1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1514
Although Mei Shengchuan was the minister of the Ministry of War rather than the minister of the household, he also understood that to rebuild the Han ruled area in Liaodong, it was not enough to rely on the army to garrison.Whether Haihan can resettle enough people in the Jinzhou area, reorganize social production, and provide logistical support for the garrison here is the basis for whether they can achieve long-term rule here.After all, in the field of logistics supply, as long as anyone with a discerning eye can see the obvious shortcomings of Haihan, it is impossible to rely on the thousands of miles of maritime supply lines to maintain the military operations of the Liaodong garrison for a long time.

The achievements made by Haihan in this regard were indeed beyond Mei Shengchuan's expectations. The relocation of the troops and civilians of Dongjiang Town from Pidao to Liaodong was undoubtedly a bold and highly effective arrangement.The military and civilians of Dongjiang Town were originally from Liaodong, and their adaptability to this place is much better than that of immigrants who moved in from other places. After returning to their homeland, they may be more grateful to Haihan than to Daming.

According to the civil affairs officer in the resettlement area, Haihan is currently responsible for more than half of the necessities of life for these migrants. Although they will need to repay the relief funds in the form of taxes and labor, it is a way out for these migrants. .The current situation in Dongjiang Town seems to be about to disperse, and it is not impossible for Haihan to directly recruit troops in Liaodong in the future.Once Haihan also achieved actual rule over the Jinzhou area at the civil level, it would be impossible for Daming to take the area back from Haihan—just like the territories in the south that were occupied by Haihan.

Although Mei Shengchuan felt that there was a big problem in this situation, he also knew that Daming was unable to intervene in Liaodong affairs at all, and even if Daming knew about Haihan's various transgressions in Liaodong, there was nothing he could do.Although Haihan has stated that it can verbally admit that Daming still has sovereignty over this area, the reality is cruel. Sovereignty does not equal dominance, and this area occupied by Haihan is probably difficult to change hands again.

But on the bright side, at least Haihan did not harbor obvious hostility towards Daming, and it was far better for Haihan to occupy Liaodong than to keep this area under the rule of the post-Jin dynasty.Moreover, both Hao Wanqing and Sha Xi made it clear that they would exert long-term military pressure on Houjin in the direction of Liaodong, so as to share the worries of Daming.Speaking of which, compared to the current situation, Haihan's occupation of Liaodong has some practical benefits for Daming. If Haihan is driven away, Daming will not be able to hold Liaodong, but it will be cheaper.Of course, this is just an assumption. After all, trying to drive Haihan away from Liaodong is not as simple as saying it.

What made Mei Shengchuan feel helpless the most was that Haihan didn't seem to have any plans to hide his plans and measures, so he generously arranged for him to see it.If it's not too big, or it's determined that it is difficult for Daming to take any countermeasures against this, he doesn't have any scruples about it at all.Obviously, with the shrewdness of the Haihan people, it could only be the latter case.

Mei Shengchuan originally wanted to see if Shen's uncle and nephew had any other ideas after meeting with the generals of Dongjiang Town, but he didn't even see Shen Zhixiang's face after a few days, and Shen Shikui didn't know when he came from Phi Island. , he alone in Liaodong can be described as isolated and helpless, and without first-hand intelligence information, it is difficult to gain the initiative in the negotiation process.

However, two days after Shaxi announced to him that North Korea would send envoys to participate in the talks, another new news came that Shen Zhixiang of Dongjiang Town would return to Liaodong with the North Korean envoys.It was only at this time that Mei Shengchuan realized that Shaxi had released false news a few days ago that Shen Zhixiang was performing tasks on the front line, but the real destination was North Korea.

As for the purpose of Shen Zhixiang's trip to North Korea, Mei Shengchuan boldly guessed that it must be related to Haihan's invitation to North Korea to send people to Liaodong for talks, and Shen Zhixiang is most likely to act as a lobbyist.Of course, he could never have guessed that Haihan sent an almost full fleet to North Korea to show off its military force, and only then did he succeed in impressing the North Koreans for the next peace talks.

On June 1636, [-] of the Haihan calendar, the Northern Fleet of the Navy finally returned from Korea and arrived at Port Lushun in Liaodong.And this time North Korea sent a minister with a higher rank than Loh Hun as a negotiator, that is, Kim Sang Hun, who is famous for his opposition to the peace talks with the post-Kim in the North Korean court.

Shaxi held a welcome banquet for Jin Shangxian at Lushun Fort, and by the way, he also celebrated the triumphant return of Wang Tom and Shen Zhixiang and his party.Their actions during their stay in Korea were relatively smooth, except for the ammunition consumed by the military exercise on the Han River, there was basically no other major loss.

Along with Kim Sang-heon, there are several young North Korean military attachés who will be stationed in Liaodong for several months as military observers. Free military training provided by Han.Of course, this kind of military assistance can only be implemented after signing a cooperation agreement with Haihan. However, after the Haihan army showed its strong strength and Shen Zhixiang's desperate advocacy, the king and senior officials of the Joseon Dynasty have basically determined that Haihan will be Opportunity for Kim's enslavement after the Korean state's secession.Let Jin Shangxian lead a team to Liaodong for inspection, just to implement this point of view, and then we can cooperate with Haihan with confidence and boldness.

Of course, there is another important reason for this trip that has to be mentioned, that is, Wang Tom claimed to the North Koreans that the Ming court would also send senior officials to participate in the next cooperation talks.Even if the North Koreans can’t trust Haihan, they still have a high degree of trust in Daming, so they sent Kim Sang-Hun to go out.

This reception banquet naturally invited Mei Shengchuan to attend, and Sha Xi gave an introduction to the two parties very generously.Mei Shengchuan and Jin Shangxian were a little surprised when they heard that the other party also came to Liaodong to discuss cooperation against gold.As the suzerain, Daming did not notify North Korea, and North Korea, as a vassal state, also did not report its plans to Daming, which was a bit embarrassing.

However, there is Sha Xi, who can speak well as the middleman, and it is easier to resolve this embarrassment: "Daming and North Korea have always been friendly neighbors, and now they should join forces to defeat the same enemy. As for the military disadvantage, our country can To make up for this shortcoming for you. As long as we are in the alliance of the three countries, do we still need to be afraid of the barbarians in the north? I can assure you that as long as we work together with our country, at most three or five years, we can make them disappeared from the Liaodong area."

Sha Xi's remarks are not bragging, but there will be certain practical difficulties in realizing it.If you want to eliminate Houjin within three to five years, then at least Daming and North Korea must send tens of thousands of troops, and Haihanlai will lead the national war.If it is just relying on Haihan to send troops and the other two wait and see, then after three or five years, Houjin's vitality will be greatly damaged at most, but it is impossible to destroy the country.But it would not be easy for these two countries to hand over command of the military to Haihan.

Of course, Shaxi didn't really intend to help the military win such special power. He just wanted to use this kind of words to make the representatives of Daming and North Korea realize that Houjin was not invincible, and what they lacked was only Haihan is such a powerful ally.As long as the three countries can form a military alliance, then fighting against the post-Jin aggression, or even destroying it, is a goal that can be achieved with concerted efforts.

After Sha Xi finished speaking, he gave Shen Zhixiang a wink, and the latter understood and immediately took over the conversation and said, "Master Mei, Master Jin, the last general has led his troops to fight in Liaodong for several months, and has been cooperating with the Haihan Army during this period. Many battles have been fought, but none of them have been lost! This Jinzhou was able to recover from what was lost, thanks to the help of the Haihan Kingdom. If we want to solve the worries of Daming and North Korea, the general will think that we should put pressure on the enemy in Liaodong. Make it difficult for him to be distracted. This place is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and only a small number of soldiers and horses need to cooperate with the Haihan army, and it can become a nail that is nailed to the golden man's body!"

Tom Wang also said: "Houjin's ruled areas are all in bitter cold places, and their population and properties cannot be compared with those of Ming and North Korea. Even if they fight for national strength, they will be consumed to death. Now that our army has joined, everyone still What is there to worry about? I know what you are worried about, and when you go to the front to see the situation on the battlefield, you will understand that what we said is not exaggerated at all, and it can even be said to be very modest."

Hearing is false, seeing is believing, no matter how much you say, it can't match what you see with your own eyes.Those who once had doubts about the military strength of Haihan will basically dispel their doubts after seeing the combat situation of the Haihan Army. Tom Wang believes that Mei Shengchuan and Jin Shangxian will be no exception.

Both Mei Shengchuan and Jin Shangxian have seen the exercises of the Haihan Army in different places. Of course, they also know that the strength of this army is terrifying, but what kind of performance will they have on the battlefield? Just a quote from someone else.And no matter how vivid this oral or written expression is, it is impossible to have a strong sense of impact witnessed on the spot.So no matter how much you talk about it, it is better to take these foreign high-ranking officials to the battlefield and let them know how much advantage the Haihan Army has in the war with Houjin.

And this arrangement was originally planned by the military.Since Haihan marched into Liaodong, almost every month, military observers and expedition teams of various statuses went to the front line to observe the battle between Haihan and Houjin on the spot.Now to arrange for the ministers of Daming and North Korea to visit, it is also something that the military is very familiar with.

The only one who thinks this process is a little too fast is probably Shaxi.His negotiating task failed to complete the expected goal well. If the ministers of the two countries were sent to the front line like this, the follow-up matters should be taken over by the military.When Bai Kesi is required to come forward, many agreements that should be finalized in advance may have to be negotiated slowly, which may be regarded as Shaxi's dereliction of duty.

The issues considered by Mei Shengchuan and Jin Shangxian are not limited to Haihan's attitude. They still have some doubts about the real purpose of the other party's appearance in Liaodong. After all, the two countries have not approved the alliance with Haihan in advance. If Haihan hadn't arranged this tripartite meeting, it is estimated that this matter would have to be concealed from each other for a long time.

As a result, there was a very strange atmosphere at this reception banquet. The officials of Haihan wanted to convince the ministers of the other two countries to accept the proposal of forming an alliance, while the ministers of Daming and North Korea put their minds on testing each other. In terms of attitude, there is a sentence without a sentence, trying to find out the other party's true attitude towards the alliance.

Compared with these two countries, North Korea's willingness to form an alliance is stronger. After all, there was no conflict of interest with Haihan in the past, and the alliance has obvious benefits to North Korea. In addition, North Koreans also want their country to have a strong army.Daming couldn't give North Korea something, but the Haihan people seemed to be able to do it, and they didn't ask North Korea to betray Daming, so choosing this partner is logical.

However, because there are many unresolved territorial sovereignty issues between Daming and Haihan, there are obstacles that are not easy to solve in terms of cooperation.If Daming wants to get Haihan's help, he must hold his nose and admit Haihan's interests in the south, and this is not a condition that the Daming court is willing to accept.Moreover, the views of the Daming court on the war in the north were not unified. Some people suggested that they should negotiate peace with their opponents. Some people believed that the annual southward visit of the Jin Dynasty was not enough to affect the rule of Daming. Not much, even the Ministry of War is not always the main battle faction.

In this way, an intractable problem has emerged. The allied army's plan to break the gold, which Haihan advocated, was not the only solution in the view of the Ming court.After all, there were still eight years before Chongzhen was hanged in Meishan, and the big figures in the court could not foresee that the lifespan of this dynasty had entered a countdown state, and they still believed that Daming would be able to tide over the difficulties.And the plan provided by the Haihan people also has certain risks to Daming. After all, it is easy to ask God to send him away, and the land occupied by Haihan in Daming has never been returned.If he is allowed to lead the army in to fight, it will be difficult to send him out in the future.

Because of this, Mei Shengchuan's tone has always been very tight, and he has not easily agreed to Haihan's various proposals.But now with the addition of North Korea, Mei Shengchuan has to consider the situation that may arise after the alliance between North Korea and Haihan.At that time, Haihan can obtain supplies and manpower from North Korea, so there is no need to get help from Daming. In this way, Haihan's "invasion" of Liaodong will be more reckless, and Daming is very likely to completely lose its influence on Liaodong. Opportunities for future trends.

What makes Mei Shengchuan even more vigilant is that North Korea has a secret attitude towards the alliance, and has never informed Daming at all.Kim Sang-Hyun said that he has only recently started to discuss an alliance with Hae-Han. To him, it is just a perfunctory pretext, and it is not credible at all.

(End of this chapter)