Goryeo, Kaeju.

Jin Fushi asked Wen Gongren, who had just returned: "What is the intention of the Ming Dynasty to send troops?" ”

Wen Gongren began to say the lines according to the script: "The good teacher knows that Zheng Zhichang heard that his male was exiled and his female dependents were used as official slaves, and he was furious and wanted to guide the Ming army to return to China to make a big show." Fortunately, I had a good relationship with him, and after some kind words and hard persuasion, his tone softened. ”

The answer is not what he asked, Jin Fushi can't get angry yet.

Wen Gongren went around in circles again, and finally said: "Although Zheng Zhichang did not say it explicitly, there is a major inside story in his words. Emperor Zhu on the side of the Ming Dynasty is generous and benevolent, not a reckless king. However, Prince Zhu is arbitrary and arbitrary, with the ambition of swallowing up the eight wildernesses, and seems to want to annex Pyongyang. ”

Jin Fushi's spirit was shocked: "In other words, the key to sending the Ming army out of the country is to curry favor and persuade Emperor Zhu." ”

"Definitely." Wen Gongren shook his head.

"Is it useless for Emperor Zhu to give an order?" Jin Fushi felt very strange.

Wen Gongren woke up and said: "The rivers and mountains of the Ming Kingdom were brought down by Prince Zhu with his troops. Xiang Gong is familiar with the history of the scriptures, and should know Li Yuan and Li Shimin. ”

Jin Fushi suddenly realized: "I see! ”

Wen Gongren said again: "Prince Zhu has a very good face, he has ordered to send troops to our country, if he withdraws soon, how can this save Prince Zhu's face?" Therefore, this matter cannot be rushed, the more the Ming army is urged to retreat, the more Prince Zhu will not withdraw. ”

"How can Prince Zhu have face?" Jin Fushi asked.

Wen Gongren said: "The Ming army sent troops north in Baozhou, and if it can kill the Yalu River, it will be gained. First, it can be seen that Prince Zhu was prescient in sending troops to Goryeo, and second, he can have a new garrison for the Ming army in the north of the Yalu River. By that time, Prince Zhu would have face, and the Ming army would have a lining, and it would be logical to withdraw troops from our country. ”

The more Jin Fushi thought about it, the more reasonable it became, and he clapped his hands and praised: "Gongmei is a great talent!" ”

Although Wen Gongren spoke very reasonably, Jin Fushi certainly wouldn't believe his words.

A few days later, Cui Huan, who had sent an envoy to the Ming Dynasty, was released to Kaizhou, bringing the news that Xu Kangzong was about to be crowned king.

Jin Fushi asked: "The emperor and the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, can they get along on weekdays?" ”

Cui Huan replied: "When I went down to Kaifeng in the Ming Kingdom, I was not grounded, I often drank with the officials of the Sifang Pavilion, and occasionally talked with the people inside and outside the city. No one dares to say that the emperor and the prince are not on good terms, but when people talk about those two, they all praise Emperor Zhu's kindness and generosity, and the people of the world are bathed in his kindness. When it comes to Prince Zhu, he admires his heroic and brave, which can ensure the well-being of all the people in the world. ”

Jin Fushi asked again: "The territory of the Ming Kingdom was really fought by Prince Zhu with his troops?" ”

"Absolutely." Cui Huan said.

Jin Fushi asked again: "What do you think is the intention of the Ming army here?" ”

Cui Huan said: "Most likely Mingguo wants to take the opportunity to take away the Xidao Road. Moreover, the envoys and generals of the Ming Dynasty supported this matter, and they first had to take the opportunity to make merit. Other civil officials of the Ming Dynasty were opposed, and when they returned from Pyongyang this time, some civil officials came with grain from Shandong. This civil official seems to have quarreled with the envoy Xu Kangzong. Although they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, their faces became ugly after they talked in private. The civilian officials who came from Shandong left the Ming army camp in a huff. ”

A series of information finally made Jin Fushi believe -

Emperor Zhu and most of the civil officials did not want to annex Hunxi Province, especially to transport grain to help the hungry people of Goryeo.

However, Prince Zhu, envoys and generals have plans to expand their territory.

After thinking about it, Kim Fushi had a countermeasure, and he called other ministers of the DPRK and China to tell in detail about the situation he knew.

Immediately, Jin Fushi said: "The envoy of the Ming Dynasty, Xu Kangzong, as well as the generals such as Zhe Yanzhi, are nothing more than to seek wealth and make meritorious contributions. We can't give credit for the time being, but we can give some of the goods. You can give them silver bottles, furs, and mountain ginseng, and if you buy them all, you can ask them to help say good things. ”

"Asking for wealth satisfies them, but what credit do they want? Prince Zhu probably only wants to gain martial arts. Ren Yuanhou asked.

Jin Fushi smiled and said: "As for martial arts, you can send an envoy to the Jin State to ask for help, just say that the Xijing faction colluded with the Ming court. The Ming State sent tens of thousands of troops to be stationed in China's Hunxi Road, and could cross the Yalu River to attack the Jin State at any time. ”

"Wonderful!"

Hong Jae clapped his hands and exclaimed: "The two tigers of the Jin Kingdom and the Ming Kingdom are contending, and my Great Goryeo Kingdom can sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight." The Ming army won, just continue to fight north, Prince Zhu and the envoys, the generals have martial arts, and when the time comes, they will give a lot of goods to let them retreat. If the Jin soldiers won, they will never sit idly by and watch the Ming army in the west of the province. ”

Kim Hyo-chung added: "In addition to goods, you should also give away beauties. Heroes are sad to pass the beauty pass, and they can choose smart women of all ethnic groups to marry Ming envoys and generals as concubines. After coaxing them to be happy, and because of their in-laws, how can they still go to war with my Great Goryeo? ”

"That's a great thing!" The ministers all thought that the beauty plan was feasible.

Anyway, there are many branches of the big family, and it doesn't hurt to let those small sects choose smart beauties and concubines for the civil and military generals of the Ming Dynasty, and blow the pillow wind all day and night.

If the Ming Dynasty destroys the Jin Kingdom, it will inevitably be extremely strong, and then these families will have contact with the Ming officials.

If the Jin Kingdom Jedi fights back, then the blame for colluding with the Ming Dynasty will be put on those small sects as scapegoats.

The nobles of the Kaegyong faction agreed on a major event, and then waited for Heo Kangzong to come and canonize the king of Goryeo.

Just as Heo Kang-jong was about to arrive, several officials of the Goryeo court jointly petitioned for the reinstatement of the former prime minister, Choi Hong-jae.

Choi Hong-jae is not from the Choi clan in Kaijing, and his hometown is further south in Jishan. The Jurchen soldiers who had led the army to fight as a civilian official, won the unanimous respect of the generals, and broke through the Jurchen soldiers besieging the city, and captured 132 pairs of Jurchen vests alone - at that time, the Jin State did not have many vests.

With such a record, he was soon convicted of going to war without authorization, and he was exonerated only after winning the war with the Jurchens.

Choi Hongjae felt that he was being suppressed, so he chose to cling to the powerful minister Li Ziqian. And Li Ziqian also wanted to control the army and further consolidate his power, and the two hit it off and became embarrassed.

Choi Hongjae was so awesome that his power quickly swelled to the point that Lee Ziqian was jealous, so he was falsely accused of rebellion and exiled by his family.

The king killed his grandfather Li Ziqian, and the officials who were exiled by Li Ziqian were reinstated one after another. Only Choi Hongjae is still in exile, and the Kaijing faction has always been afraid of this guy who is both civil and military.

Now, first the Jin soldiers are raging, and the Ming army is stationed in Pyongyang. The king was placed under house arrest, and civil unrest continued in various places. Under the internal and external troubles of Goryeo, the local nobles who were not of the Kaegyong faction began to unite with some military attachés and asked to welcome back Choi Hongjae, who knew military affairs.

Although the Kaijing faction controlled the government, they went too far, and at this time, all Taoist clans across the country joined forces, and they really couldn't suppress the turbulent public opinion.

As a result, in the past 100 years of Goryeo, Choi Hongjae, the most war-fighting civil official, returned to the dynasty.

"There are two countries outside, and there are Choi Hongjae inside, and the situation is getting worse and worse." The nobles of Kaijing lamented one after another.

The admonition officer Cui Weiqing said with a smile: "Let him be a servant of the door, and judge the secretary of the military department." Once this person takes office, he will definitely purge the army, and he will have to recruit and drill troops. He wants to train his troops, but we don't give him food, so he can only get food himself. ”

Jin Fuyi immediately understood the strategy: "Now the whole country is short of food, and there is constant civil unrest. As long as Choi Hongjae dares to reach out to the grain, he can be impeached for being corrupt and disrupting. When this person was in exile, his family property was confiscated by Li Ziqian, and he will definitely be corrupt if he is an official now. And he is anxious to get back the family assets he once had, so he snatched food from the hungry people! ”

Although Choi Hongjae is not a clean official, he is at least an official who can do things, and he was still on his way back to Beijing after his exile, so he was arranged to be dismissed for corruption.

Xu Kangzong finally came, and Zhi Yan led five hundred elite soldiers to escort him.

Most of these officers and men of the Ming army were born in Shandong, and the imperial court selected the best of the best to form troops, and this year's army was reorganized into the field army sequence.

All of them were newly made medium-sized armor, all of them burly, and they strode towards the gate of Kaiju, and the Goryeo civil and military officials who were in charge of welcoming them were terrified.

The two sides said some words, and Xu Kangzong reminded: "The canonization edict is here, and the king of Goryeo should fast and bathe, and must not forget the etiquette and collide with the gods." ”

Jin Fushi hurriedly said: "The subordinates have already made arrangements. ”

Entering the city to set up a banquet and entertaining, the Goryeo minister prepared a singer, and jumped and persuaded him to drink.

Xu Kangzong said: "During the fasting and bathing period of the king of Goryeo, as a canonized envoy, I am not allowed to get close to women. ”

"Angels are true courtesy!" Jin Fushi admired.

That night, there was a small sect of the nobles of Kaijing who sent the daughter of the family. In addition to Xu Kangzong and Zhi Yanzhen, there were also seven or eight accompanying civil and military officials.

Everyone deduced that women were forbidden during the fasting period, but the person who came took out the eight characters of birth and married the women in the family to the Ming officials as concubines. After the fasting period, it is not too late to go to the round house.

Gathering together in private, Zheyan sighed: "The daughter of a big family, being a concubine with an envoy like this, are the Goryeo monarchs and ministers shameless?" ”

"They always do." Zheng Zhichang sneered.

Zheng Zhichang's family, who had been exiled and enslaved, had regained their freedom at this time. Several of the men died in exile, and the women were all defiled, and he now hated the Goryeo ministers to the core.

Xu Kangzong said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has ordered that if you encounter bribes in Goryeo, you can accept them regardless of your wealth, but you must report them to the court truthfully, so as not to be impeached in the future." Also, the gift can be accepted in full, and nothing is allowed to help the giver! ”

"Prince Shengming!" The crowd praised it from the bottom of their hearts.

At the canonization ceremony, the lord of Goryeo, Wang Goo, was extremely emaciated, at the mercy of others like a walking corpse.

He didn't even dare to complain to the Ming envoy, if he complained during the day, he would die of illness at night!

He has a wealth of experience under house arrest, and knows that he should be patient first, and secretly accumulate the strength of "loyal monarch" before counterattacking.

Daming Wenwu caught a lot of goods in Kaizhou, and returned to Pyongyang with a group of beauties.

Under repeated urging, the Goryeo court promised to raise 20,000 stone of military rations first, and transport them to Pyongyang within this month.

As soon as the grain was shipped, Li Cheng, who was stationed in Baozhou, sent a letter saying that there were more and more Jin soldiers on the other side of the Yalu River.

Jin Fushi looked at the north and muttered, "Let's fight early, whoever wins." If you don't fight, it's uncomfortable to be empty. ”

(End of chapter)