Chapter 2231
Although Li Zhi is full of expectations for North Korea's international status as it develops and grows in the future, he may not have a clear understanding of what constitutes normal diplomatic relations between countries.
Since the founding of Korea in 1392 when Li Chenggui replaced Wang, the Li family has been in power for more than two hundred years. During this period, successive rulers have always pursued magnanimism and respected the Ming Dynasty as the suzerainty. From the ruling class to ordinary civilians, they have long been accustomed to paying tribute to the sovereign state to obtain asylum. In the minds of Koreans, perhaps this dependence on the strong is normal diplomatic relations.
After Li Zhi came to Sanya, his horizons indeed broadened a lot, and he also began to have some reflections on the diplomatic strategies adopted by North Korea in the past. Especially since the country has long relied on the protection of the Ming Dynasty for its external defense, it is worth examining whether this approach has won real security for North Korea.
When Japan invaded North Korea in the early years, the Ming Dynasty still had the strength to send troops to rescue North Korea. However, in recent years, the Qing Dynasty has rapidly risen in Liaodong. Both the Ming Dynasty and North Korea are facing great military pressure. During this period, the Ming Dynasty could not afford to provide any more military support to North Korea. Protected by force, they could only be allowed to fend for themselves under the iron heel of the Qing army. For such a suzerain country, North Korea is indeed no different from other unrelated countries.
Although both Li Zhi and his father, the current king Li Zhu, believe that it is time to make some changes in the relationship between North Korea and the Ming Dynasty, they do not believe that North Korea should completely break away from the protection of the suzerain country, since the Ming Dynasty has gradually been unable to complete its tasks. If the obligations of the suzerain state are fulfilled, North Korea should find a more suitable alternative.
In the original history, this replacement was played by the Qing Dynasty. After Bingzi's chaos, the two countries established a so-called brotherly relationship, but in fact the Qing Dynasty replaced the Ming Dynasty and forcibly became the new suzerainty of North Korea. However, due to the direct intervention of Haihan in this time and space, the Qing army's conquest of Korea in 1637 was not successful. Therefore, the historical mission of replacing the Ming Dynasty was naturally not its turn.
During this period, the only country that could provide military protection to North Korea was Haihan. Li Zhu saw clearly that neither the neighboring enemies such as the Qing Dynasty or Japan, nor the Ming Dynasty, the former suzerain country, were obviously as powerful as Haihan in terms of military strength.
The most important thing is that Haihan's attitude before and after the war showed no intention of invading North Korea, and he was an extremely reliable protector of North Korea. If North Korea needs to find a new big tree to enjoy the shade, Haihan should be the most suitable choice.
Therefore, the normal diplomatic relations Li Xie mentioned not only meant breaking away from the past subordination relationship with Ming Dynasty, but also meant replacing it with Haihan. This was already the consensus of the top leaders of North Korea and Haihan, so there was no need for him to explain this detail to Tian Zheng, an industry insider. For these inside stories, the information he has may not be as good as Tian Zheng's.
"Your Majesty has such ambitions, I'm afraid that Mr. Fei won't have a good look when he sees you in the future!" Tian Zheng held the teapot in his hand and poured hot tea into the cup in front of Li Shi, taking his time. He said slowly: "Although Ming has not expressed its position, it will definitely not be happy to see your country break away from the original system. It may cause some trouble for your country in the diplomatic field in the future."
"Thank you, Mr. Tian, for reminding me!" Li Xie was not too surprised by this, and responded with a smile: "Speaking of this, our country has been troubled by people many times, but have we ever been afraid? Besides, now that your country is helping, Ming Dynasty What else can we do? Is it possible that we can send troops to teach our country a lesson?”
After experiencing last year's war, Li Zhi has a clearer understanding of the military strength of various countries. The Ming Dynasty, which was originally in the first tier in his mind, has now fallen to the lower second tier, worse than the Qing Dynasty. It is slightly inferior, and because North Korea has formed an alliance with Haihan, a real military power, Li Zhi believes that it will be able to catch up with these two second-tier countries in the near future. At that time, if Ming wants to teach North Korea a lesson, it must first consider whether it can surrender North Korea through military means.
Tian Zheng's statement was originally intended to test Li Xie's attitude. Seeing that the other party was still firm, he stopped talking about this topic. As a diplomat, it is a bit taboo for him to express these opinions with obvious positions. After all, there are countless interests between Haihan and Ming Dynasty, which are much closer than the relationship between North Korea and Ming Dynasty. If some remarks are made publicly that are not conducive to the relationship between the two countries, it may also affect Haihan's interests.
Tian Zheng took the initiative to change the subject and asked: "Is the course that the prince has recently taken going well? Are there any requirements?"
When Li Xie heard him ask about his studies, the smile on his face quickly disappeared: "If I said everything went well, I would not only be lying to Mr. Tian, but also to myself. To be honest, many courses were poorly studied. I’m confused. I asked Mr. Ning and he said that my academic foundation is too weak and the things I learned are too advanced, so this phenomenon occurs.”
Tian Zhengdao: "Maybe the prince should be more patient and spend more time learning those basic things. It will not be so difficult to learn advanced courses in the future."
"I don't understand this!" Li Zhi responded with a wry smile: "But I asked Master Ning, those basic knowledge often take several years to learn, how can I have so much time? If you want to continue studying in China, you can only study it first, and then slowly look for opportunities to study it in depth when you return to China. ”
The Master Ning that Li Xie refers to is Ning Qi, who is in charge of cultural and educational affairs in Haihan. The courses that Li Zhi took while studying abroad in Haihan were basically arranged by him. Therefore, when he encountered difficulties that were difficult to solve during the study process, Ning Qi mostly came forward to provide guidance.
Most of the courses that Li Zhen has taken so far are relatively comprehensive, and indeed require a certain foundation in general education. For example, in the navigation course he is currently studying, Li Zhi started learning from map recognition. However, the world is a sphere, but the map drawn is a plane. How is the map data converted in the actual application process? This seems simple but is actually Problems involving physics, mathematics, geometry, etc. were enough to make him confused.
The computing power required to formulate routes also gave Li Zhi a headache. The knowledge he learned since childhood was mainly based on a subset of classics and history written by Han people, but when it came to calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, it made him very confused. Today, he went to the municipal library to consult nautical chart information in order to complete the exercises assigned for this course. However, even if he could find the relevant locations on the nautical chart and draw the simplest direct route, how to calculate the voyage was still difficult. Still a big problem.
Although Li Zhen completed the exercises, he also knew that the results of his blind calculations might not be the correct answers. If he used this as a basis to arrange the sailing plan, he would probably get lost at sea.
After hearing his complaint, Tian Zheng nodded and said: "After all, the main reason is that the prince cannot stay in our country to study for a long time, so he cannot learn many courses from the basics. He can only become a monk halfway and learn a general framework. Although he is not proficient in it, when he takes charge and makes decisions in the future, he can at least understand the truth and not be deceived by the people below. "That's right, even if I spend a few years learning navigation here. It is impossible to become a naval admiral like General Tom Wang, who can not only command fleets to fight at sea, but also be proficient in navigation and shipbuilding. All I can do is to learn a little bit in your country first. As for proficiency, I can only leave it to you. I’m coming with the officers and craftsmen from Sanya!”
After these few months of study, Li Xie has actually gained a more objective understanding of his abilities. In terms of brains, if you pick any of the high-ranking officials of the Haihan Kingdom, they are all geniuses. Even if you try to impress them, you won't be able to catch up. With such a large group of geniuses running the country, it is no wonder that the Haihan Kingdom has risen rapidly in just a few years. Although my own talents cannot be compared with these amazing people, as long as I can learn 50% of their skills, it should be enough to revitalize North Korea.
And even though high-ranking officials like Haihan are all talented people, they did not try to monopolize power. Instead, they had a clear division of labor and a tacit cooperation system. This also made Li Zhi realize that he was the future ruler of North Korea. The role of the government is not to do everything personally, but to try to appoint loyal and capable people and arrange for them to help the country develop through division of labor and cooperation.
Tian Zhengdao: "Young Master, there is no need to belittle yourself. Among the foreigners who come to study in our country, those who can study so many courses at the same time are definitely one of the best! The vast majority of international students are far from having the talent of Your Highness."
Li Zhen asked curiously: "So there are other people with this ability? Is there anyone I recognize among them?"
Tian Zheng thought for a moment before replying: "The prince does recognize one person, the young master of the Li family who came to Guangzhou last time. Does the prince still remember him?"
Li Yan said: "Are you talking about Li Nai, Mr. Li San? How could such a romantic person not remember that he also studied in your country?"
Tian Zhengdao: "Master Li San did not study abroad formally like the prince, but in his early years he would come to Sanya to live for a few months from time to time, and usually hung out with the adults in Victory Fort. He learned various skills , all taught by adults. I once heard Mr. Ning comment on Mr. Li, calling him a truly eager to learn. ”
Li Nai, the third young master of the Li family in Guangzhou, was already a frequent visitor to Fort Victory when Haihan's territory was limited to the Victory Port area. At that time, the people of the Crossing Group were only focused on developing their power and had no time to recruit foreigners to study in Haihan. It is true that Li Nai's learning method during his stay in Haihan was not through formal teaching, but just with the Haihan gang. After getting to know people, relying on personal connections, he came into contact with many advanced things that he had never seen in the Ming Dynasty, thus broadening his horizons and increasing his knowledge.
The time-travelers who were familiar with Li Nai at that time were very happy to teach him their knowledge. After the founding of Haihan, this learning channel slowly disappeared because the time-travelers were busy with their work. Latecomers, including international students, It's hard to have an experience like him again.
And because of this unique experience, Li Nai became one of the most trusted Ming people among Haihan executives. He didn't even need to join Haihan nationality like other businessmen who were interested in developing in Haihan, but he could get all kinds of special care from Fort Victory. His influence was so great that a prince like Li Xie would be envious.
Li Zhi really got to know Li Nai at a banquet held when Li Nai visited Sanya in the first half of the year. The guests invited to attend at that time even included all the senior officials in Sanya on the executive committee, and Li Zhi could clearly feel that the relationship between Mr. Li San and the senior officials of Haihan was very harmonious, and they finalized several huge investment projects while talking and laughing. cooperation projects.
The personal talent Li Nai displayed during the banquet was completely different from the businessmen Li Xie knew. Rather than saying that he was a businessman full of copper odor, it would be better to say that his behavior and conversation were closer to those of Haihan's senior officials, and even Without a special introduction, Li Zhi would most likely mistake him for a high-ranking Haihan official.
Later, Li Zhen also invited Young Master Li San back in private. Through face-to-face communication, he could feel the gap in knowledge between him and the other party. At that time, he believed that Li Nai was an outstanding figure among the Ming people. It was because of his extraordinary talents that he was appreciated by the Haihan people. When Tian Zheng talked about it, he realized that Li Nai's talents probably came from The words and deeds of Haihan people.
Since Li Nai can achieve success in his studies, of course he also has such an opportunity. Li Zhi thought of this section and became more confident in his learning prospects, but then he thought that he would come to Haihan to study various majors. There are hundreds of foreign students. It is no longer possible to enjoy the almost exclusive teaching environment like Li Nai. Naturally, it is also difficult to achieve the same academic achievements.
Thinking of this section, Li Yan couldn't help but feel a little depressed: "A genius like Mr. Li San is indeed one in a thousand. Lord Tian will compare me with Mr. Li, which is too high for me."
Tian Zhengdao: "I mention Third Young Master Li below because the Crown Prince has many similarities with Third Young Master Li. If the Crown Prince has something that he can't figure out while studying abroad, maybe you can find an opportunity to talk to Third Young Master Li. See if you can get some good advice from him. ”
Li Zhi sighed: "I am very happy to communicate with people like Mr. Li San, but he is thousands of miles away in Guangzhou, so it is not easy to meet him. I don't have time to visit Guangzhou, and it is impossible for Li The third young master came all the way from Guangzhou to meet in Sanya.”
Tian Zheng said: "That may not be so troublesome. Young Master Li will come to Sanya for business in the near future. If the prince is interested, I can make arrangements for him."
(End of chapter)