The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 511 Zheng Douyuan's Fantastic Journey
In the third year of Taichu of Da Qi (1631), the Korean envoy Zheng Douyuan was ordered by the king to go on a diplomatic mission to Beilu (the Korean name for Qi).

Before leaving, Li Zong set the bottom line for Zheng Douyuan in the negotiations: pay annual tribute and submit to the Northern Tartars.

Zheng Douyuan had no hope for this mission to the Northern Tartars, and only considered it as a way to fulfill the righteousness of the monarch and his subjects.

Before leaving, he bid farewell to his family in tears and asked his wives and concubines to pack up his clothes so that his family could build a tomb for him after he died in the enemy country.

Before him, two groups of envoys had been killed by the Qi people.

Zheng Douyuan and his companions arrived in Ningbian with the determination to die, ready to be beheaded by the Emperor of Qi. However, what happened next was beyond their expectations.

The actual ruler of Qi was Emperor Retired Liu Zhaosun, a tall, burly man with a tyrannical and capricious temperament. Various terrifying rumors about him circulated in Korea, such as that he had killed a tiger with one punch and that he had stormed the enemy camp alone...

The retired emperor did not listen to the Korean envoys' peace terms and ordered them to be sent back.

"I implore Your Majesty to withdraw the troops and restore the friendly relationship between the two states of Qin and Jin, and spare the lives of the people of my small country from suffering!"

Zheng Douyuan was responded with sarcasm.

"You also know about the friendship between Qin and Jin? You also know that Empress Dowager Cisheng is Korean? Why didn't Yi Sun-yi mention the friendship between Qin and Jin when he led his troops to plunder Liaodong?"

The retired emperor, who was sitting at the head of the group, shooed away Zheng Douyuan and the others like waving flies.

"I remember that you are a loyal and patriotic person. I will not kill you today. Take your companions and leave Ningbian."

"Your Majesty, I have something to say. We, Korea, serve a great nation like children serve their parents. We have always been diligent and careful, and we are treading on thin ice. If we are occasionally unfilial, it is because we are unable to do so, not intentionally. When we besieged Shenyang, we were coerced by the Jiannu leader Du Du. When we sent troops to attack Liaodong, we had no choice..."

Before Zheng Douyuan could continue speaking, the warrior named Pei Dahu slapped him in the face, causing him to see stars and then he was dragged out by a group of guards.

On that day, Zheng Douyuan and his companions, a total of eight people, were politely escorted out of the city.

Perhaps the retired emperor felt guilty, so he gave them horses and food before they left, allowing them to return to Seoul alive.

As mentioned earlier, Jeong Doo-won was one of Joseon's most loyal subjects, possessing the stubbornness and tenacity characteristic of the peninsula's inhabitants. Even as peace talks with Great Qi failed, he remained steadfast in his mission. On their way out of the city, he secretly ordered the delegation to slow down their horses and carefully observe the Qi army in Yongbyon, examining their firearms and manpower. This would allow him to gather more firsthand information about the Qi army and aid the Joseon army in its battle against the northern barbarians.

Several North Koreans walked around Yongbyon City several times, but did not notice the two raincoat guards following behind them...
~~~~
South Gate of Ningbian City.

Curls of smoke drifted obliquely towards the sky. A group of ragged Korean refugees gathered around a large iron pot like sheep. A bonfire was burning underneath the pot, and porridge was being cooked in the pot. The rich aroma of rice drifted far away on the wind.

The Korean people in the villages within a radius of dozens of miles heard the news and flocked here.

"Everyone, don't push, line up one by one. I'm talking to you, line up! The porridge will be distributed according to the order in which you come. Everyone will have a share! The emperor has brought all the grain from Da Qi here, so you can eat your fill!"

Behind the smoke, a middle-aged man who looked like a civil servant stood on the collapsed wall, holding a wooden loudspeaker and shouting loudly. Around him were twenty or thirty Qi soldiers holding long spears and long shields. On the wall above the iron pot, there were hundreds of musketeers and archers, who were watching the increasing number of Korean people under the city with a covetous eye.

A military general walked up to the top of the city wall and looked at the scene of porridge distribution below the city with curiosity. When the musketeers and archers on the city wall saw him, they saluted him one after another.

Jin Yinghe nodded slightly to the musketeers, signaling them to continue with their own work. However, he continued to look down at the Korean instructor who was still shouting on the broken wall. After a while, a complicated expression appeared on his face.

"That bastard Lee Jong keeps saying that he is a benevolent and righteous king. Bullshit! He enslaves the people, forces you to farm, forces you to sell your sons and daughters, sends your sons to the army to be cannon fodder, and sends your daughters to Seoul to be singers. He robs all your rice, and collects taxes for seventy years. All your hard-earned money is used to feed those ministers of the Yangban class. In the past, the Emperor Retired of Qi was our breadwinner, helping us to mine, giving us money to spend and food to eat. But Lee Jong is so bad!" The Korean instructor was obviously inexperienced. He had not yet mastered the trick of breathing while preaching like Mori Ti. After shouting a few words, he felt dry mouth and could hardly breathe.

Soon, thousands of North Korean refugees gathered around the soup kitchen.

Most of the people who come here are the elderly, the weak, women and children.

The able-bodied men around Yongbyon were captured by the government and taken to Pyongyang to participate in the defense of the city.

The surrounding villages were about to face a catastrophe. Not only were the able-bodied men captured, but the only remaining food in the village for the winter was also snatched away by the minions of "Benevolent King Li Jong". Without young and strong laborers and food, the women, children, the elderly and the weak would starve to death.

The straw raincoat guards reported this information to the retired emperor. When Jin Yuji learned that a mother and son had starved to death, she burst into tears.

Emperor Wu Ding then ordered that part of the grain received from various places in Pyeongan Province be distributed to these women and children, and porridge be provided in Ningbian, Heichuang, Suzhou and other places for five days, saving as many people as possible.

When the hungry people first arrived, they all rushed forward to grab the food. Under the beatings of the pacification soldiers and the combat soldiers, these people quickly learned to line up.

At this moment, thousands of old, weak, women and children were holding broken bowls, staring eagerly at the "official" in front of them with a not-so-pure accent, hoping that he would finish speaking as soon as possible so that they could eat the hot and fragrant rice porridge as soon as possible.

"Dear fellow villagers,

The inexperienced North Korean instructor took a sip of water, glanced at the slip of paper in his sleeve, and continued shouting according to the script:

"Look at this dog official, fat head, big ears, whiter than a woman!"

Two burly pacification soldiers escorted a fat, breathless official as they quickly walked up the ruins of the wall, facing a group of hungry people who were crying for food.

The instructor pointed at the official's forehead and said viciously, "Did you see that? To feed these rats, to fatten these pigs, they've carried the tax revenue back seventy years, forcing you to sell your children. Four years ago, they used the men in the village as cannon fodder, crossing the Yalu River to attack Liaodong and oppose the Emperor."

The instructor pointed at the two soldiers behind him, then at the musketeers on guard on the city wall, and shouted, "But the Qi army is like gods descended from heaven. In Hetuala, one man could beat ten Tartars. Even Dudu was captured by them. How can Li Zong be a match for the Great Qi? Now they have come to our door, seeking revenge on Li Zong, but that bastard Li Zong is asking us to risk our lives. It would be fine if we just had to sacrifice our lives, but he even denied us food and took away all the able-bodied men and laborers in the village. Do you agree to this?"

Some of the North Korean civilians who arrived later had been queuing for over half an hour, starving and eager for the speech to end. When they heard the instructor shouting slogans, they all raised their hands in response:

"No, no, no!"

"Long live the Great Qi Emperor!"

"Long live the Great Qi Emperor!"

Zheng Douyuan struggled to squeeze out of the crowd. After they were far away, Zheng Douyuan looked back at the top of the city wall. Looking at this group of fools, he couldn't help but curse:

"A bunch of fools, they even let the Northern Barbarians bribe them with half a bowl of rice. Shame on you! Where is your sense of propriety, righteousness, and shame?"

An envoy next to Zheng Douyuan also echoed:
"Yes, these unruly people only cared about themselves. When the northern barbarians attacked, they only starved a few people to death. What our king lost was the legal system and dignity that had lasted for two hundred years."

(End of this chapter)