"I dare to ask the envoy, how much tax does your country's court pay every year?"

Fang Yongzhi looked at Kim Sung-hoon with a smile and asked in a tone that sounded purely curious.

When the North Korean mission arrived at Shanhaiguan, the cabinet had already received a report from outside the pass. Wen Tiren, Chen Qiyu and Zou Weilian entered the palace to ask for instructions and give feedback to Zhu Youjian. Afterwards, according to Zhu Youjian's instructions, the reception task was fully entrusted to the Honglu Temple.

After learning that the North Korean mission arrived in the suburbs of Beijing, Li Jinfan, the Minister of the Honglu Temple, sent Fang Yongzhi to the outside of Dongbianmen with a convoy dedicated to receiving high-quality foreign guests in the temple, and then left all the living supplies and guards brought by the North Korean mission at the suburbs of Beijing inn, and only brought the main members of the mission into the capital.

After staying in Honglu Temple for nearly ten years, he has a good understanding of North Korean history and customs. He also knows what the North Korean government has done since he ascended the throne, so he is extremely disgusted with North Korea's actions that betray the sect leader from the bottom of his heart.

But because of etiquette, he could not lose his grace. In order to extricate his anger, he asked his own questions knowingly.

Since I can't scold you, I will disgust you to death!

"Ahem!

How can a small country be compared with a small country in the Celestial Empire?

Not to be hiding the envoy, the vulgar country has been suffering from natural disasters for several years, especially last year, the number of people affected is nearly one million, and there are signs of continuous expansion. Countless people are displaced, and the elderly, weak, women and children die in the wild every day. The miserable situation is really impossible to describe in words!”

Fang Yongzhi said that just to refine the appearance of the capital, Daming spent more than 500,000 taels of silver. This number made Kim Sung-hoon both shocked and envious, and felt extremely ashamed. Therefore, when answering Fang Yongzhi's question, he only mentioned it slightly, then changed the topic and described the tragic situation in North Korea in order to try to lay the groundwork for the subsequent request for help.

The total tax amount of North Korea's one year is not as high as the money and food spent by the Ming Dynasty to rectify the capital. Just from this small detail, you can see how huge the gap between the two countries is.

On the way from North Korea to the territory of the Ming Dynasty, crossing the Yalu River, and then going to Shanhaiguan, the official roads that were originally unevenly undulating and difficult to walk have now been completely widened and leveled. Especially after entering the pass, the official roads are not only flat, but also when approaching the capital, an unprecedented road surface appeared in front of Kim Sung-hoon. It is no exaggeration to say that it is as flat as a mirror.

Kim Sung-hoon deliberately dismounted and tried the hardness of the road surface. The degree was almost the same as the stone quality. Moreover, this road surface was being constructed in the direction of Shanhaiguan. This special material was being laid on one side of the official road, and the other side was for pedestrians and merchants to pass through. This construction method did not cause any ills that hindered the road, which also surprised Kim Sung-hoon and others.

Kim Sung-hoon specifically observed all kinds of people he met on the way, and saw that everyone's face was mostly calm and confident, and the gorgeous clothes and dress were at the level of the upper class in North Korea. When his appearance was just an ordinary passerby.

Everything in front of him made Kim Sung-hoon feel like he was in a dream state.

Is this still the Ming Dynasty he remembers?

This is simply the kingdom of heaven!

The scenes he saw from all aspects of the previous two missions to the Ming Dynasty made Kim Sung-hoon feel that Daming is actually a country, but the people are just like this, only slightly stronger than North Korea.

But what he saw and heard after entering the pass made Kim Sung-hoon amazed and his inferiority felt unconsciously and became stronger and stronger.

"Is it natural disaster? Your country will take it over! I believe that your country will properly deal with it!

Back then, the situation in the northern part of our emperor Ming was even worse than that in your country!

Not only natural disasters, but also man-made disasters, military disasters, and tens of millions of hungry people without food! The number of people who died during this period is probably more than the general of your country!

Did other countries help our country in those years?

None!

If our emperor had not turned the tide with his genius and saved all people from the fire and water, how could he have been in peace and prosperity today!”

Seeing Kim Sung-hoon's embarrassment and hearing the complaints from the North Korean official, Fang Yongzhi's pleasure was replaced by even more angry emotions.

“xxxx!

It turns out that I am planning to come to eat a big player!

Have you seen the tragic situation of my Ming Dynasty eight years ago?

Have you ever reached out to help at that time?

This is to see that my life is better, and you are here to recognize your relatives again!

There is no door!"

Fang Yongzhi, who had always been elegant, cursed in secret, but still kept a smile on his face and comforted him with sympathy, but the dissatisfaction revealed in his words was still very obvious.

How could Kim Sung-hoon not hear the meaning of Fang Yong's words?

But what people said was the truth, and he had no intention or power to refute it. So as the carriage was moving forward, Kim Sung-hoon turned the topic a little embarrassedly: "Where is Fang Shucheng's home furnishing?

The Xiaguan was ordered to come this time, but he brought some local specialties with him. After the rest, the Xiaguan should come to visit him with his gifts. I hope the Secretary of the Fang Office will accept it with a smile."

"I have accepted the envoy's intentions, but our dynasty has new regulations. The officials of the Honglu Temple are not allowed to accept gifts from envoys from the foreign court. I should strictly abide by the court's rules. Therefore, I will be spared the matter of visiting the envoys!"

Fang Yongzhi curled his lips in a slight way and smiled and rejected Kim Sung-hoon's proposal.

He now enjoys the sixth rank of official rank, but his monthly salary is as much as 30 taels. He also has 150 taels of integrity bank at the end of each year. He is worth a day. The government also manages two meals and two sets of official uniforms a year in winter and summer. With such generous treatment, he can't stand the gifts that Kim Sung-hoon said.

With North Korea, a poor place where birds do not shit, the court's finances have never been better. Although officials like Kim Sung-hoon will not suffer, if they are a normal living standard, he may not be able to compete with his sixth grade as a second grade.

Through various related documents, and the old people in the temple said that many North Korean officials can only eat meat once a week, and the rice is also brown rice. In addition to being bright and beautiful, the daily necessities can be as high as the Ming Dynasty, where supplies are extremely abundant.

I also gave gifts to the door, but it was not two jars of pickled vegetables, right?

Sorry, I don’t eat that kind of thing, for fear of having a stomachache.

Fang Yongzhi's quick and neat refusal surprised Kim Sung-hoon again.

When he followed the mission to the Ming Dynasty in the first year of Chongzhen, not only did some important officials of the court refuse gifts, but even the officials at the lower level of the Honglu Temple openly solicited bribes. Why? It's only been more than ten years since the Ming Dynasty changed?

"The officials knew that the resources of the Celestial Dynasty were abundant, but they also knew that the salaries of the Celestial Dynasty were not high, especially for middle and lower-level officials, it was difficult to support their families by relying solely on salary. Therefore, they were so talented and prepared to show their feelings.

The gift was also specially ordered by the king. Some yellow and white things, such as Fang Shucheng, can get as much as twenty taels of silver. Could it be that Fang Shucheng disliked?"

In this era, it is open and elegant to give gifts publicly, so Kim Sung-hoon specially pointed out the gifts he gave. In his opinion, twenty taels of silver were a huge income for middle and lower-level officials like Fang Yongzhi. If it weren't for the good deal of all aspects of the relationship, North Korea wouldn't have suffered such heavy bleeding.

I came with 10,000 taels of silver, and was preparing to deal with important officials and related people in the court one by one so that I could get what North Korea wanted.
Chapter completed!