Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 214 Even if Li Shimin came, he would lose an eye!

Mu Ying and Ping An were also full of surprises.

Goryeo, such a small place, can really stir up trouble.

After all this has already happened, there's still more to come!
"According to the information we have, the root cause of this incident in Goryeo is that after he executed the powerful minister Xin Zhen, he released most of the military merit class who had been suppressed by Xin Zhen."

This can be considered an admission of defeat, signifying that he has fallen into a disadvantageous position in his power struggle with those court officials.
But as an old king, he was unwilling to accept defeat and have his power taken away.

Therefore, a new step was taken very quickly.

He selected many handsome young men from noble families, brought them into the palace to form a guard, and gave them considerable power.

They wanted to use them to fight against those courtiers.

It naturally cannot compare to the power that was given to that monk Xinzhen back then.

However, their existence also warranted vigilance from the Goryeo court officials.

After the Xinzhu incident, many people did not want to experience something similar again.

So these people took action.

On the surface, the cause of death of the old king of Goryeo was the discovery that the young guards he had recruited were having illicit affairs in the harem.

One of them even got his concubine pregnant.

Enraged, he executed the man and implied that the eunuch Cui Wanxiu, who had reported him, should also be executed.

Choi Man-soo, not wanting to die, out of fear, joined forces with some people and struck first, killing the old king of Goryeo.

In reality, this is only a direct and superficial reason.

The underlying reason was that those in power, such as the military elites of Goryeo, were afraid of having their power divided.

So they killed him and then installed an eight-year-old child as king.

That way they can do whatever they want without having to worry so much…

Some of what Zhu Yuanzhang said was information he knew from his previous life, related to Goryeo.

The other part consists of records related to Goryeo history as seen from later generations.

The conflict in Korea was also intense, and there was a lot of instability and restlessness among the people.

In his previous life, he only gradually learned the reasons for this coup in Goryeo much later.

The request from Goryeo to appoint Wang Yu as a new king was not agreed to until more than ten years later, in the eighteenth year of the Hongwu reign.

Using this method, they thoroughly manipulated Goryeo.

Besides Li Renren and others from the Political Affairs Hall, the Northern Yuan Tartars were also behind the killing of the old king in Goryeo.

The Northern Yuan Tartars were equally unruly, constantly interfering in the political affairs of Goryeo.

They wanted to win over Goryeo and make them work together.

The old king of Goryeo had experienced a lot, and when the world was in chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, he organized people to resist the Yuan Dynasty, hoping to take the opportunity to break free from the Yuan Dynasty's control over them.

Later, it also subjugated its own Ming Dynasty.

It wouldn't be easy for the Northern Yuan Tartars to have someone like this, leading Goryeo to submit to them again.

So he died.

They replaced the king with an eight-year-old child.

Its purpose is self-evident.

Naturally, they wanted to win over Goryeo to their side.

Within Goryeo, there were also a large number of people who were pro-Yuan Dynasty.

In fact, there were far more people who were pro-Yuan than pro-Ming.

This scene is not unusual, as Goryeo served as the Yuan Dynasty's eastern expeditionary province for many years.

They recognized the Yuan Dynasty as their suzerain state for quite some time, and even served as a vassal state of their son-in-law.

Although the Northern Yuan is now barely surviving, it still possesses considerable power. At least for Goryeo, it remains a formidable force that cannot be easily provoked.

However, this was clearly not the situation Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to see.

In his previous life, after these events, he reprimanded Goryeo more.

For example, Goryeo was required to send fifty horses as tribute to the Ming Dynasty.

But two horses died along the way.

The Goryeo envoy in charge of delivering the horses secretly added two more horses to make up the total of fifty.

Upon learning of this, they strongly condemned Goryeo.

They were accused of disloyalty to the emperor and suspected of deceiving him, and they were thoroughly scolded.

They said that if they did not repent, they would be sent to war and make them understand what propriety is.

And they were told to take the horse back and get a new one.

Then, because Goryeo brought too many gifts when they came to pay tribute, he reprimanded them.

They said they were doing too much and told them to change the tribute period to once every three years.

He reiterated that if they still did not repent and were not honest, he would send troops to attack Goryeo.

Would I really fly into a rage over such a trivial matter?

of course not.

It's nothing more than making a mountain out of a molehill by exploiting these minor diplomatic loopholes, sending a scare tactic to make them behave.

They were aware that the Northern Yuan Tartars were involved in the death of the old king of Goryeo, and that Goryeo later sent envoys to submit to the Northern Yuan.

However, none of them were mentioned.

The reason for this is to leave some room for maneuver for both sides.

We need to break through this barrier.

Sometimes, as long as this thin veil is still in place, things become much easier to discuss.

But once this thin veil is pierced, then for various reasons, one has no choice but to resort to force.

It will block many escape routes.

Moreover, Goryeo might very well side with the North Yuan as a result.

This will have many adverse effects on his grand plan to destroy the Northern Yuan.

That's why I took this approach.

Later, after sweeping away all of Nahachu's forces, the power of the Northern Yuan weakened, and Goryeo, after his repeated reprimands, began to treat the tributes from the Ming Dynasty with increasing respect and corrected its attitude.

Only then was King U officially appointed as the King of Goryeo.

But if he could start his life over again, Zhu Yuanzhang wouldn't want to do that again.

My actions in my past life proved that the strategy I used back then was still very effective.

But ultimately it was somewhat powerless, not straightforward enough, and failed to demonstrate its power.

Therefore, he intends to send Mu Ying and Ping An over there to clean up the mess in Goryeo.

To transform Goryeo into the shape of the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang envisioned that Goryeo should eventually be completely incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

In my past life, I had no idea that the people over there were so disgusting.
It wasn't until I experienced modern life that I realized these Koreans are truly shameless!
They have been constantly stealing Chinese culture and various invention histories.

Even a figure like Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, would have one eye shot out by them, flee in disarray, and return defeated.

They are like a vast cosmic kingdom; the history of human civilization began with them and progressed step by step from them.

They are the true origin of Han culture, and all subsequent Chinese culture arose under their influence.

They even tried to steal Qu Yuan's name.

Such behavior is disgusting and infuriating!
Now that I've returned to the Ming Dynasty and am still the emperor, there are some things I must do.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that the Koreans no longer had any reason to exist.

The existence of such things is simply to disgust people.

The situation I face in my current Ming Dynasty is very different from the situation I faced in my previous life.

At this time in my previous life, I didn't have much money. The Northern Yuan was holed up on the grasslands and didn't engage in large-scale battles with the Ming Dynasty.

In the southwest there was the King of Liang, and in the northeast there was Nahachu. The tribes on the grasslands also obeyed the orders of the Northern Yuan.

It is not easy to completely dismantle, kill, or eliminate the Northern Yuan.

That's why I adopted a relatively moderate diplomatic approach to win over Goryeo and prevent it from completely siding with the Northern Yuan.

But now, things are different.

Through their own arrangements, they disrupted the grasslands using economic means.

This kept the people on the grasslands busy dealing with the situation and hit them where it hurt.

He also had a lot of money on hand. Now, the fourth brother had a large portion of the spoils from the suppression of the pirates brought back to him.

The Maritime Trade Office has officially begun its long voyages, and a steady stream of wealth will flow into the Ming Dynasty in the future.

Under such circumstances, his strategy naturally had to change as well.

Given what Goryeo has done, it's impossible for me to simply reprimand them diplomatically like I did in my previous life, without actually using force against them.

Let them understand the consequences of killing a Ming Dynasty envoy in this lifetime!

Whether it's Japan, Korea, or any other country, from now on, anyone who dares to be so arrogant as to kill an envoy of the Ming Dynasty must pay a bloody price and have their head hanged in the northern capital!

Only in this way can we live up to the prestige of the Ming Dynasty!
In my past life, I lacked awareness and thought these remote places were small, poor, and barren.

Furthermore, given the remoteness and high mountains, attacking them would bring no benefit and could easily drag the Ming Dynasty into a quagmire of war, resulting in more harm than good. Therefore, a list of many countries that should not be conquered was compiled to warn future generations against taking action against these regions.

But then was before and now is now.

Zhu Yuanzhang has now changed his mind.

It's better to keep these things in your own hands.

Otherwise, it will be occupied by others in the future and will also harm China.

Different goals require different methods.

Never think you have too much territory.

If Tsarist Russia, a place that learned some management experience of a major power from the Northern Yuan, could possess so much territory and even defend it after surrendering, then the Ming Dynasty could certainly do the same.

"How dare they! They actually dare to secretly collude with the Northern Yuan, exchanging flirtatious glances. This dog of Goryeo is already courting death!"

Ping An cursed loudly, clearly angered by what Goryeo had done.

The Northern Yuan was their mortal enemy, a feud they could not reconcile.

Now, the arrogant Goryeo people, unaware of their own limitations, killed a Ming envoy and even tried to colluded with the Northern Yuan!

How could he possibly tolerate this?
Mu Ying didn't speak, but his expression revealed that he was equally angry about the matter.

He was clearly genuinely angry.

"Oh, by the way, there are also various rumors surrounding the murdered King Goryeo."

For example, the reason he couldn't have a son and no one could inherit the throne was largely because he preferred men and had homosexual tendencies.

There are even rumors that he was abused when he was a hostage in the Northern Yuan Dynasty in his early years.

The reason why the monk Xin Dun was so highly regarded by him, and even allowed to act as his proxy, was largely because the monk was beautiful.

As for what happened later, he summoned those young noblemen to the palace to serve as guards, intending to give them power and use them to check and balance the court officials.

Besides, homosexuality also played a role...

Is that even possible? That's really clever!
Zhu Biao, Mu Ying, and Ping An were all dumbfounded after hearing what Zhu Yuanzhang said.

I was shocked by this news.

Barbarians are indeed barbarians; they're capable of anything!

"Of course, we're just saying this casually, and we're not sure if it's true or not."

We're just saying this for now, and you can just listen for now. Just get an impression from it and that's it.

Whether he has this kind of fetish or not won't have much impact on his upcoming trip to Korea.

Mu Ying nodded vigorously to show that she remembered.

As for Ping An... judging from his expression, he was still mostly absorbed in the shocking news he had just heard and hadn't quite come to his senses yet.

"The reason we sent you to Goryeo this time is to prepare for our next military campaign against the Northern Yuan."

The campaign against the Northern Yuan is imminent; at most, within two or three years, a general offensive will be launched to completely defeat them.

Ping An was still mostly absorbed in the real tricks that Old Wang from Korea played, and hadn't quite come out of it.

Upon hearing this, he immediately forgot all about it.

"Your Majesty, I request the order to serve as the vanguard and annihilate the Northern Yuan!"

They had been fighting the Yuan Tartars for so many years, but at the very last moment, the Northern Yuan court fled to the grasslands.

This resulted in the destruction of the Northern Yuan not being fully accomplished, which is regrettable.

Among these military generals, how many didn't want to destroy the Northern Yuan?

Having received definite news from His Majesty, how could he possibly hold back?

Naturally, we should volunteer for the mission immediately.

"Let's see how you perform in Korea this time. If you do well, it's not impossible that we'll give you a vanguard position in the upcoming war to destroy the Northern Yuan."

Zhu Yuanzhang made a pie-in-the-sky promise.

Of course, it's not all just empty promises.

If Ping An performs well during Gao Beiyuan's trip, proving that he has matured, then making him a vanguard wouldn't be a bad idea.

During the Jingnan Campaign, he demonstrated his ability with concrete military achievements.

Zhu Yuanzhang's only concern was whether the peace and stability of the country would reach the same level as during the Jingnan Campaign.

Ping An was somewhat surprised when she heard her godfather's words.

The main reason he volunteered to be the vanguard was that he wanted to try his luck, even if it seemed risky.

He would be happy to participate in the annihilation of the Northern Yuan, let alone be a vanguard; he would even be a lowly soldier.

Who would have thought that His Majesty would give such a reply as soon as he opened his mouth? How could he not be excited?
What a surprise! What a wonderful surprise!

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will certainly live up to Your Majesty's expectations! I will definitely handle things perfectly!"

"Your Majesty, I am also willing to contribute to the destruction of the Northern Yuan!"

Even the usually composed Mu Ying was no longer so this time.

He was really anxious.

Had he known His Majesty would be so generous in this matter, he would have volunteered for the campaign immediately.

Who wouldn't want to contribute to the war to destroy the Northern Yuan?

"Approved. After you finish dealing with things in Goryeo, we will give you priority consideration for the Battle of Bukwon, and the positions will not be too low."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Mu Ying and gave a definite answer.

The battle that destroyed the Northern Yuan was Lan Yu's claim to fame.

However, Lan Yu's personality is really not very good.

Moreover, the situation in this life is very different from that in the previous life.

In my previous life, around the 20th year of the Hongwu reign, most of the capable generals like Tiande, Wenzhong, and Deng Yu had already passed away.

Wenying was stationed in Yunnan and couldn't take action.

That's why Lan Yu was put in charge of the troops and fought this battle.

But things are different now; it's only the ninth year of the Hongwu reign.

Tian De, Deng Yu, Wen Zhong, and others are still around, and no action has yet been taken to deal with the situation in the southwest.

Wenying is also able to spare time.

Under such circumstances, it was naturally not Lan Yu's turn to lead the Northern Yuan campaign.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Tiande will likely lead the expedition and oversee the entire operation.

Lan Yu's personality isn't good; let's temper it first.

We'll find him a suitable way out later.

Lan Yu, who was still serving in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was unaware that his fate had been quietly arranged by Zhu Yuanzhang.

"By the way, when you go to Goryeo this time, aside from everything else, you need to take over Tamna Island and make it belong to our Great Ming."

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the island on the map and said to Mu Ying and Ping An.

Tamna Island, also known as Jeju Island in later generations, is an excellent island with a superior geographical location.

It can be said that it was basically located in the middle of Goryeo, Japan, and the Ming Dynasty.

It was practically a bridgehead for military operations against Korea and Japan, an unsinkable aircraft carrier.

Taking it down and stationing troops there was of great significance.

"As far as we know, this place still belongs to the Northern Yuan. The Northern Yuan has set up an agency here, mainly responsible for raising horses for the Northern Yuan."

However, there are likely some Koreans getting involved now.

Once you've gone there, don't let them deceive you.

They believed it to be a place in Goryeo (Korea).

Mu Ying nodded vigorously, making a mental note of it...

Next, Zhu Yuanzhang explained to him in detail his plan targeting Goryeo.

And more detailed information about Goryeo that I knew.

Strategically despise the enemy, but tactically take them seriously.

Even though Goryeo is just a small island, if he wants to take action against it, he must come up with a foolproof plan.

This is the only way to avoid any unexpected events.

Mu Ying and Ping An also became serious, or rather, Mu Ying had never underestimated them from the beginning...

Around noon, someone from Empress Ma came to tell them that lunch had been prepared at Kunning Palace and that they should go and eat.

Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, Mu Ying, and Ping An left together, ending the conversation.

After having dinner at Kunning Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, Mu Ying, and Ping An discussed the matter of Goryeo again.

This continued until dinner time...

……

Five days later, the Ming Dynasty's mission to Goryeo departed...

Inside the Wuying Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang tapped his fingers lightly on the imperial desk, his gaze distant and expectant.

It remains to be seen what kind of sparks will fly between Wenying and Bao'er on their mission to Goryeo...

(End of this chapter)