Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 637 The Turbulent Undercurrents

Li Gui took the proclamation returned by Cui Mingji from Li Shiying's hand. After putting it down, he pointed towards the door. "Go and watch by the door, don't let anyone come over."

"Yes." Li Shiying walked to the door with a heavy heart, leaning on the door frame and looking around nervously. He looked extremely uneasy, as if the words "every bush and tree is an enemy" were written all over his face.

Li Shiying's "Yes" was the last sound in the entire tea room for a long time. Everyone sat quietly, breathing quietly, like a group of enlightened monks collectively fasting and entering a state of deep meditation by candlelight.

Suddenly, a breeze rushed in through the open door, bumping against the walls of the tea room. "Whoosh!" As the lamplight flickered and shadows danced in the wind, someone let out the first exhale.

“Yu Ru. You’ve been working on Park Seung-jong’s connections lately. Have you heard any similar rumors?” The first person to speak up was Han Jun-gyeom, Prince Yeongyang’s father-in-law. His tone was heavy, like a donkey that had just finished pulling a millstone.

"Heh." Li Gui couldn't help but chuckle bitterly. "To be honest, Shi Bai and I were just at Park Seung-jong's residence. If it weren't for Li Gaoshi's urgent message, we'd probably still be drinking at his place right now."

Upon hearing this, Cui Mingji's expression shifted slightly, and he couldn't help but glance at Li Shibai. At that moment, Li Shibai was also looking at him. The two exchanged a smile, each lost in their own thoughts.

"So, we are the first people in Hanyang to have seen this proclamation?" Shen Jingyu, sitting at the very end, pointed to himself and then waved his hand to look around at everyone.

Shen Jingyu was the half-brother of Shen Jingzhen, the initiator of the rebellion. In the 46th year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, Shen Jingzhen conspired with Li Shu, who was in mourning for his mother, to rebel. In the winter of the 47th year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, Shen Jingzhen's mother, Cui, also passed away, forcing Shen Jingzhen to return to his hometown to observe mourning. According to etiquette, Shen Jingyu, as a son of a concubine in the Shen family, should also observe mourning for his legal mother. However, compared to Shen Jingzhen, the biological son, Shen Jingyu, as a son of a concubine, only needed to observe twelve months of mourning for Cui, following the custom of "not using a staff for the full mourning period." Therefore, after the mourning period ended in the winter of the 48th year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, Shen Jingyu was sent to the capital by Shen Jingzhen to be responsible for relaying messages.

Incidentally, Shin Kyung-jin's position before the mourning period was Governor of Anju. If Choi were alive today, he would be the first person in this coup group to see that proclamation.

“I think so,” Li Gui said, “if no one else who knew the news came to the capital before the city gates were lowered.”

“On my way back to the capital, I changed horses at the post station in Gaoyang,” Li Wu interjected. “At that time, I subtly inquired with the postmaster of Gaoyang whether anyone else had changed horses at his post station recently. He told me that I was the only person who had recently changed horses at the post station because I needed to travel quickly to Hanyang.”

Gaoyang is located between Changtuan and Hanyang, about forty li away from Hanyang. If you want to travel at high speed and reach Hanyang overnight, you must change horses in Gaoyang, otherwise the horses will not be able to withstand the conditions.

“Gao Shi,” Gu Hong, Lord Lingyang’s uncle, looked at Yi Wu and asked again to confirm, “Are you sure this news is true?”

“Lord of the Mountains, I dare not guarantee you anything,” Li Wu explained to Gu Hong, though he had said this to many different people before. “However, I believe that the villagers would not dare to lie about such a matter. What would they be after?”

“I’m not saying those villagers are lying,” Ju Hong still couldn’t believe it, or rather, he didn’t want to believe it. “But I think it’s possible that someone with ulterior motives is disguising themselves as Ming soldiers and spreading rumors around.”

“If that’s what you mean, Lord Qunshan,” Li Wu said awkwardly, “then I really don’t know.”

"Alright!" Li Gui said stiffly, "It's true that Xu Guangqi became the Minister of Rites, right? It's true that Xu Guangqi and Yuan Keli were both examiners for this year's special imperial examination, right? It's true that Yuan Keli had already arrived in Yizhou before this proclamation appeared, right? Stop asking questions about the truth and stop hesitating! Let's discuss this based on the fact that it's true, and think carefully about what to do next!"

The firm tone and irrefutable facts silenced the last remaining doubts and brought a new silence to the tea room.

“Father-in-law.” The one who broke the silence was Jin Lian, Li Shibai’s son-in-law. “Things have come to this point, there’s probably nothing more we can do, right?”

“Yes, Lord Mozhai,” Shen Jingyu continued, “Now that we have no power and no troops, what can we do but wait patiently for the imperial army to enter the capital?”

"Protect Jiang Hongli and Jin Jingrui!" Li Gui said, expressing his prejudice.

"Protect them! Why?" Jin Lian and Shen Jingyu were completely dumbfounded.

“It’s all written very clearly in this proclamation,” Li Gui picked up the proclamation, brought it close to the candlestick beside him, and slowly read it aloud in Chinese: “In the Battle of Sarhu, Li Hui was ignorant and immoral, and actually ordered General Hongli to communicate with the enemy envoy, leaving General Liu isolated on the eastern route and the loyal soul of Guerrilla Qiao dying with regret.” After reading it, Li Gui put down the proclamation and switched to Korean dialect to say to the crowd: “To put it bluntly, Jiang Hongli and Kim Gyeong-seo are the evidence that the Celestial Dynasty is punishing the traitorous King Gwanghae!”

“If we could see this proclamation before the Heavenly Army entered the capital, then the rebel King Gwanghae certainly could too, sooner or later. At that time, to protect himself, King Gwanghae will definitely order his men to kill Kang Hong-rip and Kim Gyeong-seo at the Uigeumbu (Imperial Household Department), leaving no evidence. Therefore, we must find a way to protect Kang Hong-rip and Kim Gyeong-seo before the Heavenly Army enters the capital! As long as we can protect them, and then hand them over when this Yuan guardian arrives in the capital, we can gain a favorable position in the future political changes!” As he spoke, Li Gui reached out and heavily poked the character “Yuan.”

"I see!" Jin Lian exclaimed in sudden realization, and immediately praised, "No wonder you're my father-in-law, you've thought things through so deeply!"

Shen Jingyu nodded, but seemed somewhat hesitant. "But the Uigeumbu is under the control of Li Erzhan, and none of us have any connection with him. How can we protect Jiang Hongli and Jin Jingrui under his command?"

"So we captured Li Erzhan and then seized control of the Yijin Prefecture!" Li Gui said to the crowd.

"Capture Li Erzhan!" Shen Jingyu exclaimed in surprise. The others also widened their eyes in astonishment.

“Yes!” Li Gui nodded emphatically. “Strike the snake at its vital point, capture the kingpin. As long as we can capture Li Erzhan, we can control the Yijin Prefecture.”

“Li Erzhan is not only a judge in the Uijinbu, he is also in charge of training supervising the army!” Shen Jingyu looked at Li Gui, leaning forward, clearly a little anxious.

"Why think so much? The training supervisor isn't stationed at his home," Li Gui said. "We just need to send a trusted group to ambush him on his likely route, and we can capture him in one fell swoop!"

"Is it really that simple?" Shen Jingyu asked.

“You’re overcomplicating things! Capturing Li Erzhan isn’t difficult in itself. The only problem is that this is a matter of revealing one’s true intentions,” Li Gui said, surveying the crowd. “In normal times, doing this would be suicidal, but the Heavenly Army has already reached Changtuan and will be at Hanyang in the blink of an eye. In other words, now is the time to reveal our true intentions! We only need to briefly control Li Erzhan and then coerce him into stabilizing the Yijinfu to protect Jiang and Jin!” “That makes sense,” Shen Jingyu nodded slightly, but the hesitation on his face hadn’t completely disappeared. “But does anyone here know Li Erzhan’s recent itinerary?”

This was destined to be a question without a definite answer. After all, this group of people had only come together because of Li Erzhan's persecution. They couldn't possibly be close to Li Erzhan, and therefore couldn't possibly know his specific itinerary.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t know! I’m sure that after this proclamation reaches Hanyang, King Gwanghae will definitely convene a meeting of his ministers to discuss how to deal with it,” Li Gui held up the proclamation and showed it to everyone. “At that time, we will be able to capture Li Erzhan on his way to court!”

"Let's do it this way!" Shen Jingyu nodded in agreement.

“I agree too,” the gold chain immediately chimed in.

"What do you all think?" Li Gui asked with a sinister grin.

Han Junqian and Gu Hong, who were the first to be looked at by Li Gui, began to whisper to each other, but did not reply for a long time.

Li Gui did not urge him, and turned his gaze to Cui Mingji.

“I think,” Cui Mingji continued, his voice laced with malice, “this plan is probably not a good one.”

Upon hearing this, all eyes in the tea room turned to Cui Mingji's face. Even Li Shiying, who was standing guard at the door, turned around.

"Then what brilliant idea do you have, Ziqian?" Li Gui wasn't annoyed.

“Lord Mozhai, I believe that the idea of ​​capturing Li and controlling the Imperial Household Department is certainly good,” Cui Mingji said, bowing. “But if we arrest him on his way to court, the rebel King Guanghai will surely find out. If he sends people to look for him, wouldn’t the plan be exposed prematurely? Therefore, I think it is better to intercept him on his way home from the palace.”

"What if Li Erzhan goes directly to the Uijinbu or a training camp after leaving the palace?" Shen Jingyu spoke before Li Gui could. "If that's the case, then it's like a fish diving into the water or a bird flying through the forest—there's no way to catch him!"

"Then send out three groups of men to ambush Li Erzhan on the road from Changdeok Palace to Uigeumbu, the training camp, and Li's house!" Cui Mingji's eyes gleamed with eager anticipation, as if he were about to draw his sword and chop Li Erzhan down at any moment.

“If we send out three groups of people, how many people will that require?” Shen Jingyu asked.

"Thirty men per route will suffice!" Cui Mingji turned to Li Gui and pleaded, "Lord Mozhai, I am willing to personally lead one route of men to ambush the troops on the road from Changde Palace to the training camp!"

"Do you have thirty people in your family?" Li Shibai interjected. "Including yourself and your son, your whole family probably has less than ten men, right?"

“Although I only have a few people with me, my elder brother Lai-gil and younger brother Jing-gil are both in Hanyang. I can go to them for help tonight!” The candlelight flickered in Choi Myung-gil’s eyes.

“Then let’s do it this way!” Li Gui decisively agreed. “Ziqian, you lead one group to set up an ambush on the road from Changdeok Palace to the training camp. Shibai and Shiying will lead men to set up an ambush on the road from Changdeok Palace to Uigeumbu. Junji, you will lead the Shen family to set up an ambush on the road from Changdeok Palace to the Li family. With such a tight net, even someone as cunning as Li Erzhan will not be able to escape!”

“Okay!” Cui Mingji was the first to respond.

"Understood." Shen Jingyu quickly calculated the manpower he could gather in a short time and agreed. Li Shibai and Li Shiying silently nodded at their father.

At this point, Han Junqian and Gu Hong's opinions were no longer important, but out of respect, Li Gui still looked at them and asked in a consultative manner: "What do you think, Lord Han and Lord Gu?"

"Gentlemen, cough." Han Junqian coughed lightly, licked his lips, and said with a slight tremor, "Have you all considered the possibility that the rebel King of Guanghai might have fled upon hearing the news?"

Li Gui immediately replied, "That is indeed possible, but the rebel king Guanghai has the Imperial Guard with him. With just the few of us, I'm afraid we can't do much."

"We can try to persuade Zhang Haogu to impose martial law on the entire city in the name of the military officer, and then send someone to contact the commanders of the eight gates to prevent the rebel king from leaving the city. In this way, the rebel king will be trapped like a turtle in a jar and unable to escape," Han Junqian suggested.

“I’m afraid it won’t be easy,” Li Gui said. “As I said before, Zhang Haogu is a gentleman and a loyal subject, and he has no life-or-death grudges with Li Erzhan and his ilk. To put it another way, even if we could persuade Zhang Haogu to impose martial law on the entire city in the name of the military officer, it would be very difficult to bribe the gatekeepers. The eight gatekeepers are all confidants of Sanchang; they are in cahoots and bound together, they are all in the same boat. How can we possibly persuade them?”

"Of course, it's based on righteousness!" Han Junqian suddenly stood up, pointed to the tea table next to Li Gui, and said, "I remember very clearly that the proclamation said that even those who were coerced into following the king could be forgiven if they could repent and reform. As long as we ask Prince Lingyang to go to Qingyun Palace to invite Queen Dowager Zhenyi, and then reiterate this clause in the Queen Dowager's name, we will surely be able to persuade them to oppose the rebellious king!"

Li Gui looked intently at Han Junqian, having already guessed Han Junqian's thoughts, but could only say tactfully, "Qingyun Palace is surrounded by the Imperial Guard's fortresses. The manpower we can mobilize right now is simply insufficient to take Qingyun Palace. Moreover, we still need to intercept that traitor Li Erzhan, so we simply don't have any spare manpower."

boom!
Gu Hong slammed his hand on the table and stood up: "Li Erzhan is not important, nor are Jiang Hongli and Jin Jingrui! Our most urgent task now is to quickly bring out Queen Dowager Zhenyi from Qingyun Palace to take charge of the overall situation!"

“Lord of the Mountains, please speak properly.” Jinlian tilted his head, blinked, and made a shushing gesture. “Besides, Consort Zhenyi was the second consort appointed by the late emperor. After the heavenly troops enter the capital, the guardian will naturally invite the consort out respectfully. You don’t need to worry about that.”

Ju Hong was stunned by what the gold chain said. He held his tongue for a moment, but finally couldn't help but say, "Oh dear! Haven't you all noticed that the proclamation didn't mention who would inherit the throne after the deposed king?"

(End of this chapter)