Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 650 Jeolla Military Report
"Why don't we just tell them?" Liu Xifen asked Zhang Wan, frowning. "These things can't be kept secret anyway. There's no need to create panic for a short while."

Zhang Wan nodded. "Then please speak, it would be best if you could also tell me about what happened after I left the palace."

"Everyone!" Liu Xifen looked around at the crowd. "Please be quiet!"

The officials in the inner circle near Liu and Zhang quickly quieted down, but there were still some whispers on the outer perimeter.

Liu Xifen took a deep breath: "Here's what happened. This morning, I received an urgent report from Jianghua Prefecture."

Yoo Hee-bun began his narration from receiving the proclamation to the point where the king vomited blood and the crown prince assumed regency. During his account, Yoo Hee-bun deliberately omitted many details, including the court debate before the king vomited blood, Park Seung-jong's near-coupling speech, and the king's instructions after regaining consciousness.

The whole affair appears very simple in Liu Xifen's description and alteration.

First, he brought the proclamation demanding the protection of the deposed King of Joseon to the palace. The King then urgently summoned key ministers including Park Seung-jong, Yi Er-chan, Jang Man, and Yi Jung-gu. During the court meeting, the King, overwhelmed by the Emperor's authority and filled with fear, vomited blood and fainted, remaining unconscious to this day. While the King was unconscious, Queen Yoo arrived to take charge. Just as the ministers were in shock and confusion, the Queen decisively summoned the Crown Prince, appointing him to temporarily assume the duties of the King.

After a brief moment of panic, the Crown Prince, who had arrived in haste, quickly regained his composure and decisively appointed Yoo Hee-bun as the Left State Councilor of the State Council and concurrently as the Head of the Border Defense Office, to assist Park Seung-jong in governing the country. Jang Man was also promoted to the position of Minister of War and concurrently Head of the Border Defense Office, overseeing the defense of the capital region.

Liu Xifen's embellishment was impeccable, and his tone and manner showed no sign of pretense. Only Zhang Wan, who had been present, keenly realized that Liu Xifen had completely omitted the existence of Jin Shanggong, as if the Queen Consort was the one who truly controlled everything and was a virtuous and capable wife.

Zhang Wan, of course, wouldn't say much. At this moment, establishing the dignified image of the Princess and the Crown Prince was better than letting a vixen appear calm and collected in the face of danger.

At first, some people couldn't help but interrupt with questions out of astonishment. But later, the entire sergeant's hall fell into a deathly silence.

All the officials present had experienced the Imjin War and the subsequent Jeongyou Rebellion, with many having served as auxiliaries to the Ming army during the counterattacks. Therefore, even the most pure and selfless individuals could not muster any thoughts of rebellion, while those with impure motives were already beginning to contemplate their future.

The military advisor, who looked to be in his fifties, was the first to recover from his shock: "Where is that proclamation? Judge Liu, could you please show it to everyone?"

"The proclamation was left in the palace by His Highness," Liu Xifen said, shaking his head.

"Judge Liu! You just mentioned abolishing the throne, so what about establishing one?" The military advisor, who had been quite direct earlier, now bluntly raised a question that everyone was concerned about: "Whom has His Majesty decided to establish as king?"

Liu Xifen's expression changed instantly. He turned his head sharply and glared fiercely at the senator: "What do you mean by this!"

“I…” the military advisor shook his head repeatedly. “I didn’t mean anything by it, I just want to get to the bottom of things.”

"Deposing the father and establishing the son is a matter of course. What else is unclear!" Liu Xifen shouted angrily, "What are you thinking, that you would ask such a question?"

"I," the military advisor, was forced to take a step back by Liu Xifen's gaze.

In truth, Liu Xifen was also somewhat guilty. Or rather, his strong reaction stemmed from his uncertainty. Ultimately, whether the emperor would appoint the crown prince as king was still uncertain. If the emperor were to depose the crown prince as well, then as the emperor's brother-in-law, he would face destruction along with the royal family.

"Alright, alright," Zhang Wan stepped in to smooth things over. "I know Han Canzhi. He's just always been straightforward and outspoken; he has no ulterior motives."

"Hmph!" Liu Xifen snorted coldly, clearly still angry.

"Prefect Liu," Zhang Wan changed the subject, "besides that decree of promotion, does Your Highness have any other plans?"

"Zhang, the magistrate, refused even the decree for promotion, and now he wants to hear about other arrangements?" Liu Xifen's words were still barbed.

“It is the law of our ancestors. As a subject, I cannot allow Your Highness to be in a position of injustice and filial impiety. If Your Highness wishes to blame me for disobeying orders, I will plead guilty, accept punishment, and resign from my post!” Zhang Wan said, about to kneel on the ground.

Liu Xifen was taken aback and quickly reached out to grab him. "Alright! His Highness has no other arrangements. Since you are following the ancestral laws, you may continue to act as the Military Advisor and handle official matters. I will return to the palace to report to His Highness now."

"Yes," Zhang Wan replied, straightening her legs and bowing.

Liu Xifen took a step forward and then stopped: "Judge Zhang, please do your best in your work. Be sure to guard against those who might cause trouble and commit treason before the Heavenly Army enters the capital." As he spoke, Liu Xifen glanced at Judge Han.

"Please rest assured, Judge Liu, I will certainly live up to Your Highness's trust!" Zhang Wan bowed deeply.

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"Back to the palace." Liu Xifen got into the sedan chair.

"Lift the sedan chair!" the lead sedan chair bearer shouted, and then he and the other three sedan chair bearers steadily lifted Liu Xifen up.

As the sedan chair traveled to the middle of the alley, a sudden burst of rapid hoofbeats came rushing towards it.

Liu Xifen was on high alert, extremely sensitive. Upon hearing the sound, he immediately realized that something urgent had happened. Liu Xifen lifted the curtain and saw a messenger with a red flag on his back rushing past his sedan chair.

Red Flag Communications, this is an urgent military report!
Liu Xifen initially wanted the sedan chair bearers to turn around, but he quickly realized that this was a narrow alley where it was impossible to turn around on the spot. To turn around, they would have to go out and circle around first. So Liu Xifen changed his words directly: "Lower the sedan chair, lower the sedan chair!"

"Lower the sedan chair!" the lead sedan chair bearer shouted immediately, but Liu Xifen jumped down before the sedan chair had even come to a complete stop.

Liu Xifen looked back over the sedan chair, and saw that the variegated military horse had stopped at the entrance of the Military Affairs Office. The rider leaped down, and Liu Xifen also started walking.

"Master! Are you going back to the military post?" the lead sedan bearer asked loudly, but Liu Xifen ignored him completely.

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After Liu Xifen left, an eerie atmosphere descended upon the Military Affairs Office. Except for Zhang Wan, everyone exchanged glances silently, trying to ascertain the positions and inclinations of others while concealing their own. But after looking around, only one thing was certain—everyone wanted to protect themselves and their families in this storm.

The red flag drew everyone's attention, breaking the eerie silence that had permeated the military headquarters the moment it appeared. "My lord!" The messenger strode to the center of the hall, and seeing no one behind the main table, he knelt down on one knee, facing Zhang Wan, who was seated behind the second seat.

"Where is this urgent report from?!" Zhang Wan stood up abruptly.

"Jeol-ra, I was sent by the Jeolla Governor," the messenger replied, clasping his hands in greeting.

"The Governor of Jeolla?" Zhang Wan was taken aback at first, but soon, cold sweat broke out on his back. "Is there some Japanese spy involved!?"

"I don't know, you should see for yourself," the messenger said, taking off his backpack.

Zhang Wan was somewhat puzzled. As far as he knew, the military situation in Jeolla Province was either an invasion by Japanese pirates or a rebellion by civilians. Both of these situations were generally common knowledge, and even if the messenger who came to deliver the message did not know the details, he should at least know what had happened.

The messenger took out the military report, about to hand it to Zhang Wan. But at that moment, Liu Xifen, who had left not long ago, suddenly returned to the hall of the military office. "Is it, is it a military report from the Ming army!?" Liu Xifen rarely exercised, and now, having run all the way, he was already panting heavily.

“It shouldn’t be. The military report was sent by the Jeolla Provincial Governor.” Zhang Wan glanced at Liu Xifen, then reached out to the bewildered messenger. “Give me the military report. You’ve worked hard. Go and rest.”

"You're too kind, sir. I'll take my leave now!" The messenger smiled as he handed over the military report. When Liu Xifen rushed up to them, he still thought Liu Xifen was the one who should have been sitting behind the main seat.

"The Governor of Jeolla? Is it the Japanese pirates invading?" Liu Xifen's mood suddenly lightened considerably. Now that the Ming army had approached the outskirts of Hanyang, even if the Japanese pirates launched another large-scale invasion, it wouldn't be a major issue. At least there was no longer any danger of national subjugation.

“They’re not Japanese pirates, they’re Ming soldiers.” Zhang Wan opened the envelope, a thoughtful expression quickly appearing on his face.

"Ming army? In Jeolla Province?" Liu Xifen was dumbfounded. Jeolla Province was the southernmost province of Korea, separated from Gyeonggi Province by Chungcheong Province. In Liu Xifen's understanding, even if the Ming army could silently cross Pyongan Province and Hwanghae Province to enter Gyeonggi Province, it was impossible for them to enter Jeolla Province without alerting Hanyang. More importantly, the Ming army had no reason to go to Jeolla Province.

“It’s not in Jeolla Province either,” Zhang Wan handed the military report to Liu Xifen. “This military report says that Ming warships appeared near Gugunsan Island.”

"Gujunshan Island? What kind of place is that?" Liu Xifen took the military report and glanced at its brief contents—

The sergeant opened his eyes in fear.

Jeolla Province Inspector Yi Gup reported on the sudden appearance of a foreign fleet on the coast, as reported by Kim Hae-seong, Vice Commander of the Kim-di Navy, as follows:

On the seventh day of this month, the scouting ship spotted a foreign fleet thirty miles southeast of Gujunshan Island. The fleet was so large that it covered the sky and the sea, and was impossible to count.

Because its flags were black and red, and the bow of the ship displayed a flag with the character "Ming" and a command flag with the character "Shen," it was determined that the fleet belonged to General Shen Yourong, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Shandong Coast Guard.

Upon receiving the report, Jin Haicheng immediately dispatched a fast ship to investigate, confirming it was indeed the Ming Dynasty navy. When asked about their purpose, they replied: "We are merely on patrol to defend against Japanese pirates, acting on orders from Minister Cui Jingrong of the Ministry of War. There is no need to worry."

The fleet has now left the country.

Given the unpredictable nature of the Japanese in previous years, with some using the Ming flag for treacherous purposes, I am writing to report this with great apprehension.

See details:

Jin Haicheng's naval forces are on martial law and awaiting orders.

The Jiedushi (military governor) of this region has already deployed 3,000 troops to control Yishan, Jindi, and other places.

This matter concerns the superior nation; the red flag flies swiftly to report it. We humbly request Your Majesty's consideration.

“Gujunshan Island is 150 li west of Quanzhou, belonging to Jindi County. That's the jurisdiction of Jin Haicheng mentioned in the military report.” Zhang Wan fell into deep thought. “But why would Shen Yourong's fleet appear there?”

Liu Xifen lost interest and threw the military report sent by Li Shi back in front of Zhang Wan. "Why think so much? They've already left, haven't they?"

"Gone? Where did they go?" Zhang Wan asked, but it sounded more like she was talking to herself.

"We can't possibly go all the way to Jianghua Prefecture, can we?" Liu Xifen caught his breath, turned around, and left.

Liu Xifen's slightly teasing remark gave Zhang Wan a sudden flash of inspiration, or rather, a chilling shock: "If! If the Ming army is not taking the land route, but the sea route, then it would explain why we only learned of the Ming army's movements from the proclamation today!"

Liu Xifen was taken aback at first, then his eyes widened and he lunged back. "You mean, the Ming troops that are sending out proclamations all over the capital region are soldiers under this Shandong coastal defense deputy commander?"

Upon hearing this, the other officials in the Military Affairs Hall could no longer sit still. They all crowded around, wanting to see the military report. However, because Liu Xifen was blocking their way, they could only lean out and peek at the report.

“The timing matches up!” Zhang Wan pointed to the date on the military report and said, “The seventh day! If this fleet started sailing north from the day it met Jin Haicheng’s scouting ship, then they could very well have arrived in Jianghua Prefecture the day before yesterday, yesterday, or even earlier!”

"Since they came from Jeolla Province, why didn't they land directly at Incheon, instead of going all the way north to Ganghwa?" Liu Xifen tried hard to recall the three thousand miles of land in Korea, especially the area around Hanyang.

"The Imperial Envoy! Because the Imperial Envoy is traveling south by land from Liaodong, this group of people needs to welcome the Imperial Envoy before entering Hanyang, so they landed on the Imjin River!" Zhang Wan smiled, a smile of sudden realization that came from understanding everything.

Ever since that pillow he'd been sitting on this morning, he'd been pondering how the Ming army had managed to bypass the Ping'an and Huanghai routes and approach Hanyang so silently, but he couldn't find an answer. In Zhang Wan's view, even if the Korean army surrendered without a fight, and the prefectures and counties along the way pacified them with proclamations, surely not a single official from any prefecture or county should have come to report the news along the thousand-mile journey. But if the Ming army hadn't advanced in one direction, but rather in two routes—land and water—then everything made sense!

"I see!" Liu Xifen suddenly understood, but still had doubts: "But why did they go to Jeolla Province first?"

Zhang Wan thought for a moment, then quickly realized: "I don't think it was intentional! It's summer now, and southerly winds are prevailing at sea. The Ming fleet likely encountered strong southerly winds and had no choice but to sail south with them."

"That makes sense, that makes sense!" Liu Xifen grabbed the military report. "I'll go tell His Highness about this right now!"

(End of this chapter)