I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 259: Party Struggle, Our Old Tradition

The sea off Ganghwa Island was temporarily calm for ten days.

"Report! The leader of the Joseon rebel army, Yi Chan-do, is temporarily stationed in Seoul. He claims to be the son of Fengcheng Jun and ascends the throne in Seoul's Chongdeokjeon Hall. He accepts court worship and calls himself King Mu-yeol."

In the consulate in Jianghua City, the spy reported to Lu Xiang, Li Xing and Zhang Kai.

Lu Xiang and the other two looked at each other.

You, Lee Sun, are the son of Deokheung, and I am the son of Bongseong. We are all grandsons of King Gonghui. You sit on the throne of the King of Joseon, so why can't I sit on it?

Wow, this Li Zandao is so rude!
"Li Zandao lavishly conferred awards on the left and right prime ministers, the front and back generals, the six ministers, the assistant ministers, the generals of the imperial camp, the generals of the imperial guards, the generals of the imperial guards, and the generals of the imperial guards. Now, the assistant ministers are everywhere in Seoul, and the generals are worse than dogs.

The rebels looted the palace and the residences of the city's powerful officials. All shops and houses were cleaned out. It is said that the rebels captured more than 2,000 officials and clerks, tortured them severely, and extorted money from them.

Prime Minister Lu said in a deep voice: "During the past ten days, the rebel army has been busy rewarding people for their merits and dividing up the money?"

"Yes."

Lu Xiang and the other two breathed a sigh of relief. The fighting capacity of such a rebel army must not be high.

"How many people are there in the rebel army?" Lu Xiang continued to ask.

“It is said that there are 200,000 troops, but my subordinates have investigated carefully and found that 150,000 of them are ordinary people who followed or were forced to come from all over the country. Among them, there are many old and weak people. These people cannot be considered as fighting force.

There are 30,000 young and strong men, either servants of wealthy families, bandits in the mountains, or local garrisons, who have some fighting power. The largest group among them is the leader of the Gangwon Province Gushan bandits, Jeon Jung-gwang. Most of this group follows Jeon Jung-gwang's lead.
The remaining 20,000 were the most combat-capable troops in the rebellion. One part was the Byeolcho Army of Jeolla and Chungcheong Province, who were originally used to guard against Japanese pirates. They were short of food and wages for many months, so they joined the rebellion. They were led by Park In-yong, the military commander of the Byeolcho Army. Another part was the border troops in the north, who could not bear to guard the border for several years and could not return home. They fled enraged and followed the orders of Lee Chan-do.

Li Xing understood what he meant. "The Korean rebel army is now divided into three groups, fighting each other."

"Yes, Consul Li. The bandit leader Quan Zhongguang has a large number of troops, but the weakest in combat power; the Biechao Army's Piao Renyong has a good combat power and a large number of troops; the Border Army's Li Zandao has the strongest combat power, but the smallest number of troops.

It was just that Li Zandao used the banner of the royal family and won the support of the rebel armies in Huanghai, Ping'an, and Gangwon, so he was supported as the leader. "

Zhang Kai asked, "After they occupied Seoul and Li Zandao claimed to be a traitor, did the three of them still fight openly and secretly?"

"Yes, Zhang, they fought even harder, fighting for fake official positions and grabbing treasures. Several times, the troops of Quan Zhongguang and Park Inyong fought in Seoul, and it was only after Li Zhandao intervened that they stopped fighting.

Park In-yong wanted to continue his march, attack Ganghwa Island, and completely eliminate the Joseon monarch and his ministers. Lee Chan-do secretly agreed. But Jeon Jung-gwang firmly opposed it. Moreover, most of the rebels occupied Seoul, and after dividing the money, food, and goods, they had no intention of continuing the war.

The three of them quarreled for several days, and finally Li Zhandao and Park In-yong joined forces and finally suppressed Quan Zhongguang. Yesterday, Li Zhandao issued a military order, with Park In-yong's troops as the vanguard and Quan Zhongguang's troops as the center, leaving Seoul and heading towards Ganghwa Island. It is expected that they will reach the east coast of the island tomorrow. "

Lu Xiang slapped his thigh, "Oh, they are finally here! I thought they would not come. It just so happens that two regiments of Marine battalions have been transferred from Dengzhou and Weihai. Together with the two thousand Marine battalions originally stationed on Ganghwa Island, there are a total of 11,000 soldiers.

The Xuanwu Navy also received an urgent report and set sail northward from Fanghu Island. They should arrive today or tomorrow.

With these two naval and land forces at hand, we are not afraid of any number of North Korean rebels, and we will definitely be able to stop them in the middle of the strait."

"Report!" An officer came to report.

"Say!"

"The Xuanwu Navy has arrived and is anchored five miles outside the naval port, awaiting orders."

"Okay, according to the Regulations for the Ming Navy and Army Divisions to Follow in Overseas Operations promulgated by the Supervisory Office in the 45th year of Jiajing, if Ganghwa Island, owned by the Ming Dynasty, is attacked by the enemy, it will immediately enter a wartime state.

I am the highest-ranking official, and I shall be the commander of the front line. I shall also set up a front line command office immediately to command the navy and the army to fight against the enemy. Consul Li, Deputy Director Zhang, as civil servants of the overseas territories of the Ming Dynasty, you two will be asked to sign the documents as evidence.”

Li Xing and Zhang Kai immediately responded, "Don't worry, Commander Lu, we will definitely provide you with evidence."

Zhang Kai suggested: "Now that our troops have gathered and a war is imminent, why not gather the Korean king and his ministers together to watch the might of our Ming army and achieve a deterrent effect."

Noh Sang and Lee Hsing looked at each other and nodded approvingly, "Good idea!" Lee Hsing rushed to the courtyard where the Joseon king and his ministers lived. As soon as he arrived at the door, he heard someone arguing loudly inside. He had been on Ganghwa Island for some time and had learned some daily expressions. He could make out the general meaning of the words being said.

"The Military Department is under the control of your Western Party. Now the mob is causing chaos, the capital has fallen, and the king is on a hunting expedition. The Military Department is most responsible!"

"What the hell! Nonsense! The Five Military Camps and the Three Inner Offices are all in the hands of you Dongren Party. You are in charge of all the Korean troops. Now that they have caused a big mess, do you want to shift the blame to others?"

"The mob leader, Li Ni, has been lingering in Hwanghae Province for several months, but the local government has turned a blind eye and turned a deaf ear to him. Are you northerners blind or deaf?"

The voice was extremely loud and powerful, as if standing on the top of the moral pagoda, looking down on all enemies.

When Li Xing heard this, he knew that this group of Korean ministers were fighting among themselves again.

When they were in the court, they were divided into three factions according to their regions: East, West, and North, and they fought against each other.

In recent years, North Korea has suffered from natural disasters and man-made calamities, and people's livelihood has declined, but they have completely ignored it and focused entirely on party struggles. As a result, they have made such a big mistake and have not repented. After being quiet for two days, they can't help but start fighting again.

In the past ten days or so, hundreds of officials have fled from all over the place. They are fighting more fiercely, wishing to knock the hostile forces to the ground and step on them hard.

Party strife!

My Ming Dynasty was also plagued by fierce party struggles, which was an old tradition.

Fortunately, God has given us His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who is able to take charge of the government and suppress party disputes. Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous.

Li Xing walked around the door and didn't want to go in again.

He knew that once he entered, he would be surrounded by these North Korean officials, who would perform various shows in an attempt to get him to stand on their side.

Haha, what are you dreaming about! You guys should just quarrel among yourselves, I won't get involved.

Li Xing stopped the Korean general of Yijinfu who was guarding the gate and asked him to pass a message to the Korean king and ministers in the yard, telling them that Li Zandao's rebel army had been reorganized and would launch an attack on Ganghwa Island the next day or the day after tomorrow, and asked them to go to the front line to watch the battle.

The general of the Imperial Guards ran in hurriedly and talked a lot. Suddenly, there was silence inside. The voice that was so generous just now seemed to be cut off by a pair of scissors.

Li Xing shook his head and turned to help Lu Xiang prepare for the battle.

Zhang Juzheng was personally invited by Xu Kun to Xu's residence. When he entered the study, he saw Xu Jie's solemn and dignified look, and his heart skipped a beat.

What happened again?
"Uncle, something big has happened. I'm sorry to bother you." Xu Jie sighed and handed over the urgent report.

After reading it, Zhang Juzheng's first thought coincided with Xu Jie's: Could it be that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was behind this?

Then I thought again, it doesn’t look like it.

"Uncle, my Dalang acted rashly and left a handle in Hai Gangfeng's hands. Hai Gangfeng is extremely sharp, and I am also afraid of him.

It’s just that I can’t figure it out. Isn’t this just too coincidental? It’s so coincidental that I can’t believe it!”

Zhang Juzheng knew what Xu Jie wanted to ask. After thinking for a moment, he replied solemnly, "Master, this matter should not have been planned by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Xu Jie's eyes flickered, and he was a little unconvinced, "Uncle, what is the basis for this statement?"

"Master, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's actions are like the art of war, 'fast as the wind, slow as the forest, invasive as fire, still as a mountain, unpredictable as the shadow, and powerful as thunder.' If it was really planned by His Royal Highness, it would be as fast as the wind and fire, one thing after another.

But this matter seems to have stopped there, unlike your Highness's actions."

Xu Jie stroked his beard and asked slowly, "If it's not Xiyuan, then who could it be?"

(End of this chapter)