The Ming Dynasty's Spokesperson

Lin Jinglue's army headed east, leaving Shanhaiguan and entering the border of Liaodong.

I received a message on the way that Emperor Wanli appointed Li Rusong as the admiral and general military officer of the Eastern Expedition.

Lin Jinglue looked at this appointment very unhappily, and felt "sell-out" in his heart.

Previously, he only invited Li Rusong to be the chief military officer of Liaodong, and also recruited Ma Gui, Dong Yiyuan and other senior generals with high prestige, wasn't it just to check and balance Li Rusong?

It's not that Lin Jinglue has any objections to Li Rusong, there is absolutely no problem in personal relations.

It is Lin Jinglue who believes that there is no need for another general under him who can also command the overall situation in name, so as not to cause multiple orders and a chaotic command system.

After all, his civil and military skills are different from those of other governors. He will also go to the front line to command, not just dispatch from the rear.

Unexpectedly, not long after Lin Tailai left the capital, the emperor began to think of checking and balancing him, so he promoted Li Rusong from "Chief Military Officer of Liaodong" to "Chief Military Officer of the Eastern Expedition"

This was the helplessness of the minister who led the heavy troops abroad. Lin Jinglue could not return to the capital to defend himself, so he could only continue on his way.

Because of the emergency situation in North Korea, Lin Jinglue did not stay in Guangning and Liaoyang, the core cities in Liaodong region, for inspection. He only asked the governor Hao Jie to do the logistics work.

In early September of the 20th year of Wanli, Lin Tailai, the great savior of the people of the peninsula and the only sun of the peninsula in the future, arrived at Jiulian City by the Yalu River.

This castle has a circumference of more than two miles. It may not seem big, but it is already the largest among the border forts along the Yalu River.

In many people's minds, Jiulian City should be the easternmost starting point of the Ming Dynasty's Wanli Border Wall.

Of course, there is another theory in academic circles that the starting point should be Kuandian Fort slightly north.

Moreover, the significance of Jiulian City is not only the starting point of the Great Wall, but also serves as the gate of the country.

On the other side of Jiuliancheng is Yizhou, North Korea, across the river from Jiuliancheng.

Now the kings and ministers of Joseon are trapped in Uiju, waiting hard for the heavenly troops to cross the river. Only Uiju is left in the so-called three thousand miles of country.

In the past two hundred years, whenever Korean envoys came to pay homage to the Ming Emperor, they had to enter the Ming Dynasty through Jiuliancheng. Moreover, the annual tribute market with North Korea is also here in Jiuliancheng.

This time when the Ming Dynasty soldiers enter the country, it is definitely most convenient to cross the river from Jiuliancheng. There are not many other choices geographically.

At this time, from Phoenix City, which was slightly in the hinterland, to Jiulian City, there were already military camps all over the place, and tens of thousands of troops gathered there.

Lin Jinglue chose Jiuliancheng, which was further forward, as the shogunate's residence. Jiuliancheng originally had a Zhenjiang guerrilla, but now he was temporarily kicked out and the official office was requisitioned.

While Lin Jinglue began to train various soldiers and horses, he also began to contact the Korean monarchs and ministers on the other side of the river.

After all, Lin Tailai came with the emperor's edict, so he also had the task of acting as an angel from the superior kingdom and issuing the edict to the North Korean state.

In fact, the edict does not contain much content, and the summary is nothing more than two points.

The first is to allow the Korean king to cross the river to avoid disaster and temporarily settle in Kuandian Fort until the situation improves.

The second is to give reassurance to the monarchs and ministers of Korea and promise to send troops as soon as possible to rebuild the Eastern Kingdom.

Third, formally inform the monarchs and ministers of North Korea that the affairs of the Heavenly Soldiers' Eastern Expedition have been entrusted to Lin Tailai, the minister of economics and strategy, so that North Korea can cooperate well.

Knowing that the minister of economics and strategy had arrived at Jiulian City with the edict, the King of Korea quickly sent a distant envoy named Zhao Jinggao across the river to contact him first.

Originally, in Lin Jinglue's mind, the generals under his command were definitely more important. If he wanted to meet with them, he would meet with the generals first.

But I didn't expect that the North Korean envoys would arrive so quickly. Lin Jinglue had just stayed for one night, and the North Korean envoys came across the river the next day.

When the Ming Dynasty issued an edict to Korea, it was not done casually. There must be a set of etiquette.

Although Lin Tailai thinks this is a waste of time, he cannot ignore it, otherwise he will lose the majesty of the heavenly kingdom.

According to usual practice, the envoys from far away should first present the "Notes on the Edicts to Welcome the Imperial Edict" to the envoys of the Ming Dynasty, carefully explain how to welcome the imperial edict this time, as well as various etiquette regulations, and discuss with the envoys of the Ming Dynasty.

Lin Tailai collected the Notes on the Imperial Edict and asked Zhao Jinggao, the far-reaching envoy of North Korea, to rest first.

Among the members of the shogunate, there was a man named Cui Wukui, who was originally a traveler. He had been to Korea three times with the Ming Dynasty envoys and had a good understanding of the situation in Korea. This time he was recruited into the shogunate as a professional talent.

At this time, Lin Jinglue called Cui Wukui over, and together they studied the "Ying Zhao Yi Notes" sent by North Korea.

After all, it involves a lot of details of diplomatic etiquette. He, Lin Tailai, is not professional in this area, and it will be a big sin if he loses face.

Sure enough, after Cui Wukui took a look, he immediately pointed to a line of words and reported to the newspaper: "There is a problem here!"

Lin Tai came to look at the place pointed by Cui Wukui, which said "bow".

Cui Wukui saw that Lin Tailai didn't know much about etiquette, so he explained: "In the early years of the country, the king of North Korea greeted the imperial edict and performed the most solemn ceremony of five kowtows and three bows.

During the Yuan Dynasty after the Tumubao Incident, envoys from the Ming Dynasty went to North Korea to declare the imperial edict, but they were coaxed and deceived by King Sejong of North Korea at that time and changed it to a bowing ceremony. "

Hearing the word "Sejong", Lin Tailai inexplicably thought of the "King Sejong the Great Destroyer" in the previous life, the one with the hull automatically cracking.

Considering the "international situation" at that time, Lin Tailai can probably understand why North Korea changed the five-kowtow-three-bow ceremony to a bow ceremony at that time.

At that point in time, the Ming Dynasty had just suffered the Tumubao Incident, and North Korea was in a stage of self-reliance on being "strong".

It is no longer the case that Li Chenggui usurped the throne and founded the country, but was in a state of panic and fear of being punished by the heavenly soldiers.

The so-called "Korean King Sejong" expanded territory to the northwest and northeast, took advantage of the vacuum after the Ming Dynasty retreated, expelled the female straight people entrenched in the northern part of the peninsula, and pushed the territory of Korea to the line of the Yalu and Tumen Rivers.

With this kind of national expansion mentality, and seeing the Ming Dynasty suffer huge setbacks such as the Tumubao Incident, Sejong of Joseon dared to fool the Ming Dynasty envoys and changed the five-kowtow-three-bow ceremony to greet the imperial edict into a bow ceremony.

I have to say that this behavior is so consistent with Lin Tailai's understanding of the human nature of the peninsula that it is not "unexpected" at all.

Lin Jinglue thought about it while continuing to listen to Cui Wukui's explanation: "Then the monarchs and ministers of Korea insisted that the bowing ceremony should be the old system, and they argued with the Ming Dynasty for more than eighty years.

Later, it was not until the Jiajing Dynasty that the bowing ceremony was changed back to the most solemn five-bow-three-kowtow ceremony, and it has been practiced to this day! "

At this time, Cui Wukui became more and more angry as he talked, "I didn't expect that North Korea would secretly change it to a bow ceremony this time. It's really hard to understand!

In my opinion, this is clearly because the monarchs and ministers of North Korea look down on Jinglue and feel that Jinglue is young and easy to bully! "

Lin Tailai suddenly said: "You are bullying the sky! You are not bullying me!" Cui Wukui said quickly: "Yes! Yes!"

Lin Tailai ordered again: "Call Zhao Jinggao, the envoy from North Korea!"

Cui Wukui was ordered to leave and call the distant envoy Zhao Jinggao to come over.

At this moment, a red-faced Li Rusong walked into the shogunate lobby with a smile and shouted invisibly: "You are so late!"

Lin Tailai and Li Rusong had agreed in advance to meet today.

The previous chapter mentioned the etiquette for generals to pay homage to their commanders. They must first wear armor to pay homage, and then change into regular clothes.

But Li Rusong was now wearing only ordinary clothes and strolled into the lobby of the shogunate.

Lin Jingli glanced at Li Rusong. This old man looked lost and transformed into General Li again.

Historically, Li Rusong seemed to always have this kind of peeing behavior in front of his commanders.

When he was in Xuanfu, he should be on an equal footing with the governor; when he was in Ningxia, he should let the governor step aside; when he was in Liaodong and Korea, he should not be disrespectful to the governor.

No wonder Li Rusong's final fate was so inexplicable in history. A dignified general was accidentally ambushed and killed in a common security battle, and no one followed up seriously.

Lin Tailai is not a fan of conspiracy theories, but after seeing Li Rusong's ending, he really didn't believe that there was nothing wrong with it.

Li Rusong didn't know what Brother Lin was thinking, so he casually found a chair by himself and sat down facing the main seat.

As we all know, when subordinates meet their superiors, they should stand facing south and face each other. Before taking a seat, they should face each other and talk back. There is no reason to sit sideways directly.

Lin Jinglue said to General Li amiably: "Wait a minute, I will say a few words to the North Korean envoy first."

"I'm not in a hurry! I'll also see what the North Korean envoy has to say." Li Rusong replied.

Not long after, Cui Wukui came in with Zhao Jinggao, the North Korean envoy.

Lin Tailai stopped greeting Li Rusong and asked Zhao Jinggao coldly:

"I, Emperor Gao, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, promulgated the "Hongwu Etiquette" and required the vassal kings to perform five bows and three kowtows. Why does your country dare to tamper with the etiquette this time?"

Zhao Jinggao calmly took out a book and handed it over. Lin Tai took a look at it. The book was called "Notes on the Rituals of the Domain".

Then Zhao Jinggao explained plausibly: "The Notes on the Rituals of the Domain were also promulgated by Emperor Gao. Since Emperor Gao promulgated this book and came to our country, our country has followed this ceremony.

In the "Notes on the Rituals of the Domain", there is no requirement for the etiquette of five bows and three prostrations, so why shouldn't our country abide by it? "

Cui Wukui yelled angrily from the side: "But in the "Notes on the Rituals of the Domain", there is no mention of bowing!"

Zhao Jinggao argued again: "Our country respects the emperor's orders and dare not stand up to greet the edict, so to show respect, we added the ceremony of bowing."

Li Rusong, who was sitting nearby and watching the excitement, was puzzled. Are all the monarchs and ministers of North Korea losing their minds and going crazy?

What time is it now? We are just one breath away from the destruction of the country and the annihilation of our species. How dare we talk to the Ming Dynasty about etiquette here?

Shouldn't the greeting of the imperial edict be a grand ceremony of five bows and three kowtows? What does it mean to just want to bow?

Lin Tailai had a guess in his mind. There might be two reasons.

First, the internal party struggle in Korea today is also very fierce, even more intense than that of the Ming Dynasty.

Previously there was the Eastern Party and the Western Party, and then the Eastern Party split into the Southern Party and the Northern Party, and they fought in a mess.

In such an extreme environment, it’s not surprising that something strange appears.

The second is the heartfelt worries of the monarchs and ministers of North Korea. Ming Dynasty will take this opportunity to annex North Korea.

Therefore, trying to elevate oneself on etiquette issues in an attempt to express "toughness" and "dignity" is a bit stern and inwardly timid.

Cui Wukui was still arguing angrily with Zhao Jinggao, the far-reaching envoy of the Joseon Kingdom, "The "Fans Guoyi Notes" you took were made during the reign of Emperor Gao, and have been changed in subsequent dynasties!"

Zhao Jinggao argued: "Our country has only received the "Notes on the Rituals of the Domain" issued by Emperor Gao Gao, and we only respect this as the old system!"

Then he probably felt that Cui Wukui was just a nobody and there was no need to waste words on Cui Wukui, so Zhao Jinggao turned to Lin Tailai and said firmly:

"The "Notes on the Rituals of the Domain" does not stipulate the fine etiquette for welcoming the imperial edict. It was King Sejong of our country who thought it was inappropriate to welcome the imperial edict immediately, so he took the initiative to add the ceremony of bowing to give preferential treatment to the Ming Dynasty!

I would like to warn the generals to clearly understand the painstaking efforts of our country, understand the difficulty of diplomatic relations, and not to do anything extraneous. "

Human beings' joys and sorrows are not the same. Lin Tailai only felt that Zhao Jinggao was noisy. So he raised his head and shouted toward the door: "Where is the swordsman?"

The right protector Zhang Wu appeared outside the door with several big men, waiting for orders.

Lin Tailai pointed at Zhao Jinggao and ordered angrily: "Push this idiot out of the gate and behead him!"

Zhao Jing held his head high and showed no fear on his face. Lin Jinglue, who are you pretending to scare?

Threats and abuse are not fighting! Whoever is a coward is the grandson!

Zhang Wu received the military order and led his men to push Zhao Jinggao outside the courtyard gate.

Zhao Jinggao showed disdain. As long as he saw through this bluffing trick, there was nothing to be afraid of.

Isn't it just deliberately using this method to threaten yourself into changing your words? There are many similar things like this in the history books of ancient times.

Can you really kill yourself? As long as you survive to the end, you will hear that the sword will spare someone.

Then Zhao Jinggao was forced to the ground, and when he turned around, he saw a bright broadsword.

The sword and ax were held across the neck without changing its direction. Zhao Jinggao was still thinking of saying a few harsh words to leave his name in history, but he saw the big sword chopped down without hesitation!

"Damn it! Are you serious?" This was probably the voice of Zhao Jinggao, the North Korean military commander, at the last moment of his life.

Cui Wukui stood in front of the hall, looking at the head of the envoy from far away. He was so shocked that he couldn't say a complete sentence, "This, this, this"

The two countries are at war and they haven't beheaded the envoys. How can you, Lin Jinglue, directly behead the envoys of a friendly country?

Then Cui Wukui began to wonder, was Lin Jinglue the first person in history to kill an envoy from a friendly country?

At this moment, Lin Jinglue's voice came from the shadows deep in the lobby, "Cui Xingren, please send this head across the river without any explanation. Let North Korea find another distant envoy to negotiate."

As an old diplomat, Cui Wukui had never experienced anything like this.

Why can't we agree on another one? Continue to chop?

After physically removing the annoying envoy, Lin Tailai felt much better and smiled at Li Rusong:

"I hate this kind of rude behavior the most in my life! A mere vassal state doesn't even want to kowtow and bow three times, but it actually thinks that bowing is giving me face?

I really don’t know what they think. Anyway, I don’t want to deal with idiots who don’t know etiquette! "

General Li, who was in his regular uniform and sitting sideways, suddenly felt that the chair under his butt was so hot.

Should I be more polite in my words and deeds?