Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 2172 - 1570: When the Stars Shine—Tribute in the Capital!

The Eighth Year of Hongzhi Era, late September, Shuntian Prefecture, East City of the Capital.The September in the Capital is golden, like the autumn sun in the sky. The golden leaves of the ginkgo trees drift down among the vermillion walls and black tiles, with officials’ sedans and household servants roaming in groups, like floating clouds. The servants hold their heads high, dressed in purple robes and golden crowns, walking on the golden gleam, their belts fluttering with a touch of nobility.

This imperial city’s nobility is indeed splendid, beyond compare to even the affluent Jiangnan’s riches. Yet when a light carriage floated by, the servants of the proud nobles all paused. The faintly visible royal entourage, although not ostentatious, couldn’t escape their sharp eyes.

"Master, it’s the carriage from the palace."

"The palace’s carriage? Someone from the palace coming?"

"Master, looking at the scale of this entourage... indeed someone from the palace, but merely a palace person."

"Hmm, palace person... Silence!"

The sedan painted with a qilin halted slightly, neither yielding obviously nor advancing. The servants lowered their brows, waiting for the palace carriage to turn east and then proceed north along the Tonghui River, having some guesses.

"Master, the palace person has gone north along the Tonghui River..."

"Tonghui River, heading north? Oh! It’s the Huitong Inn... the tribute mission from Japan has just arrived in Ningbo, only once in ten years. It’s said this time, the Japanese brought many intriguing foreign goods, and each household plans to get some to seek new amusements. If someone manages to take the lead, it will be a topic to talk about for a long time!..."

The voice inside the sedan chuckled playfully, paused, then spoke indifferently.

"Let’s go! Wait until the Japanese complete the tribute on the principal birthday, then go there to find something novel."

"Yes!... Set forth!"

The sedan started again, with the noble hiding their face, never stepping into the dust. While the sedan bearers, still shining like celestial beings, floated past the bowing common people. They are the servants of the Ming nobles, naturally carrying the air of nobleness, able to wear the servant’s Chinese clothes, no longer the same type as the ordinary people.

So-called Ming nobles are naturally the ones sharing prosperity with the country, with gold-filled chests, generations hereditary, never change. But after Hongwu Yongle, "ban noblemen from interfering with Six Ministries", "literature overcomes force", the nobles hold high positions but low authority, unable to partake in political affairs, left to indulgence and pleasure. They usually have little serious tasks apart from lavish feasts and play.

Therefore, all through history, the expensive goods brought by tribute missions from barbarian states eventually are mostly sold to "clients", which are the affluent and idle nobles of the Capital. To some extent, this is one of the final flows of the tribute trade. As for where these nobles’ wealth comes from? Not to mention the regular rewards from the court, just the countless shops in the Capital, thousands of acres of fertile land in the suburbs, and those expensive houses of the Imperial City, they all have owners, passed down by the noble ancestors to their descendants.

This world’s wealth converges in the Capital. And the wealth in the hands of these Capital nobles, even the advanced scholar noble families from local places may scarcely compare...

"Buddha bless! Yes! This palace noble’s instructions will be remembered by me, Mori no Kiyoshi! The tribute ritual in audience with the Great Emperor..."

"Amitabha, dare not call me noble! My courtesy name is Wenzhi... well, just call me Wei Zhongguan. What’s most important this time is the principal birthday’s grand audience tribute, you must perform the ’Barbarian State Guest Ritual’ from the Great Ming Code. And Japan belongs to ’Far Barbarians’, this tribute is a ’Regular Tribute from Barbarian States’, ’sending envoys to express gratitude and present tribute and offerings for state matters’, thus requiring the ’Second Class Guest Ritual’..."

Wei Zhongguan, white-faced and beardless, with leisurely composure, smiled at Mori no Kiyoshi clothed in a monk robe. He lightly weighed the brocade bag just received in his sleeve, paused slightly, and his expression improved greatly. But when his smiling gaze landed on Shi Wende, the translator dressed as a Ming person, it suddenly turned cold, and with slightly sharp Capital official language, he sternly said.

"Translate accurately! These tribute matters, if there’s any error in translation, causing mistakes when the Japanese audience occurs... the Japanese may not be affected, but you will surely be guilty! No one can save your head!..."

"... Yes! I understand..."

Facing Wei Zhongguan’s rebuke, Shi Wende gritted his teeth, respectfully bowed, and dared not even breathe. No matter how he was a heroic figure across the seas, or how renowned a local tyrant, in this splendid Imperial City, he transformed into a humble "insect"! While these tribute envoys of barbarian states, once entered the Imperial City, instead turned into guests from barbarian states conversing directly with the Middle Officers, becoming the "birds" in the "hundreds of birds paying homage to the phoenix".

At present, if these barbarian "birds" utter a few complaints, the Middle Officers would charge him with "poor translation, sabotaging tribute", then he, this Ming "insect", would be crushed by the official’s big hand without a blink of an eye!

As long as he is not an advanced scholar, not a noble, in this center of power, the Imperial City, he wouldn’t count as "human". And those tens of thousands of ordinary people are even more like "ants", never considered by the nobles.

Such as during the Hongwu period, barbarian envoys, due to trade disputes, repeatedly committed murder in the Capital, yet the court lightly pardoned them with just compensation of some silver to settle the matter. In the eyes of the court, the "birds" paying homage to the phoenix relate to the Emperor’s dignity, naturally more important than the ordinary people’s "insects" and "ants". After all, there are only about a hundred "birds" coming to the Capital for tribute in this world. While "insects" and "ants" number in billions, plenty in abundance!