Chapter 1869 The Prince’s Mission

The total number of these three types of personnel is less than fifty. However, for North Korea, which is currently in deep financial crisis, it is already very difficult to maintain the operation of various official institutions and to raise funds for studying abroad in such a short period of time.

It is not easy to send them out. Of course, this is also thanks to those students with status and background. The family forces behind these people more or less subsidized some expenses to the court in private, as a way for these people to be selected to study abroad.

part of the trading conditions.

In the past, almost all of North Korea’s government-sponsored overseas students went to the Ming Dynasty, but now the direction has changed. The country that symbolizes advanced productivity, combat effectiveness and economic strength is no longer the Ming Dynasty, but the upstart Haihan Kingdom that has only emerged in the South China Sea in recent years.

.So since the end of last year, North Korea has suspended its continued sending of overseas students to the Ming Dynasty, and has adjusted its direction to Haihan, who has mastered more advanced technologies.

One wants to teach and the other wants to learn. The only problem is the cost. In the past, North Korea sent people to study in the Ming Dynasty. In most cases, they only had to pay for their own living expenses. There was no tuition fee, and the Ming Dynasty never bothered to collect it.

It's a small amount of money. But the rules here in Haihan are different. The fees are calculated very clearly, just like going to a private school. You can only learn something after paying the tuition, and the fees are really not low.

But according to the understanding of Haihan people, good things should be valuable. North Korea wants to learn advanced technology, and it is natural to pay some economic price for it. Besides, if it is not an alliance, North Korea will not find a way to learn it even if it is willing to spend money.

This is an opportunity that cannot be missed for North Korea, which is bent on rapidly improving its national power. In this seller's market environment, North Korea does not even have room to bargain and can only accept Haihan's offer.

conditions.

Fortunately, Haihan's business reputation has always been excellent. He had previously sent troops to fight off the invasion of the Qing army for North Korea, which was a real achievement. Therefore, the North Korean government and the public had very unanimous opinions on whether Haihan could learn real skills from Haihan after spending money.

Han should abide by their promise, and it would be worth it if the tuition can be exchanged for Haihan's technology.

Of course, in addition to these government-sponsored students, there is also an important personnel arrangement in the study abroad arrangements that has attracted great attention from the top leaders of both countries, and that is whether the king of North Korea will send a prince to study abroad in Haehan. This matter was proposed by Haehan on his own initiative

, North Korea has never given a positive reply, but this time the two princes went to the Daedong River Base to inspect the training results of the New Army and the progress of cooperation project construction, and both showed a strong interest in studying abroad. After the two princes returned to Seoul,

The results of discussions with King Li Zhu on this matter were not announced at the same time as the news about the government-sponsored students studying abroad.

Tom Wang waited uneasily for two days in Seoul before Gyeongbokgung Palace finally announced the arrangements for the prince to study abroad: the King of Joseon will send his crown prince Yi Bo to Haehan for a two-year study abroad period. As for whether there will be subsequent dispatches

The other princes are going to study in Haihan, so they have no plans for the time being.

This arrangement is consistent with Haihan's expectations. In the original history, Li Zhu asked his eldest son to go to the Qing Dynasty to serve as a hostage. Now he just changed the name and the target. However, Haihan has always emphasized that the nature of this arrangement is not to let the eldest son go to the Qing Dynasty to serve as a hostage.

North Korea has sent hostages, so the pressure on North Korea is relatively small, and this can be used as a benign diplomatic method.

As for how much real skills Li Shu could learn from going to Haihan, King Li Shu actually didn’t have much hope for this. Compared with his two sons who did not have much political experience, he had no confidence in the relationship between the two countries and the future development situation.

See more clearly.

In fact, Li Zhu didn't think that Haihan would really have no reservations about his country and teach him all the most advanced technologies. In his opinion, the suggestions for studying abroad put forward by Haihan people were mostly based on political considerations.

, rather than simply wanting to win over North Korea as an ally. Especially those so-called advanced weapons manufacturing technologies, Li Zhu did not believe that Haihan really intended to transfer them to his country for free by studying abroad. You know, just for the Datong River

The weapon manufacturing technology obtained from this arsenal has already paid Haihan a large sum of money. These extremely shrewd businessmen will not become philanthropists overnight.

Since it is a political transaction, it is necessary to consider how to arrange this matter from a political perspective to be the best solution for the country. Li Zhu believes that Haihan’s purpose is to confirm North Korea’s commitment to the sea through the arrangement of North Korea sending a prince to study abroad.

The importance Han attaches to this ally, especially the arrangement of inviting two princes to the Datong River base this time, even taking the initiative to "expose" many military secrets, is enough to show that Han Han really hopes that North Korea can send a royal family of the prince's level.

People going to Sanya to study abroad have a very strong political connotation.

Sending two princes to study in Haihan at the same time would be too risky for North Korea. In the alternative model, Li Bo, who is the heir apparent, has higher political value. Moreover, Li Bo is more familiar with government affairs.

Haihan, who represents North Korea as envoy, will behave more securely in diplomatic situations.

Therefore, the crown prince of Joseon, Lee Bo, finally became the representative of the Joseon royal family after repeated attempts by both parties. He will personally lead this group of overseas students to the distant South China Sea and live in Haihan for a long time in the future.

Learn various advanced knowledge and skills.

This arrangement is relatively acceptable to both countries, and for Qian Tiandun and Wang Tom, it can be regarded as a great achievement as much as repelling the Qing army. After all, it allows the allies to control the next generation of rulers.

Being sent to Haihan to study abroad is a huge victory from the perspective of diplomacy and international politics.

After confirming the news to the North Korean official, Wang Tom immediately sent a telegram to Sanya to inform Fort Victory to make relevant preparations in advance. Haihan had too many concerns about North Korea sending a study abroad team represented by the crown prince.

Things can be done, and the earlier you arrange them, the more room you can operate.

If it is just a study abroad team composed of military and civilian personnel, then it is enough to leave three to five days of preparation time after the personnel are assembled. After all, Haihan has everything as long as the money is in place, and it is not necessarily necessary to bring home from home.

It's a long way to go. However, the crown prince has to go abroad for two years, which is related to the face of North Korea. The proper pomp must be present, and there are many things that need to be prepared.

Just for the entourage, servants and escorts who served Li Bo, the list listed by Li Cao Yamen at the beginning was as many as a hundred people, even the washerwomen and cooks were included. This list was reported to Gyeongbokgung Palace

Here, he was immediately killed by Li Zhu - now that even the funds for overseas students have been saved, why do we still send so many idle people who can only spend money and cannot learn anything to wait there?

The Li Cao Yamen originally wanted to flatter the prince and make the pomp bigger, but this flattery was obviously a bit inappropriate. So he cut the list of entourage again and again, and finally only one-tenth of the people were left.

, and finally passed Li Zhu’s review.

After all, he is the future heir to the throne, so he can't be too shabby to make the Haihan people laugh. Since there is not enough funds to arrange a large escort team for the crown prince, at least bring more luggage to show the grandeur. So just bring formal clothes.

I bought five sets, but the etiquette officer in charge of preparing the luggage didn’t know that these heavy dresses will basically not have many opportunities to wear after arriving in Sanya, because the local temperature is much higher than North Korea all year round, so wearing these

A dress with three layers inside and three layers outside is just like wearing a cotton-padded jacket during the dog days of summer.

In addition, considering the prince's eating habits, a lot of pots and pans were prepared. Wang Tom went to Gyeongbokgung Palace to discuss the itinerary with the court, and he couldn't help but be amazed when he saw all the things prepared for the prince in the palace.

In order to show the importance it attaches to North Korean students studying abroad, Haihan specially transferred two merchant ships from Zhejiang to serve as passenger ships. These two merchant ships are not ordinary cargo ships that usually load cargo for cross-border shipping. Instead, they were built by Zhoushan Shipyard and specially

A passenger ship used to transport important people. Not only does it have relatively comfortable and spacious cabins, it can even provide enough fresh water for VIPs to take several hot baths during the voyage. Of course, this kind of treatment does not apply to every guest who boards the ship.

Everyone can enjoy it. For example, among the passengers about to board the ship in Seoul, only the crown prince Li Bo can enjoy such high-level treatment.

Wang Tom himself will not personally accompany the North Korean study-abroad team going south, but has made detailed arrangements for the entire trip. After setting off from Seoul, Haihan will send six warships to escort the North Koreans to Zhoushan Dinghai Port first.

There, we will meet other southbound fleets and then continue our journey. Depending on the situation, we may stop at Penghu, Hong Kong and other places for replenishment before heading to Sanya.

The North Korean side had no major objections to this itinerary, except that Crown Prince Li Bo expressed the hope that the trip south should be more substantial and not rush all the time. If possible, he would like to visit more Haihan-ruled areas along the way.

In fact, Wang Tom had also imagined such an arrangement, but he did not want the North Koreans to think that the itinerary was too loose and too purposeful, so he gave up the extra arrangements. He did not expect that the other party would take the initiative to propose this suggestion, and he immediately agreed.

Come down. Let Li Pu and his party visit Haihan's colonies on the way, and it will also show them Haihan's dominance in various parts of East Asia.

While North Korea was preparing to study abroad, Wang Tom, as the high-level representative of Haihan, needed to communicate with North Korea about follow-up arrangements at any time, so he could only wait in Seoul. But for him, there was not much diplomacy.

There were government affairs to deal with, so the officials from Li Cao's Yamen only went to the place where he stayed every day to ask if there was anything he needed, and then informed him of the palace's preparations for the crown prince's study abroad.

If troops were sent to meet the Qing invasion with the same efficiency, then half of Korea would probably be lost. Wang Tom guessed that the Koreans had probably chosen a certain auspicious day, so they deliberately delayed the preparations.

However, he happened to have nothing to do recently. The training of the new army is mainly based on the army, and Qian Tiandun's independent regiment is in charge. The Koreans have not even begun to build a shipyard, so it is too early to train the navy. Wang Tom has already

The naval forces currently stationed in North Korea have been ordered to take a rotational rest, and only a few ships are still performing daily patrols in the waters of the Yalu River.

The other three fleets that participated in the Anti-Qing War have now returned to the Datong River base one after another and are in a state of rest. However, these generals have trade with North Korea in mind, so they all accompanied Wang Tom.

I came to Seoul and discussed with North Korean officials about establishing transportation business.

This is probably the most intensive social banquet that Wang Tom has received during his several trips to Seoul. Banquets from North Korean officials and private people are held almost every day, not only for him, but also for Annan, Fujian Xu family and

The activities of the three Portuguese families, but they lived in the same house in Seoul, so they naturally invited them together in a package, so Wang Tom couldn’t run away. Then when these three families returned to invite the DPRK to a banquet, they also had to invite Wang

Tom accompanied me, and he was there to facilitate communication with the North Korean side.

Therefore, during this period, going to Gyeongbokgung Palace to discuss matters became the easiest task for Wang Tom. Otherwise, he would have to deal with all kinds of social events every day, which would really give him a headache. He hopes that the North Korean study abroad team will be there as soon as possible.

Set off so that he can escape from this environment.

Cai Jinmei, who came to Seoul to run a bank, had already returned to Zhejiang. Before she left, she successfully persuaded King Li Zhu to open a special study abroad account for Li Zhu and others who were about to study in Haihan, so that North Korean officials only needed to

After depositing cash in the Haihan Bank branch in Seoul, North Korean students will be able to withdraw the money from their accounts in Sanya in a short time. Although there will still be a delay in the process, compared with transferring gold and silver from North Korea

If it is shipped to Sanya in the South China Sea, which is thousands of miles away, it is much more convenient to have the off-site deposit and withdrawal business opened by Haihan Bank.

This move undoubtedly means that the royal family has endorsed and guaranteed the credibility of Haihan Bank. The advertising effect brought by this is naturally self-evident. Even if many North Korean dignitaries do not know the operating status of Haihan Bank, they still choose it.

Follow the trend and open an account in the bank first. Naturally, the bank will accept all comers. They will open the account first, and then send special personnel to the houses of these powerful people to slowly explain the matter.

The allies who sent troops to North Korea with Haihan have long known that Haihan Bank is reliable and convenient. The business carried out in North Korea also relies on banks for payment settlement, which invisibly attracts a lot of money to the bank.

New customers.

With the gradual advancement of various post-war work against North Korea, the summer of 1637 finally came to an end.
Chapter completed!