Chapter 1521: Unceasing Internal Strife

During this great calamity, Prince Imhae Yi Jin was captured by the Japanese pirates, consequently losing his chance to inherit the throne. After finally driving out the Japanese pirates, Yi Hon, who had thought he could securely inherit the throne, suddenly found himself with a younger brother, Grand Prince Yeongchang Yi Ui. Although Yi Ui was many years his junior, he was the legitimate son born of the queen. In Goryeo, which placed great emphasis on patriarchal clan inheritance, he was naturally held in extremely high regard from birth.

Thus, the internal strife continued. The Northern faction, having temporarily achieved victory in the political struggle, split into the Greater Northern faction supporting Prince Gwanghae Yi Hon and the Lesser Northern faction supporting Grand Prince Yeongchang Yi Ui. When King Seonjo passed away, he chose not to install his young and weak legitimate son, instead allowing Prince Gwanghae Yi Hon to succeed. However, his dying command ordered the leader of the Lesser Northern faction, Minister Yu Yeong-gyeong, and other officials to protect Grand Prince Yeongchang Yi Ui from persecution.

However, Yi Hon, having already ascended the throne, would certainly not allow those brothers of his to threaten his kingship again. In the first year of his reign, he killed Yu Yeong-gyeong and other ministers of the Lesser Northern faction. The following year, he killed his elder brother, Prince Imhae Yi Jin. Several years later, he even cruelly steamed to death his eight-year-old younger brother, Grand Prince Yeongchang Yi Ui.

Along with Yi Hon's brutal purge, the Greater Northern faction that supported him achieved political victory, having played an enormous role in the process of Yi Hon's succession to the throne.

However, the civil officials of the Greater Northern faction who supported him naturally continued to carry forward the glorious traditions of their predecessors, with unceasing internal strife. This time, they innovated further, splitting into three factions at once: the Bone North, the Flesh North, and the Middle North. In brutal infighting no less fierce than their predecessors', a large number of court officials were executed or exiled, and the Flesh North faction, led by Yi I-cheom and Jeong In-hong, achieved final victory.

During this period, to thank these court officials for their meritorious service in helping him through successive tribulations, Yi Hon enfeoffed four batches of meritorious subjects: the Guardian Sage Meritorious Subjects (ministers who helped Prince Gwanghae ascend the throne), the Wing Society Meritorious Subjects (ministers who eliminated Prince Imhae), the Destiny-Stabilizing Meritorious Subjects (ministers who eliminated Yu Yeong-gyeong), and the Calamity-Surviving Meritorious Subjects (ministers who eliminated Kim Jik-jae). Jeong In-hong was enfeoffed as Lord of Seonyeong Prefecture and promoted to Left State Councilor, reaching the pinnacle of official rank.

However, the good times did not last. Yi Hon's acts of slaughtering his brothers and imprisoning his stepmother were met with unanimous condemnation from the common people and lower-level bureaucratic Confucian scholars who believed in ethical principles. Amid the court officials' mutual slaughter, the tyrannical rule of the Flesh North faction also completely lost the people's hearts.

At the same time, Nurhaci, the chieftain of the Jurchen tribes in the north, unified the Jurchens, which also seriously threatened the security of the Joseon kingdom. Yi Hon, who was then in power, implemented a "two-end policy" to consolidate national strength — that is, a policy of fence-sitting neutrality, offending neither the Ming dynasty nor the Later Jin.

However, under the strong demand of Yang Hao, the Ming Military Commissioner who had participated in the war to aid Joseon against Japan and was to some extent a benefactor to Goryeo, in the final years of the Wanli reign, Yi Hon dispatched troops to form a joint army with Ming forces to campaign against the Later Jin, launching the "Battle of Sarhu."

In this campaign, as is well known, the allied forces suffered a crushing defeat, utterly routed by Nurhaci's Later Jin army. Prince Gwanghae and the Greater Northern faction had been extremely pessimistic about the war's outcome beforehand and had instructed the Goryeo army to preserve its strength. The Goryeo army's passive avoidance of battle greatly displeased the Ming side. Coupled with Nurhaci's efforts to win over Goryeo, the conflict between the Ming government and Yi Hon and the Greater Northern faction government grew increasingly severe.

Within Goryeo, the defeat in war and the Goryeo king's "ungrateful" conduct intensified the already strong resentment of the Goryeo subjects, who were deeply dissatisfied with the brutal rule of Yi Hon and the Greater Northern faction.

Against this backdrop, a rebellion broke out within Joseon. The Westerner faction, which had been beaten nearly into total obscurity, launched a coup, enthroning Yi Hon's nephew, Yi Jong — the son of Prince Jeongwon Yi Bu — as the new king of Goryeo. Yi Hon was deposed and exiled to Ganghwa Island.

And the power of the Greater Northern faction thus came to an end. The once-mighty Northern faction ministers like Yi I-cheom and Jeong In-hong were all executed.

Because of those previous harrowing lessons, Yi Jong, having seized the throne, naturally showed Yi Hon no mercy either. He used lime to blind Yi Hon's eyes, then exiled him to Ganghwa Island. The original crown prince, Yi Hon's only son Yi Jil, was also exiled to Ganghwa Island after the rebellion. Later, for digging a tunnel in an attempt to escape the walls, he was caught after failing and soon ordered to commit suicide.

With Yi Hon driven from the throne, the Westerner faction gained the opportunity to control the court. However, they too could not escape the laws of history, soon splitting into the Meritorious Western faction, who had participated in the coup, and the Pure Western faction, who had not, continuing the internal strife. Amid the fierce infighting, brutal slaughter ensued once more.

Yet, just as these ministers continued their internal struggles, the world suddenly underwent tremendous changes. First, the Jurchens rose to form their own state, and then the Xuzhou power within the Ming suddenly rose, soon rebelling and extinguishing the Ming's realm to establish a new dynasty.

If the sudden collapse of the Ming made the Goryeo court tremble with fear, then the Great Han's forced march into Goryeo after pacifying Manchuria, and its declaration to re-enthone Yi Hon on the grounds that the deposition and usurpation were illegitimate, made the Goryeo court feel a bone-chilling cold.

King Yi Jong was terrified out of his wits and immediately wanted to execute Yi Hon on Ganghwa Island. However, Yi Hon had already been placed under the protection of people sent by the Great Han, so the attempt came up empty. His desire to assemble troops to resist also quickly came to naught — against the Great Han army that had destroyed both the Ming and the Jurchens, the Goryeo army had no thought whatsoever of forming battle lines to fight. They defected before even engaging in battle, and thus Yi Jong lost his throne.

After being restored, Yi Hon naturally did not forgive the enmity of those who had driven him from power and blinded him. As soon as he took the throne, he executed Yi Jong and all his children and relatives. Then he exterminated the entire clans of all the court officials who had risen in rebellion that year, whether already dead or still alive. After such a horrific massacre, the Westerner faction, which had abruptly re-emerged onto the stage, just as abruptly vanished, never again able to leave traces in history.

But even with such brutal vengeance, the important ministers of the Greater Northern faction who had once supported Yi Hon could not be brought back to life. Left with no choice, Yi Hon could only select his assisting ministers from the surviving Lesser Northern faction officials. Kim Sin-guk, as one of the leaders of the Lesser Northern faction, thus rose rapidly through the ranks, becoming a State Councilor of Goryeo and wielding immense power for a time.

Of course, although Yi Hon and the Lesser Northern faction had temporarily come together for power and position, the estrangement in their hearts from many years ago was ultimately hard to dispel. Only because the Great Han's high-handed pressure was truly too severe — the ministers could no longer depose Yi Hon, and Yi Hon, crippled and aged, could not find new trusted ministers — did they reluctantly patch things together and cooperate in official matters.

Now that Yi Hon had made this point so plainly, it left Kim Sin-guk surprised yet also somewhat emotional.

To think, back in the day, after ascending the throne, how high-spirited this king had been — killing brothers, slaughtering ministers — how heroically ambitious, how decisive in killing. Yet after the upheaval of losing and regaining the throne and becoming crippled, he too had no choice but to bow his head to reality.

He had no more ambitious hopes for this life. Even his only son had died in the upheaval. All he thought of now was simply to enjoy his remaining years on the throne in peace, dying in wealth and splendor — and judging by his age, he might indeed not have many years left to enjoy.

Yet the Great Han court and its envoys, arrogant and domineering, acting with reckless abandon, had caused even such a humble wish to be fraught with complications. Thinking of it truly wrenched the heart.

Kim Sin-guk knew that although he had never been of the same faction as the king and they had harbored much enmity before, they were now bound together. The Lesser Northern faction, suppressed for many years, had long since declined. Now, suddenly regaining power, their foundation was still unsteady; they still had to rely on the king's authority. After all, even diminished, the king was still the king.

So, he decided to offer some comfort to this old man.

"Since Your Majesty's restoration, you have toiled ceaselessly for the state, striving to sustain the nation, granting the people rest and recuperation. You have neither undertaken grand construction projects nor slaughtered ministers. We, your servants, have seen these various deeds, and so have the myriad people." He solemnly stood up, then knelt again before the king. "Your Majesty embodies the rise and fall of our state. You must not lose heart and grow despondent, lest you jeopardize the great plans of the nation! I humbly beseech Your Majesty to prioritize the affairs of state and the royal clan!"

After so many upheavals, Yi Hon's heart had long since turned to dead ashes. The only thing that could move him was preserving this realm of the Yi clan — no monarch would wish to lose his family's domain.

Hearing that one of the civil official leaders had already expressed support, Yi Hon's heart settled considerably.

At least for now, the court officials had no intention of deposing him, nor did they plan to do so by leveraging the status of the Central Dynasty's crown prince after his arrival.

"That my beloved minister can speak thus truly moves Us. You are right, beloved minister. Although the national situation is as it is, if Our court is united in purpose and the people's spirit can be harnessed, there must still be ways to be found."

At this moment, because of the pressure from the Central Dynasty and their respective predicaments, the monarch and ministers, who had harbored deep estrangement in their hearts, finally set aside their past enmity for the time being and temporarily united closely, striving to protect the Goryeo state's dynastic line — that is, their respective ruling interests.

"It is imperative that the reception officials serve the Central Dynasty's crown prince well." After a moment of silence, Yi Hon waved his hand decisively. "The Central Dynasty's crown prince bears the hopes of all under heaven and must absolutely not be treated with negligence. Should anything go amiss, the Central Dynasty will surely be thunderously enraged, and Goryeo will absolutely be unable to bear the consequences."

"Your Majesty is right; I think the same," Kim Sin-guk agreed with his view. "Therefore, I request to personally take charge of receiving the Central Dynasty's crown prince. With me overseeing all personnel involved, presumably no one will dare be negligent."

"Yes, beloved minister, you have always acted with meticulous care and thoroughness. With you personally handling this, We are much more at ease. Additionally, this time Li Ke will also come along at the Central Dynasty crown prince's side. With him there to assist and relay messages, if you handle affairs diligently, beloved minister, presumably you will not provoke the Central Dynasty crown prince's anger." Yi Hon's expression remained calm, but he suddenly brought up another concern. "However, serving the Central Dynasty crown prince well is only one part. You must also keep your spirits up, beloved minister, and be vigilant against certain Goryeo subjects harboring ill intentions who might run to the Central Dynasty crown prince's side to spread rumors and stir up trouble, causing him to develop misunderstandings about Us and you, beloved minister..."