The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Chapter 154 Heo Ji: The Korean King's Lineage Ends

After the north gate of Kaesong was opened, a large number of North Korean officials and remaining generals slowly walked out of the city in formation.

The leader was Xu Ji, who was now pretending to be pitiful as he knelt down in front of Zhao Lie.

"The sinner Xu Ji failed to greet the royal army in time!"

"We beg the Great General of Han to punish me!"

The other North Korean officials, seeing this, cursed the old fox in their hearts. He had resisted fiercely before, but now that the time was not right, he was the first to surrender.

But despite their cursing, they all stepped forward and knelt in worship.

"We are guilty!"

Zhao Lie didn't learn how to fight in Ningguta, but he did master the art of using barbarians to control barbarians.

He knew that the Southern People's Party could be used, but there were still cities in Korea and a large number of people's hearts were not yet settled, so the Western People's Party also needed to be used, and could not be neglected.

As for what happens after the complete pacification of Korea, it depends on His Majesty the Emperor's thoughts. But according to Zhao Lie's own speculation, whether it is the Southern People's Party or the Western People's Party, they will all end up being exiled to the frontier.

Thinking of this, Zhao Lie stepped forward warmly and helped Xu Ji up, then raised his hand to the other officials.

"You are all capable ministers of the Joseon Kingdom. We cannot govern the people and collect taxes without you. Please rise."

Xu Ji breathed a sigh of relief. After being attacked last night, he knew that Korea was doomed. In order for his family to continue, after much deliberation, he decided to surrender the city and try to make a last chance to survive!

The gamble was that the Han Dynasty still needed them.

Looks like we made the right bet!

Everyone was happy, but King Yi Sun of Joseon, who was neglected on the city wall, was unhappy. He drew the eunuch's sword and pointed it at Heo Jik and the Joseon officials.

"Xu Ji, and all you cowards, you traitors and rebels, when has the Li family ever wronged you?"

"How could you treat my Joseon royal family like this?"

Xu Ji did not reply upon hearing this, but instead gave a subtle wink to the general on the city wall before continuing to lower his head.

The general was clearly a member of the Xu family. He was nearly two meters tall, had a large black birthmark on his face, wore a cloth-covered iron armor, and held a Guan Dao that was nearly three meters long.

After seeing Xu Ji's signal, he stepped forward and grabbed Li Tun by the back of the neck, lifting him up with one hand as if he were a chick.

The accompanying eunuch tried to reprimand him, but before he could speak, the general beheaded him with a single stroke, and then walked step by step down the city wall.

All the guards loyal to the King of Joseon along the way lowered their heads in fear, clearly intimidated.

The general, after walking out of the city gate, first threw Li Tun to the ground, then knelt on one knee in front of Zhao Lie.

"This humble general, Xu Chengtai, greets the Great Han General!"

Zhao Lie looked at Xu Chengtai with great admiration. This was a rare and fierce general. He had lifted the Korean king, who weighed over 100 jin, with one hand and carried him all the way from the city wall to the city. His arm strength was extraordinary and he was already close to Aguda's.

Zhao Lie's favorite type of general is a fierce warrior, because he himself cannot fight and relies entirely on the support of a capable general.

So he took the initiative to step forward and grab Xu Chengtai's hands.

"Good, he's a formidable general!"

"Do a good job, and one day I will recommend you to His Majesty the Emperor!"

Xu Chengtian wanted to hear those words; otherwise, why bother with all that effort? So he bowed again.

"Thank you, General!"

"Willing to go through fire and water for a general!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Lie nodded in satisfaction, tightened his white jade belt, and looked at the already despairing King of Joseon.

After pondering for a moment, he looked at Xu Ji beside him with a thoughtful expression, sending a very clear signal.

Xu Ji, being an experienced old man, understood Zhao Lie's meaning almost instantly, and immediately knelt down and wept.

"With the king's passing, is our Joseon kingdom now without an heir?"

"Alas!"

Even though the Joseon Dynasty still had many descendants, Xu Ji claimed that the royal line had died out. The officials immediately realized that the Han Dynasty was going to abolish the Joseon royal title, and they all shouted in unison.

"Alas!"

From this moment on, the male members of the Joseon Dynasty's Yi clan will have no way to survive; they will either have to live in hiding or be secretly executed!

Regardless of what the Korean officials thought, he knew that the Korean royal family would become a thing of the past. With that thought, Zhao Lie immediately gave the order: "Head south!!!"

Zhao Lie originally wanted to ridicule the King of Joseon, but considering that the fall of Joseon was already a devastating blow to the King, there was no need to go to such lengths. So he waved his hand at his two personal guards.

King Yi Hyung of Joseon, now utterly despondent, committed suicide with the help of two of his personal guards.

The soldiers at the lower ranks, after hearing the lamentations of the Korean officials, all believed that the Korean royal family was extinct. This included the prisoners as well. Without any further hesitation, they all followed the Han army south.

Within three days, more than twenty cities in the capital region submitted to the Han Dynasty, and all members of the Li royal family disappeared without a trace, either secretly executed or vanished.

All property and real estate shall be confiscated.

……

Seoul, the capital of Korea for three hundred years, is located between the Seozō Mountains. After being repaired by successive Joseon kings, six-meter-high city walls have been built along the mountain crevices and plains.

The city wall at the foot of the mountain is twelve or thirteen meters high, and the top of the wall is wide enough for a horse to run across.

Why is Seoul considered big?

Because when viewed from above, its internal size, including the area of ​​the mountains, is almost the size of Beijing.

However, the actual living area was no larger than that of Suzhou city. The city was inhabited by the elite of Korea, including carpenters, blacksmiths, and artisans who made firearms.

Zhao Lie, accompanied by five hundred personal guards, walked from the north gate all the way to the palace gate. Just as he was about to take the final step, Zhao Lie suppressed his curiosity and immediately gave the order:

"Han soldiers entered the city in groups of ten, supervising each other and not allowing any out-of-line behavior."

"Also, once you enter the palace, all palace maids, eunuchs, and concubines must be brought out, and no one is allowed to touch any items!"

Zhao Lie was still quite cautious and ultimately decided not to enter the palace himself, but to have the soldiers enter, bring them out, and then pack them up and send them back to Beijing.

If he, a man with a son and the highest official rank, were to go in, he would inevitably cause some trouble.

Even if the emperor is wise and trusts a general, when it comes to matters concerning the color of one's hat, he might prefer to kill a thousand innocent people rather than take the risk.

To ensure things went smoothly, they even arranged for him to bring in guards from Heilongjiang to guarantee that no accidents would occur.

Not long after, a large number of palace maids and eunuchs were led out of the palace gates. The King of Joseon was still young and had only one queen, who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old and was quite good-looking.

The King of Joseon is so young that he probably can't eat meat yet. If the Emperor takes a liking to him, it will be like a storm blowing in his ear. Zhao Lie nodded in approval. This beauty should be worthy of the Emperor, so he took the initiative to step forward and pay his respects.

"Your Majesty, the King of Joseon has passed away unexpectedly. Please accept our deepest condolences!"

"I believe it will be even more prestigious in the future!"