I saw Li Yingren standing up directly, his face suddenly changed, the relaxation just now turned into seriousness, his thick eyebrows were furrowed, as if he had encountered a bolt from the blue.
"Governor Wen, see for yourself!"
Li Yingren slowly sat down, closed his eyes to rest, and said to the people in the hall: "I already know what your master means."
"Come here, give this brother twenty taels of silver."
After saying that, Wenxi on the side also finished reading the letter. After seeing him leave, he said, "Do you think this is true?"
"Zu Dashou is different after all."
Li Yingren sighed softly.
"What's the difference? He's an adulterer."
Wenxi shook his head: "No matter what he was like before, he is now a slave builder, and his position will change."
"But it's better to believe that this thing exists than to believe that it doesn't exist."
Li Yingren raised his head with a fierce look in his eyes: "If North Korea is subverted, Pidao will be hard to survive."
Phi Island is only a few miles away from North Korea, and as long as ships can pass through the strait between them, once North Korea is lost, Phi Island will definitely not exist.
In history, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties went south to Korea twice. In fact, the main target was Phi Island. They failed to win the first time and plundered northern Korea. The second time directly cut off Phi Island's logistics - North Korea.
But they failed to capture Pidao both times, and it was our Commander-in-Chief Yuan, Mao Wenlong who defeated him with Shang Fang's sword.
Without worries, the Manchu Qing Dynasty could launch an all-out attack on the Ming Dynasty.
The current Pidao is absolutely unable to cope with the full blow of the Manchu Qing.
"At present, the Qing envoy has arrived in Seoul, and we are too late." Wenxi sighed.
"I'm afraid that's why Zu Dashou sent someone to reveal it. Facts that cannot be changed are of no importance."
"However, it can be seen that Zu Dashou and other old officials have already lost their hearts."
Li Yingren said casually: "In such a situation, the demise of the Manchu Qing Dynasty is just around the corner."
"Or you will find joy in suffering, just like picking sesame seeds from bird droppings."
Wenxi shook his head, waved his hand and said: "Fortunately, I have asked the imperial court for help. As long as the navy arrives as soon as possible, Pi Island will be fine."
"But does the prince know about this?"
"Prince?"
Li Yingren was shocked: "No, if something happens to the King of Joseon, that's all. Once something happens to the Crown Prince, Joseon may turn upside down as he said."
After saying that, Li Yingren quickly ordered his men to use carrier pigeons and messengers to notify Seoul with double insurance.
"I hope it's not too late."
In Seoul, a vigorous welcoming ceremony made the Qing envoy extremely satisfied, at least on the surface.
The huge Seoul became lively because of this.
Because every time the envoys come over, they will inevitably bring a large amount of goods with them, thus earning the interest differential in the trade between the two countries.
The most distinctive feature of every envoy sent by North Korea to the Ming and Qing Dynasties was the number of hundreds of people in the mission. Every one of them, even a servant, would be highly sought after.
This is the unique tribute trade.
Therefore, among the welcoming team, the merchants from Yizhou occupied the most important position.
But at this time, they were disappointed.
Although the Qing people did not say so clearly, the sharp-eyed businessmen from the Gulf soon learned that there were no commodities in their ranks.
From this, Lin Ren, the head of the Gulf Business Group, smelled something bad.
After some temptations, he did not speak out. After thinking about it for twenty years, he went to see the crown prince Li Hao.
"What does Lin Dafang want to see you for? Are the goods not enough, or is Manqing still not paying back the money he owes?"
Huang Gong, the counselor on the side, stood up and said mockingly.
As a Han Chinese who had accompanied the crown prince as a hostage for many years, Huang Gong had a particularly disdain for the Manchus, and he was interested in businessmen from Taiwan who only had interests in mind. Naturally, this was no exception.
"Let him come over."
Li Hao said in a deep voice.
Although he was not happy in his heart, he felt that he deeply understood the importance of Gulf merchants to the imperial court.
Of course, the most important thing is that many of his relatives have also benefited from this, and they naturally do not dare to slack off when it comes to Wanshang's big house.
Afterwards, Lin Ren, who had a cautious and cautious face, knelt down and bowed down directly: "Lin Ren, a common man, please bow down to me."
"Get up!"
Li Hao raised his hand and said: "Now that the Qing envoy is here, but Lin Dafang doesn't go to greet him, how can he come to see me in time?"
Lin Ren suddenly raised his head, cupped his hands and said: "The common people have something urgent to ask for, which is of great urgency and affects the survival of the Korean nation."
Now, everyone became nervous.
Li Hao was no exception. He stood up from his knees and said, "Say it quickly."
"yes!"
When Lin Ren saw this, he immediately said: "Caomin and other Yizhou merchants travel between the two countries. The Qing envoys and Ming envoys over the years all know them very well."
"However, although the number of Qing envoys on this trip was twice that of previous years, the cargo they carried was less than 10%. What's strange is that the carriages and horses are heavy, much heavier than those of previous years."
"The food supply in the prefectures and counties along the way is often more than double the number of people."
"So the grassroots sent people to investigate, and finally found clues. Hidden in the trucks were a large number of armors and soldiers."
"Soldiers and armor?"
Li Hao was shocked: "Why did the Qing people send so many soldiers here?"
"My Majesty, the Manchus have evil intentions!"
Huang Gong on the side said impatiently.
"That's right." Lin Ren was not willing to lag behind, and said bluntly: "Seoul is not safe now. It's better for me to leave the city before it gets dark."
"My lord, it's better to be careful."
The counselors Han Chen around me persuaded each other.
But they intentionally or unintentionally ignored the King of Joseon, Lee Joon.
However, Li Hao was also decisive: "Send someone to tell my father that I will go hunting outside the city."
"Besides, you must not let the news of your secret transfer of the crown prince, concubine, etc. leak out."
"As for His Highness, please leave a letter."
Of course, Li Hao understood that his father would definitely not believe it under the empty words, but his distrust of the Manchus forced him to choose to act cautiously.
Besides, my father has thousands of imperial troops, so there is no problem in guarding the palace.
Late at night, when the Seoul Gate was closed, the Qing embassy was agitated. Then hundreds of cavalry and hundreds of heavy infantry rushed out of the embassy and headed towards the palace.
Due to the curfew, the journey was smooth and the watchmen were beheaded, and they arrived at the palace in less than half an hour.
Luck Dehun was particularly satisfied. He looked at the Joseon Palace, which was taller than the Shengjing Palace, and immediately said: "Enter the city and don't let the Joseon King go."
"Watch your crotch, don't delay important things."
The tall palace is not much stronger than a fence. Facing the sudden army and the fierce Eight Banners infantry, the Korean soldiers were instantly frightened.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the city gate was as easily broken as if it were made of paper.
The center of Korea fell into the hands of the Manchus.