Without a doubt, Yoo Sung Long was the greatest hero of North Korea in the Battle of Ren Chen. Even the Ming government would not deny this.
After the war, Liu Chenglong was entrusted with a heavy responsibility by Li Gui. Not only did Li Gui need to rely on Liu Chenglong's ability to do things, but he also needed to tie Liu Chenglong to his side and prevent him from coming into contact with Guang Hai Jun. This was to prevent Li Gui's power from being damaged.
Lee Chi's plan was very good. Yoo Sung-Ryong would maintain the existence of the North Korean government on the scorched land after the war. He would gradually erase the pain of the war and rebuild his homeland on the scorched land. He would also use his prestige to recruit the volunteer army and reorganize them into the North Korean government army to make up for the loss of the regular army.
Ironically, the North Korean Volunteer Army's combat prowess was far above that of the regular army. For a long time after the war, the North Korean government's army was formed with this volunteer army as the foundation. The war with the Wokou pirates helped the North Korean government save money on training soldiers.
However, North Korea was a small country with a weak economy. It did not have a strong resistance like Daming, so the economic collapse was inevitable. Yoo Sung-Ryong racked his brains to find a way to sustain the financial collapse of North Korea. He also used his personal connections to get a share of the war reparations that Daming demanded from Japan.
Every year, 100,000 taels of compensation from Japan would be sent to the North Korean government through the Ming Army stationed in Japan. They would be handed over at the port of Busan. Wu Weizhong, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Army stationed in Japan, was in charge of this matter. He had never embezzled a single tael of silver. He would always send 100,000 taels of silver to the North Koreans, but only half of it could be handed over to Yoo Sung-Ryong.
The royal family needed money, the two classes that had suffered heavy losses needed money, and money was needed everywhere. A hundred thousand taels of silver was just a drop in the bucket. Left with no choice, Li Zhi allowed Liu Chenglong to sell his official positions in private. He allowed a portion of his official positions to be sold to make up for the financial deficit.
Even so, Yoo Sung-Ryong managed to extend the life of the North Korean government.
Over the past six years, North Korea's national strength had slowly recovered, and the people had gradually settled down. They licked their wounds and rebuilt their homes, looking forward to a better tomorrow under the protection of Daming.
At this juncture, the Daming Kingdom underwent drastic changes. The Daming Kingdom ceased to exist and was replaced by the Daqin Kingdom established by Xiao Ruxun, the chief general of the Eastern Expedition.
The Daming was gone.
The Daqin was established.
Xiao Ruxun demanded that North Korea change its name and pay tribute to Daqin.
Although he didn't say anything serious, if it was just a simple request, it would show his determination.
It was the same as Daming.
The moral aspect could not be avoided.
Therefore, Li Zhi could only ask Liu Chenlong for advice.
Liu Chenlong was surprised when he heard about the changes in Daming's country, but he believed that Daming would recover soon. He also planned to send troops to gain Daming's favor and get more help. However, he didn't need to do that now. Daming had come on his own.
Xiao Ruxun, the general of the Great Ming Dynasty who had cooperated with him sincerely to wipe out the Wokou pirates. The general with outstanding military exploits who had never lost a battle. The general with a strong personality who would not allow anyone to question his decisions.
Now, this man had become the emperor.
There was no doubt that the best choice for North Korea was to immediately bow down to Daqin and get the protection of Daqin. Maybe they could get more help from it. But if North Korea and Daqin went against each other …
Not to mention help, it would probably be the army of Daqin that would come next.
Although North Korea was not at its weakest, it was almost there. It was absolutely impossible for them to fight against the Qin Army, not to mention Xiao Ruxun, who had a clear understanding of the geography and climate of North Korea. This was a hopeless battle.
Now, Xiao Ruxun was willing to include North Korea in the scope of protection. If North Korea didn't know what was good for it, Xiao Ruxun would directly put North Korea under his rule and set up a province!
Yoo Sung-Ryong immediately gave the best suggestion — immediately submit to Daqin, offer congratulatory gifts, and organize a team of envoys to Beijing to congratulate the emperor of Daqin as soon as possible. In this way, Daqin would have the obligation to protect North Korea, and North Korea could continue to exist.
Of course, Li Zhi also knew the necessity of doing this. Within a day after receiving the news, he had decided to do this. But now, there was too much controversy in the court, and he was not sure that he could force the decision through. If no one waved the flag for him, he could do nothing.
Yoo Sung-Ryong immediately understood Li Zhi's purpose.
He wanted Yoo Sung-Ryong to be his scapegoat, and then Li Zhi would pretend to be reluctant to submit to Daqin to preserve the dignity of the North Korean royal family.
Yoo Sung-Ryong sighed deeply.
Was he disappointed?
This was nothing. As a politician, this was the basic skill. If the emperor wanted the minister to die, the minister had to die. If the emperor wanted the minister to do these things, the minister had to do it. This was a very common thing, and there was nothing to be worried about.
However, he had done so much for North Korea. In order to win the war, he had worked hard and almost lost his life. After the war, he had worked hard to maintain the court under the situation of constant internal strife. Yoo Sung-Ryong believed that he had done nothing wrong to the North Korean government.
"Your Majesty, if you want me to do this, I will naturally do it. But after this is done, Your Majesty, please allow me to retire and return to my hometown. I am tired."
Li Zhi's first reaction was reluctance.
How could he just give up on such a capable official who was so adept at handling matters? If Yoo Sung-Ryong was gone, who would be in charge of the country's affairs?
His second reaction was that it was not a big deal.
Although Yoo Sung-Ryong was capable, he would inevitably become the target of public criticism. If he continued to use him, it would inevitably bring disaster to the North Korean royal family. On this matter, the North Korean royal family must maintain a relatively neutral attitude. The person who would wave the flag was Yoo Sung-Ryong, not the North Korean royal family, and not Li Zhi.
Without Yoo Sung-Ryong, there were so many officials in the court, and there would always be someone who could replace him.
Li Zhi sighed and said in a low voice, "I will not forget what Mister Yoo has done for North Korea. I will let you return to your hometown in glory."
As soon as these words came out, Yoo Sung-Ryong's heart sank to the bottom.
"I will obey Your Majesty's order."
Yoo Sung-Ryong accepted this task and completed it perfectly. He wrote a memorial, loudly explaining the importance of submitting to Great Qin, and he harshly rebuked those who said that they were pushing North Korea to the brink of war.
Yoo Sung-Ryong belonged to the Southern Party. Under the premise that the conflict between the factions had turned into a conflict of will, it naturally made the other factions very angry. They were jealous of Yoo Sung-Ryong's achievements and prestige, so they all focused their anger on Yoo Sung-Ryong.
Yoo Sung-Ryong was scolded badly.
In the end, Li Zhi removed Yoo Sung-Ryong from his position, but he also passed the resolution to submit to Daqin. At this time, it seemed that the officials did not care, as if their goal from the beginning was to overthrow Yoo Sung-Ryong.
This was very embarrassing.
However, this was not beyond Li Zhi's expectations. Li Zhi successfully survived this political crisis and sent a congratulatory letter to Daqin, showing his determination to submit to Daqin. He also expressed his willingness to pay homage to the Emperor of Daqin and offer tributes.
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