Chapter 890

The crescent moon hung like a hook.

The brilliant moonlight streamed into the main hall. Looking at the wolf-like Great Yu Empire soldiers and Hwang Ja-man standing in the middle, Kim Hyun-sung laughed madly.

“My Lord Right State Councilor, this has nothing to do with us! This was all forced upon us by Kim Hyun-sung! Please investigate clearly!”

The nobles, hearing this, all knelt down and frantically kowtowed to Hwang Ja-man.

“Whether it has anything to do with it is not for me to say. Division Commander Yun decides. The only way to lessen your crimes is to truthfully confess how you, the King of Goryeo, and Li Cheng-jae colluded and planned this conspiracy,” Hwang Ja-man said coldly.

Hearing this, some nobles scrambled to shout, “I know! I know!”

Hwang Ja-man nodded in satisfaction. He looked at the disheveled Kim Hyun-sung and couldn’t help but smile, “Left State Councilor, you brought this upon yourself. Ever since I returned from Qingzhou Province, I told you that Goryeo could never defeat the Great Yu Empire. When this railway is built to Goryeo, the Great Yu Empire will only need one night to send troops here. Goryeo will be even more unstoppable. A Great Yu Empire so prosperous, Goryeo can only worship it. It would be an honor to be integrated into the Great Yu Empire and become its citizens. It’s a pity, you foolish donkey, you simply don’t understand.”

“Pah! You traitorous dog! We are nobles of Changbai Mountain! We will never shamefully forget our ancestors! What a pity, truly a pity! If the barbarians hadn’t been defeated, a part of the Great Yu Empire would have been our territory in the future. Then the Great Yu Empire people would have been nothing but our slaves!” Kim Hyun-sung cursed.

“Ha, you still can’t forget the barbarians? What a pity. They can barely save themselves now,” Hwang Ja-man said mockingly.

Kim Hyun-sung’s eyes were bloodshot. He suddenly drew his ceremonial sword and looked at the kneeling nobles, cursing, “You cowards! I want you to be buried with me!”

Hwang Ja-man then signaled the soldiers. The Great Yu Empire soldiers immediately stepped forward, and their gun butts slammed fiercely into Kim Hyun-sung’s mouth.

“Ah!” With a scream, Kim Hyun-sung fell to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of golden teeth mixed with blood.

Hwang Ja-man laughed triumphantly. He said to the others, “You still have a chance now. Whoever writes down the full story first will live.”

The nobles, hearing this, immediately scrambled for paper and brush.

After a while, Hwang Ja-man collected all the nobles’ confessions. Then he had the soldiers escort them to the prison. Only then did he take the confessions to the royal palace.

Unlike every peaceful night, the royal palace was now extremely noisy. A large number of Great Yu Empire soldiers guarded the royal palace.

“Division Commander, these are the confessions of the nobles. This Kim Hyun-sung is too stubborn. I, your humble servant, had him imprisoned and tortured. I’m not afraid he won’t talk,” Hwang Ja-man said fawningly, while glancing at the pathetic King of Goryeo.

The current King of Goryeo had none of his former glory; he was nothing more than a sobbing coward.

Yun Changfeng nodded slightly. He scanned the confessions, then slammed them heavily on the ground. “King of Goryeo, His Majesty treated you well, even leaving you your position, but you simply don’t know how to cherish it.”

“Division Commander Yun, I was wrong! Please convey to His Majesty that I will quickly, no, immediately, no, right now, fulfill all the terms of the treaty! Please spare my life, Division Commander Yun!” the King of Goryeo said, weeping and sniffling.

He was smoking black incense when Yun Changfeng arrived. At that time, Yun Changfeng smashed his opium pipe. Now, he still felt uncomfortable all over.

“Unfortunately, it’s too late,” Yun Changfeng’s eyes turned cold. Goryeo was once the Han Four Commanderies in the Han Dynasty. For Yun Changfeng, Goryeo was originally Great Yu Empire territory.

It was only later, due to the rise and fall of the Central Plains dynasties, that Goryeo was seized by some ambitious individuals.

The King of Goryeo, hearing this, immediately slumped to the ground. He cursed, “Kim Hyun-sung, you ruined me! You ruined me!”

Hwang Ja-man looked at the once high and mighty King of Goryeo in such a state, and felt a chill run through him. When he looked at Yun Changfeng, he smiled even more obsequiously.

Because his life and fortune depended entirely on Yun Changfeng.

“Men, escort the King of Goryeo to prison and await the imperial court’s orders,” Yun Changfeng said loudly.

The soldiers, hearing this, immediately pulled the King of Goryeo up and dragged him away.

Yun Changfeng then looked at Hwang Ja-man. He said, “Governor-General Ye’s order: from now on, I will have full authority over all affairs in Ryukyo City. Now that Ryukyo City is undergoing such a great change, the imperial court cannot afford to be in chaos. Can you handle this?”

“I can, I can.” Hwang Ja-man was overjoyed. “Kim Hyun-sung and his ilk are, after all, a minority. Many officials still approve of the treaty.”

“Is that so? Then I will give you an order now: effective immediately, you are to dispatch soldiers to collect all Goryeo historical and cultural books and burn all collected books. Any commoner who discusses Goryeo history or culture shall be buried alive. Furthermore, private schools are prohibited among the common people. Violators shall be executed.”

Hwang Ja-man immediately felt a chill from head to toe. He now cursed Kim Hyun-sung’s ancestors for eighteen generations. If it weren’t for their meddling, the Great Yu Empire would never have adopted such radical policies.

But now it was too late. Once this order was issued, the traces of Goryeo would be completely erased.

“Division Commander Yun, isn’t this a bit harsh? I, your humble official, worry it might cause indignation among scholars!” Hwang Ja-man still wanted to plead.

“Then kill until no one is indignant!” Yun Changfeng said cruelly.

Before he came to Goryeo, Xiao Ming had spoken to him many times, mentioning the incident of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s burning of books.

Although the Emperor also believed this to be a form of tyranny, if not for the First Emperor’s unification of culture, writing, weights, and measures, how could the formerly divided states have re-integrated and truly achieved unification?

For him, this method was now equally suitable for Goryeo. However, as a great nation, integrating such a small nation could afford the losses caused by rebellion. It would not be like the Qin, which perished after the second generation due to this.

“Yes, Division Commander Yun.” Hwang Ja-man was stunned. He dared not ask again.

Yun Changfeng then rose. He said to his personal guard beside him, “Send someone to Haigucheng overnight. Tell them that there is ample evidence of Li Cheng-jae’s rebellion, and he can be apprehended.”

The personal guard took the order and left. Yun Changfeng turned and walked out. Ryukyo City was now settled. Next was Li Cheng-jae.

The next day, Ye Qingyun, who was awaiting news, received the message sent by Yun Changfeng.

After reading it repeatedly, he sighed slightly and said to Qu Dong, “This Li Cheng-jae thinks too highly of himself. Never mind. Since the evidence is conclusive, notify the generals in Li Cheng-jae’s army to make their move.”

“Yes.” Qu Dong breathed a sigh of relief. The generals under Li Cheng-jae were all people they had arranged. Making Li Cheng-jae die was a very simple matter.

This order arrived in Chongming City, sixty

li

from Busan City, on the third day. At this time, Li Cheng-jae was still engrossed in creating chaos in Busan City. This chaos had already resulted in over twenty Great Yu Empire soldiers being wounded.

However, his good mood vanished when the generals brought soldiers to surround him. He now finally understood why Ye Qingyun had been so “at ease” with him.

The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at /caleredhair