I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 229 Our Cannons Are Not Loud Enough

In February of the second year of the Longqing reign, spring finally arrived in the capital area.

At the Dongbianmen Wharf, a two-rowed speedboat slowly approached. The clerk on the wharf saw the flag hanging on the mast and hurried over to a corner, shouting to several river guards squatting on the ground, "Everyone, get up and go meet the boat."

A river guard turned his head to look at him and yawned: "This centipede boat is a shuttle boat of the shipping company. It has nothing to do with our canal transportation. Boss, there is no need to curry favor with them."

The name centipede boat comes from the fact that this double-row paddle boat has a slender hull with oars sticking out on both sides, making it look like a centipede. It is specially designed for fast travel on canals.

The shipping company's shuttle ship refers to the shipping company of Dagu Port. This kind of fast ship was used to open a ship service from Dagu along the North Grand Canal to Tongzhou, and then directly to the Dongbianmen Wharf via the Tonghui River. It was specifically used to transfer business travelers who needed to transfer to Dagu Port by sea.

"Bullshit, can't you read?

Yes, you rough guys are illiterate. The flag on this ship is "The Ming Dynasty's Returning Mission to Korea". The people on it are all imperial envoys. Don't neglect them, or you'll get into trouble!"

Several river miners immediately climbed up.

These people have been making a living on the Tonghui River for more than ten years, and they know that among the passengers passing by, one of the most difficult people to offend is the imperial envoy.

We are carrying out the emperor's orders, and if there is any mistake, no one will be able to escape punishment.

Several river guards came forward and stood in front of the pier. An older river guard gestured and gave instructions to the speedboat.

Several other river guards held tools and pushed or pulled the speedboat so that it would stop steadily close to the pier and avoid a head-on collision.

A boatman on the bow threw out a rope, which was caught by an older riverman and tied securely around the wooden stakes of the pier.

As soon as the boat stopped, two officials in green robes and black hats came out of the cabin and walked along the plank to the shore.

Both of them were in their thirties, with solemn faces that could not hide their fatigue and travel exhaustion.

Just as we reached the dock, a group of people came hurriedly, carrying three sedan chairs, to greet us.

A man came out of a sedan chair. He was not very old, but was wearing a bullfighting suit and a steel-forked hat. He was a eunuch.

"Envoy Ye, Deputy Envoy Song, you must be tired from the journey. But His Highness is waiting for you in the West Garden, so please continue to work hard."

Ye Mengxiong and Song Yingchang looked at each other and hurriedly bowed and said, "Eunuch Qi, you are too kind. Your Highness has urgently summoned us, and we should rush to the meeting. Please, Eunuch Qi!"

"Envoy Ye and Deputy Envoy Song, please come in."

The three sedan chairs left in a hurry, escorted by a group of military cadets.

The clerk couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and several river guards looked at each other with lingering fear.

The sedan chair quickly arrived at the posthouse, and Ye Mengxiong and Song Yingchang came here as usual to take a bath and change clothes.

No matter how urgent the situation is, you cannot go to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in a smelly and dusty state. That is impolite.

An hour later, Ye Mengxiong and Song Yingchang met Zhu Yijun in Ziguang Pavilion.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is greeted by Ye Mengxiong, the Director of the Ministry of Rites and the Secretary of the Lifanyuan, and Song Yingchang, the Secretary of the Ministry of Rites and the Secretary of the Lifanyuan."

"No gift!"

Zhu Yijun was still wearing a vermilion robe with five-clawed dragon patterns and a black gauze winged hat on his head. He stretched out his hand to signal the two men to stand up.

"You two reported that the Korean monarch and his subjects were extremely rebellious and were determined not to give up even an inch of the occupied land?"

"Yes, Your Highness. I am incompetent and returned empty-handed after our mission to Korea. This has brought shame upon the Ming Dynasty. Please punish me, Your Highness." Ye Mengxiong, the chief envoy, replied guiltily.

"Don't worry, take your time and explain the whole story clearly." Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said in a comforting tone.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Ye Mengxiong began to speak slowly: "Since November last year, I have been mourning and asking for the title of Chief and Deputy Envoy Shen Yiqian and Zheng Renhong with Korea. I took a ship back to Korea and arrived at Ganghwa Island, Korea on November 26th, and arrived at Seoul, the capital of Korea on December 4th. On the sixth day, the King of Korea received me and the others. I formally submitted the letter of credence in the palace, and the King of Korea accepted it, saying that he would give a reply after the court meeting, and asked me and the others to rest in the post house.

But half a month had passed, and the Joseon king and his ministers still hadn't responded. So the two of us took separate actions. I went to visit Shen Yiqian and Zheng Renhong to learn about the situation in person.

Siwen went to find the Ming merchants in Seoul and asked them to find out the news. "

Ye Mengxiong said slowly that he and Song Yingchang had never imagined that they, two fellow Jinshi, would be given a great mission and be tasked with representing the Ming Dynasty to visit Korea. They had thought they would do it properly and beautifully, but unexpectedly they came back in disgrace.

Zhu Yijun remained silent and listened quietly.

"I met Shen Yiqian, and he told me frankly that important events were delayed by factional struggles in the Joseon court."

"Party strife?"

Zhu Yijun did not expect that the party struggles in Korea would be so fierce that even the important matters concerning the suzerain state were thrown aside.

"Yes, Your Highness. The King of Joseon was only sixteen years old when he ascended the throne. He was the nephew of the previous King. After he ascended the throne, the previous Queen took charge of government. I heard that the King held a lecture every day to discuss classics and history with Confucian officials.

He was well versed in Confucianism and could answer questions in great detail during the imperial lectures, so those Confucian officials who were less knowledgeable were afraid to serve as lecturers. However, the King of Joseon was well versed in Confucianism, but he was helpless in the face of the increasingly fierce party struggles in the court.

Ye Mengxiong and Song Yingchang secretly glanced at the silent Zhu Yijun.

The crown prince of our dynasty is completely different from the ruler of Joseon. He has never studied Confucianism, but has learned a lot of skills inherited from his ancestors, and has controlled the civil and military officials in the court. Even old ministers like Xu Jie and Gao Gong dare not disobey him easily.

"Before that, there was fierce party struggle in Joseon. There were two factions, the Dae-in faction and the Soe-in faction, which fought to the death. Within two years, the Dae-in faction lost power and the Soe-in faction came to power. In the last years of Joseon's former king, with the death of the former queen, the Soe-in faction also lost power, and the Sillin faction completely controlled the government.

But soon, the Sillin faction in the Joseon court was divided into the old faction and the new faction. When I was on a diplomatic mission to Joseon, the two factions were fighting fiercely.

According to Shen Yiqian, the elders in the court of Korea originally agreed to discuss with the Ming Dynasty to carefully survey the northeastern border. The newcomers knew that the elders supported it and immediately spoke out firmly against it, saying that the Korean land was also bought with blood and they dared not give up even an inch.

Then the two sides argued every day in the court, but could not come up with a strategy, whether to agree or reject the request of the Ming Dynasty letter. "

Zhu Yijun frowned and asked, "The King of Korea doesn't care?"

Ye Mengxiong spread his hands and said, "He doesn't care whether he wants to manage it or not. The key figures on both sides are his Confucian teachers. He doesn't know who to favor, so he simply doesn't favor anyone."

Ye Mengxiong looked at Song Yingchang and continued, "The news that Siwen inquired about from the merchants in Seoul is the same as what Shen Yiqian said. The two of us have been waiting in Seoul for two months, but to no avail. We have visited the King of Korea several times and asked him to make a decision and come up with a strategy as soon as possible.

However, the King of Korea seemed to have his own difficulties. The two of us asked people to find out, and then we learned that the predecessors' faction gradually gained the upper hand and began to persuade the King of Korea to agree to give up some land, negotiate well, and survey the border line.

Unexpectedly, the queen of the former king suddenly supported the new faction, which greatly boosted the momentum of the party. The king of Joseon was only the nephew of the former king, and he did not dare to agree rashly without being accused of being unfilial, so he hesitated.

We two ministers really have no other choice but to take our leave and return home to report."

Party strife!

A few decades later, the party struggle initiated by the Donglin Party destroyed the last bit of vitality of the Ming Dynasty. Now North Korea has set an example for itself. In the eyes of those people, there is only winning and losing, only the so-called moral right and wrong, and they don’t care whether it will harm the country.

As a result, the entire Ming Dynasty was lost by them.

Zhu Yijun stood up, put his hands in his sleeves, and walked back and forth twice.

"It seems that the sound of the artillery fire on the North Sea did not wake up the Korean monarchs and ministers who were sitting in the well and watching the world from afar. It seems that our artillery fire is not loud enough! Since it can't wake them up, let them hear it more clearly.

Qi Yan!"

"The slave is here!"

"Go and invite Mr. Ruzhen, Mr. Daichuan, Mr. Wenchang, and Mr. Qianji."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)