I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 252 Da Ming Daddy, save me!
Ganghwa Island.

Li Xing shook his head. "Escaped with nothing? Almost. The King of North Korea was in such a miserable state. It is said that all the wealthy families in the area were killed. It was extremely tragic. Man-made disasters are far worse than natural disasters!
I really hope that the noble families of the Ming Dynasty will come and see clearly what the consequences of blindly exploiting and squeezing people are? If they make a little less money, the scholars will speak for them, and the censors will shout that competing with the people for profits is not a country. "

Li Xing sighed and continued.

"The poor people are exploited, and they either endure it silently or are exploited to the extreme, just like in North Korea. The hungry people become mobs, and the sheep become hungry wolves.

I really hope that the people from the Propaganda Bureau and the Commercial Daily will see this, record it, and show it to those guys in the Ming Dynasty who are pampered but still unsatisfied. "

Li Xing's sigh stunned Lu Xiang and Zhang Kai for a moment.

Consul Li was deeply shocked today and made such thought-provoking remarks.

Lu Xiang is a military general and has his own opinions, but he has not expressed them yet.

Zhang Kai felt the same way, but shook his head. "It's useless. Those people won't take the reports of North Korea's tragic situation to heart. They will just listen to them as anecdotes and sigh. If you don't cultivate virtue, you will be punished by heaven."

The merchant women do not know the sorrow of losing their country, and they still sing the song of Houtinghua across the river! Even if there is a river between them, it cannot wake them up, let alone North Korea across the sea. "

Prime Minister Lu laughed loudly, and then he sighed: "Consul Li, Deputy Director Zhang, you are more concerned about the country and the people than some of the dignitaries in the government."

"I dare not forget my country even though I am in such a low position!"

"Haha!" The three of them looked at each other and laughed.

A clerk from the Ganghwa Island Consulate standing nearby had a twinkling look in his eyes, as if he had taken the three people's words to heart.

Li Xing said, "How about going to meet the King of Korea?"

"Have they cleaned up? It would be very rude to visit them rashly and see them in such a mess."

Zhang Kai asked back.

"I have temporarily requisitioned a house near the market and arranged it for the Korean king and his ministers. It should be ready now. Let's go take a look first."

"Okay. I've almost made the arrangements here. The navy has deployed its troops and the Marine Corps is also building fortifications on the shore, ready for battle. Let's go and take a look."

The three of them came to the house together.

This is a small courtyard with shops facing the street. It is now a temporary residence for the North Korean guards. They are lying on the ground in a mess, looking depressed, but with a look of relief in their eyes.

In the front yard, there were thirty or forty officials sitting or standing on the ground. They were all North Korean officials who had just heard the news and came to protect the emperor. They were arguing vigorously, their faces were covered with dust, and they were still catching their breath.

According to the interpreter, they were divided into two factions, accusing each other of deceiving the king and mismanaging the government, being treacherous ministers, and being the culprits of this civil uprising. If the heads of these treacherous ministers were sent to all directions, the civil uprising in Korea would be settled without a fight.

What a bunch of weirdos!
It's already this late and you still have the mind to talk about these things. It seems you really have it all your own fault!

King Yi Sun of Joseon, his biological mother Queen Insun, two concubines, and several eunuchs lived in the backyard.

After informing them, Lee Sun met with Roh Sang, Li Xing and Zhang Kai in the north room in the backyard.

"Lu Xiang, deputy commander of the North Sea Navy and commander of the Weihai Camp of the Ming Dynasty; Zhang Xing, consul of Ganghwa Island of the Ming Dynasty Lifan Yuan; Zhang Kai, commercial agent of Ganghwa Island of the Ming Dynasty Lifan Yuan, meet the Prince of Joseon, the Acting Governor of State Affairs."

Lee Sun wore a red robe with a dragon pattern and a Shanyi crown on his head, like a vassal king of the Ming Dynasty. He sat in the seat at the top, and he couldn't hide the panic on his face.

His face was pale, his eyes were colorless, and he seemed as if his soul was wandering.

An old eunuch beside him coughed, and Lee Sun trembled. He quickly sat up straight and forced a smile: "Thank you for your hard work, three superiors of the Celestial Empire. You saved my Joseon monarch, his subjects, soldiers and civilians from the dire situation. I am deeply grateful and will repay you in the future."

His voice was trembling and his tone was dry, as if it was squeezed out of a pile of dry sand.

Lu Xiangmian had met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince several times. It was said that the King of Korea was three or four years older than His Royal Highness, but there was a world of difference between their demeanors.

The difference between the dragon and the phoenix and the chicken and the dog!

Prime Minister Lu sat upright in his seat with his body as straight as a javelin, without saying a word.

As the plenipotentiary representative, Li Xing answered, "Your Majesty is frightened. Now we have arrived at Ganghwa Island, please rest assured. We have more than 15,000 Ming soldiers and naval forces here, with strong ships and powerful guns, and bright weapons and armor. They will definitely protect Your Majesty."

When Li Cheng heard that the Ming Dynasty had more than 15,000 naval and land troops, his eyes lit up, his waist did not sag, his neck did not tilt, and his head was straight, and he kept saying: "Everything depends on the maintenance of the Celestial Empire."

Suddenly, a female voice came from the side room: "Three superiors of the Celestial Empire, can you mobilize all the land and sea forces to go up the Han River, recapture Seoul, pacify Joseon, show the grace of the suzerain, and protect all the vassal states?" Lu Xiang and the other two looked at each other. Who is this person?
Lee Sun showed an embarrassed look on his face. "This is my mother, Queen Insun. Because I am young and ignorant, Queen Insun is in charge of government affairs."

How old are you and why is the former queen still ruling the country?
You never know until you compare. Only then will you realize how amazing your own Crown Prince is.

Prime Minister Lu replied in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the late Queen, our dynasty has a comprehensive system and strict military laws. It is not for us to decide to use troops in foreign vassal states without authorization."

Li Xing replied, "The three of us have already submitted a memorial to the emperor, and we are waiting for the court's decision."

Before Queen Insun in the side room could speak, Lee Sun said repeatedly: "Joseon is the most loyal vassal of the Ming Dynasty. We still need the protection of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. We must report to the Emperor and ask him to show his power of thunder and lightning to save Korea from the water and fire, and grant it foreign vassalage and rebirth!"

As he was talking, Lee Sun burst into tears, crying and saying, "Wuwu! We are all dependent on the protection of the Celestial Empire, wuwu——! You must protect us, and never abandon us! Wuwu!"

Looking at Li Sun who was crying and snotting, Lu Xiang, Li Xing and Zhang Kai looked at each other in bewilderment.

Is this the King of North Korea?
Why does he look just like the stupid son of a wealthy landlord who has gone bankrupt?

"Report!"

Some Korean guards came crawling in, their faces and bodies covered in mud, as if they had just crawled out of a quagmire.

"What's wrong!"

Li Sun was so frightened that he shrank back like a quail that had fallen from its nest. The old eunuch next to him kept asking, "Tell me, what's going on?"

"It's bad! The rebel army is coming. They are burning, killing and looting on the other side of the river. Now they are preparing to gather ships and cross the sea to attack Ganghwa Island!"

Wow!
Screams were heard from the side room, as well as the sound of tables and chairs falling to the ground and bottles and pots breaking on the ground.

Li Sun's face was pale, his whole body was shaking, and his eyes were rolled back, making people worry that he would pass out in the next breath.

It was extremely chaotic and noisy outside, with men shouting and women crying, it was a mess.

The group of North Korean officials who had just been full of energy accusing the other side were shouting the loudest, like a group of hungry dogs with food bowls in their hands, barking and roaring.

"Let's go!"

"It's not safe here!"

"Run faster!"

"Where to run to? There is no way to escape. Woohoo, God is going to destroy North Korea!"

There are still some clear-headed people among them.

"Protect the Lord and don't let him fall into the hands of the rebels!"

"We are loyal and righteous people. We are not the kind of people who are afraid of death. We must protect our king at the cost of our lives for the sake of our country!"

"Everyone, don't panic. We will go to the Ming consulate to petition and ask the Ming to send out heavenly soldiers to clear the evil haze and maintain social order."

"Yes! We will go to the Ming Consulate and petition the navy to get the glorious heavenly army to pacify the country."

A group of people called their friends and left in a very high-profile manner. The middle courtyard and the front yard soon became extremely quiet.

What is this?

Lu Xiang, Li Xing and Zhang Kai had no choice but to say a few words of comfort, then left angrily and returned to the consulate in Ganghwa Island.

The consulate was located in the newly built Ganghwa City of the Ming Dynasty, at the northwest corner of Ganghwa Island, connected to the military and civilian port to the west.

It was built of rammed earth, with three gates in the east, west and north. The tower was built with red bricks and cement. The city wall was 12 feet high and 20 feet wide. In addition to the consulate, there were also business agencies, shops, warehouses and restaurants in the city.

The place is not big, not even as big as a small county town in the Ming Dynasty. But in the eyes of Koreans, it is a first-class city.

With the addition of thousands of Ming naval and land troops stationed there, the Koreans felt that it was more solid than Seoul.

When Lu Xiang, Li Xing, and Zhang Kai returned to Jianghua City, they saw thousands of Koreans gathered at the East Gate, led by the Korean officials who had just shouted that they would sacrifice their lives to protect the emperor. They said passionately, "We want to go in, we want to petition the officials of the Celestial Empire!"

(End of this chapter)