1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 667 North Korea's "Northern Expedition" Proposal

On September 9, Tamna Island (now Jeju Island, South Korea).

The two fuchuan sailed into the pier of Tamna Island in dismay, and then reported a shocking news to local officials and the garrison.Five immigrant ships under the imperial court heading for Yunzhou were attacked by dozens of Japanese pirates near the Tsushima Island waters between North Korea and Japan.Three migrant boats have been hijacked, and hundreds of lives are unknown.

According to the sailors who escaped, the Japanese pirates who attacked the immigrant ship may be hiding on the nearby island of Tsushima.If the court navy moved quickly, they might be able to rush over and rescue the hundreds of immigrants.Otherwise, those poor refugees are likely to encounter misfortune.

After Bi Xuechao, the prefect, heard the news, he couldn't help but feel a little troubled. Although the island has a population of more than 2000, there are more than 700 garrison officers and soldiers. In addition, there are more than [-] people in the two battalions of the Qi State Self-Rescue Army. The strength is not weak, and it can deal with hundreds of pirates. , is still more than enough.But the problem is, there are not many warships on the island now, how to send many officers and soldiers to the place called Tsushima Island.

"Master Bi, most of the Japanese pirates encountered by the immigrant fleet are probably the work of wandering samurai in Japan. Presumably, the weapons are relatively low, so there is no need to use too many soldiers." In my opinion, we only need to send [-] elite soldiers, supplemented by some Qi State musketeers, enough to capture Tsushima Island and save the people of Ming Dynasty."

"Hundreds of people crossed the sea to attack the small island, isn't it a little... Meng Lang? Besides, if they attack the small island rashly, will they provoke arrogance and provoke disputes with the Japanese?" Bi Xuechao worried. asked.

"Your Excellency, you don't need to worry." Jiang Kaide said with a smile: "If the officers and soldiers stationed on the island fight against the Jiannu on the mainland, they may not be able to catch up, but they are still somewhat sure of capturing and killing hundreds of Japanese pirates. You need to know that the army on the island They all went to North Korea and fought against the so-called elite soldiers of the imperial camp. They have all experienced battles. Thinking about it, attacking a mere Japanese pirate island should be easy. In addition, we can also invite the self-rescue army of the Qi Kingdom Musketeers should be able to win the battle with confidence.”

"As for whether to initiate border quarrels and cause disputes with the Japanese, I think it should not be the case. We are going to destroy the Japanese pirates. If Mr. Bi is really worried, it is better to send an envoy to Nagasaki, Japan, and ask the other party whether they condone Cover up the trip of the Japanese pirates. In this way, we have also done the courtesy first and then the soldiers, so that the teacher will not be unknown."

Since the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate issued the decree of sequestration, commercial and cultural exchanges with any foreign countries and regions were prohibited except for the Ming Dynasty and the Dutch East India Company who could go to Nagasaki for trade.But in the whole of Japan, three additional windows were opened, one was the tributary trade conducted by the Ryukyu under the control of Satsuma, and the other was the Matsumae, which occupied the southern end of Ezo, and the Ainu people of Ezo and the people in the northeast region. The Shandan trade between the Oroqen people and the natives of Sakhalin Island, the last one is the Waguan trade between the Tsushima Clan on Tsushima Island and North Korea.

The original Ryukyu tribute trade is now completely replaced by the "smuggling" trade led by the Qi State. The Satsuma Domain imports a large number of various industrial products produced in the Qi State from Ryukyu, and then resells them to daimyos from all over Kyushu, and even transfers the trade channels Extending to Honshu Island, the trade volume was close to the Nagasaki foreign port opened by the shogunate.

However, the Shandan trade carried out by the Matsumae Domain is facing a state of shrinking day by day. Gain Yongchu’s imperial court immigrated to Yunzhou (now Hokkaido) in large numbers, not only reclaiming wasteland and farming, but also naturalizing some Ainu people in the area under its jurisdiction. , became herdsmen and coolies in the Ming territory, and at the same time established the Beiguan stronghold (today's Wakkanai City, Hokkaido, Japan) in the northern coastal area of ​​Yunzhou, directly cutting off the Shandan trade conducted by the Matsumae domain.

And Tsushima Fan is even more sad, the trade of Waguan was directly cut off by Qi Guosheng eight years ago (1643).That year, the Qi State Marine Corps and the township soldiers cooperated with the officers and soldiers of Denglai Town of the Yongchu Dynasty not only to seize Jeju Island in one fell swoop, but also to ravage the coast of North Korea and break through Donglai (now Busan, South Korea), an important town in the southeast.In the next few years, whether it was the officers and soldiers of the Yongchu court who came to "clean up" their combat experience, or to replenish Denglai supplies, wave after wave of troops frequently attacked the coast of North Korea.Grain, livestock, fur, ironware, cloth, pearls, ginseng, and even young women are all the targets of the other side's looting.

Initially, the officers and soldiers of North Korea's Defense Office and Imperial Battalion Office would block and resist to a certain extent.However, after a burst of firepower from the accompanying Qi State Marine Corps and township soldiers caused hundreds or even thousands of casualties, the troops were repeatedly defeated.In the end, it seemed that they couldn't beat the bandit troops who routinely came to "grass the valley", and the North Korean officers and soldiers simply stopped facing resistance directly. "When a thief lands, all troops are defeated" has become the norm.The entire coastal area of ​​North Korea has been ravaged by poison for several years, and it has already become dilapidated.

As a result, Tsushima Fan, which relies on North Korean trade, immediately sat on the wax.The environment of Tsushima Island is not good. "The island where you live is about [-] miles long. The land is dangerous, there are many deep forests, and the roads are like poultry and deer trails. There are more than a thousand households, no fertile land, and only good boats. It can be said that Tsushima’s economic income is completely dependent on trade with North Korea, and now that the Korean coast is frequently invaded by "thieves", the trade has been cut off, and the finances of the domain are in a desperate situation, and there is little power to maintain it. , has appealed to the Tokugawa shogunate several times, requesting assistance.

Having been impoverished for several years, Tsushima Fanzong's finances were completely bankrupt, not to mention that the basic vassal government and military equipment could not be maintained, and even the thousands of vassals under his rule could not eat.In desperation, some samurai and vassals in the Tsushima domain who could not make a living simply also got entangled with the ronin in the country, organizing tens of hundreds of small boats to go to the southeast coast of North Korea to plunder.

When the navy of Qi State and the navy of the Yongchu court successively immigrated to Yunzhou, they more or less encountered these Japanese ships robbing North Korea at sea, but because everyone was doing the same thing and had the same goal of robbing, so No attacks were made against these small sampans.And those small Japanese ships obviously didn't want to provoke these big ships that looked threatening, and the two sides have always maintained a situation of non-aggression.

Nowadays, it seems a little abnormal for these Japanese pirates to suddenly attack the immigration transport ship of the Yongchu court.You must know that apart from the many miserable immigrants on board, there is not much property, even if they are all intercepted, they will not get any benefits.On the contrary, this will trigger retaliation from the opposing naval ships.

Because of this, Bi Xuechao, the magistrate of Tamna Island, was a little worried, wondering whether the attack on the imperial immigration fleet would be an official acquiescence of the Japanese shogunate.I heard that in the past two years, because of the ownership of Yunzhou, Japan's Matsumae Domain and the territory of Yunzhou have had disputes from time to time. Although no armed conflict broke out, seeing more and more Ming people on Yunzhou Island, how do you know that Japan People will not take the risk of this, and want to prevent the imperial court from continuing to emigrate to the Yunzhou territory by attacking the immigrant fleet.
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Bi Xuechao had just sent envoys to Nagasaki to negotiate with the Japanese shogunate on the hijacking of the immigrant ship, but he did not expect that several turtle ships quietly sailed from the coast of North Korea the next day, carrying several people sent by the Korean king Li Hao. messenger.

Just when all Ming officials and garrison generals thought it was North Korea because of the unbearable disturbance in the coastal areas, they were going to seek peace with Ming.Unexpectedly, Song Shiyeol, the envoy who arrived and the head of the Korean Constitutional Mansion, made a shocking suggestion that the Kingdom of Korea should "unite the Ming Dynasty to fight slaves", carry out the Northern Expedition, and restore the old suzerain-vassal relationship between the two sides again.

"...Why?" Bi Xuechao asked subconsciously while being stunned.

"The people in the country today are thinking of the Han Dynasty, and they are all weeping and indignant. If they want to avenge the dynasty, if they can work hard and encourage morale, they will definitely be boosted!" Song Shilie said impassionedly: "Building slaves is a barbarian! Therefore, my king of North Korea wants to build Political affairs, refurbishment of war, gathering troops for the Northern Expedition, in order to destroy the barbarians and restore China."

"But...why?"

Bi Xuechao and a group of Ming officials and generals are still confused.Could it be that you North Korea are resolutely resolutely fighting against the Qing Dynasty just for the so-called righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period and for the restoration of China?The problem is, in order to retaliate against you for betraying the feudal vassals and the Ming Dynasty, and assisting the establishment of slaves to attack us inside and outside the pass, our Ming court almost every year sends troops to "train troops" in your coastal areas of North Korea, and incidentally "beats the autumn wind".

Under such circumstances, shouldn't you, the Korean Kingdom, unite to establish slaves and attack our Ming court?

How did your North Korean monarchs and ministers make the decision to "unite the Ming Dynasty to attack the slaves"?

Are you sure that North Korea is not using some deceitful tricks on me, Ming Dynasty, pretending to be united, and then stabbing a knife in the back?
In fact, after the Dingmao rebellion (Jin Amin attacked Korea after 1627) and the "Bingzi rebellion" (Huang Taiji personally conquered Korea in 1636), although on the surface they were extremely obedient to the Manchu Qing, they lost old coins, offered tribute, and suppressed hostages. , Even sent thousands of spearmen to accompany the Qing army to attack the pass.But in fact, everyone in North Korea is full of resentment and contempt for the Manchu Qing, and regards being controlled by the Manchu Qing and bowing to the barbarians as a great shame.

Although North Korea uses Qing dynasty titles in official documents, it still uses the "Post-Chongzhen Era" on specific occasions (such as sacrifices, tombstones, and occasions related to the Ming Dynasty).

After the death of King Injo Lee Jae in 1649, the subsequent Joseon Emperor Hyojong Lee Ho succeeded to the throne. The combination of his strong sense of respecting the Ming and the shame of surrendering to the Qing Dynasty led to the emergence of the "Northern Expedition Theory" in North Korea.

When Li Hao succeeded the king of Joseon, he accepted Zhao Yunzhi's suggestion from Hongwenguan and did not write the Qing Dynasty's year name in the Jenzu Jade Book and Zhishi, which was the first time to send a signal of anti-Qing.

Subsequently, Li Hao began to adjust his relationship with the Qing Dynasty.In the last years of Renjo's reign, the pro-Qing Paluo Party headed by Jin Zidian took over the power and forced the use of the Qing dynasty name on all occasions.After Li Hao succeeded to the throne, he immediately abolished this regulation.On the other hand, he began to brew the "Northern Expedition Theory", planning to cooperate with the anti-Qing forces in the Central Plains to overthrow the Qing Dynasty by force, restore the Ming Dynasty, and abolish the shame of Ding Chou's descent to the city (1637, the year of Ding Chou, the [-]th day of the first month of the first month of the Korean Dynasty. The ancestor kneeling down to the Qing Emperor Huang Taiji).

After he came to the throne, he practiced riding and archery in the back garden of Changdeok Palace when he was free, and practiced weapons such as Qinglong Saber and Iron Cast Dazhui, and he was thirsty for generals.

However, when Jin Zidian was exiled, his confidant, the translator Li Xinchang, informed the Qing court that Li Hao deposed the old ministers who were close to the Qing Dynasty, appointed scholars who were close to the Qing Dynasty, conspired against the Qing Dynasty, and sent Ren who did not write the Qing Dynasty title. The text of Zu Changling Zhiwen is used as evidence.At this time, Emperor Xiaozong reported his "Japanese love" and "Ming Qing" and asked for permission to build cities and train troops to guard against Japanese and Yongchu courts, but this angered the Qing Dynasty.

Dorgon, the regent of the Qing Dynasty, sent Qi Chongge and other six envoys to attack North Korea.According to historical records, at that time, "humanity was terrified" and "the government and the people were turbulent". It was rumored that the Qing army was suppressing the country.He appointed Won Doo-pyo, who had been dismissed from office, as a remote envoy, and Li Jingshi, the leader of the political debate, also volunteered to go to Yizhou to investigate the situation.As a result, the envoys of the Qing Dynasty only asked about the construction of the city, and Li Jingshi and Zhao, who wrote the "Japanese Love" and "Ming Qing" memorials, were exiled to Baima Mountain City.The Qing envoy also proposed a marriage for Dorgon by the way, and Xiaozong took the daughter of Li Kaiyin, the king of Jinlin, as his adopted daughter, named Princess Yishun, and married Dorgon.

Xiaozong took the "Northern Expedition" as his country's mission, and under the pretext of guarding against coastal raids and harassment in the Yongchu period of the Ming Dynasty, he comprehensively promoted the military expansion plan.In the sixth year of Shunzhi (1649), he appointed Li Shifang as the garrison envoy, responsible for rectifying the garrison hall that defended Gyeonggi, and set up four battalions of Guangzhou (Nanhan Mountain City), Yangzhou, Zhushan, and Wonju to strengthen the defense of the Gyeonggi area. strength.In February of this year, the dental soldiers under the Defense Office were reorganized into gunners (shotgunners) and shooters.

In March, Li Hao appointed Li Huan as the general of the imperial camp, responsible for rectifying and expanding the central army's imperial camp.In August, Emperor Xiaozong appointed Li Huan as the training general, and then rectified and expanded another central army, the training capital.At that time, there were about 5000 soldiers in the training capital, and Li Hao also planned to expand the number of soldiers in the training capital to 10000.

At the end of last year, with the death of Dorgon, the Qing Dynasty's interference in North Korea was greatly reduced, allowing Li Hao to start preparing for the Northern Expedition with great fanfare.Li Hao was very hostile to the Qing Dynasty in his heart. He lamented that if it were not for the annual tribute, North Korea's financial situation would not be so bad.In addition, he is actively brewing the theory of the Northern Expedition, planning to fight the Qing Dynasty before he is 50 years old.

Li Hao summoned Song Shiye alone in the Xizheng Hall of Changdeok Palace, and Zeng Hepan confessed his ambition for the Northern Expedition.Li Hao is confident that he "knows the situation and the mountains, rivers and roads there", so he has no "awe and awe" towards the Qing Dynasty.His theory of the Northern Expedition was based on the "theory of the collapse of the Manchu Qing Dynasty", that is, he judged that "the captives are bound to perish", based on the following:

There are many brothers in Huang Taiji, but few brothers in Emperor Shunzhi;
During the time of Huang Taiji, there were many talented people, but during the time of Emperor Shunzhi, they were all mediocre;
During the time of Huang Taiji, martial arts were advocating, and during the time of Emperor Shunzhi, martial arts became more and more Sinicized, and martial arts gradually abolished;

Emperor Shunzhi "Although he is called a hero, he is too short of wine and sex, and his momentum will not be long."

He believes that the feasibility of the Northern Expedition lies in the fact that the heroes and righteous men in the Central Plains will respond in groups.In addition, the yearly coins that North Korea paid to the Qing Dynasty were all in Liaoshen, which could be used by the military during the Northern Expedition.There are still tens of thousands of North Korean prisoners in Dingmao and Bingzi's chaos, which can be used as internal responses.

Therefore, Xiaozong planned to train 10 elite blunderbuss soldiers within ten years, wait for the civil strife in the Qing Dynasty, and then send troops to the outside of Shanhaiguan, emphasizing that "probably today, if I can't do anything for me, then I won't be able to do anything."

After listening to the North Korean envoy's suggestion of "Uniting the Ming Dynasty to strike slaves" and the "Northern Expedition" at the same time, how dare the officials and generals of the Ming Dynasty on Tamna Island dare to be self-reliant.Immediately, he warmly entertained the envoy from North Korea, and sent a fast boat to report the news to Denglai, asking the court to send important cabinet ministers to negotiate with North Korea on the truce and joint operations.

(End of this chapter)