The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Author Fat Fish Is Not Afraid of Fire's latest work, "The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: Starting with an All-In Bet on Beijing," is exclusively released for the first time!

Upon hearing the report from the royal guards, all the ministers were stunned. The young King Yi Sun of Joseon was also shocked by the sudden news and was already thinking about how to escape.

Whether it was the Manchu Qing dynasty or the Japanese invaders across the sea, their invasion of Korea would be met with resistance from the people and the army. Even if the resistance was not strong, it would give the king time to escape.

Now that the Han Chinese have such a great influence in Korea, if we don't run away now, we'll have no chance left.

In this court, the only one who was sober was Xu Ji, whose face was gloomy as he slammed his fist on the tea table.

"Damn it, they're definitely the Southerners!"

"They are selling out their country!"

After Xu Ji finished speaking, he looked at Li Tun.

"The Westerners are selling out the country. If Your Majesty takes a step back, you will lose half the country; if you retreat to the coast, you will lose Korea!"

"Your Majesty, do you still wish to abdicate?"

At this point, Yi Sun had also been forced into a corner, but he now had a glimmer of understanding that after three hundred years of Joseon's existence, it had reached a critical juncture of life and death.

Xu Ji made it very clear that this was different from the Manchu invasion and the Japanese invasion; these people came with the intention of destroying the country.

Korean novels also depict the Three Kingdoms period.

The ministers can continue to serve as officials in the Han Dynasty, but the king himself has no chance of survival.

Thinking of this, Li Tun could no longer care about hiding his true nature. He stood up and drew the royal arrow hanging behind him, and a hint of leadership appeared on his youthful face.

"I, the King, will personally lead the army to Kaicheng!"

"My dear ministers, we must also work together with one heart and one mind!"

The phrase "working together with one heart" was already laced with murderous intent.

Unlike the Ming Dynasty, Korea, being a small place, had its own national conditions. Although these officials were afraid of death, they dared not coerce the King of Korea and could only bow their heads one by one.

"We are willing to follow Your Majesty on your northern expedition!"

Kaesong is located on the south bank of the Yecheng River. Although it is still frozen in the dead of winter, it is much better than the Yalu River, at least it can prevent the Han army from gathering on a large scale.

Moreover, it also benefits these officials.

This is a brave Joseon king!

Thinking of this, Xu Ji looked at Li Dun's departing figure and seemed to see a glimmer of hope. So he actively began preparations for war and transferred the army to Gaeseong.

As the leader of the Westerners' Party, if the Han army, which the Southerners' Party had submitted to, were to occupy Korea, his Xu family would face utter ruin.

……

Both the Han and Korean armies assembled very quickly, and within ten days they were able to see each other across the river.

On the Han army's side, there were 10,000 Jurchen cavalry, less than 1,000 Beihai savages, 6,000 Heilongjiang guards, and 30,000 Korean soldiers on each side.

This army of nearly 80,000 men represents Zhao Lie's entire strength.

On the Korean side, more than 5,000 cavalry, more than 8,000 musketeers, nearly 20,000 armored soldiers wearing cotton armor, and more than 50 medium and small cannons were all stationed along the river.

Behind them were several more large, dark areas, too far to see clearly, stretching as far as the eye could see. They numbered about 100,000, and it seemed that everyone there was armor.

Is this still a small country?

With so many firearms and cannons, this is already two or three times stronger than the newly established Han Dynasty just two years ago!

Zhao Lie didn't know much about military affairs. Seeing so many soldiers in Korea, he felt that he couldn't win. He couldn't even imagine how the Manchus and the Japanese invaders of that time managed to invade.

Wu Zhaoqian, who was standing to the side, patted the donkey's rump and came to Zhao Lie's side, also looking puzzled.

"Logically speaking, given Korea's barren land and the three invasions by the Manchus from the west, having 30,000 elite soldiers should have been the limit of its national strength!"

"This isn't right, this is absolutely wrong!"

Seeing that Wu Zhaoqian was also undecided, Zhao Lie became increasingly uneasy and even considered seeking help from the imperial court.

Unlike Zhao Lie, King Yi Sun of Joseon was furious, pointing at the troops he had gathered from all over the country outside the city.

"This is what you call an army? All these years, all that money I've spent, and all I've got is this worthless trash?"

Below the city gates, one could see that, apart from the soldiers at the very front who were dressed properly, there were also those in half-body leather armor or lamellar armor, and those behind them were clearly strong men who had just been pulled out of the village.

They didn't even have warm clothes on, and they were shivering in the cold wind. How could they fight a war?

Xu Ji, however, remained indifferent, his expression still calm.

Your money? That's everyone else's money!

Should officials enjoy themselves?

Do military generals need to support their families?

Do members of the royal family need to be supported?

In the years since the Manchus entered the Central Plains, they have considered themselves the Celestial Empire. Did they need to pay tribute? Every single thing cost money.

The fact that the people of North Korea, who have been exploited to the extreme, do not rebel is a testament to their extraordinary patience!

"Your Majesty, we still have over 30,000 elite troops. As long as we hold the river, we can still protect the capital region once the ice and snow melt next month!"

Hearing Xu Ji's perfunctory words, Li Tun wanted to reprimand him but dared not, and finally sighed inwardly: "Party and government are ruining the country!"

The two sides remained deadlocked for five days, with North Korea focused on waiting for the ice and snow to melt. Zhao Lie, on the other hand, feared that he might be unable to win and that the gains of the past two months would be lost.

……

At the north gate of Kaicheng, twelve soldiers stood in a tent, each wearing only a thin shirt and shivering from the cold. Among them was a thin young man who looked at a strong and muscular man next to him.

"Damn it!"

"This weather is so cold, I can't stand it!"

"Zhuge Long, wasn't your grandfather a soldier of the Ming Dynasty? Was this how it was when you were a soldier in the Ming Dynasty?"

The man called Zhuge Long smiled slightly upon hearing this and reached his hand out of his pants.

"I heard from my grandfather that in the Ming Dynasty, soldiers, especially those who served as servants to generals, wore cotton-padded clothes with iron plates, were always well-fed, and could even go to the mountains every year to collect taxes from the Tartars!"

As Zhuge Long spoke, he began to sigh.

"What a pity! My grandfather was a good-for-nothing. He made money and went to North Korea to buy land, which my father squandered. Now I have to join the army to pay off the debts!"

"Brother, please say it again!"

The entire country of North Korea is under closed management. Several North Korean soldiers listened intently and urged Zhuge Long to continue.

As a result, Zhuge Long couldn't continue speaking because the soldier who had just started saying "Ashiba" had already fainted from the cold, and he was busy rubbing his palms with his hands.

When the people finally woke up, a North Korean officer wearing a cotton armor rushed in.

"Everyone get ready, it's your turn to patrol the riverbank!"

Upon hearing the news, everyone turned ashen-faced. Of the fifteen people in their tent, three had already frozen to death during a patrol two days prior, and the rest suffered frostbite.

Their frostbite hasn't healed yet, and they're being sent on patrol again? Isn't that just sending them to their deaths?

However, under constant high-pressure management, they dared not utter a word. Carrying their uneven weapons, they shakily stepped out of their tents and followed the other North Korean soldiers on patrol.

During this patrol, two more people froze to death by sunset, including the one Zhuge Long had managed to save.

"Come here, everyone, I have something to say!"

Zhuge Long, whose culture was different from that of Korea, could no longer endure the torment and summoned everyone together.

There's an old saying in the Central Plains!

"Is a king or nobleman born with a special destiny?"

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