Mingzhou, that is, Ningbo in later generations. At a time when Shanghai was still troubled by the inflow of seawater, and a large area of land was still a tidal swamp, the importance of Mingzhou Port was very prominent.

Since the time of Li Tang, Mingzhou has been the most prominent trade port of the Central Plains Dynasty, and even Guangzhou is difficult to overpower. Because trade depends on the market, the wealth of Lingnan behind Guangzhou obviously cannot be compared with Jiangnan behind Mingzhou. Not to mention that Mingzhou, which is backed by the canal, can also play a role as a domestic re-export. (That is, after the development of the South Seas, Guangzhou began to catch up and surpass) and whether it is Japan or Goryeo, both and the Central Plains' main shipping trade port is Mingzhou, rather than Qilu Denglai, which seems to be closer.

I won't say much about the reasons for this.

Anyway, as the most important foreign trade port today, Mingzhou is prosperous and rich, and its population is dense, and it must be the first-class city second only to Bianjing, and it is also the first-class prosperous city in the world at this time.

As the first prosperous place in the Central Plains and one of the most important trading ports in China, Mingzhou can be said to be famous in all parts of Asia and Europe, and even the white fans who are thousands of miles away have heard the name of this city. Merchants from all walks of life gathered here, Seljuks, Egyptians (Fatimids), Tianzhu, Goryeo, and Wa, some of them were merchants who traded here, and some of them were for study.

The official and private schools of the Zhao and Song dynasties were prosperous, and after the frequent exchanges between Japan, Goryeo and China, there were very few people who came to study.

The high-standard ones will be sent directly to Taixue and Guozijian, and the low-standard ones will even be in Mingzhou Private School Panheng.

In the early morning, a red sun came out of the sea, and the whole city woke up, and then the people were in an uproar.

Even though it is winter, it is a good season for ships to sail south, not when overseas merchant ships come to the port. And the time has reached the end of the year, the merchant ships that should go south have gone south, and the port of Mingzhou has been deserted a lot.

But the city is still exuding endless energy.

There are no more ships coming from the south, and there are also local offshore merchant ships that transport goods.

As the severe cold of winter sweeps across the south of the Yangtze River, all the big rivers and small rivers are frozen, and the coastal coastal transportation will become more prosperous.

The gates of the city were opened, and the people who entered and exited were already lined up in long lines inside and outside the city.

It seems to be an ordinary day.

Li Ruoxu, who lifted the Bo Division of Mingzhou City, had a meal, dressed neatly, and walked unhurriedly from the back office to the front hall. In winter, although it cannot be said that it is close to idleness, it is really much more idle than in spring, summer and autumn.

After staying in the signing room for a long time, Li Ruoxu got up and stretched, it seems that this day is no different from the past. But just as he was about to go home and go back to the back office to rest, a sudden emergency report told him that his birthday this year would never come back.

But there was a fleet on the sea outside, an official Japanese fleet.

Zhengdan envoy visited!

Good guys, this is definitely big news. Although foreign envoys can often be seen in this place, such as Goryeo, Japan, Srivijaya, etc., even Myeongju has a special building for the Goryeo envoys who come to the court to live temporarily.

However, the Zhengdan envoy sent by Japan is still the first time that it has 'opened the world'.

Zhengdan envoy is the messenger of He Zhengdan country. At the beginning, the Song and Liao often sent envoys to each other before the old calendar year, and congratulated the empress dowager, emperor and empress on Zhengdan (Spring Festival).

Because Japan has never been able to deal with Zhao Song.

Everyone has heard of sending envoys to the Sui and Tang dynasties, but have you ever heard of sending envoys to the Song Dynasty?

Even if it was forcibly subordinated by Zhao Gou, Japan only sent envoys to Bianjing, not the so-called Zhengdan envoys.

In fact, although the Zhao Song and Japan had frequent cultural, religious and economic exchanges, far more than during the Li and Tang periods, they were quite unenthusiastic at the national level.

Because the Zhao and Song dynasties were weak, the existence of the Khitan made the Central Plains lose its self-respecting momentum. The foreign policy of the Zhao and Song dynasties paid more attention to economic benefits than the previous Han Dynasty, Sui Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, and later Ming and Qing dynasties.

We should pursue the principle of flexible diplomacy of "not refusing to come, and not pursuing if we go". Take Goryeo as an example, Goryeo was established in the Tang Dynasty after the fifth dynasty, and before 993 AD, the Song Dynasty was Zhengshuo, and in 994 AD, when the Liao invaded Goryeo, it was subordinate to the Khitan. Song broke off diplomatic relations with Goryeo. During the reign of Song Shenzong, diplomatic relations were restored after a 40-year hiatus, but the Goryeo side offered to continue to use the Liao era name, and the Song Dynasty agreed. In the official history, after the Song dynasty crossed to the south, Goryeo still respected the Northern Dynasty and could communicate with the Southern Song Dynasty, and Lin'an still accepted it, and on this basis, it developed a maritime trade that was half official and half civilian.

However, there are also special periods, such as the Shenzong and Huizong dynasties, which explicitly urged Japan to come to the dynasty and pursue enthusiasm. But Japan refused. Even if Zhao and Song issued official documents several times, Japan only barely produced a palindrome, but there was no mention of diplomatic relations, let alone the resumption of tribute.

Therefore, Zhao Gou used to forcibly accept Japan as a vassal state in an absolutely arrogant attitude, and Japan bowed its head and admitted defeat.

There is no way, the country is not as good as the people. At the same time, Goryeo had already bowed his head, and Heiankyo didn't even have a helper, so he had to give in. Now he has sent envoys to Bianjing more than once. But this is really the first time that a Zhengdan mission like this is now.

Li Ruoxu is the elder brother of Li Ruoshui, a famous minister of Jingkang, who was not born in the imperial examination, and served in the Qingzhang Office of Hebei under the rule of Zhao Gou in his early years, and then jumped to the transfer department, and in a few years, he became the deputy envoy of the transfer of Jingnan Road. Then he was sent to Mingzhou to raise the city's Bo Division.

There are things at home and abroad, and although I was surprised at first glance, I quickly figured out the reason.

Now that Goryeo has been controlled by Zhao Song, he sent a letter from the king of Goryeo with a dedication form to Bianjing.

No way. The army of the king of Goryeo could not defeat the Xijing army, and Liankai Kyoto was captured by the Xijing army. However, the Song army, which nominally came to the rescue, always stayed on the Great Wall and sat idly by.

Clear-eyed people know at a glance that the Xijing Army and Zhao Song may have already reached an agreement, and even Tuo Junjing's power has a certain relationship with this.

But no matter what the public opinion on the peninsula was, after the defeat of the Goryeo royal army and the dismissal of Kim Fushi, Wang Kai chose a number of ministers from the DPRK and China, but none of them were used, and Wang Kai himself had no choice but to flee to Jeonju (Jeolla Province) in the south, and the country's decadence was inevitable.

Then Zhao Kuangju of Xijing opened a large area of land north of Beijing to surrender to Zhao Song, and the Song army began to advance south across the Great Wall. Then Yoo Min, who was entrenched in Kaegyeong, also surrendered to the Song army, and at the same time, the Song army's naval division entered Jeolla Province by sea, and the whole of Goryeo was already under the control of the Song army.

How can Japan, which is separated by a body of water, not be frightened?

When Zhao Song set up the Haidong Governor's Mansion, there was more than one Goryeo who was vigilant. And the fact was indeed as Heiankyo expected, the Song army only gained a firm foothold, and immediately plotted against Japan. Although it's just a Sado Island. But that's also Japanese territory, isn't it?

The Song people easily took it there, who dares to guarantee that they will not gain an inch?

But Goryeo was already salty at that time, and Japan did not dare to challenge the behemoth in the west alone!

Now, Goryeo, which was the first to concede to the Great Song Dynasty, has become the mouth of the behemoth, and it is no wonder that the Japanese magnates do not stand upside down.

This time, a large number of envoys were sent to congratulate him, but it was too late, there were only eleven or twelve days left before the New Year, and the yamen was about to be sealed. It would be strange if there was no hidden meaning inside, and even he could guess what the Japanese magnates were trying to express.