A few years later, the defeated Nguyen dynasty of Vietnam was forced to sign an alliance under the city, ceding the southern provinces of Gia Dinh, Dinh Huang, Bien Hoa (Vietnam seems to have a large number of provinces, but each province has a small jurisdiction) and Kunlun Island to the French, and opened the three coastal treaty ports of Tuo Ha, Bara and Quang An. Later, France, which was not satisfied with this, sent troops to occupy the neighboring provinces of Vinh Long, An Giang, and Ha Tien on the grounds that "banditry" was rampant and the Vietnamese government was ineffective in suppressing bandits. In the end, all the six provinces of Vietnam were incorporated into the French territory and became the colony of Cochinchina, which was administered by a governor.

For the encroachment of the French step by step, the Vietnamese court remembered its suzerain, the Daqian Empire, without any suspense, and wanted to use the power of the Celestial Empire to fight against France and save itself.

And Lin Yiqing knows that in history, Vietnam has not been as obedient as the scholars and doctors wishfully believed, but fear and hatred. In the Daqian Dynasty, because of the fear of this great empire established by the Bo people, a powerful cavalry nation formed by the "monstrousization" of the Xia people in the Central Plains, Vietnam has always claimed to be a vassal and fulfilled the obligation of paying tribute every four years. In the history books of Vietnam, there has always been a text of "the Northern Dynasty entered the Kou", and most of the national heroes in the history books of the Vietnamese are "heroes of resistance to the north"!

The Vietnamese have always had the mentality of taking advantage of the Great Qian Dynasty, especially after the Western powers came in succession. This trend of thinking about using the suzerainty to deal with France pervaded the Vietnamese government and the opposition.

Ridiculously. Scholars and doctors of the Celestial Empire. Ignorant of the general trend of the world, we still blindly emphasize that Vietnam is a "subject state" of the Great Cadres! has always been "loyal and obedient" (if you are really loyal and obedient, there will be no Jeonlong Emperor's "two expeditions to Annam")! This kind of clan relationship should be resolutely "maintained"!

In the face of the surging "public opinion," the Daqian court was not without a sober mind, and Prince Jing Yixin, who presided over state affairs, said: "The more the enemy is weak, the enemy is not the enemy, if it is allowed to occupy all the land of Yue, the western part of Guangdong will depend on each other, and the future will be very troublesome...... This matter has a bearing on the overall situation of Middle-earth. On the meaning of vassals. China and North Korea should have sent troops to rescue, and they responded immediately; And even if I can't catch it, I can't help it, and it's difficult to plan for it. ”

In response to the situation in Vietnam, Li Shaoquan, the governor of Zhili and minister of Beiyang, also said: "If the Vietnamese are annexed to the law, the border will be troubled in the future; If I fight with the law, the troops will be in Russia, and the stakes will be clearly visible. …… The deliberate ambition of the law has been more and more for decades. China and the DPRK do not care, until the next year. The image of the masterpiece, the beginning and the struggle, how can it be? Now he got up in a hurry, empty-handed, and didn't know what to do. ”

Although Prince Jing, Li Shaoquan, and other important ministers were inclined to settle the Vietnam issue peacefully with France, the "public opinion" of the domestic scholars and doctors was too strong, and the Military Aircraft Department never dared to make a clear statement on this issue, so the Vietnam issue has been delayed again and again until today.

For Lin Yiqing, he has just passed the imperial examination, which is equivalent to officially entering the scholar class, and if he shows a tendency to abandon Vietnam as a subject country on this issue, he is afraid that he will be attacked by conservative forces immediately, and all his previous efforts will be in vain.

"Lord Shilang is embarrassed, probably because of the relationship between Daqian and Vietnam's clans, right?" Yoko Shimazu said with a smile.

"You serve Lord Lang again, Lord Shilang, be careful that I won't let you stay for three days." Lin Yiqing said in a vicious voice, "Am I not your husband?" ”

"Aren't people happy for your promotion?" Yoko Shimazu remembered the first time she fell in love with Lin Yiqing in the hot spring, and her face suddenly burned.

"This right squire of the military department was not given for nothing, I pondered, and the purpose of giving me this title was to prevent me from staying in the palace for too long, and if I didn't get it, I would be sent to Vietnam." Lin Yiqing glared at her, "What kind of good official are you, why don't you help me think about how to settle the affairs of Vietnam and not be infamous." ”

"Lin Jun, that time in North Korea, you did a very good job." Yoko Shimazu immediately changed her tone and said in Lin Yiqing's favorite name to hear her call, but her tone was still slightly flirtatious.

"North Korea is not Vietnam, and Japan is not France." Lin Yiqing unceremoniously pointed out the crux of the problem, "Moreover, one-third of Vietnam's territory has become a de facto French colony, and it is impossible for France to spit it out." Moreover, France is a very important friend of the Great Cadres, if it goes to war with France because of Vietnam, it will definitely be a loss, but this group of blind scholars in China is shouting that they want to fight, how can they reach an agreement with France, and not let these blind scholars be scolded as dogs, this is a problem you have to help me solve. ”

"What I just said is the solution to the problem. That is, to turn Vietnam into a protectorate of the Great Qian, and to recognize the interests that France has already acquired," Shimazu Yoko said with a smile, "In a nutshell, it is that the Great Cadre and France will divide Vietnam, so that Vietnam will become a real vassal of the Great Qian, rather than a vassal state on the wall." ”

"Divide the word, let's talk about it ourselves, if it spreads, my reputation will be ruined." Lin Yiqing deliberately pretended to have palpitations to show his love for his "feathers".

"You're really still worried that this clan relationship will not be broken." Yoko Shimazu said with a smile, "Aren't Korea and Ryukyu already protectorates of Daqian?" The blind scholars in the country are willing to call them subject countries, so let them call them good, and the left and right are just a name. ”

"Yes! It's just a name. Lin Yiqing smiled and nodded.

When Lin Yizhe was alive, he did a lot of research on the clan system and left valuable first-hand information, so that he, who later took over, did not have too much effort to understand its ins and outs.

In East Asia, there has long been a powerful Central Plains dynasty, which was ruled by a region directly dispatched by the central government called provinces; For example, areas that have their own administrative organs, but do not have independent internal, foreign and defense powers, and must be jointly governed by officials from the central government, and jointly elect the emperor of the Central Plains Dynasty as the monarch are called "internal vassals"; It has independent administrative power, diplomatic power, and its own army, but recognizes the emperor of the Central Plains Dynasty as the "co-master". With the Central Plains Dynasty as its "suzerain", it is necessary to pay tribute to the suzerainty every other day. Regions that require the canonization of the suzerain's suzerains for the change of their monarchs are called "vassal states".

In addition to paying tribute to the suzerains at regular intervals (ranging from one year to ten years according to their status). Even if there is a dispute or war, only when the vassal state asks the suzerainty to arbitrate or intervene, the Central Plains Dynasty as the suzerainty will come forward to mediate or directly send troops to intervene, the vassal state system is the main diplomatic means of the ancient Central Plains Dynasty, and the vassal kings must submit to the emperor of the Central Plains Dynasty and obey the influence and management of the political model of the Central Plains Dynasty, and the Central Plains Dynasty can also protect their territorial integrity. This is the manifestation of the Pride Cultural Psychology of the Middle-earths: the Middle-earthers consider themselves to have the highest rights, to be the true civilization, the only center of the world!

Under the suzerain-vassal system, in the minds of the ruling class and the intellectual class of the Central Plains Dynasty, the Celestial Empire was rich in products and everything, and the outside of the Celestial Empire was a "land outside the country", and the so-called trade with the internal and external domains was often a loss-making transaction of the Central Plains Dynasty. In other words, the items paid tribute by the foreign domains are worth one tael of silver, and the items sent back by the Celestial Empire are definitely worth a few taels or even a dozen taels, otherwise it cannot show the wealth and omnipotence of the Celestial Empire. To put it nicely, the one who is called the "Scattered Wealth Boy" scatters a lot of money to the surrounding flowers, and if it is "popular", it is a man who is willing to cut his flesh and be slaughtered for the sake of false fame.

It can be said that the geography of the Central Plains Dynasty in ancient times determined the emergence of this system. When the Age of Discovery did not come, the coastal strip was a natural rear. Because no adversary has the ability to attack from the sea, there is no need to spend energy on the defense of the coastline; After the southwest was incorporated into the territory of the Central Plains Dynasty from Tibet, the roof of the world and the Himalayas became an insurmountable moat, with a role far exceeding one million soldiers; Although the northern frontier is not very peaceful, it is protected by the Great Wall, or the opponents are basically nomads who take a ticket and leave, and play tickets, from the perspective of the Central Plains Dynasty: looking at the northwest, there is nothing in the vast desert; Looking at the southeast, the sea water can not be seen; Seeing that the southwest is full of uncultivated primeval forests; The icy and snowy Northeast is not a suitable place for human habitation. In the context of that time, the geography of the Central Plains Dynasty was really good, looking around, or their own Central Plains is the best, contentment is the traditional virtue of the Central Plains farming people, since their own conditions are better than the surroundings, naturally will not worry about other people's land. This is in stark contrast to the Dongying people, who are barren in their own conditions, have a strong sense of crisis, and are thinking about how to get out of this barren land all day long.

Under the domination of the idea of "contentment and happiness", the central government is unwilling and disdainful to intervene in the internal affairs of the vassal states, but there is one possibility that there is an exception, that is, the surrounding vassals are really not in good shape, and they are really rebellious, and when the great rebellion makes the court feel that it is impossible to hang on to the face, the Celestial Empire will put up a parental shelf for the sake of face, and the reprimand will be written in the tone of the father educating the naughty children. To satisfy the face and vanity of the kingdom, there is definitely room for maneuver in things. For example, Gao Yuan, the lord of Goguryeo who was at the turn of the country, immediately surrendered when he provoked the kingdom to the critical point of the outbreak, and called himself "Liaodong Dung Tuchen Yuan", which was immediately exchanged for the withdrawal of the heavenly soldiers of the kingdom and returned to the court.

If it is a subject country that asks for a heavenly soldier from the kingdom, it is even more a matter of face, and in the minds of the scholars, this is a kind of morality, a kind of natural responsibility. The younger brother is in trouble, how can he sit idly by as the eldest brother? So a lot of money and the lives of young soldiers were thrown in, in exchange for a few "thank you" from the subject country, this is still the best result, and it will be put behind the backs of the half-hearted white-eyed wolves.

What the Celestial Empire wants is a face, and the root cause of the foreign use of troops in the history of the Central Plains Dynasty is nothing more than face in the final analysis. With Emperor Yang's three expeditions to Goguryeo, the military expenditure was not calculated, and countless soldiers were buried in a foreign land, and in the end what they got was only a piece of paper from Gao Yuan.

When the Central Plains Dynasty was in charge of the world's politics, economy and culture, the suzerain-vassal system could indeed reflect the superior position of the Celestial Empire as "all nations come to the dynasty"; But when the central court itself was unable to protect itself, it was inappropriate to maintain this kind of suzerain-vassal relationship. For the Great Qianchao. The lessons from the past are not far away. The Battle of the Imjin Patriotic War in Korea. Toyotomi Hideyoshi led the Japanese army to attack Korea, and the declining Dashu Dynasty sent troops to rescue and did not win, but the blood of the Dashu Dynasty was pumped out, and then it still relied on the strength of the Bohai Department, and finally retreated from the enemy and withdrew the army, what did you get? It seems that there is nothing but the praise of the literati of later generations. Logically speaking, a subject state can become a "buffer zone" against foreign invasion of the overlord. But in front of the Western colonizers. Whether it is Vietnam, Burma, Siam, Korea, or the Ryukyus, these small countries are too weak as a "buffer zone", and it is polite to say that they are "weak and untouchable".

In the era when colonization became the mainstream of the times, a new system of international law based on the system of protectorate-protectorate was established, and in the era of the law of the jungle, international law was the legal basis for the powerful countries to protect their "fruits of labor". Compared with the suzerainty system that was not bound by legal provisions and relied entirely on "enwei", it showed a more complete legal rationality, in other words, the suzerainty system without legal rationality was so fragile and helpless in the face of the colonial system with legal rationality.

However, when a new system tries to replace an old one, it will inevitably encounter resistance. But just like a faltering old man facing a sturdy young man, there is no doubt that the loser will be old and decrepit. This is the century of colonialism. Colonialism was alive and well at the time. Powerful force, highly qualified soldiers, and advanced institutions in most cases enabled a small number of colonists to easily defeat many more "barbarians" and "natives". Compared with the "lack of progress" of the Middle-earthers, the Western colonists were completely different, they would not use troops against other regions for the sake of so-called morality and face, but once they decided to use troops, they would definitely get a far more valuable return in this military operation than the cost of military action. Western Europeans, who started from navigation and business, are born businessmen, and what they pay attention to is the word "profit". Therefore, as soon as the colonizers set foot on a strange land, they have already defined themselves as the new owners of this land in their hearts, and they will never do such "stupid things" as the heavenly soldiers of the Central Plains Dynasty to drive away thieves, help the poor, give love, and then pat their butts, beat the bunks and leave, leaving a lot of condolences.

The results of the confrontation between the two systems, where there is a generational difference, are often one-sided, and the institutional factors far surpass courage and will to become the dominant factors in determining the victory of wars between countries.

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