Chapter 2304
Under the current situation, Li Yan naturally had no appetite to enjoy the feast prepared by Shi Diwen, so he just ate something hastily. Before ending the meeting, Li Zhen asked one last question: "During my stay in Zhoushan, can I go out freely for activities?"
Shi Diwen responded: "Your Majesty, your personal safety is now related to the direction of the situation in North Korea, and nothing can happen. Therefore, for safety reasons, the Executive Committee has ordered to provide you with the most thorough protection at various places along the way. This also includes Including restrictions on your freedom of movement. Although this may make you feel a little unhappy, please believe that this is the most reliable security plan at present, and it is beneficial to North Korea, our country, and you personally. ”
Shi Diwen's answer was more straightforward than that of You Yihan and Yu Yao, who had met with Li Zhi before. Li Zhi's heart sank after hearing this, knowing that he might not be able to come up with any strong arguments to make the other party change this arrangement.
But Li Zhen still refused to give up, and proposed another compromise: "Can I meet the Chinese people who are currently in Zhoushan? As long as the necessary security measures are arranged, there should be no danger, right?"
Compared with going out for activities, the risk of meeting North Korean people in a heavily guarded station is obviously much smaller. As long as the guards carefully search and ensure that the people they meet do not have any weapons, and with the security measures on site, Li Xie's personal safety will still be Relatively easy to secure.
This time it was Shi Diwen's turn to be silent for a long time, seeming to weigh the pros and cons. In the end, he still shook his head and rejected Li Yan's proposal: "Although safety is guaranteed, it will expose the prince's whereabouts, which is still inappropriate."
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Li Zhi was stunned when he heard this, but he didn't expect that the other party would refute him from this angle. But what Shi Diwen said makes sense. Since you want to ensure your own safety to the greatest extent, it is natural that the entire whereabouts should be kept secret. And when meeting North Korean people here, there is indeed the possibility of leaking the whereabouts. Although he still felt that the Haihan people were making too much fuss, he did not have the confidence to argue with Shi Diwen, so he could only acquiesce to the other party's arrangement.
After returning to his residence under the escort of Haihan soldiers, Li Xie summoned Andao Shi and Park Hongye and detailed to them the contents of his meeting with Shi Diwen. Now he is surrounded only by these civil and military officials who went to Haihan to study together. Li Zhi can only regard them as his staff and think tanks, and will discuss with them and listen to their opinions when encountering problems.
Pu Hongye still insisted on the conspiracy theory: "Since the country is in chaos at this time, everyone knows that His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince who studied abroad in Haihan, will definitely rush back to the country to take charge of the overall situation. Moreover, when the fleet arrived in Zhoushan, there was such a huge battle that it was tempting to cover the entire Dinghai Port. It's sealed, it's not difficult to guess where the prince is hiding, and we only stay one night before leaving. Even if someone wants to send information about the prince's whereabouts to the country, they may not be able to get ahead of us, so I still stick to my previous opinion. , the Haihan people’s move was just to block outside information so that the prince could not know the true situation in the country.”
But An Daoshi did not agree with his view: "Master Park, I think things are not as simple as you think. When the crown prince stays abroad, it will always be like a stick in the throat of those who are causing trouble in the country, and whether they want to be here or not Whether they intercept the prince on the way or take other countermeasures at home, they must first grasp the prince's whereabouts. As long as the prince does not show up, they will not be able to take measures. The enemy is in the open and we are in the dark. In fact, the situation is beneficial to us. ”
Pu Hongye said: "Master An, when we return to the country, we must use the identity of the Crown Prince to call on officials and the people to bring order to the chaos. We may have to show up proactively at that time. Will the risk be smaller than now? What we need is as soon as possible. Understand the domestic situation so that you can make plans before returning to your country, do you understand? ”
An Daoshi shook his head and said: "No matter what, we need Haihan to provide military assistance after we return to the country. In view of the humble position, the Crown Prince should try to cooperate as much as possible. Don't anger the Haihan people early, and then find a reason to embarrass the Crown Prince. That would be really It’s difficult!”
Pu Hongye snorted coldly: "If we have to take orders from Haihan in everything and let them decide the future direction of our country, it will be detrimental to the dignity of our country!"
Li Zhi didn't think that taking orders from Haihan was as serious as Pu Hongye said. Before Haihan, North Korea had worshiped the Ming Dynasty for a long time. They followed the Ming Dynasty as an example in every detail, even when the king ascended the throne. It is only legal to be canonized by the Ming Dynasty. Now that the suzerain has been replaced by Haihan, who is more powerful, there is nothing wrong with following Haihan's instructions. What's more, the domestic situation in North Korea is currently unclear, and it must rely on Haihan's help to tide over the difficulties. Confronting Haihan will only have a negative effect.
Li Zhi also felt that some of Park Hongye's views were reasonable. For example, he believed that Haehan was trying to block his own sources of information by not allowing Li Zhi to have contact with local Koreans. However, this recognition did not mean that he would follow Park Hongye's suggestions. Although Andao Shi's view is a bit biased towards Haihan's, it is more in line with Li Xie's current interests.
"There is no need for you to argue anymore." Li Zhi weighed the pros and cons and already had a conclusion in his mind. He stopped the two from continuing the debate: "Our current actions should be based on the restoration of the country as the primary goal! Now the only way to do this is to The strength we rely on is our allies. If we don’t trust our allies, who can we trust? Even if they have other plans... what we have to do is not to expose them, but to try our best to win their support!”
Park Hongye was still a little dissatisfied: "Then if we can't get more information before returning to the country and have a dark eye on the situation after returning to the country, how will we seize power and restore the country?"
Regarding this problem, Li Zhi actually did not have a clear response plan, but in the face of doubts from his subordinates, he knew that he had to take a more resolute attitude.
"As for the arrangements after returning to China, I will discuss it with Haihan. Since we have an alliance with Haihan, we have no other choice now. We can only choose to trust our allies!" Li Xie made a decision in his heart and spoke. He became much tougher.
Although he stayed at the guest house with the best conditions on Zhoushan Island, Li Yan still couldn't sleep well that night. He was lying on the bed tossing and turning, still thinking over and over in his mind the fragments of information he had obtained from the senior officials of Haihan, hoping to piece together more valuable information.
But this is not easy. Li Xie has not received professional training in intelligence, so he is naturally unable to do this kind of work. He got up and walked to the balcony of his room, looking at the fishing fires dotted in Dinghai Port. He couldn't help but feel envious that the people in these areas could enjoy a peaceful life under Haihan's rule. It is said that it is better to be a peace dog than a person in troubled times. Only after experiencing war can one develop such a mentality.
But Li Zhi knew that with his special status, he had no chance to live like an ordinary person. As the first heir to the throne, the chaos in the country requires him to step forward, and there is no choice between doing it or not doing it.
After dawn, the fleet will embark on the final journey. The two-thousand-mile voyage is also the longest journey on the way back home. He still has time to think about how to take action after returning to the country. When the belly of Dongfang fish was white, Li Zhi and his party set out from the guest house. Although he barely slept a wink all night, Li Xie still tried his best to appear energetic in front of his subordinates. He knew that once he lost confidence, his subordinates would soon notice it. When the people's hearts dispersed, the restoration of the country would be even more hopeless.
Shi Diwen also got up early and rushed to the pier to see him off. No matter what the true purpose of the Haihan people was, the treatment that Li Zhi received along the way was genuine as a head of state. He also expressed his gratitude to Shi Diwen before boarding the ship.
"When the chaos in our country is calmed down, we will definitely invite General Shi to our country as a guest. When the time comes, please don't refuse General Shi!" Before Li Zhen left, he sent an invitation to Shi Diwen as the crown prince of North Korea.
Shi Diwen nodded and said: "Then I will wait for the good news about the crown prince in Zhoushan! I hope that we can meet again in Seoul soon!"
"Definitely!" Li Zhen nodded resolutely, said goodbye to Shi Diwen, then boarded the ship and left.
Shi Diwen looked at the fleet that was slowly sailing away from the coast on the dock, with a somewhat complicated expression. He actually has a good impression of this elegant prince of North Korea, but there is chaos in North Korea. It is hard to say whether the prince can clean up the mess if he rushes back. If he fails, maybe there will be no chance of meeting each other again after leaving Zhoushan Island.
Why the Executive Committee imposed such protective measures on Li Zhi similar to house arrest was not explained in detail in the message issuing the order. But as a high-ranking member of the party, Shi Diwen had his own opinions on the arrangements of the executive committee.
He believed that the arrangements of the executive committee had only one purpose, which was to achieve complete control over Li Xie. This kind of control is not only reflected in the arrangement of the itinerary, but also interferes with his thinking and judgment in the current situation, so that he cannot independently respond effectively to the current chaos in North Korea and can only rely on Haihan to provide help.
Are such control measures effective? Shi Diwen believed that the effect should be considered very significant. As of the time when the prince set out from Dinghai Port, he still had no clear understanding of the chaos in North Korea and no specific countermeasures. The only thing Li Zhi could do was to keep asking Haihan officials about domestic news.
However, all places along the way that received the order dealt with this, completely cutting off the information channels between Li Zhi and his party and the outside world, and only provided them with some filtered and processed information, so that any judgments and decisions they made , will inevitably be interfered by Haihan.
As for the reason for the arrangement of the Executive Committee, Shi Diwen believed that it still wanted to control North Korea by controlling Li Zhi. As long as Li Zhi gets help from Hai Han in the future to quell the chaos and ascend the throne, there is a high probability that he will obey Hai Han's advice from now on. And a North Korea that is completely defenseless against Haihan is exactly the "ally" the Executive Committee needs.
Regarding the current situation in North Korea, Shi Diwen did not deceive Li Xie, because he did not obtain relevant detailed information from anywhere. There is only very little information in the relevant briefings on how the chaos in North Korea was caused, what forces were involved, and whether Li Jie's group still has hope of restoring the country.
Shi Diwen believes that given Haihan's current influence in North Korea, it would be false to say that he had no knowledge of this. The most likely situation is that Haihan deliberately avoids directly intervening in the chaos in North Korea, because the current situation Perhaps the best option is to stay on the sidelines. After Li Xie returns to North Korea, he will have more capital to bargain with and obtain more favorable conditions for Haihan.
This kind of exchange of conditions should not be unfamiliar to both parties. There have been several similar operations before. When North Korea faced the invasion of the Qing army last year, it could be said that it was in danger of annihilation. If it had not been for the reinforcements from Haihan, I am afraid that Li Zhi would not have come to Haihan to study, but would have been captured in Shenyang as in the original history. The hostages are gone.
The current domestic chaos in North Korea did not occur in the original history, so the cautious attitude of the Haihan Executive Committee is understandable. Shi Diwen believed that the old foxes on the executive committee would not really pretend to be deaf and dumb, but were just waiting for the most favorable opportunity for Haihan to intervene. The more eager Li Xie is on the way, the easier it will be for Haihan to take the initiative when the conditions are finally negotiated.
Of course, Shi Diwen was not sure whether any of the forces currently causing trouble in North Korea would directly offer more favorable conditions, causing the Executive Committee to think of simply changing someone to rule North Korea. If such a situation really happens, then Li Zhi will probably not be able to do anything when he returns to China and can only wait for the change of power.
But no matter what, the executive committee will definitely try its best to keep Li Xie safe. Even if North Korea changes to a ruler that is more pleasing to the Executive Committee, keeping Li Zhi's life is still a chess piece that can suppress the new ruler. If there is a problem in the relationship between the two countries, they can always come up with the prince's plan to restore the country and put Li Zhi on the throne again.
Based on the information Shi Diwen had, he could only vaguely speculate in this direction. As for Li Zhi, who was even less informed, he never expected that Haihan would have such a complicated plan. Apart from going down step by step according to Haihan's arrangements, he basically wouldn't have a chance to fight.
Li Zhi was not the only one who was uneasy about the unknown situation. The civil and military officials who returned to North Korea with him had also been uneasy. Because of their study abroad experience in the past year, they have basically been recognized as "eldest sons". Their originally bright future may now become a talisman to their fate. If the country has changed its ruler, then they will probably be treated as Li Xie's party members and purged together when they return, and they will not even get a chance to join the new master.
(End of chapter)