Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1927 Change and Strength ([-])

It is said that Zhao Chuyan, the first Dongxing ambassador of the Joseon Kingdom, has returned to the country for some time.

At the end of 1684, the "Hyeonjong the Great" armed transport ship that Zhao Chuyan and others took experienced endless sea turmoil and finally arrived at Wonsanjin on the east coast of the Kingdom of Korea, a modern port undergoing large-scale investment and transformation.The investors are mainly from the East Bank, including the Bank of Taiwan, Sun Chunyang Nanhuo Shop, and East Bank Korean Company, all of which are well-known companies.Of course, there are also some North Korean capital among the shareholders of the new Wonsan Port. They are basically the leaders of the two classes of ministers in North Korea. They are attracted to come in mainly for the convenience of handling affairs.Moreover, their shares are not many, and the total does not exceed 20%. Of course, these people don't care about the proportion of shares. What they care more about is to establish a closer relationship with the East Coast people through this matter to strengthen their own family. position in North Korea.

You know, the political struggles in the Kingdom of Korea have always been very cruel!One moment, he might be the dignified and dignified second group of important ministers in the court, and the next moment he might have been dispatched to Jeju Island—well, now Jeju Island is the territory of the east coast, um, it was sent to the bitter cold place of Hamgyong Province— —No one dares to pat their chests and say that they can stand upright in the court. North Korea, where the political struggle is extremely cruel, has never seen such a powerful figure.

Therefore, if anyone can get involved with the people of the Eastern Kingdom and be appreciated by some senior officials of the Eastern Kingdom, then it is undoubtedly an extra amulet.When the political struggle fails, the enemy will also have scruples and dare not attack to death. For various purposes, the Dongguo people may lend a helping hand and help out—no one will doubt that the Dong'an people are in North Korea. The energy of your country, the warships sailing on the West Sea (Yellow Sea) and the East Sea (Sea of ​​Japan), and the garrisons on the banks of the Yalu River and Busan Port all remind the North Korean monarchs and ministers that you are a country without complete autonomy. The feelings of the people on the east coast must be considered, so it is better to take it easy in everything.

From this point of view, Zhao Chuyan, the first governor of the Joseon Kingdom, actually took advantage of it.This man who only bears the honorable title of Cao Zuorang, now, as the number one "Dongan Tong" in the Kingdom of Korea, has become the most popular political star in North Korea. His "Dongxinglu" It has become a must-have book for the desks of the monarchs and ministers of North Korea, and its reputation has spread widely, making many people envious.

And with the example of Zhao Chuyan in the front, more and more people in North Korea are willing to get rid of their prejudices and go to the "country of wolves and dogs".It's a pity that such an opportunity to go on an envoy doesn't come every year, and I don't know when the next time will be.However, if there is no opportunity to go to the east coast, there may not be any chance to go to the nearby overseas territories of the Eastern Kingdom!No, the opportunity to go to Vladivostok at the order of the King of Korea was obtained by Won Jin-deok, the noble son, and Quan Min, the son of Jeon Bong-soo, the hereditary envoy of Yeongdong Army of Gangwon Province, accompanied him. .

Speaking of Quan Bongsu, he really has a bad reputation in North Korea.The reason is also very simple to say, that is, he was born as a bandit, one of the bandit leaders who fled around Hamgyong Road and Gangwon Road, and rose in the battle of the people on the east coast.At that time, Shao Shude, who was in charge of the San Francisco in the Far East, dispatched a large army to land on the southeast coast of Korea, shaking Gyeongsang, Gangwon, and Jeolla.Quan Fengzhu, who was being chased by the North Korean army and had nowhere to go, suddenly escaped, wept with joy, and immediately joined Marshal Shao as quickly as possible, serving as the leading party and vanguard of the east bank army to conquer North Korea, and In the subsequent series of battles, he worked very hard. Not only did he have the courage to chase down the remnants of the enemy, but he also helped the people on the east bank grab a large amount of supplies.

After defeating the main force of the Joseon King's army in the Battle of Boeun County, the general situation of the battle was decided, and then the two sides negotiated in Asan Port, and finally signed a peace agreement.In this agreement, in addition to the terms of land cession, compensation, and trade, there is also a secret supplementary agreement—although it is a secret agreement, but it seems to be known to everyone now—that is, let the Jeon Bong-soo family The hereditary envoy of the Yeongdong soldiers and horses in Gangwon-do Province, and the three prefectures of Goseong, Ganseong, and Xiangyang, became the de facto separatist forces in Korea.

North Korean monarchs and ministers are naturally reluctant to have separatist forces in the country, not to mention that the so-called Lingdong soldier and horse envoy Quan Bongsu is still a disgraceful traitor, and it is the elite three counties under the jurisdiction of the Gangneung Dadu Protectorate in Gangwon Province. How to give up?But as the saying goes, the arms can't twist the thighs, and the people on the east coast may enter Hanyang City at any time with the prestige of victory, and things will happen like that!Ever since, at the end of the negotiation, the North Koreans could only hold their noses to accept the condition, and reluctantly handed over the three counties of Goseong, Ganseong, and Xiangyang. He ran to Marshal Shao’s tent to express his gratitude, wept bitterly, and then took his troops, which had expanded to more than 5000 people (including many surrendered troops or bandits), and ran to the three counties to become the local tyrant went.

What is even more shocking is that the Dongan people also proposed that Quan Bong-soo, as the envoy of the Yeongdong army in Gangwon-do Province, should also be paid by the North Korean treasury, that is, the North Korean government. You have to keep this army.The method is to deposit the required military expenses for the whole year into the special account opened by Dongan people in the Northwest Reclamation Bank branch in Goseong County at the beginning of each year, and then Quan Bongsu will withdraw it from the bank on a monthly basis.

This method is tantamount to minimizing the influence of the North Korean government on the Quanfengzhu Department. Since then, this army and the three counties of Goseong have basically become independent kingdoms, and they are still independent kingdoms controlled by the people on the east bank.In the future, once the Kingdom of Korea is disobedient (the possibility is very low), then the Goseong Army, which is not too far from Hanyang City, will become a force that penetrates directly into the heart of the Kingdom of Korea, which will shock any conspirators.

Of course, this is the idea of ​​the people on the east bank. In fact, Quan Bongsu is not a fool. Apart from treating the people on the east bank with respect, he also respects the monarchs and ministers of the North Korean kingdom.During the holidays, he not only presented large sums of gifts, but also kept in close contact with many important ministers in private.In fact, the people on the east coast are not ignorant of these things, but they don't care. Quan Fengzhu borrowed the North Korean monarch and his ministers. The ones that fell off were even more reluctant to tear them up. People from the east coast were his heaven, and he had to do whatever he was asked to do.Even if one day he was suddenly ordered to use all his troops to march towards Hanyang City, then he would not hesitate to turn his face against some North Korean nobles who were currently flirting with him and start a war brazenly.

However, the relationship between the East Bank and North Korea is currently in a period of rapid development, and the bilateral relationship is maintained very well, so this will not prevent him from communicating with Hanyang City.For example, this time, King Sukjong of North Korea planned to develop industry and commerce under the suggestion of the minister, so he specially allocated a huge sum of [-] guanliang—the current use of both silver and money in the Kingdom of Korea, that is, both copper coins and Dapao coins are circulated. Currency such as "salmon" (silver dollar), grain, and silk are rare. It can be seen that a lot of currency has flowed into North Korea in the past few decades—purchase from the Blackwater Pioneering Team, which dominates industrial production in the Far East San Francisco. industrial equipment.Because the current nominal capital of the Blackwater Pioneering Team has been set in Vladivostok, two ships from the Kingdom of Korea sailed to Vladivostok to berth, and then negotiated with the east coast.

When Chen Ke arrived in Vladivostok, Yuan Jinde and Quan Min had just disembarked in a small boat, and Lu Xiaofeng, commissioner of the Ussuri River District Administrative Office, was meeting them at the pier.The news of Chen Ke's arrival was immediately notified to the three of them by the people below, so they quickly ended the meeting and rushed to the city's security headquarters to pay a visit.

"Xiao Lu, your garrison headquarters is well organized!" Chen Ke said with a smile while touching the thick wall with his hand.In fact, this garrison headquarters is more than "good". It is almost entirely made of large stones, and it can be called the strongest, thickest and most expensive building in Vladivostok.Chen Ke even noticed that there were two well-carved stone lions at the entrance of the headquarters. He didn't know where Lu Xiaofeng got them, so he paid attention to ostentation.

"Hehe, this garrison headquarters is only temporary. It will continue to be expanded and renovated in the future. I will vacate it in the future. This is for the development team headquarters." Lu Xiaofeng ordered the secretary to bring up a large tray of milk tea , said with a smile.

"No need." Chen Ke waved his hand, and said with a half-smile: "After a while, I might not be working here. There is no permanent banquet in the world. I have been the leader in this Heishui area for some years. , according to the organizational principles, it is time to transfer, probably this year. It is hard to say whether the new captain will choose here, not to mention, if I leave first, and the new captain has not yet arrived, it is impossible to say You are the only one who will act as an agent for the time being."

In fact, what Chen Ke said was not groundless.In fact, he has already learned through correspondence with local friends that one of the next chief officials of the Far East San Francisco will be airborne from the mainland, and the two will be promoted on the spot here, and Liao Degong and Lu Xiaofeng are the voices. The top two can even be said to have basically been determined.The only thing that is uncertain now is who will be the chief officer of which feudal town, because there may be the possibility of mutual transfers to prevent a certain person from working in one place for a long time, so that he has the opportunity to form a party for personal gain.

Hearing what Chen Ke said, Lu Xiaofeng didn't know how to respond, so he could only smile awkwardly, and then changed the topic to the North Koreans.He first introduced the identities of Yuan Jinde and Quan Min to Chen Ke, and then emphatically mentioned that the North Koreans wanted to ask Dong An to help design and manufacture some industrial machinery and export them to North Korea to help them establish preliminary mechanized industrial facilities.

The reason why the North Koreans have this idea is actually because after being included in the economic circle dominated by the people on the east coast, they have made great achievements in food planting, mineral mining, wood processing, seafood processing, and the planting and processing of cash crops. With the development of the country, the export volume has increased year after year, and it has achieved huge profits.And these profits in turn stimulated the North Koreans' desire to grab more benefits (at the same time, they could not ignore the suggestions from the people on the east coast asking them to expand their production capacity), so they put forward higher requirements for production efficiency and production scale. People from the East Coast, who have long been famous in this regard, are naturally the best buyers.Moreover, before they came, they also sent messages through the East Bank Embassy in North Korea (responsible to the captain of the Denglai Pioneering Team) and the East Bank North Korea Company, and received a positive response. Things in Vladivostok.

The North Koreans plan to purchase a lot of miscellaneous equipment this time, including coal mining and transportation equipment, as well as wood processing machine tools, combined brick making machines, textile machinery, military repair equipment and other equipment. There are more than ten types of equipment, which cost a lot , It can be seen that the North Koreans have also made a lot of money.

Some of these things can be produced in Sakhalin, and some have to be imported locally.Chen Ke glanced at the catalog hastily, and felt that most of them could be sold, so he smiled and nodded, indicating that the North Koreans would send someone over to discuss in detail after the meeting.He felt that after the North Koreans bought these machines back, the domestic industrial production efficiency should be improved to a certain extent, and the material wealth produced would naturally increase. It's a good thing - North Korea is a country where the people on the east bank still control it very firmly. Their productivity level has improved, and the overall strategy for the people on the east bank naturally has more advantages than disadvantages.

And this kind of behavior of the North Koreans also made Chen Ke quite emotional.Since the people from the East Coast came to the Far East and worked hard to "stir up" the Far East, the political, economic and cultural ecology here has undergone considerable changes.In mainland China, North Korea, Manchuria, Outer Northeast China, Mongolia and other places, the collision of ideas and cultures has begun to intensify, especially in mainland China, which is still in a situation of military confrontation. Various regimes not only build up new armies and improve their military strength, but also Some civilian or dual-use projects have also been invested, and the productivity of the whole society has more or less improved.All of these can undoubtedly be transformed into national power!

Of course, compared with these investments in industrial and agricultural production, the biggest change in the above-mentioned areas is actually the change in the invisible and intangible field of thought.No matter how serious the traditional social order and ideological confinement are, after all, this is a situation of fierce competition, coupled with the strong influence brought about by the people from the east coast who have been born for 40 years (under the influence of the people from the east coast, no further touch Isn’t it the dead...), the elites in mainland China are also struggling to seek innovations and changes, but it is unclear how much effect they can have under the circumstances of strong interference.

Calculated in this way, people from the east coast have grabbed huge benefits (population benefits) in mainland China, but inadvertently broadened the horizons of this ancient country and started a slow change. Whether this is good or bad is not easy to judge.But then again, in this world, who can take all the benefits forever?impossible!

(End of this chapter)