Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 626 The Hidden Currents of Hanyang (Part Six)

"You...!" Li Shunli's eyes widened, and it took him a while to react. "You're trying to stop this?"

“Yes.” Li Shibai nodded heavily.

"Why?" Li Shunli asked, utterly astonished. "Executing Jiang Jin, sending a message to the imperial court, and stabilizing the emperor's mind—isn't this a good thing that everyone in the court and the public desires? Why are you stopping it?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. We have our own plans." Li Shibai stared intently at the end of the road they had come from. "What you need to do is wait until Lady Kim comes to offer sacrifices to the Buddha, then tell her this news clearly and convincingly, and make her believe that executing Jiang Hongli and Kim Gyeong-seo at this time will make the world think that the King is shirking his responsibilities, or even that he is acting out of guilt and killing people to cover up his crimes."

Li Shunli shrank back, almost doubting whether she had misheard. "This...you and I..." Li Shunli had many questions to ask, but she knew her brother's decisive nature, so she stammered for a long time before finally saying, "What about Lord Luoxi? Hasn't the old man always been on good terms with Lord Luoxi? Brother, you are also his student, how could you betray him?"

“…” Li Shibai frowned deeply. “This is a temporary, necessary sacrifice.”

"Sacrifice? What right do you have to sacrifice someone! And how did you even know about this?" Li Shunli pressed on relentlessly, "Could it be that Lord Luo Xi told you this information on his own initiative?"

“Yes. I heard him say it to me face to face at Lord Luoxi’s house,” Li Shibai said with a sigh. “If Lady Jin has any doubts about this matter, you can tell her this as well.”

"Ha!" Li Shunli seemed to understand somewhat. She sneered and asked, "Is the old man trying to take this opportunity to get revenge on Li Erzhan?"

Li Shibai's pupils contracted, and he took a deep breath: "You can think of it that way."

“A gentleman knows what to do and what not to do.” Li Shunli looked resistant and tried to persuade him: “Even if it’s to get revenge on Li Erzhan, you don’t have to betray Lord Luoxi, do you?”

"Time waits for no one, this is an opportunity!" Li Shibai's eyes darted around, and he decided to go along with Li Shunli's plan: "Currently, Li Erzhan is facing encirclement and suppression from Park and Ryu, and his relationship with Jin Shanggong is also ambiguous. In Li Erzhan's own words, his current situation has reached a critical point, and he has no choice but to struggle desperately. This is why he is willing to cooperate with Duke Luoxi on a conditional basis." Li Shibai spoke harshly, but his tone did not carry the kind of bitter hatred that comes with it.

"We need to seize this opportunity to crush Li Erzhan to death. Conversely, if Li Erzhan recovers by taking advantage of this opportunity to cooperate with Duke Luoxi, his position will soon be stabilized again. At that time, we will no longer be able to touch a hair on his head."

“Lord Luoxi wanted to be with you, but you stabbed him in the back! You were doing something righteous together,” Li Shunli turned his head and looked down at the Buddhist temple. “This is the despicable behavior of petty people, I won’t do it!”

"You have to do it! The arrow is already on the bowstring, there's no turning back!" Li Shibai hardened his heart and glared at Li Shunli. Then, he turned back and looked towards the end of the road they had come from. "We've made many arrangements for this important matter, and the Jin Shanggong incident is the most crucial! If Li Erzhan seizes the opportunity to make a comeback, you can just wait to collect the corpses of the old man and me!"

"You..." Hearing her elder brother utter such harsh words, Li Shunli's tears welled up instantly. "Was it really necessary?"

"Yes! Whether the old man can return to the court, and whether the Yan'an Li family can produce another Yancheng Prince, depends on this!" As he spoke, Li Shibai's heart softened again. He reached out, shook out his sleeve, and gently wiped away Li Shunli's tears: "Don't worry, we still have a backup plan, and this is not a rebellion. Even if the King wants to severely punish Duke Luoxi, he can't be sentenced to death. At most, he will be exiled."

"Heh," Li Shunli chuckled bitterly, muttering, "'Exile'—how could such words come out of your mouth, elder brother?"

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Changdeokgung Palace was the second palace built after the establishment of the Joseon Dynasty. Because it is located directly east of Gyeongbokgung Palace, the main palace, it is also known as "Donggak" (Eastern Palace).

Changde Palace was first built in the third year of the Yongle reign. At that time, it only had the main hall, Baoping Hall, side hall, and main sleeping hall. After that, it was added and supplemented until the eleventh year of the Chenghua reign, which was almost seventy years later, when the auxiliary buildings such as pavilions, sleeping halls, stone bridges, corridors, and offices of various departments were completed and named.

Because of the slow progress of the construction, during the early Joseon Dynasty, kings mainly used Gyeongbokgung Palace as their primary residence. Apart from King Taejong (Yi Bang-won), who oversaw the construction of Gyeongbokgung Palace, and Taejo (Yi Seong-gye), who was posthumously honored as King Emeritus and imprisoned there after being usurped by Yi Bang-won during the two "Prince Rebellions," no other king used the palace for an extended period.

It wasn't until the reign of King Chunsun that Changdeokgung Palace was fully completed and its walls were significantly expanded. Kings began to favor Changdeokgung Palace, to the point that several kings died there.

The year 1582 (Ren Chen year) was a year that changed the fate of Joseon and also the status of Changdeok Palace.

On March 12th of the 20th year of the Wanli reign (1581), Konishi Yukinaga, acting on orders from Toyotomi Hideyoshi, led his army to land at Busanpo. On March 14th, Busan fell, and its commander, Jeong Ba, was killed in battle. On March 27th, Chungju fell, leaving the gates of Hanyang wide open. Two days later, King Seonjo hastily fled, traveling day and night to the northwest.

On the day the king fled, a large-scale uprising broke out in Hanyang, looting the treasury and burning the palace. Historical records state: "As the king was about to leave, unscrupulous people in the capital first entered the inner treasury to seize valuables. After the king left, the rioters rose up, first burning the Office of Clerks and the Ministry of Justice, as these were where the records of public and private slaves and servants were kept. They then looted the palaces and warehouses, and then set fire to cover their tracks. The three palaces, Gyeongbok, Changdeok, and Changgyeong, were all reduced to ashes in one fell swoop. The general remaining in the capital beheaded several people to warn the rioters, but the rioters had amassed a large following and could not be contained."

At the end of the 26th year of the Wanli reign, the Japanese army achieved a great victory at the Battle of Noryang and withdrew completely. By December, they had all withdrawn from the Korean Peninsula, and King Yi Yeon, who had been stationed in Pyongyang, finally returned to Hanyang.

After returning to the capital, King Seonjo did not rebuild Gyeongbokgung Palace or Changdeokgung Palace. Instead, he used the former residence of Grand Prince Yi Jeong, the elder brother of King Seongjong, as a temporary palace, which was then called "Jeongneung-dong Palace". It was at Jeongneung-dong Palace that King Seonjo married his second wife, Lady Kim, and the current King Yi Hun also ascended the throne here.

In the 37th year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, the new King Yi Hun ordered the reconstruction of Changdeokgung Palace. The reason Yi Hun chose to rebuild this detached palace instead of Gyeongbokgung Palace was that Gyeongbokgung Palace, a princely residence built according to the standards for princes, was simply too "too big." Joseon, which had only recently been restored to its former glory, lacked both financial and human resources and could not afford to rebuild it. Therefore, it had to settle for second best and prioritize the reconstruction of the smaller Changdeokgung Palace.

In the 43rd year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, the main buildings of Changdeokgung Palace were completed, and King Gojong officially moved there. The political center of Joseon finally returned to Donggwol, which had been absent for 23 years. As for Gyeongbokgung Palace in the north, it remained in ruins.

On the morning of the fourth day of the fifth month of the first year of Taichang, as dawn broke, Zhang Wan, the Military Advisor, wearing a black gauze hat, a round-necked robe, and a gold and jade belt, slowly alighted from his carriage in front of Dunhua Gate, the main gate of Changde Palace. Upon landing, he saw his recently formed ally—Li Erzhan, the Minister of Rites.

Under Zhang Wan's almost terrified gaze, Li Erzhan strode over.

"This humble official greets Judge Li." When Li Erzhan stepped to within three steps of Zhang Wan, Zhang Wan politely and respectfully bowed.

“Brother Hao Gu, we meet again.” Li Erzhan immediately returned the greeting.

"Hehe." Zhang Wan chuckled dryly. He really didn't want to appear too close to Li Erzhan in front of his colleagues. Li Erzhan seemed to see through his thoughts. "Brother Haogu, I thought we were already like-minded friends. Isn't that right?"

"A gentleman seeks harmony without adhering to uniformity," Zhang Wan said calmly.

“Ever since you submitted that memorial last month, we’ve been on the same path. There’s no need to be so distant.” Li Erzhan leaned closer to Zhang Wan and whispered, “Trying to get rid of me? Not so easy.”

"Hehe." Zhang Wan's eye twitched.

"Brother Haogu," Li Erzhan continued in a low voice, "why do you think the King suddenly ordered the two classes to attend court today?"

King Li Hui was not exactly a lazy ruler, but he was not enthusiastic about attending court and disliked going on imperial tours. In the twelve years since his ascension to the throne, he almost exclusively left the palace to personally try traitors or to receive the congratulations of his officials. While this demeanor did not match the regal bearing of the Wanli Emperor, it certainly aptly described him as someone who rarely left his residence. Li Erzhan remembered the last time he attended court was during the discussion of military affairs in the forty-sixth year of the Wanli Emperor's reign.

"Is Judge Li asking a question or posing a question?" Zhang Wan countered.

"Do you think I know?" Li Erzhan asked in return.

"Didn't Lady Kim inform you?" In the Ming Dynasty, close interactions between the inner palace and the outer court were a major taboo, but in Joseon, this was not uncommon. During Yi Hun's reign, the frequency and scope of interactions between the inner palace and the outer court were so great that "every palace maid formed alliances with prime ministers and famous scholars, and each had her own master."

“She hasn’t greeted me in a long time,” Li Erzhan surprisingly admitted.

Zhang Wan's eyes flickered slightly. "Judge Li is so straightforward; does he truly consider me a fellow traveler?"

“Of course!” Li Erzhan replied immediately, “But this is hardly candor. Quite a few disciples have started to distance themselves from me because of this. If Brother Haogu had spent more time with me, he would have known by now.”

"It's not so bad if I don't know," Zhang Wan shrugged.

Li Erzhan smiled again, then slowly put away his smile: "Brother Haogu, do you think His Majesty suddenly summoned the two classes to court to discuss the demotion of the princess, or to discuss the punishment of Jiang Jin?"

"I hope we won't say anything," Zhang Wan said solemnly.

"Oh? Brother Haogu also thinks there's something fishy about this?" Li Erzhan's gaze towards Zhang Wan held a newfound appreciation for his intelligence.

Zhang Wan nodded slightly. "Zheng Kexing only submitted his resignation yesterday, and the King has already summoned the two classes to court today. This reaction is far too fast and too drastic."

In advising the king to severely punish surrendered generals and disgraced officials, and to implicate their families, Zhang Wan and Li Erzhan's strategy for submitting memorials was still a tiered, escalating approach. This tiered approach meant that the chief remonstrator would submit his memorial first, followed by subordinate officials, then superior officials, and so on, with officials of all ranks submitting their own memorials in succession. During this process, unless someone directly accused the king of being incompetent and tyrannical, or a high-ranking official of the third rank or above participated in the memorial submission, the king would never personally intervene. Before that, even if the king was extremely reluctant to accept advice, he would only instruct trusted confidants to submit memorials refuting it, or simply incite the opposition to intervene, then sit back and watch the two sides fight it out.

If the king were to launch a major offensive simply because a minor envoy from another sect used the excuse of resigning from court to submit a memorial offering advice, it would certainly not be a good thing.

"If it really is for the sake of the latter matter, how will Brother Haogu conduct himself?" Li Erzhan asked quietly.

“If Judge Li was afraid I’d blurt out your name in a moment of panic, he should have stayed away from me now. No, it’s too late now.” Zhang Wan’s eyes swept over the crowd gathered in the square, and she suddenly smiled. “You shouldn’t have come over.”

“Since you are willing to share hardships with Zheng Qianshi, how can I abandon you? That would be too petty of me.” Li Erzhan moved closer to Zhang Wan, almost shoulder to shoulder with her.

Zhang Wan raised an eyebrow, staring at Li Erzhan as if he were a monster. "Have you been possessed by some unclean thing?"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Li Erzhan glared at Zhang Wan. "I'm just a little tired. If His Majesty really wants to dismiss me, then I'll go back to Guangzhou to farm." As he spoke, Li Erzhan raised his hand and patted his chest, "Here, I've put my resignation letter."

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If Emperor Taichang of the Ming Dynasty held court at the Qianqing Gate, then King Yi Hun of Joseon, as a prince, consulted on state affairs at the Xuanzheng Hall.

Xuanzheng Hall is a standard prince's administrative hall, with a width of five bays and a depth of three bays. It adopts a single-eave hip roof, with seven beasts decorating the roof ridge and covered with green glazed tiles.

Compared to the Qianqing Gate, the Xuanzheng Hall is slightly cramped, with a large platform and throne placed in the center, leaving little room for people to stand.

Shortly after the courtiers had taken their positions, King Li Hun, dressed in a crimson robe with a round collar and narrow sleeves, wearing a black gauze winged crown, a jade belt, and black deerskin boots, entered the Xuanzheng Hall through the back door, accompanied by several long-serving eunuchs.

As soon as the king entered the hall, the courtiers immediately knelt. However, it wasn't until the king ascended the four-step platform and sat down under the canopy that the courtiers shouted, "Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness!"

"Rise, all of you." Li Hui leaned back lazily on his throne, his eyes scanning the assembled officials before him again and again.

"Thank you, Your Highness!" the assembled officials shouted, rising to their feet. Their gazes were a complex mix of emotions.

"Heh heh." Li Hui chuckled softly, his unpleasant voice sounding like a lump of phlegm stuck in his throat. "I summoned you all here today for no other reason than to say one thing, two words: loyalty and trustworthiness!"

(End of this chapter)