Li Jie had the opportunity to evacuate to Ganghwa Island.
It's a pity that I was reluctant to leave the pots and pans, and wasted time in packing my luggage. I still had to abide by the feudal etiquette rigidly, so I missed the last opportunity.
Ganghwa Island is located in the northwest of Hanyang, just north of the entrance of the Han River.
If you take the west gate, you might be able to get there before Hauge.
Who calls Li Jie the king? He can only go through Sungnyemun (South Gate), and it will be too late to go back around.
Hearing that the Qing army was approaching Hongjiyuan, the Korean monarchs and ministers were in chaos.
Cui Mingji was still calm and quickly suggested: "Your Highness, for the current plan, we can only go to Namhan Mountain Castle for temporary refuge."
Li Zhu was already panicking. Someone had an idea at this time, so he had no choice but to follow it.
He was still worried.
"If the barbarians are chasing us, how should we resist them?"
Cui Mingji was quite powerless. After thinking for a while, he volunteered and said: "Please allow me to serve as an envoy and go to see General Mafuda (the Korean name of Mafuta) to try to ease the situation."
Seeing that Cui Mingji was willing to take risks alone and implement this delaying strategy, Li Zhu was extremely moved.
"Qing Guo is a powerful minister."
At the critical moment, Cui Mingji had no thoughts about Li Zhu's praise.
He found Li Jingji, who had the imperial decree, and brought fine wine and food with him to find the Qing army, just to delay Hauge's advance.
As for Li Jian and others, they finally realized at this time that they could not afford to delay, and retreated in a hurry all the way to Nanhan Mountain City.
In fact, the North Korean monarchs and ministers were somewhat unfounded in their worries.
When they reached the edge of Hanyang, Hauge no longer had the strength to go any further.
He had a total of more than a thousand troops at hand, and no matter how reckless he was, he would not dare to attack Hanyang rashly.
If we fail to win the battle and suffer a defeat, it will be difficult to explain to Huang Taiji.
Anyway, they made great progress all the way, pushing directly to the outskirts of Hanyang, and their military achievements were considered outstanding.
Hauge stationed himself at Hongjiyuan while waiting for Yanguli's reinforcements.
How could Hauge condescend to the envoy from North Korea who came to ask for an audience? Therefore, as a representative of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Mafuta met with Cui Mingji and the others.
"If you want to negotiate a peace, send your king's brother and ministers over."
Mafuta made conditions.
Cui Mingji and Li Jingji looked at each other with sadness in their hearts.
However, seeing the murderous Qing army, the two of them had no reason to defend themselves. They stayed in the Qing camp for one night and rushed back to Namhan Mountain City in the snow the next day.
On this day, farce was still going on in Namhansan Fortress.
Li Zhu had just settled down in the city when Jin Sangxian came to the door.
"Your Highness, Namhansan Fortress is a dead place and is not a long-term plan. I sincerely request Your Highness to move to Ganghwa Island and take advantage of the natural dangers of the waters to fight against the barbarians."
Frankly speaking, Kim Sang-heon's suggestion is really not random.
Although Namhan Mountain Fortress has a dangerous terrain and is easy to defend and difficult to attack, the city is too small and cannot accommodate too many people.
When this city was first built, it had a capacity of only 4,000 people. But now, with the relocation of the Joseon royal court and the center, and the addition of the guards and horses, the city has a capacity of more than 10,000 people.
This leaves many people without homes to live in.
Forced by desperation, the officials gave full play to their arrogant and ugly face and actually let the recruited soldiers suffer on the edge of the city wall.
In the cold winter season, the soldiers' clothes were thin and their hands and feet were not covered. You can imagine how they felt when they were exposed outdoors for such a long time.
If Li Zhu could really go to Ganghwa Island and rely on the strait for defense, he might really be able to cause a lot of trouble for the Qing army.
After all, the Qing army was not good at water warfare.
Moreover, where Li Juxing was, there must be a large number of guards and troops. North Korea's navy could also be easily mobilized and deployed, and the defense was much better than the isolated Namhan Mountain City.
In addition, North Korea has an advantage on the water, so it can mobilize grain and grass from all over, avoiding a supply crisis, and can deal with the Qing army more calmly.
It’s not that Li Zhu didn’t understand this truth.
He is also determined to go to Ganghwa Island.
As a result, the team encountered severe wind and snow as soon as they left the city the next day.
After walking less than thirty miles, Li Zhu couldn't stand the bumps and cold, and ordered to return on the spot.
Jin Shangxianku stood in the snow, watching Li Zhu's team retreat hastily, his heart sank to the bottom.
With such a king, how can we talk about resisting foreign humiliation?
At this point, the Korean monarchs and ministers lost their last chance to reverse the situation of the war, and they all huddled in Namhan Mountain Castle and lingered.
When Cui Mingji returned and reported the Qing army's conditions, Li Jie was extremely reluctant.
He has quite a naughty idea.
"Go and ask Ayamine-kun, would you like to share your worries?"
The ministers were stunned, but they accepted it happily.
Lord Lingfeng Li Xun is the great-grandson of Lord Yongyang Li Xian. Listening to this title, you will know that he has no close relationship with the royal family for a long time.
Normally, Li Zhu would never think of such a person. Now that he was facing a crisis, he immediately remembered that this was his relative who could top the tank.
When Li He learned that he was being asked to impersonate the royal family and go to the Qing camp as a hostage, even though he was very scared and jealous of Li He, he had no way to refuse.
Mafuta requested the king's brother and ministers. Now that he has the "king's brother", he also needs a "minister" to take his place.
This minister refers to an important minister at the administrative level.
The monarchs and ministers of North Korea obviously did not want to agree, and felt that losing power would be an insult to the country. After a game in the court, Shen Yu became the victim of the final sentence.
The two men were sent to the Qing camp and looked uncanny, which made Mafuta very suspicious.
He held the handle of the knife and walked up to Shen Zhen.
"Are you...really the minister?"
Kneeling on the ground, feeling the thick smell of Mafuta's blood on the top of her neck, Shen Ao was so frightened that she could not utter a word.
This heightened Mafuta's suspicion.
He thought for a moment and ordered someone to bring Pu Lanying over.
"These two are the king's brother and the minister?"
Although Pu Lanying didn't know what happened, seeing this scene, what else didn't she understand?
"General, it is the king's brother and ministers."
Mafuta approached him and said with a ferocious smile: "You lied to me."
Pu Lanying stood tall and solemn, neither humble nor arrogant.
"It is indeed the king's brother and the minister."
Mafuta nodded slightly, as if he believed what he said.
Just when Park Lanying breathed a sigh of relief, Mafuta suddenly changed the subject.
"Where is Gwanghae-kun?"
Pu Lanying trembled on the spot, her mind was spinning, and she suddenly understood Mafuta's intention.
The Qing army wanted to find Lord Guanghai to replace Li Zhu as the leader of the country.
He hurriedly rambled.
"The cripple is on an island thousands of miles away, and may have died."
Ma Futa sneered.
"Kwanghae-kun is not dead yet, right?"
Pu Lanying was upset and regretted that she had not done enough to cultivate her character, and Ma Futa found the flaw.
The only thing that can be prayed for now is that the Qing army does not know where Gwanghae-kun is.
Otherwise, once Gwanghaejun falls into the hands of the Qing army, the Korean monarchy will change, and there will be no chance of a turnaround.
