Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 630 The Undercurrents of Hanyang (The End)

"He actually said something like that?" Li Gui was stunned.

"Absolutely true!" Han Junqian nodded emphatically.

"And what was the result? Was Zhang Haogu punished?" Li Gui asked with concern.

"His Highness stormed off in the end, he must have been very dissatisfied," Han Junqian said, shaking his head. "But he didn't decide who to punish in court yet."

"That's alright." Li Gui breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Not necessarily," Han Junqian said. "Today's court assembly first discussed 'loyalty' and then 'trustworthiness,' clearly intending to use Zheng Zhongxin's name to put Li Erzhan and Zhang Haogu in a bad light. Their aim was simply to suppress the calls for the execution of Jiang and Jin. However, these two measures did not suppress the matter; instead, they caused a great uproar and ended in discord. If Park and Ryu Chang jump out and stir things up in the future, it's hard to guarantee that new legal troubles won't occur."

“Father. Now.” Li Shibai gently tugged at Li Gui’s sleeve and gave him a wink.

Li Gui nodded, glanced at the door, and then gave Li Shibai a meaningful look. Li Shibai immediately understood, got up, opened the door, and looked around. Confirming no one was around, Li Shibai didn't leave, but instead gestured to his father.

Upon receiving this signal, Li Gui lowered his voice and slowly spoke: "Gentlemen, I think now is the time to step up preparations for that matter."

"W-what is it?" Han Junqian had already had a premonition and was mentally prepared because of the series of actions taken by the Li family father and son. But when Li Gui actually spoke these words, his heart still couldn't help but pound wildly.

"Of course, it's an uprising!" Li Gui leaned forward, supporting himself on the armrest, like an old lion poised to pounce. "We are beset by internal and external troubles, with treacherous officials filling the court and the emperor himself suspicious, all because of the ruler's moral failings! If we don't rise up and turn back, I fear our Joseon will once again face the calamity of national subjugation! We can no longer hesitate!"

"Let's do it!" Li Shu's facial features contorted as he said those two words.

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy." Han Junqian shrank back slightly.

"Nothing in the world is easy! Was it easy for King Jungjong to seize power? Was it easy for King Seongjo to quell the rebellion?" Lee Gwi said in a low voice, but his eyes burned with an uncontrollable fire. "And there has never been a better time than now. King Gwanghae has acted against the tide of history, colluding with barbarians and traitors, and harboring traitorous generals. He has already lost the hearts of the people. All we need to do is storm Changdeok Palace, capture the king, eliminate his followers, and then go to the West Palace to welcome back the Queen Dowager. We can immediately enthrone Prince Yeongyang as the new king, and then you will be the father-in-law of the king!"

Han Junqian was immediately captivated by the beautiful scene, but he didn't lose his composure. "How am I going to explain this to the Celestial Empire?"

Li Gui was visibly taken aback. "What else do you want to say? Send the traitorous letters from Jiang, Jin, and the slave traitor to the capital. Even the Ministry of Rites will speak up for us."

“You’re right,” Han Junqian sighed, “but I’m afraid it won’t be long before His Highness sends Li Shengzheng to the capital to defend himself. And even if he fails to defend himself, Jiang and Jin won’t survive.”

"What!?" Li Gui and Li Shibai exchanged a glance, both seeing astonishment in each other's eyes. "Didn't the court assembly end on bad terms?"

"The court assembly ended in discord," Han Jun-gyeom said. "But before that, Park Seung-jong had offered a solution: to send an envoy to clear his name and demonstrate his loyalty, thus appeasing the emperor and repelling the slave soldiers. And as soon as he finished speaking, Yi Er-chan picked up the conversation and promptly pushed out Yi Sung-jung. The way they coordinated their efforts was as if it had all been planned in advance."

"Li Erzhan is trying to sideline Li Shengzheng." Li Gui's reaction was exactly the same as Zhang Wan's initial assessment. "Did the rebel king agree?"

"It seems His Highness was originally prepared to agree." Han Junqian still refused to refer to Li Hui as the 'Rebellious King,' "but Li Shengzheng himself intervened, which angered His Highness to the point that he stormed off!"

"He doesn't want to go?" Li Gui was somewhat surprised.

“He is willing to go. However, he also mentioned that the difficulty of defending himself against the false accusations will be far greater than last year, so he asked Your Highness to be prepared to kill Jiang and Jin if absolutely necessary,” Han Junqian said.

“In other words,” Li Gui took a deep breath, his brows furrowing, “regardless of whether the mission to defend the false accusation succeeds or not, as long as the rebel king adopts his advice and sends an envoy to the Celestial Empire to defend the false accusation, in the Celestial Empire, the rebel king will still be a righteous and dutiful prince who fulfills his duties to the utmost?”

"That's roughly the idea." Han Junqian nodded heavily. "And I think this matter has a good chance of succeeding."

"The false accusations won't work! Jiang and Jin can't die!" Before Li Gui could speak, Li Shu became agitated. "We must find a way to stop this!"

Li Gui glanced at Li Shu in surprise; these were the words he had originally intended to say. However, Li Gui quickly understood, because compared to himself, Li Shu was the one who had first advocated for rebellion. As early as the 46th year of the Wanli reign, when the "petition to depose the mother" reached its climax, Li Shu, along with Shen Jingzhen, Gu Hong, and others, swore an oath to overthrow the rebellious king and install Prince Lingyang. Li Gui and Han Junqian were only later drawn into the conspiracy.

“Jiang and Jin won’t die for now, but the matter of defending themselves against false accusations is probably unstoppable,” Han Junqian said. “Compared to immediate execution, defending themselves against false accusations is already a step back. If even the defense is denied, Zhang Haogu and the others will definitely cause trouble again.”

"Then let's make a big scene!" Li Shu said fiercely. "Isn't the Guanghai rebel king always stubborn? Let's thoroughly provoke him!"

"I'm afraid that won't work," Li Gui said quietly.

"Are you worried about Lord Luoxi?" Li Shu said. "At most, this is just exile. We can recall him after it's done."

Li Shibai's eyelids twitched upon hearing this.

“I’m not worried about him. I just feel we might not be able to provoke the Rebel King on this matter at all.” Li Gui leaned to the side, propping his head up with his hand, his eyes completely devoid of their previous brilliance. “It’s true the Rebel King is stubborn, but that’s only in matters of state. The Jiang and Jin affair involves the Celestial Empire and the Emperor. No matter how stubborn the Rebel King is, he wouldn’t dare to escalate this too much. The current outcome is already quite good.”

“Yes.” Han Junqian looked at Li Gui strangely: “His Highness suddenly summoned the two classes to court, and after the warnings failed, he immediately instructed Park Seung-jong to put forward a plan to defend himself. This shows that this matter was prepared in advance.”

"Could we recruit Zhang Luoxi or Li Yuesha to join us?" Li Shu asked.

“That’s impossible!” Li Gui said. “I know them. Although they also lament the difficult situation, they would never get involved in such a thing.”

"This won't work, that won't work!" Li Shu exclaimed anxiously. "Are we just going to give up?"

"Since we've already sworn an oath, there's no turning back!" Han Junqian said grimly. "Moving forward doesn't guarantee survival, but retreating guarantees death!"

The political atmosphere in Joseon under Yi Hun's rule was extremely terrifying. If something were to happen, someone like Han Jun-gyeom, a relative of the emperor, would certainly die. Even if he had no involvement in the rebellion, Yi Er-chan could still frame him as the mastermind behind it.

Han Junqian's resolute attitude reassured Li Shu somewhat. He was the initiator, and also someone with no way out. "Perhaps we can find a way to have our people lead the mission," Li Shibai, still standing guard by the door, suggested, turning back.

“That’s probably not easy,” Han Junqian replied. “Li Shengzheng’s merit in refuting false accusations is undeniable, and he himself is willing to go on the mission. Moreover, Li Erzhan’s attitude clearly indicates that he wants to oust him from the capital. If the matter of sending an envoy is settled, he is almost certainly the best candidate for the chief envoy.”

"Then let's settle for second best and appoint a deputy envoy!" Li Gui said thoughtfully.

"You mean you want to insert someone to sabotage this mission?" Han Junqian immediately understood.

“That’s right!” Li Gui said, “No matter how capable Li Shengzheng is, he only has one mouth. As long as we plant a dissenting voice, or simply turn the entire mission into a mission of apology, this mission will definitely come to nothing. Don’t forget, the Minister of Rites is Xu Guangqi now.”

"That's a great idea!" Li Shu immediately exclaimed.

Han Junqian's expression remained solemn. "But even so, Li Shengzheng should be able to get an extension for the 'slaying a general to demonstrate his resolve,' right?"

"It doesn't matter. We don't want the Celestial Empire to send troops to depose the rebellious king. All we want is the Celestial Empire's investiture!" Li Gui said incisively. "So all we need to do is plant a seed of disloyalty in the hearts of the Celestial Empire and the Emperor."

“But if we do that, won’t we be exposed to Li Shengzheng? Wouldn’t that be no different from directly turning him against us?” Han Junqian said.

"Therefore, we must raise an army and rebel before Li Shengzheng returns to the country! As long as we can capture Jiang alive and send the golden saddle to the Celestial Empire, we will not have to worry about not gaining the Emperor's approval!" Li Gui regained his old lion-like state of being ready to pounce.

“A mission's round trip takes at least five or six months, and sometimes as long as seven or eight months.” Han Junqian felt like his brain was about to explode. “Isn't that enough time?”

“That’s enough!” Li Gui said decisively. “The so-called rebellion is nothing more than leading troops into Hanyang, taking control of the palace, capturing the rebel king, and then gaining the rightful status.”

"Leading troops? Where are the troops?" Han Junqian smiled inexplicably.

“Jindo,” Lee Gui said. “Isn’t Lady Yeonju’s nephew, Gu In-hou, serving as the county governor there? We can use his troops.” Lady Yeonju was actually Lady Gu, the birth mother of Prince Neungyang. In other words, Gu In-hou was Prince Neungyang’s cousin.

"Master Mozhai, you're not joking, are you?" Li Shu interrupted in shock, "Do you know where Zhen Island is?"

“It’s in the north of Jeju Island.” Li Gui nodded.

“Jindo and Hanyang are almost a thousand miles apart. You want to transfer troops from there?” Li Shu thought Li Gui was simply insane.

“As long as the reason is legitimate, even troops from Huining Prefecture can be mobilized,” Li Gui said. “Currently, there are unusual conflicts on the borders of Shuozhou, Bitong, and Manpu, and the border defense headquarters is frequently alerted. If we can take advantage of this atmosphere, we can mobilize troops from other regions to the capital region.”

"That's right!" Han Junqian's eyes lit up. "Didn't His Highness say that he wanted to promote Zhang Haogu to the position of Military Commissioner and order him to recruit and train soldiers? If this can be done, we can start with him and transfer Gu Renhou and his troops from Jindo to Gyeonggi."

Li Shu still felt it was inappropriate. "Goo In-hou and Lord Lingyang have a relationship, and even if we can persuade Lord Zhang Luoxi, we can't get around Park and Ryu."

“But this is the only army we have available.” Hesitant and disheartened, Li Gui suddenly remembered Li Shu’s earlier enthusiasm. “Uncle Yin, do you have other ideas?” Li Shu’s courtesy name was Uncle Yin.

“Changtuan Prefecture!” Li Shu said immediately. “If we send troops from Changtuan Prefecture, we can reach the west gate of Hanyang in just one day.”

"Who's there?" Li Gui thought for a long time, but couldn't remember.

“Nobody’s there! Since Li Yi, the prefect of Changtuan Prefecture, was implicated by the Prince of Aocheng and stepped down in the 46th year of the Wanli reign, that position has been vacant!” Li Shu’s eyes gleamed with a dazzling light: “I have already made up my mind. As long as I can obtain that official position and have enough food and pay, I can raise a rebel army of several thousand in at least three months and at most half a year.”

“I think it’s a good idea!” Li Gui nodded and looked at Han Junqian.

“That’s a good idea,” Han Junqian nodded, “but these people alone might not be enough, right?”

“We can coordinate from the inside and outside,” Li Gui said. “Now that the country is declining and the number of refugees in the capital is increasing, as long as we are willing to spend money and grain, we can easily raise a thousand-man army.”

“That’s just a rabble that can’t last long,” Han Junqian said. “They’re useless.”

"We don't expect them to do anything big, just enough to create a stir and open the city gates," Li Gui said.

"What happens after we enter the city? How will we deal with Li Erzhan's training troops?" Han Junqian asked again.

The Training Bureau, officially known as the Training Commander, was a central military camp responsible for the defense of Hanyang. It was established during the Imjin War (Japanese invasion of Hanyang). It was a modern army trained based on Qi Jiguang's "New Book of Military Efficiency."

On the ninth day of the first month of the twenty-first year of the Wanli reign (1582), Commander Li Rusong led his troops to conquer Pyongyang. Subsequently, the Ming army at the front lines engaged in peace talks with the Japanese army, but no substantial progress was made. This was because the Japanese side hoped that the Ming Dynasty would accept the fait accompli of Japanese complete control over southern Korea, a demand that the emperor could never agree to.

To break the stalemate, the Japanese army decided to launch a large-scale military operation to demonstrate its stance and strength. However, decision and action were separate; the Japanese army still dared not declare war on the Ming army. Therefore, the Japanese army decided to target a Korean unit. After some discussion, the Japanese army decided to attack Jinju, a crucial gateway between Gyeongsang and Jeolla provinces.

On June 14th of that year, five Japanese units totaling 90,000 men departed from Busan, passing through Gimhae, Changwon, and Haman, before finally besieging Jinju Castle on June 21st. Eight days later, Jinju Castle fell, and approximately 60,000 Korean civilians were massacred. This crushing defeat made the Korean court realize that the old Five Guards system had deteriorated to the point of no return. Therefore, in July of that year, Korea requested the Ming army's assistance in training its troops. The military commissioner Song Yingchang readily agreed and ordered the Southern Army general Luo Shangzhi to train artillery and establish an artillery corps, thus initiating the training of the Imperial Guard. Later, in addition to the artillery, the Imperial Guard added assassin and marksman units, collectively known as the "Three-Handed Army," with each unit consisting of approximately one thousand men.

After its establishment, the training command was structured with civil and military officials from top to bottom, including the Commander-in-Chief, the Commander-in-Chief, the General, the Central Army Commander, the Special General, the Captain, the Bureau Special General, the Battalion Commander, the Attendant Officer, and the Squad Officer. Generally speaking, the Commander-in-Chief was the actual commander of the army, the Commander-in-Chief was usually a judge from the Ministry of Revenue or the Ministry of War, and the top Commander-in-Chief was usually a trusted minister of the king.

Currently, the Training Supervisor has no general, and the entire army is entirely in the hands of Li Erzhan, who also serves as the Chief of the Bureau of Rites.

“No need to worry about Li Erzhan.” Li Gui’s lips curled up. “Judging from the current situation, he probably won’t be in this position for long. Let’s think about who Park Seung-jong will choose to fill the vacancy of the Grand Commandant. As long as we can win him over, our great undertaking will surely succeed!”

Li Shibai looked at his father. Suddenly, he remembered the thousand taels of silver that were still stored in the warehouse.

(End of this chapter)