Chapter 1854 Support Objects
The story of emperors' descendants competing for the right to inherit the throne is not new. In order to climb to the throne and become the ruler, there have been countless dark palace infighting and even bloody massacres since ancient times. Even if North Korea is regarded as a weak and bullyable existence by neighboring countries, it at least rules the three thousand miles of the Korean peninsula. The throne is still a very important existence to some people. There have been disputes surrounding the struggle for royal power in history. There are indeed many dirty things, and it can even be said to be the tradition of the Li family.
The founder of Lee's Joseon Dynasty, Li Chenggui, imitated Zhao Kuangyin's yellow robe and started an uprising during the expedition as a general of the Koryo Kingdom. Then he returned to the royal city to seize power, established himself as king, and established the Joseon Dynasty.
Li Chenggui's son Li Fangyuan also followed suit. In the process of fighting for the succession to the throne, he launched a mutiny. He first killed the eldest son Li Fangshuo and pretended to support his second brother Li Fanguo. Then he found an excuse to force his brother to abdicate and took the throne himself. The king is like a North Korean version of the Xuanwumen Incident.
When the sixth Joseon King Danjong Yi Hongwei was young, he was ousted from power by his uncle Suyang Dajun Yi Ao in a coup. The best thing is that Li Yao sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty to apply for canonization. The reason he used was that the Ming Dynasty had experienced the "appeasement" of Zhu Di, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, to his nephew Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen decades ago, to prove that his uncle usurped the throne of his nephew. It is reasonable, and because of this, it was successfully recognized and canonized by Ming Dynasty.
The eleventh Korean King Zhongjong Li Yi also launched a palace coup to depose his predecessor Yanshan Lord Li Long. Because he was a famous tyrant in Korean history, Li Yi's coup was also called justice. Historically known as "Zhongzong Anyway".
Of course, this was not the last coup in the Joseon Dynasty. The current king Li Jie also overthrew the rule of his uncle Gwanghae Gun through this unconventional method, and was known as "Injo anyway" in history.
Throughout the more than two hundred years of history since the founding of the Joseon Dynasty, there have been several successful coups documented in detailed historical records, and there is no telling how many attempts failed in the end. When Qian Tiandun and Wang Tom were studying the history of the Korean court, they even had reason to wonder whether the Lee family had some kind of restless genetic gene, which was why palace battles and coups occurred so frequently.
Of course, it is more likely that this unstable factor is actually the throne that symbolizes the ruler of the country. Born in an environment like the royal family, there are very few people who can resist the temptation of power. What's more, most people in the royal family simply cannot escape this environment and can only actively or passively participate in the power struggle. go. However, with the current power structure of the family and the world, it is difficult to ensure that each generation of rulers can smoothly complete the transfer of power to their successors, and many situations are bound to arise.
In this time and space, due to the emergence of Haihan, the historical trajectory of many things has fundamentally changed. North Korea was not defeated by the Qing Dynasty in Bingzi's chaos, nor did it bow to the Qing Dynasty, and Li Zhu's heir was not taken hostage abroad. Therefore, whether it is the eldest son Li Shu or the second eldest son Li Hao, their political stance in the future will probably no longer be as simple as leaning towards the Qing Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty, and Li Jie's criteria for choosing his successor will definitely be different from historical records. The difference.
But for Haihan, choosing which prince to support in the future is a task that tests his vision. Of course, there is another option to sit on the sidelines and not interfere in the internal competition of North Korea's ruling class, but this may lead to passive diplomatic relations with North Korea in the future, so this option was directly abandoned.
Li Bo and Li Hao, one of them is the first prince to inherit the throne, and the other is the successful person who ascended the throne in the original history. It can be said that both of them are very likely to become the king of North Korea in a few years. The next ruler of the country. But if we now have to single out one of them as the official supporter of Haihan, it would indeed be a bit difficult for Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun.
"It's definitely not advisable to bet on both sides, but it's really too dangerous to bet on one side." Qian Tiandun analyzed: "Li Zhu's two sons didn't pay much attention to it before, but they need to pay more attention to it in the future. Some things are becoming more and more important." The earlier you start preparing, the better.”
Wang Tom nodded in agreement: "Since the future king of North Korea is likely to come from among them, it is indeed necessary to start a good business from now on. But I think it is not difficult to choose someone. Who can proactively get closer to us? The one who shows your attitude is more worthy of support! ”
"Would it be a bit one-sided to select people like this?" Qian Tiandun was a little undecided about this.
"This is not something that can be seen in a short time. Let's observe it for a while!" Wang Tom reached out and patted the message on the table and said: "Look at the information sent by Ning Qi. Originally, the two brothers supported each other in history. What does it mean that the Qing Dynasty has a heart for the Ming Dynasty? This shows that they all have a mentality of relying on powerful countries! Who is the powerful country in East Asia now? Of course it is us. As long as we continue to exert influence on them, over time, they will also be the ones to worship. Will become Haihan”
The situation mentioned by Wang Tom is not just a hypothesis. In fact, there are many allies who have obvious admiration for Haihan. For example, these companies are willing to send troops to fight in North Korea with Haihan's army. If it were not for Haihan's army, With absolute confidence, how could he easily send elite troops to such a distant and unfamiliar country to fight a powerful opponent?
Of course, such confidence and admiration cannot be established in a short period of time. Haihan's actions in Northeast Asia in recent years, especially the results of this dispatch to North Korea, will definitely have a significant impact on the views of the North Korean ruling class. , making them realize that the most powerful country in the region is no longer the Ming Dynasty they have worshiped for more than two hundred years, but another emerging Han regime located in the South China Sea.
Fortunately for North Korea, Haihan State did not intend to bully the weak. Instead, out of some practical considerations, it chose to help North Korea resist foreign enemies. For North Korea, which has always had a natural affinity for the Han regime, this has indeed greatly shortened the distance between the two countries.
Under the current international environment and historical conditions, it is actually not a difficult task to make the young North Korean ruling class feel close to and admire Haehan. Haihan is good at publicity and publicity. As long as there is an opportunity, there are many ways to make these young people interested in Haihan culture.
However, judging from previous meetings, the two opinion leaders in North Korea's official circles have obviously each chosen a prince as their support target. Their selection criteria are unknown, but the outcome of this battle should be difficult to see in the near future. , if the original historical trend is followed, it will still be twelve years before the next North Korean king succeeds to the throne. The successor has to wait for such a long time as the crown prince, which is enough time for all kinds of stories to happen.
The screening method mentioned by Wang Tom is indeed a solution. If it can be confirmed early that a certain prince has a special interest and affinity for Haihan, then the possibility of receiving rewards after supporting him will be greater. As for how to slowly exert influence according to its own preferences, that is not entirely the military's business. Only long-term follow-up by the diplomatic and intelligence agencies can play a role.
And Li Zhu arranged for the princes to observe the negotiation process and let them have dinner with General Haihan. It is hard to say whether there was a similar intention in this. It is currently difficult for Qian Tiandun and Wang Tom to confirm what kind of requirements Li Zhu would have for the successor's political stance. However, judging from the original historical records, the crown prince who was more inclined to the Qing Dynasty in the later years should have been because of his unpopular political stance. That's why Xi was deposed by Li Zhu. Whether an heir who loves Haihan will be favored by Li Zhu is hard to say at the moment. Although people who like Haehan may not necessarily be able to sit on the throne, there is one thing that Qian and Wang can confirm immediately, that is, people who don't like Haehan will definitely not be able to become the next king of North Korea. As North Korea's most important diplomatic partner at present and in the next few years, Haihan's views on the successor will definitely affect Li Jie's choice.
After the day's talks, Cui Mingji suddenly offered to visit General Haihan at his residence in Seoul. Although Kim Sang-hyun did not object vocally, his face looked unhappy at the moment. However, there was currently no ban prohibiting other officials from meeting alone with the Haihan people. Even if he wanted to object, he could not find a suitable excuse.
What disappointed Kim Sang-hyun even more was that the Haihan people readily agreed to Cui Mingji's request instead of decisively rejecting it. It seems that during these two days of talks, Cui Mingji has successfully won the recognition of the Haihan people, which makes Kim Sangxian vaguely uneasy.
Li Zhu was happy to see the results. From the two-day meeting, he also realized that Cui Mingji had a better understanding of the cooperation plan and was more suitable to bargain with the Haihan people than Kim Sang-heon. It may be beneficial for Cui Mingji to have more contact with the Haihan people to gain the initiative in the subsequent negotiation process. As for whether he believes in Cui Mingji's integrity and ability, since he has chosen to let Cui Mingji participate in the negotiation process, this is already the greatest trust.
As for Haihan, of course, they felt that it was easy. They had tried every means to find out how to contact Cui Mingji and tried to arrange a private meeting to find out the other party's true thoughts. However, they did not expect that it was actually the person who took the initiative in the end. It's the other person.
At that moment, Cui Mingji took a carriage and followed Haihan's motorcade back to their temporary residence in Seoul. After Qian Tiandun got off the car, he ordered his entourage to prepare a banquet to entertain the official Cao Banshu who took the initiative to visit.
"To be honest, we originally wanted to find an opportunity to visit Mr. Cui at his residence, but we didn't expect that Mr. Cui came first!" After sitting down, Wang Tom took the initiative to mention his previous plan.
Although Cui Mingji didn't know whether Wang Tom's words were polite or serious, he could feel the kindness released by Wang Tom and immediately said a few polite words.
Not long after, the kitchen began to serve food. Although it was cold dishes, North Koreans were used to raw and cold food. Qian Tiandun asked someone to open a jar of wine and let Cui Mingji taste Haihan's specialties.
After three glasses of wine, the atmosphere began to warm up. Cui Mingji took the initiative to mention why he came to visit them: "In fact, after reading the industrial cooperation plan proposed by your country, I feel that most of them are beneficial to North Korea's future development, but among them If you have any questions, you need to ask them in person.”
Wang Tom said: "It doesn't matter if you ask for advice. If you have any questions, let's discuss them together. Mr. Cui just says it's okay."
Cui Mingji put down his wine glass and said: "Actually, most of the questions have been asked during the two days of talks. I would like to ask the two generals again, how should North Korea develop in the future to truly strengthen its own strength?"< br>
Cui Mingji's problem is huge. Politics, military, economy, culture, each field has a different definition of strength, but it is not easy to become strong in any field. Tom Wang and Qian Tiandun looked at each other, neither quite sure what answer Cui Mingji wanted.
Cui Mingji is a smart man. When he saw that these two people were silent and did not answer his questions, he knew what the problem was. He then said: "I heard that when your country was founded in the South China Sea, there were only about 500 citizens. In ten years, the territory has spread all over the South China Sea, and the army has been victorious in conquering various countries. It is really admirable. I have also done some research on the development history of your country, but due to too little information, I can draw no conclusions. There are really not many, so I have always wanted to find an opportunity to communicate with senior officials of your country in person and ask for advice on how to govern and strengthen the country, and how to make the country stronger in just a few years.”
Cui Mingji's tone was very sincere. After he finished speaking, he stood up and bowed his head, which meant thanking the two of them in advance.
Qian Tiandun responded: "This is a long story. Although our country seemed relatively weak when it was founded, we already had a relatively long-term plan for the development of the country at that time. What to do first, what to do later, How various functional departments work together, how to deal with external parties, how to utilize the resources at hand, including human resources, and many other issues, all have plans prepared in advance. It only took ten years for the Haihan Kingdom to grow rapidly, but in fact, most of the experience we use in governing the country, marching and fighting is accumulated over hundreds or even thousands of years. If we don’t make detours in the development process, we will naturally grow faster. ”
Cui Mingji seemed to understand these words, but at the same time he felt that there was a lot worth understanding in detail. Cui Mingji pondered for a while before asking again: "If I learn from your country's way of governing the country, will there be significant results?"
Tom Wang responded: "The effect will be there, but the magnitude is not certain. In the final analysis, the social systems of our respective countries are different, and the power structure and social production relations are also different. Even if there are more advanced places, your country It is impossible to copy them all. In fact, Mr. Jin has already had similar discussions with us on this issue.”
(End of chapter)