Chapter 1135: A True Gathering of All Nations at Court

While the scene inside Old Mountain Palace was one of fatherly affection and filial devotion, warm and harmonious, the citizens of Pukou, dressed in splendid attire, were already crowding Hongwu Avenue and Hongxing Avenue. Both of these broad, level streets had been newly opened, with rows of boxwood trees planted along either side. Pukou now faintly possessed the air of a Celestial Empire's imperial residence.

The citizens living here were mostly supporters of this Celestial Empire and beneficiaries of the Great Ming Dynasty's rule, so they warmly welcomed Zhu Cilang's act of summoning vassal states from all directions to come pay birthday respects in the name of celebrating the Retired Emperor Chongzhen's birthday, thereby displaying the majesty and glory of the superior state. Thus, early in the morning on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth month, the citizens who had been given a holiday for the Retired Emperor's fiftieth birthday all spontaneously took to the streets to watch the grand spectacle of vassal states and envoys from all nations under heaven arriving to offer birthday congratulations.

This was a true gathering of all nations at court! Not vassals and foreign envoys "hired" in disguised form through the practice of giving generously while receiving little in return, but vassals and foreign states that, out of reverence and admiration for the Celestial Empire, had traveled thousands of miles without any element of reward involved. Never mind generous giving — there was not even meager giving!

Although there was no "generous giving" or "meager giving," the envoys who came to offer congratulations were full of sincerity! Starting from the beginning of the twelfth month, they had been arriving in Pukou one after another, and because there were so many, the Foreign Ministry's guesthouse, with its limited space, simply could not accommodate them all. Fortunately, Pukou and Old Mountain had many newly completed princely mansions, prepared for the children of Zhu Cilang and the Retired Emperor Chongzhen, which now happened to serve for hosting honored guests.

And today was the day when the honored guests would collectively enter Old Mountain Palace to kowtow and offer birthday congratulations to the Retired Emperor Chongzhen!

So from early morning, the honored guests from foreign states, vassal states, and some internal vassal garrisons all braved the bitter cold and gathered on Hongwu Avenue. Then, under the gaze of the citizens lining both sides of the street, they began to form ranks according to the order prescribed by the Great Ming Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Rites.

At the very front of the procession were not the envoys sent by great powers on equal footing with the Celestial Empire, but the birthday delegation personally led by the King of Japan, Tokugawa Mitsukuni!

Japan's strength and size were plain for all to see. After joining the Celestial Empire system, the position of foremost vassal state belonged to none other than Japan!

The congratulatory delegation of the Kingdom of Joseon was second in line, led by Chief State Councillor He Luohui. Donggu, who had served as regent, had long since returned to the country and was now Zhu Cilang's Noble Consort. And the King of Joseon — the son of Zhu Cilang and Donggu — was still a small child, so of course he could not go to his kingdom, and thus the Chief State Councillor had to lead the delegation to offer birthday congratulations.

The third vassal state was, of course, Annam, led by Crown Prince Li Weiqi. The King of Annam, Li Weiqi, was old and gravely ill, unable to come to the Great Ming, so the child Li Weixu had to lead the delegation. But whether Li Weiqi or Li Weixu, both were mere figureheads. The ones truly in charge within Annam were still the four lords Zheng, Ruan, Mo, and Wu, and their envoys had also come along to the Great Ming, each having separately prepared a congratulatory gift.

The delegation led by King Narai of Siam was fourth in line. This great king of the Ayutthaya Dynasty, now wearing a warm sable coat and a sable hat on his head, sat shivering inside a four-wheeled carriage decorated with exquisite carvings and gold lacquer — the winter of Yingtian Prefecture was simply too cold for this Siamese king!

But no matter how cold Yingtian was, he had to come!

Because it was Zhu Cizhao who, bearing Zhu Cilang's imperial edict, had personally gone to Ayutthaya to invite him!

The reason for inviting him north was, of course, to promote Confucianism and help Siam establish a "civil service examination" — Siam's position within the Celestial Empire circle was relatively peripheral! Not only was it far away, but culturally and religiously, what bound Siam to the Great Ming was Theravada Buddhism, whereas the Buddhism prevalent in the four countries of the Great Ming, Joseon, Japan, and Annam was Mahayana Buddhism, which differed considerably from Theravada Buddhism.

At the same time, Confucianism had no presence whatsoever within Siam. Therefore, this vassal state of Siam was somewhat unreliable no matter how one looked at it!

So promoting Confucianism and the "civil service examination" in Siam had become imperative. And the introduction of Confucianism and the implementation of the "civil service examination" would inevitably shatter the existing structure of interests within Siam!

Turmoil was probably unavoidable!

Following behind the King of Siam were the envoys of Chenla and Laos. These two countries were also domains of Theravada Buddhism, and likewise had no connection to Confucianism. However, Zhu Cilang had no intention of making things difficult for these two countries for the time being, so the delegations of Chenla and Laos were not of high rank, nor particularly large in scale.

Behind the Chenla and Laos delegations were the delegations of three Mongol vassal states: Chahar, Tumed, and Dzungar. Among them, Chahar and Tumed had long held the status of outer vassals, while Dzungar had not yet been formally enfeoffed and was merely a quasi-vassal state.

This time, the Dzungar delegation led by Galdan had come not only to offer birthday congratulations but also to request enfeoffment. And accompanying the Dzungar delegation to the Great Ming were envoys from two Khoshut groups — the Khoshut of the Oirat and the Khoshut of Tibet — who had likewise come to request enfeoffment, though not as vassal states but as vassal garrisons.

In addition, the Great Lama of Tibet had also arrived in Yingtian. However, the Great Lama was not together with the three Mongol vassal states and two Mongol vassal garrisons — he was a religious figure, after all, so naturally he had to be with other religious figures.

Behind the Mongols was the delegation of the Ryukyu Kingdom. King Shō Shitsu of Ryukyu personally led it, though its scale was not large — because the Great Ming, Japan, and Joseon had all opened their countries, Ryukyu had been somewhat depressed in recent years.

And not long before, Zhu Cilang had proposed to the increasingly impoverished Shō Shitsu a suggestion of "changing kingdom and shifting territory" — relocating the Ryukyu Kingdom to the territory of Pattani or Perak.

The matter looked fine on the surface, but could it actually be accomplished? King Shō Shitsu of Ryukyu truly had no confidence in his heart!

Just as lacking in confidence as Shō Shitsu was Yi Seon, who had come from Jeju Island. His father, Yi Ho, had passed away last year, dying on Jeju Island. And envoys from the Great Ming Ministry of Foreign Affairs had appeared at Yi Ho's funeral, bringing Yi Seon an imperial edict from Zhu Cilang ordering him to come to Yingtian Prefecture for an audience with the emperor.

What did an audience with the emperor mean? Was it to inherit his late father Yi Ho's title of Commandery Prince, or to be demoted to commoner status?

The delegations of the Sultanate of Brunei and the Sultanate of Sulu followed behind the Jeju delegation led by Yi Seon. These two sultanates had long been used as buffers by the Spanish and the Dutch, cast between Luzon and Malacca, and had managed to survive on their own for all these years. But there were no good days to be had. Both countries had been founded on trade, with Sulu relying on the Spice Islands and an entrepôt island between them and the Great Ming as its foundation. Once the spice trade fell under Dutch control, Sulu's days of hardship had arrived!

And Brunei's days were no better. This country had survived on the trade between Malacca and the Great Ming, and once the trade between Malacca and the Great Ming was controlled by Westerners, there was nothing left for them.

So upon seeing the Great Ming rise again, these two sultanates had been eager and restless, wanting to borrow the Great Ming's power to drive the Dutch out of the Spice Islands and Malacca.

After the envoys of Brunei and Sulu came the foreign delegations. The Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, Persia, the Netherlands, England, France, Portugal (sent from Goa), the Holy Roman Empire, Sweden, and other countries that had established diplomatic relations with the Great Ming had all sent congratulatory envoys.

Among them, the Netherlands, the Ottoman Empire, and the Mughal Empire were relatively grand, not merely sending people from their missions stationed in Yingtian but dispatching separate congratulatory delegations. The Dutch congratulatory delegation was sent from Batavia, while the Ottoman and Mughal delegations were dispatched from their respective capitals — truly traveling thousands of miles!

Such a grand "gathering of all nations at court" was truly the first of its kind since the founding of the Great Ming!

Once the hour of si in the morning had passed, with the sound of melodious horns rising one after another, the delegations of the various nations, one after another, began advancing toward Old Mountain Palace.

And the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming, Zhu Cilang, together with the Retired Emperor Zhu Youjian, ascended the Gate of Imperial Supremacy together to receive the homage and tribute of the envoys from all nations.

(End of Chapter)