited the throne of King of Zhenla.
The letter details the story of Malacca joining forces with the newly established Ayutthaya dynasty in Siam to jointly send troops to Cambodia.
If it weren't for the fact that Duke Liang of the Ming Dynasty discovered Ayutthaya's conspiracy when he entered Zhenla, he would have fought a fierce battle with Ayutthaya's 100,000 troops along the coast.
Then it is very likely that Zhenla has already been destroyed.
When Amona saw the contents of the letter, his back was instantly soaked.
Even now, I still feel a little scared.
In the letter, His Majesty the King told him that Zhenla was no longer able to deal with the Ayutthaya Dynasty, and the only way to save Zhenla was to ask for help from the Ming Dynasty.
When he inherited the throne, Siam wanted to invade. Duke Cao of the Ming Dynasty sent a letter to Siam, which made Ayutthaya's troops at the border dare not move, allowing him to take the throne.
Because many great nobles were executed in order to succeed the throne, Zhenla is now very weak internally.
Canlebopiyya hoped that Amona would tell Sultana to ask the Ming Crown Prince for help to mediate the war between the Ayutthaya Dynasty and Cambodia.
Although the Duke of Liang was now retaliating against the Ayutthaya Dynasty, Canlepopiyya himself knew that it would be difficult to get the Ming Dynasty to directly intervene in the war, and that the best way was for the Ming Dynasty to mediate.
This will not affect the Ming Dynasty, and Zhenla will also have a chance to catch its breath.
As soon as daybreak.
Amona hurried out, not even bothering to explain anything to his colleagues.
It had been more than a month since the letter reached Amona. He was really worried that Zhenla was on the verge of national destruction.
Every breath seemed so urgent.
As a foreign envoy stationed in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, it was impossible for Amona to go directly to the palace.
If he wanted to ask to see His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, or to see the current Sultanah, Empress Dan, he had to pass the message through the Ministry of Rites.
Only after obtaining permission will he be given a specific time and brought into the palace by the eunuchs.
Among the many foreign officials, only Amona had this power because Queen Dan was the princess of their Zhenla.
"Hey, isn't this Amona? Where are you going in such a hurry?"
"Oh, look at my memory. I received news about Zhenla last night. It's been more than a month, and I don't know if Zhenla has been destroyed."
"It would be very interesting if the country was destroyed."
Amona looked fiercely at the person who was speaking in front of him. He recognized him. It was Kanaya, the chief envoy of the Ayutthaya dynasty delegation.
Obviously, Kanay also received news about Zhenla.
It's no coincidence that we met here.
There were constant wars between Chenla and Ayutthaya, so the relationship between Amona and Kanaya was of course very bad.
After receiving the news last night, Kanay specifically asked his subordinates to wake him up early just to see Amona's panic-stricken look.
Now that I have seen it, I feel very happy.
Amona snorted coldly and ignored Kanay. The situation at home was the most urgent.
Seeing Amona's hurried look, Kanay smiled and turned to walk towards his house.
He got up too early, so he needs to take a nap.
Amona trotted all the way and soon arrived at the Ministry of Rites in Tianjie Temple.
There is a sign hanging on the door: Ministry of Rites and Department of Guests and Officials.
This is a two-entry courtyard.
Apparently Amona arrived a little early and the gate was closed.
Amona knew that he had arrived too early and could only wait.
I don't know how long I waited, but in Amona's heart it felt like the whole day was almost over, but in fact the day had just begun to brighten.
With a creaking sound, the gate slowly opened.
Six yamen runners came out and stood on both sides.
"Amona, the Zhenla envoy, requests to see the head of the Ministry of Rites."
After saying that, Amona took out the badge issued to him by the Ministry of Rites.
The yamen runner at the door took it, checked it, and returned it to Amona, saying, "Come in."
Amona then hurried in.
He was very familiar with this place, or rather, every envoy was very familiar with this place.
When paying tribute, the envoys would come here to discuss the price of the goods with the officials of the Ministry of Rites.
New envoys must also come here to receive Ming Dynasty etiquette training.
This is to ensure that if I am summoned by His Majesty, I will not displease Him by being impolite.
Although envoys are rarely summoned by His Majesty.
Amona came to an office lobby and explained the situation again to the bailiff on duty at the door.
After the yamen runner went in to report, he came out and said to Amona, "Go in."
Amona nodded and walked in.
Seeing the officials in the hall, Amona's eyes lit up, and then he bowed and said, "Master Li."
Li, the chief, was writing something on his desk. When he heard the voice, he looked up and said with a smile, "It's you, Amona. The door has just opened and you've already rushed over."
Li Zhushi was the chief official of the Ministry of Rites' Department of Guests and Officials, and was a sixth-rank official.
There are three people in charge here, who are jointly responsible for the affairs of foreign officials.
Amona quickly apologized with a smile, "I'm in a hurry. There are frequent wars in Zhenla right now. I want to request an audience with our princess, Queen Danfei. Please help me report it to the head of the department, Li."
Li frowned slightly, thought for a while and said, "I'm afraid this matter is not easy to handle."
Upon hearing this, Amona immediately took out an envelope from his sleeve, walked a few steps forward to Master Li, and placed the envelope between the books on the desk.
He bowed and whispered, "Please help Mr. Li. I will reward you handsomely later."
Amona was also fortunate that after the eldest prince took office as His Majesty the King, he immediately sent him a lot of money.
Otherwise, in the current situation, he really wouldn't know how to make the way.
Manager Li smiled and took the envelope out of the book, put it on the table, and pushed it towards Amona.
Then he said: "You are harming me, aren't you? As the head of the Ministry of Rites, how can I accept bribes?"
But I cursed in my heart: How can you give gifts like this? You are such an idiot.
Amona thought that Master Li thought the amount was too little, so he took the envelope and prepared to open it. There were 20 pieces of treasure notes worth 100 strings of cash, totaling 2,000 strings of cash.
But Li took the initiative to press Amona's hand, and then explained: "It's not that I don't want to help you report it, but it's impossible to report it now."
Hearing this, Amona asked, "What do you mean, sir?"
Li Zhushi explained: "I am the Minister of Rites, which is under the command of the Ministry of Rites. Above me is Doctor Zhang."
"If I help you report it, it will first be handed over to Doctor Zhang, and then Doctor Zhang will hand it over to the Ministry of Rites."
"Normally there wouldn't be any problem, but Mr. Huang, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, has now been transferred to the Zhanshi Mansion."
"Our Ministry of Respect and Justice has always been under the jurisdiction of Mr. Huang. After Mr. Huang left, this position became vacant, and the Ministry of Personnel has not made any arrangements."
"And the former Left Vice Minister Ren has been promoted to Minister of Rites, so the positions of Left and Right Vice Ministers in our Ministry of Rites are now vacant."
"In this case, who can help you report to the palace? Can you report to the Shangshu Lord? So even if I help you, it will be useless."
Amona couldn't help but ask, "Excuse me, Mr. Li, how long will it take for the new Minister to take office?"
Li shook his head and said, "Who knows? It could be as short as a few months or as long as several years."
Amona exclaimed: "How is this possible?"
Master Li was obviously very dissatisfied with Amona's fuss. Was he teaching etiquette in vain?
Seeing Li frowning, Amona quickly explained: "The war in Zhenla is extremely urgent right now. If we can't contact the Queen Consort Dan, I'm afraid something bad will happen."
Master Li was very unhappy. You have a Dan Fei on your left and a Dan Fei on your right. Do you think I'm afraid of you?
Okay, I am scared indeed.
He said in an unhappy tone, "My position as Minister of Rites has been vacant for three years. Do you really think I'm kidding you? Fine, I'll report it to you. As for how long it takes, that has nothing to do with me."
After saying that, he picked up the teacup and drank tea without paying any attention to Amona.
This means serving tea to guests.
Of course Amona understood, but he didn't dare to leave.
He immediately said, "It's my fault. I was too impatient and impolite."
"It's just that this concerns my Zhenla's safety, so I hope that Master Li will help me."
After that, Amona opened his palm, stretched out his five fingers and said, "If Li is willing to help me, I will definitely not let him work in vain. I am willing to pay this amount."
Li Zhushi took a look at the open palm and knew that it meant five thousand strings of cash.
He slowly put down the teacup he was holding.
Why didn't you just tell me the number earlier? Why did I have to beat around the bush?
I have said so much just to tell you that it is very troublesome and you have to pay more if you want to get it done.
Amona finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Master Li put down the teacup.
Then I heard Li Zhushi say, "Go into Baifang Alley in Daming and there is a shop called Zhenbaoxuan. The antique calligraphy and paintings there are very good. Not only do I like them, but Doctor Zhang and Minister Ren also like them very much."
"Your matter needs to be reported directly to Minister Ren by Doctor Zhang. This is considered skipping the level and breaking the rules of our Ministry of Rites."
Amona gritted his teeth and said, "Please rest assured, Mr. Li, I understand."
Li smiled and nodded: "Okay, I will report it to Doctor Zhang for you later. As for how long it will take to get this done, it depends on your sincerity."
Amona thanked him repeatedly.
Manager Li was very happy to see Amona leaving.
I did the math in my mind.
Five thousand strings of cash, I should at least get a reward of two or three hundred strings of cash.
Big deal.
The Zhenbaoxuan in Baifang Lane was not opened by the Ministry of Rites, but by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Zhu Ying knew that these foreign officials would definitely take bribes, so he asked the Jinyiwei to set a secret rule.
Anyone who wanted to bribe would go to the shop run by the Jinyiwei to buy antique calligraphy and paintings.
Of course, those so-called antique calligraphy and paintings are all fake.
The antiques are just ordinary porcelain bowls and calligraphy and paintings that cost a dozen cents each on the street.
Most of this money will be confiscated into the treasury.
One or two percent will be used as public funds of the Ministry of Rites. According to convention, people like Li Zhushi will receive a commission of about half percent.
It is definitely not acceptable for the Ministry of Rites to accept money openly.
It is impossible for Zhu Ying to come out and say yes.
These were naturally the private actions of the Jinyiwei.
If we want to abolish it one day, it would only take a word.
After leaving Tianjie Temple, Amona hired a carriage to go to Zhenbaoxuan in Baifang Lane.
He gritted his teeth and spent six thousand strings of treasure money to buy an ordinary porcelain bowl for eating.
Of course he could see that this was indeed an ordinary porcelain bowl for eating, and the bottom of the bowl was printed with "Cast in the 27th year of Hongwu".
The shopkeeper lied with his eyes wide open, saying that this was a coin circulated during the Tang Dynasty and was worth six thousand strings of cash.
The round trip took almost two hours.
Amona bought a sesame cake on the road as breakfast and then hurried back to Tianjie Temple to wait for news.
Around dinner time in the afternoon, Amona thought it was impossible today, but the eunuch came and asked Amona to follow him into the palace.
Zhu Ying took his concubine and children to go for a spring outing.
It’s not far, just at Xuanwu Lake.
After having lunch, I came back.
The news was then passed to Kunning Palace through eunuchs.
…
In Kunning Palace.
After half a day's play, Zhu Ying's concubines had returned to the back hall.
But on Zhu Ying's body, there is also her eldest daughter, Zhu Yuting.
Xiao Yuting will be six years old this year, two years older than Xiao Wencheng.
As the saying goes, a daughter is her father's little cotton-padded jacket.
Xiao Yuting likes to stick to Zhu Ying the most.
Zhu Ying did not have the idea of favoring boys over girls. Among the seven concubines, only Xiao Yuting and Xiao Xingxue, born to Chen Muyue, were daughters.
Zhu Yuanzhang must have favored Xiao Wencheng.
Zhu Ying didn't have these thoughts.
But it’s impossible for Xiao Yuting to stick to Zhu Ying every day.
Therefore, after returning from this trip, Xiao Yuting stayed on Zhu Ying and refused to get down.
"Okay, we're already here. Your mother has gone back to the back hall. It's time to come down."
"No, no, I just want a hug. Father, you haven't hugged me for a long time."
"Nonsense, didn't I hug you a few days ago?"
"That was three days ago. I don't care. I want to hug you. I'm already grown up. If you don't hug me now, you won't be able to hug me when I grow up."
"How could that be? I can hold your mother and the others in my arms. No matter how big you get, your father can still hold you in his arms."
"Hmph, you stingy guy, I'm not going to pay attention to you."
"Then you should get off your father."
"I'm not coming down."
"It's up to you. You can hold me as long as you want."
"Father, when will you take me out to play next time? I've been doing homework all day, it's so boring. It's really fun to go out today."
"When you take the next test and get A's in all your subjects, your father will take you out to play."
"Yeah, father, take me out to play. I will definitely get an A on the test. But father, can you take me alone? My brothers are so annoying."
"Okay, next time father will take you out to play alone. Let's go to the city to play, how about that?"
Xiao Yuting giggled happily and kissed Zhu Ying hard on the face several times.
After making a fuss for a while, Xiao Yuting was tired and her eyelids began to droop. She soon fell asleep on Zhu Ying's shoulder.
The palace maid waiting outside, following Zhu Ying's eye signal, gently took Xiao Yuting.
Then he bowed slightly to Zhu Ying and went to the back hall carrying Xiao Yuting.
Guo Zhong came in and reported, "Your Highness, Amona is here during the Zhenla period."
Zhu Ying nodded: "Let Concubine Dan go."
Guo Zhong bowed and said, "Yes, Your Highness."
It was naturally impossible for Amona to go to the back hall of Kunning Palace. In a situation like this, he would be received in the East Palace.
When Sultana heard that Amona had come to the palace to find her, she didn't think much about it and followed the eunuch.
After arriving at the main hall of the East Palace, Amona was finally allowed to meet the Sultana.
"Amona, why are you here? Did you bring me something good?"
After playing for half a day, Sultana was obviously in a good mood.
Miss Yunxia also came today. She played the zither and harp together and was very happy.
Yunxia was her music teacher, and she would often come to the palace to teach her music.
"Your Highness, Zhenla is in great danger. Please help me." Amona's voice was trembling and tears were about to come out.
Sultana asked in confusion, "What's going on? Isn't my brother already the king of Zhenla? He has also received help from Duke Cao of the Ming Dynasty. How could he be in danger?"
Amona quickly told the contents of the letter sent by His Majesty the King.
Especially when talking about how Zhenla almost lost its country, he almost cried out loud.
Sultana was also shocked. She didn't expect that so many things had happened in Zhenla during this period and the country was almost destroyed.
"I will go and ask the Crown Prince to send troops to teach the Ayutthaya Dynasty a severe lesson." Sultana was straightforward and she immediately stood up and went to Kunning Palace.
"Princess, you must not do this." Amona shouted without even having time to cry.
Sultana couldn't help but frown and said, "What's wrong with you again?"
Amona explained: "Princess, our countries such as Zhenla and Siam are all vassal states of the Ming Dynasty. Unless the laws of the Ming Dynasty are violated or the rules of the Ming Dynasty are violated, the Ming Dynasty will not directly intervene in the war."
"If the crown prince really sends troops to Zhenla because of the princess's plea, it will not be a good thing for Zhenla."
Sultana said irritably, "This won't work, and that won't work either. So what do you think we should do?"
Although Chanlie Popiyya once wanted to use Sultana to marry into the Lancang Kingdom, which made Sultana very unhappy, there was nothing he could do about it.
Later, she became the Crown Prince's consort and Sultana forgave her elder brother.
When they were young, they had a very good relationship, and the elder brother protected her most of the time.
When I was able to run to Ming Dynasty on my own initiative, many people opposed it. In the end, it was only with the support of my eldest brother that I was able to come.
Sultana was also very happy to hear that her elder brother had become king.
When she first met the crown prince, he promised her that he would send a large army to Zhenla and let their child become the king of Zhenla.
But after Xiao Wenzhen was born, Sultana no longer wanted to be like this.
She wanted to live in the capital with little Wenzhen.
This place is more prosperous than Angkor, and she doesn't want her son to go so far away.
So at this moment, Sultana really wanted to help her elder brother stabilize the situation in Zhenla.
Amona said hurriedly: "Princess, you can ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to send envoys to Zhenla to mediate the war between the two countries in the name of Ming Dynasty."
"There were many obstacles in the way of inheriting the throne. While removing these obstacles, our country also became weak. As long as we give it some time, I believe that with the ability of His Majesty the King, we will definitely be able to make Zhenla strong again."
Sultana nodded: "Okay, I will go and ask His Royal Highness for help."
After saying that, he was about to get up and leave, but then he paused, turned around and asked Amona, "Do you have the letter that my brother gave you with you?"
Hearing this, Amona quickly took out the letter from his sleeve: "Here is the letter."
As the Crown Prince's wife, Sultana naturally could not have direct contact with him, so the eunuch next to her hurried over and took the letter.
When Sultana saw the letter, she couldn't help but recall her daytime trip to Xuanwu Lake.
Xiao Wenzhen is already two years old.
While he was playing with his brothers, he suddenly came to Sultana and asked for letters.
It's not just Xiao Wenzhen.
Xiao Wenri and Xiao Wengao were also quarreling.
After asking, I found out that it was the little Wen Cham of Champa Princess Ananiyya. When they were playing together, he suddenly took out a letter and said that it was sent by his grandfather. He also said that when he grew up, he could go to his grandfather to play.
Xiao Wencheng and Xiao Yuting naturally wouldn't be envious.
The young intellectual born to Xu Miaojin often returns to the Xu residence, but that’s okay.
Little Xingxue has a very quiet personality, but she is extremely envious of little Wenri, born to Japanese princess Xiangzi, little Wengo, born to Goryeo princess Zhao Xiangxi, and little Wenzhen, born to Sultana.
It happened that her eldest brother also sent a letter, so Sultana wanted to send it to her son.
Amona felt relieved when he saw the princess leave in a hurry.
Now she is also very grateful that the princess was able to marry the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty.
If she were to marry into the Lancang Kingdom according to the previous plan, Zhenla would have to give up many interests before helping her, and she might not be able to ascend the throne smoothly.
Even if he ascended the throne, the Lancang Kingdom would definitely sit idly by in the current situation.
As for Sultana, she left the East Palace and went to look for Zhu Ying.
Just now in the main hall, Sultanah and Amona spoke Khmer, which the palace maids and eunuchs could not understand.
"Why are you here? Didn't I say I was going to the Crown Prince's place?"
Sultana questioned the eunuch.
There are two side doors in the alley next to Kunning Palace, one leading to the main hall and the other leading to the back hall.
The eunuch leading the way missed the side door of the main hall and went to the side door of the back hall.
The eunuch knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, according to the rules, it is presumptuous for you to go directly to the main hall like this. You must get the permission of the Crown Prince's Consort."
Sultana then remembered that there was indeed such a rule.
She seldom went to see the Crown Prince directly. Sultana had a more direct personality, otherwise when she first met Zhu Ying, she would have had sex with him without knowing anything.
"Well, let's go find my sister for help first."
"I don't know who will sleep with me today. I have to switch with her."
Sultana said to herself.
In the back hall, Ye Yueqing naturally would not make things difficult for Sultana.
But what a coincidence, today it is Princess Xiangzi of Japan.
Originally it was her turn yesterday, but Ananya asked her to switch it to today.
And now, Sultana has come to see Princess Xiangzi again.
She didn't know about what happened to Ananiya last night. Usually, Sultana was studying music scores, or Yunxia from Wenxiang Pavilion came to teach.
Xiangzi is only a little over 1.5 meters tall, which is the normal height in Japan.
In front of Sultana, who has 1.75-meter-tall legs, he is like a little child.
Xiangzi's presence is very weak among these concubines, and her personality is very gentle, which may have a lot to do with her previous living environment.
Faced with Sultana's request, Xiangzi would not and did not know how to refuse.
She just felt a little regretful in her heart, because Sultana's rotation day was the day after tomorrow, and she could only see the Crown Prince the day after tomorrow.
evening.
Zhu Ying knew that he would not be able to wait for the little Lolita to come today.
Long legs are nice too.
Sultana was probably a little anxious, so she pounced on Zhu Ying as soon as she saw him.
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