The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 590: Heavenly Master, please give the King of the East some advice!
"My real identity?" Moore looked at the Japanese woman who looked a bit like a religious fanatic. "Madam, what are you talking about? Am I not Moore, the editor of The Mercury?"

Daozi said softly, "Your Highness, Heavenly Master, please don't think that I am talking nonsense. You can ask His Highness King Wu about your true identity, or who your soul was in its previous life. He will tell you everything. It is inconvenient for me to say more!"

It would have been better if Daozi hadn't said these incoherent words, but after he said them, the way Bonham, Whiteswen, Sir Sutton, and Consul Styron looked at Moore changed!
What about the "soul's past life" and "asking for advice from His Majesty the King of Wu"? Oh, and "Master Karl". The more I listen, the more "magical" it is! Could this Moore also be from God's family? But Jesus' brothers and sisters seem to be here, so who could he be? Could he be the reincarnation of an apostle?

Among the few people, only Friedrich still believed that "Moore is still Moore." He was about to ask Daozi what the hell was going on? Daozi spoke again: "The Heavenly Father guided His Highness the Heavenly Master to come from afar, and he must want you to give His Highness the Eastern King some advice."

Moore really didn't want to listen to the nonsense of this somewhat crazy female stick, so he stood up suddenly and wanted to leave. But Daozi took the lead and stopped Moore, pointing his right hand at a closed sliding door: "Please move to the clean room, Tianshi."

As soon as she finished speaking, the sliding door was gently opened. Outside the door was a corridor, and a girl in a kimono was already prostrating herself on the ground.

Daozi walked up to Moore, and her furisode kimono suddenly opened up, revealing the sword inserted in her belt: "Your Highness, Heavenly Master, please!"

Moore glanced at Daozi's sword, then looked at the woman's firm yet somewhat crazy expression, and nodded. He followed Daozi out of the hall and walked along a dim corridor. At the end of the corridor, there was another girl in kimono kneeling outside a sliding door. When she saw Daozi coming with Moore, she immediately opened the door, and the fragrance of flowers and the cool breeze of the night blew in her face.

Only then did Moore realize that behind the sliding door was a courtyard full of flowers and plants, and it was already dark outside.

When he entered the Japanese-style room, he heard the sound of the sliding door closing, followed by the sound of a woman sobbing. Looking back, he saw that Inako had already knelt down beside an oil lamp, still crying secretly.

"Ms. Rice, why are you crying?" Moore asked softly as he sat cross-legged.

"To be honest with you, Master Tianshi, the actual annual income of the Kingdom of Korea last year was 4.27 million silver dollars." Daozi wiped away her tears gently, "The military pay, ironworks, and shipbuilding expenses were 13 million. The deficit was filled by exchanging five ships of Japanese girls for gold sand from the west coast every month."

"Please don't call me Master Tianshi," Moore shook his head. "I am Moore, the editor of the Mercury in London, England."

"Yes, Mr. Moore," Daozi nodded, "So can you give Dong Wang some advice now?"

Moore sighed, "It seems that you also know that making money by trafficking Japanese girls to the West Coast is wrong and unsustainable."

"No! Those Japanese girls are all willing!" Inako suddenly raised her voice. "For girls from the bottom of society in Japan, being sold to the West Coast is the best way out they can get. Mr. Moore, have you seen those baby girls who were drowned at birth? Such things are not uncommon in East Asia, and are especially common in Japan!"

Moore recalled the words of the old farmer on the ferry yesterday: "The kindness of the King of the East is longer than the Han River."

"It is difficult for a late-developing industrial country to accumulate the funds for industrialization through taxation and trade." Moore finally began to give advice to Yang Xiuqing, whom he had never met. "Although the Kingdom of Korea has made huge profits from the dirty trade between Japan and the West Coast, this lucrative business will definitely attract competitors or saboteurs!"

"You're absolutely right!" Inako nodded heavily. "Last month, a clipper ship bound for the west coast was hijacked. The perpetrators were a group of Japanese ronin, and behind them were several wealthy merchants and powerful feudal lords from Japan! And I've also received intelligence that some feudal lords who are jealous of the huge profits from the west coast trade are planning to write to the shogunate to strictly control the exit of Japanese women."

"You can set up the Bank of Korea." Moore dipped his hand in tea and sketched on the low table. "The head office is located in Seoul, and branches are spread across Osaka and Nagasaki. You must try to absorb funds from Japanese feudal lords and wealthy merchants for the industrialization of Korea." He went on to explain, "Banks can generate a multiplier effect through repeated deposits and loans. If a bank operates well and its reputation is widely recognized, it can usually generate twice or even more money multipliers. That is, if it absorbs a deposit of one million, it can lend out more than two million in very ideal circumstances. If the bank's reputation is particularly good, it can even issue banknotes."

As he spoke, he took out a white pound from his pocket and spread it on the low table.

Daozi's eyes lit up: "Turn paper into money!"

Moore nodded. "The second method is to divest the Japan-West Coast trade line controlled by the Eastern King and establish a Korean Pacific Trade Co., Ltd. to raise funds from Japan's wealthy merchants and powerful vassals."

Daozi was stunned: "Raising funds from those who covet the Japan-West Coast trade line?"

"Yes!" Moore said with a smile, "We can raise funds from the enemies that King Yang wants to destroy and use their money to build the industry of the Kingdom of Korea. After the industry of the Kingdom of Korea is built, we can destroy them all!" Daozi suddenly knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face: "Mr. Moore is so talented. Please be King Yang's teacher again!"

"Ms. Rice," Moore looked at the goddess stick and shook his head gently, "If you still want to listen to me, don't say such weird things."

"Hayi. Please continue!"

"After you have raised sufficient funds, you should focus on developing the shipbuilding industry." Moore continued, "The technical threshold for steel is too high, and it is easier to make a profit only if there is a supply of cheap coal and iron ore. Moreover, the King of Wu of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom on the other side of the sea has invested heavily in the construction of the Xuzhou Coal-Iron Joint Company, and has also invited European metallurgical experts, including the inventor of the Besmer converter, Besmer, to serve as the chief engineer. If the King of Dong continues to expand the Seoul Iron Works, he will definitely lose more and more money. It is better to invest in shipbuilding first. Don't build warships blindly, but build civilian ships first, especially wooden steam sailing ships that can be used on the Pacific route, with a displacement of one or two thousand tons.

While developing the shipbuilding industry, you can hire Western engineers to investigate North Korea's local mineral resources and develop a development plan. Once you find a large iron ore or coal mine, it will be easier to succeed if you set up a large coal-iron joint venture based on the location of the mine.

The incense of Changdeok Palace was rising in the bronze crane censer, Yang Xiuqing sat on the throne, frowning slightly. Daozi knelt on the swastika carpet, the pearls on her temples trembling as she kowtowed.

"He said he wants to set up a Korean bank?" King Dong narrowed his one eye, the fear in his heart gradually dissipated.

It seems that the Heavenly Father does not intend to pursue his crime of pretending to be the Son of the Heavenly Father, and has sent the Heavenly Master to help. Perhaps, Yang Xiuqing is really the reincarnation of the Fourth Son of the Heavenly Father? Thinking of this, Yang Xiuqing suddenly felt that the strong fatherly love was descending from the sky. There is only a good father in heaven! At this time, a gust of night wind suddenly blew, and Yang Xiuqing was shocked.

"Yes." Daozi rested her forehead against the back of her hand and said softly, "The Heavenly Master said that we can use the money of the Japanese feudal lord to build our arsenal." She took two steps on her knees and presented the account book. "The Heavenly Master also said that he would issue stocks and that he could turn paper into money."

The account pages flipped, and Yang Xiuqing's hand suddenly stopped on a certain page. A yellowed drawing was sandwiched between the red handwriting outlined by cinnabar, and next to the outline of a steamship was scribbled "Pacific Trading Company West Coast". This was the largest merchant ship between Japan and the West Coast, belonging to the Pacific Company of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

"Come here." King Dong hooked his finger.

Daozi had just stood up when she was dragged by the wrist to the map. Yang Xiuqing's palm pressed on her shoulder, and the heat came through the silk: "How many girls were sold in Kyushu Island last year?"

"Nine thousand four hundred people." Daozi's neck flushed, "In exchange for more than nine hundred thousand taels of gold."

The candle flame burst into a spark, and Yang Xiuqing suddenly grabbed Daozi's neck, his one eye full of bloodshot: "That Heavenly Master, did you really not mention my sins?"

"He said that primitive accumulation of capital always involves bloodshed." Daozi had long been accustomed to the moodiness of the East King and did not resist. He just said softly, "But the East King's blood is cleaner than that of the London factory owner."

Suddenly, a gust of night wind blew in from the window, making the candlelight in the room sway. Yang Xiuqing's hand slid down her spine to her waist and took out her sword: "If you dare to deceive me, I will make you commit seppuku!"

Daozi didn't understand what Yang Xiuqing was afraid of, but she said with certainty, "If Daozi has ever lied to His Highness, I will commit seppuku to apologize!" She bit her red lips hard and added, "I want to cut it crosswise, no mistake!"

Yang Xiuqing exhaled, his eyes softened: "How could you betray me? You are the most loyal to me! Summon the Heavenly Master tomorrow, I want to see it with my own eyes--"

Before she finished speaking, footsteps suddenly came from outside. It was the attendant who was delivering the military report to Yang Xiuqing. Daozi took the opportunity to step back and straighten her clothes, but saw Yang Xiuqing staring at her loose belt with his one eye: "Stay here to grind the ink tonight."

As the incense grew thicker, the sound of the night watch drum came faintly from the direction of Gyeongbokgung Palace. Daozi knelt beside the dragon-patterned table and ground ink. After Yang Xiuqing finished reviewing the last military report, he put down his brush and suddenly pulled Daozi into his arms: "Daozi, give me a son!"

"Yes." Daozi looked at the crescent moon outside the window and suddenly thought of his daughter Gaozi.

Yang Xiuqing reached into Inako's kimono and said, "After we conquer Edo, I will make our son the ruler of Japan."

(End of this chapter)