Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Seoul, West Market.

At dawn, the soldier Cao Li, wearing prison uniform, was escorted to the execution ground.

Although it was still early, people's curiosity and desire for blood drove them to come from all directions, wanting to witness this bloody scene with their own eyes.

In particular, Li Shi was not an ordinary death row prisoner, but one of the famous ministers of North Korea. In the early years, there were rumors that his daughter had a chance to be adopted as a concubine by the Ming Emperor.

But no one expected that the powerful minister in the court would be reduced to a prisoner and even pushed to the guillotine by the king.

Li Shi was held tightly by several strong men. His hands were tightly tied behind his back with a thick hemp rope and he could not move, but he was forcibly put on the execution platform.

Facing the imminent death, his eyes were surprisingly calm, as if he had accepted his upcoming fate.

Everyone is destined to die, and it may be heavier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather.

Li Shi, who is nearly fifty years old, has never been a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death. Now facing this execution platform, he can remain calm and calm in his heart.

The executioner in charge of the execution was tall and tall, with a stern face. He looked at Li Shi who was being led up with contempt, his eyes were no different from those of other death row prisoners.

"Execution!" The supervisor did not wait until noon, but directly threw down the order in his hand.

Just like the execution process in the Ming Dynasty, the executioner walked behind Li Shi, stood still, took off the sign stuck behind him, took a deep breath, and then raised the sharp ghost-headed knife.

The blade shone coldly in the morning light, making people shudder.

At this time, the entire execution ground was silent, and all the people held their breath, waiting for that thrilling moment.

As long as this knife falls, no matter how powerful Li Shi was during his lifetime, or how much Li Shi was appreciated by the Ming Emperor in the capital, everything will turn into smoke.

At this time, there was a commotion from the southeast corner, followed by the sound of swords and soldiers clashing. Someone actually wanted to rob the execution ground.

"You've come just in time! By the king's order, these traitors will be killed on the spot!" The supervisor seemed to be well prepared, and he immediately bowed his hands towards the east and saluted with great joy.

In the attic to the east, King Li Zheng of North Korea was sitting there looking at the execution platform. When he saw the movement in the southeast corner, he immediately laughed: "Haha... I really took the bait!"

As he said that, his eyes were full of murderous intent: "Kill! Kill! Kill them all. I will make sure that no one in Li Shi's family will be left alive!"

The soldier Cao Li was already ready to die, but when he saw his son leading a group of subordinates to rescue him, he felt both relieved and nervous.

He originally hoped to see the country become prosperous, and he was dedicated to assisting the king to create a prosperous age in Korea. However, he unexpectedly encountered a tyrant who was rare in a century.

It would be okay if he were really an emperor with the same arbitrary power as the Ming Dynasty, but this king only knew how to live happily and had no regard for the life and death of the people at all.

Li Shi saw a large number of North Korean officers and soldiers coming from all directions and knew that he had become a bait. He immediately shouted loudly: "Shang Ming, run away quickly! Now that Li Qi is dead, North Korea must not cause military trouble. Please put all the people of North Korea first!" "

"Dad, the baby won't leave!" Although Li was surrounded, he still struggled to respond.

Li Shi felt his son's filial piety and said loudly: "If you don't leave, how will you avenge your father? If you leave, my Li family will not owe the royal family anything, and... the royal family will be slaughtered!"

"Sir, there is an ambush here, let's leave quickly!" Since this place has been heavily fortified and ambushes are coming from all over, a loyal subordinate anxiously advised.

Li Shangming gritted his teeth, then looked up to the sky and roared: "I, Li Shangming, hereby swear that if I don't exterminate the entire Li family, I will be treated as a beast in the next life!"

"Shoot him to death. We must not let this rebel escape!" King Li of North Korea has been paying attention to the movements here. At this moment, he pointed in the direction of Li Shangming and said angrily.

Although a large number of manpower is deployed here, the main focus here is ambushes. After all, this layout has omissions in defense, not to mention that not everyone will try their best.

When it comes to public opinion, the current king of North Korea has dropped to freezing point.

Since the death of the last North Korean king Yi Suo due to contracting smallpox, North Korea's political landscape has undergone major changes.

Because Li Yuan, the crown prince at the time, was in Beijing as a hostage and inevitably lacked the support of domestic forces during his stay in Beijing, there was a tendency for Li to be ignored by his courtiers after he succeeded to the throne.

Anyone who is familiar with Korean history knows that Li is not a king who is willing to be ignored, and his nature is very cruel, even ranking first among the kings of the past.

It is recorded in "Records of the Joseon Dynasty" that Yanshan was violent and observant, harsh in politics, indulged in drinking and sex, and abandoned sacrificial affairs. He pursued his mother, killed many ministers, hated the rules and remonstrances, and punished officials who spoke out of turn. The stick killed the concubine's mother and the younger brothers. He spends his days with prostitutes, having sex without restraint, and messing with other people's wives and concubines without restraint. Change the mourning system, change the sun to the moon, sweep the floor frequently, the sins are overwhelming, the resentment of gods and men reaches this point. ...Although there have been many masters of desolation since ancient times, none are as severe as Yanshan.

Although there have been many lords of desolation since ancient times, none are as severe as Yanshan.

Such criticism alone shows how bad Li's reputation is, and he has been nailed to the pillar of shame.

However, the more infamous his reputation is, the more it proves that he has become the winner in this game between king and minister, and he has raised the butcher's knife against the important ministers in the court.

After enduring the humiliation in the past few years, as he gradually took control of the court and military power with the righteousness of the King of Korea, he also began to show his fangs.

It's just that this victor was a little arrogant. In the process of continuously killing important ministers, Li Shi was labeled as a collaborator with the enemy just because he opposed stopping the pig iron tribute to the Ming Dynasty.

Collaborating with an enemy country, this enemy country naturally refers to the Ming Dynasty.

Although Li was once a hostage to the Ming Dynasty and showed great yearning for the Ming Dynasty culture while he was a hostage in Beijing, only he himself knows how much of the drama was involved.

Now, after killing many important ministers, he now has complete control over the court situation. Not only did he choose to fall out with the Ming Dynasty, but he also attacked Li Shi, a representative figure close to the Ming Dynasty.

Everyone knows that Li Shi is a pro-Ming representative in North Korea.

Now that Li Shi dared to oppose his decision to stop paying pig iron tribute to the Ming Dynasty, then he naturally wanted to use Li Shi's head to kill chickens as a warning to monkeys, and even more so, he wanted to exterminate Li Shi's family.

Damn it!

When Li saw that Li Shangming had successfully escaped, he immediately smashed the tea cup in his hand to pieces.

Although he has successfully seized military power, Li Shi has served as a military commander for many years, and Li Shangming is a famous general in North Korea. This time he is undoubtedly returning to the mountain.

When the supervisor saw Li Shangming and others escaping, he said angrily with a livid face: "Kill!"

The executioner held the ghost-headed knife high. Under the shining of a ray of golden morning sun, the people watching the execution could clearly see the cold light on the blade and the looming shadow of the knife on Li Shi's neck.

"Pfft——"

A muffled sound broke the silence of the execution platform, and the executioner's knife fell, and Li Shi's head rolled to the ground. Blood spurted out like a shot, staining the stone slabs of the execution ground red.

Li Shi's body shook a few times and finally fell down weakly.

"died?"

"Really dead!"

"Li Shangming and the royal family are fighting to the death!"

…

When the crowd of onlookers saw Li Shi's head being beheaded, there were bursts of exclamations and whispers.

There was an indescribable and heavy atmosphere on the execution ground. The executioner silently put away his knife and turned away, leaving only Li Shi's headless body and his solitary head.

Everyone knew that the North Korean king wanted to kill chickens to scare monkeys, so naturally no one dared to collect Li Shi's body.

Over the next few days, more and more officials were pushed here for execution.

King Lee of North Korea started the massacre mode and continued to kill officials who were against him or close to him. Many officials were directly labeled as having liaison with the enemy.

In fact, transparency is just an excuse. If he wants to take full power, he needs such a big purge, and all officials who disobey him will go to hell.

It’s just that he obviously underestimated the current strength of the Ming Dynasty, and also underestimated Ming’s yearning for war. Just when he started killing, Ming’s cavalry had already crossed the Yalu River and headed south.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty had not yet received the North Korean King Li Jing's move to define the Ming Dynasty as an enemy country. However, North Korea's refusal to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty in pig iron had already touched the Ming Dynasty's bottom line.

Any country that does not accept iron from the Ming Dynasty should be destroyed!

This time, Liaodong Governor Zhang Jin personally took command, and Liaodong Commander-in-Chief Yu Yuanzan led the Liaodong cavalry to go south first, which was bound to teach North Korea a profound lesson.

After the Ryukyu Kingdom incident broke out, Ming Dynasty had made its attitude clear.

Since North Korea is unwilling to pay pig iron tribute to the Ming Dynasty and is unwilling to help the Ming Dynasty usher in a new era of transportation, then the entire North Korean royal family will go to hell!

"Ten thousand cavalry go south, seeking death!"

"Do you really think that our North Korean army is just paper?"

"Eat these 10,000 cavalry immediately to let Ming know that North Korea is not easy to bully!"

…

Faced with the sudden southward movement of the Ming Dynasty cavalry, North Korea also showed great confidence.

The number of troops in North Korea actually exceeds 100,000, but because the founding king of North Korea was a military general who seized power, North Korea learned from China's practice of emphasizing culture and restraining military force.

Elite soldiers and generals in any country do not appear out of thin air. Only with sufficient financial resources can the soldiers have full stomachs and the weapons in their hands can be updated and iterated in time.

It's just that the current combat effectiveness of the North Korean army is worrying, otherwise it would not have been so troubled by the Japanese pirates in the past few years.

Just as North Korea was actively responding to the challenge, Ming's cavalry headed south like a torrent of steel.

Yu Yuanzan was in the prime of life and exuded the aura of a general.

After so many years of hard work, he is no longer the passionate martial arts champion back then, but a Ming Dynasty general who has fully grown in the war.

While he was in Luzon, he did not forget his mission for a moment. There were life and death moments fighting the storm, and bloody battles to govern Southeast Asia on behalf of the Ming Dynasty.

As the first martial arts champion in the Hongzhi Dynasty, it was not only an honor for him, but also the responsibility to set a good example for those who came after him.

Since Zhen Dongbo was appointed as the governor of Ryukyu, he was recruited back from Luzon by North Korea the year before last to serve as the commander-in-chief of Liaodong. He cherished this opportunity very much.

Yu Yuanzan had always imagined that the enemy was the savage Jurchen, but he did not expect that North Korea would dare to provoke the Ming Dynasty. At this moment, he led the cavalry to the south like a black storm.

With their arrival, the entire Korean Peninsula seemed to make the earth tremble, and the sky and the earth changed color.

Yu Yuanzan is riding on a black war horse, with a tall and straight posture and a vigorous look.

His armor gleamed in the sun, and he held a spear in his hand, like the God of War coming to the world. His eyes were firm and sharp, as if they could penetrate all fog and point directly to the enemy's heart.

The Liaodong cavalry behind them are all elite men.

Since the rise of Jingwei martial arts in the Ming Dynasty, a large number of young military talents have been sent to the army every year, and these young soldiers are eager for military glory.

They were eager for battle and glory. Facing North Korea that dared to provoke the Ming Dynasty, they had absolute confidence in their hearts to bloodbath this country affiliated with the Ming Dynasty.

They were wearing iron armor, holding sharp blades, and had piercing eyes. The sound of horse hooves sounded uniformly, like a passionate war song, echoing throughout the Korean Peninsula.

This, one of the most elite cavalrymen of the Ming Dynasty, maintained a strict formation whether marching or fighting. Under the leadership of Yu Yuanzan, they moved forward bravely and fearlessly.

"Is this the Ming Army?"

"How can we fight against our old, weak, sick and disabled troops?"

"Our king is simply seeking death, so how dare he openly challenge Ming Dynasty?"

…

Their magnificence and might shocked the towns and villages along the way. People stopped to watch and were impressed by this powerful cavalry.

Due to the rapid transmission of news, they all knew about their king's evil deeds. They not only killed a large number of virtuous ministers, but also openly provoked the Ming Dynasty.

Now the Ming Dynasty's royal division is moving south, and it seems that the Ming Dynasty only sent the garrison in Liaodong. The cavalry in front of them is just the vanguard. This is a battlefield where victory is impossible.

The first large-scale battle started soon. North Korea's frontier army assembled a team of 30,000 people, led by Kim Chan-hwan, a confidant of King Lee of North Korea, to try to prevent Yu Yuanzan from going south.

It was just that the two sides had just fought, and the eyes of the North Korean soldiers revealed panic and helplessness. Their formation instantly collapsed under the charge of the cavalry, and Kim Chan-hwan, the confidant of King Lee of North Korea, fled in panic.

The sound of Ming's horses' hooves roared like thunder, and the flintlock guns in their hands kept firing. The Ming's iron cavalry swept across the entire battlefield like an unstoppable torrent.

Amidst the sound of war drums, Yu Yuanzan waved his spear, and his figure quickly shuttled across the battlefield. Every charge was accompanied by the enemy's wail. The blood dyed his armor red, but his eyes became braver as he fought, as if the God of War had come to the world and was unrivaled.

Although the North Korean soldiers were numerous in number, their resistance seemed so feeble in front of the well-trained and well-equipped Ming cavalry.

For a time, the battlefield was filled with swords and swords. Wherever the cavalry passed, the Korean army retreated steadily. In the blink of an eye, there were only 3,000 remnants of the 30,000-strong army left.

After the battle, a mess was left on the battlefield. The North Korean soldiers surrendered one after another, and their general Jin Zanhuan was escorted back with a pale face. He was obviously frightened by this sudden blow.

After defeating the North Korean frontier army, Yu Yuanzan did not stop. He immediately ordered the entire army to go south, aiming directly at Seoul.

The Ming Dynasty cavalry was like a giant dragon, winding its way across the vast land. Their target was the city that symbolized the center of North Korea's power.

As the army marched, towns and villages along the way surrendered one after another, and no one dared to stop this powerful cavalry.

When the army led by Yu Yuanzan arrived in Seoul, the entire royal city was already in panic. (End of chapter)