These words completely moved Li Ke.

Indeed, the risks he had to take didn't seem great compared to what he could get. If you really choose to do nothing, you will miss the opportunity.

He took a deep breath and made up his mind.

"Lord Jin has a candidate in mind?"

"Jingcheng-jun finally figured it out!" Seeing that the other party was finally on the road, Jin Xinguo was overjoyed. "If you talk about candidates, although it is difficult to find, there are always two or three. It doesn't matter who we choose, as long as we push one up, this is the merit of support, and the new monarch will be grateful to us, at least reuse us...... When the time comes, will Jingchengjun still need to be afraid that he will not be able to protect himself? ”

"Tell me as soon as possible. Who can be used? Li Ke deliberately turned his face away, so as not to look at the other party's smile again, "This is also for Goryeo, if the country has no heirs, I am afraid it will be unfavorable to the country." ”

"That's nature, that's nature." Jin Xinguo laughed, "The prince of Jingcheng is loyal to the country, and he should be an example of the clan. ”

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of China and the DPRK they were talking about has now woken up from his sleep and started his day's schedule.

He lived in Gyeongbokgung Palace, and although the Gyeonghyeongjeok Building was rebuilt after the Japanese Rebellion and was only temporarily cleaned up, it was much more comfortable than where he had lived before, and the Goryeo chamberlains served him with sincere fear, and he did not refuse this excessive hospitality.

However, he also knew that he had not come here to enjoy this kind of hospitality.

Early in the morning, two officials, Shi Gaoyi, the chief envoy of the mission in Goryeo, and Zhang Daoyan, the deputy envoy, arrived at Gyeongbokgung Palace together with Zhao Song, who had followed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and stayed in the embassy temporarily.

As soon as they saw the crown prince, the three ministers hurriedly bowed and saluted.

"No courtesy." The prince waved his hand to signal them to sit down, and then looked directly at Deputy Envoy Zhang Daoyan, "Deputy Envoy Zhang, Ambassador Shi has been in Liaodong for a while, and you are in charge of Goryeo, how is the public opinion in Goryeo?" ”

"Back to His Royal Highness the Prince." Zhang Daoyan sat down respectfully, leaning forward slightly, "These days, public opinion in Goryeo has been quite enthusiastic, and the people are very excited, which can be described as a sensation in the whole country - after all, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the World is coming to Goryeo, which is a grand event that has never been seen before. They all want to see the sky......"

"Let's be realistic, Deputy Envoy Zhang, don't say this kind of thing in the future." The prince didn't think so, "Although I have not been in Goryeo for a long time, I have heard that Goryeo is slightly dissatisfied with my dynasty, and I have also seen it when I came to Goryeo. Most of the officials and scholars were even more indifferent, as if they had nothing to do with themselves...... It can be seen that words such as sensationalism in the whole country are just deceiving their own people. ”

When he entered Seoul by Chengyu, the prince had been paying attention to the surrounding scenes, and naturally had a rough understanding of the current popular sentiment in Goryeo, and of course he would not be fooled by a few words from the other party.

"Your Highness......" Zhang Daoyan, who was reprimanded in person, suddenly became embarrassed.

"Okay, don't accuse, just tell the truth, don't be afraid that I'll be angry, I won't be angry." The crown prince shook his head slightly, "They don't like us, it's normal, there's nothing to be angry about." Our dynasty is a superior country, and external expansion will inevitably coerce the surrounding small countries, even if they are superficially restrained, they will still be dissatisfied in their hearts after all. Is it because they are dissatisfied, that we do not expand our power? No, they don't like us, but we still have to do our own thing for the sake of the big man, at most we can do some work to save face. This is also what the father meant. ”

Although as the crown prince of the Great Han, it was a little strange for him to say this in person, but here are all the Great Han's own people, and he doesn't want to have so many scruples.

The Ming Dynasty was tolerant of the vassal state, paid attention to the **** demeanor, and tried every means to treat the vassal country, so that the interests of the country were damaged many times, and finally when it came to destruction, these vassal states did not help in any way, but also turned against each other, this lesson The Han Emperor has always reminded the prince, and the prince himself also thought so.

"Your Highness is wise!" Seeing that the crown prince said this, Zhang Daoyan also breathed a sigh of relief, "As His Royal Highness said, the people of Goryeo are all ...... to our country They are all slightly dissatisfied with our country, after all, the former Ming Dynasty is more tolerant than others. ”

"One day, they will get used to the way of the big guys." Shi Gaoyi sneered slightly, "Since you want to respect ****, how can you just hide in the shade of **** trees to enjoy the shade?" ”

"Captain Shi is right." The prince nodded slightly, "They will get used to it eventually, and they have to get used to it now." Last night, when I told the lord of Goryeo about the Gyeongsang-do observer, he was still resigned and vague and wanted to fool the past, but I really couldn't see it. ”

"The lord of Goryeo was ousted by the palace change before, and he was exiled to a desert island, we only put him back on the throne, it stands to reason that Dahan is his great benefactor, right, he still wants to fool His Highness?" Zhao Song couldn't help but give an opinion, "Anyone in Goryeo can be dissatisfied with the big man, but he can't!" ”

"Who says it's not......" Shi Gaoyi, who was originally very dissatisfied with Li Hui, took the opportunity to continue to deepen the dissatisfaction of these upper-class figures with Li Hui, "The lord of Goryeo was originally a tiger and wolf, so he was ousted from the throne by the Goryeo people, he was fortunate to be restored, but he still had no gratitude, and pushed back to what the Han asked for, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince finally saw it!" It's not that his ministers don't do good to him, but it's really ...... He's so stubborn! ”

"No matter how stubborn he is, he still can't hide this time, I must ask him to appoint Li Ke as the observer of Gyeongsang-do." The prince's face was calm, but he had obviously made up his mind, "And he is not allowed to push back, he must achieve it as soon as possible!" We must not delay the big things on my side. ”

Goryeo is full of talents, and he is not the only way to let Li Ke be in power and Qing Shangdao can help, but this matter has now become a way to test Li Hui's loyalty to the Han Dynasty in the eyes of the prince.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is right, major events cannot be delayed." Zhao Song next to him also immediately agreed, "Now that the army has begun to gather in the sea off Goryeo, there is no room for delay." ”

As the military machine of the Han Dynasty began to operate, the legions that were scheduled to attack Japan began to assemble and march towards Goryeo, and Zhao Song's direct regiment followed him to Goryeo, and now some of them remained on Taiping Island, and some of them had begun to gather in Busan.

When the army gathered, it was very important to ensure the security of grain and grass, and at the same time, the secrets of the army's assembly also needed to be protected, both of which required the cooperation of the local Goryeo government. Although the Han mission in Goryeo has sent personnel to the Dongnae Metropolitan Protectorate, where the port of Busan is located, to coordinate and supervise, after all, there is still a layer behind, and it is urgent to let the senior civil officials of Goryeo be responsible for cooperating.

"In the next few days, I will let them give orders, and then take Li Hui to the south of Goryeo to take up his post, Zhao Luzheng should not be anxious." The prince waved his hand, "However, please also ask the brigade to communicate with the navy, so that they can assist in the assembly of the army, so as not to leak the news." ”

"The Navy is already doing its best to block the news on the sea." Zhao Song immediately replied, "However, Your Highness, it is difficult for a large army to gather and completely keep secrets, after all, there are merchant ships passing by in and around Busan Port...... Fortunately, most of the merchant ships are Chinese, so we can find a way to let them help keep secrets. ”

In order to maintain the policy of seclusion, the Japanese shogunate imposed a ban on the sea, and issued several decrees on the seclusion, which in addition to the provisions restricting the objects of maritime trade, there is also a clause prohibiting the Japanese from going to sea, announcing that all Japanese who have been at sea for more than five years are prohibited from returning to China, so many Japanese who were displaced in the open sea during the Warring States period can no longer return to their hometowns, and there are very few people in Japan who go to sea again.

This has led to a very strange phenomenon, which is that Japan is an important trading country today, and has a huge annual trading volume with China and the Dutch, but very few Japanese merchant ships cruise the open seas, and only let foreign ships come to Japan to trade.

However, this closed trade was very conducive to the military build-up of the Han in Goryeo, and the Han only had to keep Chinese merchant ships from passing through similar waters as much as possible, so that secrecy could be almost achieved.

Of course, it is impossible to keep the secret completely, and Zhao Song did not put hope here. He judged that the shogunate was located in Edo, the eastern part of the Kanto, and it was very inconvenient to exchange news with the Kansai, and even if they received similar news, it would be difficult to respond in a timely and forceful manner, and by the time they figured out the intentions of the Great Han, his army had already begun to march towards Kyushu, Japan.

"It's going to be hard for the navy, and they need to contribute to both transportation and blockade." The crown prince nodded, "You can send another message to the navy, from now on, the soldiers, ammunition and food supplies transported by sea every day must be compiled into a book, and then sent to me together, I need to know the specific facts, so as not to be in a hurry at that time." ”

"Okay, Your Highness, the minister will write a letter to Ganghwa Island today." Zhao Song hurriedly agreed.

At this moment, the door suddenly rang softly, and several people inside suddenly stopped talking.

"What's the matter?" The prince asked in a low voice.

"Your Highness, the Minister of Goryeo and the King of Jingcheng ask to see His Highness." The voice of an attendant sounded outside the door.

Jin Xinguo and Li Ke came to see me? The prince was slightly surprised, but he immediately regained his composure. "Let them wait outside now, I'm in trouble!"

"Yes." The attendant replied and immediately retreated.

"Zhao Luzheng, in this case, without further ado, you should rush to Busan as soon as possible, and take care of the local affairs first, so that the soldiers gathered in Busan can at least rest comfortably." After the other party left, the prince took over the original words, "I have to be here for a few days, and there are always a lot of red tape things to do." ”

"Your Ministers obey." Zhao Song stood up, "The minister will leave Seoul tomorrow, go to Ganghwa Island first, and then take a boat to Busan." ”

"That's very good." The prince agreed with the other party's opinion, and then turned his head to look at Zhang Daoyan, the deputy envoy of the Han Dynasty next to him, "Deputy Envoy Zhang, you will also go to Busan with Zhao Luzheng at that time, you have been in Goryeo for many years, and you always know a lot of people up and down, if you come to assist Zhao Luzheng, it must be able to make him a lot easier." ”

"Obey orders!" Zhang Daoyan was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed to his head.

He knew that Xingyang Bo Zhao Song was an important general of this dynasty and a member of the royal family, and he would definitely continue to be hot in the future, and it would be a rare opportunity to be able to give him a hand.

After explaining a few more words to the others, the prince asked the others to go to the next room to rest first, and then called the two people who had been waiting outside.

"Jin Yizheng, Ambassador Li, I don't know why the two of you are visiting together?" After the two of them saluted, the prince asked with some curiosity.

He was now living in the palace of Goryeo, and even if he was the minister of the Governor of the Kingdom of Jinxin, he could not enter at will, not to mention that he had brought a Li Ke, and the two of them must have had something important to do before they could enter—and he could guess what this important matter was.

"I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince intends to let Jingchengjun serve as our country's Gyeongsang-do Observer Envoy, I don't know if it's really ......?" Jin Xinguo raised his head and asked.

"That's true, I consulted with the lord of the country yesterday at the dinner." The crown prince nodded immediately, "It seems that he has already passed it on to Yizheng?" So what about Kim's political intentions? ”

He thought that Jin Xinguo did not agree to this appointment, and then persuaded Li Ke and brought him over to resign. Just because of this incident, he was angry, if Jin Xinguo dared to say a word no, he planned to attack directly, and he couldn't bear to forgive these Koreans, and in the end he didn't have to agree.

"The minister thinks that His Highness's move is far-sighted and takes into account the two countries, which is a wise move!" Jin Xinguo suddenly bowed his head and gave an answer that surprised the crown prince, "The minister has expressed his agreement with the lord of the country to approve this appointment, and is ready to complete the procedure in the parliamentary government as soon as possible and announce the appointment as soon as possible." ”

The prince stayed for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. "Kim Yizheng is well aware of the righteousness, and with Jin Yizheng upholding the national government, Goryeo will have the stability it has today, and please continue to share worries for the country in the future."

Then, he looked at Li Ke again, "Ambassador Li, in the future, you will take on a great responsibility for the time being, and please continue to work diligently as usual in the future, so that I can achieve the great cause of the dynasty and let Goryeo have more peace." ”

"Your Highness!" Li Ke thanked him and suddenly fell to his knees again.

At this time, Jin Xinguo also left his seat and knelt on the ground, and the two of them put their heads on the ground, sincerely afraid.

This scene made the prince even more surprised, he couldn't understand what the other two were thinking. For a moment he wanted to call someone in, but he quickly suppressed the thought again.

"What are you going to do?" He looked down at the two of them with a slight sternness.

"The ministers have important matters to tell Your Highness, and please ask Your Highness to know clearly!" Jin Xinguo, who was the bolder of the two, spoke.

"What's the matter?" The prince was even more surprised.

"What the ministers are doing is the state affairs of Goryeo, and they are the most important state affairs." Jin Xinguo raised his head slowly, "Now that the lord of the country is old, but Goryeo has never set up an heir, and the ministers have always been worried about this time, and I also ask His Highness to choose an heir for Goryeo and continue our country's national glory." ”

"Huh......?" This sudden request made the already very surprised prince even more confused. "Heirs......? This is a domestic matter in your country, so why should I be involved? ”

The matter of appointing an heir to replace Li Hui for the lord of Goryeo had been mentioned by Shi Gaoyi, the former head of the mission, to the country, but the prince felt that such a blatant abolition of the monarch might arouse opposition from the Goryeo government and the opposition, and it would not be of much benefit to the Han itself, so he shelved the proposal. He didn't expect that it would be the Minister of Parliament of Goryeo who took the initiative to mention this matter to him.

"Originally, it was true that this was a domestic matter of the country, but ......" Jin Xinguo's face became cloudy, and finally made up his mind, "It's just that the current situation is complicated, and the lord of the country is unwilling to establish an heir early, and the lord of the country has a bad reputation in the country, so I have to ask His Highness to make a decision." ”

Accusing the Lord in my face? The prince only felt that the things that surprised him followed one after another.

"Jin Yizheng, you ...... Do you know what you said today? ”

"Of course the minister knows that the minister is risking the collapse of his wealth to make a suggestion to His Highness. If it spreads, the ministers will be reviled by all the people. Jin Xinguo's face was full of impassionedness, "But as the prime minister of Goryeo, if he can't stand up when the society is in decline, how can he be worthy of the country's grace?" If Your Highness doesn't care about this, see ...... Seeing that Goryeo is about to face a catastrophe! ”

Then, he told the prince with a sad face about the current situation, Li Hui returned to the country halfway and had no heirs, and he did not establish an heir for a long time, and the clans in the country were already ready to move, and they all wanted to seize the throne, and they were about to be in chaos. In order to win the trust of the crown prince, he deliberately made the situation a little more serious. "His Royal Highness, as the **** prince, was originally the lord of Goryeo, if His Royal Highness can make a decision, no one in the territory will dare to disagree, even if there are one or two clans who are dissatisfied, it is impossible to cause a big mess."

Then, Li Ke also raised his head to speak, bitterly stated the stakes, and earnestly asked the prince to eliminate an imminent crisis for Goryeo. "Please also ask Your Highness to make the decision for the country!"

As soon as the two of them finished speaking, they kowtowed at the same time, as if they were waiting for the prince to make a decision.

Seeing these two people with such a tacit understanding, the prince knew in his heart that these two people must have communicated in private, and wanted to use themselves to select an heir for Goryeo, although they both said that they were thinking about the country, but the prince knew that this kind of talk was just talking, and their main starting point must be for themselves.

So what should you do? The prince hesitated.