1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2654
The only thing that made the young officials feel relieved was that compared to the kimchi dishes that filled half a table when they were entertained by An Wenbo in Jeju Island, the state banquet was of a much higher grade. The king of North Korea did not insist on using poor North Korean dishes However, the familiar Haihan flavor has become the protagonist of the banquet, and you can even choose several famous wines from Haihan to accompany the meal.

Of course, this kind of diplomatic occasion should not let go of booze. The young officials only toasted a few glasses of wine, trying to keep their heads clear, and waited for Li Yi to introduce the topic.

After drinking for three rounds, Li Yiping retreated from the silk and bamboo team and other people in the banquet hall. Seeing this, everyone knew that Li Yi was about to start talking about business, so they silently put down their chopsticks and entered a state of sitting upright.

Li Yan said in a deep voice: "Two months ago, your country sent a message, informing that it will arrange for a mission to visit our country. Taking this opportunity, the two sides can also discuss some issues of common concern, and maintain the continuity of our two countries. Since then, the good relationship has been maintained. The king has already ordered all the yamen of the imperial court to make relevant preparations, and the talks can start tomorrow."

After Li Yan made a head start, he introduced to the Haihan officials the lineup of the North Korean side participating in the talks, including civil and military officials from the Ui-government, Sixianfu, Sijianyuan, Liucao Yamen, Wujunying, Neisanting, etc. .

In addition, or considering the principle of level reciprocity, Li Yi will not personally participate in the specific talks, but has appointed the young prince Li Bai as the person in charge of the talks on the North Korean side.

This young son should be younger than Hai Han and others. Although he looks quite stable, he seems to have never heard of him participating in foreign affairs activities independently before. I think the purpose of Li Yi's arrangement is to It is planned to let the son start to establish external influence.

However, there are many important issues involved in the negotiations, and the person who is really at the helm of this process is of course not the eldest son Li Bai, but the current political leader Park Hongye.

The position of leader Yizheng in the Joseon court is equivalent to that of the chief minister of the Ming cabinet. Cui Mingji, who launched a court coup in the early years to overthrow the former king Li Ji, was the leader of the Ui government at that time.After Li Xun ascended the throne, he deposed Cui Mingji, promoted his old rival Kim Sang-heon to take over the post of political leader, and arranged for his confidant Park Hong-ye to be Kim Sang-heon's deputy.

Park Hongye was one of the few civil servants who followed Li Yi to study in Sanya, and later followed him back to Seoul to seize power. Paved the way for him to rise to the top.

Jin Shangxian was already old, and Li Yan used him more for the purpose of stabilizing the government, so he didn't stay in the position of leading the government for a few years, and returned home at the age of seventy.However, Park Hongye's seniority in the court is too low, and it will inevitably attract criticism if he is to be corrected. Therefore, the position of leader of the government has been vacant since Kim Sangheon left office.

In fact, before Jin Shangxian retired, Park Hongye was already a powerful figure in the court. Over the years, he had been conscientiously assisting Li Yi, handling many difficult affairs, and thus gained Li Yi's full trust.There are many issues closely related to the future development of North Korea in the talks with the Haihan Mission, and it is necessary to have a senior official like him who understands the situation in various fields of North Korea.

But to be serious, the lineup of the Haihan Mission is undoubtedly more important. There are as many as six people from the second generation of Chuan with a prominent background, and there is also Zhu Zian with a background of the Ming Dynasty royal family.And Fu Li, as the Haihan official who knew the situation of North Korea best, naturally had to participate in the whole process as an advisor.

After the routine reception banquet was over, all the members of the mission left the palace and came to the residence prepared by Fu Li for them.

As Fu Li said before, there is not much difference between Seoul and Haihan domestic cities. It is reflected in the living environment, that is, all the daily necessities here are from Haihan. There is not much difference in any government-run guest house they have lived in in other big cities in China.Even the service staff serving them all have a Haihan accent.

Of course, to build such a guest house in a foreign country that reproduces the domestic environment, the cost must be staggering. During the opening period, not many people should be able to afford the charging standard here.

Fu Li didn't arrange for them to stay and finish the job, but called everyone together and held a temporary meeting, the content of which was of course the diplomatic talks that would start the next day.

"According to the prior arrangements, the mission's activities in Seoul are divided into three parts. One is to hold talks with North Korean officials to discuss some topics that have been drafted. The second is to communicate with local people, including activities held in the name of the mission. Banquets, public open days of the fleet, and some cultural activities. The third is the replacement and rotation of personnel stationed in North Korea, and work handover."

Fu Li succinctly listed the tasks of the mission, and then asked Shi Chengwu and others to explain the mission's preparations for these matters.

Zhu Zian wanted to consciously avoid suspicion, but Shi Chengwu asked him to stay and listen in. By the way, he made a summary of the meeting. Zhu Zian was already curious about the mission of the mission, so he no longer declined immediately.

The key task of the mission's visit to the DPRK is of course the part that needs to be negotiated with the DPRK officials.Haihan has some new requirements for the current stage of trade, culture, immigration and other fields between the two countries, which requires the cooperation of the DPRK.Of course, the benefits are not exclusive to Haihan, and the North Koreans will also get some conditions they have always wanted to achieve.

For example, North Korea wanted the smelting industry in the Taedong River Basin to expand its production scale and upgrade its technology many years ago, so that the local area can produce high-quality steel instead of only producing cheap pig iron.The Haihan Mission will bring good news to the North Koreans. In the future, the Taedong River will produce high-quality steel, and the scale of production capacity will soon expand to more than ten times the current level.

Of course, this kind of technical support is not given in vain. More than [-]% of the steel for the expansion will be supplied to Haihan at cost price, and the rest will be reserved for North Korea to decide on its own use.

The reason for such an arrangement is mainly because Haihan’s plan to move the capital will require a large amount of steel, and Haihan’s smelting center is located in the remote Changhua County of Hainan Island, and the voyage to Hangzhou Bay is several times farther than North Korea. Many, considering the transportation cost, the relevant departments believe that it is more cost-effective to obtain steel from North Korea.

Of course, the premise is to upgrade the coal-iron complex located in the lower reaches of the Datong River to ensure that the local steel production capacity can be supplied to the Hangzhou area.

(End of this chapter)