Chapter 691: Laying the Cards on the Table — I

"Zheng Xuhong?" Song Xiang asked hesitantly. "Would he be willing to open his mouth on this?"

Zhang Yu said with confidence, "At this point, is there anything left that he is or isn't willing to do? If he wants to live, he must be willing. Tell Li Feng that this matter is easy to handle — he'll find a way."

"Alright, I understand." Song Xiang nodded.

The news spread quickly, and Li Feng once again arrived at Zheng Xuhong's room.

"Master Li, please come in." Zheng Xuhong's face immediately broke into a smile when he saw Li Feng, and he hurriedly invited him inside. He now held Li Feng in great respect — at a time like this, there were few people who would still stay by his side without abandoning him.

Especially this Li Feng, who was also extremely capable — that made him even more precious to Zheng Xuhong, so he treated Li Feng with great courtesy.

After ushering the man inside, Zheng Xuhong said, "Master Li, might I ask what brings you here at this hour?"

Li Feng thought for a moment, then said, "Your Excellency, I've mulled this matter over and over, and I still feel there are some aspects that aren't quite right. So I wanted to come and discuss them with Your Excellency."

Hearing this, Zheng Xuhong's expression turned serious, and he said, "What aspects aren't right? Master, please speak freely."

"Grand Prince Bongnim wants to fish for benefits in this affair — that much we know. He even wants to obtain Your Excellency's support so that he can scheme for the great throne. But what good does this bring Your Excellency?"

"Your Excellency could indeed escape your predicament, but this isn't all that certain. Even if Your Excellency does escape, what happens after you get out? Who will know that Grand Prince Bongnim did things for Your Excellency, and who will know that Your Excellency did things for Grand Prince Bongnim? This isn't good."

"Is Master afraid that Grand Prince Bongnim will kill the donkey once it finishes the grinding?" Zheng Xuhong asked with a frown.

"Exactly so." Li Feng nodded and said, "At this moment, none of us can guarantee what Grand Prince Bongnim is thinking. If he plays both sides and also places a bet with Kim Jeong-min's faction, things will become difficult to handle."

"Then what does Master think I should do?" Zheng Xuhong asked with a frown.

Zheng Xuhong understood his own situation very well. He felt that Li Feng was overthinking things a bit.

Right now, he could be said to be in danger at any moment — what mattered more than preserving his own life? As long as he could keep his life for now, everything else could be discussed later. As long as his life was preserved, there would naturally still be opportunities. Not stirring up trouble at this time was the best course.

But Li Feng clearly didn't think that way, and Zheng Xuhong still wanted to hear what he had to say.

"I think this matter should have Grand Prince Bongnim step forward personally, to go and speak with the King. There are two advantages to doing it this way. The first is that his weight is sufficient — if we want to protect Your Excellency, this approach is the most secure. I imagine the King would not disregard Grand Prince Bongnim's wishes, and neither would the court ministers."

Li Feng was also a clever man. Knowing what Zheng Xuhong was most worried about right now, he simply struck at the place where he wanted it most.

Don't you want to preserve your life?

My approach is the one most capable of preserving your life.

Sure enough, after hearing Li Feng's words, Zheng Xuhong nodded in agreement.

He had indeed thought the same, and had even thought one layer deeper. If things went as Li Feng said, and Grand Prince Bongnim placed bets on both sides, then his own life might not be so important — at a critical moment, he would become a pawn that could be discarded at any time. That was not what he wanted.

Zheng Xuhong said, "Master, the second meaning is to make Grand Prince Bongnim firmly stand on our side — if not, we could be abandoned at any moment?"

"Exactly so." Li Feng nodded and said, "Looking at the current situation, Grand Prince Bongnim only turned to Your Excellency because problems arose with Kim Jeong-min's faction. But if Kim Jeong-min's side learns that Grand Prince Bongnim wants to rescue Your Excellency, what would they say?"

"First, they might ignore it entirely and continue their own affairs. Second, they might very well collude with Grand Prince Bongnim. If Kim Jeong-min and his people stop supporting the other princes and instead turn to support Grand Prince Bongnim, with the price being Your Excellency's life — what choice does Your Excellency think Grand Prince Bongnim would make?"

Hearing this, Zheng Xuhong's face darkened.

This kind of situation was not impossible. Zheng Xuhong dared not trust the integrity of Kim Jeong-min and his lot. As for Grand Prince Bongnim's integrity, Zheng Xuhong felt it was a joke — absolutely not to be trusted. If he trusted it, he would die without even a place to be buried.

Li Feng continued, "So we must seize this moment to make our demands, have Grand Prince Bongnim declare his position, and let everyone know that Grand Prince Bongnim supports Your Excellency. Because only this way can we cut off the path for them to collude with each other, and only this way can we truly rescue Your Excellency. Otherwise, what happens afterward is hard to predict."

Zheng Xuhong nodded and said, "But what if Grand Prince Bongnim is unwilling?"

"If he's unwilling, doesn't that precisely prove he has no sincerity?" Li Feng said with a frown. "If that's the case, we should think of other methods."

Zheng Xuhong looked at Li Feng hesitantly and asked, "May I ask what methods you have in mind?"

"According to what Lin Dechang said, those people from the Great Ming are willing to help for the sake of benefits — can't Your Excellency also offer benefits? We could go directly to that envoy from the Great Ming, or perhaps choose to defect outright." Li Feng's gaze flickered uncertainly, then he said, "Given Your Excellency's current position and standing, I imagine the people of the Great Ming would also have need of you. Rather than cooperating with Grand Prince Bongnim, why not cooperate with Your Excellency? If Your Excellency sincerely defects, why would they refuse?"

"Kim Jeong-min and his people have conditions — Your Excellency has none, only asking them to save your life. Why wouldn't that work? If the King can't protect you, and Grand Prince Bongnim can't protect you either, then the only ones who can protect Your Excellency are the people of the Great Ming. And with the Great Ming's support, Your Excellency might even advance further."

Zheng Xuhong raised his head to look at Li Feng, pondered for a long while, then said, "But we're not familiar with the people of the Great Ming. Why would they help us?"

"I am willing to go and lobby on Your Excellency's behalf." Li Feng said. "And I believe that relationships — as long as you maintain them often enough, they naturally develop. Isn't that how Kim Jeong-min and his people built their connections? All it costs is some benefits. What they can offer, Your Excellency can also offer; but what Your Excellency can offer, they may not be able to."

Zheng Xuhong now understood what Li Feng was saying.

If the King won't protect you, and Grand Prince Bongnim won't protect you either, then there's no one in this royal family worth your loyalty. Switching your allegiance to someone else is no big deal. And pledging loyalty to the Great Ming would bring even more benefits.

Neither Grand Prince Bongnim nor the King of Joseon could possibly offer up Joseon itself — but he could.

Who ruled Joseon — what did that have to do with him?

It wasn't him anyway.

Kim Jeong-min and his people probably couldn't go that far. Even if they could, it would still depend on what the Great Ming chose. His side was at the end of its rope, willing to do this; Kim Jeong-min and his people probably wouldn't be.

Zheng Xuhong sat in his chair, his expression very grim.

In his heart, he already understood what Li Feng meant, and understood his own situation.

After a long while, Zheng Xuhong raised his head to look at Li Feng and said, "Master, who exactly are you? Where does your heart truly belong?"

Li Feng looked at Zheng Xuhong, silent for a long time. Finally, he let out a helpless sigh and said, "It has come to this after all. Very well, I won't hide it from Your Excellency any longer. I am no one else — I belong to the Great Ming's Staff Office."

"So it is." Zheng Xuhong let out a sigh and said.

He seemed not the least bit surprised. Raising his head to look at Li Feng, Zheng Xuhong asked, "What exactly does the Great Ming intend to do?"

"Your Excellency, don't you find the kingdom of Joseon somewhat an eyesore?" Li Feng looked at Zheng Xuhong, eyes slightly narrowed, and said, "Now that the Great Ming's Liaodong has been pacified, and Japan has been conquered, the entire north has only Joseon left. If Joseon also returns to the Great Ming, what would remain in the north?"

"What does the Staff Office do? The Staff Office exists to wage war, to seize territory for the Great Ming. How do those gentlemen of the Staff Office get promoted? How do they get rich?"

"The Great Ming has been plotting this for quite some time?" Zheng Xuhong raised his head to look at Li Feng with a dark expression.

"Not exactly." Li Feng shook his head and said, "Originally there was no such idea. It was only last time, when that Lord Sun they mentioned arrived in Joseon and saw the chaos of this kingdom, that he conceived this notion."

"Some people sought to prevent the Joseon Crown Prince from returning to his country, and for this they came begging to the Great Ming. Some even wanted the Great Ming to directly kill the Joseon Crown Prince, and they were willing to pay for it. Your Excellency might not believe this, but when such matters reach the Great Ming, what do you think they would make of it?"

"Act as the arbiter for Joseon?" Li Feng gave a mocking smile and said, "The Great Ming has already done plenty for Joseon. Over all these years, the Great Ming has treated Joseon well. Back when Japan invaded Joseon, how many men did the Great Ming send? That war cost the Great Ming dearly — it directly led to the rise of the Jurchen. The Great Ming hoped Joseon would help contain the Jurchen, but Joseon simply couldn't do it. A place like this — one that only causes trouble and can't play its role at critical moments — what's the point of keeping it?"

"In the eyes of the gentlemen of the Staff Office, if Joseon were placed in the Great Ming's hands, it wouldn't be in its current state. Since Joseon is so chaotic, the Great Ming might as well take it over."

"And after Lord Sun left, Joseon became even more chaotic. Whether it was Lord Zhang or Your Excellency, Zheng — you were both plotted against. The King of Joseon couldn't protect either of you — utterly incompetent!"

"When Lord Sun left, he instructed that if the matter could be done, do it; if it couldn't be done, then don't. So the Staff Office only had some ideas, nothing yet put into action. I came to Your Excellency with no ill intentions — I was simply assigned here. But seeing Your Excellency's current plight, I've developed some thoughts of my own. With the Great Ming's support, why couldn't Your Excellency sit in the position of Joseon's Grand Administrator?"

"Grand Administrator?" Zheng Xuhong stared with wide eyes and asked, "What is that?"

"I forgot to mention — this was a demand put forward by Kim Jeong-min and his people." Li Feng said mockingly. "As long as the Great Ming supports them in pressuring the King, killing off Your Excellency, and letting them firmly establish their footing, they would put a young prince on the throne and create the office of Grand Administrator to command all military and civil affairs of Joseon — similar to the shogun of Japan."

Looking at Li Feng's mocking smile, Zheng Xuhong was silent for a long while before saying, "How dare they do such a thing?"

"Why wouldn't they dare?" Li Feng said with a smile. "It's just that the Great Ming sees these people as wolves with wild ambitions, not caring for the people of Joseon and harboring treacherous designs in their hearts. If they can betray the King of Joseon today, one day they can betray the Great Ming as well. Such people cannot be relied upon."

"Look at you, in contrast—you are different from them. You hold great righteousness in your heart, and you care for the people of Joseon, with deep feelings for the country. In the eyes of the Great Ming, you are the most suitable candidate for Chief Administrator."

"If one day you feel that even the position of Chief Administrator is unsuitable, then you could also become the King of Joseon. But this kingship would not be like the current king's—it would be a vassal king enfeoffed by the Great Ming."

Zheng Xuhong raised his head, looking at Li Feng as he said slowly, "Aren't you afraid that if you tell me all this, I might go and report you to the King?"

Li Feng shook his head, a smile at the corner of his mouth as he said, "Never mind that you cannot even see the King now—even if you did see him and told him all of this, what could he possibly do about it?"

At this point, Li Feng raised his head, his face full of pride as he said, "The Great Ming fears nothing!"

Zheng Xuhong smiled bitterly and said, "Indeed, the Great Ming fears nothing."

After saying this, Zheng Xuhong raised his head and looked at Li Feng, continuing, "Besides, there are still Kim Jeong-min and the others. If I don't agree, the Great Ming will simply turn around and support Kim Jeong-min instead."

This time Li Feng did not speak—he fell silent. But his meaning was perfectly clear.

Zheng Xuhong looked at Li Feng and continued to ask, "Then what about Grand Prince Bongnim?"

"Who do you think it was that wanted the Crown Prince to never return?" Li Feng said with a mocking tone. "A wolf with wild ambitions, wanting to replace his own elder brother—how could the Great Ming possibly support such a man? But if not him, then what—let the even younger one take the throne?"

"The Crown Prince could be allowed to return." Zheng Xuhong looked at Li Feng and said.

Li Feng let out a sigh and said helplessly, "That Crown Prince of yours was not exactly courteous when he met His Majesty. I don't need to repeat the words he said—I'm sure you can guess well enough."

Zheng Xuhong's face darkened. Of course he could guess.

The Crown Prince had long been dissatisfied with the Great Ming's actions, and his attitude was even more radical than the King's. He had probably said something that angered the Great Ming's Emperor, and with people in Joseon trying to stir up trouble, the Great Ming simply went along with the current.

Moreover, the Crown Prince was dissatisfied with the Great Ming, and Grand Prince Bongnim harbored wolfish ambitions. The Great Ming looked at the both of them and thought, since you're all like this, then I'll just do it myself. And so the present situation came to be.

"I have laid out all the circumstances before you. I wonder how you will choose?"

Zheng Xuhong looked at Li Feng and asked in a deep voice, "Are you confident you can persuade the Great Ming to support me?"

"If you are willing, I can arrange for you to meet with Zhang Yu, Lord Zhang, tomorrow." Li Feng said with a proud expression. "What the Staff Office sets out to do, no one can stop."