Chapter 2247
For more than two hundred years, the Ming Dynasty has maintained the authoritative image of the Kingdom of Heaven in East Asia. Whether it is politics, culture, military, or international trade, which has never been taken seriously by the court, Ming Dynasty is in a position that other countries look up to in these fields.
And vassal states like North Korea were completely on the side of the Ming Dynasty politically. Even the king's ascension to the throne required the canonization of the Ming Emperor to be justified. In addition, the country's homeland security was placed under the military protection of the Ming Dynasty. Under the Ming Dynasty, the response to the invasion of powerful foreign enemies was to request reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty.
Going back more than ten years, North Koreans would probably not be able to imagine voluntarily severing from their sovereign state, the Ming Dynasty, let alone think that the country's model for imitation would be a South China Sea island country that was founded less than ten years ago. If someone told Andao Shi about this situation, he would definitely think that this person was insane. How could there be a country in the world that could replace the status and role of Ming Dynasty?
But now Ando Shi understands a truth, anything is possible. A country that did not even exist ten years ago is now a power that cannot be ignored. There are many things that Ming Dynasty cannot do, but Haihan can do them and do them better. This at least shows that in some aspects, especially in the military field, Haihan can partially replace Ming Dynasty's position.
But it is obvious that Haihan's ambitions will not stop here. The holding of this foreign military cadet competition is actually Haihan's intention to demonstrate his military strength to the outside world through this special form. Andao Shi may not have seen it thoroughly enough, but Dong Shangyi has been in contact with Haihan for several years, and his understanding of this is obviously better than his.
An Daoshi sighed: "Haihan does have such strength. No matter what others think, I am so impressed. If we can learn the five basic skills of the Haihan Army, Korea will no longer have to worry about the Qing army in the future." The invasion from the south may bring peace to our country.”
Dong Shangyi smiled and said: "Peace? Wouldn't it be depressing if Brother An learned all the skills in Haihan but had no battles to fight? Taiping is a good thing for the people, but for us who eat military rations, that may not be the case. We don't go out to fight. Enemy, where does the military merit lead to our promotion?”
Although An Daoshi felt that Dong Shangyi's words were a bit biased, he couldn't refute it directly, so he had to follow Dong Shangyi's wishes and said: "Brother Dong's words are reasonable. I'll take a lesson from you!"
Dong Shangyi added: "Most of the people who performed well in this competition in previous years were promoted immediately after returning to their place of origin, which shows that all parties attach great importance to this. This year, Haihan also specially expanded the scale and invited more VIPs come to watch the competition. I think I can get more rewards based on my performance... The prince of your country will definitely come to watch the battle. Brother An can try hard to fight for it. Maybe the prince will be happy and give you the title of general. Class posts! ”
Prince Andao Shixindao has already announced the rewards for this event, but the requirements are too high, and he may not be able to get them even if he tries his best. As for the general, there is no need to think about it. Maybe in ten or eight years, I will have the opportunity to take my turn!
However, the event organized by Haihan may not be popular with everyone. Some people are happy and some are worried. Even if they have received the invitation, there are still some people who are very dissatisfied with this arrangement.
"This is simply unreasonable! What kind of situation are you going to put our Ming Dynasty in!"
In the Ming Dynasty Embassy in Sanya, Fei Cexian was losing his temper over the invitation letter on his desk. Several subordinates around him lowered their heads and did not even dare to express their anger.
In fact, Fei Cexian rarely gets angry in front of his subordinates, but that's why once his emotions break out, his subordinates don't even dare to persuade him. They can only wait for him to calm down on his own. The reason for Fei Cexian's anger today was the invitation letter on his desk.
Regarding this martial arts competition, Fei Cexian actually received some faint rumors a few days ago. It goes without saying that if Haihan engages in this activity, it will bring disgrace to Ming Dynasty. However, Fei Cexian has been on the mission to Haihan for such a long time and has long been accustomed to Haihan's various disrespectful behaviors towards Ming Dynasty, both overtly and covertly. As long as it's not humiliating in person, it's usually okay to just turn a blind eye. After all, he also knew that if he had to argue with Haihan about right and wrong in everything, he would only be the one who would suffer in the end.
But since Haihan released the official news, the matter has suddenly become more popular among all walks of life, and people can be heard talking about it in various places on the streets. There are many arguments linking this activity with the Ming Dynasty.
The debate that Fei Cexian heard the most was the topic of "whether the Fujian Xu Jiajun who participated in the competition could represent the Ming Dynasty." Of course he knew that Fujian Xu Xinsu and his group were very close to Haihan, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were local puppets supported by Haihan in the Ming Dynasty.
Since the early years of assisting Xu Xinsu against the Shibazhi and the Dutch, the military exchanges between the two sides have exceeded the scope allowed by the Ming court. Over the years, with the support of Haihan, Xu Xinsu worked his way up from the general of the small navy to the commander-in-chief of the Fujian Army. The imperial court wanted to transfer him to the capital's Ministry of War over and over again, but Xu Xinsu always listened to the announcement and refused to do so. However, the imperial court also knew that Fujian had sent troops several times to fight overseas with the Haihan Army. It is hard to say how many military attachés in Fujian were actually following the imperial court's orders.
Xu Xinsu has such a close relationship with Haihan, so it is logical to send people to Haihan for training. Fei Cexian is not surprised that the Fujian Ming Army will appear in this competition, but as long as the Haihan people don't publicize this matter, everyone will continue as before Just pretend nothing happened.
But this time the Haihan people seemed to have changed their minds. Not only would they launch a large-scale publicity campaign, but they also announced that they would invite more celebrities to the scene to observe the martial arts competition, and the invitations were not limited to their own countries.
When he learned the news, Fei Cexian actually had a bad feeling that the Haihan people might invite him intentionally. When the time comes, the Ming army competing on the field does not represent the Ming Dynasty. What attitude should I take? Should we cheer it on, or turn a blind eye or even denounce it as an act of treason?
This is an unsolvable problem. Fei Cexian understands that no matter what response he makes, it will be true to the facts, and the Haihan people will definitely take this opportunity to set the pace and try to influence the opinions of the Haihan people and the international environment towards the Ming Dynasty.
If Fei Cexian affirms the participation of the Fujian Ming Army, or gives encouragement and praise, then this will definitely become a lever for Haihan to manipulate him. If this kind of thing is reported to the court, he will definitely be exposed by those big shots who do not know the truth. He was directly classified into Xu Xinsu's group.
And if he does the opposite and strongly opposes the private participation of the Fujian Ming Army, then Haihan will definitely declare that this is an official conflict within the Ming Dynasty, which will hinder the diplomatic relations and normal exchanges between the two countries, and may even It will be said that this is a personal grudge between Fei Cexian and the Fujian General Soldier. It is for public revenge that the Fujian Ming Army is prevented from participating in martial arts competitions.
Of course, Fei Cexian's other option is to ignore it, but the premise is that Haihan does not issue an open invitation to him, so it would be reasonable for Fei Cexian to claim that he did not know anything about it. But this is not a good choice. Haihan openly invited the Ming army to participate in the competition, but he, the ambassador to Haihan, was completely unaware of this. This kind of statement can deceive the devil. No matter how Fei Cexian reacts, Haihan will probably find a hundred ways to put him in a disadvantageous situation. This is a real problem for him, and he may even lose the black gauze hat on his head.
After Fei Cexian spent a few days in anxiety, the invitation letter that came to his door finally made his negative speculation come true. Fei Cexian, who was under tremendous mental pressure, finally couldn't stand it anymore and got angry in front of his subordinates, thinking that Haihan's move was against him.
"Violation of etiquette... extremely shameless... beheading, everyone should be beheaded!" Fei Cexian was so angry that he couldn't help but start talking nonsense. But he might not even know who he wanted to be beheaded, the Haihan people, Xu Xinsu, or the Fujian soldiers who were about to participate in the competition. But no matter who the target is, I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to get what he wants.
Immediately protest to the Haihan people? Why don't you just claim to be sick and avoid this activity? Talk to the Fujian Ming army trained in Sanya and ask them to give up participating in the competition?
Thoughts flashed through Fei Cexian's mind, but he rejected them one after another. These solutions either highlight one's own weakness, are self-deceiving, or are likely to bring humiliation to oneself, and are not ideal solutions.
When Fei Cexian closed his eyes and meditated, a staff member boldly suggested: "Sir, in fact, there is no need to deliberately avoid this matter. Since the invitation says to observe the martial arts competition, then your Excellency, just go and watch the competition. As for whether there are any Just pretend you don’t know who is participating.”
Fei Cexian frowned and said: "Isn't this an act of self-deception? When the Haihan people want to ask me what I think of the Fujian Ming Army, how can I give a safe answer?"
The staff member said: "Sir, when you go, you will only watch and not speak. As long as you don't express your position in public, you will not make mistakes and let the other party get the handle."
Fei Cexian thought about it silently in his heart and felt that his staff's plan seemed to be feasible to a certain extent, but the details needed to be improved, otherwise he would be too stiff and the Haihan people would look down on him.
Seeing that Fei Cexian was silent, the staff member guessed what he was thinking and continued: "Sir, the weather has been hot recently, and it is very easy to suffer from various fevers. If the body is not properly maintained, it is possible to be aphasic for several days. . Please take care of your health!”
The staff member spoke in a roundabout way to save Fei Cexian's face. After all, if he was directly advised to pretend to be mute, it would definitely damage his official authority.
Fei Cexian had previously thought about pretending to be deaf and mute by pretending to be ill, but not showing up at all would be a guilty conscience, and it would also be unfavorable for collecting first-hand intelligence information from this activity. The staff's idea was obviously better. They could go to watch the competition live without having to worry about being caught by the Haihan people for speaking inappropriately. It was the best of both worlds.
Fei Cexian nodded and said: "What you said, I feel that I have been a little angry in the past two days and my throat has been uncomfortable. You can make arrangements for me later and find a doctor to take my pulse and take some medicine." Eat once.”
The staff member knew that his suggestion had been adopted by his superiors, and he immediately responded to Fei Cexian's order. Finding a doctor to prescribe medicine is just a gesture. The key is to get the news out first through this channel, so that Fei Cexian's announcement of illness will not appear too abrupt.
However, among Haihan's invitation list this time, he is probably the only one who is as troubled as Fei Cexian. Basically, people who can get invitations have only two reactions. One is that they take it for granted. Prominent upper-class figures such as Li Xie and Li Nai have long known that they will definitely be invited, so they don't feel any excitement at all. feel.
The other type is overjoyed. These people are almost all civilians, such as Zhang Jinbao from Qiongxi Academy. They will regard the invitation letter as a symbol of status, and being invited is an official recognition of their influence.
As the date of the competition gradually approaches, Sanya also begins to welcome batches of guests who come specifically for this purpose.
The guests who came to Sanya to observe the competition came from as far away as Guangzhou. If Haihan hadn't sent the invitation a little later, all those invited would have come to Sanya before the competition, and perhaps people from further afield would have received the invitation. However, if this event is successfully held, the preparation time for the next one will definitely be much earlier. By then, people from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and even further north may come to Sanya with invitations to participate in the event.
"Before you get off the boat later, each of you should tidy up a little bit. After you get off the boat, don't look around and act like you haven't seen the world and make people laugh. Remember that you are students of Jonesy College. Come here. Be calm, you know?”
Zhang Jinbao saw that the ship had sailed into Sanya Port and immediately took the time to lecture the students. This time he was invited to Sanya to observe the martial arts competition, and he also brought a few of his proud disciples with him. Firstly, they could take care of him on the road, and secondly, they could also give these young people a long experience and see what the capital of Haihan Kingdom was like. of prosperity.
If you have enough time, you can also take them to visit several institutions of higher learning in Sanya to let these young people understand what the goals they are striving for are.
Of course, he himself would also take advantage of this rare opportunity to visit the senior officials in charge of cultural and educational work to see if he could secure some more resources for Qiongxi Academy. However, this may not be easy, and Zhang Jinbao is not completely sure. He can only look for opportunities after arriving in Sanya and adapt to changes.
(End of chapter)