In July, Li Chenggui tried his best to successfully defeat his former partner and biggest political enemy, Cao Minxiu, by means of instructing his ministers to make false accusations, and became the only powerful minister in Kaijing who controlled the actual government affairs.

But it was at this time that he suddenly discovered that more than half of the courtiers of Goryeo had secretly fled from Kaegyong with their families and went to Jeju Island to attach themselves to the so-called "new monarch of Goryeo" canonized by the Ming Dynasty.

The Goryeo Dynasty has been divided.

"Father, recently, many Goryeo courtiers have come to cling to them, and they are frequently tempted in their words, all of them want to see Zheng Mengzhou and the new king."

"But why don't we have any Goryeo clan? Not to mention that Zheng Mengzhou has not yet been escorted to Jeju, and even if he does, this person may not be able to join forces with us......"

Li Shanchang was watching the map of Goryeo in the room, and he was holding a white Go piece in his hand, as if he was using black and white chess pieces to simulate the changes in the situation in Goryeo today. Hearing Li Qi's words, he didn't even raise his head, and said casually: "If you love temptation, let them be tempted." Zheng Mengzhou comes or not, and it has nothing to do with us. ”

"Don't worry, just continue to send people to recruit the minister of Kaijing."

Li Qigong claimed that it was, but there was still doubt on his face. After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke: "My son really doesn't understand, if this lie is exposed, what should these Goryeo ministers do if they return to Li Chenggui?" ”

"Besides, father, there are not many defenders on Jeju Island, and Li Chenggui has a heavy army. Those officials who have been wooed are all literati, how can they compete with Li Chenggui......"

Li Shanchang pressed the chess pieces in his hand, and finally raised his head to look at the honest eldest son. "You can know that literati are useless, and it can be regarded as a benefit. The position of power is only in the sword and gun, and the literati alone are useless. ”

"But you need to be able to understand what is standing behind these literati and why they have come to Jeju Island. If you think about these things clearly, your doubts can be easily solved. ”

He really hoped that this eldest son would be able to make progress, so he was looking forward to watching Li Qi bow his head and ponder.

However, after a long time, Li Qi still looked up with a puzzled face: "Father, my son is dull, and I still can't figure it out." ”

"Didn't these courtiers and literati come to Jeju to surrender for the sake of loyalty and orthodoxy? After all, the 'King of Goryeo' on Jeju Island on the bright side is the orthodox Goryeo emperor canonized by the Ming State Book. ”

"If they knew that this matter was deliberately deceived by my Ming Dynasty, they would definitely turn their heads and attach themselves to Li Chenggui and make enemies of my Ming Dynasty...... Why do you think this matter is not a big deal, Erchen really can't understand. ”

“…… Alas, that's it. Your heart is too kind, so naturally you can't think of those twists and turns. Li Shanchang hesitated for a long time, and then sighed helplessly. He has been in the court for more than ten years, but he gave birth to such an eldest son who has no talent for power.

He sat Li Qi down and began to talk to him about the situation in Goryeo.

"The Goryeo Dynasty has enjoyed the country for hundreds of years, and the bureaucrats in the country are all rich and powerful people for generations. These people have been in business for a hundred years, and their power in Goryeo is intertwined, and their officials are more corrupt than those of the previous Yuan. What loyalty? ”

"Do you think they came to Jeju to serve the new king? Wrong. They are there to protect the interests of their families. ”

"Li Chenggui is from a warlord and is not in the same line as them. They were naturally worried that if Li Chenggui was put in power, this rude military man would use the excuse to loot their family's wealth...... Originally, because Li Chenggui had heavy troops, they could barely endure it. But now we are raising the banner of the new king, and we have the support of the Ming Dynasty. ”

"If he follows Li Chenggui and fights against Daming, maybe he will be like the shogun of Yingzhou one day, and all the great business will be wiped out overnight...... How can these Goryeo doctors, who are worried about the damage to their own interests, not compete for help? ”

Li Qi was stunned when he heard this. His brows furrowed deeply, and he asked again, "But if that's the case...... This new king...... This new king must have something to do......"

"It doesn't matter if the new king is new or not. In other words, these Koreans don't care if there is a new king at all. "Li Shanchang twisted his long beard lightly." Otherwise, why are they only tempting with words? Since you have come to meet with all your heart, shouldn't you think more about it and ask to visit the new king? ”

"This fight is not between the new king and Li Chenggui and Wang Chang, but between Li Chenggui and my Daming."

"It is we who are waiting for the Ming Dynasty to threaten the Goryeo officials: those who are willing to join the Ming Dynasty will come, and those who are willing to die with Li Chenggui will go...... Let's see what these Koreans choose. ”

"As for the new king. Even if they knew that there was no such person, they would go to great lengths to fabricate a so-called 'new king' in their own name. Don't worry. ”

"Son...... The son was taught. Li Qi only felt that his three views had been greatly shaken, and his head turned many times before he finally figured it out. It's just that even though I figured it out, I still felt quite shocked. Banxiang Fang said: "Father, if these people are all selfish, how can we rely on them? ”

"Those who are selfish and self-interested will be motivated by profit, and they are willing to die for the sake of food." Li Shanchang smiled slightly. "It's okay, just wait. When Li Chenggui can't sit still, he will help me and others and let them be used by me. ”

As expected by Yi Shanchang, Li Sung-gye, who was in Kaijing, was well aware of the oppression of Goryeo by the Ming Dynasty. Since the founding of the country, the first national policy of Goryeo has always been "Doing Dae", which means "serving the great power to protect itself." Goryeo, which has served the great powers of the Central Plains for hundreds of years, has long been accustomed to the days when they use the power of the great powers to close their doors and make a fortune in their own country.

Now that it has suddenly lost a great power that can be served, and it may even suffer from the soldiers of a great power, the entire Goryeo court is as if it is overwhelmed by Mount Tai. A few years ago, it was okay, in addition to the Ming Dynasty, there was still the Northern Yuan. But now the Northern Yuan has become yesterday's yellow flower, and it cannot meet the source between the two big countries. And this is the only big country that can serve, and it also sent a letter of state to reprimand the actual leader of its own court as a rebel...... In such a situation, how can those Goryeo people who are still in Kaijing not fight and want to go first?

These pressures were directly fed back to Li Chenggui, who was mainly targeted by the Ming Guoshu. On the one hand, Li Chenggui continued to send envoys to Jeju to sue for peace with the Ming envoy Li Qi, and he did not hesitate to pay any price, as long as Li Qi could repatriate the unwarranted new king of Goryeo; On the one hand, he sent his men and horses to blockade Kaegyong to prevent any more officials in the city from fleeing to Jeju. However, even so, there were often Goryeo officials who went out of the city at night with hanging baskets, and even if they were killed, they could not be killed. The rest of the people in the city were even more panicked, and the capital city had been paralyzed.

After the third request for peace was rejected, Li Chenggui finally understood that if he wanted to continue to govern, a war with the Ming Dynasty was inevitable. At the beginning of October, Lee Sung-gye marched to Jeju Island with an army of 30,000 and marched to Jeju Island in the name of "crusading against rebels". At this time, the Ming garrison on Jeju Island was even less than 3,000.

(End of chapter)