With the monsoon winds at their backs, the Li family's fleet had enjoyed smooth sailing all the way. After more than ten days at sea, they finally reached the peninsula where the ancient kingdoms of Silla and Goguryeo had once stood—what was now the capital of Joseon, Hanseong. They safely moored at the port of a country that had not imposed many harsh maritime restrictions.
"..."
"Even though this isn't my first time here, every time I see this place, I can't help thinking how much it resembles our Great Ming..."
"The buildings, the clothes, even the hairstyles—they're all so similar..."
"It's like a little Ming dynasty, isn't it?"
Lingering at the dock without wandering off, Li Huamei watched the Sillan workers going about their business, along with the officials and buildings. Gradually, she couldn't help sighing with emotion.
That was right. Li Huamei knew that this country was a vassal state of Great Ming. Apart from the fact that the Great Ming Empire did not directly rule its people, its politics and culture were essentially no different from those of an internal prefecture within Ming territory.
Whenever a Korean king took the throne, he had to receive the Ming court's approval. And there was little difficulty in speaking Chinese here. At least the officials and upper classes knew how to speak Chinese and write with a brush, so there were no problems communicating.
But unlike this country, which had hardly changed and remained prosperous and stable, the Great Ming Empire had fallen into a state of internal and external crisis. The northwest of the Central Plains lay in ruins, and some places had even sunk into a wretched state worse than that of this vassal country.
Still, worrying about it wouldn't help. That wasn't Li Huamei's concern. Her current