Chapter 2304

Under the current situation, Li Zhen naturally had no appetite to enjoy the reception banquet prepared by Shi Diwen, so he just ate something hastily. Before ending the meeting, Li Zhen raised one last question: "

During my stay in Zhoushan, can I go out freely for activities?"

Shi Diwen responded: "Your Majesty, now your personal safety is related to the direction of the situation in North Korea, and nothing can happen. Therefore, for safety reasons, the Executive Committee has ordered to provide you with the most thorough protection at various places along the way. This also includes

Including restrictions on your freedom of movement. Although this may make you feel a little unhappy, please believe that this is the most reliable security plan at present, and it is beneficial to North Korea, our country, and you personally.

"

Shi Diwen's answer was more straightforward than that of You Yihan and Yu Yao who had met with Li Zhi before. Li Zhi's heart sank after hearing this, knowing that he might not be able to come up with any strong arguments to make the other party change this arrangement.

But Li Zhen still refused to give up, and proposed another compromise approach: "Can I meet the Chinese people who are currently in Zhoushan? As long as the necessary security measures are arranged, there should be no danger, right?"

Compared with going out for activities, the risk of meeting North Korean people in a heavily guarded station is obviously much smaller. As long as the guards carefully search and ensure that the people they meet do not have any weapons, and with the security measures on site, Li Xie's personal safety will still be

It's relatively easy to get guarantees.

This time it was Shi Diwen's turn to be silent for a long time, seeming to weigh the pros and cons. In the end, he still shook his head and rejected Li Xie's proposal: "Although safety is guaranteed, it will expose the prince's whereabouts, which is still inappropriate."

Li Yan was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect that the other party would refute him from this angle. But Shi Diwen also made sense. Since he wanted to ensure his own safety to the greatest extent, it was natural that the entire whereabouts should be kept secret. And in

Meeting North Korean people here did have the possibility of leaking their whereabouts. Although he still felt that the Haihan people were making too much fuss, he did not have the confidence to argue with Shi Diwen, so he could only acquiesce to the other party's arrangement.

After returning to his residence under the escort of Haihan soldiers, Li Xie summoned Andao Shi and Pu Hongye and detailed to them the contents of his meeting with Shi Diwen. Now he is surrounded only by these civil and military personnel who went to Haihan to study together.

Li Zhi could only regard officials as his staff and think tanks, and would discuss matters with them and listen to their opinions.

Pu Hongye still insisted on the conspiracy theory: "Since there is chaos in the country at this time, everyone knows that His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince who studied abroad in Haihan, will definitely rush back to the country to take charge of the overall situation. Moreover, when the fleet arrived in Zhoushan, there was such a huge battle that it was tempting to cover the entire Dinghai Port.

It's closed, it's not difficult to guess where the Crown Prince is hiding. And we only stay one night before leaving. Even if someone wants to send information about the Crown Prince's whereabouts back to the country, they may not be able to get ahead of us. Therefore, I still stick to my previous view.

, this move by the Haihan people is just to block outside information so that the prince cannot know the true situation in the country."

But An Daoshi did not agree with his view: "Lord Park, I think things are not as simple as you think. When the crown prince stays abroad, it will always be like a ghost in the throat of those who are causing trouble in the country, and whether they want to be here or not

Whether they want to intercept the Crown Prince on the way or take other countermeasures at home, they must first know the Crown Prince's whereabouts. As long as the Crown Prince doesn't show up, they can't take any measures. The enemy is in the open and we are in the dark. In fact, the situation is actually in our favor.

"

Pu Hongye said: "Mr. An, when we return to the country, we must use the identity of the Crown Prince to call on officials and the people to bring order to the chaos. We may have to show up proactively at that time. Will the risk be smaller than now? What we need is as soon as possible.

Understand the domestic situation so that you can make plans before returning home, do you understand?"

An Daoshi shook his head and said: "No matter what, we need Haihan to provide military assistance after we return to the country. In view of the humble position, the Crown Prince should try his best to cooperate. Don't anger the Haihan people early, and then find a reason to embarrass the Crown Prince. That would be really

It’s difficult!”

Pu Hongye snorted coldly: "If we have to take orders from Haihan in everything and let them decide the future direction of our country, it will be detrimental to the dignity of our country!"

Li Zhi didn't think that taking orders from Haihan was as serious as Pu Hongye said. Before Haihan, North Korea had worshiped the Ming Dynasty for a long time, and followed the Ming Dynasty in every detail. Even when the king ascended the throne, he had to follow the example of the Ming Dynasty.

It is only legal to be canonized by the Ming Dynasty. Now that the suzerain has been replaced by the stronger Haihan, there is nothing wrong with following Haihan's instructions. What's more, the domestic situation in North Korea is still unclear, and it must rely on Haihan's help to survive.

In difficult times, confronting Haihan will only have a negative effect.

Li Zhen also felt that some of Park Hongye's views were reasonable. For example, he believed that Haehan was trying to block his own sources of information by not allowing Li Zhen to have contact with local Koreans. However, this agreement did not mean that he would follow Park Hongye's suggestions.

Although Andao Shi's view is a bit biased towards Haihan's, it is more in line with Li Xie's current interests.

"Two beloved ministers, there is no need to argue anymore." Li Zhi weighed the pros and cons and already came to a conclusion in his mind, preventing the two from continuing the debate: "Our current actions should be based on the restoration of the country as the primary goal! Now the only way to do this is to

The power we rely on is our allies. If we don’t trust our allies, then who can we trust? Even if they have other plans... what we have to do is not to expose them, but to try our best to win their support!"

Park Hongye was still a little dissatisfied: "Then if we can't get more information before returning to the country and have a dark eye on the situation after returning to the country, how will we seize power and restore the country?"

Regarding this problem, Li Zhi actually did not have a clear response plan, but in the face of doubts from his subordinates, he knew that he had to take a more resolute attitude.

"As for the arrangements after returning to China, I will discuss it with Haihan. Since we have an alliance with Haihan, we have no other choice now. We can only choose to trust our allies!" Li Xie made a decision in his heart and spoke.

He became much more stubborn.

Although he stayed in the guesthouse with the best conditions on Zhoushan Island, Li Yan still had trouble sleeping that night. He tossed and turned in bed, still thinking over and over in his mind the pieces of information he had obtained from the senior officials of Haihan, hoping that

More valuable information can be pieced together from it.

But this was not easy. Li Zhi had not received professional training in intelligence, so he was naturally unable to do this kind of work. He got up and walked to the balcony of his room. He looked at the dots of fishing fires in Dinghai Harbor and couldn't help but envy the people in these areas under Haihan's rule.

People can enjoy a peaceful life. It is said that they would rather be peace dogs than people in troubled times. Such a mentality can only arise after experiencing war.

But Li Zhi knew that with his special status, he had no chance to live like an ordinary person. As the first heir to the throne, the domestic chaos required him to step forward, and he had no choice at all about whether to do it or not.

After dawn, the fleet will embark on the final journey. The two thousand-mile voyage is also the longest journey on the way back home. He still has time to think about how to take action after returning to the country.

When the Dongfang fish belly was white, Li Zhen and his party set out from the guest house. Although he didn't sleep a wink all night, Li Zhen still tried his best to show his energy in front of his subordinates. He knew that once he lost confidence, his subordinates would also

You will soon realize that once the hearts of the people disperse, the great cause of restoring the country will become even more hopeless.

Shi Diwen also got up early and rushed to the dock to see him off. No matter what the Haihan people's true purpose was, the treatment that Li Zhi received along the way was genuine and as a head of state, and he was also boarding the ship.

I expressed my gratitude to Shi Diwen before.

"When the chaos in our country is calmed down, we will definitely invite General Shi to visit our country. When the time comes, please don't refuse General Shi!" Before leaving, Li Zhen sent an invitation to Shi Diwen as the crown prince of Joseon.

Shi Diwen nodded and said: "Then I will wait for the good news about the crown prince in Zhoushan! I hope we can meet again in Seoul soon!"

"Definitely!" Li Zhen nodded resolutely, said goodbye to Shi Diwen, then boarded the ship and left.

Shi Diwen looked at the fleet that was slowly sailing away from the coast on the pier, with a somewhat complicated expression. He actually had a good impression of this elegant prince of North Korea, but there was chaos in North Korea, so would the prince rush back?

It's hard to say whether he can clean up the mess. If he fails, maybe there will be no chance to see each other again on Zhoushan Island.

Why the Executive Committee imposed such protective measures on Li Zhi, similar to house arrest, was not explained in detail in the message issuing the order. However, Shi Diwen, as a high-ranking member of the Party, had his own ideas about the arrangements of the Executive Committee.

insights.

He believes that the arrangements of the executive committee have only one purpose, which is to achieve complete control over Li Xie. This control is not only reflected in the arrangement of the itinerary, but also to interfere with his thinking and judgment in the current situation.

, making it unable to effectively respond to the current chaos in North Korea independently and can only rely on Yu Haihan for help.

Are such control measures effective? Shi Diwen believes that the effect should be very significant. As of the time when the prince set out from Dinghai Port, he still had no clear understanding of the chaos in North Korea and no specific information.

Countermeasures. The only thing Li Zhi can do is to constantly inquire about domestic news from Haihan officials.

However, all the places along the way that received the order dealt with this, completely cutting off the information channels between Li Zhi and his party and the outside world, and only provided them with some filtered and processed information, so that any judgments and decisions they made could not be made.

, are bound to be interfered by Haihan.

As for the reason for the arrangement of the Executive Committee, Shi Diwen believes that it should still want to control North Korea by controlling Li Zhi. As long as Li Zhi gets help from Haihan in the future to quell the chaos and ascend the throne, there is a high probability that this will happen.

They will all obey Hai Han's advice. And a North Korea that is completely undefended against Hai Han is exactly the "ally" the Executive Committee needs.

As for the current trend of the situation in North Korea, Shi Diwen did not deceive Li Yan, because he did not obtain relevant detailed information from anywhere. How was the chaos in North Korea caused and what forces were involved? Li Yan Whether one faction still has hope of restoring the country or not, there is only very little information in the relevant briefings.

Shi Diwen believes that given Haihan's current influence in North Korea, it would be false to say that he had no knowledge of this. The most likely scenario is that Haihan is intentionally avoiding direct involvement in the chaos in North Korea, because the current situation Perhaps the best option is to stay on the sidelines. After Li Xie returns to North Korea, he will have more capital to bargain with and obtain more favorable conditions for Haihan.

This kind of exchange of conditions should not be unfamiliar to both parties. There have been several similar operations before. When North Korea faced the invasion of the Qing army last year, it could be said that it was in danger of annihilation. If it were not for the With the arrival of Haihan reinforcements, I am afraid that Li Zhi will not be able to come to Haihan to study abroad, but will be captured and taken as a hostage in Shenyang like in the original history.

The domestic chaos in North Korea did not occur in the original history, so the cautious attitude of the Haihan Executive Committee is understandable. Shi Diwen believes that the old foxes on the Executive Committee will not really pretend to be deaf to this. Being silent is just waiting for the most favorable opportunity for Haihan to intervene. The more eager Li Zhi is on the way, the easier it will be for Haihan to take the initiative when the terms are finally negotiated.

Of course, Shi Diwen is not sure whether any of the forces currently causing trouble in North Korea will directly offer more favorable conditions, causing the Executive Committee to have the idea of ​​​​changing someone to rule North Korea. If that is the case If a situation occurs, then Li Zhen will probably not be able to do anything when he returns to China and can only wait for the change of power.

But no matter what, the Executive Committee will definitely try its best to keep Li Zhen safe. Even if North Korea changes to a ruler that the Executive Committee likes more, keeping Li Zhen alive is still a pawn that can suppress the new ruler. If there is a problem in the relationship between the two countries at any time, they can always come up with the crown prince's plan to restore the country and put Li Zhi on the throne again.

Based on the information Shi Diwen had, he could only make vague speculations in this direction. As for Li Zhi, who had even less information, he never expected that Haihan would have such a complicated plan. Apart from him, If you go down step by step according to Haihan's arrangement, there will basically be no chance of resistance.

Li Zhen is not the only one who is uneasy about the unknown situation. The civil and military officials who returned to North Korea with him have also been uneasy. Because of their study abroad experience in the past year, they have basically been recognized as "eldest sons". They were originally bright. Their future may now become their talisman. If the country has changed its ruler, then they will probably be purged as Li Xie's party members when they return, and they will not even have the chance to join the new master. Can't get it.
Chapter completed!