The central government office in front of the capital's Gate of Heaven Influence was the office of the Great Ming's First Department, First Hall, First Supervisor, Second Court, Third Hall, Fifth Temple, and Six Departments and Three Law Departments. Every time the morning court session ended, the officials participating in the court session would come here to handle their daily business.
Among these many government offices, there was a three-door courtyard that occupied an area of about 600 square meters. Above the door, a plaque with the words "Tongshi Hall" was hung high above the door beam. That's right, this was the special department of the General Affairs Hall, which was responsible for all diplomatic matters of the Ming Dynasty!
However! In the past, this was under the jurisdiction of the Chamberlain of Dependencies. As an official office that had developed from the Tang Dynasty, it was responsible for the affairs of the domestic minorities, foreign affairs, reception activities, and court etiquette!
However, as time passed, especially during the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty, when Eunuch Sanbao led his unparalleled super fleet to the west seven times and announced the Central Dynasty's unrivalled strength, almost all the countries and regional representatives of the Central Continent gathered in the capital and bowed three times and nine times to Emperor Yongle in the magnificent Imperial Palace. For a time, the magnificence of the Great Ming Dynasty was unprecedented!
As time passed, it was the 17th year of Chongzhen. The Jiashen Rebellion, which should have happened in another time and space, did not happen in this world. Instead, more than 80 countries and regions in the Central Continent, with the Great Ming as the core, signed the " Great Ming Federation Constitution " in the Forbidden City. At that moment, a superpower that encompassed the entire Central Continent and had power that spread across two oceans was born! This ancient race also welcomed an unprecedented moment of glory. However, with this supreme glory, huge changes began to unfold in all aspects of the empire.
Firstly, the traditional concept of the tribute system in China began to collapse, because the former barbarians and foreign countries had now become the alliance countries of the Ming Empire by signing the " Ming Federation Constitution ". From then on, everyone was a family, so it was obviously not appropriate to do it like before.
As a result, the Chamberlain of Dependencies no longer needed to play a diplomatic role. Instead, it focused on managing the conflicts between the various races and groups within the country. However, just as the Ming Dynasty was busy annexing and absorbing the surrounding countries and regions, in the distant Taixi land, another completely different civilization was gradually rising.
In the beginning, they were very weak, so much so that the extremely powerful Da Ming disdained them. But at the same time, they were also a group of people who were good at learning. During that period of learning from the east to the west, this once backward civilization hungrily learned everything about the central dynasty. As long as it was advanced, he would not reject it! Thus, after a short century, these barbarians in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty rose rapidly as if they had taken drugs. Their economy, military, culture... all aspects were changing with each passing day. When the Ming Dynasty finally took them seriously, this civilization had already stood at the top of the world with a new attitude, ruling the world together with the eastern overlord. It was the European Union, and the Ming Dynasty officials also called it the "Western Thailand Alliance"!
Therefore, in order to maintain the daily communication activities with this emerging country and avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, and to monitor every move of this emerging country at all times, the embassy was officially established. It was specifically responsible for communication and exchanges with other countries and transmitting information to each other.
And now, a meeting was being held in the embassy. To be precise, it was more like a one-sided proposal. Moreover, the party who was being offered conditions was completely helpless against the other party's exorbitant demands.
"This one…and this one…this one…"
Facing the friendly smile of the governor of the Ming Dynasty's embassy, John, the ambassador of the South American Union Front to China, was shocked. Stephen kept wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. When he saw the " Coalition Against the British to Assist the Eastern Continent " in front of him, his heart beat wildly and his vision turned black.
The emperor of the Ming Country is willing to send troops to support!
This made John Senior cry tears of joy. Even if it was at the cost of the gold reserves of the entire South American Union, he could accept it. After all, in this world, the strong preyed on the weak. How could the weak not pay a price if they wanted to survive? Any problem that could be solved with money was not a problem! But the problem was that the Ming Emperor did not only want money…
Opening the borders to the Ming Dynasty, opening the ports, allowing the people of the Ming Dynasty to freely trade and mine within the borders, and at the same time handing over the right of foreign trade to the Ming Dynasty to "take care"…Finally, the words allowing the Ming Dynasty to station troops almost made Old John faint!
"Sir, aren't these terms too harsh? If we agree to them, what difference would it be from the fall of Britain?”
John Senior was trembling all over, and his assistants were even more furious. They were all dissatisfied with the Ming Kingdom's actions of taking advantage of the situation.
"Oh!" Li Fangxun, the Governor of the General Office, was an old man in his fifties. Dressed in a red shirt, he looked at the white men in suits and ties opposite him and sneered,"In that case, why would your country need to ask for help from my Great Ming? Why don't you return to your country now and wait to become second-class citizens of Britain?”
These words made the faces of Old John and the others extremely gloomy, while Big Ming's side returned a disdainful look, and some even laughed out loud without any restraint.
Finally, someone couldn't take it anymore.”
A middle-aged man from the East Continent Alliance slammed the table and stood up. He said angrily,"People of the Ming Dynasty, don't go too far. What you said just now is suspected of insulting our country's reputation. This is a serious violation of international diplomatic etiquette.”
The representative of the Great Ming side was immediately stunned, and then everyone couldn't help but laugh out loud. One of the officials even started to mock him without any politeness.
"International diplomatic etiquette! Who decided it? Since when has our great empire acknowledged the international rules set by you Taixi barbarians?”
The middle-aged man's face turned red. He was so angry that he had forgotten about this common sense. With the pride of the eastern overlord, how could he agree with the rules of the game set by the Caucasians? The atmosphere became even more solemn.
Observing coldly for a while, the director of the embassy, Li Fangxun, understood that the purpose of this negotiation was not to drive these guys away, but to cooperate with the Emperor's plan. So the old man cleared his throat and said loudly,""Ambassador, I have something to say. Compared to the life and death of your country, which is more important, a mere reputation or money?”
When the translator conveyed the meaning of this sentence, the other party was speechless for a moment. Stephen's expression was extremely solemn. As an ambassador of a country and a qualified politician, he naturally understood the meaning of his words. However, the price they had to pay was too high. Even if they managed to defeat the British army, they would still be controlled by others.
"This is like driving a tiger out of the front door and letting a wolf in through the back door!”A famous proverb appeared in Old John's mind.
The hesitation on the other party's face was clearly seen by the representatives of the Great Ming Dynasty. Immediately, everyone felt even more disdainful. They were all officials, but they couldn't even show their emotions. They were indeed a bunch of barbarians!
"What are you hesitating for? Don't you think it through? All of my requests are for money, but Britain wants to dig up your roots! Such a simple multiple-choice question, why are you still in a dilemma?”
Li Fangxun's words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back, making the other party suddenly see the light...
At one o'clock in the afternoon, after nearly two hours of negotiations, the people from the East Continent Alliance sat in the car with heavy expressions. At this moment, they had their own thoughts. No one knew what kind of future their country would have after signing that traitorous treaty!
"May God bless us, and we can turn the situation around!”John Senior muttered to himself in the car," The most important thing now is to send this news back to China as soon as possible. As for whether the president will agree to these conditions of the Ming Kingdom, it's not up to me, the ambassador, to decide!
British Embassy
"What? You said that the country has agreed to send troops to support us? How is that possible?”
"What's wrong? Is there news from the other side?”The military officer in charge of monitoring turned around and asked his companion.
"Oh, my God! Did you know? Buddy, the Ming people actually agreed to the possibility of sending troops to help. This is simply the worst news of the year.”
The military official was also in disbelief, but he still said calmly,""No matter what, we should first send the news back to the country so that the army can be prepared.”
"You're right, buddy. You see, I've forgotten the most important thing.”
After saying that, another military officer immediately sent an encrypted message to the country…
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