Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 632 Man’s calculation is not as good as God’s calculation
In the signing room of the second courtyard of Changtuan Prefecture, Zhou Wenbing, the adjutant of the Ninth Battalion of the Divine Pivot, sat in the main seat, flipping through the gazetteer of Changtuan Prefecture from the past twenty years. In front of him were two tables facing each other, and behind the tables sat two middle-aged men of about his age. They were his clerks, who could speak Korean.

These two clerks not only spoke the Korean dialect but were also proficient in arithmetic. While Zhou Wenbing was studying the local gazetteer, they meticulously examined page after page of official documents from Changtuan Prefecture, including household registers, measurement records, tribute records, and granary records. They worked with their abacuses incredibly fast; if the abacuses were made of iron, they might have even produced sparks.

There were also several local officials from Changtuan Prefecture in the signing room, but they had no seats, or rather, they dared not sit down even if they did. From early morning until now, these local officials had been standing with their heads down, not daring to sit in the empty guest seats, let alone breathe loudly, for fear that Zhou Wenbing, who was keeping his head down, would suddenly look up at them—the last person Zhou Wenbing had summoned had already been grabbed by two fierce-looking Ming soldiers and carried into the prefectural prison.

It's foreseeable that in the near future, that unfortunate fellow will likely be burdened with a long list of charges. As for those still wearing official robes, which one hasn't concealed land? Which one hasn't evaded taxes? If you lay their backsides down, those who don't have excrement on their buttocks are the odd ones out. And those household registration, measurement, tribute, and granary records are their backsides.

Tuk-tuk-tuk.

A knock, not entirely unexpected, broke the not-so-quiet silence in the signing room through the half-open wooden door, immediately startling the local officials who were engrossed in their thoughts.

The two clerks paused, looked up, but quickly resumed writing. Zhou Wenbing, however, didn't even raise his head, simply saying, "Come in."

The door opened, and a guard on duty strode in. But before the guard could speak, Zhou Wenbing waved his hand and said, "If he's here to petition, tell him to come back this afternoon. If he's here to invite me to dinner, just send him away."

“Uh,” the guard paused, “Please forgive me for speaking out, General. The man who came is a self-proclaimed new Protector-General of Changtuan Prefecture, and he is wearing a red official robe.”

Zhou Wenbing didn't react immediately, nor did the local officials.

"What's his name?" Zhou Wenbing looked up.

“His name is Li Shu,” the guard replied.

Zhou Wenbing nodded and looked at the clerk on his right. "Ask those bastards if they know this person."

"Yes." The clerk on the right put down his pen and asked the leading local official in Korean dialect, "A man named Li Shu has arrived outside, claiming to be the new Protectorate General of Changtuan. Have you heard of him?"

The leading local official was taken aback at first, then turned to another official beside him and asked, "Li Shu? Could it be Li Yinshu, who was promoted to Jiashan Dafu for his meritorious service in catching the tiger?"

Li Shu was not a high-ranking official, and the title of Jiashan Dafu was merely a nominal one. However, Li Shu was still quite famous, especially for his tiger-catching feat during his tenure as the prefect of Gushan County in Huanghai Circuit in the 44th year of the Wanli reign. His story was widely known, and some people even turned it into a storybook, calling him a contemporary Wu Song, the Korean wanderer.

"Probably." The official who was asked was not sure, but he nodded nonetheless. "There shouldn't be any other person with the same name who could rise to the position of prefect so quickly."

“Isn’t he in mourning for his mother?” another official said.

"The mourning period for the deceased should be over by now," another official interjected.

"Does anyone remember which year he was in mourning?" the leading local official asked.

The other officials all shook their heads. Even though Li Shuyong was well-known, few people would specifically care about the date of her mother's death.

Li Shu's mother, née Li, died in the 45th year of the Wanli Emperor's reign. To put it bluntly, the old lady died at a rather opportune time.

In the 45th year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, Yi Shu-jin, the prefect of Jindo, completed his term and returned to Hanyang. At that time, Nurhaci, the chieftain of the Jurchens, had already usurped the throne, and the Ming Dynasty requested Joseon to send troops to assist in suppressing him. However, the king feigned compliance, intending to implement so-called "neutral diplomacy." Yi Shu-jin submitted two memorials to the emperor, strongly advocating the righteousness of assisting in the war, but the king refused to respond. At the same time, the "request to depose the mother" organized by the Great Northern Faction reached its climax, and even Prince Yi Hang-bok of Aoseong could not stand firm.

As a former subordinate of Li Hengfu, Li Shu naturally could not participate in the "petition to depose his mother," and therefore was impeached by the Northern Faction led by Li Erzhan. Just as Li Hengfu was about to be dismissed and exiled by the king, Li Shu's mother, Lady Li, passed away peacefully.

Therefore, Li Shu returned to his hometown to observe mourning for his mother and guard her grave. He thus "luckily" escaped the fierce political storm. Otherwise, given his position, he would inevitably have been implicated by Li Hengfu, the Prince of Aocheng.

During the mourning period, Lee Seo's close friend Shin Gyeongjin, who was also the cousin of Shin Gyeong-hee, who died in prison in the case of Prince Yeongchang, found Lee Seo and invited him to join in an uprising to overthrow the tyrannical and incompetent ruler. At that time, news of Lee Hang-bok's death in exile had already reached Lee Seo's ears, and Lee Seo's dissatisfaction with the current situation reached its peak.

Shin and Yi then reached an agreement to initiate the rebellion, agreeing to enthrone Prince Yeongyang (Yi Jong), the younger brother of Prince Yeongchang (Yi Quan), as king. Following this, Shin and Yi contacted Yi Gwi, Kim Ryu, Gu Hong, Han Jungyeom, and others, and through Han Jungyeom conveyed their desire to overthrow the current king to Yi Jong himself. Thus, a group aimed at overthrowing the current king was formed.

Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes. Just as they were busily plotting their rebellion, the emperor in the Forbidden City also turned his attention to the king.

"Zhou Zuoji." The clerk on the right, seeing that the local officials were silent, finally spoke up to Zhou Wenbing and summarized, "According to them, this Li Shu is probably a brave man who was promoted for his meritorious service in catching a tiger. He resigned a few years ago because of the death of his mother, and now that his mourning period is over, he has been reinstated."

"Catching a tiger." Zhou Wenbing became slightly interested and waved to the guard who came to report, saying, "Go and call him here. I'll meet him here."

"Yes." The guard clasped his hands in acceptance, turned and left, returning shortly with Li Shu alone.

"I am Li Shu, the newly appointed Protector-General of Changtuan Prefecture. I pay my respects to General Zhou!" Li Shu stood before the main table and bowed deeply.

Zhou Wenbing was a native of Beizhili (present-day Hebei Province) and couldn't understand a word Li Shu was saying. However, he did understand the bow Li Shu made.

"Prefect Li, there's no need for such formalities," Zhou Wenbing said, rising to return the greeting. "Could you please show me your official credentials?"

"General Zhou would like to see your official credentials," the clerk on the right translated simply.

"Yes." Li Shu once again took out the official document issued by the clerk and respectfully handed it over.

Zhou Wenbing took the official document and asked as he looked at it, "Judging from Prefect Li's appearance, you must have already read the proclamation of guardianship, right?" Li Shu was immediately taken aback upon hearing the translation. "I did indeed read the proclamation this morning."

“Very good.” Zhou Wenbing put down his official certificate, sat back down, and then pointed to a seat for Li Shu. “Please sit down.”

"Thank you for your kind offer, General Zhou." Li Shu thanked him and took a seat, as if he, the original official, was the guest.

“Since Prefect Li has already read the proclamation, I will get straight to the point,” Zhou Wenbing said. “His Majesty recognizes all serving Joseon officials, except for those who follow the rebel king and remain obstinate and unrepentant. Therefore, you will still sit in that seat in the main hall, and you will continue to be in charge of all administrative affairs in Changtan Prefecture. As for me, I am only ordered to supervise the troops and defenses of Changtan Prefecture.” Zhou Wenbing paused, then tried to force a warm smile. “Prefect Li should have no objections, right?”

Li Shu first looked at Zhou Wenbing, then at the clerk in charge of translation, and after the clerk finished speaking, he turned back to Zhou Wenbing: "I understand General Zhou's meaning. I fully accept it and have no objections."

“Very good.” Zhou Wenbing nodded in satisfaction and placed the official document near Li Shu. “Minister Li must be exhausted from his journey. Why don’t you go to the post station to rest first, and we can talk about it tomorrow.”

Li Shu still had a lot of questions to ask, so he was unwilling to leave. He quickly bowed again and said, "General Zhou! I am not tired, and I still have many things I would like to know, but please do not hesitate to enlighten me."

Zhou Wenbing nodded. "Please go ahead."

"Thank you, General Zhou." After expressing his gratitude, Li Shu asked, "Our Joseon has been respectful and righteous for generations. How could we have suffered such a national humiliation?"

“Prefect Li, since you’ve already seen the proclamation, you should understand it, right?” Zhou Wenbing said after listening to the translation. “The proclamation clearly states that your King Li Hui has been deposed by the Emperor for his tyrannical actions and collusion with foreign rebels. Even if you missed the raid because you were in mourning at home, you still came from Hanyang,” Zhou Wenbing glanced at the official document. “Surely you haven’t heard anything about it?”

"..." Li Shu's pupils contracted, and he slowly lowered his head.

“Moreover, the Emperor’s dispatch of us here is not merely to punish us, but also to protect the ancestral temples and altars of Korea.” Zhou Wenbing’s gaze lingered on the date on the official document, and he addressed the clerk who served as the translator. “By the way, could you ask him for me? Ask him if he had heard of our army’s landing near Hanyang before leaving Hanyang?”

The clerk, who was translating in the middle, turned around and repeated Zhou Wenbing's question.

"The heavenly army is going to land in Hanyang?!" Li Shu suddenly raised his head and looked at the clerk. The other local officials present were also shocked.

“He probably hasn’t heard of it,” the clerk told Zhou Wenbing.

"Tsk. That's true." Zhou Wenbing frowned slightly and nodded. "If he knew, he probably wouldn't have come to Changtuan to ask me."

"The Heavenly Army has landed near Hanyang! What's going on?!" Li Shu asked the clerk anxiously. The other local officials didn't dare to speak, but they all showed anxious expressions.

The clerk gestured to Li Shu to "calm down" while asking Zhou Wenbing, "General, should we also tell him about Admiral Shen's matter?"

“There’s nothing you can’t tell him, just tell him,” Zhou Wenbing nodded.

The clerk nodded, then turned to Li Shu and said in Korean dialect, “According to the plan, the guards will enter Korea in three routes. Guardian Yuan will lead an army from north to south, traveling by land from Zhenjiang, passing through Pyongyang and then reaching Hanyang; while Admiral Shen and General Li will each lead an army, departing from Shandong and heading directly to Hanyang and Pyongyang respectively. Our route will be under General Li’s command.”

Although Li Rubai encountered some setbacks along the way, his actions were generally successful.

In the last three days of April, Li Rubai's troops, having completed their preparations, held a three-day sacrificial ceremony on the seashore. On the first day of May, a light rain fell, but the army still set sail as scheduled. Nearly a hundred troop transport ships, escorted by dozens of warships, departed from Penglai and headed towards Pyongyang.

For the first three days of the voyage, the winds were favorable. On the fourth day, strong winds and high waves arose. After consulting with the naval officer leading the voyage, Li Rubai decided to raise the sails against the wind and continue forward. Two days later, a strong southerly summer monsoon arrived. To avoid capsizing, Li Rubai decided to take the advice and ordered the fleet to sail directly against the wind at full speed. The fleet thus deviated from its original course, but fortunately, it successfully weathered the storm. In the end, none of the ships capsized; the biggest loss was several sailors who had fallen overboard during the turbulence.

The fleet drifted at sea for eight days before finally landing at a place called Ongjin in the Hwanghae Province. After landing, the army rested briefly before splitting into two groups—General Li Rubai led the main force north along the coastline to Pyongyang, while Yang Yingchun, the right deputy general of the Shenshu Camp, led a detachment south by land to control other key locations.

Yang Yingchun's jurisdiction covered Zhongdu (Kaesong) and its surrounding areas, specifically Yan'an, Baichuan, Jinchuan, Pingshan, Shuoning, Matian, Changtuan, and Kaesong itself. Kaesong, Yan'an, Baichuan, Jinchuan, and Pingshan were under the command of Yang Yingchun's own elite troops, while Shuoning, Matian, and Changtuan were under the command of Zhou Wenbing, the adjutant of the Ninth Battalion of the Divine Pivot. Zhou Wenbing chose Changtuan, on the west bank of the Imjin River, as his base because further south lay the territory of Shen Yourong's forces.

Li Shu's eyelids twitched, and his whole body trembled. Compared to him, the local officials, though equally shocked, did not react so violently.

"That's how it is. Do you have any other questions?" Li Shu's response satisfied the clerk's small vanity. In his view, this was how it should be when a king's army marches on a vassal state.

"May I ask," Li Shu raised his hand and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, "the names of Admiral Shen and General Li."

"Admiral Shen's given name is You Rong, and General Li's given name is Rubai," the clerk said.

Li Shu was taken aback. "Is this General Li the younger brother of the Earl of Ningyuan?" Li Rusong and Li Rubai both participated in the campaign to recapture Pyongyang, so they were very well-known in North Korea.

“Yes.” The clerk nodded.

"Where is General Li now? And where is that Supervisor Yuan?" Li Shu was in a state of confusion, but he could still find the key.

The clerk thought for a moment. "Judging by the time, General Li should have already entered Pyongyang. As for Supervisor Yuan, we also want to know where he is."

(End of this chapter)