The ships docked at the pier, and Yinzhen took Qingyan to the outskirts of Hancheng. Eshuo and Erlu had already cleared the area, and now the people left there were basically powerless to resist.
Qingyan looked around curiously. The street had returned to normal, and the business people on both sides of the street had started doing business again.
E'shuo followed Yinzhen on both sides, constantly on guard against any people rushing out from among the common people.
"Ah Hun, you don't need to be so nervous." Qingyan saw that E Shuo was very nervous, and she almost laughed.
E Shuo glared at Qing Yan. When the little guy makes a fuss, doesn't he need to be calmed down?
"Little darling, be quiet for a while!" E Shuo said directly.
As soon as he finished speaking, Yinzhen tugged at Qingyan, trying to calm her down.
"Sisi, if we get out, who will take care of the ships?" Qingyan asked in a low voice.
Qingyan noticed that the shops and stalls on both sides of the street sold daily necessities. Qingyan pointed out some of the things she liked, and Sulan and Erlu went to buy them together. When they left the ship, they made a point of exchanging their currency for the local currency.
"We've been here for so long, are they still using the same currency?" Yinzhen asked.
Having served in the Ministry of Revenue for many years, his first thought was still about the local currency.
"We'll use the old currency for now, but we should be able to change it soon!" E Shuo wasn't worried.
Eshuo has already submitted a memorial outlining the specific issues on this front, taking into account not only the current situation in North Korea but also some future development issues.
"Little darling, let's go to the teahouse and sit down." Yinzhen took Qingyan's hand and they walked towards the teahouse together.
Upon arriving at the private room of the teahouse, we found that instead of storytelling, a local comedy was being performed.
"Fourth Brother, the stuff here doesn't sound very good," Qingyan complained.
Yinzhen poured a cup of tea, glanced at Eshuo, and gestured for him to continue.
“Right now, the situation in North Korea is very chaotic, especially the economy, so the leaders sent by the Qing Dynasty will definitely cause trouble,” E Shuo said directly.
"Has Father Emperor decided who will be in charge?" Yinzhen asked.
Several memorials were submitted in succession, mostly detailing the inequalities in the area. The people showed no reaction to the massacre, but were overjoyed at the downfall of the Korean officials, with some even setting off firecrackers in the streets. This behavior puzzled them.
"No, Fourth Master, this servant discovered that even though we did punish those officials, the people actually started setting off firecrackers in the streets at night," E'shuo said directly.
Qingyan looked down at the street below and saw that the people had settled down and started doing business.
“Little darling, look how peaceful and prosperous the people are. Those who set off firecrackers were mostly punished by the officials. Some of the local officials are quite ruthless. Of course the local people are happy that we dealt with them!” Yinzhen leaned against the window, looking at the pedestrians below, and said something specifically for the sake of the people.
It is said that many of the officials here are descendants of powerful families, and the Li family's subordinates have basically been sidelined by these powerful families!
"Those officials weren't punished?" Qingyan overheard this and thought the Joseon king was somewhat incompetent.
Yinzhen shook his head. The situation in Korea was significantly different from that in the Qing Dynasty. Kangxi had absolute power, but the Korean monarchs were different. The heads of powerful families firmly controlled all kinds of power, and even the imperial concubines were women from these powerful families.
“My lord, we’ve investigated. The officials in Seoul and Pyongyang are mostly sons of powerful families. They plunder the people’s possessions, and some even abduct women from people’s homes. That’s the worst part. Some families have been broken apart, and the parents, unable to get justice for their daughters, have both been imprisoned,” E’shuo said directly.
Eshuo personally went to those prisons and had the guards write up complaints for the people, preparing to send them back to the capital so that Emperor Kangxi could see what the officials here had done.
Yinzhen was considering this matter. After all, the officials were a cautionary tale, and to prevent the Qing Dynasty from experiencing similar management practices, it was necessary to sound the alarm for Kangxi.
"What? Such a big matter, and the king here doesn't know?" E'shuo felt the officials were going too far. "Fourth Prince, have all the victims been investigated?"
"No, some of the victims' parents have already passed away, and most of the girls who were abducted are no longer alive." E Shuo felt regretful; those were the real victims.
If they were still alive, they would be able to better punish the crown prince.
"From what I understand, a girl was brought to the capital by the Crown Prince. The girl is only 12 years old. She was a commoner's child whom the Crown Prince took a fancy to before leaving Pyongyang, but the King of Yi actually took her away!" Several of Eshuo's men who liked gossip heard about this in the streets and rushed back to report. Through this incident, they found out the actions of those officials.
Therefore, he brought up a series of problems involving officials, and E Shuo thought the arrangement was very good.
"Ah Hun, can you still find her parents?" Qingyan asked Yinzhen.
The child's parents are the key; she is a microcosm of some of the victims.
“However, I’m not sure if the girl is willing. The neighbors all say that she’s an ambitious girl who has finally hooked up with a big fish. Do you think she’ll give in easily?” E Shuo shook his head, thinking the problem was a bit tricky.
“I know a little about it too. The girl’s parents got a lot of gold and silver, saying they sent her to the palace to enjoy a life of luxury. The gold and silver from selling the girl were all given to her younger brother. Now, the family rarely talks about their daughter anymore!” Erlu, after hearing Eshuo’s reminder, quickly went to find out more.
Sure enough, the elderly couple said they had no daughter, only a son.
What? !
Upon hearing this, Qingyan's almond-shaped eyes widened. Now, they were even disowning their daughter, probably just to preserve their son's lineage.
“The preference for sons over daughters is very common here, so if a girl is getting married or being sent away, unless it’s her only daughter, her parents are rarely willing to show up,” E Shuo lamented.
In the Ulanara tribe, girls have a significantly higher status than boys, so Qingyan has always been very favored. When he was away from home, Eshuo discovered that many families were different from his own. In some cases, girls were even given to boys for sexual favors. Every time he saw such a situation, he felt a little tired.
"What if you're unwilling to come forward, but it gives your sons a good future?" Yinzhen asked Eshuo. They needed evidence to punish the heir apparent. Right now, the evidence was insufficient, and the heir apparent would certainly have to live. In a few years, who knows how he might target Songkri Yierha and Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen.
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