Chapter 698: From Contending for the Throne to Open Rebellion

Lin Dechang said with a mournful face, "Grand Prince, how could I possibly tell you about such a thing? If something really went wrong, it would implicate Your Highness. If I do it myself, there's no such concern. Even if something does happen, it would only be my own doing and wouldn't drag Your Highness into it. Your servant is utterly loyal—as long as Your Highness is well, I'd gladly give up this life of mine!"

The more Lin Dechang spoke, the more agitated he became, and at the height of his emotion tears streamed down his face. "Joseon has reached its most dangerous moment—doing nothing is simply not an option. Now that the Crown Prince cannot return, the only one Joseon can rely on is Your Highness. As long as I can protect Your Highness, I would do anything. What your servant did was merely preparing for a rainy day; I truly never imagined it would ever come to use. It's all Zheng Xuhong's fault—if not for him, none of this would have happened."

Grand Prince Bongnim's eyes were bloodshot with rage.

Like hell I believe you! Everything you've said is complete nonsense! If you really thought that way, then why didn't you go with Zheng Xuhong when he came to arrest you? If you'd told him everything, wouldn't I have been out of it entirely?

Not only did you run, you ran straight to my doorstep. If word of this leaks out, what does that make me?

I'd be completely finished! Yellow mud in the crotch of one's pants—even if it's not shit, it looks like shit. There's no way to explain it away!

Lin Dechang wiped his tears with his sleeve and said with a resolute expression, "Grand Prince, rest assured, this time it will surely succeed. I've obtained a considerable amount of gunpowder from the Great Ming. As long as we act, we can set things right. When the time comes, we can eliminate all those stubborn old men, and Your Highness will be free to act as you see fit."

"With Japan, with Your Highness, and with your servant's connections on the Great Ming side, there's absolutely no problem with Your Highness securing the throne of Joseon. Even becoming a great sovereign isn't out of the question."

Lin Dechang was well-versed in the arts of coercion and enticement.

The former was pressure: if you want to hand me over, that's impossible. If you dare hand me over, I'll expose everything and we'll all go down together. If you want to kill me and make me disappear without a trace, that's even more impossible. I've already prepared three thousand brothers—if you dare have me killed, those three thousand brothers of mine will never let you off. And if my three thousand-plus brothers rise up in your name, you won't survive either.

The latter was enticement: don't you want to do something for Joseon?

Of course, those were all high-sounding reasons. The real reason was just one: don't you want to be the king of Joseon?

Right before you is such an opportunity—grab hold of it and it's done. The throne of Joseon is already beckoning to you. And you needn't worry about what comes after; this time we'll wipe out all those old bastards, and Joseon will answer to you alone. At that point, you can do whatever you please, anything you want. And you don't need to worry about the Great Ming either—I have enough connections there. Once you sit on the throne of Joseon, I can have the Great Ming formally invest you as King of Joseon, with full legitimacy.

Grand Prince Bongnim's eyes were nearly splitting from strain, but there was nothing he could do.

He didn't believe a single word Lin Dechang said.

Grand Prince Bongnim believed only one thing: that Lin Dechang held a very powerful force in his hands, an armed force capable of turning Hanseong upside down.

The Great Ming had not only given Lin Dechang weapons, but even gunpowder.

Grand Prince Bongnim understood in his heart that the Great Ming surely harbored ill intentions—the more chaotic Joseon became, the happier they'd be. That was why they'd handed these things to Lin Dechang without a moment's hesitation.

And still, Grand Prince Bongnim hesitated. Lin Dechang was furious inside.

You useless piece of trash—I've already done everything to this point, and you still don't dare rebel?

A true waste! The King of Joseon would be better off cutting his own throat than having a waste of a son like you!

Lin Dechang continued to raise the stakes, saying, "As for other matters, Your Highness need not worry. Ever since I pledged myself to Your Highness, I have been scheming ceaselessly. Many generals and ministers in Hanseong have private vulnerabilities—they all engage in smuggling operations, and all of these dealings have been observed by your servant. With the help of friends on the Great Ming side, I now hold their criminal evidence firmly in my hands."

"Of the three generals in Hanseong, two have already pledged themselves to me; the people of the city defense camp and the Five Wards Troops and Horses Office are all under my control; three-tenths of the royal palace guards have also defected to me; and among the court ministers, I won't say half, but three-tenths have already been bought by me. As long as Your Highness gives the order, all these people are willing to die for Your Highness. Once this deed is done, there's no way it can fail. Your Highness must seize this opportunity! If you miss this chance, you'll be plunged into irredeemable ruin!"

Both Grand Prince Bongnim and Zhao Chenqi had extremely grim expressions on their faces.

They finally understood—Lin Dechang hadn't been idle at all after pledging himself to Grand Prince Bongnim. In fact, even before pledging himself, he'd already made his preparations.

Only after everything was fully in place did he begin his planning. Once he'd pledged himself to Grand Prince Bongnim, he started using the evidence he'd gathered to go around forging connections and stitching together alliances.

Flying the Grand Prince's banner, holding evidence in hand, coercing and enticing—it was hard for those people not to surrender.

Things had reached this point—there was probably no room left to back down. The things he'd done had likely already been noticed by others, especially Zheng Xuhong.

Zheng Xuhong had run into the palace and informed the King of Joseon, which was why Lin Dechang was panicking. Zheng Xuhong's actions had been swift, accurate, and ruthless—he'd gone straight for Lin Dechang, intending to capture him.

But there was one thing Zheng Xuhong hadn't calculated: Lin Dechang had a powerful armed force at his disposal—not only well-equipped and well-trained, but most critically, they had gunpowder.

They'd set off an explosion in Hanseong, making a tremendous commotion. Under such circumstances, the King of Joseon was probably already frantic.

Grand Prince Bongnim sat down dejectedly and released Lin Dechang.

At this point, anything said was too late. Lin Dechang hadn't said it outright, but he'd certainly done plenty of things under the Grand Prince's banner—the kind that couldn't be shaken off no matter what.

Zhao Chenqi on the side was also dumbfounded, unable to snap out of it for a long while.

Lin Dechang looked at the two of them and cursed inwardly:

Truly useless wastes! They'll never accomplish anything no matter when!

A thought formed in Lin Dechang's mind: if you won't do it, then I'll do it myself!

Zhao Chenqi looked at Lin Dechang, finally snapping back to his senses, and asked through gritted teeth, "Are you confident?"

"Of course I'm confident." Lin Dechang nodded and said, "Everyone is ready. As long as the Grand Prince gives the order, we can move."

Grand Prince Bongnim raised his head and said with a bitter smile, "You're trying to force me to my death."

"Grand Prince, this is what the people want!" Lin Dechang said with an agitated expression. "Your servant and all my men support Your Highness completely. Only Your Highness can save Joseon—we are willing to die for Your Highness!"

"Your Highness has read widely and surely knows much about the affairs of the Great Ming. When Song Taizu, Zhao Kuangyin, staged the mutiny at Chen Bridge and had the yellow robe draped upon him, it was because his subordinates rallied behind him. Everyone believed only he could save the realm, and so they supported him. The situation now is the same—everyone believes Your Highness can save Joseon, which is why we all act this way. Please understand the earnest intentions of your servant and the others—save Joseon!"

Having said this, Lin Dechang knelt straight to the ground, his face full of agitation.

Grand Prince Bongnim looked at him, looked at this self-righteous bastard, and wished he could rush over and strangle him on the spot.

But before he could say anything, someone came in from outside to report, "Lord Zheng Xuhong has arrived!"

Hearing this, Lin Dechang immediately grew excited and hurriedly said, "Grand Prince, he's making his move! We cannot sit and wait for death!"

Grand Prince Bongnim said grimly, "I know how to handle this matter myself."

"Grand Prince, why not act right now? Kill Zheng Xuhong, and the court will surely fall into chaos. With no leader at the head, our opportunity will come."

"I said I know how to handle it myself!" Grand Prince Bongnim stared at Lin Dechang and said loudly.

Having said this, Grand Prince Bongnim stood up, turned to look at Zhao Chenqi, and said, "Have someone escort him away. I'll go meet Zheng Xuhong."

"Yes, Grand Prince." Zhao Chenqi acknowledged and immediately waved to someone not far away.

Soon, people came in from outside and directly escorted Lin Dechang away.

Zhao Chenqi followed as well.

Lin Dechang struggled continuously, and while struggling, he shouted loudly, "Grand Prince, you can't! You can't do this! If you do this, Joseon is finished!"

Grand Prince Bongnim didn't even look at Lin Dechang.

Right now he very much wanted to hear what Zheng Xuhong had to say. As for Lin Dechang—he truly didn't believe him anymore.

Zhao Chenqi escorted Lin Dechang forward, his face dark and gloomy.

He had indeed wanted to help Grand Prince Bongnim ascend the throne, so that one day he too might rise to a high position. But he had never once thought of rebellion—the danger of rebellion was too great.

Contending for the succession was different from rebellion. In many cases, even if one failed in contending for the succession, one could still preserve one's life, as long as things weren't taken too far.

But now it had gone straight from contending for the succession to outright rebellion. Such a thing left one helpless and utterly lacking in confidence. If the rebellion failed, then the lives of one's entire family would be forfeit.

"Zhao, sir! Zhao, sir! Please talk some sense into the Grand Prince—he absolutely cannot do this! At this moment, our only option is to fight with everything we have. Only after fighting with everything we have can we have any hope! If we truly surrender, then there is nothing but the road to death! Zhao, sir! Zhao, sir!"

Seeing that Grand Prince Bongnim had walked far away, Lin Dechang began to urge Zhao Chenqi. His words were earnest, his expression urgent.

Zhao Chenqi glanced at Lin Dechang, then said to the men beside him, "Gag him."

Lin Dechang let out a helpless sigh, withdrew his gaze, and said, "Do it."

Who would have expected that the man holding Lin Dechang would pull a dagger from his bosom and drive it straight into Zhao Chenqi's chest, while another hand covered his mouth, and the dagger then slashed across his throat.

In an instant, blood sprayed everywhere, and Zhao Chenqi's entire body collapsed to the ground.

The men beside him also sprang into action, stabbing the other two to death on the spot.

Of the four men restraining Lin Dechang, two were his own people.

Lin Dechang slowly straightened himself, flexed his hands, let out a breath, then extended his hand and said, "Give it here."

The man beside him dared not delay and hastily handed a short blade to Lin Dechang.

Lin Dechang took the short blade, crouched down, and looked at Zhao Chenqi.

At this point, Zhao Chenqi was breathing out more than he was breathing in—clearly not long for this world.

With a cold sneer at the corner of his mouth, Lin Dechang said, "Cowards like you want to accomplish great things? Want to hold great power? A bunch of trash!"

Having said this, Lin Dechang stabbed Zhao Chenqi once more in the chest.

He pulled out the blade, wiped the blood on Zhao Chenqi's clothes, and sheathed it. Lin Dechang asked, "How many of our people are still in the residence?"

"Reporting to you, sir, there are forty-seven brothers in total." The man beside him answered hastily.

"Still a bit few." Lin Dechang thought for a moment and said, "Call everyone together. Now follow me to the front hall. In a moment, we will kill Zheng Xuhong and seize the Grand Prince. If this is done well, we share wealth and honor together. If it is done poorly, we share the road to the Yellow Springs together."

The man beside him said, "Ever since we followed you, sir, we've eaten well and drunk well—what kind of life have we lived? Rest assured, sir, we know what to do. Besides, we are all men of the Great Ming. This place called Joseon—I've had enough of it."

"Good. Once this matter succeeds, I'll take you all home." Lin Dechang patted the two men's shoulders and said.

"In the courtyard behind the Grand Prince's residence, I have already hidden three hundred brothers. In a moment, you go open the gate and let them in. The first step we must take is to seize control of the Grand Prince's residence. Also, send someone immediately to deliver a message to Lord Zhang—our side is ready."

"Yes, sir." The man beside him answered hastily, "I will arrange for someone to handle it right away."

Lin Dechang waved his hand and said, "Go!"

Having said this, Lin Dechang tucked the dagger into his waist and strode toward the front courtyard.

Behind him, two more men emerged and swiftly dragged the corpses of Zhao Chenqi and the other two into the rockery to hide them. As long as they weren't discovered within a short time, there would be no problem.

As Lin Dechang walked forward, he asked the man beside him, "Have the residence guards been dealt with?"

"The head of the residence guards is already one of our men. We lured him into drinking, whoring, gambling, and visiting brothels until he owed us three hundred fifty thousand taels of silver—he can never turn his life around now. Afterwards, we arranged for him to sleep with the Grand Prince's favored concubine, and now the two of them are as inseparable as glue and lacquer."

Hearing this, Lin Dechang laughed, pointed at the other man, and said, "You people are too vicious and cunning. How could you even think of such a despicable scheme?"

"Sir, that was your arrangement." The man beside him said with a face full of black lines.

"Is that so?" Lin Dechang raised his head and said, "Think again, carefully."

The man beside him was covered in black lines, but seeing Lin Dechang's manner, he could only swallow his frustration, lower his head, and say, "This subordinate misspoke. You only entrusted the matter to me—all of this was my own arrangement."