Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

The guards were at a loss.

Li Junyi said, "If we want to survive, we have no choice but to surrender to the Ming Dynasty. Maybe we'll even have wealth and honor in the future."

“We will stay here. If Zheng Zhongfu manages to escape, we will use his head to ask the Ming army for a reward.”

Zheng Zhongfu ended the rule of civil officials and allowed military men to live a good life, so his prestige in the army was frighteningly high.

This is also why Li Yifang stayed in Gaegyeong but dared not make any rash moves. He had to wait for the Ming Dynasty to send troops before he dared to cooperate in taking action to seize the city.

These are all Li Junyi's personal guards.

But when Li Junyi said he wanted to kill Zheng Zhongfu, his personal guards hesitated.

Li Junyi cried and wiped away her tears, saying, "Do you know why I made Zheng Zhongfu my godfather?"

"Because he wanted to kill our brothers."

“Zheng Zhongfu is only two or three years older than me. If it weren’t for the need to save his life, why would he have to endure such a humiliating disgrace?”

"He did indeed make life better for military men, but he actually looked down on them. In the last two months, he has been frequently hosting banquets for civil officials."

The guards stood there, stunned, not knowing what to do.

Li Junyi then said, "If I am killed by Zheng Zhongfu, you are all my personal guards. Do you really think he will treat you well?"

"Those who don't want to fight, just leave."

The guards looked at each other; none of them had left.

No matter how high Zheng Zhongfu's prestige was, Li Junyi was their "lord," and they still had to listen to their "lord" when it mattered most.

The sound of horse hooves is getting closer.

Zheng Zhongfu kept leaving his personal guards to cover his retreat, but they were all killed, leaving only him to escape alone.

More than twenty elite Ming cavalrymen relentlessly pursued Zheng Zhongfu.

Seeing Li Junyi leading his troops to block the way, Zheng Zhongfu shouted from a distance, "Quickly help me stop the pursuers!"

Li Junyi grinned maliciously: "Father, don't panic, your son is here to help you repel the enemy. Kill!"

Zheng Zhongfu was overjoyed: "If you can return to Kaijing, I will immediately promote you and make you a marquis... You unfilial son!"

Li Junyi stepped forward with his spear, but as he passed the horse, he thrust it at Zheng Zhongfu.

Zheng Zhongfu was completely unprepared and was hit hard by a bullet.

Immediately afterwards, Li Junyi's personal guards stabbed Zheng Zhongfu twice more, and the man was seriously injured after being stabbed off his horse.

Li Junyi reined in his horse, drew his sword, and ran to cut off Zheng Zhongfu's head. Then he led his troops to kneel in the roadside and said in fluent Chinese, "The head of the traitor Zheng Zhongfu is here! Long live the Ming Dynasty!"

The Ming cavalry slowed down and led Li Junyi back to report.

Upon seeing Du Ruohai, Li Junyi said, "General, please lead your troops to Gaegyeong immediately. Troops have been gathering there, and it is estimated that they have already amassed tens of thousands of soldiers. Many local garrisons are still on their way to Gaegyeong."

"But the commander there is my half-brother."

"As long as the Ming army is at the city gates, and they have Zheng Zhongfu's head, my brother will be able to persuade the defending soldiers to surrender!"

Du Ruohai sneered, "Your methods of selling out your country are quite efficient."

Li Junyi said, "This humble general is originally a descendant of Yan and Huang, and now I am simply returning to the embrace of my motherland."

At this time, Goryeo had many people with great spiritual insight, especially scholars from humble backgrounds.

Chapter 3979 We Are Also Descendants of Yan and Huang

They considered themselves descendants of the Yellow Emperor and secretly spread this idea, which even generals like Li Junyi had heard of.

During the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, Gaegyeong, the capital of Goryeo, was actually part of Gongsun Kang's territory.

Although Gongsun Kang doesn't have much of a presence in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and seems to be just a guard dog, he still has a significant role to play.

In fact, this guy decisively defeated Goguryeo, captured its capital, restored the territory of Daifang Commandery of the Han Dynasty, and controlled almost half of the Korean Peninsula.

His father, Gongsun Du, was equally impressive. He campaigned against Goguryeo in the east, attacked the Wuhuan in the west, conquered the Liaodong Peninsula in the south, crossed the sea to seize the counties of Jiaodong, and actively restored industry, agriculture, and commerce.

The two useless father and son of the Han Dynasty were actually two generations of wise rulers in Liaodong and the Korean Peninsula!

This wretched place, Gaeseong, has been destroyed twice since Goryeo established its capital there.

The first time was when the Liao Dynasty invaded from the south, forcing the King of Goryeo to flee south and tearing down the walls of Gaegyeong.

They burned down houses, abducted people, and left Kaesongbu almost deserted.

It took Goryeo more than ten years to restore its population before it could conscript 340,000 laborers to rebuild the city.

The second place destroyed was the imperial city, which was burned down when the Ming Dynasty was first established, due to a power struggle among ministers.

The reason why Goryeo has neglected its military in recent years is not only because its civil officials have become complacent.

They lost territory north of the Daedong River, resulting in a severe reduction in taxes and manpower.

Furthermore, the Goryeo capital had to be rebuilt, which required a large amount of money and grain to conscript laborers. Where would there be any spare resources to pay the soldiers' wages?

At this moment, the actual controller of Kaesong City is Zheng Jun, the thirteen-year-old son of Zheng Zhongfu.

A thirteen-year-old brat naturally has no ability to command both civil and military affairs.

Zheng Yun's presence in Gaeseong served as a symbol, supported by Zheng Zhongfu's confidants, many of whom were scholars from humble backgrounds.

Among these trusted confidants, Li Shaoying was the leader among the military officials.

Li Junyi's younger brother, Li Yifang, was in charge of gathering the army, but he needed to consult Zheng Yun through Li Shaoying on all matters.

"How many troops have been gathered in the capital?" Li Shaoying asked.

Li Yifang said, "More than 12,000. Of them, 7,000 came from the capital region and 3,000 came from Yangzhou. More than half of them were farmers who were temporarily conscripted because they were receiving salaries without working."

Li Shaoying was in a state of panic: "So, apart from Yangzhou, the other prefectures and counties only sent a little over two thousand soldiers?"

“The powerful clans in various places are all watching the show; why would they obediently send their troops?” Li Yifang sneered.

The terms Yangju-gyu, Hansanseong, Hanyang-jun, Gwangneung, and Nanjing all referred to Seoul during the Goryeo Dynasty, although the specific areas they encompassed differed.

An elite force, the Goryeo Left Shence Army, was stationed there.

Because of the serious problem of embezzlement, the Left Shence Army is short of more than half of its personnel, and now it can only conscript farmers to fill the ranks.

Li Shaoying said, "The General has led 6,000 elite troops to Haizhou and asked us to send 30,000 troops within half a month."

"We only have a little over twelve thousand now, which is not even half of the total. We need to find another way."

Li Yifang said, "There is no other way but to forcibly conscript more farmers into the army in the capital region."

"Then let's forcibly conscript farmers," Li Shaoying said helplessly.

Li Shaoying was not only worried about military affairs, but also about the civil officials in the city taking the opportunity to cause trouble.

……

The current head of the Goryeo civil service is named Han Lai.

This person was born into the Han clan of Gaeseong, whose ancestral home was in the Gyeonggi region. His ancestors were from the maternal clan of Wang Geon, the founding monarch.

Chapter 3980 Let's Move South

Zheng Zhongfu appointed Han Lai as vice prime minister because the Han family was located in the capital region, making it very convenient for military regimes to control them.

If Han Lai dares to act recklessly, Zheng Zhongfu will send troops to wipe out the entire Han clan!

"Prime Minister Han, Zheng Zhongfu has arbitrarily deposed and installed emperors, which has already provoked the Ming Dynasty to send troops to punish him."

Song Dasheng, Minister of Rites, said,

"Once the troops gathered in Gaegyeong are sent to the front lines by those military men, we can contact righteous men and launch an attack!"

Han Lai shook his head and sighed: "I am the Vice Chancellor, and you are the Minister. Do we have any real power?"

Song Dasheng said, "We don't have real power, but those scholars from poor families do."

Han Lai said, "Zheng Zhongfu has won over scholars from humble backgrounds and given them real power in the Six Ministries. How can these people listen to us?"

“Scholars from humble backgrounds are still scholars after all. How can they stand to be in power with military men? There are righteous men among them,” Song Dasheng said.

Han Lai asked with delight, "How many people have you contacted?"

Song Dasheng said: "Shen Hao, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel; Cui Yan, Principal of the Ministry of Revenue; and Zhou Anzhong, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice."

“All three of them wield real power, especially Zhou Anzhong, who has a group of prison guards at his disposal.”

Han Lai pondered for a moment: "Continue to contact scholars from humble backgrounds, but do not act rashly."

"I'll send someone back to the countryside under the pretext of recruiting volunteers to defend the city. Perhaps we can lead the army into the city and rescue His Majesty!"

"As long as His Majesty is rescued, we can control the entire city."

"Don't you think about how to deal with the Ming army?" Grand Secretary Li Zheng suddenly spoke up.

Lee Jung came from the Jeonju Lee clan, which had already risen to prominence during the Silla Dynasty.

The later Joseon Dynasty was also established by the Jeonju Yi clan.

The man before me, Li Zheng, is the ancestor of Yi Seong-gye, the founding monarch of the Joseon Dynasty.

Song Dasheng said, "The Ming Dynasty's military expedition is nothing more than a campaign against disloyal subjects. As long as Zheng Zhongfu and his fellow military men are executed, the Ming Dynasty will withdraw its troops."

Li Zheng sneered: "Do you believe that? If the Ming Dynasty hadn't occupied Pyongyang, Baozhou, and Anzhou, they would definitely have withdrawn their troops this time."

"But the Ming Dynasty occupied half of Goryeo's territory a few years ago. If they capture Kaesong this time, will they really obediently withdraw?"

"The Ming Dynasty marched south just to help us eliminate the military?"

Han Lai and Song Dasheng fell silent. Of course they weren't stupid; they were just hoping for the best.

Song Dasheng asked, "What does Prime Minister Li think we should do?"

Li Zheng said, "Once we are defeated at the front, we will immediately launch an attack and take His Majesty on a southern hunt across the entire prefecture."

"Quanzhou was the seat of the Annam Protectorate and was not subjected to the bloodbath by Zheng Zhongfu."

“If Your Majesty goes there, you can use the army and the towering mountains to fight until the Ming army withdraws.”

"Before Kaijing was also captured by the Liao Kingdom, but didn't it still manage to rebuild the country and restore the old capital?"

“That makes sense.” Song Dasheng nodded in approval.

Han Lai remained silent.

The Han clan, as the maternal clan of the founding monarch, declined for a time because the Liao state conquered Kaesong.

The peasants they controlled were all abducted by the Liao Kingdom, and even the Han family's ancestral home was burned down.

What if the Ming army occupies Kaesong and refuses to leave if the king is taken to the south?

The Li and Song families were able to return to their hometowns to recruit soldiers to defend the emperor, but the Han family was destined to become homeless dogs, their old home becoming part of the Ming Dynasty's territory.

Li Zheng said, "After the Liao troops withdrew back then, didn't the Han family also get their property back? Even if they left their hometown temporarily, they could always come back."

Chapter 3981 A Poor Family in Korea

Han Lai sneered: "You make it sound so easy. When the Liao soldiers withdrew, they abducted almost all of the people of Kaicheng Prefecture."

"Although my Han family has regained the land, we can't even recruit enough tenants."

"During the poorest and most difficult times, even the Han family members had to personally go to the fields to cultivate the land!"

Li Zheng said, "Back then, the king relocated a large number of people to populate Kaesong Prefecture, and one-fifth of them were given to the Han family."

"This time, after the Ming army withdraws, we can follow the example of what happened back then."

“The Li family of Quanzhou is willing to relocate 500 households of farmers to the Han family.”

Song Dasheng said, "I promise to relocate 300 households to the Han family."

Han Lai said, "Let me think about it some more."

……

The powerful families had been discussing this in secret, while the scholars from humble backgrounds were also gathering every day.

The early leader of the poor was Wen Gongren, a friend of Zheng Zhichang.