pdf-ebookys Chapter 436 A Good Thing?
Chapter 436 A Good Thing?
A good thing?
In Park Sung-sung's view, the fact that the Ming Dynasty was willing to accept some Goryeo laborers and acknowledge Goryeo's vassal status was already a great thing.
Just like now, you, Prince Consort Yang, have swindled some money from Goryeo. Goryeo has accepted the swindle, and I am willing to cooperate with you in this performance, guaranteeing that I can portray the shrewd and antagonistic Goryeo leader in an authentic manner.
As for the rest... we don't need it, we really don't need it.
Yang Shaofeng blatantly ignored the pain hidden deep in Park Sung-sung's eyes.
I am the son-in-law of the Ming Dynasty.
The interests of the Ming Dynasty and its people must be considered.
The fate of the Koreans is none of my concern.
Yang Shaofeng smiled and pushed a thick stack of books next to him toward Park Sung-sung.
"This is the complete version of the Hongwu Dictionary."
"Led by Kong Xixue, son of the last Duke Yansheng Kong Kejian, more than a thousand Confucian scholars were mobilized to compile it over a period of three years."
"The book consists of twelve volumes and contains more than 48,000 Chinese characters."
“Each character is marked with the Hongwu Zhengyun and Qieyun, and can be searched by radical, rhyme and tone.”
"To put it simply, as long as you have studied the simplified version of the Hongwu Zhengyun, you can use the Hongwu Dictionary."
Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "With this set of books, Korean students will no longer have any problems with not being able to speak Chinese, right?"
As Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Park Sung-sung's heart skipped a beat.
Is this a good thing?
Ah.
This is a direct dig at himself!
As a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, Goryeo sent scholars to participate in the Ming imperial examinations who could not speak Chinese. Have you fulfilled your responsibilities as a vassal state?
The words weren't spoken directly, but the meaning was already perfectly clear.
With a broad smile, Park Sung-sung looked at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "What does Your Highness mean?"
Yang Shaofeng smiled and pointed to the set of "Hongwu Dictionary" on the table, saying, "This set is a gift from me to Vice Envoy Park."
"In the future, merchants from all countries can buy freely in the market."
"Only those who can write Chinese characters and speak Chinese can remain in the Ming Dynasty as officials."
"Officials in the Ming Dynasty, though they were tired, were also poor."
Yang Shaofeng suddenly felt that something was wrong.
Damn it, being an official in the Ming Dynasty was a bit tiring and a bit poor.
Screw it.
It's somewhat understandable to say that officials in the capital were overworked, after all, they had to deal with Zhu Chongba, a workaholic. Every morning they had to prepare for the morning court session, and after the court session they still had to do various office work. Unpaid overtime was not uncommon.
But what's the point of local officials being overworked?
Of the 365 days in a year, officials spend at least 200 days in a state of "cease litigation," meaning they do not accept complaints from the people.
The truly busy times are spring planting and autumn harvest.
If you encounter an official with no conscience, you can have a junior official take over the work of spring plowing and autumn harvest.
tired?
Tired my ass!
As for saying they're a bit poor, that's pure nonsense.
No one can be poor except the officials.
Unless the officials prefer to pursue something more "refined".
If one simply wanted to eat better, the salary given by Emperor Zhu, while not guaranteeing delicacies every day, would at least ensure meat at every meal.
Perhaps the only one who is truly exhausted and poor is myself?
While Yang Shaofeng was making random complaints in his mind, he said to Park Sung-sung, "Being a little tired and poor isn't all bad."
"Let's not even talk about toughening their minds and bodies."
"Even if it's just a promotion of three ranks upon returning to one's fiefdom, that's still a real benefit, isn't it?"
Park Sung-sung quickly cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness is right."
The so-called "returning to the vassal state and being promoted three ranks" means that if someone could serve as a registrar of the ninth rank in the Ming Dynasty, they could at least serve as a county magistrate of the seventh rank after returning to their vassal state.
In reality, for the scholars from the various vassal states who were able to remain in the Ming Dynasty to serve as officials, returning to their vassal states and being promoted three ranks was only a negligible benefit.
Because these people often don't just get promoted three levels after they go back, but they might get promoted several levels in a row.
More importantly, having served as an official in the Ming Dynasty would raise the upper limit of their potential to serve as officials in their respective vassal states.
An official who might have originally been limited to the fifth rank could potentially reach the first rank in the future simply because of his experience serving in the Ming Dynasty.
In addition, a network of personal connections is an invisible but very real benefit.
This involves not only the relationships between officials serving in the Ming Dynasty, but also their relationships with other Ming Dynasty officials.
More importantly, experience in being an official.
Is the difficulty of governing a county in the Ming Dynasty the same as the difficulty of governing a county in a vassal state?
Therefore, Jin Tao and the other two are truly ungrateful.
They gave up countless benefits from the Ming Dynasty, yet there were still pro-Yuan forces within Goryeo itself.
Park Sung-sung, with a headache, said, "It is Kim Tao and the others who have failed to live up to His Majesty's grace. Your humble servant..."
Before Park Sung-sung could finish speaking, Yang Shaofeng waved his hand with a smile.
It's certain that Jin Tao and his two companions will be unlucky.
Whether they were pro-Ming or pro-Yuan, they would all inevitably dislike Jin Tao and his two companions.
But for the Ming Dynasty, it was a good thing that Jin Tao and the other two were unlucky.
If they don't suffer misfortune, how can the long-distance livestock breeding industry of the Ming Dynasty develop?
Only when they are down on their luck will they remember all the good things about the Ming Dynasty.
There's a famous saying in female-oriented novels: "The deceased 'white moonlight' is invincible."
After Jin Tao and his two companions fall on hard times, Daming will become their cherished memory.
They would never have the chance to return to the Ming Dynasty, which was like a lost love to the three of them.
Therefore, the three of them will become the most steadfast guides in the future.
They will find Goryeo unpleasant and will miss all the good things about the Ming Dynasty.
They might even reminisce about the days when they joined the scholars of the Ming Dynasty in vehemently criticizing Emperor Zhu.
They would feel how open and tolerant the Ming Dynasty was.
Even if some scholars were stripped of their academic titles because they were implicated in the Plowshare Case, the Blank Seal Case, or for other messy reasons.
They will only remember that those scholars went too far.
They might even reminisce about Emperor Zhu's ruthlessness, believing that this was an essential quality of a wise and virtuous ruler.
Therefore, Jin Tao and the other two are bound to be in trouble.
Anyone who dares to prevent them from suffering must suffer even more misfortune than them.
Yang Shaofeng smiled and said to Park Sung-sung, "What's past is past."
"The three of them were unwilling to stay in the Ming Dynasty to serve as officials. There was no way to force them, after all, everyone has their own ambitions."
"If they are willing to spread education after returning to Goryeo, it may not be a bad thing."
"Wouldn't it be more meaningful to let more people accept the teachings of the sage than to stay in the Ming Dynasty and serve as an official?"
After hearing Yang Shaofeng's words, Park Sung-sung was even more confused.
Yang Shaofeng did not continue talking about Jin Tao and the other two.
As the saying goes, tea should be poured to seven-tenths full, and words should be spoken to three-tenths full. In officialdom, the most taboo thing to say is to reveal everything.
Yang Shaofeng continued, "We've gone off on a tangent."
"The main reason I summoned Vice Envoy Park is for this set of the Hongwu Dictionary."