Chapter 85

In the outer residence of the Mu family, in a small study across the courtyard.

The spring examination, originally scheduled for February, was delayed until summer due to the Lan Yu case, and it was now called the Summer List. It was set to begin in just three days.

Xu Hao sat alone at the back of the room, looking at something in his hand while observing Zhou Peng, Zhao Hesong, and others chatting and laughing. Despite their obvious nervousness, they tried to appear calm and composed, but their stiff expressions and postures were markedly different from their usual selves.

The other three candidates were all good friends of Zhao Hesong, and all four were northerners. In response to Zhao Hesong's request, Lady Mu felt it was inconvenient to host too many outsiders, but Xu Hao was grateful to Zhao Hesong for informing him about Zhang Yueyun's whereabouts. He took the initiative to rent a small courtyard outside the Mu residence for the four scholars to stay temporarily.

During the Ming Dynasty, there were significant differences between the north and the south in various aspects, with the most notable being the educational environment. The south was rich in culture and had many scholarly families, fostering a strong literary atmosphere. In contrast, the north suffered from various reasons, leading to a decline in the scholarly community, and the number of people who pursued education and official careers was far fewer than in the south.

Zhou Peng, a native of the capital, enjoyed interacting with Zhao Hesong and the other three. They often chatted late into the night, and after just a few days of studying together, they began to call each other classmates.

Feng Quan, adhering to the southern scholars' long-standing habit of looking down on northern scholars, refused to engage with these coarse northerners. He sat at the front with Mu Ang, willingly enduring the teachings of Mr. Jiang Song.

Mr. Jiang Song's arrival was a result of Xu Hao's sudden inspiration to use Mu Ang to counteract the negative influence. He asked Feng Quan to persuade Lady Mu, and to his surprise, Jiang Song, enticed by the annual salary of 200 taels of silver, arrived with a newfound sense of responsibility, determined to mold Mu Ang into a talented individual.

Lady Mu was very pleased with this, and recently, she increased his salary by another 100 taels and continued to provide him with gifts during festivals. This motivated Jiang Song, who had initially planned to take it easy, to work even harder, relentlessly teaching the disappointing Mu Ang, much to the latter's dismay.

The three young scholars had different personalities. Zhang Xin had the typical northern appearance, with slightly small eyes that squinted when he smiled. He was of medium height, slightly taller, and had a straightforward and carefree personality. He seemed to enjoy socializing more than studying and was skilled in eloquent conversation. Yu Peng, on the other hand, was tall and had a long face with a hint of nearsightedness. He was very confident in his appearance and paid great attention to his looks, but he was the least talented in his studies. In his free time, he enjoyed dragging everyone to spy on the village women, often making comments about them. Ironically, his inner shyness and outward confidence were inversely proportional, and he would stammer and stumble if a bold young woman approached him.

The last one, Sun Tao, was chubby and smiled like a laughing Buddha. He was the shortest among the three and had a very amiable personality, never causing any trouble. He was the best scholar among the three but could be very stubborn when it came to arguments and placed great importance on his reputation.

Among the four, Zhao Hesong came from the wealthiest family and was smart enough to ally himself with the Mu family early on. The other three came from ordinary families, with similar backgrounds. They had been staying in a temple, helping the monks with chores in exchange for meals.

Recently, due to the temple's frequent and noisy ceremonies, the three found it difficult to study and decided to come together.

Xu Hao also enjoyed their company, free from formalities and social constraints, making him feel like he was back in college.

When it came to discussing the eight-part essays, Xu Hao couldn't contribute much, so he sat at the back, holding the documents Zhu Di had first sent him, which contained various announcements and materials issued by the court over the past year.

It seemed Zhu Di was beginning to test him. Xu Hao sighed and continued reading. The information about the Lan Yu case was detailed, and one name caught his attention.

"I haven't seen Yu Manting these past few days. Turns out his father was stripped of his title and returned to their hometown," Xu Hao mused. Another rival had fallen, and he was grateful he was safe, or Mu Ningsnow would have become a teenage heartbreaker.

Unwilling to read further, he flipped to the next page, which was about foreign affairs. After some time, he realized that last year, the Li Dynasty had been established in Korea, and this year, they had sent several envoys to the capital to pay tribute, seeking recognition from the court and professing their loyalty to the Great Ming.

The details of the establishment of the Li Dynasty were vague, but it was said that an unjust ruler had attempted to wage war against the Ming, and a loyal general, Li Seong-gye, rallied the troops and the people, overthrowing the corrupt regime. The people then chose Li Seong-gye as their king, establishing a loyal vassal state of the Ming.

The concept of "serving the greater" (事大主义) originated from Mencius and was a Confucian diplomatic philosophy from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. "The small serves the great in good faith; the great protects the small with benevolence." Therefore, Korea even had a dedicated "Office of Serving the Greater" (事大司), which was the highest among the various departments of the Ministry of Rites.

Xu Hao understood the helplessness of Korea as a vassal state for a thousand years, a feeling deeply ingrained in the Korean people, leading to a near-hysterical sense of self-respect and a desperate need for global recognition and praise.

Although he found many of the actions of North and South Korea in later times annoying, he also felt sympathy for their self-importance and narrow-mindedness, which stemmed from their desire to surpass China in various aspects. He admired the Han River miracle created by the efforts of the Korean people.

In summary, Korea was a weak and small country that could never match China, constrained by its geography and population. Its neighbors were too powerful, and if the Koreans were in Europe, they might have become a dominant force. However, in Asia, all their efforts would ultimately be in vain, and they would always have to rely on the goodwill of the great powers to survive.

In his younger days, influenced by public opinion, Xu Hao had disliked North and South Korea more than Japan. As he gained more experience, especially after watching Korean variety shows, he increasingly understood the helplessness and powerlessness of a small country. The tragic and humiliating history of the Korean Peninsula, spanning a thousand years, had led to the creation of myths and legends to boost national pride, a sad and lamentable situation. Anyone who brought honor to Korea could instantly become a national hero, but such heroes were rare in reality.

Understanding the various aspects of Korean society, Xu Hao felt deep sympathy for the Korean people. "Be Korean, be proud of being Korean," he thought. A true great nation doesn't need to boast. He also admired certain aspects of Korea, and Japan had many things worth learning from. Pride and complacency were the greatest taboos, both for individuals and nations. Korea often competed with China in various fields, such as the Dragon Boat Festival, but he always smiled and let it go. Protecting one's cultural heritage was important, but it wasn't his concern anymore, as he had already traveled through time.

The current Ming Dynasty was like the United States of later times, and the Li Dynasty of Korea treated the Ming with the utmost respect, never daring to be impolite. The documents from Korea were easy to understand, with language and style almost identical to those required by the Ming court. No wonder Korea was called "Little China," and it seemed that the Korean script had not yet been invented.

Korea was obedient, the Mongols were obedient, and the Jurchens were obedient, but Japan seemed to be the only one that was not. Xu Hao vaguely remembered that Zhu Yuanzhang had been angry about a letter to the "Sun King" of Japan, ordering no contact with Japan, which led to the banning of maritime trade due to Japanese pirates and South China Sea trade. He had always harbored resentment, and on his deathbed, he listed Japan as a country not to be invaded.

Why not invade? Was it to avoid the mistakes of the Yuan Dynasty? Or to avoid the cost of invading a barren land? Or was it because ruling a distant territory would be difficult? Probably all three.

Xu Hao thought that if he were the emperor, he would adopt a strategy of "using barbarians to control barbarians" and "driving the wolf to devour the tiger." Korea, like the Ming, was also troubled by the brutal Japanese pirates and hated them deeply. Instead of fighting alone, the Ming could provide economic aid to Korea, supplying various goods to control its economy. Supporting a pro-Ming bureaucratic group would be easy, and there were already "serving the greater" factions in Korea, similar to the "collaborationists" of later times, who praised everything about the Ming and lamented why Korea could not be part of the Ming territory.

By firmly controlling the Korean government, the Ming could encourage Korea to build a large fleet, gradually occupy coastal islands, and recruit skilled Mongol and Jurchen warriors, perhaps promising them the right to plunder and occupy land in Japan.

This way, without sending a single soldier, the Ming could continuously retaliate against the Japanese, and he didn't believe that the long-lasting pirate problem would not cause equal damage to Japan.

Xu Hao didn't think about conquering Korea or Japan, as it was unrealistic. European countries had occupied many lands, but after World War I and II, they all gained independence.

Xu Hao just wanted to vent his frustration. If history could record it as such, it would be enough. In the future, when the Chinese and Korean people studied history, they would be excited to learn that Korea, with China's support, had once fought and plundered the Japanese, which was better than the current situation of constant suffering.

Imagination was not reality, and Xu Hao was not a dreamer. He believed his ideas were worth trying and could at least bring substantial trade profits from Liaodong, Korea, and Japan.

Any endeavor required a large number of talents, and Xu Hao naturally turned his attention to the young men engaged in heated discussions.

His gaze was filled with deep malice.