Upon attending court again, the Ministry of Rites first submitted a memorial regarding several matters. It could be said that Chadu of the Ryukyu Kingdom of Chuzan 'ignored' the Ming court's reprimand. He did not choose to come to court to plead guilty, and it seemed that he was still choosing to put up a stubborn resistance.
This naturally angered the Ming emperor and his ministers. Trying to guess the emperor's intentions was the duty of the ministers, and they should do so.
Many people are very familiar with Emperor Yingshi's personality. He may seem lenient in some matters, but deep down he also possesses the harshness of Emperor Hongwu. Especially towards the kingdoms surrounding the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yingshi was intolerant of any dissent.
This was the case with the Goryeo Dynasty of Joseon, which had not yet fully accepted investiture, and it was also the case with the previous Japanese emperor. Once an excuse was found, troops were dispatched directly without any courtesy.
Everyone in Japan knew that the Ming Dynasty had its eye on the silver mines, but they brought up the reasons why the Japanese Emperor dared to call himself Emperor, the reasons why the Japanese Emperor condoned the Japanese pirates' disturbances, and the reasons why the Japanese Emperor had previously refused to accept the Ming Dynasty's investiture, etc. These were all charges.
The situation in Goryeo was similar: Yi Seong-gye and his son usurped the throne. Even though the previous relationship between the Wang dynasty of Goryeo and the Ming dynasty was ambiguous, this investiture was merely a formality. Nevertheless, the Ming dynasty could still raise its royal banner and choose to send troops.
Everyone knows very well that there is no need for any reason with the Mongol Yuan Dynasty; they are mortal enemies, and if the strength is sufficient, they will send troops.
As for other countries, the Ming Dynasty only needed to find a reason to send troops.
The present-day Ryukyu Kingdom of Chuzan clearly gave the Ming Dynasty a reason, having previously accepted investiture from the Ming. Emperor Hongwu even granted thirty-six surnames from Fujian to Ryukyu, which formally established the relationship between the monarch and the subject.
Chadu has now crossed the line between the Ming Dynasty's ruler and his officials. His direct ascension to the throne isn't inherently problematic. However, his biggest issue is his failure to report to the Ming Dynasty after inheriting the throne and his evasiveness when questioned by the Ming court.
This is no small matter, so the Ming Dynasty court is now taking some seemingly extremely strict measures.
Chang Mao was furious and said, "Your Majesty, the ruler of Zhongshan has disregarded his sovereign and father. I believe that we should send a royal army to punish him!"
As Zhu Yunying's uncle and former Shandong Provincial Education Commissioner, Mei Yinyi said righteously, "Your Majesty, the ruler of Zhongshan is disloyal and unfilial, and has violated human ethics. I believe that the Vanguard Commandery should be ordered to mobilize the Fujian Provincial Military Command's naval forces to punish him."
This is the source of the Ming Dynasty's strength, and it reflects the shared mentality of its military leaders. Their current power naturally gives them a strong position. If any "disloyal" forces arise in the surrounding areas, the Ming Dynasty need not hesitate to launch a direct military campaign to subdue them—it's that simple.
Faced with the menacing aura of the military officers, Minister of Rites Chen Di stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that Ryukyu is far from our country, and its people are largely unfamiliar with the ways of the king, making it very difficult to subdue them. I believe that the path of Zhengshi is the foundation of the king's rule. The court should promote education and morality; weapons are instruments of violence!"
Yu Xin quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the most important war for the court at present is Goryeo. The court has a large number of troops and generals in Goryeo, and has spent countless amounts of food and money. If war breaks out again now, I'm afraid the Ministry of Revenue will have difficulty allocating funds and supplies."
This angered Feng Cheng, who said, "Minister Yu, I have heard that there have been bumper harvests every year in recent years, and all the tax grain has been stored in the granaries. Even if there are some battles in Goryeo, the court has not had to spend too much money and grain. If you can't even afford to send troops to the small Ryukyu Islands, then your position as Minister of Revenue is doomed!"
This sparked outrage among countless civil officials. Yu Xin, after all, was the Minister of Revenue, one of the most influential figures in the civil service. But now, this very Minister of Revenue was being directly reprimanded and even mocked by military officers.
Respect? Where is there any respect left? These military officers don't care about the dignity of civil officials at all.
This was originally a discussion about Ryukyu, but it has now turned into a denunciation of military officials and relatives of the emperor by civil officials.
Feng Cheng was not only a Duke of the Ming Dynasty, but also the Emperor's brother-in-law. His disregard for the dignity of civil officials was clearly arrogant and domineering. Or rather, one could say that Feng Cheng's attitude reflected the attitude of many military officers, who also disregarded civil officials in the same way.
This is a messy affair, and many people are aware of these matters. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. In the past, military officials often disregarded the dignity of civil officials in the same way. Reprimands and ridicule were minor matters; beatings were commonplace, and that's no secret.
It's only in these few years that the atmosphere has improved somewhat. In the early days of the founding of the dynasty, the situation of civil officials was much more difficult.
However, there have indeed been some changes. Civil officials are now speaking up a bit more. At least they dare to argue with military officials and even try to impeach some of them, which is a remarkable improvement. For many civil officials, this can be considered progress.
Zhu Yunying remained silent with a gloomy face, clearly unhappy, but that was all he seemed to be.
"Look at the state of the court! What kind of behavior are you all behaving like this!" Zhu Yunying suddenly became angry and shouted, "You are all subjects of the Ming Dynasty, yet you act like street vendors, making a ruckus like this! What kind of decorum is this!"
"We, your subjects, acknowledge our guilt."
"We deserve to die ten thousand times over."
Now the civil and military officials seemed to have straightened their posture, and one by one they knelt down to beg for forgiveness. The argument had been lively, but since the emperor was angry, they naturally needed to know what they should do.
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