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

Chapter 249 Establishment of Annam Province

Chongde Hall, New Year's Day.

Firecrackers were going off in Beijing from early morning. The snow on Qianmen Street was swept to both sides of the road. New peach wood charms were hung at the entrance of the alley. Children wrapped in cotton-padded coats chased each other in the alley. Occasionally, a firecracker would explode and they would all scream and run away.

The lanterns at the gates of the Forbidden City have been replaced with bright red ones, and a thin layer of snow has settled on the palace walls.

Inside the hall, the charcoal fire burned brightly, and in the gilded bronze incense burner above, ambergris incense, sent by the Vladivostok garrison, was burning, where there was a large amount of sperm whale excrement.

Three rows of civil and military officials stood on each side of the main hall, arranged in order of rank from the entrance to the imperial steps.

Because Liu Mu initially found it troublesome, he canceled all the supplementary maps, leaving only the civil official Baihe and the military official Baihu, making it difficult to distinguish the ranks of officials.

But this was naturally not the emperor's fault, so the Ministry of Rites put embroidered circles on the official robes according to rank, like the rings of a tree. This made them look quite elegant and also distinguished their ranks.

As the Celestial Empire, the Ministry of Rites did not make any special arrangements to receive the envoys. Instead, Liu Mu treated the civil and military officials to a meal and drinks.

When the envoys from the five kingdoms, led by the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, arrived at the Chongde Hall from the Meridian Gate, the hall had already been filled with wine for several rounds, and the military officers were all flushed from drinking.

The envoys had already changed their clothes yesterday at Zhuangyuanlou. The envoys from the Annamese Zheng and Ruan families changed into Han-style court robes, the Burmese envoy wore a new white longyi, the Cambodian envoy changed his sarong to dark blue, the Siamese envoy was still dressed in white, and the Lancang envoy changed his indigo coarse cloth robe into a plain blue cotton robe.

These five countries and six rulers are the real big players today. Smaller countries, such as some islands in the South Seas, have already been driven back by the Ministry of Rites.

The people of the Indochina Peninsula, especially those of northern Annam, are almost identical to the Koreans, and in fact, they are even more formidable in warfare than the Koreans.

They were the vanguard of the Han Dynasty's immigration program. Only after the local area was fully developed would Liu Mu relocate Han people there and reintegrate them.

This method minimizes harm to the Han people and allows for faster assimilation!

"Summon the foreign envoys to an audience!"

With a loud shout from Zhao Fengnian, six envoys stepped into the Chongde Hall on the golden brick floor. They dared not put any weight on their feet, each step feeling like walking on thin ice.

On the imperial steps, Liu Mu sat upright on the dragon throne, his posture very relaxed. He leaned back against the throne, his right hand on the armrest and his left hand on his knee. On each side of the imperial steps stood a eunuch holding a cinnabar inkstone and an imperial brush.

The envoys from the five countries walked ten steps to the imperial steps and knelt down to kowtow. Led by Nguyen Van Thieu, the envoy from the Trinh family of Annam, the six of them pressed their foreheads against the cold blue brick floor and remained prostrate for a while. Nguyen Van Thieu's voice rang out in the hall.

"Your subject, Nguyen Van Thieu of the Trinh clan of Annam, on behalf of the two rulers of Annam (Trinh and Nguyen), the King of Toungoo in Burma, the King of Cambodia (Khmer), the King of Ayutthaya in Siam, and the King of Lan Xang, pays homage to Your Majesty the Emperor. Long live Your Majesty! ...!"

Liu Mu didn't call out immediately. He looked down at them for a while, then raised his hand and gestured for a moment.

"Stand up and speak."

The six men stood up, but still kept their heads down. Pan Feng stepped out from the left-hand military officer ranks, walked to the front of the five envoys, and bowed to Liu Mu.

"Your Majesty, the Trinh family of Annam, the Nguyen family of Annam, the Toungoo family of Burma, the Khmer people of Cambodia, the Ayutthaya and Lan Xang countries of Siam, with their six rulers, are willing to relinquish their military power and finances, retaining only their royal titles, and from now on, they will be vassals of the Great Han for generations."

The Vice Minister of Rites, now stepping forward from the right-hand civil official ranks, carrying five petitions requesting fiefdoms, walked to the foot of the imperial steps and presented them to the eunuch in charge of drafting them.

The eunuch took it and placed it on the imperial desk. Liu Mu didn't flip through it; instead, he pressed two fingers on the cover of the top document and pushed it to the side.

"I have decreed that the five kingdoms shall be united into the Annam Province of the Great Han Dynasty, with the Annam Provincial Government and the General's Office established, jointly residing in Hue, to oversee all military forces, finances, and customs duties of the five kingdoms!"

"The royal families of various countries will retain their titles, which will be hereditary and perpetual, but they will not lead troops or govern. However, I will grant them half a percent of the taxes annually, so that the Han Dynasty may prosper forever!"

Liu Mu paused here, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the six people one by one.

"The matter concerning the Trinh and Nguyen families in Annam has been discussed by the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites. The Trinh family will be enfeoffed as the King of Anbei, and the Nguyen family as the King of Annam. The titles of the Kings of Burma, Khmer, Siam, and Lan Xang will remain unchanged and will be hereditary."

Nguyen Van Thieu knelt down again, and the five people behind him followed suit. Nguyen Van Thieu took out a gift list from his pocket and held it above his head with both hands.

"The list of tributes from the five nations is here. Please take a look, Your Majesty."

Just as the eunuch holding the pens was about to go down to receive it, Liu Mu waved his hand.

"The gift list can be submitted to the Ministry of Rites for registration. There is no need to inspect the tribute on the spot. Your countries have just finished fighting and are not having an easy time either. I don't care about the amount of tribute, as long as the sentiment is there."

Ruan Wenzhao kowtowed, his voice trembling slightly: "On behalf of the six princes, I thank Your Majesty for your divine grace."

Ruan Wen Shao was quite a talent. Upon hearing Liu Mu confer titles upon six princes, he immediately changed his tone. Liu Mu didn't mind, simply nodding and softening his tone.

"After the governor takes office, he will talk to each of you individually. Don't worry, the Han Dynasty doesn't want your land or your money. The centralization of military and financial power is for the purpose of unified command throughout the province. Once Annam is at peace, your lives will only get better than before."

The envoys from the five kingdoms kowtowed again. Among the civil and military officials below, one of them covered his mouth with his official tablet and whispered something to the person next to him. Liu Mu glanced at him, and he immediately straightened his expression and stood up straight.

"The Court of State Ceremonial," Liu Mu called out.

The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and looked to be nearly fifty years old. He stepped out from the last of the civil officials' ranks and bowed to receive orders.

"Take them to the side hall for a meal. Today is New Year's Day, and the palace has prepared a banquet. Let them eat their fill before returning to the meeting hall. Before they set off tomorrow, each person will be rewarded with ten bolts of silk and one hundred taels of travel expenses."

The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies received the order and led six men out of the Chongde Hall. The hall doors closed again, keeping out the cold wind. Liu Mu rose from the dragon throne, walked to the imperial desk, picked up the stack of petitions requesting fiefdoms, and flipped through a couple of pages.

Pan Feng remained standing there. Liu Mu looked up at him. "Whom has the cabinet nominated for Governor of Annam Province?"

Pan Feng named a name. Liu Mu thought for a moment and nodded. "Him it is. Draft the decree tomorrow, and we'll set off after the fifteenth of the first lunar month."

Pan Feng bowed and accepted the order, returning to his military officer rank. Liu Mu placed the memorial back on the imperial desk, nodded to Zhao Fengnian, and then took the first document and left.

Zhao Fengnian immediately understood and shouted in a high-pitched voice!

"The auspicious banquet is over, and all the people rejoice. All officials may now respectfully withdraw!"

After Zhao Fengnian finished speaking, seeing the officials shout "Long live the Emperor!" and leave, he looked at Li Guangdi and the others in the front row, "Seven Ministers, His Majesty is in the Hall of Mental Cultivation!"

Don't get lost while following the book; bookmark it and read "The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: A Bet on Beijing from the Start" anytime.