Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 355: Betrayal and separation
The north of the water is called Yang. Hanyang on the north side of the Han River has been named Hancheng for more than two hundred years.

After Lee Seong-gye founded the Joseon Dynasty, he thought that the royal spirit in Kaesong was already very weak, so he chose another place to build the royal capital. Hanyang, which is surrounded by mountains and rivers, was chosen, and it has been the sixteenth king to be here.

Among them were two people who were deposed after being deposed from the throne. Danjong was lucky enough to have a temple name after being deposed, while Yeonsangun had no temple name, posthumous name, or mausoleum name after his death.

Now Gwanghaegun Lee Hui's situation is even more difficult.

The envoy coming from the north was Tao Chongdao.

This job is dangerous. Very dangerous.

Li Hui's expression and eyes at this moment said it all.

But Tao Chongdao represented the Ming Dynasty, so he had to stand up straight.

We have to give it a try.

"How dare you! Do you dare to say that again?" Li Hui's tone was cold and his expression was ferocious.

Tao Chongdao stood in the hall not far in front of him, and next to him were many ministers who were currently in the Joseon court.

After looking at them, Tao Chongdao said calmly: "This envoy has made it very clear. The imperial edict is clear: I was shocked to hear that King Gwanghae of Korea killed his father and usurped the throne, which led to the rise of rebel armies in the country and the people were living in misery. Korea lost its territory first, and King Gwanghae did not think about expelling foreign enemies, but made peace with them, rebelled against the Ming Dynasty, and repaid kindness with hatred. This disloyal and unfilial person should be captured and tied up in the imperial capital by the knowledgeable people of Korea. The moral principles of the Korean Lee family are corrupt, and the people have lost their hearts; in order to prevent the vassal states from turning against each other, the emperor will agree to Korea's request for submission in the past, and will enthrone a new Korean king!"

Facing Li Hui's biting eyes, he said with a stiff face: "I am the imperial envoy of the Ming Dynasty. I will die soon. You can kill me on the spot. But the heavenly soldiers are coming. Deputy Privy Councilor Xing Jie is leading the army! You still insist on supporting this man. Don't you fear the power of heaven?"

"Take him away! Take him away and chop him off!" Li Hui roared, "Too much humiliation for me! Too much humiliation for me!"

His guards suddenly rushed in from outside. Although Tao Chongdao was extremely scared, there was nothing he could do.

This was his own choice. When the imperial edict reached Liaodong, there had to be enough people to go to Korea, because along the way they could spread the will of the Ming Dynasty.

For the imperial court, if the King of Korea really executed Ming Shi in anger, it would be an additional crime; of course, those who dared to serve as this envoy were promised a sufficiently generous reward: after quelling the rebellion in Korea, he would be named Earl of Korea and become an important official of Korea.

So Tao Chongdao came, and his only hope of survival naturally lay in the Korean court at this moment.

He glanced at the man on Wu Chen's side, hoping that what Yuan Keli heard from Ma Gui was correct.

"Your Highness! No!" Li Hui's top minister, now the Prime Minister of Joseon, Zheng Renhong, hurried forward to stop him. "Even when the two armies were fighting, they didn't kill the envoys! The superior country is furious. I think Nurhaci's words are false. Your Highness was deceived by the traitor and believed that it was really the superior country that drove him to seize Hamgyong Province. Now that the traitor has established his own country and proclaimed himself emperor, there must be a huge misunderstanding!"

Li Hui stared at him intently, while Zheng Renhong blinked at him eagerly, his face full of pleading.

"What kind of misunderstanding could there be!" Li Hui roared, "I didn't kill my father, let alone usurp the throne! I have been the crown prince for many years, why doesn't the Ming Dynasty allow me to be enthroned! Since I came to the capital to see the emperor, I have obeyed the emperor's orders! If you consider the hardships of the people in Korea, why did you stop the relief, why didn't you allow me to be enthroned!"

Tao Chongdao's arms were controlled by someone. Although he was bent over, he still looked up and sneered, "You are neither the eldest nor the legitimate son. How can the Ming Dynasty mess up the legal order? The Ming Dynasty assisted Korea to drive out the Japanese and helped your Li family to recover the country. We have provided relief for many years. Korea has gained more than it has lost in tribute exchanges. The Ming Dynasty does not owe Korea a penny, but is grateful to it! You have made contributions, but since you are not legitimate, if you really care about the suffering of the Korean people, you must be the king? Now you are unwilling to be a minister of Korea, and you want to be a judge of Korea. It shows that you are obsessed with power. You and Nurhaci are a miserable pair!"

"Take him out, take him out and behead him!" Li Hui stared at Zheng Renhong angrily, "No one is allowed to dissuade him, otherwise he will be considered a traitor! The Ming Dynasty is determined to annex Korea, can't you see that?"

"Your Highness, please calm down. This is absolutely not possible!" Zheng Renhong knelt down. "The rebels have not been wiped out yet. If the heavenly soldiers of the upper country come to attack, how can we resist the enemy? We should submit a petition to explain. This is all Nurhaci's mischief. Your Highness mistakenly believed what the villain said. Fortunately, North Korea has not violated the borders of the upper country. How can we calm the anger of the upper country? Please treat the angels with courtesy and have a good discussion!"

In front of Li Hui, the Korean ministers had different expressions, and most of them knelt down and begged for mercy.

They all have their own ideas, but whether they are truly loyal to Li Hui or have previously succumbed to the situation, they cannot avoid a very simple question: If the Ming Dynasty really attacks, can they win?
Can't hit a bit.

Tao Chongdao had already made it clear that the person who was destined to lead the Ming army to conquer Korea was none other than Xing Jie, who was then commanding all the armies to aid Korea and drive out the Japanese.

Out of gratitude for his kindness, the shrine built by Li Hui's father for Xing Jie is still in Busan.

How familiar was Xing Jie with Korea? Not to mention the experience of entering Korea to fight, even after the war, "selecting generals, training elite soldiers, guarding strategic points, repairing dangerous barriers, building cities, making equipment, visiting talents, and improving internal governance" were all done by Xing Jie and other Ming border officials who helped Korea replan.

It has been just over ten years since the Ming dynasty's official army and civil and military officials completely left Korea. Now the Ming dynasty has surrounded the Tatar Khanate and forced their Khan to surrender. The elite troops of Jianzhou in Hamgyong Province suddenly stopped helping Korea to suppress the rebellion after the Chinese New Year, and retreated to the border forts in Hamgyong Province to hold their ground. It can be seen that the Ming dynasty's offensive against the Jianzhou Jurchens was also extremely fierce. I wonder if they urgently sent troops to provide support.

In fact, ever since the news of Ming's great victory in Liaodong came, the people of Korea have been in a dilemma and have been arguing about it for a long time.

The voices for reconciliation had already been heard everywhere, but Li Hui's resentment was too deep and he was very stubborn.

Now we have to face this problem.

Li Hui looked at the civil officials kneeling in front of him, his eyes full of disappointment, but also extremely confused.

Compared with the giant Ming Dynasty, North Korea is just a small country.

Since the invasion of Japanese pirates, Korea has not only failed to recover, but has also been plagued by internal friction due to the dispute over the crown prince.

In addition, there was internal rebellion after he ascended the throne, and the power of the Han Dynasty had already shrunk a lot. Since the war last year, the tax revenue had dropped sharply, and the military expenditure had increased sharply, which was already difficult. Externally, the Jurchens had seized a piece of land. If there were not so many problems to face, how could he be willing to rebel against the Ming Dynasty with Nurhaci despite the difficulties?
Resentment towards the Ming Dynasty was only one reason. The most important thing was that he had to tie everyone to his boat, establish an external enemy that left them no way to retreat, and unite the internal forces.

The Jurchens were not powerful enough: Even though Korea lost a piece of land to the Jurchens, it had always regarded the Jurchens as barbarians. It was only because of the situation that it was unable to fight back.

But who would have thought that the Ming Dynasty, facing the Tatars who had repeatedly failed to gain any advantage and were much stronger than Korea, and with Liaodong surrounded by enemies, could actually win so cleanly?

Now the Jianzhou Jurchens were forced to protect themselves first, instead of keeping their promise and helping him put down the rebellion.

After looking at his terrified ministers, Li Hui looked at the Ming envoy again.

"But he said that he would tie me up and take me to the Ming Dynasty to be punished." Li Hui looked at his ministers again and asked coldly, "Do you want to sacrifice me and save your family's life?"

"Your Highness, please understand that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is furious and will naturally rebuke North Korea."

"He will never appoint me as the ruler of Korea!" Li Hui stared at Tao Chong and asked, "Is that right?"

Tao Chongdao gritted his teeth and said sternly: "How important is the legal system? In terms of ethics, you shouldn't be the king!"

"Did you hear that?" Li Hui laughed angrily, "It's a fight between us! If he is a loyal minister, there is no need to persuade him anymore! Take him away and behead him. Since Ming Dynasty is determined to die alone, then come on!" He knew that these ministers might have a way out, but he himself had no way out.

So he roared: "What he said is that the Li family has lost the support of the people! Are you going to betray your master and establish your own kingdom, hoping to usurp our Li family's throne? Anyone who tries to persuade us to surrender or make peace in this palace today will be beheaded!"

After saying that, he waved his hands in frustration and said, "Take him out and behead him! Don't you guys obey my orders?"

Tao Chongdao was really dragged out, and he shouted: "This thief is crazy! If he refuses to surrender, Korea will really be destroyed! Do you really want to resist the power of heaven with him? Capturing the tyrant will be rewarded, and those who join the rebellion will be killed with all their clans! I am an imperial envoy, and killing the imperial envoy of the Great Ming is as guilty as killing the emperor!"

His eyes were fixed on Jin Jingrui, the commander of Li Hui's imperial guards and now the military governor of Gyeonggi Province in Korea. It was both a final warning and a final expectation.

Jin Jingrui remained calm, had him taken out of the hall, and personally drew his knife.

"Good! Behead him outside the palace immediately and present his head!" Li Hui was overjoyed, "General Jin is loyal and brave, and I will reward him handsomely!"

Jin Jingrui turned to look at him and said calmly: "The upper country is invincible! Guardian angel, close the palace gate! Your Highness, please surrender!"

Li Hui was stunned for a moment, his whole body cold.

At this time, Zheng Renhong was extremely angry. He was over 70 years old. He stood up and pointed at Jin Jingrui: "Are you going to rebel?"

Jin Jingrui shook his head: "If you can't persuade His Highness, then you can only rely on us."

He held the knife in his hand and looked at Li Hui: "Your Highness, why do you insist on doing it? The people of Hamgyong Province are still enslaved by the Jurchens!"

"...I have treated you well!" Li Hui shouted angrily.

"The late king treated me well, and Your Highness treated me well, too." Jin Jingrui said quietly, "I am from a humble family, and I am able to be where I am today because of the late king's kindness, but it is also because of my repeated military exploits. Sixteen years ago, although I, the great Ming Zu Chengxun, recovered Pyongyang; in Dingyou, there was another rebellion, and the Ming army had not yet arrived. I leaked the Ming army's marching date to the Japanese pirates as a temporary measure to intimidate them. As a result, all my positions were dismissed and I joined the army in plain clothes. It was the great Ming general Yang Hao and admiral Ma Gui who praised my good fighting skills that the late king appointed me as the commander of the Gyeongsang Province Central Camp."

"In my early years, I was appointed as the military governor of Gyeongsang Province because Liu Yizheng helped me. After the Japanese pirates were driven out, there were factional struggles in the court, and the Southern Party was weak. I was impeached many times, and it was the late king who protected me. However, according to the merits and rewards, I was not among the Xuanwu meritorious officials, and then I returned to my hometown for idleness. When Your Highness ascended the throne, the rebels rose up everywhere, and Your Highness was able to use me, which shows that you treated me well."

Jin Jingrui said so much in one breath, and finally looked around at everyone, and then looked directly at Li Hui: "I pacified Gangwon Province, but Your Highness ceded Hamgyong Province to the Jurchens, and issued an edict to judge. Your Highness does not know the bravery of the heavenly soldiers, but I do. If the angels are killed, Korea will be scorched earth. Since you won't listen to the loyal advice, let us warriors force you with swords. This is not rebellion, this is admonition for the militia!"

Seeing Jin Jingrui so determined, some people in the palace rolled their eyes and immediately continued to cry and admonish: "Your Highness, you should listen to General Jin. Angels cannot be killed!"

"...I know you are good at fighting, so I entrusted you with the important task of commanding the troops in Gyeonggi Province!" Li Hui trembled all over. "Even if you capture me, once the troops from Pyeongan Province and Chungcheong Province arrive to support the king, you will be dead without a burial place!"

"That's a story for later." Jin Jingrui stopped looking at him and looked at the ministers and asked, "Who of you is determined to put Joseon in an irreparable situation, or will you follow me to negotiate peace with the Kingdom of Shang and restore Hamgyong Province?"

Tao Chongdao outside the hall breathed a sigh of relief.

After the news of the Korean rebellion reached Liaodong, Yuan Keli and Xiong Tingbi of course also had to pay attention to the situation here and plan strategies in advance.

After Liu Jing arrived, as a general who had once participated in aiding Korea in the fight against Japanese invaders, they of course exchanged opinions with each other.

For the Ming Dynasty, now that the general direction towards Korea has been decided, it is necessary to identify which people can be won over and how to enable the Ming Dynasty to achieve its goals at the lowest cost.

Of course, Jin Jingrui, who came from a truly humble background, was mentioned by Ma Gui, and that was the general who made Ma Gui say that "there are people in the East who are not without talent."

The key is that Jin Jingrui fought side by side with the Ming army many times, and they were familiar with Jin Jingrui's temperament and abilities. They knew that he would definitely be dissatisfied with Li Hui's cession of Hamgyong Province and would definitely be unwilling to fight against the Ming official army.

Kim Gyeong-seo, who had been marginalized and idled in the party struggles, was re-employed because of the rebellion in Korea. After pacifying Gyeongsang Province, he was transferred to Seoul by Yi Hui to control the army of Gyeonggi Province, preparing to serve as the most critical force to resist or conquer the Ming Dynasty.

Tao Chongdao's arrival here shows that the Ming Dynasty cannot tolerate Li Hui's firm will, and he is simply forcing the Korean officials to make a choice.

Now Jin Jingrui has made his choice.

As to whether he wanted to seize the throne, thought that the Ming Dynasty was just choosing another clan as the master in Korea, or was purely considering Korea and its people, Tao Chongdao didn't care.

He just watched the ministers in the palace hesitate and argue under the protection of Jin Jingrui's men.

But nothing could be changed. He clearly saw that many of Jin Jingrui's soldiers had excited and enthusiastic eyes.

Mutiny! After the success, maybe you can even become a founding hero!
As for the civil and military officials in the palace…since the Gyeonggi-do army is now under the control of Jin Jingrui, all they have to choose is whether to live or die.

In fact, there are already many fence-sitters, not to mention the potential danger of death ahead?
Li Hui in the palace was suddenly deserted by his friends and relatives. His brother was exiled, land was ceded, rebels rose up everywhere, and his father died suddenly. Li Hui's situation was already full of dangers.

Now the Ming Dynasty has given them a clear characterization and disposal plan for Li Hui, and they just want to create a "merit of following the dragon" for them.

Outside the hall, the wind from the Korean royal palace blew over, and Tao Chongdao only now began to feel that his clothes were almost soaked.

But it's not over yet.

Whether Jin Jingrui wants to establish his own country or just wants to negotiate peace and refuse to submit, and whether he can accept the Ming Dynasty appointing a new leader, everything has just begun.

Thinking of how he had persuaded the important Korean official to "return to the right path" while on a solo mission, Tao Chongdao straightened his back even more.

Family trees and county annals must have separate pages, right? Leave your name in history!

Seeing Li Hui being forced off the throne by Jin Jingrui's men, Tao Chongdao also sighed.

Even if the Ming Dynasty was unwilling to confer the title on him, the ruler of the small country would of course have to compromise in every possible way, and it would be reasonable for him to kneel down and beg for mercy.

How can we be swayed by emotions, allow resentment to erupt, and give the big country an advantage?
An approach that has absolutely no chance of winning.

Maybe it was because... the Jianzhou Jurchens conquered Hamgyong Province, which made him feel that the Jianzhou Jurchens were very powerful and could really cause the Ming Dynasty to suffer a great loss, so he could take advantage of the situation?

Nurhaci himself was probably in a difficult situation, unable to save himself!
Tao Chongdao was right, Liu Jing had already seen the city of Hetuala.

(End of this chapter)