Zhu Youjian was certain.
"That's good!"
"Guards, prepare to leave the palace!"
With his command, the troops left the palace and headed out of the city.
It took two full hours before we finally arrived at our destination.
The surrounding high platforms were already filled with envoys from various countries.
Yue Tuo was pulling a Mongol along and whispered to him, "Look at that little emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He can't lift a finger or carry anything. How could he possibly be a match for our Later Jin?"
"Please make sure you tell your Lin Danhan when you get back that only by forming an alliance with my Later Jin can he restore the glory of his ancestors."
"After all, the Yuan Dynasty was overthrown by the Ming Dynasty!"
The Mongol envoy nodded.
"Don't worry, I will definitely tell our Khan about this when I get back."
After Yue Tuo left satisfied, the Mongol envoy said to the person beside him:
"Hehe, the Ming Dynasty has not sent a large army north for many years since the Tumu Fortress incident."
"But you Manchus have always been eager to take on our Khorchin tribe."
"Normally you don't even give us Mongolians a second glance, so why are you taking the initiative to win us over now?"
"It's clear that you were truly badly hurt in your last battle against the Ming Dynasty."
"In my opinion, Huang Taiji didn't die of illness, but was truly killed by the Ming Dynasty!"
The other Mongols nodded in agreement.
"That's right."
"Then... Your Excellency, what should we do this time?"
The envoy shook his head slightly.
"We'll have to wait and see."
He glanced back at Zhu Youjian in the distance, a strange look in his eyes.
"If this young emperor is a normal person, then the Ming dynasty is definitely stronger than the Jin dynasty, and we should remain neutral in normal times."
"Once the Ming Dynasty is truly going to cross the border and destroy the Later Jin, we will go and help the Later Jin."
"But now it seems that this young emperor is not quite right in the head, actually believing in these ghost and god tales."
The envoy shook his head slightly.
"It seems that the Ming Dynasty will be unable to do anything to the Later Jin in the short term."
Hearing the envoy say this, the other Mongols nodded in agreement.
"The Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty does not believe in the Eternal Heaven, so his prayers for rain will naturally not yield any results."
The envoy's expression froze, and he sighed inwardly:
"These guys aren't thinking straight. What does this have to do with believing in any god?"
"The emperors of the Ming Dynasty often prayed for rain, but that was just to fool the common people; they never took it seriously."
"But now it seems that the young emperor actually took it seriously. This is very problematic!"
The envoy turned his head and looked intently at Zhu Youjian.
"However, this is actually a good thing for Mongolia."
On another high platform, several blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners were also keeping a close eye on Zhu Youjian.
"What did the Jesuits say? Where did the Italian cannon that the Ming Dynasty brought out last time come from?"
Johann Adam Schall von Bell quickly asked the person behind him.
Since he had seen Italy last time, although he was convinced, he didn't quite believe that Italy could produce such cannons.
So he hurriedly inquired everywhere.
Just then, Zhu Youjian issued an imperial edict summoning envoys from all directions to the capital.
So the Jesuits in the south sent monks to take the opportunity to meet Johann Adam Schall von Bell.
“We have inquired carefully, and neither Venice nor Genoa could possibly build such cannons.”
"As for Florence... hehe, the Medici family hasn't sponsored an inventor for over a hundred years, so it's even less likely they could have created this thing."
"So, this cannon isn't Italian?" Johann Adam Schall von Bell sighed. "Then where did it come from?"
The other foreigners all shook their heads.
"We don't know."
"Why don't we wait until after this ceremony is over before we go to see the emperor and ask him questions in person?"
"By the way, is the Ming emperor really going to pray for rain this time?"
These foreigners had arrived in the East long ago, so they were not unfamiliar with this matter.
Unlike other foreigners, they wouldn't shout and kill upon hearing about Eastern rituals, calling them heretical and evil gods.
But they still felt something was off.
"Does the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty believe that he is truly favored by the gods, and that is why he publicly prayed for rain?"
"If that's the case, then we should re-examine his mental state," someone whispered.
Upon hearing this, a flash of recollection crossed Johann Adam Schall von Bell's eyes as he recalled the scene from his last meeting with Zhu Youjian.
After a moment, he shook his head and said, "The emperor of the Ming Dynasty is very clear-headed. Apart from being a little too trusting of that Master Gao, he doesn't seem to have any mental problems."
"This time... I'm afraid he has other plans."
"But what is he really thinking?"
Johann Adam Schall von Bell also lowered his head and looked at Zhu Youjian, who had just come out, carefully examining him.
At this moment, Zhu Youjian seemed to realize something and suddenly frowned.
He looked around but couldn't see anything wrong.
So he gently shook his head.
"Hehe, it seems that envoys from all directions are very curious about me."
Upon hearing this, Luo Yangxing, who was standing next to him, quickly said:
"Your Majesty, these foreign envoys do not understand the etiquette of our Great Ming Dynasty. Please do not be angry."
According to Chinese custom, ordinary ministers are not allowed to look directly at the emperor.
Zhu Youjian waved his hand dismissively.
"Hehe, if they want to see, then let them see as much as they want."
"I know they're probably all waiting to see me make a fool of myself."
As he spoke, Zhu Youjian's gaze swept over the assembled officials of the Ming Dynasty.
After what happened last time, the officials of the Ming Dynasty dared not say anything reckless this time.
After all, they had already been humiliated when Li Ruolian and his men returned with their troops.
Even if these people have terrible memories, they shouldn't make such a series of embarrassing mistakes.
Zhu Youjian found it somewhat boring.
"They're lucky."
He walked onto the stage, looked around at the surrounding high platform, and suddenly felt a surge of excitement.
"Hmph, although the ministers have learned their lesson, these envoys still don't know."
"This time, I will show them that my Great Ming Dynasty is truly blessed by Heaven!"
Although the rain-praying cannonball was given to him by Gao Qingyun.
But in Zhu Youjian's heart, Gao Qingyun's relationship with God was ambiguous.
Everything Gao Qingyun told him or gave him.
It's all fate.
"Men, fire the cannons at me!"
The news quickly reached Li Zicheng's ears.
He smiled憨厚ly: "Your Majesty's words sound somewhat familiar."
“I think I heard a story before when Master Gao told us last time.”
Li Zicheng turned and walked to the Italian cannon, taking a deep breath as Gao Qingyun had told him in the story.
Then they shouted, "Fire!"
At his command, a servant immediately ran over, loaded the cannonball into the breech, and fired it into the sky.
The thunderous sound of cannons spread instantly.
Many of the envoys in the surrounding stands felt uneasy.
What's all this noise?
"Could it be that the gods are angry!"
Hearing these comments, Yue Tuo shook his head dismissively.
"These people are just ignorant!"
But he was actually a little scared.
Yue Tuo stared at the spot where the cannon had just fired, thinking to himself, "Is this the cannon that killed Huang Taiji last time?"
"This cannon is indeed powerful!"
"But that little emperor is dreaming if he thinks he can use this thing to pray for rain... Hmm?"
Just as he was thinking about this, he suddenly felt a chill on his scalp.
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