Chapter 1850 Political opponents
In addition to trying to win over, Qian Tiandun actually had half of what he didn't say. If the inducement method didn't work, then he would probably have to use force to intimidate him. But as a last resort, Haihan does not want to use tough measures to deal with the domestic opposition in North Korea, because this will easily arouse more vigilance and resentment.
For Haihan, the ideal situation is to develop North Korea's natural resources in a relatively stable social environment, rather than spending a lot of energy and time intervening in North Korea's internal political struggles. As long as these projects begin to produce results, more and more North Koreans will choose to side with Haehan because of their personal interests, and many problems will be solved by then.
Just like the area occupied by Haihan on the Ming Dynasty coastline, it initially encountered hostility and confrontation from the locals. However, as the local group of vested interests grew larger, they eventually could not get rid of the law of true fragrance. The local officials who should have tried their best to protect the interests of the Ming Dynasty later mostly chose to remain deaf to Haihan's movements and just calmly took a share of the filial piety of the Haihan people.
Since this operating model can be successful in the Ming Dynasty, North Korea, which is culturally connected to the Ming Dynasty, will naturally not be an exception. However, Haihan's operating time in North Korea is still short and there are not many upper-level connections. Therefore, the powerful people who are really willing to stand up for Haihan will speak out. Very rarely. Even Kim Sang-hyun, a militant who strongly advocated the introduction of Haihan reinforcements to fight against the Qing army, still held a relatively cautious attitude towards various economic cooperation after the war, and did not give up just because Haihan sent troops to help North Korea retreat from the enemy. Choosing to express support for Haihan's post-war development plans.
As for Jin Sangjiu, he has been in contact with the Haihan people for a relatively long time, and he also knows that this ethnic group is a very realistic group of people. They receive money and send troops to help North Korea fight the war. After the war, they ask North Korea for the development of various industries. Management rights have a very strong purpose. He was also present during today's negotiation process. He watched the whole process as his king pushed and danced around with the Haihan people, and to be honest, he was a little worried that the Haihan people would fall out impatiently.
From Kim Sang-joo's point of view, he certainly hopes that his country can retain its sovereignty and dignity, but at the same time, he also knows very well how huge the economic losses North Korea has suffered in the war that just ended. If the national economy and people's livelihood cannot be restored in a short period of time, If the country is rapidly rebuilt, the domestic doubts about the king's administrative measures will only grow louder. Whether to cooperate with Haihan is not actually the focus of the issue. What the opposition wants is to gain the right to speak through speaking out, rather than confronting Haihan. Therefore, his view is actually the same as that of the Haihan people. He believes that the official opposition must be resolved first. After the king has no political worries, he can promote the implementation of the industrial cooperation development plan.
With Jin Shangjiu's status, naturally he cannot accomplish such a goal on Haihan's behalf. What he can do now is to provide some useful information to guide Haihan's next actions as requested by the other party.
"Currently, those who oppose the industrial cooperation development plan between the two countries are mainly Mr. Kim's political opponents. They do not necessarily want to go against your country. They oppose this matter just to win the attention of the king. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is grandstanding. "Jin Sangjiu expressed his views very frankly.
"Political enemy? Do you mean Cui Mingji of the peace faction?" Although Qian Tiandun was not particularly clear about the factions in North Korea's officialdom, he also knew that the political opponent who had the same reputation as Kim Sang-heon before the war was the official Cao judge Cui Mingji.
Jin Shangjiu nodded and admitted his guess: "Yes, it is Mr. Cui."
Cui Mingji was born in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. He experienced the Imjin Japanese Rebellion in his childhood and was fully aware of the suffering that war caused to society and the people. When he was nineteen years old, he took the imperial examination and passed the C-level examination of Zengguang Liberal Arts, which marked his entry into politics. In 1623, a palace coup occurred in North Korea. Gwanghae Jun was deposed, and his nephew Ayang Jun, the current King of North Korea, Li Jie, came to the throne. Cui Mingji played an extremely important role in it. Even the time of Li Jie's rebellion was determined by He decided. After Li Zhu came to power, he promoted him from the official Cao Zuolang to the official Cao Shenpan, and was granted the title of Lord of the Palace. From then on, he began to rise to prominence.
Cui Mingji's political views on peace are not new in recent times. As early as the seventh year of Tianqi, the same year that the Haihan travelers came to this time and space, Huang Taiji led his army to invade North Korea, which was known as the Dingmao Rebellion in history. At this time, Cui Mingji He believed that "the country was small and weak, and the power of the captives was very strong, so it was better for Xun to resign to ease the situation." He began to advocate that the war should be suspended and peace could be negotiated with Hou Jin.
However, after Ding Mao's chaos, Cui Mingji was regarded as a capitulator in the country because of his ideas, and he was immediately infamous and criticized. If it weren't for Conglong's meritorious service back then, Li Zhu would have been protecting him for this old relationship, and someone else would have been completely cool.
Based on Cui Mingji's great contribution in assisting Li Zhu to ascend to power, if his original peace talks had not caused a lot of dissatisfaction in North Korea, he would have been in the leadership position long ago and become the number one person in North Korean officialdom with one person and more than ten thousand people. But this man did not learn from his early lessons. Last year, North Korea began to receive rumors that its powerful neighbor in the north was preparing to invade again, so he once again put forward the theory that the dispute between the two countries should be resolved through peace talks.
Naturally, such an argument was mercilessly ridiculed by the war-fighting officials headed by Kim Sang-heon. The enemy wanted North Korea to surrender and surrender. Is this something that can be negotiated? After becoming a vassal state of Hou Jin, how should we explain it to the Ming Dynasty? To put it another way, even if North Korea is willing to surrender, will the enemy cease the war? I'm afraid if it hadn't agreed to this condition, there would have been a series of more stringent conditions waiting for North Korea in the future.
Only fighting can save North Korea. Such remarks eventually gained the upper hand in North Korea's domestic public opinion. Of course, even the most radical war faction would not think that their own army could defeat the Qing army. The so-called battle did not mean fighting alone, but introducing Haihan reinforcements and then declaring war on the Qing Dynasty, which had just changed its name.
If the main militant faction fails to ask Haihan to send troops in the end, then Cui Mingji may still have a certain say. After all, his political opinions can be regarded as a solution to the dispute. But Haehan not only sent his own troops, but also attracted troops from three other countries to form a coalition to station in North Korea, and defeated the Qing army's offensive in the war that lasted for several months. This brought the prestige and authority of Kim Sang-heon's faction to its peak. , on the contrary, the image of Cui Mingji's faction was once again labeled as a capitulation faction by public opinion.
But this is not a desperate situation for Cui Mingji, who has been in North Korean officialdom for many years. In his view, although the war against the Qing Dynasty has ended, the struggle to defend North Korea's interests continues. Officials from Cui Mingji's faction have carefully studied Haihan's past deeds in the Ming Dynasty and the various conditions proposed in his interactions with North Korea. They believe that all Haihan's actions towards North Korea are aimed at ultimately obtaining a thousandfold return from here. They say they are allies, but in fact they are exploiting North Korea. North Korea should be wary of this kind of blunt knife cutting of flesh.
Of course, Cui Mingji also knew very well that North Korea's ability to keep Guozuo relied on Haihan's military protection. The king valued his existence extremely, and there was absolutely no way he could fall out with Haihan at this time, so he was very smart and did not betray Haihan. made a speech attack, but continued to target his political opponent Kim Sang-heon.
Cui Mingji has been in the officialdom for more than thirty years since he passed the imperial examination and is well versed in various means of political struggle. However, his opponent Kim Sang-heon entered politics fifteen years earlier than him. He is the judge and chief minister of the Rites, which is equivalent to the minister of rites and the censor. Now he is appointed by the king as the first-level Zuo Yizheng, and Cui Mingji is a popular candidate for the currently vacant political seat, and Cui Mingji does not dare to be careless at all.
After analyzing the domestic situation and his own situation, Cui Mingji formulated corresponding strategies. He believed that the reason why Kim Sang-hun gained power this time was mainly because he invited Hae-han to send troops. If he wanted to attack Kim Sang-heon, he should separate him from Hae-han as much as possible, so as not to use the flag as a tiger's skin and use Hae-han as a shield. .
Therefore, Cui Mingji's letter of advice to the king hardly mentioned what happened to Haehan. He only said that Kim Sangxian was bent on war but was unprepared for post-war reconstruction. He should be responsible for the current domestic economic slump and the lack of relief and resettlement for a large number of refugees. Primary Responsibilities. Of course, this kind of crime is impossible to bring down Kim Sang-hyun, who has a deep foundation in the officialdom. However, Cui Mingji understands Li Biao's imperial mentality very well and knows that Li Biao pays attention to balance in the court. He has always left the seat of political affairs open and did not let Kim Sang-heon sit on it. , just don't want the court to become the main war faction's one-word hall. Although his existence is not so lovable, he is one of the few people in the court who dares to question and attack Kim Sang-hyun. If Li Jie does not intend to let Kim Sang-hyun's family dominate, then it will definitely be an inevitable trend for him to regain power after the war. Now he is just a step away.
It has to be said that Cui Mingji was very familiar with Li Zhu, so he dared to question Kim Sang-hyun at this juncture after the war, and he was sure that he would not incur Li Zhu's dissatisfaction.
Cui Mingji knew that Kim Sang-heon would definitely take some countermeasures, not narrow revenge, but reciprocal measures as a political opponent. What he could think of, and what Kim Sang-hyun could actually think of, was that only by making a stance of struggle would Li Jie seek a balance between them.
The political struggle situation is actually quite complicated, and the extent of Jin Sangjiu's understanding is also very limited. It is too difficult to tell the two high-ranking Haihan officials exactly and let them understand the grievances and grievances between the Jin and Cui factions. big. He can only briefly talk about his own views. As for how much the other party can understand, it is not something he can influence.
In fact, neither Wang Tom nor Qian Tiandun are qualified politicians. Especially Qian Tiandun, who has been performing overseas missions for a long time and is far away from the Victory Fort, the political center of his country, and does not understand the intrigues in the officialdom. After listening to the story, the two looked at each other. From their eyes, they could confirm that the other's situation was similar to their own, and they failed to fully understand the inside story of these political struggles in North Korean official circles.
"So Mr. Jin and Mr. Cui are political enemies and rivals, but it is difficult for them to really defeat each other... The current situation of fighting back and forth is more... a show?" Wang It was difficult for Tom to find the right words to describe the situation he recognized.
"A show? What does this mean?" Jin Shangjiu asked in confusion.
Tom Wang did not expect that the imported word he was talking about had not appeared in this era, so he immediately changed his explanation: "It means acting for others to see."
"Oh, that's it." Jin Shangjiu said: "It's not necessarily a show. These two adults can be said to be lifelong enemies of each other in the political arena. They will naturally step on each other when they get the opportunity. In my humble opinion, The two adults may have considered this kind of struggle a part of life.”
Qian and Wang knew what Jin Shangjiu said. Since generals like them regard leading troops in war as their life goal, it is natural for politicians to regard political struggle as their way forward. Although they cannot understand these politicians, or the specific thoughts of politicians, they can fully understand that powerful senior officials like Kim Sang-heon and Cui Ming-gil will have their own unique goals and pursuits in politics.
Of course, understanding is understanding. Now that Cui Mingji is the main figure of the domestic opposition in North Korea, we must try to get this person to promote the implementation of the industrial cooperation plan between the two countries.
"Master Jin, can you make arrangements as soon as possible for us to meet Master Cui?" Wang Tom simply asked Jin Shangjiu to come and contact Cui Mingji.
But Jin Shangjiu shook his head and said: "I'm afraid it won't work."
"Huh?" Wang Tom didn't react for a moment.
But Qian Tiandun next to him thought of the reason: "Master Xiao Jin is an official of Master Lao Jin's faction, so of course he can't help us connect."
Jin Shangjiu bowed his head and said: "Thank you, General Qian, for understanding. This is exactly the case. It is really inconvenient to contact Mr. Cui, and I ask the two generals to forgive me!"
If Kim Sang-joo comes forward to contact Kim Sang-hyun's political opponents on behalf of the Haihan people, this behavior is obviously very dangerous. Once Cui Mingji meets the Haihan people, God knows what uncontrollable situation will happen, and Kim Sang-hyun will definitely not be happy to see him promoted. Officials do this. So even though this request was made by a senior official from Haihan, Jin Shangjiu still decisively rejected the request.
At the banquet held at Gyeongbokgung Palace the day before, Qian Tiandun and Wang Tom met Cui Mingji, but there was no direct communication. As for the officials from Cui Mingji's group, they had not had much dealings with each other before, so how to contact them became a problem.
They couldn't force Jin Shangjiu to contact him, so after asking for key information, they had no choice but to let him go. The two discussed it again, but still couldn't figure it out. They could only decide to continue the meeting with Li Zhu, and during the period, they would try to find a way to contact officials from Cui Mingji's group.
(End of chapter)