Chapter 3: The Emperor's Longevity (Three)

After dealing with this matter, Zhu Yinglong’s next focus was on open and secret struggles between Spain and the Netherlands. In business, business requires strong alliances, but countries cannot apply this. The Netherlands wants to squeeze Spain out of East Asia’s living space and dominate the trade with Japan and the Ming Dynasty. This is obvious, but the Ming Dynasty cannot only trade with one European country, especially the Ming Dynasty also needs to go out, otherwise, the big head will always make money.

Williams, the Dutch envoy who lives in the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, was very anxious. Although he had not been in the East for a long time, he knew clearly that even if the Dutch East India Company was ten times stronger, it was not a match for the Ming Dynasty. On the mainland of the East, the Ming Dynasty was an absolute overlord. Moreover, it had changed its previous humility and the style of peace as the most important thing, and it increasingly exposed its strong ambitions, especially its ambitions for the ocean. This ambition made him feel very scared. If it had to be used as an analogy, if the Ming Dynasty was a whale or a whale, then the Netherlands could only be regarded as a small shark. No matter how powerful the shark was, it could not beat a killer whale. If the killer whale was dozing off, it might be a little advantage, but when the killer whale woke up, it would be the end of the shark.

"Mr. Minister, the capital is so prosperous, why don't you go out for a walk?" A clear and bright voice sounded behind Williams.

Williams turned around and saw the person who walked into his room. He smiled bitterly and said, "Oh, it turned out to be He Tongyi. I thought someone was so rude and broke into my room."

He Bin was originally a think tank under Zheng Zhilong. After the Zheng family surrendered, He Bin's crime was pardoned. He first studied at Nanjing University for a year, and was selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He became a seventh-rank translator of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, specializing in translating the Dutch foreign affairs and teaching at Peking University, teaching more Dutch-speaking talents.

He Bin smiled politely and said, "Mr. The door of the Minister is open, so He Bin comes in uninvited. Please don't be surprised by the Minister!"

Williams shook his hand and said, "Not strange, no strange."

"You Eastern people have a saying that nothing is wrong... no... or something." Williams said in a sloppy Chinese language.

"Mr. Minister, I will not go to the Three Treasures Hall without any trouble." He Bin said with a smile.

"Yes, yes, yes, there's nothing wrong... I won't go to the Three Treasures Hall." Williams stammered, "He Tong, what is this 'Three Treasures Hall'?"

He Bin was stunned. Unexpectedly, Williams was still ashamed to ask. Fortunately, he knew this allusion, otherwise he would have become ugly. He hurriedly said: "The so-called Three Treasures Hall is the name in our Middle Land Buddhism, which refers to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha as the Three Treasures. The Buddha preaches the Dharma and Sangha, and these three have a sacred relationship. In layman's terms, Buddha refers to people who are aware of great knowledge and enlightenment; Dharma is the doctrine spoken by the Buddha; monks refer to people who inherit and preach doctrine. The temple where the Three Treasures are located is of course the Three Treasures Hall, which is the "Mahara Temple" where Buddhist believers come to perform rituals; Buddhist treasures are treasured, and the "Sutra Tower" where the scriptures are collected; there is also the "Serene Zen Room" of the monks "Yanxi (that is, the meaning of monks and other monks to sleep)". These three places are quiet and noble places in Buddhism, and you should not go around at will."

The Christianity that Williams believed in was a standard Christian. Buddhism was naturally pagan to him. He didn't know much about it, and it sounded even more like a cloud of fog and ignorant.

However, interrupting the other party was an impolite act, so Williams could only wait for He Bin to finish explaining before saying, "Everb He Tong, please sit down, I'll make you a cup of tea."

He Bin hurriedly shook his hand and said, "Mr. You are kind to me. This translation has made an important matter notify Mr. Mr.."

When Williams heard this, he said in surprise: "His Majesty the Emperor of your country is willing to receive me?"

He Bin shook his head and said, "No, it is the Emperor who is willing to increase trade with your Kingdom of Dutch, but there are some terms that need to be discussed by the Minister. I am here to rule the Minister and go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning to participate in the first round of trade negotiations."

"Of course, if the Minister thinks that I, the Ming Dynasty, is not sincere, or there is no need for this, then you can leave by yourself. I am forgiven for the inadequate reception of the Ming Dynasty." Before leaving, He Bin added a special sentence, fearing that he would lose his reputation as "a country of unhappy China, a country of etiquette."

After receiving this news, Williams should be happy. The Ming Dynasty was finally willing to make concessions and was willing to start a direct trade with the Netherlands, but he was not happy at all. The Ming Dynasty's attitude changed dramatically, which shows that the secret agreement between the Ming Dynasty and Spain has been signed. The previous groundlessness is true. This is definitely bad news for the Netherlands. Once the negotiations break down at the negotiating table, the Netherlands will lose most of the interests of East Asia, and he doesn't know how to explain to the board of directors of the East India Company!

In fact, Spain and the Ming Dynasty did not fully reach all agreements, but reached a certain consensus in some aspects, and the negotiations entered a period of slowdown. At this time, we need to use the Netherlands, the enemy of Spain, to leverage the strength. If we make good use of it, use the Netherlands to oppress Spain and threaten the Netherlands with Spain. As long as the handling and cooperation are done properly, the interests of the Ming Dynasty will naturally increase greatly in the end.

The things you get from diplomacy may not be less than what you get from winning a victory!

"Emperor, the military machine Pavilion sent someone to report that General Shizhu and General Ma Xianglin of the Cavalry have escorted the King of Shu and a group of rebellious ministers to the capital. They are now summoning the order outside the Meridian Gate." Xu Yingyuan's report interrupted Zhu Yinglong who was thinking.

When he heard the news from Xu Yingyuan, he was immediately overjoyed and said, "Okay, okay, hurry up, pass it!"

The Meridian Gate's victory is a great joy. In the past, it would have been a celebration for the whole world. The rebellious thief will be dragged to parade for three days to warn the world.

However, the head of the rebellion this time was extraordinary and was a close relative of the royal family, so the punishment for the King of Shu and his family was spared. However, the traitor generals under his command were dragged to swim for three days and then threw themselves into the No. 1 Prison in the Capital.

Ma Xianglin is not tall, but he is extremely handsome, with a dragon walking and tiger walking, a vicious face, and a bright silver armor on his body. He has not removed the sword in his left hand, knelt down half of his knees, raised his head and raised his chest, and lost his eyes to cover it with a dark eye mask, leaving a cold light, which is daunting to look at.

In the first year of Tianqi, Nurhaci's troops invaded Liaodong. Liang Yu heard the news and commanded three thousand elite soldiers and guarded Shanhaiguan with Xianglin. He fought with Xianglin in blood. He was shot at the enemy's wandering arrows at a glance. He reluctantly pulled out the arrow cluster, and shot arrows at the enemy's distant enemy. He fired three arrows in a row. Xianglin hit the arrows and still drew the arrows and rode the horse to seize the courage to defend. He refused to retreat. The army was shocked and retreated. He was appointed as the commander of Xianglin.

In the fifth year of Tianqi, She Chongming surrounded Chengdu and captured Chongqing. The Sichuan was in great shock. He sent the country Pingzi Yiming, Gongming, Hu Mingchen, and the deputy general Qin Yongcheng to take the lead. He led 6,000 killers with Xianglin. The enemy Zhang Tong fought, Xianglin killed him and returned to Chongqing at night. The east of Sichuan was pacified, and Jin Xianglin Xuan comforted the envoy. Liang Yu became more excited and led his troops to fight before he was captured. He sent the subordinate Qin Yanzuo to Zunyi, and Xianglin defeated Yongning and Linzhou.

What a tiger general who made the enemy frightened, Zhu Yinglong exclaimed in his heart.

But there was another person following Ma Xianglin, and he was also a heroic middle-aged female general. She was wrapped in a red cannon, tight rhinoceros leather soft armor, almond eyes and cherry lips, and a slim figure. Although she was full of wind and frost, she looked energetic.

"General Ma, who is this?" Zhu Yinglong asked in confusion at the middle-aged female general beside Ma Xianglin.

"Report to the emperor, this is the wife of the empress, Zhang Fengyi." Ma Xianglin hurriedly introduced.

"Guerrilla General Zhang Fengyi, please see the emperor!" Seeing her husband introducing him, Zhang Fengyi hurriedly accepted the head and said to him again.

"Oh!" Zhu Yinglong was extremely surprised. He didn't expect that this female general was Ma Xianglin's wife, and he was a well-known general in the court. Due to the identities of the monarch and ministers, he hurriedly walked down the imperial throne and stepped forward and raised his hands and said, "General Ma and his wife, hurry up and settle down!"

Fortunately, Zhu Yinglong did not issue an order to let Ma Xianglin meet alone, otherwise he would not know that there was a female general who thought he could be so civil and martial.

Zhang Fengyi is from Qinshui, the daughter of former Shangshu Zhang Quan. Her grandfather Zhang Wudian was also Shangshu of the Wanli Dynasty. She can be said to be a descendant of the famous family. She was influenced by her mother Huo and her father. She was familiar with the classics, history, and collections of books. She was particularly good at military tactics and was a female general with both civil and military skills.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Ma Xianglin and his wife said with gratitude.

"Come here, please give me a seat!" Zhu Yinglong saw that they worked hard all the way and were meritorious again, so of course he was not stingy with a stool.

Ma Xianglin and Zhang Fengyi immediately bowed and thanked him.

"Can General Ma and Mrs. Ma escort the rebels of the King of Shu to Beijing smoothly?" Zhu Yinglong asked. He wanted to know the details of the two of them going to Beijing and learn about the people's situation through their mouths.

"Report to the emperor, Weichen and his wife went north along Jianmen Pass, entered Hanzhong, then turned east, passed Shaanxi, Shanxi, and then arrived at the capital." Ma Xianglin replied.

"Then you have any experiences along the way, such as the local people's sentiments, can you tell me?" Zhu Yinglong asked.

Ma Xianglin and Zhang Fengyi looked at each other, feeling a little embarrassed: "This... Emperor, Weichen and his wife escorted Shangjing again. They were afraid that something unexpected would happen along the way, so they only rushed forward and did not pay much attention to other matters, so they asked the emperor to ask, please forgive me for being unable to answer."

In fact, it’s not that Ma Xianglin doesn’t want to say it. On the one hand, he has seen many things that make him angry along the way. However, when he entered Beijing, his mother kept telling him not to meddle in other people’s business. Moreover, he brought his mother’s instructions to see what kind of person the new king was. The Ma family and the Qin family can now be considered to be high and prominent, what attitude the court has towards the two families, especially after the pacification of Sichuan, the Qin and Ma families were all in question.

Zhu Yinglong knew at a glance that Ma Xianglin and his wife had concerns, or were very cautious. Besides, it was the first time they met between the king and the minister, and it was impossible to reach the level of heart-to-heart talk at once. This is understandable. He immediately laughed and said, "So that's the case. That's because I was negligent. However, I have ordered people to prepare a resting place for General Ma and his wife at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. I will order someone to take you there later."

Ma Xianglin and his wife thanked each other and sat down again.

"General Ma, Mrs. Ma, I don't know that Governor Ling Ci is in good health. She is one of the people I admire very much!"

"The Emperor Lao is worried that everything is fine for my mother."

"General Ma came to Beijing this time, what did Governor Qin say to General Ma tell me?" Zhu Yinglong smiled slightly. Qin Liangyu would not send his son and daughter-in-law to Beijing together, and there was no explanation at all.

"The emperor is really insightful. My mother really has a saying that I want to turn the minister into the emperor." Ma Xianglin was secretly shocked. The young emperor was more easy-going than he thought, but he was smart and powerful.

"Please speak with General Ma!"

"My mother wanted to ask the emperor to slander the King of Shu and a group of rebel generals. The King of Shu also mistakenly believed the slander of others and made such a big mistake." Ma Xianglin stood up and said earnestly.

"Since the King of Shu rebelled because he believed in other people's slander, why did he surrender until today? Didn't I give him a chance before? If he rebelled because of a slander, then wouldn't it be possible for all the people in the world to rebel without reason? Then, just put the blame on others at that time!" Zhu Yinglong said bluntly.

"Your Majesty, the King of Shu actually wanted to surrender to the court earlier, but the generals under his command did not agree. The King of Shu was forced to do so under the tiger." Ma Xianglin said with a cold sweat in his heart.

Rebellion is a death sentence. Even if you surrender to the court, you may not forgive their death sentence. What's more, there are personal ambitions. The King of Shu is a banner. Once the flag falls, the appeal will be gone. The rebels will naturally fall down and the money will scatter. Perhaps this is possible, but you can't believe it easily. He said in a deep voice: "Governor Qin is concerned about the reputation and people's reputation in Sichuan. Killing will damage the people's hearts. I understand this, so I have no idea of ​​killing the King of Shu. If it is really as General Ma said, those rebel generals and thieves will be punished for their crimes, and I will naturally not be able to spare them!"

Ma Xianglin finally breathed a sigh of relief. His mother Qin Liangyu just instructed him to try his best to persuade the court to keep the King of Shu's life, and let him go whether it is life or death.
Chapter completed!