Whether it was Zeng Cheng and the other senior officials or Zhu Erdan and Liu Heming and the military leaders, they all found Zhu Jinsong's decision somewhat incomprehensible.
After all, the Eagles had done nothing wrong, and things could have been resolved through negotiation and discussion. Why did their Emperor always want to provoke them? And what about the Koreans and the short, squat people before? No matter how well-behaved they were, they couldn't seem to please His Majesty.
Of course, understanding or not understanding wasn't important. The important thing was that since Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, had decided to provoke the Eagles, Zeng Cheng and the other leaders had no choice but to find a way to do so.
After careful consideration, Zeng Cheng spoke, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I believe that merely displaying military might will only scare Thomas Jefferson and his entourage, but it may not be very useful for the entire Eagle nation. Since we want to provoke them, why not start with what the Eagles care about most?"
Zhu Jinsong hummed, distributed intelligence reports on the Eagles to everyone, and then tapped his fingers on the table. "Thomas Jefferson is the current leader of the Eagles, and the third generation leader. He rose to prominence during the reign of the second leader, John Adams. He even managed to get the Eagles' second-in-command arrested. He's quite a character."
Zeng Cheng nodded and said, "Therefore, I believe we should let him experience the customs and traditions of our Great Ming, to truly see the differences between our Great Ming and their Eagle nation, especially the aspects where we are more advanced."
"Also, we must make him clearly understand that the path they are currently taking is completely wrong, and to shatter his faith in the Eagle nation from the bottom of his heart."
"If possible, we could also ask Leader Ke to send some reliable people to instill the idea that only by learning from the Great Ming can the Eagles be saved, after Thomas Jefferson's faith has collapsed."
"Furthermore, I believe we should have Leader Ke send people to bribe some officials and scholars in the Eagle nation, so they can denigrate the Eagles in various ways, causing the Eagle populace to lose trust in their own nation."
"..."
Listening to the various schemes coming from Zeng Cheng's mouth, Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but ask, "Palace Imperial Liquor?"
Zeng Cheng nodded and continued along Zhu Jinsong's line of thought, "The Palace Imperial Liquor can also be utilized. Although Your Majesty has not designated any specific imperial liquor, it's just a matter of branding. We can ask the Ministry of the Imperial Treasury to get some good liquor bottles."
"Also, regarding the set of Rites that John Adams learned from our Great Ming back then, I believe we should also let Thomas Jefferson witness it properly, so he knows the principle of 'without ceremony, there is no authority'."
Zhu Erdan couldn't help but interject, "Elder Zeng is mistaken. That saying is 'A gentleman without gravitas has no authority'."
Zeng Cheng, caught up in the discussion, immediately glared at Zhu Erdan and said, "It's enough for Prince Qin to know that 'a gentleman without gravitas has no authority'. But those barbarians don't need to know that. We just need them to know that 'without ceremony, there is no authority'."
With Zeng Cheng leading the way, the other senior officials in the Grand Secretariat also chimed in with their ideas.
"Let them experience the various welfare programs of our Great Ming, especially those costly institutions like the Welfare Homes, Benevolent Medical Offices, Orphanages, and Leak-of-a-Hundred-Graves Parks."
"Just showing them the money-burning institutions isn't enough! In my opinion, we must also show them the railways, roads, and electric lights. These things are even more costly."
"I think the method proposed by Louis XVI isn't entirely wrong. When it's time to show them our Great Ming's military might, we should still let them see it."
"I recall England has something called the East India Company, right? Wasn't that company originally in the business of selling opium? It's just right, let them continue doing the opium business in the Eagle nation!"
"..."
Hearing these ideas from the senior officials, Zhu Jinsong finally understood. It wasn't that Zeng Cheng was also a穿越者 (time traveler), but rather that the senior officials in the Great Ming court were truly "dark-hearted"—employing tactics that the Eagles would only figure out over a hundred years later, a century in advance. Their hearts were truly "black"!
Sympathizing with Thomas Jefferson for a second, Zhu Jinsong then instructed the assembled leaders, "Then let's proceed with Elder Zeng's plan. Let's directly turn Thomas Jefferson and all of them into 'rolling gē' (slang for someone who manipulates or plays games) in the Eagle nation. Especially people like Thomas Jefferson, once they become 'rolling gē', they'll be even more ruthless than ordinary ones."
...
Although Thomas Jefferson had not yet experienced the series of "dark" tactics prepared for him by Zhu Jinsong and the senior officials of the Great Ming court, he already felt on the verge of collapse.
Before coming to the Great Ming, Thomas Jefferson's understanding of it was largely based on what he heard from Washington and John Adams. And John Adams's consistent portrayal had given Thomas Jefferson the impression that the Great Ming was decadent and extravagant, even creating a misconception that the Great Ming was not all that impressive, and that the Eagle nation would sooner or later surpass it.
It was only after personally arriving in the Great Ming that Thomas Jefferson realized how ridiculous his original ideas were.
Yes, ridiculous, because Jefferson couldn't think of a more appropriate word.
The Eagle Navy, which Jefferson had previously regarded as the nation's backbone, was relegated to escorting transport ships upon arrival in the Great Ming. Were the Great Ming's main warships made of steel?
While the Eagle nation was just beginning to grasp the concept of steam locomotives, the Great Ming already had many lines in operation.
The Eagle nation hadn't even figured out the basics of electricity, yet the Great Ming had already found practical applications for it.
Since landing at Tianjin Port, Jefferson felt his worldview was beginning to crumble. As he slowly made his way to the capital, Jefferson completely gave up hope. He even felt a sense of relief: "Fortunately, fortunately, the leader became an ally of the Great Ming back then. Fortunately, the Great Ming pulled our Eagle nation into the 'little broken pot' (derogatory term for a weak alliance), and made us one of the Five Benevolent Ones."
After gathering his confidantes Monroe and Livingston, Jefferson directly stated his demands: "Let's put the matter of purchasing Louisiana from the French Frogs aside for now. I have more important tasks for you. That is to increase the number of students sent to the Great Ming as exchange scholars, and at the same time, invite scholars from the Great Ming to visit our Eagle nation for exchanges."
"Concurrently, I need you to befriend officials from the Great Ming and find ways to acquire the technologies that our Eagle nation needs from them, including but not limited to railways, roads, electric lights, telegraphs, firearms, artillery, and warships."
"The principle is that if the Great Ming has it, our Eagle nation must also have it, at least so that we don't fall too far behind the Great Ming. I hope you remember that the 'little broken pot' is a place where strength speaks for itself. What if the Great Ming decides to stop including our Eagle nation if we continue to rely on them?"
However, after Jefferson finished stating his demands, Monroe and Livingston exchanged glances and then both shook their heads.
Monroe shrugged and said, "I'm very sorry, Mr. President, but the matter of sending students to the Great Ming has already been rejected by the gentlemen in Congress. Their reason is that continuously sending students to the Great Ming will consume a large amount of funds."
"In other words, starting from next year, a total of six batches of students will return to the Eagle nation, and after six years, there will be no more students."
"Furthermore, although we hate to admit it, we have to tell you that scholars from the Great Ming will not visit our Eagle nation for exchanges. This is because our Eagle nation has no learning or knowledge that is worth exchanging with the scholars of the Great Ming."
"In fact, the most advanced learning and technology in the entire 'little broken ball' (Earth) are currently in the Great Ming. Scholars from other countries are doing everything they can to visit universities in the Great Ming for exchanges, and we've never heard of scholars from the Great Ming visiting other countries."
Livingston chimed in, "And about the other technologies—the gentlemen in Congress have completely overturned the policy set by John Adams. Therefore, those policies for introducing technology from the Great Ming have also been rejected. If it weren't for this matter, Mr. Thomson would not have resigned in anger and would not have stayed in the Great Ming instead of returning to the Eagle nation."
Upon hearing Monroe and Livingston speak, Jefferson was immediately stunned. His expression gradually turned grim. After a while, with his face alternating between red and pale, Jefferson took a deep breath and said, "I will find a way to handle Congress. As for matters concerning the Great Ming, I entrust them to you. Also, try to contact Thomson and tell him that the Eagle nation still needs him. I hope he can join us in making the Eagle nation even greater."
However, Livingston shook his head and sighed, "It's impossible, Mr. President. Thomson's greatest achievement in the past was establishing early contact with the Great Ming and setting up systems for technical exchange and student dispatch. But with Congress rejecting all of this, Thomson has become completely disappointed with the Eagle nation. He canceled his Eagle nationality two months ago and switched to French nationality. If it weren't for the difficulty of obtaining Great Ming nationality, I think Thomson would have directly joined the Great Ming."
Jefferson's expression became even more unpleasant.
Although Monroe and Livingston kept mentioning the "gentlemen in Congress," Jefferson knew very well that they weren't really referring to Congress, but to himself, the leader of the Eagle nation.
Because the decision to reject everything John Adams had left behind was made by himself, the leader of the Eagle nation, and the gentlemen in Congress had merely amplified that decision.
To put it plainly, the root cause was himself.
After a moment of contemplation, Jefferson finally looked up and said to Monroe and Livingston, "I don't want to hear about any difficulties you may have. I only want to hear good news of your success. As I said just now, I will find a way to resolve matters with Congress. You only need to handle the matters with the Great Ming."
"And Thomson, I hope you can persuade him. Even if you can't persuade him, please help me find him and arrange a meeting, so I can speak with him personally."
"Listen, gentlemen, regardless of any misunderstandings or mistakes in the past, we are doing this for the future and development of the Eagle nation, aren't we?"
Upon hearing Jefferson say this, Monroe and Livingston simply stopped speaking and shrugged, "As you wish, sir. We will find a way to get all this done."
Jefferson then brightened up and said, "By the way, I hope to learn more about the Great Ming before the 'little broken pot' conference convenes. Do you have any good ideas?"
Livingston frowned, "Sir, if Thomson were still here, you could simply ask him about your questions. But unfortunately, Thomson is not here now, so I can only advise you to stay here and learn about the Great Ming through the newspapers."
However, Jefferson let out a laugh and said, "Great Ming newspapers? Although there are English and French versions of the Great Ming newspapers, according to the information I have, the English and French versions of the Great Ming newspapers do not contain the same content as what the Great Ming people themselves read, or rather, not entirely the same."
"I don't know if this is intentional on the part of the Great Ming people, or if there are problems with the translation, or if it's due to some other miscellaneous reasons. I am unwilling to trust the English and French versions of the Great Ming newspapers."
Speaking of which, Jefferson suddenly became enthusiastic and said, "What if, I mean, what if we bribe their officials? I've heard that officials in the Central Court are very corrupt and love cold, hard silver?"
Upon hearing Jefferson say this, Livingston's brow furrowed even more deeply. "I suggest you'd best not do that, sir."
"Thomson once wrote to me saying that the officials of the Central Court during the Qing dynasty were indeed greedy and would go to great lengths to line their own pockets. However, the officials of the Central Court during the Ming dynasty are different. While they also like silver, they dare not be greedy, let alone accept silver from foreigners like us."
Jefferson couldn't help but shake his head. First, he sighed with regret, then he cheered himself up and said, "It's alright. Since this method won't work, let's find a way through official channels. Please arrange a meeting for me with the Emperor of the Great Ming. I hope to have a private meeting with him."
Upon hearing Jefferson say this, Livingston and Monroe were immediately flustered.
Arrange a meeting? A private audience?