The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 589 Great Emperor, You Are the Sun of Haidong
The cold wind howled and snowflakes flew. Although it was already the end of April in the lunar calendar, the Korean Peninsula was still like winter, with large flakes of snow falling heavily on people's heads.

"There is no way out, there is no way out." An old Korean man in tattered clothes sat on the side of the road and cried in a weak voice.

Beside him lay three thin, curled-up bodies, which had obviously lost all signs of life.

Amid the old man's faint cries, the endless procession, the black mass of people, numb and mechanical like zombies, staggered towards Seoul, the capital of Gyeonggi Province and also the capital of Joseon Dynasty, in the snow.

These people go to eat the food of the rich. There is actually such a custom in North Korea. When the victims of a disaster can no longer survive, they will go along the main road to look for opportunities to survive and eat the food of the rich families along the way.

The suffering of the agricultural civilization in the Eastern world was vividly displayed at this time.

This kind of movement of disaster victims who take advantage of the rich is actually a slow journey towards death.

Although wealthy families along the way will voluntarily or be forced to provide some food, it is impossible to meet the life needs of everyone.

So this is an extremely painful journey, like a death march in hell. Only those who are physically strong and have better luck can reach the end point - the county town, prefectural capital, provincial capital, etc. - with scarce supplies along the way.

At this time, there are often only one-third or even less of the refugees left. They will receive disaster relief that is barely enough to keep them alive, and then wait for the disaster to end or be resettled to other places.

And this kind of hell is divided into levels.

The people of China are much better off. After all, the country's vast territory and abundant resources are not exaggerated. The governance level of Chinese civil servants is far superior to that of officials in Korea and Japan, who have evolved entirely from aristocrats and powerful people.

The victims in Japan were much luckier.

Of course, this luck does not mean that they will receive disaster relief, but that at the beginning of their death march, a warrior lord with a sword will come to see them off, allowing them to immediately end this painful life and directly pass away to prepare for their next reincarnation.

Throughout history, the countless small-scale uprisings among the common people in Japan are a microcosm of this.

This is also a major role of Japanese samurai, to physically help the small and poor country of Japan to control the population size.

The worst off are the North Korean people.

They could not get disaster relief like the Chinese farmers who won the championship in the competition, and North Korea did not have so many warriors to end their suffering.

They have to rely entirely on themselves to fight, and many people have to struggle for seven or eight days or even longer before dying in extreme pain and misery.

With a plop, a middle-aged man staggered and fell next to the old man. He was skinny and could not get up after falling.

"Dad, Dad!" Seeing the middle-aged man fall down, a small figure cried like a kitten. It was a little girl with a typical Korean round face.

"Xiu-jeong, hurry up and go, hurry up and live well in Seoul!" When the middle-aged man saw the little girl trying to pull him, he immediately used his last bit of strength, anxiously waving his hands and yelling.

In such cruel times, women often survive more easily than men because men are of no use at this time.

In this era, men who have lost their responsibility to support and protect their families are like lone beasts in the wilderness. They are no longer useful. On the contrary, they are prone to cause trouble when they gather together, and they are the ones that men need to be most wary of.

In such troubled times, women could become slaves and provide entertainment as long as they were given something to eat, or even be used as rewards.

What’s more important is that women don’t have the ability to cause trouble, which means men don’t have to worry about their safety. At the same time, they eat very little, only half or even one-third of what men of the same age eat.

And after the famine is over, their stomachs can quickly reproduce offspring for the tribe, which is simply perfect.

What, you said they will become prostitutes who sell their bodies?

Thank God, they finally survived, or at least didn't die painfully from hunger.

This is the cruelest way to die in the world. Hunger can destroy all your sanity. You can feel that every cell in your body is crying out to you, they want to eat, they want to eat.

They will move frantically, stimulating the body's last bit of energy, causing people to feel extreme pain but able to hold on for a long time, and finally die miserably in this extreme torture.

Compared to this, being a prostitute is already extremely happy.

"Golden cups of fine wine are made with the blood of thousands, jade plates of delicacies are made with the fat of tens of thousands. When the candles weep, the people weep; when the songs are loud, the complaints are louder."

The old man who fell to the ground first and could no longer keep up with the team looked at all this and sang loudly with sobs.

This poem can be said to be the most valuable and artistic poem in the thousands of years of history of the entire Korean Peninsula.

It is catchy, expresses the heart, is emotionally charged, simple and straightforward yet can greatly stir people's hearts.

This poem first appeared in the most popular novel in Korea, The Story of Chunhyang. It was written by the protagonist, Censor Lee Mong-ryong. Legend has it that it was a satire on the tyranny of Gwanghaegun 150 years ago.

The original poem reads, "Fragrant wine is made from the blood of thousands, delicate delicacies are made from the fat of thousands. When the candles weep, the people weep; when the songs are loud, the complaints are louder."

However, there is no evidence to prove that this is indeed a poem from the time of Gwanghaegun. Instead, it is from the earlier late Ming Dynasty, where Wang Shizhen wrote in his work Guangxiaofu:

'A glass of fine wine is poured with the blood of a thousand families, a fat sheep is minced with the fat of ten thousand families. Candlelight drips with tears of resentment, the song is loud and clear, the cry of resentment is high.'

It is highly likely that this was Wang Shizhen's work that was processed and recreated by Korean literati after it was introduced to Korea.

But I have to say that this second creation is extremely brilliant, and the impact of the golden cups of wine and jade plates of delicacies is stronger than the original poem.

At this time, the novel Chunhyang was popular in both North and South Korea, and almost all the people had heard it. When the old man hummed it, the Korean people who were walking like zombies suddenly seemed to come alive.

The eyes that were blocked by snowflakes opened one after another, and tears of pain for the destruction of their families and the loss of their loved ones fell from their closed eyes in big drops.

"Golden cups of fine wine are made with the blood of thousands, jade plates of delicacies are made with the fat of tens of thousands. When the candles weep, the people weep; when the songs are loud, the complaints are louder."

One person starts singing, and everyone starts singing. Since Korean is an inflectional language, some modifying words need to be added at the end to embellish it in order to express emotions and direction.

Therefore, they chanted something like "Golden cup of fine wine Hagu, a thousand bloods of Haerkini", which made the originally short verses become longer and more complicated to sing.

In this evening with gusty winds and heavy snow, it sounds eerie and terrifying like an evil cry.

At first, only a few people were singing, but by the end, the entire group of thousands of people were singing loudly. Many of the victims who had lost their families were extremely sad, and at this moment, human emotions finally burst out from their numbness like a flood.

The people who sang the hymns incorporated all their suffering and resentment into the verses.

Every time they sang the line "Golden cups of fine wine, the blood of a thousand men", it was as if their own blood had really been drained into the golden cups of fine wine by the nobles of the Yangban class.

The time has come!
Those who had been prepared in the team immediately came out to incite riots, and the people's emotions became increasingly unstable.

Not long after, a few people dressed as refugees, but strong and pale-faced, came to the front of the team. They held up flags and shouted loudly:

"Don't go to Seoul. To cover up the disaster, the treacherous minister Xu Mingshan has ordered the guards to drive away or even kill the victims. The court has no way to save us."

"Heaven is unfair. Snow is falling in April. This is the heavens speaking out for the injustice done to Concubine Yuan!"

"The yangban masters won't let us live, but Master Hong Wanda of the Fengshan Hong family has given us a way to live. If you want to live, go and surrender to Master Hong!"

The disaster victims, who had no idea where they should go, were immediately thrown into disarray when they heard this. Some of the disaster victims' leaders, who were considered local opinion leaders, had already been bribed.

Under their instigation, a large number of victims quickly changed their routes and headed towards the place where the so-called Master Hong Wanda distributed grain.

. . . .

It is located southwest of Seoul, on the coast, in Taean County, Chungcheong Province.

Don't be surprised, this place was once called Suzhou. As Haidong Korea is almost a one-to-one replica of the Central Plains, it is not excessive to use some place names from the upper country.

In Tai'an County, Master Hong Wanda is receiving teachings from the upper country.

Wu Wenhui, the second-in-command of the Fuxing Company's pioneering fleet and the eldest son of Wu Rang, the Marquis of Songcheng and known as the first vassal of Nanyang, sat in the main seat with a majestic appearance.

Although this cold disaster was severe, without the secret instigation and sabotage of Wu Wenhui and others, the victims would not have arrived so quickly. It would take at least seven or eight months for the impact to reach the grassroots level.

It was they who launched this disaster ahead of time, which had killed hundreds of thousands of people with starvation, caused quite a stir, and was exploited by North Korean Catholics.

"Golden cups of fine wine are poured with the blood of thousands, jade plates of delicacies are smeared with the fat of tens of thousands. When the candles weep, the people weep; when the songs are loud, the complaints are louder." Wu Wenhui also sang a line, then shook his head and said to Hong Wanda:
“It’s well written, but you people of Haidong lack the spirit of resistance.

If this happened in China, if we encountered such a thing, we would be ashamed to say, "Big rat, big rat, if you don't eat my millet, I will leave you."

We are generally considered to be kings, princes, generals, and ministers, or we just start fighting when the year of Jiazi is auspicious. Why should we have any resentment or tears? When the world is unfair, we should rise up and resist."

Yes, yes, yes, you are right. Hong Wanda nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice, and his mouth was full of compliments.

"How dare the lowly people of Haidong compare themselves with the Chinese people of the superior country? If they dare to express even a little resentment, it is because they have been taught by the superior country. Otherwise, they would be like cattle and horses, exhausted to death, without a single word to say."

But even though he said this, Hong Wanda was also complaining in his heart, "You are the master of the upper kingdom and I heard that you are the son of a marquis. How can you encourage your subordinates to rebel?"
Besides, why don’t the people of Haidong dare to resist? Don’t you know the reason?

You guys in the upper kingdom protect the King of the Ly Dynasty and don't recognize anyone else except him. Who else would dare to rebel?

The flag was killed by the heavenly soldiers as soon as it was raised. They were so bored that they rebelled and changed the dynasty.

Hong Wanda was not exaggerating at all. In history, it was during the Guangxu period that the Donghak Peasant Rebellion in Korea swept across the north and south. However, when Yuan Shikai led the Qing army, whose faces were swollen from the beatings of the great powers, arrived, the Donghak Peasant Rebellion was defeated almost like a landslide.

Wu Wenhui was extremely satisfied with what Hong Wanda said. He looked at Hong Wanda with a smile and said, "The entire Li Dynasty, from the king to the nobles, has gone too far.

Although the Great Emperor is the ruler and father, he does not want to keep such unfilial descendants who suck the blood and sweat of the people, so he sent me to preside over it.

Brother Hong, you must do your best. When Li Chaode is gone in the future, you will be the ones to guard this vast territory in the south.

You will all be under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Envoy and obey the orders of the retired emperor, just like the various vassal states in the Land of the Rising Sun."

As soon as these words were spoken, the Koreans in the room immediately cheered and knelt on the ground, kowtowed loudly.

These guys were all illegitimate sons selected by the Jinyiwei Southern Pacification Division from all over Korea. For example, Hong Wanda was from the famous Fengshan Hong family of Korea.

His grandfather was Hong Guorong, who started the power politics and was known as the power prime minister. Although the Hong family was defeated by the current king Li San in the struggle, it is still a top-level yangban.

But when it comes to Hong Wanda, his father is a bastard, he is a bastard, and his mother is a maid. Let alone his status, he almost doesn't even have the qualifications to have the surname Hong. The name Hong Wanda was chosen by himself.

For someone like this who has some ability but lives like a slave because of his illegitimate status, following Wu Wenhui to cause trouble is simply a way to success.

As for bringing down the Li Dynasty, that would be a good thing. After bringing down the Li Dynasty, all the powerful nobles composed of the legitimate sons would be overthrown, and then they would be allowed to serve as vassal states, and they would have the endorsement of the upper country.

Hong Wanda even wondered if God saw how miserable his life was and sent the emperor to save them.

"Your Majesty the Great Emperor shines like the sun upon us bastards, and your grace is as high as the mountains and as deep as the sea. Long live, long live, long live!"

Dozens of powerful illegitimate sons of wealthy families around Hong Wanda were also equally excited.

By the way, it seems that the north will belong to the four Han counties in the future. That means the people in the north must have accumulated virtue for several lifetimes, and they can become Chinese in the upper country without doing anything.

No, we can't let them have it so easy. Hong Wanda decided that when he became the lord of a vassal state in the future, he would immediately suggest selling all the northerners like pigs to Southeast Asia.

This is hard-earned money.

While Wu Wenhui was causing trouble in the south, Catholic members of the Ly Dynasty in the north were instigated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard to cause trouble by taking advantage of the famine.

A large number of Korean Catholics who were executed in the Xinyou Prison in history, including Lee Seung-hun, Kwon Il-shin, Choi Hyun-chang and others, will also appear on the stage.

There is some excitement in North Korea.

(End of this chapter)