"It's not that simple, is it?" Liu Cheng frowned: "I also know that the Korean military is weak, but where it involves the Japanese and the Ming Dynasty, it must be resolved quickly, if it is delayed, it will not work!" "Thanks to the embargo imposed on North Korea by the Ming Dynasty for nearly 300 years, by the end of the Ming Dynasty, North Korea did not even have the buffalo horns needed to make horn bows (North Korea was too cold for buffalo in the south to produce itself), forcing soldiers to use bamboo bows, such as saltpeter, which is necessary for firearms. www.biquge.info The combat effectiveness of the Korean army at the end of the Ming Dynasty had fallen to a low point, and it would not be too difficult to give Yue Tuo 2,000 cavalry to enter Seoul. But the problem is that Liu Cheng's goal is to force North Korea to cede the ports it needs and obtain the necessary human resources. If the king of Joseon runs away to Japan or the Ming Dynasty, and then plays a play of "Shen Baoxu crying Qin", the war will be prolonged and expanded, then it will not be what Liu Cheng wants to see.

Yue Tuo smiled: "Your Highness, please rest assured! Have you ever heard of Gwanghae-kun? ”

"Gwanghae-kun?" Liu Cheng was stunned when he heard this, shook his head and said, "Who is this?" ”

"Hehe, if you dare to pack a ticket like this, you can be sure that you are in this person!" Yue Tuo explained with a smile, it turned out that this Gwanghaejun was the fifteenth monarch of the Lee dynasty of Joseon, because he was overthrown by his nephew Ayayangjun Li Ju and abolished the throne, so at that time, most people called him "Gwanghaejun" before he succeeded to the throne. This person was originally the second son of Joseon Seonjo, although among the sons with good conduct, smart and studious, frugal style, quite popular, but Seonjo's favorite is the son of the favorite concubine Jin Xinseongjun Li Jue, if it is according to common sense, Gwanghaejun Li Hui has no hope of inheriting the throne. But in the twentieth year of Wanli, Toyotomi Hideyoshi drove a large army across the sea, all the way to the capital Seoul. At this critical juncture, the Manchu dynasty asked Seonjo to appoint Gwanghae-kun, who had the name of meritocracy, as the prince. After Xuanzu had no choice but to establish Guanghai Jun as the prince, he fled to the Yalu River, and he was terrified that he had to cross the Yalu River and flee to Liaodong in the Ming Kingdom, which naturally encountered the opposition of many civil and military ministers who accompanied him. After deliberation, the small court in exile was divided into two, one part fled to Liaodong with Seonjo across the river, and the other part was headed by Gwanghae-kun and remained in Korea with Bongjongmyo Seji. Gwanghae-kun, who was only 18 years old at the time, collected the scattered deserters, comforted the army and the people, and cooperated with the Ming army that aided Korea, and made great contributions to repelling the invading Japanese army, both in the Korean folk and within the Ming Dynasty. However, merit and prestige only brought more troubles to Gwanghae-kun, and Seonjo, who sensed the threat of his son, became more and more jealous of Gwanghae-kun using this opportunity to empty himself, and he refused to grant Gwanghae-jun the right to act cheaply, and reported everything to Seonjo's dynasty, which greatly hindered the branch dynasty. In addition, Seonjo refused to even give him the seal of the prince, apparently looking for an opportunity to abolish his position as the prince of the popular son.

Therefore, after the Imjin War, Gwanghae-kun's life became more and more difficult, and Seonjo even refused to let his son come to greet him, if it weren't for the fact that Seonjo's eldest son Linhai had the stain of being captured by the Japanese army, the most favored Shinjo-kun had also died of illness, and he was afraid that Gwanghae-kun's position as the prince was no longer guaranteed. But in the thirty-fourth year of Wanli, Seonjo and the new queen gave birth to a son-in-law, Li? (Yongchang Maharaja), Gwanghaejun's position as the prince is in jeopardy again. And what worries Gwanghaejun even more is that as a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, the position of the prince of Korea must be recognized by the Ming, and at that time, the Ming Dynasty happened to be caught in the battle of the country, and the Wanli Emperor favored the second son Zhu Changxun (Fu Wang), and the ministers supported the eldest son Zhu Changluo, so naturally they would not agree to the establishment of Gwanghaejun as the son of the Joseon Dynasty, which made this bad start. As a result, Joseon's five requests to canonize Gwanghaejun as the prince of the king were rejected by the Ming Dynasty on the grounds that it had broken the rules of order between the young and the old, which also made Gwanghaejun secretly resentful of the Ming.

The crisis of Gwanghae-jun reached its peak in the 35th year of Wanli when Seonjo was critically ill, and the ministers who supported him were exiled one after another, and he went to visit his father's illness and was severely reprimanded.

The first thing Gwanghaejun did after succeeding to the throne was to execute his brother Linhae-kun, and soon after, he executed his younger brother Yeongchang Daejun, who had threatened his throne as prince, and imprisoned his mother. In the forty-fourth year of Wanli, Nurhachi was called Khan, and two years later, Nurhachi began to attack the Ming Dynasty, and the war in Liaodong was about to break out. As the suzerain, the Ming sent envoys to ask him to send troops to assist the Ming in their crusade against Houjin. At that time, the ministers of North Korea generally agreed to send troops, firstly, to repay the favor of aiding Korea, and secondly, to eliminate the threat of Houjin. Perhaps out of the resentment of being rejected as the prince of the king, or perhaps because of a clear understanding of his own strength, Gwanghaejun opposed sending troops to aid the Ming, and also advised the court envoy Houjin to act cautiously because of his strong strength. However, with the repeated demands of the Ming Dynasty and the support of the Manchu civil and military forces, Guanghaijun still had to send an army of about 15,000 people to participate in the Battle of Sarhu, and the result was that all the troops were annihilated except for the 5,000 men led by Marshal Jiang Hongli, who surrendered.

After the Battle of Salhu, Guanghaijun firmly adopted the strategy of "equidistance diplomacy", that is, to use diplomatic skills against both the Ming and Jin sides, repeatedly refused or delayed the Ming Dynasty's request for re-recruitment, and tried not to irritate the Later Jin, and exchanged letters with them to avoid falling into the crushing bones between the two giants. However, this practice aroused the opposition of many courtiers, especially Jiang Hongli, who had surrendered to Houjin, and the loss of a large number of young and strong laborers in the war, and the rule of Gwanghaejun gradually fell into crisis. In the third year of the Apocalypse, Gwanghae-kun's nephew and Jeongwon-kun's son Ayayang-kun Li Liang staged a coup d'état to overthrow Gwanghae-kun's rule and exiled him to Ganghwa Island, where most of his henchmen were killed and his wife was executed shortly after.

After listening to Yue Tuo's narration, Liu Cheng frowned, thought for a while and asked, "Are you planning to use this person as a signboard?" But as far as I know, now that the sons of the King of Joseon are in Shengjing, wouldn't it be better to use them with signboards? ”

"What Your Highness said is very true!" Yue Tuo nodded: "If you only want to change the king, it is naturally best to take the son, but if you want to split the land and move the people, I am afraid that after the son succeeds to the throne, it will be repeated." And Gwanghae-kun has three benefits, first, he is capable; second, there is enmity; Third, time is running out and there is no future. There is the ability to obey the people, there is the hatred and can be whipped, the time is short, and there is no aftermath to act without scruples, which is exactly what we need! ”

"Not bad!" Liu Cheng smiled and said: "Since this is the case, then this matter will be handed over to you, after returning from North Korea, how about you go to my privy palace as a counselor?" ”

Yue Tuo took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the joy in his heart, and bowed his head deeply: "With the great grace of His Highness, the last general will dare to disobey his fate!" ”

Yangzhou, Slender West Lake.

The wind blew, sweeping through a peach forest by the lake, although the peach blossoms have been grateful, but the wind still carries a warm aroma, which makes people stunned. Even the captain and the vendor selling snacks and tea on the edge of the lake are a little lazy, picking a comfortable place, leaning against it, and enjoying this wonderful weather. A pleasure boat slid across the water, stirring up a few water birds, and a napping vendor was awakened, looked at the boat with envy, and said to himself: "The above must be nobles, what a good fate!" ”

"Hou Gongzi!" The one who spoke was a scholar in his early thirties, he was much older than Hou Fangyu, but his face was full of flattery, as if he was Hou Fangyu's junior: "I heard that there are rumors in Jingshi that Ling Zun will be appointed as the Great Si Nong (that is, the head of the household, and the scholars and doctors of the Ming Dynasty like to use the ancient official name to refer to the official name at that time), I don't know if it is true or not?" ”

"Hmm!" Hou Fangyu nodded lazily, but his eyes were glancing at the scenery outside the window, his behavior was originally extremely rude, but the scholar on the other side didn't think it was wrong, and asked with a smile: "Since Ling Zun has become the great Si Nong, it is a matter of time to enter the cabinet, Brother Hou will also be of great use when he enters Beijing this time, don't forget about me and other brothers in the society at that time!" ”

"It's too early to say that!" Hou Fangyu turned his gaze to the boat, he opened the folding fan and shook it vigorously twice: "Do you think that my father's household book is easy to do?" ”

"What do you mean by that?" The scholar asked, stunned.

"You've also read the Tang newspaper, right?" After getting the other party's affirmative answer, Hou Fangyu sneered: "This time, in addition to Yang Wenqiao's father who summoned his father to Beijing as the head of the household department, there are two other people who entered the cabinet together, Lu Boqi and Chen Xinjia, do you see the tricks inside?" ”

The soldiers in the ship looked at each other for a while, with a blank look on their faces, and Hou Fangyu sneered: "Are you Yang Wenweak really calling my old father to Beijing as an official this time?" This person is extremely ambitious, and he monopolized power at the beginning, intending to cause chaos in the court. When Liukou and Dongyu were there, the Son of Heaven could still tolerate him for three points, and now that Liukou has surrendered and Dongyu has been given the head, the world has been decided. If he continues to do this, I'm afraid it won't be long before he will go to the edict to squat! ”

"Hou Gongzi, do you mean that Yang Wenwan is using Ling Zun to slander?" The gentleman asked.

"Not bad! Look at Chen Xinjia or Lu Boqi, one is his henchman, the other is his comrade, and his father is just pulled up to accompany him. Now that the war is over, the treasury is like a wash, where is the most difficult thing to do, not the household department? Let my father go to top this leak, his heart can be punished! ”

"How poisonous his intentions are!" The scholar showed a look of sudden realization, and others hurriedly responded. Hou Fangyu sneered: "Also, Lu Boqi and Chen Xinjia are just from a high background, but they can go to the cabinet to worship the prime minister, how can there be such a story since the founding of the dynasty?" Yang Wenwan set this precedent, and it will be left behind for 10,000 years! ”

Hearing Hou Fangyu say this, Chen Zilong, who had been silent next to him, couldn't hold back any longer, and interjected: "Hou Gongzi, you can't say that, whether it's a person or a jinshi, it's just a background, as the saying goes, 'the job is awarded to the ability to reward the merit', Chen Xinjia Chen's ability I don't know, but Lu Boqi Lu's achievements are seen by the world, and it's not too much for him to enter Beijing to be this big Sima!" ”

Without waiting for Hou Fangyu to refute his words, the scholar who tried his best to please Hou Fangyu responded: "Brother Zilong, there are no rules, there is no circle. The selection of scholars in the dynasty is based on the merits of the three lists, and if you want to talk about the merits of Lord Lu, there is nothing to enter the cabinet to worship the prime minister. But if this precedent is opened, it is okay to lift people, so is it okay to show talents? Is it okay to be white? Is it okay for Xungui? ”

"This-" Chen Zilong was suddenly dumbfounded, as the scholar said, why did the Ming Dynasty scholars take the power of the country into their own hands? Isn't it the great legitimacy that the imperial examination fame brings to them? If the boundaries between lifting people and jinshi can be broken, what about the boundaries between showmen and lifters, ordinary people and showmen? Since the imperial court can appoint a person to the cabinet, it can naturally appoint a showman or even a white ding as an official, so why should the scholars and doctors monopolize the power of the state?

"Bang bang bang!" Suddenly, there were a few piano sounds from the bow of the ship, interrupting the argument in the cabin, Chen Zilong looked up at the bow of the ship, and saw Liu Ru kneeling next to several cases, and the strings were broken. He hurriedly got up and walked to Liu Rusi's side, and asked softly, "If so, what's wrong?" Didn't hurt your hands, did you? ”

"Nope!" Liu Ru shook his head and said in a low voice: "It's just that I just listened to your argument, and I felt a little bored, and I used some force in my hands, but I didn't expect to break the strings." ”

"If it's broken, it's broken, and it'll be continued later!" Chen Zilong comforted in a low voice: "If there are no injured people, you will be fine!" ”

"If the string is broken, it can be continued, but can it be continued if the life is broken?" Liu Ru looked at Chen Zilong, his eyes full of despair.

"Broken? Naturally, it can't be continued, if so, why are you asking this? ”

"But haven't we always wanted to continue Da Ming's life?" When Liu said this, his eyes turned to the scholars who were talking in the cabin: "Zilong, do you remember when you met Lord Xu and Mr. Cheng Er in my house?" At that time, there were rogues rampant in the Jianghuai River, and there were people in the east who broke the border and advocated chaos, and the Ming Dynasty was also in danger, and we were also in fear. In the blink of an eye, the Liukou was appeased, and the Dongyu was beheaded, as if everything was fine, and the world was peaceful, but who brought the peace? Do you think it's these people? ”

Following Liu Ruye's gaze, Chen Zilong turned his head, only to see that the chubby cheeks of everyone in the cabin were full of self-satisfaction, and their eyes were full of envy and desire for power; Comparing it with the resolute and simple knights he saw in the courtyard that day, Chen Zilong already had the answer in his heart.

"No, no, if it's broken, it's broken, and it can't be renewed!" Chen Zilong lowered his head in pain: "Your generation sings in the leaky boat, and drinks under the burning house, but you don't know that the drowning will come, it's sad!" ”

"Yes, but what can we do?" A trace of tears appeared in the corners of Liu Ru's eyes: "Under the nest, how many eggs are finished?" It's better for them to be happier, at least they'll be happy for a while before they die! ”