Chapter 888: The True Style of a Great Power
That night, the fisherman appeared in front of the soldiers, trembling with fear, carrying a fish basket.
There is only half of the sea cucumber in the fish basket.
The two soldiers looked at each other and finally decided to burn down the dilapidated thatched house.
They thought they would face a frenzied resistance, but unexpectedly, the other side just stood there stupidly, staring blankly at the raging fire burning down his thatched hut.
There is no anger, no hatred, no reluctance, only numbness.
"Why didn't he resist? Even struggle?"
"Maybe it's because they know resistance is useless, or maybe they've gotten used to it?"
To be honest, after watching the thatched house reduced to ashes, the fishermen dragged their backpacks and went into the water to catch fish the next day.
The soldiers felt very uncomfortable.
"You really acted like a bully yesterday."
The sailor who was called a bully showed a trace of guilt on his face: "I just acted like the bully before."
"This won't work. It's useless. These people are like puppets without emotions. Their emotional threshold is too low."
No matter what we do, we can't arouse their spirit of resistance.
Song Shoujie also realized this and told Gu Yunting about the situation.
Gu Yunting scratched his head. The Goryeo nobles and royal family oppressed the people even more severely than the Great Zhou. The soldiers of Dayun could not do anything more excessive.
"Then let's target the local powerful nobles!"
This trick is much more effective than the first one.
After oppressing only two or three noble families, Wang Shi of Goryeo sent envoys to negotiate.
Dark clouds are gathering over the city; a storm is about to come.
Gu Yunting did not get off the warship, but met with the Goryeo envoy in the meeting hall of the warship.
The Dayun battle flag fluttered on the top of the mast of the huge battleship, like a sharp blade hanging over the head of the Goryeo royal court.
In the harbor, dozens of Yunchao warships were lined up in a solemn formation, with their black gun muzzles half-hidden behind their gun ports, silently pointing towards the direction of Xijing.
The Goryeo fishermen's small boats moved away from them like a school of frightened fish.
In the meeting room of the main cabin, Gu Yunting did not sit in the main seat, but leaned on a high-back chair next to the porthole, wearing a green robe and no armor.
His fingertips tapped on the table occasionally, his eyes swept across the thin plank boats of the Goryeo navy outside the window, with a sneer on his lips.
Goryeo's warships are nothing special.
The ship the envoys were riding on must have been of Goryeo's best standard, but it was far inferior to the Dayun warship.
"Report - Goryeo's special envoy Li Mingzhu requests to see His Highness!"
"Bring him in." Gu Yunting spoke in a clear voice without turning his head.
The hatch opened and Lee Myeong-soo, the Minister of Rites of Goryeo, bowed and entered.
He was dressed in a dark purple official robe and a black gauze crown on his head. He tried his best to maintain the demeanor of an envoy, but his pale face and slightly trembling fingertips revealed his panic.
The two deputy envoys behind him lowered their heads and held their breath, hardly daring to look directly at the young but fierce figure standing by the window.
"Lee Myung-soo is here on the order of our king to pay his respects to His Royal Highness the Prince of Yun Dynasty." Lee Myung-soo bent deeply, almost bowing, and the back of his official robe was soaked with cold sweat.
Gu Yunting finally turned around, but he didn't say excuse me.
Li Mingzhu endured it, feeling frightened and angry.
Goryeo did not pay tribute to Dayun. The two countries were equal in status. Why did he treat himself like this? !
"President Li," Gu Yunting said slowly, "It's really not easy to see you. Don't you welcome us?"
Li Mingzhu's throat rolled. "Your Highness, you are joking. The Yun Dynasty sent an envoy to visit us, but they did not send any documents in advance. We only heard that there were bandits causing chaos in Licheng Port, but we did not think that it was the envoy from Dayun who came."
"Bandits?" Gu Yunting interrupted suddenly, without a trace of smile on his face, "Interesting, Lord Li has studied in the Great Zhou? Why are you making indirect accusations here? Are you saying that we are uninvited guests?"
His voice was as cold as a sword being unsheathed: "It seems that you don't know our Yun Dynasty well enough. Otherwise, let's try and see if the artillery of our Yun Dynasty warships can bombard the Kaijing Palace from Licheng Port?!"
Lee Myung-soo was a member of the pro-Dae Zhou faction in Goryeo. In his eyes, Dae Zhou was the orthodox successor to the Tang Dynasty and the heir to that powerful empire.
Dayun is nothing but a traitor.
He suppressed his fear and argued: "Can the Second Prince represent the will of Emperor Dayun? Although our Goryeo is small, we also understand integrity. What Chen Yixuan and his son did in Goryeo is enough to destroy all nine of their clans. Shouldn't Dayun give us an explanation?!"
"Our Goryeo navy is no pushover! In the past, our ancestors were able to defeat the Heavenly Khan several times. Now, we will not let down our ancestors' reputation!"
Gu Yunting sneered: "Don't blindly recognize your ancestors. It was Goguryeo that caused Tian Khan to be defeated. The royal family of Goguryeo was surnamed Zhu and was from Buyeo."
Lee Myung Soo...
"Our Goryeo is mountainous and easy to defend but difficult to attack!"
Gu Yunting sighed and waved at him: "Come here, I'll show you a big treasure."
Before he finished speaking, a dull cannon blast was heard from outside the cabin.
boom!
The entire giant ship seemed to tremble!
Li Mingzhu and the other two were so shocked that they almost collapsed to the ground.
Outside the window, a Yunchao warship was conducting exercises. The white smoke from the muzzle had not yet dissipated, and a column of water several feet high was exploding on the sea in the distance.
Gu Yunting looked down at him.
The only sound in the cabin was the heavy breathing of the Goryeo envoy.
After a long while, Gu Yunting smiled and said, "How is it? Do you like this big treasure? Back then, we used cannons like this to blast open the gates of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun. I'm curious, are the walls of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun thicker, or are the walls of your Kaijing thicker?"
He walked back to the porthole, cast his eyes in the direction of Kaijing, and said word by word, "Go back and tell Wang Jian."
"First, withdraw the Goryeo troops from the Yalu River and hand over the people who have crossed the river. General Guo doesn't have the same good temper as me. If you anger him, I won't be able to do anything about it."
"Second, we must submit to Dayun and pay tribute twice as much as we pay to Dazhou, using iron, copper, sulfur, and saltpeter to offset the loss. Why? Is Dayun a country that is not worthy of respect? We are treated so badly by a tiny country like you."
"Third, a Yunchao business post will be set up between Kaijing and Licheng Port, and Yunchao tax collectors will be stationed there to inspect the trade. Half of the Goryeo navy's warships will be eliminated."
"Four..." Gu Yunting turned around, his eyes gleaming with coldness, "Prince of Goryeo, set off immediately and go to Dayun as a hostage! When my mother feels that you have truly surrendered, you can return!"
Li Mingzhu looked as if struck by lightning and his face turned pale.
Annual tribute, military reduction, and stationing of officials are already heart-wrenching pains, and using the crown prince as a hostage...
Can Goryeo still be called Goryeo? !
How arrogant was Dayun to bully Goryeo to this extent!
Li Mingzhu's eyes were red, and he said boldly: "If I agree to your highness's four requests, I will be the eternal sinner of Goryeo! If the king agrees to these four requests, how can he gain a foothold in Goryeo?! Don't go too far!"
He held his neck high and said proudly: "A soldier can be killed but not humiliated! The most we can do is return the remains to the Yalu River."
Gu Yunting laughed angrily, how could you be so shameless? !
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