Dianke Mansion.

As one of the important departments of Jiuqing, Dianke's status is not as good as that of Fengchang, but it is definitely not lower. Basically, if you can serve as the chief officer of Dianke, it is considered a formal three-gong reserve. Many three-gong in the Han Dynasty are

Selected from Fengchang, Dianke, and imperial servants.

In the past, the main tasks of Dianke were only responsible for liaison with the princes, entertainment, banquets, etc. Although foreign affairs were also under their names, they were not their main responsibilities. With the expansion of the Han Dynasty's power, more and more people

The foreign countries established diplomatic relations with the Han Dynasty, and the powers of Dianke gradually moved in the direction of diplomacy.

China has realized the importance of diplomacy very early on. Before Dianke changed his name and was called Daxingling, there were already among his main officials who were responsible for translating language and responsible for external affairs.

Those who write letters and understand foreign customs.

They could translate for the foreign kings who came to pay tribute to the Emperor of Zhou, allowing them to communicate. They could even write the letters of the Emperor of Zhou in foreign languages. They would also remind diplomats of some foreign taboos and avoid unnecessary

dispute.

It can be said that China has established a relatively complete diplomatic system thousands of years ago, and this system was mainly established in the Qin Dynasty. The main function of the Qin Dynasty's Dian Ke was diplomacy, not tribute from princes. As for why...then

This is because Qin has no princes.

Therefore, the Qin Dynasty also directly changed the name of the Daxing Order to Dianke, indicating that his department had nothing to do with Zhou's department. As for the Dianke of the Han Dynasty... although the name is the same as Qin, the department is the same as Qin, and the official deployment is the same as Qin

, even their salaries are the same as Qin's, but there is absolutely no relationship.

At least Emperor Gao and the Elder did not recognize this.

Compared with Emperor Gao's copying, the elder made some changes. For example, he set up a special pedestrian army and gave Dianke military power so that they could have better room for performance. Although the officials were quite dissatisfied with this, they could

But the elder asked: What diplomacy can we do without an army?

With the pedestrian army, Dianke Mansion also won many times in subsequent diplomatic activities. They explored everywhere and had a very complete understanding of Shendu. They even had a complete map of the Shendu area, and how much knowledge they had about them.

We have a detailed understanding of the county, how many countries, and how strong it is.

This is enough to give them an advantage in subsequent foreign affairs.

King Baicheng was taken to the Dianke Mansion early this morning, where he discussed with the officials of Dianke Mansion the matter of formal tribute. Although King Baicheng and His Majesty hit it off and had a very happy relationship, the matter of paying tribute was not

Liu Chang had the final say and had to pass through Dianke Mansion.

Now the chief officer of Dianke Mansion, Feng Jing, is not in Chang'an. He is not even in Han Dynasty. He has gone to the Peacock Kingdom and stayed with the Peacock King. There, he can be better responsible for the affairs of body poisoning, and currently in

The person in charge of Dianke is his Zuocheng.

King Baicheng walked into the Dianke Mansion with a smile, but after entering, he couldn't help laughing, because the people here looked very serious. Different from the smiling faces of other departments, the officials here looked very serious.

Everyone is very serious and unsmiling.

They looked like the soldiers who had escorted him, and they were particularly cold.

The original excitement of King Baicheng was suppressed at this moment, and he became a little more serious. Under the leadership of an official, he came to the innermost room. There were three people in the room, one of whom was holding a pen and ink.

, kneeling and sitting on the left side, and another person standing on the right side, motionless.

As for the person sitting in the upper seat, he was a young man, tall, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, a short beard, and sharp eyes. The moment King Bai Cheng walked in, the young man stared at him without taking his eyes away.

King Baicheng hurriedly bowed to see him. The young man stood up and returned the greeting, and then asked him to sit next to him. The one on the right was a translator, who was responsible for translating the young man's words to King Baicheng.

"It has been more than twenty days since you came to Dahan. Why don't you come to Dianke Mansion to report?"

"I have no one to tell me. Besides, I have always been with His Majesty..."

"Why, you stayed with His Majesty for twelve hours?! You can't smoke?

Are you coming to visit us on a certain date?"

This young man is very aggressive and doesn't seem to be easy to talk to.

The King of Hundreds of Vehicles had no choice but to lower his head and admit his mistake, "I didn't come earlier, please forgive me."

"Well, it's okay. If you want to pay tribute to the Han Dynasty, you must know the laws of the Han Dynasty and the etiquette of the Han Dynasty. If you cannot abide by it, you are not qualified to pay tribute to the Han Dynasty. The power of the Han Dynasty is mighty, and its kindness is like rain and dew.

A country of virtue cannot tolerate this!"

"You're right."

"Although our country is small, we are willing to offer 500,000 shi of cotton, 100,000 shi of spices, and 100,000 shi of leather to the big man..."

Before King Bai Cheng finished speaking, the young man interrupted him directly. The young man said with some displeasure: "Do you think the big man is coveting the things you offered? The big man has a vast land and rich resources. There is nothing that the big man wants.

It’s your sincere surrender!”

King Baicheng was shocked and hurriedly apologized and changed his words, "I have admired the Holy Emperor for a long time. I am willing to submit to the emperor and become a prince under His Majesty. I will abide by the etiquette and laws of the Han Dynasty and become a Han Dynasty..."

After he expressed his loyalty, the young man's face became much better. He nodded, "Yes, yes, as long as you sincerely submit, the big man will not treat you badly. The Holy Emperor once sent someone to bring a message to let you know.

We accept your tribute, the Holy Emperor likes you very much."

"On weekdays, there are many foreign kings who come to Dianke Mansion to pay tribute, but we do not accept all of them. The Han Dynasty does not judge the tributary countries based on whether they have any resources, but whether their kings are virtuous...to see whether they treat His Majesty.

loyalty."

"In the future, you can send people to trade with the Han Dynasty, and you can buy the Han Dynasty's military equipment. If you are attacked, the Han Dynasty will send troops to protect you. You will become his Majesty's minister, the country of the Han Dynasty... You can send your domestic talents to come to Taihan.

Let them learn the knowledge of the Han Dynasty, but the examination of Taixue is extremely harsh and the number of places is limited..."

"Be careful when you dispatch someone."

"only"

The young man with King Baicheng's eyes full of expectation said again: "The Han Dynasty has many things that you have never seen in your life, which can greatly increase your national power. However, these things are also limited, and the Han Dynasty has many tributary countries. This is also

It depends on your performance..."

This young man drew a huge pie for King Baicheng. According to the young man, trading with the Han Dynasty was the best way to improve their national power. This is the case in the Peacock Kingdom. Even their original cotton cannot be sold. Look at it.

Now, the price of their cotton has soared, those who grow it have made money, and their taxes have increased significantly.

In fact, this young man did not lie. The Peacock Kingdom did rely on the Han Dynasty to drive a wave of domestic economy. However, the price was actually suppressed very low by the Han Dynasty. Although there were fluctuations due to changes in supply and demand, it could be processed.

The prices of goods have also become expensive. Generally speaking, the biggest beneficiaries are the big men.

It's just that they didn't engage in independent production, and none of the ten Peacock Kingdoms could compare with the Han Dynasty, so they could only repay the capital through the export of raw materials.

The King of Baicheng became more and more excited as he listened, and a smile appeared on his face again.

The young man then said: "Originally, according to the etiquette, this tribute was to be completed in one year, but since the Holy Emperor ordered it, we had to make an exception... Here is a set of clothes of the Han princes, festivals, and battles in the future.

, you have to hold a ceremony at Changxin Hall to surrender to His Majesty. After the ceremony, you will officially become a tributary country of the Han..."

"I dare not forget the kindness of the Holy Emperor!"

The King of Baicheng said, and then praised: "God of the Son of Heaven, how can I be so virtuous and capable that I can win the love of the Son of Heaven? I have heard a lot of rumors about the Son of Heaven, they are like myths!"

"The rumors about the Emperor? Then you have found the right person today. Let me tell you, I grew up with Your Majesty since childhood. I know the Emperor's affairs best..."

King Baicheng was shocked and asked hurriedly: "I wonder who you are?"

"I am the son of Jianghou, Dian Ke Ling, serving as Prime Minister Zhou Jian!"

"When Your Majesty was three or four years old, did you teach the then emperor how to govern the Han Dynasty?"

"Yes, who is your Majesty? Although he was young at that time, he was already deeply loved by Emperor Gao. He was less than four years old.

At the age of 18, Emperor Gao formulated several laws under his guidance. These laws are still in use today and have greatly strengthened the security of the Han Dynasty!"

"Then His Majesty participated in the war and defeated the Huns when he was six or seven years old. How did he do it?"

"When Your Majesty was young, the Xiongnu Chanyu once sent someone to deliver a letter. The content of the letter was extremely rude and the words used were very shameless. Your Majesty was furious and wrote back a letter. He argued hard and argued that after seeing the letter, he could not refute it.

, became angry from shame, attacked rashly, and was ultimately defeated."

Little stars almost twinkled in King Baicheng's eyes, "Then your Majesty became the most knowledgeable person in Chang'an when he was less than ten years old, and made everyone at that time run away when they saw him. How did you do this?"

Zhou Jian hesitated for a moment this time, and then said hurriedly: "Your Majesty showed extraordinary talent when he was young. Emperor Gao invited the best teachers to teach him, but those teachers said they could not teach your Majesty.

They all left one after another, and in the end, the only one who could teach Your Majesty was the most learned military strategist, Marquis Huaiyin."

"The knowledge of Marquis Huaiyin is the most famous in the Han Dynasty. Everyone knows it, but even a learned man like Marquis Huaiyin can never answer your Majesty's questions. Luan Bu, a Confucian, is still upset and regretful to this day.

Why didn’t I meet His Majesty earlier..."

King Baicheng was about to ask again, but Zhou Jian hurriedly stopped, "Ahem, we can continue to talk about these things later. For now, let's make the tribute matters clear."

"good!"

King Baicheng looked at Zhou Jian with unfinished thoughts and nodded. Zhou Jian couldn't help but mutter at this moment, good guy, you only need to brag a few times, why are you bragging so much? Fortunately, in these days,

Dianke has learned a lot, otherwise he would really not be able to achieve perfection...

...

There are currently three or four systems in the local system of the Han Dynasty. Needless to say, the county system is directly managed by temples. The vassal state is the second type. However, the current vassal state of the Han Dynasty is different from that of the Zhou Dynasty.

, the current officials of the vassal states are appointed by the temple.

Except for the first generation of princes and kings, all the princes and kings in various places are losing all their power. The first generation of princes and kings like Liu Bi, Liu Heng, and Liu Hui are still very powerful and can basically participate in various affairs in the country.

But by the second generation, such as Liu Xiang and Liu Yingke, they basically had no power, and domestic affairs were settled by the prime minister.

The state ministers of these second-generation princes and kings are basically the same as those of Han Dynasty governors.

The third type is foreign kings, such as Nanyue, the Western Regions, the Dian Kingdom, and even Shendu. They can also be counted among the foreign kings, but there are differences because the Han Dynasty has already done a good job in dealing with these foreign kings in Nanyue.
To be continued...