Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 657 Sailing against the current
Yanshu Post Station was a small post station located northwest of Hanyang, about twenty li away from Dunyi Gate, the western gate of Hanyang. As early as the 46th year of the Wanli reign, shortly after Shen Jingzhen initiated the rebellion, it was legally controlled by Prince Lingyang, Yi Zong.

From the moment they left the city in the morning until sunset, Li Zong and his uncle Ju Hong had been waiting at Yanshu Post Station all day, but they had not seen the imperial envoy or even any ordinary Ming soldiers.

During this period, several more of Li Zong's supporters left the city through the four gates on the west and south sides and gathered here. These people brought Li Zong one bad news after another, keeping him awake at night and tossing and turning.

tuk tuk
"Who is it?" The person knocked on the door only twice before Li Zong's voice drifted in from the darkness.

"Your Excellency, it is I."

Hearing the voice of his trusted eunuch, Li Zong's tense nerves relaxed slightly. "What?"

"Li Gui has arrived. He has also brought a man named Cui Mingji," the trusted eunuch reported.
"Quickly, please come in!" Li Zong sat up straight. "Go and invite my uncle over too!"

"Yes." The trusted eunuch responded, turned around, and quickly left.

When Li Gui and Cui Mingji arrived at Li Zong's bedroom, Ju Hong was already there. He was disheveled, with messy hair, clearly having rushed over.

"I am Li Gui, and I pay my respects to Your Excellency!" Li Gui slowly knelt down in front of the door and respectfully performed the traditional courtly salute to Li Zong.

"I am Cui Mingji, and I pay my respects to Your Excellency!" Cui Mingji also bowed to Li Zong, but only with a deep bow.

"No need for formalities, gentlemen. Please come in and have a seat." Li Zong first returned the greeting with a cupped hand, then strode forward to help Li Gui up.

Li Gui and Cui Mingji, led by Li Zong, took their seats in a side room. As soon as they sat down, Li Zong eagerly asked, "What's the situation in the city right now?"

Li Gui was taken aback. "Before I left the city, the military officer issued a martial law order. If I had been any later, I probably wouldn't have been able to get out."

"Did Master Mozhai come out before the gate closed?" Li Zong was also taken aback.

"Yes," Li Gui nodded. "Is there something wrong with it?"

"No." Disappointment appeared on Li Zong's face. "It just past the second watch. I thought you had sneaked out after the gate closed, so I thought I'd ask you for some updates. Hehe. It's alright if you don't know." Li Zong forced an awkward smile. "It's already very kind of you two to come. Uncle, then please tell me about the latest situation with Mo Zhai Gong and..." At this point, Li Zong realized that he didn't know Cui Mingji's courtesy name or self-chosen name. "...Brother Cui, please tell me about the latest situation. It would be good to ask them for their advice."

Gu Hong did not respond immediately, but after a long while, he said to Li Gui and Cui Mingji with a bitter expression, "The last group of people who came out of the city said that they saw the Crown Prince's entourage heading south. We guess that Yi Chu may be going to the West Palace to ask the Queen Dowager to move her carriage."

"The Crown Prince's ceremonial procession?" Li Gui slowly frowned.

“Yes,” Lee Jong continued, “and it seems the Mohwa Pavilion has begun preparing the ceremony to welcome the Imperial Envoy. Judging from the current situation, Gwanghae has probably accepted reality and is prepared to plead guilty and accept punishment in order to ensure the Crown Prince's ascension to the throne. So…” Lee Jong’s forced composure gradually dissipated. “So I think,” he glanced at Gu Hong, “I think we should lie low for now and wait for a better opportunity later.”

"Your Excellency!" Li Gui interrupted Li Zong, speaking loudly, "We've captured Li Erzhan!"

"What?" The first look on Li Zong's face was one of bewilderment.

"You really caught Li Erzhan!" Gu Hong realized, but his face was filled with disbelief.

“Yes.” Li Gui nodded solemnly and waved to Cui Mingji, “Around noon, the Cui brothers detained Li Erzhan on his way to the training camp. Now, he is staying in a dilapidated temple called Yanfo Temple in the southern suburbs.”

"Since you caught Li Erzhan at noon, why are you only bringing this up now?" Gu Hong's tone carried a hint of accusation.

“Renfu,” Li Gui continued, “Ziqian only joined the rebellion last night. They didn’t know you would be staying here, so they sent someone to find me first. Besides, Yanfo Temple is over at Woniu Mountain, about thirty li from here. Even if you go fast, you can’t get there very quickly.”

"But," Ju Hong wanted to say something, but Li Zong pressed him down.

"Thank you both for your hard work," Li Zong said.

"You're too kind, sir." Cui Mingji looked at Li Zong with a hint of appreciation in his eyes.

"Where are Jiang Hongli and Jin Jingrui? Have you brought them out?" Li Zong, supporting himself on the armrest, sat up a little straighter.

“No,” Cui Mingji shook his head. “Li Erzhan refused to sign that order.”

Before Li Zong could even feel disappointed, Li Gui interrupted, "But Li Erzhan took the initiative to propose joining forces with us to launch an uprising and plot a rebellion."

"Huh?" A look of confusion immediately appeared on Li Zong's face.

"Why?" Ju Hong also asked.

“He doesn’t want to die.” Li Gui succinctly explained, “Li Erzhan felt that even if he obediently signed that order, he would still be executed. In order to avoid death, he took the initiative to propose a joint uprising to overthrow Guanghai. Your Excellency, I think we might as well feign cooperation with him. After the matter is accomplished, we can deal with him separately.”

"Your Excellency!" Cui Mingji immediately objected, "In my opinion, Li Erzhan is notoriously cunning, and cooperating with him is far too risky! Moreover, the current situation is unclear, and the will of Heaven is uncertain. Even if we conspire with Li Erzhan, this great undertaking may not succeed. It would be better to kill Li Erzhan now, to avenge those who died at his hands. In this way, even if the great undertaking fails, we can still retreat and hide, and plan our next move slowly, without needlessly exposing ourselves and inviting disaster upon ourselves."

Li Gui then added, "Your Excellency! Our anti-just actions are in line with the Emperor's desire to punish the guilty. Even if Li Erzhan were to rebel again while the Imperial Envoy is in charge, that Imperial Envoy would not act in accordance with Li Erzhan's wishes towards us."

"Alright, alright. Don't rush, you two, let's talk this out slowly." Li Zong's head was throbbing and his ears were ringing, so he quickly pressed down on the pillow.

Li Gui shut up, and Cui Mingji glanced at him and then shrank back.

After frowning and thinking for a while, Li Zong asked, "Li Erzhan is unwilling to hand over Jiang Hongli and Jin Jingrui, but he took the initiative to offer to cooperate. Is that what he means?"

“Yes!” Cui Mingji replied.

“No, not exactly,” Li Gui added. “What do you mean?” Li Zong looked at Li Gui.

Li Gui said, "Li Erzhan meant that the letter alone was not enough to take away top-priority prisoners like Jiang Hongli and Jin Jingrui. He could have taken them away in person, but he had been out of the city for too long, which would have aroused Guanghai's suspicion. So he had no choice but to use force to 'hand over' Jiang and Jin."

"Use force?" Li Zong was still looking at Li Gui, but he also glanced at Cui Mingji.

"It means sending people to the Yijinfu to rescue them," Li Gui said.

Ju Hong asked, "The whole city is under martial law now, and all eight gates are tightly closed. We can't even gather information. How are we going to carry out the raid?"

“Li Erzhan said. Zhang Rangning, the gatekeeper of Sujing Gate, is his disciple and can enter the city from there,” Li Gui said.

"So," Li Zong asked thoughtfully, "Li Erzhan's so-called cooperation is to use his connections to enter the city through the north gate, and then go to the Uigeumbu to kidnap Jiang Hongli and Jin Jingrui?"

"That's not all. Rescuing Jiang and Jin is just the first step; the key lies in the word 'offering'," Li Gui said, leaning forward.

"'Offer'?" Li Zong asked, "What does that mean?"

“Li Erzhan said. Before he left the capital, the Crown Prince publicly ordered him to go to the Uigeumbu to kill someone to cover it up. So Li Erzhan can cooperate with us to use this to implicate the Crown Prince in the case of instigating treason.” Li Gui explained, “Specifically, we need to make the Imperial Envoy believe that after receiving the order, he was unwilling to carry it out, but fearing that the Crown Prince would send someone else to kill him to cover it up, so he pretended to agree and then took the initiative to find Your Excellency. When Your Excellency heard about this, you quickly gathered men to storm the Uigeumbu and rescue Jiang and Jin, which prevented them from being killed by the scheming Gwanghae father and son before the Imperial Envoy arrived in the capital.”

"That's a brilliant idea! It kills two birds with one stone!" Ju Hong immediately exclaimed. "Your Highness, if we follow this plan, we can remove Guanghai and his son from power in one fell swoop, and also win the favor of the Imperial Envoy!"

Li Zong didn't respond to Ju Hong's question, but simply nodded slightly. "Did Master Mozhai just say 'involvement'?"

“Your Excellency is right.” Li Gui gazed intently at the lamplight reflected in Li Zong’s eyes. “Li Erzhan clearly stated that the Crown Prince was not involved in the instigation of treason. Therefore, we can only try to implicate him.”

Li Zong's eyes flickered, and he couldn't help but sigh, "Li Chu is also a filial son."

"Your Highness, if you wish to accomplish great things, how can you be so sentimental as to act like a woman!" Ju Hong immediately advised.

“Uncle, I was just stating a fact,” Li Zong said.

“Your Excellency,” Cui Mingji glanced at Gu Hong. “That may not be the truth. Li Erzhan is a cunning man by nature; who knows if what he said is true? I believe that the Crown Prince may not have really ordered him to kill someone to silence them. Perhaps Li Erzhan only fabricated this fake cooperation scheme to save his own life.”

"Brother Ziqian, do you mean to kill him?" Li Zong had already memorized Cui Mingji's courtesy name.

“Yes.” Cui Mingji’s eyes flickered as he looked at Li Zong. “Every word Li Erzhan says is only his side of the story. We have no way of knowing which of his words are true and which are false, nor can we guarantee that he won’t go back on his word. If we believe him, it would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains, bringing disaster to the future.”

“Your Excellency, this risk is worth taking! That Imperial Envoy Yuan will soon arrive in the capital, and his anti-righteous actions are in accordance with the will of Heaven. Even if we have mistakenly trusted Li Erzhan, that Imperial Envoy will certainly not act against us as he wishes. Conversely, killing Li Erzhan now would be meaningless.” As if to shut him up, Li Gui added at the end, looking at Cui Mingji, “Except for revenge.”

Having said all that, Gu Hong understood the current stance of Lee and Choi, a stance he had always held firmly: "Yes, Your Highness! Let's take a gamble! Just as you guessed, Gwanghae has probably decided to plead guilty and accept punishment to ensure his son's ascension to the throne. If things continue to develop like this, we may never have another chance to succeed. In any case, great undertakings are like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind! Those who have gathered around you today because of this great cause may very well cause trouble after Lee Chok ascends the throne."

"Uncle!" Li Zong shouted, abruptly cutting off Ju Hong's words.

"." Ju Hongyi stiffened and lowered his head awkwardly.

“Lord Mozhai.” Li Zong looked at Li Gui with a firm gaze.

"What are your orders, Your Excellency?" Li Gui straightened up and faced Li Zong.

“Let’s go to Yanfu Temple now and see Li Erzhan,” Li Zong said.

"Your Excellency, have you forgotten the case of Shin Gyeong-hee?" Choi Myung-gil had no choice but to bring up Lee Jong's younger brother, Prince Yeongchang, in an attempt to offer a final piece of advice.

However, as soon as these words were spoken, Li Gui immediately knew that the matter was settled. The Shin Gyeong-hui case, which ultimately led to Prince Yeongchang's suicide, was one of the few cases during Yi Hun's reign that wasn't instigated by Yi Er-chan. In fact, it could be said that Yi Er-chan himself was also one of the victims of this false accusation.

As expected. Li Zong was taken aback for a moment, then said expressionlessly, "Brother Ziqian, you're mistaken. My brother didn't die because of Li Erzhan."

"Huh?" Cui Mingji's eyes widened, and he stood there stunned.

“Shin Kyung-hee was one of Li Erzhan’s protégés. He was arrested at Li Erzhan’s house,” Gu Hong explained coldly.

"When Shen Jingxi was imprisoned in the 43rd year of the Wanli reign, Ziqian had already been dismissed from his post due to the incident involving his mother's death," Li Gui said, trying to exonerate Cui Mingji.

“Ignorance is no crime, Brother Ziqian, you need not take it to heart.” Li Zong withdrew his gaze and slowly stood up. “Master Mozhai, let’s go.”

“Alright. My donkey cart is right outside.” Li Gui was exhausted after working non-stop all day, but he still mustered his energy and took the first step.

"Your Excellency, wait a moment!" Cui Mingji suddenly stood up.

"His Highness has made his decision!" Gu Hong blocked Choi Myung-gil's path. "If you're not willing..."

“Uncle!” Li Zong grabbed Ju Hong’s shoulder and gently pushed him away. “Brother Ziqian. Fan Ju’s revenge is never too late. Brother Ziqian, you don’t need to worry. I have no intention of forming an alliance with Li Erzhan. I’m just playing along with him.” Li Zong himself did not have any grudge against Li Erzhan, but almost all of his followers were Li Erzhan’s enemies.

“Ziqian, I think Rujing also harbors the thought of revenge after ten years.” Li Gui also brought up Cui Laiji at the right time.

"Your Excellencies, you have misunderstood. Since I am here, I support all your decisions. I simply feel that you need not put yourself in such danger," Cui Mingji said with a wry smile. "Throughout today, Li Erzhan still does not know our true identities, nor does he know that it was Your Excellency who orchestrated this act of injustice behind the scenes. Moreover, Lord Mozhai should remember that Li Erzhan himself said that he could wait until Jiang and Jin were captured before he could meet Your Excellency frankly. Therefore, Lord Mozhai could have continued to disguise himself as Prince Rencheng, Prince Yichang, or someone else to negotiate with him!"

(End of this chapter)