jdhmnovel Chapter 349 Trying to use morality to blackmail this official?
Chapter 349 Trying to use morality to blackmail this official?
Upon hearing Yang Shaofeng say that he had originally planned to persuade the two to buy books, Park Sung-sung immediately became happy and repeatedly said, "This subject thanks Your Highness, the Prince Consort."
After giving Yang Shaofeng a careful look, Park Sung-sung continued, "Your Highness, you may not know this, but our Goryeo is a small country with a small population and barren land. It is also located on the coast and is frequently hit by tsunamis, making it extremely difficult for the people to make a living."
"Therefore, I would like to purchase some books on agriculture and building methods so that the people of Goryeo can grow more grain and build houses that are a little more sturdy."
"I don't expect the people of Goryeo to live as well as the people of the Celestial Empire, I only hope that the people of Goryeo can live a better life than they do now."
Park Sung-sung bowed deeply to Yang Shaofeng with great solemnity and said, "I hope that Your Highness will grant my request."
Ok?
And then this guy actually ran into a Korean with a moral compass?
The key point is that this damned Korean actually tried to use morality to blackmail me, the official?
Ha~te!
Yang Shaofeng smiled, reached out to help Park Sung-sung up, shook his head slightly, and said, "Vice Envoy Park's love for the people is something I deeply admire, but..."
Park Sung-sung's heart tightened, but Yang Shaofeng continued, "However, Vice Envoy Park's thinking is too simplistic."
Park Sung-sung was slightly taken aback, then cupped his hands and said, "Please enlighten me, Your Highness."
Yang Shaofeng hummed in agreement, and said as he slowly paced around, "Vice Envoy Park's intentions are good, but he overlooked one issue."
"Has Vice Envoy Park ever considered why, despite possessing books like the *Agricultural Treatise* and the *Building Standards*, our Great Ming Dynasty never printed them on a large scale, but instead produced simplified versions of the *Hongwu Zhengyun* and the *Hongwu Dictionary*?"
Park Sung-sung lowered his head in thought, and Yang Shaofeng continued, "Because whether it's the 'Agricultural Treatise' or the 'Building Standards,' these books are ultimately for scholars, while ordinary people who really need these books may not be able to read the words in them."
"Therefore, our Great Ming Dynasty first produced the Hongwu Zhengyun and the Hongwu Dictionary, and through the Hongwu Zhengyun and the Hongwu Dictionary, we cultivated more scholars and let these scholars teach the people to read."
"Only when ordinary people can roughly read can they understand books like the Agricultural Treatise and the Architectural Standards."
"Therefore, if Vice Envoy Park wants to make the people of Goryeo rich, what he needs most is not books on agriculture or construction methods, but rather, like our Great Ming Dynasty, to first solve the problem of literacy among the people."
Yang Shaofeng pointed to the Hongwu Zhengyun and Hongwu Dictionary on the table and said with a smile, "If Vice Envoy Park is interested, I can have more copies of the Hongwu Zhengyun and Hongwu Dictionary printed. Vice Envoy Park can take them back to cultivate more scholars for Goryeo."
Park Sung-sung nodded slightly, cupped his hands in a respectful bow to Yang Shaofeng, and said, "This humble subject thanks Your Highness, but regarding the 'Agricultural Treatise' and the 'Building Standards'..."
Yang Shaofeng smiled and waved his hand, "I know that Vice Envoy Park is in a hurry, but don't worry. Books like the Agricultural Treatise and the Architectural Standards can be sold to Goryeo, but Vice Envoy Park, aren't you afraid that these two books will cause turmoil in Goryeo?"
Park Sung-sung paused slightly, then asked, "Unrest?"
Yang Shaofeng nodded and said, "Since Vice Envoy Park has heard of the reputation of 'The Book of Agriculture' and 'The Standards of Building Construction,' he must also know that if these two books are used properly, they can at least help the people harvest more grain, right?"
Park Sung-sung nodded, but Yang Shaofeng continued, "But hasn't Vice Envoy Park considered that if the people harvest more grain, it's actually not a good thing for them?"
Park Sung-sung shook his head slightly and said, "Your Highness is joking. The people will only have a better life if they harvest more grain. How can that not be a good thing?"
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and countered, "May I ask Vice Envoy Park, in your Goryeo, are there more self-employed farmers or more local gentry and elders? In Goryeo, is the land mostly in the hands of ordinary people or in the hands of local gentry and elders?"
"If all the people in Goryeo were self-sufficient farmers, and the land in Goryeo were all in the hands of the people, and the local gentry and elders of Goryeo did not oppress the people, then all of this would be easy to discuss."
“But if the local gentry and elders had more land, would they just sit idly by and watch the tenants hoard more grain? The tenants had already received more grain, but the extra grain was still being taken away by the local gentry and elders. How could they be willing to accept that?”
Yang Shaofeng smiled, then said seriously, "As the saying goes, if one's virtue is not commensurate with one's position, disaster will surely follow. Before all these messy problems are resolved, rashly introducing books like the 'Agricultural Treatise' and the 'Building Standards' will only do Goryeo more harm than good."
As soon as Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Park Sung-sung broke out in a cold sweat.
Something seems very wrong.
But it also seems to make a lot of sense.
After thinking about it for a long time without coming up with a solution, Park Sung-sung simply bowed to Yang Shaofeng and said, "Please, Your Highness, do not hesitate to give me your guidance."
Yang Shaofeng smiled, gave a soft "hmm," and said, "When I was in Ningyang County, I once organized the people to reclaim wasteland—never underestimate the people's enthusiasm for the land. If given the opportunity, they can reclaim tens of thousands of acres of fertile land in a single winter."
With over two thousand people, several hundred oxen, draft horses, mules, and donkeys, plus each household having plows, hoes, shovels, and other farm tools, and the land being cultivated was originally used by Hu Yuan as pasture and horse feed, if they couldn't cultivate ten thousand acres of fertile land in one winter, Yang Shaofeng felt that they should just give up on the idea of reclamation and cultivation and go home to sleep.
As for whether Korea can cultivate tens of thousands of acres of fertile land in one winter... what does that have to do with me? If they can't, it just means the Korean people are lazy, and that Korean land is difficult to cultivate. It has absolutely nothing to do with me.
While Yang Shaofeng was thinking randomly in his mind, he said with a smile, "If Vice Envoy Park really wants to make the people of Goryeo rich, the first thing to do is to mobilize the people to reclaim wasteland, so that they can get rid of the exploitation by those local gentry and have more grain in their hands."
“Once the people have more grain in their hands, Vice Envoy Park can try to guide them to read and write, and then promote books such as the Agricultural Book and the Architectural Standards.”
After a slight pause, Yang Shaofeng added, "How about this, I can first take Envoy Park and his deputy to walk around the fields of Penglai County, so you can see for yourselves how the people of Penglai cultivate and reclaim wasteland, what do you say?"
After Park Deok-hwan and Park Sung-sung agreed, Yang Shaofeng instructed Lame Wu, "Go and call over Xu Jingyu, the magistrate of Penglai, and have him lead the way."