Chapter 1532: Just a Tiny Kingdom

"Father, I am truly grateful for your kindness, and I accept it in my heart. But my resolve is set — I must complete the heavy task you have entrusted to me!" he answered with fervent conviction. "I may still be young, but I am confident I can already share your burdens. Gan Luo, at the age of twelve, could serve as an envoy for his state, seize five cities for his country, and rise to the highest ministerial rank. I am already fourteen — how could I fritter my days away in mediocrity? I merely feel some reluctance to part with the splendors of the capital, but my determination to serve the nation has never wavered in the slightest. I… once I leave, at most I will spend my nights fondly remembering the capital, and you and Mother. But in the course of my daily duties, I will never shrink back. Please set your mind at ease, Father!"

"You are honest, at least…" Seeing that he made no grand, empty claims and openly admitted he would still miss the capital, the Emperor couldn't help but laugh. "Very well. Whatever the case, I understand your sincerity now. I expect you to handle matters honestly and properly. You needn't worry about my end — whatever you need, I will grant without the slightest hesitation. You just focus on doing your own job well."

Then, he suddenly raised his head and glanced at the ministers standing nearby. They all stood at a respectful distance, far enough that none could overhear this private conversation between father and son.

"There is one more thing I need to instruct you on."

"Please give your clear instructions, Father!" the Crown Prince said at once.

"You are an honest child, and that is a very good thing. To govern a nation, one must be honest with the people and resort less to cunning and deceitful tricks. However, just because you yourself are honest, you must not assume others are the same. You must keep a watchful eye on everyone around you. You are the Crown Prince; everyone will treat you with the utmost deference, flattering and currying favor with you. This will be especially true when you go on this inspection tour in my stead. Whether they are people from our own country or the Goryeo people, they will all shower you with sycophantic praise. You absolutely must not let it go to your head. Stay clear-headed, stay clear-headed! You must understand this: in this world, very few people truly prostrate themselves in sincere admiration before another. When they treat you with extreme deference, it is either because they fear and submit to your power, or because they want to extract benefits from your hands. You must not let their flattery make you dizzy, doing whatever they want you to do. At every moment, remember to keep a clear head and your own judgment!"

"Your son understands." The Crown Prince had been listening intently to his father's teachings. Finally, he nodded.

"Mm. To be honest, the reason I am saying all this is not that I distrust you, but that the situation in Goryeo is far more complicated than I initially thought." The Emperor lowered his voice slightly. "I never expected that, on top of overseeing the rear for the campaign, you would have to wade into troubled waters once more in Goryeo!"

"What do you mean by that, Father?" The Crown Prince did not quite grasp his father's meaning.

"A few days ago, the Grand Secretariat received a report from our mission stationed in Goryeo. Because the matter is of grave importance, they immediately forwarded the report to me, requesting my decision." The Emperor looked down at the Crown Prince, his expression suddenly turning grave. "They reported that recently, the Goryeo king, Yi Hon, has been acting improperly, showing increasing disrespect toward our mission. He has also been ignoring the mission's opinions more and more. There seem to be signs that he resents our dynasty's excessive interference in Goryeo…"

"The Goryeo king is acting improperly?" The Crown Prince was taken aback.

He had not expected Goryeo to harbor grievances against the Great Han at this critical juncture. After all, his mission to oversee the rear and command the invasion of Japan required the full cooperation of the Goryeo court. If the Goryeo court became an obstacle, heaven only knew how much trouble it would bring him.

"Father… could there be some misunderstanding in all this?" After pondering for a moment, he quickly asked. "Your son has not previously participated in state affairs, so I am not entirely clear on the details. But it seems the Goryeo king has always been extremely respectful and deferential to our dynasty. Moreover, not long ago, he specifically requested to offer a daughter of the royal clan to your son as a concubine. That does not seem like the behavior of someone harboring disloyal intentions, does it?"

"What's this? He offers you two clan daughters and you immediately start speaking on his behalf?" The Emperor shot the Crown Prince a glance. "It seems you've grown up."

"That is not what I meant!" The Crown Prince grew flustered and hurriedly defended himself. "I was merely thinking… if the Goryeo king were truly disrespectful to our dynasty, he would not still be constantly seeking to curry favor with the court, would he? Besides, the mission's report is, for now, only one side of the story. It is entirely possible there is some misunderstanding. Could Father summon the Goryeo envoy and ask them what exactly is going on?"

Seeing his son's embarrassed and nervous expression, the Emperor couldn't help but laugh again. "Ha, I was only joking. Look how tense you are! What you say is reasonable. In fact, when I received the report, I was also skeptical. So I did summon the Goryeo envoy and questioned him about it."

This Goryeo envoy must naturally be Yi Ga. The Crown Prince thought to himself.

As a member of the Goryeo royal clan familiar with the workings of the country, Yi Ga was also scheduled to accompany him to Goryeo as an attendant minister. If there truly were internal upheaval in Goryeo, that would indeed be troublesome.

"What… what did the envoy say?" he asked cautiously.

"Here is the interesting part. I merely hinted at the matter, yet the envoy reacted extremely strongly, vehemently denying the accusation that the Goryeo king harbors any discontent toward our dynasty. He insisted that the Goryeo king only regained his throne thanks to our dynasty, and is therefore profoundly grateful to the court, harboring absolutely no improper ambitions. He claimed the accusations are entirely groundless." The Emperor shook his head, clearly somewhat puzzled by the situation. "On the contrary, he also vaguely insinuated accusations against the mission, claiming that the mission acts with arrogance and tyranny in Goryeo, making life unbearable for the entire country. He said the Goryeo king has already been making compromises and generally accedes to all the mission's requests. But some within the mission are insatiably greedy, pressing harder step by step until Goryeo can scarcely endure it. Thus, the Goryeo king has no choice but to refuse some overly excessive demands, which has incurred the mission's displeasure."

"This…" The Crown Prince was even more astonished. "Isn't that essentially a counter-accusation against the mission?"

"Exactly. Though he phrased it subtly, that is more or less the gist of it." The Emperor gave a cold laugh. "You see, before you've even set out, this troublesome matter has already entangled you. The Goryeo court and our mission in Goryeo are now locked in a war of words — a truly rare occurrence. The mission's report was strongly worded, spending great effort to paint the Goryeo king as harboring disloyal intentions. It also carried a hint of a suggestion, urging the court to simply issue an order, on the grounds that the king has no heir, to select a young son from the royal clan to be the Goryeo heir apparent…"

The Crown Prince pressed his lips tightly together, sinking into thought. This move proposed by the mission was ruthless. Although his father had not stated it explicitly, if they followed that suggestion, the Goryeo king would effectively be sidelined and deposed outright.

In his view, Goryeo was a vassal state of the Great Han and ought to obey the Great Han court. If the king truly engaged in disloyal acts, then punishment was warranted. But a vassal state was still a vassal state. If they believed false rumors, wronged the king, and arbitrarily deposed him, it would greatly damage the Middle Kingdom's prestige and be even more detrimental to Goryeo's stability.

"Since each side sticks stubbornly to its own story, in Father's view, which side is more reasonable? And what should we do?" After pondering for a long while, he decided to seek some guidance from his father.

"Didn't you say you could stand on your own? Now you come asking me?" His father furrowed his brow. "I am thousands of li away. How could I possibly know the specific situation in Goryeo? You go there, see for yourself, and figure it out. Do whatever you deem necessary!"

So he wants me to go, ascertain the situation, and then handle it?

The Crown Prince now understood why his father had been so hesitant earlier about his departure. It turned out the sudden complications in Goryeo had made him feel the matter was thorny, and he feared the Crown Prince would be at a loss in handling it. Only after he had expressed his determination without the slightest hesitation did his father decide to let him handle it.

"Your son… your son…" The Crown Prince felt a surge of nervousness and for a moment did not know what to say.

"Those words you spoke just now were very fine, but getting things done doesn't rely on talk — it relies on action, and serious action at that!" The Emperor fixed his gaze on the Crown Prince. "Since you were originally scheduled to go to Goryeo, then all of Goryeo's problems are now yours to handle. You alone will adjudicate the dispute between the Goryeo king and the mission. Do whatever you see fit!"

"Father… your son is overwhelmed with trepidation." The Crown Prince was somewhat alarmed. He realized another layer of burden had just been added to his shoulders. "This journey is meant for overseeing the rear of the campaign against Japan. It would not be appropriate for me to be distracted by handling Goryeo's internal political affairs, would it? Moreover, I have no prior experience in such matters. I fear I may not be able to judge impartially, and instead damage our nation's prestige… Perhaps Father should simply dispatch a separate imperial commissioner to investigate, get to the bottom of the matter, and then deal with it."

"You spoke with such heroic passion just moments ago. Why are you afraid now?" The Emperor furrowed his brow again, clearly dissatisfied with this reply. "You are the Crown Prince. You are the foremost person in the entire court. You have the whole court backing you, and you have me backing you. How could you possibly make a mistake? Whatever decision you make, whether it's the Goryeo court or the mission, they have no choice but to accept it. Whoever disobeys, you can simply execute them!"

Was Father implying that he could do whatever he pleased in Goryeo?

The Crown Prince did not feel any excitement from this. Instead, he grew even more tense, because he knew that unrestricted power meant unlimited responsibility. By receiving from his father the full authority to handle the dispute between the Goryeo court and the mission, it meant he would also have to bear all the ensuing consequences himself. And every decision he made would directly determine the fate of thousands upon thousands of people.

It sounded exhilarating, but this mountain-like pressure was suddenly almost too much for him to bear.

"Father…"

"Enough. No more useless talk. Since you want to stand on your own, then see it through to the end. What imperial commissioner or not — you will handle it alone. With an army of several thousand at your command, what is there left to fear?" The Emperor reached out, placed his hands on the Crown Prince's shoulders, and shook him firmly. "You should be happy. Once you are in Goryeo, whatever you do will be right. This kingdom of Goryeo is handed over to you. Arrange it however you wish."