"Your Highness, I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"
At the embassy, guarded by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the voice of the Korean envoy echoed from deep within the courtyard.
A halo of light pulsed on the communication talisman, and the voice of the King of Joseon was transmitted from the other side. Facing the strange report from his subordinate, the King of Joseon, after a few moments of silence, responded with a slightly delighted tone:
"Is the good news that the Ming Dynasty is withdrawing its troops?"
"That would be truly wonderful! Joseon currently has no capacity to support these large armies. If they leave quickly, our nation can recover its strength sooner! If the Emperor of the Great Ming has issued such an order, then it is indeed excellent news."
"Yes, or no?"
The Korean envoy was momentarily speechless, unable to utter a word. Upon not receiving a definitive reply, the King of Joseon's tone became somewhat doubtful, but this doubt did not last long. He immediately voiced a second guess:
"Wait! Could it be that the Great Ming will bestow further grace? To rebuild our nation?"
His tone became agitated: "Are you so overwhelmed by this good news that you are not yet fully lucid?"
The Korean envoy's expression was now ashen. He could not help but break his monarch's fantasy and quickly intervened.
"It is not so... Never mind, Your Highness. I shall first deliver the bad news."
"This good news... is the end of the war..."
The King of Joseon paused: "This is indeed good news, but this... I already know this?"
"Is there no other explanation?"
The Korean envoy suddenly burst into tears, then quickly turned back, fearing the Embroidered Uniform Guard might hear him, and whispered to the King of Joseon:
"What other explanation could there be! Your Highness, please listen to me first!"
After he finished relaying Emperor Wanli's demands to the King of Joseon, a mournful cry was heard from the communication talisman, followed by the King of Joseon's voice disappearing, leaving only the panicked cries of his ministers!
After a while, the King of Joseon's voice finally returned through the communication talisman. He sounded utterly exhausted and somewhat incoherent, speaking in a muddled fashion. It was unclear whether he was overjoyed by the news of the nation's restoration or if the Ming Emperor's demands had nearly caused his heart to explode.
Perhaps it was a combination of both, but the Korean envoy dared not inquire directly.
"Why is it so! Why has this bolt from the blue fallen upon Joseon!"
The King of Joseon's voice, filled with anguish, came from the other side of the communication talisman. The Korean envoy waited for a moment, until the King of Joseon's lamentations subsided and his various cries of despair ceased. Only then did he carefully repeat Emperor Wanli's demands to him.
But as soon as the King of Joseon heard of the crime of deceiving the emperor and the various purges, his anger flared: "What crime of deceiving the emperor is this! We did not know the situation beforehand; how can it be considered concealment and deception! Did killing a few generals not suffice as admitting fault? The Son of Heaven of the Great Ming covets our land but uses the words of former Tang officials to silence the public's outcry!"
"What of 'small and poor country,' 'remote location' – these are mere excuses. Though our nation is small and weak, we possess a thousand miles of rivers and mountains, nourished by a hundred rivers and streams, with tens of millions of people. The difference with Japan is not significant!"
"The Japanese pirates ravaged for seven years, slaughtering millions of our people. Though a million died, Joseon still has eight to nine million people! How can these thousand miles of rivers and mountains be handed over so readily to... to the Emperor and the Great Ming!"
The King of Joseon wanted to curse further, but he changed his words to "Emperor and the Great Ming" at the last moment, adding:
"How can the Great Ming bear to take the homeland of our tens of millions of people, leaving our people with nothing to eat? If they have nothing to eat, how can they support the Heavenly Soldiers of the Great Ming?"
"They claim to seek the right to use the land, but the ownership of the land remains with us. This is tantamount to acquiring our land. How many pieces will these thousand miles of rivers and mountains be divided into? If it were the prosperous dynasty, we would naturally agree to everything. But now, with so much to rebuild, how can Joseon afford so many Heavenly Soldiers!"
As the King of Joseon spoke, he nearly fainted again. This was no different from asking his country to pay for and supply the Ming Dynasty's stationed troops. In this way, the stationed troops would not only have the right to use the land but would also draw "nourishment" from Joseon's national strength. Over time, it would be equivalent to raising a group of pampered lords for themselves.
And now, the war was over, and the Ming army was not leaving!
Just two days ago, he had been mocking those Ming soldiers, hoping they would leave quickly and stop eating their country's grain.
The Korean envoy said: "In the Emperor's words, he mentioned that our Joseon and the Japanese pirates are both nations not to be conquered, ranked first and second. Now that the Japanese pirates have rebelled, although Joseon is a loyal vassal, due to repeated deception regarding the war situation, the Ming Dynasty has suffered significant losses, thus suspecting us of disloyalty."
"Your Majesty, please remain calm. I believe we should allow the Ming army to be stationed for a period. Our nation should focus solely on restoring its strength and ignore everything else, as if they do not exist. After some time, when the Great Ming sees that our nation has no disloyal intentions, and that the Japanese pirates are wolves with ambitious hearts, rebellious children of the world, while Joseon is an obedient son and grandson, unlike other nations."
The strategy was to appear weak and pretend not to see. The more obedient the son acted, the more reassured the father would be.
After hearing this, the King of Joseon engaged in a serious discussion with his other ministers through the communication talisman. The discussion yielded no concrete results; they could only continue to act as sons. Once the Ming Dynasty made a decision, they could not interfere, otherwise, the crime of deceiving the emperor would be pursued again. Everyone understood that it was merely Emperor Wanli's excuse.
The King of Joseon could not help but resent his other ministers.
The Heavenly Dynasty, as the elder brother to its younger vassals, should have been tolerant. Why had it suddenly begun to quibble over such trivial matters, using them as crimes to frighten the rulers of the vassal states?
Ultimately, it was all Japan's fault. If Japan had not attacked them, they...
The King of Joseon harbored such thoughts, and so did his ministers. However, if it came to developing military strength, that was absolutely out of the question.
The rulers knew better than any outside strategist where the nation's weaknesses lay, but the entanglements of interest were too great, affecting their status and even their property. Military power could not be easily handed over to military generals; on the contrary, it had to be further restrained! And the more severely it was restrained, the better!
"That Yi Sun-sin seems to have been appreciated by the Ming army this time..."
After deciding on the "national policy," the ministers began to discuss follow-up matters. There was nothing they could do about the Ming army, but they could certainly manage their own.
Yi Sun-sin was to be recalled, and all his military power immediately stripped!
"He achieved great merit in this battle..."
"Nonsense! In the Battle of Noryang, although he had a plan, he was deceived by the enemy's illusionary tactics. Where is the merit!"
One minister's eyes gleamed with malice, and the King of Joseon saw it, understanding it clearly.
This so-called illusionary tactic was not that he truly disbelieved the battle report. The reason he played the fool on the communication talisman was to tarnish the merit of this battle.
The Ming generals would surely consider him a foolish monarch, and he could not control their private criticisms.
However, Yi Sun-sin was their own general.
To acknowledge his merit in this battle would be to promote him to the highest rank of military official, which was unacceptable!
If a military official held too much power, it would threaten the civil officials. If he harbored disloyal intentions, and internal rebellion occurred, what would happen to him? He would die without even knowing it!
Therefore, erasing the merit of this battle was equivalent to suppressing his official rank and title, and providing a suitable reason to reclaim his military power and further suppress his status.
Looking at the ministers and the King of Joseon, who were now gathered in the royal capital, not only were they not rewarding their own general, but they were also erasing his achievements, suppressing his status, reclaiming his military power, and some were even beginning to frame him!
The young Celestial Master, responsible for protecting them in the royal capital, could no longer bear to look at the faces of these people. He sighed:
"With such a nation, such a king and ministers, it is no wonder they were no match for the Japanese pirates! As a ruler, instead of thinking about how to win the loyalty of his generals, he tries every means to harm his nation's heroes and meritorious officials. Such a nation, even if it does not fall, is destined not to rise."
...
"As you said, by obtaining the right to use the land, we can borrow the national destiny of the vassal states to strengthen the Great Ming?"
After the court session, Emperor Wanli returned to the Celestial Master's residence. The Celestial Master now resided in the Zhenwu Hall within the new Forbidden Celestial Palace.
"Precisely so. Someone informed this humble one."
Celestial Master Zhang spoke truthfully, and Emperor Wanli listened carefully.
"Oh, was it a Daoist priest? Daoist priest...?"
"The ones who wanted to kill Xu Fu."
The Daoist priests who had delivered the soporifics and treasures to Ji Xiang had, of course, been aware of the changes in the Forbidden City. They had contacted Celestial Master Zhang and informed him of certain matters.
And earlier, the Daoist priests had sent two treasures to Ji Xiang. One, the soporific, had shone brilliantly in the Korean campaign. After assassinating Kobayakawa Hideaki, the Shadow Soldier was able to impersonate him and seize the divine position, thus beginning the "Great Defection Era" of Japanese generals.
Hideaki's defection had dealt an immeasurable blow to the morale of the Japanese army, disrupting all their plans. This led the false immortals to desperately search for Ji Xiang to salvage the situation, only to die in foreign lands, and even a great Buddha cultivator like the Eight Hundred Bikuni met their demise.
The second treasure, the Cicada Molting Elixir, was originally intended to counter the technique of form dissolution. However, Xu Fu did not have time to use the Eight-Foot Mirror. Without the divine mirror that could transform form and spirit being used, Ji Xiang had already escaped Japan. The elixir, which had one use, was meant for before Honnō-ji.
Unfortunately, when Ji Xiang entered Honnō-ji, he shattered the mirrors held by the two guardian Niō statues. The divine light of the Eight-Foot Mirror did not fall upon Honnō-ji the first time, and thus it never fell again.
Consequently, the divine elixir became useless.
"These Daoist priests are a group who followed Dongfang Shuo during the Former Han Dynasty. Xu Fu is their mortal enemy, so in this Korean war, the Daoist Immortal Sect of Lishanhe stood behind our Great Ming."
"And as long as Xu Fu is not dead, the Daoist Immortal Sect will support us!"
With the help of one of the four major powers of Lishanhe, the mortal world could remain stable for a long time, but it would also face pressure from the other three.
"Xu Fu has always sent people to our Ming Dynasty to plunder treasures. The matter near Phoenix Mountain has been investigated, and the people of the Longyou Merchant Guild have all been arrested by the county magistrate. However, there were some who escaped and have fled by sea with the Japanese ships."
Celestial Master Zhang reported the matter of Phoenix Mountain in the south to Emperor Wanli. Although it had happened a year ago, the information was delayed. Moreover, the Longyou Merchant Guild was a considerable force in the mortal world, having intelligence and business dealings with the Japanese side, with its sphere of influence spread across the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and it also had connections with the southern Daoist sects, making it difficult to eradicate.
"Does the southern Daoist sect have any connection with Xu Fu?"
"It is unlikely. However, the southern Daoist sect seems to have become more closely connected with the Yin World."
Celestial Master Zhang stated: "Not long ago, some major events occurred in the southern cultivation world..."
"It is even more serious than the sudden demise of the Yinshan Sect last time."
"Someone performed sacrifices to the netherworld, resulting in 'corpse riots'."
Emperor Wanli, hearing the term, was puzzled: "Corpse riots? Could it be zombies, yakshas, or similar beings? Can't they be dealt with by firearms? The Bugao Lao Foundry has just been acquired. Let them cast cannons and transport them to the southern Daoist sect territory for bombardment."
Celestial Master Zhang said: "Firearms can indeed kill zombies, yakshas, and other ghosts, but the corpse riots this time are essentially similar to what happened earlier at Wudang Mountain."
"Oh?"
The events at Wudang Mountain had also been reported to Shuntian. After all, it was a royal Daoist temple. Emperor Wanli had intended to visit Wudang Mountain, but he was unable to do so due to the Tatar rebellion. He had only sent Hu Long to make a trip. Coupled with the reconstruction of the Forbidden City, he had to stay here. However, at this time, it was reasonable not to wander about.
The matter of the appearance of the Heavenly Net King at Wudang Mountain had been explained when Ji Xiang escorted the two scholars into Shuntian.
"If it is related to Wudang, then it is related to Jingling Palace and Wanshouxian Palace. Could it be some new type of monster, unheard of in previous eras?"
It was already known to many that the underworld was creating various monsters that had not appeared in previous eras. These new monsters had to be countered with new magical techniques.
"Precisely. Of course, firearms can indeed eliminate the corpse riots this time. However!"
"It is living people who have turned into corpse monsters, not corpse monsters that form after death. In other words, firearms kill not only corpse monsters but also the subjects of the Great Ming."
Celestial Master Zhang informed Emperor Wanli that this was like a contagious disease. People would turn into zombies but retain their rationality. However, this retention time was not long. People would still be affected, becoming bloodthirsty and hungry. The southern Daoist sect seemed to be manipulating this matter, and from the current perspective, this "plague" was being actively spread by them.
Then, they would rescue these "corpse people" themselves.
"Is this an attempt to imitate the White Lotus Society? Poisoning the populace and then rescuing them, staging a play to deceive the ignorant masses."
Emperor Wanli frowned. The southern Daoist sect's disloyalty was now apparent. Now that he had entered the cultivation world, he had come to understand how rampant these cultivators were.
And there was one more thing he seemed to understand.
Emperor Jiajing had killed many demons and cultivators in his time. Although it was later discovered that he seemed to have been conducting secret killings for his own purposes in search of certain things, Emperor Wanli was now thinking:
Why hadn't this old bastard's butcher's knife fallen on more places?
"There is one more thing."
Celestial Master Zhang spoke, his tone still grave:
"The 'Dragon Lord Jūpánchá King' seems to have appeared somewhere!"
"During the Former Song Dynasty, a great Buddhist cultivator who shattered Bianliang with a single word has descended to the mortal world from Lishanhe!"