Chapter 254 The Celestial Empire is not self-proclaimed
In the main hall, after Zhang Yan conveyed Zhu Cixiang's will, all the civil and military officials were furious, obviously they couldn't accept it in their hearts.
They are not opposed to trade with other Western countries, and cultural exchanges are also possible, but establishing equal relations between the two sides is really unacceptable to them.
Obviously, the idea of the Celestial Empire has long been deeply ingrained. In their view, there is no country in the world that is qualified to be on an equal footing with the Ming Dynasty.
"I am reporting to the Queen Mother. According to my understanding, among the Western Yi countries, the largest one is equivalent to a province of our Ming Dynasty. The smaller one is not even as large as a state capital, and the population is incomparable. How can such a small country be as big as
Can we, the Ming Dynasty, who are rich all over the world, establish an equal relationship?"
Seeing Ma Shiying's wink, the Minister of Rites had no choice but to bite the bullet and go out to start the sermon.
With the Minister of Rites taking the lead, everyone also stood up and agreed, saying that the Western Yi countries were not qualified to establish an equal relationship with the Ming Dynasty.
Even if the countries do not directly claim vassalage and want to formally trade with the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty must be higher than other countries. This is concretely reflected in the credential of each country. When calling the Ming Dynasty, it must be called the upper country and the lower country.
Zhu Cixi had already anticipated this situation and gave Zhang Yan a countermeasure. Therefore, although Zhang Yan also agreed with the opinions of these ministers, he could only say: "Dear sirs, since ancient times, I have been the honorific title of the emperor of China.
, it is not self-proclaimed, and the coming of all nations to the court is not forced, but the foreigners at home and abroad admire our Chinese culture and take the initiative to send envoys to pay tribute and request for canonization!"
"Nowadays, although our Ming Dynasty is rich in the world, it is still the most powerful empire and the most splendid civilization in the world, but it also has many shortcomings. However, the Western Yi countries, although small, also have many merits. It is our
It is beyond the reach of Ming Dynasty."
After Zhang Yan finished speaking, seeing the dissatisfaction on everyone's faces, she had to continue: "My dear friends, if nothing else, let me talk about these Xiyi people. They are thousands of miles away and have been here in Ming Dynasty for dozens or hundreds of years.
, but so far, has anyone from our Ming Dynasty set foot in the land of Western Yi?
He is already on his own, but I don’t know him. This alone is enough to show that our Ming Dynasty has fallen behind in terms of mutual understanding. Even the Western Yi countries are small and have few people, and all your dear friends have learned from those Western Yi.
The Yi people know it, but who can be sure that they are not deceiving our Ming Dynasty? Who can be sure that they are definitely weaker than our Ming Dynasty?"
Everyone was speechless. Although they wanted to refute a few words, they didn't know how to refute.
Of course, everyone understands that these words must have come from His Majesty, and the Queen Mother is just a mouthpiece.
Immediately, Zhang Yan waved her hand, and a huge globe was carried up. This was made by Zhu Cixiang based on the memory of his previous life. Although it was very rough and only roughly marked the continents, it still shocked everyone.
light.
Everyone saw that besides the Ming Dynasty, there were so many vast lands. Especially after a eunuch explained, everyone learned that a large part of other lands were occupied by the Three Kingdoms of the West. Their eyes were widened.
I couldn't help but feel a sense of anxiety in my heart.
"My dear friends, do you still think that the three Western Yi countries are small countries? If our Ming Dynasty continues to be arrogant and stubborn, it won't be long before 99% of this huge world will be occupied by the Western Yi people.
What qualifications do we have to call it a central country or a heavenly country?
I’m afraid that by then, it will really become the country of Yelang.”
Zhang Yan also became a little excited when she said this. It was obvious that the globe touched her very much.
Because in order to stimulate everyone, Zhu Cixi marked the Americas, Australia, Africa and other continents with the symbols of the Three Kingdoms. It should be as dazzling as possible.
Especially the large islands in Nanyang, right at the doorstep of the Ming Dynasty, make people furious at the sight of them.
Good guy, the Three Kingdoms are thousands of miles apart, and they have expanded their territory and reached the doorstep of Ming Dynasty, but they have no idea about it. They still know nothing about the situation of the Three Kingdoms. Just thinking about it makes my spine shiver.
"Alas! The splendid glory of our Chinese civilization and the honorific title of the Celestial Kingdom were all obtained by our Chinese ancestors in the past generations. These thousands of miles of territory were continuously developed by our ancestors. But now looking at this globe, I feel deeply...
I feel ashamed, even ashamed, I and other descendants are really unfilial."
Zhang Yan sighed and said with some embarrassment and emotion. These are what Xinger wanted to say. Although it was quite embarrassing, she had to say it.
Sure enough, when the Queen Mother said this and looked at the dazzling globe, everyone present lowered their heads in shame.
"Well, I hope that in the future you, my dear friends, will no longer rest on the achievements of our ancestors and be complacent, let alone be blindly arrogant. Instead, we should understand and understand the world with a humble attitude, and then make up for ourselves.
The shortcomings of our work will make all countries in the world admire our Chinese culture. Only in this way will the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of the Middle Kingdom truly deserve its title. Only after your death can you have the dignity to meet our Chinese ancestors!"
"My Holy Emperor!"
Zuo Liangyu was the first to bow to the ground and shouted.
Everyone else also knelt down and worshiped.
Although these words came out of Zhang Yan's mouth, they were a bit awkward and lacked a sense of courage, but they still made everyone feel an inexplicable impulse.
The first was Ma Shiying, whose vision and realm immediately rose to a higher level. His ambition was no longer simply to be a minister of the Ming Dynasty and to revitalize the Ming Dynasty, and to be famous throughout the ages.
Second is Zuo Liangyu. In the past, his highest pursuit was to become a famous general who could rival Huo Qubing. Of course he dared to have such an idea. The main reason was that the current emperor had the ambition to be as ambitious as Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
But now, looking at this situation, I feel that I have a chance to surpass those ancient famous generals.
Because His Majesty's huge ambition can be seen from the globe he made. In addition, Your Majesty is young, and there are simply too many opportunities to expand the territory in the future.
Seeing that no one objected anymore, Zhang Yan breathed a sigh of relief. After explaining the negotiations between the Ministry of Rites and Portugal, she announced her withdrawal from the court.
After Rhodes learned about Ming's attitude, he felt mixed. What he was happy about was that Ming was willing to have equal trade exchanges with Portugal, allowed Portugal to establish an embassy, and allowed their Portuguese warships, soldiers and civilians to continue to stay in Macau, although it was not as good as before.
We are free, but as long as we can continue to trade with the Ming Dynasty, everything else doesn't matter.
What is worrying is that Ming Dynasty actually wants to give the Netherlands and Spain the same treatment. This will completely eliminate Portugal's advantage. Under fair competition, Portugal will definitely not be able to compete with the two countries.
Rhodes' original plan, or Portugal's plan, was for Portugal to completely monopolize the trade with the Ming Dynasty, at least on the surface, and strive to be the first dealer in trade with the Ming Dynasty, with the Netherlands and Spain as the second dealer, and the rest of Europe
Countries are the main culprits.
However, the ideal is very full, but the reality is a bit cruel.