Chapter 179: Goryeo surrenders in a few words
When the Ming warships were a hundred miles away from the shore of Goryeo, Wang Zhuan finally walked out of the palace and boarded Goryeo's not very sturdy large ship to personally welcome the Ming envoys.
When Zhu Biao saw the aging King of Goryeo, he reviewed the information he had gathered about him. He approached him gently, but his words were not gentle: "Has the King of Goryeo prepared the documents for his submission to the Ming Dynasty?"
The ministers who accompanied the King of Goryeo were not surprised or bothered by Zhu Biao's arrogance.
They were merely vassal states, and the angels of the Central Plains dynasty had always been arrogant. Although Zhu Biao's words were impolite, at least his expression was humble and kind, giving face to these people who were clinging to the dying Yuan Dynasty and refused to let go.
"In fact, I came here this time to bring you a good news." Seeing that the King of Goryeo smiled bitterly and said nothing, Zhu Biao did not continue to force him, but just invited the King of Goryeo to sit down on the deck.
While Goryeo's pronunciation differs from Chinese, it is written in Chinese characters. Goryeo, a vassal state of the Central Plains dynasties, naturally used Chinese characters as its official language. Their leaders also spoke Chinese, albeit with a somewhat unusual accent.
Of course Wang Zhuan could also speak Chinese.
He didn't expect that Zhu Biao didn't speak Chinese to him, but Korean.
Wang Zhuan raised his own question: " Angels actually understand Korean?"
Zhu Biao smiled. "The King of Goryeo probably knows that I'm a businessman. Merchants travel extensively and need to understand various dialects. Whether using an interpreter or communicating directly in writing, it's easy to leave traces. I'm here on a very important mission, so it would be better for me to communicate with the King in Goryeo."
Wang Zhuan and the Goryeo ministers behind him were all very surprised. Besides being surprised, they also had a better impression of Zhu Biao.
The angels who were willing to speak to them in their own language really respected them.
It seems that Zhu Biao, who was rumored to have so many terrifying things, was not that terrifying after all. They looked at Zhu Biao and saw that he was a handsome young man with a beautiful mind and talent. They could not see that he had so many impressive military achievements.
Wang Zhuan humbly asked, "What good news do you have for me, angel?"
Zhu Biao smiled and said, "Prince Yan and Duke Cao learned that the remnant of the Yuan Dynasty court was in Buir Lake and had already rushed to destroy it. Now that the Yuan Emperor is dead, I know that the King and Queen were deeply in love and unwilling to break their promise to the Queen, which is why they have been reluctant to submit to the Ming Dynasty. Now that the Yuan Emperor is dead, the King of Goryeo has fulfilled his promise to the Queen and will remain loyal to the Yuan Dynasty until its last moment. Isn't this a good thing?"
Zhu Biao spoke Korean, which all Koreans could understand.
As soon as he finished speaking, someone shouted in disbelief: "Are you lying?"
Zhu Biao pulled out a short musket from his waist that had been loaded with ammunition and fired a shot at the ground, scaring the Goryeo king and his ministers so much that they turned pale.
"The King and the angels are talking, and yet someone dares to interrupt. In our Ming Dynasty, such a person would be dragged away and beheaded." Zhu Biao blew away the smoke from the muzzle of his gun and tossed the musket to the guards behind him. "I heard that your ministers of the Goryeo Dynasty were also well-versed in Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. I thought you also understood etiquette. Or is it that the current King of Goryeo can no longer represent Goryeo? In that case, should I talk to someone else?"
Wang Zhuan glanced at the minister and said, "Although I am old, I am not dead yet. I will represent Goryeo. Angel, please rest assured. I will punish this man later."
Zhu Biao nodded: "That's good."
Wang Zhuan took a few deep breaths and said, "Is what the angel said true?"
Zhu Biao smiled and said, "I'm afraid your people will soon receive the news of the death of the Great Yuan Emperor."
Zhu Biao bit the word "died of illness" tightly, then smiled and said, "Besides, why would the Ming Dynasty want to deceive you? If you don't believe me, come and see with me."
Zhu Biao stood up and made an invitation gesture to Wang Zhuan.
Since Wang Zhuan dared to board the ship, he was naturally not afraid that the Ming army would harm him.
If the Ming army really was against him, he had already arranged a successor and it would not affect the domestic situation in Goryeo.
Zhu Biao certainly did not intend to harm Wang Zhuan. Wang Zhuan was a clever man, and with this clever person by his side, he could do business well.
He just wanted to demonstrate the power of the Ming Dynasty to the Goryeo king and his ministers.
Zhu Biao first asked them to go to the turret on the deck to see how the Ming Dynasty used artillery on ships;
Zhu Biao then ordered the ships to sail around an uninhabited island, demonstrating the maneuverability of Ming warships. From then on, the mountains north of Goryeo could no longer stop the Ming cavalry, as the sea was a smooth path.
Finally, Zhu Biao temporarily stopped at a small path on the shore of Goryeo with only a few fishermen's huts, and then asked the Ming army to demonstrate the power and range of the new firearms.
After the demonstration, Zhu Biao ordered the Ming army to set up camp on the shore and cook to entertain the Goryeo king and his ministers.
"So you understand what I said: there's no need for the Ming Dynasty to lie to you, right?" Zhu Biao smiled elegantly. "You're all frightened. I'll treat you all to a meal of Ming Dynasty cuisine. Once you've had enough and calmed down, we can talk more slowly. Please?"
Wang Zhuan looked dazed, his head buzzing with the sounds of cannons, engines, and artillery, and he didn't realize the fierce words in Zhu Biao's words at all.
Or maybe he realized it, but was no longer able to refute it.
All the Goryeo ministers turned pale and their hands and feet could not help shaking.
They knew about muskets and cannons, but due to their cost, power, and insufficient range, muskets and cannons were not popularized in every army in the Yuan Dynasty. How could they be provided to vassal states?
Are muskets and cannons so powerful?
Wang Zhuan's voice trembled as he asked, "Does this, does the Yuan Dynasty also have these?"
Zhu Biao didn't care about his shocked speech.
Zhu Biao continued to smile and said, "If the Yuan Dynasty had it, could I still capture Yuan Dadu in two days? Oh, including Haijin Town and Tongzhou, it took two days, so it only took one day to capture Yuan Dadu. But these things are very expensive, so if you can surrender, we in the Ming Dynasty don't actually want to use these things on you, understand?"
Zhu Biao's smile was still as elegant and kind as ever, but the Goryeo king and his ministers saw contempt in Zhu Biao's eyes.
You don't deserve it.
Wang Zhuan closed his eyes tightly and knelt on the ground tremblingly: "The little king greets the angel of the sovereign nation."
The King of Goryeo knelt down, and the ministers behind him knelt down one after another, saying in Chinese: "Welcome the angel of the suzerain state!"
Zhu Biao's smile became much more sincere, and he answered in Ming official language, saying earnestly, "King of Goryeo, please stand up!"
Zhu Biao helped the King of Goryeo up and handed him the imperial seal and imperial decree bestowed by the Ming Dynasty.
The King of Goryeo bowed again towards the Ming Dynasty, and the ceremony was completed.
From then on, Goryeo became a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.
It took less than two hours from the time the Ming warships saw the coast of the Goryeo Peninsula to the time the King of Goryeo kowtowed to accept the enthronement of the Ming Emperor.
Liao Yongzhong flexed his muscles as Zhu Biao requested, and then he was stunned to hear Zhu Biao and the King of Goryeo chattering in words he could not understand.
As he was in a daze, the King of Goryeo knelt down to accept the precious seal and precious plan.
I don’t know what happened !
Liao Yongzhong looked back at the accompanying generals.
The accompanying generals were all confused and looked bewildered.
Liao Yongzhong immediately turned to look at Zhu Yi, the accompanying civil servant. The military commanders didn't know, but the civil servants should know, right?
Zhu Yi smiled at Liao Yongzhong, with a hint of bitterness in his smile.
I don’t understand Korean either!
Liao Yongzhong was even more confused.
At this moment, he suddenly had an epiphany and finally understood the feelings of the generals who followed Zhu Biao to the expedition.
Won? Yes, and it was a quick win.
How did I win? I don't know, but I won anyway.
Liao Yongzhong felt that he was more confused and...frustrated than the generals who had followed Zhu Biao on previous expeditions.
The generals who had followed Zhu Biao into battle before at least had to go to the battlefield and fight with real weapons, but he had no idea what his use was.
Yes, the Ming army showed off its firepower.
But does a veteran like me need to show off his firepower?! It's not like the Crown Prince can't lead troops himself!
Of course, Liao Yongzhong felt that the entire court was even more useless, especially the eldest son of the great scholar Zhu Sheng. "You are the Crown Prince's deputy on this trip, and you can't even understand Korean. What use are you!"
Liao Yongzhong suspected that the officials on the ship were probably useless. The prince alone would be enough.
Ah, so this is what Zhao Desheng boasted to him about, winning by clinging to someone powerful and doing nothing?
"Since you are the King of Goryeo of the Ming Dynasty, we can now discuss our interests. Don't worry, the Ming Dynasty is not here to take your things, but to give you benefits." Although the King of Goryeo had surrendered, the meal still had to be eaten. Zhu Biao smiled and sat with the King of Goryeo to drink tea and eat snacks, then began to talk about business. "My Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is famous for his kindness. Goryeo has surrendered to the Ming Dynasty. You are now its subjects, and your people are its people. The Emperor will treat you as well as he treats his own officials and people."
Liao Yongzhong and Zhu Yi, who were accompanying him: "..."
The Emperor is indeed kind to the people, but he is kind to the officials... well, at least to us. Yes, our Ming Emperor is a well-known benevolent man!
"We have heard rumors about the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He is indeed very good to the people." An accompanying official smiled flatteringly.
Zhu Biao nodded reservedly: "It's good that you have heard it. You are a vassal state. The Ming Dynasty will not interfere with you like the Yuan Dynasty did. We will help you better manage the country."
Zhu Biao waved his hand and the Ming army brought over several boxes.
When the box was opened, it contained not gold, silver or jewelry, but neatly stacked old-fashioned muskets.
