Chapter 1433: Tribute Will Not Be Accepted! Tribute Is Not Allowed!

"Master Fantai! I...student...have one more...one 'knowledge' that I don't understand, please ask the Fantai for advice!..."

When Shi Wende heard that the governor Wang Zhe had someone serve tea, he immediately became anxious and had to call out carefully.

In a formal meeting like this, once the host starts serving tea, it means that he has to serve tea and send the guests away. But he couldn't even say a word about the purpose of his visit this time! And if he wants to meet the Fantai again next time and bring up this matter, it will be almost impossible...

"Hmm? You still have one 'knowledge' that you don't understand?..."

Governor Wang Zhe frowned slightly, and his eyes were a little cold. He picked up the tea that was served, took a sip, moistened his throat, and then said lightly.

"Sicheng, get up and drink some tea. If you have any questions, you can ask them."

The meaning of asking is that you can only say one sentence. Shi Wende bowed respectfully, then stood up, holding the teacup in both hands, and whispered.

"Prefect, if there is a kingdom of the Dongfan people, and they come to our Ningbo Port Maritime Customs by ship, asking to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty... will the court accept them or not? Is there any standard for judging?..."

"The kingdom of the Dongfan people? Dongfan barbarians? Asking for tribute?..."

Hearing this, the governor Wang Zhe was slightly startled, recalled the records of Dongfan, and asked in confusion.

"I remember that in the Jiageku of this province, there is a record of the eunuch Sanbao's voyage to the West. It says that 'he traveled all over the East and West, and all of them offered tributes, but the Dongfan people avoided him', and 'the Dongfan people are very close to Quanzhou. There are many deep mountains and swamps, and the settlements are scattered. There is no leader, and there are 15 communities, with as many as a thousand people and as few as five or six hundred people'..."

"These Dongfan barbarians are just wild people in the mountains and swamps, living in communities. From Yongle to Xuande, they have never paid tribute... Why did they suddenly appear this time?..."

"Well... Shi Wende, are you sure they are Dongfan barbarians? Not some cunning sea merchants who pretended to be barbarians to pay tribute?..."

"Fan... Fantai Sir! I am sure of it! It is the Dongfan barbarians, from the Jilong community in the north of Dongfan Island. They admire the rule of our Ming Dynasty, so they came thousands of miles to pay tribute, which is absolutely true!..."

Hearing the question from the governor, the sweat on Shi Wende's back wet his clothes. He never expected that the governor, at his age, could still recite the records of these classics and archives clearly. The memory of these Jinshi is really scary...

"As for the foreigners on the boats...they all have deep eyes, high cheekbones and wide mouths, dark skin and bare feet...you can tell at a glance that they are different, they are definitely not replaced by sea merchants!..."

Shi Wende swore and made a firm statement that they must be Dongfanyi.

As for where these Dongfanyi came from? Of course, he sent ships from Fujian to Dongfan, and then recruited them from the villages of the foreigners! In recent decades, many Fujian and Zhejiang people have gone to sea, and some have settled on Dongfan Island, opened up fields in the rainforest, and intermarried with the foreigners. On the west and north of the island, there are gradually more villages where the familiar foreigners and Han people intermarry, and can communicate with Fujian and Zhejiang people...

And Shi Wende spent food and cloth to recruit these people for a simple purpose. That is to strive to pay tribute to the court in the name of "Dongfanyi". Then get a gold leaf petition from the vassal state of the Great Ming Dynasty, or at least a small tribe's tribute petition!

In this way, he, the Shi family of Chongming, can separate a tribe, take the sea vessels and sailors, migrate to the Jilong Mountain area of ​​Dongfan, and make a superficial separation from the main family on Chongming Island. Then, the branch family uses the identity of Dongfan Yi and maintains the sea trade with the Kanhe...

In this way, the main family transforms into gentry, and the branch family becomes a tribute-paying tribe, and the dilemma is solved. The main family and the branch family support each other, one is a merchant and the other is a sea trader, both have legal identities, which is simply too perfect! Unfortunately, this abacus is loud, but in front of the governor Wang Zhe, it is...

"Ha! Dongfan Yi, come to pay tribute?... Is this a document requesting a tribute Kanhe trade? Or are you bolder and want to enthronize the vassal state with a gold leaf petition?..."

Governor Wang Zhe looked cold, glanced at Shi Wende, and then spoke faintly.

"Sicheng, you led the barbarians to pay tribute... It was indeed 'painstaking and solitary' and 'spreading the king's rule'... But the criteria used by our Ming dynasty to judge and measure, the qualification of a vassal to pay tribute... It is not something that any barbarian who suddenly appeared can easily obtain!..."

"If you want to pay tribute to our Ming dynasty, you must first follow the rules and obey the old recorded rules! Are these barbarians recorded in the Ming dynasty's ancestral precepts? Are they included in the fifteen countries that Taizu did not conquer? Let's be more relaxed. Among the more than one hundred tributary countries accepted by Taizong, are these barbarians named?... If they are not in the list of Taizu and Taizong, what qualifications do they have to come to our dynasty? Ming tribute? …”

“You need to know that since Emperor Xuanzong passed away, Emperor Yingzong, Emperor Xianzong and the present emperor have not conferred titles on new vassal states! The golden leaf documents of the vassal states have only been replaced by new ones, and there is no reason to confer titles on new ones! …”

“As for the documents granted to the barbarians for trade… In the past three dynasties, none of them were granted to any new tribute-paying foreigners from overseas! …This is a reward from my Ming Dynasty, which is to give real benefits and official status! Only those barbarians at the border who have been bathed in the king’s rule can be appeased by the documents of the imperial seal! …”

After scolding here, the governor Wang Zhe picked up the tea and moistened his throat again. He slowly spoke, once again showing the terrible memory of a second-rank Jinshi official who was selected from a million people.

"Six years ago, I succeeded to the throne and changed the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first year of Hongzhi (1488). Haixi Hushimen Guards Barbarian Women Zhidu Commander Fan Longha, Mao Lianwei Barbarian Women Zhidu Commander and other officials died suddenly. Kuchu, the commander of the female direct capital of the Hulan Mountain Guards, Jiaquchi, the commander of the female direct capital of the barbarians of Yeer Dinghe Guard, Sanchiha, the governor of the barbarian female direct commander of Yishi Zuowei, and Yilibaga, the commander of the female direct capital of Supingjiang Guards , Sainha, the commander of the savage capital of Tolunwu Guard... Each of the seven women came to pay tribute, and the tribute was horses and mink skins, and the court gave them a banquet and silk and colorful clothes..."

"This is the Liaodong frontier, the key right arm of our Ming Dynasty! The women of the tribe have always been brave and recalcitrant, and they are easy to be won over by the northern barbarians, so we must allow them to pay tribute and then return with generous rewards!..."

"In the same year, Sichuan Changhe West Fish Road Ningyuan Xuanwei Envoy Division conquered Saizhai Dugang leader Zhaba Yanqian and Zagu to appease Sijake, sent the leader of the Ci Ma Fan monk Song Siji, and the leader of the Shengfan clan Cang Wang Xiao...Xichuan Shufan and Wuszang Shengfan came to pay tribute, and the imperial court gave them silk, colorful clothes and money ingots as tribute!

"This is the southwest borderland, the key backbone of our Ming Dynasty! The Sichuan-Tibet tribe is located on a mountain plateau. It is condescending to Sichuan Province and it is difficult to conquer it. That's why we must allow it to pay tribute and give generous rewards!..."

"In the same year, King Aheima of Solu Altar in Samarkand sent his envoy Aala to assassinate the emperor; Jike, the governor of the left guard of Handong, sent his envoy to command Gegan. The two vassals paid tribute with jade, stones, horses, camels and other items. And the imperial court gave him a banquet, silk, satin and colorful clothes, as well as a replacement of books and gold watch..."

"This is the Northwest Silk Road. It is my left hand for the wealth of the Ming Dynasty! The countries of Samarkand maintain the Silk Road and support the finance and taxation of Shaanxi, so they must be allowed to pay tribute and be appeased by canonization!..."

"Also in the same year, Wei Qingshishan Fan from Taozhou, Shaanxi Province, Zhaji from the Qingshapo tribe, Lujie from the Zana Berlin Qizhan tribe...three tribes of captives from Gansu and Ningxia in the northwest came to pay tribute. The tribute was armor and horses. But the court still gave them At the banquet, I was given silk, satin, colorful clothes and money ingots and returned..."

"This is the northwest frontier, and it is the important left arm of our Ming Dynasty! To win over the northwest tribes by dividing them is to weaken the tribes of the northern tribes in the northwest, so we must facilitate their contacts and let them return home!..."

"In the northeast, northwest, and southwest, the people our government currently allows to pay tribute are all the frontier barbarians who are difficult to conquer and have an important position. Appeasement is better than swordsmanship! If you appease one more border barbarian, there will be less rebellion and less northern barbarians. Strength! The maintenance of these tributes is beneficial to the country!..."

"As in the Yongle and Xuande years, the bad government of middle-ranking officials who widely paid tribute overseas, regardless of the court's annual income, and raised troops overseas in vain, has long since disappeared! Nowadays, gentlemen gather in the court, and they will never allow treacherous middle-ranking officials to affect the political affairs of the saints again! ... "

After talking about the "Ming Dynasty tribute standards" and angrily complaining about "the middle officials are traitors", the chief envoy Wang Zhecai sneered, stared into Shi Wende's eyes, and reprimanded him in a deep voice.

"As for the 'overseas tribute' and the 'Dongfan Kingdom' you are asking for... I, Zhejiang City Bosi, will not accept it! No tribute is allowed!..."

Note: The tribute records in this chapter come from "Records of Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty" and are all from the first year of Hongzhi.