Suddenly hearing the news that the Japanese envoys had arrived, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanyi were both shocked. The matter was not reported. How could Zhu Zhanyi know about it first?
Zhu Zhanju said slowly: "On the way here, I met the official who came to the palace to report. He said that five envoys from Japan had arrived outside the city gate, so I asked him to go back and send a message to Guanglu Temple to receive them.
"
The father and son looked at each other, and this was even more wrong.
Without even receiving information about docking, and without issuing permission, the missionaries arrived outside the capital? This is not in line with diplomatic procedures and diplomatic etiquette.
It stands to reason that these overseas missions must first send a boat to inform the local government before docking, and the government will send envoys to Beijing to report. Of course, the distance to report may vary, so many times they send people to Beijing while doing so.
The mission was first allowed to dock and enter the specially established Huitong Pavilion.
[Huitong Pavilion] will be responsible for arranging all matters for envoys to meet the emperor. The Ming Dynasty stipulated that foreign envoys must first learn etiquette to meet the emperor, and they can only meet the emperor after they are familiar with the relevant etiquette.
After checking into the Huitong Pavilion, the emperor would send out invitations to meet them, and then the emperor would choose a time for them to come and pay homage to them.
After the audience was over, the Hui Tong Guan had to be responsible for sending them to the ship and sailing out to sea.
But this time, there was no invitation to meet the famous people, no report from the local government, and no company to accompany the delegation. The Japanese envoys arrived outside Yingtian Mansion just like this?
Both Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanchen realized that something was wrong, which was completely inconsistent with diplomatic habits and etiquette.
"Come here, arrest those people who pretended to be Japanese missionaries and put them in jail for severe interrogation."
Zhu Zhanquan was stunned. He didn't know much about diplomatic etiquette and didn't understand why.
It can be seen that although Zhu Zhanzhen had to sleep a lot in class, whether it was etiquette or knowledge, he still remembered a lot of things when he was awake with his photographic memory. And this second brother who pretended to work hard, was in the classroom
"Father, the matter has not yet been decided. It doesn't hurt to take a look first. There must be a monster when something goes wrong. If these five people are pretending to be detectives, it will not be too late to arrest them. But we can make some lies. How did they avoid so many eyes and ears?
, all the way directly to the outside of Yingtian Mansion?"
Zhu Gaochi thought deeply for a while: "First, order someone to take them into the hall. Zhan Ming, you take people to explore the bottom and bring a few with good skills."
"Father, what's going on?" Zhu Zhanchen was still a little confused.
Zhu Zhancheng had no choice but to explain what the five-member delegation had done that was not in line with etiquette and was not in line with routine visits. After that, Zhu Zhancheng was shocked.
"Father, I'm going too."
After looking Zhu Zhanchun up and down, Zhu Gaochi sighed: "Go and follow Zhanchun, but remember that you two should talk less and only meet and receive him as the emperor's grandson. I will send two experienced monks from Honglu Temple.
Let’s go together.”
…
At the gate of the imperial city, two young ministers from Honglu Temple were waiting in coats. One of them was thin and short, while the other was much taller.
The thin little man stamped his feet to avoid the cold soles of his feet: "Wang Feng, what do you mean the Crown Prince asked us to accompany the two His Highnesses this time?"
Wang Feng replied: "I don't know, your two highnesses are now assisting in supervising the country. You should calm down your donkey temper and don't be stubborn in front of the two highnesses."
"I, Zhang Yu, don't have the temper of a donkey. Don't talk nonsense in front of His Highness."
"Don't say bad words later and stay polite."
While the two were talking, the two royal highnesses came down in sedan chairs.
"I have met His Highness the Second and His Highness the Fifth Highness."
"You two young gentlemen, let's talk on the way."
After changing the carriage, Zhang Yu spoke first: "Your Highness, Second Highness and Fifth Highness, I wonder what this peace is about?"
Zhu Zhanzhen told the Japanese mission about it. Zhang Yu and Wang Feng obviously looked wrong. Zhang Yu had a bad temper and said directly: "Your Highness, the Japanese mission does not know the etiquette and does not respect the Ming Dynasty. Let's just send troops to arrest them."
.”
"I second the proposal."
Zhu Zhanzhen said: "The two young ministers are absolutely right. After discussing with the prince yesterday, we originally wanted to arrest him and put him in jail, but we also thought that the envoy might be a fake one."
"Fake? Why do the thieves have such courage?" Zhang Yu was furious.
"Young Master, please be patient. The Japanese delegation this time did not observe etiquette. If they are daring thieves to impersonate them, let's find out their origins and how they bypassed all the checkpoints to get to the gate of our Yingtian Mansion."
Wang Feng and Zhang Yu thought about it: "What His Highness said is absolutely true. If they are fake, these people are really brave."
"Now I don't know whether they are pretending or deliberately disrespecting the etiquette. Just being able to avoid the eyes and ears of Yingtian Mansion is enough to be vigilant. Therefore, we need more help from the two young ministers today. You two are responsible for the interview with foreign ministers. For
It is best to understand the etiquette in detail. Later, just treat them as if they are envoys who are here to see them. Write down all the things that are inconsistent with the etiquette and distinguish them one by one."
"Your Highness Shengming."
Zhu Zhancheng was not happy when he saw the heated conversation between Zhu Zhancheng and the two young ministers. He had no chance to speak at all. Zhu Zhancheng had arranged everything. What did Zhu Zhancheng do? What credit did he get?
Zhu Zhanzhen alone cannot steal the limelight.
Zhu Zhanjun thought for a moment and said, "You two young gentlemen, you can test their origins in your words."
"Your Highnesses, don't worry."
When we arrived outside the Huitong Hall, this is the place where foreign guests are received. Foreign guests entering the Huitong Hall are not allowed to bring any weapons, and even any sharp objects will be confiscated.
In the morning, the Japanese mission had just checked into the Huitong Pavilion. In the afternoon, the young minister of Honglu Temple and the two imperial grandsons of the Ming Dynasty came. This treatment was not even expected by the people in the Huitong Pavilion.
Before entering, Zhu Zhanzhen gave instructions to the guard Yang Song who came with him. Now Yang Song is almost his personal guard. He is good at martial arts and loyal. Zhu Zhanzhen asks him to be his guard every time he leaves the palace.
"The six of you will observe carefully later. If there is anything wrong, take action."
"Understood, Your Highness."
A few people stepped in, and five Japanese people came out to greet them. The leader was a young man, about 1.5 meters tall, but his face was mature.
"Jili Gua La, Wu Gua Wu Gua..." The man said something in Japanese, and the man behind him came out to translate.
"Your Highness the Second Highness, Your Highness the Fifth Highness, and the two Young Lords, this is Ashikaga Yoshitsune, the younger brother of our Japanese General Ashikaga Yoshitomichi. I was just greeting your two Highnesses."
Wang Feng nodded. He can speak Japanese.
Zhu Zhanchen stretched out his hand to signal the two young ministers of Honglu Temple to communicate with the Japanese people.
Zhang Yu then said: "Your Excellency is an Ashikaga man, and we have heard the name of the Japanese General many times. Your Excellency's father ended the division of the Northern and Southern Dynasties and completed the reunification of the country. He was the master of the ZTE. In the 25th year of Hongwu, he established an alliance with the Great Ming Dynasty.
Tomorrow's official trade relations, the two countries have been good neighbors and friends for many years, and His Highness the Crown Prince also asked us to entertain His Excellency Ashikaga Yoshitaka well when he came this time."
After a while of chattering, the translator said: "Thanks to the great kindness of His Majesty the Ming Emperor, Ashikaga General told us that in addition to visiting, we also need to meet with His Majesty the Emperor to present our country's national treasure sword Taimitsu."
After only one round of question and answer, the two Honglu Temple young ministers looked at each other and knew that the other party had a problem.
The official trade relationship between Japan and Ming Dynasty was true, but it was not during the Hongwu period, but the early Yongle period, and there was an unrecognized Jianwen era name in the middle.
Kanhe trade is also called "tribute ship trade". After the maritime ban was implemented in the early Ming Dynasty, only foreign countries were allowed to conduct tribute trade with the Ming court with specified time and place.
Foreign merchant ships came to China carrying tributes and local products. The Ming court collected the tributes and purchased the goods, then repaid the foreign merchants with the Chinese goods they needed in the form of "state gifts."
This is a very important matter for both countries. Even Ashikaga Yoshitsune, who is the younger brother of the general, does not know it, but as an accompanying envoy, it is impossible not to know this, because it is related to when to pay tribute.
What are you doing here? You don’t even know when you will come to pay tribute and trade, so what do you need as an envoy?
The identity of this group of people is 100% questionable, and the envoys accompanying them did not even know about such a major event.
The two young ministers were experienced and did not alert the enemy: "Your Excellency Ashikaga Yoshitsune has had a hard time on this trip. However, we have not received a report from the coastal yamen, so we don't know where you docked."
Several people were obviously prepared and answered fluently.
"Our ship encountered wind and waves and ran aground near Zhoushan Island. We met kind-hearted fishermen who took us to the shore and then came all the way here."
It is full of loopholes. This is because they do not understand the process of meeting envoys at all. It is too bold to dare to pretend to be Japanese without doing any homework.
I thought it would take a verbal exchange to figure it out, but the other party obviously didn't understand anything, so there was no need to continue the conversation after just a few words. It was much easier than expected.
Wang Feng calmly walked to the side of the two His Highnesses and lowered his voice and said: "This group of people must be fake, and they don't understand the procedures of national diplomacy at all. They may be pirates or bandits. Your Highnesses should take action directly."
Zhu Zhanzhen glanced at Yang Song. While Zhang Yu was still communicating with the Japanese "mission", Yang Song and others had surrounded several people. In just one breath, several guards would capture him.
Already.
The "Japanese Mission" unloaded all its equipment before moving into the Huitong Hall. Yang Song and others directly drew their swords and struck them on the neck without even giving them a chance to resist.
The translator of the "Japanese Mission" saw this sudden change of situation, and his face was full of anger: "Is this how the Ming Dynasty treated foreign guests? It's such a big country, and it has no style." The other people's faces were full of astonishment.
Zhu Zhanzhen and Zhu Zhankun stood up and ignored him. Zhang Yu yelled: "Where did the thief Xiaoxiao come from? He dared to pretend to be an envoy at the risk of his life."
"You are slandering people and trying to murder other countries' missions."
Zhang Yu patted the man on the head: "You don't even know when the two countries will open up trade, and you still dare to pretend to be an envoy. In your Japanese language, it's a bad road."
"That...that's what I remembered wrong."
"What should be the first step for the mission to dock?" Zhang Yu asked casually.
"I...I..." Apparently the man was afraid of answering wrongly, so he hesitated and didn't dare to say.
"Report it to the local officials, Baga Ya Road." Zhang Yu said with a sneer.
"Your Highness, please take him to prison for interrogation."
At this time, Yang Song saw the brand on the neck of the other envoy, pulled off his clothes and said: "Your Highness, this is the brand of a Japanese slave."