Master Yuan, start!

Therefore, Yuan Shikai did not accept the olive branch extended by Queen Min, but instead directly ordered Duan Qirui and Sheng Fei to lead the Jiashen Right Army to launch an attack.

The Second Battle of Seoul began.

In front of the transformed and evolved Right Army of Gapsin, the defense of Seoul was as weak as paper. The 90mm field gun obtained from the French fired at the city walls, and the chaotic troops defending the city fled in all directions.

The rebel troops that entered the city were not of one mind. They belonged to various local Korean clans. The interests of these clans began to flow and became different the moment they learned that the Jiashen Right Army was coming to attack.

Some thought of surrendering the city, some thought of escaping with their wealth, and some were determined to fight to the end. As time went on, ordinary people and civilians in the city also established contact with the Jiashen Right Army, and both sides attacked the rebels together.

Seeing that the situation was not right, the Japanese vanguard army directly abandoned Seoul and headed southeast of Korea, intending to meet up with the two major garrisons in Kumamoto and Hiroshima that had landed in Korea.

The rebellion was put down much faster than Yuan Shikai had expected. The rebels composed of servants and some farmers could not compete with the regular army in any way and fled in all directions in Seoul.

After entering the city, Yuan Shikai also stated that he would only execute the main culprits, and the rest would be ignored, especially the rebels who came from peasant families. As long as they laid down their weapons, he would guarantee that they would be allowed to go home.

Upon hearing this, a large number of servants and peasants who were coerced betrayed their "masters" and pledged their loyalty to the Jiashen Right Army.

By the time Yuan Xiangcheng assisted King Li Xi to re-enter Gyeongbokgung Palace, the riots in Seoul had been quelled.

Yuan Xiangcheng, relying on the suppression of another rebellion, finally became the only person who had the final say in the Seoul court at that time. Even the king could no longer restrain him. Having seized such a huge political capital, Yuan Xiangcheng felt that the day of abolishing the feudal system and establishing provinces was near.

Now, all that remains is to get rid of the king.

Yuan Xiangcheng stared straight at Li Xi who was sitting on the throne, which made his hair stand on end.

Chapter 75: Power Returns to Xiangcheng, and the Expulsion of Japanese Pirates Begins

In less than five years, Seoul experienced three major disturbances in succession. Each time, the rebels rebelled and the king fled the city.

At this time, even if Li Shimin was in power, he would have to issue a self-criticism edict. The capital Chang'an had been attacked several times by the rebel army, and it was still unknown whether he could sit firmly on the throne.

Not to mention that this situation happened to the king of a small vassal state. Although the officials in Seoul did not say it, they had already hidden their resentment towards King Lee Hee for his lax governance in their hearts.

9 The nobles of the Yangban class split into two groups. One group participated in the rebellion, most of whom had already fled the city and planned to return to their hometowns to start an uprising.

The other group was people who sympathized with the rebellion but did not actually participate in it. However, this time the yangban rebellion led to the loss of power for most of the yangban in the Joseon court, and power was further concentrated in the hands of the civilian faction supported by Yuan Shikai and some yangban of the major faction who had surrendered to Yuan Shikai in advance.

"Your Majesty, please send troops to quell the rebellion as soon as possible. The rebels are returning home. If they are not cleared out, the Korean countryside may be in danger of being destroyed in an instant." The Korean officials who were truly loyal to King Lee Hee bowed their heads and made a memorial.

Before Li Xi could react, Jiang Guanghe, the Hancheng Prefecture's Chancellor who had relied on Yuan Xiangcheng to ascend to power, suddenly stood up from the crowd of ministers and asked loudly, "The capital has suffered three disasters. As a king, you are unable to uphold the country and protect the people. Isn't it time to reflect on yourself?"

san Jiang Guanghe's words sounded like they were directed at King Lee Hee, but they were more obviously spoken to the Korean ministers present.

The first time the rebels attacked Seoul, it could be said that Lee Hee had just taken power and the power was in the hands of his father, so he could not be blamed; the second time the rebellion captured the capital, it could be blamed on the Japanese, so he could not be blamed; then the third time the rebels attacked Seoul again, he could not be blamed, right?

0What's more, is it really true that he had no responsibility at all for the first two times? Especially the first time, the rebellion was caused by Queen Min selling official positions and nepotism. If he had kept Queen Min under control, couldn't the rebellion be put down quickly? Why did he delay for so long and wait until the Qing army arrived before making a decision?

As soon as Jiang Guanghe's words came out, the dissatisfaction of all the Korean officials, especially those who took office after the Gapsin Rebellion in Seoul, was aroused.

They have expressed doubts about Li Xi's ability to govern the country for some time, but due to the traditional ethical relationship between the monarch and his subjects, no one has said it before. Jiang Guanghe is the first person to make this matter clear.

As soon as these words were spoken, most of the ministers present fell silent. There were a few diehards who wanted to defend King Li Xi, but seeing the current situation, they wisely kept silent.

That’s right. In the eyes of the civil and military officials of Korea, three large-scale rebellions occurred in less than five years, and the rebels broke through the royal capital three times. This was a manifestation of the decline of the power of the Korean king.

If King Lee Hee had remained as majestic as King Sejong, perhaps there wouldn't have been so many rebellions.

Seeing the silence of all the officials in the hall, Li Xi hesitated and didn't know what to say:

"This... lonely"

Seeing this situation, Yuan Shikai was also quite interested. It could be said that if he wanted, he could take the opportunity to force Li Xi to abdicate. However, he had to consider the impact after all. The Qing court was not under his control alone. It was too serious for the garrison minister to force the king of the vassal state to abdicate, so he had to take it slow.

But at least Li Xi can issue a confession of guilt first.

North Korea is now a powder keg, with conflicts everywhere between the yangban and the common people, farmers and the powerful, and the people and foreigners.

Previously, it was only under the strong pressure of Yuan Shikai that a large-scale conflict was avoided. However, Yuan Shikai lured the snake out of its hole and ignited the spark of North Korea.

However, there are still many subsequent rebellions. When Li Xi's kingly majesty is further reduced by the rebellion, it will be much easier for Yuan Shikai to talk about deposing the king.

"Your Majesty, you have devoted all your energy to the cause of Korea, but no one is perfect. We should take this opportunity to speak plainly to Korea and serve as a warning to the world."

"exactly!"

"Master Yuan's words are wonderful!"

Obviously, most officials are shrewd people, and they will meet with the wind and send three rudders. In this way, Li Xi issued the first self-criticism edict in the history of Korea. However, since he himself was not the emperor, he could not use the edict, so it was called "self-criticism book".

"As a young and naive person, I followed the great cause but was unable to promote good morals. Instead, I went against the will of heaven and earth, causing the people to starve and eat each other. I will always mourn and lament, as if I were drowning in the abyss. The blame lies with me for not being able to help.

My virtue is unique and I cannot bring brightness to the three lights above or harmony to all living things below. Changes happen frequently and the evidence of my faults is obvious. I am in fear day and night and have no time to be at peace and healthy.

He avoided the main hall and reduced his regular meals to show his intention to practice cultivation in a side-lying manner."

The accusation was so harsh that it was obvious that it came from a civilian official. When Li Xi saw the confession letter with the ink still wet, he was so angry that his whole body was shaking and hot air was coming out of his nose. He wanted to tear up the white paper several times, but the situation was stronger than him. He had no choice but to swallow his pride and accept it.

There was no way out. There were still some hard-line officials from the Yangban class who were loyal to him among the officials, but a rebellion almost uprooted these people and they no longer had any power in the court.

Even if he opposed it at this time, it would be useless unless he could do better than Yuan Shikai, but how could that be possible?

Not to mention how to resolve the rebellion that has spread to other provinces in Korea, even if Li Xi wanted to drive Yuan Shikai away, the officials would not agree. Having already offended the Japanese, if he offended the Celestial Empire again, how could Korea survive?

Li Xi simply gave up and proposed that the country was in crisis and he should go to the palace to pray for the country's situation. During this period, all military and political affairs would be handled by the three prime ministers.

This actually handed the power to Yuan Xiangcheng. Two of the three prime ministers were Yuan Xiangcheng's men. Jin Hongji and Jin Bingshi had been staunch supporters of the big faction for several years, and they quickly came to surrender after Yuan Xiangcheng came to power.

Prime Minister Shim Sun-taek, who was loyal to King Lee Hee, "voluntarily" went to the palace with Lee Hee to pray for the country's well-being, which actually undermined Lee Hee's power.

Yuan Xiangcheng didn't have the time or leisure to let Kim Byung-si and Kim Hong-jip, the two left and right prime ministers, play tricks of repeatedly refusing and declining. Since Li Xi was discouraged and wanted to give up his martial arts, he didn't mind taking over.

Since he had already grasped the highest power in Korea for the sake of justice, Yuan Shikai decided not to pursue the issue of Li Xi for the time being and turned his attention to how to quell the rebellion.

After settling all the Korean officials, Yuan Shikai quickly convened an emergency meeting of the Red Confucian Society.

"Comrades, the rebellion in Seoul, Korea has been suppressed, but the Japanese are still determined to take action. According to the yangban nobles we arrested, two Japanese garrisons have already landed in Korea. We must concentrate our forces to deal with the Japanese."

The faces of those who had won the victory changed when they heard this, and their good mood disappeared instantly. All their personal future and ideals were closely tied to the Jiashen Right Army and Korea. If Korea was occupied by the Japanese, everything they had would disappear.

"Chief Instructor, how dare the Japanese invade Korea in defiance of the world? Aren't they afraid of condemnation from other countries?" Ming Ye asked worriedly.

"After the defeat in the Battle of Beijing, Japan's domestic conflicts could no longer be suppressed, and thousands of Japanese soldiers are still imprisoned in Beijing as coolie laborers.

Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru repeatedly attempted to negotiate with the people, but I submitted reports to Empress Dowager Cixi and the Grand Council, but they were rejected. After returning to Japan, Inoue Kaoru was dismissed from his position as foreign minister for undermining Japan's national system. Therefore, the Meiji government can no longer suppress the forces within it that are calling for war against China and can only comply with public opinion. Yuan Xiangcheng presented the situation in Japan to everyone in the meeting.

Ever since the Japanese failed to follow the French army in attacking the capital, conflicts have arisen in the country. The two major clans of Satsuma and Choshu, which had originally united, could not suppress the public sentiment in the country and could only invite the democratic Okuma Shigenobu to calm the situation.

But after Okuma Shigenobu became the foreign minister, he had no good solution. He approached Yuan Shigong several times with Yiliao, Yilian, Ji Puyan and others who were in charge of the Zongli Yamen. However, Yuan Shigong had never had a good face for the Japanese, so he rejected them.

Logically speaking, the Japanese and the French had an agreement that Taiwan would be divided equally between the two sides. After the French signed the Sino-French-Vietnamese Taiwan Treaty, they legally obtained the right to lease Taiwan, which should also include a part of Japan.

However, the French used the excuse that suppressing the rebellion cost too much and only occupied Taipei, Keelung and other places in the north. They did not go deep into the inland forests. At most, their troops reached Taichung and began to build fortifications. They claimed that southern Taiwan was handed over to Japan and let the Japanese take it themselves.

The Japanese were dumbfounded when they heard the news. There were still millions of Qing Dynasty civilians who had fled from Taipei in southern Taiwan, as well as Liu Mingchuan's nearly 10,000 people who were resisting the army. How could they take it?

Several ironclad ships ordered by Li Hongzhang when he was the Governor-General of Zhili were also completed after the Sino-French War and rushed to Guangdong to join the "South China Sea Navy" newly formed by Li Hongzhang.

After the French occupied northern Taiwan, they were limited by manpower shortages and tropical diseases and were forced to stop the front line near Taichung. They also had a tacit understanding with Liu Mingchuan in southern Taiwan and had no intention of killing him.

Therefore, Liu Mingchuan relied on the supplies from the South China Sea Navy to gain a foothold in southern Taiwan.

The Japanese knew very well that if they took southern Taiwan at this time, they would be making things easier for others. Not only would they have to face the ironclad ships of the South China Sea Navy that had just been deployed to sea, but they would also have to deal with tropical diseases on the island and the remnants of Liu Mingchuan's army.

Even if we win by chance, we will still have to face the problem of the French coming to reap the benefits.

Therefore, the Japanese government delayed for nearly half a year and did not make up its mind to march into Taiwan, fearing that its few remaining navies would be destroyed in a battle with the South China Sea Navy.

Just as the Japanese government was hesitating, news of Yuan Shikai's actions in Korea over the past six months inevitably spread to Japan.

News of setting up factories, opening schools, and building railways made the Japanese feel that Korea was slowly slipping away from Japan and sliding step by step into the arms of the Qing Dynasty.

The Japanese were full of anxiety and hurriedly contacted the enlightenment faction in Korea to inquire about the situation. It happened that Yuan Shikai was planning to implement the equal distribution of land in Korea.

So the Enlightenment Faction took the lead in connecting the two classes of nobles with the Japanese. With the local Korean clans leading the way, the Japanese knew that the opportunity was not to be missed.

Taking advantage of the rebellion of the two classes of nobles, he hurriedly ordered the two major garrisons of Hiroshima and Kumamoto to march out and land on the land of Korea. He wanted to take advantage of Yuan Shikai's internal and external difficulties to defeat Xiangcheng and make Korea independent, creating an opportunity to annex Korea in the future.

Therefore, when they landed in North Korea this time, the slogan they used was "Fight for Korean independence", which is really ridiculous.

The Japanese actually wanted Korea to be independent, as if Toyotomi Hideyoshi had not invaded Korea.

After understanding the situation, everyone present looked heavy-hearted. If the Japanese really used the banner of Korean independence, Yuan Shikai would undoubtedly be put in a passive position.

Although Korean independence does not have much market in Korea at present, it is a hidden danger to Yuan Shikai. By using this slogan, the Japanese can also win the support of some Koreans.

After careful consideration, Yuan Xiangcheng offered a suggestion: "We should compete with the Japanese in public opinion to win the hearts and minds of the Korean people. We can use the example of the Qing army in the late Ming Dynasty, who entered the country under the banner of revenge for Emperor Chongzhen, and finally conquered the country, to point out that the Japanese must have bad intentions towards Korea."

"The chief instructor is right, but at the same time we should also appropriately adjust the original plan and no longer force the equalization of land use." After reading Marx's Manifesto, Qu Nan had an inexplicable obsession with equalizing the rich and the poor. He was one of the few extreme leftists among the new generation of the Red Confucian Society. Therefore, everyone was a little surprised that he could say something about postponing the equalization of land use.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Qu Nan thought for a moment and then laid out the current situation in North Korea that he had observed over the past few days: "Chief Instructor, fellow comrades, North Korean farmers will undoubtedly be the focus of our work for some time to come.

But in my research, I found that in addition to farmers, ordinary scholars are also a very powerful force. We cannot offend these scholars for the sake of equal distribution of land, especially in the current situation. Otherwise, if they join forces with the Japanese, the situation in Korea will be difficult to control."

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Seeing no one objected, Qu Nan continued, "The chief instructor said that we should analyze specific issues specifically and identify the main and secondary contradictions. The main contradiction at present is undoubtedly our Jiashen Right Army's establishment in Korea and fighting the Japanese, while the secondary contradiction is the confiscation of the land of the Yangban nobles and the distribution of it to the Korean people.

In other words, if the Japanese cannot be successfully expelled and this major contradiction cannot be resolved, and if the secondary contradictions are forcibly resolved first, it is very likely to cause a complete collapse of the situation in Korea.

So my suggestion is to postpone the land redistribution and unite all forces that can be united, but the propaganda offensive should not be relaxed. The ultimate purpose of the Japanese landing in Korea should be exposed, and at the same time, the Korean yangban who cooperated with the Japanese should be labeled as traitors and traitors to Korea!

Yuan Xiangcheng pondered for a moment and finally decided to let everyone in the meeting vote by raising their hands.

"Raise your left hand if you agree to immediately redistribute land, confiscate all the land of the Yangban class and distribute it to the farmers, and then fight the Japanese.

Raise your right hand if you agree to postpone the land redistribution, confiscate some of the yangban land, unite with ordinary small landowners and civilians, and make a decision after dealing with the Japanese.

Qu Nan raised his right hand without hesitation. Everyone present looked at each other, not knowing which hand to raise.

As Yuan Xiangcheng slowly raised his right hand, the rest of the people also raised their right hands. In the end, the first democratic resolution of the Red Confucian Society was passed unanimously in such an awkward way.

The next morning, after learning from the newspapers that the Japanese had invaded Korea, people in Seoul were filled with indignation and expressed their irreconcilable hatred for the Japanese and their determination to severely punish them.

In this atmosphere of public opinion, Yuan Shikai announced the confiscation of land from the Lu, Zhao, Wu and other families who participated in the rebellion.

At the same time, they shouted the slogan "Drive out the Japanese pirates and return China to China."

Chapter 76: Conquering Korea

The southern part of the Korean Peninsula has many hills and the terrain is winding and tortuous, similar to China's Yunnan and Guizhou regions.

"Bah, damn it! I thought the mountains in Chengde were difficult enough to climb, but I didn't expect the ones in North Korea to be even more winding. Compared to here, the ones in our hometown can only be called flat land." Wang San stood on the top of Songni Mountain in North Korea and cursed at the winding mountains around him.

"I heard from the elders in my hometown Fujian that Fujian is eight parts mountains, ten parts water, and one part farmland. Look at these three parts South Korea, it's not much different." Lin Zhang, a new recruit from Fujian who was following behind, said with a smile.

The two men were wearing cool summer Gapsin military uniforms, carrying Winchester rifles on their backs and the latest Incheon 1886 grenades on their waists.