Chapter 824

A gust of hot wind stirred his robe. The heat made Hwang Ja-man loosen his collar.

Hwang Ja-man naturally understood Kim Chang-myung’s anger, but he saw some matters more clearly than the prince.

“Your Highness, I ask you, when the barbarians were here, how much freedom did Goryeo truly have?” Hwang Ja-man said calmly. “I’m afraid that humiliation was no less than what the Great Yu Empire would inflict.”

Kim Chang-myung choked for a moment. He had heard about the recent palace bloodshed. Beishan’s insults to the King of Goryeo over the years were known to all.

Moreover, if they did not obey the barbarians’ orders, Goryeo’s throne would also be difficult to maintain.

“The State Councilor is absolutely right, but we have just been freed from the barbarians’ clutches. How can we now be treated equally by the Great Yu Empire?”

Hwang Ja-man knew that this Goryeo prince still had some ambition, but this ambition came at the wrong time. He said bluntly, “Because Goryeo is a weak country. If we do not rely on a powerful country, how can we survive? Compared to the lives of Goryeo’s common people, what does this even count for?”

Kim Chang-myung was speechless for a moment. In Hwang Ja-man’s words, he seemed to have become someone who disregarded the lives of Goryeo’s common people. He thought for a moment and finally sighed.

“That’s right, Goryeo is a small country. This is the tragedy of small countries,” he said. “When I return, I will write to my imperial father and tell him the conditions proposed by the Great Yu Empire.”

Hwang Ja-man breathed a sigh of relief. Although the King of Goryeo sent him, he couldn’t completely trust him. Now, with Kim Chang-myung’s support, he believed the King of Goryeo would take this matter seriously.

With that, the two, protected by guards, returned to the Splendid Restaurant. Borrowing paper and brush, Kim Chang-myung wrote a letter and had someone send it back to Goryeo.

At the same time, after Yun Changfeng left the imperial palace, he simply packed up and headed to Dengzhou. A ten-thousand-man division was waiting for him in Dengzhou.

This time, going to Goryeo, he would supervise the execution of these terms in Goryeo. If the King of Goryeo still tried to resist, they would have to exert some effort to replace the King of Goryeo.

Three days later, he arrived in Dengzhou. On the same day, he boarded a warship and headed towards Haigucheng, arriving at Haigucheng on the fourth day.

Then, without stopping, he led a division of troops directly towards Ryukyo City.

At this point, Kim Chang-myung’s letter had also reached Ryukyo City.

“Bastard! Bastard! Bastard…” The King of Goryeo held the letter, his body trembling with rage. He shouted, “Gather the army! I will fight the Great Yu Empire to the death!”

“Your Majesty, think twice! Once war begins, Goryeo will be doomed forever! A Great Yu Empire army from Haigucheng is about to reach the city walls! Heavy forces are also pressing from the Liaozhou direction! Goryeo lacks horses; it cannot even muster a thousand cavalrymen! How can we go to war with the Great Yu Empire?”

The ministers panicked. Some ministers even knelt directly on the ground, weeping bitterly.

The King of Goryeo dejectedly sat down. After angrily gasping for a while, he gradually calmed down. Now, all the ministers understood very well that a ten-thousand-man Great Yu Empire musket contingent was enough to sweep across Goryeo, because Goryeo’s forces were all infantry and simply could not muster cavalry.

Such an army was vulnerable to the Great Yu Empire’s firearms. Why, they didn’t even have firearms themselves!

“Your Majesty, there’s a saying in the Great Yu Empire called ‘sleeping on faggots and tasting gall’ (enduring hardship for a future goal). As long as Your Majesty can endure temporary humiliation, under the influence of the Great Yu Empire, Goryeo will surely grow strong. Even if we cannot defeat the Great Yu Empire then, at least we will no longer suffer bullying from Japan.” a minister advised.

The King of Goryeo narrowed his eyes slightly and let out a long sigh. “If that is the case, I can only agree to this matter, lest the common people of Goryeo suffer the fires of war again.”

“Your Majesty is benevolent. The common people will surely be grateful to Your Majesty,” the ministers flattered.

Turning around, the King of Goryeo’s expression eased somewhat. This letter indeed made him very angry, but in his opinion, compared to Beishan’s cruel rule over Goryeo, the Great Yu Empire’s methods seemed much gentler.

However, he could not agree immediately. He had to put on a show in front of his ministers, and the arrival of the Great Yu Empire army also made these officials too afraid to say much. This way, the common people of Goryeo would not blame everything on him in the future.

Now that he was old, he only wanted to peacefully enjoy wealth and glory. As long as the Great Yu Empire allowed him to remain on the throne, that would be enough. Most importantly, he was very afraid of losing his supply of black incense; now he couldn’t go a day without it.

The King of Goryeo might have hidden it from other officials, but he didn’t hide it from Kim Hyun-sung’s gaze. Kim Hyun-sung could tell that the King of Goryeo was merely feigning righteousness.

Sighing slightly, he was somewhat perplexed. Since when had his King lost his grand ambition and become addicted to pleasure?

If he agreed to this matter, Goryeo would end up in the hands of the Great Yu Empire.

He made one last effort, “Your Majesty, even if we agree to the Great Yu Empire’s demand, at least have the Great Yu Empire drive away the Japanese pirates. Are we to agree to so much and receive no return at all?”

“Hmm, that can be brought up to the Emperor of the Great Yu Empire,” the King of Goryeo said. In fact, he felt somewhat disheartened, because he knew that no matter what he did, Goryeo could not escape its fate as a vassal state.

Since that was the case, becoming a vassal state of whom no longer mattered.

After discussing this matter with the ministers, the King of Goryeo seemed somewhat fatigued. He instructed Kim Hyun-sung to relay Goryeo’s reply to the Great Yu Empire army outside the city, then returned to his bedchamber.

After the King of Goryeo left, the Goryeo officials, who had just been as despondent as if they had lost their parents, immediately became excited. They all discussed how to establish deep relationships with Great Yu Empire officials.

The officials led by Kim Hyun-sung, meanwhile, remained silent. They scornfully looked at the opportunistic officials and left.

Thirty li outside the city, Yun Changfeng led his army towards Ryukyo City. If the treaty was finalized, his army would be stationed within Ryukyo City.

From then on, Ryukyo City would be completely under the Great Yu Empire’s supervision.

If the treaty could not be reached, he would have no choice but to take final military action and eliminate the King of Goryeo. However, that would be more troublesome, as it would force the Great Yu Empire to pay a higher cost to rule Goryeo. Furthermore, they might have to face Goryeo’s resistance from top to bottom, which was something no one wanted to see.

The main army marched along the official road leading to Ryukyo City. Goryeo common people who saw the Great Yu Empire army along the way all scattered and fled.

Just as he could see the city walls of Ryukyo City, a team of Goryeo officials emerged from the city and walked towards them.

Upon approaching, Kim Hyun-sung, holding a state letter with both hands, walked towards Yun Changfeng.

Taking the state letter sent by the Goryeo official and scanning it, Yun Changfeng’s anxious heart settled. In this state letter, the King of Goryeo had agreed to all of the Great Yu Empire’s conditions.

Nodding in satisfaction, looking at Ryukyo City not far away, Yun Changfeng ordered, “The army will advance into Ryukyo City. From now on, we may be living here for a period.”

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