The navy ship carried the Second North Korean Division to the sea, preparing to surprise the Qing coalition forces again.
At the same time, there were also boats approaching the shore, bringing returning guests from a long journey.
Jin Yu stood alone on the bow of the ship, looking at the familiar Hanyang with mixed emotions.
Who would have thought that after a mission to the Ming Dynasty, North Korea would become like this.
He was trapped in Shandong. Apart from being unable to move freely, his understanding of the outside world was not restricted.
He had heard all the scenes happening in North Korea, and he was even more anxious.
The division of the country is something that no wise person can bear to see.
Of course, as a pure scholar-bureaucrat and a Westerner, he was even more angry about Li Zhu's surrender to the Manchus.
Later, the Xia Kingdom sent troops and continuously recovered the lost territory, which made him feel happy and depressed at the same time.
Happily, there is hope for Korea to get rid of the Manchus.
What's depressing is that he can't personally participate in it.
He spoke out many times, hoping that the Xia Kingdom would let him return home. Even if he was to be a pawn, he was willing to do so.
However, his requests repeatedly fell silent and received no response.
Until the Xia army regained Hanyang, Hou Xun and Li Banghua personally received him and agreed to let him return to China.
What he didn't expect was that Hou Xun and Li Banghua actually came to North Korea together.
When the ship began to dock, Hou Xun and Li Banghua walked out of the cabin.
The two of them looked unhappy and were very weak. When they saw the land, they all smiled with relief.
"I have been on countless boats in my life, and I thought I was safe and sound. I never imagined that it would be so different on the sea. Almost half of my life has been lost."
Faced with Hou Xun's emotion, Li Banghua also felt sad.
"When I was the governor of Tianjin, I faced the sea every day, but I didn't think anything of it. Now that I have been involved in it, I know that there is something inside. Your Highness and the others have repeatedly braved the wind and waves and fought across the sea. The hard work they have done is really not something that can be appreciated by outsiders."
The two of them walked to Jin Yu's side hand in hand.
"Mr. Kim, the current situation in North Korea is very delicate. One careless move may lead to a big mistake. In such a crisis, heroes show their true colors. I hope you can do more to stabilize the situation."
On the way here, Hou Xun and Li Banghua informed Jin Yu of the situation in North Korea.
After learning that Li Ji, Lord of Haiping, had been assassinated, Shen Xi put all the suspicions on Jin Xi. The conflict between the two factions became more intense, and Jin Yu couldn't help but feel worried.
As a scholar-official in North Korea and having been an official for many years, he had seen many scenes of party strife.
Every time there is a fight, North Korea suffers more damage. Even when the country is in crisis, party strife never stops.
As a result, now that Xia State has come to help, it can't prevent the party strife from happening.
When will this country have peace?
On the pier of the Han River, Wang Yun, Jin Sangxian, Shen Qiyuan, Song Shilie and others were already waiting here.
The Prime Minister of the Xia State Cabinet came to visit personally, and there was no room for North Korean officials not to take it seriously.
During these days, the scholar-bureaucrats of Korea had already had a deep understanding of Xia's official system and rules.
One can imagine the mood of the North Korean scholar-officials when they learned that Zuo Menggeng did not interfere in administration easily, but left it entirely to the cabinet.
North Korea's academic thought was completely learned from the Ming Dynasty, so many of its ideas were derived from the same origin.
It is also the wish of the officials in Korea that the king should rule from the top down.
However, for hundreds of years, the kings of Korea, like the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, were simply unwilling to give up the power in their hands.
The so-called party strife is, in the final analysis, nothing more than a manifestation of the emperor's power play.
Seeing the officials of the Xia Kingdom handling government affairs happily and contentedly, without any suppression from the king, the Korean scholar-officials were really envious.
Such an official is an official!
Unlike them, they are just slaves of the king.
As the head of such an official, the power of Prime Minister Xia can be imagined.
Kim Sang-hyun and others even started to think about it, wanting to get a closer look at how this veritable prime minister works.
Hou Xun was welcomed ashore by everyone.
I saw that he was in his fifties, with an elegant appearance, simple clothes, and always smiling. He was said to be the leader of the ministers, but he looked more like an outsider who was idle at home.
What made everyone in North Korea even more suspicious was that Hou Xun's dress was no different from the others.
In other words, Hou Xun was not wearing official uniform.
What Jin Sangxian and others don't know is that the Xia Kingdom has not yet established the style of official uniforms.
Many officials either wear traditional Confucian robes or lightweight uniform short shirts.
Originally, there were no official uniforms to distinguish between upper and lower levels, and everyone was not used to it. But after a while, they found that there was no inconvenience, so it continued.
The only thing that surprised everyone in North Korea was that Hou Xun was wearing the uniform of a Confucian scholar.
This shows that the Xia Kingdom did not completely abandon Confucianism, and these traditional scholar-bureaucrats were still able to retain their status.
Song Shiyeol was really surprised when he saw Jin Yu following him off the boat.
"Brother Qiangu, why are you here?"
The two had a close personal relationship, and Jin Yu's grandson Jin Xizhou was studying under Song Siyeol.
Jin Yu's face turned red and he was speechless. He really had no way to tell his old friend his experience.
Song Silie didn't think too much.
Jin Yu's return at this time greatly enhanced the strength of the Song clan, which would be enough to compete with the other two clans in the court in the future.
"As close friends and allies, Xia Dynasty and North Korea are very close. However, after all, outsiders cannot interfere in North Korea's domestic affairs. Your Highness has something to say. I hope you can put aside the past grudges, unite sincerely, discuss national affairs, and create the future of North Korea."
Right on the pier, in front of many high-level North Korean officials, Hou Xun made a statement on behalf of the Xia government.
Like Zuo Menggeng, he will not interfere in North Korea's internal affairs.
When I say this at this time, I particularly refer to the issue of selecting the new monarch.
Talking about not interfering in the internal affairs of other countries is enough to make everyone in North Korea happy and grateful. But at this moment, people from the Jin family, Shen family, and Song family all feel heavy in their hearts.
Now the choice of the new monarch has fallen into a desperate situation.
Li Ji, who was recommended by the Shen clan, was assassinated and died, leaving no suitable candidate for him.
And because of this incident, it is impossible for the Shen family to agree to the appointment of Qingchang Jun recommended by the Jin family.
This is a dead end that can never be resolved.
Unless the civil fight turns into a violent fight, and a group of people is completely wiped out through bloodshed.
But with Xia Guo guarding here, the two factions will never be allowed to fight.
The Song Dynasty clique is watching eagerly from the sidelines. Although they have not recommended a candidate for the monarch, there have been constant connections and rumors in recent days, and it seems that they are going to make some big move.
Under the treacherous situation of Bo Yun, both Jin Sangxian and Shen Qiyuan gradually felt helpless.
"It is not a bad idea to restore Lord Guanghai. For our country, Xia, it will maximize the benefits."
When meeting Zuo Mengeng, Hou Xun and Li Banghua changed their attitudes and stated their stance firmly.