1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2334
"Your Majesty, to be honest, with your country's current social conditions and production levels, it should not be easy to achieve a substantial increase in your country's fiscal revenue in a short period of time by collecting taxes from the people and operating monopoly businesses such as salt and iron. If you want to improve your country's financial situation, you still have to find ways to open up some other channels." Tom Wang began to test Li Yan's attitude without haste.

Li Yan felt that Wang Tom's words had something different in them, and hurriedly asked: "Does General Wang have any good ideas? Please don't hesitate to give me your advice!"

"I can't give advice, but I can give you a suggestion." Tom Wang saw that Li Yan was quite anxious, so he didn't hide it, and threw out his own method: "Your Majesty, the country's demand for population, especially labor force population Great, I believe you are also very clear about this, if your country can continue to provide more people to our country, then maybe we can negotiate suitable conditions and use the population to offset your country's borrowing."

Li Yan frowned and said: "I'm afraid this is not appropriate! The new treaty signed with your country has already released restrictions on immigration. If the government still wants to organize people to immigrate to your country, this... "

"Your Majesty misunderstood!" Tom Wang quickly explained: "What we advocate in the treaty is that citizens can move freely between the two countries, instead of selling people as commodities. What I mean by continuous supply of population is of course not referring to The people of your country."

"General Wang is not referring to the people of our country?" Li Yan couldn't help being a little puzzled when he heard this answer: "Then where does our country get people to provide to your country? Could it be that we have to go to foreign countries to plunder?"

Li Yan originally wanted to ask Wang Tom back, but when he saw Wang Tom's meaningful expression, he instantly understood that the other party was not simply joking, but that he was planning to let North Korea send troops to other countries to plunder the population as he had guessed. .

But this plan has a very obvious problem. North Korea has long been the target of plunder by other countries. The neighboring countries are more ruthless than the other, and all of them are much stronger than North Korea.If it wasn't for Haihan's help, they might not have been able to withstand the wave of Qing army invasion last year.

Li Yan didn't understand for a while, who can the North Korean country send troops to fight?Ming Dynasty, Manchu Qing Dynasty, Japan, just pick any neighboring country, and North Korea can't afford it.Even if Li Yan has a strong desire to improve his financial situation now, he will not be so confused as to challenge these powerful opponents regardless of his own strength.

"General Wang, with our country's current military strength, I'm afraid it will be difficult to use troops abroad!" In the end, Li Yan was embarrassed to say that he couldn't do it for his neighbors, and reminded Wang Tom not to overestimate North Korea in a more tactful way. strength of the army.

Wang Tom nodded and said: "Of course there are difficulties, but this matter is not as difficult as His Majesty thinks. As long as you choose the right direction and goal, it will be feasible to operate."

Hearing what he said easily, Li Yan still didn't believe it: "But the surrounding area of ​​our country...doesn't seem to have a suitable direction and goal?"

Wang Tom said seriously: "Although the range of choices is limited, there are still suitable targets. Although your majesty was in Sanya in the first half of the year, you should have heard the news that our country sent troops to attack the Japanese Hirado clan, right?"

Regarding the Haihan army's expedition to attack Hirado, Japan, Li Yan actually learned the ins and outs from the newspaper after the war ended.However, because of his special status, he learned some inside information about this war through the Haihan military.

At first, Li Yan didn't know why Hai Han suddenly sent troops to attack Japan, but after reading the information provided by the military, he realized that it was the Hirado Clan who took the initiative to provoke Hai Han.How could a master like Hai Han who didn't suffer any disadvantages swallow his anger and just hit the door directly.

Of course, regarding the old events related to Shibazhi in this process, as well as the actions of the Hirado Clan's deployment of those hidden piles along the southeast coast, Li Yi didn't have so much time to slowly understand, he just wanted to know Haihan How did the army expedition to Hirado, and then defeated the Hirado navy fleet, known as the strongest navy in Japan.

The more relevant information he learned, the more Li Yi felt awe of the combat capabilities of the Haihan Army. After all, the cross-sea expedition to Japan could defeat the opponent without any power to fight back. Such an impressive record is probably only Haihan Only the military can do it.Although North Korea did not directly send troops to participate in the war, it also provided Haihan Army with a large amount of supplies and a supply port on Jeju Island.

So when Wang Tom mentioned this matter, Li Yan nodded without hesitation and said: "About this battle, I went to the Ministry of National Defense to read the relevant battle reports, and I admire the performance of the Haihan Army! Wait... ...General Wang, the target you want to talk about is not Hirado, right?"

Tom Wang nodded and said, "Your Majesty must not be merciful to the Hirado clan, right?"

Li Yan shook his head and said: "Of course not. The blood feud between our country and Japan, Li's children will never forget it!"

During the Japanese Invasion of Imjin 40 years ago, the Hirado Domain, which was quite close to North Korea, was one of the main forces that sent troops to invade North Korea.In this war that lasted for seven years, Japan's military advantage was very obvious. If it hadn't been for the Ming Dynasty's military assistance, North Korea would have been wiped out by then.

But even so, North Korea suffered heavy losses during the Imjin Japanese Invasion. The population of Seoul alone decreased from 10 households before the war to less than [-] households after the war.The population of the whole country was reduced to one-sixth of the pre-war level because of this war, and the number of people plundered by the Japanese army in a few years was as many as [-].After the war, all industries in North Korea were depressed, agricultural production almost stagnated, and the whole society was on the verge of collapse for a long time.

After the start of the war, North Korea severed diplomatic relations with Japan, and it was not until the signing of the "Hayou Treaty" in 1609 that the two countries officially declared the end of the state of war.

This war can be said to have interrupted North Korea's national destiny. For a long period of time after that, North Korea could only linger on, barely maintaining the functioning of society.For North Korea, the hatred for Japan is not just revealed by signing an armistice agreement. This account has always been recorded in North Korea's history books. As long as there is a suitable time, it will definitely be revenged.

This year Haihan sent troops to attack Hirado, and North Korea was willing to cooperate, partly because of this old grudge.Although North Korea itself does not have the ability to send troops to participate in the war, it is no problem to fight Haihan.

Of course, if the person in power at that time was Li Yi, he might really be unable to restrain himself and organize troops to directly participate in the war.Anyway, there shouldn't be too much risk in drinking some soup with Hai Hanjun.As for the armistice agreement signed with Japan that year, since nearly 30 years have passed, who cares about this thing that has been buried in the pile of old papers.

But if it is said to send troops alone to break the wrists with the Japanese, Li Yan may not have the courage.He is well aware of the strength of his country's army, and he may be able to make do with a defensive battle locally, but he really has never thought of such a bold idea to go across the sea to Japan.

Wang Tom said: "When our country attacked Hirado this year, it had wiped out all the local troops. Even if the Japanese reorganized their troops after the war, it was only a few months ago, which is far from enough to form a combat force. At this time, we should not encounter too much resistance when we act on the local area.”

Li Yan tentatively asked: "Since it's so easy, why didn't the Haihan Army go out on their own?"

Wang Tom laughed and said: "The cost of our army dispatching once is probably ten times that of your army. Even if you can plunder some people locally, you will still lose money. But if your country dispatches troops to Hirado to harvest, There should still be good returns.”

After Li Yan thought about it, it seemed that this was indeed the case.He has stayed in Sanya for a year, so he has a good understanding of the Haihan Army. In addition, he has paid a large amount of military expenses for the Haihan Army last year, so he knows that its combat expenses are very high.Haihan sent troops to Hirado to rob people on his own. It is indeed very likely that he would pay for people from North Korea.

Of course, Wang Tom actually has another reason that he didn’t say, that is, after the Haihan army captured Hirado this year, the looting in the local area can be said to be three feet away. In addition to abducting thousands of people, the local Almost all the wealth was swept away by the Haihan army, so the conquest of Hirado was still profitable in the end.But now that troops are sent to attack Pinghu, the local area is full of ruins, but there is nothing to talk about. Counting the high military expenditure, it is very likely that they will lose money.

Wang Tom continued: "There are no defense methods in Hirado, which is just suitable for the new army formed by your country to practice and gain actual combat experience. All the people that have been snatched back can be deducted from your country's loans. The army will not be dispatched in vain.”

Li Yan was quite moved when he heard this, but he was still a little uncertain, so he tentatively asked: "Then if our country sends troops, is your country's army planning not to send even a single soldier?"

Wang Tom said: "Your Majesty, you should still remember the Joint Operations Command I mentioned a few days ago? This organization can come in handy for actions like this. We will send a small number of officers who participated in the battle in the first half of the year to serve as A military advisor to assist your country's military in combat operations."

Li Yan smiled wryly: "So the first mission after the establishment of this headquarters is to loot the Hirado clan?"

Wang Tom said: "Your Majesty don't need to think too much, just think of it as military training. With such an opponent, such a combat environment, this kind of training opportunity is not always available. If your country's army can fight overseas alone, It is only a matter of time before the great revenge is avenged."

Li Yan thought for a while, and finally made up his mind: "Okay, then, according to General Wang's suggestion, send troops to Hirado!"

Li Yan is not a fool, he also knows that Hirado after being looted by Haihan will not have a lot of money to earn, and this errand can only catch some Japanese and return them to Haihan to deduct the loan.But it is rare to have such an overseas expedition, and it is also a good opportunity for military training.

After the end of the Anti-Qing war last year, North Korea has established a new army with a scale of [-] people with the help of Haihan.These soldiers received a three-month training at the Datongjiang base, mastered basic firearm tactics, and received a batch of standard firearms provided by Haihan.After nearly a year of training, this unit has basically taken shape, and what it lacks is actual combat experience.

According to Qian Tiandun's opinion, if this new army can display its due combat effectiveness normally, it can at least deal with enemies with two to three times the strength of traditional weapons.After Hirado's local army was wiped out by the Haihan army, it was indeed difficult to reorganize and form combat effectiveness in a short period of time, so the new North Korean army should have a considerable advantage.

The only big variable is still on the side of the navy.It is difficult for the strength of the North Korean navy to be greatly improved in a short period of time, and its reliability in transporting army troops to overseas campaigns is very limited.Fortunately, the famous navy fleet of the Hirado Domain has been wiped out by the Haihan Army. Even if it is re-established, it will take a long time, so the current period is relatively low risk.

Now that Li Yan nodded, the matter was considered finalized.However, Tom Wang does not intend to personally handle this matter. He just mentioned that the Joint Operations Command is not just talking, but he is really going to hand over this errand to the young staff officers to plan, and he only needs to check the combat plan. .

Judging from the standards of the Haihan Army, this kind of combat operation is very limited in terms of risk and difficulty. Even if it is handed over to the North Korean Army to carry out, there should not be too many problems.Of course, this can also be regarded as a test for the new North Korean army, examining how effective they are after training for so long.

This is not only Wang Tom's concern, but Li Yan also wants to know how strong the army that the country has invested so much resources to form is.If this unit performs well in actual combat, then it will have more confidence and confidence in expanding the size of the new army in the future.

The newly established Joint Operations Command hadn't even set up its office, and received its first errand after its establishment, and it was a direct order from King Li Yan, which made Shen Xueyi and An Daoshi who had just been transferred to this department All excited.

"About this combat mission, let me explain the situation first." Takahashi Minami said to the two: "This combat mission will be carried out by your country's army, so the formulation of the combat plan will also be entrusted to you. We will Provide relevant navigational and geographical information, and assign several officers who participated in the attack on Hirado to assist you."

"General Takahashi, what is the goal of this mission?" Andaoshi asked excitedly.

Takahashi Nandao: "The goal of the mission is very simple. It is to snatch as many resources as possible from the local area, including the population."

(End of this chapter)