The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Chapter 203 Zhou Peigong: What are you people?

The condition for becoming a vassal state of the Han Dynasty was to disband its domestic army and hand over its national defense to the Han Dynasty, with the vassal states only needing to pay military expenses and protection fees.

This requirement is too demanding. Why would a perfectly good local tyrant become your dog unless his life is in danger?

This is also the fundamental reason why, even though the Han Dynasty had unified three-fifths of China, there were still no vassal states that took the initiative to come to Beijing to pay homage, and the Han Dynasty was even preparing its military.

As a result, the mighty Han Dynasty now only has the Jin Dynasty as its vassal state, which is very embarrassing. After all, how can a superpower not have any subordinates?

As for North Korea, it has now become a province of North Korea, and is currently in the process of clearing out the remaining remnants and is under military control.

Thinking of this, Liu Mu looked at Zhou Peigong.

"Pei Gong, you are familiar with these countries, so you will go. I have only one condition: there will be no compromise, and military power must be handed over!"

"Other issues, such as the treatment of royalty, can be discussed properly; we won't let them suffer any losses!"

Liu Mu spoke with great confidence and conviction. From his perspective, the three countries of the Southeast Peninsula were like the United States in later generations looking at Korea and Japan. Giving them superior living conditions was already a great favor.

"Your subject obeys the decree!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Peigong was stunned for a moment, realizing that he was being asked to exert pressure. He immediately accepted the order with clasped hands and walked with Pan Feng toward the Zhuangyuan Tower.

After seeing Zhou Peigong leave, Liu Mu looked at Xie Bo'an.

"Minister of Revenue, we must stockpile more grain in various places, especially around Nanyang Prefecture. Yue Le caused great suffering in Hubei back then, and Wu Sangui may not fare much better."

Upon hearing this, Xie Bo'an immediately stood up.

"Your Majesty, the relay stations were established in the first half of the year, and the people of Henan have already been provided with winter provisions. The miscellaneous grains currently stored around Nanyang can be transported to Hubei by waterway as long as the war in Hubei ends before the autumn harvest!"

Liu Mu was very satisfied upon hearing this, and at the same time admired Zhu Yuanzhang even more, because the delivery station was an innovation of Zhu Yuanzhang, which was equivalent to the postal express system of later generations.

This is a complete express delivery system. They do nothing but transport the imperial army's weapons and grain, equipped with sturdy and durable large horse-drawn carriages and oxcarts.

The laborers in the entire system were all on a long-term basis. The state provided them with food and a small amount of subsidies. When there were no tasks, they would farm, so their expenses were relatively low.

Each shipment was enormous. In the event of a disaster in a prefecture, a single imperial decree would send grain from the surrounding areas to provide relief.

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This is why there were few large-scale rebellions, because relief supplies had already arrived before they even began.

The key is to prevent corrupt officials from taking action, because the delivery station has no other tasks, resulting in very clear accounts, and it is easy to find out who is embezzling.

Unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty faced financial difficulties in its later years, and during the Wanli era, it cut its budget by half, mainly in the southwest.

As a result, Emperor Chongzhen ordered the complete elimination of the grain supply. Because waterways were not possible in the northwest, the grain transport was paralyzed, and the people never received relief grain.

Because corrupt officials lack data from the courier service, they become unrestrained in their embezzlement, typically taking 30% of the money, which leads to the complete corruption.

Thinking of this, Liu Mu looked at Ouyang Jing again.

"The transport stations are of paramount importance, and the Ministry of Works must cooperate. Once the railcars in the Western Regions are laid, we will begin laying them to the southwest, southeast, and Guangdong and Guangxi!"

Ignoring Ouyang Jing's pale face due to lack of money, Liu Mu picked up his wine glass without a second thought.

"My beloved subjects, let us drink to this cup together!"

……

The Zhuangyuan Tower is entirely constructed of blue bricks. Zhou Peigong strode towards the third floor. We solemnly recommend this book to you: *The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: A Bet on Beijing at the Start*, available here. Officials from the Ministry of Rites immediately stepped forward to receive him.

"Lord Zhou, please come in!"

Wow, they've booked room number one at Zhuangyuanlou! That's a hundred taels of silver a day, how extravagant!

Upon seeing the private room, Zhou Peigong thought to himself with amusement!

Upon entering the private room, one is greeted by a vast interior space adorned with jewelry pendants and calligraphy and paintings by famous figures, and furniture crafted from precious woods.

In the very center there is a large stage where ten Japanese dancers, dressed in kimonos and wearing wooden clogs, dance to the music.

It's a bit short, but it has a unique charm.

Since submitting to Tsushima Island, they began trading with the Han Dynasty. Since they didn't have much of a good product, these dancers became their primary export.

Since the laws of the Han Dynasty did not provide protection for other countries, many wealthy families purchased dancers to take home.

Zhuangyuanlou was the premier restaurant in the Han Dynasty.

Of course we need to stock up!

Not only were there Japanese dancers, but also dancers from other places; it had everything imaginable.

"Greetings, Your Excellency."

Upon seeing Zhou Peigong enter, several middle-aged men dressed in various styles stepped forward to greet him warmly, speaking fluent Mandarin.

Zhou Peigong nodded casually, then plopped down in the main seat, picked up the teacup on the table and sipped it slowly, completely disregarding the Westerners.

One of the Burmese envoys, wearing a headscarf and a thick cotton-padded coat, frowned upon seeing Zhou Peigong's disrespect.

"We are all envoys of a nation. For Lord Zhou to treat us so disrespectfully is an insult to the dignity of a great nation!"

"My great Han Dynasty boasts a million armored soldiers and a thousand warships. Now we occupy the Strait of Malacca and blockade the shipping lanes. The nations of Southeast Asia tremble at the mere mention of my name. What are you to me?"

"Now, the King of India of the Great Han has already marched thousands of miles to Bengal and defeated the Mughal army of a million. Your Toungoo Kingdom is now nothing more than a plaything in the palm of my hand!"

Zhou Peigong spoke several sentences in quick succession, speaking with great confidence and righteous indignation, belittling the Dongyu Kingdom to the point of being utterly worthless. His aim was to seize the initiative and to use the art of diplomacy to its fullest extent.

Zhou Peigong wasn't afraid of doing this. His Majesty the Emperor had already said that if you don't humiliate other countries, what kind of great power are you? You might as well just close your doors and farm!

Upon hearing this, the Burmese envoy's expression shifted between light and dark. He knew that the claim of having a million armored soldiers was an exaggeration, but the blockade of Malacca, the defeat of the Mughal army, and the occupation of Bengal were real. His Toungoo Kingdom was indeed caught in the middle.

Thinking of this, his expression immediately brightened.

"Your Excellency, you did a good job splashing it! Please forgive my rashness!"

The envoys from the other three countries all gasped in shock. Of the three kingdoms—Toungoo, Siam, and Annam—Toungoo was the most powerful, yet it had all been so submissive.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Peigong nodded, then looked at the Siamese envoy wearing a Persian pointed hat and the Annamese envoy Zheng Ruan, revealing a strange smile.

"I know why you've come. Merchants from Western countries are afraid to do business with you, resulting in less tax revenue for you. The crucial point is that you can't even buy firearms!"

"I also know that the nobles in your country are already dissatisfied with their respective monarchs, and are even on the verge of being unable to be suppressed!"

"Am I correct?"

The Westerners looked embarrassed upon hearing this, because what Zhou Peigong said was true, and they really couldn't withstand the pressure.

In particular, the Nguyen clan of Annam, without the Dutch supplying grain, could not defeat the Trinh clan, who controlled the Hanoi Plain.