My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 322 The North Korean Envoy’s Report

Zhu Zhanhe remembered very clearly that when he went to Tianjin to arrest Li Maofang, Zhu Yong's mission had just set off, and it is estimated that they are still floating in the sea, and it is impossible to reach North Korea.

"I'm also very surprised. Just after Zhu Yong left, the North Korean envoy arrived, and just after you and Fuyanghou left Tianjin, the North Korean embassy's ship arrived at Tianjin Port. It can be said that it is behind you, and now the embassy will also arrive in Beijing soon."

At this moment, Zhu Di touched his chin and said in doubt.

"Could it be that North Korea sent envoys to pay tribute?"

Zhu Zhanhe asked, all the foreign countries of the Ming Dynasty need to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty. Some pay tribute once a year, and some pay tribute once every three years.
"Impossible. The North Korean tribute mission is still in the capital. There is absolutely no way there will be a second batch of tribute missions, unless..."

When Zhu Di said this, he suddenly thought of something, and immediately frowned.

"Unless what?"

Zhu Zhanhe asked curiously.

"Unless there is a major change in North Korea, such as the death of the king, and the enthronement of the new king requires my canonization, etc., they will send a mission."

Zhu Di frowned and said.

The current king of North Korea is Li Fangyuan, and Zhu Di has a very good impression of him. When Li Fangyuan was an envoy to Daming, he made a special trip to Beijing to visit Zhu Di, who was still the king of Yan.

Therefore, Zhu Di did not want anything to happen to Li Fangyuan, whether it was from personal feelings or national considerations.

"It shouldn't be possible. Li Fangyuan is a few years younger than Grandpa Huang, and I heard that he is in good health and has a high prestige in North Korea. It should be impossible for any accidents to happen."

Zhu Zhanhe immediately shook his head and said.

Li Fangyuan was younger than Zhu Di, but the two died only two years apart, so Zhu Zhanhe was sure that nothing would happen to Li Fangyuan.

"If it wasn't for Li Fangyuan's accident, then there is a relatively important state matter, so he will send a mission."

When Zhu Di said this, he frowned again, because he couldn't think of any important state affairs that would make Li Fangyuan send a mission here?
The grandfather and grandson thought for a long time, but they couldn't come up with any results. In the end, they stopped guessing. Anyway, the North Korean mission will arrive in Beijing tomorrow at the latest.

Sure enough, at noon the next day, the North Korean mission finally arrived in Beijing.

Perhaps because of the urgency of the matter, there were not many North Korean missions this time. The envoy was named Li Zhan. He had been to Ming Dynasty many times, and he was considered an old acquaintance of Zhu Di.

"North Korean envoy Li Zhan, long live my emperor!"

Li Zhan entered the Wuying Hall, and immediately bowed to Zhu Di.

North Korea has a close relationship with Ming Dynasty, and Koreans can even take part in Ming Dynasty’s imperial examinations, and some Koreans even serve as officials directly in Ming Dynasty, so as long as North Korea’s envoys come to Ming Dynasty, they will usually be received by Zhu Di in person.

"Envoy Li doesn't need to be too polite. I wonder why the King of Korea sent you here?"

Zhu Di asked with a smile, and Zhu Zhanhe who was beside him was also sizing up the North Korean envoy. After he learned that the other party had entered Beijing, he also rushed to the palace immediately.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I came here on behalf of our lord to report an urgent military situation to Your Majesty!"

Li Zhan replied with a serious face.

"Military situation? Could it be that there is something wrong with the Jurchens?"

Zhu Di was stunned for a moment before asking.

Although North Korea and Ming Dynasty border each other, there are actually a large number of Jurchens living on the border between the two countries. These Jurchens often have some conflicts with North Korea or Ming Dynasty, but the scale is not large, and Ming Dynasty never takes those Jurchens seriously.

"It's not the Jurchens, but the pirates!"

Li Zhan also showed anger when he mentioned the Japanese pirates.

"Japanese pirates?"

Zhu Di was even more surprised when he heard this, and couldn't help but glance at Zhu Zhanhe next to him, they just wiped out a group of Japanese pirates, why did North Korea come to talk about the Japanese pirates?

"Your Majesty, just a few months ago, the Japanese pirates from the Tsushima Island of the Japanese country came together to plunder the coast of our country, passing through Jeolla Province and Chungcheong Province, and heading all the way to Huanghai Road. Although our country organized troops to wipe them out, these Japanese pirates were extremely treacherous and cunning. They would never confront us head-on. If they found a gap, they would kill and plunder the coast. The people have suffered greatly from it!"

When Li Zhan talked about the danger of the Japanese pirates to North Korea, his whole body trembled with anger.

"I, Daming, also have a deep understanding of the harm of Japanese pirates, but you don't come to see me this time because you want me to send troops to help you wipe out the Japanese pirates, right?"

Zhu Di finally asked suspiciously.

He had just sent a mission to discuss with Li Fangyuan about jointly dispatching troops to wipe out the Japanese pirates, but Li Zhan came to talk about it, which made Zhu Di wonder if both sides wanted to go together?
"Your Majesty has misunderstood. Although the Japanese pirates are extremely harmful, we still have the power to protect ourselves. It's just that the Japanese pirates are going all the way to the Huanghai Road, and then they may go to the Ping'an Road, or even the Liaodong area of ​​Ming Dynasty. Therefore, my king sent me here to report to His Majesty. Your Majesty asks the Liaodong area to prepare for the Japanese pirates!"

Li Zhan immediately explained.

"The Japanese pirates dare to go to Liaodong!"

Zhu Di was quite surprised when he heard the news, because Liaodong was not the south. In order to occupy Liaodong, Ming Dynasty deployed heavy troops there. On the one hand, it threatened the nomads on the grassland from the flanks, and on the other hand, it also defended against the Jurchen and other tribes north of Liaodong.

"Your Majesty, according to the information we have received, a natural disaster occurred in the Kyushu area of ​​the Japanese country, which caused a sharp drop in food production. Therefore, in order to survive, the hungry people went to sea to become Japanese pirates, and there were even some famous Japanese pirates behind them. Therefore, this time the Japanese pirates are so powerful that we have to guard against them!"

Li Zhan explained again.

The Japanese country has many mountains and little land, but it has a large population. Therefore, every time the Japanese country encounters any natural or man-made disasters, it will evolve into Japanese pirates going to sea, and North Korea bears the brunt of it, and is the first target of the Japanese pirates.

"Grandfather, if there is a natural disaster in the Japanese country, then the Japanese pirates will only plunder North Korea, and they will definitely not be able to get enough food. Therefore, they are likely to take the risk of plundering the coast of our Ming Dynasty, and Liaodong is next to North Korea, so it should be their target!"

At this time Zhu Zhanhe finally stood up and said.

In the original history, the coastal areas of Daming were most severely attacked by Japanese pirates in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian. Although there were also Japanese pirates in the northern coast, because the northern garrison was more effective, the Japanese pirates suffered more and more, so they also moved to the southern coast.

So in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the Japanese pirates were almost all concentrated in the southern coast. After all, the troops there were weak, but they were richer than the north, so they naturally became the big fat sheep in the eyes of the Japanese pirates.

(End of this chapter)