The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 507 Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones
September 25th, Sajeongjeon Hall, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul.

Gyeongbokgung Palace was first built in the 28th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty. The palace got its name from the Book of Songs, "May the gentleman live for ten thousand years and enjoy great blessings."

At this moment, Yi Jong, the 16th king of the Joseon Dynasty, was wearing a five-clawed crimson dragon robe and gazing at his ministers with his chin in his hand.

Because he was physically and mentally haggard and emaciated, Li Jong sitting on the throne looked more like a melancholy monkey than a monarch.

According to the regulations of the Great Qi Dynasty, the title of the King of Korea was a vassal king at the level of a county prince. According to the etiquette, his title was lower than that of a prince, and his clothing was also different from that of a royal county prince of the same level.

Li Zong wore a five-clawed yellow dragon robe and challenged the Emperor of Da Qi, which was an act of usurpation.

However, considering that the Korean army had crossed the Yalu River to attack the Great Qi not long ago, slaughtered people all the way to Shenyang, surrounded the Qi's secondary capital for half a year, and almost killed the Empress Dowager Cisi and the young emperor, this bit of usurpation was really nothing.

More importantly, Li Zong is now in a state of panic, like a stray dog, and has no time to care whether he is overstepping his authority or not.

At this time, two of the eight provinces of Korea were occupied by the Qi army. In mid-September, Emperor Wuding led a large army to threaten Korea.

Before the war, Liu Zhaosun issued a manifesto, listing all the misconducts of Korea, such as its breach of treaty and abandonment of alliance, and threatening to wipe out Korea. He would follow the example of Emperor Wu of Han, set up prefectures and counties in Korea, and completely bring it under the rule of the Great Qi.

The Joseon king and his ministers were extremely terrified. The manifesto stated that the Qi army should not only occupy Wangjing (Seoul), but also punish the culprits Yi Jong and Yi Sun-ui and avenge the people of Kuandian.

Li Zong knew that he was no match for the Qi army. A small force of Liu Zhaosun had already defeated Joseon without any chance to fight back. What's more, now that the entire army was mobilized, it was like a mountain of pressure.

Faced with a powerful enemy, the Korean civil and military officials were divided into two factions, arguing endlessly over the issue of war and peace.

The Eastern and Southern parties, represented by civil officials, advocated peace talks, while the Western and Northern parties, represented by military generals, expressed their desire to fight a decisive battle with Liu Bang.

North Korea has a long history of party strife.

On the eve of the Imjin War, as Joseon ministers argued fiercely over whether Japan should invade, the former Eastern Party split again into the Southern Party and the Northern Party. These two parties became the Eastern, Western, and Northern parties, and the leaders of each party were finally able to gather together for a mahjong game.

In May of the 25th year of King Seonjo's reign (1592), even as the Japanese army was approaching Seoul, the four factions in the east, south, west, and north were still arguing over who should lead the Joseon army. Even after Korea lost most of its territory, the factional strife continued unabated. Whenever there was military success, everyone rushed to claim it, while when there was defeat, they shifted the blame. They engaged in intrigue for their own selfish interests, neglecting to govern the country. (Note 5)

Zhang Wan, the Left Counselor of the Border Defense Office (Note 2), advised the king to send envoys to Qi to beg for peace, urging Emperor Wuding to withdraw his troops and turn hostility into friendship. To this end, Korea could follow the system of the former Ming Dynasty, pay tribute to Qi and pledge patriotism, never betraying it.

The pro-war faction, represented by Right Counselor and General of the Imperial Camp Li Shunyi, stated that Liu Zhaosun had a heart of a tiger and a wolf and was indeed the greatest tyrant in history.

Peace talks cannot be made, not in this lifetime. We should actively prepare for war, send envoys to Kyushu, and borrow troops from the shogunate. Japan and Kaibara have a blood feud, and the Shogun will surely uphold justice and help Korea resist the brutal Qi.

Zhang Wan accused Li Shunyi of being ambitious, provoking border conflicts, and being shameless, and actually wanting to associate with the Japanese!

Li Shunyi retorted, criticizing Zhang Wan for being weak and gullible, and for selling out his country in order to protect his salary and official position.

Both sides were spitting and almost started fighting in the Ideological and Political Hall.

I have to praise the civil and military ministers of North Korea here.

Although they quarreled, they rarely fought in the main hall like Ming Dynasty officials did, and basically maintained the etiquette of the two classes of ministers. (Note 3)

Li Zong could not afford to offend either force, so he had no choice but to send two waves of envoys to Shenyang and Jiuzhou respectively.

On the one hand, he sought peace with Qi, and on the other hand, he begged for troops from the shogunate. As the saying goes, we must grasp both peace talks and war preparations, and both hands must be strong.

All the messengers sent out never returned, and there was no news of them.

Just yesterday, the news that the envoy was beheaded by the Qi army was passed back to Seoul, and the Korean king and his ministers were shocked.

Left Counselor Zhang Wan, holding a tablet, stepped forward first and said loudly to Li Zong:

"Your Majesty, a small nation serving a great power should do its utmost to show its obedience. Perhaps this is Emperor Wuding testing Korea. We should continue to send envoys to Qi to express our sincerity!"

Zhang Wan's words were immediately endorsed by a group of civil servants.

The Left Counselor added, "During the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, there was a misunderstanding between Korea and the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Taizu executed our envoys. Later, we sent envoys again, and the Ming Dynasty finally understood our intentions. That's how we achieved three hundred years of peace!"

Li Shunyi walked out of the generals' formation and laughed heartily:
"Pedantic! Liu Zhaosun came to destroy Korea. Even if he sent ten waves of envoys, it would be like throwing meat buns at a dog, and there would be no return!"

Li Jong hesitated again.

He looked up at Li Shunyi, the military general whom Emperor Wuding had specifically named to be killed.

"Any news from the Japanese on Tsushima Island?"

Li Shunyi said, "Your Majesty, the Japanese said they would provide aid, but only if Tsushima Island is returned to them, will the shogunate consider sending troops."

Li Zong's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Do you agree?"

"It's agreed. The shogunate said they will send troops next month and will first send 10,000 artillerymen to land in Gyeonggi Province..."

"Bastard!"

"Shameless!"

"National traitor!"

All the civil servants were furious and raised their tablets to hit Li Shunyi.

"How dare you cede land to Japan! And even ceded the all-important Tsushima Island! You traitor!"

"We fought so hard to capture Tsushima Island, how can we just give it away!"

"You traitor, have you accepted money from the Japanese?"

A young military officer came out from behind Li Shunyi and shouted, interrupting the civil officials' buzzing.

"Back then, you ceded the two northern borders to the Qi army without a single mention. Tsushima Island is just a tiny piece of land, yet you keep making a fuss. You are the traitors!"

A man from the civil service line stood up and said pointedly:
"The two northern regions are impoverished and needy. It's not a bad idea to temporarily hand them over to Qi. We only lost two regions, but you sold out the very soul of Korea!"

In order to coordinate the two sides and to express his sincerity in seeking peace to the Emperor of Qi, the King of Korea sent a second wave of envoys to the Yalu River and into the Qi army camp.

~~~~
After ten days of rapid marching, Emperor Wuding and his Central Army arrived in Kuandian on September 25th. They camped at Tiger Mountain on the west bank of the Yalu River to rest and recuperate, planning to cross the river on the 27th. The commanders of the various corps that had entered Korea earlier left their bases and headed north to greet the retired emperor.

On September 26, at the Yalu River, at Laohushan Mountain in Kuandian, the main tent of the Qi army's central army.

"She wears a high bun and a wooden fish-shaped bun, and a purple dress in a grass-green outfit. She should be hiding her new house in the wall. Whose house is she returning from tonight's night out?"

Liu Zhaosun held a collection of poems by Korean literati in his hand and read aloud to Jin Yuji.

"What obscene words are these? Where did your Majesty find them?"

Kim Yuji immediately recognized the poem as "The Female Doctor," from the Complete Works of Cheongjanggwan, a collection of books written by Yi Deok-moo, a scholar from Gyeonggi Province. The poem, written in extravagant and ambiguous language, depicts the daily life of a female doctor in Joseon. "Stripped from a dead body."

There were several blood-stained badges scattered on the table. Jin Yuji frowned, pulled out her dagger, picked up one of them and took a look. She saw that it was engraved with "Hwanghae Province Governor Park Zhengyi".

"A high-ranking official of the second rank was killed by my husband like a chicken. How cruel!"

Liu Zhaosun put down the bloodstained poetry collection, stared at Jin Yuji and asked, "Do you know him?"

Jin Yuji said indignantly, "Of course I recognize him. Park Zhengyi has been causing trouble in Hwanghae Province for many years. He has engaged in smuggling trade with the Jurchens, colluded with the counselor, exploited the people, and has a habit of treating female doctors and male molesters. I don't know how he was sent here by Li Jong."

Emperor Wu Ding laughed heartily: "Li Jong has no one left to use. It seems that I can no longer kill the Korean envoys. All kinds of people have been sent here."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the door of the big tent.

"Jin Yuji, come, accompany me to see Zhao Lujiao. He has come to the Yalu River to apologize for his crime."

The second wave of peace envoys sent by King Yi Jong of Joseon to the Qi Dynasty were captured by Qi Jin and sent to the Qi army camp on the river bank overnight.

Also arriving was Zhao Lujiao, commander of the Eighth Corps who had underestimated the enemy and was defeated.

As soon as the emperor and empress walked out of the tent, Pei Dahu immediately led a team of guards to be on guard around them.

After Lin Yu and Wu Xiao rushed to the capital to rob the tomb, Pei Dahu was personally responsible for Emperor Wuding's security. Liu Zhaosun was quite satisfied with this old subordinate, although most of the time the emperor did not need any guards at all (there were assassins killed by Liu Zhaosun himself every now and then).

Several Korean envoys who had recently died were lying beside the big tent. Their heads were chopped off by Pei Dahu and hung high on the banner of the central army.

The dragon flag fluttered fiercely in the cold and damp morning breeze of the Yalu River. Drops of blood dripped from time to time, and it seemed like it was raining blood all around.

Emperor Wu Ding strode towards the dragon banner, stretched out his hand to shield Jin Yuji from the blood that fell from the sky, and shouted loudly to Zhao Lujiao who was kneeling outside the tent:

"With soldiers present, the commander does not need to kneel. This is the old rule of Kaiyuan. Have you forgotten it? Stand up!"

Around the big tent, teams of auxiliary soldiers were carrying artillery and supplies, pulling war horses, and either taking boats or crossing bridges, quickly crossing the Yalu River and entering Yizhou, Korea.

Zhao Lujiao, with his upper body naked and tied with whips, stood up slowly, hunched over, not daring to look directly into the eyes of Emperor Wuding.

Liu Zhaosun waved his hand and the guards dispersed. Only the Empress Dowager Cisi and a few of her confidants were left around, including the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard Pei Dahu, the chief instructor Sen Ti, the chief officer of the Suoyi Guard Zhang Dong, the chief eunuch Dongfang Zhu, and the high priest Francisco.

Everyone was terrified and silently waited for the emperor's punishment on Zhao Lujiao.

The Empress Dowager Cisi knew her husband's temper very well. One of the reasons why she personally led the expedition to Korea was to deal with this man personally, so it was useless for anyone to persuade Emperor Wuding at this time.

With a rustling sound, the emperor reached out and pulled out the sword from Pei Dahu's body, holding the sword in his hand, he walked straight towards Zhao Lujiao.

"Your Majesty, for the sake of..."

Jin Yuji couldn't help but plead with the emperor.

With a wave of his hand and a slash of his knife, the rope behind Zhao Lujiao fell off in the shocked eyes of everyone.

The emperor took off his cloak and put it on Zhao Lujiao himself.

"How dare I, a guilty minister..."

Emperor Wu Ding exerted a little force, and his beast-like hand held down the emotional Zhao Lujiao, and said without question:
"I'm sorry to Yuan Chonghuan and the Eighth Army. I let so many people die in Japan. I can't let you down again! Victory and defeat are common in the military. Korea is not easy to fight. I underestimated the enemy. The fault lies with you. We lost this time, but we can win next time!"

Zhao Lujiao burst into tears.

"I only wish to conquer Korea as soon as possible, return to Japan, and avenge Yuan Zhifu and his men!"

Emperor Wu Ding nodded, looked across the river, and said to himself:

"To this day, I have been crossing the river by feeling the stones, and I have tried all means, just like these soldiers who can cross the river by boat, build a bridge, or swim."

The Yalu River is freezing cold in September, and no one would swim across it.

So this is just a metaphor.

Jin Yuji said thoughtfully, "My husband, have you found the best way to cross the river? Have you touched all the stones? Will you continue to kill people at home and conquer foreign countries?"

Liu Zhaosun ignored this.

Indeed, he has touched all the stones, from the benevolent emperor to the eternal tyrant, he has tried all the roles.

All that’s missing is the freedom, equality, and separation of powers.

Practice has proved that only totalitarianism is most suitable for this dimension and this country.

"Let the past be the past. Let's look forward. I want to build a great kingdom for Liu Kan. He has the final say on how to govern it in the future."

He was just short of saying the famous line, "I believe in the wisdom of future generations."

But what wisdom will future generations have?

Emperor Wu Ding was so warlike that he wanted to squeeze the people dry and constantly wage wars on all sides. God knows what would become of Qi after his death.

In the end, the time traveler couldn't help but uttered that famous saying.

"Each generation is responsible for its own affairs. We must trust the wisdom of future generations."

Zhao Lujiao clasped his hands together and said to Emperor Wuding:

"I don't understand what it means to cross the river by feeling the stones. I am a military commander, and military commanders are only responsible for fighting. No matter what the future holds for the Great Qi, I will follow Your Majesty, even if it means going through fire and water!"

He patted Zhao Lujiao on the shoulder and gave him some words of encouragement.

Look up at Yizhou, North Korea on the other side.

"Cross the river!"

Pei Dahu brought the warhorse, and the emperor jumped on the horse and waved the whip. The brown warhorse under his crotch neighed, raised its four hooves, and struggled hard to run forward.

The horses' hooves stepped onto the floating bridge and rushed forward at full speed, leaving Jin Yu Ji and the others far behind.

Note:
[1] “A Study of the North Korean Yangban”, Park Jin-kang, Yanbian University, 2015
[2] Beibiansi: The Joseon Dynasty's official office in charge of central and local military affairs, a first-rank government office, also known as the "Beiju" or "Chousi". Founded in the fifth year of the Zhengde era, it was initially an agency responsible for national defense, handling border defense matters. Later, its authority increased significantly, and it took on all military and national affairs, becoming the de facto center of national governance in the late Joseon Dynasty.

[3] “On the Yangban in Ancient Korea and Its Cultural Characteristics”, Pan Changhe and He Fang, Journal of East China Normal University, March 2010.3.
(End of this chapter)