The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 142 Wushan Entanglement
After the bloody battle of Hunhe River, matchmakers from the gentry and wealthy families in Shenyang came one after another to propose marriage, and the aristocratic families all wanted to marry their daughters to Liu Zhaosun.

However, Ping Liaohou had no interest in those vulgar women.

There are still two months until the Waking of Insects, and Jin Yuji is still recovering. When she marries the Korean girl, they will inevitably enjoy the pleasure of lovemaking.

What Kang Yingqian said made sense. Kaiyuan needed a stable ruling core. Since crossing over, wars had been frequent. Kaiyuan was at the forefront of the fight against the Jiannu Mongols, with no room for retreat.

The long-term and high-intensity war not only devoured his elite servants, but also brought Kaiyuan's internal affairs construction to a state of stagnation.

If he died suddenly now, this system would also collapse, and Kang Yingqian and others would most likely be cut into pieces by the Donglin gentlemen.

"I'm being pushed forward, starting with the lack of freedom in marriage."

Ping Liaohou sighed and silently accepted the fate arranged by others.

He listened to Kang Yingqian's advice and promised Lao Kang that in order to maintain Kaiyuan's stability and prosperity, he would get married and have children as soon as possible, but in the end he still refused those colorful aphrodisiacs.

"Next year, Jingzhe will marry Jin Yuji and bring her back to Korea. He will also lead his troops to the Yalu River, deal with Gwanghaegun, control the situation in Korea, open up trade, and inspect iron mines in Korea. In May, he will go south to meet merchants in the south and contact friends in Fujian. In July, he will go to the southwest. The chieftains are about to rebel. In October..."

Kang Yingqian knew that he was deeply in love with Jin Yuji. After hearing him mention the auspicious date, he felt relieved and stopped urging him.

"Marquis Ping Liao is busy with all sorts of affairs, even busier than the emperor. It's not even the New Year yet, and you've already arranged your schedule until next October. I admire you! Who is that Fujian friend you just mentioned? Why haven't I heard you mention him before? But the Fujian Governor..."

Liu Zhaosun shook his head. Of course, the person he wanted to contact was not an official, but the group of pirates in the southeast.

You can make friends with people like Yan Siqi and Zheng Zhilong.

The time traveler knew very little about this period of history. All he knew were these two people, and of course Zheng Chenggong. He couldn't even remember the names of the others.

At this time, the pirate forces in the southeastern waters are growing rapidly. No matter what, as long as we can establish connections with these pirates to trade, we will definitely reap rich rewards.

In that case, he would need an outlet to the sea, so it seemed that southern Liaoning had to be occupied as soon as possible. These were just preliminary ideas, and the specific details needed to be carefully finalized.

He gave Kang Yingqian a mysterious smile and said, "Tomorrow is the Little New Year. I will listen to Supervisor Kang and reunite with my family. I will go to Fushun the day after tomorrow. Kaiyuan is basically done with work now, and the peasant soldiers will rest on the 27th of the twelfth lunar month. I am a little worried about Supervisor Qiao, so I want to go to Kuandian to check on him."

Kang Yingqian looked at Ping Liao Hou in surprise. Seeing his determined eyes, he said anxiously, "Ping Liao Hou is too busy to rest, and he works day and night. Even Taizu didn't work so hard back then. Just take care of yourself and don't overwork yourself."

Liu Zhaosun smiled knowingly, wondering when Kang Yingqian would care about him. The two of them talked about some miscellaneous matters. Seeing that it was getting late, Liu Zhaosun asked the guards to take Kang Yingqian back to the city first.

Closing his eyes, Jin Yuji's graceful figure flashed through his mind. He smiled inwardly, his thoughts drifting far away. He took a sip of tea and said to the outsider, "Call the Korean envoy and Lord Yuan to discuss this matter!"

Wu Xiao agreed and turned to leave.

Ping Liaohou casually picked up the "Zizhi Tongjian" and read it with great interest, and happened to turn to the part about Qin Xiaogong overcoming difficulties and expanding the territory by thousands of miles.

In his previous life, he had a habit of reading at night. After traveling through time, he retained this habit. In his spare time, he would read constantly. He read a wide variety of books, from vernacular novels to Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.

Wu Xiao led Yuan Chonghuan to the central army tent. Ping Liaohou had just read about Shang Yang's reforms. "Duke Xiaogong said, 'Good.' He appointed Wei Yang as the Left Minister and finally finalized the reform order."

The Kaiyuan system had already shown signs of corruption and rebellion. Liu Zhaosun was not a talent like Shang Yang. With the knowledge of a programmer, facing such a chaotic situation, he felt it was a mess and didn't know where to start.

Since ancient times, trust and sincerity have been the key to governing the people. A single word is more valuable than a hundred pieces of gold. Today, people cannot criticize Shang Yang. Shang Yang can ensure that his policies are implemented.

"While I still have the prestige to enforce the policies, I must act quickly!"

As his thoughts were racing, Wu Xiao shouted from outside the tent. He woke up in shock and realized that Yuan Chonghuan and his men had arrived, so he quickly invited them in.

A slightly plump Korean businessman saluted General Liu. Perhaps because of Jin Yuji, Liu Zhaosun no longer felt the same disgust towards this ethnic group as before. He smiled, bowed, and returned the salute, then asked the Korean to sit down.

Yuan Chonghuan sat down next to them. It was the first time he participated in General Liu's confidential meeting. Knowing that Ping Liaohou regarded him as his confidant, he decided to seize this opportunity.

A plump Korean merchant presented a box of Korean ginseng to General Liu, conveying Lord Lingyang's intentions. Liu Zhaosun smiled and accepted the ginseng, placing the wooden box on top of the copy of "White Snake Eternally Imprisoned in Leifeng Pagoda." After a few pleasantries, the two sides quickly got down to business.

Yangyanggun was now in a difficult situation because he was suspected by the king and could be executed by Gwanghaegun at any time. So he decided to take the initiative and launch a coup to expel Gwanghaegun.

The fat businessman said that his master hoped that Ping Liaohou would march from Kuandian at that time.

The army crossed the Yalu River and threatened Pyongyang, echoing Yang Yangjun's coup.

Compared with the coup in the second year of Tianqi in history, Lord Lingyang was not yet fully developed at this time, so he asked Liu Zhaosun for help.

Wanli died early. The last time Wei Zhongxian came to Kaiyuan to announce the decree, Liu Zhaosun reminded him to protect the new emperor and stay away from women and elixirs.

Under the care of Eunuch Wei, Zhu Changluo has now lived for a month and looks like he will continue to live.

Whether there will be another Tianqi and Chongzhen after the Ming Dynasty has become a question. The time traveler changed the history of the Ming Dynasty and also changed the history of Korea. The Korean coup will break out earlier than expected.

Liu Zhaosun had heard Jin Yuji talk about the situation in Korea and had a general understanding of it.

Prince Yeongyang Yi Jong was the nephew of Gwanghaegun. In the original history, Yi Jong launched a coup d'état in the third year of the reign of King Cheonkyeo, exiling Gwanghaegun to Ganghwa Island and replacing his uncle as the King of Joseon, a move known as the Injo Restoration.

Of course, the time traveler would not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Historically, the legitimacy of Injo was not initially recognized by the Ming Dynasty, which defined it as "usurpation". Later, out of strategic considerations of "allying with Korea and enslaving the people", the Ming Dynasty agreed to enthrone Injo in the fourth year of Tianqi.

Li Jong's proactive approach to him seemed to indicate he knew the Ming Dynasty wouldn't support him. Ping Liaohou assumed the imperial court had no desire to interfere in the politics of the small eastern vassal states. He could intervene on behalf of the Ming Dynasty, quell the chaos, and perhaps even realize Li Chengliang's unfulfilled dream—becoming the King of Joseon. Controlling Joseon and occupying a few key islands would greatly facilitate future military campaigns against Japan.

It would be a shame if we didn't fight the Japanese after finally traveling through time.

Ping Liaohou gave a look, and Yuan Chonghuan rolled his eyes and immediately said, "Ping Liaohou is a minister of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty has a rule that Korean and Ming generals cannot have private exchanges. If communication is necessary, it must be conveyed through the Liaodong Military Commissioner."

The merchant apologized with a smile, "You're joking, Yuan Ducha. Marquis Ping Liao also holds the post of Liaodong Commander. All matters in Liaodong are decided by Marquis Liu. Naturally, he can represent Ming in discussions with our country. Besides, I've heard that Marquis Ping Liao's beloved concubine is also Korean, and her brother has a close relationship with Lord Lingyang."

Liu Zhaosun's expression remained unchanged, and he remained silent. Yuan Chonghuan sneered, "Hahaha! Your master has a good plan. Is he planning to repeat the story of the Imjin War?"

"Back when the Ming Dynasty sent troops to help you repel the Japanese pirates, you couldn't even transport food. The distance from Kaiyuan to Kuandian is quite long. We made the Kaiyuan army travel hundreds of miles to help you get something out of the fire. Does your master expect to get something for nothing?"

The North Korean envoy was stunned. He didn't expect the official to speak so harshly.

"Yuan Ducha, my master and General Liu were in Shenyang last time..."

Yuan Chonghuan waved his hand to interrupt the fat man and said disdainfully: "Don't tell me about Shenyang. I have never been to Shenyang, nor have I been beaten with a stick!"

Liu Zhaosun coughed, bowed and said goodbye, then walked out of the tent with a teacup in his hand, wondering whether he should go back to accompany Yang Qing'er tonight.

The Korean envoy chased after him, but was stopped by Wu Xiao at the door. Yuan Chonghuan looked at the anxious figure of the Korean fat man and said with a smile:

"Marquis Ping Liao is busy with military affairs and has passed by my house without entering. If the envoy has anything to say, please tell me and I will convey it on his behalf."

"Go back and tell your master that if you want Kaiyuan's soldiers to be dispatched to help him, you must agree to our three conditions."

(End of this chapter)