Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 276 Let this humble servant receive those envoys?

When Emperor Zhu said these words, he was lying on the dragon bed, and Empress Ma was massaging his shoulders.

After Emperor Zhu finished speaking, Empress Ma slapped him on the back and scolded him without any politeness: "Feeling good, huh? Not complaining about being tired, huh? If you're not tired, why did you ask me to massage your shoulders?"

"Don't you think about your age? How old is your good son-in-law? You've been through so much over the years, how many hidden injuries must you have? Who can outlast you? Why don't you take care of your health?"

Emperor Zhu, beaming with delight after being scolded, chuckled and said, "Don't worry, sister, I know what I'm doing. Besides, I have you to help me massage him, but that scoundrel has no one to help him. Also, haven't the envoys from Goryeo and Annam arrived in the capital? Tomorrow, I'll have Biao'er take him there to broaden his horizons."

Seeing that Emperor Zhu was still up to his old tricks, Empress Ma couldn't help but sigh and massaged his shoulders again: "Forget it, I can't control whether you can endure it or not, but you have to take good care of your health."

……

"I?"

Magistrate Yang pointed at himself and looked at Zhu Biao, asking, "Are you really going to let me receive those envoys? No, didn't I bring four scholars with me?"

Zhu Biao smiled and nodded, saying, "That's right, didn't my brother-in-law say that a great nation should be magnanimous? I've always wanted to know how to be magnanimous."

"As for the four scholars that my brother-in-law brought, I plan to arrange them in the Ministry of Personnel and send them on missions to various countries later. As for the current envoys from Annam and Goryeo, I still need to ask my brother-in-law to personally entertain them so that the four of them can learn more."

Seeing that he couldn't refuse, Magistrate Yang readily agreed, saying, "Alright, since Your Highness has said so, then I will do my best."

Upon seeing that Magistrate Yang had agreed, Zhu Biao was overjoyed and immediately ordered someone to bring over all kinds of documents related to Annam and Goryeo.

Magistrate Yang took the document, glanced at it, and then said with a smile, "Annam has two or even three harvests a season. It's a place you can't find even with a lantern."

Zhu Biao sighed helplessly and said, "How could I not know that in Annam there are two or three harvests a season?"

"However, the court's current focus is on the northern expedition against the Yuan dynasty, and it cannot spare the time to deal with places like Annam."

"Another reason is that Annam is extremely humid and miasma-ridden. Without a guide familiar with the local environment, it is really not advisable to embark on such a long expedition."

"Furthermore, Annam has already sent envoys to the court. If we are to wage war, we must have a legitimate reason for it."

Hearing Zhu Biao's words, Magistrate Yang couldn't help but feel a sense of helplessness.

The so-called "just cause" is completely irrelevant. After all, there are so many scholars in the Ming Dynasty court; they could easily find a whole host of excuses by flipping through a few history books.

Even if you really can't find an excuse, you can learn from Zhu Laosi—when Zhu Laosi went to smash Arutai's place, his slogan was to avenge Liu Laosan's defeat at Baideng.

What truly stopped Emperor Zhu and Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and others was the remnants of Hu Yuan's forces and the miasma of Annam.

After pondering it over again, Magistrate Yang finally spoke up: "Since we can't conquer Annam, why not spend money to buy grain?"

Zhu Biao was slightly taken aback and asked, "Buy grain?"

Zhu Biao believed that Magistrate Yang was truly eager to conquer Annam.

To say that Magistrate Yang would honestly take money to Annam to buy grain was something Zhu Biao would never believe, even if he were beaten to death.

Magistrate Yang chuckled and said, "Yes, it's about buying grain. However, the merchants going this time can be genuine merchants or not."

"Or rather, it's true that they sent people to buy grain, and it's also true that they sent people to map out the terrain over there with the monkeys."

"It's true that we're buying grain. It's because there are three harvests a year there, and those monkeys can get a good harvest with just a little effort. But the Ming Dynasty is currently fighting against the Hu Yuan, which is exactly when we need grain. Rather than letting the monkeys eat the grain, it's better to spend money to buy it."

Zhu Biao hummed in agreement, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Anything else?"

Magistrate Yang smiled and said, "That depends on whether Your Highness is ruthless enough."

Zhu Biao was stunned again and asked, "What do you mean?"

Magistrate Yang said, "If Your Highness doesn't care about the monkeys' lives, you can send one or two ruthless scholars to arrange for them to defect to various 'enlightened rulers' over there. In a few years, Annam will be in chaos."

"If Your Highness cares about the lives of those monkeys, then appoint Chen Rizhen as the King of Annam, and select another person who is loyal to our Great Ming to be appointed as the Prime Minister of Annam. The rest can be left to those merchants."

"For example, the court can reduce the taxes levied on merchants who go to Annam for business."

Zhu Biao stared blankly at Magistrate Yang and asked, "Brother-in-law, are you trying to fool me? You said before that Ningyang County lacks merchants, and if there were a large number of merchants in Ningyang County, it would definitely be richer than it is now. If I send a large number of merchants to Annam, wouldn't that make Annam earn even more money and make them richer?"

Magistrate Yang chuckled and said, "Your Highness, merchants who are regulated are merchants, but who knows what kind of scoundrels are those who aren't regulated?"

"Moreover, these merchants have the backing of the Ming Dynasty, so they certainly won't take the local officials, merchants, and people of Annam seriously. They'll probably do all sorts of messy and troublesome things, and they might just provoke public anger in Annam one day."

Zhu Biao immediately understood.

"An Guo Shao Ji?"

Zhu Biao chuckled and said, "That's not necessarily a bad thing. After all, all we, the Ming Dynasty, need is their grain. The rest is none of our business."

Magistrate Yang added, "We can also buy copper, iron, coal, and firewood. We can buy anything, as long as the price of bringing it back is lower than the price of purchasing it in Ming."

After thinking for a moment, Magistrate Yang frowned and said, "Actually, besides merchants, there are other things that can be used against Annam."

"For example, mining rights, or setting up a garrison, or allowing them to carve out a piece of land in their capital, with the Ming Dynasty sending an envoy to reside there permanently."

As soon as Magistrate Yang finished speaking, Zhu Biao nodded emphatically and said, "Then I'll leave it to my brother-in-law!"

As for the sticks, neither Magistrate Yang nor Zhu Biao mentioned them at all.

At this time, the Koreans were having a worse time than the monkeys. After all, the monkeys at least had the advantage of three harvests a year, while the Koreans were really having a hard time.