GBP Chapter 1079 Your Excellency, if you were us, would you dare to have any other thoughts?
Chapter 1079 Your Excellency, if you were us, would you dare to have any other thoughts?
Park Sung-sung pricked up his ears, ready to hear what kind of nonsense Manlahafis was trying to spout.
“Since this envoy entered the territory of the Ming Dynasty, I have heard that Saiyin Hong has raised the banner of ‘cleansing the emperor’s inner circle’.”
"It is said that the purpose is to eliminate the treacherous and wicked people around the Ming emperor."
Park Sung-sung shivered involuntarily.
A treacherous villain?
Who?
You dare say such things? I wouldn't dare even listen to them!
Manlahafis picked up his teacup again, took a sip, and continued, "This reminds me of the saying, 'Don't say the stone man has only one eye.' What do you think, Your Excellency?"
Park Sung-sung chuckled dryly twice and said, "It's just a rumor. There are even such rumors in the capital of Ming, but I'm afraid they can't be taken seriously."
After a slight pause, Park Sung-sung looked at Manlahafis again and tentatively asked, "What does Your Excellency mean?"
Manlahafis smiled, looked around, and said, "Why doesn't your esteemed envoy even have a maidservant here?"
"However, this is also good, as it makes it easier for me and your envoy to have a heart-to-heart talk."
Manlahafis went straight to the point, saying, "Back then, the Yuan Dynasty was so powerful that even my Khan had to give them a wide berth."
"Just because of the saying, 'Don't say that the stone man has only one eye, it can stir up the Yellow River and cause the world to rebel,' the Yuan Dynasty fell into turmoil until Emperor Huizong fled north and the Yuan lost its power."
"Now, the talk of 'purging the emperor's inner circle' is circulating again in the Ming Dynasty. What does Your Excellency think of this?"
Park Sung-sung almost cursed out Malahafis.
What the hell do you think, envoy?
I think it's not very good!
And what's this about your Great Khan having to give the Yuan Dynasty a wide berth?
So, your Khan had to avoid the Hu Yuan three-tenths of the way, but the Ming Dynasty wiped out the Hu Yuan, so your Khan doesn't have to avoid the Ming six-tenths of the way anymore?
Where do you get the nerve to spout such shameless nonsense?!
Could it be that Liang Cuiping, whom the Prince Consort often talks about, gave you such courage?
The key question is, could you please refrain from spouting this nonsense here?
You want to die, but I don't!
While inwardly cursing Manlahafis for being so inhuman, Park Sung-sung said with a forced smile, "Then what does Your Excellency think?"
Instead of directly answering Park Sung-sung's question, Manlahafis looked at Park Sung-sung and asked, "I have also heard that Goryeo, Japan, Siam, Annam and other countries are now sending young men to Ming as laborers, and are also selling their cattle, sheep, iron and steel ores and even grain to Ming at low prices?"
Park Sung-sung's heart stirred, and he deliberately sighed softly, saying, "Since Your Excellency has already heard about it, then I have nothing to hide."
“That’s right. All of us from various vassal states must send our young and strong men to the Ming Dynasty to work as laborers, building roads and mining for the Ming Dynasty, just to fill our stomachs, and incidentally to earn those ten coins of wages.”
"As for our domestic warhorses, cattle, sheep, iron ore, and even grain, they are indeed as your envoy said, and will be sold to the Ming Dynasty at a low price."
“It’s not that we don’t want to sell at a high price, but our vassal states also need to buy tea, silk, ironware, and even armor and weapons from the Ming Dynasty, and the market only accepts paper money.”
"In order to earn some money, we have no choice but to accept the market price and sell our warhorses, cattle and sheep at low prices."
After a slight pause, Park Sung-sung added, "Speaking of wages, I must remind you that even if the young men of the Ming Dynasty do the same work as us from the various vassal states, they still earn sixty wen a day."
“Even those prisoners who have been exiled for breaking the law have far better meals than the able-bodied men of our various domains.”
"Moreover, the young and strong in the Ming Dynasty only work for four hours a day, and they need to rest for two days every five days."
“We young men and strong men from various vassal states have no rest all year round, and we have to work for five hours every day.”
“The prisoners of the Ming Dynasty work for half an hour less than the able-bodied men of our various vassal states.”
"I have often heard people say that the young men of our various vassal states are not as good as prisoners in the Ming Dynasty."
"..."
Park Sung-sung fabricated a whole bunch of stories, but they were nine parts truth mixed with one part falsehood, and some facts were reversed.
For example, the treatment of young men in the Ming Dynasty was real; whether it was the daily wage of sixty coins or the three meals a day, these were all real.
In the Ming Dynasty, the working hours of prisoners were actually divided according to their crimes. Those who committed minor crimes only had to work for four and a half hours, while those who committed serious crimes had to work for a full six hours.
Similarly, it is true that the able-bodied men of each vassal state had to work for five hours every day, and it is also true that their meals were worse than those of the able-bodied men of the Ming Dynasty.
However, compared to the prisoners, the able-bodied men of each domain were still able to take a day off every fifteen days, and their food was almost the same as that of the prisoners.
The main difference lies in where the construction site is located.
The food at the Liaodong construction site was slightly worse, while the food in Dengzhou Prefecture was relatively better.
However, since Manlahafis had never been to the construction site, he naturally couldn't discern the truth or falsehood in Park Sung-sung's words.
Of course, whether Park Sung-sung's words were true or false didn't really make much difference to Manlahafis.
As long as Park Sung-sung's resentment towards the Ming Dynasty is genuine, that's fine.
Manlahafis smiled and said, "When I was studying, I read in a book, 'If a ruler treats his subjects like his hands and feet, then the subjects will treat the ruler like their heart and soul; if a ruler treats his subjects like dogs and horses, then the subjects will treat the ruler like a fellow countryman; if a ruler treats his subjects like dirt and weeds, then the subjects will treat the ruler like an enemy.' Now that the Ming Dynasty treats the young men of the various vassal states in this way, do the envoys of the various vassal states not harbor the slightest resentment?"
Park Sung-sung quietly rolled his eyes.
Are you complaining?
Why should there be complaints?
If the Ming Dynasty were to pay the young men of each of the vassal states sixty cash for their labor, how much would we be entitled to?
It is the young and strong men of the various vassal states who suffer, what does it have to do with us vassal envoys?
You should know that I, sir, am also a registered resident of the Ming Dynasty!
Although it takes three generations before one can be registered as a Han citizen, it is still far beyond what a barbarian without a Ming Dynasty household registration can compare to!
Park Sung-sung inwardly cursed, but forced a look of sorrow on his face and said, "Since you've brought it up, I'll speak frankly."
“Complaints are actually in the hearts of every foreign envoy.”
"But has Your Excellency heard of the story of the Iwami Ginzan in Japan? Have you heard of the story of the Japanese being steamed in Dengzhou?"
"Simply because the Japanese pirates were killing and plundering the people of the Ming Dynasty, the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty and his son-in-law Yang led a vast and overwhelming fleet on a expedition to Japan."
"They then demanded tens of millions of taels of silver in compensation."
"We ordered Japan to punish the samurai who killed and plundered Ming people."
"How could Japan, a small country with a small population, possibly come up with tens of millions of taels of silver?"
"There was no other way but to pay it off in installments over several decades, with interest payments alone amounting to several million taels of silver each year."
"Afterwards, in order to quell the anger of His Highness the Crown Prince of Ming and Prince Consort Yang, the King of Japan ordered the surrender of the samurai who had killed and plundered the Ming people, and sent them to the outskirts of Dengzhou City to be steamed over a low flame."
"The entire steaming process was personally supervised by Japanese envoys."
"Your Excellency, if you were in our shoes, would you dare to harbor any other thoughts?"