It turns out that the reason why Li Ziqian dared to rebel so wildly was because he was supported by Kublai Khan. The purpose of the Mongol Empire in doing so was obvious: to win over Goryeo and make it establish itself as a king, recognize its monarch's status as an emperor, and test the Song Dynasty.
Previously, Goryeo was a vassal of both Tang and Jin, but never claimed the title of emperor. Although they sometimes addressed their king as "Emperor" and their consort as "Queen," there are even historical accounts of Goryeo kings wearing the imperial robe and building the Circular Mound Altar to worship the God of Heaven. While they privately employed many imperial institutions, they never dared to publicly use the title of emperor. The monk Miaoqing repeatedly advocated for Wang Kai to be crowned emperor and establish a new era, but his proposal was rejected.
Wang Kai knew that the monk Miaoqing was Hebule's man. If he openly proclaimed himself emperor, he would be courting death. It would be better to remain silent and enjoy the life of an emperor in private. After all, the title was just a title.
Hebule tempted Li Ziqian to become emperor by offering him the throne, testing the Song Dynasty's reaction. The Mongol Empire was temporarily afraid to declare war on the Song. Hebule was terrified by the Song's equipment, especially the terrifying power of its red cannons. However, he remained determined to invade the Song, and since he didn't dare to go to war with the Song himself, he instead supported Goryeo in a rebellion to see how the Song would react.
If the Song Dynasty recognized the Goryeo king, who was right beside them, as emperor, Hebule would prepare for war. If the Song Dynasty sent troops, he could secretly support Li Ziqian, or even ally with Li Ziqian to launch a two-pronged attack on Yue Fei's forces in the north.
Hebula's plan was truly brilliant. Next, we have to see how the Song Dynasty would react.
Li Ziqian looked at Wang Kai, who was trapped in a jar, and sneered, "My dear son-in-law, our Goryeo Dynasty should welcome its first emperor. I will become the first emperor of Goryeo!"
Queen Zhang Henshui angrily shouted, "Shameless! You are leading Goryeo into an abyss!"
Queen Zhang was very far-sighted in politics. She had tried to dissuade Wang Kai from submitting to the Song Dynasty and distancing himself from the Mongols. However, Wang Kai refused to listen, and with Li Ziqian interfering, most of the ministers supported his surrender to the Mongols, and Goryeo eventually became a vassal of the Mongols.
Li Ziqian was so enraged that he drew his sword and stabbed Queen Zhang to death. He then pointed the sword at Wang Kai and said, "I will not waste my words with you! Write an edict and hand over the throne to me."
Wang Kai was in great pain. He cried while holding the queen's body and said coldly, "You asked me to give up the throne to you. Will the Mongols agree?"
Li Ziqian laughed heartily and pulled out an imperial edict from his pocket: "Look carefully, this is the appointment letter from Kublai Khan!"
Wang Kai was shocked and took the imperial edict. He read it and saw that it was translated in Korean. It said Wang Kai was frivolous and unfit to be the king of Goryeo. The Mongol Kingdom recognized Li Ziqian's throne and allowed Goryeo to establish its own emperor.
Wang Kai finally realized that he had been used by the Mongols. He angrily threw the imperial edict to the ground, saying bitterly, "Mongols!" He knew that it was too late to save the situation, and with trembling hands he took out the imperial seal from under the table.
A eunuch had already come and placed the abdication edict in front of Wang Kai. It seemed that Wang Kai had already prepared everything, even the abdication edict had been written long ago. Wang Kai sighed, "Forget it!" and picked up the royal seal to affix it to the edict.
Princess Park Zihui tugged at Wang Kai's sleeve and shook her head with tears in her eyes: "Your Majesty, no! How can the Goryeo Dynasty be destroyed in your hands?"
Wang Kai hesitated for a moment, and the hand holding the royal seal was reluctant to press it.
With a "swish" sound, a long knife pierced through his chest, and Pu Zihui fell beside Wang Kai. It was Li Shun, a general under Li Ziqian, who killed him.
"My beloved concubine!" Wang Kai screamed in horror. In the blink of an eye, his queen and concubines were slaughtered.
Li Ziqian could no longer bear it and waved his hand: "Catch him!"
The soldiers rushed forward and grabbed Wang Kai. Li Ziqian grabbed Wang Kai's hand and stamped the imperial seal on the edict: "Take him away! Put him in jail!"
Li Ziqian didn't kill him, probably because of Wang Kai's mother, who was also his daughter. He picked up the edict and read it over and over again. Suddenly, he felt very proud: "Hahahahaha, this throne is mine!" Then he walked over and sat on the throne.
Wang Kai was taken to the prison by the soldiers and became a prisoner. But the throne was different. When Li Ziqian sat down, he felt that the whole world belonged to him, and he felt like he was standing on a high place overlooking the world.
"Long live His Majesty! Long live! Long, long live!" All the subordinates knelt down and worshiped him.
The coronation ceremony had not yet been prepared, but Li Ziqian, who was over seventy years old, casually accepted his subordinates' kneeling worship: "Everyone, get up, Li Shun, and clean up the corpses outside. Let all the ministers enter the palace to see me, to see me!" He deliberately said "I" loudly, fearing that everyone might not hear him.
The palace guards were decimated, with the remaining ones having surrendered. Li Ziqian's men cleaned up the palace and removed the bodies for burial. One of his men asked, "Your Majesty, what shall we do with the bodies of Queen Zhang and Queen Consort Park?"
Li Ziqian pondered for a moment and said, "Let's take him outside the palace and bury him."
The men took the order and left. At this time, Li Ziqian gave another instruction: "Erect a tombstone for them."
Two mounds stood outside the palace, marking the fate of a queen and a princess. They were buried hastily, without even a coffin. The only evidence of their identities were two tombstones.
When the Goryeo minister entered the palace, it had already been cleaned. All the guards had been replaced by Li Ziqian's men, but some officials still noticed blood stains on the floor that hadn't been cleaned up. The officials knew something had changed, and they were all terrified.
Arriving at the main hall, Li Ziqian, dressed in a dragon robe, sat on the throne. Guards stood in two rows on either side. The ministers knelt and saluted, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Li Shun beside him was furious: "This is the emperor of our Goryeo Dynasty, His Majesty the current emperor, how can you still call yourself the king!"
Li Ziqian waved his hand and smiled: "That's all right. I haven't ascended the throne yet, so you gentlemen can just call me King."
These ministers were all spineless. Despite Li Ziqian's words, they knelt down again and shouted, "Long live the emperor!"
Only one person stood there motionless, glaring fiercely at Li Ziqian and Prime Minister Jiang Hongyin.
Those who obey me may not prosper, but those who defy me will surely perish. This was Li Ziqian's motto. He looked at Jiang Hongyin with murderous eyes: "Master Jiang, why don't you kneel down?"
Jiang Hongyin said coldly, "I only kneel to the legitimate king. I will never coexist with any traitor who plots rebellion!"
Li Ziqian sneered: "Aren't you afraid that I will kill you?"
"God bless my Goryeo, Li Ziqian, your doom will come sooner or later. The army of justice will surely come to destroy you, a group of rebels!" Jiang Hongyin stood there and stared at him intently.
Before Li Ziqian could say anything, "Ah!" Li Shun next to him shouted, drew out his sword, jumped to Jiang Hongyin, and killed him with one blow. The ministers trembled in fear.
Li Ziqian looked at the ministers below and asked, "Who else disobeys me?"
The ministers were silent and no one dared to answer.
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