There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 404 Korea
In the south, the winter solstice has passed.

This year, for the Winter Solstice Festival, Nie Yu was unusually generous and granted his officials a three-day holiday.

After all, this is the founding of a new dynasty, a once-in-a-century event of political upheaval, so there has to be some celebration and ceremony.

Five years have passed since the Great Han uprising began at the end of the sixtieth year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the pseudo-Qing dynasty.

The new Han dynasty has basically recovered most of the south, and the battle line has been pushed to the Huai River basin. Even Yancheng in Jiangsu has been captured by the Han army. They only have a three-day holiday, which will not cause too much delay to national affairs.

In the new Han Dynasty in the south, the emperor and his officials enjoyed a rare break during the Winter Solstice Festival. Even the common people of the new Han Dynasty, who had been busy all year, took advantage of these days to burn incense to worship their ancestors and have a family reunion dinner.

The saying "The Winter Solstice is as important as the New Year" is enough to show how much the ancients valued the Winter Solstice Festival.

Moreover, people in ancient times had very few holidays. Throughout the year, there were only statutory holidays such as New Year's Day, Lantern Festival, Shangsi Festival, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Winter Solstice. In addition, there were several other irregular holidays, such as Shangyuan Festival, Zhongyuan Festival, Christmas (the emperor's birthday), founding ceremony, and the crown prince's wedding.

Of course, the reason why the people of the Han Dynasty were able to have time to celebrate the winter solstice was mainly due to the significant drop in rice prices under the rule of the new Han Dynasty.

The price of rice in Huguang region goes without saying, as it is the birthplace of the Han Dynasty and the granary of the nation.

There was no need to transport grain to the north anymore, and the price of rice had long since dropped to eight qian of silver per shi, which is about eight wen of rice per sheng.

The price of rice at this time was not much higher than that of rice in later generations. Even in the Jiangnan prefectures that were just fully recovered this year, the average price of rice had been forcibly suppressed by the Han Dynasty to one and a half to eight qian of silver per shi.

The price of rice is much cheaper than the ridiculously high five taels of silver per shi during the war. Compared to the rice price under the pseudo-Qing regime in the north, the price of rice in Jiangnan is not low in the Han Dynasty, but it is only a quarter of the price of rice under the pseudo-Qing regime.

Such exorbitant rice prices were practically forcing the Han Chinese in the north to revolt, and indeed they did.

The coal miners and peasants of Shanxi rose up in rebellion. While their overall fighting strength was certainly inferior to that of the Qing army's Green Standard Army, this is undeniable. Putting aside the fact that the Northern Green Standard Army could not be compared to the Southern Green Standard Army, and that the miners' militia was indeed more disciplined than ordinary peasant armies, no matter how disciplined they were, in the early stages of an uprising, they were still just a mob.

At best, they can only be considered a highly disciplined but poorly fighting rabble.

To be more realistic, the earliest Taiping Army was unable to defeat the local people from Guangdong, so they went north to bully the pampered soldiers in the Jiangnan region.

Through continuous battles and gradual accumulation of experience, they slowly transformed into the Taiping Army, which later became feared by the Qing army.

The Shanxi coal miners' uprising was indeed not strong in terms of fighting power, but it was strong in discipline. It also joined forces with peasant armies from all over Shanxi. Everyone wore white headscarves as flags and called themselves the "White Head Army".

Emperor Jiaqing was greatly surprised and immediately issued an edict ordering the Henan army to return and quell the rebellion. At the same time, he also sent imperial edicts to the three generals in Shengjing, Jilin, and Heilongjiang outside the Great Wall, as well as to the various leagues and banners of Mongolia, mobilizing their troops and warriors to enter the pass and quell the rebellion.

The Qing dynasty's transfer of troops from these areas into the pass meant that the Shanxi "White-haired Army" should not have been able to hold out. However, Jiaqing's edicts also completely disrupted the Qing court's strategic deployment in the north.

However, given the current financial situation of the puppet Qing dynasty, a major war between the North and the South is inevitable next year or the year after.

……

The following spring.

Before the New Year's Day holiday was even over, more than ten ships flying flags with Chinese characters were setting sail from Taicang Port, fully loaded with cargo and crew, heading north.

The ships and sailors were all borrowed by Cai Qian. Although Nie Yu had already obtained ships from the Fujian Navy, the navy needed time to train, and Cai Qian happened to have them readily available.

"Ugh!"

"Haha, Brother Wu, eight out of ten mainlanders will get seasick the first time they take a sea voyage. You should hurry back to your cabin and rest! We'll send someone in to let you know when we get there."

"Cough cough... No need, I'm fine, I can still... vomit!"

Wu Liehu was leaning on the deck railing, vomiting violently towards the sea below. He had vomited up almost everything he ate that morning, and was even bringing up bile.

Wu Liehu was specially transferred from Zhejiang by the emperor to accompany him by ship to Jeju Island in Korea. Because he was a general who came from a cavalry background and had even captured Fuzhina alive, he was sent to lead and train cavalry.

Although Wu Liehu was from Hubei, after five years of military service, traveling all over the country on the navy's large ships, he thought he shouldn't get seasick.

Unexpectedly, the sea was completely different from the river. Less than half an hour after boarding the ship, he began to feel seasick and vomit. He was seasick and vomited until the next day and was almost exhausted from the seasickness.

Cai Hong, who was standing next to him, was also somewhat helpless. He had come to join the ship and was in charge of commanding the sailors, but after boarding the ship, he found that almost all of these Han soldiers were landlubbers who had never seen the sea before, and they all got seasick as soon as they boarded the ship.

Fortunately, this awkward situation did not last long. Wu Liehu and his 2000 Han soldiers adapted for two or three days and stopped vomiting. They were still a little seasick, but much better.

The fleet sailed at sea for about five days before finally reaching the waters off North Korea.

From the 18th to the early 19th century, Korea's national policy was influenced by both the puppet Qing dynasty and Japan, and it basically adhered to a limited policy of isolation.

It is extremely wary and hostile towards Japan and Western countries, allowing only limited trade between Western and Japanese merchants on Tsushima Island and prohibiting them from directly entering North Korean territory.

However, because North Korea bordered the Qing Dynasty directly and because North Korea had a long-standing tradition of "serving the great with the small," the Qing Dynasty, despite its policy of isolationism, maintained close tributary trade ties with North Korea.

The Han fleet sailed on for a while longer.

Wu Liehu took out his binoculars and saw a large island connected to the land in the distance: "That's Jeju Island? It's so big, it seems like a good place to raise horses."

A Fujianese merchant accompanying the fleet on trade laughed and said, "General, that's not Jeju Island. Jeju Island shouldn't be that big, and it's south of Korea. The place we're going to now, according to the Koreans, should be called Ganghwa Island."

The Fujianese businessman, surnamed Zhou and named Zhou Zongfu, had smuggled to North Korea several times years ago and knew a lot about the situation there. He was temporarily hired by the Dahan fleet as a guide and translator.

Ganghwa Island?

Wu Liehu was somewhat puzzled. He took out the map of Korea and Liaodong Pass that His Majesty had given them before his departure, and carefully compared it with the map to find the direction of Ganghwa Island: "This is Ganghwa Island. It is indeed much larger than Jeju Island. Speaking of which, Ganghwa Island even has an estuary that connects to Hanyang City. Hanyang seems to be the capital of the Joseon Kingdom, right?"

Wu Liehu's slightly thoughtful tone startled Zhou Zongfu, a businessman from Fujian.

Cai Hong stepped forward to persuade him, saying, "Brother Wu, we are only here to test the waters of Korea and to help His Majesty the Emperor acquire Jeju Island. It would be best not to cause any unnecessary trouble!"

Wu Liehu laughed and said, "It's alright, what are you thinking? We just saw it and asked."

"..."

Cai Hong and Zhou Zongfu looked at each other in silence.

A moment later, the Korean side finally spotted the Han fleet, and the Korean navy on Ganghwa Island immediately set sail.

then……

The North Korean navy possessed more than forty ships of various sizes, but most of them were old-fashioned turtle ships and pan-ok-seo (boats with a hull), which had virtually no capability for long-range combat. Their weaponry consisted of only a small number of matchlock guns and small-caliber cannons.

This has been the national policy followed in Korea since the Imjin War two hundred years ago—emphasizing land over sea, with the navy not being developed at all and only used for coastal patrols, while focusing on developing the army.

It was precisely because of the major errors in the decision-making regarding the organization of the army that, decades later, when faced with an attack by Japan, Korea was unable to respond at sea and could only rely on the Qing government for help in resisting.

In comparison, the Han fleet did not have as many ships as the Korean fleet, consisting of only ten warships, but each of them was a large ocean-going vessel, and there were also seven armed merchant ships accompanying them.

Regardless of the tonnage and displacement of the warships, just considering their firepower, even the armed merchant ships of the Han Dynasty carried several medium-sized cannons. Such powerful firepower greatly frightened the Korean navy, who hastily formed a defensive formation and then sent small boats over to call out, "Where did you come from?"

Because they were shouting in Korean, Wu Liehu couldn't understand it, and neither could Cai Hong.

Fortunately, the "translator" they brought, Zhou Zongfu, could understand them and translated to the two men: "General, the other side is asking us where our fleet came from?"

"Tell them we are the fleet of His Majesty the Emperor of the New Han Dynasty!" Wu Liehu shouted, waving his hand.

Zhou Zongfu took the megaphone handed to him by a soldier and shouted back in Korean to the Korean soldiers on the small boat outside: "We are the fleet of His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Han!"

Emperor of the Han Dynasty?

Which Han Dynasty emperor?

The North Korean soldiers were completely bewildered and could only row back to report.

The report was submitted to the higher-ups, who knew what was going on with the Han Dynasty. Previously, the barbarian Qing Dynasty had bought a lot of grain from Korea to make up for its food shortage.

Based on the news they brought back from their subsequent tribute missions, it seems that the Qing Dynasty is currently fighting against a rebel force calling itself the Great Han, and the situation is somewhat delicate.

The Korean envoy who returned to Korea last year also suggested to King Jeongjong the Great of Korea, Yi San, that some adjustments should be made to Korea's national policies toward the Qing Dynasty.

However, before Yi San could react, he died of illness.

However, the sudden death of King Jeongjong Yi San also made many Joseon nobles feel suspicious and puzzled.

Before his sudden death, Yi San had just realized that the "right virtuous and left relatives" system he had used during his previous reign was not feasible. In other words, relying on close ministers and abolishing the maternal relatives was completely useless and instead led to serious factionalism among civil officials and nobles in Joseon. Therefore, Yi San decided to abandon the "right virtuous and left relatives" system and instead rely heavily on maternal relatives to carry out comprehensive reforms.

To implement these measures, Yi San first appointed Yi Gon (Sunjong) as Crown Prince, and then arranged for Kim Jo-sun, a member of the Noron-ji faction, to marry his daughter to Yi Gon as Crown Princess.

Just as they had reached this point, before they could further arrange for Kim Jo-sun to assist the Crown Prince, Yi San suddenly fell seriously ill and soon died in Changgyeong Palace in Hanyang.

No one would believe there wasn't something fishy going on here.

The Korean naval officers on Ganghwa Island had heard of the Han Dynasty, but knew little about it, and were even more unaware that the Han Dynasty already had an emperor.

By this time, the Koreans, who had already adopted the ideology of "respecting the Zhou dynasty" and "small China," naturally knew what level of rebel force could be considered an emperor within the territory of Greater China!

These Korean naval officers dared not make decisions on their own. They could only send envoys to negotiate with the Han fleet and at the same time immediately send a ship to Hanyang to report to the Queen Dowager.

Off the coast of Jianghua Island, Wu Liehu and Cai Hong were getting impatient.

Wu Liehu cursed, "Damn it, what do these Koreans want? They won't fight, and they won't let us pass. We might as well just attack them. I don't think their ships are very big, and they don't have many decent cannons."

Cai Hong didn't say anything, but he also wanted to try it out.

Caught in the middle, Zhou Zongfu offered a reasonable suggestion: "The general can order the artillery to fire, but not actually fire. Just scare them, and after the firing, immediately use flags to show that we have no intention of starting a war!"

That is indeed a "reasonable" suggestion!
Wu Liehu nodded: "Alright! Brother Cai, it's up to you."

Cai Hong immediately gave orders to the sailors and artillery below, and several red-coated cannons were brought out.

"Boom boom boom!"

A salvo of artillery fire erupted, instantly sending several huge waves crashing against the calm sea that the North Korean navy was facing.

A wave came too close to a small North Korean gunboat, and the huge impact capsized it.

The Korean navy was startled, thinking that a battle was about to break out on the other side, but then the Han fleet raised its flags and stopped firing.

Not long after, a small North Korean boat approached the Han army's naval vessel again.

A Korean envoy stepped forward and said tremblingly, "Generals of His Majesty the Emperor of Han, please do not continue firing. Our general has already reported the arrival of His Majesty the Emperor's fleet to the Queen Mother and the King."

Since neither Wu Liehu nor Cai Hong spoke Korean, Zhou Zongfu directly participated in the dialogue and inquiry with the Korean envoy, and then relayed the information to Wu Liehu and Cai Hong.

After several rounds of questioning and negotiation, Zhou Zongfu roughly grasped the current situation in North Korea. He then explained to Wu Liehu and Cai Hong: "When I came to North Korea to do business before, the reigning king was still Yi San. However, according to the information they received, their former king, King Jeongjong, had already passed away from illness last June. Now, the new king has been on the throne for less than half a year, and he is only ten years old. Therefore, it is their Grand Queen Dowager... who is ruling from behind the curtain."

"The Empress Dowager...rules from behind the curtain..."

Hearing these two keywords, coupled with the later mention that the new king of Joseon was only ten years old, it's definitely a scenario reminiscent of Empress Lü's story of a young ruler and a suspicious court.

Wu Liehu nodded slightly. Although he hadn't read many books, he knew that if this happened in a village, a father dying and leaving a young son to inherit the family business would definitely cause a lot of trouble.

When we look at the national level, it's obvious that the problem will only get worse.

Wu Liehu thought for a moment and said, "If that's the case, then North Korea must be in quite a mess right now! So, do you think I could...?"

Cai Hong hurriedly stopped him: "Brother Wu... no, General Wu, the current situation in Joseon is that the ruler is young and the country is in turmoil, with a woman like Empress Lü ruling from behind the curtain. Shouldn't we take advantage of this opportunity to seize Jeju Island and complete the mission assigned by His Majesty? Given Joseon's current situation, if we take Jeju Island, Joseon certainly can't do anything about it!"

“Hehe, you’re right.” Wu Liehu didn’t refute.

After waiting for about half a day, the Korean envoy finally received the news.

Hanyang City has sent an order from the Queen Dowager of Joseon, allowing the fleet of the Great Han Kingdom to trade on Ganghwa Island, but the Great Han Kingdom fleet needs to provide a list of goods in advance. They are to take the list back to Hanyang City and then notify the nobles and merchants in the city.

It wasn't until the morning after all that commotion that many fishing boats from the nearshore waters arrived at Ganghwa Island, all of them there to buy and sell goods from the Da Han fleet.

The owners of the seven armed merchant ships that accompanied the Han fleet northward were all delighted. They frantically promoted their goods to the nobles of Korea, earning silver and cash from the Koreans.

Many of the silver pieces even bear the inscription "Qing Dynasty," indicating that they were official silver used by the puppet Qing government and were all foreign exchange reserves obtained from selling grain in recent years.

In addition to silver and foreign exchange, some Korean nobles, whose silver was insufficient, simply offered grain and ginseng to trade with the Han Dynasty.

Although the people of North Korea are currently suffering greatly due to the Qing dynasty's continued forced grain purchases, this does not prevent the Yangban nobles from continuing to make money by selling grain.

What business is it of the nobles if the common people starve to death?

Wu Liehu accepted all offers without hesitation: "We'll take them all, silver, copper coins, and grain. But the silver and copper coins must be pure; if they aren't, the price will be deducted."

After more than half a month of back and forth, the goods brought by the Han fleet were finally unloaded, and at the same time, they were fully loaded with grain, silver and various ginseng and other goods.

The fleet replenished its supplies of fresh water and vegetables, and then sped south toward Jeju Island.

……

(End of this chapter)