Chapter 636: I, the Emperor, Am Also Going to Zhejiang

Your Majesty's reputation in Jiangnan is not very good—when Your Majesty unleashed that bloody purge in Jiangnan, how many people were scared out of their wits?

And when the Donglin Faction was cleansed back then, quite a few people were dragged into it as well.

Even though these past few years have seen all sorts of propaganda, and Your Majesty's fame has grown greatly, the reputation has improved a little bit.

But that's all it is—just a little better. Beyond that, there's nothing else.

Under such circumstances, if people learned that the Emperor was going to Zhejiang, there would be trouble.

Li Chaosheng felt that the news would definitely leak. The reason was simple: once His Majesty got there, he wouldn't just sit around doing nothing, and as long as he did something, word would get out. Who knows, someone might even use His Majesty's name to do other things.

When he got back, he'd start buying raw silk—with current income, there was no way he'd lose money. Since he couldn't stop His Majesty from going to Zhejiang anyway, he might as well make a fortune first.

Zhu Youxiao had no idea what Li Chaosheng was thinking. If he did, he'd definitely have him dragged out and killed.

But Zhu Youxiao had already made up his mind to go to Zhejiang, so there was nothing more for Li Chaosheng to do about it.

"Alright, you may withdraw." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand, signaling Li Chaosheng to leave.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Li Chaosheng breathed a quiet sigh of relief inwardly and quickly replied, "Your servant takes his leave."

With that, Li Chaosheng respectfully backed out of the room.

Once Li Chaosheng had left, Zhu Youxiao stood up and stretched his limbs, then turned to Wei Chao beside him and said, "Have someone make preparations—we're going to Zhejiang, taking a stroll through Zhejiang."

"Yes, Your Highness." Wei Chao quickly acknowledged.

"Oh, and have someone keep an eye on that Li Chaosheng. I always feel there's something odd about him." Zhu Youxiao looked at Wei Chao and said, "He's strange—see if there's anything improper about him. Have the men below report promptly."

"Yes, Your Highness." Wei Chao acknowledged again hurriedly.

Joseon, the central capital, Hanseong.

Ever since Yi Seong-gye moved the capital from Gaegyeong to Hanyang (한양) and formally named it Hanseong (한성), Hanseong had become the capital of Joseon during the Joseon dynasty.

It was also a city that had suffered many wounds, and the most severe was probably the Imjin Japanese Invasion during the Three Great Campaigns of the Wanli era.

When the Japanese army withdrew southward, before leaving they slaughtered the city's people to the last. In November of that year, when King Seonjo of Joseon returned to the capital, the palaces had all burned to ashes and brambles filled the city. The hundred officials had to sit against the walls, forced to use the old residence of Grand Prince Wolsan as a temporary palace, the house of Prince Gwirin as the inner court, Shim Ui-gyeom's house as the Eastern Palace, the former residence of Chief State Councillor Shim Yeon-won as the ancestral temple, and nearby commoner homes large and small as the various government offices (called the temporary seat of government).

During the reign of Prince Gwanghae, the ancestral temple and palaces were repaired where it mattered most, and after several years of development, the city had already taken on a prosperous appearance.

Walking along the streets, Zhang Yu still felt somewhat dazed.

Although this city looked no different from a city of the Great Ming—even the dress of the people on the streets was that of Ming folk—and the officials he saw passing by differed from Ming officials only slightly in their robes.

Zhang Yu still felt somewhat dazed.

This was, after all, not the Great Ming. This was Joseon. Though he had been here for several days and had already met the King of Joseon, he still seemed not quite prepared.

Returning to the post station, Zhang Yu saw Song Xiang.

Regarding the exchange of envoys between the Great Ming and Joseon, the entirety of Joseon showed no resistance whatsoever—on the contrary, they were extremely, extremely welcoming.

After all, the one sent this time was Prince Fu, and his status spoke for itself.

When meeting the King of Joseon, Prince Fu had also said, "Our purpose in coming this time, besides strengthening communication and friendship between the Great Ming and Joseon, is also to assist in resolving conflicts between the Great Ming and Joseon."

For example, if Ming merchants or commoners had any trouble in Joseon, they could help.

This kind of talk was, frankly, helping Joseon manage the Ming commoners—if anything happened, they could step in. After all, the Great Ming was very powerful, and if Ming people managed their own, it would be easy to offend people.

Another uncontrollable aspect of this matter was that it ceded management authority, which would ultimately lead to Ming commoners in Joseon not having to obey Joseon law at all, simply acting according to Ming ways.

This was hardly a good thing for Joseon. But Joseon dared not interfere—indeed, it was exactly what they sought.

"How did it go today?" Song Xiang looked at Zhang Yu and said with a smile.

She naturally reached out and took off Zhang Yu's outer garment, handing him the great cloak beside her.

Zhang Yu accepted Song Xiang's attentions without a trace of surprise.

The two had traveled together the whole way and had long grown accustomed to this manner of interaction. Having passed through the initial awkwardness, they now seemed rather composed and natural with each other.

Draping the great cloak over his shoulders and taking the tea Song Xiang handed him, Zhang Yu took a sip and nodded, saying, "There's been some progress."

Song Xiang did not disturb Zhang Yu, listening quietly from the side.

"Tomorrow I'll go see the King of Joseon, and Prince Fu will come along as well. This time it counts as a more formal meeting—we'll try to get the matter settled." Zhang Yu said with a smile.

"Any news on your end?" Zhang Yu looked up at Song Xiang and asked.

"Plenty of news." Song Xiang said, "The situation in Joseon is very complicated right now. The current King of Joseon was only eight years old when he ascended the throne—the so-called Restoration was actually pushed by outsiders. Among them were the current king's grandmother, Queen Inmok, and also the Southerners faction."

"In that rebellion, the Westerners faction suffered a crushing defeat—their leader was ordered to commit suicide, and the former King of Joseon had both his eyes gouged out and was exiled."

"But as time passed, the King of Joseon gradually grew up, and on the court there emerged the Northerners faction and the Easterners faction, while the Westerners faction was also reviving."

"In the past two years, Queen Inmok's health has been failing, and she no longer manages affairs much. Add to that the five years she spent imprisoned in the cold palace in her youth, and her body has been worn down considerably. Many people say she probably won't live another two years, and everyone is worried that unrest will break out."

"And since the current King of Joseon is young and strong and wants to seize back power, the court is in chaos right now. Tomorrow I'll enter the palace to meet this Queen Inmok. Prince Fu's side will also send someone—I'd like to bring our imperial physicians along to take a look."

After hearing this, Zhang Yu nodded and said, "Put together a file of information for me—I want to look at everyone, understand the connections between them, and the thinking of the various factions."

"I understand." Song Xiang nodded and said, "I'll send it over after we finish eating."

Through this period of working together, Song Xiang had also come to understand why the Emperor had sent Zhang Yu to handle this matter.

This man was simply near-uncanny in his intelligence. Beyond that, he was ruthless in his methods and operated with absolutely no scruples. That was toward enemies.

But toward the people around him, he was humble and gentle, playing no tricks and pulling no schemes. When with her, he could even be made to blush and feel awkward.

This made Song Xiang even more intrigued—Zhang Yu really was a strange man.

"What are you staring at me for?" Zhang Yu, noticing Song Xiang's fixed gaze, asked in confusion.

"You're handsome." Song Xiang shot him a look and said, "The food's ready—let's go eat now."

With that, she turned and walked out.

Zhang Yu subconsciously touched his face. "Am I handsome?"

But he also understood that Song Xiang was teasing him again.

Ever since leaving the capital, Song Xiang's personality and temper seemed to have changed—no longer the stern woman she once was, she had instead gained a measure of playfulness, even vivacity.

This feeling made Zhang Yu very comfortable; it was pleasant to be around her.

Letting out a sigh, Zhang Yu stepped forward to follow her.

He always felt that if things continued like this, something was bound to go wrong. But some things couldn't be helped—all he could do was let them take their natural course.

(Far away in the capital, Madam Zhang's eyelids kept twitching: A man's words are a ghost's lies!)

After supper, Song Xiang brought the documents over.

Song Xiang ground ink beside him, carrying a rather charming air of a beauty attending a scholar.

Zhang Yu read while writing on paper with his brush.

He would write for a while, then pause to think, then continue.

After some time, Zhang Yu let out a sigh of relief and set down his brush.

Glancing at Song Xiang, who was yawning beside him, Zhang Yu said, "Sorry for the trouble. I can handle these matters myself—you should head back early and get some sleep."

"That won't do. I still have to keep an eye on you." Song Xiang shot him a glare and said, "In case you do something to betray the Great Ming, I need to be there to deal with you right away."

Zhang Yu helplessly let out a sigh.

She was always joking about these things.

"Alright." Seeing that Zhang Yu wasn't speaking, Song Xiang gave him a shove and said, "Come on, tell me—what exactly are you thinking? What do you plan to do?"

"The actual situation is more complicated than what you've described. There's also the matter of contending for the throne." Zhang Yu said helplessly, "The Crown Prince of Joseon is currently in the Great Ming, but the current Joseon king has more than just this one son."

"The Crown Prince also has a younger brother. The factional struggles have already become entangled with the succession dispute. In this regard, I do think we could cooperate with the Second Prince and have him do something." Zhang Yu looked at Song Xiang, his expression gentle, his tone calm as he spoke.

"Have him do what?" Song Xiang said hesitantly.

"Have him rebel." Zhang Yu continued in the same even tone, his face as if nothing at all had happened.

That tone and expression were like he was narrating the most ordinary matter in the world.

"Have him rebel?" Song Xiang looked at Zhang Yu dubiously and said, "Why would you do that? Isn't that too bold? If it leaks out, it could easily cause trouble."

Seeing Song Xiang's anxious expression, Zhang Yu immediately laughed.

Seeing that Zhang Yu still had the mind to laugh at her, Song Xiang irritably slapped him and said, "You still have the mind to laugh? With such a huge matter at hand, you still have the mind to laugh?"

"Let me tell you, His Majesty never told you to do this. If you go through with it, I will definitely report it. When His Majesty comes to deal with you, I won't plead for mercy on your behalf. You might even lose your official post—you might not even keep your life."