Daming talker

Chapter 730: Jifeng Different Generations of Grace and Old

After the royal capital Seoul was captured, all the places in Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul naturally followed suit.

For a period of time thereafter, Yi Sun's Fourth Corps, which had just entered the Joseon Kingdom and had not made many military achievements, continued to march south from Seoul with 15,000 men.

They successively "recovered" Chungcheong Province and Jeolla Province, which were located just south of Gyeonggi Province.

At the same time, news came from the Ma Gui Second Corps that remained on the eastern front that the Japanese pirate Shimazu Corps in Gangwon Province on the east coast had retreated across the board, and the Ma Gui Corps had moved south to recapture Gangwon Province.

So far, including the three northern provinces recovered last year, the heavenly soldiers have recovered seven of the eight provinces of the Kingdom of Korea.

Just as Tianshuai had judged, the Japanese pirates had indeed abandoned other places and retreated to Gyeongsang Province. Seventy to eighty thousand Japanese pirates gathered in the southern coast area and retreated to their base.

The famous Busan is located on the south coast, across the sea from Japan's Tsushima Island. It was the landing point and forward base for the Japanese pirates to invade Korea.

Moreover, the Japanese pirates were stationed on the south coast, which was very close to the mainland, so the supply of food and fodder was very convenient, and there was no need to worry about transporting them thousands of miles.

Fighting in a poor country like Korea where cloth strips are used as currency, even the Japanese pirates have the same headache of food and grass. Otherwise, the Japanese pirates in Seoul would not have thought of retreating.

Now the remaining Japanese pirates have abandoned their various routes and quickly retreated to the south coast. The Tianbing have begun to worry about the problem of food and fodder again, which seems to be a case of one side gaining while the other loses.

On the one hand, it was nearly a thousand miles from Seoul to the south coast, which meant that the Ming Dynasty's military logistics line would have to be extended by another thousand miles, and a new supply system would have to be built.

The original system of transferring from Sinuiju and Pyongyang can no longer fully adapt to the new war situation and needs to rely more on sea transportation.

Fortunately, we made arrangements for this before the expedition last year, arranged two routes, Tianjin Wei and Shandong Dengzhou, and organized the collection and construction of new sea vessels. This should have a huge effect this year.

On the other hand, North Korea’s mainland really cannot be relied upon at all.

We are now in the traditional spring famine period when there is a shortage of food, and it is impossible for North Korea to produce excess food.

However, local military and political organizations such as the Maintenance Association and the Loyal and Patriotic Army will have to temporarily rely on the Ming Dynasty's military logistics system for transfusions.

In other words, the Ming Dynasty not only had to bear the responsibility of supplying the official army, but also had to take into account a large part of the local financial functions of Korea.

Before the expedition last year, Marshal Lin Tian had calculated with the Kingdom of Korea that they would need 800,000 dan of military rations a year, and that was by no means a false report.

Even if 100,000 heavenly soldiers were dispatched, they would not be able to consume 800,000 shi in a year, at most 300,000 shi.

The vast majority of the remaining expenses are actually transportation costs and the costs of maintaining local stability.

As more and more areas were recovered, Lin Tianshuai, who had just relaxed for two or three months, began to worry about food again.

Among the reports sent in from all over the world, the topic most involved is food.

When finances are tight, it is really hard to keep a detailed account of the accounts. The more you do it, the angrier you get.

People were asking for food everywhere. At this moment, Lin Tianshuai felt that he was not like a commander of a large army, but rather like a local official in later generations who had a bunch of bankrupt enterprises in his jurisdiction.

Once again, I experienced the feeling of Zhuge Wuhou's Northern Expedition. No wonder the biggest problem for Zhuge Wuhou during his six expeditions to Qishan was actually getting food.

If it weren't for the belief in mining copper and the ideal of future "re-export" trade with Japan, Lin Tianshuai really wanted to give up.

Anyway, Lin Tianshuai stopped looking at the military map for the time being and started looking at the account book instead.

On this day, Yin Zhuoran, an old acquaintance of Lin Tianshuai, the first vice president of the North Korea Maintenance Association and president of the Pyongan Province Maintenance Association, rushed to Seoul from Pyongyang.

He had just walked to the door of the front hall of Xique and heard Tianshuai's roar before he entered the house.

"You can only deliver seven times a year. That's impossible. It's absolutely not allowed! Increase it to ten times!

I don't want to hear any reasons why it's not possible, I just want more rations!"

Another person argued with Tian Shuai, saying loudly, "To sail on the sea, you need to look at the wind direction, the ocean currents, the coastline, and you also need to inspect the ship! You need skills, not just words, to sail smoothly on the sea!"

Organizing a fleet to transport grain from Dengzhou, Shandong to the central and southern parts of Korea would require sailing for more than ten days along the islands off the coast of Liaodong and the west coast of Korea!

It's not like you can just draw a straight line on the sea and drive the ship there. The maximum round trip in a year is seven times! How is it possible to go back and forth ten times?"

Yin Zhuoran asked Cui Wukui who was guarding the door in surprise: "What's going on?"

Cui Wukui smiled bitterly and said, "The Marshal is meeting with people from Shandong to discuss sea transportation."

Yin Zhuoran asked again: "I'm not asking this. What I want to ask is who is so brave that he dares to argue with Tianshuai?"

As far as Yin Zhuoran knew, those who had argued with Tian Shuai in the past six months had basically had their graves covered with grass three feet high.

Cui Wukui replied: "This person is Qi Zuoguo, the hereditary commander of Dengzhou Guard in Shandong Province of our country. His other identity is the second son of Qi Shaobao."

Yin Zhuoran suddenly realized, no wonder he dared to reason with Lin Tianshuai, these days even to reason one has to look at one's status and qualifications.

No wonder Cui Wukui was standing at the door. How could he get a word in? Then Yin Zhuoran didn't have to go in. He just had to wait at the door first.

Cui Wukui also gossiped with Yin Zhuoran and said, "I guess Shandong must know that Tianshuai is not easy to serve, so they sent someone like Qi Shaobao's second son to prevent Tianshuai from being too harsh on them."

After the quarrel inside subsided, Lin Tianshuai was seen politely escorting a middle-aged general out, and Wu Weizhong, Qi Jin and others from the Qi Family Army were beside him, talking to him affectionately.

Lin Tianshuai sent away Qi Zuoguo, the hereditary commander of Dengzhou Guard, and when he saw Yin Zhuoran, he asked in confusion, "Why are you in Seoul instead of cleaning up the mess in Pyongyang? Are you here to ask for food as well?"

Yin Zhuoran quickly replied: "There is an extremely important matter related to long-term peace and stability, which needs to be reported to Tianshuai!"

Lin Tianshuai, who was in a bad mood, said fiercely: "If you dare to fool me, I will send you back to the Li Dynasty!"

After entering the house and sitting down, Yin Zhuoran reported: "I want to rebuild a large temple in Pyongyang."

“What!” Lin Tianshuai’s voice rose eight octaves, and he shouted angrily: “How dare you think of building a temple when money and food are so tight? I don’t even care about the ancestral temple of the Li Dynasty!”

Yin Zhuoran was really afraid that Tianshuai would chop him down in anger, so he quickly shouted, "Listen to me, the temple to be rebuilt is the Jizi Temple!"

Jizi? Lin Tianshuai calmed down and thought about it.

After King Wu defeated King Zhou and destroyed the Shang Dynasty, King Zhou's uncle Jizi fled to the north of Korea and established Jizi Joseon, which was the first regime in the history of the peninsula.

Yin Zhuoran continued to explain: "After all, Pyongyang City is the old capital of Jizi, so it is only natural to rebuild the Jizi Temple here.

Through Jizi, we can widely publicize that the Joseon Kingdom was originally a branch of the Central Plains, at least in the north. Whether it is acknowledging the ancestors or accepting the enfeoffment, it is completely in line with the law.

According to Tianshuai’s vision for the future, Jizi is a very valuable symbol. After all, Jizi, who came from the Central Plains, is considered the first monarch of Korea!
So rebuilding the Jizi Temple is related to long-term peace and stability, isn’t that right? "

Lin Tianshuai nodded repeatedly and said, "That does make some sense."

Yin Zhuoran probed again: "So of course the money and grain will be paid, and we will also ask Tianshuai to write poems and poems for the reconstruction of Jizi Temple and engrave them on a large stele for permanent preservation."

"Alas!" Lin Tianshuai was powerless to refuse. "Just tell me how much money and food you need for now." It must be said that Yin Zhuoran, this court traitor, is so damn qualified that he actually took the initiative to help with cultural brainwashing.

At this time, Lin Tianshuai received another letter from Kaesong.

On the pink paper was a Chinese poem: "Things drift away with the flowing water, and sorrows arise with the dawn of spring. The fields are green with smoke, and the mountains are bright after the rain.

Two swallows chirp in front of the curtain, and a few orioles sing outside the forest. I sit alone with no joy, and I am too sad to put on my makeup.

It turned out to be a love poem expressing longing. Lin Tianshuai found it quite fresh. I have to say that Jin Shunbin is quite good at teasing.

So Lin Tailai left Seoul and returned to Kaesong with his personal guard battalion.

Tianshuai has been very angry recently and needs to relieve stress.

During the post-event sage time, Shunpin was a little worried and asked with a pen: "Shunhe Jun's fiefdom has not been issued yet, will there be any changes?"

Now the situation is set, and the North has completely entered the rhythm of reconstruction. If there is no canonization from the Celestial Empire, Shunhe Jun's status will always be a little lacking.

Lin Tailai replied: "As far as I know, the Li Dynasty court in Kuandian Fort is very opposed, and my Ming Dynasty court is a little concerned about its reputation, so it may still be struggling.

Especially now that the capital of Seoul has been recovered, the emperor and his ministers of the Joseon Dynasty are even more restless and are making a big fuss. I heard that they wrote a blood letter to the Ming Dynasty again. "

Shunpin pleaded in the Wu dialect: "I beg you, Marshal, to use more strength."

Lin Tailai couldn't resist the request and tried again. When he had enough time, he got a new idea.

"First, let Shunhe-jun not sit idle, but write a petition to the emperor and show his ability in front of him."

Shunpin hesitated and said, "Isn't this against the rules?"

Etiquette is something that cannot be seen or touched, but if it is violated, it will give others a bad impression of you.

If Shunhe Jun took the initiative to ask for a fiefdom, he would immediately be criticized by everyone.

Lin Tailai said: "Of course, don't mention the issue of enfeoffment! Just propose to rebuild the Jizi Temple in Pyongyang City and ask His Majesty the Emperor to grant a plaque!
At the same time, add some literary works and poems expressing gratitude to the Ming Dynasty for its assistance to Korea, so as to directly impress His Majesty."

Shunpin, in the physical sense of the snake mouth, said vaguely, "Tian Shuai helped to write for me. Who else in the world knows poetry better than you?"

It was another wise time. Lin Tianshuai's inspiration flowed like a spring and he picked up his pen to write a seven-character poem.

"The universe was created in the Wanli era, and the foreign lands established festivals with the help of close ministers.

The grace and honor of Jifeng in different generations are old, and the edict of Han Dynasty restores the prosperity and new destiny.

The moon shines brightly over Liaohai in autumn, and the stars move across Yajiang River at night.

Bo Ping was shocked and reported everywhere, reporting that there was a saint in the court. "

Communication between cultural people cannot be so straightforward, of course, so Yin Zhuoran is right, the symbol of "Jizi" is indeed very valuable.

"Jifeng is a different generation, but his grace and honor are old." Shunhe Jun used Jizi as an excuse to write a memorial to the emperor, which was enough to express the political metaphor and his intention to surrender to the Central Plains.

After all, Jizi established his capital in Pyongyang in the north, and his main territory was also in the north.

Then Lin Tailai said, "If we want to completely impress the emperor, there is another idea. But you don't have to do anything. I will arrange it myself."

After finishing speaking, Lin Tianshuai wrote another secret letter to Yang Dengshan, the garrison commander of Hamgyong Province.

The letter only said one thing - no matter what means, get me several hundred kilograms of copper ore, and pack them and send them to the capital in the name of tribute from the Kingdom of Korea!

Lin Tianshuai just didn't believe it. He first got some copper ore and put it directly in front of Emperor Wanli. How could Emperor Wanli not be tempted?

After receiving the secret letter, Yang Dengshan hesitated for a moment because the newly discovered mine had not yet started mining.

However, Jiashan County has a tradition of copper production, and they can cope with the problem by getting some ore from other old mines.

Just as Lin Tianshuai was venting his anger and working in Kaesong, news suddenly came from the south that Japan requested peace talks with the Ming Dynasty.

Now the direction of the war is completely different from the original history, the background situation is also very different, and Lin Tianshuai no longer has any foresight.

Therefore, Lin Tianshuai cannot be sure now whether this is a delaying tactic of the Japanese pirates or they really want to negotiate peace and withdraw safely.

According to Lin Tianshuai's original intention, he must have wanted to continue fighting and completely wipe out the Japanese pirates to gain complete credit.

Moreover, Tianshuai instinctively didn't believe that the Japanese pirates could be sincere in this regard.

However, war or peace is a diplomatic issue between Japan and the Ming Dynasty. Most of the decision-making power belongs to the imperial court, and Lin Tianshuai cannot make 100% decision.

Lin Tianshuai was still a little worried that some people in the court would advocate peace talks on the grounds of "saving money and food".

So he called Konishi Yukinaga over and encouraged him, "Konishi Settsu-no-kami! It's time for you to be useful!
This time I have decided to give you a chance to write a memorial to the Emperor of Ming!"

Konishi Yukinaga said expectantly, "Please give me your orders, Marshal!"

Is this another chance for him to play a role? His biggest wish now is to play a huge role in the peace talks between the two countries, and then return home with the credit for the peace talks.

Lin Tianshuai glanced at the excited Konishi Yukinaga and said, "As a high-ranking official of Japan, you are going to make suggestions to our imperial court!

Let’s just say that Japan and Taiko Hideyoshi would never have the sincerity to negotiate peace, and the so-called request for peace must be a delaying tactic!

We need to make sure that all the officials in the court understand that only the Japanese understand the Japanese best, and you are right!"

Konishi Yukinaga: “.”

I didn't expect that instead of promoting peace talks, I would be asked to oppose and sabotage the peace talks.

Konishi Yukinaga truly wanted peace talks, but he could not disobey the orders of the Marshal, otherwise his life would be in danger at any time.

In the end, Konishi Yukinaga could only bow his head with resentment and helplessness and agreed: "Hi!"

Then Mr. Lin drew a rough map for backup, which showed the southern coast of Korea and the Kyushu and western regions of Japan.

In particular, the Iwami Silver Mine was highlighted, and it was specifically noted that the annual output of silver was one million taels.

And as can be seen from the map, by crossing the strait from the southern coast of North Korea, you can reach Iwami Silver Mine, which is not far away.

Although Lin Tianshuai is not ready to take out this map for the time being, because the consequences are difficult to control.

But if there are treacherous factions in the court who want to negotiate peace, this map will appear in front of Emperor Wanli.

(End of this chapter)