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

into the night.

A fire suddenly broke out in the city, and several places caught fire one after another.

The arsonist was also astonished, because there was more than one force involved in setting the fire.

There were spies planted by the Ming Dynasty, impoverished scholars with a strong sense of Ming ideals, and powerful civil officials who set fires and created chaos.

There was also Li Yifang, who betrayed his country and colluded with the enemy, intending to surrender the city.

Why did powerful civil officials set fires?

They wanted to take advantage of the chaos to take the King of Goryeo to the south!

The number of Ming troops outside the city was small, and Kaizhou City was very large, making it the perfect opportunity to break out with the king.

If the delay continues, and the Ming army arrives to besiege the city, then there will be no way to escape.

"The Ming army has broken in! Quickly, take His Majesty and escape!"

A group of powerful civil officials, accompanied by their servants, rushed towards Puxian Temple with knives and clubs after the fire broke out in the city.

The guards were all Zheng Zhongfu's confidants. When they heard the news of Zheng Zhongfu's death in the evening, they were already terrified and ready to run away at any time.

Upon hearing that the Ming army had entered the city and discovering that the city was indeed on fire, the guards watching over the king scattered like birds and beasts.

"Your Majesty, hurry! We've come to your rescue!"

The leader was Cabinet Minister Li Zheng, who wanted to take the king to Jeonju.

To be precise, he should be called the retired king, who had been forced to abdicate by the military.

Wang Gou, who was being placed under house arrest for the third time by a powerful minister, saw a group of civil officials rush in and wept with joy.

"Have you eliminated Zheng Zhongfu? Why did I just hear someone shouting 'Ming army'?"

Li Zheng grabbed Wang Gou's wrist and dragged him outside: "Your Majesty, the Ming army has reached Gaegyeong! The Ming emperor wants to annex Goryeo!"

Wang Gou was so frightened he could not move, trembling all over as he asked, "What should we do?"

Chapter 3985 Internal Strife within the Royal Family

"The city is in chaos now, and there aren't many Ming troops outside. Your Majesty can make a breakout now."

Li Zheng said.

"Your Majesty, please take a southern expedition to Quanzhou, where the elite troops of the Annam Protectorate still reside."

Wang Gou was completely disoriented and subconsciously followed the group of civil officials.

Chaos was escalating within the city, with Li Shaoying and Li Yifang's troops locked in fierce combat on the city walls and streets.

Many officials and civilians were organizing firefighting efforts, but they scattered when they encountered chaotic soldiers.

The civil official led the king into a narrow alley and brought out a set of servant's clothes, urging the king to change quickly.

They dared not use torches, and could only move through the dark alleyways. When they reached the south side of the city, they found that the fighting there was fierce.

He quickly turned around and ran towards the east of the city.

As he ran, Wang Gou suddenly came to his senses: "But my leaving is of no use at all."

"The crown prince has already ascended the throne; he is the true ruler."

"Even if I were to flee south to Quanzhou, the Ming Dynasty would use the Crown Prince's name to force the armies of all prefectures and counties to surrender."

Li Zheng said, "The Crown Prince is a false king, and the local powerful clans are not convinced."

"Besides, time is of the essence, how can we spare the strength to take the Crown Prince away?"

From the west, the city gates opened, and the Ming Dynasty's elite cavalry charged in.

With the Ming army's superior fighting strength, Li Yifang's troops gained a complete advantage.

Li Shaoying's troops even surrendered en masse.

"Hurry to the palace!"

The Ming army dispatched over a hundred cavalrymen, led by Li Junyi, who rushed towards the Goryeo royal palace at top speed.

Large numbers of Goryeo soldiers and civilians fled to the eastern city, where all the garrison soldiers had deserted, leaving no one guarding the city gates.

Powerful civil officials escorted Wang Gou, squeezing out of the crowd.

Wang Gou suddenly broke free from Li Zheng and ran in the opposite direction.

He didn't want to escape to Jeonju; he'd had enough!

He was controlled by powerful ministers shortly after ascending the throne. When his attempt to eliminate the ministers failed, he was placed under house arrest.

After finally managing to use leverage to eliminate two powerful ministers, another powerful minister emerged.

He tried to resist and was placed under house arrest again.

Once again, a powerful minister was eliminated, only to have another powerful minister emerge.

The last one was even more impressive; he was forced to abdicate and then placed under house arrest.

The dignified King of Goryeo was actually under house arrest for a longer period of time.

Even if he escapes safely to Quanzhou, he will inevitably be controlled by the Li family, and Li Zheng will definitely be the next powerful minister.

Moreover, if Quanzhou is captured by the Ming army, he, as a puppet, will have to take the blame.

He simply surrendered to the Ming Dynasty and moved to Luoyang to live a free and leisurely life.

Wang Gou had inquired about the fates of the last emperors of the Song, Jin, and Western Xia dynasties, and the Ming dynasty had always treated the last emperors of their respective countries with kindness.

He could live comfortably in Luoyang, no longer controlled by powerful officials, and no longer confined to the Puxian Temple, losing his freedom.

"Your Majesty, come back quickly!"

A group of powerful civil officials shouted and chased after them.

"Where is His Majesty? Where is His Majesty?" Kim Yun-gyu and a group of scholars from humble backgrounds also fled to Dongcheng with their families.

These guys tried to set fires to create chaos so that the Ming army could take advantage of the confusion to enter the city.

When chaos actually broke out in the city, it actually frightened them.

With soldiers everywhere, Kim Yun-gyu feared being killed without knowing why, so he led his family and scholars from humble backgrounds out of the city to hide.

Kim Yoon-gyu grabbed a civil official by the collar: "Where is His Majesty?"

The civil official, assuming the scholar from a humble background had come to protect the emperor, quickly pointed ahead.

"It's over there. His Majesty refuses to flee; hurry and help stop him."

Chapter 3986 The Loyalist Army

"Follow me to capture His Majesty!" Kim Yun-gyu shouted.

The scene was too chaotic, and too many people wanted to escape the city.

Wang Gou, civil officials, and scholars walked against the flow of people.

They can't run fast at all, and sometimes they're even pushed backward.

Wang Gou's strength eventually gave out, and he was captured by Li Zheng's servants.

Wang Gou shouted hysterically, "I will not go to Quanzhou, even if I do, I will still be at the mercy of the Li family."

"I want to surrender the country to the Ming Dynasty and go to Luoyang to live a life of wealth and leisure!"

Jin Yungui was overjoyed upon hearing this and shouted to the scholars from humble backgrounds around him, "Follow me to protect His Majesty, and protect him as he surrenders the country to the Ming Dynasty. From now on, we will be Ming citizens alongside His Majesty. Kill them!"

"kill!"

A group of impoverished scholars unleashed boundless fighting power, engaging in battle with powerful civil officials and their servants.

As the fighting continued, the sound of horses' hooves grew closer; the Ming cavalry was approaching.

Fearing capture, Li Zheng could only roar, "Run!"

"Protect His Majesty! Protect His Majesty!"

Despite being covered in wounds, Kim Yoon-gyu seized the opportunity to rush to Wang Gou's side.

……

With Kaizhou captured, Hanyang could not escape its fate.

The Left Shence Army stationed in Hanyang had long been transferred to Kaizhou.

With the city defenses weakened, Zhe Yanzhi dispatched a thousand Ming generals and a thousand Goryeo soldiers, who easily seized Hanyang City.

Those thousand Goryeo soldiers were selected from prisoners and reorganized, similar to a unit that had been reorganized from three thousand men.

The pay was distributed at half the rate of the Ming Dynasty's garrison troops, and the moment the rations were sent out...

The three thousand Goryeo soldiers were in high spirits, and their loyalty skyrocketed.

This was the first time in their lives they had received such a large sum of military pay.

What king?

What powerful clan?

I am now a soldier of the Ming Dynasty!

Before the heavy snows blocked the mountain passes, the Ming army successfully seized the entire Saikaido region.

They also captured two-thirds of Yangguang Road and two-fifths of Jiaozhou Road.

To the northeast, there was also a Ming army detachment of 500 men, leading 1,000 Jurchen tribal soldiers, which fought all the way to Anbyeon Protectorate (Muncheon City, North Korea).

A fortified mountain city was built there, originally used to defend against the Liao and Jin dynasties.

The Ming army's detachment, which was not equipped with artillery, was difficult to conquer in a short time.

The remaining territory can only be fought for next spring.

Before the war had ended, civil officials had already arrived.

Bai Chongyan, who had been demoted to the position of prefect, was swiftly promoted to Governor-General of Korea.

Just as the Western Xia dynasty was destroyed and its territory was converted into the Ningxia Governor-General's Prefecture, Goryeo was also about to be converted into the Joseon Governor-General's Prefecture.

The term lasted ten years, with two governors-general, after which it would be changed to the Province of Korea, depending on the circumstances.

Accompanying Bai Chongyan was Zheng Zhichang, who came from a prominent family in Pyongyang.

"This humble general greets Governor Bai and Minister Zheng!"

Zhe Yanzhi and Li Yi led a group of civil and military officials to greet them outside the west gate of Kaizhou.

Bai Chongyan had become more composed than before. After returning the greeting earnestly, he was led into the city by Zhe Yanzhi.

After everyone was seated inside the Goryeo royal palace, Baek Chong-yeon got straight to the point:

"The newly established Governor-General's residence in Korea is divided into six prefectures: Pyongyang, Kaesong, Hansan, Jeolla, Gyeongsang, and Hamheung."

“Baozhou, located on the south bank of the Yalu River, was separated from Pyongyang and entirely assigned to Liaoning Province.”

"Just like Hanzhong was assigned to Shaanxi, it was to prevent any rebellion or separatist movements from taking place in North Korea in the future."

"Hwangju, the territory of Xihai Province in Goryeo, was assigned to Pyongyang Prefecture."

"The other prefectures and counties of Saikaido were merged with Gyeonggi and Gyojudo of Goryeo and renamed Gaeseong Prefecture."

"The seat of the Governor-General of Korea was located in Kaesong."