Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Daming considerately allowed him to choose his title, which made Li Jong feel better.

This shows that the Ming Dynasty had no intention of replacing the Korean royal family, and his status could still be guaranteed.

And thinking on the bright side, with the protection of the Ming Dynasty, he doesn't have to worry about the northern barbarians and the southern Japanese, nor does he have to worry about the powerful ministers who may usurp the throne.

As long as he does not disobey the Ming Dynasty, he can enjoy wealth and honor forever as a prince.

Of course, he was also worried that he would gradually lose power like the feudal lords of the Ming Dynasty before, so he asked Lu Shanji, who was seeking his advice:
"The Ming Dynasty allows princes to have three guards. I wonder if my three guards of the imperial army can stay?"

"Will the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Guard Office be retained?"

The imperial court had no regulations on this, because when the Ming Dynasty enthroned Altan Khan and Ligdan Khan, it was unable to limit the amount of military force they could have.

However, since the King of Korea proposed it, Lu Shanji thought for a while and said:

"The three imperial guards should be retained, but their names should be changed. They can no longer use the Yulin Guards and other names that are repeated in Ming Dynasty. They should be changed to the Korean Left Guard, the Korean Center Guard, and the Korean Right Guard."

"The Imperial Guard and the Imperial Guard Office..."

Lu Shan continued with a long voice:

"I will do my best to explain to the court and let Your Highness keep some of it."

Li Zong was extremely delighted, knowing that this was the real guarantee. As long as he had soldiers, he would not completely lose power.

An army of 10,000 was defeated by 300 cavalrymen of the Jianlu, and he himself was forced to flee to the islands and had to submit to the Ming Dynasty. This incident really hurt him.

He decided to purchase weapons from the Ming Dynasty, hire instructors for good training, and strive to train his own soldiers into elite troops.

When Lu Shanji heard that Li Jong wanted to buy weapons, he naturally agreed.

Because the court had decided to provide greater support to North Korea, weapons would be delivered even if Li Jong did not buy them.

Now that Li Jong is willing to spend money, he is of course happier.

The poor performance of the Korean army in the face of the Jianlu also made him not worry about the growth of Korea. Instead, he felt that a stronger Korean army would reduce the pressure on Ming.

Li Zong saw that Lu Shanji agreed to many of his requests and his attitude was a little more polite than before. This surprised him a little, but he also understood that the treatment of the prince of the Ming Dynasty was completely different from that of the king of a foreign vassal.

Apart from other things, if he brings up the lineage defense again, the officials of the Ming Dynasty will never dare to ignore it.

The fact that Joseon's King Taejo Lee Seong-gye was mistakenly identified as the son of Lee In-im and written into the Huang Ming Zu Xun took nearly two hundred years to be written into the Ming Hui Dian after Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty allowed the correction.

One of the reasons was that the "Da Ming Hui Dian" was rarely revised, and the other reason was that the Ming officials did not care about foreign vassal states.

This matter was small to the Ming Dynasty, like a grain of sand, but it was a huge mountain to the Joseon royal family.

Before the Imjin War, Korea and Ming always regarded this matter as a top priority in their dealings.

Even now, Li Zong has to bring it up:

"I heard that His Majesty has set up a National History Museum to compile the history of the Ming Dynasty."

"Please pay attention to the National History Museum about the life story of our ancestor, King Kangxian."

"I will send an envoy to clarify this matter and the Guihai rebellion."

Of the two events, he was more concerned about the latter. He hoped that the Ming Dynasty would also define the Guihai Rebellion in history books and determine his status.

Although Lu Shanji was somewhat dissatisfied with the King of Korea's interference in how the Ming Dynasty compiled its national history, this was just a small problem for the Ming Dynasty.

The status of a prince is completely different from that of a vassal monarch. Take the Ming Dynasty for example, there was once an examiner who was fined his salary because he used the prince's name in his questions for the provincial examination!
Fortunately, the current emperor emphasizes that two names are not taboos, so you only need to pay attention to the names that are connected.

However, when the prince goes overseas to be governed by a fiefdom in the future, his name must be avoided in his fiefdom.

It is hard to say whether they will ask the Ming Dynasty to avoid the same taboo in the future.

Lu Shanji felt a headache just thinking about it, and felt that Prince Suncheon, like the King of Korea, was more adorable—

No matter how much the King of Korea put forward, he dared not ask the Ming Dynasty to avoid mentioning the names of successive kings of Korea.

At the same time, he also had some understanding in his heart, knowing that the court allowed Korea to annex the country probably to set an example for future vassal states.

Even the internal and external vassal states have to comply with so many requirements, so the internal vassal states naturally have to comply even more.

If any vassal states make unreasonable demands, the imperial court will not let them go.

This was indeed one of the reasons why Zhu Youjian asked the Lifanyuan to push for Korea's submission. Although there were vassal kings guarding the border in the early Ming Dynasty, and families like the Duke of Qian had ruled Yunnan for more than 200 years, there was no real internal vassal state.

Therefore, he chose to push Korea to submit to the country, experiment with some policies on this vassal state, and set rules for the future vassal state.

The same was true for Ryukyu, which he completely accepted as an internal vassal state to see whether the existing vassal state system of the Ming Dynasty was appropriate.

In the future, the minister stationed in Korea who also serves as the prime minister of Korea will also carry out a series of reforms to Korea's official system, imperial examination system, etc., so that other vassal states will have rules to follow when establishing corresponding systems.

For example, the Joseon king is called "Your Highness" and the crown prince is called "Your Highness", which is worth learning from. It can distinguish the monarch of the vassal state and the crown prince in terms of name.

After discussing some specific matters with King Li Jong of Korea, Lu Shanji suddenly said:

"North Korea is not at peace now, and the Jianlu are wreaking havoc everywhere."

"Your Highness, are you willing to go to the capital to accept the title and ask for the Ming Dynasty's assistance?"

"Any minister from North Korea who wants to go can also be brought along."

A trace of astonishment flashed across Li Jong's face, and then a look of grief flashed across his face, and he responded:
"The country is in danger. How can a king leave?"

"I'd like to trouble you to send an envoy to confer the title upon me. I am eagerly awaiting the conferment!"

"The prince is in the capital, please take care of him."

Worried that he would not be able to return after going to Ming Dynasty, he rejected the suggestion.

At the same time, he pointed out that he had already sent his crown prince over to show his sincerity to the Ming Dynasty.

After hearing this, Lu Shanji knew that Li Zong did not fully trust the Ming Dynasty. However, this matter was a matter of trying to make a profit, so he reluctantly agreed with Li Zong's statement and instructed:

"The enthronement of a prince is different from the previous enthronement of a foreign vassal monarch. Your Highness must prepare the corresponding utensils and comply with the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty."

"The seal that was previously bestowed must also be taken back and replaced this time."

"Also, we must not neglect the matter of sending envoys to pay tribute."

"Your Majesty has exempted Korea from tribute for three years because of the invasion, but as a subject, Your Highness must also show sincerity."

This was something that made Lee Jong very uncomfortable, because the Ming Emperor required him to pay tribute according to the 11th tax, and to hand over one-tenth of Korea's taxes.

Although he was spared from the invasion of the barbarians during these three years, he would still have to pay tribute every year after the Jianlu was pacified, and he would also be responsible for the expenses of the Ming garrison.

This was the most demanding of all the newly added conditions, and it made him regret not accepting the Ming Dynasty's surrender before.

But it's too late to say anything now. As long as he can keep his throne, he is willing to accept any conditions proposed by the Ming Dynasty.

He pleaded with Lu Shanji:

"Korea is a small country with a weak population and is unable to resist the invaders."

"Mr. Lu must explain this to the court and ask it to send troops as soon as possible."

He hoped that the Ming Dynasty could save Korea from danger again, just like it did during the Imjin War. However, Lu Shanji knew that the imperial court had no intention of sending more troops to Korea, and even hoped that Korea could keep holding back the Jianlu.

However, this kind of words obviously cannot be said directly, and he responded after careful consideration:

"The imperial court has ordered the transfer of all First Fleet troops to North Korea."

"As long as there is no thick ice on the sea, Your Highness does not need to worry about your safety."

First, he gave Li Jong a safety guarantee, and then lied:
"Liaodong has already dispatched a large army, and the Jianlu will be forced to return to support in the near future."

"Dongjiang Town, Ningyuan State and other places are also under the command of Governor Hong to help Korea resist the invaders."

"But Korea also needs to save itself. The court's intention is to encourage righteous soldiers to fight against the invaders and confer titles on those who have made contributions."

"Your Highness, please fulfill the previous communication about conferring a title on General Cui immediately!"

This was something that Lu Shanji was very dissatisfied with. The imperial court had already issued the order to confer a title on Cui Nanyi, and the reward for the title must be fulfilled.

However, Korea kept making excuses, neither agreeing to confer the title nor wanting Choi Nam-yi to completely become a Ming citizen.

If he had not been pushing for Joseon's annexation, Lu Shanji might have suggested to the court to directly confer a title on Choi Nam-yi.

We cannot damage the reputation of the Ming Dynasty just because of a mere earl.

Now, he formally proposed it to Li Jong, letting Li Jong know that he had no room for shirking.

The biggest reason why he was unwilling to confer a title on Cui Nanyi was that he did not want to cede his land to him.

Moreover, Choi Nam-yi's family once supported Gwanghaegun, and in his opinion, this person was not one of their own.

But now think about it, Cui Nanyi had asked someone to express his loyalty to him and wanted to help him train the army.

Li Jong felt that he was much better than some unknown volunteer generals, so he nodded reluctantly and said:

"I intend to confer him the title of Lord Cijiang and allocate him a territory east of Dongjiang Territory."

Lu Shanji frowned and said:
"The eastern part of Dongjiang Territory is reserved by the court for Marshal Mao to make meritorious contributions in the future. It is not appropriate to distribute it now."

"Lu believes that the area south of the Cheongcheon River and north of the Taedong River is more suitable, so General Cui can defend against the Jianlu."

This surprised Li Zong, who said hurriedly:
"Didn't Mr. Hong say before that only the land north of the Cheongcheon River would be granted?"

"Why do we have to block off the area south of the Cheongcheon River as well?"

How can we repay the internal vassal faction if we don’t grant them more land? Lu Shanji thought about the fiefs that some Korean families had allocated in advance, and said seriously:

"If we don't distribute more land, how can we reward the soldiers who have made contributions in resisting the invaders?"

"Besides, there is no strategic location to defend Pyongyang. We must appoint a capable person to resist the Jian invaders."

"General Cui is very suitable. He is a general that the court values."

A place without strategic locations to defend is a good place! Li Jong shouted in his heart.

Pyongyang and other places along the Taedong River are all plains and are also where wealth is concentrated. How could he be willing to give them away?
What particularly worries him is that it will not be enough to just divide Pyongyang, and more land will be divided away.

This was also the reason why he was unwilling to submit before.

However, the Ming Dynasty had to split up Korea. It could not leave a large vassal state with a population of tens of millions so close to the capital.

The vassal states in the north also did not want this sea route to be completely controlled by the Korean royal family.

Lu Shanji said to Li Jong forcefully:

"The enfeoffment of vassal states is the national policy of the Ming Dynasty, and Korea should also implement it."

"If Your Highness does not want to enfeoff outsiders, you can enfeoff members of the royal family like other vassal states."

"But the fiefdoms must be divided, and the titles must be changed to duke, marquis, earl, viscount and baron, and they must participate in the noble council."

This means that the King of Korea will not be able to move against those vassal states in the future, otherwise it will destroy the feudal system established by the Ming Dynasty.

This was the Ming Dynasty's restriction on the vassal states, to prevent any of them from becoming too powerful. If a powerful vassal state did emerge, it would be separated by extension.

Li Jong knew very well the purpose of the Ming Dynasty's enfeoffment, but he helplessly found that he had no ability to resist.

Thinking of the Crown Prince Li Wang who pushed for Joseon's annexation, he thought bitterly:
"This is the result of the internal attachment. You will have to bear the consequences from now on!"

He asked Lu Shanji:
"I can agree to the division of fiefs, but please add a clause to the treaty:"

"The land that was distributed did not exceed half of North Korea's land."

"And the title of lord must end at the rank of Viscount. You cannot establish a vassal state, only a territory."

"The number of fiefs and lands owned by the royal family cannot be less than that of people from other families."

"I intend to confer titles of viscount on both Prince Bongnim and Prince Inpyeong, with territories in Pyongyang and Hamhung."

This was an agreement to Lu Shanji's conditions, but he also put forward his own demands.

In any case, he didn't want a country within a country to appear, and at most he would grant it a viscountship.

If it weren't for Choi Nam-yi's incident, Lu Shanji would be able to accept it, but Choi Nam-yi's title of earl was a reward from the imperial court and it was impossible for him to be downgraded.

Moreover, many families expressed their desire to be crowned as high-ranking nobles. Lu Shanji fought for them and said:

"count!"

"The highest title that North Korea can hold is earl."

"But the territory requirement can be relaxed. It doesn't have to be 300 li square. It only needs to be 200 li square, which is higher than the Viscount's requirement."

"An earl can also establish an earldom without setting up a vassal state."

This was something that the Lifanyuan was discussing: changing the princes of the royal family into earls, generals into viscounts, and lieutenants into barons, and dividing corresponding territories for them within the vassal state.

Therefore, the earl could not only establish a vassal state on his own and become a prince, but also become a lord of a vassal state.

After considering it, Li Jong finally agreed to this. This kind of earl who did not open up a vassal state was equivalent to a larger viscount, and the area of ​​the territory might not even be much larger.

Under the circumstances that the Ming Dynasty wanted to honor the reward and confer the title of Count Cui Nanyi, he could not resist. He needed to use this incident to agree on the rules of the division of fiefdom with the Ming Dynasty.

He placed Cui Nanyi's fief in the area of ​​Cicheng in the upper reaches of the Yalu River and named him the Earl of Cijiang.

His second son, Prince Bongnim, was given the title of Bongnimbaek, with fiefdoms in the Pyongyang area.

The third son, Prince Inpyeong, was granted the title of Inpyeong-bak and his fief was in the Hamhung area.

He wanted to use these three earldoms to surround Mao Wenlong's Dongjiang Territory, to prevent Mao Wenlong from becoming more and more powerful and encroaching on the surrounding lands.

Lu Shanji did not care about the size of these territories. He only wanted Korea to be divided according to the system.

He also proposed to confer titles on the families of the emperor's concubines, such as Lady Zhao. The reason was very simple, that is, the families of the emperor's concubines all had hereditary positions or titles.

Li Jong now regretted offering his daughter to the Ming Emperor, but as a king, he knew the harm of pillow talk, so he could only reluctantly agree to confer hereditary knighthood and baronship on these families. The Zhao family, to which the most favored Concubine Zhao belonged, was even conferred the title of Viscount.

Because the viscount's territory is very large, Li Jong plans to place his loyal minister Jin Zidan in Gyeongsang Province as well. Use him to keep an eye on the Zhao family and guard against the southern Japanese. (End of this chapter)