Tang Yin is still calm-minded and knows that these are all sugar-coated bullets from the North Koreans. Once he accepts them, he will be easily controlled by others, and will be easily impeached by Ming Dynasty officials after he returns.
Mainly...he didn't feel that this woman made him very attracted.
The next morning, during the meeting of North Korean ministers, Tang Yin, Park Yuanzong and Liu Ziguang entered Gyeongbokgung Palace and headed to Qinzheng Hall. On the way, he asked directly: "Boyin, you are making things difficult for me by doing this."
Pu Yuanzong said: "Sir, please forgive me. I am just doing my best to help you live a more stable life in North Korea. I also know that Ambassador Xu is ill, so I sent some medicines and supplements to him. I think they are all here, right?"
Pu Yuanzong was afraid that the people below him would not handle the matter well, or that Tang Yin and Xu Jing would return the gifts, and someone would be blind to them in the end, so he still sought verification seriously.
"You can keep the medicinal materials for treating diseases. As for women, you don't have to think about sending them to the Huitong Pavilion in the future." Tang Yin said, "If you are really serious, you shouldn't come to take care of me. Don't you know that now in the Ming Dynasty? , regarding the succession of the leader of North Korea, who has a higher say?"
Pu Yuanzong was startled.
Then he realized that the person Tang Yin was talking about was, as expected, Zhang Zhou.
You can't be talking about Liu Jian, the chief assistant of the Ming Dynasty, right?
Pu Yuanzong said in a low voice: "I just heard a news from the Ming Dynasty, saying that there is a baby in the palace of Duke Lai, but I don't know if he is born to Yuan's wife."
"No." Tang Yin answered directly, "I haven't heard that Duke Lai Guo's wife is pregnant. If it is really the birth of a son, I guess it should be the young lady of the royal family of Weining Marquis. But you know that Weining Marquis was also in the Ming Dynasty. He is very popular with Long, and his status is not too low."
Pu Yuanzong smiled and said: "So we have prepared gifts here. It will inevitably be a little late to send them from Gyeonggi Province, so we specially asked Ping An Province and other places to select the gifts. It is estimated that they can be sent to Liaodong in the next two days."
Tang Yin said: "You can finally do things."
"Sir, you are so complimentary." Pu Yuanzong said.
Tang Yinxin said, where did you hear that I was praising you?
"After finishing the matter, I can go back to the Ming Dynasty. Please don't create any trouble for me. As a civil servant of the Ming Dynasty, I will definitely face cross-examination by the officials in the DPRK after I return to the capital. If they know that I am accepting money here, Generous gifts, even from women, are not good for my reputation." Tang Yin said.
Pu Yuanzong was startled and said: "The gift will be sent to your hometown later."
If it is inconvenient for you to receive the gift, then we will send the gift to a "convenient" place.
Not thoughtful? Is it considerate or not?
Tang Yin said: "Save it, no matter what you give to Duke Lai, he will be worthy of it, and people in the court cannot criticize him, and his merits are worthy of your tribute and filial piety. But I , I have only been in the imperial court for a short time and have not made any meritorious service, how can I deserve this?"
Pu Yuanzong thought about it again, and his mind seemed to be very flexible, and said: "Then as a filial piety to Duke Lai, I will specially set aside your share and ask Duke Lai to hand it over later..."
"Bo Yin, I think you should be able to handle things, but why are you paying so much attention to a gift-giving matter now? Your current thoughts should not be on how to stabilize the situation in North Korea?" Tang Yin said with a serious face.
Pu Yuanzong cursed in his heart.
I respect you as an ancestor, but you are still picky?
Tang Yin sighed: "What do you want, don't come and tell me. Even if you give the entire North Korea to that Duke of Lai, it is still your Korean people's business, and there is no need to discuss it with me. Of course, I will help you fight for it." Get an official position in the Ming Dynasty and let you get the care of the Ming Dynasty. This is what I can do."
"Then your title in North Korea..." Pu Yuanzong has always been thinking about naming Tang Yin as the emperor.
"As a minister of the Ming Dynasty, you cannot have two loyalties." Tang Yin said.
Pu Yuanzong thought to himself, if you don't want to be a second minister, I want to be one, right? If you give me an official position in the Ming Dynasty, will North Korea not regard me as a traitor?
Tang Yin seemed to have considered this, and reminded: "North Korea is just a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. The superior state canonizes you as a sign of kindness and courtesy to you. How dare the officials of North Korea dare to make irresponsible remarks about this?" ?"
"I don't dare." Pu Yuanzong said.
"Then hurry up and go to court to discuss the matter. Today we have to talk clearly about military expenditures."
…
…
Tang Yin's people in North Korea did not just eat and wait to die.
He has an important task, which is to help Ming pacify the Jurchens in Liaodong and continue to raise food, grass and funds, especially when it comes to Wang Shouren's governance of Nuergandusi, which requires a large supply of food and grass. If the food, grass and materials are supplied from the Central Plains or Jiangnan, The freight cost is far greater than the value of the grain itself, so it would be better to transport it from North Korea.
This kind of thing was unimaginable in the past. Even if North Korea would give it, it would not give more.
but now……
If I ask for it for you, it means that the Heavenly Kingdom thinks highly of you and allows you to contribute to the Ming Dynasty's efforts to pacify the foreign barbarians.
Inside the Qinzheng Hall.
In the past, court discussions were not held in Chinese, but now that Tang Yin was here, all conversations had to be in Chinese, and those courtiers who did not understand Chinese suddenly became marginalized figures.
In addition to the fact that North Korea did not have a leader, there was a king, a concubine, and a concubine. They were not qualified to listen to the government behind the curtain. The main seat was vacant. The most important position below was occupied by Tang Yin. On the left and right were the old Xun sect and the Shilin sect. Li Kedun and Yin Bishang, the leaders, Pu Yuanzong and Cheng Xiyan, who had previously helped bring order to the chaos, could only sit back.
At this time, Pu Yuanzong was still in the government as Wu Xun, and Cheng Xiyan was in charge of political affairs as a leftist, and his official position was even higher than that of Pu Yuanzong.
"...The sovereign wanted to quell the Jurchens and sent troops to northern Liaoning. The mountains were long and the rivers were far away. It was also very difficult for North Korea to allocate food to the north. Moreover, North Korea had experienced droughts and floods, and the people had too much time to take care of themselves. At this time, they should ask the Ming Dynasty to come for relief. Due to the disaster, if we allocate food at this time or even impose additional taxes, I am afraid that the Korean people will be miserable and starve to death..."
Yin Bishang, as a civil servant leader, was telling about the difficulties of North Korea in preparing food for the Ming Dynasty.
Liu Ziguang said: "The Ming Dynasty wants to pacify Liaodong in order to ensure the stable life of the Korean people. Now there is no need for Korean troops to be stationed, but only some grain, grass and supplies. If this has to be pushed back, I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty will be unhappy. of."
"Are you on the Korean side or the Ming side?" Someone immediately asked Liu Ziguang in Korean.
Tang Yin raised his hand and said, "What's going on?"
Li Kedun also said: "Speak in the language of Shangbang. Don't pretend to be a ghost here. What you mean is to ask why Ming Dynasty needs to adjust grain from North Korea?"
Soon someone translated the Korean sentence for Tang Yin.
Tang Yin was also very angry and said: "I don't care what your attitude is in your heart, but if you are so uncooperative about the Ming Dynasty's pacification of Liaobei, then I don't think there is any need to continue the discussion."
As he spoke, Tang Yin suddenly stood up and touched the sword at his waist.
A scholar is very stylish when carrying a sword. He seemed to be clearly putting pressure on the North Koreans present. I defeated North Korea with damn weapons. It is only natural for me to ask for food from you. Young Master There are three obstacles here. Believe it or not, whoever objects will be killed?
"Shangchai calm down," Liu Ziguang said.
Tang Yin stepped outside the Qinzheng Hall and said coldly: "One million stones of grain must be transported to Liaodong within half a month. This is also to show your sincerity to the Ming Dynasty. If you can't do it, , suffer the consequences at your own risk.”
…
…
Tang Yin left with Daming's guards.
There were a bunch of North Korean courtiers left in the Qinzheng Hall, and all of them were filled with indignation, especially those from the Shilin faction who were most distressed by this.
"There will be no country..." Some people almost beat their chests and cried.
Pu Yuanzong stood up. He was not sitting in the front seat. When he stood up to speak, he seemed to be the prime minister second only to Tang Yin. He said loudly: "Compared with the tyranny of Lord Yanshan, now he is just assisting the Ming Dynasty." To quell the border troubles in northern Liaoning, apart from the three hundred soldiers who followed the envoys, did the Ming Dynasty send out any more soldiers?"
This is a reminder to the ministers present.
Hurry up and let Ming confirm our position as the leader of the country, and then send envoys Tang Yin and Xu Jing away, and our Korea will return to its previous state.
If you insist on obsessing over the dignity of your actions, the result will be that Ming Dynasty directly sends troops from Liaodong to North Korea. Then it will no longer be discussing the issue of grain adjustment with you, but can be directly robbed.
Liu Ziguang also quickly defended his behavior and said: "I heard that after the Jurchens surrendered, even those who surrendered voluntarily, they would migrate to Liaonan and other places for resettlement. Native officials would become floating officials, and North Korea would become the leader of the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty appoints officials to govern the vassal vassal, that would probably not be what we want."
"The worst case scenario is..."
Immediately, people from the Shilin sect rose up, probably to break the deadlock with the giant fish.
This time, Yin Bishang said: "The Ming Dynasty was originally the suzerainty. The sending of troops to build slaves this time was requested by the previous leader of Korea and the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He had previously promised to send 20,000 troops, but in the end he only sent less than 5,000 troops and no food. There is no supply. In the current situation, the conditions for allocating grain to supply Ming and Liaodong are not excessive. But the quantity is still questionable."
Li Kedun stood up and said: "You have been led astray by the trend of Taiwan's remonstrance. No wonder you..."
"Guangyuan-kun, what do you mean? Did you forget about the previous military disasters when you persecuted Zhongliang? The remonstrance is the rule set by the late emperors to ensure that there are no deviations in the administrative affairs of North Korea!"
The old Xun sect and the Shilin sect were not at odds with each other to begin with, but over a matter of grain adjustment, they suddenly became at war with each other again.
Pu Yuanzong said: "That's enough! Now that the leader of the country has not been decided, the young people everywhere are ready to make a move. How dare you still have the intention to fight among yourself? Each family will see if they can raise more food. If they want to transfer food this time, the clan and ministers may be I want to stay out of it and treat everyone equally on these issues.”
"Why?" Another official from Taiwan immediately asked.
Park Yuanzong also patted the hilt of his sword.
Just like Tang Yin before, he was threatening the ministers present.
Don't be shameless to you.
…
…
Ding Liao Youwei.
The gifts sent by North Korea to Zhang Zhou were all presented to Zhang Zhou after several days of transportation.
The quantity was quite large, but the unit price was not high, and the total number was not enough, which made Zhang Zhou see the "stinginess" of North Korea.
"The value of these is probably over a thousand taels of silver. How can you get it for such a shabby price?" Zhu Feng was like an inspector, personally inspecting each gift and calculating it.
He was also thinking in his mind that the gift given by my old Zhu family to thank Brother Zhang was more than this.
The North Koreans actually expect these three fools to let Brother Zhang help them establish their country's leader and stop putting pressure on them?
Zhang Zhou held the gift list in his hand, smiled, and said to the North Korean envoy who came to deliver the gift: "Are you from Hanyang City?"
"No." The envoy said, "The villain is sent by the Jiedu Envoy of Huanghaidao. The head of the family has a life-long friendship with General Pu Yuanzong Pu."
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Is he the newly appointed military commander of Huanghaidao? Pu Yuanzong is very good at controlling military power. He keeps a low profile in Hanyang City, but secretly replaces the military commanders in other places with his cronies one by one. In this way, To avoid hidden dangers in various places, but doesn’t he know that doing so will cause resistance from the governors and soldiers in various places?”
"..."
Facing Zhang Zhou's questioning, the envoy did not dare to breathe.
Zhang Zhou said: "I heard that you also gave gifts to Tang Yin?"
The messenger shook his head: "I don't know."
"Then where are you going after you go back?" Tang Yin asked.
The messenger said: "We will use fast horses to go to Gyeonggi Province to resume our orders, or we may enter Hanyang City."
"Okay then, just ask me to pass on a message and tell them what I need. Everything must be clearly priced and don't engage in hidden things. Who will let them lose a good situation? I originally helped Daming with peace of mind. I won’t say a word to pacify the Jurchens. Now that they have overthrown the country’s leader, they still want Ming to appoint a new one to them?”
"Don't be a traitor and let Ming take the blame for them! The Ming court will not do things in vain without receiving benefits. Can you understand such a simple statement?"
Zhang Zhou looked at the envoy with a smile.
The messenger said: "Yes, I understand."
The good diplomatic relations between the two countries, and even the political meetings and negotiations, have been turned into a market. What is there to understand?
Do you, the Ming Dynasty, just want to exploit North Korea?
"Smart people know how to do things, so I'll list what I can for you. You won't be allowed to take these junk things back with you. If you're troublesome, I'll just pay them for the military rations. I'll give you these things at the lowest price. Calculate the highest price, and at worst, I will be short of a few dan when it comes to collecting your military rations."
"Yes Yes."
…
…
Zhang Zhou had already made a detailed list, all-inclusive.
For example, if the Ming Dynasty no longer sends troops to the North Korean border, how much food, grass and luggage will be provided.
For another example, how much "thank you gift" should be given to an appointed king; how much should Tang Yin and Xu Jing be given when they complete their mission and return to the court... Even the price of killing Li and exiled Li are different.
The title of king of the country is not given to Li's son, nor to Li's brothers who were born as concubines, but it is directly stated that it can be given to Li Yi, but the price is the highest...it needs to be given by the two queen mothers of North Korea. Please refer to the price details.
Don’t the ministers also hope that everything in North Korea can get back on track after killing a foolish king?
Wouldn't it be nice to give you an option?
Of course, if you think it is very expensive, you can also provide manpower to fill the vacancies. As much food as one soldier can offset, a thousand people can cover it.
For example, when it comes to labor, how much food can one labor be worth? If you don’t even think of labor and insist on providing some women and children, the price can also be negotiated... After all, after the Ming soldiers settled in northern Liaoning, they also needed someone to help with the laundry. To cook, you need to settle down and start a business, and the population also needs to migrate... The Han people in Liaodong don't want to go north, so let the Koreans go!
Promote national integration and give the people of the Ming Dynasty the identity of the people, without any oppression, and even provide necessary resettlement rations.
What's wrong with this?
After reading the list, Zhu Feng exclaimed: "Brother Zhang, you are better at talking about business."
Zhang Zhoubai glanced at him and said, "What business? Are you talking about important matters of family and country as business? Even if it is really an exchange, you can't call it business. It should be said that this is called an exchange of interests between the suzerain country and the vassal country. If the suzerain country helps you guard the border, gives you a stable environment, and even protects you, then you must also provide necessary taxation and human support. This is the most basic etiquette and music education of Confucianism."
Zhu Feng was confused.
Zhang Zhou looked up at the North Korean envoy and asked: "I think it is very bad that you are sending women to Tang Yin. Women can be sent to Liaodong. Regardless of their origins, Ming Dynasty needs them. You know, this is The grassland is a resource that can bring about the development of the ethnic group."
The envoy asked: "How many women?"
"The more the merrier." Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Then the woman you gave to Tang Yin, I heard her name is Zhang Lushui. I like this person very much. Since Tang Yin won't accept it, just send her to me."
"ah?"
The envoy was also surprised.
Everyone says that Duke Lai is greedy for money and lustful. Some people say that this is a rumor. It seems that the rumor is not true.
Zhu Feng also looked at Zhang Zhou and frowned slightly, meaning you are actually so good at it? Then why don’t you accept when someone offers you a woman? Or do you just like this exotic atmosphere?
Zhang Zhoudao: "Don't get me wrong, I just appreciate this girl's musical talent. It is said that this girl is very good at singing, and it is not impossible to listen to music on a daily basis. In addition, I also want to come from your territory in North Korea, Find some younger women and let their families move to Daming. I plan to open a 'singing and dancing hall' so that they can show off their talents."
The envoy and Zhu Feng were stunned.
They had never seen anyone talk about political conditions like Zhang Zhou.
Actually want to find a singing and dancing girl from North Korea? Do you want to go to Daming to open a restaurant specifically for people to perform? Wouldn't it be great if you just opened a brothel?
"People, you don't just have to choose them. I have to designate them myself. Give them a try. Maybe you can find them, or maybe you can't find them. In order to prevent family members from being separated from each other, I also agreed to let them move as a family and give them a big life." As a wise man, such an opportunity can be regarded as a kindness to ordinary North Korean citizens."
"Stop looking at it, go back early, and get things done as quickly as I said. I haven't been feeling very well in Liaodong recently, and I want to go back to the capital as soon as possible to live a more stable life. I'll be fine with you when you can finish it." When will we leave to return to Beijing?"
(End of chapter)
