As early as the seventeenth year of Wanli, the Japanese envoy group landed in Busanpo, North Korea, and the envoy group was headed by Tsushima Island Lord Zong Yoshizhi and Jingzhe Xuansu, and the Korean side was received by Li Dexin, the envoy of the official Cao Zhenglang. Li Dexin was born as a talent, and North Korea is proud of being a country of etiquette in the east, and Li Dexin, who is in charge of foreign affairs, does not dare to relax his image. I saw that although Zong Yizhi was also a dignified envoy from Japan, there was still a trace of ferocity and cunning in his eyes, which made Li Dexin dislike it.

In addition to presenting a gift list, Zong Yizhi also presented gifts to Li Dexin, Li Dexin refused to accept it on the grounds of public affairs, but under Zong Yizhi's pleading, Li Dexin saw that the gift box was actually a Western arquebus, also known as a bird gun or iron cannon. Li Dexin was shocked, but he couldn't help but have doubts about Japan's intentions.

Tsushima Island, where Zong Yizhi is located, is between Japan and North Korea, and relies on cross-strait trade to survive all the year round, and this time he came to Korea to establish diplomatic relations with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was ordered by Japan's Guanbai Toyotomi Hideyoshi to establish diplomatic relations. In the event of a war with North Korea, Tsushima will not only be cut off from its existing economic resources, but the only remaining materials and strong men on the island will be expropriated as an outpost station, which Tsushima cannot afford. Therefore, Zong Yizhi, as an envoy this time, in order to urge the two countries to live in harmony, he has always done his best to enter the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, in the capital, the ministers of the Eastern and Western parties of Korea were arguing fiercely about Japan's coming to Korea, and Zheng Yanxin, who was the right-wing politician in the Dongren Party at the time, was very dissatisfied with this, and said: "In the past 150 years, except for coastal raids, the two countries have no formal state exchanges, but now they say that they are deeply baptized by the culture of our state. ”

There is one person here who has a different opinion, although he is nearly fifty years old, he is still rich and handsome, gentle and elegant, and everyone knows that he is upright by nature, loyal and filial, and is praised for his literary talent and martial arts. It is the current soldier of the East People's Party, Cao Juju, Liu Chenglong.

Regarding the Japanese envoy's visit, Yoo Chenglong agreed to receive him: "King Sejong Shijin Shuzhou, Lord Shin Shuzhou, traveled overseas many times, taught etiquette, exchanged classics, and showed his demeanor in the country and was deeply admired. It has been isolated for a hundred and fifty years, and now that the envoy has come, as a kingdom, it is his duty to investigate the movements and understand current affairs. Zheng Yanzhi, the official of the commission, and Zheng Yanxin, the right-hand minister, still insisted that Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a dangerous person and could not establish diplomatic relations with him, and even if he investigated the movements, he could appoint the lord of Tsushima to investigate on his behalf.

Li Shanhai, the leader of the East People's Party and the leader of the Left Council, said: "Today is not what it used to be, Tsushima is no longer the place of free trade in the past, and now it is in the hands of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. And His Royal Highness is not the eldest successor, he is very sensitive to etiquette, the lineage debate has just ended, after five generations of kings, twenty-six envoys and nineteen times, he finally inherited the grace of the kingdom, swept away the shame of the previous kings, just when the state of etiquette is a great state of etiquette, if he establishes diplomatic relations with a country that is contrary to the usurper, what should His Royal Highness be angry about? ”

This Li Shanhai is in a high position and is deeply supported by the party. The expression is unpredictable, the city is very deep, and the posture of the dragon and phoenix chicks is deep with the majesty of the elderly, which can be described as a word. Now that the Dongren Party controls the government, Li Shanhai, as the leader of the party, can influence state affairs with his words and deeds.

Hearing this, Zheng Yanxin and others were deeply worried, because the king of Joseon was indifferent to Japan, and it was still unknown whether he could receive the envoy, and if the king was angry, he would be implicated. Half a moment later, Li Shanhai proposed that it would be most appropriate for Bing Cao to judge Liu Chenglong to try it. Li Shanhai said: "I see that he is a Confucian family, upright by nature, loyal and filial, and often praised by His Royal Highness, so I have to see it." The people who were afraid of angering the king of Joseon naturally clapped their hands when they heard that Zuo Yizheng was talking about it, and strongly agreed with Yoo Sung-ryong to play Chen to the king of Joseon.

In the hall that night, the king of North Korea, Li Hao, sat in the middle, graceful and luxurious, closed his eyes and listened to the music. Listening to Liu Chenglong's reprimand, he asked: "Two years ago, the widow made a clear decree that the widow would not establish diplomatic relations with the person who killed the lord and usurped the government. Why did the Bing Cao verdict mention this matter again in front of the widow? ”

Liu Chenglong defended that it was not the establishment of diplomatic relations, but that he asked the king to meet with the envoys for the purpose of exploring. Li Hao was furious: "Those who rebel against the Lord and become the king are the people of beasts, and the country of the people of birds and beasts is the country of beasts!" It was only after 200 years of lineage debate that the widow and the ancestors of the past generations were cleared from this pain and re-established as a ceremonial state! Won't the country of beasts become a kingdom of beasts!? How does the Celestial Empire think about it? ”

Yoo Jackie once again pleaded with the king not to confuse the reception of envoys with the establishment of diplomacy. Li Hao ordered sharply: "You receive the envoys to investigate the movements, and the widows will not stop them, but the widows will never meet the envoys of the country of beasts, and do not let them step into the widow's palace!" ”

After Liu Chenglong retreated, the king of Joseon Li Hao was upset, and the noble Jin comforted him, and recited Zheng Che's Simei song to make Li Hao feel sad.

The night is frosty, and I can't sleep listening to the sound of geese. The dangerous building is alone, and the crystal curtain is high.

The moon rises in the east mountain, and the stars in the North Pole are seen. Worried about the joy and sorrow of the king, tears from the bottom of the crisscross.

Zheng Chezi Ji Han Songjiang, a famous poet of the government and the opposition, is also the leader of the Westerners' Party, although he is a literati, but he has a beard and a beard, a strong body, not angry and self-prestigious, and has been dismissed and exiled for four years because of the dispute between the East and the West. At this time, he was sitting and drinking opposite his friend Cheng Hun, during which Cheng Hun continued to persuade Zheng Che, which said: "The generation of the villains of the Easterners, with selfish interests and scourge the country, will expel us all, now Li Gu has passed away, Ji Han is sluggish, celebrities are exiled, protégés are scattered, loyal and righteous people have no way to serve the country, and treacherous people live in important positions. ”

Zheng Che was at a loss, suddenly heard a person outside the door shouting in, and looked at it was the long-exiled Westerner Party military division Song Yibi, Song Yibi's word Yunchang, called Guifeng, because of his humble background, he was not allowed to enter the office, but he was knowledgeable, capable and decisive, resourceful, affectionate and trustworthy, so he was deeply valued by the Westerner Party. After the three of them reunited after a long absence, Song Yibi offered a plan: "It is reported that the envoys of the Japanese invaders have come to establish diplomatic relations, and the Dongren do not know the importance of it, and they are vainly trying to make our country a country of beasts and a king of beasts. It is expected that the Lord will not allow it, and the Easterners will not give up, and the Lord will be held hostage by the Easterners, which is the time we are waiting for. If you want to recover, you must help the two people, one is the great Confucian Zhao Xian, the eighteen sages of the Eastern Kingdom, upright and fearless, secretly contact Zhao Xian to convene Confucian students in the palace gate to collectively advise against the establishment of diplomatic relations, this is to build momentum. After that, the people will definitely open up public opinion and use it for me. The energy of the Easterners will be restrained by public opinion. The second is Jeolla Province Jung Ru-ri, who served as an important position in the imperial court under the strong recommendation of the Dongren Party in his early years, but his temperament is perverse, he once advocated the public property of the world and opposed to the Lord, and was gradually isolated, and now he is privately training the militia, and he can find out the details of the fabrication of the truth of the rebellion, which shakes the heart of the Lord, and then we quell the rebellion, blame the Dongren Party, and kill people with a knife. Zheng Che thought it was feasible.

The next day, the Dongren Party collectively met with the king of Joseon, Li Hao was not seen, and the ministers of the Dongren Party bowed down to the ground and asked to meet with the Japanese envoy and send a messenger. ”

Liu Chenglong, the secretary of the Bing Cao judgment, added: "The intentions of the Japanese state are unclear and unpredictable, so it is not impossible to send a messenger to investigate first and then decide whether to establish diplomatic relations." ”

The ministers said that His Royal Highness could not kneel. Li Hao knelt down to the ministers and cried: "You are all the teachers of the widows, and you have long spurred the widows to learn the royal way, govern benevolently, and govern the country of etiquette, why do you want to force the widows to become the kings of beasts now!" Become a country of beasts! Why do the people of Li want to be a people of beasts for no reason! If so, it is better to give the widow death first! The ministers silently spoke.

On the other hand, Zhao Xian led the Confucian Palace Gate to kneel and admonish: "The way of the holy king, you can distinguish loyalty and traitor!" There is no shame in intersecting with birds and beasts, if Zheng Che and Yi Doushou are still by His Royal Highness's side, how can the evil villain cause trouble in national politics! If it is the day when the messenger is dispatched, he must first axe the heads of the grass people! "In the past few days, Confucian scholars have been kneeling and admonishing, and the court officials have been visiting each other continuously, and the people have also been divided into two factions and arguing.

Subsequently, Li Shanhai, the governor of Zuo Yizheng, and Liu Chenglong, the judge of the soldier, met with the king of Joseon again and offered a plan: "You can order the Japanese to arrest the pirates who plundered along the coast, the captured people, and the criminals who rebelled and led the way to Wang Jing, which can calm the anger of the Confucian people, raise the prestige of His Royal Highness, and probe the sincerity of the Japanese state." Li Hao thought for a moment and thought deeply.

The next day, the Korean king Yi Hao summoned the Japanese mission at Gyeongbokgung Palace, and after Zong Yizhi read out the gift list and expressed his intention to establish diplomatic relations, Li Hao asked: "If you have the intention to have diplomatic relations, why are there constant riots along the coast? ”

Zong Yizhi replied: "The pirates have nothing to do with our country, the pirates are not Guan Bai's vassals, they are actually exiles in the sea, I should do my best to exterminate Guan Bai, no longer bother the king, and hinder the peace between the two countries." ”

Li Hao waved his hand and said with a smile: "There is no need to exterminate it, what the widow wishes is to return all the captives and bring all the pirates and Korean criminals who have defected to the enemy to the widow!" The widow will be executed. If it is not possible to follow the wishes of the widow, the establishment of diplomatic relations should not be mentioned again. ”

Jing Zhe Xuansu was shocked and asked: "The so-called pirates, it is difficult to find their whereabouts, and they don't know where the captives are, how can they be sent to Wang Jing in a short time?" Zong Yizhi agreed, guaranteed that he would follow the wishes of the king of Joseon, and then led the delegation to return to China.

In the heavy rain that night, Li Hao suddenly received a report that Zheng Ruli was privately training the militia in Datong River without asking for instructions, and he was shocked and shouted rebellion! He immediately ordered Zheng Ru to be corrected on the spot and informed the courtiers to meet him immediately. When all the ministers heard the news, they all braved the rain to enter the palace, their clothes were wet, and they looked at each other. King Li Hao was shocked and slowly spoke: "The widow had no intention of succeeding to the throne, it was the widow who was forcibly promoted by Aiqing, and the widow was diligent and thrifty since he asked about the succession. ”

The ministers were heartbroken when they heard this, and they pleaded guilty one after another, denouncing Zheng Ruli's wolf ambitions. Li Hao said to Liu Chenglong again: "Military judgment, you are in charge of the country's military affairs, Zheng Ruli is close at hand, and you don't even notice that you are secretly recruiting troops, if Zheng Ruli takes advantage of personal grievances to do misdeeds or raise troops to rebel, is the safety of the widow really so insignificant?" Liu Chenglong pleaded guilty on the ground: "Your Highness, why Zheng Ruli's recruiting office is unknown to the minister, the minister is frightened by the crime of negligence, please punish the minister with death!" "The ministers bow again, and they all ask for capital crimes.

In the following days, the people who followed Zheng Ruli were brutally interrogated but found nothing, at this time, the Joseon king Li Hao received reports from the Confucian scholars in China that there were relatives and friends between Zheng Yanxin, the military judge Liu Chenglong, and other officials of the Dongren Party and Zheng Ruli. For a time, a large number of Dongren Party officials, including Zheng Yanxin, the right-wing politician, Zheng Yanzhi, the official Cao Shenju, the soldier Cao Zhenglang, Hong Zhenglu, and Song Lingjin Hong, were arrested and interrogated, executed, and exiled, and the implication was widespread. Although Li Shanhai still retained the position of the left council in the Dongren Party, and Liu Chenglong was exempted from suspicion and promoted to the official Cao Sentencing, but with the promotion of Zheng Che of the Westerner Party to the right council and the promotion of Yi Doushou to the position of Dasi Xian, many Westerners held important positions, and the Westerner Party was thus restored.

A year later, Li Shanhai and Zheng Che were respectively reappointed as the leader of the council and the left council, and the king of North Korea, Li Hao, was accompanied by Liu Chenglong to watch the test of the bird gun and the flying thunder, after the explosion of the flying thunder, the grass man was hit by shrapnel within dozens of steps. The king of North Korea, Li Hao, was quite amazed, and hurriedly asked Liu Chenglong for advice, and Liu Chenglong explained in a few words and then asked Li Hao to watch the birds. The bird's range was far more than 100 steps, the target was accurate, and the power of penetration opened Li Hao's eyes. Liu Chenglong took the opportunity to ask the king of Joseon for an order, and a large number of imitation bird guns were used for military use.

Li Hao was about to agree, but the general Shen Li said from the side, please use the bird gun and bow and arrow test to compare before making a decision. Shen Qi ordered the bird to shoot continuously, and Shen Li used his own bow and arrow to compete with the bird gun. The slots had to be cleaned again for each shot, and it was time-consuming to fill the gunpowder, and Shen had fired six or seven arrows in a row during this period, and the arrows hit the bull's-eye. Li Hao suddenly realized: "I see, all kinds of weapons have their own strengths, not just look at the power of one side but also need to be comprehensively considered, live and learn to use." ”

Shen Yan replied: "What His Highness said is extremely true, in terms of killing within one hundred and ten steps, the bow and arrow are not as good as the bird's gun, but one hundred and ten steps away, the bird's gun accuracy is greatly reduced, and it is not difficult for my bow and arrow to shoot from a distance." Bird guns are extremely time-consuming to reload, while bows and arrows can be fired continuously. Comparatively speaking, the bow and crossbow are more useful for combat, and the bird gun can be used as a surprise weapon. Li Hao agreed.

Suddenly, it was rumored that Zong Yizhi and Jing Zhe Xuansu had brought back the pirates and the captives as promised, and Li Hao was overjoyed and ordered a prisoner sacrifice ceremony. The scale of the prisoner ceremony was large, the king came in person, hundreds of officials were arranged on both sides, and the people of Wangjing watched the ceremony one after another. During the execution, the heads of the Japanese and the traitors fell to the ground one after another, and the crowd was excited, and the cheers shook Wang Jing. Suddenly, a prisoner shouted for mercy, this person was a traitorous spy Sha Huatong, who was willing to confess a list of all spies in North Korea to avoid capital crimes, and told the story of North Korea's secret flying thunder, which greatly shocked Yoo Sung-ryong and the king of Joseon.

Liu Chenglong interrogated Sha Huatong at night, but Sha Huatong didn't dare to answer easily, and even begged to give him a guarantee to avoid death. Liu Chenglong was furious: "Bastard! Is this the time to talk about this first?! How could you not have thought of today when you were treason and surrendered to the enemy! Lose the face of your ancestors! Tell everything you know at once, and let the court know about the conspiracy of the Japanese robbers, so that the people and the community can prevent trouble! In this way, you can be regarded as making meritorious contributions to the country and protecting the country, and I will make a statement to His Highness the Lord to save you from death! ”

Sha Huatong revealed that he lived with a person named Wu Malu in Japan, who had said that he would sneak back to North Korea to listen to intelligence as a detailed worker, and obtain the design drawings of the flying thunder at the military plane. Liu Chenglong recorded Sha Huatong's confession one by one, Sha Huatong begged again to avoid death, Liu Chenglong agreed and then went to the military aircraft to check the attendance records, the attendance records are very detailed, the registered personnel are more than five years of seniority, even the details of the family are also recorded one by one. Liu Chenglong found out that the person who was absent from work for some reason was returning to his hometown to take care of his mother, and he immediately sent someone to his hometown to hunt him down, but the building was already empty.

The next day, the general Shen Yan entered Beijing and discussed with Liu Chenglong about the arrest of the traitors. Shin said: "If I am a spy, I must first go to the Wako Museum that is only available in Busanpo, and then go to sea with its help, and then I can go directly to Tsushima Island." If your Excellency agrees, I will immediately order the Gyeongsang Provincial Prison Camp to block the coast, and then pursue it with cavalry, and I will be able to capture it. Liu Chenglong hesitated for a while, and Shen Li's advice was like gold.

Liu Chenglong said: "The Japanese are cunning, it is not difficult to guess that we will blockade the south coast, where will the Japanese flee from?" ”

Shen replied: "If the blockade of the south coast is known, it will flee from the west coast, but first, there will be no Japanese pavilions on the west coast, and second, it will be difficult to blockade the southwest coast at the same time, so the troops will be dispersed." Now that it is imminent, it is imperative to choose a place as soon as possible. ”

Liu Chenglong said: "Hunting should not only be from the hunter's eyes, but also should figure out the prey's mentality, presumably the Japanese are also determined to keep an eye on our movements, General Shen, you can order a large number of soldiers to go to Pusan, create the illusion of blockading the southern coast, so as to make a huge noise so that the Japanese can know." And you lead a secret turn to Helppool to search halfway, and you will find something. Shen Yan took the order and left.

The Japanese Hosaku and his party of four have detected that North Korea will blockade the south coast, so they turned to Jemulpo to flee, and encountered several Korean soldiers in the mountains that night, under some investigation, Hosaku preemptively assassinated two soldiers and evacuated to the south, General Shen Li then led the team to arrive, and the four people of Hosaku all held Western arquebuses called iron cannons, and fired in turn to form a suppressive situation, Shen Qi let people extinguish the fire, relying on the stone pile to cover the iron cannon fire temporarily. Shen Qi used the iron cannon arquebus to confirm the position and the time difference between the firing time and the firing time difference to kill three people with a bow and arrow, and took advantage of the enemy's gunpowder to rush forward with a knife to cut it, originally wanted to capture and interrogate, the enemy had committed suicide first. The blueprint of the flying shock thunder was brought back by Shen Li.

The king of Joseon examined the drawings and found that not only the design drawings of the earth-shattering thunder, but also the eight military secrets of the DPRK were all in the hands of the enemy. The official Cao sentenced Liu Chenglong to play the music, and immediately issued an order to the eight prison camps, screen spies, and strengthen security. The new Zuo Yizheng Zheng Che's conspiracy was caused by Liu Chenglong's dereliction of duty when he was appointed to the judgment of Bing Cao, and he asked for punishment. Liu Chenglong is to blame. Li Shanhai, the new consul and politician, has been engaged in spy activities for more than five years, and tracing back to the root cause of the previous military sentences is inevitable. Zheng Che was displeased and accused Li Shanhai of shirking responsibility but was stopped by Li Hao. Liu Chenglong took the opportunity to propose to send a messenger to understand Japan's true intentions, Zheng Che Jinyan also sent a spy to investigate the intention, and there was no need to send an envoy specifically, while Li Shanhai used the spy to cultivate it is not easy, and it takes several years to investigate intelligence to accuse Zheng Che of talking on paper, and the three of them argued endlessly, and were ordered to retreat by Li Hao under his anger.

A few days later, the king summoned Li Shanhai and Yoo Sung-ryong and announced that he would send a messenger, but would not establish diplomatic relations and alliances, but only probe the Japanese situation, rectify state affairs, and settle the people's hearts. Li Shanhai and Liu Chenglong thanked him. Although Sha Huatong, a death row prisoner with Dai Crime, had a confession and report, he still could not escape the death penalty of treason, Liu Chenglong went to visit him in prison, Sha Huatong saw that Liu Chenglong was serious and silent, thinking that maybe he could still escape death and pleaded with Liu Chenglong.

Liu Chenglong said: "I did promise you to protect your life, I have made a statement to His Royal Highness, reading that you will temporarily wake up and confess to the same party, in fact, you can have two merits, and I hope to spare your life." But His Royal Highness insisted on refusing, insisting that the crime of treason cannot be forgiven, and I can't either, but you still have a family, and I can make proper arrangements. ”

Sha Huatong couldn't cry, and then scolded Liu Chenglong angrily: "No more rhetoric! I am stupid and ignorant to believe in the aristocracy, do you know why there are so many traitorous enemies? Who doesn't want to live and work in peace? Who wants to leave their homeland, work hard for foreigners, and survive! Just because the two classes of nobles sat on the land and did not pay taxes and grain, they all passed on to the poor and oppressed the people, and the people did not have a good life, while the nobles enjoyed wealth and prosperity. It's because I can't live anymore! In this case, it is better to work for the Japanese or smuggle to become a citizen of the Tang Dynasty. It's better than starving here! The culprits of the traitors are not us pariahs, but two classes of nobles and kings! None of you will die well! You must not die well! Liu Chenglong was stunned.