It would be a lie to say that Tuo Junjing is not worried. After all, the country is now controlled by Li Ziqian. Although there are many opponents, it is not easy to bring down Li Ziqian.
Emperor Wang Kai was still imprisoned in the palace by Li Ziqian, and no one knew what had become of him. Imperial power had no kinship, and it was unknown whether Li Ziqian had killed Wang Kai. After all, his survival posed a great threat to him.
However, good news soon arrived from the Qinglin Army: the Song Emperor Zhao Huan was going to personally lead an expedition to Goryeo to teach this disobedient vassal a lesson. This was a great opportunity for Tuo Junjing.
In the Qinglin Army's main camp, the generals gathered in the tents to discuss how to deal with Li Ziqian,
"Geng Chen, send someone to contact the Song Dynasty immediately. I, Tuo Junjing, will raise the banner of rebellion in Jiulong Mountain to fight against Li Ziqian." Tuo Junjing said excitedly.
Geng Chen hurriedly bowed and agreed: "Don't worry, sir. I have already sent people across the border."
There was a strange phenomenon in the Qinglin Army: the commander was Geng Chen, but the person sitting in the commander's seat was Tuo Junjing. What was even more terrible was that Geng Chen, the commander, was extremely respectful to Tuo Junjing.
This displeased the Qinglin Army commanders, who only recognized Geng Chen. "Who the hell are you, Tuo Junjing? As soon as you arrived, you made our generals stand down and listen to you bragging and showing off from your position. This is intolerable."
A general stood up and pointed at Tuo Junjing angrily: "Lord Tuo Junjing, we are the Qinglin Army. The commander of the Qinglin Army is General Geng. Who are you? What qualifications do you have to sit there?"
Tuo Junjing was stunned for a moment; he hadn't expected someone to jump out and accuse him. But before he could react, Geng Chen had already jumped up and practically bumped into the general, knocking him to the ground.
Geng Chen rode on the general, beating him mercilessly with punch after punch. Still unsatisfied, he drew his sword and pointed it at his neck: "Listen to me, this Qinglin Army belongs to me, Geng Chen. I, Geng Chen, am the chieftain of Tuojunjing. If it weren't for the fact that you've been by my side through thick and thin, I'd kill you today!"
All the generals were startled and came over to dissuade him. However, Geng Chen didn't seem to appreciate it. He stood up and sternly said to his subordinates: "Listen to me, everyone. If anyone dares to provoke me and the Lord in the future, don't blame me for not recognizing anyone with my sword!"
Everyone immediately quieted down, many bowing their heads. Many of the soldiers were die-hard Geng Chen loyalists, and though they dared not protest outwardly, they were still deeply dissatisfied with this lord from the capital, Tuo Junjing.
Tuo Junjing sighed, "Geng Chen, they're not wrong. My presence here really took the place of the host."
Geng Chen was shocked. He was afraid that there would be another rift between him and Tuo Junjing. He hurriedly bowed and said, "Sir, please don't misunderstand me. Geng Chen will always be Da Rao's subordinate."
Tuo Junjing waved his hand and said, "I don't mean to blame you. Let's not talk about this between brothers. What we are doing is to defeat Li Ziqian. After all, Li Ziqian is the current king. If we fail, we will be traitors. I don't want to put this blame on you, so I want to usurp the throne. It's not that I, Tuo Junjing, am greedy for power. Once we succeed, we will not sit on the dragon throne in Kaifeng. I want to welcome back our Emperor Inpyo, ask the late emperor to ascend the throne again, and promote the glory of Goryeo."
The generals finally understood Tuo Junjing's dilemma. Although they wanted to resist, Li Ziqian controlled 70% of the Goryeo army. In addition, Goryeo was a mountainous country with dense forests. Even if the Song Dynasty joined forces, they might not be able to succeed.
If they failed in their campaign, they would be labeled as traitors to the Kingdom of Goryeo. Not only would this be widely publicized in history books, but ordinary people would also be condemned by everyone if they didn't understand.
The Sui Dynasty, with all its might, had failed in its conquest of Goguryeo. Even the wise Emperor Taizong of Tang was defeated. They had little hope of the Song court invading Goguryeo. Goguryeo was isolated from information and had no idea that Western Xia had become part of the Song Dynasty.
Zhao Huan soon received a letter from the Korean rebels, which was delivered by Yue Fei's troops in Liuhe Town. He did not understand Korean, but he had a ready-made translator, Princess Yanran.
Princess Yanran was overjoyed after reading the letter. She knew Tuo Junjing. During her father's time, Tuo Junjing was already a famous general in Goryeo. At that time, the court had an unclear attitude towards the Jurchens. Some advocated siding with the Jurchens, while others advocated siding with the Song Dynasty.
Initially, Wang Kai placed his hopes on the Song Dynasty, after all, the culturally superior state of China. At the time, Goryeo and the Jurchens frequently clashed. Thanks to Tuo Junjing, Goryeo secured its borders, but they later discovered that the Song Dynasty was simply not up to par. During Zhao Ji's reign, the Song Dynasty suffered repeated defeats, constantly under pressure from the Liao, the Jurchens, and even the Western Xia. Later, the court overwhelmingly advocated for reliance on the Jurchens, leading to a falling-out between Goryeo and the Song Dynasty.
"Your Majesty, it's Tuo Junjing. Tuo Junjing failed in his rebellion against the king in Kaesong and captured Jiulongshan. He wrote to you hoping to join forces with Your Majesty. Since Tuo Junjing was able to resist Li Ziqian, then there is hope for us Goryeo." Princess Yanran's heart almost jumped with joy.
"Tuo Junjing, who is Tuo Junjing?" Zhao Huan did not know this person. He did not understand why Princess Yanran was so happy.
Yanran smiled and said, "Tuo Junjing is a famous general of our Goryeo Kingdom. The battles he has fought in combined are more than my age."
Zhao Huan practically scoffed. "I've fought more battles than you're even old enough." Princess Yanran is only seventeen, so Tuo Junjing has only fought in twenty or so. "How dare you brag about that?" "Aren't those great generals of the Song Dynasty trained through dozens, even hundreds, of major battles?"
Princess Yanran noticed Zhao Huan's disdain and tried desperately to think of what else Tuo Junjing could boast of. After much thought, it seemed like this was all he had achieved. Blushing, she said, "Tuo Junjing is the most formidable general in our Goryeo. Just like Yue Fei of your Song Dynasty, and also, and Zhu Qing."
Princess Yanran didn't know about Han Shizhong in the northwest. She had only heard that Yue Fei in the northeast was very powerful, and both the Mongols and the Jurchens were afraid of him. As for Zhu Qing, she had seen it with her own eyes, and the Iron Wolf Army's prestige was astonishing.
Zhao Huan was a little unhappy: "This is our Great Song. If you marry me, you will be a member of the Great Song. Don't talk about your Great Song anymore. Besides, no one can compare to Yue Fei of our Great Song. Yes, Yue Fei."
He didn't have Zhu Qing, because Zhao Huan didn't know how capable Zhu Qing was. After all, he was still a young boy with a strong youthful spirit. The Iron Wolf Army had gained a great reputation in the battles of Quanzhou and Xingqing Prefecture. But he was also afraid that the boy would become too conceited after gaining fame, so he only had Yue Fei.
Princess Yanran knew she had said the wrong thing and hurriedly whispered, "Yes, I know I was wrong."
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