47: Chapter 47: Intercepting and Killing the King of Wu? What were they thinking?

They finally couldn't hold it in anymore.

Inside the hall, all the guests set down their wine cups, their gazes falling in unison upon Yi Bang-won.

"Speak." Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong's voice betrayed no emotion.

"My King... my father, King Yi Seong-gye, followed the will of Heaven last year and established the foundation of Joseon, yet remnants of Goryeo still cause trouble within the country, and the hearts of the people remain unsettled," Yi Bang-won said with earnest words. "I humbly request that the Celestial Court bestow the title of King of Joseon upon my father and grant him the state seal. In this way, wherever the celestial might reaches, the petty villains will naturally surrender upon hearing the news, and the billions of commoners in Joseon will also be able to bathe in celestial grace and enjoy eternal peace."

These words were spoken quite pompously. Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong did not answer him directly, but instead asked a completely unrelated question.

"I have heard that you greatly admire Emperor Taizong of Tang?"

Yi Bang-won was stunned.

He had not expected Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong to ask this suddenly, and the prepared speech he had in mind was stuck in his throat. He even suspected he had misheard. What did this have to do with the investiture?

But he reacted extremely quickly. After a brief moment of shock, he immediately bowed and replied: "Answering Your Highness, Emperor Taizong of Tang was peerless in both civil and military achievements throughout the ages. Although the Xuanwu Gate Incident had the stigma of fratricide, it ushered in the Zhenguan Golden Age for the Great Tang. This humble subject... this humble subject believes that when a great man acts, he should be decisive and not be burdened by womanly benevolence. Emperor Taizong is truly the model for all monarchs for all time."

When he said these words, a near-fanatical light flickered in his eyes.

The Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites in the hall frowned as they listened. For a prince of a vassal state to dare to praise the act of "killing brothers and forcing one's father" so bluntly in front of the Celestial Court's Crown Prince was simply audacious!

The reason Yi Bang-won dared to speak this way was because he considered that this Prince of Wu had just pulled the Grand Imperial Heir from his position, so he must be a kindred spirit. However, Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong's face remained expressionless. He just listened quietly, and after Yi Bang-won finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence once again.

Everyone was waiting for Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong's thunderous rage.

But Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong simply shifted his gaze away from Yi Bang-won's face and toward the pitch-black night sky outside the hall, as if talking to himself.

"The horses of your Joseon are not bad."

Yi Bang-won's heart contracted violently once more.

He was not a fool; he instantly understood Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong's meaning.

The previous conversation about Emperor Taizong of Tang was not idle chatter at all; Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong was evaluating Yi Bang-won's ambition and quality.

And now, this sentence "The horses are not bad" was the opening bid.

Want investiture? Want the Great Ming to endorse your Li family, help you stabilize the throne, and even help you, Yi Bang-won, surpass your brothers?

That is possible.

Bring something to trade.

Yi Bang-won felt a chill run down his back, and cold sweat instantly soaked his inner garment. The young Prince of Wu before him had a depth of thought and unfathomable methods that far exceeded his imagination. He did not talk about morality or rituals of the suzerain-vassal relationship at all; he only talked about transactions.

Yi Bang-won's Adam's apple bobbed, and he spoke with difficulty: "Your Highness is correct. Although Joseon warhorses are not as magnificent as those of the Great Ming, they have decent endurance. If Your Highness does not mind, starting next year, my country is willing to offer an additional one thousand superior warhorses to the Great Ming annually, beyond the existing annual tribute."

One thousand.

This was already the greatest concession he could make. The Joseon treasury was empty, and gathering one thousand superior warhorses would almost cost him half his life.

However, Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong did not even glance at him.

He merely extended three slender fingers and shook them lightly in the air.

"Three thousand."

The voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.

The Duke of Cao's eyes lit up; His Highness added two thousand in one go, which was truly ruthless!

Yi Bang-won's face, however, turned deathly pale in an instant.

Three thousand?

He was trying to drain the blood of Joseon alive!

He opened his mouth, wanting to say "Your Highness, this must not be," but the words could not come out. Looking at Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong's handsome but temperatureless face, he knew he had no room for bargaining.

Either agree and return with the Great Ming's endorsement to fight for the throne; or refuse, then roll back to Joseon empty-handed, continue to fight with his brothers, and have no one to bury him when he dies.

Which one would he choose?

Yi Bang-won's heart was bleeding. He could almost see the Joseon horse pastures being emptied, and could see himself going mad trying to gather warhorses.

But, he saw another image.

He saw himself wearing the royal robes, sitting on that dream-coveted throne, with all his brothers buried beneath his feet.

Bet on it!

Once this thought arose, it could no longer be contained.

Yi Bang-won gritted his teeth, his knees went weak, and he knelt heavily before Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong, his forehead striking the cold bluestone floor with a dull thud.

"This humble subject... obeys the decree!"

He raised his head, his face already contorted into a smile uglier than crying, "On behalf of the subjects of Joseon, this humble subject thanks the Prince of Wu for the celestial grace!"

Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong finally turned his gaze back to him and slowly raised his wine cup.

"In that case, very good."

That indifferent tone was as if he had just said, "The moonlight is quite nice tonight."

Yi Bang-won looked at the wine cup held in mid-air, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon. He quickly scrambled up, lifted his own cup with trembling hands, and drank it all in one gulp.

The spicy liquid slid down his throat like a knife cutting through it.

Damn it, he didn't take my beautiful maidens or gold and silver, he is demanding my life!

...

The banquet dispersed, and Yi Bang-won was almost supported by others as he walked out of the Eastern Palace.

He hadn't drunk much, but he was more disheveled than if he were dead drunk. The cool breeze of the late night in Yingtian Prefecture blew on his face, but he felt no chill at all, only feeling that his whole body, from inside to out, was soaked in cold sweat.

Walking on the palace path, the old Ambassador followed behind him, worried, and whispered: "Your Highness, these three thousand warhorses... how can we possibly gather them? I fear it will shake the foundation of the country!"

Yi Bang-won's footsteps paused, and he turned back to look at the brightly lit Eastern Palace.

The lights there, in his eyes at this moment, were even more dazzling and soul-devouring than the gilded throne in Fengtian Hall.

"The foundation of the country?" He let out a hoarse laugh, his voice carrying a bit of self-mockery and a bit of madness. "If I hadn't agreed today, would I still be alive when I returned to Joseon? Those good brothers of mine have likely already sharpened their knives, waiting for me to return."

He turned around and continued walking forward, his steps much steadier than before.

"Three thousand horses in exchange for a throne—this deal is not a loss."

...

Inside the side hall of the Eastern Palace, incense curled, and the leftovers of the meal and wine had not yet been cleared away.

The Duke of Cao was excitedly circling a table, holding a brush in his hand, quickly writing and drawing something on a sheet of white paper, while muttering to himself.

"Three thousand superior warhorses, my goodness, with this batch of horses to train cavalry, it will be enough to fight both the Northern Yuan and this little Joseon. When the time comes, I will personally supervise the logistics, and not even half a horse will go missing!" He calculated with great excitement, his mouth almost watering.

Chang Sheng, who was to the side, rolled his eyes and couldn't help but spit: "Why are you thinking about these useless things? His Highness is now the noble Prince of Wu, controlling the armies of three provinces; does he still lack your little logistical arrangements?"

"What do you know!" The Duke of Cao retorted without raising his head, "Such an important matter must be done by our own people to be reassuring!"

Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong leaned on the main seat, holding a cup of tea that had already gone cold, ignoring them, while calculating the specific details of heading south in his mind. Just as he was about to speak, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.

Jiang Wan's figure appeared at the doorway, his body still carrying the chill of the night dew, his face solemn.

"Reporting to Your Highness, an urgent secret report from the Northern Division of the Imperial Guard!"

The noise in the hall stopped instantly, and everyone's eyes focused on Jiang Wan.

"Speak." Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong set down his tea cup.

Jiang Wan took out a copper tube sealed with wax from his bosom and presented it with both hands: "Your Highness, Suzhou... has moved."

He paused, seemingly organizing his words: "On the very night that Your Highness confronted Hanlin Academician Huang Zicheng and others outside the Meridian Gate, the Head of the Wu House, Wu En, secretly gathered Ambassador Zhou Quan of the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau, Commissioner Zhao Meng of the Salt Administration of Songjiang Prefecture, and the leader of the Taihu Lake water bandits, 'River-Turning Dragon' Xu San, for a secret meeting at Hanshan Temple."

"Zhou Quan agreed that once Your Highness heads south, he will use the excuse of 'damaged looms and epidemic among weavers' to cause the entire Jiangnan Weaving Bureau to shut down. Zhao Meng will unite the major salt merchants to cut off the supply of official salt to the capital."

Upon hearing this, the faces of the Duke of Cao and the others had already become extremely ugly. Cutting off weaving affects the royal expenses and imperial rewards, while cutting off official salt is an attempt to shake the foundation of the country! These people, what great audacity!

"This is not even the most fatal part." Jiang Wan's voice was even colder. "Wu En promised 'River-Turning Dragon' Xu San one hundred thousand taels of silver to gather men and disguise them as refugees. Once Your Highness enters the territory of Suzhou, they will incite the real disaster victims to attack Your Highness's inspection team and create chaos. At the same time, the Wu Family has spent a large sum of money to bribe a Thousand-Man Commander stationed at the Taicang Guard, who will then dispatch troops under the pretext of 'suppressing rioting mobs,' working from the inside and out with the water bandits to surround and trap Your Highness... outside the city of Suzhou!"