***
After discussing the asphalt issue, Gan Nan, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, came out and reported: "Your Majesty, the envoys from Britain and Portugal have arrived in Ningbo and requested an audience with Your Majesty. In addition, the envoys from the four countries of Otsa have also arrived and want to formally submit a petition to Your Majesty to confer the title."
Qin Mu said casually: "Then let these envoys appreciate the elegance of our Great Qin. When the envoys from various countries come to Beijing, wrap the tree trunks on the streets of the capital with colorful silk..."
Before Qin Mu finished speaking, there was an uproar in the Zi Zheng Hall. No one expected that the emperor, who had always been frugal, would suddenly become like this.
First, the censors of the Censorate could no longer sit still and jumped out and shouted.
"His Majesty!"
"This is absolutely not allowed!"
"Your Majesty, our Great Qin has just pacified the world, and people's livelihood still needs to recuperate. This extravagant trend cannot continue!"
"Even if the world is prosperous, Your Majesty will follow the example of Emperor Yang of Sui, the king who lost his country?"
“… ... ... .”
These imperial officials and censors did not give the emperor any face at all. If it were not for the red steps between them, many of them would have spit directly into the emperor's face.
It's a rare opportunity to spit at the emperor with such righteousness!
Although the emperor was very powerful, he was also a very reasonable person. He said that people should not be punished based on their words, and he was not just saying it, he actually did it. Therefore, as long as the ministers were right, they were never afraid to contradict him and would speak frankly about anything.
Looking back to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the sixth year of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang of Sui held a grand celebration in the Eastern Capital to show the strength and wealth of the Sui Empire to the envoys and merchants from various countries who accompanied him on his western tour.
Dingdingmen Street outside the imperial city of Luoyang, the eastern capital, was turned into a theater, where 50,000 musicians performed all kinds of shows all night long for half a month. Emperor Yang also renovated the markets in the eastern capital for merchants from all over the world to visit. All shops were redecorated, and even small vegetable vendors had to lay carpets in their shops.
Merchants from all over the world who passed by the hotel were invited to have a few drinks without paying a penny. They were also deceived by being told, "The Central Plains is rich, and ordinary people can eat at the hotel for free."
Emperor Yang also ordered that the trees along the road be wrapped with silk, but the response of the Hu merchants was very ironic. They said: "Some people here can't even afford clothes. Why not take the silk wrapped around the trees and make clothes for them?"
Now the emperor also plans to follow the example of Emperor Yang of Sui and wrap tree trunks with silk. It is obvious that the emperor has lost his mind for the moment. Why not learn anything? Why don't you learn from Emperor Yang of Sui, the king who lost his country? Who else should I blame if not you
A large group of imperial censors in the Political Hall were full of vigor and vigor. They instantly transformed into holy warriors, and they would not give up until the emperor took back his words.
Facing a group of imperial censors who were ready to fight to the end, Qin Mu waved his hands and said, "Ministers, don't get excited..."
"Your Majesty is a wise ruler throughout history, but now you want to imitate Emperor Yang of Sui, the ruler who lost his country. How can we not be excited? Your Majesty, please take back what you just said."
"Your Majesty, please take back what you just said."
“… ... ... ..”
"My Lords, can you please allow me to finish what I am saying?"
"Your Majesty, we are all ears."
The ministers in the palace were not listening attentively, but were listening with their eyes wide open. They cast burning eyes on Qin Mu, and at the same time, they took a few deep breaths, waiting for the emperor to reveal something more, and then they would launch a more fierce attack.
"Ahem... ... Your Excellencies, silk is quite durable..."
The imperial censors, who were ready for battle, never expected the emperor to say such nonsense. They didn't know how to refute it for a moment, and everyone looked at each other. The scene was a bit weird.
"My dear ministers, a country must not only have strong military and economic hard power, but also corresponding soft power to lead the world. Especially in diplomatic occasions like this, some necessary pomp and circumstance is still necessary."
No one objects to this. Chinese people have always cared about their reputation and have done many things to show off their wealth. It was only after the founding of the Qin Dynasty that they became more pragmatic. However, everyone thinks it is necessary to put on a show in front of foreigners, but... ...
Qin Mu didn't wait for them to think about it, and continued, "I want to wrap the tree trunks in the capital with silk to show the strength and prosperity of the Qin Dynasty. The silk will not rot after wrapping the tree trunks for three or two days, and then it can be taken down and sold to Western countries. This is a benefit without spending any money. I just can't understand why the ministers are so excited."
Censor Yang Yin was the quickest to react. He remembered that the emperor never suffered any loss, so he was the first to bow and said, "Your Majesty, I have no objection."
"I have no objection."
Wow! The imperial censors, who were originally so vigorous and ready to fight to the end, staged a funny scene. They all seconded the motion and then retreated like a tide, as if everyone was afraid that if they slowed down, they would fall behind and be stepped on by the emperor.
This scene made Qin Mu feel both amused and confused.
Soft power is relative to a country's hard power such as military economy, urban infrastructure, etc. It refers to factors such as a country's culture, values, social system, etc. that affect its development potential and appeal.
As an emperor, Qin Mu is committed not only to the expansion of hard power such as military and economy, but also to building soft power with global influence and appeal in culture, values, social system, religion, and even secular etiquette.
The previous series of military expansions by the Qin Dynasty showed the world almost nothing but cold hard power, which was unsustainable.
The expansion of hard power will not generate a sense of identity in others unless it is accompanied by the inspiration and influence of soft power.
In the future, will the extravagant life of capitalist countries have any influence? There is no doubt that no matter how you criticize this kind of life, you cannot control your inner yearning, because others do live better than you, so the influence and appeal on the third world is hard to resist.
It will make the poor people go from inferiority to envy, from admiration to desire, and finally fall under the sugar-coated bullets of capitalist foreignism without realizing it.
This time, Qin Mu wanted to demonstrate not only his military and economic strength in front of the envoys from the Western countries, but also the "greatness" of the Qin Dynasty, so as to make the Westerners feel inferior, deny themselves, emulate the Qin Dynasty, get closer to the Qin Dynasty, and slowly accept the social values of the Qin Dynasty.
Wrapping the tree trunks with silk was just a small measure he mentioned casually. In fact, the key point is to focus on the long-term and strengthen the appeal of Qin's thoughts and its ability to guide politics.
These things are very complicated to talk about, and Qin Mu could only put forward a more intuitive concept in the court: "My dear ministers, hard power refers to visible and tangible material power; soft power refers to spiritual power, including soft factors such as political power, cultural power, and diplomatic power;
The two are closely related, yet distinct from each other. They are not simply a matter of addition and subtraction, but rather complement each other, restrict each other, and coordinate with each other. Hard power is the tangible carrier and materialization of soft power, while soft power is the intangible extension of hard power.
In fact, Chinese people of all dynasties have known the importance of soft power, but no one has conducted systematic research in this area and formed a complete ideological system.
In the past, dynasties relied not only on strong military and economic power but also on their own political and cultural influence to win over surrounding vassal states. Without mobilizing troops, they could make neighboring countries submit to China and recognize China's status as a suzerain state.
This is actually an expansion of soft power.
This expansion of influence achieved through soft power, if handled well, can allow you to gain the greatest benefit at the lowest cost, and its influence will be far-reaching.
Just like South Korea, Japan, and even Southeast Asian countries in later generations, after one or two hundred years or even hundreds of years of Westernization, can you say that they have completely gotten rid of the influence of Chinese culture
The answer is no.
Many elements of Chinese culture have been rooted in their national character, and it is almost impossible to completely get rid of them.
Qin Mu could only put forward a general concept and let the academic circles of the Qin Dynasty further improve it from all aspects. Fortunately, Chinese culture has dominated the East for two thousand years. In this regard, the Qin Dynasty has a solid foundation and only needs to consciously improve it.
However, things like soft power can only be improved gradually and cannot be achieved overnight.
Therefore, the most intuitive thing that can be shown to Western envoys now is prosperity, wealth, and advancement.
The envoys sent by Britain and Portugal this time were different from the last time. The last envoys were actually the spokesperson of the British East India Company and the representative of the Governor of Macao respectively.
This time, the envoys from both countries were sent by the highest decision-making levels of the two countries after the news of the Quanzhou naval battle was sent back to Europe. The significance was different, so Qin Mu also paid more attention to the propaganda offensive against them.
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.(To be continued..)
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