Chapter 558: Joseon: Why Has the Great Ming Suddenly Gotten So Full of It?

The enmity between Joseon and Japan went back a long way. Joseon's land was like a piece of fat meat, always sitting right in front of Japan, making it desperately want to take a bite. Over all these years, that desire had never stopped.

Back in the Tang dynasty, Japan had already tried a raid, only to be defeated by Liu Rengui at the Battle of Baekgang.

Over the years, Japan's ambition had never died out. After the Ming dynasty came, they invaded repeatedly, fighting Joseon in large and small battles countless times.

During the Three Great Campaigns of the Wanli era, Japan got beaten black and blue once more. The hatred between the two sides was deep and plentiful — and in fact, didn't they end up fighting again later?

Japan still wanted to take Joseon, then advance from Joseon into the Three Eastern Provinces, conquer all of China, dominate Southeast Asia, and carve out a vast territory. A textbook case of a small country with big ambitions — and it was something they had been working at all along.

During World War II, Japan cooked up a notorious ***** Sphere.

In fact, back during the Three Great Campaigns of the Wanli era, Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi had already floated this vision: first take Joseon, then occupy the Great Ming, and finally push on to Southeast Asia to build a great empire.

Only that plan never even got off the ground before it died in the womb. Who would have thought it would resurface by the time of World War II?

And then everyone knows — Japan failed again.

This was a country that had always wanted to step off its islands onto the mainland, always wanting to gain a foothold of territory on the continent and build a colossal empire — but it had never succeeded.

Toward this neighbor that kept hopping around, Joseon naturally felt nothing but resentment. Only Joseon couldn't beat Japan, and for all these years it had been bullied. If the Great Ming hadn't had Joseon's back, Joseon would probably have been wiped out by now. Under such circumstances, Joseon had no strength to strike back.

And back in the Wanli era's Three Great Campaigns, by the later stage the Great Ming could no longer sustain such wars. After all, fighting on multiple fronts was simply too much to bear, and the state had no money.

But things were different now. Now Zhu Youxiao had money and men — how could he not take a shot?

Pull Joseon in to take a shot together, and then some territory in Japan could be carved out and given to Joseon.

With the armies of the Great Ming and Joseon merged together, their forces combined, plus richer political and economic exchanges — how long could Joseon hold out in the Great Ming's hands?

Zhu Youxiao didn't know, but he was looking forward to it.

Meanwhile, outside the city, Li Zong had already arrived at Shanhai Pass.

The journey had been long and arduous. Ever since entering Dandong, Li Zong had become a different man.

To be honest, he was still somewhat excited — especially after learning that the Great Ming Emperor had come to Liaodong this time to wage war.

Li Zong had been bullied plenty by Nurhaci over the years, especially when the Great Ming was weak. Now they were finally going to turn the tables and strike back — this was revenge for them.

Besides, Li Zong was a diehard pro-Ming faction member. The stronger the Great Ming grew, the more secure his own power became — that was crucial.

Sitting in the carriage and constantly peering outside, Li Zong could barely contain his excitement.

He was about to meet the Emperor of the Great Ming — he wondered what the Emperor would say to him. Whatever it was, it would surely be good news.

Beside Li Zong came quite a few Joseon ministers.

These men had supported Li Zong back then and were also diehard pro-Ming loyalists. Now they had this opportunity to go deep into the Great Ming for exchange and study, and even to meet the Great Ming Emperor — this was truly a rare chance.

When the party reached the city gate, they saw a crowd of people waiting there.

Sun Chengzong stood at the edge of the crowd.

Standing beside Sun Chengzong was Wei Chao; the two had been waiting there for a while. Actually, they had been resting in a room off to the side before, and only came out to stand by the crowd after receiving the guards' report.

Although the visitor was the King of Joseon and deserved due respect, Liaodong was simply too cold right now. If they stood at the gate for a while, their old bodies might not hold up, and they'd probably catch colds. If they came down with a chill, that would be a real problem.

Park Jeong-hong came before Li Zong and said, "Your Majesty, the people of the Great Ming are up ahead to receive us."

"Who came?" Li Zong's face lit up with excitement at these words, and he turned to ask Park Jeong-hong.

"To report to Your Majesty, it is Sun Chengzong, the Chief of Staff of the Great Ming's Staff Office, and Wei Chao, brush-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial." Park Jeong-hong hurriedly said, "These two are both close associates of the current Emperor, and Sun Chengzong is also the current Emperor's teacher."

Hearing this, Li Zong was instantly thrilled.

The Great Ming Emperor truly did value him — even the people sent to receive him were of no ordinary standing.

Li Zong said to Park Jeong-hong beside him, "Have everyone stop. I want to get down from the carriage and properly get close with the two ministers."

Park Jeong-hong said nothing — indeed, they should get close with the other side.

Although their own king was a king in Joseon, once in the Great Ming he was but a vassal prince. Facing such top-tier ministers of the other side, he still couldn't put on airs.

Park Jeong-hong said, "Very well, Your Majesty, I will have the men make preparations."

Neither side had to wait long before the two parties met.

Sun Chengzong looked Li Zong up and down and found him to be a somewhat puffy fat man whose steps were light and unsteady as he walked.

But Sun Chengzong dared not be remiss, and promptly bowed in salute, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Wei Chao beside him also smiled and bowed in salute, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Li Zong walked over with a smile, reached out to take Sun Chengzong's hand, and helped him up; then he went to Wei Chao's side, took his hand, and helped him up as well.

Li Zong's movements were very unpracticed — clearly, he hadn't often done such things before.

Still, Li Zong put on a very pleased expression and said in an extremely cordial tone, "Having the two of you wait here for me in such cold weather — I really feel quite apologetic. The weather has turned chilly; do take care not to catch a chill."

"Attendants! Bring up the gifts I have prepared!"

At Li Zong's words, the eunuchs behind him brought forward the prepared gifts and delivered them directly before Sun Chengzong and Wei Chao.

Li Zong said directly, "Just a few small tokens — please don't think ill of them, do accept them. Inside are sable fur coats made by Joseon's finest sable craftsmen. The two of you can keep them to ward off the cold."

This time coming to the Great Ming, Li Zong had prepared quite a number of gifts.

Aside from the gifts for the Great Ming Emperor, most were meant for the Great Ming's ministers. After all, Li Zong hadn't come to the Great Ming this time merely to meet the Emperor — he had matters to discuss.

Ever since the Great Ming had secured its foothold in Liaodong, trade between the two sides over these years had been extremely brisk. How much money the Great Ming had earned from Joseon, Li Zong didn't know — but he knew it must be a great deal.

So Li Zong wanted to sell some of Joseon's goods to the Great Ming as well, and this was something he needed to discuss carefully with the Great Ming Emperor.

After all, people in his own court had already raised the point that if the Great Ming kept making money off Joseon, Joseon would one day be unable to hold out.

In fact, ever since the merchants of the Great Ming had opened this sluice gate, they had been gleefully dumping goods — they could drive the price of anything down to rock bottom and still sell it off.

Never mind what the price was in Joseon — we're cheaper than you. Forcing goods out by price alone had nearly destroyed Joseon's small-scale peasant economy.

Joseon's self-sufficient model could no longer continue. If things kept going this way, Joseon felt it would be finished.

So this time Li Zong had come to cry poverty before the Great Ming Emperor, which was why he had brought so many gifts, prepared to give them to the Great Ming Emperor and his close ministers so they would help out.

The gifts were offered, but Wei Chao dared not take them.

He turned to look at Sun Chengzong, the meaning obvious — he wanted Sun Chengzong to refuse, and then he would follow suit and refuse as well.

What Wei Chao hadn't expected was that Sun Chengzong would accept the gifts without the slightest hesitation.

Glancing at the fine sable coat, Sun Chengzong's face blossomed with joy. He nodded in satisfaction and said to Li Zong, "A fine gift indeed! Many thanks for Your Majesty's generosity—I shall not stand on ceremony."

Besides the sable coat, there was also a small chest beside it, which surely contained gold, silver, and jewels.

Sun Chengzong didn't even look at it, simply having his attendants take it.

Wei Chao was suddenly rather embarrassed. He could only steel himself and accept the gifts as well, all the while thinking about how he would explain this to His Majesty back at court.

"In that case, Your Majesty, let us enter the city." Sun Chengzong wore a smile on his face, his tone extremely courteous—even warmer than before.

"I'll walk in with you all." Li Zong seemed to have suddenly taken an interest, saying with a smile: "On the journey here, I had wanted to see one of Great Ming's cities. But I was anxious to meet His Majesty and dared not delay, so I never had the chance. Now that we're here, I finally have the opportunity."

"Would the two of you be willing to accompany me on a stroll and introduce me to the customs and sights of Great Ming?"

Upon hearing these words, Sun Chengzong's expression did not change in the slightest, but inwardly he understood—this Joseon king wasn't interested in seeing any city at all.

What was there to see in a place like Shanhai Pass? Was he supposed to admire this mighty fortress?

They wouldn't dare attack. He simply wanted to cozy up and pry for information.

After all, the gifts had just been sent—striking while the iron was hot was the best choice. If you went looking for someone later, the gifts were already accepted and the warmth had cooled; if you went asking questions then, why would anyone tell you anything?

"Of course, no problem at all." Sun Chengzong said warmly: "As long as Your Majesty wishes, it's naturally no trouble."

The group began strolling into the city.

At first, it was naturally just pleasantries. Li Zong praised Shanhai Pass, Sun Chengzong modestly demurred beside him, and Wei Chao filled in any gaps; Piao Zhenghong at Li Zong's side also occasionally asked a question, putting on the appearance of someone eager to learn.

Both sides could be said to be chatting away with great enthusiasm.

After passing through two streets, Li Zong finally shifted the conversation to the main topic.

"Lord Sun, why are there so many Mongols on these streets? They seem quite docile and obedient." Li Zong looked around as he asked with some puzzlement, though his tone was quite casual.

"Nothing much—they've all come to pay homage to His Majesty." Sun Chengzong said matter-of-factly, as if this were simply the natural order of things, without the slightest trace of pride.

He seemed to be saying, I'm already used to this. His tone even carried a hint of annoyance, as if to say, these people are such a bother.

This attitude left Li Zong astonished—even Piao Zhenghong at his side was somewhat taken aback.

They had indeed seen that those Mongols were all very courteous, with not the slightest hint of arrogance or intimidation.

This wasn't right—hadn't they heard that Great Ming and the Mongols had been at war all along? And that the Mongols were unruly and untamable?

These Mongols were allies of Hong Taiji—how had they become like this now?

Although Joseon knew Great Ming quite well, there were still some matters—things internal to Great Ming—that they didn't know about, and no one had told them. Under such circumstances, they couldn't help but feel bewildered.

Sun Chengzong naturally wouldn't explain things to them. If they didn't understand, so be it—inscrutable and unfathomable was just right.

"There's a battle underway ahead; I believe word will arrive before long. When it does, His Majesty will summon these people. After all, once Hong Taiji is defeated, the situation here will become clear and settled, and many matters will need to be renegotiated." Sun Chengzong added a supplementary remark.

Upon hearing this, Li Zong's expression turned serious.

Clearly, Great Ming was teaching the Mongols a lesson this time—they were increasingly taking on the bearing of a great power.

And there was a battle going on ahead? How had he not sensed it at all?

There was no tense atmosphere of war here. Looking at this bustling market and the flowing crowds of people—was this what war looked like?

One had to know, this place wasn't far from the battlefield at all.

In truth, the war really hadn't affected these people. Most of those here were Mongols and merchants who had come to trade.

Ever since Zhu Youxiao had arrived here, the place had become lively and prosperous—one could say it was teeming with people.

Those merchants had obvious confidence in Great Ming's army. They had come to pick up bargains and were positively excited—how could they possibly feel any atmosphere of war?

"It seems this campaign is proceeding quite smoothly." Li Zong said with a smile from the side.

"Hong Taiji is nothing but a clay chicken or a straw dog—a fool who sells his head by the roadside. After this battle, there will be no more Jin state. Those people only made trouble while Great Ming wasn't paying attention. Now that Great Ming has come to its senses, naturally there's no room left for them to stir up trouble." Sun Chengzong said with an air of complete certainty.

Piao Zhenghong at the side felt somewhat unconvinced.

A few years ago, Great Ming hadn't been this formidable. Back then, it seemed Great Ming had been badly harassed in Liaodong, and even their own side had suffered losses. How had things suddenly become like this?

Piao Zhenghong didn't quite understand, but he felt that the man before him didn't seem to be putting on an act.

Still, he wasn't entirely convinced and planned to observe further later.

Just at that moment, the sound of horse hooves and voices suddenly rang out from outside the city gate.

A moment later, a horse came galloping in, the rider waving a banner in his hand and shouting loudly: "Great victory at Jianning! General Lu Xiangsheng has slain Hong Taiji!"