At the end of the 17th month of the 17th month of the Ming Dynasty, Hanyang, North Korea.
Everything in Hanyang City is still as dilapidated and desolate as ever.
The Kingdom of Korea has a long history, from its establishment in the Hongwu Year of the Ming Dynasty to today, and will continue to exist for many more years. Although it experienced two invasions by Japan and the Qing Dynasty, research remained unchanged. Historically, it took until 1910 AD for the country to be incorporated into the Japanese Empire due to the signing of the Japan-Korea Merger Treaty.
However, the long-lasting Kingdom of Korea has never been glorious and powerful, and has always been living half-dead like this. Even Hanyang City, as the capital of a country, smells of calculation everywhere.
In the minds of many people, the Kingdom of Korea may be similar to the country next door, Japan, and may even be richer. After all, Japan's medieval times were very chaotic, with endless civil wars. The Kingdom of Korea has been relatively stable since its establishment.
But in fact, the financial resources of stable North Korea cannot compare with chaotic Japan! The latter is a country rich in gold, silver, and brass. Moreover, the Japanese samurai's ability to manage territory exceeds that of the two classes of nobles in North Korea...
The Kingdom of Korea, under the management of two groups of nobles who were dawdling, has now returned to the stable and poor life it has been for three to two hundred years. However, it is not depressed and is still enjoying itself. However, occasionally, external forces suddenly intrude. Come in and break the stable years that should remain unchanged for thousands of years.
Several strong horses galloped from the direction of Incheon like wind, passing over the streets of Hanyang. The knights on the horses were all wearing the uniforms of the Beijing army. Most of them were soldiers from the Longhu Camp stationed in Incheon Biwa. Riding a pond horse!
These knights did not know what terrible news they had brought. They did not slow down after entering Hanyang City. Instead, they rushed towards the Qingyun Palace located in the center of Hanyang City.
The Korean people who saw this scene all became nervous - what happened to these knights in the Longhu Camp? Why are they galloping in Hanyang City? Did something terrible happen again?
They were soldiers preparing for Japan in Incheon! Could it be that the Japanese pirates are coming again... There were rumors a few days ago that Japanese pirates have occupied Jeju Island! Could it be that they have reached Incheon now?
Seeing the retreating figures of the knights, the people of Hanyang City felt their hearts in their throats again.
Why does this poor and small country of Korea always attract attention from the Japanese across the ocean?
...
Gyeongungung Palace was not a royal palace, but the residence of Lord Wolsan, the elder brother of King Seongjong of Joseon. During the Imjin Japanese Rebellion, Gyeongbokgung Palace, the main palace, and Changdeokgung Palace and Changgyeonggung Palace, the outlying palaces, were all burned down by Japanese pirates, so Gyeongwoon Palace had to be used as a temporary royal palace.
After the Imjin Japanese Rebellion, the Joseon Kingdom became even poorer and was no longer able to repair the vast Gyeongbokgung Palace, so it had to repair Changdeokgung Palace first. Before the renovation of Changdeokgung Palace was completed, the King of Joseon lived in Gyeongungung Palace, which was not much larger than the landlord's compound in China. However, Changdeokgung Palace was not used for too long after the restoration, and another coup happened - Injo anyway, and the palace that was finally repaired was burned down again.
Therefore, the newly crowned North Korean King Yi Zhu had no choice but to move back to Qingyun Palace and slowly save money to build a house. In the process of saving money, he encountered Ding Mao Hulan and Bingzi Hulan again (the invasion of Hou Jin and Qing Dynasty), and all the money he finally saved was lost again.
Therefore, after more than 20 years of being the king of North Korea, King Yi Jie failed to save enough money to repair Changdeokgung Palace. Therefore, Li Jian had no choice but to settle for the second best, and planned to demolish the east house to repair the west house. He demolished the Ingyeong Palace built by Gwanghae at the foot of Inwang Mountain, and demolished the remaining palaces in Inkyeong Palace to Changchang. In the German Palace, this can save a lot of money on materials.
But before Li Zhu could implement this genius idea, bad news came again - the Japanese pirates came again and occupied Jeju Island. It looked like they were going to use Jeju Island as a springboard to invade North Korea again. !
This made Li Shu anxious to death. On the one hand, he sent envoys to the Qing Dynasty to ask for help; on the other hand, he sent troops to defend important seaports and prepare for Japanese invasion with all his strength.
The plan to renovate Changdeokgung Palace can only be shelved indefinitely...
However, what gave Li Zhu some relief was that under the full vigilance of the North Korean military and civilians, the Japanese pirates could not find a loophole through which they could invade. So until now, the southern coast of North Korea has been relatively safe.
But before Li Zhu felt relieved for a few days, an unexpected news came from Incheon Port.
Jin Yuluo, an elderly white-bearded old man who was in charge of political affairs, was only halfway through his long-winded report. Li Zhuo, who was over fifty, had a dignified appearance and looked like a famous gentleman, lost his patience and interrupted loudly. : "What? A ship from the Red Yi Kingdom? Why not expel it? Our country has always been closed to the outside world and does not welcome foreign and Japanese merchants to come to trade! Are the officers and soldiers of the Longhu Camp stationed in Incheon all people who are not timid in fighting?"
Old Man Jin sighed repeatedly when he heard the king's reproach - the soldiers of the Joseon Kingdom are the ones who are not afraid of fighting! What can be done about this? The Kingdom of Korea is a yangban world. If you want to be rich, you must be from a yangban family. You cannot be a concubine (a concubine and an illegitimate child), you must be the legitimate son of Miao Zhenggenhong. Only legitimate sons who were born in the second class and passed the imperial examination could have a better career. Others can only struggle at the bottom... Under such a system, it is strange that the army can fight!
The Kingdom of Korea does not rely on the army to maintain the situation. It relies on "serving the great powers", that is, embracing the thighs of the great powers, first the Ming Dynasty and now the Qing Dynasty. So this time the soldiers of Longhu Camp did not dare to expel the barbarian ships entering Incheon Port...
"Your Highness!" Wu Shamangpao, looking at Jin Yao who was the same as an official from the Ming Dynasty, quickly explained loudly, "The Yi Chuan visiting this time claims to be from the Red Yi Kingdom, and the purpose of coming to Hong Kong is to express his love to the Great Britain through our country. The Qing Dynasty paid tribute to England’s specialties.”
"What great specialties do the Hongyi people have?" Li Zhu said impatiently, "The Qing Dynasty is a kingdom of heaven. What good things don't exist? Will you like the specialties of the Hongyi people?"
"His Majesty, you don't know. The specialty of the Hongyi Kingdom is the Hongyi cannon!" Jin Yao said, "This Hongyi visit is to pay tribute to the Qing Dynasty... This matter It’s not a trivial matter, it needs to be cut off by His Majesty the King himself!”
What? The specialty is the red barbarian cannon? Li Zhu had no idea at this time - the Hongyi cannon was the favorite thing of the Qing Regent! If you prevent the Hongyi people from donating, is that okay? When the regent got angry, the Korean kingdom might have been destroyed.
But it seems inappropriate to allow the Red Yi Kingdom to pass through North Korea's territory to pay tribute to the Red Yi cannons... There are still many pro-Ming denouncers in North Korea! The line of advocating for peace and rejecting peace, coupled with the already fierce party struggle in North Korea, is really a mess! At the height of the struggle, a fight almost broke out.
Now if North Korea allows Hongyi's artillery to pass through the border, it may intensify the partisan struggle in North Korea.
In addition, the envoys of the Ming Dynasty came to North Korea a while ago and said that they were willing to help recover Jeju Island... It is better to use the Ming Dynasty! I am so grateful to North Korea! A group of ministers close to the Ming Dynasty were so moved that they burst into tears in the court hall.
"Your Highness!" At this time, Zuo Yizheng Jin Zidian gritted his teeth and said, "Although the Ming Dynasty defeated the army of Prince Su of the Qing Dynasty in Huainan and killed Prince Su himself, it was unable to continue the Northern Expedition. Now the situation between the Northern Qing Dynasty and the Southern Ming Dynasty has ended Success... Moreover, in all the disputes in China, whoever wins the Central Plains wins the world. Now that the Central Plains belongs to the Qing Dynasty, it is extremely difficult for the Southern Ming Dynasty to recover. In the future, it will be either the Eastern Jin Dynasty or the Southern Song Dynasty, so we must not turn our backs on the Qing Dynasty and turn to the Ming Dynasty. I am willing Personally escort the tribute envoy from the Red Yi Kingdom to Beijing!"
Jin Zidian is the leader of the peace faction in North Korea and one of the surrender faction! Not only did he surrender, but he also framed many loyal ministers who criticized him, so everyone called him a traitor behind his back.
Li Zhu sighed and said to himself: It seems that this treacherous minister is still reliable!
"Okay!" Li Zhu nodded, "Just follow the strategy suggested by Zuo Yizheng!"
