Jingming

Chapter 487 Things have changed

The Ming army did not enter Seoul, because Seoul had already begun to be in chaos.

In the chaos, those who snatched away property and people were North Koreans themselves.

What's more, you can't get in now because the city gate isn't open.

The new orders from above have not yet come down, and some generals who are unclear about them are still at a loss. When the Ming army has not yet launched an attack, can they really revolt on the battlefield? They could only be torn between the hungry people who kept gathering towards the city gate and the Ming army outside the city.

a mess.

Zhang Jing watched all this with cold eyes. He was sure that the Yin siblings would flee eastward when they saw the situation in the city suddenly getting out of control.

There are also some true confidants whom he relies on as his team.

A change from the past, Seoul Governor Yin appeared in front of the crowd of people crowding towards the north gate.

"New food from Gangwon Province and Gyeongsang Province is coming soon. Your Majesty has just sent soldiers to rescue. When the new food arrives, everyone will have it!"

"Fart! Are you still waiting? So much food has arrived in such a long time, is there any for us?"

"We are going out of the city to buy food!"

Seeing that the government was uncharacteristically not ordering the cadres to stop or suppress the crowds with sticks, swords and guns, the hungry and red-eyed civilians became more and more courageous among the crowds.

"You all ran out, what will happen to your family?" Seoul Governor Yin shouted hoarsely, pointing into the distance, "How much anger has been caused? You are such a mess, and the gangsters took advantage of the chaos to loot, don't you care about the safety of your own family?"

"There is nothing left at home!"

"My parents are already starving to death!"

"Robbing? Let's rob too!"

Under the riot, the governor of Seoul hurried to Gyeongbokgung Palace with his head covered with bruises and under protection.

Yin Yuanheng had previously ordered him to pacify the people first. However, more and more civilians came out to join the riots in different directions in Seoul. How many manpower are there to stop and pacify them?

Do we still need to defend the four walls?

The King and Concubine and Yin Yuanheng must make up their minds. The Ming army was going to pretend not to attack the city anyway, so it was business to first mobilize some defenders to quell the civil strife in the city.

The governor of Seoul was promoted by Yin Yuanheng after Li Geng passed away. He was a loyal and loyal bitch.

Gyeongbokgung Palace is located in the northwest of Seoul. The governor of Seoul noticed something was wrong as soon as he arrived outside the south gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

What about the Praetorian Guards?

As far as he could see, he saw many palace eunuchs and female officials running out with bulging packages in their hands.

No need to ask, he also understood what was going on.

"It's over..."

As soon as the murmur fell, he heard the noise in the east.

The Yin siblings were decisive, and were ready to abandon the city as soon as the situation changed.

They say perseverance, but secretly who is not prepared?

And they cherish their lives so much, how can they be left unprotected when they want to escape?

Naturally, the most loyal Imperial Guards cannot be left behind, nor can they leave Gyeongbokgung Palace without anyone noticing, even if they carry important national utensils, property, and chariots with them?

You have to leave anyway, so why not bring more people to protect yourself.

Only the abandoned eunuchs and maids realized something was different in Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Why don't you just grab something and escape?

Now, such large-scale activities cannot be completely unnoticed in the city.

They were so violent that they seemed to be suppressing rioters along the road.

"If you block the grain road, you will be killed without mercy!"

They had indeed fought all the way. At this moment, Yin Yuanheng could no longer care about anything.

Naturally, some people saw something unusual: if it was to protect the grain road in the direction of the east gate, why were there many vehicles besides the Imperial Guards, and even tightly packed carriages. Next to the carriages there were eunuchs and maids lowering their heads nervously. Follow the run.

"Is it the king? Is the king going to abandon the city and flee eastward?"

After being shouted at for so many days to "escape to the east", the convoy protected by the Imperial Guard was too conspicuous.

At this time, the poor people who had taken to the streets spread the news and became even more angry and frantic.

Originally, there were more people attacking towards the North Gate and West Gate, but now many people were panicking and wanted to escape with them.

Under the chain reaction, first of all, the wealthy officials and gentry families with more manpower and wealth hurriedly prepared, and then the news quickly spread to the defenders in the north, west, and south of the city.

As for the defenders in the east of the city, they descended the city wall in large numbers and joined the team protecting the Yin siblings and the young king as they fled eastward.

"Don't worry about it. The sooner you enter Taibai Mountain, the sooner you will be safe."

From a carriage in front, Yin Yuanheng's order came.

The Taibai Mountain he was talking about is a mountain range that stretches across the central part of the peninsula from north to south.

The entire peninsula, not to mention the plateau and Hamgyeong Mountains in the northeast, the Taebaek Mountains in the east and the Sobaek Mountains in the south, running northeast and southwest, actually divide the peninsula from east to west.

The reason why the Ming army could only secure Ping'an Road and Huanghai Road during this period was due to the terrain.

And if the Yin siblings, who are determined to flee eastward, can cross the Taebaek Mountains to the east and then go south to Gyeongsang Province, they will not lose the opportunity to separate themselves.

Historically, Silla and Baekje were separated by the Sobaek Mountain Range.

Like dominoes, the young king's flight eastward, the movements of the imperial guards and the defenders east of the city completely overwhelmed the will of resistance of the other three defenders.

The senior generals knew that they would not be spared, so they either set off quickly or went to plunder some property along the way.

The entire Seoul soon fell into chaos on a larger scale, and the unarmed and hungry poor ushered in Seoul, which was like a hell on earth.

The city gate to the east is actually open, but the last group of generals are still blocking it there. The arrows were like rain, and they first suppressed the others and caught up with them to hang up the team of young kings who were fleeing eastward to avoid exposing their whereabouts.

Then when it was almost done, they evacuated completely and quickly, probably hoping that the people in the city would scatter into the vast countryside to the east, so that the Ming army would run into a huge mass of fleeing people when they pursued them.

At this time, Yin Yuanheng was already nearly five miles away from the city. He was still protected by nearly 5,000 elite guards in the front, behind and on both wings.

On a hilltop in the northeast, Song Liangchen in the forest put down his telescope and looked at Li Yuan.

"I have transferred you here. Now is the time to show off your skills. Marquis Chicheng captured the Khan Lord's Great Banner in the past. Today, I am leading the special operations battalion. Can you capture the traitor and the young king of North Korea who usurped the throne alive?"

Li Yuan shook the special blunderbuss on his hand and said with firm eyes: "It's just a mob. General, please give the order!"

There were only about 500 people in total who hurriedly came here to intercept them without concealing the information from the defenders in the north and east of the city.

Yin Yuanheng's formation of abandoning the city and escaping turned out to be like this. It was barely concealed and allowed the defenders in the city to continue to resist for a while under the inertia. This was probably out of Zhang Jing's expectation.

How could there be such a shameless escape from a country's king and powerful prime minister?

Song Liangchen had already sent people back and sent more people to come directly, but now he had to block them or hang them up.

He pulled out his saber: "Listen to my general's orders! Get off the mountain!"

On this day, the Ming army indeed stopped shelling Seoul.

In the east of the city, the generals protecting the young master heard the sound of Ming Dynasty's gunfire.

How can one fight against ten?

……

Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, not to mention the Song Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty actually indirectly controlled North Korea: there were more than 70 Daru Huachis left in various states and counties of the Goryeo Dynasty at that time, which were palm seal officials.

Later, Kublai Khan first classified it into the Liaoyang Province, and later changed it to the Zhengdong Province.

During the Yuan Dynasty, although the Goryeo Dynasty still existed, the peninsula was actually the territory of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty.

In the past dynasties, most of the Central Plains dynasties did not directly rule here. There are naturally reasons.

When powerful, they are actually submissive.

They are already weak, so naturally they are not qualified to think about opening up new territories.

Even if we purely consider the pros and cons, capturing and operating North Korea is not worth the gain.

But it's different now.

"When the capital is moved to Beijing, North Korea is not far away." After the chaos in Seoul and the Ming army's victory without bloodshed, after entering Beijing quickly, the Ming monarchs and ministers began to launch a long-term strategy against North Korea.

Zhu Houcong continued to emphasize his point of view to them: "North Korea will definitely become a solid land in the future. In order to manage it well, the Ming Dynasty's navy, shipping, and Northeastern land routes will all receive long-term attention."

The powerful enemies of the Central Plains Dynasty have always come from the north. Either the grassland, or the white mountains and black waters of the Northeast.

To firmly control North Korea, we must manage Northeast China, a place that is still a bitter cold at this time and where most people do not want to stay for a long time.

With the level of technology at this time, shipping can still only be an auxiliary, but there is also a considerable need to create momentum to continue progress.

"What's more, it's not really barren. Not only in the Northeast, North Korea also has a lot of coal, iron, and copper, but their technology is backward and they cannot make good use of it." Zhu Houcong said, "Now that we have won this battle, we must start to operate in this direction in the long run. . This is not a matter of one or two years, Gong Yongqing’s talent is not enough.”

Today's meeting is really about identifying a few ministers who will assist the King of Liao in governing North Korea.

Most of the officials previously elected to aid Korea had to govern local areas. But when foreigners govern a foreign land, there must be important ministers in the court who understand the needs of the Ming Dynasty and are capable and willing enough.

Of the nine ministers of state, it was naturally impossible for Yang Shen to go. There were also a few elderly people like Yan Song. Among the remaining people, it was impossible for Tang Shunzhi to be let go.

Yang Shen said: "Zhang Tingyi's strategy is superhuman and his talents are outstanding. His prestige in pacifying Seoul has spread far and wide to North Korea. Who else can take on this important task?"

Zhu Houcong nodded silently.

Zhang Jingcai is a little over fifty and is indeed one of the suitable candidates. His governor, Xuanning, was also willing to do something in the frontier.

Yan Song hesitated for a moment, and then spoke: "I recommend another person. After Cao Mingqing became an official, his health gradually recovered. If your Majesty can use him, he will definitely be able to assist the King of Liao in Korea to do something."

"...Cao Cha?" Zhu Houcong glanced at Yan Song, and everyone else fell silent.

These people naturally know why Cao Cha became an official.

Yan Song actually mentioned Cao Cha again at this time, which was a bit bold.

Zhu Houcong was thinking.

Cao Cha is not too old. He has served as a prefect and a governor, so he certainly has rich experience and talents.

He previously tried to make his daughter the new queen, which caused a storm in the palace.

There is no need to say that he is ambitious. If there is an opportunity to "improve", it is certainly worth fighting for.

It can only be said that there was no accurate clue about the emperor's pulse at that time.

Now because of this incident, Zhu Houcong still has feelings for Duan Concubine.

But after all, she is also the mother of three daughters...

Zhu Houcong nodded: "It's not impossible."

If the waste heat is used again, it can be considered that people have made full use of it.

It would be a good match to have Zhang Jing and Cao Cha, two people with experience as governors, and supplemented by two middle-aged and young people like Gong Yongqing and Shen Lian.

"For cultural and educational matters, Minister Gong is enough. He has many contacts with Korean scholars." Yan Song added, "In addition, the Korean court cannot be without local virtuous ministers. Although I am old, I am willing to make this trip for the imperial envoy. , to express His Majesty's favor. By the way... I also want to meet Quanzi."

Zhu Houcong laughed: "The road is bumpy, are you really willing to go?"

"After counting the crimes and responsibilities of the Li Dynasty, the King of Liao ascended the throne as the King of Korea in accordance with the wishes of the people. How can I express my sorrow for such a big event?" Yan Song spoke righteously, but continued to joke, "I am also old, if I can handle it With this incident, there will be another stroke in the history of history, which is what you wish for."

Everyone else looked at Yan Song.

There are more than sixty people, and now it is winter again. It takes several months to go back and forth.

The acclimatization and difficult conditions are actually quite risky for the elderly.

It sounds like Yan Song has given up the idea of ​​continuing to fight for the position of Prime Minister and Minister of State. After all, he is already very old, and it feels like leaving a little more traces in the history of the world.

But to preside over this matter is indeed a good thing that will leave a great name in the history of the world.

From the perspective of this time, although Yan Song has always been re-employed, after all, he has never been the chief minister of the previous cabinet, and he has always been just a minister of state.

His status is the same as that of other non-Prime Ministers of State, just one of them.

But only Zhu Houcong knew that this guy now wanted to use this kind of "hard work" to impress himself: Look at me, I am still willing to endure hardships for you even at my age. Back then, would it really come true?

Yan Song, who knew Zhu Houcong's needs well, was naturally able to do the best things he had to do after going to North Korea, which was a great achievement in Zhu Houcong's heart.

Other ministers of state are also aware of this.

But Yan Song took the initiative to ask for help and said it with such an attitude and tone, it was hard for others to compete with him.

Zhu Houcong nodded: "That's it, it's a one-shot win."

The capital side was arranging how to change the world for North Korea, but outside Seoul, King Liao and Duke An Dongli finally stood outside the North City Gate.

Not all the Ming army had entered the city, but camped in the east and south of the city.

But he entered a part, took over Seoul these days, and restored order in the city.

Now, there are no Ming generals stationed on the city walls. They are all patrolling the streets throughout the city.

Each five-man team is matched with fifteen soldiers who surrendered and were re-incorporated as the future security force of North Korea, and have new identities.

Outside the North City Gate, Zhang Jing and Song Liangchen, together with representatives of various identities in Seoul, welcomed King Liao and Duke An Dong who were waiting for the city to restore order before entering the city.

Li looked at the familiar Seoul with mixed feelings in his heart.

And looking at Yin Yuanheng who was tied there by the soldiers, he felt even more complicated.

But his part had to continue, so he bowed his head and said with choked eyes: "Thank you, Mr. Zhang, and the Marquis of Xining for helping me avenge myself and capture the culprit. Traitor! You siblings are so cruel, my brothers." What's the crime?"

This section is not really acting, but really emotional.

Not to mention the former crown prince, but his other brothers cannot threaten the throne.

The Ming army continued to besiege but failed to attack. Before Yin Yuanheng took Queen Wending and the young king to flee eastward, Li Yi and other concubines who were controlled by them were all poisoned to death.

This was the fact that Song Liangchen found out from Yin Yuanheng's confidants and generals after he caught him.

Speaking of the reason, they were worried that they would take advantage of the chaos and flee to various places, or be led by other defenders to flee to various places to support themselves.

"This officer's crimes are extremely heinous, and his cruelty is rarely seen in the world." Zhang Jing shook his head, "It was out of kindness that he did not want to attack by force. Unexpectedly, this officer was so insane that in order to escape, he actually plunged the people of the city into chaos. The intention is to slow down the king's pursuit by causing chaos in the city. Now there are only two Duke An Dong brothers left. This officer will never be redeemed unless he dies, and his sister can be said to be a snake-hearted person."

"Please Zhang Dutai allow me to kill this thief and sacrifice the souls of my late father and brothers in heaven!"

"Since the official punishment has been announced, this officer has brought harm to the country and the people, and the people in the city are eager to eat his flesh. I also asked the prince and Duke An Dong to enter the city first. Now there are still several officers and soldiers who are in danger and are self-reliant. It is a small matter to kill this officer. How can we save the rest of Korea? The people of the Five Paths have great troubles with water and fire."

The King of Liao took a step forward with some excitement: "What Zhang Dutai said is true! Traitors and traitors have been rampant in North Korea and the government has been corrupted for many years. Now there is a rebellion and war disaster. Now that the leader of the thieves has been captured, Si Chen and the puppet are in power. , not a blessing to North Korea!”

This is not his loyal capital at the moment, but it will be soon.

The guard of honor arrived at Gyeongbokgung Palace, and Li also acted as the guide.

Queen Wending and her biological son were guarded in her former palace. Mao, King Liao and Li all saw them, and there was a monk who was also tied up next to them.

"This is his face. There are many female officials and ministers around him as evidence, saying that they had an affair long ago when your father was still alive."

"Whore! Don't I know about this monster monk making rain!"

Mao also shook his head after hearing this.

But when Queen Wen Ding saw that the situation was over, she knelt there in panic and begged Li: "Hai'an Lord! Hai'an Lord! It's all Yuan Heng who forced me! Give up the throne to Hai'an Lord, spare the lives of our mother and son! Spare our lives..."

Li felt extremely bitter in his heart.

That was originally possible, but now Ming has shown its cards.

He looked up to the sky and wept: "The clan is unfortunate, and the people are betrayed. My ancestors are above me, and I, Li Hemian, am still on the throne. The king of Liao is wise, and he has been taught by the Mingjun of Shangguo since he was a child. Now that Korea is falling apart, how can I be virtuous and capable of taking on the responsibility?" Such a great responsibility? I will spend my whole life just to plead guilty for my father, Wang Xinzhong, who is a traitor and has caused harm to the country and the people!"

"Mr. Anton's words are serious."

The King of Liao shook his head humbly: "If the civil strife can be put down as quickly as possible, let's summon the elders and famous figures to discuss it as soon as possible."

Queen Wending actually couldn't understand Chinese, but at this time she finally confirmed what Yin Yuanheng said before.

Daming really didn't come here to help Li or support a puppet.

Could it be that the Li family's empire was really lost in the hands of her own son?

(End of this chapter)