It is obvious that Wu Ning was more of a mascot to the court officials. In such a grand event, Wu Ning's task was simply to highlight the strength of the Ming Dynasty, which was also his most important task.
In truth, Wu Ning himself was numb and had accepted his fate. Not to mention in front of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he could even feel the contempt and disdain shown towards him by the officials of the Ming Dynasty.
But there really was no other way. After all, the Ryukyu Kingdom of Chuzan was just a tiny place, hardly worth mentioning. If it weren't for the Ming Dynasty needing a role model, Wu Ning might not have received such treatment.
In the imperial court, Wu Ning apologized for his unauthorized succession to the throne. The magnanimous Emperor Ying Shi merely reprimanded Wu Ning and then granted his request to succeed to the throne.
This could be considered a formal establishment, even though the states of Zhongshan, Shannan, and Shanbei had previously paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty and become its vassal states. However, many people knew that this was merely a nominal arrangement.
But this time was different; this was the real commencement of the investiture ceremony for the Zhongshan Kingdom. From now on, any new king of Zhongshan would naturally be required to accept investiture from the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty would naturally send officials to preside over the ceremony.
This system of tribute and investiture signifies that the Ming Dynasty and the Zhongshan Kingdom had truly established a vassal relationship, which was no small matter.
For the Ming Dynasty, they also had some requirements for the Zhongshan Kingdom, and many ceremonies also required certain standards.
There is a need to construct a city gate to welcome the Ming Dynasty envoys, and the capital of the Zhongshan Kingdom needs to begin preparations to be built according to the standards of a Ming Dynasty prince's residence. The Zhongshan Kingdom also needs to begin preparations to truly follow some of the rules and regulations of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yunying also bestowed the surname 'Shang' upon the lineage of the ruler of Zhongshan Kingdom, which changed the history of Ryukyu Kingdom, which only had given names and no surnames.
For example, modifications were needed to conform to the reign titles of the Ming Dynasty, the clothing and etiquette of the Ming Dynasty, and even the written language. Establishing a tributary relationship was not simply a matter of bestowing a golden seal; there were many details that needed to be considered.
The civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty were honored. Although Zhongshan was a small country, it became a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty in a true sense, which was different from the vassal states of Tori and Fuyue in Japan.
As for Zhu Yunying, he appeared very calm, so the ruler or his ministers of Zhongshan didn't need to feel any resentment. This was the norm; the saying "weak states have no diplomacy" wasn't explicitly mentioned, but many people understood it.
In fact, not to mention the Zhongshan Kingdom, the same applies to the Central Plains dynasties; national strength is the fundamental factor.
When a nation is powerful, like the Western Han or Tang dynasties, it naturally attracts envoys from all over the world. Envoys of the Ming Dynasty dared to kill the monarch in the court of a small kingdom in the Western Regions, and envoys of the Western Han Dynasty could intimidate all disobedient subjects simply by virtue of their status. The Tang Dynasty was no less powerful, with surrounding small kingdoms submitting to it and considering it an honor to enter Chang'an.
But what if the strength was weak? The Northern Song Dynasty was bullied by the Liao Dynasty, and even the Western Xia dared to provoke them. As for the emperor being presented as a prisoner, and the empress, concubines, princesses, or daughters of high-ranking officials being reduced to slaves in the laundry palace and abused, this was an utter disgrace.
Ultimately, it all comes down to strength, whether for the central dynasties or the smaller neighboring states. Strong power makes everything easier; insufficient power is a different story.
Wu Ning understood this principle, and naturally, all the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty could understand it as well.
The emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty were all proud of this. They knew that the Ming Dynasty was powerful and strong, and that it was developing towards becoming even more powerful. This powerful empire was now showing signs of attracting tribute from all nations, and it seemed unstoppable.
Little Zhu happily donned his armor, a sword hanging at his waist, surrounded by a group of fully armored young men. These were all meritorious guards of the Ming Dynasty, the eldest sons and grandsons of military families, only they were qualified to serve Little Zhu.
If it were the eldest son or the second son, then he could only be an ordinary guard, serving as a palace guard in the capital.
Little Zhu, his expression excited and proud, said, "Our Great Ming Dynasty is at its peak, all thanks to His Majesty the Retired Emperor who opened up the world and His Majesty the Emperor who is wise and powerful! You must not slack off and disgrace the name of our fathers and grandfathers!"
Those who could appear before Little Zhu were naturally all children from absolutely reliable martial arts families, and were carefully selected. Apart from a very few mediocre ones, most of them had good aptitude.
In fact, many military families are the same; they spare no effort in cultivating successors and their eldest sons. It doesn't matter if the other children eat, drink, and have fun; they can live a life of wealth and leisure. But the successor must have certain abilities.
Even if we don't strive to surpass our ancestors' achievements, we must at least ensure that our family's reputation remains intact. We must not follow the example of Marquis Deqing. He was once a high-ranking and illustrious marquis, but now he cannot even inherit the title. He is the most typical negative example.
Military families naturally possess certain advantages, but apart from a very few families whose titles are inherited without fail, the system of downgrading the succession also puts pressure on many military families, spurring them to continue to work hard so that they do not become mediocre.
Zhu Yunying didn't need to pay too much attention to what was happening at the training ground, because little Zhu could do what interested him and continue to grow patiently.
Zhu Yunying, however, was different. As emperor, he had many political affairs to handle. In particular, he had just conferred the title of Wu Ning, and now he needed to encourage and appease Wu Ning, the ruler of Zhongshan.
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