Daming talker

Chapter 751 Statement of Account (Part )
After completing the encirclement of the remaining Japanese pirates on all sides, Marshal Lin Tian summoned corps-level generals such as Li Rusong, Ma Gui, Li Xu, and Chen Lin to discuss the final stage of the battle plan.

Of course, although it was called a consultation, most of the generals came with the mentality of "listening to the latest instructions from the Marshal."

What else can be said to a civil official who has achieved such martial arts feats as being the first to ascend the battlefield five times, personally killing two generals in front of the enemy, and personally capturing three generals?

The headquarters of the Jinglüe Shogunate was located in the courtyard of an indigenous yangban family. When Li Rusong arrived, he did not see Lin Tianshuai.

After asking, I was told that Lin Tianshuai was talking to the captured Japanese general.

Li Rusong was also a little curious about these captured Japanese generals, so he asked Tianshuai's personal soldiers to take him there.

When I walked to the door of another courtyard wing, I heard Lin Tianshuai's voice before I went in.

"Tachibana, I said earlier that your wife was slept with by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, purely to disturb your mind, it was a strategy on the battlefield.

In fact, they probably didn't sleep together, so why did you go on a hunger strike? Only by returning alive can you find out the truth, right?

Besides, the distance that sound can travel is limited. The only people who can hear it on the battlefield at that time are probably you and the hundreds of samurai around you.

Most of your hatamoto warriors were killed in battle because they were fearless and brave, which means that everyone who heard it at the time is already dead."

Li Rusong outside the door couldn't help laughing. Lin Tianshuai inside the room shouted, "Who's outside?"

Li Rusong walked in, saluted to Lin Tianshuai, and looked curiously at Tachibana Muneshige, who was known as the unrivaled master in the Western countries of Japan.

Seeing that it was Li Rusong, Lin Tianshuai greeted him, "Songzi, you came just in time!"

Then Lin Tianshuai pointed at Li Rusong and said to Tachibana Zongmao, "See? This is Li Rusong, the general second only to me in our army!

The commander that your Tachibana army encountered and ambushed in the Battle of Pyeongyang was him!

At that time, you Tachibana soldiers almost killed him! It is said that at the closest point, you Tachibana soldiers were only a few dozen steps away from him. "

General Li: “.”

Damn it! I shouldn’t have come to watch the fun! This matter of Biti Pavilion can’t be resolved, right?

Didn't they just get surrounded accidentally and then fight their way out? Judging from the casualties ratio, they weren't defeated!
After convincing Tachibana Muneshige, Lin Tianshuai came out with a tired face, and asked Konishi Yukinaga and Shen Weijing who were accompanying him, "What about Honda Tadakatsu and Hosuka Iemasa? Are they still looking for death?"

Konishi Yukinaga replied, "Hosuka Iemasa has already persuaded him, but Honda Tadakatsu is still a little unconvinced and feels that Tianshuai's victory was unfair."

Lin Tianshuai ordered: "Try to keep all the captured Japanese generals alive. The war is almost over, and at this time, the living are more valuable than the dead."

Konishi Yukinaga said indignantly: "Many of the captured Japanese generals are mentally ill. I don't know what they are thinking!"

Everyone: "."

Konishi Yukinaga, have you forgotten that you were also a captured Japanese general?

After that, Lin Tianshuai and Li Rusong drank tea and chatted while waiting for the arrival of other corps-level generals.

"Songzi, you owe me another favor." Lin Tianshuai said that when doing good deeds, one must leave a name behind.

General Li didn't want to talk. He silently recalled the process of his transformation from Governor Li to an old man, and from an old man to Songzi.

Then Lin Tianshuai said: "The statistics of the Battle of Ulsan showed that 29,000 enemies were annihilated, which was not more than the Battle of Seoul that you commanded. Do you owe me a favor?"

"Yes." General Li admitted weakly.

This damn aid to Korea against the Japanese, the sooner the battle is over, the sooner the better! If the battle continues, I'm afraid I'll have to sign a contract to sell myself!
After several other corps-level commanders arrived, Lin Tianshuai started a meeting directly.

Also present were Japanese friend Konishi Yukinaga and Japanese language interpreter Shen Weijing.

Cui Wukui, the shogunate attaché and Korean interpreter, was also present, but he was standing alone in the corner, as if he was invisible.

Looking at Shen Weijing standing next to Konishi Yukinaga, Cui Wukui felt bitter.

Since Tianshuai entered the south, the situations of dealing with the Japanese increased dramatically, and Shen Weijing's status also rose accordingly, while the role of Cui Wukui, the Korean interpreter, became less and less important.

The situation between the two people is completely reversed compared to before. The ups and downs of life are so unreasonable.

Judging from Tianshuai’s attitude, his interest in Japan after the war is obviously greater than that in Korea. In the future, Japanese will definitely be more important than Korean.

In order to keep up with Tianshuai's pace, do I have to learn Japanese?

Shen Weijing naturally didn't know that Cui Wukui had already thought of learning Japanese, and was translating for the generals:

"Kunishi sent some Japanese to various places to inquire and learned about the current deployment of the Japanese army.

The remnants of Kobayakawa Takakage, Ukita Hideie, and Kuroda Nagamasa were in Jinhai, with a total of 20,000 troops.

Mao Li Xiuyuan's troops were in Donglai, with a strength of 30,000. This part had not fought against the heavenly soldiers;
The remnants of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shimazu Yoshihiro, and Asano Nagamasa were in Busan, with a total force of about 25,000.

In total, the Japanese army still had about 75,000 troops, tightly huddled in the triangle area of ​​Gimhae, Dongnae, and Busan, and built a large number of earthen fortifications.

And judging from the situation of the Japanese army, they are not short of military rations for the time being and have a certain amount of reserves. After all, Busan is the Japanese army's base and a sea and land transfer point, so it is normal to have savings."

After Xiao Xiyukinaga and Shen Weijing finished introducing the enemy's situation, Lin Tianshuai said: "From a purely combat perspective, we actually only have two choices.

One was a violent attack, using the flesh and blood of the government troops to capture one camp after another, and finally annihilate the Japanese soldiers or force them to surrender.

The other option is to impose a long-term siege, block the Japanese soldiers' sea and land routes, and cut off all their assistance.

It is hard to say how long it will take to be effective. It may be two to three months, or it may be four to five months. It mainly depends on the food reserves of the Japanese army. "

After hearing this, all the generals had no different opinions. There were indeed only two ways of thinking about fighting, but each had its own advantages and disadvantages.

If a strong attack was launched, the biggest concern would be that the government troops would suffer heavy casualties, and there would not be enough North Korean cannon fodder to fill the positions of 75,000 enemy troops.

If a long-term siege strategy is implemented, the cost of money and food will be very high. Moreover, the government troops are prone to slackness and mistakes during the period.

After all, there are only 70,000 government troops currently participating in the siege, and the margin for error is very low when it comes to besieging 75,000 Japanese soldiers of the same number.

Just as the generals were weighing their options, Konishi Yukinaga suddenly stood up and said through Shen Weijing's translation:

“At this point in the war, victory or defeat is no longer an issue, so we should start to consider the issue of benefits.

Rather than using war to eliminate the trapped beast, other means may be more cost-effective.

The enemy troops trapped in the Busan area are not just trapped beasts, but from another perspective, they are also our hostages. And these captured Japanese generals are all very good bargaining chips. "

The others looked at Tian Shuai, but Tian Shuai didn't say anything, so the others didn't comment either.

So Konishi Yukinaga continued, "I can conclude that using these besieged enemy troops as bargaining chips to negotiate with Toyotomi Taiko will definitely bring greater benefits!"

Li Rusong couldn't help but ask, "What are the benefits?"

Konishi Yukinaga gave an example: "The simplest example is a ransom of hundreds of thousands of dollars! This is the most basic, not to mention other benefits."

Hearing this, all the generals felt moved by Konishi Yukinaga's words, and they all looked at Lin Tianshuai.

Tian Shuai said slowly: "A ransom of several hundred thousand is not enough."

President Konishi said: "If you want more, we can talk. After all, the initiative is completely in the hands of Tianshuai. You can set any price and blackmail him!
The enemy won’t have much room for bargaining, unless they are stupid enough to accept total annihilation.”

Lin Tianshuai added: "But the copper mine in Jiashan County still needs miners."

Konishi Yukinaga said: "Mining is ultimately about making money, and it is hard-earned money. If there is a more convenient way to extort directly, the benefits will not be worse than mining."

Lin Tianshuai asked the generals, "What do you think?"

All the generals said in unison: "We will obey the orders of the commander-in-chief!"

Lin Tianshuai said: "Whether to blackmail or not. No, the decision on whether to negotiate or not is in the hands of the court, and we cannot make the decision on our own.

It is better to report to the court as soon as possible and ask for authorization first!

Before that, we must not slack off, we must still prepare for war, actively besiege, and be ready to attack at any time."

Konishi Yukinaga also suggested: "The enemy's general is Tokugawa Ieyasu, but Tokugawa Ieyasu probably has not obtained the relevant authorization.

Tianshuai might as well send someone to make preliminary contact with Tokugawa Ieyasu, so that Tokugawa Ieyasu can be prepared, and then send them back to the country on a ship to ask Taiko for instructions. "

Lin Tianshuai nodded and said, "We can make contact first, and let Shen Weijing act as an envoy to go to the Japanese camp to meet Tokugawa Ieyasu."

The reason why Konishi Yukinaga was not allowed to go was because his performance as an envoy last time was so hateful.

He was afraid that if he sent Konishi Yukinaga again, the Japanese army would ignore his identity as an envoy and directly kill him as a traitor.

The next day, Shen Weijing took the order and went to Busan to meet Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Standing in front of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shen Weijing asked directly: "How much military rations do you have left?"

Tokugawa Ieyasu asked in return: "As an envoy, don't you feel offended and disrespectful by asking such a question?"

Shen Weijing replied: "I just want to know, how much time do you have to save yourself, Grand Minister? Otherwise, when the deadline comes, you will be destroyed together with me."

Tokugawa Ieyasu said unhappily: "If you are here to persuade us to surrender, please go back. This is absolutely impossible."

Shen Weijing added: "Now the outcome has actually been decided, and fighting further is futile, so the way out for your entire army is definitely not to fight.

You might as well be prepared to resolve the problem through negotiation, and maybe you can find a way out.

As long as you can agree to Marshal Tian's conditions, surrender is not necessarily the only way to survive."

After thinking for a long time, Tokugawa Ieyasu said: "This matter needs to be reported to the Taiko, and negotiations can only be carried out with the Taiko's consent."

Shen Weijing replied: "This is as it should be. Our Ming navy can allow one Japanese ship to return home."

Then Tokugawa Ieyasu said, "I don't believe the sweet words of you envoys, so I will meet with Lin Jinglüe in person.

Get the confirmed information directly from Lin Jinglue, and then report to Taige."

Perhaps because of the psychological trauma caused by Konishi Yukinaga last time, Tokugawa Ieyasu now lost trust in the messengers who delivered the message. He decided to eliminate the "middlemen" who made the difference and talk directly to Tianshuai himself.

However, Shen Weijing was speechless about this. It was not that Tokugawa Ieyasu was unworthy. In terms of status, Tokugawa Ieyasu and Lin Tianshuai could be considered equal.

But, Tokugawa Ieyasu, are you sure that you won’t suffer a greater psychological trauma after meeting Lin Tianshuai?

Why do you think that Tianshuai is easier to talk to than the messenger?
Finally, Shen Weijing agreed and said, "I can convey the request of the Grand Minister to the Marshal, and I believe the Marshal will not refuse to meet you.

But don't have too high expectations, Grand Minister. Maybe you will find that it is more pleasant to deal with the envoys, and I am more approachable."

Then Shen Weijing returned to the shogunate headquarters with Tokugawa Ieyasu's request.

After discussion, Lin Tianshuai and Tokugawa Ieyasu met three miles outside Jinhai Castle three days later.

This was the first time that Tokugawa Ieyasu saw the legendary Great Ming Shuai in person. Even when he raised his hand, it seemed that he was not as tall as the other person. When they stood together, his whole body was shrouded in the shadow of the other person.

Then Tokugawa Ieyasu completely understood why Kato Kiyomasa was killed with three punches and why Honda Tadakatsu and Ii Naomasa were captured alive after just one encounter.

However, Tokugawa Ieyasu was very calm and was not completely intimidated. This was because he had seen too many people who were stronger than himself and had long been tempered.

So Tokugawa Ieyasu could still speak fluently: "I heard that you have the intention to negotiate peace."

Lin Tianshuai immediately interrupted Tokugawa Ieyasu and said bluntly: "You have to understand one thing, this is definitely not a peace negotiation, you are not qualified to negotiate peace.

There is only one question to discuss: what terms can you offer to buy back your life."

Tokugawa Ieyasu did not take the word game too seriously and asked pragmatically, "What are your conditions?"

Lin Tianshuai said: "The first and most basic condition is that Japan pays me three million shi of rice as compensation!"

Tokugawa Ieyasu was stunned. He had a hunch that Lin Tianshuai would ask for a huge sum, but he didn't expect it to be so high!
After Tokugawa Ieyasu came to his senses, he asked, "Is this stone from your Ming Dynasty?"

Lin Tianshuai said as a matter of course: "In order to make it easier for you to count, of course we use your Japanese weights and measures! So the stones used here are your Japanese stones!"

One koku of rice may weigh 1.5 times as much as Akashi. Only a fool would use Akashi at this time.

Tokugawa Dainagon was silenced. The nominal total koku of Japan was about 18 million, and the actual amount that was concealed was over 20 million.

Three million koku of rice is approximately equal to one seventh of Japan's annual national output. How can Japan afford to pay this amount?
Tokugawa Ieyasu said helplessly: "Your Excellency is really insincere in saying such a number."

Lin Tianshuai snorted coldly: "Do you think I am just talking nonsense? The compensation of three million shi is a figure that was obtained after careful calculation and is completely reasonable and well-founded!
If you don't believe me, I can check the bill with you right now!"

(End of this chapter)