Chapter 2319

Judging from the content of the letter alone, it seems reasonable and acceptable. However, this is not the first day that Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun have dealt with North Koreans. Naturally, they know that the credibility of these guys' words is not that high, and Kim Sang-hyun

He had never left the city during the time of the incident, and his position was unreliable, which naturally greatly reduced his credibility.

"Your Majesty, what do you think?" After asking the messenger to step aside, Wang Tom did not rush to express his position, but first sought Li Xie's opinion.

Li Zhi knew that his opinion was likely to determine the life and death of countless people in the city, and his immediate response was also very cautious: "Master Jin is mature and prudent. He sent people out of the city to deliver the message at this time, presumably to avoid casualties caused by your army's attack on the city.

I think we can refer to Lord Jin’s suggestion and wait a little longer.”

Tom Wang was obviously not satisfied with his cautious answer. He shook his head slightly and said, "Rather than to avoid casualties of our army, I think it is more like a delaying tactic!"

There is no real evidence to support this letter sent from the city. If writing a letter can stop the Haihan army outside the city, then the intimidation and deterrence effect of creating such a huge momentum will be completely lost.

Gone.

Qian Tiandun's attitude was highly consistent with that of Wang Tom: "We don't know the real situation in the city. The credibility of this letter is doubtful. For the sake of the king's safety, we still have to enter the city as soon as possible!"

The letter did not mention the life or death of King Li Zhu, which made Li Zhi seem to see a glimmer of hope. However, Qian Tiandun's words were obviously just an excuse. If the people of Haihan really cared so much about Li Zhu's life and death, how could they delay it for so long?

It took many days to leave for Seoul.

However, Wang Tom characterized this as a delaying tactic, which already showed the attitude of the Haihan Army - they did not really trust Kim Sang-heon, nor did they believe the situation he described in the letter.

Thinking of this, Li Zhi couldn't help but ask: "Do the two generals think that Master Jin's words are untrue, but Master Cui is more credible?"

Kim Sang-hyun's letter stated that the mastermind behind the coup was Cui Ming-gil, and he blamed Cui Ming-gil for everything. In fact, Li Zhen could not say whether this was credible. But he wanted to know what the Haihan people based their decision on.

In his judgment, he believed that what Kim Sang-hyun said was not credible.

Tom Wang shook his head and said, "We don't believe either of these two adults."

"Why is this?" Li Zhi couldn't help being slightly surprised when he heard this. He thought that during the more than a year since he left North Korea, there might have been some conflict between the imperial court and the Haihan garrison, which would have caused Wang Tom to react to these two people.

Influential officials at court were obviously hostile.

Wang Tom asked in return: "I would like to ask, Your Majesty, when the lords of the Bingcao Yamen are not in Seoul, who else in the court can mobilize the soldiers and horses of Seoul, or can influence the garrison to participate in the coup?"

"It's...it's true that Cui and Jin have such influence, but that doesn't mean they took the lead in this matter, right?" Li Zhi still didn't want to make assumptions about the possibility mentioned by Wang Tom.

Wang Tom nodded and said: "They have such great influence. If someone else takes the lead in the rebellion, don't you worry that they will get in the way? If it were me, the first thing I would do when raising an army would be to kill all the important ministers who might be blocking the way."

Kill! This way you don’t have to worry about anyone blocking the way, and you can cut off the king’s thoughts. This will make it easier to control the government in a short period of time.”

Qian Tiandun continued: "These two adults have been in the city for a month and it's okay. With their influence, even if they can't run away, can't they even send out a whistleblower? Also, Seoul is sealed

It has been a month since the city was invaded, but a steady stream of supplies has been sent into the city to ensure that the social order in the city remains stable. This is not something that can be accomplished by just one or two yamen. If there are no big shots taking command, the city will be in ruins.

There should have been chaos inside."

Li Zhi was silent for a while, feeling that what Wang Qian and Wang said did make some sense, but he still did not want to agree with the other party's view: "If they want to rebel, then why have they not released anything in an official name for so many days?"

News? If my father had fallen into their hands, then the false edict to abdicate would have been sent out of Seoul long ago, right?"

Wang Tom nodded and said: "This is also a doubt that we are currently puzzled about. If the purpose of the coup launched by the rebellious party was to overthrow His Majesty the King, it should have succeeded. However, it has not been confirmed to the outside world. There must be something involved.

Something happens that we don’t know about.”

"Perhaps the rebellious party is worried that it will not be recognized by your country and will incur serious consequences such as military strikes, so it has not released any news?" Li Xie raised a possibility after hearing this.

Wang Tom shook his head and said: "Since the reason of colluding with Manchu spies has been used, it should have been prepared for a long time. As long as the blame is put on the Manqing head, it will be easy to have a justifiable explanation to the outside world.

Already."

When Li Yan heard this, he thought to himself that you would never believe what Kim Sang-hyun said anyway, so he stopped holding his neck and continued to argue. He only asked Tom Wang to come up with an idea to deal with the current situation. Anyway, he said it

Nothing will be the final decision, so it is better to let the Haihan people cut through the mess quickly and calm down the situation in Seoul as soon as possible.

Wang Tom called the messenger in again and asked him to go back and tell the people in charge in the city that if he did not show up outside Chongli Gate within one hour, he would be treated as a traitor and the Haihan Army would be punished.

Launch an offensive directly against Seoul without any further warning.

Wang Tom's attitude seemed to have made a little concession, but in fact it was still very tough. Since the other party wanted to disrupt the Haihan Army's action plan, he would retaliate in the same way and not let the other party try to delay it for a day.

The purpose of time has been achieved.

Time passed quickly, and when the time limit was approaching, the Sungnye Gate opened again. This time, what came out was not a messenger, but dozens of civil and military officials who walked out of the city on foot. These officials walked to the official road and lined up.

It seems that it was in response to Tom Wang's request.

After Qian Tiandun received the report, he asked Gao Qiaonan to send two companies into the city first to control Sungli Gate and the main road leading to the palace in the north of the city.

"Your Majesty, come with me into the city!" After Qian Tiandun gave the order, he turned to Li Xie and extended an invitation.

Li Xie thought that the situation in the city was unknown, so it would be a bit reckless to rush in like this, but seeing Qian Tiandun staring at him with a half-smile, he knew that this was probably the other party testing his courage, so he gritted his teeth and agreed.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, we will definitely protect your safety." Qian Tiandun simply comforted him and asked someone to bring the horse over.

Of course, Qian Tiandun was not a reckless man. As a precaution, Wang Tom and some naval troops stayed outside the city to hold down the battle.

"Your Majesty, when we meet Kim Sang-hyun and other officials later, try to be as cool as possible. Don't rush to ask questions when you get to the city. Listen to what these officials have to say. Maybe we will find more clues from them." Qian Tiandun was mounting his horse.

I gave a few more warnings before.

Li Xie nodded, thinking that being aloof was my strength, so this request was not difficult.

So Qian Tiandun and Li Xie, surrounded by a large group of Haihan troops, rode towards Seoul slowly. When they were approaching the city gate, Li Xie saw clearly that the officials waiting outside the city were indeed Jin Shang.

Xianyu was the first one. However, one of Jin Sangxian's arms was hung with a bandage around his neck. There was still blood in the bandage wrapped around his arm, so it looked like he was injured.

When Li Yan was still about ten feet away, all these officials, led by Jin Sangxian, had already knelt on the ground to welcome his arrival.

During Li Zhi's year in Haihan, except for his own subordinates, basically no one would kneel to him. After all, Haihan country did not like this kind of thing. At most, he could just bow and bow. At this time, I saw the officials

It was so grand that it made him feel a little uncomfortable.

"Everyone, please get up!" Li Zhi remembered Qian Tiandun's previous instructions and tried to make his tone as cold as possible.

After the officials stood up, Li Zhi did not wait for Jin Sangxian to come over to report the situation. Instead, he ordered to return to the palace according to Qian Tiandun's instructions and asked the officials to enter the palace to respond.

At this time, Jin Sangxian took the initiative to step forward and said to Li Xie: "Your Highness, there are still some messes in the palace, I'm afraid it will inconvenience Your Highness..."

Li Zhi interrupted him impatiently: "Master Jin, has the Qinzheng Palace been burned down? Can it still hold these people? If you have anything to say, let's talk about it when we get back!"

Kim Sang-hyun probably didn't expect that Li Zhen would become much tougher after his return after a year, but he still responded respectfully. As for the injury on his arm, it seemed that Li Zhen didn't notice it. Of course, it was more likely that he saw it.

Just don't care.

Li Yan turned around and saw Qian Tiandun slightly nodding his head in affirmation, and he relaxed a little. In the past, he didn't dare to be too presumptuous in front of powerful ministers like Jin Sangxian, and he always spoke politely.

As stiff as before.

But Li Zhen knew in his heart that this attitude just now was not entirely due to the request of the Haihan people. His situation today is very different from before he left the country. If the king had unfortunately been killed, then he would take over the power immediately.

People naturally have to show their due imperial majesty. If we continue to treat ministers as cautiously as before, it will only make the relationship between monarch and ministers deformed in the future.

Li Yan entered the Chongli Gate and immediately felt a different atmosphere. He had lived in Seoul for more than 20 years and had never seen Seoul be so quiet. Except for a small number of soldiers on the street to set up checkpoints at the intersection, there were basically no sights.

No ordinary people were seen.

Although it can be roughly guessed that this is a necessary measure to control public security in the city, it still makes Li Xie feel very uncomfortable. He just wants to return to the place he is most familiar with quickly. However, in addition to his own soldiers, there are always people in his field of vision.

Being able to see the familiar figure of Hai Hanbing made him feel a little more relaxed.

The damage condition of the buildings in the city was much better than Li Zhen expected, but occasionally a house was burned into ruins. It seemed that the degree of armed conflict in the city should not be too intense.

The condition of the palace seemed to be better than outside, but Li Zhi really didn't have a good look at the guards who were still guarding the palace. There was a coup in the city, and the king's whereabouts were unknown, but these guards stood there like nothing happened.

Here, it is obvious that they have either seriously neglected their duties or participated in the rebellion. No matter what the situation is, it is unacceptable to Li Xie.

He secretly made a decision in his heart. After the situation calmed down, he would punish all the Imperial Guards. Even if they did not directly participate in the rebellion, they would at least be sentenced to exile in order to relieve the hatred in his heart.

Li Zhen did not go back to his residence, but went directly to the Qinzheng Hall where he usually went to court to discuss government affairs. The situation here seemed normal, and it was not as messy as Jin Sangxian said. Li Zhen even began to have some doubts.

Xian was deliberately making up reasons to persuade him not to return to the palace so that he could have time to deal with certain people or things in the palace.

But at this time, there is no way to take care of these details first. Li Zhen must now try to understand the current situation. Of course, the most important thing is the whereabouts of King Li Zhen.

After entering the Qinzheng Hall, Li Zhi very wisely asked someone to give Qian Tiandun a seat, and then he sat in the seat where he used to listen to politics, instead of sitting on the empty throne in the middle of the hall.

Li Zhi looked at the officials standing below. The number was much smaller than before, and many familiar faces were seen. Most of the people present were officials from Jin Sangxian's faction. It can be seen that what happened in the city was

The fight is not simple, and it is far from as peaceful as the scene we just saw. Many people may never appear in this hall.

"Then who can tell me the whereabouts of my father?" Li Zhi calmed down his emotions and then asked the officials in the palace the question he was most concerned about.

After a moment of silence, Jin Sangxian lowered his head, took a step forward, and responded in a deep voice: "His Majesty the King was assassinated by a Manchu spy disguised as a palace attendant. Although the imperial doctor tried his best to save him, he was unable to save him. He has been dead for many days, please ask Your Highness

Condolences!”

Although Li Zhen had been mentally prepared for such an outcome, when he heard what Kim Sang-hyun said, his eyesight still darkened and he felt greatly shocked. He was so sad for a moment that he couldn't speak at all.

When Qian Tiandun, who was sitting not far away from him, saw this, he asked Jin Sangxian: "Master Jin, how was the king assassinated? Where are the remains?"

Jin Sangxian said: "The assassin sneaked into the royal study and assassinated the king with a sharp weapon, and then set a fire to burn the royal study together. The remains have been collected and buried. The minister ordered people to quietly bury them in the north of Gyeongbokgung Palace for the time being.

On the mountain, lest the gangsters make an issue out of the king's body again. Now that His Highness has returned, I will ask His Highness to organize a formal funeral for the King after the situation calms down."

Qian Tiandun nodded and said: "It seems that this assassin has no intention of escaping unscathed. After killing someone, he actually dared to light a fire... He has created such a big battle, so you must have caught the assassin."

Bar?"
Chapter completed!