Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 651 The Terrified Crown Prince

From 9 AM to now, although only a little over two hours have passed, Crown Prince Yi Cho felt as if most of his life had gone by. The emperor had sent troops to punish him, the imperial envoy's army was at the capital, his father had vomited blood and fainted, and high-ranking officials had forced him to abdicate in court. The power of Joseon had thus briefly fallen into Yi Cho's hands in an extremely dramatic manner. But Yi Cho felt no joy at all, because he didn't even know how to use this power.

What should be done next? What should be done after the imperial envoy arrives in the capital? To whom should the order be given after the decision is made? Will his decision be opposed? How should the subordinates carry out their orders? Can they do a good job? Will they deceive him? There were too many questions, making Li Chu increasingly anxious.

Li Zhu needed someone to share his anxiety and pressure, so after seeing Liu Xifen off, he returned to his own palace, a place called Shimintang.

Crown Princess Park initially thought that the sudden summons of the Crown Prince by Director Kim was due to the King's sudden and severe illness. This initially filled her with a conflicted feeling of secret joy mixed with bewilderment. Princess Park had always hoped that her husband would one day become king, yet deep down, she also feared that day would actually come.

If her husband became the King of Korea, she would naturally become the Queen Mother of Korea. Then no one in the world would dare to look down on them or bully them.

However, Ms. Park was well aware that once her husband ascended to the throne, the fundamental issues of the nation would immediately be put on the agenda.

She could live without a son, but her husband could not. To ensure the continuation of the royal line and solidify the foundation of the state, her husband would inevitably need to expand his harem. At that time, the entire palace would be filled with unfamiliar women, filled with hostility towards her. If among those women emerged a figure like Lady Kim, would she then be reduced to the same level as her mother-in-law, Lady Yoo, who was nominally a queen but in reality a concubine?

Park hadn't experienced it herself, but she understood very well that when a king had many children, the struggle for the throne was bound to intensify. The reason why that Lady Kim was still a Lady Kim to this day was because she couldn't bear a son, and the reason why the harem of this dynasty was relatively harmonious was because her husband was the king's only son.

What terrified Park most was that she couldn't bear a son, while her husband's other women were frequently reported to be pregnant. If someone like Lady Kim gave birth to a son for her husband, would she be deposed for being childless?
Such concerns spread when Yi Chu left Shimindang, and were replaced by even greater fears after his return.

Her husband did indeed take over the reins of the Joseon Kingdom from his father-in-law, who was the king. But this was not because the king was dying, but because he had been deposed by an emperor thousands of miles away.

The emperor deposing the king—what an unfamiliar phrase. When Lady Park first heard Yi Yeok mention this, she almost thought she had misheard.

In the 230 years since the founding of Joseon, there have been fratricide and the prince's rebellion, the Gye-yu Rebellion where an uncle replaced his nephew, and the Jungjong Rebellion where ministers joined forces with the royal family to overthrow a tyrant. But there has never been an emperor deposing a king!
However, the proclamation had already reached Hanyang, and the Ming army could besiege the city at any moment. Park had no choice but to believe it, even if he didn't want to.

Park knew that her husband had returned to Shimin Hall seeking comfort, but as an ignorant woman who had almost never been in contact with the outside world and had never met Ming Dynasty officials, how could she comfort her husband who was in a state of panic?

She was scared herself.

However, as a virtuous and mature wife of the crown prince, Mrs. Park mustered her spirits and followed her husband closely with a smile on her face.

"Your Highness." The eunuch Pei Ji stopped about five steps away from the Crown Prince and his wife. "The Prince of Wenchang requests an audience."

"Quickly, invite your uncle in!" Li Chu responded immediately.

"Yes," Pei Ji replied, then turned and left.

"Wait!" Li Chu shouted.

"Is there anything else Your Highness requires?" Pei Ji rushed back.

"Go outside and see if Lord Li has returned! He's been gone from Changdeok Palace for almost three hours," Yi Chu said anxiously. "What on earth has he been doing!"

"Yes." Pei Ji quickly left again.

Before long, Liu Xifen arrived. He walked to the Crown Prince and his wife and knelt down to pay his respects. "Your subject Liu Xifen pays respects to His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Crown Princess!" Like the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess was also addressed as "Your Highness."

"Uncle, there's no need for such formalities, please get up!" Li Chu waved repeatedly.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Liu Xifen bowed deeply and then stood up.

"How is it going? Has Counselor Li set off yet?" Li Zhu leaned forward, half-resting on the table in front of him, his face slightly flushed.

"Counselor Li has already set off," Liu Xifen nodded. Before going to the Ministry of War, he first went to the Ministry of Rites. "The Ministry of Rites has also begun sending people and mobilizing resources towards the Muhua Pavilion."

"Good, very good." Li Zhu let out a long breath, but his almost taut body did not relax. "How is the situation in the city? Have there been any riots?"

"Your Highness, rest assured. Judging from the current situation, the proclamation should not have spread widely yet," Liu Xifen said.

"And what about the Ming army? Where have they gone?" Li Chu pressed.

"I don't know, but they certainly didn't reach the walls of Hanyang. At least when I left the Ministry of War, they hadn't received any news about the Ming army," Liu Xifen said.

“Isn’t it only a day’s journey from Paju to Hanyang?” Lee Cheok asked, somewhat puzzled. “They arrived in Paju yesterday, so why haven’t we heard anything new yet?”

Liu Xifen paused for a moment, then took out the military report from Jeolla Province from his pocket: "It might be related to this."

"What is this?" Lee Cheok leaned forward, and Crown Princess Park also craned her neck.

"This is a military report sent by Yi Gye, the military commissioner of Jeolla Province. I just received it. It says that on the seventh day of the month, a Ming military fleet appeared in the waters off Jeolla Province in a place called Gogunsan Island." Liu Xifen stepped forward and presented the military report to Yi Gye with both hands.

Li Chu took the military report and read it quickly. "What is the connection between the Shandong navy and that imperial envoy/supervisor?"

“Zhang, the magistrate, speculates that this naval force might be the Ming army that spread the proclamation in Gyeonggi Province,” Liu Xifen said. “The reason they haven’t continued their advance is because the imperial envoy is still on his way south.”

"What do you mean? Could you please explain it more clearly?" Li Chu was in a state of confusion and had no time to think things through; he just wanted a simple answer that was easy to understand.

"Splitting up the troops." Just as Liu Xifen was about to explain, Park pointed out the crux of the problem before he could.

"Dividing the troops?" With these two words as guidance, Li Chu's thoughts gradually became clearer. "You mean, the Ming army is advancing in two routes, one from Liaodong and the other from Shandong. That imperial envoy is leading a portion of the troops south from Liaodong, while this Deputy Commander-in-Chief Shen is leading the navy eastward from Shandong?"

“Your Highness is absolutely right, that’s exactly what I meant.” Lady Park smiled and nodded at Lee Dok.

Lee Joo wanted to return Park's smile, but the slight upturn of his lips couldn't hide his weariness and bitterness.

“So the Ming army arrived in Paju but did not enter the capital because they had not yet received the imperial envoy.” Yi Chu turned to look at Liu Xifen.

“Your Highness is wise,” Liu Xifen nodded. “Moreover, the court only learned of the Ming army’s entry from the proclamation today, which is probably why.” “Then why did they go to Jeolla Province first, instead of coming directly to Gyeonggi?” Yi Yeok asked.

"It's probably because of the wind," Liu Xifen said.

"Wind?" Li Chu had no concept of monsoons.

“It’s currently the height of summer, and southerly winds are prevailing at sea. This fleet likely encountered strong southerly winds during its voyage, forcing it to change course and seek shelter,” Liu Xifen explained.

"I see, Uncle is truly learned!" Li Chu looked at Liu Xifen and nodded repeatedly in praise.

“This is…” Liu Xifen instinctively wanted to explain that Zhang Wan had said these words and he was merely relaying them. But after a pause, Liu Xifen swallowed the words that were about to come out and changed his words to, “Your Highness flatters me.”

At this moment, Pei Ji, who had gone out to investigate the situation, returned. Seeing that Liu Xifen was still inside talking with the prince, he stood outside and waited quietly.

“Your Highness,” Liu Xifen pulled out the edict from his robes again, promoting Zhang Wan to the position of Military Advisor and concurrently serving as the head of the Border Division. “Advisor Zhang refuses the promotion.”

Li Chu was taken aback. He then realized that Liu Xifen had not changed his address to Zhang Wan as "the judge."

"Why won't he accept it?" Li Zhu asked.

“Zhang, the magistrate, said that although the heir apparent holds power, his official appointments should be limited to those of officials below the third rank within the Eastern Palace. Rashly promoting him to the positions of Military Advisor and Border Defense Officer would violate ancestral laws.” Liu Xifen placed the imperial edict on Li Chu’s desk. “Therefore, I brought the edict back. What to do next, Your Highness, please advise.”

“It’s against the rules.” Li Chu looked at the decree with a wry smile. “But the order to promote him was given by Father himself. Didn’t you tell him, Uncle?”

"This..." Liu Xifen thought for a moment. "At the time, everyone was watching, and I couldn't find an opportunity to be alone with Judge Zhang, so it was really not appropriate to say it openly. Moreover, I think it's better to keep this matter a secret."

"why?"

"In my opinion," Liu Xifen advised, "Since His Highness has already admitted his guilt and accepted punishment, taking full responsibility, Your Highness should do everything in your power to sever ties with His Highness, so that the Imperial Envoy..."

"Sever ties!" Li Zhu interrupted, a look of sadness flashing in his eyes. "How can you sever ties with your father?"

"Uh..." Liu Xifen was speechless for a moment, then quickly changed his words, "That's not what I meant. What I meant was that His Highness's influence in these matters should be minimized as much as possible. Just now in the court, when His Highness issued those orders, he specifically emphasized that they should be issued in His Highness's name. His Highness went to great lengths, so when I explained these matters to the officials of the Ministry of War, I also said that His Highness fainted after vomiting blood, and afterwards His Highness remained calm and made various arrangements."

"Ah, I understand." Yi Chu sighed deeply, his eyes filled with even deeper sorrow. "Are there any precedents for something like this?" Yi Chu reached out and pointed to the returned imperial edict.

There were probably precedents, but Liu Xifen was unaware of them. He remained silent for a moment, and finally could only say tactfully, "Your Majesty, I will go and investigate immediately."

“Okay.” Li Chu nodded. “Thank you for your trouble, Uncle. I’ll wait here and come over as soon as I find out.”

Li Chu was completely at a loss for what to do. His thoughts were a jumbled mess, with only the things his father had told him earlier being somewhat clear.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I take my leave." Liu Xifen bid farewell and left, only to see Pei Ji waiting by the door.

Pei Ji silently bowed to Liu Xifen, then brushed past him and entered Shimin Hall. Liu Xifen immediately realized that Pei Ji had something to say, so he deliberately slowed his pace and pricked up his ears.

"Your Highness, Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Consort," Pei Ji bowed simply.

"Has Lord Li arrived?" Li Chu asked.

“Probably not,” Pei Ji shook his head. “There are no records of Prince Guangchang entering the palace at Dunhua Gate.”

"Where is the military supervisor for training?" Li Zhu's already somewhat unsettled brows furrowed even more deeply.

"What? Training is supervised by military officers?" Pei Ji shrank back.

"You don't even know about the training and supervision?!" Li Zhu's temper flared up instantly.

"Of course I know, but isn't the military supervisor over there at Longshan?" Pei Ji only knew that a tremendous change had occurred in the palace, but she didn't know that the king had ordered Li Erzhan to mobilize the military supervisor to protect Changde Palace.

"Get out!" Li Chu waved his hand irritably.

"Yes." Pei Ji's legs trembled, and he stumbled around.

"Go and bring your uncle back!" Li Chu gave Pei Ji another order before he left.

"Yes!" In his shock, Pei Ji didn't notice the familiar door frame and fell face-first to the ground.

"What are you doing!" Li Chu was on high alert. Pei Ji's scream and the thud of a body falling onto the wooden floor almost snapped his tense nerves.

"Alright, alright. He didn't mean it." Park knew her husband was furious out of fear, so she quickly suppressed her own panic and gently patted Lee Cheok's back. "Go quickly." Park said this last sentence to Bae Jeok, who was staggering and turning around to kneel down and beg for mercy.

Liu Xifen had already heard the commotion behind him, but he did not turn around. Instead, he quickened his pace when Li Chu gave the order to Pei Ji.

"Lord Wenchang! Lord Wenchang, please wait!" Pei Ji called out to Liu Xifen, who had already reached the exit of Shimin Hall.

"What's wrong?" Liu Xifen turned around, asking knowingly.

"His Highness requests that you return to speak," Pei Ji said.

“Your face is injured.” Liu Xifen pointed to the spot where Pei Ji had bumped his head earlier.

Pei Ji gently touched the spot Liu Xifen indicated and indeed felt a faint, warm dampness. A thought struck him, and he suddenly felt a little wronged, but he quickly wiped the bloodstain from his palm and said to Liu Xifen, "Lord Wenchang, please don't worry. I will take care of it myself. You should go back now; His Highness is waiting for you."

(End of this chapter)