Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 500 The Past Cannot Be Changed
Li Xiaozhong returned soon, accompanied by a young woman who looked much younger than him and a boy in his early teens.

Li Rubai waved to the young man. "Baozhong, come here and greet the gentlemen."

The young woman heard the voice and let go of Li Baozhong's hand. But Li Baozhong was young and shy, and couldn't stand the gaze of such a group of old men. He just kept his head down, standing timidly at the door.

"Bring him here." Li Rubai said to Li Xiaozhong.

"Let's go, Dad's calling you." Li Xiaozhong gently pushed his younger brother. But the boy not only didn't move forward, he even took a half step back behind the young woman.

"If you don't listen, I'm going to beat you. And I won't stand by you then." Li Xiaozhong threatened in a teasing tone.

Li Baozhong raised his head slightly and saw his elder brother, Li Huaizhong, with a sullen and frightening face. He then took a step forward and walked to his father's side under the gaze of the high-ranking officials.

"This boy is very shy. Please forgive me, gentlemen." Li Rubai smiled and rubbed Li Baozhong's head.

"What's going on outside," Fang Congzhe looked at Li Rubai and Li Baozhong, then glanced at the young woman. "General Li didn't tell this child, did he?"

"No." Li Rubai shook his head. "What good would it do if he knew? It would only cause more trouble. I can't let the child go out and speak out his heart and soul to dispel the rumors. When he grows up, if the rumors haven't died down, he'll know for himself."

"Since we don't know, we won't say anything. Please ask the young master and this lady to go back." Fang Congzhe looked around at the other officials who were traveling with him. The other officials nodded in agreement.

Li Rubai nodded gratefully to Fang Congzhe and reached out to gently push Li Baozhong's shoulder. "You little idiot, go back to your mother." Li Rubai raised his eyebrows at the young woman, his eyes less gentle than before. "Take him back to where you came from."

"Yes, sir." The young woman shrank back in fear. She was really afraid of this husband who was much older than her father.

The door closed again.

As the footsteps faded away, Li Rubai let out a long sigh. "Gentlemen, you've seen it too. That quail-like woman is Li Baozhong's mother, and she's treating the child like a quail. And you!" Li Rubai turned his head to look at Li Huaizhong. "I told you to teach him well, but you're becoming even more of a quail. You have no manners at all."

"Dad, this is different!" Li Huaizhong couldn't help but defend himself, "This is the capital, and we can't even ride a horse. When I was his age, I should have started killing people. You find me a job, and I will take him out to get two heads, and all his problems will be cured." As the grandsons of Li Chengliang and the sons of Li Rubai, the two brothers Li Huaizhong and Li Xiaozhong, who were in their prime, had to resign and be unemployed because of the situation in Liaodong and the criticism their father received, leaving their home empty.

"You still dare to quibble!" Li Rubai cursed openly, but in his heart he was secretly impressed. He looked at the guests present and said, "Suerhaci's daughter died a long time ago. That woman was unlucky and short-lived, and never gave birth to a child for the Li family. Li Qizhen is just talking nonsense! Although Li Qizhen is a censor and can report on things based on hearsay, he shouldn't talk nonsense like this, making random guesses and distorting the truth based on the slightest thing. If you gentlemen still don't believe me, I can call all the women in my house. There is still a big difference between Jurchens and Han people. You can tell whether there are Jurchen slave women just by looking at their faces."

"There's no need to perform a caesarean section to check the pickled fish." Fang Congzhe waved his hand and prepared to get to the point.

But at this moment, Li Rubai took the initiative to say, "Gentlemen, do you want to know why my father took Nasurhaci's daughter as a concubine?"

Fang Congzhe said, "If Zizhen doesn't mind talking about it, we're willing to listen."

Li Rubai narrowed his gaze and looked down at his arm, as if lost in a memory. "Although Nurhaci and Suerhaci were born of the same mother, brothers, and supported each other in their youth, Jurchens like them were ultimately barbarians who had not been fully governed by the king, like bloodthirsty beasts. When prey was plentiful, the beasts could coexist peacefully, but once there was insufficient prey to share, they would inevitably fight over it. Brother-slaying, father-slaying, and son-killing were heinous crimes against humanity in the Ming Dynasty, but they were horrifically common among the Jurchen tribes."

"From a very early time, Suerhaci showed his disobedience to Nurhaci. For example, Suerhaci went to the capital alone many times to pay tribute and request rewards. These matters are all recorded by the Cabinet, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Public Security. If the Prime Minister, the Grand Chamberlain, and the Ministry of Finance are willing, they can check it out after returning and see that what I said is true."

Everyone was listening quietly, no one responded to Li Rubai's question, but he still paused and explained, "This doesn't mean that Suerhaci was particularly loyal to the Ming Dynasty. But it does at least show that Suerhaci had the intention of breaking away from Nurhaci and establishing his own faction. And there should be relevant records in Korea as well."

Fang Congzhe subconsciously glanced at Xu Guangqi. "What does this have to do with North Korea?"

"Korea and the Jurchens have always had ties. To put it more bluntly, Korea sends gifts to the Jurchen tribes almost every year to ensure peace on the border. My father and I have heard more than once that Suerhaci demanded that the Koreans 'do not treat them inferior to our brothers' when giving them gifts," Li Rubai explained. "As the saying goes, without superiority or inferiority, there is no respect or inferiority, and without respect or inferiority, there are dissenting intentions. Suerhaci simply wanted to establish his own faction, and my father was happy for him to do so in order to divide and disintegrate it. Therefore, my father tried hard to win over Suerhaci and treated him with great kindness and courtesy. My taking that woman as a concubine was simply a way to show my special respect for Suerhaci. Suerhaci's dozen or so daughters were all used to attract external forces and internal connections. Ultimately, it was just a means."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Li Rubai himself became more and more excited as he spoke: "If my late brother was still alive, my father would not have let me marry that woman. If it was my late brother who married that woman, we wouldn't have so many handles now for Li Qizhen, that mad dog who farts all the time, to catch and bite! Li Qizhen, that crazy Zhejiang native, is really..."

"Dad." Li Huaizhong called out softly, trying to remind Li Rubai to be more restrained. Don't fire the cannon.

Li Rubai was stunned, glanced up at Fang Congzhe, and hurriedly calmed down. "But then again, that woman is pitiful. Even if she entered the Li family, it would be useless. The last time Suerhaci passed through Liaozhen to pay tribute to the capital was in the second half of the 36th year of the Wanli reign. He should have arrived in Beijing in December. At that time, my father had already decided to wait for Suerhaci to return with the tribute and then instigate a war between him and Nurhaci. But in the 36th year of the Wanli reign, a minister named Song Yihan impeached my father for his faults and had him dismissed for investigation. Then, the court sent the current Xiong Jinglüe to inspect Liaodong. This impeachment and reprimand directly led to my father's dismissal."

"I have to say, this Nurhaci was truly a beastly tyrant, a master at seizing opportunities. At the beginning of the 37th year of the Wanli reign, Suerhaci paid tribute to the Hui people, and was immediately captured and imprisoned by Nurhaci. Nurhaci first killed Suerhaci's trusted generals, then killed Suerhaci's two sons. When the dust settled, he decisively killed Suerhaci himself, his own brother from the same mother."

Li Rubai continued, "If my father had still been stationed in Liaodong at the time, he would never have turned a blind eye to this and watched Suerhaci's lineage being eliminated and incorporated by Nurhaci. Even if Suerhaci could not succeed, he would not have been defeated so quickly. If Suerhaci had not died, how could the Liao Dynasty have come to this! This Xiong Manzi is such a bad guy, I even suspect he was the one who took him in." "Dad! The past is over, don't talk about it." Li Huaizhong couldn't hold it in any longer. Is this the place for you to express your conspiracy theories?

"What's the big deal? That barbarian won't be around for much longer anyway." Li Rubai thought he had guessed the reason why Fang Congzhe, Yuan Keli, and the others had come. If the court, or even the Emperor, had made up their minds to remove Xiong Tingbi and replace him with Yuan Keli, they would have needed many legitimate reasons.

As for keeping Xiong Tingbi alive, Li Rubai had no intention, let alone the ability. If he could use Xiong Tingbi's shoulders to make a comeback, it would be considered a good use of waste.

Li Rubai judged that as long as the imperial court and the new governor did not change their current policy, continued to defend the key cities, and refrained from rash advances, Nurhaci would collapse on his own. How could he support a hundred thousand soldiers without looting, relying solely on the rotten land occupied by the Jurchens?
"Have you told the Jinyiwei about these things?" Fang Congzhe asked as if to change the subject.

Fang Congzhe didn't want to listen to Li Rubai's "doubts." Li Rubai's complaints and the story about Li Chengliang and Suerhachi were still believable. After all, Suerhachi was really dead, and Li Rubai's youngest son did look a lot like that "quail-like woman."

But there's no need to take Lee Rube's sharp comments about Song Il-han and Woong Jung-pil personally. These people have a complicated relationship, and it's hard to tell who's right and who's wrong. Song Il-han and Woong Jung-pil even had a falling out.

"Thanks to the emperor's trust, I have not been interrogated by the imperial guards." Li Rubai shook his head and said, "But last year, I did have a brief chat with Inspector Yang Wenru." So-called brief means deleting those complaints and sharp comments and just stating the facts.

"Yes." Fang Congzhe nodded. This also explained why the emperor was so familiar with the relationship between the Li family and Nurhaci and Suerhaci. It's just that the name "Shuerhaci" is a bit strange and not very pleasant.

"Li Qing," Fang Congzhe looked at Yuan Keli. "I think it's time to tell you."

"Yes," Yuan Keli replied, turning to look at Li Rubai, whose face was now filled with confidence. "General Li, the Emperor summoned us to the palace this morning to discuss matters concerning the dethronement of the Emperor." Upon hearing this, Li Rubai nodded, but the next moment his expression froze. "King Yi Hun of Joseon has appointed Crown Prince Yi Il as regent and has sent someone to oversee Joseon until the war is over."

Li Rubai was stunned at first, then he was shocked, "The emperor wants to depose Prince Hun of Xian!?" Li Rubai looked at the Prime Minister Fang Congzhe with horror, and his two sons standing behind him also showed shock at the same time.

Fang Congzhe nodded silently.

Li Rubai panicked for a moment, then glanced at his son with a look of relief. Fortunately, he hadn't called Xiong Manzi by his first name.

"This matter is not easy to handle." Li Rubai calmed down.

"What do you mean, General Li?" Yuan Keli asked.

"As far as I know," Li Rubai said, "King Hun of Xian has always been unruly. When I was still stationed in Liao, I heard more than once that King Hun of Xian was shielding the surrendered general Jiang Hongli despite being impeached by various parties, and seemed to be playing both sides."

"Prime Minister, Xu Da Zong Bo, Yuan Shao Yin Tai." At this point, Li Rubai still believed that this idea was jointly led by Prime Minister Fang Congzhe and Xu Guangqi, who proposed guardianship of Korea. "The proposal to guardianship Andong is certainly correct. However, I believe that guardianship should not dethrone the king, nor is it necessary to do so. Currently, the Liaozhen front is still in a stalemate, and the Xian King Hun, who is wavering between the two sides, will surely take advantage of the situation to make a move. If our dynasty issues an imperial edict to dethrone the Xian King Hun at this time, it is very likely to prompt him to take risks, abandon the Ming and join the dark, and openly lead the slave soldiers south. By then, let alone guardianship of Korea and aid to Liaozhen, I am afraid that the entire Xian Kingdom will become a hunting ground for slave bandits." Li Rubai looked at Fang Congzhe steadily. "Prime Minister, I implore you to submit a letter to the emperor to explain your concerns. Even if you must dethrone and enthrone, you must make plans before acting. Do not act rashly or drastically."

Li Rubai also didn't believe Li Hun could lead all of Korea to surrender to Nurhaci, much less organize a Korean army to attack the Ming army. This was impossible. However, if Li Hun abandoned the border and openly led Nurhaci's army into Korea, the Korean army and civilians, loyal to the Ming Dynasty, would be unable to stop Nurhaci's cavalry. In this way, Nurhaci could replenish his lost population and supplies by raiding Korea. This would run counter to the overall strategy of encircling and locking up the enemy.

"Hehehe." Fang Congzhe suddenly laughed, and the faces of the officials who followed him to the Li family also showed smiles mixed with various emotions.

"Prime Minister, what's wrong with what I said?" Li Rubai asked in surprise.

"Zizhen, you're right, and you've thought it through very carefully." Fang Congzhe smiled and shook his head. "But the plan is already decided, so there's no need to worry about it."

"What exactly does the Prime Minister mean? I am ignorant, but please speak clearly."

Fang Congzhe suppressed his smile and looked at Yuan Keli. "Li Qing, you should speak first."

Yuan Keli nodded and looked at Li Rubai and his two sons. "General Li."

"Please give me some advice, Young Master Yintai." Li Rubai also straightened his body and looked at Yuan Keli.

Yuan Keli said sternly, "The Emperor has deemed King Hun of Xian completely untrustworthy. Therefore, he has not intended to depose the king by imperial decree, but has decided to send troops directly to Seoul to arrest the King of Xian. We have come to you to ask for your assistance in this matter."

(End of this chapter)