Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 554: Words from the Wise Prime Minister
The Ouchi clan, unable to accept this result, began to frantically kill the Hosokawa clan's men at the banquet. The Hosokawa clan's chief envoy Luangoka Mizusa was killed, and Song Suqing was so scared that she took the opportunity to escape.

The Ouchi clan's envoys decided to go all out and took their guards to burn, kill and loot in the Ningbo area. They also killed Liu Jin, the commander-in-chief of the Zhejiang Defense Forces, during the conflict.

The Jiajing Emperor was furious and completely closed the port. After losing their trade routes for two consecutive decades, the Japanese daimyo directly went ashore to rob, pretending to be ronin, and eventually started the famous "Jiajing Great Japanese Pirates".

The parties that caused this conflict.

Song Suqing was arrested in Shaoxing and died in prison.

A ship of the escaped imperial envoys sailed to Korea. When the Koreans inquired about it, they thought, "Wow, you offended your father and you still want to leave?" They immediately killed more than 30 people and captured more than 20 alive. They all sent them to the Ming Dynasty to be beheaded.

The high profits generated by the interruption of trade have led to a significant resurgence in smuggling.

Then, the interest groups that benefited greatly from smuggling forced tribute to the court and began to block the court's maritime trade, which brought down the Ming Dynasty's finances ahead of time.

A collusion between a traitor and a thief for a little benefit had a profound impact on this huge empire.

When Captain Pei thought of this, he couldn't help but ask himself, does the Ming Dynasty need such a despicable person?
This can't be done.

Pei Yuan became interested in Liu Pang's plan. "So what are you going to do?"

Liu Pang hesitated and said, "Although I have found the weakness of the Japanese, the Japanese envoy may not care about Song Suqing's life or death. Once the quarrel breaks out, I am afraid there will be other disputes."

Liu Pang hesitated for a while, and said a little embarrassedly, "There are tens of thousands of people in the Ming Dynasty, and it is inevitable that there are unworthy people. If we cause a conflict between the two countries because of one or two lawless people, I am afraid it will not be good."

"Even if I can point out their faults and make the small country obey, I am afraid that I will be seen as being aggressive and cause the displeasure of the superiors."

"So I hope to borrow the power of the Thousand Households to bring them together and send them away."

Only then did Pei Yuan understand Liu Pang's thoughts.

It turned out that this guy was feeling a little uncomfortable with the Japanese delegation, so he planned to take advantage of the Japanese delegation's hiring of Ming people to gain control over them.

However, the laws of the Ming Dynasty were strict. Once the matter was exposed, Song Suqing, who had colluded with the vassal, would be held accountable, and the Japanese delegation might even be implicated.

If this happens, the matter will become a big deal. If his superiors think that he is causing trouble for the Ministry of Rites, he might even be framed.

It would be unwise to sacrifice one's personal future for official business.

You should know that the next time the Japanese envoys came to pay tribute would be ten years later. Ten years later, Liu Pang was no longer in the Ministry of Guests and Guests.

Why does he care about these things?
As long as you can fool people now, there will always be the next unlucky person to take over.

Pei Yuan thought for a moment and asked calmly, "I am willing to speak up for Brother Liu, but I'm afraid it's not appropriate for me to be involved in this matter, right?"

Liu Pang hurriedly said, "It fits!"

After that, he explained, "The spies I sent out occasionally heard the conversation between the Japanese envoy Ryoan Keigo and his subordinates. During the conversation, Ryoan Keigo once said to his subordinates in amazement, 'The ghost beast Pei Yuan is indeed terrifying, and his reputation is well deserved.'"

Pei Yuan was a little confused after hearing this. How could he be considered a "ghostly Pei Yuan"?

Fortunately, Liu Pang quickly explained, "I asked the spy and he said that the battle at Da Ci'en Temple a few days ago also attracted many vassal envoys to watch the battle."

"They all witnessed Captain Pei's extraordinary bravery in defeating Jiang Bin, the most powerful general in suppressing the rebellion."

"Also, I don't know where they got the news from, saying that Captain Pei Yuan was unruly and lawless, and even the royal family members often beat him with their fists."

"After they saw the demeanor of the Qianhu at the Da Ci'en Temple, they went back and told the delegation to be more cautious and not to fall into the hands of the Qianhu."

Pei Yuan was full of doubts after hearing this.

Speaking of beating royal relatives, it seems that only Xia Zhu was beaten before. Could it be that the unreliable father and son of the Xia family told others about it?

Are these two guys itching for trouble again?

Pei Yuan thought about it and didn't think it was a big problem.

Just fight.

The Xia family father and son are already under his control and will not go out and complain.

As for the others, they were eager to see the excitement in the Xia family.

However, he did not expect that this incident would unexpectedly help him improve his reputation with the Japanese delegation.

That’s right, the Japanese like to bully the weak and fear the strong.

Pei Yuan explained to Liu Pang indifferently, "In the past, Emperor Taizong of Tang once said that barbarians are beasts who fear power but not virtue. Now that I think about it, it is probably true."

"Since I have a little reputation among the Japanese, I am willing to come forward and help Brother Liu overcome this difficulty."

Liu Pang was overjoyed when he heard this, and quickly said to Pei Yuan, "My dear brother, you are indeed a man of justice. No wonder you were able to stand up and teach Liang Cixi a lesson."

Pei Yuan heard this and thought to himself that it seemed that Liu Pang didn't just think of looking for him on a whim.

Before this, I must have found out a lot about myself.

Fortunately, Pei Yuan rarely appears in the capital, and except for the recent rumors about him and Jiang Bin which are not very decent, everything else is acceptable.

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "No problem. Brother Liu, please ask the spy to come to Zhihua Temple and let me inquire about it in detail. I will have someone take charge of this matter and get the evidence of Song Suqing as soon as possible."

Seeing that Pei Yuan agreed so readily, Liu Pang felt very grateful.

Before, as a ceremonial doctor in the Ministry of Rites, he often handled matters with the Zhenxie Thousand Households Unit, so he had already known about the Zhenxie Thousand Households Unit for a long time.

Liu Pang never treated Pei Yuan, the Jinyi Guard Captain in charge of clean affairs, as an ordinary Jinyi Guard.

Seeing Pei Yuan being so generous and righteous now, and thinking of the kindness he had received before, he couldn't help but say, "If you can get through this, I will definitely repay you in the future."

Pei Yuan didn't think much about this.

The momentary excitement in a specific situation is usually just talk.

Only when the interests of both parties tend to be consistent can such exchanges of favors have the possibility of expecting rewards.

Pei Yuan comforted him, "Brother Liu, just wait patiently."

Perhaps Liu Pang's worries were relieved, and his temporary favorability towards Pei Yuan also increased. He couldn't help but reveal some of his thoughts, "I think that although the emperor is magnanimous, he may not be without the intention of giving a small punishment or a big warning. I'm afraid that the matter of North Korea will have more twists and turns later."

Pei Yuan thought about Zhu Houzhao's response in history, and it seemed that he had indeed regained the upper hand.

Not long after, the secretly proud Korean envoys were asked to wear strange clothes and perform archery to liven up the banquet.

North Korea has always regarded itself as a branch of Chinese civilization, but it did not expect that it would be ruthlessly treated as a barbarian by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty just because of a slight impoliteness in its attempts to test the country.

Since you don't know the rules of etiquette, then I, the Ming Dynasty, will simply treat you as barbarians. You shameless bastard!
The Korean envoys wrote in their records that in the face of the Ming emperor's harsh sarcasm, they had to "force a smile to maintain courtesy."

Pei Yuan thought about Zhao Zige's response and was very satisfied with it, so he reminded Liu Pang, "The emperor has his own ideas. If he takes over this trouble, you just need to obey the king's orders."

Liu Pang hesitated and asked, "What if the emperor's behavior is disrespectful and causes criticism from people far away?"

"In addition to being a doctor in the Ministry of Rites, I am also an official in the Ministry of Rites. If the Korean envoys come crying and making a scene, it would be difficult for me, a civil official, to sit back and watch the emperor making a fuss and be laughed at by the world, right?"

Pei Yuan said coldly, "They are already so rude, how much more rude can the emperor be? Even Confucius said that we should repay kindness with kindness and repay evil with justice. Isn't the emperor's rudeness what Korea deserves?"

Pei Yuan was afraid that Liu Pang was confused, so he reminded him, "You must first be united in facing the outside world, and then consider your etiquette and education."

"Back then, the wise minister Fang Xuanling once said this."

"Goryeo is a lowly species on the border. They are not worthy of being treated with kindness and justice, nor should they be held to common courtesy. In ancient times, they were kept as fish and turtles, so we should be generous with them. If we must exterminate them, we are afraid that the animals will fight when they are desperate... If Goryeo violates our loyalty, we can punish it; if it harasses the people, we can destroy it; if it can cause trouble to China in the long run, we can eliminate it. If we can do any of these, we will not feel ashamed even if we kill ten thousand men a day."

"It would be fine if North Korea was docile, but in order to prevent them from becoming desperate and aggressive, we can tolerate them. If they lose their loyalty, harass the people, and become a threat to China, the wise ministers of the past said, 'It is no shame to kill ten thousand men a day.'"

"Brother Liu, why bother yourself with such a trivial matter?"

After being persuaded by Pei Yuan, Liu Pang finally understood.

Then he said, "I know what's going on. Even if someone else writes a letter to advise me, I won't take the lead."

Perhaps because he saw that Pei Yuan's words were very helpful to him, Liu Pang could not help but continue to ask Pei Yuan for advice on the matter of vassal tribute.

"The Japanese and North Korean envoys are now in Beijing. It seems that they will not leave in the short term."

"In this way, we can catch up with the grand sacrifice in the first month of next year. In previous years, the Korean envoys were all in the seventh class of the east palace. Now the Japanese envoy is also here, how should I arrange his position?"

Things like ranking are, well, quite important.

Especially when the feudal states of Korea and Japan came together, they always wanted to take the initiative.

Moreover, the dispute over seating order at banquets in the Central Plains dynasties has been a topic they have been fighting about for thousands of years.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Silla and Japan began to argue over who would sit in the seat of honor.

Pei Yuan now has his roots in Shandong, and there are a large number of Jinshi from Shandong and Liaodong who are about to rise in his power. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is a Shandong person in spirit.

When it comes to setting up the banquet, I admit that I have some superficial views.

Pei Yuan then asked Liu Pang, "According to the existing etiquette system, what should we do?"

Liu Pang replied, "Since ancient times, Korea has been the leader of the Dongyi. They follow the orthodox system and are the most diligent in paying tribute. Our Central Plains dynasty has always allowed Korea to be at the top."

"Later, the Japanese king Minamoto no Yoshimitsu was conferred a title, and the envoys who came to pay tribute demanded to be ranked on the same level as Korea. However, my Ming Dynasty only gave Japan a middle rank on the grounds that 'the Japanese pirates had not been pacified.'"

Pei Yuanzan said, "Isn't this clear all along? Then let's handle it this way."

Liu Pang said in embarrassment, "But this time, Japan's chief envoy An Keigo clearly stated that he wanted to be the leader of the Dongyi, and also vaguely threatened to release the Japanese pirates."

"Japan is stronger than Korea, and the threat from Japan is a threat to the heart of Ming. I'm afraid this matter cannot be dealt with according to common sense."

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "If that's the case, let's leave this matter to the Grand Secretaries. They are the smartest people in our Ming Dynasty, and they will always find a way."

Liu Pang was speechless after hearing this, and after a long while he said, "In this case, doesn't it make me seem too incompetent?"

Pei Yuan felt that Liu Pang was thinking too much and couldn't help but complain, "If the thousands of years of rivalry between these two countries was easily resolved by Brother Liu, wouldn't that be even more outrageous?"

"Besides, North Korea is close and Japan is far away, so making Japan hate North Korea may not be a bad thing."

Liu Pang and Pei Yuan's worries disappeared after chatting, and they left happily.

Pei Yuan called Cen Meng over again and told him, "Go to Siyi Hall or Huitong Hall to check where the Japanese delegation is staying. There is a man named Song Suqing in there. Go and try to capture him."

After hearing this, Cen Meng immediately said, "I will do it right away."

After Cen Meng left, not long after, a messenger came to report that someone recommended by Doctor Liu from the Ministry of Rites came to pay a visit.

Pei Yuan was very interested in this businessman who was fluent in Japanese and immediately asked someone to find him.

When the merchant saw Pei Yuan, he bowed down hurriedly and called out his name.

When Pei Yuan saw that the merchant named Cai Rong was short in stature, he almost thought he was a Japanese.

He immediately examined her and asked, "Where are you from, and why did you learn Japanese?"

After hearing this, Cai Rong bowed quickly in reply.

It turned out that Cai Rong was from Daxing and his family ran a small dental practice.

When Japanese envoys came to Beijing during the Hongzhi period, they secretly found people to help sell the contraband they were carrying.

Cai Rong's family was related to the people in the Ministry of Rites at that time, so he took on this business.

After selling goods, the Japanese envoys would purchase supplies from the Ming Dynasty and then ship them back.

As a result, a lot of time was wasted.

Cai Rong had a lot of exchanges with the Japanese envoys who handled the matter, and gradually learned a lot of Japanese from them.

He thought that he had found a unique business that would be passed down from generation to generation for his family. However, he did not expect that after the Japanese delegation came to Beijing, they did not take his broker seriously at all, and even refused to let the broker get involved in the sale of supplies.

Cai Rong suspected that one of his colleagues had stolen his business, so he secretly waited outside the post station.

Gradually, he discovered the unusualness of Song Suqing.

In order to seize this deal, Cai Rong studied a lot of things related to Japan. He knew that collusion with the vassal was a capital crime, so he went to the Ministry of Rites to file a lawsuit, hoping that the Ministry of Rites would arrest Song Suqing so that he could get the business back.

As a result, Liu Pang was overjoyed when he learned about this, but then, he could only stare blankly.

Even if he knew these suspicious points about Song Suqing, Liu Pang would not be able to capture a member of the Japanese delegation for interrogation without hard evidence.

Even if interrogated, Song Suqing, knowing that she was going to die, would not admit it. The Japanese delegation, knowing that they were in the wrong, would not allow Liu Pang to continue the investigation.

Liu Pang had finally found an opportunity to show off his skills in this confusing matter, so naturally he was unwilling to let it go.

So he pretended that the prize was his own and went to seek help from the unruly Jinyiwei.

Pei Yuan smiled when he heard this. He was a sensible man and knew that Liu Pang urgently needed this credit, so he did not point it out and let Cai Rong continue.

(End of this chapter)