On the evening of the same day, in Ganghwa Bay, several large ships were slowly sailing into Incheon Port. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

When the ship was parked in the harbor and the people in Ming Dynasty uniforms slowly walked down, the Koreans, who had already been prepared, immediately hugged up under the leadership of the leader.

Following Yang Ben, Zhu Guan, the head of the Department of Rites and Guests who had been to North Korea once, said to Yang Ben: "The person who greeted him should be Li He, the king of North Korea, who is the younger brother of Li Chenggui, the minister of state of Quan Zhi Korea. ”

Yang Ben was taken aback, he did not expect that North Korea would send such an important person to greet him. He had asked Zhu Guan before, and there had never been a person with such a high status to greet the envoys of the Ming Dynasty before.

After the two sides walked in, Yang Ben saw that after Li He finished saluting, he immediately walked a few steps quickly to grab Li He. Just kidding, he knew what he was doing in North Korea, if Li Fangyuan accepted the will of the Ming Dynasty, he would be equivalent to the prince of the Ming Dynasty, and Li He would also be equivalent to the prince or duke of the Ming Dynasty; He is now an envoy on behalf of the Ming Dynasty and can receive a gift, but it can only end here.

Li He didn't know what Yang Ben was thinking, and after Yang Ben held him up and made him unable to salute, he didn't have to continue to salute, after all, his status was higher than Yang Ben.

Li He said a few words, and walked hand in hand with Yang Ben to the prepared carriage, and the people on both sides got into the carriage and returned to Seoul.

Yang Ben and his entourage naturally lived in the post house of the envoys who specially arranged for the Ming Dynasty in North Korea, and Li He took his own people and Jin Hanlao, who returned to North Korea with Yang Ben, into Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Although it was getting late, Li Fangyuan still did not rest, but waited here for Li and their arrival.

Li He and Jin Han Lao walked into the palace where Li Fangyuan was, and when they saw Li Fangyuan sitting on the couch, they immediately saluted and said, "I've seen the king." ”

Li Fangyuan waved his sleeves and said, "No need to be polite." Elder Jin Han, did the Ming Dynasty agree to crown me as the king of Korea? ”

Jin Hanlao tidied up the clothes on his body, then bent his body as if he was saluting, and then said: "Great King, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty has agreed to canonize the Great King as the King of Joseon, but,"

After Li Fangyuan listened to the first half of the sentence, he just wanted to show a happy expression, when he heard the word but, he immediately said: "What but? ”

Jin Hanlao hesitated for a moment. Although he knew that Li Fangyuan had to be recognized by Da Ming in order to be able to maintain it, he couldn't say it directly, so it was better to be tactful.

The situation today is different from what it was in history. Historically, Li Fangyuan decided to officially become king after he was sure that he could control the situation in Korea and that Emperor Jianwen would recognize him as the king of Korea through two princely rebellions.

Now Li Fangyuan has adopted a bolder strategy and inherited the throne directly. However, this led to him being able to control only the Seoul-Pyongyang area, as well as Yeheung. And in these places he controlled, there were also people who supported Li Chenggui and were dissatisfied with Li Fangyuan's usurpation. He didn't dare to kill these people, that would make the place he could control even more unstable.

Li Fangyuan has now become an ant on a hot pot, and he may be wiped out at any time. That's why he attaches great importance to Daming's recognition.

Jin Han Lao hesitated for a moment and said, "Great King, the emperor of the Ming Kingdom wants to give the surname Zhu to my Korean royal family. ”

After listening to Jin Hanlao's words, Li Fangyuan was stunned for a moment, and then he understood that he meant to give himself the surname Zhu. At this time, Li He also reacted and shouted: "How can this work!" ”

Although Li Fangyuan didn't speak, he could tell his mood from his gloomy face.

Li Fangyuan suppressed his feelings with great perseverance and said, "Does the emperor of the Ming Kingdom have any other requirements?" ”

Jin Hanlao said: "Also, North Korea wants to send troops when the Ming Dynasty is fighting. No matter how large or small, troops must be sent. ”

Li Fangyuan then asked, "Are there any other requirements?" ”

Jin Hanlao said: "No. ”

Li Fangyuan said to Jin Hanlao: "You go and call Li Fangyi, Li Zhilan, and Min Wujian and Min Wuxian brothers over." ”

He said to Li He again: "Third uncle, you also stay here." ”

Jin Han immediately went out to find someone.

After Jin Han Lao went out, Li He said to Li Fangyuan: "King, don't agree to Mingguo's request!" Although my Li family is not a famous family, I can't easily give up my surname. I have a long history ,...... Lee"

Speaking of which, he suddenly got stuck. Although Yi Sung-gye has always claimed to be a real Korean since he succeeded to the throne, and traced his lineage back to Silla's Sikong Yi Han, in fact, they did not know where their lineage was.

When Li He was born, he also had a Mongolian name, and both he and Li Chenggui were born in the Shuangcheng Governor's Mansion (present-day Xianxing) of the Yuan Kingdom, where there were many Jurchens and later Mongols. They had no idea whether they were Koreans, Jurchens, Mongols, or all three.

What Li has a long history of deceiving the common people, it is not interesting to deceive their own people.

Li He was stuck, and Li Fangyuan said softly: "I understand what the third uncle said. Regardless of whether the Jeonju Li family we preach is true or not, it cannot be easily discarded. ”

But when he said this, he stopped talking, and sat down on the couch with his head bowed and pondered something. Li He sat on the side, not knowing what to say, so he stayed blankly.

After a while, Li Fangyi, Li Zhilan, and the brothers Min Wujian and Min Wuxian all came over. Elder Jin Han walked into the hall with them, and saluted Li Fangyuan and said, "The king, Yi'anjun (Li Fangyi), Qinghai Jun (Li Zhilan), and the Min brothers are here. ”

Li Fangyuan raised his head and said, "Sit, sit." As he spoke, he clapped his hands, and the palace maids walked in to place the table and melons and fruits, and then retreated.

Li Zhilan and the others sat down one after another. Li Zhilan greeted Li He again, and first said, "King, what is the matter with asking me to wait?" ”

Li Zhilan's original name was Tong Doulan Timur, and there are conclusive historical materials that can prove that he was a Jurchen, and it is likely that he was in the same family as the Tong surname among the eight later Manchu surnames. Speaking of which, Xuan Ye, whose biological mother is Tong, is likely to be related to him.

Li Zhilan and Li Chenggui are righteous brothers, and Li Chenggui trusts Li Zhilan very much. However, he probably never dreamed that Li Zhilan would support Li Fangyuan after Li Fangyuan's coup. Li Zhilan's support is also the reason why Li Fangyuan was able to quickly calm down the situation in the capital. Therefore, Li Fangyuan attaches great importance to Li Zhilan's opinion.

Li Fangyuan said: "The Ming State agreed to canonize me as the monarch of the Korean State, but they demanded that I, or the entire Li family, be given the surname Zhu. ”

Li Fangyi immediately jumped up and said: "This, this, we can't ......" But he immediately remembered the current difficult situation and knew that if he didn't get the recognition of Mingguo, he would have serious consequences, so he didn't continue to speak.

Li Fangyi is Li Fangyuan's third brother, and he is also the only one among Li Chenggui's sons who supports Li Fangyuan, so Li Fangyuan also attaches great importance to him. And Li Fangyi is also very likely to change his surname to Zhu, so Li Fangyuan also wants to know what he will say.

Li Fangyuan stopped halfway through his words when he saw Li Fangyi, and then looked at Li Fangyi's tangled expression, and knew his hesitation. This made Li Fangyuan himself even more hesitant.

However, Li Zhilan didn't care about the surname, so he said: "That's it? So why not? ”

The pure North Koreans Min Wuji, the Min Wuxian brothers and the Li family who have a deep understanding of North Korea all know that the surname is still very important, and the Li family has promoted the Li family in Jeonju for several years, and as a result, if they want to abandon this surname, it will definitely make the local heroes look down on it, and it will also affect the local pacification in the future.

So Min Wujian said: "Qinghai-kun, what you think is too simple, surnames are not so simple for us Koreans." ”

The Min brothers are the brothers of Li Fangyuan's wife, Jingning Wengzhu, and they are also wealthy families in Lixing. After Li Fangyuan's coup d'état, their family was the only local wealthy family to explicitly support Li Fangyuan. So Li Fangyuan will call their brothers here today, not expecting them to come up with ideas, but just to show that he attaches great importance to the Lixing Min family.

Listening to Min Wuji's words, Li Zhilan laughed. He said, "You people, you are blinded by superficial things. Huan Zu (Li Zichun, the father of Yi Chenggui) only joined Goryeo more than 40 years ago, and had been an official under the Mongols before, do you think the local clans of Korea don't know about it? ”

"During the reign of the first king, the great clans of the place resisted the first king, either openly or implicitly. If the surname is changed to Zhu, will anyone else dare to do anything more drastic than resist? ”

"If someone really does that, then they are despising the Ming royal family, do they dare to despise the Ming royal family?"

"Since the worst outcome is just the same as when the first king was in power, then what is there to hesitate about."

For a moment no one spoke. Although Li Zhilan's words made sense, Min Wujian still felt that Li Zhilan's thinking was too simple. He said: "Qinghai Jun, the Ming Kingdom has not interfered in my North Korean affairs before, and it may not interfere in the future. ”

"The big clans in the local area, if they see that the Ming Kingdom is just a false name and has no other help, then they may not have other things."

Li Zhilan asked rhetorically: "What else will happen?" Do they dare not recognize the king's throne? ”

Min Wujian said: "I don't dare, but they may unite to resist the central government's decree." ”

"It's not surprising that they've been resisting the central government's decrees," Li said. But the first king was always able to sabotage their alliance and then push the executive order. They are also not monolithic and easy to deal with. ”

Then Li Zhilan looked at Min Wuji, who was about to continue to refute, and said, "And, now we have no other way." We must get the support of the Ming Kingdom, otherwise we will not be able to maintain it. Is there any other way for you? Li Zhilan directly exposed their situation, that is, they will be finished without the support of external forces.

As soon as Li Zhilan said this, 3 had nothing to say. Not only him, but everyone else had nothing else to say. They're not stupid, and they know it's a bad situation. Although there is a possibility that the giants in some place will suddenly support them to tide them over, there is little hope.

At this time, Li Fangyuan seemed to have made up his mind, and said: "Qinghai Bo is right, I have no other way to think of it, in order to get the support of the Ming Kingdom, I can only agree to change my surname!" ”

It can be seen that he is very unhappy and very reluctant, but he knows that he has no choice but to accept it.

Li Zhilan said at this time: "Does Ming Guo have any other requirements?" ”

Kim Han-lao said: "The Ming State also demanded that once the Ming State went to war, North Korea must send troops to participate in the war. No matter how large or small, troops must be sent. ”

Li Zhilan said: "What does this mean? The number of troops has not been asked yet, is it enough to send a few people around the battlefield? ”

Jin Han Lao shook his head and said, "I don't know." ”

Li Zhilan asked, "What about the others?" ”

Jin Hanlao said: "There are no other requirements. ”

Li Zhilan pretended to be too head and said to Li Fangyuan: "Since Mingguo has no other requirements, this matter has actually been decided. ”

"But don't agree to the envoys of the Ming Kingdom right away. Tomorrow, if you don't accept the order, send someone to discuss with the envoys of the Ming State again, and see if you can make the Ming State spit out more benefits. One day or two, we can afford to drag it out. ”

Li Fangyuan did not comment on Li Zhilan's last few words, but said: "You all stand down." ”

The crowd withdrew. Li He seemed to want to say something to Li Fangyuan, but in the end he retreated without saying anything.

Li Fangyuan trembled, then stood up and walked to the gate of a palace with the palace maid, and then walked in.

There was an old man in his sixties in the palace, and several palace maids were serving him beside him. When they saw Li Fangyuan walk in, they saluted one after another.

Li Fangyuan waved them out. After a while, there were only two people in the hall, this old man and Li Fangyuan.

Li Fangyuan said: "Father. It turned out that this old man was Li Chenggui.

Li Chenggui did not look at him, but lay with his eyes closed. Still, he said, "What's wrong? Daming still refused to crown you as the king of Joseon? "He's under house arrest here, but it's not like he doesn't know anything.

Li Fangyuan said with a wry smile: "Not really, but they put forward conditions. ”

Li Chenggui said: "What conditions make you so difficult? Isn't it because the places or people on the south bank of the Yalu River can't do it? ”

"If the Ming Kingdom wants the local rate or the people, it can't be given. Those heroes will not support it. ”

The heroes of North Korea will not support it, not only because it is where they have laid down, but also because their fields and mountains and forests are there. Once the place is returned, their wealth is gone.

Li Fangyuan said: "If Ming Guo makes such a request, it will be simple, then I don't have to be so entangled." But their requirements are a hundred times more complicated than that. ”