Chapter 3494
Chapter 3494
Chapter 3494
Li Bai was the successor chosen by Li Yi, so Li Yi would naturally not hide these diplomatic affairs from him. He immediately told Li Bai the contents of his just-held talks with the high-ranking officials of Hai Han.
Li Bai was also surprised by Hai Han's request that North Korea provide 100,000 laborers to work in its overseas territories every year. However, his views on labor export seemed to be somewhat different from Li Yi's.
“Father, since Hai Han is willing to cooperate with us in this regard, why don’t you propose to completely replace Pyongyang and take over all labor export business?”
Li Yi shook his head slightly upon hearing this and said, "It's not that simple. Our country borders Hai Han's Liaodong region to the north, and there are at least tens of thousands of laborers who cross the Yalu River to Liaodong every year. Moreover, General Chen Yixin, who is in charge of Hai Han's northern region, is the pillar behind your uncle Li Hao. He is also a member of Hai Han's Executive Committee. Do you think the Executive Committee can agree to such a request?"
Li Bai still refused to give up his opinion: "If we take the initiative to lower the price of labor export, can we win over Pyongyang?"
Li Yi shook his head and said, "You still don't understand. This is not a question of price. Hai Han intends to support Pyongyang and balance Seoul, so of course we have to give Pyongyang some benefits in terms of industrial policy. Even if we lower the price, we can't make Hai Han give up this support."
Li Bai was silent for a moment before he continued, "Does our country have to remain in this state of division between the North and the South? Why not try to persuade Uncle to give up ruling in Pyongyang and return to Seoul so that he can retain his status and treatment as Prince Fenglin."
Li Yi smiled and said, "Son, you think things are too simple. Let's not talk about whether your uncle is greedy for power and unwilling to let go. Even if he wants to give up, his words don't count!"
"Hai Han's goal is to divide our country into two parts, north and south, for easier control. Even if your uncle doesn't take this position, Hai Han will support someone else to take it. Rather than letting an outsider share power, I would rather that person be your uncle. At least the country is still in the hands of our Li family!"
Li Bai said, "I have been studying in Hai Han for the past few years, but I still don't understand why Hai Han wants to split our country into two parts, north and south. Think about Annan, which is also Hai Han's ally. It was clearly in a situation of civil war between the north and the south before, but Hai Han insisted on supporting one side and let the Zheng family unify Annan. What's the reason for this?"
Li Yi replied: "I have been thinking about this problem for many years. At first I thought it was because I didn't do well enough and failed to win the trust of the Executive Committee. Later I thought it was a matter of personal preference and had nothing to do with my performance."
"Later, I felt that the reason was probably geopolitical and international relations as Hai Han's senior officials said, rather than personal factors. Annan did not receive the same treatment, probably because it was open to Hai Han without restrictions, providing Hai Han with all the conveniences it needed, and even taking the initiative to hand over its ports and minerals to Hai Han for operation."
"This kind of completely defenseless relationship is something our country cannot achieve for the time being. I think this is probably the reason why Hai Han has adopted the North-South division of our country!"
Although Li Yi's idea was not entirely correct, it was indeed not too far from the truth.
During the early years of the civil war between the North and the South in Annan, Hai Han supported the Zheng family, which was at a disadvantage at the time, helping them defeat the Nguyen family in the south and replace the original Le Dynasty.
It can be said that the power of the Zheng Dynasty came from Hai Han’s grant. Therefore, after Zheng Zhen ascended the throne, the entire Annan quickly became a vassal state of Hai Han, and was fully integrated into the system built by Hai Han in terms of politics, military, culture, education, economy and trade. The Lee family ruled the Korean Peninsula much earlier than Hai Han appeared. Both Lee Jong and Lee Yi regarded Korea as the property of the Lee family. Even though Hai Han once saved Korea from the iron hoof of the Qing Dynasty, the king in power would not have the idea of unconditional obedience to Hai Han like the Annan Zheng family. He simply changed the original suzerain state from Ming to Hai Han in response to the changing situation.
Although North Korea also opened up many areas such as garrison, economic and trade to Hai Han, its cooperation was obviously not as high as that of Annan. Therefore, after Li Yi ascended the throne, the country was divided by his younger brother Li Hao.
But it is inevitable that Li Yi, as a person involved in the matter, finds it difficult to objectively see the environment he is in and Hai Han’s perception of North Korea.
Out of awe for Hai Han, he didn't even dare to question the Executive Committee or seek an answer in person, and could only figure out the reason on his own. The opening of labor export to Hai Han this time was also an attempt to improve relations between the two countries.
Perhaps at a certain stage, Hai Han will believe that North Korea’s loyalty and cooperation are sufficient, and will change its current strategy, abolish the division between North and South, and allow the Korean Peninsula to return to unification.
This is of course just Li Li's unilateral expectation, but given his identity and situation, he can only think about it this way for now. There are no other more effective means to change the status quo.
Compared to Li Yi's awkwardness, Annan King Zheng Zao was much more comfortable during his visit to Hangzhou. With the assistance of Hai Han, he held many meetings with dignitaries from other countries and gained a lot.
Annan's geographical location is far superior to that of North Korea in Northeast Asia. All major ports along the coast have been operated by Hai Han for many years. They have complete facilities, sound systems, and sufficient professional personnel to operate them. In addition, Annan's relatively more open governing style makes it much easier to establish diplomatic and trade relations with other countries than North Korea.
In just a few days, Annan signed diplomatic and trade agreements with multiple partners. Zheng Zao was even busier than the senior officials of the Hai Han Executive Committee.
After staying in Hangzhou for a few days, the time for the Zhoushan Forum to open was almost approaching. Under the arrangement of Hai Han, dignitaries from various countries left Hangzhou by boat one after another and headed for Zhoushan, hundreds of miles away.
Among the executive committee, Tao Donglai, Yan Chujie and Shi Diwen have already scheduled to attend the event in Zhoushan, and Bai Kesi, who is in charge of military production, has also rushed over from Sanya and will meet with them in Zhoushan.
The task of selling arms to various countries during the forum cannot be accomplished without the main speaker Bai Kesi.
Chen Yixin, the "youngest" member of the Executive Committee, was also supposed to attend the meeting, but some recent local government affairs made it difficult for him to leave the north.
Chen Yixin sent a telegram asking for leave, saying that he would probably miss the Zhoushan Forum activities, but if he wanted to go to Japan for inspection later, he could make the trip.
Obviously, Chen Yixin did not want to miss the opportunity to observe the Japanese civil war. For a senior general like him who had experienced countless actual battles, going to the battlefield for a field visit was far more meaningful than engaging in verbal battles at the conference.