"Good news, good news... The King of the Supervisor of the Ming Dynasty has agreed to the request of Ming'an, the powerful governor of Korea, and officially issued an edict to withdraw the Korean vassal state and establish the Korean province!"
On the early morning of October 26th, in the camps where strong Korean men gathered outside the three cities of Asan, Yesan, and Dangjin in Chungcheong Province, North Korea, a shocking news suddenly came out at the same time.
North Korea is gone!
In each camp, a group of Confucian disciples wearing cloth kerchiefs and long swords with empty hammers loudly announced this great news to the gathered North Korean men and the grassroots officials and officials who commanded these men!
Perhaps the news was so good that the Korean people and officials below did not react at once. They all stood there dumbfounded, just staring blankly at the Confucian disciples who were talking to them.
At this time, of course, there will be better good news announced!
"From now on, all of you are citizens of the Ming Dynasty!"
Zhu Heji did not treat North Korea as a colony - North Korea in this era was a small Ming Dynasty, with a very high degree of "Ming Dynasty". The middle and upper classes considered themselves ministers of the Ming Dynasty, and the people at the lower level also knew that North Korea was part of the Great Ming Dynasty. And Confucianism is absolutely prominent in North Korea!
Even the law implemented in the Kingdom of Korea is the "Da Ming Law"... Although there are some laws with local Korean characteristics, such as the "Law for the Confinement of Sins", the main body is still the "Da Ming Law".
It is no exaggeration to say that the current "level of enlightenment" in Monan Mongolia, the Snowy Plateau, and the Yerqiang Khanate in the Western Regions is far behind North Korea. Those places will be even more enlightened in the future. Incorporated into the Ming Dynasty, why can't North Korea?
Moreover, North Korea has a population of nearly 10 million in this era, and there are at least 7 million people in the five southern lands under the central control of North Korea.
For the New Ming Dynasty, which had a population of less than 30 million, the significance of having an additional 7 million people at once meant that the national strength had been greatly improved.
Moreover... Zhu Heji knew that if he wanted to enter North America, he must first conquer Japan, and if he wanted to conquer Japan, he must first assimilate Korea.
In history, didn't Japan further invade Northeast China only after digesting North Korea and promoting the union of Japan and South Korea?
Now Zhu Heji has just reversed this process.
Compared with the new Ming Dynasty, it was much more difficult for Japan and South Korea to withdraw vassal states and establish provinces in Korea.
Because the Koreans have "entered Xia" on their own in the past three to four hundred years, they not only consider themselves to be people of the Ming Dynasty, but also consider themselves to be the country of Renshengjizi, and fundamentally consider themselves to be people of China. .
Ming Dynasty and North Korea are basically the same world!
Originally, Zhu Heji planned to let Li Wenji be a puppet for a while, but he didn't expect that she would be so well-behaved, so he threw himself into Father Ming's arms. What's there to hesitate about? If you don't strike while the iron is hot, how long will it take?
Who can bear to push such a well-behaved girl like Li Wenji out?
Of course, North Korea's "self-introduction to China" and Li Wenji's well-behavedness are still not enough to quickly "digest North Korea". "Ming's father" will still give the benefits that should be given - anyone who is willing to work hard for "Ming's father" People, that is, "there are a lot of copper coins" and "a lot of cotton and silk"!
After announcing that "everyone is a citizen of Ming Dynasty", the "welfare" of being a common people of Ming Dynasty followed.
"Bring it up!"
The Confucian disciples in each camp waved their hands, and baskets of copper coins and baskets of white cloth were brought up and placed in front of everyone.
Seeing these good things, the eyes of North Korean civilians and even officials were straightened.
"From today on, you, as citizens of the Ming Dynasty, will start to receive money according to the standards of the Ming Dynasty's servants... What will be given to you will be Ming Wang Tongbao of full quality and weight, and there will be nothing second or third-rate. 3. When it comes to ten, a penny is a penny!
Starting today, if you work for five hours a day, you will get a basic salary of fifty cents. If you work for an extra hour, you will get an extra ten cents. If you work well and quickly, there will be additional rewards!
If you don’t want to take money, we can still give you cloth! Look, this is Songjiang white cloth from the Ming Dynasty... One piece is worth three hundred Wen. "
Now the Korean servicemen in the camp also knew that it was better to be Ming people!
In the past, ordinary servants had no money to work for the king of Korea, so it was good to have food to eat. Now I can earn at least fifty bucks a day, and it’s still a substantial amount of Ming coins, not the kind of North Korean copper coins that cut corners.
You must know that North Korea has always had "little money", so the purchasing power of North Korean copper coins is still very strong. If those cut-and-dried North Korean copper coins are not considered to be "used as two, three, or ten" and one coin is used as one penny, the purchasing power will be more than double that of the local copper coins of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Heji paid these Korean civilians a salary of fifty cents a day, which could buy about a bushel and a half of brown rice. If they work for thirty days, the copper coins they get can buy forty-five bushels of brown rice. According to the North Korean "stone" count, it is three full stones.
In addition, all their personal expenses for food and drink on the construction site were provided by "Dad Ming" for free.
And if the salary paid to officials of the ninth rank by the Kingdom of Korea is not 20% discounted, it is only five dan of brown rice, and it does not include rice.
"Long live the Ming Dynasty! Long live the Ming Dynasty..."
The Korean civil servants in the camp reacted immediately, and they were all so happy that their eyes filled with tears, and they shouted, "Long live the mountain." While shouting hooray, I can’t wait to start working!
And everyone thinks that five hours of working time a day is too little. You have to work for at least eight hours, so that you can earn eighty cents a day!
You have to work overtime!
...
"Long live! Long live! Long live..."
At the same time, outside the Asan Palace, more than 20,000 Korean men who had put on brand-new Ming Army blue military uniforms also gave the highest cheers. Zhu Heji, who was standing on the wall of Asan Palace, showed a satisfied smile, and Li Wenji, who was standing next to him, also laughed.
Most of the 20,000 Korean men here are strong men selected from Korean servicemen, and some are original third-hand officers and soldiers, as well as some local Confucian disciples in Korea-these people who wear the military uniforms of the Ming Dynasty The Confucian disciples in North Korea are all "middle men", that is, "two groups of concubines", and have no future in North Korea's original system.
Of course, it is impossible for Zhu Heji to abolish the "Law for the Detention of Sins" from the beginning. There is no bureaucratic group that can replace these two groups of trash.
However, the "Law for the Imprisonment of Concubines" is only a "local law" of North Korea, not a law of the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, the Ming army stationed in North Korea can recruit officers and soldiers in North Korea regardless of the "Law on the Confinement of Concubines"... It doesn't even have to worry about whether there are two shifts or not. They can treat everyone equally and be promoted based on merit!
When these strong men and Korean third-hand officers and soldiers followed the Ming army for formation and musket reloading training, they already knew the rule of "regardless of origin, treat everyone equally, and promote based on merit", but at that time they were still a little doubtful.
Today, Zhu Heji and Li Wenji jointly announced to them the great news that North Korea had withdrawn its vassal states and counties.
It was also clearly announced once again that Korean Ming soldiers could receive treatment "regardless of origin, treated equally, and promoted based on merit."
At the same time, in accordance with the standard of "equal treatment", the welfare benefits of Korean Ming soldiers were announced...that is, more money, a big increase!
Now the standard salary for a third-class soldier in the Ming Dynasty is three silver dollars per month as regular pay, one silver dollar for salt and vegetables, five measures of rice and white flour, plus two sets of clothes from head to toe for a year, and double pay at the end of the year, plus extra money for battle. Additional allowances, victory in battles, and various military awards...
In short, this welfare package is really incomparable to being a minor official in North Korea!
Although the Koreans have never been known for being good at fighting, Zhu Heji, who has led troops for many years, knows that as long as the money is in place, coupled with the corresponding training and clever organization, these Koreans can still carry flintlock guns. Fight the legendary queue to be shot!
