Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Li Yifang suddenly drew his sword and struck the neck with incredible precision.

Caught off guard, the young general clutched his neck and tried to struggle, but Li Yifang slammed him to the ground and slapped him hard.

At the same time, Zheng Zhongfu and several accomplices also drew their swords and began to kill, taking the Cui, Li, Jin, and Liu clans and other clans away from their trusted generals who had been placed in the Konghe Army.

Seven or eight of the leaders were killed, and the rest fled in panic.

Li Gao led his troops in from outside, blocked the escape route, and shouted: "If you don't want to die, then behave yourself!"

Faced with the rebel army blocking the passage and armed with heavy armor, the Imperial Guards soldiers, who had already lost their leader, were so frightened that they threw down their weapons and chose to surrender.

A eunuch came out of the hall and, before even seeing what was happening, shouted, "What's all the noise? The nobles inside can hear everything!"

Zheng Zhongfu raised his arms and shouted: "Those aristocratic families live in luxury, while we martial artists are poor and destitute. What kind of world is this?"

"Today I will eradicate evil; those who have the guts, come with me."

"Civil officials in the palace, if anyone has ever bullied you, you can all go and take revenge by cutting them down with one blow. Follow me and kill them!"

"kill!"

Under the threat of Li Gao's soldiers, the imperial guards picked up their weapons and, gritting their teeth, charged into the palace.

Chapter 3954 Only the Noble Families Are Killed, Not the Poor

Before the courtiers could react, the King of Goryeo had already turned tail and fled.

Having been placed under house arrest twice, the king was all too familiar with mutinies and coups, and immediately ran out through a side door inside the palace.

"We will not kill those from humble backgrounds, only those from prominent families!" Zheng Zhongfu shouted.

The courtiers fled in terror, while the military leaders went on a rampage of slaughter.

Even the instigators, Choi Hong-jae and Choi Yoon-yi, finally realized something was wrong.

Their original plan was to use military men to control the officials and arrest Ren Yuanhou's faction; they didn't allow those military men to kill indiscriminately at all.

"We spare the poor and lowly, only the noble families!"

As the warriors shouted, a few low-ranking civil officials quickly stepped aside to declare their identities: "I am from a humble family! I am from a humble family!"

They did manage to save their lives; the military men specifically targeted and killed high-ranking officials.

You can tell who the high-ranking officials are just by looking at their hats and clothing. The military men have had enough of their grievances, and today they can finally vent them to their hearts' content.

The civil officials rushed towards the two side gates, only to find that the outside was blocked.

King Goryeo was also cornered there, repeatedly begging for mercy: "Let's talk this out, let's talk this out..."

Cui Yunyi angrily rebuked Zheng Zhongfu: "This is treason! Your entire clan will be executed!"

"Put down your weapons early, and you might be spared if you realize your mistake and turn back from your wrong path."

Zheng Zhongfu laughed loudly: "What are you pretending to be a good person for? You're the one who instigated me to cause trouble."

"You used me as a pawn, and I can use you as a weapon. Everyone who escaped here, except His Majesty, will be killed!"

Ren Yuanhou said in alarm, "Put down your weapon, and I can grant you a civil post. From now on, you will no longer be a warrior."

"kill!"

Led by Zheng Zhongfu, a group of warriors rushed forward and slashed wildly at the unarmed civil official.

Wang Gou was so frightened that he squatted in the corner of the courtyard, with several eunuchs protecting him closely.

Cui Yunyi fled in panic, but was caught up by a soldier of the Crane Control Army, who stabbed her in the lower back and knocked her down.

Another soldier from the dragon-drawing team swung his knife and slashed at Cui Yunyi on the back of the neck.

The powerful minister Ren Yuanhou was killed by Li Yifang with a knife, and was slashed more than ten times.

Zheng Zhongfu, however, had found his old enemy. He grabbed Jin Dunzhong's collar and said, "You burned my beard for fun, and then you wanted to hunt me down and kill me. What did I do wrong?"

Jin Dunzhong cried out, "General, spare my life! I was young and ignorant. If I live today, I will marry my niece to you."

"General, you only need to divorce your first wife and marry my niece, and you will become the Jin family's son-in-law."

"Hahahaha!"

Zheng Zhongfu laughed furiously: "At a time like this, you still want me to be the Jin family's dog?"

"Now that I've become the son-in-law of the Jin family, will I listen to the Jin family in everything from now on?"

Zheng Zhongfu slashed Jin Dunzhong's legs with his knife, watching as the latter crawled on the ground in terror.

As he crawled, he slashed again.

Kim Don-jung cried out in pain, yet, driven by fear, he involuntarily continued to crawl outwards.

Climbing to the doorway, Zheng Zhongfu laughed as he dragged the man back and casually slashed him with his knife again.

Despite being slashed seven times, Kim Don-jung was still alive, but he had given up on escaping and lay there crying and waiting to die.

Many civil officials were tortured to death simply because they had bullied military men too much.

In the end, Zheng Zhongfu went to Wang Gou and killed all the eunuchs who were protecting the king.

Looking at the corpses scattered on the ground, Wang Gou was plunged into an unprecedented despair.

Chapter 3955 The Country That Lies Flat

Although he was placed under house arrest twice, those coups were relatively civilized; they didn't indiscriminately kill civil officials, and even powerful ministers were only exiled.

How could it be as bloody as it is now?

Zheng Zhongfu sighed, "His Majesty has treated me well. When the Jin family wanted to capture and kill me, it was His Majesty who sent someone to warn me."

Seeing a glimmer of hope for survival, Wang Gou quickly asked, "What does the general desire? I will certainly grant it."

Zheng Zhongfu said, "Every time Your Majesty is imprisoned, someone rescues you."

"Look at these eunuchs, they would rather die than let His Majesty die."

"I am truly uneasy if Your Majesty does not abdicate."

Wang Gou said, "General, rest assured, I will abdicate immediately and pass the throne to the Crown Prince!"

Zheng Zhongfu added, "My daughter is about the same age as the Crown Prince."

Wang Gou said, "I request that the general marry his daughter to the crown prince's consort... no, I request that the general marry his daughter to the empress!"

Zheng Zhongfu said with satisfaction, "Very good, Your Majesty, please go and write the edict of succession."

……

At the young age of fifteen, Crown Prince Wang Hyun of Goryeo was enthroned as king by Jeong Jung-bu.

What did the king say?

A beggar's version of Emperor Huizong of Song!

Wang Xian possessed all of Emperor Huizong's hobbies and personality traits, but his political skills were far inferior to Emperor Huizong's.

Under coercion from Zheng Zhongfu, he hastily "ascended the throne" and married Zheng Zhongfu's daughter as "empress"—he certainly wouldn't dare to use that title in the official letter sent to the Ming Dynasty, but it was perfectly normal for him to indulge in self-congratulation behind closed doors.

Yes, send a letter of credence to the Ming Dynasty!

Once the Ming emperor's approval is obtained, this coup will be considered a complete success.

During the Song Dynasty, a letter from Goryeo was sent to Mingzhou (Ningbo).

Now, however, the mission is to Pyongyang, to the prefect of Pyongyang of the Ming Dynasty, who also holds the right to negotiate with Goryeo.

Even if Goryeo wanted to send an envoy to the Ming Dynasty, it would have to go to Pyongyang first, otherwise it would not be able to obtain the travel permit.

The prefect of Pyongyang was Li Yi, the first Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) of the Ming Dynasty. Because the official letter arrived so quickly, news of the coup by the Goryeo military officials had not yet come.

"Why would the King of Goryeo suddenly abdicate?" Li Yi asked.

The messenger said, "The king is seriously ill and unable to govern, therefore he has abdicated the throne to the crown prince."

Li Yi replied dismissively, "I will report this matter to the emperor. You may go back and report."

"At the latest, next year, the Ming Dynasty's investiture envoy will go to Kaizhou."

Upon receiving the reply from the Pyongyang governor, the Goryeo envoy bowed and withdrew.

Li Yi immediately summoned Zhang Yi, the general of Pyongyang: "There may be changes in Goryeo. You should strengthen your troops and wait for the spies to send back detailed information."

"I will help you procure provisions and be ready to march south and conquer the country at any time."

"Your humble servant obeys!" Zhang Yi was overjoyed.

Zhang Yi was originally a subordinate of Wang Yan, and he was transferred to Pyongyang as a general only two years ago.

There are different ranks of generals, with the most powerful ones able to command the troops of an entire province.

However, in certain key areas, a general would be appointed in a prefecture, such as Yao Pingzhong, who previously served as the general of Lin Prefecture.

The position of General of Pyongyang was quite important when it was first established, as it was responsible for defending against Goryeo in the south and Jin Dynasty in the north.

However, with the fall of the Jin dynasty and the complete subjugation of Goryeo, the status of this place declined accordingly.

The place was remote and impoverished, and Zhang Yi felt as if he had been exiled.

I never expected to witness the achievement of destroying a country!

Of course, such merit is too great for a prefect or a general to claim alone.

Li Yi dismissed Zhang Yi and waited for the spies' detailed military intelligence.

Chapter 3956 The Shame of the Warriors

Whenever a suitable opportunity arose, he would write to Liaoyang, requesting the support of the three provincial authorities of Liaoning Province—asking for soldiers and provisions.

.......

On the Korean side.

Upon hearing of the military coup and the massacre of civil officials, the Kim clan of Gyeongju immediately allocated funds and provisions to recruit soldiers.

They also urgently distributed grain to the troops stationed in Qingzhou in order to appease the soldiers who were starving to death.

Then, they joined forces with powerful clans in two neighboring states and issued a proclamation calling on righteous men across the land to raise troops to serve the emperor.

The allied forces of the three prefectures, with a total strength of over 10,000, marched swiftly towards Kaizhou.

Although the number of people was large, they were all a motley crew, with few decent soldiers and armor, and at most they could only suppress peasant uprisings.

In early July, the two sides faced off on the Han River.

Zheng Zhongfu ordered Li Gao to lead a thousand elite soldiers to secretly cross the river dozens of miles downstream.

He led several thousand troops and stockpiled hundreds of ships, making it appear as if he were about to cross the river for a decisive battle.

At night, Li Gao launched a surprise attack on the camp of the loyalist army, and Zheng Zhongfu took the opportunity to lead the main force across the river.

The loyalist army was thrown into chaos, and Zheng Xiong, the military commander of Qingzhou, immediately defected and led his troops straight to Jin Dun'an's command tent.

Dozens of powerful clansmen were killed in the army, and Zheng Zhongfu then led his troops to attack Qingzhou.

They uprooted the Kim clan of Gyeongju, killing hundreds of them in one fell swoop.

Immediately afterwards, Zheng Zhongfu divided his troops and marched to the two neighboring prefectures, intending to wipe out all the powerful clans who had participated in the loyalist campaign.

Li Yifang's elder brother, Li Junyi, hurriedly approached Zheng Zhongfu: "Can the General really kill all the powerful clans in the world?"

"What if we kill them all? What if we don't?" Zheng Zhongfu retorted.

Li Junyi said, "The local prefectures and counties are all controlled by powerful clans, who have been intermarrying for generations and have deep-rooted connections."

"If the General continues to indiscriminately kill powerful clans, rebellions will inevitably break out in all the prefectures and counties of the country. How will we suppress them then?"

Zheng Zhongfu asked, "We killed so many civil officials in Kaijing, how can we possibly reconcile with the local powerful clans?"

Li Junyi smiled and said, "Of course. The General's suppression of the rebels is a perfect opportunity to establish his authority."

"If we stop indiscriminately killing powerful clans, other powerful clans will certainly not dare to rebel."

"Even if there is a rebellion, it will only be in one or two prefectures, which the general can easily suppress."

“If you push those powerful clans too far, it won’t just be a matter of one or two prefectures.”