Emperor Ming Dynasty

Although Japan and North Korea are both vassal states of Ming Dynasty, they are essentially the most similar to Ming Dynasty, and North Korea is the one with a higher degree of feudalism.

The official system, year number, etiquette (law of the Ming Dynasty) are the same as the Ming Dynasty, just like a small Ming Dynasty.

It is precisely because of this that under the Confucian Huayi worldview, North Korea is quite complacent and feels that it is the second country in the world.

As for Japan, it's just imitating others and learning a little superficially.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, perhaps in the eyes of future generations, the imperial power did not go to the countryside, and the centralization of power did not live up to the name
But everything is afraid of comparison.

Whether it's North Korea or Japan, or Western Europe or Northern Europe, ordinary people don't have surnames at all, they can only have first names.

In China, in the middle and late Western Han Dynasty, that is, during the period of Emperor Xuan and Emperor Yuan, Confucianism flourished, and ordinary people had surnames.

With a surname, you can collect taxes accurately and exploit the demographic dividend, which is the foundation of centralization.

During Zhu Yuanzhang's period, the first census recognized by historians was started, and the household registration system, that is, the household registration book, was established, which lasted until the 21st century.

In other words, compared with the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, the control over folks in the Ming and Qing Dynasties reached a historical peak.

However, limited by the influence of productivity and financial factors, civil power had to be shared with the gentry, but it was able to strangle their lifeblood—the imperial examination.

If it is stated that the imperial power did not go to the countryside in the Qing Dynasty, then it would not want to do so. Then in the Tang and Song Dynasties, the imperial power at most controlled the county towns, and it was impossible to go down at all.

In fact, although North Korea learned from the Ming Dynasty, its domestic system was the same as that of the Song Dynasty, which belonged to the king and the nobles.

Scholar-bureaucrats are not necessarily nobles, but nobles must be scholar-bureaucrats.

In the countryside of the Ming Dynasty, the gentry, nobles and the court jointly ruled the world, while in North Korea, there were two classes of nobles, academies, and temples, which divided the world into three parts.

The aristocrats control power, the academies control public opinion, and the temples control ideas. If the three report to the group, the yamen will naturally become a puppet.

The reason why the three are so arrogant is that they have tax-free rights, occupy land, bully the weak, and accommodate bankrupt farmers as tenants.

The Joseon Dynasty was also because of the intertwined roots of the three among the people. Except for the frequent rebellion of Hamgyong Province due to discrimination, the rest of the villages were extremely stable.

No, the Song merchants and Wan merchants got the order from the king of Yue to ask for the population of farmers, and began to return to their hometowns one after another, thinking about it.

Xia Hehou sat on the donkey cart with a big belly, his face full of contemplation, the donkey was struggling to pull and pull, and a few servants guarded him, and sometimes he had to push and pull the donkey when it came uphill.

North Korea's finances are not rich, so the repairs of official roads are maintained by local nobles. After all, if the king doesn't leave, your family has to travel, right?

The imperial court was small and poor, with few products and very few horses, so donkeys, mules, and ox carts were mostly used for transportation among the people.

Of course, bamboo sedan chairs carried by two people are also popular, but only for short distances.

Pedestrians on the road noticed the majesty of the donkey cart, and they all couldn't dodge it, their eyes were full of fear.

"Hmm—" The donkey cart jolted, Xia Hehou was startled, and recovered from his closed eyes.

"what happened?"

"Master, it's a young man running out of the city, riding a fine horse." The servant hurriedly reported.

"In Kaesong, I'm afraid it's the son of the left behind." Xia Hehou said hurriedly, with a look of panic on his face: "Didn't disturb him!"

"No, the horse walks very fast and doesn't care about us."

It's a pity that as soon as the words were finished, there was a burst of dust. A young man was riding on a horse and said condescendingly:
"Master Xia, are you back from Seoul?"

"My lord, you are being polite. I know this is coming back from Seoul, and I just joined the general meeting."

Xia Hehou said respectfully, mentioning the Chamber of Commerce in his words.

Songshang came from Kaesong, and was deeply rooted and powerful in the local area. He also sponsored King Xiaozong Li Hao's ascension to the throne, so he became more and more prosperous.

The young man was stunned, and said with a worried expression: "I owe some money."

"This means, young man, take it and spend it!"

Xia Hehou smiled slightly, took out ten silver coins from his bosom, wrapped them in his purse, and presented them carefully, lifting them above his head.

"Ming Qian? I will pay you back." The young man showed a smile, and after taking the money, he rode away.

"Let's go!" Xia Hehou heaved a sigh of relief, with a look of pain on his face, and got back on the donkey cart.

Ten silver dollars is nothing in Ming Dynasty, but in North Korea where money is expensive and food is cheap, it is a lot of money.

But there is no way, although he is also a nobleman of the two classes in name, but he donated a lot of property when King Hyojong ascended the throne in Pyongyang, and entered the two classes as a pariah.

This is the selling of officials and nobles that had to start during the Japanese Invasion of Imjin. Later, whenever there was a financial crisis, North Korea would sell officials on a large scale, making middlemen and handicraftsmen step into two classes of nobles.

In the 19th century, the two classes of nobles even accounted for [-]% to [-]% of the population, and the finances were close to collapse.

Therefore, as a newcomer to the second class, even if Xia Hehou had money, he would not dare to mess with the young master who was left behind.

Entering the city in a hurry, the gatekeeper looked at Master Xia's outfit, and didn't dare to ask for money, so he let him go.

Kaesong was the capital of the Goryeo period for 600 years. It is also the place where the specialty Korean ginseng is located. Today it is also one of the three capitals.

After going around and returning home, after resting for a while, I had to invite.

An invitation from the Pine Merchant Guild.

Song merchants, like Huizhou merchants and Shanxi merchants in the Ming Dynasty, belonged to loose but close fellowship chambers of commerce, monopolizing the sale of Korean ginseng.

Basically, it is a battle between members of the Arbitration Chamber of Commerce, and at the same time they are unanimously competing for interests.

When they came to Huishou's home, dozens of rich and powerful businessmen gathered, and everyone sat down separately, discussing endlessly.

Xia Hehou sat down and listened with pricked ears.

"This year's tribute to the Celestial Dynasty, the [-] stone grain, should be revealed by Ping'an Road and Xianjing..."

"For the 2 yuan gift, it is customary for His Royal Highness to distribute half of the salary and the other half for the construction of Gyeongbokgung Palace and Mausoleum..."

"That's the job of the merchants in Taiwan. They are the best at currying favor with the prime ministers."

"Not necessarily, we can also fight for it, one thing is one point."

The so-called tribute refers to the tributary treaty between the Ming and the dynasties, in which North Korea paid 2 stone grains as a tribute, and the Ming Dynasty gave [-] yuan in money.

Nowadays, the price of rice in North Korea is expensive and rice is cheap, and one silver dollar can buy three to four stones of rice. This tribute is completely affordable for North Korea.

But at that time, North Korea's annual fiscal revenue was only 20 shi, and even if it lost [-] to [-] shi of rice, it was still uncomfortable.

As a result, the merchants were in bad luck, and the court went all out, and every two merchants made up for the loss of [-] to [-] shi of grain.

The imperial court received 2 yuan in silver dollars, which made up for the lack of gold and silver, and occasionally earned a little.

In fact, many officials wanted to give the [-] shi tribute to the merchants, but the three major chambers of commerce, Songshang, Jingshang, and Wanshang tried their best to persuade them to avoid it.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man came slowly.

As soon as he arrived, everyone stood up and saluted respectfully.

He is Songshang Dafang, Zhao An, who was recommended by merchants and has a long-standing prestige.

Especially in Pyongyang that year, he resisted all opinions and asked Songshang to contribute 1 stone grains and [-] taels of silver. He supported Li Hao, who was the eldest son at the time, to ascend the throne, which can be said to have benefited Songshang endlessly.

"Everyone, everyone must know about the matter of Yongzong Island. The Yue King of the Celestial Dynasty is about to take over. Although it is a poor and cold place like Ezo, it is still a country after all."

Zhao An said with a smile on his face: "The king of Yue said that every man and woman will be given two silver dollars, which is a huge amount."

"In addition, the Yue State is newly built, whether it is rice or iron, it is particularly scarce. If we take the lead, we will be able to make a lot of money."

"Da Fang, I wonder how much money the King of Yue has?" A businessman asked.

"I found out from the Ming Dynasty that the King of Yue was ranked fifth. According to the custom of the Celestial Dynasty, there are also tens of 10 silver dollars."

These words made all businessmen excited.

North Korea now has only 2000 million people. After the trade with Yeongjong Island, Hucao’s annual income is 20 shi in tribute (actually 60 shi, most of which was lost), and 100 million taels of silver. times.

Don't get me wrong, the tael here refers to the Korean currency. One tael is equal to one hundred copper coins, but one million taels is actually only 100 silver dollars.

In North Korea, the monthly salary of a first-rank official is only three stones and eight buckets of rice, and two stones of beans.

After the opening of trade during the reign of Xiaozong, the salaries of officials above the fifth grade were reformed and turned into silver dollars.

Even so, the yearly salary of a prime minister is only 36 silver dollars.

The mere king of Yue is a vassal, and he has the fiscal revenue of North Korea for a year or even several years. What a piece of fat this is.

"So, we have to work hard for the King of Yue." Zhao An said solemnly: "I think, before the autumn, we Songshang must recruit [-] untouchables so that we can do business with the King of Yue."

"Big Fang, how will the money be divided?"

"Yeah, 1 people are easy to deal with. Let's score the number first, so we don't want to get confused."

"I'm willing to get 1000 people to help us Songshang—"

"Why, I have 2000 people—"

For a while, everyone quarreled for money.

Afterwards, Zhao An, as the big house, directly began to discuss the distribution of accounts. He directly ate 2000 people, taking the majority, and the remaining [-] people were divided among many merchants.

Basically, according to the level of power and prestige, it is barely fair.

Xia Hehou only got 300 people, so he could only sigh.

Even so, it was worth his net profit for two or three years.

"We, Songshang, have to work hard. The advantage of having children is not counted as the number of people. It can be regarded as an addition to the King of Yue."

Finally, after Zhao An added something, he left directly.

Xia Hehou quickly returned home.

After resting for two or three days, he left Kaesong and went to his farmland.

After donating the status of two classes of nobles, it is not only convenient to do business, but also can legally plunder and buy the land of ordinary people.

Now, he owns Baijie land, so he can be regarded as a moderate landlord.

The land of the imperial court is calculated according to the yield, negative, bundle, and lot. One knot of land is the land that produces [-] shi of rice, which is almost [-] mu.

Baijie is about two thousand acres.

There are nearly a hundred tenants farming for him, and each of them has to pay half of the rice to him, and they have to pay for the tribute rice themselves, so they can only barely make ends meet.

"Nowadays the dynasty recruits immigrants, but those who go to cultivate will not only have enough food and drink, but also give each household ten mu of land..."

"Heavenly Kingdom, everything is good, and you can get rid of the status of a pariah. If I didn't have a family here, I would have gone—"

Shouting, Xia Hehou spared no effort to make up the benefits, even in order for this group of people to spread the word, he prepared mung bean soup for people and distributed it.

North Koreans are divided into five classes, clan, yangban, ordinary people, quasi-untouchables and untouchables.

Commoners are small traders, craftsmen, and basically the bastards of nobles, also known as middlemen.

The quasi-untouchables include Hwarang, wandering girls, witches, etc., and the untouchables are slaves.

But for the two classes of nobles, commoners are almost the same as sluts, even if they are their own sons.

In addition to this, Xia Hehou also has other tricks:

For those families with three to five mu of land, after the summer harvest, he directly took back the farmers' loans and forced them to repay the debts, and then forced them to go to Yue.

Borrowing and revolving interest, this is a good game for businessmen, and it is also a big killer for rural land mergers.

Shrewd businessmen will never stop until they squeeze out a little money.

Sure enough, at the beginning of July, Songshang recruited 1 men and women, and more than [-] children, exceeding the task.

……

Japan, Satsuma Domain, Shimadzu family.

Letter from the Tsushima family Kao Lao clan came to visit.

Mitsuhisa Shimadzu, the feudal lord, was just about to leave for Edo to give an account, so he met him out of curiosity.

The clan letter was also unambiguous, and said directly: "I know that after the shogunate closed the country, the Shimadzu family's taxes were greatly reduced, and they could not make ends meet, so I, Yan Yuanfan, came to offer advice to your clan—"

Shimadzu Mitsuhisa was stunned for a moment, and didn't answer, then smiled and said: "As far as I know, your family is not much better, and it's too late to save yourself, why did you recruit my Shimadzu family?"

"Your Highness, our family knows the law of reconciliation benefits both, so we don't count gains and losses."

The imperial clan said seriously.

Shimadzu Mitsuhisa smiled, poured himself a glass of wine, and said, "Tell me!"

He stared intently at the clan letter, obviously not at peace in his heart.

"Last month, the King of Yue went to Edo to ask for the princess of the Tokugawa family, but in fact he wanted to establish a kingdom in Ezo."

Clan Xin also poured wine for himself, and said lightly: "Unfortunately, although the Ming Kingdom supported tens of 10 taels of gold, there are not many people to go to open up wasteland."

"Therefore, the King of Yue is going to recruit manpower from Guifan. Every couple, including children, will receive two silver dollars from Guifan."

"Two silver coins?" Mitsuhisa Shimadzu's expression moved.

In Japan during the Edo period, only one tael of silver was worth a consistent copper coin during Nagasaki’s foreign trade. In fact, one tael of silver in Japan was only worth about two hundred cash.

Two silver dollars didn't seem like much, but they were just recruiting people, and he just had to sit and collect the money.

Moreover, after many years of peace, the Shimadzu family's samurai and peasant populations have multiplied. After these people go to Yue, they can make the land richer, which is like killing two birds with one stone.

"I don't want silver coins." Shimadzu Mitsuhisa came back to his senses, and said in a deep voice: "Give me raw silk, books, porcelain, medicinal materials, ginseng, Korean paper..."

Clan Xin was startled when he heard the words, good guy, this is going to make money twice!
"Just the shogunate?"

"We belong to the domain to the domain, and we are also domestic."

Shimadzu Mitsuhisa chuckled lightly, "I didn't touch your seventy ships of cargo."