amaotonovel Chapter 344 As expected of the Celestial Empire!
Chapter 344 As expected of the Celestial Empire!
To achieve the envisioned win-win-win situation, the most pressing issue to address right now is fuel.
After all, the coastal area around Penglai has a relatively large temperature difference in the air, so relying on nature to dry the mantis shrimp meat is obviously not very reliable. The best way is to use artificial drying.
The most crucial element in the manual drying process is fuel, but unfortunately, the Dengzhou government cannot rely on cutting down trees for fuel.
In fact, it's not just Dengzhou Prefecture; now, all the prefectures and counties in the entire Ming Dynasty can no longer rely on cutting down trees for fuel.
Because trees are not only building materials used in constructing houses, but also a source of food for people during years of famine.
During times of war, large tracts of forest are often one of the military targets that both sides prioritize eliminating.
It is precisely because of these various and miscellaneous reasons that the saying "firewood" ranks first among the seven necessities of life: firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea.
Left with no other choice, Yang Shaofeng had to turn his attention to coal as a fuel source.
After all, it's just drying some mantis shrimp meat; it's neither iron smelting nor steelmaking, nor kiln firing. Honeycomb briquettes and coal slurry cakes are perfectly sufficient.
It just so happens that there are coal mines to be mined in Dengzhou, and Yang Shaofeng also happens to have a shortage of mining laborers.
Anyway, the previous Sun Gupu rebellion captured several hundred real Japanese soldiers. These short, ugly men are just wasting air if they live. It's better to let them live to mine coal, test medicines when they get sick, and throw them to Yang Qing and Wang Hu to study their structure after they die. After dismantling them, they can be used to fertilize the land.
The main idea is to make full use of resources and avoid waste.
……
Just as Yang Shaofeng was pondering how to make full use of the Japanese pirates, Park Deok-hwan, the special envoy sent to Dengzhou by King Jeon of Goryeo, felt like he was about to explode.
The city wall of a prefecture was 35 feet high, more than 30 feet thick at the base, and at least 20 feet thick at the top. The wall was also covered with watchtowers, corner towers and watchtowers.
This is the size of a city wall that a prefecture-level city should have?
Even the capital of my great Goryeo Kingdom, Gaegyeong, doesn't have such a magnificent scale, you bastard!
Just as Park Deok-hwan was secretly filled with resentment, the deputy envoy Park Sung-sung, standing beside him, exclaimed excitedly, "As expected of the Celestial Empire! Even the city used as a border market is built so magnificently. To see this in this lifetime, I have no regrets even if I die."
Park Deok-hwan was slightly taken aback. He was furious but could only sigh helplessly and led Park Sung-sung toward the city gate of Dengzhou Prefecture.
As they stepped through the city gate, Park Sung-sung's excitement intensified: "Look, this city gate is so deep that sunlight can't even reach inside. We'll have to light torches!"
Park Deok-hwan gave Park Sung-sung a cold glance and said in a low voice, "Vice Envoy Park! No matter how grand Ming Dynasty's cities are, they are not Goryeo's cities. You need to understand that!"
However, Park Sung-sung scoffed and retorted, "The Ming Dynasty is the suzerain state of Goryeo. The cities of the Ming Dynasty are majestic and powerful, and Goryeo is naturally proud of them."
Ok?
Park Deok-hwan now really wants to crack open Park Sung-sung's head and see what's inside.
After considering Park Sung-sung's identity, Park Deok-hwan could only sigh helplessly and say, "Back then, the Great Yuan Dynasty was also the suzerain state of Goryeo, but what benefits did Goryeo gain?"
Park Sung-sung shook his head dismissively, saying as he walked forward, "It's different, it's different. The Ming Dynasty is a superior nation in the Central Plains, how can it be compared to those barbarians like the Yuan Dynasty?"
At this point, Park Sung-sung suddenly stopped, looked Park Deok-hwan suspiciously, and asked, "Didn't you propose the terms of the 'Ming-Gao Friendship Treaty' signed with Dae-Ming?"
Park Deok-hwan became even angrier.
I am a special envoy appointed by the King, and my heart is naturally with Goryeo. I have already failed the King and the people by being forced to sign that treaty, so how could I possibly propose so many treaties that are humiliating and detrimental to the country?
Seeing Park Deok-hwan's face contort and become terrifying in the candlelight, Park Sung-sung couldn't help but snort again, saying, "Come to think of it, how could someone as short-sighted as you possibly understand what the 'Ming-Goryeo Friendship Treaty' means for Goryeo?"
Park Deok-hwan was even angrier and said in a low voice, "That so-called friendship treaty means that Goryeo will be a country within a country, that the people of Goryeo will be inferior to the people of Ming from now on, and that all the officials of Goryeo will be inferior to the officials of Ming!"
However, Park Sung-sung just sneered and said, "Ignorant! Foolish!"
"Goryeo is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. It is a great honor for Goryeo for the Ming Dynasty to set up an embassy in Gaegyeong. How can we talk about a country within a country?"
"Moreover, the people of the Celestial Empire are taught by the Sage. If they could come to my Goryeo, they would surely be able to spread the Sage's teachings and allow the people of Goryeo to also receive the grace of Heaven. How can you say that the people of Goryeo will be inferior to the Ming people from now on?"
"As for the Ming Dynasty wanting to station an army in Gaegyeong... actually, I would prefer that the Ming Dynasty station more troops in Goryeo."
Park Deok-hwan stared at Park Sung-sung, speechless, feeling that he could never understand Park Sung-sung's thinking. Park Sung-sung smiled slightly and said, "With the Ming army stationed here, would the Yuan and Japanese dare to invade our Goryeo territory?"
In the time it takes to exchange a few words, the two of them have already passed through the city gate and officially entered Dengzhou City.
The city of Dengzhou before us can be described as a huge construction site, with countless soldiers carrying long swords and whips driving wave after wave of "Japanese pirates" dressed as prisoners to work tirelessly.
Park Sung-sung stared intently at the prison uniforms worn by the "Japanese pirates," and saw a black circle on the back with the character "囚" (prisoner) written inside, and a black circle on the front with the character "倭" (Japanese pirate).
Beside these "Japanese pirates" were some convicts also wearing prison uniforms, except that their uniforms only had the character "囚" (prisoner) on the back and not the character "倭" (Japanese pirate) on the front.
Aside from slight differences in their prison uniforms, the treatment of the two groups of laborers was vastly different.
Those laborers whose prison uniforms bore the character "倭" (Japanese) were frequently beaten and verbally abused, and the soldiers in charge of overseeing them seemed completely indifferent to their lives. In contrast, those laborers whose prison uniforms did not bear the character "倭" were rarely beaten or verbally abused.
"These are all Japanese pirates."
Park Sung-sung said with a sigh, "The Japanese pirates who roamed the seas could only be reduced to hard labor in Dengzhou Prefecture. The Ming Dynasty is truly a celestial empire."
Park Deok-hwan really wanted to ask Park Sung-sung, "Where the hell did you get the idea that these people are Japanese pirates?"
Didn't you see that they looked almost identical to those laborers next to them who didn't have the character "倭" (Japanese) in their names?
Just as Park Deok-hwan was secretly grumbling to himself, Park Sung-sung said excitedly, "Let's go, let's go pay our respects to the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies you mentioned."