Joseon, Seoul, the residence of the governor of the country, the former Joseon royal palace.

Through the door, Zhang Zhen heard a burst of silk bamboo singing and dancing, mixed with the sound of women's laughter, and a strong smell of wine in the air, he sighed, shook his head, and then pushed the door and walked in.

When Li Fanggan, the governor of power, saw Zhang Zhen, he quickly pushed away the woman who was snuggling up to him, stood up, and walked down the steps, and the sound of silk and bamboo stopped.

"Lord Zhang, it's so late? Is something wrong? ”

Compared with Li Fanggan, who has sunken eye sockets, is obese, and is out of breath after walking two steps, Zhang Zhen, who is in his fifties, is much more energetic, he is dressed in a first-class crane suit, wearing a double-winged black gauze hat, his expression is cold, his figure is thin, and his steps are steady, seeing Li Fanggan's face full of wine, Zhang Zhen couldn't help frowning, he wanted to say something but finally held back, he glanced at the song and dance in the hall, and said: "Your Majesty has a will, please ask the governor of the state to prepare the incense case." ”

"Huh? Your Majesty, will, good, good, come on, quick, quickly remove these, yes, this is it, quickly, put it here, quickly......"

After a period of scramble, the incense case was placed, Li Fanggan knelt down in the dust, and listened to Zhang Zhen's decree:

"Fengtian carries the emperor's edict and says:"

“......”

"Since I ascended the throne, I have been sleeping all night, lest I live up to the will of the previous emperor, and I dare not slack off in the slightest."

"The people of North Korea are also innocent, and now Li Fangyuan of North Korea has not been eliminated, and the Japanese have been making waves in the East China Sea, watching North Korea, and the North Korean people are in dire straits, and I have compassion for them."

"Specially appointed Qi Wang Zhu Rong as the Minister of Grain and Grass Supervision of North Korea, rushed to North Korea to prepare grain and grass for the Eastern Army, if North Korean officials at all levels shirk the slack, they will be severely punished!"

“......”

"Chin this!"

"Minister Li Fanggan is grateful!"

After Li Fanggan stood up, he was a little inexplicable, he approached Zhang Zhen and said in a low voice: "King Qi, his old man is coming, why did he initiate a holy decree for me?" Aren't you all dealing with things? ”

Smelling Li Fanggan's mouth full of wine, Zhang Zhen smiled twice and said: "Your Excellency, His Royal Highness King Qi will go ashore at the mouth of the Han River tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and all the civil and military officials of Seoul will go to greet him at that time." ”

"Oh, that's it, when King Qi and his old man come, you come and tell me, I will definitely go."

"Well, then the official has taken his leave!"

"Well, there you go."

......

Listening to the sound of silk and bamboo again, Zhang Zhen shook his head, this Li Fanggan is too unusual, since the first day he entered Seoul, he has not taken care of anything serious, he is busy eating, drinking and having fun all day long, and the handover is some fireworks and dancers, and then some street juggling and singing little people, it is really mud that can't support the wall.

......

In the east of the city, the residence of the Minister of Parliament Cheng Shilin.

"King Qi really wants to come to North Korea?"

"Yes, when Lord Lingzheng came in the afternoon, my sister was on the scene to play the qin, so I heard the content of Emperor Ming's decree."

"Okay, the old man knows, you go down first."

"Yes, sir!"

After the next person left, Cheng Shixuan stood up and paced back and forth, King Qi, the first-class prince of the Ming Dynasty, what is he doing in North Korea? Is it really to supervise the grain and grass, or does it mean that the news of the emperor's attack on the Japanese is true?

Thinking of this, Cheng Shixuan shuddered, more than a hundred years ago, the ancestor of the Yuan dynasty, Kublai Khan, attacked Japan twice, but they all ended in failure, not to mention the heavy losses of the army, not to mention the people in the rear, who were responsible for the transportation of grain and grass for the army and the supply of baggage, also suffered a lot, and the prosperous Jeolla Road was deserted and uninhabited, and it has not fully recovered, do the people have to suffer again?

What can I do?

Although Cheng Shixuan was anxious, he was at a loss, because except for Li Fangyuan in Gyeongju, the whole of Korea was controlled by the Ming army, and although he was the minister of parliament, everything had to obey Zhang Zhen of the Ming Kingdom, as for Li Fanggan, Cheng Shixuan was completely disappointed, this person was really muddy and couldn't support the wall.

Thinking of this, Cheng Shixuan thought of the previous lord ------ Li Fangyuan, I don't know how he is now?

Just as he was thinking about it, he heard a report from his family: "Master, Hu Cao's judgment is all accurate, and the whole adult is here." ”

Accurate?

Cheng Shixuan's head flashed, it was this person who opened the gate of Seoul and caused the loss of Seoul, and he was a sinner in North Korea, but, hehe, Cheng Shixuan smiled bitterly, he was actually just a fifty-step laugh and a hundred steps.

......

Gyeongju, Silla Palace.

It is said to be a royal palace, but in fact it is just the residence of Gyeongju Mansion Yoon. After arriving in Gyeongju, because Gyeongju is surrounded by mountains on three sides, it can ensure safety for the time being, but the materials are very scarce, the land in Gyeongju is already barren, and the autumn grain has been expropriated to Seoul and fell into the hands of the Ming army. Li Fangyuan retreated here with a large group of men and horses, and Sheng Yong immediately sent people to block the various mountain passes, and allowed them not to enter; In addition, the Guiyi army was ordered to build beacon towers along the mountain, and sent Jurchen and Mongol cavalry to patrol back and forth, in short, to completely blockade Gyeongju and prevent any supplies from flowing into Li Fangyuan's hands.

And the situation in Gyeongju is not the same as Li Fangyuan's imagination, the local officials and people are not enthusiastic about its arrival, and even vaguely hostile, perhaps in their opinion, Li Fangyuan is self-seeking, self-proclaimed emperor, and attracted the Ming army to attack, it is purely self-defeating, and now coming to Gyeongju is not bringing military disasters to Gyeongju?

Due to Sheng Yong's blockade, the people of Gyeongju had a very difficult time, and there was a shortage of food, cloth, and medicine, so it didn't take long for someone to escape across the mountain pass and go to the area controlled by the Ming army, Li Fangyuan had to order the soldiers in the mountain pass to strictly prevent the people from crossing the border, but the people always had a way, and some people even preferred to go over the mountains and mountains to escape to the area controlled by the Ming army.

And the Ming army was also very hateful, after they caught the escapees, they immediately ate and drank well, and then pulled to the vicinity of the mountain pass to shout, tempting the local garrison; He even sent people over the mountain to lure the people over the mountain and flee to the land of bliss, for which Li Fangyuan had to patrol along the mountain, which used a large number of manpower to make the people complain.

However, fortunately, Li Fangyuan could still guarantee the rations of the garrison, so the defense of the mountain pass was finally stable.

However, Li Fangyuan knew that if he continued like this, he might have to wait until he died, and he had to find another way.

"King, General Jin is back!"

"Really? Let him in! ”

Li Fangyuan came back to his senses and immediately ordered someone to bring Jin Nanxuan in.

"How? Nanxuan? ”

"King, the situation is not very good!"

Jin Nanxuan looked tired, sat on the chair next to him, picked up the teacup on the table, and drank it all.

"King, since March, the Ming army has moved frequently, and there are signs of a large-scale attack on the mountain."

"Attacking the mountains?"

Li Fangyuan clenched his fists and said in a low voice: "If the Ming army attacks the mountain on a large scale, can we hold it?" ”

"It's hard!"

The light of hope in Li Fangyuan's eyes dimmed suddenly: "Is it really not good?" ”

"The king, it's the last general who is incompetent!"

Looking at Jin Nanxuan, who was kneeling on the ground, Li Fangyuan hesitated, stretched out his hand and touched his head: "This king believes that you have done your best." ”

"King, the Ming army is even more vicious than I imagined, the Guiyi army is only responsible for building fortifications, not for guarding and patrolling the mountain passes, the people responsible for patrolling are all Jurchens and Mongols, the Mongols are extremely cruel, and the Jurchens also have a grudge against us, so the blockade this winter is very strict, and we can hardly do anything."

"Now it's spring, it should be the season of farming, but a large number of people have been conscripted to build fortifications, build armor and bows and arrows, no one is farming, even if heaven and earth bless, we repelled the Ming army to attack the mountain, but if we miss the farming time, we will starve to death sooner or later."

Listening to Jin Nanxuan's words, Li Fangyuan was not surprised, because he had thought about these things, he thought about it for a while, and said, "Then you sent people to contact the Guiyi Army and the county guards in various places, isn't it effective?" ”

"Yes, yes, but," Jin Nanxuan smiled bitterly: "They are all masters who don't see rabbits and don't scatter eagles, we are trapped here, no one will come to save us, unless we defeat the Ming army, they will respond." ”

"Isn't that nonsense?" Li Fangyuan muttered: "To defeat the Ming army, what else does this king want them to do?" Speaking of this, Li Fangyuan suddenly laughed: "In the past, this king asked the county guards not to bring their families to office, so their families should all be in Hanjing, but now they have all fallen into the hands of the Ming army, what retribution, retribution!" While speaking, Li Fangyuan hugged his head and cried.

Seeing this, Jin Nanxuan hurriedly persuaded Li Fangyuan to slowly stop his grief.

"Someone!"

After recovering, Li Fangyuan immediately ordered someone to fetch water to clean his face, and after cleaning his face, he recovered his spirit, and he didn't see the decadence just now, Jin Nanxuan nodded secretly when he saw this, what he admired most about the king was this, he would cry when he encountered setbacks, but he could recover quickly, and his mind was extremely resolute.

"General Kim, take a look!"

"What is this?" Looking at the letter handed over by Li Fangyuan, Jin Nanxuan asked in surprise.

"Just look at it!"

"Oh," Jin Nanxuan unfolded the letter, read it twice, raised his head, and looked at Li Fangyuan: "Wang, are the words of the Japanese people credible?" ”