Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1000: Annan Kingdom with a Capable King and Virtuous Ministers

Li Jiyi was humble and very "loyal" in his role as the mouthpiece of the King of Annan. He would say "the king ordered me" and "Your Highness" when he was speaking, looking like an honest man. But Zhu Su, who already knew Annan, could not help but think of an old saying.

Wang Mang was humble and did not usurp the time.

Therefore, when talking with Li Jili, Zhu Su still acted like a Confucian scholar who was courteous to others. After all, Annan was the territory of this old fox, so he still needed to be a little careful.

However, Li Jizhen did not hide any wit in his words. He presented many boxes to Zhu Su and said to him, "Your Highness, please do not refuse."

"The superior country is building a concession in Annan. As the landlord, Annan should help them."

"These items were ordered by the king to be given to the Ming concession for use. In addition, the king also ordered me to invite Your Highness to Thang Long City to have a chat with the king. The king wants to welcome Your Highness."

"I appreciate your kindness, my Lord." Zhu Su said. "Thank you, Prime Minister Li."

"I don't deserve to be the Prime Minister. I am just an ordinary courtier from Annan." Li Jiqi waved his hands and said, looking unsure. Then he laughed and said, "I don't know why, but as soon as I saw Your Highness, I felt a sincere affection in my heart."

"Your Highness may not know that my ancestors were also Chinese. Perhaps it is because of this that I feel particularly close to Your Highness."

"Is this true?" Zhu Su pretended to be surprised.

The ancestor of Le Qui Ly was originally surnamed Hu, and was from Zhejiang, China. After he drifted to Annan, his descendants became adopted sons of the Le family. Later, after Le Qui Ly usurped the throne, in order to deceive the eyes and ears of the suzerain Ming, he changed his surname back to Hu, and even changed his name... Zhu Su knew all these things.

However, Li Jizhen wanted to use his ancestry to get closer to Zhu Su, so Zhu Su followed suit and showed his closeness. Li Jizhen was secretly delighted to see that the Great Ming Prince really looked at him differently.

The officials of Annan camped outside the concession and accompanied Zhu Su who had just landed to rest for a night. The next day, Li Jijie once again respectfully invited Zhu Su to Thang Long City.

Since he had come to the territory of Annan, it made sense for him not to meet the ruler of the other country. So Zhu Su boarded the carriage prepared for him by Le Qui Ly and others, and accompanied by a group of Annan officials, he headed straight to Thang Long City.

Thang Long City was not far from the yet-unnamed Ming Concession, and Zhu Su was not tired at all as he was entertained by the Annan government along the way. On the evening of the third day, he saw the city wall of Thang Long City.

“Your Highness, please forgive me for making fun of you.” Seeing Zhu Su looking at the walls of Thang Long City, Li Jiyi smiled and said, “The small city of the lower country cannot be compared with the upper country.”

"Don't underestimate yourself," Zhu Su said. "A city like this is better than many big cities in the Central Plains."

This Shenglong City can indeed be considered a strong city, although its height is only about half of the city wall of Yingtian Prefecture. But you have to know that the city wall of Yingtian Prefecture, which was personally supervised by Zhu Yuanzhang, was probably the most powerful city in the world at that time. There is no comparison.

Moreover, Zhu Su also found many traces of knife and axe on the bricks of the city wall. It is said that Annan and Champa had been at war for many years, and these traces were probably left over from the fierce battles between the two sides.

The city walls of Thang Long City can indeed be considered a fortified city.

However, Zhu Su was somewhat disgusted by the scene in Thang Long City. Although it was obvious that in order to welcome the great Ming prince, the Annan court had carefully cleaned up Thang Long City.

However, Zhu Su still managed to get some clues about the situation in the city:
The poor people kneeling on both sides of the road at the city gate had numb expressions on their faces. Most of them were short, thin and dark, yet still half-naked. The houses had obviously been slightly renovated, but they still looked very messy and dilapidated. The roads should have just been swept, but they were still very muddy, and a faint stench could be smelled.

However, the houses near the center of the city are mostly neat and tidy, and the roads are mostly paved with bluestone. Beyond the courtyard walls, you can occasionally see flowers and trees in the courtyard, each of which is vying for beauty and creates a sharp contrast with the previous street scenes.

Zhu Su understood it in his heart. The Annan Chen Dynasty had ruled the country for a hundred years, and even the capital was in such a state, let alone other places.

He remained calm on the surface, but continued to chat and laugh with Li Jixi. This Jimao brother (犛字, pronounced mao) actually had some knowledge of Confucianism, unlike Li Jibai who was sent to the Ming Dynasty as an envoy.

He was very good at socializing. Even when talking about Confucianism and Taoism, he could always express his respect for Zhu Su by quoting scriptures. If Zhu Su had not been on guard against him, he would have felt flattered.

"No wonder this Jimao brother can achieve such success...Since ancient times, those who have successfully usurped the throne and seized power are indeed none of them who are easy to deal with." Zhu Su thought to himself.

I just don’t know what kind of person the current ruler of the Chen Dynasty is.

Soon, Zhu Su met Tran Thuan Tong, the current king of Annan, in the royal palace in Thang Long City.

Zhu Su only knew the cause and effect of Emperor Yongle's conquest of Annan. He knew nothing about the last emperor of the Chen Dynasty. Chen Shunzong was a thin-faced, short-statured young man who seemed to be only about ten years old. He moved cautiously and looked very prudent. He did not have the majestic and heroic appearance that a ruler of a country should have.

What surprised Zhu Su was that the Chen Dynasty actually had an "emperor emeritus". This emperor emeritus was quite elegant. When he saw Zhu Su, he smiled and said, "Your Highness has come to visit us. Our humble country is truly honored."

"Kun'er, what are you still standing there for? Come and meet His Royal Highness King Zhou of the Upper Kingdom!"

"The young king of the lower country, Chen Rikun, pays homage to His Majesty the King of Zhou of the upper country!" After being reminded by his father, the King of Annan named Chen Rikun took two steps forward and was about to pay homage to Zhu Su.

Fortunately, Li Jili beside him secretly supported him, otherwise, the King of Annan would have to kneel down and kowtow to Zhu Su in public, and completely destroy the dignity of the Annan state.

"The cowardly ruler, the treacherous ministers, the emperor emeritus..." Zhu Su thought with some malice, thinking of Song Huizong, Song Qinzong, and the combination of Gao Qiu, Cai Jing, and Tong Guan.

The Chen Dynasty really had all the signs of a nation's demise.

Afterwards, there was a banquet in the Annan court. Zhu Su noticed that the Annan "emperor emeritus" Chen Yizong seemed to trust Le Qui Ly very much, and the relationship between the monarch and his subject was very close. During the banquet, he joked with Le Qui Ly several times.

Li Jizhen's performance was very consistent with the image of a humble minister. He was servile and submissive in front of Chen Yizong. Even when facing the seemingly incompetent Chen Shunzong, he maintained the duties of a minister and was extremely respectful and submissive.

However, the other Annan officials who participated in the banquet were obviously more respectful when facing Le Qui Ly than they were when facing Tran Thuan Tong... This still slightly exposed the fact that this seemingly humble guy was actually a powerful official in Annan.

After the banquet, Zhu Su rejected Chen Yizong's invitation to let him stay overnight in the palace and came to Annan Inn to rest... Just kidding, he came to Annan to use his fame to pave the way for the Ming Dynasty's attack on Annan in the future.

How could I stay in someone else's palace? What if some rumors were spread?

From this we can see that the Chen family of Annan has really reached the point where they have lost all moral principles.

The inn in Annan was not very spacious, so all the officials, both big and small, in the inn were temporarily moved out. Only then could Zhu Su and the hundred personal guards he brought with him be barely accommodated.

After the guards had set up defenses in the inn, Zhu Su entered. He briefly checked the situation of the inn and immediately called Gou'er and Sanbao.

"Gou'er, go guard the back door of the inn. At three o'clock in the morning, hang a lantern at the back door." Zhu Su said. "Then if someone knocks on the door, secretly bring the things he carries and come to me."

"Yes." The dog obeyed the order and left.

"Sanbao." Zhu Su instructed again. "Do you remember the gate we used to enter the palace?"

"On the street outside the city gate, there is a shop selling mirrors..."

"Your Highness, are you talking about the 'He Ji Mirror Shop'?" San Bao asked.

Zhu Su was startled, surprised that Sanbao had such a strong memory, and then nodded and said, "Yes. It is He Ji Mirror Shop."

"Go to He's Mirror Shop, find the shopkeeper He, and buy a very bright mirror that can illuminate thousands of miles. If the shopkeeper says the price is too high and wants three taels of gold or three taels of silver, then tell him if you will sell it to him for five taels of gold or five taels of silver."

"Yes." Sanbao also took the order and left.

After the two of them left, Zhu Su breathed a sigh of relief. Before coming to Annan, he had indeed not collected much information about Annan. He didn't even know that Annan had an emperor.

My father and elder brother probably assumed that as a time traveler, I would know everything about Annan, so they did not take the initiative to tell me these things.

However, Zhu Su did not ignore the intelligence at all. Instead, he believed that the intelligence available in Yingtian was too vague. The most accurate and effective intelligence should be obtained in Annan.

After Zhu Su had bathed and changed his clothes in the inn, Gou'er and Sanbao had completed their respective tasks and delivered what Zhu Su wanted to his desk: the things obtained from the lantern hanging at the back door were the intelligence collected by the secret agents left here by the Jinyiwei, and the shopkeeper selling mirrors was a merchant from Zhu Su's Zhouwang Mansion.

The merchants related to Zhu Su are now spread all over the world. Zhu Su usually asks these merchants to collect local intelligence in the country where they are located.

Goods from the Ming Dynasty, even a porcelain cup or a piece of cotton cloth, were in great demand in other countries. They were luxury goods that only the upper class could use. Therefore, as long as they were merchants from the Ming Dynasty, they could always easily come into contact with the upper class of other countries.

It just so happens that in this era, the awareness of intelligence among various countries and states is generally very low, so businessmen everywhere are the best candidates to collect intelligence in foreign countries.

The two pieces of intelligence almost covered all the news about the dignitaries and the rumors in the streets and alleys of Thang Long City. Zhu Su lit the oil lamp, pulled himself together, and began to check the two pieces of intelligence.

What he urgently needs to know is what the current political situation in Annan is like, so that he can decide what to do next according to the circumstances.

The purpose he wanted to achieve was actually very complicated. He wanted to make Le Qui Ly get what he wanted, increase the weight of the Le family's plot to usurp the throne, and make the Ming Dynasty succeed in "taking advantage of the situation".

We can't really increase the reputation of the Li family. If possible, it would be best to build momentum for the subsequent Ming Dynasty's action to recover Annan.

At the same time, this kind of hype should not arouse the vigilance of Le Qui-ni and the people in Annan.

The operation is very difficult.

If he blindly follows the apparent plan to "lecture", he will probably end up becoming a gun in Li Ji's hands.

From these two pieces of information, Zhu Su discovered that the political situation in Annan was now divided into two factions.

The most powerful among them was naturally the faction of Le Qui Ly. With the help of his military achievements in the war with Champa and the trust of Emperor Tran Ngai Tong, Le Qui Ly seized most of the real power in the Annan court and had a large number of minions in the court.

He was both the in-law of the former Emperor Chen Yizong and the father-in-law of the King Chen Shunzong. He had great influence in the court and was undoubtedly a powerful official.

But at this time, he was not really in control of everything. In the Annan court, there were still some Confucian officials who were influenced by Chinese Confucianism and adhered to the ideas of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.

Most of these court officials saw through Li Jilin's evil ambitions and were extremely disgusted with him.

The political situation in Annan was somewhat similar to that of China in early years. Although there were imperial examinations, in reality, education and writing were still monopolized by soldiers.

Therefore, most of those who could serve as officials in the court were from aristocratic families. Those who disliked Le Qui Ly were also from aristocratic families in Annan. Even if Le Qui Ly suppressed them, he still could not stop these aristocratic families from sending their children to serve as officials in the court again through the Annan imperial examination. Moreover, Le Qui Ly was not the emperor of Annan after all.

If he wanted to truly usurp the throne, he would need the support of more Annan aristocratic families.

Therefore, he came up with the idea of ​​promoting new learning. First, he wanted to use the new learning to bind himself to the Ming Dynasty, where the new learning was popular, in order to gain the support of the Ming Dynasty and intimidate the Annan nobles.

Secondly, he wanted to invite the great scholars of the Ming Dynasty to come to Annan to give lectures, in order to win over the Annan nobles. After all, the great scholars from the Ming Dynasty would certainly be sought after by the Annan nobles. Soldiers who failed to listen to the teachings of the great country would certainly be inferior to others in the Annan Kingdom in the future. After listening to the lectures of the new school, some nobles would naturally be inclined to the new school, and then they would naturally be closer to him who promoted the new school in Annan.

Le Qui Ly wanted to introduce new learning to start a party struggle in Annan, which was a dispute between the old and new learning, but was essentially a Le family seizure of power. Once the party struggle was set off, the blindness of the party struggle would make those nobles who supported the new learning blindly support Le Qui Ly.

The nobles who did not support his Li family would naturally be denounced as old-school scholars, and he, who held great power, would use party struggles to eliminate them one by one.

(End of this chapter)