The practical "standards" that people take seriously are written in black and white on two documents. One is called the Huanming Trade Agreement, and the other is called the Huanming Nations Datong Initiative.
But few people are aware of the truly far-reaching thinking standards at the moment.
Among the various countries, you must at least be a country that meets the definition of the Ming Dynasty. It needs to have clear boundaries and a relatively complete system.
For this reason alone, in fact, many so-called vassal states, which are roughly connected by large and small tribes, do not meet the definition: at least there is considerable uncertainty.
What's more important is that in the past, peace and even benefits could be obtained by paying tribute and submission, which will be replaced by this Huanming trade circle.
Since we are talking about trade, we are talking about money, goods, and real profits.
In front of these Ming officials, who had been tortured by the emperor's financial expertise, the envoys of the vassals could only nod in confusion.
For many things, if you can come up with a thorough and rigorous plan that others cannot come up with, you will appear professional and reliable.
What's more, at this time, the status is not equal.
This asymmetry does not simply refer to strong military strength, but to market demand and technical production capacity.
For the vassals, Ming Dynasty was the biggest buyer: in the face of huge demand for raw materials, there were more than one company that could supply the same kind of goods. Buyers required quality standards and measurement standards, and sellers naturally could only provide goods according to demand and compare prices.
Grab a share.
For the Ming Dynasty, all vassals needed the Ming Dynasty's "manufactured products": ironware, salt tea, silk, porcelain, new industrial products... Which of them has not been processed and requires technology? But the Ming Dynasty's own needs are equally great, and can
The quantity supplied and sold to the feudal lords was also limited.
Among them, Portugal, which faced the entire European market, competed with these vassal states for products that could be exported under the Ming Dynasty's limited production capacity.
In short, Ming Dynasty only recognized Ming Dynasty’s new money.
The total volume of transactions in the entire trading circle is too large. If all the local gold, silver, and copper with varying levels of smelting technology and purity are used to calculate it, how can it be calculated?
By the way, gold, silver, copper ore, or cast foreign vassal coins can also be sold to the Ming Dynasty. How to calculate the price, the Ming Dynasty naturally provided a set of numbers and workmanship testing standards that make people awe-inspiring at a glance.
The Huanming Trade Agreement is a collection of standards.
The initiative of the great unification of the countries of the Huan and Ming dynasties is related to another major event.
"After the trade convention is concluded, it will be implemented on a trial basis for three years. I believe you have listened to my ministers explain the rationale these days."
This time Zhu Houcong met them again in the National Assembly Hall.
"State-owned citizens live in the land. Governing the people has never been a simple matter. China has been strong for thousands of years, and it has also evolved from tribes to unity, and then continued to change with the times to transform the country into a powerful country. This process is a complicated state affairs.
It’s a process of taking care of everything more and more carefully.”
The loving father of the Ming Dynasty looked at them and said in a very sincere tone: "The Ming Dynasty is the leader of the vassals, and I really hope that the vassals can follow suit and make progress in governance. It should be noted that times have changed. In the past, the carriages and horses were slow, and the mountains and seas were dangerous.
Fierce. Between tribes and countries, the territories are unclear and the subjects are unclear. There are only swordsmen and envoys to communicate with each other. That kind of situation is self-contained and can remain unchanged for hundreds of years. But what about now?"
What Zhu Houcong said is also true.
In general, the population is multiplying more and more, and the living spaces will inevitably squeeze each other, so there will be friction.
Technology in general is getting more and more advanced. Now, isn't it true that Portugal in Europe first destroyed Manga, and then Ryukyu was suddenly destroyed?
So the exchanges are generally becoming more and more frequent.
If the Ming Dynasty did not bring them new changes, the Europeans would come over and make them change.
Zhu Houcong said earnestly: "I say that the subjects of all the vassals are my subjects, and I have no other intention, but come from the bottom of my heart. For thousands of years, although China and the vassals have had disputes, they are still close neighbors after all. Because China is so big,
The vassals respect the elders, how can the elders not pity the weak now? I hope that from the beginning of this Datong initiative, the Western Regions, the East in the mouth of Europe, can really become a family in the future, jointly defend against foreign enemies, and seek prosperity together! The Ming Dynasty will not hesitate to help.
, the vassals themselves must strive to make progress and not rest on their laurels!”
Some people still want to be kings and hegemons behind closed doors, and are not very happy to "really become a family" with the Ming Dynasty.
But what the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty taught them was a great principle and a kindness that was for the sake of the people of the Ming vassals. How can we criticize this?
This initiative is not forced on the surface.
But if it is not recognized by Ming Dynasty, it cannot remain in the "convention organization" of the Huan Ming Trade Agreement in the future, and it will be the possible enemy of Ming Dynasty and Ming Dynasty's real vassal.
To make internal changes as proposed by Ming Dynasty, there will of course be great resistance and suffering. If you don't do well, you will have to change the day if you don't want to.
But if someone succeeds and becomes rich and powerful, wouldn't it be possible, as the Ming Emperor said, to have clearer boundaries and subjects?
Don’t forget, during this round of “trial observation period”, Ming Dynasty also “initiated” everyone to clearly define the boundaries.
If we draw boundaries, doesn't that mean we may have to fight?
If the drawing is not clear, will Ming Dynasty be like Zongzheng and help them draw it correctly?
"In short, in the past, you heard that China used to treat its vassals as barbarians. This is admittedly a bit arrogant, but it is not unreasonable. In the future, the Ming Dynasty will no longer regard itself as the father's country, but will be a brother country, but all countries must really have a country.
The way things are. The inheritance is orderly, the government is stable, and the etiquette is well-regulated. In this way, there will naturally be fewer and fewer disputes, and we will help each other better and better. I have worked hard and hope that you will think about it carefully after you go back."
It is said that it is a joint discussion and a joint agreement, but in fact it is nothing more than Ming Dynasty expressing its own attitude and ideas.
Daming is ready to do this. Whether you want to or not is up to you.
In short, the envoys of various vassals have been temporarily withdrawn.
After three years of trial, the Ming Dynasty will change the past "canonization" model and switch to the method of recognition and establishment of diplomatic relations. Countries recognized by the Ming Dynasty and countries that establish diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty will have stable relations.
This stable relationship was also clearly informed to the vassals: there are several levels, depending on the degree of intimacy.
So in fact, Ming Dynasty was also using more standardized diplomatic rules to dazzle these vassal states.
After the interview, Tang Shunzhi and other ministers of state walked slowly towards the Wenhua Hall.
Yan Song seemed to be smiling but not smiling: "Ying De seems to be feeling a little emotional?"
Tang Shunzhi smiled slightly and responded: "Mr. Yan Guo has been in charge of everything in the etiquette department for many years, and his actions are indeed extraordinary."
Yan Song shook his head repeatedly: "Is this my idea? Your Majesty is wise and has strategic plans at his fingertips. He is in a commanding position. If he obeys De's request, the vassals and the people will eventually obey, but decades of resentment has been exposed, and the treasury's military expenditure has remained high to suppress all parties.
That’s inevitable.”
Yang Shen, who was walking in front, turned around and looked at Tang Shunzhi when he heard the words: "Ying De, although you must go to the military affairs meeting in the future, you must not forget the lessons of the ages. Civilization and military affairs have their own reasons. As long as the monarch and his ministers are of the same mind, the civil and military affairs are compatible.
, big things cannot be dealt with."
Tang Shunzhi sighed in his heart and said, "This junior has learned a lesson."
He is the youngest top minister of the Ming Dynasty. Speaking of juniors at this moment seems to be submissive.
After returning from Hetao, he came forward on behalf of the Military Affairs Council to request the emperor to directly "open a sweep". This incident still caused great tension among other ministers of state.
While Yan Song was caught off guard, other civil servants were even more worried about the fact that as the Ming army attacked from all sides, they would be left with endless military commanders and even local separatist troubles in the future.
Of course, the previous drama was not enough, and I just went to wipe out the small country with just a word of ridicule. Even if I win, I will inevitably be an invader after all. Although the ethnic groups are close, they are still closed in the same place.
After so many years, the national war left many people with national hatred and family hatred, which was also a big trouble for the subsequent governance of the Ming Dynasty. What can be seen with the naked eye is that the military expenditure of the Ming Dynasty will definitely increase by an order of magnitude.
The enfeoffed vassals also bear part of the military expenses? That can only be said to be a state after stability in the future. What about before stability? How can the princes and civil and military ministers who were enfeoffed to strange places quickly establish their own stable tax income?
Hence the current move.
Tang Shunzhi knew how powerful this move was.
To put it bluntly, the strongest moment of the Ming Dynasty was the moment when it relied on its strong national power to prevent it from taking off.
Faced with this situation, as long as the Ming Dynasty set new rules, set more of these new rules, and have a greater impact, the vassals would have to consider their own choices.
Their internal conflicts and conflicts between them are likely to break out during the period when the Ming Dynasty has not yet begun.
Once an outbreak really breaks out and the chaos becomes overwhelming, Ming will have more options to choose before taking action and will encounter less resistance.