Chapter 730

The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair

Three days later, Li Cheng-jae returned to the Goryeo royal capital, Ryukyo City.

Only this time, he wasn’t here to beg; he was here to report the fall of Haigucheng to the King of Goryeo.

“What! Haigucheng has been occupied by the Great Yu Empire?” The King of Goryeo was so shocked he almost stood up from his throne. He pointed at Li Cheng-jae, saying, “Do you know the consequences of deceiving me?”

The King of Goryeo’s palace was located in the center of Ryukyo City. Upon reaching Ryukyo City, Li Cheng-jae went directly to the palace gate.

He had returned this time with Park Jeong-tae’s corpse. The palace guards might not recognize him, but they would surely recognize Park Jeong-tae, who was a favorite of the King of Goryeo.

The King of Goryeo had always hoped that Park Jeong-tae would lead the Goryeo navy to defeat Japan, but now Park Jeong-tae had died at the hands of the Great Yu Empire people.

“Your Majesty, Park Jeong-tae’s corpse is outside the palace gate. This humble commoner dares not deceive Your Majesty,” Li Cheng-jae said, lowering his head.

The King of Goryeo collapsed into his chair upon hearing this. Plundering the Great Yu Empire was his order, and he had not expected this order to bring such severe consequences.

“Your Majesty, Haigucheng is only a hundred li from Ryukyo City. The Great Yu Empire’s army can arrive in two days. If what Li Cheng-jae says is true, then Ryukyo City is now in danger.”

A minister said, deeply distressed.

The King of Goryeo’s face changed erratically. He looked at the other ministers and asked, “What do you all say we should do now?”

Another minister said, “Your Majesty, now we can only ask the Golden Tent Khanate to send troops to retake Haigucheng for us. If what Li Cheng-jae says is true, and the Great Yu Empire soldiers are now using firearms, our soldiers are probably no match.”

“That’s right. The Great Yu Empire has defeated the Golden Tent Khanate’s army with firearms. Our remaining army is simply no match for them, and to defend against Japan, most of our army is at the border and cannot be transferred back.”

The King of Goryeo’s brows furrowed deeper and deeper. He said, “Even so, must I bow to the Great Yu Empire? Does the Great Yu Empire deserve it?”

Over the years, the Great Yu Empire had been weak. Rarely did officials in the court think highly of the Great Yu Empire. Whenever the Great Yu Empire was mentioned, these officials’ faces would show disdain.

In their view, the Great Yu Empire was merely a fat sheep. Now, this fat sheep had suddenly turned into a man-eating tiger, and they were clearly finding it hard to adapt.

“Of course not.”

A general then said, “The Great Yu Empire is no longer our Goryeo’s suzerain. Now our suzerain is the Golden Tent Khanate. Your Majesty, this time the Great Yu Empire merely took advantage of our weakness to capture Haigucheng, which was not heavily guarded. This was merely a surprise attack to gain profit. As long as Your Majesty gives me thirty thousand troops, I can take Haigucheng. Why bother the Golden Tent Khanate to send troops personally?”

“General Cui is indeed a fierce general of Goryeo. If that’s the case, then please, General Cui, lead the troops to encircle and annihilate them,” the King of Goryeo said happily.

The hawkish officials immediately became excited and voiced their agreement.

Li Cheng-jae had been observing the officials’ reactions. He noticed that apart from a few officials who understood the Great Yu Empire and opposed, the other officials all greatly underestimated the Great Yu Empire.

He knew in his heart that Goryeo had been bullying the Great Yu Empire for years, always gaining an advantage. They would not accept the fact that the Great Yu Empire had grown strong without paying a heavy price.

Li Cheng-jae’s return this time was merely to inform the King of Goryeo of the Great Yu Empire’s conditions. So he said, “Your Majesty, the Great Yu Empire’s attack on our navy was indeed retaliation for our plundering of the Great Yu Empire, but their true purpose is for trade. The Great Yu Empire’s general said that if Your Majesty cedes Haigucheng and establishes a trade port, they will cease their attack. Otherwise, they will continue fighting all the way to the Western Capital, and they will also help us deal with Japan at sea.”

“Deal with Japan?” The King of Goryeo was startled. At this moment, he hated Japan more than the Great Yu Empire.

In one year, he had lost half of his territory. Now, Japan was burning, killing, and plundering in the south, which completely swept away his prestige.

What displeased him most was the barbarians’ decision to divide Goryeo in two.

“Yes, they said they could cut off Japan’s maritime supply. But all this depends on Your Majesty’s sincerity,” Li Cheng-jae said.

As his words fell, an official suddenly pointed at Li Cheng-jae and said, “Traitor! How much silver did you take from the Great Yu Empire people to make such a commotion here?”

Li Cheng-jae looked at the minister and sneered three times. He said, “This humble commoner was merely chosen by them to deliver a message because I speak the Great Yu Empire’s language. How can I be called a traitor? Instead, I wonder how much gold and silver our Lord Han has taken from the Golden Tent Khanate to speak solely for them.”

“Bold, lowly commoner! How dare you criticize Lord Han! Guards, drag him out and beat him to death!” Some officials immediately clamored.

The King of Goryeo’s gaze was grim. He had become the King of Goryeo only because of the Golden Tent Khanate’s support. At this moment, he naturally could not compromise with the Great Yu Empire, otherwise, his fate would likely be the same as the previous King of Goryeo’s: to die an unnatural death.

However, at the same time, he worried that the Great Yu Empire, angered, would incessantly harass them. Thinking of this, he looked at Li Cheng-jae. In his opinion, this person could not be killed; he still needed to deal with the Great Yu Empire.

So he said to the ministers, “This person still has some use; it would be a pity to kill him.”

After a moment of contemplation, he said to Li Cheng-jae, “You go back and tell the Great Yu Empire people that I need three days to think about this matter.”

Li Cheng-jae frowned. The King of Goryeo’s words were clearly a delaying tactic. If it had been before, he would have surely explained the pros and cons, but now he was deeply disappointed with Goryeo, from top to bottom.

His gaze swept over Lord Han, Lord Cui, and the other ministers. He knew very well that these people were merely pawns of the Golden Tent Khanate in Goryeo.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Li Cheng-jae replied.

The King of Goryeo felt a sense of satisfaction that his scheme had succeeded. He then raised his hand, signaling Li Cheng-jae to leave.

Watching Li Cheng-jae disappear, the King of Goryeo then said, “Immediately dispatch envoys to the Golden Tent Khanate to request reinforcements!”

“Yes,” the officials said in unison.

Meanwhile, Li Cheng-jae immediately mounted his horse and headed for Haigucheng. This time, he had no retreat. In the royal palace, the ministers had all cursed him as a traitor.

If he could not succeed with the Great Yu Empire this time, he would suffer a miserable death in the future. Thinking of this, Li Cheng-jae’s conviction grew stronger.

Most importantly, he believed that the Great Yu Empire would defeat the barbarians, because he had witnessed the excellent firearm equipment of the Great Yu Empire’s army.

The next morning, he arrived at Haigucheng and immediately reported the King of Goryeo’s words to Yue Yun.

“This King of Goryeo wants to stall for time, waiting for barbarian reinforcements, doesn’t he?” Yue Yun’s words were incisive.

Liu Chen sneered, “It seems we haven’t hit them hard enough yet. Why don’t we go directly upriver to Ryukyo City and show them a little color this time?”