1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2405
For Da Ming, the current Golden State is a very special existence. Although Da Ming still insists that this place belongs to its own territory, in fact, it has completely lost control of the Golden State several years ago.After repeated battles between the other two countries, Haihan is now in control of this place, but Daming is unable to send troops to regain control, so he has to send special envoys to declare that he still has a certain influence on the Jinzhou area.

Daming's embarrassing situation naturally made Yue Yongshou's errands in Jinzhou full of inconveniences. On the one hand, as a Ming minister, he had to do his best to protect Daming's face, and he couldn't admit that the ownership of Jinzhou had fallen into Haihan's hands; On the one hand, his mission required the actual occupier of this place. After all, Ming needed Haihan to hold back part of the armed forces of the Qing army in the direction of Liaodong, so as to reduce the military pressure on the northern border.

Of course, with regard to the task of maintaining Daming's face, Yue Yongshou kept a very low profile with great interest, because he had already realized that Haihan had invested a lot of resources in Jinzhou and managed it carefully as his own territory. It is impossible to return this place to Daming.If you insist on emphasizing the right of ownership here with the Haihan people, it is purely self-defeating, and it is very likely to anger the Haihan people and affect another really important task.

In fact, Yue Yongshou didn't really understand why Haihan fought against the Manchus. The two countries were separated by thousands of miles, and they had only established their own country in recent years. Originally, there was no grievance at all, but Haihan insisted on generalizing the army. Sent here to confront the Qing army, the two sides have been fighting for several years, even not enough in Jinzhou, and went to North Korea to open up a second battlefield to continue fighting.

According to the official statement given by Haihan, the reason for going to war with the Manchus is to maintain the status of the Han people, and by the way, to maintain a good relationship with Ming Dynasty.However, Yue Yongshou didn't believe Haihan's official rhetoric. He thought that with Haihan's calculating style, he would not be busy for others, and sending troops to occupy Jinzhou was only out of his own interests, not for Ming's sake. High-sounding reasons like the Han people.

As for maintaining a good relationship with Daming, it is even more ironic. Haihan neither intends to return the stolen Golden State to Daming, nor does he intend to let Daming send troops to garrison the Golden State, so he swallowed the Golden State so abruptly In my own stomach, I have never considered Daming's feelings.Including the strategic alliance that Haihan and Ming formed through an agreement later, in Yue Yongshou's view, it was just a gimmick used by the Haihan people for the convenience of doing things in Liaodong. influences.

But even if Yue Yongshou is well aware of what Hai Han has done on the surface, he can't complain about it verbally.In addition to considering the gray income that Haihan provided him in the name of "office expenses", the more important thing is that Daming still needs Haihan to continue to consume the Qing Dynasty in Liaodong.If Haihan cannot maintain the military pressure on the Manchu Qing, then it is conservatively estimated that the Manchu Qing can send troops to the direction of Ming Dynasty, which will increase by at least 3 to [-] troops, and these increased troops are basically the frontline with real combat effectiveness Once the troops appear on the border of Ming Dynasty, it means that the already fragile border defense will face a heavier blow.

Therefore, Daming not only had to allow Haihan to garrison troops in Jinzhou against his will, but also had to count on the Haihan army to fight against the Qing army from time to time, so as to ensure that the Manchu Qing would not send troops stationed on the opposite side of the Jinzhou Isthmus. The Wanqing army was transferred to deploy elsewhere.The most ideal situation for Daming is that Haihan will continue to increase troops to Jinzhou, and then fight to the death with the Manchus.

However, the current situation in Liaodong is not ideal for Ming. Although the Haihan army launched a rare large-scale attack on the Liaodong coast in recent years before winter, it still failed to prevent the Manchus from giving up their southward invasion of Ming this winter. .Moreover, the strength of the Qing army that invaded Daming this time, the areas conquered, and the population and wealth that were taken away from Daming were also the highest in history.

Man Qing ignored Hai Han's actions on the coast of Liaodong, you hit yours, I hit mine, and it was Daming who really suffered in the contest.The population and wealth that the Manchu Qing lost in Liaodong were all recouped from Daming after that.These two countries have made a lot of money this winter, but Daming has become the only loser. This ending can be described as extremely ironic.

However, Daming was still unable to attribute the responsibility to Haihan. After all, Haihan did indeed send troops to the areas occupied by the Manchus in winter, and even put on a feint attack posture on the Jinzhou Isthmus for this reason, fighting fiercely with the Qing army. Yue Yongshou saw these with his own eyes in Jinzhou, and he couldn't blame Haihan for not doing his best to hold back the Qing army.And after the Qing army broke through the pass and went south, Daming didn't try to ask Haihan for help, so naturally he couldn't blame Haihan for not saving him.

But what really caught Yue Yongshou's attention was that the Manchu Qing sent envoys to Haihan to apply for an armistice and peace talks. Although Chen Yixin ran away the previous time, this was not a good sign.As far as he knew, the two sides had never had any formal contact about the truce, but if Man Qing had such intentions, once he persuaded Haihan to accept the truce, it would be a terrible news for Daming.

Originally, Yue Yongshou hoped that Chen Yixin's resolute attitude would make Manqing dispel this idea, but Chen Yixin left Jinzhou and returned to Shandong within a few days.According to the official statement from Haihan, Chen Yixin was going back to preside over the relief of refugees, but Yue Yongshou knew that things were not that simple.

However, when Chen Yixin returned to Shandong, he did not transfer the Jinzhou garrison away in a big way, which also made Yue Yongshou a little relieved. At least it indicated that Haihan would not raise troops in Dengzhou for the time being.And in the memorial he sent back to the capital, he also specifically explained the news that the Manchus had asked Haihan for an armistice, and reminded the court to pay attention to Haihan’s movements in Shandong—it was not only the Manchus who freed up troops after the armistice between the two countries, The same is true for Hai Han, God knows if Hai Han will have other thoughts.

Before the new instructions from the capital were sent to Jinzhou, there was a new situation here. The Qing army envoy who visited Chen Yixin last time came again, but this time he was not driven away. After Qian Tiandun received him, Actually allowing the other party to live in Jinzhou, this made Yue Yongshou smell something bad.

When Yue Yongshou was sent to Jinzhou, Chen Yixin was already in charge here, so he was not very familiar with Qian Tiandun who had just rushed over from North Korea.He only knew that the troops under Qian Tiandun's command were the ace troops of the Haihan Army, and this army had fought against the Qing Army many times in Liaodong and North Korea, and had extremely rich combat experience.However, Yue Yongshou didn't really know whether Qian Tiandun's attitude towards the Manchus was reliable, so when he heard that Qian Tiandun had arranged for the envoys of the Manchus to stay in Nanguanling, he immediately couldn't sit still.

Yue Yongshou originally wanted to go directly to the envoys of the Manchu Qing Dynasty to fight face to face, but thinking that Jinzhou is now the Haihan people who have the final say, if he directly called the door to find trouble, it seemed a bit disrespectful to the Haihan people.Moreover, it is not clear whether the Manchu envoy brought armed guards. If he went to the door and never beat the other party, wouldn't it be embarrassing to Daming.

To be on the safe side, Yue Yongshou chose to come to see Qian Tiandun first, find out the intention of the Manchu envoy and the official attitude of Haihan, and then consider the next countermeasures.

Qian Tiandun was not surprised that Yue Yongshou came here after hearing the news. He deliberately did not block the news about Shang Qing from the outside world. As long as the envoy of Ming Dynasty was not deaf and blind, he should respond immediately.Sure enough, Yue Yongshou didn't disappoint him either, Shang Qing had only been in Jinzhou for half a day, and he had already found him.

"Master Yue came to visit suddenly, what is the reason for it?" Although he knew the other party's intention, Qian Tiandun still played tricks and asked another question on purpose.

Yue Yongshou replied: "The general is busy with business, so I won't go around in circles. I heard that the Tartars sent envoys to Jinzhou to visit the general. Has this happened?"

Qian Tiandun didn't mean to hide anything, and responded to the question very frankly: "It is true that an envoy from the Qing army has arrived in Jinzhou today, and Mr. Yue is very well informed!"

Yue Yongshou couldn't care less about Qian Tiandun teasing himself, and asked quickly, "Then, general, can you tell me about the other party's intention?"

Qian Tiandun said with a smile: "The other party's purpose is the same as last time, that is, to negotiate a truce with my army."

Yue Yongshou tentatively asked: "The general must have sternly rejected the tartar's wishful thinking?"

Qian Tiandun responded noncommittally: "It seems that Master Yue really doesn't want to hear the news of the truce in Liaodong?"

Yue Yongshou laughed and said: "The Tatars' request for peace must be due to their inability to withstand the offensive of your army, but in this way, it is time to take advantage of the victory and pursue the attack and beat the dog in the water, so as not to leave the Tartars a chance to stand up. If the general Be kind to the Tartars and give them a chance to breathe, I am afraid there will be endless troubles!"

Qian Tiandun said: "Master Yue is teaching me how to do things?"

Yue Yongshou heard the displeasure in the other party's tone, and quickly defended: "How dare I, the general must not misunderstand! I am just worried that these tartars will play tricks to deceive the general, and I dare not have the intention of overstepping!"

Qian Tiandun said: "Master Yue thinks that the Qing army is playing tricks?"

Yue Yongshou said: "This is a trick commonly used by the Tatars. When they cannot be defeated, they will take the initiative to bow their heads and surrender. They will agree to all conditions, and then accumulate strength in secret, and launch a surprise attack when the opponent is unprepared. General, with the Tatars You have no faith to speak of, so don't be fooled by his rhetoric!"

Of course, Qian Tiandun would not completely ignore the possibility that Yue Yongshou mentioned. In fact, he had already considered the possibility of the Qing army using delaying tactics, but no matter from which point of view, the Qing army's use of delaying tactics was not too serious. big meaning.

The confrontation between the two countries near the Jinzhou Isthmus has lasted for several years, and they have both clearly realized that it is of little significance to increase troops in this place, and it is difficult to overcome the defense line carefully built by the other side.And if the Qing army wants to use the strategy of slowing down the army, then the ideal time should be before winter, so that they can invade Daming with peace of mind without worrying about being stabbed in the back by Hai Han.But now that the main force of the Qing army has withdrawn from Daming, what's the point of delaying the troops? If the Qing army wants to concentrate their troops to Jinzhou to complete their meritorious service, then Haihan is probably what they want.

Based on the special terrain of the Jinzhou area and the comparison of the strength of the two sides, if the Qing army concentrates tens of thousands of troops to storm the Jinzhou Isthmus, there is of course a high chance of breaking through this line of defense.But the problem is that the terrain of the Jinzhou Isthmus is extremely narrow, with the sea on both sides. This passage may be blocked by the Haihan Army again at any time.Therefore, even if the Qing army paid a heavy price to capture Jinzhou, it will still be difficult to defend the Jinzhou Isthmus in the future. The Haihan army may even use the initiative to retreat to lure the Qing army to go deep, and then use the Jinzhou Isthmus to cut off the retreat route of the Qing army to carry out counter-encirclement and suppression. .Now this place is nothing to the Qing army, and it will be a burden whether it can be taken or not. Only a truce with Haihan can solve the problem.

Qian Tiandun said: "Master Yue, in fact, you can just tell the truth directly. You don't need to analyze the situation for me so much. After all, I should know all the information you know, but you may not know the information I have."

Yue Yongshou blushed, knowing that the other party was admonishing him not to play tricks, and quickly responded: "The general taught me the lesson, and I was indeed abrupt. But I hope the general will not accept the Manchu's order for the sake of the alliance between the two countries. Armistice demanded!"

Qian Tiandun slightly nodded and said: "Our country has always attached great importance to the diplomatic relations with Daming. A covenant is a covenant. Mr. Yue doesn't have to worry that we will give up on Daming. But I also hope that Daming can think about our country and understand some of our difficulties."

Hearing his words, Yue Yongshou seemed to have hints. Thinking of what Chen Yixin had said to him before, he quickly said: "General, before I step down, I have written to the imperial court, suggesting that the imperial court provide some food and military support for the Jinzhou garrison. I haven't received a reply from the imperial court yet, so I hope the general will wait patiently for a little longer, presumably the imperial court's arrangement will not disappoint the general."

Qian Tiandun said: "Master Yue, have you ever thought about it? Both Da Ming and Man Qing offered certain benefits. The condition offered by Man Qing was to cease war with our country, but the condition offered by Daming was that our country should cooperate with Man Qing." Qing continues to fight, and you must be very clear about which one is more expensive. If the benefits given by the two sides are similar, then I will definitely give priority to my allies, but if the gap is too big, then I probably have to fight for the sea. Han's interests have been considered."

Yue Yongshou knew that it was difficult to refute such a very realistic matter, and it was impossible for the Haihan army to willingly contribute money and people to fight for Daming, so he could only plead: "Although this is said, I still hope that the general must think carefully!"

(End of this chapter)