Compared to the Qing imperial court, the Ming imperial court under Zhu Jinsong always seemed to possess a certain humble air—
In terms of imperial palaces, Zhu Jinsong did not yet have a formal one. His office was essentially the former Shandong Provincial Governor's Yamen. It was simply designated as a temporary imperial palace. The Great Qing, on the other hand, had occupied the Ming court for generations of emperors, constructing the Forbidden City over three hundred years.
Regarding the treatment of tributary states, the Great Qing truly adhered to the principle of favoring allies over subjects in its dealings with them. As long as they outwardly acknowledged the Great Qing as the celestial empire, any country could present a few broken stones and withered leaves and receive substantial rewards in return.
According to our Great Qing's saying, this was "power extending over all within the seas, with the four barbarians submitting."
In contrast, the Ming imperial court under Zhu Jinsong upheld the consistent principle of the central plains' tribute system: do not treat others as humans, and do not treat monkeys as humans.
The people of the Ming were humans, while those outside the Ming were considered monkeys.
Yes, this was the true face of the tribute system, a strategy far superior to colonial exploitation.
Many in later generations believed that the tribute system was a disadvantage for the central imperial court. The quantity of tribute items from tributary states was disproportionately small compared to the imperial court's return gifts, and the economic value of the tribute items was significantly lower than the return gifts. This created the illusion of the court suffering for the sake of appearance.
In reality, however?
In reality, the true secret of the tribute system lay in its pricing power.
To put it in the simplest terms, let’s take the example of Eastern Pearls and ginseng, which Joseon frequently presented as tribute. How high was the actual value of these items?
The acquisition of Eastern Pearls was extremely difficult, and it was highly possible that the life of a pearl diver was lost for a single pearl. Genuine wild ginseng was a rare and precious commodity that was difficult to encounter. Their actual value was immeasurable; in terms of their value to Joseon itself, they would surely wish for these items to be worth thousands or tens of thousands of taels of silver.
However, to the Heavenly Dynasty Father, who held the pricing power, the Heavenly Dynasty Father could declare that an Eastern Pearl was worth only ten taels of silver. But out of consideration for the "hardship of the people," the Heavenly Dynasty Father would increase its value to a hundred taels of silver.
Similarly, a pound of tea might be worth only one tael of silver in the central plains, but within the tribute system, the Heavenly Dynasty Father could point to a handful of broken tea leaves and declare them to be the finest Yuqian Longjing, worth at least one hundred taels of silver.
This was the tribute system where the central plains father held the pricing power—whatever the Heavenly Dynasty Father said the item was worth, that was its price!
Only fools like the Great Qing truly believed that the tribute system was a matter of receiving one stone and having to return ten pieces of fine jade.
In reality, the true method of the central plains was to exchange ten pounds of tea for ten Eastern Pearls, while proclaiming that they were losing money, losing heavily, and having the historians record it in the annals, thus creating an illusion.
The impression was that the Central Plains dynasties were foolish and wealthy, attracting more surrounding small states to join the tribute system. Then, the Central Plains Father would smile knowingly at home counting money while crying poverty when going out.
Even more importantly, the national relationship network constructed by the central plains through the tribute system.
This was a reality that almost everyone overlooked—the pricing power of the tribute system was merely one of its derived benefits; its fundamental core interest lay in the national relationship network constructed by the tribute system.
Within the tribute system, the central plains not only possessed nominal and legal ownership of many vassal states but also held the right of adjudication over them.
When conflicts arose between countries, the Heavenly Dynasty Father had the right to adjudicate; the legitimacy of various regimes was also subject to the Heavenly Dynasty Father's adjudication. Whether the rulers of various countries could ascend to the throne, and whether they were qualified after ascending, was entirely decided by the Heavenly Dynasty Father.
Corresponding to the right of adjudication, in order to maintain authority, the Heavenly Dynasty could enforce its decisions against those who did not comply. The most commonly used and most terrifying method of the Central Plains dynasties was "severing tribute."
Severing tribute meant refusing tribute from a country and excluding it from the tribute system. This was equivalent to the five major powers joining forces to expel a small country from the United Nations and also from the World Trade Organization, making it so that no one in the world would engage with it.
Such a punishment was absolutely no joke—when the strongest Chinese Father declared he would no longer look after you, and all your surrounding Chinese Fathers' godchildren were eyeing you greedily, what would these godchildren do if the Chinese Father so much as hinted at it?
There was no question: whoever was punished by the Chinese Father, they would deal with them! By defeating them, their territory, mineral resources, people, and wealth would become their own!
If the Chinese Father was angered sufficiently, and once the Chinese Father dispatched troops, who among those godchildren would not be excited to "muster their armies to respond to the imperial forces"?
In this manner of playing, were the vassal states treated as humans?
At least, Zhu Jinsong did not see it.
Therefore, from the moment they arrived at Zhu Jinsong's "temporary imperial palace," King Zheng Hua of Siam and King Meng Yun of Burma experienced what it truly meant to treat monkeys as less than human.
Neither of them even received the treatment of entering through the main gate.
After proceeding to the danchi, prostrating, and performing the customary four bows, they followed the instructions of the presiding official and respectfully bowed, saying, "This foreign subordinate Zheng Hua/Meng Yun, pays respects to His Majesty, the Emperor Grandfather of the Celestial Empire. May His Majesty the Emperor Grandfather live for ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"
Only then did Zhu Jinsong, the Ming Emperor, say with a blank expression, "My two ministers have traveled a great distance; please rise."
Zheng Hua and Meng Yun quickly bowed again, saying, "This foreign subordinate thanks His Majesty the Emperor Grandfather of the Celestial Empire for his immense grace!"
Yes, this was the correct way for vassal state rulers to express gratitude when meeting the emperor. Expressions like "Thank Your Majesty for your grace" or "Thank the Lord for His grace" were completely baseless.
After expressing their gratitude, the two carefully rose from the ground. Then, led by Meng Yun, they once again knelt down with a thud and said, "This humble subject has long resided in lands beyond civilization and is ignorant of His Majesty the Emperor Grandfather of the Celestial Empire ascending the throne. I deserve death, I deserve death!"
Zhu Jinsong still responded with a noncommittal hum and said, "My two ministers are far in the southern territories and lack communication; this is understandable. Please rise."
The two once again expressed their gratitude, and then again knelt with a thud, saying, "This humble subject rejoices upon hearing of Your Majesty's ascension to the throne. Therefore, I present the fish-scale register and request to be recognized as an inner vassal. May Your Majesty consent?"
After the two finished speaking, except for Zhu Jinsong and a few others like Zeng Cheng, the other dignitaries in the Ming imperial court were somewhat bewildered.
"Request to be recognized as a vassal state of the Ming" and "request to be recognized as an inner vassal" were two completely different concepts.
Requesting to be recognized as a vassal state of the Ming meant that they were formally requesting the status of a tributary state. As long as Zhu Jinsong, the Ming Emperor, was willing, he could arrange for the Ministry of Rites to prepare a investiture ceremony for them. After returning to Siam and Burma, they would be legitimate rulers of their respective countries, acknowledged and protected by the Ming.
Requesting to be recognized as an inner vassal meant assimilation. Although they would still be invested, and might even receive extraordinary favors such as "ceremonial parity with a prince" or "establishment of a governmental office," assimilation would mean surrendering all of Burma and Siam to the direct administration of the Ming. Not only would Burma and Siam have to fully accept the Ming's direct management, but they would also cease to be considered rulers of their respective countries.
While the other dignitaries were confused, Zhu Jinsong and Zeng Cheng, who had already received news from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, were not confused at all. In fact, they secretly marveled at the cleverness of these two monkeys.
When Zhu Erdan marched into Jiaozhi, these two rushed to request assimilation, which was indeed the only way to preserve Siam and Burma.
Zhu Jinsong forced a slight smile onto his face and instructed Zheng Hua and Meng Yun, "This matter will be discussed later. My two ministers have traveled a great distance; please take your seats."
The two once again expressed their gratitude, rose, and, following the guidance of the officials, sat behind the tables on both sides of the "Great Hall."
Yes, this was the correct procedure—audience, confession of error, request for vassal status. These were three separate matters, each to be presented individually, and each presentation was to be conducted with full ceremony.
As they took their seats, the two discreetly glanced at Zhu Jinsong. They saw that the formidable Ming Emperor was very young and casually wore a brocade robe, not the dragon robe symbolizing supreme authority. Behind him stood a guard in a dou niu uniform, but there were no eunuchs as rumored.
The number of people in the entire "Great Hall" was not large, with only a few tables. Aside from their own positions, the other tables were already occupied by people whose identities were unknown.
After they were seated, Zhu Jinsong casually instructed, "Begin."
Next was the imperial banquet.
The banquet process was simple: first tea, then a wine feast.
The two did not create any humorous incidents, such as drinking the tea meant for washing their hands—apart from being instructed on the etiquette for audiences and banquets, even without guidance, could the tea on the table be the same as the tea in the basin beside it? Were they blind?
The Ming was unlike the Manchu Qing, who, for self-aggrandizement and satisfaction, could falsely accuse the King of Joseon of such foolishness.
In reality, Joseon always considered itself a "Lesser China," and they were well-versed in matters of etiquette.
The key was that Zhu Jinsong also had no interest in framing others—the Qing could spew baseless nonsense shamelessly, but the Ming could not. The Ming had to maintain its dignity. The historians recorded everything stroke by stroke, as did Zhu Jinsong's daily records. It was impossible to frame others with such disgrace!
What? You say Zhu Jinsong framed Qianlong that old dog back then? That's impossible; you must be mistaken. Why don't you go ask Qianlong that old dog yourself?
However, during this banquet, Zhu Jinsong, the Ming Emperor, ate very happily, as did Zeng Cheng, Liu Huaiwen, Liu Heming, and the other dignitaries. Only Zheng Hua, the King of Siam, and Meng Yun, the King of Burma, ate unhappily but had to pretend to be very happy.
When everyone had eaten their fill, Zhu Jinsong was the first to put down his chopsticks. Zeng Cheng, Liu Huaiwen, and the other dignitaries followed suit. Soon, attendants who had been prepared came to clear away the dishes and replace them with fresh tea.
Zheng Hua and Meng Yun, who had long since lost their appetite and were somewhat disheartened, also regained their senses.
The preceding banquet was merely a formality, essentially symbolic. The matters that Emperor Zhu Jinsong was about to discuss were the real important issues, not only concerning the success or failure of the assimilation of Siam and Burma but also capable of deciding their fates.
Zhu Jinsong put down his teacup and asked with a smile, "If I heard correctly, my two ministers, are you requesting to be recognized as inner vassals?"
Zheng Hua and Meng Yun exchanged glances, then rose together from behind their tables and bowed before Zhu Jinsong, saying, "Your Majesty is wise. This humble subject has long resided in lands beyond civilization and truly admires the Celestial Empire. Therefore, we request to be recognized as inner vassals. May Your Majesty not find Siam and Burma to be barren and grant our request?"
Zhu Jinsong hummed, his expression unreadable. After a moment of silence, he said, "Your two ministers' request has indeed put me in a difficult position."