Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 618 Taking Over Uiju (Part 2)

Even though he had read the entire manifesto, Quan Huan still found it hard to believe when he read it again.

Quan Huan was in a state of shock, and the gentry, merchants, and ordinary people outside the hall were even more so. Before the proclamation was even halfway through, the yamen was already deathly silent. If it weren't for the constant white noise coming in from outside, Quan Huan would have thought he was meditating and chanting scriptures in a desolate wasteland.

"Heaven's will is clear, the barbarian fate is sealed; the royal army is mighty, the bulwark will be secure! If the people are of one mind, and the feudal lords work together, then the state can be at peace, and the barbarian threat can be quelled!" Reading this, Quan Huan began to feel a surge of power in his chest. Breathing gradually returned to the hall and beyond.

"Now I swear an oath with all my generals and soldiers on the banks of the Ya River: If our provisions are insufficient, we shall take from our own salaries; if our swords and arrows are dull, we shall cut off our heads as atonement! I only wish that the three armies will serve us, that our allies will be loyal to us, and that together we will achieve the merit of protecting our country and upholding our integrity, thus reporting to the Emperor above and bringing peace to the people below. Would this not be a great achievement!" Complex emotions intertwined in Quan Huan's heart. He almost choked up as he shouted the last part.

After reading the proclamation, Quan Huan's previous doubts vanished: the so-called "Yuan Protector" was none other than the recently much-discussed Yuan Keli, whose title of "Military Advisor of Zhenjiang" was merely a smokescreen. The reason the Ming army suddenly crossed the river and flooded into Uiju, and sent a military officer like Liu Shifang to take over the defense of Uiju, was to protect Joseon.

Guardianship, a familiar word. The moment this word came to mind, many insightful officials and gentry immediately thought of the person behind Yuan's guardianship—Xu Guangqi, the Minister of Rites.

After the old doubts subsided, new questions arose: Was His Majesty truly so immoral? Was the Heavenly Army's crushing defeat in that great battle truly due to the King instructing the Grand Marshal to secretly collude with the Jurchens? If all of this is true, how would the Emperor treat the King—simply depose him, or order his execution? After the King is deposed, who will the Emperor install as the new king? During the period of guardianship of Korea, what policies will the Celestial Empire, or rather, which Yuan Dynasty guardian, implement? How will these policies affect my current life?
There were so many questions, but no one dared to ask them.

Silence, long silence.

The first person to speak was Liu Shifang, and of course, it could only be Liu Shifang. "Go back and sit down," Liu Shifang patted Quan Huan on the shoulder. At this moment, Quan Huan was still clutching the long piece of paper containing those weighty words.

"Yes." Quan Huan responded with a start, abruptly releasing his strength, and stumbled and fell to the ground.

Fortunately, Liu Shifang reacted quickly, leaning forward and grabbing Quan Huan's collar. "Be careful, don't fall and get hurt. You still need to take charge of things in Yizhou."

"Thank you, Master Liu." He blankly put away the long piece of paper and sat back down in the seat that shouldn't have been his.

"That's how it is. The King of Joseon betrayed Joseon and betrayed the Ming Dynasty!" Liu Shifang's voice wasn't loud, but it was remarkably clear in the environment where only white noise and breathing could be heard. "This is like a son helping his enemy stab his father in the back. Putting aside the issue of filial piety, can this rebellious son gain anything by doing this?"

Liu Shifang paused for a moment, then said decisively, "They won't get anything good out of it! Right now, right at this very moment! In Kuandian, a minor chieftain named Amin has already amassed 50,000 slave soldiers. What do you think those starving wolves and wild dogs, who haven't eaten all winter and haven't found anything to eat this spring, are doing there?!"

Wow!
The crowd began to stir.

Although Yizhou had long suffered from a state of military neglect, it was not entirely unaware of the enemy's situation. Various reports, especially sporadic ones from Shuozhou, indicated that the Jurchen rebels had indeed reinforced their troops in the Kuandian region. The people of Yizhou simply did not expect that the Jurchen rebels had already amassed 50,000 men in Kuandian.

Many Koreans, including the people of Uiju, harbored a sense of wishful thinking. Many believed that the Jurchen invaders would not attack Korea before completely conquering Liaodong, and that the mighty Celestial Empire would not allow the Jurchens to occupy Liaodong. They thought the two sides would remain locked in a stalemate until the Jurchen chieftain died and the Jurchens were destroyed.

Now that the Jurchen traitors have failed to conquer Liaoshen, they have so decisively diverted a large force to attack Korea!
Most of the Koreans present did not doubt the Jurchens' strategic intentions. Anyone with a little knowledge would know that the Ming strongholds of Fenghuang and Zhenjiang, which were very close to Kuandian, had no resources worth attacking with 50,000 troops. Even if the Jurchens did manage to capture Zhenjiang or Fenghuang, they probably wouldn't gain enough to offset the losses of the war. More importantly, Fenghuang and Zhenjiang would offer almost no help in the attack on Liaoshen.

If this news is true, then the enemy's target must be Korea. And Korea cannot possibly withstand the attack of 50,000 enemy soldiers alone.

"Silence!" Liu Shifang was pleased to see the North Koreans agitated out of fear, but he knew very well that if the commotion was allowed to spread, the noise could easily turn into panic.

"Silence!" Before Liu Shifang finished speaking, the Ming soldiers lining up inside and outside the hall amplified his voice once again.

This time, the unified shout of "Silence!" brought more than just the suppression of weapons. The North Koreans present genuinely felt a reassuring solemnity. It felt as if a fully armed father, holding a knife in one hand and a shield in the other, was standing between his young son and the vicious bandits.

"Fifty thousand slave thieves have stationed their troops in Kuandian, they will surely target Korea! Uiju is the gateway to Korea, and it will inevitably bear the brunt of the attack!" Seeing that the room had quieted down again, Liu Shifang continued loudly, "I led the Heavenly Army here for no other reason than to be ordered to protect Uiju and shield Korea from the west!"

"To facilitate command and control and to address the current precarious situation, the court has adjusted the hierarchical relationships in some parts of Joseon," Liu Shifang announced. "During the period of supervision, all prefectures, governorates, counties, and districts north of Pyongan Province, that is, between the Cheongcheon River and the Yalu River, will be under the unified command of the Zhenjiang Military Circuit. In other words, starting today, Uiju Prefecture will be under the jurisdiction of the Zhenjiang Circuit!"

This news meant nothing to the gentry, merchants, and common people standing outside the hall, but it was a major piece of news that the officials of Yizhou sitting in the hall had to take seriously.

Before Liu Shifang could finish speaking, the officials began whispering among themselves. They looked left and right, asking questions, before finally all fixing their gaze on Quan Huan, the one who "commanded the entire prefecture." The meaning of their glances was clear—they needed to find out exactly what was going on!
The stares from his colleagues made Quan Huan feel extremely uncomfortable. He regretted that when facing Yuan Keli, he had used the excuse of "not being able to command the entire prefecture" to shirk responsibility for issuing the proclamation.

Quan Huan glanced resentfully at Prefect Zheng Zun, only to find that Zheng Zun still looked like a dead man who had lost his parents.

Quan Huan suddenly realized something. Don't be fooled by the nice-sounding proclamation, which says that "those who are coerced into following the law will be spared execution if they can repent and reform themselves." But what kind of person qualifies as a "coerced accomplice" and what kind of behavior can be described as "repenting and reforming themselves"? It's all just a matter of the proclamation being made.

Even if Yuan Keli were to successfully petition for the pardon of certain individuals, it wouldn't guarantee their continued official positions. Zheng Zun, as His Majesty's trusted confidant stationed in Yizhou, would inevitably be purged; his fate was sealed—it was simply a matter of life or death. With the Prefect removed from his post, someone naturally needed to take his place.

The official system of Korea was similar to that of the Ming Dynasty, but it also incorporated elements from the Tang and Song Dynasties, as well as local characteristics. According to the Korean official system, directly below the second-rank Prefect was the fifth-rank Judge, responsible for specific matters such as justice and taxation. However, this Judge was not considered the second-in-command, because local powers were extremely powerful throughout Korea. Local officials couldn't possibly handle tasks assigned by higher authorities without cooperating with these powers. Therefore, the second-in-command in each region was often the head of the local gentry, or "Zuo Shou" (a high-ranking official).

Quan Huan guessed that Yuan Keli probably knew about these things, which is why he decisively handed over the task of "commanding the whole prefecture" to him after confirming that Zheng Zun was indeed unusable.

But Quan Huan didn't want to "take what Heaven has granted," at least not now. Uiju had been occupied by the Ming army, but could they still advance smoothly afterward? What if the king refused to accept the Emperor's judgment, made a last-ditch effort, and openly raised the banner of rebellion, challenging the superior nation? Even if he didn't raise the banner of rebellion, and the king was indeed deposed, wouldn't the new king, after the end of guardianship and the Ming army's withdrawal, secretly purge those who had seized local power by relying on the Celestial Empire?

But speaking nonsense, Quan Huan also knew very well that from the moment Yuan Keli looked at him, the only options left for him were acceptance and destruction.

Quan Huan took a deep breath. He stood up the moment the Ming soldier in charge of translation stopped talking: "Lord Liu, I have a question, please enlighten me."

“Lord Quan, please speak.” Liu Shifang smiled and nodded. “Lord Liu,” Quan Huan swallowed hard, bowed, and asked, “Our Yizhou has always been under the jurisdiction of Ping’an Circuit, but now it has been transferred to Zhenjiang Circuit. How should we deal with Ping’an Circuit?”

"I don't know." Liu Shifang shook her head frankly. "The higher-ups didn't say, and I didn't ask."

Quan Huan was stunned, and the other officials were also stunned.

Liu Shifang smiled lightly and continued, "If the chief minister really wants to know, you can write a letter to Councilor Gao after the meeting. Anyway, Zhen and Yi are only separated by a river, and it will only take half a day to go back and forth."

Quan Huan snapped out of his daze. "Is Master Gao still the official in charge of Zhenjiang?"

“Yes. He’s been reassigned to a full-time post, no longer as the Liaoyang Circuit Intendant,” Liu Shifang said. “For a long time to come, he will be stationed in Zhenjiang. Just listen to him.”

"Yes," Quan Huan responded first, then shrank back and asked the question that all the officials were concerned about: "What will become of us?"

"Tsk! The proclamation is still in your pocket, isn't it?" Liu Shifang patted his chest. "I remember it clearly says on it, 'The virtuous and capable officials of Korea shall remain in their posts, while the mediocre and cowardly shall be dismissed and not employed.' Did the chief minister not see it, or does he think he is not virtuous enough?" Liu Shifang had no Korean ancestry and had not had much contact with Koreans, so he could not understand these foreign languages ​​and dialects.

"..." Quan Huan was speechless, caught off guard by the double-edged question, and could only force a smile.

"Does Chief Quan have any further questions?" Liu Shifang yawned lazily.

"That's all, that's all." Quan Huan certainly had many more questions he wanted to ask, but at this moment he dared not say anything more.

"Where are the others?" Liu Shifang gestured for Quan Huan to sit down. "If you have any questions, ask them all at once. I need to get down to business!"

“Lord Liu,” the old eunuch who had previously “welcomed the royal army” raised his hand. “I have another matter to ask you. I humbly request your guidance, Lord Liu.”

"Who are you?" Liu Shifang frowned slightly; he was a little hungry. "What is your position?"

“I am Li Xin, the Prefectural Supervisor of Yizhou,” the old supervisor said, bowing.

"You're also Li Biejian?" Liu Shifang narrowed his eyes slightly. "What's your relationship with that grain manager?"

“It’s nothing, we just happen to have the same surname,” Li Xin said. “That prisoner is a local from Yizhou. I am from Guangzhou in Gyeonggi Province.”

"So what are you in charge of?" Liu Shifang pursed her lips.

“I am in charge of local education and culture.” Li Xinxin bowed again.

"Have you achieved official rank?"

"I was a Jinshi in the seventh year of the Wanli reign and rose to the position of Assistant Minister of Personnel." Although Li Xin was still bowing, he proudly raised his head. "I accompanied the imperial envoy to the capital twice, in the fourteenth and sixteenth years of the Wanli reign. In the thirty-third year of the Wanli reign, I personally led the Winter Solstice delegation to the capital to offer congratulations." Li Xin also remembered that the person who received them that year was Li Tingji, who later became the Grand Secretary and Vice Minister of Rites.

"Please ask," Liu Shifang said, slightly toning down his disdain and impatience, but still adding, "Don't ask what's written in the manifesto."

“I would like to know,” Li Xin asked, mustering his courage, “after Yuan’s administration has relieved the people and punished the guilty, who will succeed to the throne of this small state?”

The hall fell silent instantly. Even Zheng Zun, who had looked deathly pale, seemed to come alive again.

"Isn't this mentioned in the manifesto?" Liu Shifang turned her head to look at Quan Huan.

“No,” Quan Huan replied immediately.

"Oh dear!" Liu Shifang slapped his forehead and said, "I got it wrong. This matter is written in the imperial edict of Yuan's guardianship."

"Then who does His Majesty intend to succeed to the throne of our small kingdom?" Li Xin's eyes lit up, but at the same time, a look of panic flashed across them.

Liu Shifang thought about it carefully: "It doesn't explicitly say who will inherit the throne, it only says that the Crown Prince will oversee the country."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Upon hearing this, Li Xinyi immediately knelt down in the direction of the capital.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Li Xinxin uttered such splendid words of praise as he knelt down toward the capital. How could the other officials dare to remain seated?

Quan Huan, of course, also knelt, bowed, and praised the emperor. But his face showed no pleasant expression. The fact that the royal lineage remained with the deposed king was not good news for someone like him who had publicly read the proclamation deposing the king.

(End of this chapter)