Chapter 1727 Diplomatic occasions
Zheng Ting actually doesn't know much about Haihan's actions in Northeast Asia in the past year or two. Although Annan Kingdom also sent military observers to accompany Haihan's army to the battlefield in Liaodong, the area they could move was only near the battlefield. It was difficult for them to have a clear understanding of the international situation of the Liaodong Peninsula and the Korean Peninsula like Haihan. The news sent back to the country was often only rough information such as the Haihan Army defeated the Liaodong Barbarian Army on a certain day in a certain month, occupied a certain place, and killed several enemies.
Therefore, regarding the diplomatic situation between North Korea and Haihan, Zheng Ting only knew that the two countries had just established diplomatic relations last year, but he did not know that there were some twists and turns between the two parties before the establishment of diplomatic relations. It can even be said that Haihan forced North Korea to The person signed the covenant. The biggest reason for the alliance between the two countries was that they were forced by the external situation to join forces to deal with the Houjin Kingdom, the main enemy in the Liaodong region. This was different from the situation when Annan formed an alliance with Haihan during the civil war.
Because Xu Yuzhuo had a close relationship with Haihan's navy and had even been to the Liaodong battlefield in person, he had a better understanding of the situation in Liaodong and probably knew that Haihan had roped in North Korea. However, he was a little surprised to see members of the royal family of Korea in Sanya, because in the history he knew in the past, Korea had always only submitted to the orthodox dynasty of China and would not show too much respect to other countries. Too close. Japan and Hou Jin, who tried to tame North Korea by force, have never succeeded so far.
However, North Korea actually sent a member of the royal family all the way to Sanya to participate in Haihan's national celebration. If this news reached the capital, the high-ranking officials in the court would probably immediately write an article accusing the North Korean royal family of not knowing the rules. Although the Ming Dynasty has now established diplomatic relations with Haihan, it is probably not a good feeling to see the vassal states that used to support it turn to Haihan, and the status of the Celestial Kingdom to be snatched away by its newly rising neighbor.
And Li Xi has no precise understanding of his country's international image. The only countries he has mainly come into contact with in the past are the Ming Dynasty, Hou Jin Dynasty, Japan, and Haihan. Japan is an enemy, and Haihan is a newly allied ally. As for other countries and forces, most of the information Li Xi knows only comes from classics and rumors, and has no actual contact experience.
Li Xi had only seen the names of countries like Annan in the South China Sea in books in the past, but when he discovered that the young generals of Annan looked and talked like Han Chinese, he naturally felt a certain affinity with them. As for the man from Fujian, Li Xi didn't dare to neglect him. After all, Xu Yuzhuo's official position was the commander of the navy of a province, and the Fujian navy was the most powerful surface force in the Ming Dynasty. This status was still very intimidating. of.
Although the three people came from different countries and had known each other for a long time, they unexpectedly got along well. After completing the check-in procedures, the three of them inquired about each other, and sure enough, they had all received invitations to today's welcome dinner, and they made an appointment to have a drink and chat at that time.
This is not the first time that Zheng Ting and Xu Yuzhuo have settled in a guest house specially used to receive foreign guests. Needless to say, they are familiar with the road. Li Xi was quite curious about this place, especially after the waiter at the Guest House introduced him to the use of bathroom equipment and hot water. After Li Xi used it himself, he couldn't help but sigh that Haihan people really enjoy life. No wonder they came all the way from the north. , and found that the upper class people in the southern coastal provinces of the Ming Dynasty would be proud to imitate Haihan. Who wouldn't like such comfort and convenience.
In addition, Li Xi also noticed that the Haihan people's intentions can be deeply felt here, whether it is decoration or services. Although he is not a prince, he is still at the top of society in North Korea. He has also represented North Korea as an envoy to the Ming Dynasty in the past, and his vision and experience are still far better than ordinary people.
Every brick, tile, plant and tree in this guest house, and all the furnishings and supplies in the house, all highlighted the word "classy". Li Xi subconsciously compared the guest house in Seoul used to welcome the Ming envoys with this one, and suddenly There is a big difference in quality, and I even feel that my own is a bit shabby.
Li Xi remembered that Zheng Ting had mentioned before that Annan Kingdom had already established an embassy in Sanya, but the accommodation environment was not as good as the Haihan Guest House, so every time the young prince Zheng Zha came to Sanya, he still settled in the Guest House instead of his own embassy. Thinking about the budget he had for building the embassy, Li Xi felt that after the North Korean embassy was completed, it would probably be impossible to match the conditions of the guest house.
Currently, there are six or seven countries that have embassies in Haihan, and they all maintain close contacts with Haihan. However, no matter which country, it is difficult to compare the comfort level of the embassy with Haihan Guest House. After all, Haihan spent a lot of money when he built the guest house, and it is almost impossible to invest the same level of funds in the construction of foreign embassies.
On the contrary, those permanent institutions that are not embassies have much better living conditions than embassies because they have sufficient budgets. For example, the Fujian Xu family has a special permanent office in Sanya, which is responsible for managing the cross-border trade operated by the Xu family, as well as daily communication and collaboration in politics, military, economy, trade, culture and other aspects. The comprehensive institution built by Xu is even more impressive than the Ming Dynasty Embassy, which is nearing the end of construction. There are nearly a hundred people stationed in Sanya, far more than the Ming Dynasty Embassy with Fei Cexian as the ambassador.
In addition, there are also industries such as "Fu Ruifeng" that are deployed in Sanya by commercial giants. There are already two large-scale business warehouses. As for the residence built by Li Nai, it is even more luxurious. Most of the building materials and furniture are Shipped from Guangdong, it was so luxurious that even senior officials from Haihan could only sigh, "It's great to have money."
Li Xi saw that it was still early for the dinner to start, so he went to the bathroom to take a shower and change clothes, enjoying the convenience of a Haihan-style hot bath. The temperature here is much higher than in Seoul. After taking a shower, Li Xi wore single clothes and leaned on the easy chair on the balcony. There were ice-cold freshly squeezed juices and exquisite snacks next to him. He could see the busy streets in the distance without standing up. Port Victory. Such leisurely enjoyment made him temporarily forget the hardship of traveling by sea all the way from Manila. The breeze blew against his face, and Li Xi fell asleep just sitting like this.
By the time the servant woke him up from his sleep, it was getting dark, and people from Haihan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs were already waiting at the door to pick him up to attend the welcome dinner hosted by the Executive Committee tonight. Li Xi quickly got up and tidied his clothes. He was going to meet Haihan's leading figure tonight, so he had to dress appropriately. After all, in this formal diplomatic event, he represented the face of North Korea.
The banquet was held at the National Hall near Fort Victory. In addition to hosting large-scale meetings, hosting high-level banquets was also one of its functions. Banquets like today, attended by envoys and dignitaries from multiple countries, are rare even in Sanya, which is gradually growing into an international city.
Whether it is for Haihan or other countries, such an international social occasion is very rare, so the guest of honor attaches great importance to this dinner. Haihan started preparing for this dinner a month ago. Some high-end ingredients and drinks were even shipped across the sea from other countries. The cost was really not a small amount.
However, in the opinion of the executive committee, this kind of expenditure is very worthwhile. As long as Haihan can once again establish a high-level image in front of guests from many countries, there will naturally be opportunities to slowly recover this publicity investment through other means in the future.
In addition to envoys and officials from various countries, transnational businessmen representing the interests of various countries were also present at the dinner. Today, all countries that interact with Haihan know that the emphasis on business and management is one of the fundamental conditions for the rapid rise of this emerging country. Haihan continues to strengthen its national strength through large and small cross-border trade. During this process, many businessmen were able to take advantage of the situation and became important figures that officials in various countries had to pay attention to. The road leading to the National Hall had been closed several hours in advance, and hundreds of patrol police were stationed at various intersections to prevent stray people from getting in. When Li Xi arrived here in a carriage prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was also inspected and allowed to pass after his identity was verified.
After the next time, a waiter came forward to complete the handover with the coachman, and then took Li Xi into the National Hall. Li Xi was quite curious about this square, tall, gray building, so he stopped the waiter and stopped to take a look at the appearance of the building. The waiter seemed not to be surprised by this, and did not rush Li Xi. He waited patiently until he had seen enough before continuing to lead the way.
After arriving at the auditorium, the waiter took Li Xi to his seat and asked him to rest for a while while waiting for the banquet to begin. Li Xi noticed that there was a standing sign on the table in front of him, which marked his nationality and identity. The layout of the venue is one person per table, and there are standing signs on each table, so there is no need to worry about sitting in the wrong seat. Li Xi entered the venue quite early, and most of the seats were still empty.
Li Xi looked to the left. There was a sign on the table indicating the seat of Annan Kingdom. However, the envoy of Annan Kingdom was the young prince Zheng Zha. This place must have been prepared for him. But he didn't know what General Zheng, whom he just met today, would be doing. When the time comes, where will you sit?
Turning around and looking to the right, it was the seat of Portugal. Li Xi originally knew very little about the Portuguese's background. It was only when he went south with the Haihan Army that he gradually learned about the situation in this Western country from General Haihan, and he couldn't say he had any likes or dislikes. Later, when the war started in Manila, Li Xi learned that Portugal had also sent armed personnel and warships to join Haihan in the war. It can be regarded as one of Haihan's military allies.
However, these are not the focus of his concern. Li Xi's only worry about participating in this banquet is how to deal with the envoy of the Ming Dynasty here. Looking around, he finally saw the seats of the Ming envoys separated by two rows. It seemed that Haihan had put some thought into arranging the seats and did not arrange the Ming and North Koreans to sit in adjacent seats.
Although the Ming Dynasty, Haihan and North Korea had secretly concluded a military alliance in Liaodong last year, Ming Dynasty was still very dissatisfied with North Korea's unauthorized establishment of diplomatic relations with Haihan. However, it is still necessary for the Haihan army to hold back the Jin army in the Liaodong Peninsula. , it’s just a bad attack. As for Li Xi's mission to Sanya, North Korea did not take the initiative to report it to the Ming Dynasty, so he was a little worried that if the Ming Dynasty envoy noticed him, he would go berserk on the spot.
At this time, Xu Yuzhuo, who he had just met today, came over to say hello to Li Xi. Li Xi knew that although this man from Fujian was an official of the Ming Dynasty in name, he was actually a local warlord who acted on his own initiative, so he asked him about the envoys of the Ming Dynasty. thing.
As soon as Xu Yuzhuo heard Li Xi's meandering questions, he guessed what he was worried about. He smiled and patted him on the shoulder and said, "Brother Li, don't worry. This is the capital of Haihan Kingdom, not the capital of Ming Dynasty. Even if the envoy of the Ming Dynasty wants to get angry with you, he must first take care of the face of the Haihan people. If he can't get along with you, he will have trouble with the Haihan people. Do you think this is true?" >
After hearing this, Li Xi was still a little worried: "Envoys from the Ming Dynasty will be honored as angels when they go to our country. How can I dare to talk to Ming officials like this?"
After Li Xi said this, he felt that it was a bit inappropriate. Xu Yuzhuo was also an official of the Ming Dynasty, so these words did not apply to him, so he quickly apologized to Xu Yuzhuo.
Xu Yuzhuo waved his hand and said: "It doesn't matter. I also know a little bit about Mr. Fei who was stationed in Haihan in the Ming Dynasty. He is the deputy of Zuosi, a minister of the Ministry of Rites. We met once when we passed through Fujian in the south. This person is not an old man. He is a bureaucrat and has been in Haihan for several months. He must have been used to Haihan’s strength. I think Brother Li is overly worried.”
"I hope so." Li Xi felt a little relieved and asked again: "Then General Xu sits alone on behalf of Fujian. Is it okay if he sees him?"
Xu Yuzhuo smiled and said, "So what if I can't stand it? If he dares to rebuke me, he will be the only one who loses face in the end. I am an official from Fujian, not from the Ministry of Rites. What qualifications does he have to dare to take care of me?" ”
After hearing this, Li Xi felt that something was wrong. Fujian was still part of the Ming Dynasty, and the officials in Fujian were also under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty. Xu Yuzhuo's tone clearly meant that he did not take the imperial court into consideration. Of course, it seems to be a normal reaction for a military attache like him who is in charge of local military power to not take civilian officials seriously.
Xu Yuzhuo said: "After the banquet later, I will come over to see Brother Li for a few drinks. If Mr. Fei wants to come to you to make trouble, I will help you take it back!"
Li Xi secretly said that he couldn't do it, and he had to thank Xu Yuzhuo for his enthusiasm. At the moment, he could only secretly pray that Mr. Fei Cexian Fei would never come to him to gain his presence, otherwise Xu Yuzhuo would really fight with him. , I am no longer a human being inside and out. The Fujian military attache could not give the officials of the Ministry of Rites this face, but he would not dare to offend the other party on behalf of North Korea.
(End of chapter)