pdf-ebookys Chapter 1002 Offering oneself up for slaughter
Chapter 1002 Offering oneself up for slaughter
Another small meeting was held in the palace.
"That's just how things are."
"Wang Zhuan rushed to be slaughtered."
Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "Even if we can't get one or two million laborers, getting one hundred thousand or two hundred thousand shouldn't be a problem."
Emperor Zhu, along with black sesame dumplings, Li Shanchang, and Liu Bowen, were all a bit bewildered.
The main issue is that this matter deviated somewhat from Li Shanchang's original plan.
According to Li Shanchang's original plan, the plan was to gradually drain the young women of Goryeo through the "carrying rice to exchange for concubines" scheme.
This step was not only to ensure the supply of laborers in Liaodong.
More importantly, it gradually depletes the population of South Korea.
To put it bluntly, a vassal state with only five million people is clearly more reassuring to the Ming Dynasty than a vassal state with ten million people.
That includes the short and stocky side as well.
Li Shanchang's recent plans all revolve around how to gradually drain the population of these vassal states.
But who could have imagined that, just because Chen Li and Ming Sheng were so inhuman, that idiot Wang Zhuan would actually offer to send laborers to the Ming Dynasty?
Li Shanchang couldn't help but purse his lips and said, "If only those short and ugly kids could be as sensible as Koreans."
Liu Bowen stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "It's not like a Korean can become sensible overnight."
"The main cause of this trouble is the Marquis of Guide and the Marquis of Guiyi."
"If we sent them to Japan, I reckon even the shorty would become as sensible as the Korean."
Yang Shaofeng looked at Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen with a face full of disdain.
What is this called?
Did they catch Chen Li and Ming Sheng fleecing them?
Or are they using Chen Li and Ming Sheng to fleece the Koreans and shorty?
Emperor Zhu curled his finger and tapped the table lightly, then looked at Li Shanchang and asked, "Mr. Shanchang, what do you think?"
Li Shanchang bowed to Emperor Zhu and said, "Your Majesty, I believe we can grant the Koreans' request."
"And the Koreans have to be paid wages."
"No matter how many laborers the Koreans send, they should still be paid, and they should be paid twelve coins a day."
Yang Shaofeng immediately became alert.
As everyone knows, there were a few officials in the Ming Dynasty court who dared to plead poverty in front of Lao Deng.
One was Yang Siyi, the Minister of Revenue who was in charge of the national treasury.
"The national treasury is empty."
"No money."
These two sentences are Yang Siyi's usual catchphrases.
Unless it's something that will benefit Yang Siyi, he will loudly complain about being poor whenever money is mentioned.
Because it was so difficult to get money out of Yang Siyi, Lao Deng sometimes wished he could kill Yang Siyi.
But when he thought about how the national treasury needed a stingy minister like Yang Siyi, Lao Deng had to suppress his anger.
The other person who dared to complain about being poor in front of Lao Deng was Li Shanchang.
Moreover, Li Shanchang was even more adept at feigning poverty than Yang Siyi.
At least Yang Siyi would only cry "the national treasury is empty" when the Zhu Emperor asked for money, but that old scoundrel Li Shanchang would cry poverty almost anytime, anywhere, and would cry poverty for any kind of messy, trivial matter.
"We don't have enough manpower."
"There is a shortage of food and supplies."
"The national treasury has no surplus grain."
"..."
Old Deng was so angry that he cursed Li Shanchang, saying he didn't seem like a Huaixi native, but rather like a stingy old man from Shanxi.
Now look what's happened! This old miser is actually shouting that he wants to pay the Koreans their wages, and that he wants to pay them twelve coins a month.
Just as Yang Shaofeng was mentally ranting, Li Shanchang stroked his beard and said, "It's the same as before. These wages won't be paid directly to the laborers. Instead, they will be settled by the national treasury and the Bangzi Hucao."
"However, a government office in the Ming Dynasty needs to step in and sign a contract with the Korean laborers, stipulating what kind of work they will do and how much work they will do. At the same time, it should also be stated that the Ming Dynasty will provide for their clothing, food, housing, and transportation, specify their daily wages, the method of wage settlement, and whether they will have the opportunity to buy property in the Ming Dynasty or obtain Ming Dynasty household registration if they perform well."
"At the very least, we must let the Korean laborers know that the Ming Dynasty has paid them every penny of their wages."
"We must never let anyone say that our Great Ming Dynasty didn't pay the Koreans their wages."
"..."
Li Shanchang's mouth opened and closed, while Yang Shaofeng simply rolled his eyes.
Look, it has to be Old Li. No matter how insidious, vicious, or despicable the tricks are, as long as he sees them once, this old scoundrel can learn them on the spot and even improve them.
It's even more bizarre than the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth and the Lesser Formless Skill.
As for Emperor Zhu?
When Lao Deng heard Li Shanchang mention the contract, he stroked his beard and laughed.
Signing contracts with South Korean laborers, specifying the amount of wages and the method of settlement, is a clear indication that they are determined to plant a thorn in the side of South Korean laborers.
Unless the Korean farmer Cao can pay the workers' families every penny of their wages.
The question is, is it possible that Bangzihu Cao wouldn't take a single penny?
The officials of the Ming Dynasty were scoundrels, so how can the officials of the Koreans be as incorruptible as water?
A laborer's daily wage is twelve coins, so 100,000 laborers would earn 1,200 strings of cash a day, which would amount to more than 400,000 strings of cash a year.
Once the officials of the Bangzi Hucao (a local government agency) have handled it, the 400,000 guan might become 300,000 or even 200,000 guan.
The Korean laborers were furious when their wages were inexplicably reduced by a large margin. Although they dared not speak out, they were still angry inside.
Who knows, they might cause a big commotion someday.
Emperor Zhu inwardly marveled at Li Shanchang's ruthlessness, but Li Shanchang continued, "Besides the matter of the contract, I also suggest that the settlement cycle between the Ministry of Revenue and the Bangzi Revenue Office be extended to one year."
"At least until the settlement, this money was in the Ming Dynasty's national treasury."
"If there is any need, the Ming Dynasty can use this money first, as long as it is reimbursed afterwards."
Emperor Zhu and Liu Bowen agreed with Li Shanchang.
Yang Shaofeng looked at Li Shanchang with a completely bewildered expression.
Do you want to listen to what you are saying?
You damn Ming native, is this high-end cash pool game something you should be playing?
No.
Your Great Ming Dynasty doesn't have any decent financial products right now!
Suddenly, Heizhi Tangyuan looked at Yang Shaofeng and said, "Brother-in-law, if Wang Zhuan can really bring in 100,000 or 200,000 laborers, what will happen to Chen Li and Ming Sheng?"
Yang Shaofeng glanced at Lao Deng, then at Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen, and suddenly felt like making things difficult for Lao Deng, Heizhima Tangyuan, and those two old scoundrels, Li Shanchang and Wen Bowen.
Weren't you plotting against me before?
This time, I'm going to throw you an even more disgusting question!
Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "It's not just Chen Li and Ming Sheng."
"Your Highness, please don't forget that there is also Marquis Chongli, Liu Dingbei, who was originally supposed to return to the northern desert, but instead went to Liaodong halfway there, intending to follow Your Highness to the Wolf-Sealing Mountain."
"The Marquis of Chongli has now followed His Highness back to the capital."