King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

In front of Pyongyang City, Lee Seong-gye led a large army, riding a tall horse and holding a long sword, looking majestic.

Cui Ying on the city wall had a calm expression and looked full of confidence.

Both sides are very clear at this moment that what they want is truth, not arguing about who has a stronger background, which is useless.

Now that the other party says that he is supported by Zhu Tan, we just need to wait.

"His Royal Highness Prince Lu said that the Ming army will arrive in half a month at most! By then, you, a traitor, will be beheaded!"

Cui Ying shouted loudly.

Compared to Lee Seong-gye, the city needs Choi Young to shout this sentence more.

After all, Lee Seong-gye's army is powerful and can capture the capital at any time.

By then, everyone in the city will be dead without a burial place.

At this time, the weak naturally need more confidence than the strong.

So he shouted this sentence not only to let Lee Seong-gye know the pros and cons of the matter, but also to delay time and let the soldiers in the city know that they still have hope and can't just wait to die.

Li Chenggui couldn't help but frown. Even though he was trying to purge the court of evil officials, Cui Ying now occupied the high ground of reason and he really couldn't win the argument.

"General Li, the king said that as long as you are willing to obey and stop rebelling!"

Li Chenggui shouted angrily: "It's been so long, and I haven't seen the king come out. You are the only one talking. I'm afraid the king has been imprisoned by you. Brothers, come with me and rescue the king!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Cao Min also appeared with a big knife in his hand, looking ferocious.

The big drum is struck!
Nearly 100,000 soldiers launched the charge.

kill!

Li Chenggui and Cao Min looked at the charging soldiers with murderous intent in their eyes.

"Brother, what if the Ming army really comes?"

Cao Min suddenly spoke.

Lee Seong-gye smiled and said, "Brother, you were beside me when my men brought back the news. How could I lie to you? Wang Yu wanted to attack the Ming Dynasty, killed the Ming people, imprisoned the envoys, and sent troops to the Liaodong border. Do you think the Ming Dynasty would just keep watching?"

This rhetorical question silenced Cao Min.

This is indeed true. What level is the Ming Dynasty at? Which country can match it? The Ming Dynasty is now dealing with some things and is quite busy, so it has not paid any attention to them.

As a result, they became too arrogant and angered the Ming Dynasty, so naturally they had to send troops.

"Brother, if you were the King of Lu, why would you support such an ungrateful person?"

Li Chenggui said with a smile.

Cao Min nodded. If there were any traitors among his men, he would be the first to kill them.

You are busy and doing something important, but a traitor comes and stabs you in the back. Who can tolerate this?

"In my opinion, there is only Cui Ying in the city. During the preparations before the war, only two to three thousand soldiers were left in the city. Even if there are logistics and other things, there are only a few thousand people at most. This number of people can't support for long!"

Lee Seong-gye stared at the city gate with burning eyes.

In fact, he could have bypassed Pyongyang and gone straight to Xijing, but that would have taken too much time and required more food and supplies.

In order to attack the Ming Dynasty, a lot of food and supplies were sent to Pyongyang, so Pyongyang had to be captured.

"The food and grass I brought are only enough for three days, and you can only take care of it for one day, or five days at most. If we can't take it down, we'll be in trouble!"

Cao Min spoke.

"Reduce the food supply and continue the attack. If we can capture this city within seven days, you and I will have enough food and fodder!"

Lee Seong-gye shook his head.

Of course he understood, but it was not realistic to capture the city within five days. Pyongyang was the largest city besides Xijing, and because of the trade there, Pyongyang was also very rich, so he had to give it some time.

If the soldiers knew that they could break through within five days, but failed to do so within the time limit, coupled with the problem of food and fodder, the morale of the army would inevitably be affected.

Cui Ying, who was standing on the city wall, felt a little frightened when he saw the aggressive army of Li Chenggui.

There are only a few thousand soldiers in the city, so they can only delay the fight as long as they can.

As for Wang Yu, he had indeed left. Otherwise, Wang Yu's appearance would certainly have boosted the morale of the army and even influenced Lee Seong-gye's army.

At this moment, Wang Yu had already gone to Xijing, intending to go back to take charge of the overall situation, recruit as many soldiers as possible, and even dispatch more people.

"I hope it's too late!"

Wang Yu looked back towards Pyongyang with concern and could vaguely see smoke rising into the sky.

……

seaside!

"Come on, just move three cannons, one musket for each person, ammunition and a few days' worth of food, and set off!"

Zhu Tan rode a horse and commanded the soldiers.

The three cannons weigh about five hundred to one thousand kilograms and require five to six people to transport them. Some people are needed to transport ammunition, some people are needed to transport food and grass, and some people are needed to protect the ships. Only three thousand people can quickly fight.

After taking out the map of Goryeo, Zhu Tan looked at it carefully for a while and had a rough idea.

Lee Seong-gye's army is on Wihwa Island, and Joo Dan is preparing to attack Pyongyang before setting off. The fighting is probably going to be quite intense now.

"Let's go to Xijing. According to the route, Wang Yu might be there. With thousands of people like me, he will probably cry with joy!"

Zhu Tan had a smile on his face and decided to take three thousand people with him first.

"Captain, take them to Pyongyang and tell them that I sent them. Then tell Choi Young to open the city gate and let Lee Seong-gye in. You take them to Xijing, and I will support the overall situation!"

Zhu Tan said with a smile.

"Yes, Your Highness, what about these people?"

A general looked at the hundreds of civilians on the shore.

Due to the language barrier, a fight almost broke out when they first arrived, especially among the dozen or so soldiers leading the other side.

After Zhu Tan killed him, the civilians settled down.

"It's okay. Send someone to the local government and find someone who can understand us to tell them not to cause trouble!"

After Zhu Tan made all the arrangements, he took three thousand people to Xijing.

According to later records, Wang Yu was afraid at this time and returned to Xijing first.

Pyongyang will not be able to resist for long, at most a few days. At this time, he only needs to take people to Xijing.

It took a day or two, and they arrived at a town less than ten miles away from Xijing City. Zhu Tan and his three thousand men filled up the inns and government offices.

The town officials served Zhu Tan with apologetic smiles on their faces.

"I almost forgot. Dad should still be in Yanzhou. Send two people to report the news. I will be back in a few days. There will be a surprise!"

Zhu Tan said with a smile.

"Yes!"

A general nodded, and in confusion, ordered someone to go back and report.

“Your Highness, even though Lee Seong-gye’s army of 100,000 men was stopped in Pyongyang, we only have 3,000 men. If we attack Xijing, Wang Yu will inevitably join forces with Lee Seong-gye again, and we will be attacked from both sides. The consequences are unimaginable!”

Another general couldn't help but remind him.

Any general with some experience and ability can think of it.

The Goryeo officials standing by stared at the general in amazement.

"Look how scared you are. Is it time for me to say I will attack Goryeo?"

Zhu Tan looked at the officials with a smile.

Several officials dared not speak, for fear that if they said something wrong, they would be beheaded by the Ming army.

"What's the point of leading the army if you're not going to attack?" The general was stunned by the question and didn't care about these officials at all.

Right now, Zhu Tan said, "I will take Wang Yu's head tomorrow," and Wang Yu didn't dare to say a word, and even came to apologize with a licking face.

"I brought you here just to test the performance of the warship. Uh, you idiots, if you don't understand, just watch me do it!"

Zhu Tan said impatiently.

The first was to test the performance of the warship, and the second was to be on the safe side. After all, Wang Yu was not a good person, and neither was Lee Seong-gye.

Therefore, he brought these people here not to help anyone, but to protect himself.

"Okay, send someone to Xijing to tell Wang Yu that the king is coming, and ask him to come out to greet him!" Zhu Tan waved his hands and enjoyed the two women massaging his legs and shoulders.

Yes!
A general nodded, then took two or three people and rode to Xijing.

Xijing! Wang Yu looked at the ministers below and was very anxious.

Since he came back, he has been asking his ministers to gather troops as quickly as possible. He took out all the troops from his palace, as well as some of the ministers' guards.

As a result, in two days, there were only a few thousand soldiers, which was a huge gap compared to Lee Seong-gye's army of 100,000.

The ministers who originally followed Li Zisong's group had calm expressions on their faces, but they were already overjoyed in their hearts.

They had tried to persuade him for a long time before, but in the end, Li Zisong was still killed.

It's too late to ask them for help now. They don't have the time to recruit an army for you.

"Your Majesty, General Li is only trying to clear the court of corrupt officials. It would be better to have him kill those treacherous officials!"

A minister suddenly spoke up.

"Yeah yeah!"

Other ministers echoed this.

"What do you mean by clearing the court? Lee Seong-gye is clearly planning a rebellion!"

"Lee Seong-gye said he wanted to purge the court of evildoers, but in fact he wanted to become the king. Do you want to help him?"

"Your Majesty, they are most likely in league with Lee Seong-gye, kill them now!"

Many ministers also had extremely ugly expressions and hurriedly refuted.

Some of them were Choi Young's party, and some had a grudge against Lee Seong-gye.

If Lee Seong-gye were to gain power, they would not only lose their chance to become officials, but would also lose their lives.

Wang Yu also wanted to kill these ministers. Those officials who were willing to support him originally provided money, food and manpower, but now they had nothing to offer.

He could only place his hopes on them.

"Your Majesty, when we sent troops to attack Ming, we spent all our family's wealth. Now that Lee Seong-gye has purged his followers and even wants to rebel, how can we afford to pay?"

The minister choked.

He is on Li Zisong's side. Although he has nothing to do with Li Seong-gye, he has now made up his mind to support Li Seong-gye. As soon as Li Seong-gye's army arrives, he will immediately help Li Seong-gye enter Xijing.

Wang Yu was filled with grief and indignation, as if he understood clearly that the court was divided into three factions, two of which were civil officials and one of military generals.

Originally, the generals were of little power and had to rely on him, so they were very loyal. Now that they have become enemies, how can he still be considered a king in the court?

If he clears out the imperial court, he may not die, but who can tell for sure?

Even if Lee Seong-gye did not kill him, he would be sidelined. Would the throne still be his? Would the new king tolerate him?

"Great news, my king!"

The generals from Xijing City rushed in, their faces full of excitement.

"What's the matter?"

Wang Yu looked at the general in confusion.

The general paused and shouted, "Prince Lu, His Royal Highness Prince Lu's men have arrived, Prince Lu has arrived too!"

what?
Everyone's expression changed, and Wang Yu's face was full of surprise.

"Where is His Royal Highness Prince Lu?"

Wang Yu quickly stood up and walked to the general and asked anxiously.

The general hurriedly explained: "Prince Lu has arrived at a town ten miles away. Prince Lu asked the king to pick him up in person!"

"Good, good, good! God will not destroy Goryeo!"

Wang Yu laughed so hard that he was shaking with excitement. He had finally waited for what he had been waiting for.

"Very good, my dear ministers, will you follow me to welcome King Lu?"

Zhu Dan's arrival made Wang Yu feel at ease. He was no longer afraid of Lee Seong-gye's army of hundreds of thousands.

The ministers who had been against Wang Yu just now now had complicated and even ugly expressions on their faces. They had not expected that Wang Yu would actually get the support of King Lu.

This makes them feel unreal.

Before this, Wang Yu wanted to attack Ming and occupy its territory. If Lee Seong-gye had not rebelled, his army would have already entered Liaodong.

The ministers who supported Wang Yu were overjoyed and expressed their willingness to go.

"Lin Jianwei, Lian Xingbang, what about you?"

Wang Yu looked at the two ministers with a sharp gaze, returning to his previous arrogant demeanor.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty. We are willing to go!"

The two took the lead in agreeing, feeling quite helpless, and now they only asked Lee Seong-gye to kill Choi Young.

Otherwise, when Cui Ying comes back, they will not be able to escape death. After Cui Ying dies, Wang Yu will not take action against them, but will only demote them or exile them for a period of time at most.

Soon, Wang Yu met the generals sent by Zhu Tan. He was very happy and gave gold bars to the people who came.

The general had not expected that he could get gold bars for this job, and he couldn't help but feel happy.

"King of Goryeo, His Highness is only ten miles away. His Highness already knows about what happened before. Now it all depends on the King's attitude!"

The general said with a smile.

“Of course, of course!”

Wang Yu smiled and nodded. He would be happy to kowtow to Zhu Tan even if he was asked to do so.

Soon, Wang Yu and his ministers got on the carriage and went to meet Zhu Tan.

Pyongyang!

Cui Ying looked at the person coming over and fell into hesitation.

"What is the problem?"

The general looked at Cui Ying calmly.

"Brother, it's not that I don't want to open the city gate, but even if I do, Lee Seong-gye won't let me go!"

Cui Ying said with an embarrassed look on her face.

The general sneered and said, "So, you don't believe in your ability, or you don't believe in the power of Ming Dynasty?"

"Choi Young wouldn't dare, but will Lee Seong-gye really listen?"

Cui Ying asked with a wry smile.

If Lee Seong-gye returned, he would generously open the city gates and provide Lee Seong-gye with food and grass. All the previous matters would be written off, and in the future, the two of them would have the final say in the court.

But now that he has offended Lee Seong-gye and opened the city gate, won’t he be beheaded by someone?

“When will they stop?”

The general asked.

"In the evening, Lee Seong-gye will stop and talk to me!"

"Okay, let me go out in the evening and face him!"

The general nodded, then led his men to eat and drink.

Cui Ying stood silently by. He really wanted to ask Zhu Tan what he was going to do, but after thinking about it, he could only shut his mouth.

As long as Zhu Tan can calm down the fight and save his life, how much is face worth?

As for the ceasefire in the evening, it was not his idea, but Lee Seong-gye's.

Lee Seong-gye rode alone on horseback, approached the city gate, stood outside the archery range, and constantly forced the soldiers in the city to give up resistance.

He stood up, constantly encouraged Lee Seong-gye, and found reasons to fight back against Lee Seong-gye.

To put it bluntly, it's just canvassing for votes and insulting each other, and it has been going on for three days.

Cui Ying glanced at the sky and saw that it was less than half an hour before Lee Seong-gye arrived.

Outside the city, Lee Seong-gye drank a few sips of millet soup.

After eating and drinking, Lee Seong-gye mounted his horse and went to the front line.

"My fellow soldiers, how many people have died today? Do you still want to fight? I, Lee Seong-gye, have said that we are originally one family. Now the treacherous minister Choi Young is trying to sow discord between us and make us kill each other. All you have to do is open the door. I will only capture Choi Young and take him to Xijing. After replenishing some food and grass, I will not touch the others!"

"This is ridiculous and full of lies. If you really mean this, I, Cui Ying, am willing to walk out of the city gate, bring some food, and follow you on your way to Xijing. How about that?"

Cui Ying walked to the top of the city wall and spoke loudly, while at the same time making a gesture to his men to open the city gate a little to let Zhu Tan's men out. (End of this chapter)