Li Jue's study.

"What? Prince Chung wants to annex our North Korea? After retiring from the subordinates, Li Xuan told Li Jue what Liu Zhen told him, and Li Jue was stunned when he heard it, feeling the same incredulous as Li Xuan at that time.

"Big brother, this matter is true, it was the lord of the Liu Pavilion who told this king personally, this king doesn't know what to do, so I came to ask my eldest brother to get an idea." Li Xuan smiled bitterly and nodded, his smile full of bitterness and helplessness.

"No wonder I and the Lord of Shouyang have been planted one after another, it turns out that this is the purpose of the Lord Zhong, and after removing me and the Lord of Shouyang, the Lord Zhong will annex North Korea." Li Jue frowned and pondered for a while, then looked at Li Xuan with a complicated expression.

At this time, he finally figured out that the series of events that had happened in Seoul in the past two years were all the handiwork of Li Yuntian, and it was ridiculous that he and the Lord of Shouyang fought to the death, and he didn't know that he had unknowingly become two chess pieces in Li Yuntian's hands.

"Big brother, are you saying that Prince Zhong has long been planning to annex our North Korea?" Li Xuan's eyes showed a look of shock, he really didn't expect that the battle between Li Yuntian and Li Jue and Li Jin was related.

"If I guessed correctly, Lord Zhong took advantage of the grievances and entanglements between me and the Lord of Shouyang, and wiped out the two of us, and then took advantage of the situation to push you to the throne, but abolished the parliamentary government and formed three divisions and one court to set you up, seized the military and political power step by step, and gathered the hearts of the people."

Li Jue let out a long breath and smiled bitterly at Li Xuan, "We have long been in the calculations of the loyal prince, and there is no way to avoid it, I should have thought that he could stay in North Korea with the dignity of a prince and definitely have other plans, but who would have thought that he would actually take a fancy to our North Korea!" ”

"Big brother, we can't watch him annex North Korea, this is the foundation of our ancestors, and it can't be destroyed in our hands." Li Xuan realized the seriousness of the situation, and asked Li Jue anxiously, Li Jue was scheming, maybe there was something good to do.

"Since Prince Zhong has been here for so long this time, he must have obtained the imperial permission of Emperor Daming, and this matter has been completed and cannot be changed." Li Jue pondered for a moment, and shook his head at Li Xuan with a gloomy expression, Li Yuntian's move must have been approved by the orthodox emperor, so Li Yuntian's annexation of Korea is acting on orders, who can change the will of the orthodox emperor?

"Big brother, if you really can't do it, this king will rebel, this king really can't watch the inheritance of his ancestors destroyed in the hands of this king." Seeing that Li Jue was also helpless, Li Xuan couldn't help but feel a burst of chagrin, and angrily slammed his fist on the table, Li Yuntian really gave him a problem this time, making him in a dilemma and didn't know what to do.

"This must not be done, you can't be rash, if you really rebel, then it just gives Prince Zhong an excuse to annex North Korea!"

Hearing this, Li Jue hurriedly dissuaded, this is not a wise move, and now that the military power of the Korean State is in the hands of Li Yuntian, Li Jue has no troops to adjust at all, he doesn't think that those generals who command the army dare to respond to Li Xuan and raise troops to resist the Ming Dynasty.

"Big brother, we can't be bullied by others!" Li Xuan groaned for a moment, looked at Li Jue emotionally and said, "If we are just so restrained, how will people think of the royal family in the future?" ”

"Have you thought about it, Prince Zhong will definitely be strictly monitoring you now, if you dare to act rashly, you will definitely be killed."

Li Jue can completely understand Li Xuan's mood at this time, Li Xuan is now facing a major choice in his life about the ancestral family business, so it is completely understandable to be irritable, he sighed for a while and then said, "In today's Seoul officialdom, except for Lord Jin who may fight for you, the rest of the people will definitely throw themselves into the arms of the Ming Dynasty, we have been defeated, don't resist in vain." ”

"Big brother, this king really can't hand over the inheritance of his ancestors, it's better to die." Li Xuan saw that Li Jue tried his best to stop him, and knew that Li Jue was reasonable, so he couldn't help clenching his fists in pain, no one wanted to be a king of a dead country.

"Your Highness, since you have inherited the throne, the fate of Korea is in your hands, you must take on this responsibility, do you want to let those young princes face the complicated situation in front of you?"

Li Jue shook his head helplessly, took a deep breath and persuaded, it is obvious that Li Xuan is just a pawn in Li Yuntian's plan to annex the Korean State, and his role is not too important, and he can be replaced by other maharajas, which means that the royal family will not be able to step this hurdle after all.

"Big brother, this king doesn't know what to do now, and he's physically and mentally exhausted." Li Xuan's face was full of gloom when he heard this.

He knew that what Li Jue said was right, if he didn't take on this responsibility, he could only hand it over to those underage monarchs, which was not something that a king and his brother did.

"The matter has come to this, and His Highness the Lord can only face it." Li Jue pondered for a while, and said solemnly to Li Xuan, "If Prince Zhong can keep the prince of His Royal Highness, then I think this matter can be discussed." ”

"Big brother, you asked me to promise this!" Li Xuan was silent for a while when he heard this, and looked at Li Jue with a sad face, "Is there no other way?" ”

"Your Highness, the situation is like this, there is no other way!" A trace of indescribable sorrow also appeared on Li Jue's face, and he nodded affirmatively to Li Xuan, now Li Yuntian is holding the handle of the knife, once Li Xuan does not agree, he will definitely be severely punished, even if he can't die, he will not escape the fate of the frontier.

It turned out that the Korean State could not avoid this catastrophe this time, so Li Xuan might as well face it calmly and win more benefits for the Li royal family, so that it would be more practical.

"Alas!" Hearing this, the corners of Li Xuan's mouth squirmed and wanted to say something, but in the end he couldn't say it, but the long emperor sighed, since even Li Jue had no choice, then he really had nothing to do this time.

"Your Royal Highness, the lord of the Liu Pavilion is our Korean clan, since the prince Zhong asked her to tell you about this matter this time, it means that you can find the owner of the Liu Pavilion if you have anything to do in the future, and the Lord of the Liu Pavilion will take care of you in the future, even if you go to the capital of the Ming Dynasty, you will not suffer."

At this time, Li Jue remembered something, so he solemnly told Li Xuan that Li Xuan would move to the capital of Daming in the future, and he was not familiar with the place, and if Liu Zhen was covered, then there would definitely be a lot less trouble.

Li Xuan nodded when he heard this, the look in his eyes was extremely gloomy and lost, in his opinion, moving to the capital of Daming was to imprison him, which was no different from being in prison, but the cell was the capital of Daming.

"Big brother, take advantage of this opportunity to let the prince return the eldest brother to freedom, this king seems to be going to die in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and the glory of the royal family will depend on the eldest brother in the future." Then, Li Xuan looked up at Li Jue, as soon as he left, the royal family in the Korean Kingdom would be leaderless, and someone was needed to lead them, and this person was Li Jue.

"Thank you, Your Highness, the minister will not disappoint Your Highness." When Li Jue heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he felt tired from his imprisonment for more than a year, and he had an extremely strong desire for freedom.

Li Xuan smiled reluctantly when he heard this, this is the only thing he can do now, hoping that Li Jue can revitalize the royal family after he leaves.

At the same time, the North Korean capital division.

"Your Excellency, someone sent an invitation to your lord, and it is said that your lord knows who he is when he hears the name of his master." When Jin Zongrui was immersed in front of the bookcase and reading the official documents, a guard came in to report it, holding a name card in his hand, "The owner of his family is a businessman from the Ming Dynasty, surnamed Li, and he had a relationship with the adult last year!" ”

"Surname Li?" Jin Zongrui couldn't help but be slightly stunned when he heard this, and then the figure of Li Yuntian appeared in his mind, if he didn't guess wrong, the person who sent the invitation was the "Mr. Li" who lent him 25,000 taels of silver last year.

Jin Zongrui immediately beckoned, took the invitation from the guards and opened it, and there were three big characters written on the check-in place, "Mr. Li", which invited him to a restaurant to attend a banquet in the evening.

If another businessman came to send such an invitation to Jin Zongrui, Jin Zongrui would definitely refuse without thinking about it, but this Mr. Li is different, he is Jin Zongrui's creditor, so how can Jin Zongrui not see him?

So, in the afternoon, after the Yamen of the Korean Metropolitan Division was dispersed, Jin Zongrui pushed off the original entertainment and led the guards to the restaurant agreed by Mr. Li.

Of course, Jin Zongrui likes this kind of continuous entertainment, which makes him feel extremely fulfilling, and after being hung by Li Yuntian for so long, he can now be said to be idle.

Li Yuntianxuan's restaurant is located in the downtown area of Seoul, opened by a Ming businessman, and has a booming business because of its mellow and unique taste.

It is worth mentioning that the owner of this restaurant is a member of the Kyushu Chamber of Commerce, and every time Li Yuntian "attacks the city and plunders the land", he will let the people of the Kyushu Chamber of Commerce take the lead and use business to open the way, so that the other party will gain benefits from commerce and trade and lose their vigilance, and even form a unified interest association, and then take the next step.

Although the night has passed, the restaurant is bustling and lively, and many high-ranking officials and nobles in Seoul choose to gather here, and it has gradually become a social place for the upper class.

Compared with the low-rise Korean restaurants in Seoul, this restaurant adopts the style of the Ming Dynasty, with three floors high, and a private room in the back courtyard, which integrates eating, drinking and playing.

"Lord Kim, please!" As soon as Jin Zongrui got out of the car, a man who looked like a servant in front of the restaurant greeted him, bowed down with a smile on his face and said, "Mr. Li is waiting for your lord in the private room in the backyard. ”

Jin Zongrui knew that this man was Mr. Li's entourage, so he nodded quietly and followed him to the backyard.

The backyard of the restaurant is an independent small courtyard, each small courtyard is a private room, after all, some people do not want to be in front of the public, nor do they want others to harass, and these small courtyards undoubtedly meet the needs of those diners, although the price of the small courtyard is expensive, but it is obviously not a problem for those people.

Under the guidance of the man, Jin Zongrui entered a small courtyard in the corner of the backyard after drinking, the environment was quiet and elegant, and it was a good place to talk about things.

"Lord Kim, please!" There was the sound of silk and bamboo dance music in the hall, and it seemed that there was a singing and dancing performance going on inside, and the man who led the way stopped in front of the hall door and bowed down to Jin Zongrui and made a gesture of please.

Jin Zongrui entered the door and saw a group of singing and dancing girls dancing in the music, and the dancing girl in the lead he had seen was the red bead that had been with Li Yuntian, and he had not seen the red bead for more than a year, not only the dancing skills were more refined, but also the people became more beautiful.

Hongzhu has been learning art with Liu Zhen for the past year, coupled with Hongluan's guidance, her dancing skills have naturally improved greatly, and she is aiming at Liu Zhen and Hongluan, wanting to have a good home like the two, and this experience of following Liu Zhen and Hongluan will be her most valuable asset.

"Lord Kim!" Li Yuntian was sitting on a chair in the hall while sipping tea and admiring the graceful dance of the red beads, and when he saw Jin Zongrui coming in, he got up with a smile and greeted him, "I haven't seen your lordship for a long time, no, you should celebrate your lordship's ascension and being able to take charge of the Yamen of the Korean capital." ”

"Mr. Li is polite, this official is just the deputy commander." Jin Zongrui was very useful to Li Yuntian's words, after all, he is now very popular in the Yamen of the Korean Capital, but he knows that this is the Mr. Li in front of him who is just polite, with Mr. Li's qualifications, he must have seen many high-ranking officials and dignitaries of the Ming Dynasty before, so he smiled disapprerovantly and said.

With the arrival of Jin Zongrui, Li Yuntian asked the guys in the restaurant to serve food, chatted and laughed with Jin Zongrui, and the atmosphere was very relaxed.

"Mr. Li, the official wants to know when the business will start, and the official has a lot of goods in his hands now, but he can't pay for the goods." After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, Jin Zongrui's words turned around, and he said to Li Yuntian seemingly casually, quietly mentioning the matter of Incheon Port.

In fact, asking Li Yuntian about the land price of Incheon Port was an important reason for Jin Zongrui's visit this time, after all, he had 25,000 taels of silver in his hand, and if he could not sell it, he would not be able to repay Li Yuntian's debts.

At this moment, Jin Zongrui is not worried about Li Yuntian collecting debts from him, he is now proud of the spring breeze in the officialdom, and thinks that Li Yuntian will definitely not offend him, because the connection between the two is based on the power he has, that is to say, the cooperation between the two is a transaction of money and power.

The moment he saw Li Yuntian, Jin Zongrui secretly congratulated himself in his heart that he had listened to Park Gaode's advice and bowed to Li Yuntian, otherwise Mr. Li would probably not have held a banquet to invite him today, but sent someone to collect debts.

Jin Zongrui is a high-minded person, so he is unwilling to admit that he bows to Li Yuntian because of the desire for power in his heart, so he puts the blame on Park Gaode, which will make him feel better.