At the end of February, the Korean Peninsula was still very cold and windy.
Cui Mingji rode alone on a thin horse, walking eastward along the path. The white snow and bones on both sides of the road contrasted with each other, creating one dead place after another.
As far as he could see, Cui Mingji's mood was a bit colder than this cold winter.
Wherever we passed along the way, villages still existed, but they were sparsely populated.
Only through personal experience did he understand that the situation described by Jin Zidian and others was far from the actual situation.
I never thought that Li Zhuo's kneeling would cause such great harm to North Korea.
But now that the matter has come to this, what else can be done?
Not knowing what was waiting for him ahead, Cui Mingji could only put life and death aside.
He always felt that there was a pair of eyes nearby watching his every move, but no matter how he observed and searched, he could not find anything unusual.
Daegu is not far from Busan, and he soon arrived at the Nakdong River.
The surface of the river was still frozen, allowing people to pass through it, but he did not act rashly.
Just across the Nakdong River, one defense fortification after another is clearly visible, and countless people are busy.
The clothes of these people are very strange, they must be Xia Jun.
Cui Mingji understood that Xia Jun regarded the Luodong River as a natural chasm.
If it were him, I'm afraid he would do the same thing.
The existence of this big river is enough to withstand thousands of armies.
His appearance was very sudden, and naturally he was quickly noticed by Xia Jun on the opposite side.
A young officer ran over with two soldiers.
"I am Cui Mingji, the judge of North Korea, and I have come to contact you on the order of my king. Please let me go."
The young officer smiled and did not make it difficult for him.
"plz follow me."
Seeing that Xia Jun was so easy to talk to, Cui Mingji let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly followed him, his eyes constantly glancing around.
At this time, it would be good to take a closer look at Xia Jun's defense. This is important information in case of a real fight in the future.
Xia Jun seemed unaware of his thoughts and did not take any measures against him. The officer led him leisurely through the defense line and entered the interior of Busan.
On the nearby hilltop, Bai Xiaoqi had already used a telescope to see Cui Mingji's form.
"The king of North Korea is sitting in Hanyang, thinking that Jin Zidian has the upper hand in terms of military strength, and is waiting for victory. This time, let Cui Mingji see it with his own eyes, and then he can attract the Qing army after returning."
If it was just to deal with the North Korean army, there was no need to establish the Nakdong River defense line. Even if the Xia army took the initiative to attack, the North Korean army could not stop it.
But the Xia army's target was not these vulnerable Korean troops, but the Qing army.
When Jin Zidian ran over and saw the formation here, he realized that he could not defeat it with his own army, so he hid in Daeqiu and hesitated.
But the Korean monarchs and ministers in Hanyang did not know this, and still dreamed of wiping out the rebellion as soon as possible and restoring peace.
Now let Cui Mingji see with his own eyes the strength of the Xia army here, and then he can lure the Qing army over.
Cui Mingji walked into Busan City, but felt strange and shocked by everything here.
I saw countless North Koreans running back and forth, pushing one vehicle after another to transport supplies in the direction of the Nakdong River.
Obviously working in such cold weather is torture, but there is no anger on the faces of these North Koreans.
Everyone is smiling, shouting slogans, and working hard.
Even during the years of guarding Namhan Mountain Fortress, the North Korean soldiers and civilians were not in such a state.
Cui Mingji observed carefully and discovered the difference.
The Koreans here all wore thick cotton coats, cotton hats, and even gloves and cotton shoes. Even though they were fully armed, they looked even warmer than him.
The style of those clothes clearly comes from the Xia Kingdom, but they allow Koreans to withstand the severe cold in winter.
He also saw with his own eyes the Korean people chatting, laughing and mingling with the Xia Army soldiers next to them. It was as if these Xia Army soldiers were not the invaders but the backbone of the people.
He noticed even more that Busan was crowded with people, and it was far more prosperous than in the past.
I have long heard that those Koreans who were afraid of being captured by the Manchus went all the way south, and it seemed that they all came here.
The irony is that they are obviously Korean people, but they are not willing to be entrusted under the wings of the king. Instead, they feel at ease with Xia Jun's protection.
Many new shops have been opened on both sides of the streets in Busan, with colorful signs hung up. Although I don’t know what they are selling, I can see local people coming in and out, so business is obviously booming.
When did North Korean people become so rich?
Do you dare to go to the store and buy something casually?
Cui Mingji knew very well that all this must have been brought about by Xia Guo.
Others only saw the prosperous scene, but what he saw was that the imperial court was losing the support of the people here.
This is undoubtedly very scary.
Can a court without the support of the people still stand firm?
"North Korea and the Xia Kingdom have no connection or connection with each other. Why did they send troops to invade our land and seize my people? This is an unjust war and is inconsistent with etiquette."
Cui Mingji finally met the representative here.
Wang Yun, Jin Sangxian, and Zuo Hua met with him.
From the very beginning, Cui Mingji criticized Xia Guo's behavior from a moral perspective.
Wang Yun’s counterattack was righteous.
"The leader of North Korea betrayed the country and the people and surrendered to the barbarians. This is something that cannot be tolerated by nature. We, the Xia Kingdom, are here because we were invited by the righteous people of North Korea to support the righteousness of North Korea and prevent the people of North Korea from falling into obscurity. Mr. Cui, please trouble you.
Go back and tell Li Zhu that his crime is unforgivable."
Seeing Wang Yun calling Li Zhu by his first name, Cui Mingji was so angry that he trembled all over.
"Master Jin, do you want to be a traitor? Where do you want to go to North Korea?"
Kim Sang-heon was impassioned and refused to give in.
"The righteous way of Korea lies only in China. You have abandoned China and served the barbarians. Don't you know how to repent?"
Cui Mingji had never been so angry and pointed at Wang Yun and others.
"They are the rebels of China, how can they be orthodox?"
Wang Yun's face turned cold.
"China is the people's China, just like North Korea is the people's North Korea. Chongzhen was a ruler of a single man and a traitor to the people, and Li Jie was exactly like that."
At this point, Cui Mingji knew that the possibility of negotiation had disappeared.
"Busan is just a small place. Do you really want to be able to block the power of North Korea?"
Zuo Hua was lazy, but his words were very harsh.
"Is it aid from the Manchu Qing Dynasty? Just because your North Korean army continues to stay in Daegu to fish and catch shrimps?"
Cui Mingji was left speechless.
At this point, the situation is no longer an internal matter within North Korea. Regardless of the court or the rebellion, they are just supporting roles.
What can really determine the fate of North Korea is the Xia Kingdom and the Manchu Qing Dynasty standing behind it.
It is undoubtedly a tragedy for a country to be unable to decide its own destiny.
Cui Mingji's thinking began to diverge.
What will happen if the Manchus win?
What will happen if Xia Guo wins?
What is the future of North Korea?
He suddenly discovered that North Korea had entered a deadlock and could only passively wait for its fate to be pronounced.
