The Ming Dynasty: The Iron-Blooded Martial Emperor, Who Slaughtered the World

Chapter 138 Begging the Ming Dynasty to bestow the title of new king!

Forbidden City.

Fengtianmen Square.

Zhu Houzhao sat on the dragon throne and convened a court assembly.

Zhang Jun, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, bowed to Zhu Houzhao and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I, Zhang Jun, have an important matter to report."

Zhu Houzhao glanced at Zhang Jun and nodded slightly: "Granted."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhang Jun, holding a tablet, stepped out of the ranks, approached Zhu Houzhao, and bowed.

"Your Majesty, the Korean envoy requests an audience with you. The former King of Joseon, Yi, abdicated due to illness and requests Your Majesty to confer the title of the new King of Joseon, Yi Yeok."

Upon hearing this news, Zhu Houzhao unconsciously sat up straight.

It has finally arrived: this far-reaching coup in North Korea.

Zhu Houzhao announced loudly, "Summon the envoy from Korea to an audience."

Immediately afterward, Liu Jin, who was standing beside Zhu Houzhao, shouted in a shrill voice, "Summon the envoy from Korea to an audience!"

Cheng Xiyan, who had been waiting for a long time, was finally summoned by Zhu Houzhao.

He straightened his clothes and led the Korean retinue to Fengtianmen Square, where he knelt before Zhu Houzhao.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

"The envoy from Korea, Seong Hee-yeon, pays his respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming."

Zhu Houzhao looked at Cheng Xiyan, who was bowing deeply in front of him, and said calmly, "Rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Cheng Xiyan and his entourage stood up.

Then, Cheng Xiyan immediately said, "Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty, King Yi of Joseon is unwell and suffering from a serious illness. He no longer has the strength to govern the country."

"Therefore, half a month ago, Li Shan passed the throne to his half-brother, Prince Jinseong, Li Guai."

"The ministers of Joseon have finished paying homage to the new Joseon Dynasty, and therefore request His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty to bestow titles upon them."

"Your humble servant kowtows and begs Your Majesty's grace to grant permission."

After Cheng Xiyan finished speaking, he bowed to Zhu Houzhao.

"The newly enthroned King Yi Yeok of Joseon specially presented His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty with ten boxes of Korean ginseng and one box of pearls."

Zhu Houzhao remained outwardly calm upon hearing this, but inwardly he sneered.

I was just worried about not having an excuse to reclaim Korea and bring it completely under the control of the Ming Dynasty, and now Korea has actually delivered an excuse into my hands.

After all, nominally, Li was his father-in-law.

If Li Zhen voluntarily abdicated in favor of Li Guai due to illness, then his military expedition to Korea would not have been based on proper etiquette.

However, if Lee was forced to abdicate due to a coup, then he could legitimately send troops to North Korea.

Under the premise of upholding righteousness, North Korea will be brought under control.

Zhu Houzhao asked coldly, "What illness does Li suffer from?"

These issues had been discussed with Seong Hee-yeon by Park Won-jong and Queen Dowager Jeonghyeon before he set off.

Therefore, Cheng Xiyan answered these questions fluently and without hesitation: "Your Majesty, the late King suffered from an eye ailment and a leg ailment."

"I cannot see, I cannot walk, I often feel palpitations, and I have unbearable headaches."

"The late king knew that he was no longer able to handle state affairs, so he took the initiative to abdicate the throne to his younger brother, Grand Prince Jinseong."

"Now that the new king has ascended the throne, we beg Your Majesty to grant him the title of the official King of Joseon."

"I am deeply grateful for your kindness!"

Zhu Houzhao looked down at Cheng Xiyan from his high position, a cold laugh escaping his lips.

"Hmph, since when has the matter of abdication become so urgent?"

"Must you abdicate first before petitioning me?"

"Do you Koreans still consider me your suzerain emperor?!"

Zhu Houzhao first labeled him and then made him take sides, directly accusing him of disrespecting the emperor of the suzerain state, which immediately changed Cheng Xiyan's expression.

Cheng Xiyan's calm expression vanished, replaced by one of panic.

"Your Majesty, you've misunderstood! Your Majesty, you've misunderstood!"

Cheng Xiyan was so frightened that he immediately knelt down, and then all the Korean envoys behind him also knelt down in unison.

"How dare we, your humble servants, disregard His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming?"

"Korea will always be the most loyal vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, which is why we came to His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty at the very first opportunity to request a formal investiture document."

"But—but—"

Cheng Xiyan's mind raced as she considered how to respond.

This was a problem they hadn't considered before, and now they could only rely on Cheng Xiyan's quick wit.

"But the late king's illness suddenly worsened, and he suddenly became bedridden and his speech became slurred."

"Only as a last resort did we choose to act first and report later, passing the throne to the Grand Prince of Jincheng before requesting the emperor to bestow a title upon us."

"We have absolutely no intention of underestimating His Majesty; it is simply because the situation is urgent that we have no choice but to deal with it as quickly as possible."

"Please forgive us, Your Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty!"

After Cheng Xiyan finished speaking, she started kowtowing repeatedly to the ground to show her humility.

But these showy gestures were completely useless to Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao coldly said, "Is that so? Without my permission, you have arbitrarily abolished the legitimate monarch of Joseon, who was appointed by the Ming Dynasty."

"Do you think you can brush off such a serious crime with a simple 'handle it urgently' excuse?!"

"Your actions are so treasonous, a challenge to my authority and the majesty of the Ming Dynasty. If I were to grant your wish and bestow the title upon Li Yi, wouldn't that disrupt the order of the tributary system?!"

"Furthermore, you keep saying that Li stepped down due to illness, but have you produced any evidence to support that claim?"

Zhu Houzhao's voice suddenly became authoritative, and Cheng Xiyan and the others kneeling on the ground immediately felt a mountain-like pressure.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger! Your Majesty, please forgive us!"

"We have absolutely no intention of offending you. Joseon may submit a joint memorial signed by the royal family, civil and military officials, etc., to ensure that the new monarch's ascension to the throne conforms to the tributary system!"

"And to express our apology, Joseon is willing to present the Ming Dynasty with ten gyrfalcons, white pheasants, golden pheasants, ten pairs of peacocks, and one hundred Goryeo horses."

"There are also ten boxes of dried abalone, dried scallops, sea cucumber, shark fin, etc., ten boxes of Korean fine cloth, ten boxes of Korean paper, and ten boxes of leopard skin and fox skin —"

Cheng Xiyan was flustered and kept talking about the various specialties of Korea, trying to exchange double the tribute for a formal investiture from the Ming Dynasty.

These Korean envoys behaved with extreme humility, but it was of no use to Zhu Houzhao.

After all, what Zhu Houzhao wanted was the whole of Korea.

Zhu Houzhao sneered repeatedly: "What? You think you can bribe me with these things?"

"Liu Jin, go and summon the head of the Imperial Medical Academy to me."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Upon receiving the order, Liu Jin immediately dispatched a eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial to summon Zhang Lun, the current head of the Imperial Medical Academy, to the court.

"Your humble servant Zhang Lun greets Your Majesty!"

At this moment, Zhang Lun stood in the imperial court, feeling somewhat uneasy and fearful.

Last time, after Zhu Houzhao summoned the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy to the court, dozens of them were immediately beaten to death by the court officials.

At this moment, Zhang Lun had no idea what he would face when he came to the imperial court this time.

When Cheng Xiyan heard that Zhu Houzhao had summoned the imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital, her heart clenched, and she had a vague sense of foreboding.

Sure enough, Zhu Houzhao then spoke.

"Zhang Lun, you will then organize a team of imperial physicians to accompany these Korean envoys back to Korea to diagnose Li."

"Let's see if Li is truly so ill that he can't handle state affairs and still wants to abdicate in favor of his brother!"

Zhang Lun quickly bowed and obeyed, "Yes, Your Majesty, I obey."

Upon hearing this order, Cheng Xiyan's heart turned ice-cold. In the chilly autumn wind, he felt as if he were standing in icy water with shards of ice.

Only those within their own ranks know their own situation, so of course he couldn't bring the Ming Dynasty's imperial medical team back to Korea to treat Li.

After all, Li was not sick at all; it was they who launched a coup and forcibly removed Li from the throne.

"Your Majesty, I—"

Cheng Xiyan wanted to say something more, but Zhu Houzhao interrupted her abruptly.

"Enough, this matter is settled. Get out of here!"

Zhu Houzhao didn't want to listen to his nonsense anymore; he only had one goal now.

That is to send envoys to Korea, obtain evidence of a coup in Korea, and then directly send troops to take over the entire Korea!

"—Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty."

Cheng Xiyan reluctantly got up and led the Korean envoys out of Fengtianmen Square.

At this moment, his heart was heavy. He absolutely could not allow these Ming Dynasty envoys to go to Korea.

If the Ming Dynasty finds out about their coup, they'll be in big trouble.

After that, to obtain investiture from the Ming Dynasty, one might have to pay a considerable price.

But that was all; they weren't actually that scared.

After all, what's done is done. Even if the Ming Dynasty knew they had seized power through a coup, what could they do?

Would the Ming Dynasty really send troops to attack Korea over such a trivial matter as who would be the king of its vassal state?

These Korean ministers were not belittling the military power of the Ming Dynasty. As the most loyal vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, they had a very deep understanding of its strength.

They simply believed that whoever became the king of Joseon would not affect Joseon's loyalty to the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty would not launch a major military campaign to attack Korea over this matter, as it would not bring any benefits to the Ming Dynasty.

Wars cost money. Even if it's close by, attacking Korea would require tens of thousands of troops, which would cost a lot of money and supplies.

Besides, even if we won the Korean War, what difference would it make?

Does the Ming Dynasty intend to conquer Korea?

Do not make jokes.

Korea is such a small, impoverished place, with few resources, that the Ming Dynasty would definitely not be interested in it.

However, figuring out how to handle the situation at hand is a bit tricky.

Cheng Xiyan left Fengtian Hall Square after pondering, while Zhu Houzhao returned to Cining Palace after the court meeting.

At this moment, Liu Jin handed a secret letter to Zhu Houzhao.

"Your Majesty, this is a letter from Korea, addressed to Consort Li."

A letter to Li Shouyi?

Zhu Houzhao took the letter, opened it, and found it was full of Korean Hunminjeongeum (the Korean alphabet).

Zhu Houzhao asked, "What is recorded here?"

Liu Jin respectfully said, "Park Won-jong, Sung Hee-yeon, and others launched a coup, placed Lee under house arrest, and installed Lee Guai in power."

Zhu Houzhao smiled slightly, just as he had expected.

He put the letter back: "Give it to Consort Li."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Liu Jin responded respectfully.