New Shun 1730

As soon as this idea came to mind, Matsudaira Teru-sada seemed to be able to do it.

Nowadays, it is inevitable to agree to Dashun's conditions. What we want to think about is not bargaining, but looking forward to the future. Fortunately, the shogunate's muscles and bones have not moved, and after twenty years of gathering, the future is still unknown.

After deciding, he sent a message to invite Liu Yu to the banquet.

When the messenger found Liu Yu's residence, the guard told him that Liu Yu was not here, but had gone to the port with a few people.

After giving Matsudaira Terusada the conditions, Liu Yu took people to the seaside to inspect the construction of ports and fortresses.

The slave class in North Korea worked very hard, had enough to eat every day, and worked very hard. They may have been slaves for a long time and were extremely obedient.

This is a navy project, raised from the navy's special funds, to build a fortress, a fort group, and a port for both military and civilian purposes.

The standard bay topography, the small island with natural breakouts, and the excellent geographical location all make the navy determined to win here.

The project is going very quickly and does not cost a lot. If all goes well, it will be fully operational this summer.

Following Liu Yu, in addition to Zhao Baiquan who had been staying in Busan to contact North Korea, there was also Xu Tao, the person in charge of the trading company here and an old maritime merchant from Ningbo.

It can be said that people who are polite to the government and maritime merchants do not talk much about each other.

But after Zhao Baiquan stayed in Busan for so long and got really exposed to North Korea's identity system, he became extremely suspicious of North Korea's identity as a "self-proclaimed Little China."

In addition, some of the ideas Liu Yu had instilled before made Zhao Baiquan's attitude towards North Korea not very good. It was a miracle that Li government officials, who were not speculative, could live in harmony with maritime merchants.

The group stopped near the port of Busan and looked at the Korean slaves working in the distance. Liu Yu turned around and asked Zhao Baiquan: "The two classes in North Korea regard the slaves as cattle and horses, and all the money they get belongs to themselves. This is different from the scholars, farmers, industry and merchants of this dynasty. There seems to be a difference, right? But I don’t know where to find it in the Analects of Confucius. "

Zhao Baiquan is from the Northern Confucian school and has no experience of living as a manor owner in the south of the Yangtze River. He is the kind of person who supports the small peasant economy the most.

After all, this was not the end of the Ming Dynasty, and there would be no such weird things as the early and late power in Zhejiang and Anhui, and the tenants avoiding the taboos of their masters. Looking at this slave system at this time, Zhao Baiquan did not recognize it as a customary category of Confucian culture.

He inquired carefully and found out that there had been a dispute between "Hua Hua" and "Ben Su" in North Korea before, but in the end, the King of North Korea really did not weaken the ability of the clan's two classes, so it was settled in the end.

Even when Wanli came to the aid of the Dynasty, because some slaves had made meritorious service in ambushing the Japanese army, the King of Korea wanted to let them get rid of their status as slaves and rank in the second class, but they were all remonstrated by the officials, thinking that it was really an insult to let the bitches rank with them.

At this time, Liu Yu knew what he was asking, so Zhao Baiquan had no choice but to say: "Uncle Ying Suo is joking. If the differences between the scholars, farmers, industry and merchants in this dynasty are like this, I really can't think of the slightest bit of China's superiority and disdain for the barbarians."

"The local envoy of Dongnae Prefecture, Zheng, also worked with his subordinates. Korea has its own national conditions here. Some people in the navy also said that Ying Sabo had long asserted that if Westerners came here, all descendants would be brothers and sisters. If the Catholic Church is here, it will be destroyed by the Confucian temple.”

"I see that Korea, Ryukyu, and Japan all have Confucian temples. Korea has Confucian temples, Japan has holy churches, and Ryukyu also has Confucian societies. But the three countries are very different. Zhu Xi's teachings are feasible, but it is really difficult for me. understand."

Liu Yu thought: What is so difficult to understand? Confucianism began in the Spring and Autumn Period and experienced a series of developments including bronzes, ironware, manors and small farmers. If you pick any era, you can find a theoretical basis.

After all, what Zhao Baiquan thinks is that "whatever the heart wants, the government will go", which is naturally difficult to understand. The biggest problem in Dashun now is that if you want to continue to be a dynasty, you must come up with a set of Confucianism for the new era that is in line with the productivity level of the 18th century and in the future, and is consistent with the times, otherwise this dynasty will not be able to be .

But Liu Yu had been thinking about this kind of thing for many nights, but he still couldn't find a solution and had no clue at all.

It was inconvenient for him to say this at this time. He smiled and pointed at Xu Tao behind him and said: "Brother Zhao, if you want to see North Korea change, you have to rely on these maritime merchants."

"With the passage of time and the stars, this dynasty is changing, and there are great scholars who can keep up with the explanations. As long as North Korea also changes, then the knowledge of this dynasty will be able to pass through North Korea, and it will gradually become our own. appearance."

"What this dynasty lacks now is a 'Gathering of Goose Lake'. Destruction without establishment will not work after all. I don't study well, so I can't explain these things clearly, but I vaguely feel that these maritime merchants are the breaking point. "

"Brother Zhao thinks that I value profit over righteousness, or that I want to establish more vassal schools and spread the words of saints. But in fact, you have also seen that Ryukyu, Japan, and Korea all have the words of saints, but they come in different forms. "

These words really hurt Zhao Baiquan. According to what Zhao Baiquan thought before, the surrounding Yi Di must have done this because they did not follow the words of the saints.

But when he arrived in North Korea, he realized that the level of Confucianism among North Korean officials was much higher than that of Liu Yu. Even in a place the size of Ryukyu, local Confucian scholars could chat and laugh with Zhao Baiquan on Confucian issues, and he I couldn't talk much about the Holy Words with Liu Yu at all.

Even the Japanese on Tsushima Island have a level of Confucianism that far exceeds that of Liu Yu. But Zhao Baiquan asked himself, is Liu Yu more Chinese, or is the Korean Yangban, the Ryukyu scholar, or Tsushima Yoshio Umori, whom he argued with, more Chinese?

Shanjing Ding, who was able to compile the "Seven Classics of Mencius", or Liu Yu, who had almost no attainments in Confucianism, which one was more similar to him?

These problems started from his trip to Ryukyu to this time when he came to North Korea. Now they occur frequently and are almost driving him crazy.

He even vaguely thought about the shaving of the heads of the enshrined Hou clan decades ago.

Now Liu Yu asked him if he thought he should hold more vassal studies and broadcast the words of saints. He himself was a little confused.

"Ying Suo Boyan, these maritime merchants can change North Korea. Are they more capable than Confucian scholars?"

Liu Yu nodded and said: "That's what I think. There is no shortage of Confucian scholars in North Korea, but nothing has changed, right?"

"So if Brother Zhao really wants North Korea to become summer, remember it. I strive to open North Korea and rent land for trade. In fact, it is for the good of North Korea."

Smiling, he turned to Xu Tao and said, "You merchants must work hard to sell more goods and break up the stagnant water of North Korea. This is a great achievement."

Xu Tao, an old maritime merchant, said hurriedly: "Don't worry, Uncle Ying Sao. Even if Uncle Ying Sao doesn't tell us, we will sell more goods. I have an unkind request. I wonder if Uncle Ying Sao will allow it."

"Tell me about it."

"Yes. The villain heard that Uncle Yingsa intends to go to Xiaguan to sign a peace treaty with the Japanese. If this is true, please allow Uncle Yingsa to allow me to follow him. The villain's son, when he went to Xiaguan to sell goods in the early years, He was killed by Japanese bombardment. It was his destiny to be buried in the sea as a merchant. But even though he had no bones to bury him, he always thought that one day he could go to Xiaguan and burn a few pieces of paper."

In fact, after so many years, it was difficult for the old maritime merchant Xu Tao to even remember the specific appearance of his son, but he still wanted to go and see him.

Although... in theory, they are smugglers, but to put it another way, they can also be called warriors pursuing free trade.

When the old sea merchant said this, his eyes were a little moist and he said: "I never thought before that I could go to Xiaguan one day. But I didn't expect that in my dying years, I would be lucky enough to participate in such a national war and set foot outside the Japanese country of Nagasaki. "

Speaking of the moving part, Liu Yu nodded and said, "It's human nature for parents to love their children. What's wrong with this?"

Amidst the bursts of thanks from the old sea merchant, Liu Yu couldn't help but look towards the sea, and naturally thought in his heart that the British fleet was already ready to go, and for Jenkins' ears, a war was launched against Spain on the battlefield around the earth. From Gibraltar to South America, and from South America to Luzon.

Is there any difference between this and the shelling of Chinese smugglers who came to Kokura and Shimonoseki by boat after Arai Shiraishi came to power?

Jenkins is also a smuggler, and Xu Tao's son is also a smuggler. There is really no difference.

When the British took action, they could bluntly say that Spain's ban on British goods from reaching the Latin American colonies infringed on British interests.

And Dashun took action against Japan, holding high the banner of the ritual sect, and using the Ryukyu incident as a trigger...it seems that there is no difference.

Thinking of this, Liu Yu said with relief: "You merchants, don't worry. This kind of thing will never happen again in the future. If something similar happens again, there will be warships to seek justice for you."

"But then again, in the future, you maritime merchants should also contribute more to the military of the Celestial Empire. My children can learn more practical skills and apply for the Jinghai Palace to enrich their military talents."

"The ancients said that those who invaded the powerful Han Dynasty in the Ming Dynasty would be killed no matter how far away they were. But in the Meng Yuan Dynasty, the military was so arrogant and they lacked sailors and navy, so they could only defeat the Japanese country. In the Wanli year, the Spaniards massacred Luzon, and the Ming Dynasty could only Just swallow your anger. Why? Even if Hou Hu is resurrected, he will not be able to cross thousands of miles of blue waves, and it is hard to say that he will be killed even if he is far away. "

The old maritime merchant nodded and said, "Don't worry, Uncle Yingsao. Nowadays, there are fewer descendants of maritime merchants in Songjiang who study Confucianism and take the imperial examination. They learn more about practical learning, and the trend of practical learning is becoming more and more popular. There are also several grandchildren of the old people who study practical learning." , I am determined to enter Jinghai Palace in the future, and even if I fail to pass the exam, it will be much more useful to calculate accounts, determine longitude and latitude, and take routes in the future. "

Just a few normal words, but Zhao Baiquan's face suddenly turned red and twitched, he sighed and remained silent.

Liu Yu did not provoke Zhao Baiquan too much, thinking that he would lease land in North Korea and let North Korea open and close in the future. Someone would have to go back to North Korea to advocate and break the good impression of the scholar-officials on North Korea as a little China. No matter how you think about it, Zhao Baiquan is the most suitable person. .

Naturally, he changed the topic and moved away from this topic that might embarrass Zhao Baiquan. When he was talking about future trade issues between Korea and Japan, someone who spread the news that the Japanese invited Liu Yu to a banquet came and delivered the news.

When he heard that "regardless of etiquette, only guest and host", Liu Yu said: "It seems that the Japanese have already decided to pay tribute. But speaking of it, if the tribute is based on the princely system, wouldn't it be fine if I meet the Japanese king in the future? Want to kneel down?"

Zhao Baiquan said helplessly: "Yili, that's the case. Isn't that what it means if we don't see each other in the future? Moreover, the vassal is not allowed to go at will. If Ying Suo goes again, it will be an angel... Well, even if it is an angel, in the Before the canonization, he worshiped you; after the canonization, you still have to worship him.”

Liu Yu laughed and said: "Yes, let's go see him while he is not the prince yet. Brother Zhao must come with me, lest they arrange some secret conversations during the banquet. Today, I will tell you the details Let's talk about it and make a peace treaty as soon as possible."