1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2369
Chen Yixin has the same meaning when he talks about it, everything is possible.What kind of attitude Haihan will adopt next depends to a large extent on what kind of conditions Manqing and Daming can offer.

This situation really made Yue Yongshou feel very embarrassed. As the special envoy of Ming Dynasty, he must of course protect the interests of his country with due diligence, but his authority is nothing more than maintaining daily communication with Haihan officials and collecting military and political information of Jinzhou by the way. When it comes to the conditions mentioned by Chen Yixin, he has no authority to make promises to Haihan casually.

Judging from the information he has so far, Yue Yongshou can judge that bribing Chen Yixin is basically unworkable.The Qing envoy wanted to use this method in exchange for Chen Yixin's approval of the truce, but it was obviously not a condition that Chen Yixin was interested in. Otherwise, he might have accepted the benefits offered by the other party and agreed to negotiate a peace with the Manqing.

So what benefits did Chen Yixin personally, or the Haihan officials he represented, want to get?With Yue Yongshou's perspective, the first thing he thought of was supplies, food and military expenses.

Haihan's perennial stationing of combat troops in Jinzhou will indeed incur a lot of expenses. Yue Yongshou has been in Jinzhou for a long time, and he has a clear understanding of this.The cost of food and clothing and the level of weapons and equipment of the Haihan army are much higher than those of the Ming army. It is conceivable that the military expenditure must be huge.

And Chen Yixin also specifically mentioned that the Haihan Army assisted North Korea in fighting the Qing Dynasty because North Korea offered reasonable conditions.Given North Korea's national strength, it must have emptied the national treasury for this.

But North Korea was already in danger of subjugation at that time. If it did not ask for strong support and send troops to rescue it, it might not be able to survive.But the current Ming Dynasty is not yet facing such a desperate situation - at least in the eyes of most Ming people including Yue Yongshou, this dynasty is far from being in danger of being overthrown.

Since it is not so urgent, it is naturally unlikely that the conditions that Ming can give to Haihan are like North Korea’s. However, considering that the Manchu Qing may also offer new peace negotiations in the future, this scale needs to be carefully weighed.Don't give too much to fuel the ambitions of the Haihan people, and it will be difficult to control the situation in the future, and you can't give too little, so that the Manchus can take advantage of the opportunity and destroy the military alliance between Ming and Haihan.

Yue Yongshou did not have the right to make a decision on such an extremely delicate matter, so he could only write a memorial and report it to the court as soon as possible, explaining the key points, and handing over the difficult problem to the dignitaries in the court.

Yue Yongshou said: "This matter is very important, I must report it to the imperial court, I don't know if General Chen has any other requests, I might as well raise it together, and I can also state the reason in the memorial."

Chen Yixin replied: "As I said just now, the cessation of the war in Jinzhou lies in the sincerity we have seen. Whoever offers more sincerity, we will lean towards that side's opinion. Of course, based on our two Our country will definitely be more inclined to help Da Ming if we don’t have an ally relationship with my country. If the conditions are comparable, we will definitely take care of Da Ming’s wishes."

At first glance, Chen Yixin's words seemed to be helping Daming, but after a closer look, it was not difficult to find that he was actually using this to warn Daming that the conditions he offered should at least not be lower than that of Manqing, otherwise Haihan's attitude might be different. Will lean towards Daming again.

However, Yue Yongshou had no way of guessing what kind of conditions the Qing Dynasty would offer. It was as difficult as guessing a riddle without a standard answer.

Yue Yongshou suddenly thought of one thing, whether Chen Yixin would use similar rhetoric to the Manchu Qing, such as demanding that the conditions offered by the other party must be better than that of Daming, before considering his request for an armistice and peace talks.Neither of the opposing two countries knew what conditions the other party would offer Haihan, so they could only take the initiative to raise the standard, while Haihan could enjoy the most favorable conditions without negotiating slowly with the two countries.If Chen Yixin was a bit darker, he could even go through several rounds so that both sides could raise the price in turn.

If you are tougher, of course you can say no to Haihan, but the consequences that will follow may be a situation that neither Ming nor Qing are willing to bear. The opposite of that would cause a lot of trouble.

The Ming Dynasty may have to face the north-south attack from the Qing Dynasty and Haihan. The coastline of thousands of miles can become the landing field of the Haihan army everywhere, but there are almost no effective defense methods for this, and the ensuing wars Definitely not what Daming at this stage can handle.

Although the Qing Dynasty has been fighting against Haihan in recent years, the offensive of the Haihan army can't be said to be violent. In the Liaodong and Korean battlefields, they are mainly on the defensive.If Daming took advantage enough to persuade Haihan to send more troops to the Liaodong battlefield to launch an offensive, then the Manchu Qing would also feel very troubled.

Since Yue Yongshou was stationed in Jinzhou, he has always had a mentality of sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight. From his standpoint, he naturally wished that Haihan and Manqing would fight as fiercely as possible. But now Haihan's attitude has changed. If you want to watch martial arts in the future, you have to pay for a ticket.

Yue Yongshou took advantage of the excitement and came back disappointed. He thought that Chen Yixin was going to share the results of the previous winter offensive with him, but he didn't expect that he dug a big hole for himself to jump into.

Having been in Jinzhou for so long, Yue Yongshou always felt that Chen Yixin was just a general leading troops to fight, but he never thought that the other party would be so scheming, arranging such a situation that Daming had no choice but to bite the bullet and go up.

How to word this memorial to the imperial court so as to explain the situation without taking responsibility for it is indeed very difficult.Yue Yongshou thought hard all the way, but when he got home, he still couldn't think of a way to get the best of both worlds. He thought that his comfortable life in Jinzhou might come to an end.

Unlike Yue Yongshou who was full of anxiety, Chen Yixin was in a good mood at this time.He doesn't usually deal with Yue Yongshou much, and he doesn't have a special understanding of the temper of this special envoy. Today's operation is basically a test while making arrangements, but the effect is obviously not bad, and it has even exceeded his expectations. .

"What do you think of the conversation with Yue Yongshou just now?" Chen Yixin asked his secretary.

During the previous meeting with Yue Yongshou, Zeng Xiaowen accompanied him throughout the whole process, and he basically didn't miss a single word, but because of his limited status, he didn't open his mouth to participate in the discussion.But as one of Chen Yixin's most trusted aides, he naturally wanted to review the operation with his boss afterwards.

Zeng Xiaowen said: "Master Yue obviously hasn't really realized what kind of adverse effect the Jinzhou side will have on Daming after the truce. The Manchu and Qing voluntarily came to us to seek peace, which shows that they intend to move the Jinzhou direction. All of the armed forces are devoted to other battlefields. At that time, the Ming Dynasty may not only be breached at the border, but may also go straight to attack the big city. When he slowly writes the memorial and sends it back, the court discusses a solution and then comes back to discuss with us. I'm not afraid that at that time we had already reached a settlement with Man Qing, and the daylilies were cold."

Chen Yixin said: "The authorities are obsessed, Yue Yongshou is in Jinzhou, all the information he has access to here has been screened and arranged by us, and his judgment on the situation can only be based on the information we provide. The only pity is that Yue Yongshou does not have any authority... Have you noticed? He did not ask me any specific conditions, one is because he is not qualified to give conditions, and the other is that it shows that Daming has great respect for our country and Manchuria. There is no corresponding plan for the Qing truce.”

Zeng Xiaowen said with a smile: "Da Ming doesn't understand the grievances between our country and the Manchus, so we have no way of judging our country's true attitude. Maybe those people in the court will think that our country intends to keep fighting with the Manchus forever!"

Chen Yixin also smiled and said: "Yes, how many people can really understand the twists and turns in the middle?"

Not to mention Daming, even Zeng Xiaowen, who has been naturalized for many years and has been working beside Chen Yixin for a long time, may not fully understand the complicated grievances between Haihan and Manqing.He only knew that Haihan sent troops to Liaodong to contain the Manchu Qing Dynasty in order to prevent Ming from falling apart due to internal and external troubles, and to ensure that Haihan had a stable supply of resources and a sales market.

However, Haihan's high-level executives made such a decision because of their obsession with fighting the Manchus. He knew nothing about it. Can't even imagine why.

Of course, Chen Yixin would not take the initiative to explain the secret to his subordinates. This has already involved the origin of the Time Travel Group, and it is a high-level secret that is absolutely forbidden to be spread to outsiders.And Zeng Xiaowen's current understanding of the situation is very thorough, enough to discuss related topics with him.

Chen Yixin continued: "Yue Yongshou doesn't have the power to make decisions, so he can only report and wait for the news later, but in this way, Daming's reaction may be much slower than that of Manqing, and he has to find a way to delay it. Row."

Zeng Xiaowen said: "This is easy to handle. If the Manchu Qing side still wants to continue the negotiation, when they send someone over next time, the humble officer will say that the general has gone south to handle official business, and the negotiation can only be postponed temporarily."

Of course, the negotiations between Haihan and Manqing will not produce any results. Such a gesture is only to win more benefits from Daming's initiative. Any conditions offered by Manqing will eventually become Haihan. A bargaining chip with Daming.And Zeng Xiaowen also knew the real plan of his boss, so he contributed a plan without hesitation.

"You've already figured it out, right?" Chen Yixin explained the truth with one word.

When Zeng Xiaowen was listening to the meeting between the two, he had indeed thought about the various changes in the situation and how to ensure that he could achieve his goal.He immediately responded with a smile: "This skill of delaying time is the best at low-level jobs, but I didn't expect it to be used on the right path one day."

Of course, what Zeng Xiaowen said was just a self-deprecating joke. If he was really procrastinating, how could he be valued by Chen Yixin.

Chen Yixin said: "At present, things are going smoothly, but the front line must pay close attention to it. If there is any change in the Qing army, I must let me know the news as soon as possible."

Zeng Xiaowen quickly responded with a solemn face.No one could predict how the Manchu Qing would react after receiving Chen Yixin's reply, and the Jinzhou side could only tighten the fence first, to prevent the Qing army from launching a surprise attack out of embarrassment.

After several years of confrontation between the two sides in the Jinzhou Isthmus, the Haihan army has become more familiar with the opponent's combat habits. If the Qing army wants to launch a large-scale offensive, it will inevitably strengthen the patrol and reconnaissance in the middle area before launching a move, so as to confirm Haihan's deployment. situation.And such operations can usually only be carried out during the daytime to collect useful information, so it is not too difficult to prevent the Qing army from launching an offensive, as long as they step up their surveillance of these signs.

The in-depth defense system of the Jinzhou Isthmus defense line is being strengthened every year. Outside the position, there are horse-rejection, barbed wire, horse pits, ditches, bamboo sticks, mines... all kinds of roadblocks and traps, whether it is a sporadic infantry or a brigade. It is difficult for cavalry to pass through this hundred-foot-deep obstacle safely.

Even if the patrols of the Haihan Army are dispatched, they can only go to the wild through specially reserved passages. It is even more troublesome to deploy heavy weapons such as artillery outside the defense line.In the last operation, Chen Yixin set up artillery positions in the snow field and caught the Qing army by surprise, because the Qing army believed that the Haihan army would not send out the artillery units with the worst motivation in winter. Set up an ambush in the snow field.

Even if the Qing army sent troops to attack the isthmus line of defense, it would be difficult to achieve a major breakthrough in a short period of time. As long as the Haihan army was given time to react, several combat troops in the rear would quickly replenish the line of defense.As long as the fighting lasts for four or five days, reinforcements from North Korea and Shandong will be able to arrive.Therefore, for the possibility of the Qing army launching a surprise attack, Chen Yixin only needs to make deployments according to the plan, and there is no need for the entire Jinzhou to enter a state of preparation for war early.

After Chen Yixin arranged the work, he saw that it was getting late, so he ordered the car to go home.When he got home, his wife and children had already fallen asleep. Chen Yixin couldn't bear to disturb the mother and son, so he went to the study to rest.His study room has complete bedding, and there is also a sandwich wall for heating, so sleeping is not much worse than a bedroom.

Chen Yixin finished washing under the service of the servants and was about to rest when his wife Ma Yuling knocked on the door and came in with a cup of hot tea: "My husband must have drunk a lot of wine for the banquet tonight, so drink a cup of hot tea to relieve the alcohol , let’s go back to the room and sleep later!”

Chen Yixin actually drank three or four glasses of wine at the beginning of the banquet, and then he didn't hold the wine glass again when talking about things. The total amount was probably less than two taels. Two or three hours passed, and the alcohol was long gone.However, my wife's kindness must not be refused, so I quickly got up and took the teacup.

(End of this chapter)