OBS Chapter 346 The fat sheep has taken the bait!
Chapter 346 The fat sheep has taken the bait!
There's something wrong with these two people.
Although Yang Shaofeng had already received news from Wang Qiong that the struggle between King Wang Jeon of Goryeo and the powerful minister Shin Don had reached a fever pitch, and that Wang Jeon was now dreaming of opening the border markets as soon as possible so that he could use the power of the Ming Dynasty to suppress Shin Don.
However, Yang Shaofeng never expected that Wang Zhuan would hope that the border market could be opened before the end of December of the third year of Hongwu.
Good heavens, it's already November of the third year of Hongwu's reign, and there's only a month left until the time Wang Zhuan hopes for.
Has the situation between the two sides become so tense?
While pondering this in his mind, Yang Shaofeng smiled and said to Park Deok-hwan, "Brother Park, I also want the border market to open before the end of the year, but you've seen what Dengzhou City is like. I've used almost all the manpower I have, but..."
Park Deok-hwan couldn't help but curse inwardly, while Park Sung-sung eagerly looked at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "May I ask, Your Highness, is Dengzhou Prefecture currently short of manpower?"
As Park Sung-sung finished speaking, Park Deok-hwan almost couldn't resist the urge to hit someone, while Yang Shao-feng could only force himself to think about all sorts of sad things to suppress the urge to curl up his lips.
The fat sheep has taken the bait!
Yang Shaofeng sighed slightly and said, "To be honest, Deputy Envoy Park, Dengzhou Prefecture was recently hit by a Japanese pirate attack. Nearly 20,000 Japanese pirates attacked. Although we eventually repelled the pirates, the original Penglai County was almost completely destroyed and can only be rebuilt now."
Park Sung-sung hummed in agreement, saying, "The Japanese pirates haven't lost their wild nature and have always enjoyed looting. They are truly annoying and hateful."
At this point, Park Sung-sung couldn't help but exclaim, "The Prince Consort was able to repel more than 20,000 Japanese pirates who attacked. I'm afraid his military skills are no less than those of the famous generals of our time."
Yang Shaofeng smiled and shook his head, saying, "Vice Envoy Park is too kind."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Yang Shaofeng continued, "If it were just a matter of rebuilding Penglai County, that would be fine. But it just so happens that the seat of Dengzhou Prefecture will be located in Penglai, and the border market will also be set up in Penglai, so the scale of the city will naturally have to be expanded accordingly."
"However, the people of Penglai County are still busy with farming, and I cannot bear to conscript laborers. Therefore, I can only use those captured Japanese pirates and some criminals of my Great Ming to build the city and the market."
Park Sung-sung nodded. "The Prince Consort's reluctance to conscript laborers shows his compassion for the people's strength, which I admire."
After another round of flattery, Park Sung-sung continued, "May I ask, Your Highness, how much manpower will be needed to complete the construction of Dengzhou City and the border market by the end of the year?"
Yang Shaofeng sighed again, "It would take at least ten to twenty thousand forced laborers."
Upon hearing the sentence of 10,000 to 20,000 hard laborers, Park Deok-hwan was completely plunged into despair.
It wasn't the number of 10,000 to 20,000 forced laborers that caused despair, but rather the sight of the deputy envoy, Park Sung-sung, standing beside him.
Sure enough, just as Park Deok-hwan was in despair, Park Sung-sung patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness, I can find a way to transport some laborers over. Even if there aren't ten or twenty thousand, there should be at least five thousand."
However, Yang Shaofeng shook his head slightly again and sighed softly once more: "I appreciate Vice Envoy Park's kindness."
Park Sung-sung paused slightly, then asked, "Does Your Highness have some other difficulties?"
Yang Shaofeng nodded and said, "It is good to inform Vice Envoy Pu that in our Great Ming Dynasty, all kinds of construction projects such as road repair and city building are planned by the contractors, and then the Ministry of Revenue allocates money and grain. Local government offices usually cannot come up with so much money and grain."
Park Sung-sung immediately said "Oh," a look of realization appearing on his face, and laughed, "Don't worry, Your Highness, no matter how many laborers the foreign officials bring, the Ming Dynasty won't need to pay a single penny."
As Park Sung-sung finished speaking, Yang Shaofeng was completely bewildered.
I've seen plenty of fat sheep.
I've seen plenty of idiots before.
But it's really rare to see such a fat and stupid sucker!
Also, what exactly is Park Sung-sung's identity that he was able to make such a bunch of demands before Park Deok-hwan even agreed?
Just as Yang Shaofeng was pondering this in his mind, Park Sung-sung continued, "I know that a few thousand laborers are not enough. I only hope that Your Highness can take into account my loyalty and let them come to work for the Ming Dynasty, so that they can do their part for the Ming Dynasty and fulfill the duty of our Goryeo as a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty."
No, what exactly is this thing?
shrewd?
That makes sense, though. It seems that the Koreans have always treated the Ming Dynasty like their father. During the Japanese invasion in the Wanli era, the then-Korean king even took his wife and children to the Yalu River and cried out for China's annexation.
Besides, didn't some prince or something in the Korean family say that being a dog of the Ming Dynasty is the greatest happiness? Koreans won't be like some stray dogs, running around and eventually not recognizing their owners.
Later, the famous saying arose: "If we consider foreign countries, China is like a parent; our country and Japan are both foreign countries, like children. If we consider the relationship between parents and children, then our country is a filial son, and Japan is a traitorous son."
If we look at it this way, it seems quite normal that a few people with a strong sense of the Ming Dynasty appeared during the Hongwu era.
But this makes Park Sung-sung's identity worth investigating.
If it has value, this item could be even more useful than the border market.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Shaofeng smiled and said, "Vice Envoy Park is very loyal, and I will certainly report to His Majesty and the court. However, I cannot agree to this matter of hard labor for the time being. I hope Vice Envoy Park will understand."
"However, both Ambassador Park and Vice Ambassador Park have repeatedly requested that I postpone the construction of the border market any further. It would be really unreasonable for me to do so."
After a slight pause, Yang Shaofeng continued, "How about this? I will first gather manpower to repair and rebuild the border market, and strive to complete it before the end of February of the fourth year of Hongwu. What do you think?"
Park Deok-hwan and Park Sung-sung exchanged a glance and tentatively asked, "If a foreign minister were to persuade the King of Goryeo to submit a petition requesting the dispatch of hard labor, what would happen then..."
Yang Shaofeng smiled and shook his head, saying, "If your country's king is willing to submit a memorial, that would be excellent, and His Majesty and the court officials would most likely agree. However, what are Ambassador Park and Vice Ambassador Park most urgently concerned about right now?"
Park Deok-hwan paused slightly, about to say that the most urgent thing right now was for the border markets to open as soon as possible, but Yang Shaofeng spoke up first: "May I ask, Ambassador Park and Vice Ambassador Park, is trade the most urgent matter right now, or the border markets?"
As soon as Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Park Deok-hwan's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Of course it's trade!"