Chapter 281 The Japanese Return to Japan (1) The Difficulty Is Not Conquering
Going to Hanyang? I definitely want to go to Hanyang, but the things at hand are still a little unfinished, so it seems a bit early to go to Hanyang now.
If he wants to go to Hanyang, Gao Pragmatic believes that he should do it after he has completely recovered the Korean Peninsula. At that time, he will take over the great success of survival and victory, and with the power of defeating the Japanese pirates, he will come to Hanyang like a god descending.
By that time, no matter what decision he makes, no one in the Korean court will dare to question it, no one will dare to disobey it, and he will truly achieve the legendary respect and authority of "speaking of the constitution of heaven, and following the law when he speaks."
So, I can’t go now; but I need to be able to go as soon as possible.
In this way, the Battle of Busan should be accelerated and cannot be delayed any longer - even if the most secure plan that had been prepared before was abandoned and replaced by a strong attack plan that might increase battle losses.
After all, war is a continuation of politics, not the other way around. For greater political purposes, war methods need to be adjusted in real time and fully adapted.
But at this point, Gao Pragmatic had to prepare for another thing, that is, to attack the Japanese mainland.
Gao Pangshi knew very well that with the current strength of the Ming Dynasty, not even the Ming Dynasty, but only the strength of the Maritime Trade Alliance, the biggest problem in attacking the Japanese mainland is not how to fight the war, but how to fight the war.
The trouble here still lies in Zhu Yuanzhang's "country without conquest", which is a big trouble related to the basic thinking of the Ming Dynasty's foreign affairs.
The Hongwu Dynasty was the foundation period for the Ming Dynasty's diplomacy. In the early Ming Dynasty, people's understanding of the world of China, their surroundings and even the world directly affected the emergence and development of Sino-foreign relations in the Ming Dynasty.
The occurrence and development of Ming Dynasty's foreign relations relied on many necessary conditions, the most important of which was the great turmoil faced by the international structure after the collapse of the Mongol and Yuan Empires, the great reorganization and the urgent need to rebuild the international order.
On the one hand, it is the continuity of history and the inheritance of institutions; on the other hand, there is also the choice and development of the Ming Dynasty people themselves, which has a huge impact on future generations.
Even in the original history of the Ming Dynasty, there were nearly 300 years. Except for the conquest of Annan during the Yongle period and the withdrawal during the Xuande period, there were basically no external conquests.
This is enough to show that the foreign relations of the Ming Dynasty, which was established in the Hongwu Dynasty and was characterized by "no conquest", was unprecedented in Chinese history. It actually marked the emergence of new patterns and characteristics in ancient Sino-foreign relations, and became a turning point in ancient Sino-foreign relations.
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In the sixth year of Hongwu, "Ancestor's Record" was completed. In May, Taizu personally wrote the preface, mentioning the process of compiling "Ancestor's Record" that "established it as a family law":
"...As for the enlightenment of future generations, it was recombined into the "Ancestor's Instructions" and established as a family law. The big book was unveiled in the west verandah and read day and night to ensure that it was timely. In the first and last six years, seven manuscripts were transcribed and are still available today.
Isn’t it difficult to be determined...
I now order the Ministry of Rites to publish it and make it a book to pass down forever. All my descendants who inherit my orders and are not clever enough to mess with my established laws cannot change a single word."
Here, "in the first and last six years, seven manuscripts were drafted and have been finalized to this day", indicating that the content has been repeatedly considered since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and it took six years to finalize. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang used the "ancestral precepts" to request future generations.
, no changes are allowed from now on.
In other words, by the sixth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang believed that the diplomatic thinking of the Ming Dynasty had completely matured, and the foreign relations were thus established and published in books to spread them forever. As often mentioned in the previous article of this book, Zhu Yuanzhang’s biggest problem is
The reason is that he doesn't seem to think that society is developing at all.
In the first chapter of this "Ancestor's Record", "Proverbs", the content related to diplomacy is as follows:
"All foreign barbarian countries outside the country, such as Annam, Champa, Koryo, Siam, Ryukyu, Western, Eastern and Southern Barbarian small countries, are limited to mountains and seas, and are isolated in a corner. The land they obtain is not enough to provide food, and the people they obtain are not enough to support them.
Order, if he does not think about it and comes to scratch my side, it is unlucky for him; he is not a trouble to China, and it is also unlucky for me to launch an army and attack lightly.
I am afraid that the descendants of future generations will rely on China's wealth and power, be greedy for temporary military achievements, and raise armies for no reason, causing loss of life. Remember this. However, the Hu Rong are approaching northwest China, and they will be a frontier threat. They must select generals to train their troops and be prepared for them at all times."
Diplomatic thought has a gradual formation process. Before the book was published in the sixth year of Hongwu, Taizu publicly announced his views on diplomacy at Fengtianmen in the fourth year of Hongwu, which can be regarded as the earliest time when his diplomatic thought took shape.
In September of the fourth year of Hongwu, Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang summoned his officials at Fengtianmen and solemnly elaborated on the general program of foreign policy he had formulated:
"Overseas barbarian countries must not refuse to attack those who are harming China; they must not raise their own troops if they are not China's patients. The ancients said that vast territory is not a long-term solution to peace, and the labor of the people is the source of chaos... The land is insufficient.
By providing supplies, the people are not enough to make orders, and they only seek a false reputation, which harms the country, is recorded in the annals of history, and is ridiculed by future generations.
I have blocked the mountains and seas from the small barbarian countries, and isolated them in a corner. If they are not a patient of China, I will never attack them. However, the Hu Rong in the northwest are a danger to China in the world, so we must be careful. You should remember what you said, and you will know.
That’s what I mean.”
The Ming Dynasty generally issued edicts at Fengtianmen, and the "officials" here may include foreign envoys. Importantly, this is the first time that Ming Taizu comprehensively discussed the dynasty's foreign policy, which fully reflects Ming Taizu's own realistic diplomatic thinking.
In fact, compared with the "Ancestor's Record" published later, the main extra part here is the ancient saying: "A vast land is not a plan for long-term stability, and people's labor is the source of chaos." This means that this Ming people's thinking is also a direct result of the ancient thinking.
continue.
First of all, the foreign policy he determined for the dynasty is "anyone who has done harm to China must not be ignored", showing a firm stance in safeguarding national security. However, the tone of the foreign policy is peaceful: "Don't raise troops on your own initiative", here
It clearly stated that the criterion for raising troops for conquest was "those who seek to harm China."
Secondly, he quoted the words of the ancients to explain that he had no ambition to expand the territory. He believed that external expansion was not conducive to the long-term stability of the country, and would lead to chaos due to overwork of the people. "The land is not enough to provide supplies, and the people are not enough to command."
And "pursuing a false reputation, doing harm to the mainland, recording it in the annals of history, and ridiculing it for future generations" clearly expresses contempt for the behavior of expeditions and expansion.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Finally, Taizu divided the object into two and once again mentioned the basic principle of "I will never attack overseas countries unless they are Chinese patients"
policy.
However, after announcing an important decision in foreign policy, he also stated that Mongolia in the northwest was a serious concern and must be carefully guarded against. He directly stated that the remaining forces of the Yuan Dynasty heading north were regarded as a major concern of the new dynasty, and that the northern land was regarded as a dynasty's military.
The focus of defense.
In the late years of Sangyu, Taizu published the further revised "Ancestral Instructions of the Emperor Ming Dynasty" in the 28th year of Hongwu. The external relations listed in "The First Chapter of Ancestor Instructions" became the golden rule for the emperors of the Ming Dynasty.
It became one of the basic national policies that descendants of the Ming Dynasty must abide by for generations to come, and was preserved in the world in the form of a constitution.
In order to let future generations know clearly the countries that would not be at war with each other for generations, which is what Taizu of the Ming Dynasty said "will not conquer the barbarian countries", he listed their names one by one in the "Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions" according to their directions.
The fifteen countries have been mentioned before and will not be listed again. However, the most striking thing here is that even Japan, which was not mentioned at all in "Ancestor's Record", although it was clearly included in the list of severing diplomatic relations at that time, it was not mentioned.
Being excluded, they are also included in the scope of non-levy.
This undoubtedly shows that the Ming Dynasty adopted a "no levy" attitude towards foreign countries, regardless of whether they established tributary relations or not, and whether they were friends or enemies. This cannot help but make people think about the "no levy" policy in the early years of the Ming Dynasty.
The concept of peace that characterized foreign relations had a deep impression.
If future generations are like this, people in the Ming Dynasty can only do it even worse.
However, although Zhu Yuanzhang's subjective consciousness was very good, the actual development was not so smooth. Annan and Goryeo (the predecessor of the Korean Lee Dynasty) had problems one after another, and they all had fierce conflicts with the Ming Dynasty.
However, the issues that these two countries had with the Ming Dynasty at that time have been discussed earlier in this book, so I will not mention them here. Let’s talk directly about the third country with problems, which is the current country that Gao pragmatism believes is due to the restrictions of the "country without conquest" thought.
Japan is the most troublesome place for him.
The initial experience of exchanges with Japan in the early Ming Dynasty was the same as that of other countries. That is, the Ming Dynasty notified the "sebari countries" through diplomatic documents and established relations. However, the exchanges with Japan were different from other countries in two points:
The first is historical, that is, the shadow of the Yuan Dynasty's failure to send troops to conquer Japan lingers; the second is realistic, because the problem of Japanese pirate intrusion continued to be unresolved at that time.
In the fourth year of Hongwu's reign, after Zhao Zhi, the governor of the prefecture, went to Japan as an envoy, according to "Records of the Ming Dynasty", it appeared that "King Lianghuai of Japan sent his ministers, monks and ancestors, to bring in memorials, tribute horses and artifacts, and nine monks to come to the court.
, and sent them back to Mingzhou, and more than 70 men and women were captured in Taizhou." This is the result of the Ming Dynasty's diplomacy.
Therefore, in May of the fifth year of Hongwu, Taizu appointed Zhongyou Zuchan, a monk from Tianning Temple in Mingzhou, and Wuyi Keqin, a monk from Waguan Temple in Nanjing, as his envoys.
Sovereignty Zhongxun served as a general officer and escorted the envoys back to the country and to Japan.
Not only this time, Ming Dynasty sent envoys to Japan several times, mainly talking about pirate intrusions. However, Japan was in the period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties at that time, and the Ming Dynasty contacted the good intentions of the Southern Dynasty, and it was actually unable to solve the piracy problem.
In the ninth year of Hongwu, "Ming Dynasty Records" recorded: "The Japanese King Lianghuai sent Shamen Guiting to pay tribute to horses and other objects." Taizu was dishonest in his words and issued another edict. The content of the observation is ultimately the same.
He is deeply worried about the problem of Japanese pirates invading the sea.
In the fifth month of the seventh year of Hongwu, Zu Chan and Keqin returned from their mission. In June, the Japanese envoys sent tribute but were denied tribute because there was no explanation. It can be seen that Zu Chan and Keqin's mission was successful on the surface, but in fact it was not completely successful.
Improve the relationship. In April of the ninth year, tribute was paid, and the tribute was expressed as being dishonest; then in May, Japanese businessmen contributed.
This shows that Taizu’s intention was mainly to establish official diplomatic relations and not to contribute local goods. In the twelfth year of Hongwu, Taizu accepted the contribution of the Japanese King Lianghuai’s envoys. It seemed that things were developing in a good direction. However, the following year,
What happened was that "Japan sent monks such as Mingwu and Fasuke to pay tribute, but they did not pay tribute. They only held the Prime Minister's letter from Minamoto Yoshimitsu, the general who conquered the barbarians, but their words were arrogant. They refused to pay tribute".
At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang became angry. In December of this year, Taizu issued an edict to the King of Japan, saying:
"The Song Dynasty was out of control, and China suffered. The Jin and Yuan Dynasties took over for more than two hundred years. Customs and customs changed, and China was in a state of turmoil. No gentleman will be angry. When the Yuan Dynasty comes to an end, heroes stand out, and voices and religions are divided. I control the time.
Three hundred thousand strings were used to sharpen the sword for inspection. Not long after, the general was ordered to launch the Nine Expeditions. In less than five years, he conquered the Central Plains.
We are foolish to the east barbarians, our rulers and ministers are unethical, and they are disturbing our neighbors. The year before last, we were making false claims, but this year we have come, and I wonder if they are true or not. If we doubt it, we still ask, but the outcome is more certain than victory, and the reality is false.
Yu Xi! Living in Cangming without knowing that the emperor has given Qidian, being arrogant and disrespectful, and allowing the people to do wrong will lead to disaster! Therefore, this is an edict, and I hope you will know it."
The edict was full of accusations, the most important of which was that "the ruler and his ministers acted unethically and disturbed their neighbors." As a result, a deep impression of complete lack of integrity was formed. No wonder they had to withhold tribute, which meant breaking off diplomatic relations.
In the 14th year of Hongwu, King Lianghuai of Japan still sent monks such as Yao Yao and others to pay tribute to the emperor. This time, Taizu received two documents given to Japan in the name of the Ministry of Rites, and he severed ties with Japan from then on.
These two documents, one is "The Ministry of Rites is set up to ask the King of Japan" and the other is "The Ministry of Rites is set up to ask the Japanese generals". Both diplomatic documents are based on accusations, marking the abrupt end of official exchanges between the Ming Dynasty and Japan.
Especially the latter one, while expressing strong dissatisfaction with "the Japanese monarchs and ministers allowing the people to commit robberies and banditing neighboring countries to harm good people", also revealed the emergence of the conquest proposal in the Ming court. However, this proposal was regarded by Taizu as "
"What's the crime for living people?" and denied it.
Although the accusation obviously contained the threat of war, Gao Pragmatic later checked the historical records and found that Taizu only threatened with words and did not actually prepare for war.
In fact, it was Taizu who opposed the conquest of the ministers and adopted the method of severing exchanges through diplomatic means. Even so, in the "Huang Ming Zu Xun" compiled by Taizu in his later years, Japan was still placed on the "no expedition"
country. This proves that Taizu has always adopted "no conquest" as the established national policy of diplomacy.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Zhu Yuanzhang is a very stubborn person, and it is difficult to change the things he believes in. For example, he only recognizes Prince Zhu Biao as his heir, even if the white-haired man gives him away
Even though he had a black-haired man, he refused to let the emperor's stomach shift, so he made Zhu Yunwen the emperor's grandson.
Similarly, his insistence on being a country without conquests is also confirmed by his own insistence. Even though the Japanese invasion made him unbearable, he still refused to conquer, and even wrote down Japan's status as a country without conquests in his ancestral precepts.
It also requires future generations to abide by it, every word of it.
Many things in the Ming Dynasty were caused by the ancestral precepts. Although many of them have actually been changed, what you need to know is that most of those changes were "accommodated" under the guise of temporary measures.
For example, the governor general and the governor were not created by Zhu Yuanzhang. Therefore, even though they have become permanent positions, they are still "temporarily dispatched" from an institutional perspective.
However, what does Gao Pragmatism want to do? It is essentially external expansion, which is difficult to improvise and can only find another way.
In Annan, Gao pragmatically used his private army and chieftain army to sneak attack the capital of Mo Dynasty, Thang Long, and then used the power of Mo Dynasty to pacify the Li Zheng clan, and finally asked Annan to be included in the name of Mo Maoqia.
In North Korea, Gao Pragmatic took advantage of the opportunity of sending troops to assist, intending to control the King of North Korea and the North Korean court and let them "actively annex" to avoid the confinement of the "country without conquest".
But what should Japan do? Could it be that they can only send troops and money to win it, and then force the people in power in Japan to become puppets, and submit a request to the Ming court?
It can be done, but it's not cost-effective and the method is unknown.
If the Ming Dynasty sent troops to Japan, it could be said that it was to punish Japan for invading Korea and disrespecting the Ming Dynasty. This is famous for its military strength, but why would the Ming Dynasty be pragmatic or have the Sea Trade Alliance send troops to Japan?
It's obviously a national hatred, but we can't force it to be treated as a family hatred.
What's more, Japan is different from Annan. Although Annan rebelled, the Ming Dynasty did not take it seriously at that time. It was just that it was too expensive and uneconomical to send a large army to fight against it every year, so Xuanzong chose to give up.
Japan is different. Both times it sent troops, it defeated Korea, the top vassal state among the sects, until it was unable to fight back. Moreover, everyone in the Ming Dynasty now knows that Japan "has an army of half a million." Although it is not as high as
The Ming Dynasty was a powerful country.
Such a "powerful country", if Gao Jingjing does not need the help of the court, can be dealt with by Beijing or the Maritime Trade Alliance alone... This may be a big bad thing for Gao Jingjing.
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