Chapter 619 The gap between rich and poor in North Korea
"Yes, Your Majesty, if the Ming Dynasty dares to interfere in the affairs of Hubei and Henan, then fight!"
"Your Majesty, if we are to fight with the Ming army, I will request to be the vanguard!"
"Your Majesty, I would like to ask for your support!"
"..."
The generals of Guan Ning's army expressed their stance one after another.
The Guan Ning army, which had just finished the Battle of Guanzhong, was very swollen and did not take the Ming army seriously at all.
When they were still following the Ming Dynasty, Guan Ning's cavalry was already famous, and its combat effectiveness was recognized to be the best in the entire Ming army.
Now that they were using the banner of the Qing Dynasty and even defeated the Eight Banners soldiers who were said to be invincible, they naturally became arrogant and looked down upon the Ming army even more.
Wu Sangui was also convinced and nodded slightly.
"What you said makes sense!"
"Notice it down and prepare the entire army for war!"
"Be prepared to fight the Ming army!"
"..."
After giving these instructions, Wu Sangui seemed to have remembered something and spoke.
"Notify Wuchang and ask Ying Qi to be prepared to defend the city and resist every step!"
"If the Ming Dynasty invades Wuchang, it will immediately send a letter asking for help, and I will send troops to reinforce it."
Wu Sangui almost forgot that he also had a son in Wuchang.
…
North Korea, Incheon Port!
As North Korea's largest port facing China, although Incheon Port was prosperous at this time, it was not wealthy.
The entire port is full of low and dilapidated thatched houses or adobe houses.
The streets are narrow and crowded, and the sewage flows very well and even collects into beaches.
The stench is overwhelming!
Most of the people coming and going were in rags, their faces were disheveled, and their bodies were so thin that they looked like they would fall down if the wind blew.
These North Korean people were walking and wandering on the streets. Their hungry steps made them look like zombies looking for food.
To be honest, the people under the Joseon Dynasty actually lived a more miserable life than the people under the Qing Dynasty.
Because North Korea is small and densely populated, coupled with its two groups of nobles and aristocratic families, they control the government and block the upward path.
The gap between rich and poor in North Korea has reached an extremely exaggerated level.
If it weren't for the Japanese pirates who invaded Korea before, the Qing Dynasty's love for Korea would have wiped out a large number of remaining people in Korea.
I am afraid that a large-scale uprising has already broken out in North Korea!
Incheon Port is one of the most important ports for North Korea’s foreign trade.
Especially with the restoration of the Ming Dynasty in recent years, maritime trade, which had been suspended due to the wars between the Ming and Qing Dynasties, has resumed and is even better than in the past.
More and more North Koreans began to spontaneously pour into Incheon Port in search of livelihood.
This large influx of foreign population has greatly reduced the labor costs of Incheon Port and increased the living costs of the people of Incheon Port.
The combined effect of various factors has turned Incheon Port into the ghostly appearance before us.
Poverty and hardship are everywhere, hunger and cold are everywhere!
Cui Siqi is one of these immigrants. He came to Incheon Port full of hope and wanted to make a living for himself.
I want to use my own labor to support him and his family.
However, what he didn't expect was that when he arrived at Incheon Port, what greeted him was not a well-paid job or a satisfying life.
But unbearable hunger and poverty.
The trade between North Korea and the Ming Dynasty has indeed resumed, but ships coming from the Ming Dynasty have to pay attention to a shipping schedule.
Basically every month, a fleet of many ships arrives at Incheon Port for trade.
At this time, Cui Siqi and others will have a job that can make a living.
If there were no ships, people like Cui Siqi would not be able to find a job at all, so they would have to rely on the money they had saved before.
I reluctantly buy some brown rice and make porridge to save my life!
Hopefully this can be delayed until the next fleet arrival!
If the fleet is slightly delayed due to some accident, there is no telling how many people will starve to death.
Cui Siqi and others are all like this!
This is the current situation of people living in Incheon Port, North Korea.
Almost everyone is struggling on the line of life and death, not knowing when they will starve to death and become starving corpses lying on both sides of the street.
Cui Siqi followed the flow of people and walked step by step towards the port.
Along the way, from time to time, someone would be so hungry that they had no strength left, fell to the ground, and were trampled into pulp by countless big feet.
Can't even scream!
At this moment, someone in the crowd shouted.
"The ship is coming! The ship is coming!"
As soon as these words came out, the flow of people that was originally moving slowly accelerated in an instant.
Almost everyone is rushing towards the port with all their strength!
Want to compete for those rare job opportunities!
In the process, no one knows how many people were trampled to death.
The child and mother were separated in the crowd, and the mother watched helplessly as her child was swallowed up by the crowd and trampled to a pulp.
Near the port, countless North Koreans gathered on the pier like zombies, reaching out to the fleet floating on the sea to beg for food and jobs that could provide them with meager wages.
Some businessmen with two groups of North Korean dignitaries standing behind them came to the dock, preparing to trade with the Ming Dynasty fleet coming from afar.
Compared with the zombie-like lower-class people of North Korea, these wealthy businessmen seem to live in a different world from them.
These wealthy businessmen were well-dressed, well-fed, and had rosy faces. They traveled in sedans carried by several people, and their every move showed elegance.
It's like a superior person living in heaven.
Facing the surging crowd, the guards of these wealthy businessmen drove them away savagely and roughly.
Some people even pulled out sticks and swung them at the crowd mercilessly, smashing the heads of many Korean people and causing bleeding.
A fat businessman in rich clothes and sitting in an eight-carriage sedan said to the North Korean general who was in charge of security at the dock.
"Shangguo's fleet is about to dock!"
"I hope the general can disperse these mobs and not let them disturb the nobles!"
Facing such a businessman with no official status, this North Korean general behaved quite submissively.
He spoke solemnly.
"Member Zhao, don't worry, I will let the men disperse these rioters!"
"They must not disturb the noble man!"
The fat businessman nodded, took out a money bag from his arms, threw it to the North Korean general, and said.
"Invite brothers to tea!"
The North Korean general took the money bag, opened it and looked at the golden beans inside. His face was full of joy, he nodded and bowed, and said more humbly.
"Commander Zhao is heading outside, I will order someone to do this!"
The reason why this North Korean general was so respectful to this unofficial businessman was not just because the businessman was rich.
The more important reason is that behind this businessman stands the behemoth of the Fengyang Zhao family!
He, a low-level guy with a knife, could not afford to offend a big shot from the Fengyang Zhao family.