readx; How big is the world? Zhu Youzhen's sudden question stumped all the Confucian scholars present. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Lai Zongdao thought that the emperor was testing his understanding of the word "world", and replied cautiously: "Your Majesty, the ancients had clouds: the sky is round and the place is round. Under the heaven is the earth, and in the earth is China. The Son of Heaven lives in China and is mandated by Heaven to rule the world. Therefore, in the "Book of Songs", there is a saying that "under the world, it is not the king's land". ”

In fact, what Lai Zongdao said was the simple understanding of the world in ancient China, which everyone thought was the case for thousands of years, and no one would think to ask why. Zhu Youzhen was not in a hurry to refute, but still asked with a smile: "That being said, I am the Son of Heaven, since Putian is not the king's land, why are there Jianlu in Liaodong, Japanese in the East, and red hair in Nanyang?" Why don't they obey the indoctrination? There are still many vassal states in the Ming Dynasty, are they also considered royal land? ”

Lai Zongdao hurriedly said: "According to the ancients' five suits', my China is located in the middle of the world, and Gyeonggi is the most middle place. The closer you get to Gyeonggi, the more prosperous the royal road becomes, and the more abundant the people are. Outside of Gyeonggi, there are five suits: Dian, Hou, Sui, Yao, and Huang. Dian, Hou, and Sui are the land of the state capital, princes, and vassals. To serve is Dongyi, Nanman, Xirong, Beidi and other places that do not know the king, and now the construction is the captivity. The land is bitter and cold, or hot and humid, or full of miasma, or not a single inch of grass, and it does not produce crops, and its people drink blood. In addition to the service, there are also wild clothes, and the land is more wild than the service, such as red hair. Outside of the desert, the saint exists and does not care. ”

This is not good at the sect, and he will only talk about it, so he is known as the "prime minister of the Qing Dynasty". However, his knowledge was not to be said, and these words were quoted from the scriptures, and Sun Chengzong, Yuan Keli and others also nodded.

Zhu Youzhen shook his head and laughed: "Then Lord Shangshu, can you tell me where is the boundary between my Ming Dynasty and this so-called want, barren two suits, or what is the territory of my Ming Dynasty?" Outside of the desert, why do you exist and don't care? In the "University", there are eight eyes: "Gewu, Zhizhi, Sincerity, Righteousness, Self-cultivation, Qi Family, Governing the Country, and Leveling the World", and Gewu and Zhizhi are at the top. If there is something that you don't understand, shouldn't you explore the source? If you can't even learn about things, how can you govern the country and level the world? ”

In the last sentence, Zhu Youzhen said it quite seriously, which means that you don't know anything, are you embarrassed to be a minister? When he came to Zongdao, he saw sweat on his forehead, but where is the territory of this Ming Dynasty, don't say that he can't tell clearly, and none of the ministers here can answer.

Zhou Daodeng, the left attendant of the Ministry of Rites, is a descendant of Zhou Dunyi, the originator of science in the Song Dynasty, and he is also very knowledgeable. Seeing that Lai Zongdao was stumped, he hurriedly relieved him and said: "Your Majesty, my Ming territory starts from the sea in the east, Kunlun in the west, ends in the south, and reaches the Great Wall in the north. The surrounding areas are either vassal countries, or fetters of the land, all of which are under my Ming Dynasty, and their lands are all royal lands, and their people are all royal ministers, so there is no boundary demarcated, but a city and a town are known. Between the towns, there is either a vast desert, or a high mountain and dense forest, people cannot survive, and there is no need to demarcate it. ”

"You're not right." Zhu Youzhen's tone changed to stern, "For example, the land of Liaodong is really outside the Great Wall, isn't Liaodong the territory of my Ming Dynasty?" As early as the Chengzu period, the imperial court set up a slave Gandu Division at the mouth of the Heilongjiang River, which was thousands of miles north of Liaodong. The territory of my Ming Dynasty must at least be counted from there! Even if it is a desert forest, it is also pioneered by the blood and sweat of the ancestors and martyrs, and it has its own use, how can it be discarded? Also, how many vassal countries and fetters are there in my Ming Dynasty, and is it counted as my Ming territory? How can such an important matter be done without clarifying and demarcating the border in detail. In the event of a dispute or even a war, how to define who is right and who is wrong, and what line should the king and division keep on? ”

Zhou Daodeng saw that Zhu Youzhen became more and more excited, and he couldn't help but be terrified. It was still Wang Zaijin who was familiar with border affairs, and bowed down and said: "Your Majesty, Guizhou, Jianzhou, Mongolia, and Tibet, these four places are the places of bondage, and the chieftains of their clans are appointed as the commanders of the capital, and even the king, who pays tribute every year; As for the vassal countries, there were 24 countries in the Hongwu period, and there were more than 60 countries in the Wanli Dynasty, such as Korea, Japan, and Ryukyu in the southeast, Luzon, Sulu, and Ceylon in the southwest, and Samarkand and Yili in Xirong. Its king or khan was canonized, and he paid a tribute for several years. ”

Zhu Youzhen said firmly: "Since the land of bondage, its chieftain has been awarded official positions and even princes, which means that these places are all the territory of my Ming Dynasty." As for the vassal states, the "Emperor Ming Zu Xun" clearly listed 15 countries, including Korea, Japan, Great-Ryukyu, Xiaoliuqiu, Annam, Chenla, Siam, Champong, Sumatra, Western Kingdom, Java, Pahang, Baihua Kingdom, Srivijaya and Boni, as 'non-conquest of Yi', indicating that these places are not our territory. With the exception of Annam, who rebelled repeatedly during the Yongle period, he should be eliminated from the list of non-conscriptions.

"In other vassal states, those who are called 'kings' indicate that there is a country, and it is not the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Whoever is called 'Khan' has the same status as the vassal king, and his land is the land of my Ming Dynasty, and his people are all the people of my Ming Dynasty. In the land of the ancestors, not an inch of land is caught; Although I am not good, I dare not swear to defend it! ”

There was silence in the Wenzhao Pavilion, and suddenly Yuan Keli took the lead and said in a deep voice: "What Your Majesty said just now is actually the first time that my Ming Dynasty has clarified the territory, and it is of great significance. The ministers are willing to serve and defend the land, long live my emperor, long live! ”

The ministers also followed the mountain to shout long live, but there were many people who disagreed in their hearts, thinking that they couldn't handle it even if they were a prisoner, and Chongzhen also wanted to include Mongolia, Annam and the Western Regions into the territory, which was pure wishful thinking.

Zhu Youzhen still didn't give up, and smiled at Xu Guangqi: "Mr. Xu, please explain the world map to everyone!" ”

In the stunned eyes of everyone, Xu Guangqi took out a world map brought by John Tang and carefully approved by him and hung it on the pillar of the palace, explaining to everyone one by one where the vassal countries just mentioned were located, and what other countries in the West that they had never heard of.

Although these ministers were all well-educated, they only knew how to read the books of sages, and even Korea and other subject countries with close relations with China did not bother to understand them, and where had they heard of the names of England, France, Spain, Russia, etc.?

"Your Majesty, this is a casual talk, this map is also forged by Fanbang Waiyi!" Coming to the sect to preemptively say angrily, "I am in the middle of heaven and earth, why is it on the right side of this map?" And why are these unknown Fanbang boundaries drawn so big? It is clearly a deliberate attempt to slander our dynasty, and its heart is unfathomable. Please cure Xu Guangqi for the crime of bullying the king! ”

Zhu Youzhen laughed and said: "Lord Shangshu, in "Zhuangzi", it is said that 'well frogs can't speak to the sea', which probably means you. Yes, the map is inaccurate, but not because it depicts Western countries, but because there are still many places that have not been marked. Zhongqing, Daming is now mired in internal and external troubles, and he can no longer be arrogant, it's time to open his eyes to the world! ”