"If Dacheng and Dacheng get along with Dacheng friendly, Dacheng will naturally not use troops against Dacheng - if Dacheng wants to use troops against Dacheng, 100,000 Ming troops are on the border of Dacheng, and now is the best opportunity," Fang Fengnian of course will not make a promise to Dacheng, and a fool will betray the interests of the country, "But no one can guarantee the future, such as Donghu, which was once the 'country of non-conquest' designated by Taizu, but Donghu invaded Dacheng and invaded Dacheng, a vassal state of Dacheng, can Daming still let Donghu do nonsense?" ”

Putty chewed for a while, "But my Dacheng is a country friendly to Daming, and I will definitely not invade Daming." ”

Fang Fengnianxin said that it would be good if Dacheng dared to invade Daming, and these negotiations would be omitted, "I just cited the example of Donghu, in fact, the threat of Dacheng did not come from Daming, and the national teacher should not regard Daming as an enemy." ”

"Not Da Ming?" Putty pondered for a while, but there was still no result.

"Xiyi, did the national teacher ever know that Xiyi has invaded the east, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, these blue-eyed and red-haired Xiyi, have established a large number of bases in the east, and they have been invading the east, and they are the enemies of the big city." Fang Fengnian pointed out the direction to Puti.

"Xiyi?" Of course, Putty knew that Portugal had invaded Donghu and was later driven away by Talon's soldiers, they were not many in number, and the climate had not been formed, and the Ming Dynasty had occupied the southern part of the Malay Peninsula, which was the forefront of the confrontation with Xiyi, so Putty chose to forget Xiyi, "Minister, can Daming help Dacheng train an elite army of more than 10,000 people?" ”

"Da Ming can help Da Cheng train soldiers, but what will Da Cheng give in return?" Just a nominal suzerain, let the Ming pay a lot of energy and silver, but also bear the obligation of protection, Fang Fengnian estimated, if Putty can't change his concept, today's contract, I'm afraid it can't be negotiated.

"Then what does Daming want Dacheng to do?" Putty didn't understand, in the past, the Ming Dynasty took the initiative to assume the obligation of protection for the vassal state, even if it was just to mediate for both sides of the war.

"If Dacheng is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, it will pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, 200,000 taels of silver per year, and then it will be possible for the Ming Dynasty to ensure the safety of the city, what does the national teacher think?" Fang Fengnian finally threw out his first proposition.

"Two hundred thousand? 長大人 + dǐng + diǎn + small + say, .2←3.∷os_(); , this is impossible, Ayutthaya simply does not have the ability to pay! Putty exclaimed, he felt that Fang Fengnian was more robber than a robber.

"If Dacheng can't show sincerity, then Dacheng can't guarantee the safety of Dacheng, and the national teacher thinks about what Dacheng can pay tribute." Fang Fengnian knew that he proposed this condition, and he would definitely scare Puti, and the more scared he was, the more fun it would be.

"Your Excellency, what kind of sincerity does Dacheng have to show before Dacheng will accept Dacheng as a vassal state?" Putty couldn't hold his breath, 200,000 taels of silver, that was half a year's tax in Dacheng, and it could never be given to Daming, but the contract could not be reached, and his mission to Daming this time would not be completed.

"What sincerity does the national teacher think Dacheng should contribute? What kind of sincerity can represent the true sincerity of Ayutthaya and make the friendship between the two countries continue for generations? Fang Fengnian is not in a hurry, anyway, Daming occupies an absolute advantage, and he occupies the initiative in negotiations.

"Sincerity?" Putty was puzzled, "Xiaguan sent Daming from afar, isn't it sincere?" ”

"This is indeed sincerity, but this is only the sincerity of the national teacher and the current king of Ayutthaya, after decades or even hundreds of years, who can guarantee that Ayutthaya will still have such sincerity?" Fang Fengnian didn't wait for Putty to answer, "And this kind of sincerity, what good is it for Daming?" ”

"Your Excellency, what kind of benefits does Daming need?" Putty estimates that what Dacheng can get his hands on, or what Daming can see, is still silver, but Dacheng's silver is too little to satisfy Dan's appetite at all.

Fang Fengnian thought for a while, "National Teacher, I think there are two ways to make Daming and Dacheng friendly for generations, I don't know if the National Teacher agrees?" ”

"Your Excellency, please speak." It's good to have a road, and Putty still can't figure out Fang Fengnian's thoughts, or Daming's real needs.

"The first way is to imitate the last contract, Daming and Dacheng are usually the relationship between the suzerain and the vassals, but Daming does not need tribute from Dacheng, as long as the two sides have normal exchanges." Fang Fengnian threw a bait first.

Putty feels that it is not so simple, in the last contract, although Dacheng waited for Daming's troops, but Dacheng paid the price of 300,000 stone grain and 1.5 million taels of silver, and still owes Daming silver, "What if Dacheng is invaded by foreign enemies and needs Daming's help?" ”

Fang Fengnian showed his white teeth at this time, "Da Ming can provide a qiē help, including sending troops directly, but Da Cheng needs to pay all the expenses." ”

"All the costs?" Putty was a little nervous, he didn't know how much all the expenses were.

"Of course, Daming paid the cost completely for the big city, so naturally the big city should bear it." Fang Fengnian's words are not unreasonable, and diplomacy has always been to convince people with reason.

"Your Excellency, how much is the total cost?" Putty had to consider the ability of Ayutthaya to pay.

"If the Ming Dynasty sends envoys to mediate for Ayutthaya, then the entanglement, accommodation, meals, and rewards for the members of the mission during the mediation period and the rewards after the successful mediation ......"

Putty is in a hurry, this is a reward, who knows what the standard set by Da Ming is? "Minister, is there a fixed number?"

Fang Fengnian shook his head, "I can't say for sure, who knows how long it will take to mediate?" How many people are in the mission? What price does Daming need to pay in order to reach an agreement with the other party? ”

"......," Putty was speechless.

Fang Fengnian didn't care about Puti's surprise and nervousness, "If the Ming Dynasty threatens the other party with force, or even directly dispatches the army to participate in the war, then Ayutthaya needs to pay for the cost of army transfer, soldiers' salaries, subsidies for going out to fight, and pensions for casualties. ”

Putty was about to cry, helping Dacheng like this, even if he could maintain the independence of the land, he was afraid that the taxes would be empty, but Fang Fengnian was right, Daming This is completely for Dacheng, and it should be for Dacheng to pay, "Your Excellency, ......"

Fang Fengnian continued to talk eloquently, "In addition, Dacheng has contributed so much to Dacheng and helped Dacheng solve such a big crisis, Dacheng can't help but show something - Daming has done so much, but it has been spent to help Dacheng, and Daming has not received a penny of benefits." ”

"Your Excellency, Ayutthaya is only a small country, and once the cost is too high, Ayutthaya may not be able to afford it." Putty is testing Fang Fengnian to see if there is a possibility of reducing the cost.

"The national teacher is not a good word, Daming is not a country that likes to use swords, but if it is for the safety of Dacheng to send troops, the cost will naturally be paid by Dacheng, as for whether Dacheng can afford it, it is still a matter of Dacheng, Ao, if my majesty agrees, Dacheng can repay it year by year, but interest must be added."

Putty's face was black, "Your Excellency, let's talk about the second way!" ”

"The national teacher doesn't need to worry, in fact, the second way, as I have already said below, is that Dacheng pays tribute to Dacheng 200,000 taels of silver every year, once Dacheng is invaded by foreign enemies, or breeds civil strife, Dacheng immediately sends troops to help Dacheng solve all the problems, but no longer charge Dacheng any fees, because Dacheng has already paid."

Putty's face was dark, but it was not easy to attack, he just shook his head, "Two hundred thousand taels, Dacheng really can't afford it, and my majesty will never agree, I don't know how the minister calculated two hundred thousand taels?" ”

Fang Fengnian was taken aback, he did say 200,000 taels casually, "If the Ming Dynasty wants to ensure the safety of the city, the soldiers of an army will be stationed in the city in peacetime, and the salary of these 30,000 soldiers is 200,000 taels, which does not include the usual supply of grain and grass and the distribution of firearms." ”

"The army is stationed in the big city?" Puti's eyeballs rolled around a few times, and finally he didn't speak.

"If you don't garrison Dacheng, if Dacheng is invaded by foreign enemies, do you have to transfer troops from Beijing? It's that Daming can afford it, I'm afraid Dacheng can't afford to wait, right? Fang Fengnian wants to dispel Dacheng's concerns, "Is the national teacher worried that Daming will take the opportunity to swallow Dacheng?" ”

“……”

"If the Ming Dynasty really wants to annex it, do you need to use this way? To put it irreverently, the 100,000 Ming army is on the border of Dacheng, they destroyed Donghu in a few months, and they really want to attack Dacheng, how long does the national teacher think Dacheng can resist? ”

“……”

"The Ming Dynasty is for the safety of the big city, will garrison the big city, the national teacher look, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, in addition to Donghu and Jiannu repeatedly invaded the Ming Dynasty, how have they ever destroyed the border vassal states?"

"What the minister means, the lower official understands, and at this time, we will discuss it later, and the lower official will go back to discuss it." Putty feels that the current Daming, from Zhu Youzhen to Huang Xiaofu, to Li Tengfang, and now Fang Fengnian, is different from the previous legends, is there no free lunch in Daming?

"Okay, the national teacher will go back to discuss and discuss first, we will discuss the contract on an equal and voluntary basis, and when the national teacher has discussed, we will talk again."

After four rounds of arduous negotiations, the two sides finally reached a contract, strictly speaking, this is the first covenant signed by the Ming Dynasty, and since then, the Ming Dynasty and the city are allies, and the "Ming City Covenant" stipulates:

1. The Ming Dynasty and the Great City are allies, and each has the obligation to maintain the security of the other, and once one side of the alliance is invaded by another country, the other side must give full assistance, including the use of force;

2. Dacheng pays 50,000 taels of silver to Dacheng every year, and Dacheng trains an army of 10,000 people for Dacheng, and Dacheng sells firearms to equip this army in Dacheng;

3. The two sides may garrison troops on each other's land, but the garrison shall not exceed 20,000 except in response to foreign invasion;

4. In the first three years of the signing of the covenant, Dacheng was temporarily exempted from paying tribute to the Ming Dynasty because he wanted to repay the military pensions of the Ming Dynasty, and the tribute was implemented from the fourth year;

5. In order to strengthen the relations between the two sides and enhance the mutual trust between the two peoples, the Chinese language will be spoken in Ayutthaya, and Confucianism will be promoted in Ayutthaya for a transition period of five years, after which Chinese will be the only official language in Ayutthaya and the only language taught in various schools;

6. The two sides shall send permanent envoys to each other;

7. The "Mingcheng Covenant" shall be valid for 10 years, and within half a year before the end of the validity period, the two sides shall agree on whether to extend it.

Putty was basically satisfied with this covenant, and Dacheng was guaranteed security, not only that the Ming would not invade the city, but also that when the foreign enemy invaded, he would make every effort to ensure the safety of the city, which was the most important result of his mission to the Ming Dynasty.

Although Dacheng had to pay a tribute of 50,000 taels of silver to Daming every year, Dacheng was guaranteed security, could be disarmed, and saved military salaries, and the actual loss of Dacheng was not large.

As for Ayutthaya will learn Chinese and promote Confucianism, Putty does not feel that he is at a loss, once Ayutthaya and Daming speak the same language, the brotherly friendship will be more unbreakable, and the Buddhism that the people of Ayutthaya believe in is also quite extensive in Daming, so Dacheng did not force Dacheng to ban Buddhism, but in addition to Buddhism, and then promote the Confucianism of Confucius.

The most important thing is that Dacheng does not have the strength to fight against Daming, and it should be acceptable for Dacheng to bring security to Dacheng in this way.

The only thing that Putty is a little dissatisfied with is that the musket # guns sold by the Ming Dynasty to Dacheng are not flintlock pistols used by the Ming army, but old-fashioned arquebuses, but Fang Fengnian has repeatedly explained that the firearms being used by the Ming army will definitely not be sold to the outside world, and Putty can't help it.

Zhu Youzhen was even more satisfied with this covenant, which was the first covenant signed by the Ming Dynasty.

The annual tribute of 50,000 taels of silver in Ayutthaya was only an expedient measure, and the purpose was to speed up the development of Burma Province, and it is estimated that the next issue of the "Mingcheng Covenant" will be eliminated.

Zhu Youzhen saw that the three major goals of "garrisoning, Chinese, and Confucianism" set by himself were fully realized in this "Mingcheng Covenant", which would be a model for the Ming Dynasty to handle relations with Asian countries.