Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

After learning that the envoy sent by Li Yao and Li Jue had arrived in the capital, Li Yuntian immediately entered the palace to meet the orthodox emperor, and the affairs of the Korean state also came to a conclusion.

In the side hall of the Qianqing Palace, Li Yuntian and the orthodox emperor stood in front of a woodcarved screen, and a huge map hung on the screen, which was the "map of the territory of the world" that Li Yuntian had dedicated to Emperor Hongxi.

Compared with the pictures of the past, today's "map of the territory of the world" is more refined, not only marked with many countries and capitals, but also important cities, ports, mountains, rivers, forests, etc., which can be described as the most detailed map of the world in the world.

This "map of the territory of the world" was drawn by the personnel of the Wutang for more than ten years and visited all countries in the world, and it was a pro-government gift from Li Yuntian to the orthodox emperor.

"King Zhong, the land of Korea is barren, the weather is cold, and the Sui and Tang dynasties conquered Goguryeo several times but failed, and we are afraid that it will take a lot of twists and turns to take it."

The orthodox emperor looked at the Korean state on the map, and said to Li Yuntian with concern, like many ministers in the DPRK, he believed that the Korean state was of no value, and the cold climate and complicated terrain in the Korean country were not conducive to the march of the army.

Emperor Wen of Sui, Emperor Yang of Sui, and Emperor Taizong of Tang all conquered Goguryeo during the Three Kingdoms period of Joseon, but in the end they all returned in vain, and a lot of materials and manpower were expended during this period.

Moreover, the Korean state was now one of the most thoroughly controlled vassal states of the Ming Empire, and there was no need for the Ming Dynasty to carefully incorporate it into the territory.

"Your Majesty, today is different from the past, when the Sui and Tang Dynasties went on an expedition to Goguryeo, Liaodong was not yet under control, and the Ming not only owned Liaodong but also consolidated the territory on the south bank of the Yalu River, and the Korean State had no barrier to resist the Ming Dynasty." Hearing this, Li Yuntian bowed to the orthodox emperor and replied solemnly.

He knew that the orthodox emperor had not thought about annexing the Korean state, according to the testament left by Ming Taizu, the Korean state belonged to the country of non-conquest, and the Ming Dynasty, as a state of etiquette and **** Shangguo, had no interest in these barren and poor vassal states, and it was a burden to annex them.

During the Goguryeo period, Goguryeo's territory extended to Liaodong, but the Sui and Tang dynasties' control over Liaodong was very weak, coupled with factors such as the Sui and Tang dynasties' army not adapting to the cold weather in the north and the lack of adaptation to water and soil, finally fell short in the conquest of Goguryeo.

However, the Ming Dynasty was different from the Sui and Tang dynasties, and the border line of the Korean State could not go north until it reached the Yalu River, and the Ming Dynasty had strengthened its rule over the south bank of the Yalu River, and after losing the natural barrier of the Yalu River, the Korean State would face the Ming Dynasty's troops.

Although the Joseon king had the foresight to establish four counties and six towns to resist the pressure of the Ming in the north, the role of the four counties and six towns decreased greatly after the loss of control of the Yalu River.

When Li Yuntian ordered the Ming army to enter the former Ming territory occupied by the Korean king's army on the south bank of the Yalu River on the south bank of the Yalu River, the Korean king was forced to retreat under the pressure of hundreds of thousands of elite troops who had been baptized by fire with the Northern Yuan, and the Ming army recaptured the lost territory without blood.

After hundreds of years of development, the Ming Dynasty's economic and logistical support capabilities have been greatly improved compared with the Sui and Tang dynasties, and most importantly, it has the most powerful navy in the world, which can not only attack Korea from the land route of Liaodong, but also attack the hinterland of Korea from the sea.

It was precisely because of this that the Korean state had to submit to the Ming Dynasty and became the vassal state with the highest degree of control from the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, Li Yuntian was full of confidence in incorporating the Korean State into the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and there was no problem in terms of force, and the most elite army of the Korean State was nearly 100,000 troops in the four counties and six towns, and it could not get the slightest advantage in the face of the more than 200,000 troops of the Liaodong Military Region.

Under the training of the generals of Jiangwutang, the guard army and the Xiaowu army in Liaodong can be called the main force of the Ming Dynasty, and its combat effectiveness is second only to the Ming army in Guanxi, the reason why this is so is that the Ming army of the Liaodong Military Region and the Ming army in Guanxi bear the heavy task of defending against foreign enemies.

"Your Majesty, Tang Taizong once said that Goguryeo will be a big trouble in the future if it is not eliminated, and now the Korean country is similar to Goguryeo back then, if you don't take advantage of its civil strife to eradicate it, it will become a big trouble for my Ming Dynasty in the future."

Li Yuntian knew that the orthodox emperor had no interest in a poor and backward small country like Joseon, so in order to persuade the orthodox emperor to walk up to the map, he stretched out his hand and pointed to the orthodox emperor and said, "Your Majesty, please see, the Korean kingdom is located in the east of our Ming Dynasty, although it is now subject to the Ming Dynasty, but once he has two hearts, it will be a scourge of the Ming Dynasty." ”

"Your Majesty, please see, if the Korean State is included in the territory of the Ming Dynasty, then the eastern territory of the Ming Dynasty will be worry-free, and the pressure on the Liaodong Metropolitan Division will also be greatly reduced, and the imperial court can focus on the northern regions such as the Nuer Gandu Division." As he spoke, Li Yuntian stretched out his hand and pointed to the Liaodong Dusi and Nuer Gandusi, and said to the Orthodox Emperor in a deep voice.

"Having said that, but the Korean State is a country that is not to be conquered by Taizu, and has always been in awe of the Ming Dynasty, if the Ming Dynasty sends troops to the Korean State, I am afraid that it will be unreasonable, it will attract the criticism of the courtiers, and it will also chill the rest of the vassal states." Hearing this, the orthodox emperor groaned for a moment, and said to Li Yuntian.

Although the orthodox emperor also wanted to expand the territory of the Ming Dynasty like his ancestors, as the king of a country, he had to be subject to the ancestral system of Ming Taizu and could not easily send troops to the Korean state, otherwise he would definitely be obstructed by the Korean Chinese official group.

"The emperor can rest assured, the minister has already thought of a countermeasure, if Li Jin and Li Jue take the initiative to ask to belong to the Ming Dynasty, then the outside world will have nothing to say." Li Yuntian smiled slightly when he heard this, and a meaningful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Take the initiative to belong to the Ming Dynasty?" The orthodox emperor was stunned for a moment, and looked at Li Yuntian with some puzzlement, could it be that Li Yao and Li Jue were willing to give up the Korean state?

"Your Majesty, now that Li Yao and Li Jue are fighting, the domestic economy of North Korea has collapsed, and it is necessary to rely on the Ming Dynasty to survive this large-scale famine.

Li Yuntian bowed to the orthodox emperor and explained in a deep voice, "If Li Yao and Li Jue are obsessed, the ministers don't mind trying to find a way to destroy the forces of the four counties and six towns that they rely on the most, so that they will have no confidence." ”

"If Li Yao and Li Jue can belong to the Ming Dynasty, then I will definitely accept their generous gift." The orthodox emperor immediately laughed when he heard this, he had long thought that Li Yuntian had a solution to the problem, if Li Yao and Li Jue proposed to merge the Korean state into the Ming Dynasty, then things would be much simpler.

"King Chung, who do you think is better to send to Korea this time?" Later, the orthodox emperor thought of something and looked at Li Yuntian with great interest, wondering who in the court could take on the important task of envoying to Korea.

"Your Majesty, this matter was raised by the minister, so the minister Mao recommended himself to go to the Korean State to solve the matter." Hearing this, Li Yuntian bowed to the orthodox emperor and said solemnly.

"King Chung wants to go in person?" The orthodox emperor was slightly stunned when he heard this, and his face showed a look of surprise, in his opinion, the Korean State was just a small vassal, where to work Li Yuntian went.

"Your Majesty, it is easy to annex the Korean state, but how to govern it takes a lot of energy, Jiaozhi is the best example, once the wrong step will inevitably provoke the people's uprising, and those who have a heart will also wait for the opportunity to make waves, so the minister decided to go to the town in person to supervise the local governance."

Seeing that the orthodox emperor looked a little stunned, Li Yuntian bowed slightly and explained the reason to him, the so-called fighting the country is easy to sit on the country, and it is very easy to pocket the Korean state, but how to govern the annexed Korean state will be a serious problem.

"King Chung, when you say that, I really haven't found anyone who can go to Korea on your behalf." The orthodox emperor understood what Li Yuntian meant, and smiled helplessly at Li Yuntian.

Li Yuntian successively successfully governed Jiaozhi, Liaodong, Mongolia and Kansai, making these places orderly and thriving, so for the governance of the Korean State, the orthodox emperor could not find a second person in the Manchu Dynasty civil and military to replace Li Yuntian in the Korean State.

"Your Majesty, now that the Ming Dynasty is leveling all over the world, the ministers are also idle in the capital, so I hope that the emperor can go to Korea with the imperial ministers, and the result is that the eastern territory of the Ming Dynasty is hidden." Seeing that the Orthodox Emperor agreed with his statement, Li Yuntian solemnly bowed his hand to the Orthodox Emperor and bowed down and said.

"Since King Zhong took the initiative to ask for help, then I will approve this matter." Hearing this, the orthodox emperor smiled slightly, looked at Li Yuntian and said, "I don't know when King Zhong will come back when he will go to Korea?" ”

"The minister has calculated that he can establish yamen at all levels in Korea in two years at the earliest, so he can come back from Korea in two years at the earliest." Li Yuntian had been prepared and replied in an orderly manner.

"Alas, I'm annoyed again after you're gone!" The orthodox emperor felt that two years was a bit long, but it was also a helpless thing, so he sighed helplessly, and his expression looked a little lonely.

"The Korean State and the Ming Dynasty face each other across the sea, if the emperor needs a minister, the minister will soon be able to return from the Korean State." Li Yuntian knew why the Orthodox Emperor had such an emotion, so he replied in a deep voice.

After he left, there was one less person in the court who could ease the relationship between the inner court and the civil official group, and the inner court and the civil official group would definitely fight to the death, and the orthodox emperor would have to face the chaos in front of him.

"King Zhong, if there were a few more courtiers in the court who could share my worries like you, I wouldn't be so distressed now." The orthodox emperor shook his head when he heard this, and in his words he was quite reluctant to go to Korea for Li Yuntian.

"Your Majesty, the king's way of dominating is to be relaxed and treat people with grace and power, so that the civil and military officials will surrender and dare not take a step beyond Lei Chi."

Li Yuntian also didn't want the inner court and the civil official group to fight after he left the capital, so he groaned for a while and then said to the orthodox emperor in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, there are many senior ministers in Nanjing, and the ministers feel that the emperor can be transferred to the capital for a while, and they feel that the emperor's favor is bound to obey to the death." ”

"The King of Loyalty has a point." When the orthodox emperor heard this, his eyes lit up suddenly, and he immediately bowed slightly, Li Yuntian's move was undoubtedly provoking a conflict of interests within the civil official group, so that the pressure on the orthodox emperor would be much smaller.

The officials of the major ministries in Nanjing can be described as frustrated in the officialdom, and there are complex entanglements of interests with the officials of the ministries and courts in the capital, once the orthodox emperor throws an olive branch to them, he will definitely help the orthodox emperor to deal with those officials in the capital, otherwise they will be disappointed again.

The corners of Li Yuntian's mouth showed a helpless wry smile, his move can be described as well-intentioned, because only by reducing the pressure exerted by the civil official group on the orthodox emperor, then the orthodox emperor will restrict the inner court from taking action against the civil official group, which can be said to be the best way to alleviate the contradictions between the inner court and the civil official group.