Chapter 655: Model for All People
"Kill..."
"Eliminate the rebels..."
In front of the most sacred Geunjeongjeon of Joseon, a fierce fight was going on. The Andong Kims, who had no choice, fought directly with the guards controlled by the Qingfeng Kims.
Because outside Gyeongbokgung Palace, the sound of artillery was rumbling, and the elite troops led by Min Honghao and the Seoul City Defense Force controlled by the Andong Kims were fighting. The former entered the North Gate of Seoul directly with the support of the Qingfeng Kims. The Andong Kims, who were forced to the edge of the cliff, broke out the most fierce resistance.
On one hand, they used their troops to hold off the Min family army, and on the other hand, they mustered their courage and attacked the Geunjeongjeon.
Even if Jin Hongchang and others in the hall died, as long as they could regain control of Yi Qi and the former queen, the Andong Kims would have the capital to survive the crisis.
As for the death of Jin Jizheng, the leader of the Andong Kim branch, it only made the Jin family members outside more determined to fight to the death.
Jin Jizheng, a great supporter, was chopped off casually. You can imagine how evil the Qingfeng Jin family is.
Jin Jizheng is dead, so the lives of the middle and lower levels of the Jin family are not taken seriously by the superiors. If they surrender now, they may be dragged out of their homes and killed.
Among the imperial guards, the Andong Jin family controls far more troops than the Qingfeng Jin family. After the musket battle in front of the Qinzheng Hall, they have entered into a hand-to-hand fight. The Andong Jin family has at least three times more troops than the Qingfeng Jin family.
Jin Jida held a saber in his hand, his face solemn. Sun Xu also held a pistol in his hand. All the officials in the hall were gathered in the side hall, and only a few leaders of the Andong Jin group were left in the hall. Jin Jizheng's headless body fell on the hall, and the blood stained the ground red.
We should be thankful that the imperial guards had no cannons, and for safety reasons, many soldiers were equipped with cold weapons. The people of the Andong Jin family also pulled some reliable city defense troops to the palace, but Gyeongbokgung Palace was so small that no matter how many soldiers there were, they could not be deployed, and it was even more difficult to transport cannons.
"The king has ordered that only the main culprits be executed, and those who were coerced will not be questioned! How long will you keep making mistakes?!"
"I, Jin Jida, swear here that I will only kill the main culprits and ignore the rest. Do you really want to die without a burial place?"
Unfortunately, such shouting is useless.
Min Honghao is fighting fiercely outside, and no one knows when the city defense troops will be unable to hold on. The people of the Andong Jin family have already regarded breaking Gyeongbokgung Palace as the only way to turn the tables. This is the only choice for the Andong Jin family to save their lives. How can Jin Jida stop it with a few shouts?
"Kill, follow me. Kill in the Geunjeongjeon Hall, and everyone will have an official position."
"This is a U-turn deal. If you want to withdraw now, will you be able to avoid death in the future?"
"Whoever kills Kim Ki-dae will be the general of the imperial camp!"
Coups and mutinies rely on promises to win people's hearts, and the promises of both sides are higher than each other. Everyone has an official position, and killing Kim Ki-dae will be the general of the imperial camp. Those imperial guards who fought desperately at this time could not think whether the two sides would abide by the promises later. Those who could rush to the front at this time were determined.
On Sukjeongmun, Min Honghao climbed the newly erected watchtower and looked at Gyeongbokgung Palace not far away, anxious. From the watchtower, he could clearly see the fighting in Gyeongbokgung Palace and Geunjeongjeon Hall, and the rebels [Andong Kim] had an absolute advantage.
Gyeongbokgung Palace was the main palace (legal palace) of the Joseon Dynasty of the Joseon Dynasty. It is located in the north of Seoul, the capital of the Joseon Dynasty, so it is also called the North Palace. And Sukjeongmun is the north gate of Seoul.
The distance between the two sides is not far, but the Min family army cannot attack at such a distance.
In the urban street fighting, the role of muskets is greatly reduced. The fighting on both sides seems fierce, but the speed of casualties is far less than that of muskets.
Chen Zhongsheng, who ran from Taiping Pavilion to Sujing Gate, could barely control his emotions, "Lord Min, send troops to Cheonggyecheon, go to Cheonggyecheon. Set a fire!"
"Now it has come to the last moment, no matter how cruel the means are, it is a last resort."
"The Cheonggyecheon is the gathering place for the families of the city defense army. Once there is a fire there, the city defense army will be in chaos."
But doing so will definitely leave a lot of hidden dangers, because once a fire is set, there will inevitably be casualties and property losses. These city defense troops, which will definitely be disbanded in the future, will not forget this hatred even if they return to the people.
But what does this have to do with Chen Zhongsheng?
Chen Zhongsheng only asked to get through the crisis immediately, and the whole of Korea would really be chopped into pieces and served on a plate to the emperor's table. As for the future crisis, that was something that the later generations would deal with, and it had nothing to do with him.
In the fifth year of Chengtian, the sixth day of the eighth month of the Chinese calendar. After being away from Seoul for a few years, the war once again enveloped the heart of Korea, and tens of thousands of people fought.
The sound of gunfire and shouting shook the sky, and the smoke and fire made the whole Seoul silent.
The Cheonggyecheon, a small river that flows through Seoul, was engulfed by a fire for a long time, and the densely packed low houses and shacks on both sides turned into a white land with light smoke. There was a gathering place for the families of the Seoul City Defense Army. Many of these city defense troops were outsiders in Seoul. After arriving in Seoul, they spontaneously gathered in the Cheonggyecheon in a deserted area.
The latter was originally a prosperous place in Seoul, with dense shops and houses around it, but it was severely damaged during the Qing Dynasty. In the end, it was like a deserted haunted house.
It took the Min family army three full days to gather the defeated city defense soldiers and investigate the Andong Kim family's followers.
On the fifth day after the incident, Chen Zhongsheng, Jin Jida and Min Honghao formally met with Queen Hyoui Kim of Joseon. Lee Sun is now called the authentic one by the Korean people because he was in the right position and died in the war of resistance. He is much better than Lee Ji, the only one left in the royal family.
Now the throne of Joseon is vacant, Lee Ji is unpopular, and without the support of Andong Kim, the wife of Seongpyeongfu is naturally just an ordinary wife. The only one who is qualified to attend the court is Kim, whose status is higher than Lee Ji and can convince people.
After this great shock, Andong Kim fell, but the shock of Joseon’s political situation will not be easily eliminated, and Seoul must maintain stability. It is more appropriate to bring Kim out.
"All at the disposal of this palace?"
Hearing Chen Zhongsheng's words, Queen Kim showed a sneer on her face. She knew that after this great change in Seoul, Joseon’s national destiny had come to an end.
If the Andong Jin family had not fallen, no matter whether the woman of the Jin family was pregnant with the blood of the Li family, the child born would definitely be a boy, right? In that case, the national destiny of Korea could at least continue. Even if it became the Zhou emperor like a tablet, Korea would still be Korea.
But what about the Qingfeng Jin family and Lixing Min family who stood up after the Andong Jin family fell? Now they are a pair of loyal dogs shaking their heads and tails to the country, and respectfully sent Korea to that person's table with both hands.
Just because of a promise of overseas vassalage and founding a country?
Jin's eyes looked coldly at Chen Zhongsheng. This Chinese envoy who had been in Korea for some time easily convinced his father and brother with a "overseas vassalage and founding a country".
Qingfeng Jin's merits are enough to be awarded the title of Earl. Whether it is a noble title or not, they can get a place overseas in the future, establish a country, and establish the real thousand-year foundation of Qingfeng Jin. Lixing Min seems to be the same. Even in the eyes of the nobleman in Nanjing, the Min family's contribution is greater than that of the Jin family.
Jin's father and brother were all attracted by this promise, and then they could no longer resist. I think Min Honghao is the same.
Comparing the establishment of an independent country overseas and the existence of a wealthy family in North Korea, the entire Qingfeng Jin family turned to the former without hesitation. How could the Min family, whose reputation in North Korea was ruined, resist this temptation?
Jin naturally waded into this muddy water at the request of her father and brother.
Jin looked at her brother, and then looked at Min Honghao with a calm face. This bastard who was hated by her husband at the beginning, now...
Jin suppressed the anger in her heart, and her eyes looked at Chen Zhongsheng again. Although Jin Jida has become the nominal head of the North Korean government, and Min Honghao actually commands tens of thousands of troops, he is always respectful in front of Chen Zhongsheng. Among these three people, Chen Zhongsheng is the one who can really make the final decision:
"Kim Hongchang is a great contributor to the suppression of the rebellion and the salvation of the country. He has a high reputation among the people. At the same time, he is also the father-in-law of the prince. The Andong Kim family also has a deep foundation in Gyeongsang Province and is very famous in South Korea. Angel, what do you think should be done?"
Chen Zhongsheng looked directly at Kim, and it seemed that Kim really had no intention of playing tricks. Chen Zhongsheng said: "Kim Hongchang will continue to be sent to China. He is still a meritorious official of Korea. This rebellion was led by Kim Ki-jung in order to take the throne with a concubine and control the power of Korea."
"Hmm?" Queen Kim's light nasal tone revealed a sense of surprise. After completely gaining the upper hand, Chen Zhongsheng actually kept the Andong Kim family, although he cut off the side branches of the Andong Kim family.
"What the angel said is exactly what I want." Queen Jin chuckled, "Let's do as the angel said."
"The Book of Rites says: 'Therefore, the likes and dislikes of the emperor are the model of the people.' The Queen is generous, benevolent and filial, and should be a model for all people." This matter has been settled, and there is nothing for Jin. She is a cover that was pushed out, not a real power figure.
After Chen Zhongsheng and the other two left the palace cleanly, Jin knelt in her seat for a long time without moving.
The shadow of Chen Ming appeared in her mind again. Chen Ming did not leave a deep impression on Jin at the beginning. In addition to his youth, whether it is appearance or speech and behavior, Jin felt that Chen Ming was not more stylish than her husband.
But now his face in Jin's mind is so hideous.
The originally blurred face has become clear, but it is full of endless greed.
The upper country is going to annex North Korea! ! !
This is something that Jin could not even think of at the beginning.
Since Silla seized Hanlelang and Daifang, which originally belonged to China, south of the Taedong River, Korea has existed as an independent country for thousands of years.
The tyrannical Liao Dynasty, Wanyan Jurchens and Mongols did not completely destroy the peninsula's fortune, but now not only is Korea's national destiny going to end, but it is also going to end as a country.
Kim suddenly felt that things were so absurd.
A good country was silently annexed by the upper country.
But now Korea really has no ability to resist. Not to mention that there are loyal lackeys like the Min family inside, just say that the Han army stationed in Jeju Island came over, and no one in the whole of Korea could stop it.
Not to mention the troops deployed by the upper country in the northeast and Sakhalin Island.
Before the invasion of the Qing Dynasty, there were nearly 10 million Koreans, and the population counted last year was less than 5 million. The upper country has a population of 200 million, which is completely disproportionate...
And most importantly, the pillar of Joseon, the nobles, suffered heavy losses in the war. Some powerful families that replaced them and whose power expanded rapidly seemed vulnerable to the powerful military strength of the upper country.
After these powerful families were crushed, there was no support from the middle and lower class nobles, and only large groups of Joseon people were left. These peasants might welcome the heavenly soldiers with drums and gongs. Because some of the policies implemented by the upper country are completely different from many policies implemented in Joseon.
Why did the large number of Koreans who were rescued by the upper country from the Qing invaders prefer to be slaves in the upper country rather than return to Joseon as civilians? That is a real reality. Their quality of life as serfs in the upper country is better than being farmers in Joseon.
Although Kim did not know much about specific politics, he also knew the greed of the nobles.
During the Imjin Japanese Invasion of Korea, the supply of military rations became the primary problem. In fact, it was impossible to continue to collect tribute, so Chungcheong Province and Jeolla Province changed to collect rice to replace all tribute. Later, the Joseon government decided to try out the "Datong Law" in Gyeonggi Province, abolishing the regular tribute (except for special tribute) that was previously offered to the central government departments headed by the palace and the rice and other sundries offered to the local government offices, and replaced it with a system of collecting rice for all land. The collected rice was called "Datong Rice". After the trial of the "Datong Law" in Gyeonggi Province, about a hundred years later, all provinces except Pyeongan Province and Hamgyong Province in the north gradually implemented the Datong Law.
During the era of the tribute system, tribute was nominally required to be paid by everyone, but the rich and powerful families were often exempted from tax, and the entire burden fell on the common people. At the same time, due to the serious exploitation of the payers, the actual income of the court and government was very small. "Datong Rice" was only paid by people with land, so it should be beneficial to people without land or with little land. However, the burden on tenant farmers was not reduced at all because of the existence of "Jin Shang" and "Bie Gong" to offer local specialties to the palace or central government offices, as well as the need to pay items such as charcoal, honey, chickens, and pheasants to local government offices. In addition, this policy also led to the increase of land rent and taxes in Korea, the intensification of land annexation by bureaucrats and local tyrants, the development of commodity-money relations and the prevalence of usury, which caused class differentiation in rural areas. By the eve of the invasion of the Qing Dynasty, among ordinary Korean farmers, only three or two households in ten could keep the land of their ancestors and not sell it to others. The phenomenon of "farmers have no land, and they all cultivate other people's land" appeared in rural areas. Farmers cultivate the land of landlords, and the tax burden accounts for more than half of the harvest. Excluding seeds, false loans, and grain before the year, the remaining amount is only one or two percent of the harvest.
If the heavenly soldiers of the upper country announced that they would implement the same system as China in Korea, all the lower-class people in Korea would enthusiastically support the upper country.
However, when foreign enemies invaded, the greedy nobles had no power to fight back, and Korea was on the verge of extinction several times.
The right time, right place, and right people were all not in Korea.
The guy in Nanjing really chose a great opportunity...
Without the support of millions of lower-class people, the broken nobles were just a small boat drifting in the tide that was about to be set off by the upper country. What's even more ridiculous is that those nobles who had just settled down didn't have the slightest thought of changing. All they thought about was how to take advantage of the gap in the re-establishment of order to eat up more unowned land...