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

Chapter 143 Li Shouyi is moved!

The next day.

As dawn broke, Zhu Houzhao woke up as usual.

Li Shouyi, who was in his arms, was still fast asleep with his eyes closed.

Zhu Houzhao looked at Li Shouyi in his arms. Her eyelids were fluttering, and she was clearly not sleeping soundly in her dream.

Looking at the scattered wounds on Li Shouyi's body, Zhu Houzhao smiled slightly, recalling his crazy actions the night before.

He admitted that he deliberately hurt Li Shouyi last night as punishment for her.

To be honest, it was quite amusing to see Li Shouyi's expression last night as he tried so hard to suppress his pain.

A short while later, perhaps disturbed by Zhu Houzhao's gaze, Li Shouyi opened his eyes.

"Your Majesty, hiss—"

Li Shouyi felt a sharp pain all over his body, as if his body was falling apart, whenever he moved.

Her brows furrowed tightly, and a mist quickly gathered in her eyes.

Zhu Houzhao ignored her pain, but instead pinched her chin and carefully observed her expression.

Li Shouyi's heart started pounding, and he held his breath as he endured Zhu Houzhao's blatant gaze.

Only after confirming that he did not find any expression of dissatisfaction or resentment on Li Shouyi's face did Zhu Houzhao release his hand with satisfaction.

"Awake? If you're awake, get up."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhu Houzhao clapped his hands, and soon several palace maids came in carrying a set of toiletries and clothes.

Zhu Houzhao got out of bed first. After the palace maids finished helping Zhu Houzhao wash up, they were about to change his clothes, but Zhu Houzhao stopped them.

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand and said, "Alright, put the clothes down. Consort Li, come and help me change."

The palace maids inside the hall exchanged glances and hesitantly put down the clothes they were holding.

Li Shouyi, who was still sitting on the bed, was taken aback at first, then obediently stood up and took Zhu Houzhao's dragon robe from the palace maid.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Li Shouyi gently bit her lip, enduring the pain in her body, and clumsily helped Zhu Houzhao change his clothes.

After changing his clothes, Zhu Houzhao left the dormitory on his own, leaving Li Shouyi alone in the dormitory to wash and change.

After Li Shouyi finished dressing and came out, she saw Zhu Houzhao sitting alone at the table, having breakfast.

Li Shouyi hesitated as he approached Zhu Houzhao's side, watching Zhu Houzhao eat, unsure whether to sit or leave.

"Your Majesty, your concubine—"

Li Shouyi wanted to say goodbye and return to his Jingyang Palace, but the words of farewell stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say them no matter what.

She tried her best to guess Zhu Houzhao's thoughts, but to no avail.

She didn't know what she was doing to please Zhu Houzhao, nor did she know what she was doing to incur his dislike.

At this moment, her cautious demeanor was just like those concubines who used to revolve around the emperor, whom she hated the most.

They racked their brains every day trying to guess the emperor's preferences, becoming a vassal who revolved around another person.

Li Shouyi wanted to cry, but fearing to anger Zhu Houzhao, he could only swallow his tears silently.

Ignoring Li Shouyi's meal, Zhu Houzhao sat down on the dragon throne and began reading the memorials sent to the Cining Palace by the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Today is not a day for court assembly, so he doesn't need to go to Fengtianmen Square to attend court. He only needs to finish dealing with this mountain of memorials in Cining Palace.

Li Shouyi looked at the breakfast left on the table, which was more than half full, and then at Zhu Houzhao. He was at a loss, unsure whether to stay or leave.

Finally, Liu Jin couldn't stand it any longer and came to Li Shouyi, saying in a low voice, "Consort Li, please sit down and have your breakfast."

Li Shouyi asked uncertainly, "May I have my meal?"

Liu Jin said in surprise, "Of course you can eat. You are a concubine in the harem."

"If you don't eat, then we servants below dare not eat either."

Li Shouyi lowered his head again: "But—His Majesty has not yet allowed me to have my meal."

Liu Jin stared wide-eyed at Li Shouyi in disbelief.

He couldn't understand why, in just one night, the once proud and aloof Korean princess had become so humble.

Liu Jin opened his mouth, then finally whispered, "Your Majesty, please use it without worry. Don't overthink it."

After saying this, Liu Jin went back to his corner to continue his duties.

Li Shouyi hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to sit down and have a meal.

After last night's frenzy, she was starving, and she ate the delicious breakfast with extra relish.

While eating, she couldn't help but steal glances at Zhu Houzhao. Only when she saw that Zhu Houzhao hadn't noticed her did she feel safe and continue eating.

At this moment, Zhu Houzhao's mind was focused on the memorial in front of him, and he paid no attention to Li Shouyi's various actions.

After having breakfast, Li Shouyi stood up, looked around blankly, and then chose to stand still like a palace maid.

His eyes would occasionally sweep over Zhu Houzhao, his expression filled with complex emotions.

There was fear, there was awe, and there was also a hint of hope.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhu Houzhao finally looked away from the memorial in his hand, and as if only then noticing Li Shouyi in the room, he waved to him.

"Come here and give me a back massage."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

For some reason, even though Zhu Houzhao was ordering her to massage his back, Li Shouyi felt quite pleased with herself.

Zhu Houzhao had her do some servants' work, which was better than ignoring her.

Li Shouyi came up behind Zhu Houzhao and gently massaged his back and shoulders.

Of course, she had no skill whatsoever; she just randomly pinched and kneaded, since she had never done this kind of service work before.

After a while, Li Shouyi cautiously asked Zhu Houzhao, "Your Majesty, what is your decision regarding my father?"

Zhu Houzhao gave a soft hum and did not respond.

Seeing that Zhu Houzhao avoided answering, Li Shouyi's mood sank slightly, and he felt a pang of sadness.

She lowered her head, feeling down, but her hands didn't stop moving.

Just then, Liu Jin approached Zhu Houzhao and whispered his announcement.

"Your Majesty, Wang Shouren, Minister of War, and Zhou Jing, Minister of Revenue, have come to request an audience."

Zhu Houzhao, with his eyes closed, enjoyed Li Shouyi's haphazard massage and casually said, "Let them in."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Not long after Liu Jin left, Wang Shouren and Zhou Jing arrived together.

"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

After the two men bowed, Wang Shouren spoke first: "Your Majesty, the troops in the capital have been mobilized."

"We can mobilize 100,000 troops at any time to attack Korea!"

Zhou Jing then said, "Your Majesty, after the Ministry of Revenue's overnight estimation, this expedition to Korea will likely take one to two months."

"The required grain is approximately 150,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain, and the required horse feed is 300,000 shi (another unit of dry measure) of horse feed."

"In addition, more than 550,000 taels of military pay are needed."

Zhu Houzhao nodded: "I understand."

"Zhou Jing, you should now order people to prepare provisions and transport them to Tianjin. Apart from the provisions necessary for the army's losses, all the remaining provisions should be transported to Korea by sea."

Zhou Jing quickly bowed and accepted the order: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Liu Jin".

"This old servant is here."

Zhu Houzhao solemnly ordered: "Immediately order the Directorate of Ceremonial to draft an edict appointing Ling Luoshi, the 'General of Terror,' as the General Who Conquers the West, granting him the seal of a General, and ordering him to lead 50,000 troops from Datong to conquer Korea!"

"Issuing Qi Jingtong as General Who Destroys the Barbarians, to lead the Ming Navy to conquer Korea by sea, in coordination with Ling Luoshi, to attack Korea!"

Liu Jin immediately straightened his posture and accepted the decree: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

When Zhu Houzhao gave the order, Li Shouyi, who was standing behind him, stared at Zhu Houzhao's profile with a shocked expression.

She looked at Zhu Houzhao in disbelief, never expecting that his attitude would change so quickly.

I had just mentioned this to him yesterday, and today Zhu Houzhao has already begun to direct his ministers to attack Korea.

After the initial shock, Li Shouyi was filled with nothing but joy.

Overwhelmed by intense joy and excitement, she forgot all the grievances she had felt and the lingering pain in her body.

Li Shouyi observed all of this cautiously, his eyes filled with anticipation.

She had already begun to imagine that the iron cavalry of the Ming Dynasty would trample across the land of Joseon, wipe out all the traitors and rebels such as Park Won-jong and Seong Hee-yeon, and help her father regain the throne of Joseon.

With the Ming emperor taking action, Li Shouyi simply couldn't think of a reason to lose.

Soon, as Zhu Houzhao's order was relayed, the two ministers took their leave of Cining Palace and began preparations for the war.

When only Zhu Houzhao and Li Shouyi remained in the main hall, Li Shouyi looked at Zhu Houzhao with emotion and whispered, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"If I can avenge my father's great hatred, I am willing to serve Your Majesty like a cow or a horse to repay Your Majesty's great kindness and virtue."

Zhu Houzhao chuckled inwardly; it was a bit too early for Li Shouyi to thank him now.

If she truly understood what Zhu Houzhao was trying to do, she probably wouldn't have been able to express any gratitude.

Zhu Houzhao pulled Li Shouyi into his arms and said solemnly, "From an official standpoint, the King of Joseon was personally appointed by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Park Wonjong, Seong Hee-yeon, and others launched a coup and overthrew Li's rule without authorization. This is a great disrespect to the Ming Dynasty and a provocation against the tributary relationship between the Ming Dynasty and Joseon!"

"Furthermore, they attempted to deceive me, which is a crime of deceiving the emperor, and I must punish them severely."

"Personally speaking, you are my concubine, and Li is my father-in-law. They have harmed my father-in-law, and I absolutely cannot let them get away with it!"

"Whether for public or private reasons, I must send troops out, no matter what!"

"His Majesty----"

Li Shouyi was deeply grateful to Zhu Houzhao, his heart filled with emotion.

Little did she know what Zhu Houzhao was planning; she genuinely believed that Zhu Houzhao was sending troops for her sake.

A mature politician speaks as if it were nothing but farts.

There are always reasons to say the same thing.

When they want to start a war, even the smallest thing can become a reason to wage war.

This coup in Korea was the reason Zhu Houzhao launched this war!